By Paul T. Mueller – Amy Speace is a keen observer of humanity, and of all the good and bad humans are capable of. She’s also a gifted songwriter and performer, able to translate her observations into beautiful and moving songs. Speace’s latest collection is titled Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne, and it’s full of the excellent writing and singing…

Show 37 Jason Ringenberg Stands Tall
Jason Ringenberg is spending his September touring Europe with Dan Baird and the Kentucky Headhunters (now that’s a show), but we caught up with him recently at the 895 Fest. His latest album Stand Tall is outstanding and we have a special fondness for “God Bless the Ramones.” Jason’s still a punk after all these years. Here’s our conversation with…

Americana’s “first couples:” Buddy and Julie Miller, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis
By Paul T. Mueller “First Couple of Americana Music” may be a fictitious title, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some real contenders out there. Two such duos, Buddy and Julie Miller and Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison, stake convincing claims on recently released albums – Breakdown on 20th Ave. South and Beautiful Lie, respectively. Of the two, the Millers’…

Concert review: Alejandro Escovedo at the Mucky Duck
By Paul T. Mueller – If this was really goodbye for Alejandro Escovedo, it was a nice way to go. The singer-songwriter seemed to be in the mood for introspection and retrospection as he took the stage at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck in Houston on Friday, July 19. He referred to his having recorded 15 albums (Wikipedia counts 16) and said…