From his early days working in his Dad’s drum shop through his years with the Grateful Dead to his diverse work as a solo artist and ethnomusicologist, Mickey Hart has been fascinated with the inner workings of rhythm, melody and harmony. His latest album, Mysterium Tremendum, combines the lyric poetry of Robert Hunter, the rhythmic [...]

Mickey Hart Band Mysterium Tremendum (360 Productions) Rating: Grateful Dead drummer/percussionist Hart mirrors his band’s penchant for cheesy cover art, but that’s where the similarities end. There’s lots of cosmic speechifying in Hart’s liner notes that connects this group’s funky space/soul sound with the music of the universe (or something), yet the songs, about half [...]

If you’ve ever wanted a guitar or songwriting lesson from Paul Simon, and you have over 11,000 dollars to spare, now’s your chance. The legendary songwriter is auctioning off a special one on one session for the Children’s Health Fund Online Auction. Place your bid here. The Black Keys are suing NY ad agency Della [...]

Jesse McReynolds & Friends Songs of the Grateful Dead Woodstock Records Rating: For more than half a century, Jesse McReynolds and his brother, Jim, set the standard by which so many of today’s bluegrass acts are measured. As a mandolin innovator, Jesse influenced everyone from David Grisman to Rhonda Vincent, and although Jim died in [...]

The 2010 Americana Music Festival and Conference featured its share of distinctive personalities. Three on display Friday were veteran singers and writers of various stripes: Marshall Chapman, Jim Lauderdale and Shelby Lynne. Chapman was interviewed live by the Country Music Hall of Fame’s vice president of museum programs Jay Orr. The running joke throughout was [...]

Andrew Combs (second from right) is poised to carry the Americana hairdo torch, passed down from forebears Jim Lauderdale (center) and The Carter Brothers (far left). Jim Lauderdale debuted new songs at Friday’s Americana Music Conference. On stage in the Davidson Ballroom, Lauderdale sang a new song with the refrain “Don’t keep a good man [...]

Jim Lauderdale Patchwork River Skycrunch/Thirty Tigers Rating: With almost twenty albums in as many years (on a slew of majors and indies) notched to his belt, multiple outings with Dr. Ralph Stanley and collaborations with bluegrass contemporaries, songs recorded by top country artists, plus a few Grammy nods to boot, Jim Lauderdale is a true [...]

Review: Bob Dylan’s “Together Through Life”