Posts by Jim Hynes

Tom Russell may well be America’s most prolific and criminally underrecognized songwriter with nearly forty albums.  Yet, his recent string of albums, most notably his 2015 epic masterpiece Rose of Roscrae and 2017’s wide-spanning Folk Hotel have garnered him increasing attention. October in the Railroad Earth can now sit comfortably beside them. Russell is simply […]

Back for her second solo album, powerhouse vocalist Sarah Potenza is intent on empowering women and, for that matter, all of us, on her Road to Rome. It follows her bluesy 2016 debut, Monster, where she received raves from blues and roots lovers. The emboldened Potenza now delivers an album with even stronger messaging as […]

Up until just a few years ago, Leo Bud Welch was living in a disheveled shack in Mississippi’s Hill County without plumbing or electricity as depicted in the documentary Late Blossom Blues, chronicling Welch’s life. It was released last Spring and has been highly awarded by three prestigious organizations. At age 81, Welch released his […]

Just when we thought we’ve exhausted Townes Van Zandt’s catalog, his surviving family – his wife Jeanene, along with his children, J.T., Will, and Katie Bell have found and authorized the release of unrecorded material. While Sky Blue offers versions of his familiar tunes, there are two that have never been heard before – “All […]

Grammy-winner Patty Griffin, one of our top songwriters in the past two decades, is back with her tenth studio recording, her first that’s self-titled. Most of these intimate, relatively sparse and moody  tracks were recorded in her home in Austin, TX. She co-produced with her long-time collaborator Craig Ross. Her supporting musicians are familiar too. […]

The Vandoliers from the Dallas-Fort Worth area have burst on to the scene like a gang of outlaws on horseback kicking up big clouds of real dust, with weapons drawn, and ready to fire at the least provocation. Once the fuse is lit, watch out.  It’s a similar rush to what we got when Jason […]

There are others who get more ink but, arguably, Catherine Russell is not only one of the best jazz singers, she is one our best singers, period. The daughter of famed bandleader Luis Russell, who arranged for Louis Armstrong, and the late Carline Ray, noted vocalist/guitarist/bassist who played with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm and Sy […]

Buoyed by the success of her 2017  powerful, acclaimed Lucky Strike, Nashville-based Mary Bragg feels more confident than ever diving into raw, sometimes unhinged honesty in her songs. She’s always been a terrific writer on both her own projects and those of fellow songwriting friends like Becky Warren. The title  Violets As Camouflage suggests this […]

Today you can still find guitar legend Dennis Coffey playing every Tuesday night at Northern Lights Lounge in Detroit. Previous recordings of Coffey in recent years (One Night at Morey’s, 1968, Hot Coffey in the D: Burnin’ at Morey Baker’s Showplace Lounge)have focused on the late ‘60s, the heyday of funk. Live at Baker’s, from […]

New York-based British singer-songwriter Bobby Long has dabbled in folk and rock across his three albums with the usual comparisons to influences of Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and others. Now we have a pop album. Sultans is unabashedly a nod to The Beatles. This crisp collection of ten tunes is bookended by its title, the first […]

Former San Diego-based humorous folk singer Steve Poltz has been a huge hit at the annual Folk Alliance Gatherings, SXSW and countless festivals as he can put smiles on folks faces like few others. A friend once said, “How can someone be that happy?” in describing Poltz. The wave of popularity kept growing to the […]

Singer-songwriter Michael Sackler-Berner, aka MSB, has been a musical force for over a decade now, doing his solo material, fronting The Slim Kings, and mostly tracking soundtracks for major television shows. MSB grew up in New York, spent some time in Montreal as part of the scene that spawned Arcade Fire, and now resides in […]

This is yet another mega project for multi-Grammy-winning producer Tom Hambridge, aggregating a stunning list of guitarists to play alongside one the best, guitarist Arlen Roth, on Tele Masters. Hambridge plays drums with his long-time bassist Tommy MacDonald, with Arlen’s fellow Woodstocker Cindy Cashdollar on lap steel,  and ace acoustic guitarists Billy Panda and Bryan […]

The opening banjo notes on Stranger Angels are unmistakably that signature sound we’ve come to love from The Pines, but they serve as the introduction of that group’s leader, David Huckfelt’s debut solo album. Huckfelt wrote the album in solitude as the Artist-In-Residence on Isle Royale, channeling the mysterious and lonesome island’s spirits into a […]

This stunning project could be as important as any ever released in any Black History Month (or at any time for that matter). It’s meant to reverberate. Songs of Our Native Daughters are 13 tracks based on historical notions and observations of slavery written and early minstrelsy, performed by Rhiannon Giddens (Carolina Chocolate Drops), Leyla […]

Major events are converging that prompted Concord to re-issue the iconic Ray Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volumes 1 & 2. First, it is Black History Month. Secondly, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will host a panel discussion on February 23rd on the importance of Charles’ impact on country […]

It takes some courage and gumption to make a blistering, vintage, all-out rock n’ roll record these days as many other genres have the edge in radio airplay and digital streaming. Luther Russell probably doesn’t care. He doesn’t offer classic rock (although he may someday fall into that category); he unleashes pure, straight ahead rock […]

Imagine a saxophonist walking into a Native American pow-wow or drum circle, conjuring up some melodies while the percussion follows. Think in terms of compositions, improvisational jamming and a free exchange of ideas and that’s what Dap-Kings saxophonist Cochemea Gastelum and fellow Dap-kIng, producer Gabe Roth conjured up for this session, All My Relations. It […]

Grammy-nominated guitarist Julian Lage, only 31, has already developed a reputation as one of the world’s best. On Love Hurts Lage does his freewheeling interpretations of pieces written by a range of artists and songwriters in different genres, reflecting his never-ending musical appetite. Lage recording and self-produced the album at Wilco’s studio in Chicago’s Irving […]

It seems only fitting in this year that marks the 80th anniversary of Blue Note, the premier label of the 1960’s Soul Jazz Era, that we have a current ensemble re-working some of that classic material. Some of this music has already been released digitally but now the physical album is available to all who […]