At this year’s 30A Songwriters Festival in South Walton, Florida, Nashville-based singer-songwriter, ex-rock star wannabe and festival favorite Tommy Womack held a songwriting workshop at The Boathouse Sunday morning. The entire thing was highly quotable. Here’s some of the highlights. 1. “It’s Been A Nice Day”  You’ve got to burn from the first lyric. You’ve [...]

“Our conversation, was short and sweet. . . it nearly knocked me off of my feet.” It’s Bob Dylan’s 71st birthday, and we’ve got a gift for you. When Nashville singer-songwriter Todd Snider sat down for his American Songwriter Session, he warmed up with “You’re A Big Girl Now,” Dylan’s classic song of romantic torment [...]

Todd Snider, “Brenda” A grungy ode to the sort of rocky, R-rated love that never gets written about in the storybooks. "Brenda" by Todd Snider

Todd Snider, renegade of Nashville, troubadour of the toker, folker and political interloper, acoustic poet in bare feet, really wants just one thing. And that’s to mentor a local punk band. “Oh, man. I would love it,” he says, up early with his yard’s chirping birds so he can catch a flight. “Form a killer [...]

In conjunction with our new country music issue, American Songwriter proudly presents The Country Way Digital Volume 3, featuring 12 must-hear tracks from some of our favorite artists. And the best thing about it? It’s free! You can download the sampler by going to this URL: http://thecountrywaydigitalsamplervol3.bandcamp.com/ Rodney Crowell, “I’m A Mess” Later this summer, [...]

Todd Snider is only a few minutes late for his American Songwriter recording session. He walks in sporting dark sunglasses and an old pair of Chuck Taylors, his hat cocked at a rakish tilt. It’s just after 11 a.m., but we’re impressed the man is even awake, given his reputation as a late-night bard of [...]

Todd Snider Time as We Know It — The Songs of Jerry Jeff Walker (Aimless) Rating: It’s probably no shock for Todd Snider followers to discover that he was/is heavily influenced by veteran gonzo country singer/songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker. Snider has been carrying on Walker’s scraggly Texas-styled country/Americana tradition since he started, without specifically acknowledging [...]

Todd Snider Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables (Thirty Tigers) Rating: From the title, you’d have no idea that Todd Snider’s 12th album was any different from his others, which contain plenty of agnostic hymns and bounties of stoner fables. But it’s keyed lyrically around the economy and musically around Amanda Shires, a helpful vocalist and a relevatory [...]

Acclaimed Nashville singer-songwriter Todd Snider has announced a new studio album that will surely blow us away. On March 6, he’ll release Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables on Aimless Records. With a band of talented East Nashville musicians, Snider and co-producer Eric McConnell have created a novel sound which is dissimilar to any of Snider’s [...]

There’s a lot going on underneath that hat.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Todd Snider (the man behind such songs as “Beer Run” and “Talking Seattle Grunge Rock Blues,” whose latest album, the double-disc live offering The Story Teller, is due in February ) was feeling “list-y” recently, and sat down to pen an ode to his five favorite troubadours. Here’s Snider’s list: we approve! 1. [...]

Here’s what piano-thumping wild man Jason D. Williams, who was mentored by Memphis Slim and just might be Jerry Lee Lewis’s illegitimate son, has to say about his new album, Killer Instincts: “If you’re having trouble in your relationship or contemplating suicide, I wouldn’t listen to it.” However, we’d recommend the Rolling Stone-approved LP, produced [...]