Folk
Neil Young Announces Official Release Series Volume 4 Box Set
Neil Young has announced the coming release of his latest box set, Official Release Series Volume 4, out April 29th via Reprise Records. The collector’s item will include three of Young’s albums from the ’80s: 1980’s Hawks & Doves, 1981’s Re•ac•tor with Crazy Horse, and 1988’s This Note’s for You with The Bluenotes, as well as his 1989 EP Eldorado, which has previously only been available in Japan and Australia. Coming to the US for the very first time, Eldorado features the singer-songwriter backed by The Restless (Chad Cromwell and Rick Rosas) on tracks such as “Cocaine Eyes,” “Heavy Love,” and “On Broadway.” Advertisement Related Video The box set will be available in vinyl and CD editions. While the CD version will be available for purchase through all retailers, fans can only get ...
Bonnie Raitt Announces New Album Just Like That…, Shares “Made Up Mind”: Stream
Bonnie Raitt has readied her 21st(!) album, Just Like That… Ahead of the project’s April 22nd release day, the singer-songwriter has shared first single “Made Up Mind,” and announced a massive, eight-month tour. Raitt recorded Just Like That… last summer with collaborators old and new. Longtime bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson and drummer Ricky Fataar return to their posts, while new additions Glenn Patscha and Kenny Greenberg lend keyboards, backing vocals, and guitar. George Marinelli, Raitt’s longtime guitarist and songwriting partner, also returns for the track “Livin’ for the Ones.” Raitt produced the album herself in collaboration with engineer Ryan Freeland. “On this record, I wanted to stretch,” Raitt said of Just Like That… “I always want to find songs that excite me, an...
Tomberlin Announces New Album i don’t know who needs to hear this…, Shares Single “happy accident”: Stream
Singer-songwriter Sarah Beth Tomberlin is preparing to release a new album: The folk artist’s sophomore record i don’t know who needs to hear this… is due out April 29th via Saddle Creek. Along with its announcement today, Tomberlin has shared the new single “happy accident,” as well as North American and European tour dates for Spring 2022. Tomberlin wrote i don’t know who needs to hear this… with the intention of giving listeners an opportunity to hold the space to feel the depths of their emotions. Here, she blends the homey folk of Joni Mitchell with the moody pop of Frank Ocean and the chilling ambient of Grouper. Now that Tomberlin has settled into her new home base of Brooklyn among a fleet of musical collaborators, much of i don’t know who needs to hear this… was rec...
Andy Shauf Shares New Songs “Satan” and “Jacob Rose”: Stream
Andy Shauf is continuing his hot streak today with two new songs, “Satan” and “Jacob Rose.” As per usual for the Toronto singer-songwriter, both songs are centered around his knack for poignant storytelling over pleasant melodies. While “Satan” is a subtly gorgeous acoustic number, its origins are much darker, inspired by Shauf’s upbringing in a strict evangelical household where he wasn’t allowed to participate in Halloween festivities. “The Christianity that I was brought up in said that believers went to heaven and non-believers went to hell,” Shauf said in a statement. “A sort of cartoon-like simplification of ancient texts. So with the lyrics of [“Satan”], I was trying to take this cartoon-like simplification of life (and death) and pair it with a cartoon-like version of this Christia...
Bob Dylan Unveils “Never Ending Tour” Dates for Spring 2022
Bob Dylan’s “Never Ending Tour” is back. Today, the legendary singer-songwriter announced the next leg of his expedition around the world for Spring 2022, in support of his most recent album, 2020’s Rough and Rowdy Ways. Dylan’s “Never Ending Tour” resumes in Phoenix on March 3rd. The 27-date run will take him primarily through the southwest US over the course of five weeks, wrapping up in Oklahoma City on April 14th. If your city has yet to be announced, however, have no fear: Dylan’s website teases the “Never Ending Tour” as continuing all the way through 2024, with more dates to be announced. As for this run, a ticket pre-sale begins on January 27th at 10:00 a.m. local time, with general on-sale on the 28th. Grab your tickets over at Ticketmaster. Advertisement Related Video Prepare for...
Neil Young Unveils Documentary on Making of New Album BARN: Watch
Back in December, Neil Young and Crazy Horse released BARN, an album recorded in a restored 19th century farm shed. Now, they’ve released a documentary on the making of the album. Stream it for free via YouTube below. Recorded in the Summer of 2021, BARN (the album) marked Young’s 14th long player with Crazy Horse, and saw the folk veteran reunite with longtime bandmates Billy Talbot, Ralph Molina, and Nils Lofgren. Directed by Young’s wife Daryl Hannah, BARN (the film) takes an organic approach to documenting the recording process. Single shots depict the band recording entire songs, which is Hannah’s attempt to show the group’s chemistry and prove that no studio tricks polished the album’s finished product. The documentary enjoyed a limited run in theaters last month to coincid...
