Short & Sweet
Alaw "Dead Man’s Dance" (CD, Taith Records, 2017).
"Dead Man’s Dance" (Dawns y Gŵr Marw) is the second studio album from traditional Welsh trio Alaw (fiddler Oli
Wilson-Dickson, accordionist Jamie Smith,[44]
guitarist Dylan Fowler), adding guest vocalists Georgia Ruth and Gwilym Bowen Rhys.
Watch and listen to the brooding instrumental "Pan O'wn Y Gwanwyn" filmed at Twyn y Gaer hill fort near Abergavenny
@ YouTube!
American Aquarium "An Intro To American Aquarium" (Download, 2018).
American Aquarium’s forthcoming studio album "Things Change" offers the band’s finest collection of
folk-infused Southern rock-and-roll to date.
This sampler includes two new tracks plus six tracks from the extended American Aquarium catalog.
Download "An Intro To American Aquarium" @ NoiseTrade!
Eric Andersen "Under The Shadows" (Video, 2018).
The legendary Eric Andersen's stories range from being with the beat poets the night JFK was shot to teaching Joni
Mitchell alternate guitar tunings; from co-writing songs with Lou Reed and Townes Van Zandt
to inspiring Leonard Cohen to write songs; from forming
a trio with The Bands Rick Danko to his recent trilogy of albums inspired by writers
Heinrich Böll, Albert Camus, and Lord Byron. At the age of 75
he's just shared his first music video @ Vimeo!
Ali Fuat Aydin & Cenk Güray "Öte" (CD, Felmay, 2017).
Ali Fuat Aydin is traditional Turkish baglama player, Cenk Güray is leading several bands playing ethno-jazz fusion.
This album is paying homage to Tanburi Cemil Bey (1873-1916), one of the most important composers of Ottoman music.
He lived at a time of cultural exchanges between the different regions of the Ottoman Empire and others, especially Europe,
thus embracing Ottoman and European classical music as well as folk traditions from Turkish, Kurdish, Greek, Armenian and Jewish communities.
Kelsea Ballerini "Unapologetically" (CD, Black River Entertainment, 2017).
For Kelsea Ballerini, one of country music's new voices, growing up
meant having the courage to put it all--the loss, the love, the highs and lows of life--into song.
Watch "Unapologetically" (Acoustic) @ YouTube!
Jeb Barry and the Pawn Shop Saints "texas, etc..." (CD, Dolly Rocker Recordings, 2018).
Residing in the Berkshire Hills in New England, songwriter Jeb Barry focuses on sparse songs
from the darker side of life, several are about the state of Texas.
Watch the solo acoustic "Miss Mississippi" @ YouTube!
Mary Battiata & Little Pink "The Heart, Regardless" (CD, Own label, 2017).
The Heart, Regardless features 13 modern country songs by singer-songwriter
Mary Battiata and her band Little Pink, plus Mary’s cover of Arty Hill's country classic, “Drive That Fast.”
Listen to the acoustic twang of “Tall Timbers”, set on the 18th century Chesapeake Bay @ YouTube!
Blowzabella "Vanilla" (CD, Topic Records, 1990/2018).
Originally released on Topic Records subsidiary, Special Delivery, a welcome re-release for the
1990 album, ‘Vanilla,’ by much-loved and respected folk band Blowzabella, who mark the 40th anniversary of their
driving, drone-based wall-of-sound. Check out a selection @ YouTube!
BraAgas "O ptácích a rybách" (CD, Indies Scope, 2018).
After a long musical hunt, female band BraAgas[42]
finally returns home from other parts of Europe (Scandinavia to the Balkans).
On their sixth album, “O ptácích a rybách” (i.e. About Birds And Fish),
all thirteen songs come from Moravia, the eastern part of the Czech Republic.
Watch "Brodil Janík koně" @ YouTube!
Chastity Brown "Live in the WERS Studio" (Video, 2018).
Minneapolis singer-songwriter Chastity Brown has spent the past few months touring with poet Andrea Gibson,
and will continue to tour US festivals through the summer.
Watch Chastity Brown live in the WERS Studio Boston to share songs from her Red House Records debut, "Silhouette of Sirens,"
@ YouTube!
The Bucking Mules "Smoke Behind the Clouds" (CD, Free Dirt, 2017).
Amerikanische Old-Time-Musik so unverfälscht wie nur geht von
Luke Richardson (Banjo), Joseph Decosimo (Geige), Joe Dejarnette (Bass) und Karen Celia Heil (Gitarre).
Siehe das Titelstück "Smoke Behind the Clouds" live @ YouTube!
The Bush League "James Rivah" (CD, Own label, 2018).
The combination of JohnJay Cecil's soulful
voice and Royce Folks's rock-solid bass playing lays the foundation for a heady mélange
of funk, soul, gospel, and rock all wrapped up in the love of the blues,
the band prefers to call it simply “shiny new dirty ol’ blues.”
Watch blues stomp "River’s Edge" from their fourth album, “James RiVAh,” @ YouTube!
Conor Caldwell "To Belfast..." (CD, 850514 Records DK, 2018).
Conor Caldwell is one half of a duo with fellow fiddler Danny Diamond (Slow Moving Clouds)[62]
and has toured as a member of Craobh Rua since 2009.[53]
"To Belfast..." is a progressive take -- solo playing coupled with electronics and loops --
on the music of the 1792 Belfast Harpers' Assembly. Check it out @
BandCamp!
Calexico "End of the World with You" (Video, 2018).
Americana band Calexico has just done a spring North American tour.
Watch "End of the World with You" from the new album 'The Thread that Keeps Us'[64]
live at Wavelab Studios Tucson @ YouTube!
Caitlin Canty "Caitlin Canty Sampler" (Download, 2018).
Caitlin Canty is an American singer/songwriter whose music carves a line through folk, blues,
and country ballads.
For this NoiseTrade exclusive, Caitlin is offering a sampler of stand out tracks from her previous
releases, as well as the track "Take Me for a Ride," from her forthcoming record.
Watch "Who" Live From Layman
ft. Noam Pikelny, Paul Kowert and Stuart Duncan
@ YouTube;
download the "Caitlin Canty Sampler" @ NoiseTrade!
Brandi Carlile "Hold Out Your Hand" (Video, 2018).
I want everyone to know that I’ve had the incredible privilege of being a part of a movement that I genuinely believe in.
The kids in this video left their houses, put down their phones and showed up in Seattle to protest gun violence and ask for the adults
in this country to take responsibility for what’s happening to them in their schools. This is the way I would want my daughter to communicate
and this is a generation I am in complete support of. These young people are asking for a change - are you listening?
(Brandi Carlile)
Check out "Hold Out Your Hand" artistic.io!
Mary Chapin Carpenter "Heroes And Heroines" (Video, 2018).
Country/folk singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Sometimes Just The Sky Tour" just kicked off.
Watch the official lyric video for "Heroes And Heroines" from the new album "Sometimes Just The Sky"
@ YouTube!
John Clifton "Nightlife" (CD, RipCat Records, 2018).
Blues harmonica virtuoso John Clifton from Fresno/California enjoys the Nightlife, his band
presenting genuine blues, soul and rock'n'roll of the vintage kind.
Watch "Swamp Dump" @ YouTube!
Ultan Conlon "Last Days of The Night Owl" (CD, Darksideout Records, 2018).
Ultan Conlon's third studio album "Last Days of The Night Owl" has been written between the west coasts of Ireland and America,
straddling Americana and Old World styles.
Check out the lyric video of "The Measure" @ YouTube!
Corde Oblique "Back through the liquid mirror" (CD, Dark Vinyl/Audioglobe, 2018).
"Back through the liquid mirror" is Corde Oblique's[53]
first live in the studio recording with the intention of
revisiting the past of this progressive-ethereal-folk band from Naples led by guitarist-composer Riccardo Prencipe,
while maintaining the energy and power of their live show.
