Not long ago I wrote of my quest to find a new sound, to get outside the now-overcrowded genre of “Americana” – acoustic guitar, banjo, m...

Michelle Shocked changed my musical life forever – and for that I’ll be forever grateful. But I believe that the joy she gave me will als...

As many Modern Acoustic followers know, I took a break last year from the magazine and the blog. Life and family left little time to keep...

The road to where I am now musically is one that took many twists and turns. I can pinpoint 1976, the bicentennial year, and all I can re...

A recent story in the Washington Post brought to light that Bruce Springsteen was using a teleprompter on stage during his recent tour as...

FAVORITE ALBUMS / SURPRISE ALBUMS “The King Is Dead,” the Decemberists and “The Harrow & the Harvest,” Gillian Welch In a surprising retu...

Dear Biggest Fan Ever of the Band Onstage, SHUT UP! Why is it you who claims to be the biggest fan never stops talking while your band is...

It seems like ages ago, but it was actually only 11 or so months when the year began – with a bang. January and February exploded with co...

Dawes seems to be doing everything the right way. They tour endlessly, they’ve played backup to the great Robbie Robertson, and they trea...

I recently came across a new posting on Wolfgang’s Vault of an old recording of a Miles Davis concert from 1970 at Fillmore West in San F...

DJ LISA GARVEY’S ‘BRUNCH BY THE RIVER’ SERVES UP A MIX OF HAND-PICKED JAZZ, BLUES, ROCK AND, YES, SOUL MUSIC LIKE NO OTHER COMMERCIAL RAD...

It’s easy to knock commercial radio stations. Most are owned by corporations out to keep profit margins high and risk-taking low. This tr...

The door has swung wide open for Grace Potter, and she is sprinting through it. It seemed to jar open suddenly late last year with her in...

It’s clear that the musicians that play the Newport Folk Festival get it. Yes, it’s a beautiful scene, with its view from the stage looki...

Can’t make it to Bonnaroo or Coachella?  Live streaming technology finally makes it worthwhile to bring the festivals – and even local sh...

Gillian Welch, “The Harrow & the Harvest” (out now) As soon as the first few notes of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ guitars ring out ...

It’s been a crazy roller-coaster ride this year at the home offices of Modern Acoustic. The early months of the year were all about music...

Jeff Foucault, “Horse Latitudes” (out now) How can such contemporary tunes sound so timeless? At times, Jeffrey Foucault’s latest, “Horse...

Most times when you go to shows you pretty much know what to expect. Once in a while, though, you get surprised and wonder (in your best ...

There was a time in the mid-’80s when I lived and breathed for Bob Marley tunes. I was in college when the reggae great died in 1981, and...