songwriter

Greg AckermanReview

Album Review: Scott Collins EP Headed North leaves you wanting more

Collins also makes incredibly good music as you’ll hear on his five-song EP, Headed Home  which was released May 31 on his own Side Show Paradise label. The short but powerful EP is the kind of record that leaves you wanting more. That is the hallmark of a gifted songwriter.

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ReviewScott Rollins

Album Review: Sophomore effort Public Life by Joshua Lee Turner out August 7

While some of you may have binge-watched your new favorite shows on NetFlix, laid off your diet or shared protest posts on social media, Joshua Lee Turner wrote, recorded, produced, engineered, and accompanied himself on a new recording. Public Life is an intellectual exercise in eclectic beauty, refusing to classify itself into any single genre.

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ReviewScott Rollins

Album Review: An essay on Dylan in context of new record Rough and Rowdy Ways

In light of the fantastic new Bob Dylan album, Rough and Rowdy Ways which was released last week, I‘ve wondered if everything if everything that can be said about Bob Dylan, has already been said? Honestly, what else is there to discuss? Dylan just “is” Dylan. I think the hardest part of being an artist is having “experts” and “critics” compare and dissect your work, stretch it out and lay it down against your last.

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ReviewScott Rollins

Album Review: Homegrown released by Neil Young 45 years later

While I am not one to fall into regret, I do enjoy exploring the road less traveled. That turn you didn’t take, the zig when you should have zagged, the song no one else recorded, or the B-side the DJ never flipped. I love discovering “new old music” as exemplified on Neil Young’s record Homegrown which was released last week; 45 years after it was recorded.

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Brian HillsmanReview

Live Music Review: Andy Shauf at Mohawk on Valentine’s Day

On Valentine’s Day, Canadian singer-songwriter and musical auteur Andy Shauf played Austin’s Mohawk, delivering his unique brand of folk to the Red River District.  The soft-spoken lyricist wowed a sold-out venue in an ease-inducing performance that infatuated a sold-out venue of folk fans.

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AlbumPreviewScott Rollins

Album preview: upcoming Rodney Crowell record Texas highlights songcraft

My favorite songwriter, however, is Rodney Crowell. His new record, TEXAS is phenomenal. A true work of art. The record is due out August 15. Crowell will be performing in support of the record launch on that same day at The Heights Theater in Houston.

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ReviewScott Rollins

Album review: Latest Willie Nelson album is an instant classic

Outlaw country music pioneer Willie Nelson has perhaps been a greater influence on American music than any other singer, songwriter, or musician in history. At 86 he appears just as relevant today as anytime in his career.

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LivePreviewScott Rollins

New music: The sensational Reina del Cid and The Other Favorites on tour

I am still not sure what a “YouTuber” is, though my teenager has explained the concept twice. I am halfway lost between rotary phones and storage clouds; long playing records and streaming services. So I do not know if Reina del Cid was a “YouTuber” originally or if it just happens to be where I found her singing “The Tennessee Waltz”.

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