Since his devastating death in April 2020, John Prine’s legacy has been carried out by way of countless tributes. This week, Tyler Childers is adding another contribution to the plethora of Prine covers with his rendition of “Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You,” a preview single of the forthcoming tribute album Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, Vol. 2. Take a listen below. “Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You” originally appeared on Prine’s 1972 record, Diamonds in the Rough. Childers’ version slows the tempo down a bit, boasting hi-fi production and a more fleshed-out instrumental. Its twangy sound, however, still stays true to Prine’s bluegrass roots. Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, Vol. 2 is set for release on October...
The latest album from Brandi Carlile is here. In These Silent Days, the folk rocker’s seventh studio album, arrives today via Low Country Sound/Elektra. She recorded the full-length at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A alongside producers Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings, as well as her longtime collaborators and bandmates Tim and Phil Hanseroth. In These Silent Days grapples with themes such as acceptance, loss, and faith, calling to mind the grandeur of classic songwriters like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and Joni Mitchell. “I never imagined that I’d feel so exposed and weird as an artist without the armor of a costume, the thrill of an applause and the platform of the sacred stage,” Carlile said of the album in a statement. “Despite all this, the songs flowed throu...
In our Track by Track feature, artists unveil the inspirations and stories behind each song on their new album. Today, Tim Showalter of Strand of Oaks takes us track by track through his new record In Heaven. Tim Showalter has unveiled his seventh studio album as Strand of Oaks, In Heaven. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. The follow-up to 2019’s Eraserland finds Showalter in a different place, both physically and emotionally. He relocated to Austin, Texas, stopped drinking, and his family experienced profound grief. “In Heaven was created with so much love and my greatest hope is that it connects with people and provides a momentary space for reflection, joy, catharsis and whatever else someone might be looking for in their life,” he said in a ...
Earlier this year, Tamara Lindeman staked her claim in indie rock with Ignorance, her latest album as The Weather Station. Still reeling in its success, the folk musician has released a deluxe edition of the already-beloved record today via Fat Possum; physical copies will be available on November 19th. Ignorance (Deluxe) comes in a double-LP format that features the original tracklist, some stripped-down performances, and two brand-new tracks called “Look” and “Better Now.” “I wrote ‘Better Now’ in Banff, Alberta, in stolen moments as I was teaching songwriting and writing for myself,” Lindeman said in a statement. “It’s all just true; the mountains, the piano, the first line, the pain of being hurt and the joy of being alright anyways.” Furthermore, Lindeman writes: “Whene...
Listen via: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | Stitcher | Google | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Singer-songwriter Aimee Mann talks about her struggles with anxiety and depression on the latest episode of the Going There with Dr. Mike podcast. Mann explains how her obsessive thoughts can be so powerful and overwhelming, that her depression is almost a response to keep the intensity of her thoughts in check — like a “lid” that keeps her anxiety in check. She also discusses how just as mental illness is devastating when we experience it ourselves, it is also crushing when someone close to us struggles with their own issues. ] Advertisement Related Video She takes on this difficult topic in her new song “Suicide ...
Brandi Carlile has always been upfront about her love for Joni Mitchell, often playing songs by the folk legend onstage while on tour. Over the weekend, though, Carlile played a particularly special set for SiriusXM’s Small Stage concert series where she broke out a show-stopping cover of “Woodstock,” an underrated Mitchell song from her 1970 album Ladies of the Canyon. Watch a replay of her rendition below. For her take on the cut, Carlile and her bandmates drew “Woodstock” out into a nearly six-minute-long scorcher. Over with some wavering keyboard notes, Carlile opened the Mitchell song with subdued gusto and heart — which is as to be expected, after all, considering she’s famous for putting on incredible live sets — before her bandmates kicked in with big country rock guitar riffs and ...
