Kicking It Up a Notch (or Two, or…)

KENNY 'BLUES BOSS' WAYNE comes out rockin' and rarely lets up on GO, JUST DO IT! In a tour de force performance, the Piano Hall of Fame inductee offers 10 original songs and terrific covers of two PERCY MAYFIELD tunes and a JJ ...
by David McGee
 

 
 

Keep on Pushin’

On CANVAS, NATALIE MACMASTER and DONNELL LEAHY, a true musical power couple, continue stretching stylistic boundaries in surprising ways. O, Canada!
by David McGee
 

 

 

The (Eastern) Beat Goes On

Across the Middle East and North Africa, the beat goes on. This scene shines on Putumayo’s Arabic Beat, a collection that chronicles the musical creativity of Arabic musicians today. The album revels in artists rarely heard i...
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Curious Looming of Objects Between Earth and Sky

Minnesota six- and 12-string guitarist KYLE FOSBURGH new album, THE TRAVELER'S JOURNEY, 'is calculated to excite the perceptions and keep alive the imagination.' Add to this: powerful, evocative, spiritually resonant. And beaut...
by David McGee
 

 

 

Special Delivery

The U.S. Postal Service has honored RAY CHARLES with a Forever stamp, and Concord has marked the occasion with an interesting anthology, FOREVER.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Songs in the Key of Life

Madrid native CARMEN CUESTA follows her acclaimed bossa nova album with a collection of a dozen well-turned, mostly sensual boleros in UNA TODA VIDA...
by David McGee
 

 

 

On the Spiritual Cost of Leaving

Produced by LORRAINE JORDAN, North Carolina's THE GENTLEMEN OF BLUEGRASS make a thorough examination of the physical and metaphysical cost of leaving on their debut album.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Traveling Upwards to That Glorious Place

DOYLE LAWSON & QUICKSILVER rejoice all the way through BURDEN BEARER, bluegrass gospel delivered with conviction and authority, with and without instruments.
by David McGee
 

 

 

No Goofy Exercise

TONY WRAY & TIM CROUCH are back, delightfully so, with A DREAM IS A WISH: A SPECIAL ACOUSTIC TRIBUTE TO THE MAGIC KINGDOM.
by David McGee
 

 
 

A Proper Homecoming

Memphis bluesman DARREN JAY returns to the U.S. this month after being deployed to Kuwait with the U.S. Naval Reserves. He's coming back Stateside to rave reviews for his first album with his band The Delta Souls,DRINK MY WINE,...
by David McGee
 

 

 

The Game of Love

BEFORE THE WORLD WAS MADE Brennen Leigh & Noel McKay B&N In a world festering with male-female duos, Austin’s Brennen Leigh & Noel McKay have some clear advantages over the competition. For starters, their dress i...
by David McGee
 

 
 

A Beautiful Day in Ms. Rogers’ Neighborhood

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood when KIMM ROGERS dives into her songs on WHERE THE PAVEMENT GROWS and asks: 'Would you be mine? Could you be mine?'
by David McGee