Irwin Finger
As Roaming the Arts followers may have already guessed, I support artists both known and overlooked. RTA especially supports artists seen or known from personal connections. Irwin Finger has delighted folk audiences for over fifty years. Most recently he has performed a “live song” every morning for all of us cranky shut-ins.
Along that line and the recent passing of John Prine check out his sweet rendition of “Hello in There.”

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Albert Castiglia
Albert Castiglia
“It may be a bit premature to crown Albert Castiglia America’s newest King of the Blues, but there’s little doubt that he at least deserves the title of heir apparent.” — Miami New Times
As most artists will attest, the most unexpected circumstance can spark artistic inspiration. That’s a fact that hasn’t been lost on singer, songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire Albert Castiglia. With his latest album, the aptly named Masterpiece, he celebrates an unforeseen triumph — a connection with a daughter he never knew he had. The result is a work that’s both personal and provocative all at the same time.
Castiglia calls this the most meaningful album he’s ever made. “My daughter finding me and opening up my world to an additional family, including two grandchildren, brought out the deepest material I’ve ever created,” he notes, “along with my wife, they were my muses.” Indeed, songs such as “Keep On Swinging”, “Masterpiece” and “Bring on the Rain” address the unexpected emotions that infused his psyche with the discovery of a family he never knew.
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Jason Isbell
Jason Isbell
Michael Jason Isbell is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Green Hill, Alabama, in Lauderdale County. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a former member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell has won four Grammy Awards. Wikipedia
“Isbell may not be a household name but he is a songwriter of great depth and intelligence. Blending country, folk, roots and rock, his music is soulful and alive, with deceptively sophisticated lyrics about addicts, runaways, lovers and outsiders. Naturally, his vignettes of the American working class have seen him compared to Bruce Springsteen, though his quieter songs bear the traces of one of his late mentors, the master American songwriter John Prine. On Sunday night, Isbell’s latest album, Weathervanes – recorded with his band the 400 Unit – is up for three Grammys (Best Americana Album, Best Americana Performance, and Best American Roots Song).” Independent – Louis Chilton
Now, he is high profile and touring widely….this is what is being said “One of the greatest songwriters of his generation, Jason Isbell and his band, the 400 Unit, mix soulful stompers like “Hope the High Road” and “Cumberland Gap” with emotional love songs such as “If We Were Vampires” and “Cover Me Up.” Armed with a pair of Grammys each for Best Americana Album and Best American Roots Song, Isbell turns a mirror on the people and places across America. “
Jason Isbell was married to Amanda Shires. (Click to visit her site) They were part of each other’s bands and often appeared on record together.
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Alice Merton
Alice Merton
Growing up around the world, singer/songwriter Alice Merton was as influenced by other cultures as much as transience itself. Born in Germany and raised in Canada and England, Alice Merton’s absorption of different styles and sounds helped craft the worldly progressive pop leanings on her debut, which came out in 2016. As a child, she learned classical piano and singing while in Canada. When Merton was a teenager, her family moved to Germany, where she would pick up the guitar and write her first song. While in Germany, she also studied at the Mannheim conservatory of music. Later, the family would relocate again, this time to England. These frequent international shifts would play a key role in the songwriting process for her first output, 2016’s No Roots EP (Paper Plane Records International / Mom+Pop Music). The four-track effort included the groove-heavy title track and “Hit the Ground Running”. Merton won the EBBA award 2018. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi
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