By Ken Paulson – Kent Blazy’s new album My Life So Far is that rare album founded in truth and fueled by gratitude. Blazy has had plenty of success, writing seven number one country songs and earning induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. But this musical autobiography is not about personal achievement. Instead, it’s a reflective acknowledgement of…
Todd Rundgren’s show at the Ryman in Nashville 2024
Todd Rundgren’s show at the Ryman was impressive and challenging in equal measure. It’s the rare artist who chooses to do an entire set of deep cuts largely drawn from his least successful albums, completely forgoing the reliable crowd-pleasers. Not until the encore and a 5-minute medley combining “I Saw the Light,” “It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference” and “Hello…
8 decades on, Bruce Cockburn spans past, present
By Paul T. Mueller – Showcasing most of the songs on one’s latest release while also providing a career retrospective spanning decades is quite an achievement for pretty much any performer. Doing so less than a month before one’s 79th birthday, as Bruce Cockburn did at Houston’s Heights Theater on May 3, falls somewhere between impressive and phenomenal. With his…
Buddy Mondlock’s rich and bright “Filament”
By Ken Paulson Buddy Mondlock is part of a rich singer-songwriter tradition. His songs – like those of Nanci Griffith, Steve Goodman and Guy Clark – tell stories and create characters in a truly compelling and realistic way. By the end of a Buddy Mondlock album, you feel as though you’ve met a half-dozen new people. Filmanent, produced by Brad…