Fervor Coulee’s Favourite Roots Albums of 2020

I’ve been writing about roots music for 20 years, and have been assembling self-indulgent ‘favourite roots albums of the year’ lists for most of that time. While always a pleasant challenge, this year’s list was the most difficult for me to assemble. COVID-19 kept me even more tied to my remote music world this year,…

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Not Fervor Coulee’s Favourite Roots Albums of 2020

These twenty-ish albums DIDN’T make my Top 30 roots albums of the year; still, a mighty stout list, me believes. I could spend a very satisfying weekend listening to nothing but these albums. Links to the original reviews included. Bubbling Under- honourable mentions, in no particular order: Victor Wainwright & the Train- Memphis Loud Ashley…

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Fervor Coulee’s Favourite Bluegrass Albums of 2020

This year I decided to limit my Favourite Bluegrass Albums of the Year to ten titles; not only is that a manageable number, it was a place where I noticed a natural break between albums I listened to repeatedly and those that I quite enjoyed but didn’t return to after reviewing. The following didn’t make…

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Fervor Coulee’s Favourite Roots Reissues and Archival Releases of 2020

The Other Stuff: Reissues, Archival, Compilations, Live, Covers & Tributes. Being somewhat ‘stuck in the past’ (at least as far as my definition of roots music goes) I typically have no problem with this category of releases. Often times familiar—that’s the compilations, reissues, and (sometimes) live components—and more often fresh and revealing—that’s the archival, covers,…

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Fervor Coulee’s Favourite Blues Albums of 2020

No complaints on my blues front in 2020. The albums I reviewed came from the breadth of the blues spectrum minus the hard-rockin’ electric blues band end. These are the ten blues (and blues-ish) albums I encountered and most enjoyed this past year. Links to Fervor Coulee reviews included, just in case you missed them…

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Matt Eckstine- Lil’ Blue review

Matt Eckstine Lil’ Blue MattEckstineMusic.com I don’t know much. I’ve had bands and singers send me demo tapes and ask, What do you think? Is it ready? I mostly stare at the speakers and wonder, How do they do that? I’m not great at providing artistic insight. See, for me, music remains a mystery. Long…

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John Shipe- The Beast is Back review

John Shipe The Beast Is Back JohnShipeMusic.com In this year of rambling songwriter losses—John Prine, Billy Joe Shaver, Jerry Jeff Walker, Justin Townes Earle—Eugene, Oregon’s John Shipe isn’t following any predetermined style or fashion. Like the legends mentioned above, Shipe finds a way to sing to each of us, establishing a bond that seems more…

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25 Canadian Albums You May Have Missed in 2020…

And at least one of them is of the roots music variety. I was asked to contribute to this Exclaim! feature, and was assigned an album I had previously included in my ‘top ten albums of the year’ list submitted to the magazine. Needless to say, none of my ten made the list, but they…

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Last Year’s Man- Brave the Storm review

Last Year’s Man- Brave the Storm LastYearsMan.com Respected Portland, OR producer (Anna Tivel, Beth Wood, Jeffrey Martin) Tyler Fortier has released singles previously under his pseudonym Last Year’s Son. Brave the Storm is his debut album, and it is notable for any number of reasons. Vocally, the album is strong. He has a fine voice,…

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Sarah Morris- All Mine review

Sarah Morris All Mine SarahMorrisMusic.com Minneapolis’ Sarah Morris has escaped my attention until now and the release of her fifth long player, All Mine. Out prior to the world shutting down, I only received the album recently and am pleased that it came my way. Folk-pop Americana with a slight country tinge, its eleven original…

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