Blackberry Smoke expands musically on new album
Bands rarely come as well-rounded as Blackberry Smoke. For fans of open-minded Southern rock, the five-piece outfit covers all the bases—pensive highway songs, distorted, arena-ready scorchers and bluesy explorations doused in Dixie grit. The group emerged from Atlanta in the early 2000s, and, as required by independent bands since the turn of the century, hit the […]
Cry Cry Cry embarks on a brief reunion tour
Cry Cry Cry is back together, but not for long. A collaboration between established folk singers Dar Williams, Richard Shindell and Lucy Kaplansky, the harmony-based trio formed two decades ago to release one album before members went their separate ways to focus on individual careers. The project mostly sat dormant until last summer, when an […]
A quick chat with Phil Lesh: Grateful Dead bassist talks Lockn’ return and missing Jerry
At 77, Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh is mostly done touring, but that doesn’t mean he’s done playing music. Besides some semi-regular gigs in and around New York City, Lesh can mostly be found these days on stage at Terrapin Crossroads, the Dead-themed club he opened in 2012 near his home in Marin County, California. […]
Beginning stages: Five acts making a Lockn’ debut
The Lockn’ Festival returns to Arrington this week, bringing four days of music to Infinity Downs Farm from Thursday through Sunday. The jam-friendly festival is largely returning to its foundational roots, with headlining slots featuring Bob Weir and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic, The String Cheese Incident and Gov’t Mule, which will […]
Pokey LaFarge gets real on Manic Revelations
“Things might get kind of weird in the background,” Pokey LaFarge says when he answers the phone for an interview in late June. He’s taken the call, despite being stuck on the highway in Ohio, trying to find a way to get to a gig in Cleveland, because his bright yellow tour bus is now […]
Infinity Downs Farm launches with Earth Day concert
In 2013, Dave Frey and his partner, fellow music promoter Peter Shapiro, started the Lockn’ Festival, a multi-genre musical blowout that takes place in late summer on the sprawling Oak Ridge Farm in the Nelson County town of Arrington. Over the past four years the event has brought an array of heavyweight acts in roots, […]
Not-to-miss Festy Experience collaborations
The Festy Experience returns this weekend for the seventh straight year, taking place Friday through Sunday at its new home, the Nelson County Preserve in Arrington. Once again, the festival will feature an impressive mix of national acts and local bands—focusing on some of the best in bluegrass, Americana and roots rock. Especially intriguing this […]
A rundown of the top axe masters at Lockn’
For the fourth straight year, the Lockn’ Festival will return to the Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington. Once again, the musical marathon will offer a deep roster of heavyweights in the worlds of jam and roots rock, boasting big sets by Phish, My Morning Jacket, Ween, Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead and Tedeschi Trucks […]
Lockn’ through the lens: Rock photographer Jay Blakesberg shoots Virginia’s biggest jam fest
Back in September 1977 Jay Blakesberg caught his first Grateful Dead show in Englishtown, New Jersey. He quickly became a die-hard fan, and as a hobbyist shutterbug started bringing a camera to shows as he followed the band around the country.
Man on the move: Hit songwriter Chris Stapleton takes a turn in the spotlight
Chris Stapleton is putting together one of those cool careers in Nashville that every artist envies. His work as a songwriter is both authentic and accessible. He’s found success among the underground and the mainstream. Since moving to Music City a decade and a half ago from his native Kentucky, Stapleton has penned a handful […]
Set list: Actor Jeff Daniels isn’t playing around when it comes to music
Jeff Daniels has a deep resumé on screen. His acting work dates back to the early ’80s when he broke out in films like Terms of Endearment and extends to his recent Emmy Award-winning lead role in the HBO series “The Newsroom,” which ended late last year after three seasons. Lesser known, though, is Daniels’ […]
Straight shooter: James McMurtry brings a new batch of songs to the Southern
Two years ago, Texas tunesmith James McMurtry was playing a solo showcase at the famed South by Southwest Festival in his hometown of Austin, when his friend, producer CC Adcock (Robert Plant, Neko Case), introduced him to publishing executive Francois Moret, who was in the process of starting a new record label. That evening set […]
Traveling alone: A clear-headed Jason Isbell talks solo success
Jason Isbell is enjoying the afterglow of redemption. The lauded country-rock tunesmith is still touring behind his career-defining 2013 album Southeastern, an effort that earned overdue recognition for an artist who turned his demons into a poignantly captivating sonic statement. Ubiquitously praised by critics, the album led to Isbell taking top honors at the Americana […]
Guided by the Spirit: Lucinda Williams talks prolific output and her new double album
Lucinda Williams is on a roll. After a feverish songwriting spell, she recorded 30 tracks, 20 of which made the cut on her new double album Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone. The extended effort checks off a couple of new accomplishments for Williams, the longstanding songstress who’s maintained a steady presence on the […]
