Interviews
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A Hard Religion: An Interview with Robbie Fulks
Robbie Fulks is the type of songwriter capable of mining myriad different material sources for his work. His life and the lives of those around him are all fair game. On his new release, Upland Stories, the lives of those long gone even come into play. Some of the tales told here reach back to…
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Five Questions: Penny and Sparrow
The two gents who comprise Penny and Sparrow — Kyle Jahnke and Andy Baxter — didn\’t set out to be musicians. They were living together with a bunch of other guys in a house during college and, basically, stumbled into an artistic collaboration that worked… really, really well. With Jahnke focusing on guitar and Baxter…
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Keeping the Door Open: A Conversation with Hayes Carll
When last the world heard from Hayes Carll, he was stomping and hollering his way through 2011\’s KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories). But five years can change a man. Hell, five minutes can change a man who has the heart of a poet that Carll does. That\’s why, on his new Lovers and Leavers…
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Squared Roots: Grant-Lee Phillips x Neil Young
The list of singer/songwriters who cite Neil Young at or near the top of their influences is overflowing with names … and with good reason. From his early Buffalo Springfield days on through his most recent solo efforts, the man has carved out a legacy that spans nearly 40 albums across six decades. Songs like “Tell…
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The Natural Course of Things: A Conversation with the Infamous Stringdusters
What do you get when you cross a bunch of roots-minded female singers with a bunch of bluegrass-adjacent male musicians? Why Ladies & Gentlemen, of course the new release from the Infamous Stringdusters which features appearances by Joan Osborne, Lee Ann Womack, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Abigail Washburn, and eight more of the finest voices roots music…
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Five Questions: Dori Freeman
When you come from a musical tradition that includes legendary artists like Hazel and Alice, Loretta Lynn, and Ola Belle Reed, you have some mighty big boots to fill. But that formidable legacy hasn\’t dissuaded Virginia\’s Dori Freeman from stepping into the spotlight with her eponymous debut. Produced by Teddy Thompson, the set balances a…
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Squared Roots: Luther Dickinson x Jim Dickinson
Jim Dickinson was a musician’s musician who worked with everyone from Bob Dylan to the Replacements to Sam & Dave. One of his earliest gigs was in the Dixie Flyers, a group much like the cats in Muscle Shoals who backed a multitude of great soul artists on big hits. But, on the advice of…
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Five Questions: Carrie Rodriguez
Having bridged various cultural gaps her whole life, singer/songwriter/fiddler Carrie Rodriguez feels right at home constructing the same sort of unifying structures with her music. Rodriguez does so by reaching back into her family\’s history and her culture\’s heritage to find the perfect bilingual voice to inhabit the recently released Lola. Her open-armed, heartfelt artistic vision…
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The Singer Is Secondary to the Song: An Interview with Dylan LeBlanc
Singer/songwriter Dylan LeBlanc grew up splitting his time between Louisiana and Alabama, shuffling from his mom\’s house to his dad\’s. On the one side was an oppressively religious upbringing; on the other was a music-filled refuge. But, once his teenage years hit, LeBlanc\’s demons started to outpace all else, and he began a booze- and…
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Following the Muse: An Interview with Steve Martin
Mere mention of Steve Martin\’s name instantly evokes a multitude of references to his iconic comedic work over the past five decades. But there\’s so much more to the man than just a wild and crazy guy. Over the past five or so years, Martin has turned his focus toward music, working with both Steep…