May 11

May 11 Review- Parker Millsap: Wilderness Within You

Hard to believe it’s been nearly ten years since Parker Millsap burst onto the Americana music scene with “Truck Stop Gospel” from his eponymous album released in 2014. The song jumped out with an energy and exuberance that immediately gained many new fans for the young singer-songwriter from Purcell, Oklahoma. Millsap has since moved his base of operations to Nashville and is set to release his sixth studio album, Wilderness Within You, May 12 on his Okrahoma label via Thirty Tigers. The ten tracks on the new release find Millsap exploring some new musical landscapes but still retaining enough of his signature sound, featuring minimal accompaniment to his wonderful finger-picked guitar with emotion-filled vocals, to satisfy long-time fans.

May 5

May 5 Review- Zach Aaron: This Lovely War

Justin N. Kohrs

Zach Aaron, a Cleveland, Texas-based singer/songwriter, along with his elegantly tarnished tenor voice, fingerpicked guitar melodies and raw honest sentiments in his lyrics make him seem of a different time than many of his contemporaries, yet timeless, all the same.

Zach Aaron provides an impressive record with sumptuous musicality and truly admirable storytelling. I am certainly his newest fan. His latest album, This Lovely War, contains eight delightfully thought provoking songs, dipped in nostalgia whisking many of us away to a long forgotten time that conjures up memories of watching Technicolor Westerns: Gunsmoke, Bonanza and Rawhide.

May 4

May 4 Review- Peter One: Come Back to Me

John Schumacher

What a glorious world we live in that we are graced with this new Peter One album, Come Back to Me. This lovely record, stately and gentle, provides evidence that modern day life is not all sticks and stones and broken bones – there is grace.

It’s astonishing that this album happened at all. It’s One’s second, coming almost 40 years and 5,000 miles after his first.

May 3

May 3 Review - Logan Halstead: Dark Black Coal

Derek Scudder

“I’m more famous on the internet than I am in real life.” That’s how Logan Halstead greeted the crowd at the FoxFire Music Festival in Ashland, Kentucky last fall and he wasn’t wrong. The young man had only a few videos out and a limited touring schedule under his belt at the time but with the upcoming release of his debut album Black Dark Coal, set to drop May 5 and distributed by Thirty Tigers, that should change.

His story really begins in 2020 when the world was in pandemic lockdown and Logan released a cellphone video of a tune he had written a few years before, at the age of 15. With a haunting chorus you would associate with someone much older, that song was “Black Dark Coal.”

Apr 28

Apr 28 Premiere- Adam Klein: People Are Callin

Melissa Payne

Today we’re premiering “People Are Callin’,” the new video from Adam Klein. Klein just released his album, Holidays in United States, on April 7th. An album full of commentary on the current state of the United States, the track, “People Are Callin’,” doesn’t stray from that theme.

Written after the initial recording sessions for the album, Klein had this to say about writing the song, “I remember driving to work one morning and coming up with the melody for the verses, and then just chipping away at the rest of the song over a month or two. I heard a decidedly soul-like vibe, and knew I wanted to bring it to Bronson and Matt (Patton) at Dial Back Sound to record it. And I knew it needed to be on this album.” I see the song as a folk rock-rooted take on some of the classic protest songs of soul music. That may seem derivative, but for me every word is heartfelt and rings true. There’s a place for everything, in my opinion, and I think this song was timely and belongs right here on Holidays.

Apr 28

Apr 28 Review - Mya Byrne: Rhinestone Tomboy

John Schumacher

Rhinestone Tomboy, Mya Byrne’s delightfully titled new album, is pure shimmering starlight from start to finish, a head-nodding, foot-tapping, thigh-slapping feast of Americana.

The buffet ranges from sunny ‘70s California pop rock to snarling Neil Young guitar noise, from Arlo Guthrie storytelling folk to revved-up Johnny Cash boom-chicka-boom country and “You’ve Got a Friend” style gentle kindness.

The album comes out April 28, the first from the new Nashville sister label to Kill Rock Stars.

Pairing the music with lyrics authentically, relentlessly human, Byrne has crafted an album you want to play while cruising down the road with the sunroof open and your arm hanging out the window. And credit to producer Aaron Lee Tasjan: The album sounds great.

Apr 24

Apr 24 Review - Bryce Lewis : Saskatchewan Country Guitar

Justin N. Kohrs

La Honda Records’ newest artist is the wonderfully gifted and sensational guitarist Bryce Lewis who just released his debut instrumental album, Saskatchewan Country Guitar, to the world. It comes jam packed with a spectacular supporting cast of tremendously talented all star musicians: Steve Leidal, Big Paw, Pat Lyons, Colton Crawford, Grant Seimens, Redd Volkaert and Jeff Bradshaw.

