This gallery contains 3 photos.
Eric Bibb and Habib Koité, Musical Instrument Museum, 2/11/13 The distance between Memphis, Tennessee, and Bamako, Mali, West Africa, is geographically large, but last night that distance in musical terms was no more than the three feet separating Eric Bibb … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Jackson Browne, Orpheum Theatre, February 13, 2013 Back in 1975 Olivia Newton John lyrically asked the question “Have you ever been mellow?” Such a question would never be posed to Jackson Browne. The singer/songwriter has to be the mellowest rock … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Punk rockers don’t die, they just go acoustic. While that’s not exactly a great T-shirt slogan (and certainly would elicit some scowls from old-school punkers still plying their trade), it is something of a recent trend within the bluegrass realm, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Singer-songwriter and folk troubadour Greg Brown is more than just another guy with a guitar and resonant voice. Brown’s ability to forge a musical style that melds Appalachia, folk, and blues with lyrics that capture the spirit of the land and the people … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
Bob Weir with Jackie Greene December 11, 2012 Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, AZ Bob Weir says he likes to perform the occasional solo acoustic tour because it allows him the opportunity to get at the root of the song, to hear … Continue reading
This gallery contains 2 photos.
In this week’s issue, we chat with with former Grateful Dead and current Furthur guitarist Bob Weir. We ended up with more material than we could fit, so please enjoy another installment of Outtakes, where we sweep up all sorts of good … Continue reading
This gallery contains 2 photos.
Bob Weir is a restless soul. Already fully engaged with Furthur — his latest and perhaps most true-to-form post-Grateful Dead venture — his solo band Ratdog, assorted musical projects at his TRI Studios, activity in various political and environmental organizations, plus … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
World Party, Crescent Ballroom, Dec. 2, 2012 It was almost with a sigh of relief that Karl Wallinger and World Party began their Crescent Ballroom concert with “Waiting Such A Long Time,” as it has been some years since Wallinger … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Robyn Hitchcock, Musical Instrument Museum, 10/4/12 The Musical Instrument Museum theater was a lonely place this evening, with a scant 50 music insiders in attendance to hear one of England’s great musical treasures, Robyn Hitchcock. Insiders, I say, because it … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Speaking with Robyn Hitchcock in 1996, the conversation quickly diverged from music to the difficulties of growing tomatoes at high elevation. It was not his issue, but mine, as he lives in England, where growing tomatoes is much easier, and I was in … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
If Simon Joyner weren’t already living the life of a world-weary singer/songwriter, he could probably find success as a fiction writer. Armed with a dozen releases and a dedicated cult following, Joyner’s songs flow like well-developed novellas, yet each is but a … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
It’s not every father that gets to share a stage with his son on Father’s Day, but that’s exactly what will happen when Meat Puppet and former Phoenix resident Curt Kirkwood performs with son Elmo Sunday at the Musical Instrument Museum. “I thought it was a good idea,” the … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
About the worst thing that can occur when a band leader decides to undertake a solo tour is unthinkingly defaulting into the dreaded singer-songwriter mode. Let’s see: acoustic guitar, stool, and microphone. In a word: boring. Sure, there are a few … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Dead Winter Carpenters are another group of virtuoso musicians toiling in bluegrass obscurity. But it shouldn’t—and won’t always—be that way? Though it would be easy to write this band off as another Yonder Mountain String Band or Trampled by Turtles … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
What does it take to become a legend? In Ralph Stanley‘s case, it’s being instrumental in the development of the modern bluegrass sound. Stanley, 85, got his first banjo about 70 years ago. Attempting to learn the popular clawhammer style, … Continue reading
