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Hayes Carll, whose song “Hard Out Here” inspired the title of this site, played a great show at Club Passim, one of my favorite venues in the area, on July 16. The sold out show was his second in the … Continue reading
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I’m a huge fan of the Steel Wheels, and not just because they hail from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, my home state. In fact, it was an article about their tour on bicycles that made me check out … Continue reading
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It’s no secret I think Ryan Bingham is one of the most exciting artists touring today. I said as much 4 years ago in a post on my Random Thoughts and Ideas blog, and many of you agreed. That post was … Continue reading
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When the folk-rock quartet Raining Jane opened for Jason Mraz at a show at the University of Redlands in Southern California, he was so impressed with their act that he suggested they work together. They accepted, of course, and a … Continue reading
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Plus a gallery from a great concert with unexpected audience participation! Narrative songwriting is a staple of American music, but it’s not easy to do well. The charts are full of derivative, clichéd, sentimental songs that do sell well enough, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 35 photos.
Tomorrow night Eliot Bronson, Dean Fields, Jason Myles Goss and Andy Zipf will wrap up their 15-day, 15-city tour at The Evening Muse in Charlotte, NC. In five previous posts you can read about the tour and what was planned. … Continue reading
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I had a chance to chat with Dean Fields before his show at Club Passim last Friday, opening for Ari Hest. I was excited to hear about his upcoming tour with Eliot Bronson, Jason Myles Goss, and Andy Zipf. All … Continue reading
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Hey all you Southerners, specifically those in the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas, if you’re anywhere near the venues on the list below, get yourself to this show and see Leon Russell with Eric Himan opening. I saw … Continue reading
Declan Bennett accompanied by Alon Bisk
This past Friday I caught a show on Rockwood Music Hall’s Stage 3 that was a revelation. Declan Bennet, currently starring in the West End production of Once, is on a brief break, during which he played a show in New York. It was brilliant! It’s been a while since I left a concert this excited about the artist, but this guy is the real deal!
I’d only discovered his music a few weeks ago, when I read a short blurb about the live and unplugged remake of his 2011 album Record: Breakup. I didn’t know who he was, so I certainly wasn’t aware of the original, electric, studio version of Record:Breakup, but something about the blurb intrigued me. I remember jotting down the link on my phone, and finding it later that night, I was blown away. Continue reading
Here’s a good song for Halloween, “Raise the Dead” by Caravan of Thieves.
Caravan of Thieves are a fun band to play at your Halloween party because of songs like Monster, Ghostwriter and Butcher’s Wife that treat appropriately macabre Halloween type themes, but that’s not the only reason. They’re also a band that celebrates the things that really make a holiday like Halloween fun, dressing up in costume, and letting it bring out your wild side. To be sure they do their fair share of songs about kind of creepy, macabre themes, but there’s a playfulness to it. Think more Dia de los Muertos or even Carnival, Mardi Gras or a Gypsy Fair, than crass commercialism, blood and gore! It’s a party for one and all! Continue reading