Watch "Kaiowas" (Sepultura cover) @ YouTube!
Cowboy Junkies "All That Reckoning" (CD, Latent Recordings, 2018).
»It's been six not-so-long years since the release of our last album of new material and so much has changed in our lives,
in your lives and in the world around us. It's those changes and that turmoil that drives the songs of All That Reckoning.
It's a happy little collection of songs about empty hearts, empty nests, lost paths, lost lives, and all the reckoning that
brings about the end things, and the beginning of something else. But those of you who have been listening to us for a while
know that there is always redemption involved...«
Check out "All That Reckoning",
"The Things We Do To Each Other",
"Sing Me A Song"!
Lelle Dahlberg "These words are true" (CD, Own label, 2017).
”I was born in the rural outback of Bureå, Sweden, to hard working parents.
I think I must have been about 10 years old when I started to investigate grandpa’s beautiful Levin archtop guitar.
I wrote my 1st song when I was 13, and after that there has been hundreds and hundreds more,
a couple of hundred has been recorded by artists and bands and has topped the Swedish charts.
Now, I have finally decided to release a few of my own songs on an album, this time under my own name.”
Watch "These Words Are True" @ YouTube!
Steve Dawson "Lucky Hand" (CD, Black Hen Music, 2018).
“Lucky Hand is a beautiful, genre-stretching collection of guitar instrumentals - moods from joyful to poignant, expressed
through some of the coolest fingerpicking you’re likely to hear,” says Bruce Cockburn about Canadian guitarist Steve Dawson's
new album. “The sweet slide playing is framed intermittently, and effectively, by
the presence of imaginatively constructed string arrangements and some tasty harmonica. Check it out!”
Watch Steve Dawson perform "Bugscuffle" @ YouTube!
The Dead South "Miss Mary" (Video, 2018).
After a completely sold out UK tour this spring, DevilDuck Records’ most successful band,
The Dead South, comes back to Europe this summer, incl. playing at Tønder Festival!
They will be accompanied by fellow DevilDuck artists Whiskey Shivers and PR Newman, as well as Jon Kenzie.
The Dead South also released a new music video for "Miss Mary". Go check it out
@ YouTube!
Mark Dunn "Melodic Voyage" (CD, Music for The New Age Records, 2017).
Mark Dunn's fourth album "Melodic Voyage" is an instrumental solo piano album that he specifically designed
for relaxation, meditation and contemplation: "I wanted the melodies to be beautiful and hypnotic so that
the listening experience was like escaping to distant lands."
Supriyo Dutta & Federico Sanesi "Passionate Voice" (CD, Felmay, 2017).
Supriyo Dutta is of the new generation of skilled Hindustani classical vocalists, accompanied by Federico Sanesi on tabla
and a small ensemble (harmonium, sarangi, surmandal) of Calcuttan instrumentalists.
The repertoire consists of a raga (Bihag) in khayal style and short semi-classical compositions (tara, dadra).
Paul Filipowicz "Unfiltered" (CD, Big Jake Records, 2018).
Chicago Blues Hall of Fame guitarist Paul Filipowicz breaks
the filter off his smoking blues and gives it to you straight. “I got my blues education the old-fashioned way,” he says. “The only way my dad could get out
of the house on a Saturday night was to take us boys along, and man did we see some joints.”
On Filipowicz’s tenth recording, “Unfiltered,” Paul pays homage to the masters, Magic Sam, Lowell Fulson, Howlin’ Wolf, ...
Watch Paul Filipowicz at 2017 Madison Area Music Awards @ YouTube!
Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn "NPR Tiny Desk Concert" (Video, 2018).
“The intensity and thoughtfulness in Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn’s music is why it will shine
for a good long while, the way great folk tunes stay relevant over the ages…together they are a
timeless power that must be witnessed.” (Bob Boilen, NPR Music) Watch husband-and-wife banjo duo @
www.npr.org!
Do you know the difference between Clawhammer & Three-Finger banjo pickin'?
WELL NOW YOU CAN!!
Radney Foster "Godspeed (Dulces Sueños)" (Video, 2018).
Texas singer/songwriter Radney Foster has released a Spanish version of his classic lullaby,
“Godspeed,” proceeds will go to The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES).
“I was born and raised on the Mexican border in Del Rio, Texas,” says Foster. “I’m heartbroken
by the image of young children being taken from their parents. When I originally wrote “Godspeed,”
I was a desperate father, separated by thousands of miles, literally by a continent, from my
son. I wanted him to know how much I loved him. I can only imagine the desperation of these
parents and children.”
Listen to "Godspeed (Dulces Sueños)" @ YouTube!
David Francey "The Broken Heart of Everything" (CD, Laker Music, 2018).
Having earned three Juno Awards, four Canadian Folk Music Awards, a SOCAN Folk Music Award,
and three Penguin Eggs critics' Album of the Year awards, David had withdrawn from the folk
circuit facing challenges with his singing voice resulting from years of heavy touring.
Listen as David talks about his loss of voice @ CTV Atlantic News !
Fortunatly David has just released a new CD, "The Broken Heart of Everything," showcasing his
skill as an intimate lyricist and writer of so-good-they-could-be-traditional melodies.
Listen to "Loneley Road" @ YouTube!
Dany Franchi "Problem Child" (CD, Station House Records, 2018).
Vocalist-guitarist Dany Franchi is considered one of Italy's best young blues musicians.
Dany’s third album “Problem Child” once again exudes both authenticity and originality.
Watch the title track “Problem Child” @ YouTube!
Chris Fullerton "Come On In" (Single, Eight 30 Records, 2018).
Chris Fullerton delivers a rallying cry against
President Donald Trump's 'zero tolerance' policy separating immigrant families from their children:
“This is a dark time for our country, and I think that everybody should say
something. Splitting apart families as punishment for seeking the hope of a better
life is cruel. The indefinite detention of children is a human rights
violation. We should be a welcoming, safe place.” “We hope Chris' beautiful song
will continue inspiring folks to donate to RAICES
and any other reputable organizations that are helping reunite families with their children,”
Eight 30 Records co-owner Jenni Finlay continues.
“Let's do what we do and pull together as a community to help others in dire need.”
Listen to "Come On In" @ YouTube!
The Furious Seasons "Now Residing Abroad" (CD, Stonegarden, 2018).
The Furious Seasons' altogether sixth album and second CD featuring the
line-up of Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter David Steinhart, double bass player Jeff Steinhart and guitarist Paul Nelson
is made up of acoustic songs with folk, pop and as Steinhart puts it, “kind of jazz overtones.”
Watch the haunting jazzy shuffle "Expo Line" live @ YouTube!
Carolyn Gaines "Beware Of My Dog" (CD, Polka Dot Records, 2018).
Singing had taken a back seat to her work in the blues business,
managing her father’s career (electric blues guitarist Roy Gaines of Diana Ross and Billie Holiday fame),
writing articles about the blues greats, teaching children about the blues, etc.
Now Carolyn Gaines is taking centre stage with her debut album, "Beware Of My Dog;"
check out videos @ www.carolynbluessingergaines.com!
Mary Gauthier "The War After The War", "Iraq", "Rifles & Rosary Beads" (Video, 2017/2018).
"He said everyone has their own way of dealing, but in Iraq there were a lot of white knuckles holding rifles tightly, and plenty of other fingers rolling rosary beads in circles, over and over again."
Recently nominated for The Americana Music Association's Album of the Year Award, Rifles & Rosary Beads
features 11 songs that Mary Gauthier[49]
co-wrote with combat veterans. Click here to watch
"The War After The War",
"Iraq" &
"Rifles & Rosary Beads"!
Eliza Gilkyson "Down by the Riverside" (Video, 2018).
