Hailing from Austin, Texas, The Animeros craft a genre-blending sound with their distinctive style and captivating live shows, as captured on this new Easy Eye Sound/Concord release. South Texas soul and 1960s Columbian cumbia rhythms meet up in a gritty barroom in Mexico, where the drinks flow and the dance floor is electric. “The psychedelic cumbia/chichi sorcerers lay down a 60s/70s fuzz bomb of South American mania.” –The Austin Chronicle

Ezra Collective's latest album, their 4th, is the most ambitious and personal record of their career - conceived as a body of work split into three spiritual and geographical movements, the album traces the movement of Black people across continents and decades, from the music of Africa to the rhythms of the Caribbean, and home to the streets of London. Formed in the youth clubs of London, Mercury Prize and BRIT Award winners Femi Koleoso (drummer and bandleader), TJ Koleoso (bassist), Joe Armon-Jones (keyboardist), James Mollison (saxophonist), and Ife Ogunjobi (trumpet) have now spent over a decade making jazz joyful, urgent and undeniable.

This band, based out of Portland, Oregon (but with Asheville ties too!) has this new album on Bloodshot Records, with themes of kicking old habits, letting go of control, interrogating motives, and fearless open hearts. And we’re sad to report they have announced it will be their last! They’ve stated that “after nearly 20 years of touring, we’ve had to be honest with ourselves about what it takes to sustain this band. Nearly every cost of being on the road—from fuel and flights to food and lodging—has gone up, while artists’ guarantees have remained largely static. At some point, you have to ask whether the way you’ve always done it still makes sense.” They play the Grey Eagle in Asheville on October 8th.

The man who warned us about how nasty that Snake Farm sounds (and pretty much is) is close to turning 80! And he says this new album of his, -- his 20th – might be the best one of his that he’s heard. He’s got his road band of drummer Kyle Schneider, bassist John Michael Schoepf, and his guitar-slinging son Lucas as the studio band, with assists from Cody Braun of Reckless Kelly on fiddle and mandolin, Bukka Allen on organ, and guitarist Tobin Dale.

Strong positive reviews for this new one! “After 40 years, Gary Louris keeps taking that leap himself — chief songwriter, lead vocalist, the guy anchoring those three-part harmonies since day one, still finding new hope to land on.” (Charlies Trail, Americana Highways) “As a devout Jayhawks fan, one who has spent countless hours with the band’s discography, it wouldn’t be fair to call this album a return to form. The band has spent 40 years weaving in and out of myriad popular music moments, from alt-country to baroque pop, Gram Parsons to Brian Wilson, never losing their form. But there is a “bringing it all back home” feeling on the band’s 12th long-player, Sanctuary Park. (Ryan Traster, New Noise Magazine)

We like what the Folk Alley folks -- whose radio show we air Tuesday nights/Wednesday mornings at Midnight -- have to say about it: “If you’re still grooving to the dusty, Bacardi-scented party that started with 2021’s ‘In the Blossom of Their Shade’ and continued on past dusk via ‘Rhumba Country’ three years later, don’t stop: Pokey LaFarge is back with a new record, the mood’s still loose, and his lyrics are as wry and winking as ever. But something deeper is burbling under the surface of Rent Money, 11 unadorned tracks that mark LaFarge’s first full-length release on his own label, Boxer Boy Records. …As LaFarge acknowledges in press materials, these songs serve as a rumination on a country with a growing wealth gap and a restive population, one where pressed vinyl seems essential even when the price of everything keeps going up.”

It’s an immersive all-women salute to many of the leading ladies in bluegrass, thanks to Lindsay Lou. The pickers and singers here include Molly Tuttle, Bronwyn, Laurie Lewis, Gena Britt, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan, Sierra Hull, Alison Brown, Maddie Witler, Tatiana Hargreaves, and Phoebe Hunt. They cover songs written by the likes of Dorothy Skaggs (Ricky Skaggs’ mother), Jean Richie, Ole Belle Reed, Kate Wolf, and Joyce Morris and Jimmie Stanley (Ralph Stanley’s wife).

Get ready for some “Swampytonkin’” music, as Paige calls it. Raised on a farm near the muddy banks of the Mississippi River, the Austin-based singer-songwriter and pianist is back with her second full-length album, Swampwater. Recorded at Austin’s famed Finishing School and produced by Jonathan Tyler, Swampwater is a raw collection born from personal experiences, navigating love, loss, heartbreak, and grief, before ultimately heading to the honky-tonk to sing the blues away.

The good folks at Record Store Day (https://recordstoreday.com/Home) got to release a limited number of vinyl versions of this back in April; now it’s available for wider release. Here’s what they had to say about it: “Featuring twelve originals, Son Volt's return to the elemental strengths that have long defined their sound—restless guitars, melodic clarity, and songs rooted in the lived experience of American landscapes. Anchored by Jay Farrar’s steady, unvarnished voice, the record balances reflection and resolve, drawing lines between personal memory and the wider currents of history, change, and endurance. The songs move fluidly between stripped-down intimacy and full-band drive, blending folk-rock, country, and electric grit with the confidence of a band that knows exactly who they are. There’s a sense of forward motion throughout the album—never nostalgic for its own sake, but deeply aware of where it’s been. Lyrically, Farrar explores themes of connection, resilience, and place, finding meaning in both the ordinary and the unsettled. This album stands as another chapter in Son Volt’s enduring catalog: honest, grounded, and quietly powerful, reaffirming their role as one of America’s most consistent and thoughtful rock bands.”

Billy Strings -- So Much For Goodbyes