Posts by Maeri Ferguson

In a strange turn of events, Saturday at Newport Folk Festival might have been one of the coldest on record. The temperature barely broke 70 degrees and the wind blew relentlessly as festival-goers wandered the grounds in hats, scarves, coats and even gloves. It wasn’t until a late afternoon set on the main stage by […]

Though the first day of Newport Folk Festival typically begins on the smallest of the three stages, with an early start time and a lesser-known act, this year’s opening set felt like the most important of the weekend. Matt the Electrician took the stage for a long overdue performance at the fort. As an artist, […]

Newport Folk Festival prides itself on offering something new and fresh every year, not to mention the countless spontaneous performances and collaborations that inevitably take place over three days of artists wandering the grounds of spectacular Fort Adams. This year will bring the addition of a live recording of Joe Pug’s phenomenal new podcast The […]

The mood always changes on the final day of any festival. There’s a vague hint of sadness in the air, as a weekend of bliss comes to a close. We’ve all put our lives on hold for three days, returning again and again to the same place, which eventually begins to feel like some sort […]

When the weather’s on your side for a festival, there’s nothing quite like it. And on day two of Solid Sound, the sunshine felt damn good after damp and overcast Friday. Spontaneity was in the air, with pop-up performances taking place throughout the day in various buildings of Mass MoCA, and the crowd was abuzz […]

Now five Solid Sound festivals in, the team of Wilco and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA) have settled into a groove. They’ve had two years since the last one to dream up improvements to an already fabulous festival, and in 2017, they have clearly stepped up their game. This year, the three-day event […]

[rating=8.00] If you’ve ever been to a live show and heard an incredible acoustic version of a song you know really well, and just wished more than anything that you could hear it like that again and again, Jeff Tweedy’s new record will be a crucial one to add to your fast-growing Wilco collection. On […]

[rating=8.00] Every so often you hear a record that makes you think, “they don’t make ‘em like this anymore,” and that is consistently the case with Steelism’s stellar new follow up to their 2014 debut 615 to Fame. Ism is a continuation of the duo’s 70s-inspired instrumentals, with the addition of an impressive group of […]

[rating=7.00] Fans of their beloved 2011 record Helplessness Blues have been waiting anxiously for the Fleet Foxes to make a triumphant follow-up record that would continue to speak to their increasing millennial angst. In fact, a lot has changed in the six years since its release, including the explosion of said angst and the term […]

[rating=6.00] Though he’s been known to channel an Appalachian style folk sound, Sam Amidon is getting more playful. On his latest record, The Following Mountain, Amidon gets experimental with his arrangements and his vocals, creating an oddly pleasant dissonance that is intriguing and thought-provoking. And for the first time, Amidon has made a record of […]