If It's Too Loud...

Karly Hartzman of Wednesday Photo by Ken Sears Welcome to the third and final day of the Green River Festival, where if you weren't wearing a piece of Geese merchandise, one was provided for you. It was very obvious who most of the crowd at Green River were there to see (which led to the biggest attendance in Green River's forty years), and the big question was if the band of the moment would live up to the hype. Of course, there was a lot of music to be heard Sunday, and we took in as much as we could! Angela Autumn, Backporch Stage Angela Autumn was one of those artists I discovered while preparing for this year's Green River Festival, and I'm glad I did. She plays that style of Americana/roots music that comes right up against the mainstream while still having her own unique sound. Her songs are beautiful, but with an edge to them. Before Sunday afternoon, I had only heard a handful of songs of hers, and after Sunday afternoon, I'm more than a little obsessed. Au...

It's just starting to get uncomfortably cold here in New England, so we're already starting to look forward to warm temperatures. Plus, warm temperatures means festival season, and Green River Festival has given us something to look forward to in June! Their 2026 edition will take place June 19-21 at Franklin County Fairgrounds with another fantastic line up. The headliners will get the most attention, with the neotraditional country of Charley Crockett, indie rock veterans Spoon, and experimental rockers Geese. We're thrilled for the undercard of this one, with many favorites playing like The Beths, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Wednesday, Lucius, The War and Treaty, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Folk Bitch Trio, Ratboys, Sunny War, Lily Seabird, and Tre Burt! Plus, there's plenty for us to discover in the next eight months as we get ready for the festival! Three day passes for the 2026 Green River Festival are on sale now. For tickets and more information, check out the ...

Artist : Vanessa Peters Album : Flying on Instruments Quick Thoughts : Vanessa Peters is arguably music's best kept secret. As of the time of this writing, she has fewer than 2,400 monthly listeners on Spotify despite putting out album after album of great, folk/country music. Flying on Instruments continues this line of success with so many memorable songs, both quiet ("Halfway Through") and rollicking ("Pinball Heart") that no one else can touch. She's amazing, this album is great, don't miss out. Songs of Note : "Beauty or Grace," "Halfway Through," "Better," "Pinball Heart," "Out to Sea" Artist : Mama Zu Album : Quilt Floor Quick Thoughts : We miss Those Darlins. They never really got their due in their time, and the passing of Jessi Zazu only magnified the loss. Quilt Floor is the culmination of music she was working on before her passing, and it's both a lovely tribute to a musician ...

For her latest single, Esther Rose brought in her friend Alyndra Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff for vocals. "Safe to Run" is a gorgeous and stripped down folk song that borders on the pop side of things, at least until some killer slide guitar adds some fantastic twang. As gorgeous as the song is, there is a growing sense of dread that builds and builds as the song goes on. It's just the slightest sense of noise, and a slight change to the guitar, but it's unquestionably there. Since the song is about the dread of climate change, this slowly growing dark vibe makes perfect sense and adds to the brilliance of the song. Esther Rose says of the new song: "Sonically, Ross and I threw every idea we had on this song and it absorbed everything as if it were just this mega-powerful container. We built so many layers into the outro. I love Ross’s counter-melody on the Mellotron and the high-pitched 1-note synth drone which he refers to as ‘the angels.’ Nick Cohon, of...

Photo via Facebook Somehow we missed "Let it Roll," the first single off the debut solo album from Sam Doores (The Deslondes). Luckily for us all we caught "Other Side of Town," which features Alynda Mariposa Segarra (Hurray for the Riff Raff). This pairing is an absolute dream for us, and this duet is even better than we could have expected. It's more of a doo wop or soul track than folk, although there is plenty of Americana here for everyone. It's doo wop if doo wop could possibly be done on the front porch just hanging out with friends. This song could lead to a complete obsession, but it will be worth it. You can listen to "Other Side of Town" below. Sam Doores's self-titled album will be out March 13 on New West Records. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Sam Doores, check out his website .

Slowing down a bit... Album of the Week : Artist : Valerie June Album : The Order of Time Quick Description : Gorgeous folk music. Why You Should Listen : Valerie June is incredibly good and is quickly reaching "criminally underrated" status. Overall Thoughts : I loved her debut album, and it's clear with this new album that she's sticking to a winning formula even while trying a few different things. "Astral Plane" hit a little early and the instrumentation behind the haunting vocals was just so arresting every time it came through. It's a great step forward, perhaps better than her debut, and is absolutely one of my favorite listens of 2017 so far. Recommendation : A must listen, no excuses. Artist : Hurray for the Riff Raff Album : The Navigator Quick Description : A slight shift in sound doesn't change how good an album this is. Why You Should Listen : Hurray for the Riff Raff is a favorite around these parts, and this is a highl...

Photo by Sarrah Danziger With the latest song off their upcoming album, The Navigator , Hurray for the Riff Raff move even further away from their folk/Americana roots. While "Rican Beach," the previous song they brought us from The Navigator , was a slightly harder, punk influenced roots song, "Hungry Ghost" is a pure pop song. Granted, it's not quite in the realm of Britney Spears or Kylie Minogue, but "Hungry Ghost" is the most mainstream thing Hurray for the Riff Raff have released to date. We're not talking about a huge about face like Lydia Loveless' Real  was last year, but this is close. I'm going to reserve judgment until I listen to the song a few more times. I think we'll all need to move away from our expectations on what we want from a Hurray for the Riff Raff song before we can decide on "Hungry Ghost." The Navigator will be released March 10 on ATO Records. You can watch the video for "Hungry Ghost...

