The Mavericks
The Mavericks
R.I.P. – Raul Malo
In the world of music, The Mavericks are celebrated for their “post-punk spaghetti-western” sound, blending neotraditional country with Latin, rock, and ska influences.
Led by the incomparable voice of Raul Malo, the band became a symbol of musical eclecticism. Tragically, the music community mourned the loss of Malo in December 2025 at the age of 60. Fans and colleagues remember him as a legendary performer who treated every audience, regardless of size, with the same “awesome” energy. His death marked the end of an era for a group that refused to be pigeonholed into a single genre, consistently proving that authentic artistry knows no borders. Raul Malo was widely regarded as one of the finest vocalists of his generation, often compared to Roy Orbison for his power, range, and emotive delivery. Born in Miami to Cuban parents, his music served as a bridge between cultures and languages.
Founded in 1989 in Miami, Florida, The Mavericks quickly established themselves as “mavericks” in both name and practice. While they initially found success in the Nashville country scene, they were never easily categorized, drawing heavily from Malo’s Cuban-American heritage and various retro influences.
Peter Mulvey
Peter Mulvey
is an American folk singer-songwriter based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Since the early 1990s, he has developed a strong national following in the indie folk/rock scene through his relentless touring and critically acclaimed albums. Wikipedia
Peter is live streaming on a regular basis during the pandemic.
Click on his site below.
The Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers are an American folk rock band from Concord, North Carolina. The band is made up of two brothers, Scott Avett and Seth Avett along with Bob Crawford and Joe Kwon. Mike Marsh and Bonnie Avett-Rini are touring members of the band. Wikipedia
The band has gotten much exposure over the last few years and need no further introduction. Explore their site.
Thomas Perry
Thomas Perry
is the author of 25 novels including the Jane Whitefield series (Vanishing Act, Dance for the Dead, Shadow Woman, The Face Changers, Blood Money, Runner, Poison Flower, and String of Beads), Death Benefits, and Pursuit, the first recipient of the Gumshoe Award for best novel.
He won the Edgar for The Butcher’s Boy, and Metzger’s Dog was a New York Times Notable Book. The Independent Mystery Booksellers’ Association included Vanishing Act in its “100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century,” and Nightlife was a New York Times bestseller.
Metzger’s Dog was voted one of NPR’s 100 Killer Thrillers–Best Thrillers Ever. Strip was chosen as a New York Times Notable Crime Book for 2010, and The Informant was a New York Times Notable Crime Book for 2011 and won the Barry Award for Best Thriller, 2011. Poison Flower was chosen among Booklist’s Best Crime Novels of 2013.
His recent books, The Burglar and The Small Town were first rate, and his latest release, Eddie’s Boy is out now.
Watch for “The Old Man” coming to FX as a series.
James Crumley
in memorium
Crumley was the quintessential novelist for post Vietnam War America. His disillusion was equal to his romantic streak, the both of them stoked by abundant appetites and consumption of just about every substance under the sun. He was a slumming poet in the vein of his icon, Chandler, and a consummate writer’s writer, capable of more feeling and more beauty in a sentence than many authors could fit into a book. Ask your favorite crime writer for a list of their most admired books and the odds are you’ll find The Last Good Kiss or some other adventure from the C.W. Sughrue or Milo Milodragovitch series among them.
(Crimereads)
A special crime novel 
A look at Vietnam
Nataniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
Nataniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
Nathaniel David Rateliff is an American singer and songwriter based in Denver, whose influences are described as folk, Americana and vintage rhythm & blues. Rateliff has garnered attention with Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, the soulful R&B combo he formed in 2013. Wikipedia
His record label includes this in his notes:
Like his heroes, Rateliff has always been an omnivorous listener and player. Growing up in Hermann, Missouri, a small town with a booming tourism industry as well as a rampant meth epidemic, he started his music career playing in his family’s band at church, but that came to a tragic end when his father was killed in a car accident. Music became an obsession for him and his friends. “We would walk around these deserted country roads and talk about music all the time, how it can change the world and how it could change our world,” recalls Night Sweats bassist Joseph Pope III. “Music was what we thought would save us.”
