Michael Jerome Browne- Gettin’ Together review

Michael Jerome Browne Getting’ Together Borealis/Stony Plain Records Michael Jerome Browne has been producing quality, Canadian blues longer than most of us have been listening. An undisputed master of the slide guitar, Browne’s albums usually feature a unifying theme, and Getting’ Together is no exception. Revisiting the songs that brought him to the blues when…

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Rodney Rice, Rodney Rice review

Rodney Rice Rodney Rice RodneyRice.com Rodney Rice has a way with rhythm and rhyme. He has been writing and singing for quite some time, but I only first encountered him in 2020 with his SAME SHIrT, DIFFERENT DAY release, one of my favourites of that memorable year. That twelve-track album is, in retrospect, even stronger…

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Robbie Fulks- Bluegrass Vacation review

Robbie Fulks Bluegrass Vacation Compass Records Bluegrass Vacation was one of the most highly anticipated roots albums of the year ever since word started leaking that Robbie Fulks was going full-bluegrass on his next album. Okay, maybe only in my house. The Americana Outcast has been delivering spellbinding albums since the late 90s, but has…

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Mike Tod- Mike Tod review

Mike Tod Mike Tod LP MikeTod.com I initially ignored the PR email touting Mike Tod’s album. The information was so sparse I had little reason to explore the barebones download-only files—no notes, no credits, and as minimal a bio as I’ve seen. Nudged by a follow-up, a bit of internet sleuthing led me to learn…

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Steve Dawson- Eyes Closed, Dreaming review

Steve Dawson Eyes Closed, Dreaming Black Hen Music Multi-instrumentalist Steve Dawson’s third release within a year, Eyes Closed, Dreaming may just be the strongest album of the British Columbia-Nashville artist’s lengthy career, and I don’t say that lightly. While the majority of Dawson’s many albums have seen him feature original compositions more frequently than covers,…

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Kate Weekes- Better Days Ahead review

Kate Weekes Better Days Ahead KateWeekes.com An old-timey/folk album built around clawhammer banjo and fiddle? Yes, please. Rendered during and inspired by the pandemic challenges of the past few years, Kate Weekes’ fourth album finds the Quebec folk artist stretching herself in unexpected directions. Having learned the clawhammer banjo during the time of COVID safeguards…

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Larry Sparks- It’s Just Me review

Larry Sparks It’s Just Me Rebel Records Imagine, if you will: Larry Sparks stops in at your home one evening, and following a friendly chat over a cup of fresh coffee, he pulls out his aged flattop and starts playing songs. Dream no more, my bluegrass and Americana friends. Larry Sparks does just that—minus the…

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Greg Blake- People, Places, and Songs review

Greg Blake People, Places, and Songs Turnberry Records GregBlakeMusic.com Greg Blake Makes The Final Ballot The 2022 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year Nominees were a surprise. Not that Danny Paisley (three previous wins), Del McCoury (six-time recipient, including ultimately in 2022), and Larry Sparks (two previously, but not since 2005—what’s up with that?!) were…

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Ian Jones- Results Not Typical review

Ian Jones Results Not Typical IanJonesMusic.com “…I gathered all my courage,I walked up to you and wanted you to danceAnd you walked out in front of me,straight out that door before I got the chance…”  “You’re Gone” Results Not Typical, smooth-voiced, Pacific Northwest troubadour Ian Jones’ debut* recording is not what one necessarily expects to…

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Favourite Roots Albums of Quarter 1, 2023

I’ve encountered some really great roots music these first three months of 2023, and thought I would feature some of the finest as my Favourites of the First Quarter. They are not necessarily in position order from 1 to 12, but they could be… Iris DeMent- Workin’ On A World It has been too many…

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