Austin folksinger-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson[36]
has premiered a song from her upcoming fall release, SECULARIA. In keeping with the album's
theme -- spiritually charged songs that do not fit within the parameters of traditional
religious beliefs -- she is sharing her cover of the traditional folk gospel tune
"Down by the Riverside." The song, renowned for its “Ain’t gonna study war no more” chorus,
is a duet featuring Gilkyson's longtime friend, the late
Austin troubadour Jimmy LaFave, that was recorded just a few month's before his passing last May.
Listen to "Down by the Riverside" @ YouTube!
Nessi Gomes & Orchestra "All Related" (Video, 2018).
In February 2018, Nessi Gomes[63]
and 8 fantastic musicians have joined together on stage to present an orchestral adaptation to her songs.
Watch "All Related" live at St James Concert Hall at Nessi's home Island of Guernsey @ YouTube!
Isaac Gracie "Isaac Gracie" (CD, Virgin EMI/Republic Records, 2018).
London-raised singer-songwriter Isaac Gracie has been finding his feet,
working out who he is and discovering what he wants with his self-titled debut album.
Watch “Last Words”,
“Terrified”!
PK Gregory "Honkabilly Blues" (CD, Genuine Butter Music, 2017).
PK Gregory is a one-man-band ft. fingerpicked guitar, harmonica, suitcase drum and foot percussion.
His "Honkabilly Blues" is an attack on folk, blues, alt-country and western swing with weird lyrics
about Gods and Zombies.
Watch "Sugar Idol" @ YouTube!
Greenrose Faire "Riders in the Night" (CD, Friendly Folk Records, 2018).
The fourth studio album by Finnish sextet Greenrose Faire has all the rousing Celtic folk rock that
we have come to expect from their previous endeavours. What sets this album apart is the interwoven
storyline with lyrics that stress value of friendship and solidarity and give hope and inspiration.
Watch "Never Walk Alone" @ YouTube!
Ground Level Falcons "The New Wilderness Vol. 1" (CD, Own label, 2017).
Alternative rock band Ground Level Falcons from Edmonton/Alberta had its fair share of tragedy recently:
two founding members left the group, the guitar replacement unexpectedly passed away due to diabetes.
Welcome to the New Wilderness! Check it out @ BandCamp!
Colin Hay "Fierce Mercy" (CD, Lazy Eye/Compass, 2017).
"Fierce Mercy" is a step forward for Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter Colin Hay
(formerly of Men at Work), most beloved these days for his intimate live shows.
Watch "Fierce Mercy" songs live in Manchester 2017 @ YouTube!
Head for the Hills "Bitter Black Coffee" (Video, 2018).
Head for the Hills is a four-piece string band from Fort Collins, Colorado
Formed in 2003, Head for the Hills' style of music is described as progressive bluegrass but explores a variety of modern genres, from Americana to jazz, indie rock, and hip-hop.
Watch their original song "Bitter Black Coffee" live at Mishawaka Amphitheatre in Bellvue, CO
in May 2018 @ YouTube!
Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble "We Are Together" (CD, Bafe's Factory, 2018).
“Despite all our differences, at the end of the day we are all together on this planet”,
Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble's[57]
musical leader Janne Halonen explains the meaning of the album's title “We Are Together”,
featuring another eclectic take on jazz, funk and African music.
Listen to "One Shot" @ YouTube!
Deborah Henriksson "Near and Far" (CD, DHP Records, 2017).
American-Swedish singer Deborah Henriksson[55]
has released her 5th album ”Near And Far” with a mix of folk, pop, Celtic and Americana in late 2017
and it was on the 1st Grammy Awards ballot in the category 'Best Pop Vocal Album'.
Watch "Whisper" (voted #1 for 15 weeks on the Swedish Independent Chart) @ YouTube!
Hion Martell "Trust Me On This One!" (CD, Viskningar och vrål, 2017).
Swedish quartet Hion Martell has been around with various lineups since
1992. The band's music is influenced by British blues rock, American southern rock and 70's
glam rock. Check out Making Of!
Thea Hopkins "Love Come Down" (CD, Own label, 2018).
In just six songs, Boston songwriter Thea Hopkins of Aquinnah Wampanoag roots
creates personal songs from love ballad to social history.
Ft. Noel Paul Stookey of Peter Paul & Mary fame who recorded Thea's song "Jesus Is On The Wire" fifteen years ago.
Hungrytown "Hard Way To Learn" (Video, 2018).
"I love the sound of Rebecca Hall's voice," Roger McGuinn relates, "there's a sweetness, and a worldly wisdom, in perfect balance."
American folk music duo Hungrytown[48][58]
(Ken Anderson and Rebecca Hall) is currently booking shows for their upcoming UK tour, scheduled for August through November of 2019.
Watch "Hard Way To Learn" live in Berlin 2018 @ YouTube!
Willie Jackson & The Tybee Blues Band "Chosen By The Blues" (EP, Own label, 2018).
A tragic accident in 2009 ended his previous career and turned Georgia native Willie Jackson to the healing powers of music and song-writing.
Listen to the 6-track EP "Chosen By The Blues" featuring six original
songs combining poignant traditional blues with slick ponderings on present-day life
@ SoundCloud!
Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps "Here In Babylon" (CD, Jesi-Lu Records, 2018).
Singer-songwriter-pianist Teresa James has assembled a group of some of the top L.A based
musicians into her band, The Rhythm Tramps. Her tenth album 'Here In Babylon' is the first one tracked 'live' in the studio,
effortlessly moving through Texas style blues into Memphis soul and New Orleans flavored grooves.
Watch the emotional Greg Allman tribute "The Day The Blues Came To Call" live @ YouTube!
Janusz Prusinowski Kompania "Serce" (Video, 2018).
The Polish Janusz Prusinowski Kompania[56]
celebrates its 10th anniversary: "What do we do?
We combine music with dance and the archaic with the modern, village melodies with traces of
Chopin's rubato, love of improvisation close to jazz with the expressiveness of rock music.
From 2008 we have issued 3 awarded albums;
played at hundreds of festivals, dance parties, weddings and events in Poland and all over the world;
showcased at WOMEX and Tallinn Music Week;
performed also at diplomatic events of Polish Presidents as the most representative Polish band relating to village traditions;
Janusz Prusinowski was awarded with Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis and received the annual prize of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage."
Watch "Serce" @ YouTube!
Janusz Prusinowski Kompania is looking forward to the next 10 years filled with music and dance!
The band's new album will be out in 2018! In 2019 they will tour Japan!
Dane Joneshill "Billy" (Video, 2018).
»A few years back my family had the honor of getting to sit with a dear friends father as he was dying of cancer.
Every Sunday for 8 weeks we circled around his hospice bed singing, praying, watching, waiting.
It was my first time to experience someone coming to terms with their own death, and the first time I got to be truly present with people I loved as they grieved.«
(Dane Joneshill) Check out "Billy" @ YouTube!
Kathy & The Kilowatts "Premonition Of Love" (CD, Nola Blue Records, 2018).
Blues queen Kathy Murray explores the range of blues and roots music that her home of Live Music Capital Austin, Texas is famous for.
Check out the funky title track "Premonition of Love"
inspired by blues legend Freddie King, ft. his younger brother and bass player Benny Turner[64]
@ YouTube!
The Keeshea Pratt Band "Believe" (CD, Own label, 2018).
In January 2018, The Keeshea Pratt Band won first place in the Band Division for the 34th Annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee
with a soul-stirring, toe-tapping performance reminiscent of old-school Motown.
Check out the Houston-based eight-piece collective performing music from their new album "Believe"
@ YouTube!
Annie Keating "Ghost of the Untraveled Road" (EP, Own label, 2018).
An impressive body of work, 8 albums over 14 years, culminates in this acoustic 5-track
EP by Brooklyn based Americana songwriter Annie Keating.[61]
“These songs were born in motion, in the back of a sweltering
tour rig last July, traversing 4 countries and some 7000 miles with no mobile phone service,
I had a lot of time to write and think." Annie is touring Denmark, Germany and Italy again.
