Ren Lawton’s ‘Thinking About You’ is the perfect driving folk tune to kick off the week. With its jangling guitar and punchy verses, the tune recalls iconic rambling troubadours of eras past. Lawton rides a melody in stride on its…
At the crux of Ocie Elliott are two kindred souls. Jon Middleton and Sierra Lundy continue to harvest their deep artistic connection, sewing it into beautiful, entrancing folk music. The near-spiritual ‘Coming Home’ is a testament to this bond, and…
Earlier this year, on 30 March, Riley Basford died by suicide. To Christian Parker, he was a family friends’ 15 year-old stepson. ‘Last Glance’ is the artist’s beautiful tribute to the young man and his family. Replete with gorgeous mandolin,…
Akin to her Appalachian contemporaries, folkie Heather Sarona sews her roots from the mountainside. The singer-songwriter grew up surrounded by folk and bluegrass music in the Uwharrie Mountains of North Carolina. Americana runs intrinsically through her veins, informing her warm, rootsy songwriting and multi-instrumentalist abilities—Sarona plays guitar in a way that recalls Saratoga greats, plus banjo and uke. Her debut LP, Head Above Water, invokes all of these elements into a cozy, inhabitable folk soundscape that recalls the likes of Gillian Welch and Watchhouse.
The Ghibertins carry the torch for clap-along, stomp-along folk-rock well on their latest. You wouldn’t be remiss for recalling the indie outfit’s commercial brothers and sisters with the soaring chorus and driving beat of ‘Ropes & Kites’.
Matt Dorrien peeks into the kaleidoscope that is life on his latest, ‘Baby, Will You Come Back Home?’ Its accompanying music video is wonderfully dry in its depiction of a man in need of a change. Dorien states that this…
Matthew Check is as much an everyman as he is a chameleon. Throughout his long-standing career, the singer-songwriter has slipped into bluegrass clothes and Americana duds; he’s written Jewish music, children’s music, and music for just about anyone. You might…
Shot in El Reno, OK last May, Joey Frendo debuts an acoustic rendition of his single, ‘Lordstown’, with For Folk’s Sake. It’s a hearty slice of bonafide blue collar Americana, wedged finely between the songwriting inclinations of a Jason Isbell…
The Grahams have turned a new leaf in 2021. Their new tunes, ‘Beyond the Palisades’ and ‘Pilgrims and Punks’, pave the way for an ambitious sonic evolution. More akin to throwback soul and cinematic dream-pop, their ‘innovator’ tag has been…
Don Armstrong is a family man. Urbane in philosophies on faith, love, and life, the New York-gone-Arizona singer-songwriter has long since developed an intuition for riding the humanity tramway. Armstrong’s observations on sheer mortal grit have developed him into an affable everyman—a folk artist whose music is denoted by the same traits that he is identified with in everyday life, like consideration, wit, and good humor. His artistic reflections are as multi-faceted and welcoming as he is, having made the wait for the Tucson-favorite’s Mother, Don’t Give Up on Me Now all the more difficult.