Man, he gets around doesn’t he?! The Nova Scotia-born, San Diego raised, Nashville based traveling troubadour Steve Poltz is returning for his second Australian tour of 2016 on the back of his LP Folksinger and this time he’s hitting a whole lot of different parts of the country – from festivals to small clubs. 2016 … Continue reading
Category Archives: Alt-Country
ALBUM REVIEW: William Crighton – William Crighton
For the last few years William Crighton has been building a strong buzz around his songs and live performances – both solo and with his band. Finally we see the fruition of his songwriting and recording with this mesmerising debut album. There’s a dark weight to Crighton’s music, both in subject matter and delivery, with … Continue reading
LIVE REVIEW: JD McPherson @ Factory Theatre, Sydney (3/02/16)
This was a night of rock ’n roll, blues, country, folk and soul, those landmark styles that set the ground rules for the last six decades of music and it showed that artists who trade in those genres, with authenticity, respect and reverence, continue to attract devoted fans. A Man Called Stu and pedal steel … Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: John Flanagan – There’s Another Way To Where You’re Going
John Flanagan went straight to the source for his new album – Nashville TN, where he used producer Viktor Krauss and some of the city’s finest session players to bring his melancholic songs to life on this classic-sounding Americana record. Flanagan has a smooth, familiar vocal sound reminiscent of Ron Sexsmith and John Fullbright and … Continue reading
ALBUM REVIEW: Lucinda Williams – The Ghosts Of Highway 20
Lucinda Williams has enjoying a wellspring of creativity in the last few years with her critically acclaimed and award-winning double album Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone (2013) and now yet another double album in The Ghosts Of Highway 20. The key to prolific output is making sure the quality never drops off and … Continue reading
TOUR NEWS: Sam Newton Announces Tour
Sydney songwriter Sam Newton has announced a run of dates on the back of his appearances up at Tamworth this month. He’ll be hitting the road in NSW and VIC through February. Continue reading
PTW & Mother Hen Touring Present: Fallen Angels ~ Country Christmas Party
We’ve joined forces with the wonderful Areatha from Mother Hen Touring (M.E Baird, James Thomson, Dan Waters, Leo Rondeau etc) to put on an end-of-year gig/party at the Petersham Bowling Club on December 20th. This will be a chance for the Sydney alt.country and folk music scene to celebrate another wonderful year of music in which some … Continue reading
NEW MUSIC: The Felice Brothers Release Xmas EP
The Felice Brothers have just released a digital 5-track EP for the festive season. The EP is $5.00 (US) and net proceeds from its sale will be donated to the Food Bank of The Hudson Valley. The band have also announced they’ll be released a new full length album in 2016. Felice Navidad Track Listing: Carriage The Dollar Store … Continue reading
NEW MUSIC: Henry Wagons ~ Cold Burger, Cold Fries
Henry Wagons has long been the central figure, the larger-than-life masthead of the band Wagons for 15 years and six albums but now he’s stepped into solo mode for his debut album After What I Did Last Night… due out in Feb 2016 via ABC/Universal. The first single released from the album is ‘Cold Burger, … Continue reading
INTERVIEW: Dave Rawlings
On the eve of the prestigious Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and ahead of an intensive run of touring to promote his brand new album Nashville Obsolete, Dave Rawlings takes our call in the gregarious and generous manner he’s become known for. A passionate and generous interviewee, he talks enthusiastically about the genesis of the new record, its … Continue reading
NEW MUSIC: Ruby Boots Releases New Single/Video for Cola & Wine
Ruby Boots has had an epic year with her debut album finally being released on the local imprint of the Lost Highway Records label. We loved the record and it is stacking up as one of the finest local Americana releases of the year. At the time we said of the album: She can evoke … Continue reading
HEARTBREAKER SESSIONS: Dan Parsons, Jason Walker @ Freda’s November 1st
To kick off November we have two impressive songwriters who approach country music from equally interesting perspectives. Dan Parsons has a smooth-sailing West Coast country folk vibe built around songwriting that is often much darker in subject matter than the music may at first suggest while Jason Walker is a rootsier singer, guitarist and songwriter who is … Continue reading
NEWS: AWME Announces Henry Wagons, Ruby Boots, Raised By Eagles, Cash Savage Show
As part of the AWME music conference in Melbourne next month, a stellar bill of alt. country music will perform at Max Watt’s on Friday Nov 13th. Henry Wagons will play solo backed by his band The Only Children while Ruby Boots and Raised By Eagles cap off a huge year of touring and new albums. … Continue reading
VIDEO: Lo Carmen ~ Everyone You Ever Knew (Is Coming Back To Haunt You)
A couple of weeks ago we posted news about Lo Carmen’s brand new album, describing it as sounding like the Velvet Undergound jamming with Mazzy Star in a Nashville honky tonk after closing time. Now she’s released the beautifully colour saturated clip for the title track, directed by Aden Young (star of the TV series … Continue reading
LIVE REVIEW: Shane Nicholson, Josh Rennie-Hynes @ The Basement, Sydney (26/08/15)
This was a night of friends and collaborators celebrating the release of Shane Nicholson’s new solo LP Hell Breaks Loose. Nicholson produced Josh Rennie-Hynes’ debut album February and invited the songwriter down from Brisbane to open the show. Rennie-Hynes had only met local pedal steel player Jy-Perry Banks (Cruisin’ Deuces) that afternoon but the pair … Continue reading