Your Front Row Seat To Americana Music
Not too long ago, we shared Iowa-based blues-meets blue-eyed soul outfit The Maytags' single "Marry Ya", from their forthcoming debut album, Love Lines, due out July 1st. Comprised of heartland musicians whose roots are in jazz, The Maytags have created a sound that's truly "Midwest Nouveau". Love Lines, recorded at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville with... Continue Reading →
“Surprisingly, everywhere I’ve played my music, it’s been well-received. I can’t complain,” says ARIA Award-winning Australian blues purveyor, C.W. Stoneking, whose latest album, Gon’ Boogaloo, is set for release in the States on June 3rd via Stoneking’s own label, King Hokum Records. Stoneking has mastered his vintage aesthetic unlike any other working artist around these... Continue Reading →
“Turned working people to the working poor….I keep on knocking but I can’t get in", sings modern blues man Xavier Dphrepaulezz, who performs under the moniker Fantastic Negrito, of the economic disparity and gentrification he sees in his hometown of Oakland, California—though, he sees it happening everywhere he travels. “The world is changing; but the... Continue Reading →
“We get labeled as a retro band, and though we draw a lot of influence from older music, I feel like the way we put things together is very different,” says Lech Wierzynski, frontman for soulful rhythm and blues-y collective The California Honeydrops. The golden-voiced Wierzynski, who also plays guitar and trumpet, was born in... Continue Reading →
Mississippi-bred Southern roots preservationist Jimbo Mathus has produced a mammoth amount of work—already a veteran of several bands by the early 1990s, he formed the incomparable period jazz/swing revival outfit Squirrel Nut Zippers in 1993. Since the Zippers’ demise, Mathus has seemingly flown under the radar. However, as my mama says, "truth be told", he’s been... Continue Reading →
“Get on the Floor”- C.W. Stoneking Award-winning Australian artist C.W. Stoneking has a new album, Gon' Boogaloo, set for release June 3rd via his own King Hokum Records, and “Get on the Floor” is the lead single...and Lord have mercy, it's a toe-tapper. You can almost hear the antique crackle of dusty vinyl in the recording; Stoneking hollers and howls like a... Continue Reading →
Never underestimate the impact that the blues has had on our musical history; greats like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf paved the way for rock n’ roll as we know it. As ground-breaking as these visionaries were, their respective sounds were shaped and supported by prolific sidemen, musicians who were an integral part of history... Continue Reading →
“I grew up listening to punk rock; I fell in love with the blues and folk music when I was 18 or 19 years old after my dad gave me a collection of American roots music, and it totally changed the landscape for me,” says blues man Jonathan Linaberry. “Reflecting on it, what I’d love... Continue Reading →
Luther Dickinson's new album, Blues & Ballads (A Folksinger's Songbook Vol. I & II), released last week to widespread critical acclaim. The album is a retrospective of Dickinson's life and includes new songs, songs he wrote with North Mississippi Allstars, songs he learned from friends and family, songs passed down to him by his heroes and mentors of... Continue Reading →