My Polaris Music Prize Ballot 2011…for now

I feel honoured to be part of the Polaris Music Prize jury. All year-long I listen to some of the finest Canadian music released and each June I am asked to narrow these down- for the initial ballot- to five. I’ve spent the last several days finalizing my list, re-listening to albums I previously considered, and catching up on a few I…

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The Laws and The Toy Hearts reviews

Aaron has posted another pair of review over at the Lonesome Road Review, neither of which are for albums I would necessarily independently seek out. The first is my review of The Laws’ new album, Try Love. The Laws have played Alberta fairly frequently, but I don’t believe I’ve caught them live. I do know…

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Hillfolk Noir reviews

Over at the Lonesome Road Review, Aaron has posted my reviews of the two recent albums from Idaho’s Hillfolk Noir; while both have something to offer Skinny Mammy’s Revenge is a far superior effort.  Think Folkways meets O Brother, without T-Bone. Thanks for visiting Fervor Coulee- Donald Hillfolk Noir Live at the Old Idaho Penitentiary…

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Mountain Heart

Remember when Mountain Heart was a bluegrass band? Seriously though, I’ve been searching for a reason to mention their most recent album, and got it today via The Bluegrass Blog: click here http://www.thebluegrassblog.com/mountain-heart-on-wsm/ to see news of Mountain Heart’s new radio venture with WSM 650. Sounds pretty nifty. That Just Happened, which I purchased this month…

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Winter’s Bone- Music from the Motion Picture

 O Brother, Where Art Thou? was released just over ten years ago. The movie- and more so, the soundtrack recording- gave bluegrass music a possibly unprecedented ‘bump’- arguably more than even Bonnie and Clyde and Deliverance did a generation previously. This despite the lack of ‘true’ bluegrass on the album: excepting the Soggy Bottom Boy and Ralph Stanley/Stanley…

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The Honey Dewdrops- These Old Roots review

Welcome back to Fervor Coulee. In today’s Roots Music column in the Red Deer Advocate I feature the relatively new album from The Honey Dewdrops, These Old Roots.  As was their previous release, it is a darn good listen- sure to become a favourite. Roots music column, originally published January 21, 2011 in the Red Deer Advocate…

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Rebel reissues- Dave Evans, Curly Ray Cline, & The Country Gentlemen

My reviews of Rebel Records digital downloads were posted at Lonesome Road Review. The Country Gentlemen The Young Fisherwoman Rebel Records (digital download only) 4.5 stars (out of 5) Curly Ray Cline Chicken Reel Rebel Records (digital download only) 3.5 stars (out of 5) Dave Evans Bluegrass Memories Rebel Records (digital download only) 4.5 stars (out…

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Garth Hudson & Various Artists- A Canadian Celebration of The Band

Garth Hudson & Various Artists A Canadian Celebration of The Band Curve Music I bought this one at Chapters  on impulse, having not seen very much- if any- press on it. I’m glad I trusted my gut. One doesn’t need to describe the impact The Band had on roots and rock music. The influence is obvious with…

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Big Country Bluegrass-The Boys in Hats & Ties

Big Country Bluegrass The Boys in Hats & Ties Rebel Records For most of the last decade, bluegrass was dominated by a handful of familiar names: McCoury, Vincent, Skaggs, Stanley, and Lawson to name some of the most successful. A changing of the guard appears underway as time catches up to some, as the impact…

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The Grascals & Friends- Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin

My review of the latest from The Grascals has been posted at the Lonesome Road Review site: http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/cdreview.asp?xid=4591 Following a pattern established by other bluegrass artists, most notably Vincent & Dailey with Sing the Statler Brothers, the sextet join forces with Cracker Barrel to showcase countrified bluegrass. With V & D moving somewhere plus of 40K copies of…

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