Watch videos recorded live at Atomic Sound, NYC: ‘Ghost of the Untraveled Road’,
‘Forever Loved’,
‘Kindness of Strangers’,
‘Sting of Hindsight’!
Kefaya "Radio International" (CD, Radio International Records, 2017).
Led by UK-based Giuliano Modarelli (guitars) and Al MacSween (keyboards),
music collective Kefaya (the rallying-cry during the Arab Spring uprisings meaning enough,
كفاية) is exploring the musical territory between folk traditions and jazz, dub & electronica sounds, which
has been described as “internationalist music”, “guerrilla jazz”, “contemporary world-fusion” and “global protest music”.
Watch "Indignados" (inspired by Ethiopian and flamenco music and titled in tribute to the Spanish 15-M protest movement):
Radio Edit,
Live!
Kefaya's forthcoming album is a collaboration with Afghan-Hazara singer and refugee Elaha Soroor,
a bold protest against patriarchy and a joyous statement of resilience and emancipation
by means of Afghan folk songs.
Check out "Mosafer" @ YouTube!
Todd Kessler "About Memory" (CD, Wyzguy Records, 2017).
Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, Todd Kessler seeks to make sense of the past, while looking
pensively into the future and producing a timeless folk sound with hints of alt rock and classic americana.
’When a songwriter can tell a story that is specific
to them, yet allows the listener to hear him or herself in it, that’s the pinnacle for me’,
shares Kessler. ’I like to call myself a realistic optimist. I will always tend to see the
bright side of things but don’t shy away when things get real’.
Watch "The Letter" @ Vimeo!
Kíla "Double Knuckle Shuffle" (Video, 2018).
To celebrate the 21st birthday of the release of the album "Tóg é go Bog é",[26]
Kíla decided to release a vinyl version (the original album came out just as vinyl was disappearing).
Here's a YouTube video for "Double Knuckle Shuffle"
from "Tóg é go Bog é" that Kíla did from old footage from the tour of Ireland in 1995!
Moreover, Cartoon Saloon (creators of the Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea)[41]
is getting to the final stages of their next animation movie,
Wolfwalkers,
with Kíla busy getting together a children's taunting song and a market busking song.
Scott Kirby "Chasing Hemingway's Ghost" (CD, Own label, 2017).
An accomplished finger-style guitarist, Scott Kirby describes himself as a direct descendent of the 1970’s folk-rock
singer-songwriter movement.
Watch the title song of his 8th CD "Chasing Hemingway's Ghost" @ YouTube!
Kittel & Co. "Whorls" (CD, Compass Records, 2018).
Fronted by acclaimed violinist Jeremy Kittel[42]
contemporary string quintet Kittel & Co. has announced their debut album, "Whorls," inhabiting the
space between classical and acoustic roots, Celtic and bluegrass aesthetics, and folk and jazz sensibilities.
Check out: THE MAKING OF WHORLS,
STANDING OVATION PERFORMANCE AT FOLK ALLIANCE!
Kris Lager Band "Love Songs & Life Lines" (CD, Fervent Ameba Records, 2018).
The Kris Lager Band has been zigzagging the US and spreading their brand of feel-good and celebrate-life funk and soul for more than 15 years.
Watch the promotional video for "Love Songs & Life Lines" @ YouTube!
Rich Krueger "Rich Krueger Interview" (Video, 2018).
Singer-songwriter Rich Krueger[65]
was one of 32 artists out of 600 hopefuls chosen to perform at the legendary
Kerrville Folk Festival, Texas.
Even more so, Krueger was one of 6 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Award Winners!
“It is a mind blowing dream come true to be a winner in 2018 Kerrville New Folk," says Krueger.
“Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, all got their starts in New Folk.
Kerrville is an enormous part of my soul. Everyone needs to come here if they can. A Mecca for songsmiths."
Listen to March 2018 interview @ YouTube!
Nitish Kulkarni "Listen" (CD, Own label, 2018).
American-born-of-Indian-immigrants Nitish Kulkarni's second album
(his debut won Best New Age Music Album of the Year by New Age Music Odyssey)
marries traditional ethnic instruments (such as oud, mbira, didgeridoo, uilleann pipes, etc)
with modern synthesizers and electric guitar:
"All music is world music to me, and all I ask is for people to listen and
decide for themselves whether the music sounds good and meaningful to them no matter
what instruments are used." Meet the Artist @
YouTube!
Stéphanie Labbé & François Couture "Bois de Coulonge" (CD, Disques Boghei Records, 2018).
Stéphanie Labbé has been playing the violin since the tender age of three. Over time, she has mastered classical, country and jazz music.
This time she artfully tackles traditional Canadian reels and waltzes, properly supported by guitarist François Couture.
Check out preview @ YouTube!
Jaakko Laitinen & Lapin Lisä "Kulje kautta Kittilän" (Single, Playground Music, 2018).
With his new single Jaakko Laitinen - singer of the Lapland-Balkan-ethno-fusion band Väärä Raha[62] -
declares his love for the old school Finnish popular music: humppa.
Laitinen is actually planning to make a full album of these golden oldies.
The B-side is a cooperation with the young hip-hop band Reindeer Kalashnikov.
Watch "Kulje kautta Kittilän" @ YouTube!
Emma Langford "Quiet Giant" (CD, Own Label, 2017).
Limerick singer-songwriter Emma Langford has been introduced to European audiences at the 2017 Irish Folk Festival
tour.[63]
Coming-of-age themes are explored with compelling lyrics and delivered with ethereal vocals.
Check out "The Seduction of Eve" @ YouTube!
Elena Ledda "Làntias" (CD, S’ArdMusic, 2018).
Sardinian singer Elena Ledda[43]
offers a poetic anthology of the complex third millennium's society written by Maria Gabriela Ledda and put into music by Mauro Palmas, Silvano Lobina and Marcello Peghin.
Watch "Nora" @ YouTube!
Leftover Salmon "Something Higher" (CD, Soundly Music, LLC, 2018).
On the road for nearly thirty years, Americana roots band Leftover Salmon[24]
are releasing their newest album, Something Higher, featuring original songwriting from
each member of the band and a new sound curated by producer Steve Berlin of Los Lobos --
»from horn-blasting R&B to reverb-drenched desert noir, from cosmic roots music sound
to neo-New Orleans-meets-Appalachia liquefaction.«
Watch "Southern Belle" @ YouTube!
The LYNNeS "Heartbreak Song for the Radio" (CD, Own label, 2018).
Creating a sum greater than two individual parts, Canadian singer-songwriters
Lynn Miles and Lynne Hanson[38]
have toured and written songs off and on over the past 10 years.
Their debut duo album “Heartbreak Song For The Radio” pairs gritty lyrics with tight vocal harmonies.
Watch the radio friendly title track live at Panorama Museum Bad Frankenhausen @ YouTube!
Dmitriy Maloletov "TouchStyle" (Video, 2017).
Russian guitarist Dmitriy Maloletov will be in Europe in September and October 2018.
Maloletov creates and plays compositions that fuse classical, jazz, rock and folk music.
He is a renowned master of the TouchStyle (or Two-Handed Tapping).
Watch and listen to his music: Touchstyle Ragtime,
North Wind,
Black'n'White!
Sarah McQuaid "Slow Decay" (Video, 2018).
Singer/songwriter Sarah McQuaid[48]
has teamed up with filmmaker Brett Harvey for a music video/short film based on the poignant true story of Bill Conner,
a father who lost his daughter and cycled 1,400 miles to hear her heart beating again in the body of its recipient.
Watch "Slow Decay" @ YouTube!
Meadow Creek "'Til Death Do Us Part" (CD, Own label, 2017).
