Review- Brent Cobb: Southern Star

Review- Brent Cobb: Southern Star

Justin N. Kohrs

Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, musician, and now producer, Brent Cobb will release his anticipated new album, Southern Star, September 22 via Ol’ Buddy Records/Thirty Tigers. If floating down the Chattahoochee river surrounded by fireflies serving as miniature disco lights had a soundtrack, It would be called the Southern Star.

Produced by Brent Cobb (his first self-produced album) and recorded at Macon’s famed Capricorn Sound Studios, Southern Star is a love-letter to Cobb’s southern roots, filled with the sounds and stories of his home state of Georgia. Featuring local Georgia musicians, Cobb finds beauty in the small moments, as he explores seemingly simple themes with his signature southern electric sound and lyrical depth. Brent pulls no punches on this album as he launches his own assault to the penultimate and perhaps join cousin Dave with a Grammy of his own, putting the world on notice that he too can fly.

Review- Colby Acuff: Western White Pines (Deluxe)

Review- Colby Acuff: Western White Pines (Deluxe)

Justin N. Kohrs

Surging singer, songwriter, and “troubadour” musician Colby Acuff added six more songs to his anticipated major label debut album, presenting us with Western White Pines (Deluxe), via Sony Music Nashville. Produced by Eddie Spear (Zach Bryan, Cody Jinks) and recorded at Nashville's Sound Emporium Studios, Western White Pines (Deluxe), finds a way to up the ante, and illuminate the tremendously endless magic Colby Acuff has up his sleeve.

Colby Acuff is poised for a breakout year as he recently made his Grand Ole Opry debut and will tour through 2024, including several stadium shows with Luke Combs, as well as dates this fall supporting Lainey Wilson, Charles Wesley Godwin, Paul Cauthen and Flatland Cavalry.

Review- Rattlesnakes and Wildfire Smoke: Margo Cilker’s Sophomore Album is a Bittersweet Folk Rollick Through the Valley of Margo’s Memories

Review- Rattlesnakes and Wildfire Smoke: Margo Cilker’s Sophomore Album is a Bittersweet Folk Rollick Through the Valley of Margo’s Memories

Mandy Mitchell

Apricots don’t sell like silicone, and California’s once eden-like Santa Clara Valley now stands as a shiny but barren testament to that fact. Margo Cilker, whose debut album, Pohorylle, quickly rose like cream to the top of the favored list for critics after it’s quiet release in 2021, is a 5th generation native to the Santa Clara region, which unfortunately means she and her family have watched from the front row as the once fruitful valley, known informally as the Valley of the Heart’s Delight, was sacrificed piece by piece on the altar of progress. 

Cilker’s newly released sophomore album is a stirring and nostalgic tribute to the valley in its natural hay day, and therefore goes by the same title, Valley of the Heart’s Delight. Margo teamed up again with Sarah Cahoone, her producer for Pohorylle, and using the understated musicianship and lyric focused production that garnered so many critical accolades during their first collaboration, the duo have created a second offering just as solid and free as the first. The Valley of the Heart’s Delight culminates as something more than just bittersweet homage, and instinctively feels like a vivid and lyrically illustrative magic portal to a land long paved under in concrete; the Santa Clara Valley of old. 

Review- Van Plating: Orange Blossom Child

Review- Van Plating: Orange Blossom Child

Jolene Horihan

Geographical origin often plays an integral role in the influence of music and lyric development. The case of Van Plating’s new album, Orange Blossom Child, is no exception. Florida is a cultural melting pot of dialect, instruments, and storytelling that all lend influence to the music made by artists of the region. Storytelling among the indigenous Seminoles and early Spanish settlers laid the foundation of folk music traditions. Telling tales of life in the swampland and along coastlines, these stories evolved into songs set to music throughout the generations. The rich culture of Florida is a blend of African American, Caribbean, and Latin heritages. 

Interview- Nathan Mongol Wells

Interview- Nathan Mongol Wells

Melissa Payne

Nathan Mongol Wells, Dallas-based musician and frontman of Ottoman Turks, isn’t just dipping his toe into the new world of solo artistry, he’s cannonballing right into the deep end. He just released his debut album, From a Dark Corner, an album best described as “eclectic,” but not in the sense that the album seems jumbled, only that Wells is a lover of many different genres and infuses them all within this album.  

