Posts by Neil Ferguson

There are two things that are especially difficult for any festival to accomplish. The first is to stay afloat for many years and the second is to hold on to the core values that make the festival so special throughout those years. Old Settler’s Music Festival has managed accomplish both of those things. Whereas many […]

Back in 1992 filmmaker Robert Mugge decided it was about damn time somebody make a documentary that captured the spirit of the beloved and legendary Alligator Records. Since blues lover Bruce Iglauer founded Alligator in 1971, the Chicago-based label had been championing blues, zydeco and roots rock acts such as Koko Taylor, Clifton Chenier, Lonnie Brooks, […]

Portland-based band Fruition have built a strong following with what can best be described as a West Coast Americana style of music. With mandolin, acoustic guitar and dobro often taking center stage, the group has roots in bluegrass but are by no means tied down by the strict confines of the form. Instead, they take […]

Heavy metal has always been tied up in fantastical lore. At its best we’ve gotten groups like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Celtic Frost, and at its worst the comical spoof on the genre with Spinal Tap (think the infamous Stonehenge scene). Lucky for us, the young British band Wytch Hazel seems to be tapping […]

Let’s be honest – the world needs more guitar rock. Luckily for us, Canadian quartet The Sheepdogs are doing a damn fine job at bringing guitar rock to the world. The band’s fifth album is titled Future Nostalgia (Dine Alone Records), an appropriate name given the fact that their music is steeped in the classic and psychedelic […]

Fans of country music will immediately recognize the name Nudie because of Nudie Cohn, the infamous tailor who crafted legendary suits for the likes of Gram Parsons, Porter Wagoner, Elvis Presley, and Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill of ZZ Top among many others. His colorful suits often featured loads of rhinestones and elaborate designs that […]

Widespread Panic has turned their annual Austin stop at ACL Live into something of a tradition, managing to make a stop on an almost yearly basis for the last handful of years. This time around they chose to kick off their spring tour with a three-night run in the heart of downtown Austin. Panic fans […]

The sheer number of festivals that take place in the city of Austin, Texas on a regular basis is staggering. Bigger events like Austin City Limits and SXSW tend to garner much of the spotlight, but it should come as no surprise that one of Austin’s best festivals is also one of the longest running. […]

When Brad Cole started thinking about his new album, he realized he was on a mission to create something that would stand apart from the music he had been making for many years. For a singer-songwriter best known for crafting thoughtful tunes that generally lean towards Americana and folk, it was time to step outside […]

When Eric “Roscoe” Ambel decided to cut his first new solo album in 12 years, the inspiration came from an unlikely source: a bar. Sure, musicians have been writing songs about bars since the guitar was invented, but this was no ordinary bar. Lakeside, which was released on April 1st, is a reference to the Lakeside […]

By the mid-1970’s Henry Roeland “Roy” Byrd aka Professor Longhair was in the midst of a career resurgence. Well, maybe resurgence isn’t the best word for a musician who, despite being a piano legend in his hometown of New Orleans, had spent his life evading or simply missing any chance at success. Nonetheless, by the year of 1976 “Fess” […]

Browse through any of the numerous beer publications and blogs out there and you’ll notice a lack of music culture represented. Beer and music culture are so intertwined that it’s always baffled us to see them rarely if ever highlighted together in beer publications. Watching a concert is especially enjoyable when you’re sipping on a […]

Back in 2012 songsmith Benjamin Scheuer found himself bouncing around the coffee shops of Greenwich Village performing autobiographical songs. Scheuer’s material dwelled on emotional subjects like the passing of his father when he was just 13, a romantic relationship gone awry, and getting diagnosed, treated for, and ultimately cured of advance stage cancer. This was heavy stuff, […]

Originally from New York City and now based out of the culturally vibrant town of Asheville, North Carolina, The Broadcast are a band destined for big things. Caitlin Krisko is the frontwoman of The Broadcast and she immediately draws you in with her powerful, dynamic vocals. While the singer has formal training in music, the […]

[rating=10.00] In the late Sixties Gram Parsons came up with the term Cosmic American Music as a more eloquent and hippie-dippie way to describe the type of music he was making. Gram despised the term “country-rock” and felt his term was a more accurate if not generalized way to sum up the blend of rootsy […]

Anders Osborne has always been an interesting figure in the way that he is a tried and true New Orleans musician but is by no means defined by the city. However, when he wants to channel the funkiness, he can do it. These days the guitarist and singer has found a large following beyond New […]

Within the city of New Orleans there exists numerous cultural microcosms. These microcosms historically involve music, and like everything in the Crescent City, they often overlap in ways that are simultaneously strange, mysterious, and beautiful. In many cases there seems to be an almost symbiotic meshing between the the musical cultures of the city, and […]

Let’s get something important out of the way: Frontier Folk Nebraska are not a folk band and they are not from Nebraska. Don’t ask me to explain the name, because it’s definitely not important here. What I can tell you is that they are a hard hitting rock and roll band from Kentucky and they […]

Back in the 1980’s there were a handful of years when two of the most revered figures in Southern rock joined forces. Texas blues virtuoso Johnny Winter and New Orleans’ prodigal piano-playing son Dr. John teamed up for a number of appearances throughout the 80’s, mainly for television tapings outside of the U.S., which may […]

Another year of SXSW has come and gone, and while most who attended are still figuring out how to adjust back to that thing we call real life, we’re all looking back on a week filled with fantastic music and fun times. If you followed the news and social media shenanigans throughout the week, you […]