Despite two evacuations (one which included a couple of drops of rain, the other of which included a ton of rain), soaring temperatures and an Animal Collective cancellation, 2013 still proved to be Forecastle’s most impressive year.
Next week, a wide spread of artists from around the country will descend on Louisville, Kentucky for one of the most anticipated festivals of the year – the Forecastle Festival. Check out our curated playlist of the Top 10 Acts we’re most excited about at Forecastle.
One of the beacons of heart-warming, soul-searching and downright beautiful musicianship continues to be Tift Merritt, whose writing has never shied away from approaching difficult subjects with honesty and willingness to engage, but never has she been so vulnerable and calm than on her new record Traveling Alone.
Watch Andrew Bird and Tift Merritt cover Townes Van Zandt’s If I Needed You.
Both Tift Merritt and Amy Cook have new albums out, and joined up to tour the West Coast together. Last night, they played magnificent sets at the intimate club Cafe du Nord in San Francisco, CA. Glide Magazine staff photographer Joan Bowlen was there to capture the magic. Buy Tift Merritt, Traveling AloneBuy Amy Cook, Summer SkinFollow Joan Bowlen on Tumblr(
Yesterday afternoon, Tift Merritt announced that she just signed to North Carolina-based indie label Yep Rec Records, and is readying her new album, Traveling Alone, for an October 2nd release.
The audience at City Winery drank in the seventy minutes Tift spent on stage, and by the end were buoyed by the chance to witness an artist in motion– continuing on her journey and leaving all of us a travelogue to follow.
Ever since Tift Merritt debuted with Bramble Rose in 2002, critics and journalists have attempted to align her with specific musical trends or fellow artists, such as Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams or Caitlin Cary, but by doing so, they missed the mark.
Before Matthew Ryan and his band, MRVSS, took the stage at Blueberry Hill, he and his bassist, Brian Bequette, were joking with me and my wife, explaining how the headliner, Tift Merritt, was a “firecracker.” Ryan and his band seemed happy to be on the road with the energetic singer-songwriter, eager to share their music with a respectful room of people.
In the summer of 1998, I can’t remember exactly when, I went out and bought a copy of Neil Young’s Comes a Time. The album’s words have stayed with me for a long time; it remains one of my favorite Young albums, and I still don’t know what to call it: county, folk, or just great music that is timeless. I don’t mind that I can’t categorize it, because I’ll have it forever, and that’s all that matters to me.
