Waltzes are my favorite. Can’t explain why, but they touch me in a way that other songs don’t. In honor of my album, Ten Thousand Roses, and its title track, here are twelve of my favorite waltzes -- some by dear friends and some by long-gone greats. -- Dori Freeman Erin Rae – "June Bug"…
Banjo maestro Béla Fleck has always followed his muse, jamming with collaborators and crisscrossing continents for decades now. His newest album leads him back to familiar terrain, as My Bluegrass Heart is his first bluegrass record in 20 years. "They nearly always come back," says Fleck, who composed and produced the album (set for a…
One of my favorite things in life is hearing a song for the first time that I know I need to hear again, immediately! Something about the melody or the horn part or the harmony part that catches my ear and get’s stuck in my head. Whenever that happens it's like I need to understand…
My mind has been concentrated on making music for my latest record, Wanderer’s Compass. I let Wanderer’s Compass be a collection of as many influences in music I’ve had as possible. I've been playing long enough that I used to learn my fiddle parts from an LP and move the needle back to catch the…
Amythyst Kiah is having a moment with Wary + Strange, an album that positions her among today's most compelling singer-songwriters. Although she is an East Tennessee native, her personal lyrics somehow feel universal -- this isn't an album about rivers and mountains, but instead touches on identity ("Black Myself"), grief ("Wild Turkey"), and unsolicited advice…