(Erika Goldring, Getty Images Entertainment) Americana now has the marks of an established music genre. A standalone Grammy category. An entry in Webster’s dictionary. Acts that have grown from baby band-dom to highly-respectable-for-any-genre-this-decade sales. (The Civil Wars’ debut album, for one, recently went gold.) Current listening habits, on the other hand—especially those of younger listeners—seem [...]

Here’s links to our ongoing coverage of the Americana Music Festival, Nashville’s annual celebration of roots music in all it’s permutations. The Festival wraps this Saturday with a series of shows, featuring Buddy Miller and LeeAnn Womack, Kasey Anderson, The Trishas, and Rodney Crowell and many more. Gillian Welch, Alabama Shakes, Jason Isbell Take Home [...]

  Brandi Carlile, Jakob Dylan, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Patterson Hood, Booker T., Bonnie Raitt and more gather outside the 2012 Americana Music Honors and Awards.

Brandi Carlile performed at the Cannery Ballroom in Nashville on Friday as part of the 2012 Americana Music Festival. Meanwhile, at the adjoining Mercy Lounge, a Levon Helm all-star tribute concert was raging, highlighted by a performance of “The Weight” by Hayes Carll, Paterson Hood and Jason Isbell.

Skip Matheny – currently a songwriter in the band Roman Candle and former bartender in a retirement community, was recently able to catch up with The Secret Sisters at The Holland House in Nashville, to talk about their creative process, and the collaboration involved in creating their debut record. What is your favorite drink? Lydia: [...]

As a singer, Brandi Carlile is prone to let loose, and her voice is a visceral marvel; even the falsetto range is red-blooded and clarion clear. But get her talking about the songwriting philosophy that shapes her work – including her new album, Bear Creek – and you come to appreciate what a circumspect communicator [...]

(The Punch Brothers) The Americana Music Association has announced the performers for the Americana Music Festival, held September 12-15 in downtown Nashville. Artists booked for the three day festival include: Punch Brothers, Brandi Carlile, Billy Joe Shaver, Richard Thompson, Sara Watkins, Shovels and Rope, the Deep Dark Woods, John Hiatt, the Wood Brothers, Rodney Crowell, [...]

Brandi Carlile’s new album, Bear Creek, shows off her gorgeous, emotive voice and her band’s ability to weld musical styles together. You can read our Q&A with the talented singer-songwriter in the July/August issue. In the mean time, we’re excited to bring you a new live video for the album track “100.” “I’m excited for [...]

We’re giving away a pair of tickets to see The Brandi Carlile Acoustic Trio live at the House Of Blues in Houston on February 8th. All you have to do is click the link below and tell us your favorite Brandi Carlile song and why. Simple enough. The winner will be notified by phone on [...]

We fell in love with talented songstress Jes Hudak watching Platinum Hit, the songwriting reality show hosted by Jewel and Kara DioGuardi. Hudak came in second place, but she’s number one in our hearts. Check out our interview with her here. When she’s not writing songs, Hudak likes to cover the tunes that get stuck [...]

Singer-songwriter (and Columbia recording artist) Brandi Carlile has got one note in her repertoire that she intentionally tries to butcher. It’s the oft-referenced voice crack from 2007’s “The Story,” and as of May 3, it can be heard in live form on Carlile’s upcoming album Live from Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony. Making a [...]

The 2011 Cayamo Cruise, billed as a “journey through song,” has announced this year’s stellar line-up. Roots music legend John Prine will join Cayamo Cruise vets Patty Griffin, Indigo Girls, Steve Earle, Brandi Carlile, Buddy Miller and many more for a first-class trip around the islands of the Eastern Caribbean. Other artists on the cruise, [...]