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Ordinary Elephant: Honest
“Keep kind all that rises from your chest to your tongue. Don’t ever let your words undo the work you’ve done,” sings Crystal Damore on “Worth the Weight,” a song that beats at the heart of Ordinary Elephant\’s potent new album, Honest. In the song, it\’s a two-line enjoinder from an adult to a kid.…
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“Closer to Fine” at 30: The Legacy of Indigo Girls’ Spellbinding Sing-along
Though it wasn\’t their debut album, the Indigo Girls\’ 1989 eponymous release might as well have been, as it was the first thing most people outside of their hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, ever heard of the duo comprised of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two had been friends since elementary school, eventually gigging around…
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Hayes Carll: What It Is
At a Sturgill Simpson show at Nashville\’s Ryman Auditorium a few years back, some drunk dudes got into a fight down in front of the stage. As they were escorted out, Simpson said something along the lines of, “One of these days, these bearded, redneck motherf#@kers are going to realize I\’m not one of them.”…
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Yola: Walk Through Fire
There\’s a thing that humans do: We put things within boxes and boundaries, so that we might, somehow, understand the world around us. We have a deep need to know where something or someone fits in the greater scheme of things, even though nothing and no one really does. “This fits that. That means this.”…
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Black Women’s Stories Front and Centered on Our Native Daughters Album
In a world founded on patriarchy and ruled by white men, the black woman lands at the bottom of the power structure, her voice muted and mangled, decade after decade, century upon century. But the bottom of any kind of structure is also its base, making the black woman the foundation upon which all else…
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The War and Treaty: “If It's in Your Heart”
There are a lot of things about being human that are hard and scary. On the inestimably long list, being vulnerable with another person is most certainly near the top. It requires immense courage to share something of yourself with another, when their response isn\’t sufficiently pre-determined to be positive. Whether it\’s saying “I love…
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J.S. Ondara: Tales of America
The idea — or, more rightly so, the myth — of the American dream is something that reverberates the world over. Though the specific details are likely different for everyone, the overarching vision is certainly the same, summed up pretty well in the iconic “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” phrase. In the world\’s…
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Mandolin Orange: Tides of a Teardrop
Forget Mr. Toad; grief is the wildest ride any of us will ever take, for it attaches itself to any and every kind of loss, whether of a person or a pet, whether by bargaining or by betrayal. And once the ride is in motion, all you can do is hold on and let it…
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David Huckfelt: “Still and Still Moving”
The wisdom of the ages-old adage “This too shall pass” tracks back to Persian times and Sufi poets. Various tellings from a multitude of traditions recount a random Eastern monarch who wished to have a ring etched with a saying that would help him through hard times. The saying certainly accomplishes that goal, but also…
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Kelly Does Her Best: A Look Ahead at 2019
If you\’re a folk fan, then you know that the over-abundance of stunning talent within the realm never leaves a year without some truly stellar releases. It\’s no surprise,then, that 2019 is already exciting to ponder. Among Folk Alley favorites, Dylan LeBlanc has been in the studio with Dave Cobb, whileCaroline Spence got it done…