Fervor Coulee’s Ten Favourite Roots Albums of 2018

Throughout December I have been posting a series of columns reflecting on the year-in-roots-music past. I hope you have been inspired to locate albums that had passed you by, and are enjoying what I have recommended. Readership at Fervor Coulee has steadily increased the last three years with growth of 10% and 20% the previous…

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Fervor Coulee’s Favourite Bluegrass Albums of 2018

Favourite, not best. I happen to consider them the best, but you certainly may feel different. One will notice no ‘big tent’ bluegrass on this list-the furthest afield I go is with my #1 album, which is still fair solid bluegrass. These are the albums I felt delivered in 2018. 1. The Travelin’ McCourys- The…

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Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard- Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes, 1965-1969 review

Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes, 1965-1969 Free Dirt Records Rare, archival material from the most important female duo in bluegrass history will always be welcomed. The contributions made by Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard have long been acknowledged by people who have chosen to delve into their music…

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The Albums That Shaped Me, August 2018

Over at Fervor Coulee Twitter  I am spending August exploring my music roots with Thirty-Two Albums That Shaped Me/Thirty-One Days Inspired by a summer of sorting (not that you would notice) and tidying (again, obvious only if you knew what it looked like before) I am going to try to explain my music journey in…

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Big Bend Killing: The Appalachian Ballad Tradition review

I had to take much of the past month away from writing, but I continued to listen to music. I can’t count the number of hours I spent listening to this amazing two-disc set. It is absolutely splendid, ideal for those of us who appreciate the old songs and the artists who keep them alive.…

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Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands- The Hazel and Alice Sessions review

Laurie Lewis & the Right Hands The Hazel and Alice Sessions Spruce and Maple Music I don’t remember exactly when I first heard Hazel Dickens. Odd that, because one can’t really listen to Hazel Dickens without knowing you’ve heard Hazel. Her voice is one that isn’t confused with anyone else’s; there is power in her…

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Recent Roots Writing

I haven’t done a great deal of writing during the past month, but I have placed a few pieces recently. I posted my review of Phil Leadbetter’s new album The Next Move over at Fervor Coulee Bluegrass. With a bluegrass heart at the core of the album, Leadbetter and his many collaborators have created a…

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Fervor Coulee’s Favourite Roots Music Albums of 2013

These types of lists are fairly self-indulgent, but most things we do seem to be. What the heck, then? I am fairly confident in my choices this year- I created lists as the months passed, and have considered well in excess of a hundred albums for placement.  Here then are my favourite roots music albums…

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Alice Gerrard- Bittersweet review

Alice Gerrard is one of the living legends of bluegrass music; combined with her decades of recording and performing old-time and folk music, Gerrard has a stout resume that is as varied and dynamic as anyone you can think of…sorry for the dangling participle. My review of Bittersweet, her new Laurie Lewis produced album, has…

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