Music
Jimbo Mathus & the Tri-State Coalition, Dark Night of the Soul (Fat Possum)
On one of the live records from the Hill Country Picnic, songwriter/singer/guitarist Jimbo Mathus introduces a song by saying, “Let’s boogie!” And that aesthetic of boogie (not in terms of […]
Flow Tribe, At Capacity (Independent)
Of all the bands working the college funk circuit in 2014, Flow Tribe stands out as one of the best. They play with contagious dance energy complete with a certain […]
Will Kimbrough, Sideshow Love (Daphne)
Will Kimbrough writes songs that sneak up on you. They have their subtleties—like the way the acoustic slide guitar plays above and below the steady banjo on “Home Economics,” or […]
Damon Fowler, Sounds of Home (Blind Pig Records)
Guitarist Damon Fowler has taken a break from his group Southern Hospitality to record the understated-yet-energetic blues record Sounds of Home. It’s an appropriate title in that Fowler sounds comfortable […]
Russell Welch Hot Quartet, …Pour Vous (Russell Welch Jazz)
Russell Welch’s Hot Quartet takes its sound from the gypsy guitar sound of Django Reinhardt and the Hot Club of France bands from the ’30s. It’s a type of music […]
Viper Mad Trio, Buddy Bolden’s Blues (Sound of New Orleans)
This is music made with energy and a smile. Loose in attitude but tight in music and swinging all the way through, the Viper Mad Trio has made a record […]
It’s Five Somewhere with Restore Louisiana Now’s John Barry
How is the lawsuit going? I think it’s going well. The problem, of course, isn’t in the courts. It’s that the industry and the governor want the state legislature to […]
Peter Harris, The Jackal (Independent)
It is about time that one of the best bassists in town has released an album as a leader. Audiences and listeners have seen Peter Harris hold down the bottom […]
Daniel “Weenie” Farrow, Norbert Susemihl, Seva Venet, Kerry Lewis, Romantic New Orleans (Crazy Good New Orleans Jazz)
It’s all about the songs and their execution. When musicians who know the music like it is the veins in their hands and hearts play the classic songs and do […]
Leyla McCalla, Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes (Music Maker Relief Foundation)
Leyla McCalla’s debut record as a leader is ambitious, deep and gorgeous. Playing an array (cello, guitar and banjo) of string instruments, her songs have sparse arrangements that give a […]
