The Grahams
I didn’t know what I was signing up for when I agreed to review a film by Cody Dickinson. I am a big fan of the Dickinsons’ music, but maybe … Read more
Reviews
On Top of Old Smoky: New Old-Time Smoky Mountain Music
Since 1953, the Great Smoky Mountains Association has existed to support the preservation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Through promoting public understanding and appreciation through education, interpretation and research, … Read more
Hymn for Her
Trailer and truck pretty much running? Check. Homemade box guitar? Check. Harmonica and banjo? So far so good. Clothes and food? OK. Wait—did someone remember the kid? She’s along too? … Read more
Rhythm & Roots Music & Dance Festival
Photos by James St. Laurent Another banner year at Rhythm & Roots, with the expected friendly crowds, the expected stellar headliners and the expected, unexpected delights. First the unexpected. … Read more
Chatham County Line
Raleigh, North Carolina’s Chatham County Line stands at a dusty crossroads where bluegrass and urbane folk music collide in magnificent bursts of song. And stand they do. Singer/songwriter, guitarist, and … Read more
Catherine Russell
It was inevitable that Catherine Russell would make this record. The daughter of famed bandleader Luis Russell, who arranged for Louis Armstrong, and the late Carline Ray, noted vocalist/guitarist/bassist who … Read more
Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters
I have described Ronnie Earl as “the John Coltrane of the guitar” on these pages before, but this album may best epitomize that term. Earl pays tribute to his dear … Read more
St. Paul & the Broken Bones
Sophomore albums bring their challenges especially when a band has a highly acclaimed debut, like 2013’s Half the City. We all know about the sophomore jinx, which often has bands … Read more
Dave and Phil Alvin and the Guilty Ones
From the strains of “My Favorite Things” to “When the Saints Going Marching In” to “Fly Me to the Moon to “Turn on Your Love Light,” we heard plenty of … Read more
Hollis Brown
The vault of material Hollis Brown frontman Mike Montali chooses to pull from renders promise. Revisiting songs he wrote a decade ago when Hollis Brown was in its infancy, Montali … Read more
