Mickey Newbury is one of the most criminally-overlooked, though critically-important songwriters in American history. Though he’s most often associated with country music, his songs and influence span across multiple genres.
Barbecue pit master, vinyl records enthusiast, festival founder, and all around important individual to help keeping a distinct dialect of American roots music alive, Chris Johnson, has died. The quintessential fan turned organizer, through his various ventures, Chris Johnson became…
A new posthumous collection of Townes Van Zandt recordings is on its way from Fat Possum and TVZ Records. Made in early 1973, the songs come from a recording session with journalist, musician, and close Townes Van Zandt friend, the late Bill Hedgepeth. They were recorded in Hedgepeth’s home studio in Atlanta.
A popular local eatery, and an internationally-important music venue was vandalized Tuesday night (7-28) in Bayport, Minnesota, just east of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Along with serving award-winning barbecue (the restaurant was recently visited by Guy Fieri for feature on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) it is one of the last remaining Deep Blues music venues in the world.
Legendary North Mississippi Blues great “T Model Ford” has passed away, according to his booking agent the Bucket City Agency. One of the original Mississippi blues greats that made up the Fat Possum Records roster, T-Model passed away after a long illness at home in Greenville, Mississippi, this morning surrounding by his loving wife and family.
Mississippi blues legend T Model Ford, who became a roots icon along with R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and many other older blues artists from Mississippi through Fat Possum Records, has suffered a stroke and remains in the hospital. This is not the first stroke T Model has suffered, but the people around him are describing the always-jovial, 90+ years-old blues player’s spirits as “uncharacteristically low.”
From the outside looking in, one may look at the lineup of The Muddy Roots Festival for example, and wonder how all these bands could all be booked right beside each other and it work seamlessly. This illustrates the dramatic sonic and geographical diversity that goes into creating what we know now as the underground country roots, or “Muddy Roots” world.
As the name implies, Hillgrass Bluebilly Records defines the nexus of where hillbilly, country, bluegrass, and blues meet. This rich and diverse environment that has been created in the independent/underground music world embodies all roots music as unified expressions of purity and soul, regardless of the origins. Keith Mallette and co-founder Ryan Tackett have created a burgeoning homespun record label that is getting…