Johnny Bush’s slowly rising star was shot down in the ’70s by spastic dysphonia, a rare neurological condition that impairs vocal chords. His voice has more recently been reconditioned to a remarkably robust state. Honky Tonic would conceivably thrust him into the upper echelons of country singers if the market for elderly honky-tonk statesmen weren’t [...]

The title of Pete & Maura Kennedy’s latest album refers to the approximate number of miles the couple has traveled in the last ten years. Having crisscrossed the country to perform a thousand gigs or so doesn’t guarantee an exalted level of artistic expression, but it does increase the odds. Half A Million Miles, their [...]

Jim & Jesse McReynolds carried the torch for traditional brother duet singing for more than 50 years, until Jim’s death in December 2002. Jesse has found a offer secular gospel gems reflective of a mindful philosophy. “Namaste” is based on a greeting by a charismatic sushi bar owner in New York, while “Here And Now” [...]

Common wisdom dictates that survival in the music business generally requires that an artist (or even a label) starting in a small-town must inevitably move to a major urban center. But some thriving small-market music scenes scattered throughout the continent put this notion to the test. One such place is Portland, Maine. In 2000, Charlie [...]

Polecat Creek features Laurelyn Dossett and Kari Sickenberger, two singer-songwriters from North Carolina who have pooled their talents, ostensibly because their wonderful harmonies bring out more in their songs than each of their own individual voices could. Although the women straddle the fence between bluegrass and old-time (leaning more toward the latter), there are also [...]

Except for a few notable exceptions — the Hackberry Ramblers, Chuck Guillory and Harry Choates being a few obvious examples — artists working the Cajun circuit have seldom been models of eclecticism. The Red Stick Ramblers, whose members include Joel Savoy, the son of Marc and Anne Savoy, can be added to this select group. [...]

The last recording Lost John Casner released under his own name was the cassette he put out with his Austin Roadhouse Band in 1987. Casner later became a founding member of the Little Whiskey Band, but he has become known just as much for recording and making available a live performance by the late and [...]