Meadow Creek are Peter and Linda Dahl from Degerfors, Sweden. In 1996, the couple started one of Sweden’s first ABBA tribute shows,
touring for 16 years. Right now, the Dahl’s focus is their new duo which recorded original material in the style of country, americana, blues and pop.
Watch "'Til Death Do Us Part" @ YouTube!
Mean Mary "Blazing" (CD, Woodrock Records, 2018).
"Blazing" is the soundtrack to the mystery/action novel, Hell Is Naked, co-authored by banjoist
(Mean) Mary James and her mother, Jean James. "Blazing" will be released ahead of an extensive tour of Europe, including dates in Ireland and the UK, from mid-August to mid-October.
Watch "Harlequin" (I think it might be the first video where I've worn shoes!) @ YouTube!
Mipso "Coming Down The Mountain" (CD, Own label, 2017); "Edges Run" (CD, Own label, 2018).
Mipso is a North Carolina quartet known for doing their part to take four-part harmony and
Appalachian string band sound into new territory. Ft. renegade traditionalists Jacob Sharp
on mandolin, Joseph Terrell on guitar, Libby Rodenbough on fiddle, and Wood Robinson on double bass.
Watch "Coming Down the Mountain" live on Radio Heartland @ YouTube!
Mojo Monkeys "Swerve On" (CD, Medikull Records, 2017).
This Los Angeles trio of veteran musicians filter New Orleans grooves,
Bakersfield honky tonk and Texas swing through distinctly Angeleno sensibilities.
Watch the title track "Swerve On" live testifying to the improvisational
verve that makes their shows such infectious, dance floor packing fun @ YouTube!
Laurie Morvan "Gravity" (CD, Screaming Lizard Records, 2018).
Immobilised by a wrist fracture for quite some time, Californian Laurie Morvan's
sixth album displays her trademark soaring blues vocals, fiery electric guitar work and
emotional songwriting.
Check out Laurie's YouTube Channel!
Mountain Heart "Soul Searching" (CD, Compass Records, 2018).
By focusing on the core four piece line-up that includes Josh Shilling (piano, guitar), Seth Taylor (guitar), Aaron Ramsey (mandolin, bass),
and Jeff Partin (dobro, bass), acoustic outfit Mountain Heart have never sounded better with their hybrid mix
incorporating Bluegrass, Americana and Pop influences.
Watch "More Than I Am",
Live Paste Session!
Esteban Murillo "Mi Verdad" (CD, Home Records, 2018).
Belgium-based flamenco singer and guitarist Esteban Murillo pays homage to one of the greatest Spanish poets of the 20th century, Federico García Lorca.
Esteban's maternal grandfather Paco had immigrated to Belgium to work in the coal
mines and had been able to transmit to him the love for this Andalusian music that
originated in the 18th century at the crossroads between East and West.
Watch "Aire nocturno" with Esteban Murillo (voice), Myrddin De Cauter (guitar), Bart Maris (trumpet) and François Taillefer (percussion)
@ YouTube! "Mi Verdad" also features the voices of the Galician 'cantareiras'
of Ialma, flamenco vocalist Antonio Paz, guitarist José Luis Dominguez,and violinist Mohammed Almokhlis.
Naragonia "Mira" (CD, Home Records, 2018).
Mira is the third album of the Naragonia Quartet,[56]
embarking on a musical journey bursting with energy.
Maarten Decombel (Mandolinman, Snaarmaarwaar, Ialma)[50][55][45]
is the guitarist and mandolist, Luc Pilartz (Panta Rhei, Trio Trad, Faran Flad)[26][20][43]
the violinist, Pascale Rubens (Naragonia duo) the diatonic accordionist and violinist, and Toon Van Mierlo
(Naragonia duo, Hot Griselda)[53]
the soprano saxophonist, diatonic accordionist and bagpipes player.
Watch "Mira" @ YouTube!
Judy Nazemetz "Balancing Act" (CD, Own label, 2017).
"Balancing Act" is a selection of a dozen comedic songs in various styles (folk, country, jazz, reggae),
addressing lousy drivers, hanging clothes on the line,
holidays from the perspective of a certain Mrs. Claus, and some more serious issues.
Watch "He Said My Name Right" @ YouTube!
Frank Newsome "Gone Away With A Friend" (CD, Free Dirt Records, 2018).
"Gone Away with a Friend" is an a cappella release from hymn singer and preacher Frank Newsome of the tiny coal-mining town of Haysi, Virginia,
recorded at his Little David Church in 2006. Frank was close friends with the late bluegrass singer and banjo player Ralph Stanley
and you can hear the same high, lonesome sound in their voices that hymn singing brought to bluegrass muisc.
Read more @ Billboard
Ninebarrow "The Waters & The Wild" (CD, Winding Track, 2018).
Last year Jon Whitley and Jay LaBouchardiere, a.k.a. Ninebarrow
after Nine Barrow Down in the Purbeck hills, were nominated as Best Emerging Act
at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
The Dorset duo had carved themselves a distinctive niche on the folk roots
scene for their close harmonies and delicate instrumentation.
Their third album ,"The Waters & The Wild,"
again mixes original songs (sometimes tapping into the
history of their home county) with folk standards and dalliances with poetry.
Check out teaser @ YouTube!
Oliver The Crow "Oliver The Crow" (CD, Own label, 2018).
Comprised solely of classically-trained cellist Kaitlyn Raitz and violinist Ben Plotnick (a primary member of string quartet
The Fretless),[66]
each of the ten original songs on their sparse and stripped down debut album
unlocks a different musical section in the realm of folk music.
Check out @ "Ashes From A Day Gone By",
One on One Session!
Ol' Savannah "Fill My Cup at De Melkbus: Live in Dordrecht, Netherlands" (CD, Own label, 2018).
Montreal-based folk/roots band Ol' Savannah, whose style has been compared to a mix of Tom Waits, Roscoe Holcomb, Muddy Waters and The Pogues,
are excited to announce the release of their first live album,
recorded in October 2017 at Mini-theatre De Melkbus in Dordrecht, Netherlands.
The 17-track album is comprised from songs from each of the group's four studio albums,
as well as two cover songs, United Steel Workers of Montreal's "Shot Tower" and Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir's "Go Back Home".
Watch videos @ www.olsavannah.com!
Matthew O'Neill "Trophic Cascade" (CD, Underwater Panther Coalition, 2017).
Having spent much of his early years living nomadically in National Forests and on Indian reservations,
Matthew O’Neill channels the sounds of americana, psychedelia, soul, folk, rock’n’roll, funk, world and country, along with the spirits and sights of the great outdoors.
Watch "Gates" @ YouTube!
Levi Parham "It’s All Good" (CD, Horton Records, 2018).
One of the most talented Okies around, Levi Parham gathered an all star Tulsa band
to record 8 brand new songs. The outcome is "a combination of mean soulful guitar riffs
and loose vibey grooves, with hints of inspiration and influence from Derek And The Dominos,
The Band, The Rolling Stones, The Allman Bros, and even Oasis."
Listen to "Boxmeer Blues" @ YouTube!
Clay Parker & Jodi James "The Lonesomest Sound That Can Sound" (CD, Own label, 2018).
“Was the lonesomest sound, boys / that ever heard sound, boys / like the midnight wind, boy / when the curfew blows.” (Woody Guthrie)
Clay Parker and Jodi James are unafraid of experimenting, often intermixing psychedelia and cosmic country into their classic harmonies.
Watch Clay and Jodi perform "Gallows Tree"!
Both Clay and Jodi have a musical role in the Ethan Hawke biopic about country singer-songwriter Blaze Foley, "Blaze."
Check out trailer!
Gary Paul "American Rd" (CD, Storm Canyon Music, 2018).
Gary Paul's musical journey has led him from Santa Fe, New Mexico to straddle gospel, country, blues and funk.
Watch the bluesy "Southwest Chief" (a traveling troubadour longs to get back home to the woman
he left behind and takes the Southwest Chief passenger train to get there)
@ YouTube!
