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The government plans to call Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg to the witness stand. The trial is expected to run nearly two months in a federal courtroom in Washington.

Facebook says that by next year people on apps like Whatsapp and Messenger will be able to basically text payments. This news comes as regulators are asking if the tech giant is already too powerful.

Mary has lost some dear friends and songwriter colleagues recently – John Prine, Nanci Griffith, David Olney to name a few. Some of the songs on here are poignant reflections on those losses, but delivered through a lens of gratitude and celebration of life. The title track, in particular, is a realization that through loss and darkness there can be a beautiful sense of clarity and an understanding of what truly matters.

We are so grateful to Tim and Jan (Fabricius) O’Brien for spending a day in Studio B with us last year, and letting us release that WNCW fundraiser CD of their songs during our Spring Fund Drive! Now we’re grateful as well for this new one, set for release on June 16 on Howdy Skies Records. Thirteen inspired new originals about a bear, a fish, lambs, horses, and some people too — a grave digger, a neighbor, and even Walter Cronkite. Cup of Sugar is a feel-good summer release. But while the songs are playful and sprinkled with humor, there's plenty to chew on just below the surface. Tim wrote/co-wrote every song on the album. (Co-writers include Ronnie Bowman, Jonathon Byrd, Shawn Camp, Jan, and Thomm Jutz.) Cup of Sugar finds multi-instrumental O’Brien backed by his loyal band mates Mike Bub, Shad Cobb and his wife, supplemented by Jamie Dick on drums, Mike Rojas on keyboards, Russ Pahl on steel guitar, and Cory Walker on banjo. Bluegrass icon Del McCoury lends his signature guitar and tenor vocal on “Let the Horses Run.”

The group PAL, formerly Partners for Active Living in Spartanburg, has changed their meaning to now stand for Play, Advocate and Live Well. PAL has always been about teaching and implementing programs and activities that promote exercise and healthier eating habits. Hear the latest about the group from their Executive Director Laura Ringo on this feature interview from August 6, 2021.

Another member of the Stray Birds, bassist Charlie Muench, has his first solo album. Originally recorded just as demos in Nashville last year with Dominic Billett (The Weather Station, Courtney Marie Andrews) and Maya de Vitry (Maya de Vitry, The Stray Birds), he realized he had the makings of a fully fleshed out album, and finished work on it with fellow Philadelphians shortly thereafter. The result is You Were Dreaming, out June 28th, with songs of deep emotional honesty.

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.”

Get to know two of our favorites, together on their 2nd collaboration. This follow-up to 2018’s “Downey to Lubbock” has the Texas Flatlander Gilmore and Southern Californian Alvin alternating songs, which include covers from the likes of Blind Willie McTell, Brownie McGhee, and fellow Flatlander Butch Hancock. There’s also an Alvin-penned tribute to Alan “The Blind Owl’ Wilson of Canned Heat fame. Released this month on Yep Roc Records, the two are on an extensive national tour that takes them to the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro on August 31st.

The blues legend from nearby Pelzer, SC has released a great new one! His first band back in the day featured the future “Godfather of Soul”, a young James Brown on piano. From there, he went on to work with greats like Muddy Waters and Bill Withers, and on the sets of programs like “Soul Train” and “Sanford & Son”. He retired to his home state to become an organic farmer, but we’re glad he continues to perform his great blues. If he’s really 82 or so years old, it appears no one’s told him about slowing down: he’s also got bookings for 2025 that extend as far as September (so far), including his 19th annual Cornbread & Collard Greens Blues Festival in April in Fountain Inn, SC.

Jay Nash & Josh Day are The Contenders, an Americana band working the troubadour life hard this year. (Josh, by the way, is from Wilkesboro!) They play…