Apr 20

Apr 20 Review - Joey Frendo: Bound for Heartache

Jolene Horihan

Joey Frendo may have commenced his debut full-length album, Bound for Heartache, with a nod to the adage, “you get what you get and you don’t throw no fits,” but no one will be throwing any fits over the project he has delivered. Frendo shows off his mindfulness of collective experiences we all face at one point or another and conveys them in heartfelt lyricism. His vocal delivery is slightly gritty, yet warm and sincere. The album paces through Americana, alt-country and classic honky tonk country music.

Apr 19

Apr 19 Review - Bella White: Among Other Things

John Schumacher

Playing a show in Milwaukee in February, Bella White introduced a song by saying it was a sad one. Then, “Well, they’re all sad songs.”

That they are. So why would a few hundred mostly 20-somethings come out on a cold night to hear a young woman from western Canada sing sad, old-timey Appalachian songs?

Because they’re really good songs. Songs that give voice to the difficulties we all face in a way that’s both classic and yet undeniably of-the-moment. Listening to Bella White is like discovering Mother Maybelle Carter on TikTok.

Releasing April 21, White’s second album, Among Other Things, extends the stellar start to her career. She’s stocked the new album with observations carefully wrought and deeply thought – about love and loss, doubt and fear, and wonder about what life has brought and what is yet to come.

Apr 13

Apr 13 Caitlyn Smith: High & Low

Justin N. Kohrs

Last year, Monument Records’ powerhouse vocalist Caitlyn Smith released High. It was the first half of a record that the critically acclaimed singer/songwriter self-produced. Now Smith is poised to release the complete project, adding six new songs to make her full record, High & Low.

Caitlyn Smith is the proverbial woman behind the curtain with more songwriting credits then we have space to list. Here are a few of the artists she’s written songs for: Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Jason Alden, Rascal Flatts, Chris Isaak, Meghan Trainer, Miley Cyrus, Lady Antebellum and Kip Moore.

Apr 6

Apr 6 Carter Sampson: Gold

Jolene Horihan

To quote Oklahoma folk artist, Woody Guthrie, “A song ain’t nothing but a conversation fixed up to where you can talk it over and over without getting tired of it.” Carter Sampson’s songs fit into this mold whether she is trying or not. I know this because I fall into a Carter Sampson rabbit-hole from time to time and I never tire of it. Her live streams during the pandemic shut-down fed my soul as well. The Oklahoma City native pulls elements of country, folk, rock, and blues together to create an Americana sound in every sense of the term. Much like her fellow Oklahoma folk artist, Woody Guthrie, Sampson has always tapped into real-life trials and triumphs. This latest album, Gold, is no different and even more so on a personal level.

Apr 4

Apr 4 Highlights From Days 3 and 4 of the 2023 Big Ears Music Festival

John Schumacher

A music fan who’s willing to listen to almost any kind of music, and who can appreciate it for what it is – that person is said to have “big ears.” Hence the name of the Big Ears music festival, the gathering in downtown Knoxville every spring known as the most eclectic music festival in the world.

The Eagles, meanwhile, were in town on Saturday, playing Hotel California in its entirety and a set of greatest hits. No disrespect to the Eagles or their fans (I’m one too), but you don’t need big ears for Life in the Fast Lane.

Apr 2

Apr 2 Four Highlights from the First Two Days of the Big Ears Music Festival 2023

John Schumacher

Big Ears is an exceedingly eclectic festival. Most festivals stick to one genre, maybe two. Big Ears says, “Genre? LOL. How about ALL of them?”

This is the 10th year of Big Ears, drawing more than 20,000 fans March 30 to April 2 to see 100-plus acts at venues concentrated in Knoxville’s beautiful, artsy downtown. Park once and you can walk to all the venues.

Big Ears is a choose-your-own-adventure kind of festival. Fest-goers can pick a genre and wallow in it – jazz, world beat, Americana, folk, classical, ambient country (did you know there’s such a thing as ambient country?) – or wander a crooked route among them.

Mar 29

Mar 29 Rachel Baiman : Common Nation of Sorrow

Justin N. Kohrs

Rachel Baiman provides an exquisite exploration and offers an assessment of the country’s current state. Telling stories of American capitalism: the individual and communal devastation it manifests. Baiman highlights these shared experiences along with the hope they will become a tool for activism. Wielding her art as activism to illuminate and influence the world to make it a better place. This alone is undeniably a worthy endeavor in and of itself and deserving of immense praise.

Mar 28

Mar 28 Lauren Morrow : People Talk

Derek Scudder

You remember Lauren Morrow’s name from The Whiskey Gentry and once you’ve heard her wonderful voice you’ll remember that forever. She spent more than a decade as frontwoman for the band from Atlanta but when that ended, Lauren began her solo career. Just a few years later and now she has achieved some nationwide success without ever putting out a full-length album of songs. That will change with the release of People Talk on March 31st on her own Big Kitty label. Morrow says, “In my head, I was thinking, ‘Geez, she’s in her 30s and releasing a debut record? Shouldn’t she hang it up already? Her time is running out.’ But in reality, I had to silence that negative voice and let myself show through these songs, and it’s taken all of this time and these experiences to really shape who I am as a human. I feel like I’m just now figuring that out, and now I finally have something to say.”

