Best known for writing “Daydream Believer” and other hits, and for his own 1979 top-5 hit “Gold”, John Stewart has been making solo records for decades since his Kingston Trio days. “Baby, It’s You”, the pop-flavored opening track on The Day The River Sang, proves 18-year-old hearts can still pound inside sexagenarian chests. The jazzy [...]

Before there was Dolly Parton, there was Pretty Miss Norma Jean, a honky-tonk western singer who made her singing partner, Porter Wagoner, look and sound better than he was. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then, and the era of western music — as opposed to country — has faded away, [...]

The Original Sinners’ brand of sin is of the wonderfully old-school and mostly innocent variety: This Kansas City band loads the jukebox with quarters, order whatever’s cheap, and start telling lies about this or that time you had one too many, or about the lover who busted your heart. You know all the punchlines ahead [...]

Despite his title and concept, Stace England probably hasn’t read Sufjan Stevens’ press clips, as there’s more river town archive rummaging to do. And he probably hasn’t heard Stevens either, judging by the flannel swagger, twanged-out blues, and straight-up Scorchers rock (Jason Ringenberg guests on one track) that re-writes a complex but soulful history of [...]

Nile’s first disc in a decade is stuffed with sentiments, awash with hooks and bursting with exemplary instrumentation. It’s as if ten years of music was instantly downloaded from his head in a sudden burst of urgent inspiration — illustrated in the first cut, “Welcome To My Head”, wherein Nile describes the lively chaos residing [...]

Lynn Miles’ music could teach you a bunch of stuff about life and love that you need to know — or at least it’ll articulate, in potent language and eloquent melody, what you’ve already figured out but haven’t quite formulated yourself. Stuff like how fragile hearts are; how long nights can be; how, over time, [...]

Amy LaVere portrayed Wanda Jackson in the film Walk The Line, but on her alluring debut disc, she comes across more like a demure roots chanteuse than a rockabilly wildcat. The Memphis-based performer establishes her album’s blue mood immediately on the opening “Day Like Any”. Supported by Jimbo Mathus’ sinewy guitar work, this torchy tune [...]