Interview- Kris Howland of Heady Wax Fiends

Interview- Kris Howland of Heady Wax Fiends

Bill Goodman

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few years then you have heard that vinyl is a pretty big deal these days. 30 years ago, vinyl was well on its way out. Retailers were clearing out their inventory in favor of compact discs that were all the rage. Now there has been a resurgence in vinyl for both listening and collecting. Vinyl has been beating out cds and digital music in various different categories for the past few years now. 

Vinyl has gotten so huge that major labels have been ramping up their production causing many delays at the plants for releases going out as far as a year (thanks Adele). These days it’s pretty rare to see an artist announce a new album and not have vinyl as a format being offered. Some labels are offering up subscription services. There are services that specialize in just that, such as Vinyl Me Please (VMP) and Magnolia Records. Oftentimes, they offer exclusive color vinyl only found through them.

Festival Review – Mile of Music: Impresses Fans and Artists Alike

Festival Review – Mile of Music: Impresses Fans and Artists Alike

John Schumacher

The Mile of Music is a gem of a festival hidden in plain sight in Appleton, Wisconsin. It’s astonishingly good, especially considering the ticket price: free. 

Now in its 10th year, the Mile of Music features 200 performers over four days at 40 venues along a mile of the main drag in Appleton, a city of 75,000 about 90 minutes north of Milwaukee. Artists play multiple times, resulting in some 700 sets. 

Interview- Bobby Dean Orcutt and Brad Jackson

Interview- Bobby Dean Orcutt and Brad Jackson

Melissa Payne

We’ve got an interview with Tulsa’s own Bobby Dean Orcutt and The Fighting Side’s Brad Jackson, both longtime veterans of the music scene, who have come together through Low Road Management.  The Fighting Side is based out of St. Louis, Missouri and has just released two new singles within the last month, which you can find here.  Bobby Dean has lived many lives and the latest is running his own merchandise and management companies. 

Festival Review- Peacemaker: A Hot Time in Arkansas

Festival Review- Peacemaker: A Hot Time in Arkansas

Derek Scudder

Temperatures at or above 100 degrees at the end of July are not unheard of in Fort Smith,  but this year was not the best time for it to settle in. The annual Peacemaker Festival welcomes thousands of music fans to the banks of the Arkansas River at a beautiful park just below the Garrison Street Bridge. This was my 3rd time at the festival and I have always found it to be among the best of its size. The music lineup is always imaginative representing several genres and welcoming diverse fan bases. The VIP setup is ideal, offering an unobstructed area directly in front of the stage with a designated area for chairs, as well as upgraded restroom facilities, exclusive bar, and a chance to catch the artists at the backstage gate.

Review- William Matheny: That Grand, Old Feeling

Review- William Matheny: That Grand, Old Feeling

Ryan Bush

Cloaked within the casual confines of a brass-buttoned jean jacket, spectacles steaming against the sweat creeping from his forehead, William Matheny is the quaint town Poet Laureate - that Seer with the Deets surrounding the Friday Night follies that transpire beyond the flashing yellow traffic light across from the local gas station. He’s lost between the strums of his guitar, habitually pushing the glasses back onto his nose between chords. The stage is his arena - at least for a short time - an elegant veracity of sound and word colliding before the crowd. Make no mistake, this is creative energy in full bloom: Matheny, the Maestro, in complete control. It’s Hemingway and Petty thumb-wrestling on a dirty summer road. 

Premiere- Lance Rogers: Green Empire

Premiere- Lance Rogers: Green Empire

Justin N. Kohrs

I am supposed to simply cover Lance Rogers latest single “Green Empire.” Who is rarely seen without an iconic Stetson Open Road coupled with a voice as authentic, warm, weathered and worn as any back road in America. This simple assignment proved to provide several beautiful, scenic twists and turns, leading to the fantastic discovery of Lance Rogers, a tremendously wonderful, wistful Kentucky treasure. 

Review- Erin Viancourt: Won't Die This Way

Review- Erin Viancourt: Won't Die This Way

Justin N. Kohrs

Hailing from the Buckeye state, Cleveland native, Erin Viancourt releases Won’t Die This Way this Friday via Late August Records. Viancourt is the first artist signed to the new label founded and led by Cody Jinks. Produced by Erin Viancourt and Kyle Dreaden, the album was recorded at Nashiville’s Forty-One Fifteen and The Smoakstack studios. If you haven’t already heard her on the road performing with Cody Jinks, then this record serves as the perfect heart warming introduction. Won’t Die This Way is shaping up to be the perfect companion for the summer and the perfect addition to your music libraries and playlists. Viancourt began writing songs as a teenager after finding inspiration from writers such as Jerry Jeff Walker and Shel Silverstein. After high school, she moved to Nashville to hone her skills as an artist before heading out on the road, where she now spends most of her time.

