There was a headline in an old issue of No Depression that read “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?” (referencing the great Waylon Jennings tune) on a feature about some up-and-coming cowpunk. I …
For a man who has two to three tons of expectations just in the last two words of his name, Justin Townes Earle bears his burden pretty lightly. Son of country-rock icon Steve Earle, namesake …
Mason Jennings is what he is, and he seems completely at peace with that. And he should, considering how well being himself has treated him lately. After singing two well-received songs (“The Times They Are …
Sometimes proper rock leads to improper spelling, according to Dan Hubbard (he of the Humadors noted above). “A couple years ago I was on a drinking bender most of the time with my best friend …
Ever wonder how the touring bands that play shows in Champaign-Urbana wind up here? Well, one of the driving forces in the C-U live music community is Ward Gollings, an independent promoter who books concerts …
If you’ve ever watched the first season of “The Wire,” then you’re already familiar with the music of the Blind Boys of Alabama, whether you realize it or not: The Blind Boys’ version of Tom …
In Catch-22, fighter pilot Yossarian “had decided to live forever or die in the attempt.” For the local band of the same name, the stakes weren’t quite as high on Saturday night as they made …
“I’m sort of a perpetual motion machine,” says Robert Pollard, and if such a device can indeed be created, it would probably look a lot like the former Guided By Voices lead singer and guitarist. …
There are bands that take themselves too seriously, and then there is Southern Culture on the Skids. Never described as overwrought, the North Carolina trio has been making a good-timey blend of Dixie genres for …
Ashley Riley is a young, blonde lady whose instrument of choice is an acoustic guitar, so the comparisons to Jewel are ready-made and lazy, but she doesn’t reject them. Just getting her feet wet in …
