RON BLOCK Walking Song Rounder 9167 www.rounder.com Ron Block is familiar to bluegrass and mainstream country music fans by virtue of his long tenure as banjo player and guitarist in Alison Krauss’ band Union … Continue reading →
WHALEBONE Runes Two Wild Women www.whalebone-music.com This is the fourth album for the instrumental trio from Shropshire, England. Two guitars and fiddle, and a few other instruments they play (mandolin, etc.) tossed in for … Continue reading →
APRIL VERCH Bright Like Gold Slab Town 1301 www.aprilverch.com Bright Like Gold is a powerful recording by one of my very favorite musicians. April Verch has been a traditional music star in her … Continue reading →
LISA BIALES Singing In My Soul Big Song Music www.lisabiales.com It is simple: for a really good time slap on a Lisa Biales CD! The Ohio blues chanteuse’s second album is pure fun … Continue reading →
THE QUIET AMERICAN Wild Bill Jones Aaron Keim www.quietamericanmusic.com The Quiet American call their music old time folk music for modern times. There are many musicians who think they are presenting old-time music … Continue reading →
SEÁN TYRRELL Walker of the Snow The Vital Record 003 www.seantyrrell.com To get a sense of Seán Tyrrell’s latest, think Woody Guthrie rated R. Like Guthrie, Tyrrell’s voice will never invoke adjectives such … Continue reading →
JOHNNY WINTER The Essential Columbia/Legacy www.legacyrecordings.com This double-disc overview of key studio tracks, drawn from material that originally appeared on the Columbia, Blue Sky and Legacy labels, as well as an abundance of … Continue reading →
THE CIVIL WARS The Civil Wars Columbia www.columbiarecords.com It’s almost impossible to listen to this album without taking the hype into consideration: a fairly meteoric independent rise; a major label deal; a dramatic and … Continue reading →
VARIOUS ARTISTS Live at Caffè Lena: Music From America’s Legendary Coffeehouse, 1967-2013 Tompkins Square 2967 www.tompkinssquare.com As one of the seminal folk clubs of the 1960s folk revival, Caffè Lena has few parallels. Founded in 1960 by … Continue reading →
LOAFERS’ GLORY Loafers’ Glory Arhoolie 542 www.arhoolie.com Southern California-based traditional bluegrass ensemble Loafers’ Glory is comprised of veteran talents Herb Pedersen, Bill Bryson and Tom Sauber along with Saubers’ youthful offspring Patrick – a … Continue reading →
