Hands in Harmony: Traditional Crafts and Music in Appalachia By Tim Barnwell W.W. Norton & Company Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi Blues By William Ferris The University of North Carolina Press Let the World Listen Right: The Mississippi Delta Hip-Hop Story By Ali Colleen Neff University Press of Mississippi In Let […]
Rick Cornell
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Dynamite Brothers’ Again
One of the first sounds you’ll hear on Again, the long-time-coming second release from Chapel Hill’s Dynamite Brothers, is a shared laugh. Let’s imagine that it’s a few of the Brothers’ five core members thinking how funny it’d be to watch the brains of music writers overheat as they try to nail the band’s sound […]
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Tonight: Hoffs, Sweet and a few glorious covers
I’m not lobbying for the position of song-choice consultant for Matthew ‘Sid” Sweet and Susanna ‘Susie” Hoffs if the pair decides to release a third volume of their Under the Covers series, following ’06’s Volume 1 and the new Volume 2 (both on Shout Factory). However, I would serve with honor and incurable geekitude. OK, […]
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Joe Swank & the Zen Pirates’ Hank Williams Died for My Sins
Joe Swank likes Hank Williams Sr. He also likes Kiss. For the No Depression set, the alt-country+ group for whom Swank could be poster dude, that’s not uncommon, really. In fact, had Swank’s latest, Hank Williams Died for My Sins, been released 10 years earlier, it would have earned a thumbs-up 200 words in No […]
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Derek Trucks Band’s “Sweet Inspiration”
Listen up! or stream it below. If you cannot see the music player below, download the free Flash Player. When, as was the case with guitarist/ band leader/ songwriter Derek Trucks, you turn pro not long after hitting double figures in years, you’re destined to get the “he’s got an old soul” tag at some […]
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Thad Cockrell’s To Be Loved
In 2003, Thad Cockrell released his second album, the well-received Warmth & Beauty. Two years later, a take on the country-soul gem “Warm and Tender Love” anchored Begonias, Cockrell’s collaboration with Caitlin Cary of Whiskeytown and Tres Chicas. Either of those compound titles would serve as a fitting backup name for Cockrell’s new full-length, To […]
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Chip Robinson’s Mylow
Hell, it’s not all that much to ask. The protagonist of Mylow, the first solo release from Backsliders co-founder Chip Robinson, just wants to get home. But as this collection of vividly detailed songs makes clear, it can be tough to find your way. Maybe it’s the side-quest for another golden metaphor to sit alongside […]
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And They Say Alliteration Is Dead: Big Bang Boom at Broad Street
Having kids can inspire you to do crazy, amazing things. In the case of power-popping dads Chuck Folds, Steve Williard and Eddie Walkermusicians with over 50 combined years of North Carolina music scene experienceit inspired the parent-friendly kids music (vice versa also accepted) trio Big Bang Boom. First, Chuck reveals the key to making kids […]
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Scott McCaughey and Steve Wynn talk baseball (some more)
Scott McCaughey and Steve Wynn co-captain the Baseball Project, a four-piece that brings its diamond-centric songs (not to mention some non-national-pastime-themed works of McCaughey and Wynn) to Cat’s Cradle on Saturday night. We asked the pair to name their five favorite ballplayers and five favorite baseball songs. And because there wasn’t a game on, they […]
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Arrogance talks about itself then and now
As the members of Arrogance assembled for their semi-annual-or-so rockanalia that returned to the Cat’s Cradle last Saturday night, we couldn’t help but notice that the gathering had even more juice than usual. It’s been 40 years since Don Dixon and Robert Kirkland bonded on the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus, establishing the roots […]