On his 1962 masterpiece “Modern Sounds in Country Music” Ray Charles’ broke cultural and racial boundaries, straddled styles, grew his audience and made the charts. Sturgill Simpson’s newest release tips a hat to that release…
Rosanne Cash’s latest completes a body of self-reflective work beginning with 2006’s dark beauty Black Cadillac, the homage to her and father’s musical bond with 2009’ s “The List” and now with “The River &…
![Music Review: “Divided & United: The Songs of The Civil War” – Various Artists [ATO Records]](http://www.twangnation.com/blog/http://example.com/uploads/2013/11/Divided-United-Songs-of-the-Civil-War--300x300.jpeg)
One of he bloodiest periods in American history, the Civil War (or the War of Northern Aggression as it’s often referred to south of the Mason/Dixon,) left deep and lingering cultural wounds in the nation’s…
The lead up eerie border-town short videos for FX’s “The Bridge’ has hooked me I and I will be tuning in for the pilot episode July 10th at 10pm. The theme song, “Until I’m One…
![Music Review: Daniel Romano – Come Cry With Me Normaltown Records]](http://www.twangnation.com/blog/wp-content/themes/leaf/images/no-image-small.jpg)
People often wondered why Gram Parsons, a member of a 60′s generation that cast off the past so dramatically, would choose to perform music so informed by country music clad in the garish uniform of…
![Music Review: Malcolm Holcombe – Down The River [Gyspy Eyes Music]](http://www.twangnation.com/blog/http://example.com/uploads/2012/09/Malcom-Holcolmb-Down-the-River--300x300.jpeg)
Malcolm Holcombe should be huge. Perhaps the lack of acclaim for the North Carolina native are the boyish looks that have long faded from his Music City days due in large part to years of…
![Music Review: Blackberry Smoke – The Whippoorwill [Southern Ground]](http://www.twangnation.com/blog/http://example.com/uploads/2012/08/Blackberry-Smoke-The-Whipporwill-300x267.jpg)
My first encounter with Atlanta’s Blackberry Smoke – Charlie Starr on Lead Vocals, Guitar, Richard Turner on Bass, Vocals, Brit Turner on Drums, Paul Jackson on Guitar, Vocals and Brandon Still on Keyboards – was…
![Music Review – Delta Rae – Carry the Fire [Sire]](http://www.twangnation.com/blog/http://example.com/uploads/2012/06/carry-the-fire.jpg)
Pop music has gotten a bad rap. Pop has gone from being “popular” to engineered mass appeal and style over all especially substance blotting out all pretension of song-craft or, HA! , longevity Great songs…
![Music Review: Mercyland: Hymns For The Rest of Us [Mercyland Records]](http://www.twangnation.com/blog/http://example.com/uploads/2012/05/mercyland-300x225.jpg)
An Easter vacation was the perfect opportunity to listen to “Mercyland: Hymns For The Rest Of Us” a compilation release by singer/songwriter, producer and musician Phil Madeira. As the title suggests the thematic underpinning of…
![Album Review: Amy Francis – Balladacious [Independent Release]](http://www.twangnation.com/blog/http://example.com/uploads/2012/03/amy-francis-300x300.jpg)
Bodacious is a Southern/Southwestern portmanteau of bold and audacious. It’s meaning is remarkable, courageous, audacious, spirited and unmistakable. Corpus Christi TX native Amy Francis uses this linguistic fusion and forms the title of her new…