Czech Folk Singer Dies of COVID-19 After Intentionally Catching the Virus
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes: Hana Horká, a folk singer hailing from the Czech Republic, died over the weekend after intentionally catching COVID-19. Horká, who also performed in the popular Czech band Asonance, “preferred to catch the disease than get vaccinated,” her son told Prague Morning. Her son, Jan Rek, said that both he and his father caught COVID-19 over Christmas. Rather than stay away from them, Horká intentionally exposed herself to the virus, with the hope that she would catch it and then qualify for a “recovery pass.” (In the Czech Republic, either proof of vaccination or a recent infection is required to access theaters, cinemas, bars, and cafes.) Advertisement Related Video Horká, who frequently shared anti-vaccine articles on social media, initially bragged about ...
Janis Ian on Her Complicated Friendship with Nina Simone and Resisting a Male-Dominated Industry
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Janis Ian sits down to talk with Kyle Meredith about The Light at the End of the Line, which has been announced to be her final studio album. Related Video The legendary folk songwriter tells us why she is choosing to close this chapter of her career, the public perception of artists after the spotlight has moved on, and leaving easter eggs within the new set that speak to some of her past classics. Ian goes on to discuss writing a song about Nina Simone and their complicated friendship, as well as writing “Resist” as an answer to a male-dominated industry and society. Advertisement Listen to Janis Ian discuss her final studio...
Aldous Harding Announces New Album Warm Chris, Shares “Lawn”: Stream
Aldous Harding has a new album on the way. The New Zealand musician’s fourth studio album, Warm Chris, is out March 25th on 4AD, and lead single “Lawn” is available to stream now. Warm Chris follows Harding’s 2019 album Designer, and, like its predecessor, was produced by English musician John Parish. Harding discussed the making of the record in a statement. “It was recorded in my favorite place on earth — Rockfield Studios with John Parish, H. Hawkline, Steve Rockford, and engineer Joe Jones,” she said. “Listening back, it sounds to me like there’s something completely new happening with my voice. The vocals are tiny. I won’t try to speak about sound too much, because it’s here, and I don’t want to ruin or create a surprise. It reminds me personally/musically of ...
Sufjan Stevens Shares His Favorite and Least Favorite “Albums” of 2021
Long after most music publications shared their Best of 2021 lists (cough cough), Sufjan Stevens has arrived fashionably late to the opinion-dumping party. The musician caused a bit of a stir today by sharing not only his favorite, but also his least favorite albums of the year on his Tumblr blog; Sure, most of his favorite albums didn’t come out in 2021, and most of his least favorite albums aren’t even albums at all, but who’s going to stop him? He’s Sufjan Stevens! Some of the notable highlights from Stevens’ favorites list include Alain Goraguer’s soundtrack to La Planète Sauvage, a.k.a. Fantastic Planet, the wildly trippy 1973 animated sci-fi film. He also took a liking to new age icon Beverly Glenn-Copeland’s 1986 masterpiece, Keyboard Fantasies. As far as more re...
Bob Dylan Gives Our Half-Assed Year a Half-Assed Christmas Light Show
As the neighbor of Bob Dylan, author and journalist Merrill Markoe has become a celebrity reporter of sorts. For over a decade, she’s documented and analyzed the folk singer’s Christmas lights outside his Malibu home, and this year’s interpretation — Markoe’s last ever — has finally arrived. From half-assed string lights to basic plaster nativity scenes, Dylan’s decorations have prompted Markoe to ask one simple question: “What does it mean?” But the task has proven gruesome as the years have gone by. “Because people keep bugging me, here are you-know-who’s Xmas lights. For THE VERY LAST TIME,” Markoe wrote on Twitter. “But I can no longer take the strain of trying to translate such an obscure method of communication. See thread for my LAST interpretation EVER.” This year, Dylan resorted t...
Fleet Foxes Share New Live Album A Very Lonely Solstice: Stream
The official troubadours of winter, Fleet Foxes, have shared a new live album today. Appropriately titled A Very Lonely Solstice, Robin Pecknold and company recorded the 13-track project in December 2020 at the St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn, New York. Originally broadcast as a livestream, the songs on A Very Lonely Solstice spans Fleet Foxes’ entire career across all four of their studio albums, from their early highlights like 2008’s “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” to modern favorites like “Can I Believe You.” The album also includes Pecknold’s renditions of Nina Simone’s “In the Morning” and a rearrangement of the traditional American folk ballad “Silver Dagger.” Now with its proper release, Pecknold says A Very Lonely Solstice “[honors] the loneliness of...
