After 25 years in Austin, Texas, working as a psychotherapist who played music on the side, eleven years ago John McDonough “took a break” from his therapy practice to recharge from burnout and allow his musical side to grow. That break has topped a decade, so John considers himself a retired psychotherapist and full-time musician. About a year ago, John ...

Coming out of the original late seventies “punk” scene in Pittsburgh, PA, with his band No Shelter (known for the song “Brooks Robinson’s Camp”) at a certain point Robert Wagner realized his songwriting muse was looking for a more direct outlet to listeners’ ears, minds and hearts. The band was part of Western PA punk’s “first wave,” which Robert describes ...

Canadian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist John Lewitt recalls a mixture of the usual motivations and an unusual limitation combining to launch him toward a career in music. “As a teenager in the eighties,” he recounts in a biographical sketch on his website, “I dreamed about being the next Bruce Springsteen or Bryan Adams. I would enthusiastically sing along to all of ...

Singer-songwriter, Tom Galloway, was born in Georgia, and raised in Texas, where he caught the music bug and gigged his way through college. He eventually found himself in a touring band called Mama’s Love, a musical extension of those college days. As lead singer, and principal songwriter, Tom began honing his love and talent into a unique blend of expression ...

Durango McMurphy began his troubadour journey in his twenties, when he put down his trumpet and picked up a guitar to liberate his voice to sing. Originally immersed in the soul music that horns are such a key part of, he was drawn to the other American types of music. “If I’ve gotta put myself into a bag, it would ...

Ben Hemming had reached a crossroads in his life, and felt a need to take some time to sort things out. The Englishman’s growing appreciation of American blues helped him chart a course across the Atlantic to embark on a true pilgrimage, to Memphis, New Orleans and other places important to the blues. Along the way he picked up an ...

Hailing from Peoria, Illinois, Paul Adams remembers his first encounter with the magic of music hearing and playing the trumpet as a child. Later he majored in ethnomusicology, and began building instruments and recording. He also spent time working in the realm of community mental health. Until he embarked on his current project, This Curious Wonder, Paul worked in multiple ...

There is a pastry shop in the next town over from where I live. Whenever they pull a fresh tray of donuts from their oven, they light a little sign in their window that reads, “Hot and Ready”. That sign came to my mind recently when I visited the dance tent at Merlefest in Wilksboro, NC. At that tent, I ...

Did you ever enjoy something so much that you wanted it to never end? That is the way an Americana string music festival affects me. The season is just getting started for us here at Americana Rhythm and as I return to earth from my trip to Merlefest a month or so ago, I am already itching in anticipation for ...

Doc Watson called the music, “Tradition plus.” And it was another weekend filled with tradition plus musicians at the 2022 Merlfest this past weekend, April 28th – May 1st. One of Doc’s discoveries, Old Crow Medicine Show, returned for a stellar close out performance Saturday evening to thousands of cheering fans singing along with Old Crow’s anthem, “Wagon Wheel.” The ...