Brisbane-based country singer/songwriter and truck driving troubadour Bud Rokesky first caught my ear with his debut single ‘Love My Baby More’. A couple of weeks later I was standing in front of the stage at Dashville Skyline in the Hunter Valley with the early afternoon sun casting a warm glow across the assembled audience. A …
In the mid 1960s, Woodstock, New York was increasingly becoming a haven for musicians who wanted to escape the grind of New York City (or elsewhere) and draw inspiration from the wooded surrounds and the burgeoning creative community that was thriving there. The town of Woodstock had long been a focal point for artists, since …
RYAN ADAMS ROMEO & JULIET PAXAM RECORDING COMPANY Three years since the NY Times article that revealed his totally inappropriate behaviour with past partners, fellow musicians and fans and cast him into the musical wilderness, Ryan Adams has been slowly rebuilding his career on his own label. Wednesdays (2020), Big Colors (2021) and Chris (2022) …
TAMI NEILSON KINGMAKER MGM Tami Neilson’s career trajectory continues its impressive ascent as she emerges from the pandemic with an album that both celebrates women and challenges their treatment and role in society, particularly in the music industry. Neilson further explores her openminded approach to country music, whether it’s the Bobby Gentry-styled Southern noir and …
In the ever-changing world of digital advances, the question and viability of how to preserve, enhance and share one’s music continues to be a conundrum for artists. From box-sets to anniversary concerts, documentaries to reissues, everyone is looking to find new ways to monetise their back catalogues. In recent years, the Neil Young Archives website …
Check out the cover artwork for New Zealand duo Sin City’s debut album and you might be expecting a laidback Gram Parsons-styled cosmic country album, and there are elements of that, but at it’s core this is a rousing, loose-limbed blend of rock ’n’ roll, soul and country. From bar room brawls to late night …
THE DELINES THE SEA DRIFT LOVE POLICE RECORDS + TAPES Once considered a side project of Richmond Fontaine songwriter and frontman Willy Vlautin, on album #3 The Delines have comprehensively proven themselves as their own bittersweet and soulful microsystem, where damaged souls battle on against life’s twists and turns. Little beacons of hope amid the …
As you hit the top of a steep rise on a Lower Belford road in in the NSW Hunter Valley, you’re suddenly greeted by large letters spelling out ‘Dashville’, the home of Gum Ball, Thrashville and for the next three days, Dashville Skyline. After the last two years of festival cancellations and postponements, the stars …
Erin Rae is currently on tour in Australia with Courtney Marie Andrews on what might be one of the very first international tours we’ve seen in the last two years. Rae has just released a beautiful new album, Lighten Up, that complements her sublime and nuanced songwriting with cosmic, lightly psychedelic and baroque folk sounds …
The Redlands are cousins and childhood friends, Samuel Nairn (vocals), Chase Williams (lead guitar) Dean Williams (guitar/piano) and Ottavio Dichiera (bass). Formed in 2019, after years of playing live together around Mildura in north-east Victoria and taking their cues from songwriting giants like Dylan, Cave and Isbell. You can hear those influences and more winding …
We were mesmerised when we first heard the brand new album from Blue Mountains songwriter T. Wilds (Tania Bowers), Ten Songs. Featuring Matthew Toohey, the album is a stunning set of songs that sit within the folk idiom, perfectly balanced between modern folk noir and dusty traditional forms. You can hear the avant stylings that …
Melbourne-based songwriter Riley Catherall has just released his debut solo album When I Go and as far as first records go, this is one of those where the artist arrives seemingly fully formed. The evidence of that is in the way Catherall delivers such well-crafted songs with consummate ease. When I Go has a clear …
Sydney songwriter Fleur Wiber has impressed with her previous releases, both solo and with Chris Carrapetta. Her latest release is ‘Plastic Skyscrapers‘, a song that perfectly the blends classic and contemporary strains of country music, yet still with a gentle cosmic folk drift in its DNA. Drums shuffle, guitars twang & tumble along while a … Continue reading
I was lucky enough to catch Anna Weatherup live at Dashville Skyline recently and she played an impressive set of soulful multi-genre songs, all sharing a rich vein of emotive, world class songwriting. Last week she released her new single ‘The River’ and last night the excellent video clip for the song premiere on YouTube. … Continue reading
