Briggs Farm Blues Festival – Briggs Farm (Nescopeck, PA)
“We wait all year for these two days. They’re better than Christmas. And then it just goes by so fast” echoed a veteran Briggs Farm goer. Yes, the camping line … Read more
Reviews
Outside Lands Festival – Golden Gate Park (San Francisco, CA)
Paul McCartney, Nine Inch Nails and Red Hot Chili Peppers… And those were just the headliners at the 6th installment of San Francisco’s Outside Lands Festival. Over 80 acts graced … Read more
Rhythm & Roots – Ninigret Park (Charlestown, RI)
I always look forward to Rhythm & Roots because the multiple headliners turn up reliable and relaxed, and the well-chosen discovery acts arrive anxious to please and thrilled at the … Read more
The Rolling Stones – Charlie Is My Darling – Ireland 1965 (ABKCO)
In 1965, young filmmaker Peter Whitehead, along with music entrepreneur and then-manager Andrew Loog Oldham, set out to chronicle the Rolling Stones on tour. Handheld, black-and-white cinematography (later made fashionable … Read more
The ABC&D Of Boogie Woogie – Live In Paris (Eagle)
Recorded live at a chic club in Paris, this tour de force of four world-class players takes off with “Bonsoir Boogie!” and rips through 14 mostly original tracks of the … Read more
Amanda Shires – Down Fell The Doves (Lightning Rod)
Now that Amanda Shires has relocated to Nashville and married fellow singer/songwriter Jason Isbell, has her music changed? Thankfully, it’s every bit as good as it always was. Perhaps it’s … Read more
The New Gary Burton Quartet – Guided Tour (Mack Avenue)
Gary Burton, the pioneer of the four-mallet vibraphone technique, again exhibits his unfaltering vision of what playing that instrument should be in his newest release, Guided Tour. Joined by 25-year-old … Read more
Marshall Chapman – Blaze Of Glory (Tallgirl)
From the Bo Diddley-inspired duet with Todd Snider, “Love in the Wind,” to the rocking “I Don’t Want Nobody,” to the relaxed comfort of Hoagy Carmichael’s “The Nearness of You,” … Read more
Honey Island Swamp Band – Cane Sugar (Louisiana Red Hot)
They’re irresistible by their name alone, which refers to a wild river swamp in southeast Louisiana. However, it’s the songs on Cane Sugar, the fourth album by the New Orleans-based … Read more
Cyndi Lauper – The Capitol Theatre (Port Chester, NY)
Cyndi Lauper remains unusual. Lauper’s style is propped up by Eighties nostalgia rooted in 20’s nostalgia, mixing elements of Grace Slick, Betty Boop (aka Helen Kane) and Ethel Merman like … Read more
