Musical artists The Chicks, Ruthie Foster, James McMurtry, David Ramirez, Eliza Gilkyson, Dar Williams, Ray Prim, Akina Adderley, Grace Pettis, Rachael Sage, and more are set to appear at the "Move Forward Virtual Music Fest" to raise money to safely relocate two historic Confederate Monuments from the Bastrop, TX County Courthouse lawn. The event will include original performances, new videos and guest speakers and will take place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 18th) at 6:30 pm CT.

A three year revitalization project taking place inside of Asheville, North Carolina’s historic Southside neighborhood has come to fruition with the opening of SoundSpace @ Rabbit’s, the city’s first public access music rehearsal facility.

Allen Ginsberg’s first public reading of his epic poem “Howl” took place at San Francisco’s famous Six Gallery in October of 1955. Along with Ginsberg, the evening included readings by Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, Philip Lamantia, and Michael McClure. Poet and anthologist Kenneth Rexroth was the emcee, and Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Neal Cassady were in attendance. Unfortunately for literary history, no one recorded the Six Gallery reading, and it was long-thought that the first recording of “Howl” was from a reading at Berkeley in March 1956.

The nearly five-hour New Year’s Eve livestream extravaganza was made to look seamless as if the viewer was along for the celebration until the ball dropped. In reality, all cylinders were firing behind-the-scenes from Emmy-winning production company, 7 Cinematics, to bring together multiple pre-produced, live to tape, and live performance segments into one epic production.

Singer/songwriter Ed Bruce passed away Friday, January 8th at age 81. As a songwriter, artists such as Crystal Gayle (Restless), Charlie Louvin (See The Big Man Cry), Tommy Roe (Save Your Kisses), Tanya Tucker (Texas When I Die, The Man That Turned My Mama On), and Willie Nelson (Mama Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys) are just a few who have recorded his songs. As an artist, Bruce’s hits include “The Last Cowboy Song”, “Love’s Found You And Me”, “Ever, Never Lovin’ You”, “After All”, “My First Taste Of Texas” and more.

Howard Johnson, veteran jazz musician, tuba innovator and founding member of the Saturday Night Live band, died at home in New York on Jan. 11, 2021, following a long illness, according to his longtime partner, Nancy Olewine. 

Atlanta, GA-based singer-songwriter/violinist/multi-instrumentalist Melody Duncan is set to release her debut solo album, Wolf Song, on March 12, 2021.  With hints of Americana, indie-pop, chamber-pop, and folk woven together into a compelling mix, the songs on the album also feature Duncan’s unique vocals, a slightly gravelly beckoning into the depths of her music. With a clear vision and focus, Wolf Song was entirely written, performed, recorded, and produced by Duncan.

New Orleans funk powerhouse Dumpstaphunk announces their new album Where Do We Go From Here, set to release on April 23, 2021 (via Mascot Label Group / The Funk Garage). The release marks the band’s first full-length album in seven years, and undeniably the most powerful and politically pointed of their career.

This past week was astonishing, and frankly I still may be in a state of paralysis. Disturbing images of January 6th will be etched into my memory similar to the IRA bombings in the 90's; Londoners covered in blood and marked with silvers of glass. The unbelievable scenes of jumbo jets plowing into iconic, NYC buildings on 9/11 as office workers jumped from 60+ story windows and most personally the haunting visuals of a discarded shoe, open curtains, pool of vomit resulting from the repercussions of suicide.

“Roustabout, maverick, spiritual, gritty, amazing, genius, wild, bad-ass, soulful:” these are some of the words used to describe East Texas-born bona fide blue blood, Randy McAllister, who will release his new CD, Paperbag Salvation, April 23rd on Reaction Records.