Review: Hayes Carll, Allison Moorer
Hayes Carll was stomping his way into country music success when he decided to dial it back for his most recent album, return to a quieter solo acoustic approach, and…
Smokey Robinson Wins the Gershwin Prize
Dylan confirmed this week he won’t be going to Sweden next month to pick up his Nobel Prize Literature “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American songbook.”…
Remembering Leon Russell, 1942-2016
The sad march of death of influential rock ’n’ roll figures continues with the death of Leon Russell on Sunday at 74. Most prominent in the spectacular “Mad Dogs and…
Elvis Costello Stays Around a While
It’s not often that Elvis Costello tours without a new album to support. When he has, the super-prolific songwriter has left his setlist to fate with his always-entertaining Spinning Songbook…
Luna Satisfies at the Birchmere
“We miss you!” somebody yelled before Luna even started its show Thursday at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va. “We were just here,” replied the unsentimental bandleader Dean Wareham. He meant…
Live Review: The Buzzcocks Turn 40
Immediately, the number in the story-high banner and T-shirts hits you right in the solar plexus: Buzzcocks 40. Could two generations have actually passed since the start of English punk?…
Billy Bragg and Joe Henry: Train Love
Capping one of the more remarkable concept recordings of 2016, the next phase of Billy Bragg & Joe Henry’s celebration of the U.S. train system, “Shine a Light: Field Recordings…
Death Returns for History and Rock
“Are y’all ready for Death?” Such went the call from the opening band, referring to the headliners. That it would come out as such a sobering question of mortality may…
Brian Wilson’s Last ‘Pet Sounds’ Tour
Not exactly a smash when it was first released a half century ago, “Pet Sounds” has since been heralded as one of rock music’s crowning achievements -- a big turn…
Culture Club at the Strathmore on 9/11
It was the end of a four month tour, but Culture Club hardly looked worn out in their final U.S. show Sunday at The Music Center of Strathmore in North…