Recorded 50 years ago, Gram Parsons’ ‘Grievous Angel’ was an artistic triumph even though it never climbed higher than No. 195 on Billboard’s album chart.

There are musicians who carry an impressive resume, laden with sparkling session work and songwriting credits, and yet they never manage to channel that talent into their own work. This certainly does not describe Will Kimbrough. He’s worked with (and written songs for) the likes of Emmylou Harris, John Prine,Read More

Emmylou Harris returns to a Gram Parsons song she first took on for 1979’s Grammy-winning Blue Kentucky Girl, only this time alongside the Seldom Scene as the DC-area bluegrass group makes its Smithsonian Folkways debut. You May Also Like: Rod Harris Jr., “I Can’t Tell You Why” from Exits andRead More

Somehow, I ended up with a fair amount of country-ish material on this year’s list. How did that happen? You May Also Like: How Black Country Communion’s Debut Brought Back ’70s-Style Hard Rock Elvis Costello’s ‘The Delivery Man’ Once Again Resisted the Urge to Look Back Why Black Sabbath’s TonyRead More

Willie Nelson has already issued three new albums since signing last year with Legacy. An And Friends project might seem like the least interesting yet. You May Also Like: Willie Nelson Found a Worthy Foil on the Diverse, Rootsy ‘Willie and the Wheel’

Gloriously free of the spit-shine that’s turned so much of Nashville’s product into pop pap, Old Yellow Moon has a homey, lived-in feel — like a conversation amongst old friends, with everyone showing their scars. You May Also Like: Rod Harris Jr., “I Can’t Tell You Why” from Exits andRead More

If there is a group, in the era after the sad passing of Levon Helm, who can push forward the ageless Americana blueprint of the Band, it might just by Marley’s Ghost.

Yesterday, I received a message from an old high school friend. We shared a lot of great times, but one of the greatest was the afternoon we spent at Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville, Maine, watching Martin Scorsese’s concert film The Last Waltz. While it’s pretty much impossible to overstateRead More

Every collector has a few records that are ‘important’: bought during life-altering circumstances or maybe during a difficult time in life. Or heck, maybe some nutty karma-tidbit tossed the record into your hands. You May Also Like: ‘Elegant People: A History of the Band Weather Report,’ by Curt Bianchi: BooksRead More

I know what I like, but you won’t find me setting any rules. This is as close to a “philosophy of music” as you’re going to get out of me. That idea has been the driving force behind most of the stuff I write about, especially when there’s “musical evangelism”Read More