Archive: 2016

Brothers Toby and Jake Vest and their friend Jeff Schmidtke have long been musical collaborators, starting in 2003 with their band Augustine. Since then the three have become vital members of the Memphis music scene, and in recent years Toby Vest has been focused more on the music of others with his High/Low Recording. To date he […]

In an excellent article in LA Weekly, Andy Hermann recently wrote that Texas songwriter James McMurtry’s “specialty is funny, heartbreaking, richly detailed character studies of midwestern rural white Americans — the demographic that, more than any other, made Trump the winner on Nov. 8.” McMurtry’s rich stories – though mostly fiction – have always provided us […]

Pegi Young is preparing for the launch of her fifth album, aptly titled Raw. The collection will be available February 17th via Baltimore Thrush Records. In advance of the album’s release, the first single, Too Little Too Late will have its worldwide premiere on RollingStone.com today. Pegi along with her band The Survivors plan to […]

[rating=7.00] Jason Narducy’s career follows a different path than most and though isn’t a well-known name, he has been a support player in many celebrated acts. As a bassist he has played with Bob Mould Band (of Hüsker Dü fame) and Superchunk, as well as being credited in the Sonic Highways documentary with forming the […]

2016 takes another huge hit and this one hurts, as the magnificent Sharon Jones, the singer who led a soul revival movement with her band the Dap-Kings, has died at the age of 60. Jones died on Friday in a New York hospital after a battle with pancreatic cancer, her representative said. “We are deeply saddened […]

Once again, Mondo creates must have packages for fans of cinematic score, this time from Netflix’s Marvel universe.

Tom Ford has crafted a masterpiece with his latest effort.

Miles Teller and Aaron Eckhart shine, elevating a conventional boxing movie near the point of greatness.

The magic of Harry Potter enchants once again in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

[rating=7.00] With their six previous anniversary releases, R.E.M. have set very high standards for such reissues, both the packaging and content of equal appeal to collectors and scholars. 2010’s Fables of the Reconstruction box (mini-boxed like this latest one), for example, included a wholly alternate mix of the entire album. And because Out of Time […]

Hailee Steinfeld is a force of nature in this brilliant, funny, heartwarming teen drama

[rating=7.oo] Graphism, the sophomore album by Boston trio Pale Hands, is a concentrated romp through nostalgic visions of trendy dance clubs in the 1980s. With swirling, saturated synthesizers and pulsing basslines, the trio dashes through a too-short collection of retro-pop gems. The added impact of guitarist Nick Murphy brings a bit more of a rock […]

Director Barry Jenkins hasn’t just crafted a work of art; he’s crafted a masterpiece.

Nikki Lane will release her anticipated third album, Highway Queen, via New West Records on February 17th, 2017.  The 10-song set sees the young Nashville rebel emerge as one of Outlaw Country and rock’s most gifted songwriters and was co-produced by Lane and fellow singer-songwriter Jonathan Tyler.  Recorded in Denton, TX at Matt Pence’s Echo Lab Studio […]

Warren Haynes always finds new ways to keep busy and this winter hell be touring in honor of The Band. Along with bassis/producer Don Was, Haynes will take their tribute to the Band’s famed farewell concert, The Last Waltz, on the road next year. The pair lead a 40th anniversary tribute concert in New Orleans in April alongside musicians […]

Plus, Jeff Smith’s Bone finds a director, Forest Whitaker potentially joins Biggie/Tupac mystery, and Netflix targets another potential coup.

MerleFest, presented by Window World and slated for April 27-30, 2017, has announced its initial lineup of artists. The annual homecoming of musicians and music fans returns to the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The star-packed lineup for MerleFest 2017 will be announced over […]