Since the beginning of their musical and personal partnership Gillian Welch and David Rawlings have evoked the primitive, traditional roots of country music. One of those most important traditions, the cowboy song, is captured in the pair’s plaintive Academy Award-nominated tune, “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings,” for …
Read More »Heart Reunite for All-Star 'Love Alive' Summer Tour
UPDATE: Heart have added a fall leg to their massive “Love Alive” reunion tour. The new dates kick off September 26th at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York and wrap October 13th at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul Minnesota (new dates are below in …
Read More »On the Charts: Boogie Wit Da Hoodie Reclaims Number One With Record Low Sales
Before Ariana Grande provides the charts with so much-needed resuscitation, the Billboard 200 sunk to yet another low as a Boogie Wit Da Hoodie reclaimed Number One despite less than 1,000 copies on traditional sales. Hoodie SZN, which previously spent two weeks atop the Billboard 200 despite historically low physical …
Read More »Hear Todd Snider's Understated New Song 'Like a Force of Nature'
Todd Snider has released a new song from his upcoming acoustic LP, Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3. Titled “Like a Force of Nature,” the track features Jason Isbell and was originally written for his rootsy jam band Hard Working Americans. As with “Just Like Overnight,” the previous song to be …
Read More »Pentatonix Plot North American Tour
A capella outfit Pentatonix will embark on a massive 45-date North American tour this summer. Singer-songwriter Rachel Platten will serve as the group’s special guest throughout the trek. The first leg of the tour gets underway May 11th at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California and wraps July 7th at …
Read More »Superchunk, Destroyer, Mountain Goats Set for Merge Records 30th Birthday Bash
It’s a tough time for indie music labels, but Merge Records seems to doing OK. The North Carolina label – started by Superchunk in 1989, which released breakthroughs by Arcade Fire, Neutral Milk Hotel and others –just started a vinyl subscription service, and it will celebrate its 30th anniversary with …
Read More »Grammys 2019: The Major Awards — Who Ya Got?
Will Kendrick finally win Album of the Year? Is Ariana the new queen of pop? Will Taylor go home empty-handed? Record of the Year “I Like It” Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin “The Joke” Brandi Carlile “This Is America” Childish Gambino “God’s Plan” Drake “Shallow” Lady Gaga and …
Read More »Mary Gauthier, Brandi Carlile Are Top Winners at U.K. Americana Awards
The Americana Music Association U.K. (AMA-UK), a self-described “little sister” of the Nashville-based AMA, recently held their annual conference in London, with last weekend’s U.K. Americana Awards ceremony the centerpiece. At the gala, staged at Hackney Empire in East London, Mary Gauthier was named International Artist of the Year, while …
Read More »Journey to Antarctica: How We'll See Deep Beneath the Ice
This is the second dispatch in a series from Jeff Goodell, who will be investigating the effect of climate change on Thwaites glacier. January 30th, 10 a.m. Technology won’t save us from climate change, but it might help us understand the risks we face on a superheated planet. Case in …
Read More »Flashback: Don McLean Plays a Stirring 'American Pie' in 1972
A long, long time ago — 60 years ago today, to be exact — Buddy Holly, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and Richie Valens plummeted to their deaths as their plane crashed in the fields of Clear Lake, Iowa. Eleven years later, a singer-songwriter in Cold Springs, New York, poignantly …
Read More »