Reviews

Great songwriters know how to open themselves up and reveal something intimate about who they are, and the lives they have lived, in their songs.  The deeper a writer can dig down in expressing a feeling, emotion, memory, or story, the easier it is for the listener to connect with the song because, more often…

Following a well-received 2018 album (Reflections), the Tony Rook Band is back with a new release, Matters of the Heart.  Rook wrote or co-wrote seven of the twelve songs on the disc. Louisa Branscomb contributed three. Banjo player Graham Sones, formerly of Monroe Crossing,  wrote the strong instrumental, “Mud Fence Mending.” There’s another nice, bouncy…

Banjo Dan is Dan Lindner of Vermont. In his 50 plus years he has recorded 17 studio albums and worked on a number of other projects, including six solo releases of which this is his seventh and last effort. Lindner has decided to close his career with one more collection of his mostly original compositions…

Though this is a gospel band through and through, its high-level exuberance and artistry give it an almost universal appeal. Little Roy’s and Lizzie’s music is both a celebration of faith and life and how, for some of us, they are inextricable.     This super-tight six-piece group comes roaring out of the starting gate…

I hazard to say that this gifted and inspired Italian bluegrass band could teach a lot of us here on the other side of the pond quite a bit about the deep history of early bluegrass music.  The Truffle Valley Boys’ latest album, a gospel outing, could easily serve as lesson 101. Leaning heavily on…

This is a family-based unit from the Glasgow, Kentucky area. Managed by Terry O’Neal (keyboards), the group includes Kacey O’Neal (fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bass, keyboards), Caleb Isaac O’Neal (guitar), Shelane O’Neal (bass), Jesse Meador (banjo), and Justin Meredith (guitar).  The project includes a number of familiar tunes from a variety of sources like Larry Cordle,…