Throughout Paul Westerberg’s career as frontman for garage-pop band the Replacements and then as a solo artist, a sense of childlike fun has more than occasionally infused his songwriting. It should come as no surprise, then, that Westerberg, who has also been a dad for a few years now, jumped at the chance to score [...]

Bernard Fanning, the front­man of Australian radio-friendly rock band Powderfinger, showcases his affection for acoustic-based Americana to great effect on his debut solo release. Evoking at times the simple yet unforgettable melodic charm of Neil Young’s Harvest as well as the harder-edged, rootsy rawness of Rod Stewart’s Gasoline Alley, the album drips with soul-stirring emotion [...]

The debut from this rootsy power-pop trio out of Connecticut is one of those rare records that captivates from start to finish. The opening track, “Ordinary”, is a reflective, atmospheric pop gem that showcases singer Tim Warren’s stirring, full-throttle voice and his knack for crafting easily remembered, ear-pleasing choruses with co-writer/lead guitarist Eric Donnelly. “Time [...]

As a co-founder of Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and the short-lived, pre-fabricated Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, Richie Furay distinguished himself as a charismatic performer with a strong voice and a knack for crafting catchy, melodically infused, heartstring-pulling country-rock tunes. When he decided in the early 1980s to become an Episcopalian minister in Broomfield, Colorado, many thought that would [...]

While his former Byrds bandmates continuously garner accolades for their roles in fostering the development of country-rock, Chris Hillman has been the most consistent over the years in making musically engaging roots-flavored records. His latest solo effort is no exception. As on previous collaborations with Herb Pedersen and the Rice brothers (Tony and Larry), Hillman [...]

Sometimes it takes a little time and experimentation to find one’s musical niche. A good case in point is Bow Thayer. After nearly twenty years of fronting various punk, reggae, blues, and rock ’n’ roll bands, the Vermont native has finally found his true musical calling as a roots-flavored singer-songwriter. The Driftwood Periodicals, Volume 1, [...]

What sets Seeds apart from most tribute albums is that the artist being honored participates in some of the sessions as an instrumentalist and vocalist, and through spoken word. The spoken passages serve as a linking element, placing interpretations of some of Seeger’s most thought-provoking compositions in a historical context that makes them as relevant [...]

The 1920s and ’30s produced a tremendous outpouring of rural country music, its main practitioners Southern white musicians such as Jimmie Rodgers, Cliff Carlisle, the Delmore Brothers and Jimmie Davis. All of them borrowed significantly from the blues tradition of the South’s black culture. Fingerpicker extraordinaire Jorma Kaukonen, of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna fame, [...]