Gretchen Peters "Dancin with the Beast" (CD, Proper Records, 2018);
"Sad Songs Make Me Happy" (Downlad, 2018).
"Dancing with the Beast," the new album from Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter
Gretchen Peters,[59]
puts female characters front and center,
with the 2017 Women’s March and the #MeToo Movement as bookends to her writing time.
Check out the first single "Disappearing Act" (Official Lyric Video) @ YouTube,
Download a handpicked sampler, including "Disappearing Act"
and Gretchen's performances of songs she originally wrote for other
artists (Bryan Adams, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Faith Hill)
for free @ NoiseTrade!
Peter V Blues Train "Running Out Of Time" (CD, Own label, 2018).
Busting right out of the gate with steaming full-bore blues, funk, soul and swinging good time
music is the Peter V Blues Train, led by guitarist-vocalist Peter Veteska, and their third album "Running Out Of Time".
Watch the acoustic blues "Time For Me To Go," which slips in as a delightful palette cleanser
@ YouTube!
David Philips "Get Along" (CD, Black and Tan Records, 2018).
Infusing blues, soul and Americana, David Philips continues with his D.I.Y. approach for this his 7th album to date.
More upbeat, Philips still manages to keep things raw and centered around his voice and
acoustic guitar playing.
Listen @ SoundCloud!
Plantec "Live at The Festival Interceltique Lorient" (CD/DVD, Fury Breizh (Coop Breizh), 2018).
Breton Celtic rockers Plantec[61]
are carrying the torch of tradition. They know their Breton dance tunes
and the audience at 2017's Festival Interceltique de Lorient
know their steps and moves.
Check out teaser @ YouTube!
Brendan Power "Unadorned - New Irish Harmonica 2" (CD, Own label, 2018).
New Zealand born harmonica player Brendan Power[47]
did win the All-Ireland competition in 1993, his 1994 album "New Irish Harmonica" became an instant success
leading to cooperations with Altan, Paul Brady, Donal Lunny, Mary Black, and many more. 25 years later he refreshed his approach to Irish music and felt
it right to record a new tune collection.
Watch Brendan Power & Laura Jowers playing two Irish reels live in Randers, Denmark @ YouTube!
John Prine "The Road to 'The Tree of Forgiveness’" (Video, 2018).
John Prine[61]
is touring Europe in August 2018!
In this short film, he spends an afternoon driving around Nashville while talking about his journey from mailman to country
singer-songwriter. He plays “Summer’s End” from 'The Tree of Forgiveness’, his first collection of
new material since 2005's Grammy-winning 'Fair and Square,’ while fans including Rosanne Cash and Todd Snider share their favorite Prine lyrics.
Watch it @ YouTube!
The Rails "Bonnie Portmore" (Video, 2014).
Kami Thompson and James Walbourne (lead guitar for artists such as The Pretenders and Ray Davies)
first met during sessions for an album by Kami’s mother Linda Thompson. Now the duo is
about to release an album themselves which they described as “folk-rock on steroids.”
The Rails are touring North America this summer in support of The Pretenders.
Watch The Rails perform "Bonnie Portmore" @ YouTube!
Kid Ramos "Old School" (CD, Rip Cat Records, 2018).
Southern California blues guitarist David 'Kid' Ramos returns with a new album:
»A lot has happened since the last record, 'Greasy Kid Stuff,' in 2001. Since then I've fathered two small boys into young men, beat cancer
... It's been about 17 years. I figured it was about the right time to put out a blues record.«
"Old School" was made at Big Jon Atkinson's[61]
home studio, featuring Johnny Tucker (see below) on vocals. Watch Kid Ramos and his band putting on one hell of a show @ YouTube!
Reverend Freakchild "Dial It In" (CD, Floating Records/Treated and Released Records, 2018).
Reverend Freakchild's first album since 2016's "Illogical Optimism"[60]
draws from his trademark psychedelic blues rock, featuring a raw blues version of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus"
and a jazzy Bob Dylan's "It's Alright, Ma".
Watch Reverend Freakchild performing the title track "Dial It In" live @ YouTube!
Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin' Altar Boys "My Life - Twentieth Anniversary" (CD, Nevermore Records, 2017).
Chicago blues veterans The Chain Smoking Altar Boys, led by guitarist-singer Reverend Raven, celebrate 20 years
with a compilation of re-mixed or re-recorded songs from their studio sessions, featuring
traditional blues as well as swing, jump and rhumba.
Watch live performance @ YouTube!
Eliza Rickman "Pretty Little Head" (Video, 2018).
Pegged by LA Weekly as "not your average songwriter,"
Eliza Rickman meets a gruesome end in her macabre new music
video. In the visual, Eliza quite literally loses her head.
Watch "Pretty Little Head" @ YouTube!
Breezy Rodio "Sometimes The Blues Got Me" (CD, Delmark Records, 2018).
The blues has got him, sometimes his lover, sometimes his tormentor.
Chicago based guitarist Breezy Rodio embodies this axiom with everything he does, pouring his heart and soul into
over an hour of inspired blues, funk, soul and classic jazz.
Watch the slinky blues "Wrapped Up In Love Again" from Albert King live @ YouTube!
Pharis & Jason Romero "Sweet Old Religion" (CD, Own label, 2018).
This is banjo makers Pharis & Jason Romero's[52]
first album made up of entirely original songs,
after a harrowing year that saw their workshop destroyed by fire and rebuilt by their community.
Watch them perform the title track from "Sweet Old Religion,"
an ode to old religions based on love and light and an encouragement of individual’s power to feel love in the world no matter their beliefs
@ YouTube!
Stuart Rose "atmosphere" (EP, Own label, 2018).
Stuart Rose is an Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, embarking on his second international solo tour with shows in the UK,
Germany and the Netherlands. Watch Stuart Rose live @ YouTube!
David Rovics "Live in Houston" (Digital Album, 2018).
David Rovics's[32]
intimate show at the venerable Dan Electro's Guitar Bar in the grand megalopolis of Houston,
Texas on March 30th, 2018 was recorded professionally.
Check it out @ BandCamp!
Ft. Ballad of a Wobbly,
I'm A Better Anarchist Than You,
St Patrick Battalion,
Make the Planet Earth Great Again, ...
Peter Rowan "Carter Stanley's Eyes" (CD, Rebel Records, 2018).
Singer-songwriter-guitarist Peter Rowan[49] pays respects to bluegrass's most famous brothers, Carter (1925- 1966) and Ralph Stanley (1927-2016),
as well as his former boss Bill Monroe, the Louvin Brothers and Lead Belly.
Check out Peter Rowan live on Bluegrass Country Radio @ YouTube!
The Rowan Tree "Tresor" (Song, 2018).
Cornish folk band The Rowan Tree did win this years
Liet International XXL,
the first time a Cornish act has won the competition.
Check out the winning song 'Tresor' which celebrates Cornwall's mining and industrial
heritage @ SoundCloud!
Rachael Sage "Myopia" (CD, MPress Records, 2018).
In two decades, New York City alt-pop artist Rachael Sage[61]
has released a dozen albums. Her 13th album "Myopia" is somewhat of a departure, with most songs written on the guitar instead of her trademark piano.
Watch the most positive song, "Alive," featuring young dancer Elliana Walmsley of the "Dance Moms" reality show
@ YouTube!
Salamander “Como la Rosa” (CD, Liljans antikvariat HB, 2018).
This Swedish trio from Gothenburg is these days and on this album dedicated to Jewish folk music, mostly from the Sephardic traditions (following previously a much wider European, Mediterranean and Asian repertoire). This focus on Jewish music comes simply from the Swedish musicians being captivated by the beauty and raw emotional power of the music. The trio features vocals, guitar, violin, mandolin and other instruments.
Cina Samuelson "Sweet Mama, Elvis, and Me / How Long Is Forever" (Single, Cool Country Music, 2018).
