Features
Friday, December 21 2012
The Best Americana of 2012
Americana meant different things to different people this year, with revitalized legends and young traditionalists offering new visions of American music.
Monday, September 24 2012
Forgetting the Roots: Does It Matter Who Makes Folk Music?
The authenticity trap: How did folk music end up in such a paradoxical place?
Friday, December 18 2009
The Best 60 Albums of 2009
PopMatters presents our 60 best albums of 2009, highlighted by a bevy of American indie rock juggernauts, the return of a hip-hop master, and a couple of the finest voices on the planet.
Friday, December 18 2009
The Best Singles of 2009
PopMatters kicks off our annual two-week-long best music of the year feature with the 50 best singles of 2009, highlighted by a trio of American indie rock headliners.
Wednesday, December 16 2009
The Best Americana of 2009
This year saw a flood of plaid-shirted indie-roots bands building on the beardy throwbacks who gained country-rock traction in 2008. And while mainstream country music continued its evolution into '80s pop metal, plenty of roots acts turned the other direction with back-to-basics records.
Reviews
Wednesday, September 12 2012
The Avett Brothers: The Carpenter
The Avett Brothers' second major label album subtly expands their sonic palette while they continue to write strong songs that are alternately introspective and raucous.
Friday, August 17 2012
The Corduroy Road: Two-Step Silhouette
The Corduroy Road offer listeners a sometimes dark, sometimes somber ride through the American South.
Wednesday, June 15 2011
The Avett Brothers: 20 May 2011 - Houston, TX
Despite being able to draw audiences into 3,000 seat venues, The Avett Brothers still manage to capture a bit of the feeling of street buskers.
Monday, June 6 2011
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival: 29 April - 1 May 2011 - New Orleans
With one of the greatest convocations New Orleans has to offer, the first weekend of the 2011 Jazz & Heritage Fest provided everything from zydeco to Cajun to Americana – with a side of crawfish.
Thursday, October 7 2010
The Avett Brothers: Live, Volume 3
Their shows are celebrated as wild, unhinged affairs, as much like a rock concert as any acoustic show has ever been. But, unfortunately, on record it mostly sounds rangy and irritating.
Blogs
Thursday, January 21 2010
The Avett Brothers and Heartless Bastards - Live on 'Austin City Limits' (video)
The Avett Brothers had a banner year in 2009, with their latest release, the Rick Rubin-produced I and Love and You, placing high on many…
Wednesday, November 25 2009
The Avett Brothers - "Slight Figure of Speech" (video)
I'm sure you've heard "Slight Figure of Speech", the latest single from the Avett Brothers, but have you seen the official video? Catch it now…
Thursday, November 19 2009
The Avett Brothers - "Slight Figure of Speech" (video)
The Avett Brothers have been making the rounds to support their major label debut, and here they are again, hitting Fallon with "Slight Figure of…
Saturday, July 11 2009
The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You (new album / MP3 / video)
The Avett Brothers I and Love and You (Columbia/American) Release date: 11 August 2009 SONG LIST 1. I and Love and You 2. January Wedding…
News
Wednesday, October 6 2010
The Avett Brothers heard banjo's siren call
With their banjo/guitar/stand-up bass lineup, earnest vocal harmonies, and back story growing up on a North Carolina farm, the Avett Brothers seem like the kind…
Wednesday, June 24 2009
After years as indie act, the Avett Brothers hit it bigger
For years, the Avett Brothers operated as a sort of rootsy, indie antiquity in motion. A banjo, stand-up bass and guitar outfit from the bluegrass-rich…
