Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen mourned and praised former bandmate Marty Balin, who died Thursday at age 76, in an emotional statement on his blog. “Marty’s passing reaffirms the power of love, the power of family, the power of possibilities,” he wrote. Kaukonen moved from grief to optimism throughout the …
Read More »Balsam Range Win Big at 2018 Bluegrass Awards
First-time recipients and repeat winners were honored at the 29th annual International Bluegrass Music Awards in Raleigh, North Carolina, held Thursday night. Balsam Range, a five-piece band from North Carolina’s Haywood County, took the evening’s top prize as Entertainer of the Year, an award they previously won in 2014. Doyle …
Read More »The Queen: Aretha Franklin
& #8220;I think of Aretha as Our Lady of Mysterious Sorrows,” Jerry Wexler once said of Aretha Franklin. Wexler was the Atlantic Records producer who, in 1967, helped raise the singer to her sudden and incomparable soul heights. “Her eyes are incredible, luminous eyes covering inexplicable pain. Her depressions could …
Read More »Fyre Festival Organizer's Lawyer Claims 'Mental Illness' in New Court Letter
Randall Jackson, the lawyer of Billy McFarland, organizer of the failed Fyre Festival venture, filed a letter claiming that his client suffers from “mental illness.” Jackson wrote a letter to U.S. District Judge Naomi Buchwald describing how McFarland wasdiagnosed with alcohol abuse, ADHD and bipolar disorder, which led to his …
Read More »Song You Need to Know: Brandon Seabrook Trio, 'Bovicidal'
One of the wilder musical episodes this writer has heard in 2018 gets going a little more than three minutes into “Bovicidal,” the opening track on a new album by guitarist Brandon Seabrook’s eponymous trio. As double-bassist Henry Fraser sets up a steady pulse, the leader solos over top, moving …
Read More »'Breaking Bad' Collects Series' Music for Limited-Edition, Vinyl-Only Box Set
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Breaking Bad, the beloved series will collect five LPs-worth of music that featured during the show’s five seasons for a limited-edition, vinyl-only box set. Limited to 5,000 copies, the Breaking Bad Original Soundtrack arrives November 30th and boasts five “Albuquerque crystal”-colored 10″ records, each …
Read More »Inside Prince's Brilliant 'Piano & a Microphone 1983' Album
“I was always hoping that these recordings were still around because of the feeling that’s in them,” Don Batts, Prince‘s personal recording engineer in the early Eighties, tells Rolling Stone. He’s reflecting on a demo cassette he made with the artist released Friday asPiano & a Microphone 1983, 34 minutes …
Read More »Hear Marianne Faithfull, Nick Cave Channel Shakespeare on Stirring New Song 'The Gypsy Faerie Queen'
Marianne Faithfull and Nick Cave channel William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream on their enchanting new song, “The Gypsy Faerie Queen.” The track will appear on Faithfull’s upcoming album, Negative Capability, out November 2nd via BMG. “The Gypsy Fairie Queen” finds Faithfull singing from the perspective of Puck, the famous …
Read More »Brother Ali Plots 'Shadows on the Sun' 15th Anniversary Tour
Brother Ali will celebrate the 15th anniversary of his acclaimed breakthrough LP, 2003’s Shadows on the Sun, with a U.S. fall tour.The 13-date trek launches November 1st in Washington, D.C. and wraps December 22nd in Denver, Colorado. Tickets go on sale Friday, September 21st at 9 a.m. local time. The …
Read More »Hilary Williams on Triumphant New Album 'My Lucky Scars,' Family Legacy
Although Hank Williams‘ death at age 29 on January 1st, 1953, marked a premature end to what had been a remarkable career, his legacy has survived — and thrived — not only through his classic recordings but also through the two generations of family members who have forged their own …
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