”My mother was a wonderful woman, she loved music, she loved to sing and she really loved to dance",
says Swedish country music artist Cina Samuelson.[50]
”The song 'Sweet Mama' is about a very special moment for me, my mother and a man called Elvis.
The song 'How Long Is Forever' is about a couple getting married and the promise to stay together forever.
But the question is; How long is forever?"
Hannah Sanders & Ben Savage "Awake" (CD, Sungrazing Records, 2018).
Two years after their duo debut, Hannah Sanders (lead vocals, dulcimer) and Ben Savage (guitar)
have returned with another consummate selection of traditional ("Reynardine", "Santa Fe Trail"), contemporary ("Way Over Younder In The Minor Key")
and self-penned songs about unrequited love and mythological characters.
Watch the doomed romance "I Met A Man",
and Billy Bragg's setting of Woody Guthrie's "Way Over Yonder"!
Gina Sicilia "Tug of War Best Of" (Download, 2018).
Gina Sicilia's seventh album, "Tug of War" (2017), celebrates her status as one of the reigning voices in modern blues and soul.
Download "Tug of War Best Of" @ NoiseTrade!
Skerryvore "Evo" (CD, Tyree Records, 2018).
Evo = an unfolding, opening out, process of development from a simple to a complex form or of gradual, progressive change.
And the sixth studio album of one of Scotland’s finest musical exports, Skerryvore,
full of their trademark fusion of folk, trad, rock and Americana.
Watch ‘Take My Hand’ @ YouTube!
The Slocan Ramblers "Queen City Jubilee" (CD, Own label, 2018).
Canada’s bluegrass band to watch, The Slocan Ramblers, have been winning over audiences everywhere,
possessing a bold, dynamic sound rooted in tradition.
The Slocan Ramblers will showcase their unique blend of bluegrass, old-time and folk
on an extensive tour of the UK mid-October to mid-November 2018!
In the meantiem watch "Sun’s Gonna Shine in My Back Door Someday",
"Mighty Hard Road",
"Hillbilly Blues/Deer on the River"!
Scott Smith "Igniting The Flame" (EP, Own label, 2018).
Scott Smith’s 2016 debut album "The Sum Of Life" found the country rocker earning praise for 'his strong homage to rock
and roll' and 'vocals that call to mind Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan'. On his latest 6-track EP "Igniting The Flame",
the Frisco Bay Area singer songwriter waxes about his own career: “God bless the light that shows the way, there’s
some black and white then some grey, invest in your future, plant some seeds, it wouldn’t be a journey if you know where it leads.”
Listen to Youtube playlist!
Speedbuggy USA "Kick Out The Twang" (CD, Wagon Wheel Records, 2018).
Speedbuggy USA is one of LA's most distinguished cowpunk bands with an eclectic mix of country, rock, soul and blues.
Watch "Honky Tonk Singer",
& "Hold My Head Up High"!
Speedbuggy USA will be touring Europe in support of the release in July!
Arturo Stàlteri "Low & Loud" (CD, Felmay, 2017).
Play softly, play loud, but play. Free your unconscious. "Low & Loud" is Arturo Stàlteri's[56]
homage to the solo piano and its tonal and dynamic nuances with a repertoire that ranges from Classic
(J.S. Bach's choral "Wachet Auf, Ruft Uns Die Stimme") to Celtic lullabies and Rock (Rolling Stones' "Lady Jane").
The album ends with the a reworking of the famous "Canon In D Major" by Johann Pachelbel for three pianos,
originally written for three violins and basso continuo.
Check out Arturo Stàlteri presenting "Low & Loud" in Napoli @ YouTube!
Eilidh Steel & Mark Neal "Imprints" (CD, Own label, 2018).
Edinburgh-based fiddler Eilidh Steel and guitarist Mark Neal have recorded their first full-length album
of enthralling Scottish tunes, including a striking duo rendition of the old Gaelic air "Cruachan Bheann,"
plus Mark singing two traditional ballads and two self-penned songs.
Check out promo video @ YouTube!
Gary Stroutsos "Night Chants – Native American Flute" (CD, ARC Music, 2018).
‘Night Chants’ is a collection of 16 original compositions by
multi-instrumentalist Gary Stroutsos expressing the ancient traditions of sacred and secular music,
that have been passed down through generations. Gary Stroutsos performs on the full range of flutes
including the traditional Dakota 5-hole and 6-hole cedar flute;
Hopi southwest desert rim flute, clay aerophones, river cane wind whistles, etc.
Chip Taylor "Fix Your Words" (CD, Trainwreck Records, 2018).
Chip Taylor (The Troggs) has been writing and performing for nearly 60 years and shows no sign of slowing down. The New York Times
says, “If you only know him as the as the guy who wrote ‘Wild Thing’ and ‘Angel of the Morning” — you don’t know him! Chip Taylor is making some of
the most distinctive acoustic music around today.”
Listen to "Fix Your Words" @ YouTube!
CeCe Teneal & Soul Kamotion "#5or5000" (CD, Own label, 2018).
Their new live album showcases their trademark blend of blues, soul & funk
and their message of hope, love and the belief that anything is possible.
The album's title "#5or5000" reflects CeCe Teneal's (daughter of blues singer Yvonne Jackson)
mission of giving 100% whether there are 5 or 5,000 people in the audience.
Check out their performance for the NPR Tiny Desk Contest 2018 @ YouTube!
Fraya Thomsen "Phrenetikos" (CD, Own Label, 2018).
A young Scottish harpist and composer with several awards to her credit, Fraya wrote and performed this music for the Edinburgh Harp Festival. It combines harp, wordless vocals, and some Gaelic lyrics across four pieces, all with a quite contemporary sound. The compositions are challenging at times, dissonant and complex, but also very beautiful, evoking windswept islands and distant temples and gentle streams. This is pioneering work, and I look forward to a larger body of music from Ms Thomsen in the near future.
Track Dogs "Kansas City Out Groove" (CD, Mondegreen Records, 2018).
Touring Spain, the UK and Ireland in spring/summer 2018, Madrid-based Irish-English-American quartet Track Dogs
presents the latest variation of their Latino-American folk and pop fusion, including 4-part harmonies, acoustic guitar,
ukulele and bass alongside cajón and trumpet, with a bit of banjo and mandolin thrown in for good measure.
Watch ‘Long Gone’,
‘I Don’t Wanna Ruin It’!
Tribal Seeds "Roots Party" (CD, Own label, 2018).
San Diego reggae band Tribal Seeds is heading to Europe for the first time.
Check out @ YouTube channel!
TriOrgànico "Floresta" (CD, Home Records, 2018).
Triorgánico is made up of Mexican-born, Belgian-based multi-instrumentalist Osvaldo Hernandez Napoles,[45]
marimba and glockenspiel player Juan Carlos Bonifaz Ordonez and percussionist Patricia Hernandez Van Cauwenberge,
offering a fragant bouquet of the rich and diverse musical flowers of Latin America.
Check out teaser @ YouTube!
Steven Troch "Rhymes for Mellow Minds" (CD, Sing My Title, 2018).
A drunk staring at neon-lit hookers and a pretty girl whose boyfriend looks like Woody Allen
are characters in the song universe of Belgian harmonica player and songwriter Steven Troch,
who once again brings contemporary and vintage-style rhythms and rhymes to 'Mellow Minds'.
Watch "15 Minutes" @ YouTube!
Johnny Tucker "Seven Day Blues" (CD, High John, 2017).
Vocalist and drummer Johnny Tucker is the 10th child of 19 siblings to a seasonal sharecropper and his wife.
His interest in the blues began when he would sit on the porch and listen to his father play the guitar for his mother.
HighJohn Records teamed him up with harmonica player Big Jon Atkinson,
guitarist Bob Corritore,[61]
and others for a series of sessions of classic R&B and Chicago-style blues.
