Fresh from their stints in Japan and Australia, My Morning Jacket have announced a slew of August tour dates here in the U.S. The pioneering rock band, who have drafted opening acts Band of Horses, Trombone Shorty, Trampled By Turtles and Shabazz Palaces, will donate a dollar from ticket sales to various charities. My Morning [...]

Grammy-winning recording artist and Band drummer/vocalist Levon Helm was buried in Woodstock Cemetery in Woodstock, New York on April 27. Members of Helm’s Midnight Ramble band were in attendance, and a musical procession and drum line helped lay the rock great to rest. Helm was buried next to Band bassist Rick Danko, who died in [...]

As the front man for the Nashville-based rock band American Bang, Jaren Johnston worked hard to get to the big time. The band was finally signed to Warner Brothers but had to wait several years for its debut album to be released, and soon after the recording hit the shelves in 2010 a reorganization at [...]

You know those people who carry around a notebook and seem to find things from everyday life to work into songs? I can’t do that. I hate those people!” says JD McPherson, who, when he does write, is always on the money. Here, the lo-fi leaning, former art teacher from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma discusses songwriting, his [...]

He had the temerity and mordant sense of humor to name his 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt a full quarter-century before he actually shuffled off this mortal coil on New Years Day, 1997. Then again, Townes Van Zandt always zigged when everyone expected him to zag, in his life and his songwriting. [...]

If you’re an on-the-go musician looking for light, transportable sound reinforcement, Yamaha’s DXR12 may be the speaker for you. Yamaha has introduced the DXR12 into its new DXR/DXS line of Class D-powered PA speakers. At a mere 42.5 pounds, the 12” two-way speaker is housed in a durable, non-resonant ABS enclosure. One unique feature of [...]

If you were hoping to hear “The Gambler” at this year’s Bonnaroo, your odds of that happening have just increased 1,000 percent. Country music icon Kenny Rogers has been added to the Bonnaroo lineup, as well as a host of awesome indie bands and artists, who have been grouped under the label “Cafe Artists.” Among [...]

If five days on a train with over one hundred dirty, loud and often-drunk people who boast about never showering sounds like an absolute nightmare then, well, you’ve boarded the wrong locomotive. On the “Big Easy Express,” which screened last night as part of the Nashville Film Festival, it’s Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & [...]

Jessica Lea Mayfield performing at The Billy Reid and American Songwriter Shindig in 2011. Enter now for you chance to see one of American Songwriter’s favorite artists, Jessica Lea Mayfield perform at the HighWatt in Nashville on May 1. Mayfield teamed up with Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys to produce her album Tell Me, which came [...]

Gothic folk artist Emily Jane White wrote “Requiem Waltz” back in 2009, when she was living in an abandoned house. Her living quarters have improved since then, and so have her musical prospects. NPR, Pitchfork, and The Fader have all sung her praises recently. The song appears on her new album, To Sentience, out June [...]

Skip Matheny— currently a songwriter in the band Roman Candle and former bartender in a retirement community — was recently able to ask music legend Doc Watson some questions with David Holt. Doc and David won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album, with their three-disc set, Legacy. Commonly called a “National Treasure,” Doc [...]

Enter now to win tickets to catch one of our favorite rock bands, The Apache Relay, at Exit/In this Saturday, April 28th. Don’t miss your chance to see The Apache Relay’s return to Nashville, along with sets from Colorfeels and Nikki Lane. Read our SXSW interview with The Apache Relay here.