All tagged John R. Miller
Review- William Matheny: That Grand, Old Feeling
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.
Laurel Cove Music Festival 2022
Deep in the hills of Appalachia lies a little town on the Kentucky/Tennessee border that bears the name Pineville. At first look you might wonder what’s so special about Pineville? Or what is special about Bell County in general? Well, let me be the one to tell you. Laurel Cove Music Festival, that’s what. This is one of the greatest venues in the great state of Kentucky. Nobody sets the stage more beautifully and no other venue I have yet visited has had the incredible seating arrangements that the cove offers. Just before the main stage is a beautiful little pond that stretches across the entirety of the stage separating fans from pickers and creating some great photo opportunities of musicians and announcers' reflections in the water. While there, I heard someone refer to this spot as “the Red Rocks of Appalachia” and that has been how I mostly describe it when speaking in person. Among the many great venues and festivals in the Bluegrass state, this one stands out for its incredible display of staging and the lineup. Driving to Pineville was quite a treat as well. My wife and I were lucky enough to stay with some friends at a cabin up the hill from the festival grounds and if you are able to drive over the mountain at Pine Mountain State Park, you absolutely should. There are breath-taking views that will nicely accompany the sounds that you may find at Laurel Cove Music Festival.
John R. Miller: Depreciated
With a simple name and veins flooded with creative magic, John R. Miller has etched his brand across the musical landscape, demonstrating this gift with his solo debut album, Depreciated – an eleven-chapter odyssey drenched in talent. Throughout the years, Miller has gained notoriety amongst the explosion of musical brilliance smoldering from the Appalachian foothills and the streams of the Shenandoah Valley. With bands including Prison Book Club, The Fox Hunt, as well as The Engine Lights, Miller continued to grow and fine-tune his craft, which is exemplified though Depreciated – each track penned by the dusty backwoods poet himself.
Gathering from personal experiences and fueled by Miller’s wandering van tromping about the countryside, Depreciated offers a sound that captures much of the influences that played through Miller’s own speakers – an eclectic and genre-bounding balance.