JOSS STONE How one whirlwind week in Nashville offered her a fresh start Joss Stone was in Spain last year, helping a friend repair his boat, when producer and Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart rang with an intriguing proposal: Fly to Nashville and make an album in just a few days. “I thought, ‘Wow, that sounds like a good idea,’ so I did,” the 24-year-old British soul singer remembers. She told her friend, filmmaker and photographer Paul... 

BATTLES How to avoid the sophomore slump? Scrap the second album altogether A year ago, the members of the experimental, largely instrumental math-rock band Battles faced a challenge that even their astounding technical wizardry might not help them overcome. Specifically, how to forge ahead as a three-piece following the departure of multi-instrumentalist Tyondai Braxton, and what to do with the already completed tracks planned for their highly anticipated... 

YOUSSOU N’DOUR A Senegal-born international superstar finds a familiar spirit in Jamaica For Senegalese vocal legend Youssou N’Dour, making a reggae album was all about completing a circle. After all, one of reggae’s most prominent strands of DNA comes from the music of African slaves brought over during the 1800s by European-held slaves—a connection that was particularly important to the music of reggae’s greatest legend, Bob Marley. “I’m... 

GOMEZ Who are their fans? You might be surprised—they certainly are How can you pick out a Gomez fan from a crowd? Answer: You can’t. “No one can identify our audience,” declares guitarist Tom Gray, one of Gomez’s three singers and four songwriters. “That’s certainly the case at gigs. If you took people in the audience out of the room and said, ‘What do these people have in common?’ you’d have a hard time figuring out what it... 

THE JOLLY BOYS Melding a unique traditional folk style with unexpected new elements Trends come and go, but the Jolly Boys have been playing mento music—a Jamaican folk style that was a major influence on reggae and ska—for nearly 60 years. The veteran band extends and expands that tradition on Great Expectation, a new collection that trades its usual fare for mento interpretations of songs by the likes of Amy Winehouse, the Clash, Johnny Cash,... 

MATT NATHANSON Reaching the masses by stripping down and reinventing a pop-friendly sound Bob Dylan has worked with some interesting collaborators over the years, but singer and songwriter Matt Nathanson believes the rock legend missed out on one that would have been particularly interesting. “I’ve always said if Bob Dylan had written lyrics for Def Leppard, he’d have had the perfect band,” Nathanson says. As that unusual rock fantasy suggests,... 

THE GREENCARDS A devoted fan following helped inspire and finance a new album, brick by brick Being a bluegrass band in Australia isn’t exactly a lucrative profession. Ask the Greencards’ mandolin player Kym Warner how they dealt with that dilemma, and he offers an obvious answer. “Well, we’re here, aren’t we?” In this case, “here” is Nashville, where Warner and Greencards co-founder, singer and bassist Carol Young, have chosen to... 

JONATHAN EDWARDS How Mr. “Sunshine” found an audience without the help of the music business “Sunshine,” the Top 5 hit from Jonathan Edwards’ self-titled 1971 debut album, announced his arrival with a bang. But the Minnesota-born singer and songwriter proved unable to follow that now-classic tune with another big pop hit—a quandary that he ascribes in part to troubles with his management. “Suddenly I had some street cred and respect... 

ROBBIE ROBERTSON Finding good medicine by fearlessly facing his past Robbie Robertson always avoided addressing touchy subjects like his early days with the Band, his decision to leave the group in 1977, and his wild times during those days with his longtime collaborator, movie director Martin Scorsese. But on How to Become Clairvoyant, his first new album in 13 years, the Toronto-born singer, songwriter, guitarist and film-music composer tackles... 

HERB ALPERT A master of the trumpet and music business alike reflects and looks ahead By Bill DeMain With a career of nearly five decades behind him, legendary trumpeter Herb Alpert still takes the same approach to reinterpretation that he always has. “I like to do songs that are familiar, then put my own little twist on them,” he says. “There’s no fun in doing them the way they’ve been done before.” He takes just that approach on his... 

MARCELLA ARAICA “Painting the sound of the song” for some of pop’s biggest hitmakers By Michael Gallant When engineer and mixer Marcella Araica steps into the recording studio tonight to mix Beyoncé’s latest track, chances are she won’t be thinking about producers, record labels or the millions who will soon hear her sonic craft. More likely, she’ll be too busy channeling Pablo Picasso. “I always compare mixing to painting,” she... 

