JJ Grey’s voice is unmistakable. It soars with soulful howls and digs in deep with gritty growls, propelled by Grey’s backing band Mofro, which churns out body-shaking swamp rock. Earlier this year Grey released This River, his seventh studio album dating back to 2001 and the latest in a consistent line of Southern-fried stompers that mix […]
It’s Friday night at Starr Hill Music Hall on West Main Street and the people are packed so tight it’s amazing they can get their feet off the ground to stomp the beer-slicked floor. But they can, and they do, and it feels like an earthquake, like the second story might just collapse onto the […]
Widespread Panic bassist Dave Schools is a Virginia native. When reached for a recent phone interview he sounded genuinely enthusiastic about his old home state hosting the Lockn’ Festival, a high-profile jam band bash taking place at Oak Ridge Estate in Arrington this Thursday through Sunday and featuring Grateful Dead offshoot Furthur, Trey Anastasio Band, the Black Crowes and the String Cheese Incident, among many others.
Through a two-and-a-half-decade career, Anders Osborne has consistently proven to be one of New Orleans’ most versatile musicians. Since releasing his debut album in 1989, Osborne has become a Crescent City mainstay, able to vary his sound from edgy Bayou blues (2001’s Ash Wednesday Blues) to introspective soulful folk-rock (2007’s Coming Down). He’s collaborated with […]
Joan Baez still possesses the unwavering ability to make any song her own, even when she didn’t write the lyrics. It comes from her voice, an unmistakable soaring soprano with nightingale soul that took her to the stage of the Newport Folk Festival at the tender age of 18 and still carries a music career […]
Last year, the Tom Tom Founder’s Festival debuted with a bold music line-up. While Josh Ritter delivered a spirited performance to a full house at the Haven, scattered shows by national acts, like the Walkmen and Futurebirds, were underattended. This year Tom Tom organizers are shifting the focus to local and regional bands, and beefing […]
Todd Snider lives on the other side of the tracks from the Music City establishment. It’s in his attitude as much as his address. With a reverence for Americana in its many forms, and a delivery that can mirror the wry wit of early Dylan or the earnest twang of John Prine, Snider tells humorous tales of sketchy characters and uses thought-provoking wisdom from the dive-bar underbelly to rail against what ails him.
“We’re always trying to strike a balance,” said Punch Brothers banjo player Noam Pikelny by phone. “We have a reputation for working up covers that surprise people. We love playing our versions of other people’s material and certain songs have become part of the band’s identity. But original music is still the driving force behind this band.”
It’s been more than two decades since Dave Matthews Band emerged from Charlottesville and forever altered the pop-rock landscape with rootsy jams highlighted by the juxtaposition of fiddle and sax. While small gigs at Trax and frat parties were the launch pad, the band belongs to the rest of the world now—with 37 million albums […]
Fueled by the passion of young love, the wanderlust of the open road and the thrill of chasing the rock ‘n’ roll dream, Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent spend their days covering the highways of America in a Winnebago. At night the married couple takes the stage as Shovels and Rope and delivers raucous, stripped-down […]