American indie-folk duo the Milk Carton Kids have received praise for their ability to continue the folk tradition with their flat-picking, harmonies, and ingenious song writing. NPR has described their approach to music as “gorgeous contemporary folk” and “Gillian Welch…
Johnny Flynn is only 33 years old, but has the ability to channel and emulate roots folk music with his story telling lyrics, finger picking, and song composition. I had been introduced to Johnny Flynn before, but only recently starting…
Four piece, Castelton, VT-based Twiddle have been consistently and rapidly growing. Both musically and in popularity. With the ability to seamlessly incorporate bluegrass, jazz, rock, reggae, funk, and more into their music, they ensure that each song is an individual…
Bluegrass receives a bad, undeserved, reputation and the banjo is often the punchline to jokes. I’m here to turn that reputation around with a song off of Greensky Bluegrass’s most recent album, If Sorrows Swim. ‘Windshield’, the first track on…
Kristian Matsson, better known by his stage name, Tallest Man on Earth, consistently writes songs with colorful lyrics and intricate instrumentation. ‘Steal Tomorrow’, from his 2011 self-titled EP, is certainly no exception. Kristian Matsson’s finger picking ability is wonderfully displayed…
The Way We Move from Langhorne Slim & the Law was recorded in four days in a 100-year-old Greek Revival house in upstate New York. The juxtaposition between the genre of music recorded and the location it was recorded in…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N4I_Jd1Mgg&w=560&h=315] Athens, GA based band Family in Friends are a hidden gem. Xoxo is the band’s second album and features some amazing tunes, including my personal favourite ‘Wyoming’. The song opens with a drum beat, shaker, and swelling guitar,…
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/242938086″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /] ‘Landslide’ opens up with Vincent Colbert’s soft, almost whispering voice, over a shaker and mellow acoustic strumming. Upon going into the chorus, he adds a bit of slide guitar and some voicing, which…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aLG3VxhLR4&w=420&h=315] Today’s Song of the Day is an American traditional song that has been covered by Woodie Guthrie, Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Roy Hall, and my personal favorite, The Grateful Dead. ‘Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad’ appeared on…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkxyT27xRH0&w=420&h=315] The kick drum and finger picking opening of ‘Have You Ever’ by Brandi Carlile is what initially drew me in to this song, but the lyrics, harmonies, pace, and instrumentation sealed the deal. ‘Have You Ever’ is based…