Today we’re very pleased to bring you the premiere of ‘Peninsula‘, the new single by Tom West (Chicago via SA) & Lucinda R. (QLD). The pair have combined to pen a collaborative album of contemporary indie folk with a cinematic twist. Inspired by a road trip to SA’s Fleurieu Peninsula the duo rapidly wrote ten … Continue reading
Last month, Melbourne songwriter Ernest Aines released ‘Rigged Games‘, the third single from his forthcoming new album Spiral Bound which is set for release early in 2023. There’s a haunting and emotive folk sweep that lifts the song from a straight folk composition into a heady and ethereal paean to a whirlwind relationship that disintegrates … Continue reading
I thought I’d take a look at a some producers, who are also respected musicians, and the work they’ve done with older established country artists to breathe new life into their music and/or add a different dimension to their sound. The template for a producer working with an older artist, often past the peak of … Continue reading
Melbourne songwriter Sunset Stranger (Stephen E. Stanisic) has released the results of his latest trip to Rolling Stock Recording Rooms, under the guidance of producer Myles Mumford. ‘Prometheus Blues‘, out today via Bandcamp and streaming services, is an upbeat slice of kaleidoscopic folk, country and blues that dances lightly from the speakers. Guitars and dobro … Continue reading
LYLE LOVETT 12TH OF JUNE VERVE RECORDS It’s been a while between drinks for the iconic Lyle Lovett but he’s finally back with a new album, a decade on from his last record, Release Me. In true Lovett fashion, he’s brought together all of his influences – jazz, Western swing, Texas country and heavily rhythm-based … Continue reading
Hobart-based songwriter Phil Smith has released, ‘That’s Love For You‘ the first single from his forthcoming new album Into The Night (early 2023) and we’re super happy to be able to premiere the video clip, directed by Bones, on PTW today. The single has that perfect melancholic alt-country sway, built on harmonica, perfectly placed and … Continue reading
Introducing Skinny Dyck, straight out of Lethbridge, Alberta. He’s just put out his third release with the EP Palace Waiting, featuring this dusty dance-floor gem ‘Ripe There On The Vine‘. As he explains, the song is “a modern sounding, traditional rooted country song with a cheeky, optimistic message capturing the waiting game that ensures before … Continue reading
Texan singer/songwriter and upright bassist Melissa Carper released her single ‘Ain’t A Day Goes By‘ last month. It’s the lead single from her forthcoming LP Ramblin’ Soul, out on November 18th via Mae Music/Thirty Tigers. According to the advance press release, the album ventures into blues, early rock and roll, and old-school soul, along with Carper’s signature … Continue reading
Minor Gold might be a new name but dig a little deeper and you’ll no doubt recognise the key architects of this new collaborative duo – Tracy McNeil and Dan Parsons, both wonderful and successful songwriters, singers and musicians in their own right. The warm folk sound of their debut single ‘Mona Lisa‘ is the perfect … Continue reading
Jen Mize hits the soul, blues and Americana afterburners on this killer second single from this new project with her eight-piece band The Rough N’ Tumble. Sparse and deeply soulful, ‘All Riled Up‘ digs a deep and infectious groove. There are some great contemporary sounds being created with this kind of stylistic blend (Tami Neilson, … Continue reading
The Queensland band Hillsborough, based around Phil Usher and Beata Maglai, released their debut album Comin’ Back For You this week and to mark the occasion they’ve also released the video clip for their latest single ‘Magnetic Lives‘ – an alt-country song built around a dusty acoustic strum, an electric twang and sublime vocal harmonies … Continue reading
Another incredible long weekend of cosmic country music in the idyllic surrounds of the Hunter Valley. A ton of highlights at the festival this year (as always) but my PTW gold star picks for this year go to Skyscraper Stan & The Commission Flats, Grace Cummings, Watty Thompson, Bud Rokesky, The Tall Stories, Sweet Talk, … Continue reading
Sometimes the simplest songs are the most affecting. The bare and poetic conveyance of heartfelt thoughts and emotions always ring the truest and Austin, TX songwriter JD Casper has done just that. The song came to him in an inspired moment over a morning coffee and JD says “I hope he listens to this throughout … Continue reading
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