Posts by Neil Ferguson

Austin, Texas got a double dose of jam on Friday night when Leftover Salmon and the Chris Robinson Brotherhood shared a bill at the Scoot Inn. Though each band comes from different ends of the spectrum – Salmon from a bluegrass background while the Brotherhood is rooted in the psychedelic sounds of the Grateful Dead […]

“It’s great to be alive,” shouted Patterson Hood, hugging the air and beaming a toothy smile at the crowd. Crisp fall weather and a clear night sky overhead made Austin’s Scoot Inn the place to be for a rock show, and there is no doubt that Hood felt those words. In a way, those words […]

Mississippi may not be a place you associate with psychedelic music, however, one listen to The JAG and you’ll quickly realize it’s never a good idea to judge a book by its cover. Hailing from Jackson, MS but currently based out of Nashville, this quintet pull influences from psychedelic rock and roll, disco, and artsier […]

[rating=9.00] The Bottle Rockets are back. Not that they ever went anywhere – they’ve been maintaining a fairly rigorous tour schedule for the last handful of years – but it’s been six years since these Midwestern rockers have released a proper studio album. Frontman Brian Henneman has been teasing a new album for the last […]

Up a shrub-lined windy dirt road just past the small town of Dripping Springs in the Texas Hill Country lies the home of Israel Nash. It’s a modest home with a majestic view of rolling hills – a quintessential Texas landscape. Nash’s home feels like a perch of sorts, and within moments of being on […]

[rating=7.00] Nicole Willis is certainly not as well known as fellow soul shakers like Sharon Jones and Betty LaVette, but she certainly deserves to be. This may have to do with the fact that the singer has spent the last handful of years residing in Finland of all places, making tours around the States less […]

Jay Blakesberg has plenty to be excited about these days. Over the summer the photographer landed a major gig as the exclusive shooter for the Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well five-show run. Sure, there were one or two other people shooting, but it was Blakesberg’s work that was plastered on every piece of press. It […]

Photo by Scott Newton/Courtesy of KLRU Midway through the Alabama Shakes’ taping on Austin City Limits the crowd spontaneously erupted into a loud “Happy Birthday”. The moment of joyful randomness was directed at the band’s lead singer Brittany Howard, who was celebrating her birthday by playing the revered television show for the second time in […]

On the first night on Wilco’s sold out two-night run at Stubb’s in Austin, the Chicago band’s affable front man Jeff Tweedy proclaimed the outdoor venue his favorite place to play. This could be one of those throwaway lines that a musician says at every tour stop, but given the performances that ensued on both […]

Brooklyn band Turkuaz has always been a little bit quirky with their self-styled brand of funky soul music. On their upcoming album Digitonium, which drops This Friday via Techne Records, the group takes their sound in a vibrant new direction while definitely holding onto their signature grooviness. There is a feeling of electricity and explosive […]

Mark Knopfler knows his demographic and these days his concerts reflect that. The crowd filing into his sold out performance at the Moody Theater in Austin on Friday night were on the far side of middle age, but these are the kind of people who can afford the $150-$400 ticket price. They are also the […]

In Vinyl Lives we spotlight and profile record stores around the country who offer music lovers an experience that goes beyond an iTunes purchase or a Spotify playlist. Vinyl has found a new resurgence and the good folks behind independent record stores are on the front line, directly responsible for curating a unique collection of […]

[rating=10.00] When Tennessee Ernie Ford passed away in 1991 at the age of 72, exactly 36 years had passed since he had released “Sixteen Tons”. Despite its tragic tale of life working in a coal mine, the Merle Travis-penned song had been a mega-hit, selling 20 million copies from the time it was released in […]

The spandex may be a little less tight (barely) and the hair a lot shorter, but make no mistake about it, Van Halen still know how to party. On their lengthy tour the purveyors of the world’s greatest strip club soundtrack made a jaunt through Texas with a show at the Austin360 Amphitheater on Monday. […]

Photo credit:  Martin Franco Vielma California’s Moonsville Collective is made up of seven members, all of whom play an equal part in contributing to the band’s rustic, rootsy Americana sound. The band carries the kind of welcoming vibe that makes them an ideal act for catching at a fall festival and dancing to the magic that […]

Jon Cleary is the kind of quintessential New Orleans musician most people associate with the city. As an artist he has long succeeded in striking a perfect balance of class, swagger and soul that captures what New Orleans music has always been about, whether you’re talking about Allen Toussaint, Ernie K-Doe, or Dr. John. Though […]

Spooner Oldham is fixing his lawnmower when I reach him on a Saturday afternoon. Anyone familiar with his monumental body of work might find it oddly funny to hear this Rock and Roll Hall Of Famer and key member of the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section talking about the daily mundanities of yard work. But […]

Steve Earle has always inhabited an intriguing realm as part scholar, part chameleon in his music. For the most part, especially in the years following his arrests and subsequent sobriety in the 90s, he has made albums that dwell in the lexicon of American music. Whether it be country, bluegrass, Appalachian and even more Celtic-influenced, […]

The sound of a cold can of beer cracking open is heard on the other end of the line. It’s afternoon but Jay Rutherford and Aaron “Mort” Mortenson have just woken up after a late night playing with their band Los Colognes and unwinding is a must. They jokingly describe the venue as a “big […]

Is there a band that has maintained more of a consistent output of ass-kicking rock and roll for as many years as the Supersuckers? Possibly, but chances are the Supersuckers could kick their ass in a fight. For going on thirty years the self-proclaimed “Greatest Rock and Roll Band In The World”  has left a […]