Last night’s all-star performance at The Grammys caps off what has been the year of “The Weight.” The beloved track about Fanny and Miss Annie has taken on a new life since the passing of Band drummer/vocalist Levon Helm in April. In fact, the song, which first appeared on the 1968 album Music From Big [...]

If you pass through the state of New Jersey and you’re a musical artist of any stature, chances are that Bruce Springsteen has joined you onstage, especially if you visit his unofficial home court, The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. Yet there have been very few pairings as momentous as the one took place [...]

PBS will air a new episode of Austin City Limits this Saturday. Filmed in Nashville, it focuses on the eleventh annual Americana Honors and Awards ceremony, held this past September at the Ryman Auditorium. Alabama Shakes, Booker T. Jones, Richard Thompson, Hayes Carll, The Mavericks, and Jason Isbell are among the eighteen artists who perform [...]

  20. “The Unfaithful Servant” This song contains some of Robbie Robertson’s most complex lyrics, reminiscent of one of Bob Dylan’s parables from John Wesley Harding, yet they’re brought to life by a tender Rick Danko vocal performance. Some woozy brass add the soul, and Robertson brings it all home with a moving acoustic solo [...]

Last night at a concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Bruce Springsteen sang “The Weight” in a tribute to the late Band drummer Levon Helm. The decision was prompted by a fan’s sign that read “PLAY 1 FOR LEVON. The Weight/Up On Cripple Creek. Levon Helm RIP.” Helm had “just one of [...]

How much money would you pay to be in this dressing room? During their recent run of shows in their hometown of Chicago, American Songwriter’s 2011 Album of the Year winners performed a feel-good version of The Band staple “The Weight” with Mavis Staples and opening act (and honorary Wilco member) Nick Lowe. The band [...]

It’s not every rock and roll star who can say their new album is “still at the printer’s.” But then, Robbie Robertson is not your typical rock and roll star. From the moment he made his appearance on the world stage, first prodding Bob Dylan with his stinging, economical guitar licks, then as leader of [...]