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Essential Guitar Records – Bandcamp Shopping List for Winter 2022
You know I’m a slut for acoustic finger-style (or flat-pick, or electric, really any kind of soft->shred->soli guitar playing). I asked – many Twitter friends delivered. Here are a bunch of newer guitar (ok, I also added a few non-guitar, but, stringed-instrumental) albums (most recently released or about-to-be-released) that are just… music to my ears. Ernie Francestine – The Quiet ShiftSome of the prettiest playing I’ve heard in a while. Distinct & delicate. Keep your eye out for new stuff from Ernie to be released on War Hen Records sometime this year. The Quiet Shift by Ernie Francestine Duncan Park…
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Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros announce spring 2022 tour
Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros just confirmed a 13-date tour this spring. The band will feature Don Was, Jay Lane and Jeff Chimenti + the Wolfpack, and the legendary Barry Sless will join on pedal steel. The tour will kick off on March 9th at the Ryman Presales begin this Wednesday, December 15 at 10am local time concluding Thursday, December 16, with general on-sale beginning Friday, December 17. Sign up for early access to tickets HERE. The band is also releasing their first ever vinyl collection of recorded material. Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros: Live In Colorado is out February 18 on Third Man Records, their debut with the label. Listen…
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Petal Motel’s Albums of the Year (2021)
Picking favorite albums of the year is always a daunting task; yet a chance for introspection and a guideline by which to mark the passing of time. Petal Motel never ranks; but simply compiles and points out a few that have meant the most to our staff (me) throughout the duration of this topsy-turvy year. There was (understandably) an enormous amount of creative output this year. Although we are grateful, we happily say goodbye to “the pandemic album” and all surrounding interviews tiring the subject out. As usual, these are in no order. I did highlight a few that my…
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Steve Gunn shares film, tour dates, good news!
Some Steve Gunn news! First of all, please enjoy this short concert film of Steve performing Live from the Rat Fink Room, filmed early this fall at the first stand-up comedy club ever, located at 5th and 3rd Ave in New York. The performance features Gunn’s songs “Fulton” aned “On the Way” from his latest album, Other You (which we liked). Watch it here: And guess what else! He’s getting back on the road for a west coast tour this spring with Jeff Parker! Will I go to at least five of these? It’s likely. See you all at Pappy’s…
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Cher added to lineup for monastery benefit concert
Everyone’s favorite multi-talented superstar will be joining Laurie Anderson, Jon Batiste, Norah Jones, Angelique Kidjo, Steve Miller, Gregory Porter and Maggie Rogers for WisdomSound on November 8th. Richard Gere will be there too. The live-streamed event benefits Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Monastery and Nagi Nunnery, two Tibetan religious institutions. The benefit will be viewable live at Mandolin.com on 11/8 at 8:00 PM EST, and will remain online for a short period of time after. Tickets are free, but donations are highly encouraged. Get tickets here. Now, let us praise our queen who continues to use her voice to advocate for human and…
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Aspirational Arias : Experimental & Ambient Music to Breathe To
There was a recent article slamming many ambient albums I love and it seems so strange because that’s the beauty of the genre- it’s abstract, thwarts tradition, and what’s incredibly boring to one person could be extremely soothing to another, and vice versa. It’s like, criticizing dreams?? Weird. I already know I’m going to get some backlash for this article so prefacing now with a disclaimer that I am not any sort of scholar of ambient music and as someone who just barely started listening to it, I understand that there is depth and nuances I cannot yet grasp. I…
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Tashaki Miyaki – Castaway: Track by Track
LA babes Tashaki Miyaki are releasing their second full-length Castaway on July 2nd. Lead songwriter, and producer of the album Paige Stark did us the honor of writing a track-by-track guide to the gorgeous album. The California three-piece is a sparkling example of the more glimmering lights, nighttime vibe of the modern LA sound. Tashaki Miyaki’s three members are obviously products of their California upbringings, but their flavor spans the U.S., citing Sun Records, Doo-Whoop, Neil Young, punk and hip-hop as influences. Their crackling, understated shoegaze sound and Stark’s hazy, floral vocals are complimented by contemplative, emotive lyrics, lush string…
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Filmmaker Michael Roberson shares video for Mason Lindahl’s “Outside Laughing”
A while back, Tompkins Square released Mason Lindahl’s Kissing Rosy in the Rain, a gorgeously downcast, haunting Flamenco-flavored record. To match the elegant spookiness of the song, filmmaker Michael Roberson created this highly Bataillean short film that echoes the record’s chiaroscuro elements. You can revisit the Petal Motel review here and get Kissing Rosy in the Rain on Bandcamp.
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Hard Working Americans Live at Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds on 2014-08-03
Just posting this here for posterity and for your revisiting/listening pleasure. In 2014, Todd Snider missed his plane en route to a Hard Working Americans gig but luckily there was already a tremendous vocalist as well as masterful shredder in the band who was able to step in and sing his heart out. I’ve been holding off on listening to a lot of harder-to-find and newer-to-me Neal stuff because I want there to still be new things to savor slowly.. but this week I’ve been going in hard on some things I hadn’t heard before. Aas much as it breaks…