It’s no secret that the members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young aren’t exactly on the best of terms anymore, but any additional confirmation that the folk supergroup won’t be reuniting still feels like pouring salt in a wound. In a new interview with The Guardian this week, the often outspoken David Crosby didn’t hesitate to divulge his feelings about his former bandmates. According to Crosby, some “petty-assed bullshit” has kept him from speaking CSNY peers Neil Young and Graham Nash. “Neil has got a genuine beef,” Crosby admitted in the interview. “I did say something bad about his girlfriend [Daryl Hannah]. I said I thought she was a predator. OK, he can be mad at me. That’s all right.” Even still, Crosby went on to describe Young as “probably the most self-centered, self-obsessed, ...
Strand of Oaks has unveiled his latest single “Somewhere in Chicago” via Galacticana Records. Stream it below. On the track, the artist — otherwise known as Timothy Showalter — daydreams of the Windy City over layered, echoing acoustic guitars while referencing none other than John Prine. “John’s on a walk somewhere in Chicago/ Losing our leaders who you gonna follow/ Might’ve been the movies, might’ve been the lightning/ Might’ve been something much more frightening,” he croons over reflective instrumentation on the refrain. In a statement, the folk rocker described the new song as, “My ode to the late John Prine and the midwestern ethos he so perfectly embodied. The song dreams of the great city of Chicago where John can forever and happily wander.” Advertisement Related Video “Somewhere...
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS On this week’s Kyle Meredith With, Aaron Dessner calls in to discuss How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last, the sophomore record from his Big Red Machine project with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. The prolific producer/songwriter takes us through the process of bringing in more friends for this album, including Sharon Van Etten and Taylor Swift, and how the set came to focus on themes of mental health, depression, and family dynamics. That was particularly true on “Hutch,” a song written for the late Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchinson, a close friend of Dessner’s. Advertisement Related Video On working wit...
Marissa Nadler is gearing up to release her ninth studio album. The Path of the Clouds, the forthcoming LP from the Boston singer-songwriter, arrives October 29th via Sacred Bones and Bella Union. As a preview of what’s to come, Nadler has shared the album’s opening track, “Bessie, Did You Make It?,” along with the song’s pensive music video. Nadler wrote the bulk of The Path of the Clouds in quarantine, during which she found an odd solace in the documentary series Unsolved Mysteries. The show’s frequent topics of cold cases and paranormal wonders pushed Nadler to go for a similarly eerie approach with The Path of the Clouds, which sees her grow in her musical exploration. Here, reality and the metaphysical feel less distinct from each other, driven by simultaneous anxiety and curiosity a...
Neil Young has announced the first volume in his upcoming series of bootleg recordings. The Neil Young Official Bootleg Series — Carnegie Hall 1970 is set to be released October 1st via Shaky Pictures/Reprise Records. The 23-track collection captures the magic of the singer-songwriter’s near-mythic performance on the night of December 4th, 1970 — the first of two back-to-back shows at the legendary New York City venue. Throughout the evening, Young performed a stripped-back setlist of songs like “Down by the River,” “Cinnamon Girl,” and the then-newly unveiled title track to After the Goldrush. He also played early versions of numerous tracks which, up to that point, had yet to be released — or even recorded — including “Bad Fog of Loneliness,” “Old Man,” and “See the Sky About t...
“Mighty thin stew though.” Waxahatchee has released a cover of Woody Guthrie’s “Talkin’ Dust Bowl Blues.” Stream it below. On the track, the indie project of Katie Crutchfield spins a yarn the late folk icon first told in the opening track of his 1940 album Dust Bowl Ballads. “Back in 1927/ I had a little farm that I called heaven/ Well, the prices up and the rain come down/ And I hauled my crops all into town/ I got the money/ Bought clothes and groceries, fed the kids/ And raised a family,” Crutchfrield recounts over gentle acoustic guitar. Advertisement Related Video Waxahatchee’s take on the folk classic serves as the second single off the upcoming tribute album, Home in This World: Woody Guthrie’s Dust Bowl Ballads. The album also features lead single “Dust Cain’t Kill Me”...