by Chris Familton When you talk about contemporary alt-country of the last few decades, one name is essential to the discussion – Portland Oregon’s Richmond Fontaine. The band, led by singer, guitarist and songwriter Willy Vlautin, were active from 1994 – 2016, with the core line-up of guitarist/pedal steel player Paul Brainard, bassist Dave Harding, guitarist … Continue reading
In recent years there have been a number of articles written about the difficulties and resistance that female country artists have faced in improving the gender parity at music festivals and getting their music played on American country radio. in April 2019, Dr. Jada Watson of the University of Ottawa, in consultation with WOMAN Nashville, … Continue reading
2019 delivered another bounty of homegrown treats in the form of full-length albums that captured the range and spirit of Australian and NZ Americana music. We encourage you to hit the links to read reviews, listen and buy any new discoveries you might make from our list of favourites, head to a show, buy … Continue reading
ACROSS THE DITCH In musical terms, and to Australia audiences, New Zealand may be best known for its indie exports (based around the Flying Nun label), the various pop shapes of Neil Finn and associates and heavier acts such as Shihad. Yet there is, and always has been, a fertile country & folk scene throughout … Continue reading
Yesterday we revealed our favourite 2018 local releases from Australia (and NZ). Today we go global with our 40 favourite albums of 2018. We were going to make it a list that excluded the local albums, seeing as we’ve already published those favourites, but as with previous years we decided we don’t want to separate … Continue reading
Ben Mastwyk dials into an authentic country sound that honours both the heartfelt storytelling side of the tracks and the boot scootin’, honky tonk dance-floor. It’s a talent that few possess with many guilty parties falling into either serious introspection or ending up looking like cartoon cowboys. Mastwyk wrote most of these songs in the … Continue reading
Post To Wire (plus Harbour Agency and Otherside) are proud to present Davey Craddock’s 2018 One Punch Tour which will kick off in Sydney at the end of September before taking in NSW, QLD, VIC and WA shows through October. Along the way he’ll play two of the most prestigious alt-country/Americana festivals in Australia – … Continue reading
Here they are, the 40 albums that I personally felt were the most important, fascinating and listenable in 2017. It was a near impossible process to collate them on a spreadsheet and make decisions and adjustments as to the creative worth of one over another. I’d highly recommend all the albums on this list and … Continue reading
Shapeshifting songwriter Daniel Romano has covered wide stylistic ground, from his post-hardcore band Attack in Black through to his run of top-notch solo albums that take in classic country, folk and psychedelic variations of the aforementioned. Now with Modern Pressure he’s consolidated his sound, corralling all those Americana variations into his consistently best album to … Continue reading
We’re excited to be part of what is becoming a tradition and Americana highlight of the Tamworth country music festivities in recent years. Now in its fourth year, Late Nite Alt has found a new home downstairs at Tamworth Services Club. As well as a new venue, they’ve also partnered with Footstomp Music, The Americana Music Association of Australia, … 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
Stan Woodhouse is currently out on the road playing a comprehensive series of solo acoustic dates (see below) around Australia to celebrate and promote the release of his new solo live album Live At Some Velvet Morning. The nine track album showcases Stan’s brilliant lyricism, dry humour and ability to hang a well crafted story on perfect … Continue reading
The last 12 months have been a bountiful period for Americana releases in Australia and New Zealand. From debut albums to notable EPs, collaborations to albums recorded on the other side of the world, there was something for everyone and most importantly it showed our local scenes are going from strength to strength. The music … Continue reading
2014, what another great year for Americana music, especially here in Australia where the scene seems to be growing in leaps and bounds. An example of that was Love Police launching the inaugural Out On The Weekend festival in Melbourne with a smaller version in Brisbane and a ton of sideshows in Sydney. All reports … Continue reading
Waitin’ Around To Die ~ A place where Americana (we’re talking alt-country, folk, bluegrass, rock n roll, country…) music fans and musicians can share new (and old) music they’ve discovered, their own releases, photos, gigs, recruit new band members, source information and continue to build the Americana music community, primarily in Australia and New Zealand. … Continue reading
