New to Americana chart: Mary Chapin Carpenter, BoDeans

Americana Music News –  The first five positions in this week’s Americana Music Association radio chart remain stable, with Willie Nelson’s Heroes,  JD McPherson’s Signs and Signifiers and Paul Thorn’s What the Hell Is Goin’ On? in the top three positions. New to the chart this week are albums by veteran performers with deep and impressive bodies of work. Mary Chapin Carpenter’s…

Americana Music Festival releases 2012 line-up

Americana Music News – The Americana Music Association has announced an impressive line-up for the Americana Music Festival & Conference September 12-15 in Nashville , with more performers to be named later. As usual, the roster includes a good mix of accomplished veterans and emerging artists. Among the biggest names: Billy Joe Shaver, the Punch Brothers, Brandi Carlile, Richard Thompson, Sara Watkins,…

Review: “Steve Poltz’s “Noineen Noiny Noin”

Americana Music News: We first saw Steve Poltz in 1998 after the release of One Left Shoe. It was pretty clear from the performance that this was a talented singer and songwriter who would be sticking around. What was less clear was whether he would build on the success of writing the pop hit “You Were Meant for Me” and…