Photo by Sarrah Danziger Hurray for the Riff Raff has established themselves (herself?) as one of the top artists for a modern take on laid back traditional folk. Based on their new song, the upcoming album might be shattering that expectation. "Rican Beach" is a huge departure. The next album, The Navigator , is kind of a concept album that altogether tells the story of a street kid named Navita. The new song fully embraces a Latin sound and has this groove throughout with just the hint of a punk edge. It's not exactly as heavy as Downtown Boys, but in comparison to her previous work, this is as close as Alynda Segerra has come to full blown punk. You can watch the lyric video for "Rican Beach" below. The new Hurray for the Riff Raff album, The Navigator , will be out March 10 on ATO Records. You can pre-order a copy at PledgeMusic . For more information on Hurray for the Riff Raff, check out their website .

If you've been reading this blog with any regularity, you'll know we love free music and Hurray for the Riff Raff. Now that Hurray for the Riff Raff have free music coming out, we're kind of obligated to tell you about it. To celebrate their upcoming headlining tour, they've released The Body Electric EP  which features 2 tracks from Small Town Heroes  (including the amazing title track), a Billie Holiday cover, and "Everyone Knows (For Trayvon Martin)." It's a great way to check them out if we haven't convinced you to yet. You're not going to find better country tinged folk for a better price than this. To download The Body Electric EP , check over to Noisetrade . For more information on Hurray for the Riff Raff including tour dates (I highly recommend their live show if you get a chance), go to their website .

Adia Victoria could be this year's Benjamin Booker: The artist that comes seemingly out of nowhere with a couple songs, tours relentlessly, and has a debut album that takes over my life for a few months. She just released her 2nd single, "Sea of Sand," and I have become completely entranced with it. The song was written in Harlem in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. It's about all the places she has lived in her young life (South Carolina, Tucson, etc) and who she was at each place. She combines this blend of dark, gothic alt-country with the aggression and a smidge of the noise of indie rock. It's closest to Lucinda Williams and Tom Waits mixed with Throwing Muses. I'm hoping she comes out with more ASAP. In March she's touring with Hurray For the Riff Raff (like Benjamin Booker last year...), and dates are below. You can follow her on Facebook  and Twitter . Listen to "Sea of Change" below. Fri 1/23 - Asheville, NC - New Mountain Sat 1/24 ...

Ken got me interested in Hurray for the Riff-Raff some time ago, and while I anticipated a newer album from Alynda Lee Segarra's musical collective, I didn't realize it would be this good. The album itself is really a love letter to old-style folk music, to touring, to the cliched time gone by. It benefits from the bigger production budgets that moving to ATO provided, and the result is an album with countless memorable songs. "Crash on the Highway" is earwormy in the best possible way, "I Know It's Wrong (But That's Alright)" a fun romp, "No One Else" one of my favorite songs of the year period. Without a bad song on the album, it's hard to find many flaws and deserves a lot of credit. You can stream it below. If you haven't fallen in love with this album yet, there's still time. Song highlights: "I Know It's Wrong (But That's Alright)," "No One Else," "Crash on the Highway."

In it's 28th year, the Green River Festival is one of the best kept secrets in the New England concert scene. It doesn't have the name recognition of Lollapalooza or the Newport Folk Festival, but that fits Green River just fine. Western MA has long had a mysteriously great live music scene, combining national touring bands with a small town feel. The Green River Festival has long been the centerpiece of the scene. This year will be no exception, and might just be the best line up Green River has seen yet. Saturday features Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Lucius, Puss n Boots (featuring Norah Jones), The Lone Bellow, Poor Old Shine, Grant-Lee Phillips, and more. Sunday is just ridiculous, with Josh Ritter & Royal City Band, Trampled By Turtles, Hurray for the Riff Raff, multi-national rapper Ana Tijoux, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper (and you all know how I feel about her), The Deadly Gentlemen, and more.  Plus, there's the added extra of hot air balloons. You can ...

Newport Folk Festival is quickly shaping up to be the event of the year. They've only announced six acts in all, and all six are absolute winners. Joining the aforementioned Mavis Staples and Houndmouth are Jenny Lewis (making her Newport debut), Shovels & Rope, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and the reunited Nickel Creek. This makes three holdovers from last year (Houndmouth, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and Shovels & Rope, but Newport might be the only festival that can pull it off without seeming repetitive. The Newport community is more like a family than a concert festival, so seeing the same bands there numerous times just feels right. Plus, I skipped Shovels & Rope last year to watch all of Frank Turner's set, and while I didn't exactly regret it, the two songs I saw them do made me need more. The Nickel Creek reunion was on my personal prediction list, so I'm thrilled to see that they're officially playing. Nickel Creek is a reminder to keep your eyes o...

Busiest new release week so far this year, so let's not waste any time. ††† - ††† : ††† is a side project of Chino Moreno of the Deftones. I only realized this after finishing the album for the first time, and it explains quite a bit - the album would fit right in on mid-1990s alt-rock radio in a lot of regards, and it is ultimately an all-over-the-place nostalgia trip more than anything else. It's worth listening as a curiosity, for certain, but whether it has staying power for you might be based more on your love of the Deftones and/or the state of alt-rock when you were in high school/college. Nina Persson - Animal Heart : Nina Persson is perhaps best known for her work as lead singer of The Cardigans, but this is her first solo album. Truly, this is an album that mirrors her work with A Camp more than it resembles anything you remember from The Cardigans, but that's not really a bad thing. There are some memorable tracks on here along with some slower-type songs...