SoulCountry music blog about country, soul and more

By Alan Richard

YOLA, THE U.K.'S COUNTRY-SOUL MAVEN

Yola’s melodies and vocals soar on her new record, Walk Through Fire, the most country-soul-focused album of the year (as far as I know),...

By Alan Richard

STAX AND MEMPHIS: THE CENTER OF SOUL MUSIC

Memphis is one of the most culturally rich destinations in America, and today’s touristy Beale Street is the least of the reasons why. My...

By Alan Richard

DELVING INTO THE DELTA

My good friend and writer John Gehring and I spent Memorial Day visiting the Mississippi Delta and Memphis, where we ventured to lots of...

By Alan Richard

MAVIS STAPLES' NASHVILLE CONCERT PARTY

Mavis Staples brought one of her pre-80th-birthday concert celebrations to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on May 15, celebrating her more...

By Alan Richard

JIM LAUDERDALE'S SOULFUL COUNTRY, BLUEGRASS

Cosmic-country crooner Jim Lauderdale is another of my favorite artists and a great example of how country and soul music can intertwine....

By Alan Richard

ROSANNE CASH'S NEW SONGS, AND A soulFUL surprisE

Rosanne Cash brought her beautiful and smart music to Atlanta on April 6, sprinkling a wide-ranging set of her older songs and classic...

By Alan Richard

THE MAGICAL COUNTRY-SOUL OF WILLIAM BELL

I fell in love head over heels with soul music after finding my way to the great singer-songwriter William Bell. His first album, The...

By Alan Richard

WELCOME TO SOUL COUNTRY

A new blog about the crossroads of American music Welcome to Soul Country, my place for musings about how black and white American music...

By Alan Richard

'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,...