Mar 24

Mar 24 Stephen Wilson Jr.: bon aqua

Ryan Bush

It’s the tangled, beautiful collision of sound and word that makes Stephen Wilson Jr’s debut EP, bon aqua, a defining collection of Midwest music folklore. Born in the sweeping corn rows of southern Indiana, Wilson - fresh off of inking his signature with Big Loud Records - plows onto the scene in a creative cloud of mud and dirt, tip-toeing about the fine lines of Americana, Grunge and Rock without remorse. It is unapologetic Folk thundering from a dirty diesel stack on a two-lane road.

Mar 21

Mar 21 Larkin Poe Brings Down the House and Sets It on Fire

John Schumacher

Poor Reba McEntire. While she was playing the 18,000-seat Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee March 17, Larkin Poe was shaking the foundation of venerable old Turner Hall Ballroom across the street with their turbocharged electric blues.

I picture the Queen of Country stopping in the middle of “Fancy” and ordering a roadie to go over there and tell them to keep it down, for cripes sake.

It. Was. Loud. These two sisters of the South – literal sisters, Rebecca and Megan Lovell, Knoxville born, Georgia raised, Nashville residing – somehow produce as big a sound with lap steel and electric guitar as southern rock royalty did with their iconic three-guitar attack.

Mar 15

Mar 15 Karen Jonas: The Restless (Album Release Show)

Justin N. Kohrs

Opening for the Po Ramblin Boys, Karen Jonas was still glowing from the release of her new album The Restless along with a pair of sold out performances; no doubt with several more on the horizon.

Turns out she marries up just as nicely with an ice-cold beer as she does with a glass of your favorite red. However, this woman drinks whiskey!

“Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough.” ~Mark Twain. This is how I feel about whiskey and Karen Jonas’s music. After listening to her latest album more times than I care to admit in print, I was finally able to catch Karen Jonas and company live.

What a tremendously delightful treat! She played her entire new album in order from start to finish. Along with a couple of her favorites. Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to tell you Karen Jonas is an absolute force!

In between songs, she dazzled and charmed the audience with keen insights about the next song. Why are so many of her songs set in Paris? “Cheaper to write songs about Paris than to fly.”

Prior to my favorite song on the album, she playfully quipped, “Instead of being drunk you maybe feel elegantly wasted.” I absolutely adore this song and hearing it live even after listening to it countless times prior, I feel emboldened to double down and restate that this is indeed my favorite and maybe it should be yours too.

While regaling the story of how the song, “That’s Not My Dream Couch” came into existence, she confessed that despite her ability to sing in French she’s not able to actually speak it. She goes on to say, “Canapé du rêves (Sofa of Dreams).” Maybe she blundered the phrase, perhaps the audience wasn’t impressed enough, she quickly goes, “No one speaks French? Perfect!” Which then received some laughter and she dove right into the song.

Man, the start of the B side (“Rock the Boat”) just hit hard and honestly resonated with me a bit more solidly tonight than any other time. The level of scrappiness and passion from Karen Jonas was next level and quite frankly reminiscent of two heavyweight prize fighters at the start of a match. There was an incredible burst of fire, intensity and tenacity that led me to the realization that Karen Jonas has a few more delectably hidden gears that she can ratchet up at will.

The ever-whimsical Tim Bray lead guitar was just as delightful, entertaining and exhilarating to watch in person as I imagined.

Seth Morrissey, the stoic genius behind the scene effortlessly and dutifully played the bass and double bass throughout the night. Suddenly and surprisingly he started belting out the second to last song of the night in a really impressive bluesy voice.

Mar 10

Mar 10 Dylan Earl: I Saw the Arkansas

Jolene Horihan

Being a touring musician is living life in a juxtaposed state. They long for the road and performing when they are at home, yet long for home when they are on the road. Their creativity and free-natured souls thrive when they are out traveling, sharing their craft and entertaining. But, the softer and more introspective part of them is just as important to their craft and balance of life. Dylan Earl is all of a hard-driving road dog and a thoughtful poet. His third full LP and first release with Gar Hole Records, I Saw the Arkansas, displays the give and take, the realizations of what matters most and learning how to navigate it all.

Mar 3

Mar 3 Drayton Farley: Twenty on High

Ryan Bush

Fueled by the calloused blue-collar souls and dusty, tattered, jeans of the working way of life, Drayton Farley has become the poet of the Everyday Man. Enveloped in the craft of capturing the rural heartbeat of America in a mere collection of lyrics, Farley continues his troubadour musings with his latest release, Twenty on High, featuring 10 tracks steeped in intricate detail and emotion - a trait Farley demonstrates flawlessly.