Americana Music Magazine – Bluegrass, Roots, Folk, Blues, and Old-Time

Kevin Slick has been playing music professionally, in many different ways, for four decades, the latter two of those being primarily within the Americana/folk/bluegrass fold. He also expresses his creativity as a visual artist. He remembers a very specific date that set his trajectory on being a musician: “I like to tell people that I became a musician on February ...

“I’m kind of prolific, I guess,” Carrie Newcomer says, when asked about her most recent album, A Great Wild Mercy, being her 20th release. “I’m really grateful. I get to do this thing I love, and continue to put out albums…” She adds, “I’m really excited about this new one. I feel like it pushed a lot of growing edges…” ...

“It was always a love and a passion,” Eddie Witz says, referring to the place of music in his life. He credits childhood successes at music lessons and school piano performances with giving him a confidence that helped propel him toward theater arts in high school and all the way through to graduation from USC as a theater major. Eddie ...

Americana trio The Close combines the Nashville-honed talents of Shannon Walker, Lori J. Rowton, and James McKinney. Each member brings powerful singing and songwriting to the table, which help The Close craft songs that engage audiences with deep emotions carried by lush harmonies. Their second release and first full-length album is called Orbit. The band has been pleasantly surprised at ...

Music is like a flower that can grow anywhere, under any conditions. For Dale Ann Bradley, the minimal approach to music of her Primitive Baptist upbringing in Bell County, Kentucky, was all that was required to start a flourishing career as a singer. Although no musical instruments were permitted at the church which she attended, Dale Ann’s love for music ...

Dean M. Collins says, “I always joke that my ‘side gig’ is as a commercial airline pilot…” The country/Americana/bluegrass singer-guitarist served as a Navy pilot and now flies for Delta Airlines. But music has a been a constant throughout his high-flying life. He remembers his takeoff in songwriting and playing as a distinct moment during his teens, while growing up ...

Jake Dryzal is a singer-songwriter and producer from Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Raised in a music-loving household, Jake’s creativity blossomed at an early age. Although his family didn’t have a music performance background, the 24-year-old was immersed in it nonetheless. “My parents collected CDs when I was a little kid, and I would go through their collection and I discovered a lot ...

Tim Raybon’s musical trek began early, as he played with his dad and brothers in the family band The American Bluegrass Express, starting at age eleven. With Central Florida as its base, the band met with great success throughout the South during the mid-1970s, affording Tim the opportunity to sharpen his skills by playing festivals and concerts where he shared ...

David Starr’s unique mix of soulful vocals and honest lyrics has helped him create a folk/roots sound all his own, which, in turn has garnered him prestigious showcase performances at Folk Alliance International, AmericanaFest, and Southwest Regional Folk Alliance. It has also consistently landed him at the top of the Colorado Music Chart. A master guitarist, he is endorsed by ...

For 25-year-old Jake Ybarra (pronounced “e-BAR-a”), the first step on his creative journey came in Harlingen, Texas, where he was born into a musical household. With a classically trained pianist for a mother, a semi-professional horn player for a dad, and a couple of guitar-playing brothers, music was constantly in young Jake’s ears. When he was eight, the family moved ...