Kris Kristofferson’s passing this week prompted an outpouring of thoughtful articles about what made this man and his art so special. We had the pleasure of interviewing Kristofferson about two decades ago about songs that challenge and sometimes offend an audience. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
Category: Songwriters TV
Kent Blazy celebrates “My Life So Far” with new release, concert
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…
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…
Thirty years on, Ellis Paul’s songs and stories delight audiences
By Ken Paulson – Singer-songwriters are plentiful these days. Have a guitar, smartphone and social media account? Suddenly you’re giving concerts. There was a time, though, when anyone stepping on stage at a coffeehouse had to truly engage an audience with songs, stories and a sense of humor. If you wanted to work, you had to entertain. Ellis Paul is…
Perfect pairing: James McMurtry and BettySoo in concert
It might sound like an unlikely pairing for a singer-songwriter show – a famously curmudgeonly Anglo man in his early 60s and a Korean-American woman in her mid-40s.
A brilliant showcase from Lori McKenna and Brandy Clark
By Paul T. Mueller – There’s a belief in some quarters that everything coming out of Nashville these days is formulaic dross, but Lori McKenna and Brandy Clark put that idea to rest in their Sept. 28 co-headlining appearance at Houston’s Heights Theater. The 90-minute show, the first on an 11-date tour, amounted to a two-person guitar pull that drew…
Kent Blazy Meets the Beatles
By Ken Paulson – It’s always a joy when an artist and songwriter is an unabashed music fan like the rest of us. That’s certainly the case with Kent Blazy, whose new album From The Beatles to the Bluebird, is fueled by a love of John, Paul, George and Ringo. Blazy, a 2020 inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of…
Time Traveler: Jason Wilber’s engaging musical journey
By Ken Paulson — Jason Wilber was among friends and family as he took the stage in Fort Myers, Florida on June 24. There was his wife Michelle in the second row. Sitting next to her was Jason’s father. On the left side of the room were friends from Bloomington, Indiana. And pretty much everywhere there were fans who loved…
Gretchen Peters’ graceful exit from touring
By Paul T. Mueller — Gretchen Peters, wrapping up a long touring career, gave her fans in Houston a fine show to remember her by. The prolific singer-songwriter and her husband and musical partner, Barry Walsh, performed for a nearly full house at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on June 22, the final show in the church’s Coffee House Live spring…
Michelle Malone spans decades in Houston show
By Paul T. Mueller – Georgia-based singer-songwriter Michelle Malone brought decades’ worth of songs and showmanship to her May 13 show in Houston. The show at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck, featuring Malone on acoustic guitars and Doug Kees on electric, included a career-spanning 14 songs. All were fueled by Malone’s powerful vocals, ranging from a delicate croon to an all-out roar.…
Remembering Townes: 26th annual “wake”
By Paul T. Mueller A wake can be a mournful affair, but the mood at the Old Quarter Acoustic Café on the first day of 2023 was anything but. As they have every January 1 since 1998, talented musicians and appreciative fans gathered at the small listening room in downtown Galveston, Texas, for the annual wake to celebrate the songs…
Steve Earle in concert, with a nod to Jerry Jeff
By Paul T. Mueller – Steve Earle’s August 31 show at Houston’s Heights Theater began with a seven-song tribute to one of Earle’s musical heroes, Jerry Jeff Walker. Fittingly, Earle opened with “Gettin’ By,” which happens to be the opening track of his latest album, Jerry Jeff, featuring 10 Walker songs, and also the first track on Walker’s iconic 1973…
James McMurtry taps into his rich body of work
By Paul T. Mueller – Singer-songwriter James McMurtry released his first CD in 1989, so it’s pretty much inevitable that his shows these days resemble career retrospectives. At an August 26 solo acoustic show at Houston’s McGonigel’s Mucky Duck, McMurtry led off with “Melinda,” from his 1995 album Where’d You Hide the Body. Next came the title track of 2002’s…
Rodney Crowell returns to Houston for an exuberant set at the Heights Theater
By Paul T. Mueller If you had any lingering doubts about how performers and audiences are feeling about the recent resumption of live performances, Rodney Crowell’s July 29 show at Houston’s Heights Theater would have put those doubts firmly to rest. Crowell and his excellent four-piece band, clearly thrilled to be back on the road, put on an energetic performance…
Brian Wilson, John Prine headline 30A Songwriters Fest
If the measure of a songwriting festival is the caliber of the songs it showcases, the 11th annual 30A Songwriters Festival is in an enviable position.
Review: For the Sake of the Song – The Story of Anderson Fair
By Paul T. Mueller – It can be tricky to capture the magic of a particular era, or a particular music scene, or a particular venue, but Bruce Bryant was up to the task. Bryant directed and co-produced For the Sake of the Song – The Story of Anderson Fair, a 2010 documentary about Houston’s legendary Anderson Fair Retail Restaurant, better…
Review: Chuck Hawthorne’s “Fire Out of Stone”
By Paul T. Mueller – Austin-based singer-songwriter Chuck Hawthorne’s sophomore effort is an eclectic collection of nine originals and a cover, exploring themes as diverse as Native American lore, the struggles of growing up in the shadow of a famous father, the loss of comrades, and the hardships of life on the road. Hawthorne’s writing is personal but accessible, combining…
Show 38 : Felice and Boudleaux Bryant honored at the Country Music Hall of Fame
By Ken Paulson – There’s a remarkable new exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville celebrating two of the most successful songwriters in the history of country music – or any genre for that matter – Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. We Could: The Songwriting Artistry of Boudleaux and Felice Bryant chronicles the writing of such indisputable classics…
Americana One #35 Gary Nicholson bridges the divide
By Ken Paulson Gary Nicholson, one of Nashville’s most respected songwriters and artists, is overachieving these days. On June 7, he’ll release not one, but two new albums, and both are pretty special. Nicholson, like so many of us, is concerned about the state of our nation these days. His The Great Divide captures that in 11 compelling songs, opening…