Live Review: Joan Osborne @ The Birchmere — 3/31/22

Posted on 04/04/2022 by Mark Engleson in Live Review and tagged Brooklyn, country rock, folk, Joan Osborne, New York City, R&B, The Birchmere.

Joan Osborne (Photo courtesy the artist)

Joan Osborne achieved breakthrough fame and success in the ’90s with “One Of Us.” It didn’t come overnight, though; she had been playing small clubs for years. And while she still sings that song, her career arc has gone back to mining much of the interpretive work in roots music she came up doing. Along the way, she’s received a Grammy nomination (for Best Blues album for Breakfast in Bed), recorded the songs of Bob Dylan and others, and still found time for her own original songs along the way.

Joan’s influences are eclectic, but she probably draws most heavily from the blues, so it’s fitting that she began her performance at The Birchmere recently with a cover of Muddy Waters’s classic “I Want To Be Love,” which she recorded on Bring It On Home.

Preview: Joan Osborne @ The Birchmere, 3/31/22

Posted on 03/16/2022 by Parklifer in Preview and tagged Brooklyn, country rock, folk, Joan Osborne, New York City, R&B, The Birchmere.

Joan Osborne (Photo by Jeff Fasano)

In support of her acclaimed new album Radio Waves, singer/songwriter Joan Osborne performs at The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia, on Thursday, March 31!

Live Review: Bill Kirchen’s Honky-Tonk Holiday Revue @ The Birchmere — 12/12/21

Posted on 12/15/2021 by Mark Engleson in Live Review and tagged Austin, Bill Kirchen, country rock, rockabilly, Texas, The Birchmere.

Bill Kirchen (Photo courtesy the artist)

Known as “The King of Dieselbilly” and “The Titan of the Telecaster,” Bill Kirchen has a distinctive, powerful style as a guitarist. There’s twang, but it rocks hard, and it grooves. When he plays “Hot Rod Lincoln,” the top-10 hit he had as a member of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen in the ’70s, Bill shows off the range of his influences as a player. He spent several minutes playing a few bars in the style of many different artists during a set at The Birchmere recently.

Live Review: The Allman Family Revival @ The Fillmore Silver Spring — 12/10/21

Posted on 12/15/2021 by Mark Caicedo in Live Review and tagged Allman Brothers, Americana, country rock, Devon Allman, Gregg Allman, southern rock, The Allman Betts Band, The Fillmore Silver Spring.

Joanne Shaw Taylor performs at the Allman Family Revival at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Dec. 10, 2021. (Photo by Mark Caicedo)

So, let’s drop all pretense of objectivity: I adore the music of the Allman Brothers Band. The ensemble formed in 1969 by brothers Duane and Gregg took the blues and infused it with rock, soul, and jazz, and invented what would eventually be called “southern rock.” That legendary band enjoyed a career that stretched to 2014, albeit with several personnel changes and multi-year long breaks. Nonetheless, the band were and still are a huge influence on the American musical landscape.

Friday night at The Fillmore Silver Spring, Devon Allman and Duane Betts brought The Allman Betts Band to town to celebrate the Allman Brothers’ music with a who’s who list of guest performers: Eric Gales, G. Love, Robert Randolph, Donavon Frankenreiter, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Alex Orbison, Lilly Hiatt, Lamar Williams Jr., Jimmy Hall, among others. The three plus hour show was much more than a concert, though. For many of us, it was a beautiful reminder of music we grew up with and have cherished for decades.

Live Review: Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real @ Lincoln Theatre — 10/23/21

Posted on 10/27/2021 by Mark Engleson in Live Review and tagged California, Casey Vock, country rock, Lincoln Theatre, Los Angeles, Lukas Nelson.

Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real - Lincoln Theater DC - 10.23.21 CVock 4 — ***Lukas Nelson performs at the Lincoln Theatre on Oct. 23, 2021. (Photo by Casey Vock)***

Iconic country outlaw Willie Nelson has a lot of kids, and a lot of those kids have followed their father into the music business. His daughter Amy plays in a comedy folk duo, Folk Uke, with Arlo Guthrie’s daughter. His son Micah, also known as the Particle Kid, makes his own music, and he recently played guitar in his father’s band on the Outlaw Music Festival tour. But the most successful of Willie’s children is his son, Lukas, who played the Lincoln Theatre recently with his band, Promise of the Real.

