Sarah White
Sweetheart
Self-released
4 stars (out of 5)
Charlottesville’s Sarah White has something that guarantees, even on a five-song EP, a satisfying listen: a strong voice that doesn’t sound like anyone else. And contrary to the name of the title track “Sweetheart,” White’s voice isn’t sugary at all, but open and pain-filled.
On “Ply Me” that voice is sly [...]
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John Sebastian & David Grisman
Satisfied
Acoustic Disc
3.5 stars (out of 5)
Satisfied is a perfect soundtrack for the lazy days of summer – or for imagining what “lazy days” might be like while gazing longingly out of the window of your urban office.
The album as a whole brings to mind a rowboat on the water, parasols, [...]
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Ann & Phil Case
The Old Step-Stone: A Collection of Old-Time Duets
Dry Run Recordings
4 stars (out of 5)
The Old Step-Stone is the fourth full-length recorded example why Southwest Ohio’s Ann & Phil Case are one of the very best old-time duos working today.
Ann plays a 1929 Martin 0-21 guitar and a handmade 1903 Audinot copy fiddle; [...]
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Crooked Still
Still Crooked
Signature Sounds
4.5 stars (out of 5)
From the opening seconds of Ola Belle Reed’s timeless “Undone in Sorrow,” listeners sense they are in for a treat with Crooked Still’s third album. The promise is fulfilled in each of the album’s 44 minutes.
Crooked Still’s story is well known. As part of the emerging young [...]
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Chris Vallillo
Abraham Lincoln in Song
Gin Ridge Music
4 stars (out of 5)
An album of old-time folk music from and inspired by the times of Lincoln; now there’s a commercial bonanza just a-waitin’! Fortunately, folk singers don’t worry about such matters.
Recently endorsed by the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, Illinois songwriter and musician Chris Vallillo celebrates on his fifth [...]
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Dry Branch Fire Squad
Thirtieth Anniversary Special
Rounder Records
4 stars (out of 5)
If you’re a fan of Dry Branch Fire Squad, you’ve already decided which songs should have ended up on this thirty-year career retrospective.
But what if you’re new to the band? What can you expect from their music?
Despite multiple line-up changes, there are a few welcome [...]
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Emily Singleton
Spirit on the Prowl
Bell Buckle Records
3 stars (out of 5)
It’s shaping up to be a long, cold winter, but singer-songwriter Emily Singleton has an even better excuse to cozy up to a roaring fire.
Backed by a capable crew of musicians, including Jim Hurst on mandolin, and Becky Buller on fiddle, Singleton tells scary stories [...]
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