Features
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Chely Wright: From the Heart
The 2010s have been a big dang deal in the life of Chely Wright. She kicked off the decade by coming out in a very public way with a huge media blitz supporting an autobiography (Like Me) and an album (Lifted Off the Ground), as well as the related LikeMe Foundation. Over the next few…
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k.d. lang: Flawless, Fearless
It wasn\’t the first time I heard k.d. lang\’s voice that carved out a forever place for her in my heart. It was the first time I saw a photo of her for, in it, I saw a reflection of who I was or, more likely, who I wanted to be. It was 1990, maybe…
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The Singular Sensation of Ani DiFranco
Over the course of her more than 25 years of making music, Ani DiFranco has been widely celebrated and often emulated. The trouble is, DiFranco\’s work is a moving target which words and imitation fail miserably in hitting. She would argue — and has — that hers is a living, breathing body of performance art…
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The Gambler's Last Deal: Kenny Rogers Knows When to Fold 'Em
Kenny Rogers pauses for a moment when I ask him to recall his first tour. \”We didn\’t know that big, big amplifiers weren\’t heavy enough to stay down on the top of the station wagon,\” he says with a laugh. \”So we\’re driving 60 miles per hour and that amplifier came sliding down the freeway…
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Soul-Full: Ruby Amanfu Lets Her Little Light Shine
Every now and then, an artist comes along who is, at once, transcendent and humble, pursuant of glory but steadily grounded. Ruby Amanfu is such an artist, moving the audience\’s emotions alongside her own as she winds her way through a song. It\’s an inherent and intangible gift she brings to bear, and one that…
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Heather McEntire Splits the Difference
When you\’re born and raised in the South as singer/songwriter Heather McEntire was, being queer demands certain virtues because that singular incarnation is far from a simple proposition. Asked to sum up the experience in a few words, McEntire says, “Complicated. Revolutionary, frankly.” She laughs, then adds, “Brave. I also like that the visibility is…
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Sarah Dashew: A World of Music
Somewhere between sailing around the world as a child and living in Austin as an adult, Sarah Dashew found her musical voice. And, as evidenced on her new album, Roll Like a Wheel, that voice draws its water from myriad wells. “I started singing in a gospel choir in college,” Dashew says, attempting to organize…
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June Millington Crosses Another Bridge
When mention is made of all-female bands, most references usually cite the Bangles, the Go-Gos, and the Runaways. Rarely do they trace the footsteps all the way back to Fanny (or its predecessor, the Svelts) overlooking a key moment in the history of rock chicks. So, it\’s a story guitarist/songwriter — and Fanny founder —…
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The Orphan Brigade: Soundtrack to a Ghost Story
“Everyone loves a good ghost story,” producer Neilson Hubbard says, explaining the rhymes and reasons behind his latest project, The Orphan Brigade: Soundtrack to a Ghost Story. “People seem fascinated. People want to know more about it. I think that is the same way we got hooked into the project. You get drawn in by…
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Soul to Soul: Mavis Staples and Joan Osborne Take the Show on the Road
Anyone who caught Mavis Staples shimmying out in the middle of the big musical number on Stephen Colbert’s recent Late Show debut knows that the 76-year-old gospel/soul singer’s still got it. In just the past five years she has released two albums — You Are Not Alone, which won a Grammy in 2011, and One…