Archive for the News & Releases – Latest & Greatest Category

Justin Osborne needed a break. He’d been writing music and making albums since he was 15, and by the age of 26, he felt like he was spinning his wheels. He knew he needed a change, so he ended his old band Sequoyah Prep School and moved to Cuba. He thought he might be done

Guitarist John Abercrombie who has recorded as a leader for ECM since 1974 returns with a second album, Up & Coming, by his quartet featuring Marc Copland on piano, along with longtime rhythm partners Drew Gress and Joey Baron. Extolling 39 Steps, the group’s 2013 album, the Financial Times said: “The emphasis is on subtle intrigue, […]

Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio is among his very best musical ideas ever. The music is rootsy, spirited and soulful, performed by serious musicians hell-bent on having a good time. Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio features Bishop’s down-home delivery, deep blues picking and slide guitar playfully meshing with Welsh’s piano and guitar licks and Jordan’s soul singing and propulsive cajón playing. The album’s laid-back, front-porch vibe mixes four rollicking Bishop originals with three co-writes and five raucous, well-chosen covers of songs by Lightnin’ Hopkins, Fats Domino, Sunnyland Slim, Ted Taylor and Bobby Womack. And because one can never have too much fun, Bishop’s pals Kim Wilson, Charlie Musselwhite and Rick Estrin stop by the sessions, each adding his distinctive harmonica talent (and in Musselwhite’s case, vocals too) to a song. Listening to the proceedings, it’s easy to see why the Chicago Sun-Times enthusiastically declared, “It’s impossible not to like Bishop. He’s always singing something lowbrow and uplifting.”

As tempting as it may be to just let that exclamation suffice as your sole introduction to NxWorries, we should go a little deeper. The men at the heart of this LP — soul styler Anderson .Paak and loop beast Knxwledge — make an exceedingly clean pair, even as they deal almost entirely in the gritty: vocals that sound lived in for a couple of lifetimes; beats that kick up dust as they bump; and an 18-track set that plays like a mixtape merging skits, songs, and snippets into a package of fluid groove and rough-cut rap ‘n’ soul gems. You may have heard these two out in the world, on their own or sprinkling some of their musical gold dust on someone else’s songs, but this is what happens when .Paak and Knx get home, lay back, light up, and let it go.

DANNY BROWN WILL PLAY THREE SHOWS THIS WEEK IN CHARLOTTE, CARRBORO & ASHEVILLE to celebrate his mind-bending new album. He’ll be at The Underground (10/28), Cat’s Cradle (10/29) and The Orange Peel (10/30). Click “Read More” for info on all three shows!

We had three amazing Fall For Greenville-adjacent performances at Horizon Records in The Bohemian Cafe this weekend, and we were three-for-three on awesome. ADIA VICTORIA kicked things off on Saturday at 2pm with a haunting, visceral set of gothic blues, then the glorious seven-piece ball of soul, funk, rock and marching-band madness that is the […]

Tompkins Square label presents the 8th volume of Imaginational Anthem, the acclaimed series focusing on acoustic guitar, particularly in the American Primitive vein. Since 2005, the series has revived interest in old masters of the genre while also giving many folks their very first taste of artists like William Tyler, Steve Gunn, Chris Forsyth or Daniel Bachman.

‘Jack White Acoustic Recordings 1998-2016′ is the definitive Jack White songwriting collection, spanning his 20+ year career. It includes White’s acoustic-based recordings with the White Stripes, the Raconteurs, and his acclaimed solo projects. The music included here is all-encompassing, highlighting White’s versatility, and the songs are presented with unique character in chronological order. As noted […]

“Lydia is the only singer/songwriter the power of whose music and voice consistently makes me cry.” – Richard Hell “She’s a master storyteller with a voice that goes down like honey and lyrics that bite like a hangover.” – Paste Magazine “Heir apparent of Loretta Lynn” – Twangville “Loveless has carved out an unmistakable voice as a […]