Charlottesville resident Jesse Winchester’s last waltz
“I’m dying to find Him, but dying’s my fear. Is there perfection? Will there be pain? Will I see mom and dad again?” With a weathered voice, steeped in the honest emotion of a man facing his mortality, Jesse Winchester seeks answers from his Maker during these poignant lines in the song “Just So Much.” […]
Interview: Warren Haynes brings orchestral approach to Jerry Garcia’s music
Warren Haynes is one of the hardest working guys in rock. In addition to fronting the heavy-edged experimental jammers Gov’t Mule and his own soulful solo band, the guitar hero also holds a longstanding place in the Allman Brothers Band (the legendary band is calling it quits at the end of the year). Haynes also […]
Chris Smither looks back at a 50-year career
Chris Smither has maintained a steady presence as an underground folk icon for the past five decades. His unassuming delivery offers rustic comfort, as he sings in a relaxed, weathered tenor that’s accompanied by front porch foot-tapping and blues-rooted finger-picking. Smither grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana but he left home in 1965 to join […]
Catching up with Americana pioneer David Bromberg
David Bromberg doesn’t take interview calls until 5pm. That’s when the work day is done at his violin retail and repair shop in Wilmington, Delaware. It’s a humble existence for a guy who was once Columbia Records’ second-best recording artist behind Bob Dylan, but a few minutes on the phone with Bromberg reveal that he […]
Interview: The ongoing innovation of jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter
Like most great jazz musicians, guitarist Charlie Hunter never gets complacent in his craft. Since emerging from California’s Bay Area in the early ’90s, the innovative ax slinger has defied convention by expanding the parameters of a guitarist’s role. The versatility starts with the ingenuity of his instrument, a custom-made, seven-string guitar that allows Hunter […]
Interview: Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn bring the family
Restless musical innovator Béla Fleck is known for taking the banjo on a wide range of sonic journeys. The 15-time Grammy winner brought his instrument to the outer limits of improvisational jazz with his lauded outfit the Flecktones and explored its roots in Africa through the documentary Throw Down Your Heart. These days, Fleck is […]
Celebrating New Year’s Eve with The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
It’s not likely you’ll find another band that’s opened for both Lionel Richie and Widespread Panic, in the same year no less. Call it a perfect example of the high-energy celebratory versatility of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, a four-decade New Orleans musical institution that’s well known for delivering good time horn-driven grooves. “We just […]
Interview: Rob Barraco discusses Dark Star Orchestra’s grateful groove
Like many Grateful Dead fans, Rob Barraco has been a devoted Deadhead since his teenager years. It’s safe to say the versatile keyboardist has found the perfect gig as a member of Dark Star Orchestra. Since forming in 1997, the lauded tribute act has earned its own legion of fans for spot-on re-creations of entire […]
Interview: SOJA brings a distinctly American voice to reggae tradition
The success story of SOJA sounds improbable: An all-white reggae band from the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Northern Virginia gains global acclaim. But after more than a decade of hard touring and developing a catalog of roots reggae tunes, the band (formerly known as Soldiers of Jah Army) has headlined shows in 20 different countries […]
Interview: JJ Grey brings his high-energy, Southern-flavored swamp jams to The Festy
JJ Grey’s voice is unmistakable. It soars with soulful howls and digs in deep with gritty growls, propelled by Grey’s backing band Mofro, which churns out body-shaking swamp rock. Earlier this year Grey released This River, his seventh studio album dating back to 2001 and the latest in a consistent line of Southern-fried stompers that mix […]
The new newgrass revival: With bluegrass on top in Nashville, two local bands look to break through
It’s Friday night at Starr Hill Music Hall on West Main Street and the people are packed so tight it’s amazing they can get their feet off the ground to stomp the beer-slicked floor. But they can, and they do, and it feels like an earthquake, like the second story might just collapse onto the […]
Schools in session: WSP bassist gets prepped for Lockn’
Widespread Panic bassist Dave Schools is a Virginia native. When reached for a recent phone interview he sounded genuinely enthusiastic about his old home state hosting the Lockn’ Festival, a high-profile jam band bash taking place at Oak Ridge Estate in Arrington this Thursday through Sunday and featuring Grateful Dead offshoot Furthur, Trey Anastasio Band, the Black Crowes and the String Cheese Incident, among many others.
Down on the Bayou: Anders Osborne’s evolving New Orleans Sound
Through a two-and-a-half-decade career, Anders Osborne has consistently proven to be one of New Orleans’ most versatile musicians. Since releasing his debut album in 1989, Osborne has become a Crescent City mainstay, able to vary his sound from edgy Bayou blues (2001’s Ash Wednesday Blues) to introspective soulful folk-rock (2007’s Coming Down). He’s collaborated with […]