Deep Roots Magazine

Deep Roots Magazine

Roots Music and Meaningful Matters

 
 

 

The Cautionary Tale of Jenny Wren

From his last published novel, Our Mutual Friend, comes the tale of Jenny Wren, a character Dickens uses to illustrate the damage adult alcoholics inflict on their offspring. Vividly drawn, altogether unforgettable, and the ins...
by David McGee
 

 
 

‘How Inexpressibly Sad Are All Holidays’

1863. HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW's wife had died in a fire, his son had been seriously wounded in the Civil War. The poet, in despair, still found a reason to believe and wrote the stanzas that later became a beloved seasonal s...
by David McGee
 

 

 

Brooklyn, Blintzes, Baseball and Ballads With Johnny Mercer (Field Notes From a Music Biz Life)

In chapters 6 and 7 of his memoirs, MICHAEL SIGMAN recalls his father CARL SIGMAN's songwriting apprenticeship with JOHNNY MERCER and how the rocky course of his adolescent years seemed to parallel his dad's hit songs.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Newport Folk Festival Goes Roots-y (But Hasn’t It Always Been So?)

A surprise set by JAMES TAYLOR was the highlight of highlights at this year's NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL. Our man on the scene, IRA MAYER, a festival veteran, reflects on the lineup's not-so-folky flavor.
by David McGee
 

 

 

That’s Not Theory, Pal, That’s Life!

ANDY STATMAN is back with another winner in SUPERSTRING THEORY, another scintillating exercise in multicultural musical explorations with guestS TIM O'BRIEN and MICHAEL CLEVELAND in tow.
by David McGee
 

 
 
ChristopherTin featured

A ‘Joyful Rebellion’ for Our Times

India's Nobel Prize winning poet Rabindranath Tagore provies the inspiration for composer CHRISTOPHER TIN's 'Joyful rebellion' in addressing the temper of our times in his new work, SONG OFFERINGS and TRANSFIGURATIONS with the...
by David McGee
 

 

 

All Who Wander Are Not Lost

Staying in touch with his divine roots, ERIC BIBB returns with MIGRATION BLUES, a humanistic and common sense perspective on immigration issues within and outside of U.S. borders. It's the best, most important music he's made.
by David McGee
 

 
 
Duke Robillard featured

In Heavy Rotation: Blues & Resistance

Vintage blues with a modern twist from DUKE ROBILLARD and hIS ALL STAR BAND; messages socially conscious and comforting alike from ERIC BIBB;l and TODD CURRY's gospel message, 'kNOw Peace,' in Heavy Rotation
by David McGee