Music explored. All photos and text by Boston-based longtime music journalist Nate Dow (unless otherwise noted).
Bill Strings performs during last night's show at the Sinclair. LIVE SHOW REVIEW The way Billy Strings has exploded on a bluegrass scene that is relatively obscure it would be tempting to call him an overnight sensation. But that would be a disservice to both his innate talent and his hard work. While audiences have … Continue reading Young Billy Strings shows incredible pluck
Trigger Hippy newcomers Ed Jardi and Amber Woodhouse, right, showed last night at Brighton Music Hall that they have fallen right into the groove. LIVE SHOW REVIEW When Trigger Hippy made their AmericanaFest debut in Nashville in 2014, their performance was universally hailed as one of the best at the talent-laden festival that September. And … Continue reading Reinvented Trigger Hippy: new twists on same groove
Worcester native Joanna Connor, a longtime Chicago Blues star, performs at the Fallout Shelter in Norwood last night. LIVE SHOW REVIEW Joanna Connor became an institution in Chicago after moving there from Worcester in the ’80s, earning enough cred to be a featured performer at Kingston Mines, a club that last year celebrated a half … Continue reading Joanna Connor brings it home — resoundingly
Amadee Castenell displays his trademark sense of joy in performance during a GimmeLive show at Gloucester Stage Company last month. There is a telling scene in the landmark television series “Treme” in which Elvis Costello and New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint are in the studio control room listening to a brass section record its part … Continue reading Amadee Castenell brings musical riches from New Orleans to Massachusetts
Amadee Castenell’s new album ‘Amadee and His Driving Force’ is a delightful mix of covers and originals imbued with pop hooks and a sweet jazz sensibility. (Inset, album cover courtesy of Black Rose Records.) ALBUM REVIEW In a recording sessions career that led Amadee Castenell to log so many credits that discography services lost track, … Continue reading New album proves Amadee Castenell a ‘Force’ of nature
Mike Ledbetter performs at the White Mountain Boogie and Blues Festival in Thornton, N.H. When flourishing blues star Mike Ledbetter died suddenly and unexpectedly at 33 after a medical emergency at his Elgin, Illinois, home in January, the repercussions were felt deeply throughout the blues world. Ledbetter was an extraordinary singer and a multi-instrumentalist in … Continue reading Mike Ledbetter tribute, benefit comes to Bull Run
Gracie Curran sings on the 9 Wallis Stage Saturday night with the latest in her line of inventive costumes celebrating the national cannabis day. SHOW REVIEW Gracie Curran and 4/20 go together like Zig and Zag. The Boston Music Award winner was one of the local music industry’s first and most ardent supporters of the … Continue reading Gracie Curran hits 4/20 high note — in fact, she owns it
Duke Levine takes a ride back in the time machine to play the songs of his youth in his Super Sweet Sounds of the ’70s showcases. When he launched the showcase as a change of pace in the fall of 2017, Duke Levine didn’t realize precisely what he was getting himself him into. Now, the … Continue reading Duke Levine finds the ‘Super Sweet’ spot — it’s the ’70s
Christian McNeill performs during his sold-out show last night at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge. SHOW REVIEW There are two artists within him. There’s Christian McNeill, the achingly poignant balladeer who — with just his lush voice and guitar — can hush a Somerville Theater crowd as he did when opening for British folk star … Continue reading McNeill doubles down at the Lizard on his ‘farewell tour’
Jimmy Ryan performs during last night's Wooden Leg show at the Fallout Shelter in Norwood. SHOW REVIEW: In an astonishing display of musicianship last night at the Fallout Shelter, Wooden Leg, with nothing more than the sound check as a rehearsal for the five players, somehow contained its whirring jam-band energy with a tightness that … Continue reading Wooden Leg stands up to the test of time brilliantly