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 ...

Originating in the Mountainview, Arkansas area (the self-styled “folk music capital of the world”), the band actually started in a gravel yard, one of many venues in the town’s lively bluegrass scene. As Aaron Farris, the band’s cofounder and upright bass player, explains, “The cool thing about it is, you can come from anywhere, bring your acoustic instrument, and on ...

The All Canadian Soundclash is a recording/performing project from Ottawan singer and songwriter Andrew Michelin, spotlighting original indie folk and alternative rock through well-crafted songs and exciting live performances. Michelin tries to take a less-is-more philosophy when it comes to creating his music, which features accessible, hook-laden melodies, a la The Beatles. In the early 1990s, while still in high ...

While the three members of the Nashvillains—Troy Johnson, Scott Lindsey, and Brett Boyett—are each accomplished Music City veterans, with many song credits for major artists (Keith Urban, The Chicks, James Taylor, Lauren Alaina, among many more) and media placements (Friday Night Lights, Everybody Loves Raymond) in their individual resumes, they have come together to create a record that defies the ...

Growing up in the 70s and 80s, through my student life years, I’m quite partial to the music of that era. I spent my first two years of college in 1983 and 1984 in a small college in North Carolina. My freshman year especially, was quite profound and exciting. It was the early days of MTV, and we still listened ...

Coming Home, the new album by Kevin Slick, which was recorded over several years, is a collection of songs drawing from the folk, singer-songwriter and Americana traditions. The title arose as the artist began performing solo once again after a ten-year stretch of playing primarily in bluegrass bands on Colorado’s Front Range. The songs on this recording, whether original or ...

Like many a budding musician, Graeme James’ first exposure to playing an instrument took the form of violin lessons, starting at the age of seven. (He had asked his parents at age five, but, as he puts it, “…they kind of let that slide…Two years later I still wanted to, so they said let’s give it a go…”) Unlike most, ...

In the words of Marino Serdons of Belgium’s Keys and Chords (www.keysandchords.com), “You wouldn’t expect a Dutch singer-songwriter with the talents of a real American country musician. In Belgium and France they would say ‘chapeau.’ Respect!” He was referring to Eric Devries, a lifelong resident of of the Netherlands and one of that country’s most prominent Americana singer-songwriters. He has ...