In addition to being a gathering of deftly executed duets and hand-in-glove harmonies, the Nashville-recorded Begonias is the sound of good ideas. The first smart move was, of course, the decision to make the record, an effort that Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell have been warming up for over the last four years. After teaming […]
Rick Cornell
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Easy to be hard
In addition to being a bona fide singing, picking, writing and band-leading quadruple threat, Robbie Fulks deserves the lofty title of entertainer. Based on those credentials, and taking into account the era of country music that he celebrates so skillfully on his new Georgia Hard, if this were 1973 it’d be easy to imagine Fulks […]
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in capital ideas
There’s no need to air the entire Artsplosure mission statement, but here are a couple of key phrases from it: “bring recognition to national, regional, and local artists” and “celebrate excellence in the performing and visual arts.” The musical guest list for this year’s Artsplosure Spring Arts Festival, which takes place at Moore Square in […]
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Between rock and a soul place
Looking down from the Pour House balcony, it was a sight to behold. As Percy Sledge, backed by Charlotte-based show band the Spontanes, broke into “When a Man Loves a Woman,” more than half the crowd wandered onto the floor in pairs to slow dance. A quick scan placed the age range from early 20s […]
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Homebrew
Chatham County Line stacks harmonies like the triple-decker sandwich of your dreams, but the Raleigh-based bluegrass quartet also makes its mark with versatility and exceptional songwriting. On Route 23, as on their self-titled debut, lead vocalist/guitarist/chief songwriter Dave Wilson and the rest of the gang carve out as much breathing room as possible within the […]
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No U in team
Repeat after me: “Buying a ticket to the game does not make me part of the game.” The perception of some fans that they’re directly involved in the action played a major role in igniting the disturbing incident that took place at an NBA game in Detroit this winter. And just recently during a Red […]
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in complete packages
In the 30-some years since he moved to Nashville, Houston native Rodney Crowell has proven to be a bona fide quadruple threat. His membership in Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band demonstrated that he knew his way around a guitar, and as the producer of the albums Seven Year Ache and King’s Record Shop, he helped then-wife […]
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Partners in harmony
Listen to “Cease Fire”–or almost any song on Exploration, the album from Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion that hit shelves just this week–and experience two voices dancing with and around each other while revealing the comfort, passion and playfulness that comes from signing on to sing together for life. Put it this way: If […]
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Beyond hawkin’
Based on an announcement that just hit the radar, both Mark Olson and Gary Louris can now be referred to as ex-Jayhawks. In 1995, Olson left the Minneapolis-area roots-rock outfit that he, Louris and bassist Marc Perlman formed in the mid-’80s, and now Louris is reportedly closing up the Jayhawk shop for good. The 10 […]
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in movin’ on down the line
Chatham County Line is four young to youngish guys who make music that has an old soul. Rock backgrounds be damned, the members of the band–vocalist/guitarist/chief songwriter Dave Wilson, fiddler/mandolinist/main harmonizer John Teer, banjoist Chandler Holt and standup bassist Greg Readling–have embraced the suit-and-tie, one-mic approach to bluegrass. More importantly, bluegrass fans have embraced Chatham […]