BRUCE HORNSBY For this restless keyboard innovator, the only constant is change By Russell Hall “It’s been 25 years since my first album,” observes Bruce Hornsby. “Most fans who got on this train early on aren’t there anymore. And that’s fine. Those who wanted me to stay the same or keep making the same album were probably disappointed a long time ago.” While many of Hornsby’s peers have become nostalgia acts, his own career has indeed... 

RAY DAVIES Reinventing the Kinks catalogue with a roster of all-star friends For almost a half-century Ray Davies has been rock’s own artful dodger. Slipping through pigeonholes and ducking stylistic dead ends, the native Londoner has always confounded easy labeling. With the Kinks he played the parts of white bluesman, vaudeville dandy, folk revivalist and heavy-metal screamer, penning wildly diverse classics like “You Really Got Me,” “Tired... 

ARCTIC MONKEYS After a frenzied five years, it’s time to take a look back—briefly The Arctic Monkeys instantly became a sensation in their native England upon the release of their punchy, hard-charging debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. “It’s only been five years, but it seems like a long time ago,” observes frontman Alex Turner. Before heading into the studio to make the new Suck It and See, Turner and his bandmates... 

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE Making beautiful music from “electronic junk,” one note at a time Death Cab for Cutie guitarist and producer Chris Walla didn’t want his bandmates getting too comfortable during the making of their seventh and latest album, Codes and Keys. To keep them on their toes, he crafted a recording itinerary that took the group to more than half a dozen studios over 10 months. “Environment is everything with records,” says Walla.... 

KIMBERLY CALDWELL After moonlighting in reality TV, a lifelong performer rediscovers her voice After a successful run on the 2003 season of TV’s American Idol, Texas native Kimberly Caldwell detoured into work as a TV personality with gigs on outlets like Fox Sports and MTV. Now she returns to center stage with her long-awaited debut album, Without Regret, a set of party-starting anthems and pensive, stirring ballads that reintroduces the lifelong... 

HIROMI A Japanese jazz prodigy finds her voice as she returns to a healing home When a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan in March, many touring artists canceled their plans to visit. Japanese classical and jazz pianist Hiromi, however, rearranged her touring plans to come home. “Bands have just stopped coming, and I respect that decision,” she says from Tokyo, where she has just completed a string of 18 benefit concerts. “But... 

AUGUSTANA Changing direction in the studio put this band on the right path No one can accuse Augustana frontman Dan Layus of lacking ambition. When the band stepped into the studio to make its self-titled new album, Layus was determined to capture the classic sound of 1970s Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen. “We wanted to make the kind of album we grew up with,” he says. “Something along the lines of Damn the Torpedoes or Darkness on the Edge... 

MOBY An insomnia-prone electronica master explores the music of the night Long after the last song has finished and the fans have gone home, electronica kingpin Moby often finds himself alone in hotel rooms, unable to sleep. Until a few years ago he’d turn to alcohol. But now that he’s given that up, he is finding new ways to cope with boredom and insomnia on the road. Heading into his last world tour, Moby had an idea: If you can’t escape... 

FLOGGING MOLLY Finding humor in desperate times, making use of the rowdiest means possible The difficulty of trying economic times is a theme that fuels Celtic-punk band Flogging Molly’s latest album, Speed of Darkness. It’s also a social condition the punk-meets-pub-rock band’s founder, Dave King, knows firsthand. He and fiddler-guitarist wife Bridget Regan divide their time between his native Ireland and Regan’s hometown of Detroit, two... 

JESSIE J A rambunctious creator of hits for others seizes center stage for herself At 23, Jessie J has already built an impressive résumé as a songwriter, penning hits like Miley Cyrus’ 2009 “Party in the U.S.A.” While some might feel a twinge of jealousy seeing their songs chart for other artists, Jessie J has played her supporting role graciously. What’s most important to her is finding the best fit for each of her creations. “It’s... 

BOOKER T. JONES Stax’s keyboard legend brings it back home to Memphis As the house band for Memphis’ legendary Stax Records throughout the ’60s, Booker T. and the MG’s—organist Booker T. Jones, guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn and drummer Al Jackson Jr.—was perhaps the most prominent and influential R&B band of the era. Providing backup for such soul titans as Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Albert King, Eddie Floyd... 

