Singled Out: Liv Greene “New York’s Arms” Interviews Music Features by Brian Carroll - March 17, 20200 There is the striking of a perfect balance between authenticity and doing your damndest to create something beautiful. When the pieces of that fall into place, its a beautiful thing. Something that can melt your heart and make your foot stomp. A light twang that dances back and forth with lilting highs. Liv Greene's "New York's Arms" dances that line in eloquent magnetism. Give it a listen. Who: Liv Greene From: Boston Track Name: New York's Arms Latest Record: Every Bright Penny due out May 8 (debut album) What About It: “I wrote 'New York’s Arms' about change. I was meditating on the cliche of people moving to a new places for new beginnings, and how it’s only a cliche because of how frequently it
Singled Out: The Little Miss ‘A Week Into New Year’s Resolutions’ Interviews Music Features by Brian Carroll - February 12, 20200 The is a growl in the back of The Little Miss's voice. There is something burning down in her belly, urging to get out and be heard. Burning passion or flickering flame? There is always a give and take. A push and pull. On 'A Week Into New Year's Resolutions' the sentiment is portrayed in spades. A longing, a passion driving forward to make sense of it all. To make changes, but be somehow glued to past habits. Dig it. Who: The Little Miss From: San Diego, CA Song: 'A Week Into New Year's Resolutions' Latest Record: American Dream What About It: "I wrote “A Week Into New Year’s Resolutions” about a week into my New Year’s resolutions. Staring menacingly at me from across the room were the running
Singled Out: Jeremy Garrett “The Highway” Interviews Music Features by Brian Carroll - February 11, 2020February 11, 20200 You may know Jeremy Garrett from The Infamous Stringdusters. As a dynamic fiddle player with a wide range of style and flair in the Stringdusters, the new record and this single come as a more intimate and subtle feel to the multi-instrumentalist's tool belt. The Highway has a flood of reverberating acoustic guitar notes, emanating outward into space. Garrett's voice drifting along dusty road vibes and rusted sign posts...then breaks out in a 0-60 in 3 seconds as his voice opens up, the acoustic steady beneath and a chorus of voices propping up the break. Haunting and powerful. The tune builds as it moves on down the line, before again resolving gently back to where it came...home again. Who: Jeremy Garrett From:
Singled Out: Sideline “Amy” Interviews Music Features by Brian Carroll - January 6, 20200 There is something about the line that some bands are able to walk between tradition and new-school energy. The 6 piece bluegrass outfit 'Sideline' cautiously treads that line. With high and lonesome vocals, ever slight twang expertly sung and driven. High flying fiddles and harmonies that kick you right in the rearend, the band blends explosive energy with a tight and unified front. Everyone in line, but allowing the pure fire to wash over the chords and breaks in an exciting way. A piercing powerhouse of a tune. Check it. Who: Sideline From: Raleigh, NC Song: "Amy" Latest Record: Breaks To The Edge (out January 10th) What About It: From banjo player and band co-founder Steve Dilling: "'Amy' is a tune written by Jerry Cole which tells
Singled Out: Sofia Talvik “Christmas Train” Interviews Music Features by Brian Carroll - December 13, 20190 Mariah Carey. Michael Buble. Bing Crosby. All names that we associate with Christmas music. Perhaps songs we hear all too often and have a thick layer of cheese smeared across them. Enter Sofia Talvik with a new holiday tune that tells the story of the holiday season through a different lens. A western vibe and rolling train rhythm enter. Spooky guitar notes ring in the background and Talvik's voice echoes across the landscape weaving a tale that is cautionary about the less wholesome side of the season. Check it out below. Who: Sofia Talvik From: Gothenburg, Sweden Song: "Christmas Train" Latest Record: Paws of a Bear What About It: “As you might know, if you have followed me for a while I write a Christmas
Singled Out: Fireside Collective “Don’t Stop Lovin’ Me” Interviews Music Features by Brian Carroll - December 12, 2019December 12, 20190 When a band kicks it with banjo or mandolin (or both together), well you can color me happy. Fireside Collective's "Don't Stop Lovin' Me" is bluegrassy twang with a soulful groove. The dobro lines running wild, the rhythm and chop keeping perfect time. There is such a vibe to this tune. It's the expert blend of tradition with modern pizzaz that is impossible to not jive with and groove to. I may have found one of my favorite new-to-me bands here. Dig it folks. Dig it deep. Who: Fireside Collective From: Asheville, NC Song: "Don't Stop Lovin' Me" Latest Record: Life Between The Lines What about it: From guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Joe Cicero: “I love to draw from personal experiences, and from those of people
Singled Out: Chip Greene “River Song” Interviews Music Features by Brian Carroll - November 13, 20190 A steady back beat and a howling harp set the pace...Chip Greene's voice, however, soars above it all and echoes out into oblivion. A bluesy blunt bash right to your head. It rocks. It rolls. There is power here. A forceful nature ready to bowl you over and pick you back up again for more. Who: Chip Greene From: Nashville, TN Song: "River Song" Latest Record: In My Town (2018) What About It: "These songs are little vignettes that look at the changes in Nashville over the past couple years," says Greene, who grew up in nearby McMinnville, TN. "I started to feel like I was losing the sense of the town I grew up around. I've been coming here my whole life. I've worked
An Interview with Matt Smith: Saying Yes (Club Passim at 60) Interviews Music Features by Ken Templeton - November 13, 20190 I remember the first time I walked into Club Passim, and you probably do too. It was one of those feelings of disbelief: this place that has played such a role in the mythology of the music I love actually exists. And that was followed by surprise: I had thought it would be bigger. I’m not sure exactly how large I imagined it, given how outsized it was in my understanding of folk music, but I distinctly remember being struck that you could sit in the back of the audience and have a conversation with the performer without raising your voice. On Thursday, Club Passim celebrates 60 years of folk music at the Shubert Theater with a roster of musicians
An Interview with Betsy Siggins: Collective Music (Passim At 60) Interviews Music Features by Ken Templeton - November 13, 2019November 13, 20190 I remember the first time I walked into Club Passim, and you probably do too. It was one of those feelings of disbelief: this place that has played such a role in the mythology of the music I love actually exists. And that was followed by surprise: I had thought it would be bigger. I’m not sure exactly how large I imagined it, given how outsized it was in my understanding of folk music, but I distinctly remember being struck that you could sit in the back of the audience and have a conversation with the performer without raising your voice. On Thursday, Club Passim celebrates 60 years of folk music at the Shubert Theater with a roster of musicians
An Interview With Dylan LeBlanc: Within and Without Interviews Music Features by Ken Templeton - November 7, 20190 Dylan LeBlanc’s new record Renegade came out last June and it represents both a departure from his past work and perhaps the most logical next step for someone who had firmly established himself as a singer-songwriter. It embraces a Petty-inspired rock n’ roll, especially on tunes like “Born Again,” one of my favorites on the record. Dylan is playing Great Scott on Friday and we got to catch up about the sometimes slow process of writing songs, the challenge of addiction, and the place of music in healing. RLR: You wrote Renegade in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana and you said in another interview that it’s really hard to write on the road. What does it look like for you when you get