Before they formed Shovels & Rope, Michael Trent and Carry Ann Hearst traveled the country separately, with Hearst peddling her country tunes as a solo act and Trent serving as guitarist and frontman of the Films. They crossed paths often, both on the road and at home in Charleston, South Carolina. Eventually, the two began [...]

This year at South By Southwest, head on out to “Luck, Texas” for the second annual Heartbreaker Banquet at Willie Nelson’s ranch on March 14, 2013. This year’s event brings together a stunning roster of talent including rock and roll mystic Jim James, London soul phenom Michael Kiwanuka, Brooklyn country-psych guru Phosphorescent, and the only [...]

50. Diamond Rugs, “Christmas In A Chinese Restaurant” John McCauley gets drunk, finds an out-of-tune piano, and sings the loneliest, saddest Christmas carol imaginable, somehow managing to rhyme “how’s the ham?” with “moo goo gai pan.” Best part: a street-corner Santa digs a saxophone out of a dumpster and solos on the bridge. 49. Beach [...]

  50. Band of Horses: Mirage Rock Even back when Band of Horses were writing soaring and dreamy indie rock epics like “The Funeral,” beneath the shimmer and sheen of their Pacific Northwestern façade, there was a gritty, folky Southern rock band. Increasingly that’s become all the more a part of the band’s identity, and the [...]

Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst are at home on Johns Island for a rare break from the road. When I call up Trent one afternoon, he and Hearst are knee-deep in home improvement projects, like building a garden structure in their yard. While his band Shovels & Rope has been gaining momentum—mainly due to [...]

(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, [...]

Cary Ann Hearst shares a few thoughts on artistry outside Music City.