PICKING UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF Back in the saddle after Danny Widdicombe overcame leukaemia for the third time, The Wilson Pickers have reconvened to celebrate the simple joy of making music together. Sime Nugent chatted to Chris Familton about the circumstances in which the new album came about. In 2012 The Wilson Pickers were … Continue reading
The term troubadour is bandied about as a kind of romantic notion of a songwriter riding the rails, traveling and singing for his supper. Josh Rennie-Hynes fits that description more than most singer/songwriters in Australia, regularly relocating to different cities and countries – all in the name of spreading his music and developing his songwriting … Continue reading
It’s been five years since Gillian Welch released a new solo LP, though I guess we’ve been half-satiated with the recent Dave Rawlings Machine album. One hopes that this release is a stopgap collection to both celebrate the 20th anniversary of her debut Revival and reinvigorate her catalogue ahead of a new solo album. This … Continue reading
Taking the leap from being part of a band to standing on one’s own feet as a solo performer had never occurred to Dear Orphans’ Nick Payne. When it was suggested, he decided to approach the Rise Up Like A River project with 100% commitment and passion. As a founding member (with partner Lyn Taylor) … Continue reading
What a year. Plenty of big names from our musical corner of the world departed (Leonard Cohen, Merle Haggard, Guy Clark, Ralph Stanley, Red Simpson, Jean Shepard, Leon Russell, Steve Young, Glenn Frey, Chips Moman, Dave Swarbrick and Scotty Moore), a sign that the golden era of music from the 60s and 70s is well … Continue reading
There have been plenty of stories of albums recorded while holed up in cabins in secluded locations, often documenting and dissecting a failed romance. Krista Polvere undertook a similar process in a basement in Virginia but in her case the relationship was still in motion and the partner in question was also the album’s producer. … Continue reading
Jason Walker doesn’t play much with his full band so this was a chance to hear songs from his recently released new album All-Night Ghost Town, fleshed out with drums, bass and lead guitar – with Walker himself on electric. They sounded fantastic too, tight yet still with that alt-country looseness that gave them a … Continue reading
Warnings & Wisdom may only be her second album but American songwriter Jen Mize has already lived a colourful musical life that has taken her from Las Vegas casinos to the Boston Conservatory, from the Duke Ellington Orchestra to a home on the Sunshine Coast. Jen Mize’s debut Fear, Pride And A Few Stubborn Angels … Continue reading
There’s a saying “you only get one shot”, yet over time rock ’n’ roll has proven that’s not necessarily the case. One such example is Glad Reed and David Claringbold. Collaborators in life and music since the mid 80s, they demonstrate on their new album The Road, that they’re still driven by a shared passion … Continue reading
Pegi Young is back with her second solo LP Raw, her first since she divorced from her long-term husband Neil Young. Here’s the first single from it – ‘Too Little Too Late’. Raw begins with a song clearly addressed to her ex, ‘Why’, with the refrain “Why’d you have to ruin my life,”. The rest of … Continue reading
Nikki Lane has been hard at work over the past couple of years, writing and recording the follow-up to her successful 2014 album All Or Nothin‘. The first single to be released from the new LP (due out via New West Records on Feb 17th ) is the title track ‘Highway Queen’. Preorders with all manner … Continue reading
STAYING IN THE SONGWRITING SADDLE Lindi Ortega returned to Australia last month for the Out On The Weekend festival and her own headline shows. She fills Chris Familton in on what she’s been up to in the year since her album Faded Gloryville was released. Canadian (and Nashville resident) country singer/songwriter Lindi Ortega will make her third visit … Continue reading
They sure don’t make ‘em like Kinky Friedman anymore. Singer, songwriter, author, raconteur, comedian and winner of the Male Chauvinist Pig Award from the National Organisation of Women in 1973. He’s still peddling the same material that he has for the last forty years though that was tempered somewhat by the release last year of … Continue reading
Neil Young has surprised yet again with another 2016 album release. First there was the EARTH live LP, then came the news that Official Release Series Discs 8.5-12 reissue vinyl box set (American Stars & Bars, Comes A Time, Rust Never Sleeps, Live Rust and Long May You Run) will be out next month and now he’s just … Continue reading
After last year’s cancelled Sydney leg of the Out On The Weekend festival it was always unlikely we’d get another chance in 2016 but we do still get the consolation prize of some fine headline shows by the various artists from the Melbourne event. Callum Wylie had the task of serenading the slowly arriving punters. … Continue reading
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