Baltimore native Cris Jacobs has a collection of powerful songs and moving character sketches here. He’s also got quite the house band backing him up: The Infamous Stringdusters. They’re also joined by friends Billy Strings, Sam Bush, Lee Ann Womack, the McCrary Sisters, Lindsay Lou, and more. “I’ve always found so much comfort in roots music––in string band music,” Jacobs says. “There’s just something about the sound of all those instruments together that resonates with me to my core and brings me grounding and peace.”

One of our most anxiously awaited albums of 2024 so far is out! Across the 12 songs on Trail of Flowers, Sierra brings listeners on a beautifully-untamed, time-bending journey of resilience, rebirth and reflection, merging classic musicianship with decidedly modern concerns. In her transformation from train-hopping vagabond to viral sensation, she has honed her spellbinding style of storytelling in trailer parks, dive bars, truck stops and everywhere in between, but Trail of Flowers reveals the wealth of wisdom she has amassed along the way. Her extensive tour for it brings her and her band to The Fillmore in Charlotte on May 12th.

"Katie Crutchfield's voice is the centerpiece of her music as Waxahatchee. It's shaky in a way that feels resilient...She's finding herself on Tigers Blood. You can hear the confidence shining through." (NPR). Saint Cloud was a breakthrough album for Waxahatchee, a welcome musical escape and comforting reflection for many from the pandemic, and it cemented her status as an important voice in the indie-Americana scene. We also loved her 2022 collaboration with Jess Williamson for the project called Plains. Now with Tigers Blood we see Crutchfield dig even deeper; the result is a complex and beautiful album that is sure to find a special place in people’s hearts once again. She plays in Asheville on Tuesday April 30th.

We’re excited to get a new one from Corb and his band the Hurtin’ Albertans, from Canada’s foothills of the Rocky Mountains! "El Viejo is a stunning character study of gamblers and loners moving from card game to card game, perfectly bridging modern Americana with the likes of Jerry Reed, Del McCoury and Marty Robbins with a Springsteen-like sense of storytelling in three-minute bursts." - Glide Magazine "Listening to El Viejo is like cracking open a dusty, leather-bound book about the Old West, populated by rough-around-the-edges characters at the end of their ropes." - No Depression

The “Ice Queen” native of Ottawa has been a fixture in the Austin/Texas blues scene for many years now, and has a string of great albums out, both solo and with others. She has been awarded the Blues Music Award’s Traditional Blues Female Artist award the past three years in a row, and is nominated for 2024, too! This is her first all acoustic solo album. Fans of Elizabeth Cotton and Maybelle Carter, definitely check it out.

Steve Martin, banjo aficionado, singer/songwriter, oh and a bit of a comedian, has a funny new single with fellow banjoist Alison Brown, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, Trey Hensley, and Todd Phillips. It’s bound to be a hit at Bluegrass Radio… like WNCW! Sam Beam, a.k.a. Iron & Wine, has a 2nd single from his upcoming album Light Verse; this time it’s a call-and-response-style duet with Fiona Apple called “All In Good Time.” And Willie Nelson, approaching 91 next month but who’s counting, has a cover of Rodney Crowell’s powerful song “The Border”.

She’s found great success in the country/pop world with her last few albums, as evidenced by her seven Grammy wins and tremendous record sales. But she maintains a strong sense of personal connection and acoustic foundation on this, her 5th album, exquisitely produced by long time collaborators Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk. Remaining true to your roots and convictions is perhaps to be expected from someone who counts John Prine, Alison Krauss, and Dolly Parton as her favorite role models! The album was primarily recorded in New York’s famed Electric Lady Studios, and is likely to be a Top 10 favorite of a lot of music fans.

The country/folk/blues artist from Minnesota went to Portland, Oregon to record this one with acclaimed producer Tucker Martine. While all of his previous albums have been recorded live and often in one take with no overdubs, this is the first time to involve a producer and recording studio more… But it was still mostly recorded live. His influences of legends like Mance Lipscomb, Tony Glover, Willie Murphy and Spider John Koerner are once again brought to life through his wonderfully rich guitar work and singing. We hope you caught his great live session in Studio B last Thursday: video is currently on our Facebook page.

When Cedric Burnside prepared to record Hill Country Love, the follow-up to his 2021 Grammy-winning album I Be Trying, he set up shop in a former legal office located in a row of structures in the seat of Tippah County, a town with 5,000 residents that’s known as the birthplace of the Hill Country Blues style. “That building was actually going to be my juke joint. Everything was made out of wood, which made the sound resonate like a big wooden box,” said Burnside. He called up producer Luther Dickinson (co-founder of the acclaimed North Mississippi Allstars and the son of legendary Memphis producer/musician Jim Dickinson), who brought recording equipment into the empty space. “We recorded in the middle of a bunch of rubbish – wood everywhere and garbage cans,” Burnside says. “We just laid everything out the way and recorded the album right there.” The Hill Country Blues great plays Charlotte on April 18th.

“Queen Bee”, “Lovin’ In My Baby’s Eyes”, “Corrina”, and other Taj classics are on this great one recorded last year in Leon Russell’s former studio and office for his label Shelter Records. Backing him up are his long-time quartet—bassist Bill Rich, drummer Kester Smith, and guitarist/Hawaiian lap steel player Bobby Ingano—augmented by dobro player Rob Ickes and guitarist and vocalist Trey Hensley.