Search results for

Violin, harmonium, drums, tight harmonies, intelligent songwriting….and roots in Asheville and Boone… No wonder they’re one of our favorite bands here! We’ve enjoyed getting to know this adventurous new one, and we bet you will, too when Julian features it with four songs between 8 & 9pm. Congratulations on Monoflora, Alex, Daniel, Halli & Ryan.

“Delightfully old-fashioned and born 60 years too late”, as Saving Country Music accurately describes her, Brennen Leigh has recently moved from Austin to Nashville, but absence has made her heart of Western Swing grow even fonder, it seems. Ray Benson , Emily Gimble, and others join her for this fun album of originals, sure to further spark interest in the great sound of Bob Wills, Tommy Duncan and other Western Swing heroes.

He’s lived in most of WNCW’s favorite music cities: New Orleans, New York, Austin, Nashville, and now Asheville! This 11th album of his (out May 20th) touches on the deep personal reflection time that these past couple years have forced upon us, and was produced by Jano Rix of the Wood Brothers. Speaking of them, Oliver co-wrote three tunes with Seth, and there are some choice covers from Bobby Charles, Van Morrison and Bob Dylan, too. Seth will join us in Studio B for a live session on the 31st.

It’s her 21st album, and she’s sounding as strong as ever on this collection of soulful blues and rock that includes covers from Toots & the Maytals, Brothers Landreth, and NRBQ’s Al Anderson. She says she’s also grateful as ever to be making music, contributing to causes, keeping her crew working, and connecting with her audience. “I’m really aware of how lucky I am,” she says, “and I feel like it’s my responsibility to get out there and say something fresh and new for me and for the fans. But I need to have something to say or I won’t put out a record.”

Exciting, engaging soul and R&B from this Seattle septet. Songs addressing modern-day isolation and the demise of capitalist-based society never sounded so catchy and exuberant! “With the lyrics I tried to evoke certain emotions that aren’t often showcased in popular music, with the hope that people will come away feeling validated and understood,” lyricist Tom Eddy says.

On Friday the 29th, Willie celebrates his 89th birthday! And he’ll also celebrate the release of this touching album of co-writes with Buddy Cannon and covers from the likes of Leonard Cohen, Lennon/McCartney, and even Asheville’s own Charles Humphrey III!

The Portland, Oregon singer/songwriter has quite a sharp wit in his shows, and in a lot of his songs. “Humorous storytelling, serious folk”, to describe his style. On this new one, he paints deep, rich portraits of characters, with expert production work. As his website says of Mermaid Salt, he “adapts moments of solitude into stories perfectly suited for old Americana fiction anthologies.” This is the follow-up to his 2020 album “Asterisk the Universe”.

He achieved the rare distinction of ranking TWO albums in WNCW’s Top 100 last year. There’s no doubt his genuine reverence for that classic sound of Nashville’s golden era of Country music resonates, perhaps especially thanks to his “Gulf & Western” sound of blues, Cajun, and western swing from his Texas/Louisiana/Gulf Coast origins. Crockett shines once again with this fourth installment in his “Lil’ G.L. Presents” series, with renditions of Jerry Reed, George Jones, Tom T. Hall, and others.

Did you know these two greats actually started their careers together? They formed the band Rising Sons in 1965, but disbanded after a year. (They even recorded an album, but it wasn’t released until 1992.) And they were both deeply moved by the recordings of Piedmont blues legends Sonny & Terry when they were teenagers. “We’re now the guys that we aspired toward when we were starting out,” Taj Mahal says. “Here we are now … old timers. What a great opportunity, to really come full circle.” This fine tribute to a couple of their heroes features Cooder on vocals, guitar, mandolin, and banjo, Taj Mahal on vocals, harmonica, guitar, and piano, and Joachim Cooder (Ry’s son) on drums and bass.

She’s back with this terrific one produced by Joshua Homme in Burbank, CA. The band here includes Homme, as well as his Queens of the Stone Age collaborators Alain Johannes on guitar, Dean Fertita on organ & Michael Shuman on bass. Additionally, the album features drummers Matt Helders of Arctic Monkeys, Carla Azar of the acclaimed post-punk band Autolux (and frequent Jack White collaborator), and Lane’s pedal steel player Matthew Pynn (Dwight Yoakum, Miley Cyrus).