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.

Imagine that sweet, warm sound of Norah Jones recordings, with a psychedelic garage-soul sound this time. Fuzz guitars and other retro-60s sounds sync up wonderfully with Norah’s piano and voice here. “The reason I called the album Visions is because a lot of the ideas came in the middle of the night or in that moment right before sleep.” says Jones. “We did most of the songs in the same way where I was at the piano or on guitar and Leon was playing drums and we were just jamming on stuff. I like the rawness between me and Leon (Michels, the producer), the way it sounds kind of garage-y but also kind of soulful, because that's where he's coming from, but also not overly perfected.”

After 8 years of not corresponding with each other at all, over disagreements that neither can really pinpoint as the cause of their chasm, brothers Chris and Rich Robinson have buried the hatchet, and made their first album as a band in 15 years. Despite keeping busy with various projects, they still considered working together again someday, if only subconsciously: “I was always still writing for Chris… every song I write I still think about how he will sing the chorus and about giving him a platform to sing over,” guitarist Rich says. “It’s hardwired in there.” Their love of classic blues and Muscle Shoals soul, British folk and Southern rock shows loud and clear once again on this new one. Perhaps that brotherly connection can be heard, too.

Like Yonder Mountain String Band (who’ll be live in Studio B this Friday), Trampled By Turtles, and other ‘NCW favorites, the Kitchen Dwellers are bridging bluegrass music with various other influences, and an impressive number of new fans. This new one just debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart! It’s based on Dante’s “The Divine Comedy”, and shows that the classic poem “continues to inspire people and artists some 700 years after it was written because the questions that it poses still don’t have answers. We are all still looking for meaning” (Live For Live Music). The Kitchen Dwellers play Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard on April 27th.

Lake Street Dive announces their first album on Fantasy Records will be released June 21st. Their title track, “Good Together”, exemplifies the mood: “There’s a lot to be angry about in the world right now, a lot of pain and rage and divisiveness, but it isn’t sustainable to constantly live in that anger—you need something else to keep you going,” says drummer Mike Calabrese. “Joy is a great way to sustain yourself, and we wanted to encourage everyone to stay aware of that. In a way this album is our way of saying, ‘Take your joy very seriously.’” Alisa Amador made history in 2022 with the first-ever Spanish language song to win the prestigious Tiny Desk Contest. Then in March of 2023, she performed in Studio B with Emily Scott Robinson and Violet Bell, and her Argentinian folk song appeared on our latest Crowd Around the Mic compilation. Now we await her full-length debut album Multitudes with this first single, “I Need to Believe”. And we have the first new Indigo Girls song in four years, “What We Wanna Be,” recorded last November. The single features on the soundtrack to a new movie musical Glitter & Doom, which charts the romance between aspiring circus performer Glitter (Filipino star Alex Diaz) and struggling musician Doom (UK newcomer Alan Cammish), told through a bold reimagining of 25 iconic Indigo Girls songs, including “Closer to Fine,” “Power of Two” and “Get Out the Map."

Bruce Cockburn is considered by fellow Canadians of his generation to be one of the nation’s greatest singers, songwriters and guitarists, on par with Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and the late Gordon Lightfoot. But his familiarity is not nearly as strong with younger indie musicians and music fans, so Tompkins Square Records recruited well-respected indie artist James Toth, known for his work with Wooden Wand, to curate the 13th volume of its guitar series, Imaginational Anthem. Although there is a focus on Bruce as a guitarist, there are also vocal tracks on the album. The tribute will be released on April 5th.

At the end of 2021, after serendipitously sharing bills separately several times, Willis approached Leigh and Carper about teaming up and playing some shows together. Wanting more than your standard songwriter-in-the-round arrangement, the three learned each other's songs to create a more integrated, band approach. Those first few shows together were so much fun and so well-received that they decided to continue. With Leigh playing lead guitar and mandolin, Carper on upright bass, and Willis playing rhythm guitar, they support each other's distinctive original material with beautiful three-part harmonies. Their new six-song EP was recorded at Bismeaux on the Hill in Austin, TX in December of 2023. It features two songs by each artist, including a couple of Carper/Leigh co-writes, and one reimagined John Prine tune.