Madam Owl | Kill Rock Stars
Hanson has augmented the sparse, acoustic folk of his previous albums with a backdrop of strings and horns, thus giving these songs greater depth and body.
By MICHAEL PATRICK BRADY | August 19, 2008

Times a' changed

The 2008 Newport Folk Fest mixes it up
Ever since Dylan plugged in (gasp!), the Newport Folk Festival has preserved a noble tradition of ignoring what folk is supposed to be in favor of defining the stuff for itself.
By MICHAEL BRODEUR | July 22, 2008

The folk and the fine

‘Keepers of Tradition’ and Alexis Rockman
Here in Massachusetts, our old ways tend to reside in ethnic islands and pockets. They may be famous on their street or in their neighborhood or town, but they’re often unheard of outside it.
By GREG COOK | June 16, 2008

Throwing dice, taking names

The Sword is +20 awesome
Let’s say your band are named the Sword, your albums have titles like Age of Winters and Gods of the Earth , and your latest single is “Fire Lances of the Ancient Hyperzephyrians.” Would these count as hazardous levels of irony?
By DANIEL BROCKMAN | May 12, 2008

Killer guitars — and bands

Pat Metheny’s latest trio and Kurt Rosenwinkel’s Remedy
Now 53 and more than 30 years into a remarkable career, Pat Metheny still approaches jazz like a kid let loose in a candy store.
By JON GARELICK | March 10, 2008

Real folks

Dust-to-Digital’s Art of Field Recording, Volume 1
With the release in late 2003 of the six-disc Goodbye, Babylon box set of gospel music from the era of 78s, the Dust-to-Digital label set the standard for reissue collections of American folk and roots music.
By SUSANNA BOLLE | February 20, 2008

Karen Dalton

Cotton Eyed Joe | Delmore: 2CDs, 1 DVD
Dalton pours herself so fully into each tune, it’s no wonder she flamed out.
By JEFF TAMARKIN | February 05, 2008

Scene on Fire

Portland neo-folkies go international
The sun is really shining on Portland’s experimental-folk community these days.
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | January 23, 2008

Electro-folk

Finding sounds with Patrick McGinley’s Murmer
Patrick McGinley is an inveterate traveler.
By SUSANNA BOLLE | December 31, 2007

Covering Dylan

From Newport to I’m Not There
Dylan is his own cover band.
By CHARLES TAYLOR | November 20, 2007

Colbie Caillat

Coco | Universal
This singer-songwriter is part of an emerging breed of Billboard-climbing folk-pop babes using YouTube and MySpace to build a devoted audience from the hard drive up.
By MIKAEL WOOD | October 30, 2007

I will survive

John Osorio-Buck in Lawrence, street art in Central Square, and Corita Kent’s Rainbow Gas Tank
“There is no such thing in civilized society as self-support,” claims a handwritten, hand-held, Dylan-esque cardboard sign.
By RANDI HOPKINS | October 16, 2007

Family affair

Linda Thompson’s Versatile Heart
Linda Thompson’s voice is a powerful instrument.
By TED DROZDOWSKI | October 16, 2007

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song

Exploring saintlike passion
This documentary by Jim Brown offers an inspiring portrait of America’s most enduring folk artist.
By PEG ALOI | September 26, 2007

Shop talk

Ryan Walsh interviews Will Sheff about Okkervil River
Will Sheff is a songwriter’s songwriter.
By RYAN WALSH | September 18, 2007

Erin McKeown: Lafayette

Signature Sounds
Give some of the credit to her crack back-up band, who move effortlessly between head-nodding hip-hop grooves and hopped-up big-band shuffles.
By MIKAEL WOOD | September 12, 2007

What would Guthrie say about America in 2007?

Just folks
This year’s edition of the Newport Folk Festival was almost perfect.
By BRIAN C JONES | August 15, 2007

Keepin' it realtor

Rock and rolling all night is tough with an unforgiving day job. That’s why the shredding set love real estate.
There’s an old Saturday Night Live sketch — not, truth be told, one of the show’s funniest moments — called “Rock & Roll Real-estate Agent.”
By MIKE MILIARD | August 01, 2007

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