Review- Miles Miller: Solid Gold

Review- Miles Miller: Solid Gold

Phillip Ring

I’m not telling any secrets when I say that the first time most of us heard Miles Miller sing, he was contributing backup vocals on Tyler Childers’ debut album.. While the last several years of Miles Miller’s life have been spent behind the kit backing another titan of the alt-country world in Sturgill Simpson, the first time that I heard Miles sing and thought “why isn’t this guy putting out material of his own?” was an instagram post, singing a Don Williams song. Luckily for all of us the universe was apparently whispering the same thing in his ear.

Review- An Americana Odyssey: Tommy Prine’s 'This Far South' Takes Him From the Shadows to the Stage

Review- An Americana Odyssey: Tommy Prine’s 'This Far South' Takes Him From the Shadows to the Stage

Mandy Mitchell

Tommy Prine’s highly anticipated debut album This Far South has been on its own in the wild a mere week, but is steadily making a name for itself as one of the most refreshingly individualistic releases the Americana genre has produced in some time. This Far South melds Tommy’s creative lyrical heritage with a rockin’ sensibility born of ‘90’s grunge and thoughtful notes of graven imagery, resulting in an intriguing and somewhat unexpected track by track journey into Tommy’s personal evolution from the free living son of the Great John Prine, to a stand alone musician in his own right - out of the shadows and onto the stage with gusto.

Interview- Malin Pettersen: Cry If I Want To

Interview- Malin Pettersen: Cry If I Want To

Melissa Payne

If you haven’t heard the term Nordicana, make sure you get familiar with it, as there’s a whole offshoot of the Americana genre that’s represented by a host of talented, Scandinavian artists. Today we’re talking with one of those artists, Malin Pettersen, who wowed us with her last album, Wildhorse. Although in the past Pettersen’s music drew from her influences in bluegrass and country, Malin’s newest music is embracing the genres of jazz and R&B, while “redefining the boundaries of pop music.” Whatever direction Malin plans on going, the world would be smart to follow, as she’s a talented and ever evolving artist. Malin Pettersen is back with new music and she just released her new single, “Cry If I Want To”, a duet with Bergljot Bejella. Her video for the single debuted on June 14th and if you haven’t had the chance to watch it yet, you can find it below.

Review- Dallas Burrow: Blood Brothers

Review- Dallas Burrow: Blood Brothers

Melissa Payne

Listening to Texas native, Dallas Burrow’s stories, you get the feeling he has lived several lifetimes in his thirty-five years on earth. A former hell raiser with a knack for getting kicked out of his hometown bars, Dallas has wandered far and wide across this country and Europe and then returned like the prodigal son to his hometown of New Braunfels, Texas. Now the owner of the Redbird Listening Room and a devoted dad and husband, Dallas has traded crazy nights for morning cups of coffee. You can’t discuss Dallas and the reason behind the title of his new record without mentioning his father, Mike. If you’ve seen Dallas perform in the last couple of years, then you’ve likely seen his dad on stage with him or intently watching the set from the crowd. Armed with a cup of coffee, Mike makes the rounds pre-show, chatting with fans and checking in with those he’s already met on previous runs. At times he’ll jump on stage to sing a few songs with Dallas and the band, and inevitably, you’ll hear the story of Mike and Townes Van Zandt. It’s the kind of story that legends are made of, but this one happens to be true. In the 1970’s, after meeting Townes and friends at a bar that Mike and his siblings were operating and a late night after party, he became blood brothers with Townes on that fateful night, and the rest they say is history.

Review- Dave Shoemaker: Hesitation Marks

Review- Dave Shoemaker: Hesitation Marks

Jolene Horihan

Vulnerability is an attribute that few are comfortable with revealing. We’re taught from a young age not to cry, not to be scared, not to admit when we’re sad or depressed. We are expected to just pick ourselves up by the bootstraps and carry on like nothing happened. So, when you know you need to be vulnerable and when you want to be but you are afraid it will push away those closest to you, it creates angst and internal struggles. Some compartmentalize those feelings; some push them down to let fester; and others act out. It could be anger, violence, substance abuse or even self-harm and suicide. 

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