This week has mainly been about looking back at our favourite Americana albums (click on the image below) that have been released so far in 2015 plus reviews of recently released new albums (all 8/10) from Australian artists Liam Gale & The Ponytails, Raised By Eagles and Ruby Boots. We’d love to hear which albums have impressed you most so far this year.

In the week ahead we’ll have reviews of the new solo album from Sydney songwriter Mark Lucas and the sophomore album from Newcastle-based James Thomson who has crafted a brilliant follow-up to his first self-titled album.

Our gig pick of the weekend is slightly outside of Sydney – Perry Keyes and Jason Walker at The Clarendon Guesthouse in Katoomba, Blue Mountains.

As we look at ways to keep expanding our support, documentation and promotion of the Americana music scene we’ve set ourselves up at Mixcloud where we hope to start a regular PTW Podcast in the near future. In the meantime we’ve added our popular Cowgirl in The Sand mixtape. It’s a themed one of sorts in that we’ve focused on some of our favourite female singers and songwriters. You’ll hear some of the finest local Australian and New Zealand talent, classic artists and some on the fringes. There’s a bit of everything from haunted folk to country pop to dreamy soulful twang including De’May, Emma Swift, Nikki Lane, Gillian Welch, Tammy Wynette, Lucinda Williams and more.

In the coming weeks the PTW Jukebox is being wheeled out to spin Americana tunes at two great gigs. First up is Peasant Moon launching their new Fading In The Light EP with support from Katie Brianna and Lisa Caruso at the Petersham Bowling Club on Sunday May 24th. We’l be back there again the following Friday for a show that Post To Wire is presenting – James Thomson, Davey Craddock and Roland Kay-Smith. More on that show in the coming weeks.

 The classic track this week is Wiliie Nelson’s New Orleans -infused country funk track ‘Shotgun Willie’. Nelson is a busy octogenarian of late with a new album with Merle Haggard (Django and Jimmie) out in June and his new autobiography It’s a Long Story: My Life out this week.