Watch the Chicago blues shuffle ‘Tired Of Doing Nothing’ @ YouTube!
Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards "Anger" (Video, 2018).
As written in a review, “Uncle Bard & The Dirty Bastards[55]
are really Ireland’s adopted sons and have brought a new breeze to the European Celtic punk/rock scene.”
The Italian celtic-punk band has just released a new video
for the song "Anger", originally included in thwir "Handmade!" album.
Watch "Anger" @ YouTube!
Jay Ungar & Molly Mason "The Quiet Room" (CD, Fiddle & Dance Records, 2018).
Way back in 2002, Molly Mason[27]
created a compilation of healing music to give to friends and acquaintances facing health problems or other difficult times,
just like she was facing herself. "The Quiet Room" is Molly's compilation plus three special new recordings.
Read the background story @ JayandMolly.com!
Stream it @ BandCamp!
Valtònyc "Bella Ciao" (Download/Video, 2018).
"Social inequality is more violent than any song", says Josep Miquel Arenas Beltrán (a.k.a. Valtonyc).
The Spanish rapper was making headlines after condemned for
glorification of terrorism, slander and lèse-majesté in his lyrics. To avoid 3,5 years of prison,
he went into exile to Belgium where he sang a cover of "Bella Ciao," ft. Ialma,
Lucilla Galeazzi, Didier Laloy and Maarten Decombel. Download the audio file @
Home Records!
Watch Making Of @ YouTube!
Jenny Van West "Happiness to Burn" (CD, Own label, 2018).
Jenny Van West's second full-length album "Happiness to Burn" consists of 10 songs that fuse folk, rock, swing and country
that she describes herself as “confessional fiction that connects introspection and personal experience.”
Watch the jazzy title track "Happiness to Burn" @ YouTube!
J.J. Vicars "Irreverent Dissident" (CD, Annie Gator Records, 2017).
J.J. Vicars' first release since returning to the US after a decade abroad features his
signature hard-driving blues, boogie & rock ‘n’ roll tied together by his trademark snarling guitar and gruff vocals.
Watch the autobiographical rocker "Long Way From Home @ YouTube!
Mare Wakefield & Nomad "Time to Fly" (CD, Own label, 2018).
Southeast Texan Mare Wakefield's whimsical lyrics and stories are given wings by her Turkish born husband and pianist Nomad,
sometimes jazzy, sometimes cinematic.
Watch Mare and Nomad performing "Time to Fly" in their Nashville studio @ YouTube!
Norma Waterson & Eliza Carthy with The Gift Band "Anchor" (CD, Topic Records, 2018).
The 'Gift' album (2010)[43]
was mother and daughter Norma Waterson and Eliza Carthy's first duo release and went on to win Best Album and Best Traditional Track at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
Their new album, 'Anchor,' again features an eclectic collection of both traditional and contemporary songs.
Watch Norma Waterson and The Gift Band (Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy, Kate St. John, Neill MacColl, Pete Thomas) playing "The Elfin Knight,"
collected by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger in the 1950s, at Normafest 2018 @ YouTube!
Wentus Blues Band "Throwback" (CD, Bear Family, 2018).
Established in 1986, the Wentus Blues Band from Kokkola, Finland, has acquired a reputation as the hardest-working blues outfit in Scandinavia.
With their new album the group wanted to pay a tribute to some of their heroes (ranging from Canned Heat to Louisiana Red) by playing their songs.
Watch the Wentus Blues Band play Swedish blues icon Sven Zetterberg's "Let Me Get Over it" @ YouTube!
Hedy West "From Granmaw and Me" (CD, Fledg'ling Records, 2018).
"From Granmaw and Me" is an unreleased collection of songs the late American folk revival singer Hedy West (1938–2005)
learned from her grandmother, Lillie Etta Mulkey West; songs that had travelled with emigrants from
Britain and Ireland to the US during the 17th to 19th century. Hedy sings and plays banjo and guitar,
some tracks are introduced by Lillie herself.
Whitherward "The Anchor" (CD, Own label, 2017).
Compared to Simon & Garfunkel and The Civil Wars, US indie folk trio
Whitherward (songwriters Ashley E Norton and Edward A Williams and violinist Stephanie Groot)
decided to hit the road permanently, never settling anywhere and living to play music they love for people who love music.
Watch the title track off their 5th album release , "The Anchor" @ YouTube!
Caroline Wickberg "I'm Not Mad" (EP, Own label, 2018).
Early on, Caroline Wickberg realized the only thing that made her voice sound good was when she sang her own songs.
She ended up a sound engineer at safe distance from the stage, but is ready now to step out into the light
with her 5-track pop/country/jazz EP ”I’m Not Mad,” sincerely circling around separation, death and letting go.
Chelsea Williams "Lonely Girl" (Video, 2018).
L.A. singer/songwriter Chelsea Williams has been having much fun ping-ponging around the country.
This video of "Lonely Girl" was shot and recorded at The Clubhouse Austin,
watch it @ YouTube!
Meg Williams "Maybe Someday" (CD, Own label, 2017).
The recent transplant to Nashville from upstate New York, singer/songwriter-guitarist Meg Williams
has made the most of her first year in Music City, eventually releasing a 6-track EP, "Maybe Someday,"
featuring full-blown blues rock and soul tunes and no country twang at all.
Watch the groovy rocker "You Let Me Down" @ YouTube!
Courtney Yasmineh "High Priestess and the Renegade" (CD, Own label, 2018).
There are elements of folk, gospel, r'n'b, pop, and punk and
Courtney Yasmineh’s own signature Guyatone guitar keeps the vibe more D.I.Y. than polished throughout.
The touring duo of Courtney and Rob Genadek will be in Europe playing the entire album at shows.
Watch 'Remedy' @ YouTube!
500 Miles to Memphis “Broken, Busted, Bloody”, “Bethel, OH” (Video, 2018).
Cincinnatti’s country-punk kings, 500 Miles to Memphis, are currently working on a project called
the Basement Bluegrass Sessions. They are recording bluegrass versions of their music and a few
cover songs which will culminate in a 6-song free bluegrass digital EP.
Watch the first two songs: “Broken, Busted, Bloody”,
“Bethel, OH”!
Various Artists
Various Artists "Antologie moravské lidové hudby CD 8 - Smrti, milá smrti"
(CD, Indies Scope, 2018).
Every beginning has its end. Birth has its counterpart in death.
The last part of the extensive "Anthology of Moravian Folk Music,"[47]
which features a total of 234 songs, deals with "Smrti, milá smrti" (Reaper, Dear Reaper).
The compilation features songs, mostly from the Horňácko region, about dying, parting, mourning,
also some kind of black humor.
Check out Martin Hrbáč & Musica Folklorica playing "Včéra umreła Dudovi žena" @ YouTube!
Various Artists "Epilogue - A Tribute to John Duffey" (CD, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2018).
This compilation is dedicated to bluegrass guitarist/mandolinist John Humbird Duffey Jr. (1934–1996),
whose contributions to The Country Gentlemen and The Seldom Scene helped transform the genre from a
regional Appalachian music to a sophisticated, urban sound. Ft. some of the finest current players
in bluegrass, including John Cowan, Bruce Molsky, Tim O'Brien, and so many more.
Check out "Sunrise" featuring Sam Bush and Bela Fleck @ Spotify!
Various Artists "Musical Explorers: Waves of Joy - Bauls from Bengal" (CD/DVD, ARC Music, 2018).
This is the fifth release in ARC Music's Musical Explorers series curated by Songlines editor Simon Broughton,
this time celebrating poetry and song of the bauls, the revered Bengali troubadours.
‘Waves of Joy’ had been filmed in 1973 at the Kenduli Mela in West Bengal, a huge musical and religious gathering.
The songs on the accompanying CD were recorded in nearby Shantiniketan in 2001.
Watch teaser @ YouTube!
