I’ve overlooked Chatham County Line several times in the past few years as just a Plain Jane bluegrass band, but when “Chip of Star” popped up on my Justin Townes Earle Pandora station on Friday, […]
the backstory: Jones Street Station Loses Its Campy Mojo
Brooklyn’s The Jones Street Brothers is now called Jones Street Station. I can take a pretty good guess as to why they changed their name, but I’m kinda bummed that they went mellow indie and […]
grass stains: Justin Townes Earle at Webster Hall
I was late finding Justin Townes Earle. The son of legendary Americana musician Steve Earle and critically acclaimed young star from SXSW 2009, Justin caught my ear on The Big Surprise Tour at the Beacon […]
grass stains: Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration, the group made up of Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket), Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek) and Luke Bulla (Jerry Douglas Band, Lyle Lovett), hits NYC this week with a show at the […]
fresh clippings: Steve Martin on MerleFest 2010 Lineup
This week MerleFest 2010 organizers announced that banjo funny-man Steve Martin will head up next year’s event, which kicks off on April 29th for four days in Wilkesboro, NC. The lineup also includes Sam Bush, The Avett Bros, The Duhks, […]
progressive grass: Julian Lage
I first came across Julian Lage browsing Telluride’s Nightgrass lineup this past summer. Raised in NorCal and now living in Boston, he performed in Telluride with The Punch Brothers, which is led by former Nickel […]
fresh clippings: Questions for Rosanne Cash – The New York Times Magazine
A few weeks back, Rosanne Cash was the subject of “Questions,” my favorite page in The New York Times Magazine. She was asked about her new album, The List, which includes 12 songs off of […]
holy grass: The Blind Boys of Alabama – DUETS
New album out this week by gospel legends The Blind Boys of Alabama. Creatively, it’s called DUETS and it’s a bunch of duets. Their first single, “Perfect Peace,” features Jamaican reggae legend Toots Hibbert of […]
the backstory: Cory Chisel’s “Born Again”
On Columbus Day weekend when my family was in town, my dad was dying to go see some good music. Choices were pretty limited on a holiday weekend, but I stumbled across a WFUV show […]
grass stains: Bela Fleck & Toumani Diabate at Telluride
I got the chance to see these guys play together in Central Park (for free) over the summer. It’s hard to put this in a category, but there’s just something really special about it. If […]
the backstory: Sarah Jarosz
Now that Nickel Creek has grown up and moved on, it’s time for a new bluegrass prodigy to remind me that I’m a poser. That’s my feeling every time I listen to 18-year-old Sarah Jarosz, […]
grass clippings review: Darrell Scott – Modern Hymns
I first came across Darrell Scott with the every-song-kicks-ass-album he put together with Tim O’Brien entitled Real Time. Then I fell in love with his song, “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” when I heard him sing […]
grass clippings - Piles of Americana & bluegrass news, reviews and festivals 