Rooted in Philly soul, the duo blended folk, rock, country, and new wave into their own irresistible sound. Daryl Hall and John Oates met...

Soulful 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...

Jim Lauderdale is a musical chameleon of sorts. One of the best living country songwriters, his incredible range of styles is an amalgam...

One 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...

Producer Matt Ross-Spang discusses his work with the Rev. Al Green, John Prine, Margo Price, William Bell, and other greats Few young...

Twenty years after Marty Stuart’s concept album The Pilgrim was released, it’s out again, with a deluxe edition that includes a coffee...

Cindy Emch and her band are making a new album, and everyone’s invited to the party. The Secret Emchy Society, as the alt-country,...

Dom Flemons’ latest musical journey explores folk music, American history, the West, and the African-American experience Growing up in...

It’s a long way from San Francisco to Mississippi, but singer-songwriter and banjo player Tyler Stegall of The High Water Line has...

Elton John and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin were star-struck when the members of The Band filed into John’s dressing room after a...

Emmylou Harris is one of the most important artists in country and American roots music. Beyond her stunning voice, which always soars...

On any given night in Nashville, magic can happen, legendary songwriter (and my friend) Marshall Chapman often says. This certainly was...

The African-American influence--and white appropriation--in country music goes even deeper than Ken Burns’ important new documentary...

I spoke in depth with filmmaker Ken Burns a few weeks ago about his forthcoming eight-part documentary, Ken Burns: Country Music, which...

FEW BLUESMEN AS AUTHENTIC (AND AUDACIOUS) AS BOBBY RUSH: Bobby Rush came from Louisiana and Arkansas, fled to Chicago, played the blues,...

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION’S NEWEST MUSEUM SHOWS RELICS OF SOUL, GOSPEL, COUNTRY AND MORE The National Museum of African-American History...

LEGENDARY STAX COLLECTION SHOWS OFF GOOD-NEWS GROOVES One of my favorite soul albums is actually a gospel album. The Gospel Truth: The...

Nashville songwriter laments modern-day lynching, finds family in blues and Americana "Picked up by some folks Took to me to the woods...

Los Angeles-based master guitarist Ry Cooder’s remarkable 2018 album The Prodigal Son is perhaps the best--out of his many--records that...

Two of Nashville's best emerging singer-songwriters, Mary Bragg and Kyshona (Armstrong), brought their show to Eddie’s Attic, the music...