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Music Roots/Americana

Jason Isbell

Jason Isbell

Jason Isbell stands as one of the most vital voices in modern American music, a songwriter’s songwriter who has transcended the boundaries of country and Americana to become a premier chronicler of the human condition. Born in Green Hill, Alabama, Isbell’s musical education was steeped in the rich traditions of the Muscle Shoals sound. He first rose to national prominence in 2001 as a member of the Drive-By Truckers, where his soulful voice and sharp-edged compositions provided a powerful counterpoint to the band’s southern rock grit. However, his tenure with the group was cut short by personal struggles, leading to a solo career that would eventually redefine his life and the landscape of roots music.
The turning point for Isbell came with his sobriety and the release of the 2013 album Southeastern. Widely regarded as a masterpiece, the record stripped away the loud guitars to reveal a vulnerable, surgically precise lyricism. Songs like “Elephant” and “Cover Me Up” showcased an unflinching honesty, tackling subjects like terminal illness and the grueling road to redemption with a grace that few of his peers could match. Since then, alongside his powerhouse band, The 400 Unit, Isbell has released a string of critically acclaimed albums, including Something More Than Free, The Nashville Sound, and Weathervanes. These works have earned him multiple Grammy Awards and established him as a master of the southern gothic narrative, capable of writing about working-class struggles, racial tension, and the quiet complexities of fatherhood and marriage.
 
Isbell’s impact extends beyond his discography; he is a vocal advocate for sobriety and social justice, often using his platform to challenge the gatekeepers of the Nashville establishment. His guitar playing, deeply rooted in the blues and soul of his Alabama upbringing, is as expressive as his singing, often punctuated by blistering slide work that serves the emotion of the song. Whether he is performing a delicate acoustic ballad or leading a feedback-drenched rock anthem, his work is consistently anchored by an obsession with craft. He avoids easy cliches, opting instead for specific, lived-in details that make his songs feel like short stories. Today, Jason Isbell is more than just a musician; he is a literary figure in the world of rock and roll, proving that the most specific stories are often the most universal.
 

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.

ulfelder
Books/Authors Recent Work from Favorites

Steve Ulfelder

Steve Ulfelder

Steve Ulfelder is the author of four mystery novels featuring unlikely hero Conway Sax. He’s also a freelance writer and co-owner of an auto-racing business.

Purgatory Chasm, Steve’s debut, was published by Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books in 2011. It was nominated for the Edgar and Anthony Awards in the Best First Novel category, and was named Best First Mystery by RT Book Reviews. The second Conway Sax novel, The Whole Lie, was published in 2012, with Shotgun Lullaby following in 2013. Book four, Wolverine Bros. Freight & Storage, was named Best PI Novel of 2014 by the Sons of Spade blog.

A new hero and new series : One Mississippi – Available now

Archer Dixon: 37 years old, Ivy educated, smart, funny, well read – but he never has amounted to much. He’s been reduced to bartering handyman services for a roof over his head. Having staggered all his life from job to job, Arch is a newly minted private detective. His first case looks easy-peasy – but when he starts digging, things quickly grow tangled. Before Arch knows it, he’s in the middle of a gang war between Nigerian car thieves and murderous Russians.

tab benoit
Blues/Soul/R&B Music

Tab Benoit

Tab Benoit

One of the most impressive guitarists to emerge from the rich Bayous of Southern Louisiana in recent years, Tab Benoit’s guitar tone can be recognized before his Otis-Redding-ish voice resonates from the speakers. He doesn’t rely on any effects and his set up is simple. It consists of a guitar, cord, and Category 5 Amplifier. The effects that you hear come from his fingers.

Erelli
indie music artists Music

Mark Erelli

Mark Erelli

is an American singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and touring folk musician from Reading, Massachusetts who earned a master’s degree in evolutionary biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst before pursuing a career in music. Wikipedia

Latest recording — Blindsided

“(Blindsided) soars on the wings of jangly guitars, heartfelt vocals and soulful harmony lines…Yep, that’s the sweet spot right there. And there’s enough of it to make this album matter.”
–The Associated Press

“Erelli is a throwback of sorts, a foursquare acoustic songwriter in an age of digital audio workstations. For ‘Blindsided’ he has amped up with a superb band…a rock ‘n’ soul set of songs with friction” –Boston Globe

 

silber
Art/Artists

Anne Silber

Born in New Jersey, Anne Silber studied at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and has lived and worked in the Boston area since 1977. Silber’s work has been shown in numerous one-person and group exhibitions around the U.S. and Europe, and her prints are included in many corporate and museum collections. Her work has also appeared on the sets of a large number of television series and major motion pictures.

Taj mahal
Blues/Soul/R&B Music

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

In September 2014, some 50 years after moving to Los Angeles to form the band Rising Sons with fellow blues musician Ry Cooder and Jessie Lee Kincaid, Taj Mahal hightailed it to Nashville to receive an honor he called “one of the most powerful and wonderful things that could ever happen in my life.” Celebrating decades of recording and touring that have nearly singlehandedly reshaped the definition and scope of the blues via the infusion of exotic sounds from the Caribbean, Africa and South Pacific, the two-time Grammy winning singer, songwriter, film composer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist was feted with the Lifetime Achievement for Performance Award at the 13th Annual Americana Honors and Awards.

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