To paraphrase the Irish band’s PR material, JigJam is a bluegrass/Americana outfit that is here in America to “take back” the music styles that can be traced, in part, back “across the pond” to their musically prolific home isle. The band’s appropriately titled fifth album, Across The Pond, was released on March 1. Jamie McKeogh says “The theme throughout is ...

Anthony Crawford and Savana Lee, collectively known as Sugarcane Jane, have been lauded as “one of the best duos since Johnny and June” (Nancy Dunham, The Washington Times). So, how did this pair, now hailing from Loxley, Alabama, come together and attain such a level of acclaim? Savana recalls meeting Anthony while she was living the aspiring artist’s life in ...

As banjo player Derek Kretzer of The Plate Scrapers speaks about the band’s beginning, it becomes clear that his own journey into folk music, the assembling of the band, and their evocative name are all intertwined. After spending his high school years playing guitar in a variety of band settings and genres (along with his younger brother, a drummer at ...

With a schedule encompassing more than 200 shows per year, running a music production and artist development company, creating a regular podcast, and even sharing their experience with aspiring artists through an online academy, Cliff & Susan (aka Cliff and Susan Prowse) are the definition of musical power couple—a duo completely focused on making an impact with their music and ...

As the “baby” of his musically-inclined family, Kansas City singer-songwriter Bill Abernathy recalls being “the little eight-year-old kid that was hanging around watching my brother sing folk music…with a bunch of his friends in the living room.” Music became an important part of his life, as well. But despite performing throughout his youth and into adulthood, Bill opted for the ...

A.H. Pettus is one of those folks whose creativity simply has to flow out in many directions. Whether it involves visual arts like film making or painting, acting, fiction writing or songwriting, this artist has a lot to share. Most recently, he has returned to music as a way to work through challenging life events and raw emotions. His new ...

It took a little while, but Racyne Parker seems to have finally figured out where she should really be. She’s found her identity as a singer-songwriter after pushing as far as she could in other areas of her life. The seeds of her current musical life were planted firmly when she was little, mainly by her singer-songwriter dad. “He was ...

Unlike the stories of youthful encouragement many artists share in these profiles, Kim Brogli recalls what discouraged her from singing at a young age. “It was elementary school when I tried out for the little school choir and I didn’t make it. I was just like ‘Ok. There’s that. I guess I can’t sing.’…I was super-effected by people’s opinions. I ...

“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…” ...

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 ...