Reviews
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The Beautiful and the Bold: Lori McKenna, Trent Dabbs at City Winery
Like Mickey Newbury before her, singer/songwriter Lori McKenna writes sad songs. And, like Patty Griffin, she has the sad voice to back it up. In between, though, McKenna is one of the funniest performers this side of Kenny Rogers. After starting her set with the heartaching tale of a life lost that is “ The…
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The Decemberists: What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World
Few artists have as sly and sardonic a musical wit as the Decemberists\’ Colin Meloy. That point is evidenced so clearly on What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World in which Meloy delivers a simultaneous acknowledgment and confession in “The Singer Addresses His Audience”: “We know, we know, we belong to ya. We know…
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Gretchen Peters: Blackbirds
In 1914, Robert Frost wrote in his “A Servant to Servants” that “The best way out is always through.” A hundred years later, Gretchen Peters sees his bet and ups the ante just a little bit more by adding that not one of us gets out of here alive. Still, we all must pass through…
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A Wider Stage to Stand On: Gregory Alan Isakov at 3rd & Lindsley
After Nathaniel Rateliff worked through a solid set of “many uplifting songs” presented by a big ol\’ voice he wasn\’t afraid to use, Gregory Alan Isakov and company took to the stage, swallowing the whole room up in their gorgeous sound. As evidenced in the lull and build of “Amsterdam,” Isakov knows how to craft…
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Six Decades of Humor and Hits: Kenny Rogers with the Nashville Symphony
When you grow up listening to an artist like Kenny Rogers — and count him as one of your first concerts — it\’s a strange and wonderful thing to see him perform 35 years later. After opening up with “Love or Something Like It” and “It\’s a Beautiful Life,” replete with punchy horns and audience…
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Slinky and Sultry, Fierce and Funky: Lisa Fischer with Grand Baton at City Winery
Let\’s just face facts: Lisa Fischer may well be the most exquisite singer in the world. That\’s not hyperbole; that\’s just observation. Taking the stage at Nashville\’s City Winery, Fischer closed her eyes, took some deep breaths, and sank into the space as her voice wandered around some ambient vocalizations before easing into a gorgeously…
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Mindy Smith & Friends Turn It Up for the Human Rights Campaign
Live music is a great gathering tool, pulling people together to celebrate through song. Such was the case on January 9 at Nashville\’s 3rd & Lindsley for the HerHRC benefit featuring Mindy Smith, Maggie Rose, Shelly Fairchild, Bonnie Baker, and Cheley Tackett singing for a room full of gay women and their allies. Tackett got…
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Banks: Goddess
Though it echoes tones of Portishead, Morcheeba, and Massive Attack, the debut collection from Banks never quite catches up to any of those predecessors\’ efforts. There\’s a good bit of style — and another bit of substance — in Goddess, but it has, unfortunately, an uneven application. The first few tracks showcase the thinner, warbled…
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Ben Glover: Atlantic
When an album starts with a song titled “This World Is a Dangerous Place,” it\’s hard to know whether that\’s a dire warning or a mere observation. In the case of Ben Glover\’s Atlantic, it\’s a bit of both. The tune goes on to sketch out details of life that are not so thoroughly drawn…
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LP: Forever For Now
Though it\’s not, necessarily, a bad thing, Forever For Now is a little bit relentless as 11 of its 12 tracks overflow with dance beats that pulse and drive underneath LP\’s thoroughly formidable voice. Hers, though, is a different kind of vocal prowess than many pop lovers are used to. LP\’s pipes are big in…