Live Review: The Felice Brothers w/ Al Olender @ DC9 — 10/14/21

Posted on 10/20/2021 by Mark Engleson in Live Review and tagged Americana, country rock, DC9, New York, The Felice Brothers.

The Felice Brothers (Photo courtesy Yep Roc Records)

Hailing from upstate New York’s Hudson River Valley, The Felice Brothers began in the mid-2000s as the musical project of brothers Ian, James, and Simone Felice. They began their career as buskers, and have referred to themselves (who knows how jokingly) as “scumbags.”

Their career got a boost from another area resident, legendary Band drummer and vocalist Levon Helm, who invited them to perform at one of his Midnight Rambles in Woodstock. It’s fitting that the Brothers got a break from him, as their music owes obvious debts to The Band and Bob Dylan, in its mix of humor, surrealistic imagery, and ironic gloss on classic Americana. Their early recordings were rough — one was made in a chicken coop — but have grown more refined over the course of their career. As they toured with acts ranging from Justin Townes Earle to Old Crow Medicine Show to the Dave Matthews Band, the Brothers became more sophisticated artists.

That sophistication was on display in their unique brand of folk country-rock/ Americana in a packed house at DC9 recently.

Song of the Day: “Crazy Alone (Quarantine)” by Drunken Prayer

Posted on 04/30/2020 by marcshea2 in Preview and tagged alt-country, country, country rock, COVID-19, Drunken Prayer, folk, Morgan Geer, quarantine, Song of the Day.

Morgan Geer of Drunken Prayer performs at Mum’s in Baltimore on May 17, 2019. (Photo by Marc Shea)

Drunken Prayer is the one-man band creation of Handsome Family and Freakwater guitarist Morgan Geer. Morgan has released a new single by Drunken Prayer called “Crazy Alone (Quarantine).”

Livestream Preview: Wussy @ Facebook Live, 4/10/20

Posted on 04/09/2020 by Mark Caicedo in Preview and tagged Cincinnati, country rock, Facebook Live, folk, livestream, Ohio, Wussy.

Wussy performs at the Black Cat on July 14, 2018. (Photo by Mark Caicedo)

Lisa Walker and Chuck Cleaver of Cincinnati’s Wussy stumblebum (their word, not mine) through their first ever livestream internet show on Friday, April 10, via Facebook Live.

Live Review: The Flatlanders @ The Birchmere — 11/14/19

Posted on 11/18/2019 by Mark Engleson in Live Review and tagged alt-country, Butch Hancock, country rock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, Texas, The Birchmere, The Flatlanders.

Joe Ely of The Flatlanders (Photo by Barbara FG)

I could start by talking about the importance and influence of The Flatlanders. But I’d rather begin on a personal note. In 2004, I attended the Austin City Limits Festival. The third day of the festival, I think it was late afternoon, I was walking between stages when a performer grabbed my attention. That was Joe Ely, who makes up The Flatlanders with Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock.

Interview: Abby Anderson (@ The Anthem, 7/12/19)

Posted on 07/11/2019 by Ari Strauss in Interview, Preview and tagged Abby Anderson, country, country rock, Nashville, Rob Thomas, Tennessee, The Anthem.

Abby Anderson (Photo by John Shearer)

Abby Anderson was so anxious to get to Nashville and start her music career, she asked to be homeschooled through her senior year of high school so she could graduate early and get a head start. At just 17, Abby arrived in Nashville with a suitcase and a dream. That was 2015.

Today, she’s got a recording contract and is spending her summer touring the country in support of Rob Thomas’ Chipped Tooth Tour. The tour comes to DC with a performance on Friday, July 12, at The Anthem.

Parklife DC’s Ari Strauss recently chatted with Abby about the upcoming show at The Anthem and her experience getting her career underway in Nashville.