Self-taught instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile broke out in 2007 with her second album, The Story, and a career built on bright folk-pop was launched. Eleven years later, Carlile’s sixth studio release, By the Way, I Forgive You, is a deeply personal record that grapples with loss, forgiveness, queer motherhood, and spirituality. Boston indie-folk quartet Darlingside […]
Self-taught instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile broke out in 2007 with her second album, The Story, and a career built on bright folk-pop was launched. Eleven years later, Carlile’s sixth studio release, By the Way, I Forgive You, is a deeply personal record that grapples with loss, forgiveness, queer motherhood, and spirituality. Boston indie-folk quartet Darlingside […]
Country twang that hops and sways, soul that trembles and soars—these descriptors make up two halves of an imaginative whole. Americana duo Birds of Chicago got their start with a leap of faith, when JT Nero and Allison Russell paused their individual music endeavors to celebrate their 2013 self-titled debut. Home is on the road […]
For some artists, hitting the road is synonymous with coming home. The Brooklyn-based quartet Yarn, which recently planted its bluegrass roots in North Carolina, has notched more than a thousand shows across the country. It even has a Grammy nomination stapled to its name, and has shared the stage with both Alison Krauss and The […]
Casey Horn is growing old, and with age comes a whole lot of trouble—between his mother’s poor taste in men, his younger brother’s out-of-this-world obsession, and the neighbor girl’s frustrating lack of interest, he’s finding that life isn’t exactly grand. The Secret Rain follows Casey as he navigates these obstacles with the help of Audrey […]
There may be no better time for The Wife than this moment, in which the role of the male genius whose achievements came at the expense of unrecognized or exploited women is under scrutiny. (A few months in the doghouse, it seems, is plenty of time for celebrated entertainers to atone for sexually assaulting or […]
Any artist that opts to start off a track with the words, “Pour me another drink and punch me in the face” certainly has no shortage of spunk. Josh Tillman, who famously deemed himself Father John Misty, has taken to the road in celebration of his recent LP, God’s Favorite Customer. Misty delivers hypnotizing indie […]
As a child, Kyle Dargan began writing rhymes largely as a matter of convenience. “If you wanted to make music, especially back in the ’90s, you needed somebody with a studio and recording equipment,” he says. “But you could write [hip-hop lyrics] at home, on the bus, in a notebook, and share with people and […]
It might not sound like a comedy: A twice-divorced single mom living with her mother tries to save money from her food service job to move into her own apartment. But Penelope Lemon: Game On!, is just that. “It’s hard to describe why something is funny,” says Inman Majors, an English professor at James Madison […]
By Caroline Hockenbury Freedom is ringing, but that’s because youth are belting about it on stage, deconstructing it on Twitter, and demanding it—at full-tilt—at student-led protests. The next generation’s cries for justice buzz in every ear. Charlottesville High School theater students are merging their voices with teens across the country who, simply put, expect more […]
White Denim Performance (City Slang) The new record by Austin’s scraggle rock standard bearers opens with the tumble of a spinning radio dial. It sounds ironic but it could also be a statement of purpose; on Performance, White Denim skillfully updates various ’70s rock styles from the jump, the horn-laden, glammy stomp of “Magazin” leading […]