By Alan RichardFeb 16, 20198 min'COUNTRY MUSIC': THE KEN BURNS CONCERT Smashing night at the Ryman marks new documentary, salutes depth of country music “To me, it’s soul music. It’s white man’s soul music, and it comes from the...
By Alan Richard3 days ago10 minWHY HALL & OATES MATTERRooted in Philly soul, the duo blended folk, rock, country, and new wave into their own irresistible sound. Daryl Hall and John Oates met backstage at Philad...
By Alan Richard4 days ago3 minA TRIBUTE TO BILL WITHERSSoulful singer-songwriter Bill Withers died on March 30, 2020. Born in the coal mining town of Slab Fork, WV, and raised in the town of Beckley, he was 81 an...
By Alan RichardMar 2711 minJim Lauderdale: COUNTRY, SOUL and BLUEGRASSJim Lauderdale is a musical chameleon of sorts. One of the best living country songwriters, his incredible range of styles is an amalgam of everything that w...
By Alan RichardMar 513 minSTAX IN ’68: SOME OF MEMPHIS’ BEST MUSICAL MOMENTSOne of my favorite box sets is Stax ’68: A Memphis Story, a compilation of the legendary label’s dozens of singles and B-sides during a year of profound chan...
By Alan RichardFeb 1910 minMEMPHIS MAGICProducer Matt Ross-Spang discusses his work with the Rev. Al Green, John Prine, Margo Price, William Bell, and other greats Few young musicians, producers an...
By Alan RichardFeb 26 minMARTY STUART'S MUSICAL PILGRIMAGETwenty years after Marty Stuart’s concept album The Pilgrim was released, it’s out again, with a deluxe edition that includes a coffee table-style book of ph...
By Alan RichardFeb 11 minCOUNTRY MUSIC FOR ALLCindy Emch and her band are making a new album, and everyone’s invited to the party. The Secret Emchy Society, as the alt-country, Oakland-based singer-songw...
By Alan RichardJan 916 minBLACK COWBOYSDom Flemons’ latest musical journey explores folk music, American history, the West, and the African-American experience Growing up in Flagstaff, Arizona, mu...
By Alan RichardDec 4, 20191 minBLUEGRASS PRIDEIt’s a long way from San Francisco to Mississippi, but singer-songwriter and banjo player Tyler Stegall of The High Water Line has traveled those miles many ...
By Alan RichardNov 18, 20191 minELTON JOHN'S GAY COUNTRY SOULElton John and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin were star-struck when the members of The Band filed into John’s dressing room after a gig in Philadelphia. J...
By Alan RichardNov 11, 20194 minEMMYLOU LIVE: RED DIRT REQUIEMEmmylou Harris is one of the most important artists in country and American roots music. Beyond her stunning voice, which always soars but has evolved with a...
By Alan RichardOct 28, 20193 minBLUEBIRD CAFE MAGIC STILL ALIVE AND WELL On any given night in Nashville, magic can happen, legendary songwriter (and my friend) Marshall Chapman often says. This certainly was the case during a son...
By Alan RichardSep 27, 201915 minBLACK AND COUNTRYAfrican-American influence--and white appropriation--in country music goes even deeper than Ken Burns’ important new documentary suggests Rhiannon Giddens "Y...
By Alan RichardSep 1, 20191 minSPEAKING WITH KEN BURNSI spoke in depth with filmmaker Ken Burns a few weeks ago about his forthcoming eight-part documentary, Ken Burns: Country Music, which premieres Sunday, Sep...
By Alan RichardAug 14, 20196 minBLUES SURVIVORFEW BLUESMEN AS AUTHENTIC (AND AUDACIOUS) AS BOBBY RUSH: Bobby Rush came from Louisiana and Arkansas, fled to Chicago, played the blues, returned to Mississi...
By Alan RichardAug 10, 20195 minA TREASURE OF BLACK MUSICSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION’S NEWEST MUSEUM SHOWS RELICS OF SOUL, GOSPEL, COUNTRY AND MORE The National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washing...
By Alan RichardJul 7, 20196 minWHEN GOSPEL GOT FUNKYLEGENDARY STAX COLLECTION SHOWS OFF GOOD-NEWS GROOVES One of my favorite soul albums is actually a gospel album. The Gospel Truth: The Gospel Soul and Funk o...
By Alan RichardJun 28, 20196 minWILL KIMBROUGH'S 'ALABAMA'Nashville songwriter laments modern-day lynching, finds family in blues and Americana "Picked up by some folks Took to me to the woods Beat me bloody, begged...
By Alan RichardJun 23, 20193 minRY COODER'S LATEST BLUES, GOSPEL TRIBUTELos Angeles-based master guitarist Ry Cooder’s remarkable 2018 album The Prodigal Son is perhaps the best--out of his many--records that pay respectful homag...