QUEENSRŸCHE Three decades of envelope-pushing hard rock—and they’re just picking up speed On the opening track of Dedicated to Chaos, Queensrÿche’s 12th and most recent album, frontman Geoff Tate sings, “You ain’t seen nothing yet/We’re just picking up speed.” Though “Get Started” is ostensibly a love song, that lyric could easily be applied to the progressive-metal band itself, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this... 

RON SEXSMITH Getting his career back with the help of an unlikely collaborator Ron Sexsmith doesn’t come across as your typical rock star. Cherubic and looking perhaps half of his 47 years, he’s notoriously shy and insecure. So what is this sensitive soul doing hanging around with Bob Rock, a guy best known for producing the hard-and-heavy likes of Metallica and Mötley Crüe? “When Bob came on board, I started to get excited again,” Sexsmith... 

STEVE EARLE How a singer-songwriter, actor and activist learned to be a novelist Singer and songwriter Steve Earle will soon release both a new T Bone Burnett–produced album and his first novel—both named for the Hank Williams classic “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive.” Earle struggled with drug addiction in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but his high these days is productivity: He’s also writing a play, acting on HBO’s Treme... 

BOOTSY COLLINS The funkiest bass player in the universe throws an all-star party “I am the funk, I’m with the funk, the funk is within me,” declares legendary bass player Bootsy Collins—and you’d better believe it. Whether holding down the mighty grooves of James Brown’s early-1970s band the J.B.’s, slapping his way through extraterrestrial funk workouts with George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic, charting solo hits such as “Bootzilla,”... 

JOE BONAMASSA Goodbye to the rib joints, hello to blues-rock guitar hero status By Russell Hall “People told me I was destined to play rib joints and biker rallies all my life,” says Joe Bonamassa, reflecting on his early years as a struggling blues-rock guitarist. “But I knew there had to be a better way.” But more than a decade and a half into his career, today Bonamassa has arrived at the pinnacle of the blues-rock world—and he’s... 

JAMES STROUD Bringing a session player’s perspective to Nashville hitmaking By Michael Gallant If you’ve listened to a country radio station anytime in the last 20 years, chances are you’ve experienced the craftsmanship of studio drummer-turned-producer James Stroud. One of Nashville’s most prolific and successful hitmakers, Stroud has produced multiplatinum albums for country giants like Tim McGraw, Toby Keith and Clint Black, and over... 

ALISON KRAUSS Two decades along, bluegrass’ conquering angel is still on the move By Russell Hall If there’s one lesson Alison Krauss learned from working with producer T Bone Burnett on Raising Sand, the album she and Robert Plant made together in 2007, it’s the importance of being in the moment. “I’ve always believed I could get a better vocal by re-singing it, or manufacturing a vocal by putting together multiple takes,” she says.... 

LUCINDA WILLIAMS A songwriter known for melancholy looks on the bright side Lucinda Williams has earned a reputation over the last three decades for writing songs that were as melancholy as they were dazzling. So, many fans were surprised when her most recent album, 2008’s Little Honey, found her sounding happy and optimistic. Her latest, the aptly titled Blessed, further proves that emotional turmoil isn’t the only fuel for her art. “Now I’m... 

NIKKI SIXX The Mötley Crüe and Sixx:A.M. rocker prefers clicks to cliques When bass player and songwriter Nikki Sixx isn’t busy shouting at the devil with Mötley Crüe or Sixx:A.M., you’ll find him taking photos or writing books. His latest project, This Is Gonna Hurt, combines all three: It’s a book of photography and prose accompanied by an album of the same name. This Is Gonna Hurt showcases Sixx’s gritty photos, serves as his literary... 

R.E.M. After three decades, still showing the kids how it’s done “Let’s sing and rhyme, let’s give it one more time,” sings R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe in “All the Best,” a song from the group’s 15th and newest album, Collapse Into Now. “Let’s show the kids how to do it.” Especially coming from a lyricist known for his obtuse wordplay, it’s a loud-and-clear statement for a band in the midst of an artistic renaissance. Following... 

AVRIL LAVIGNE A pop princess strips down her sound—and fights for her vision Goodbye Lullaby is Avril Lavigne’s first new album in four years—and her most emotional effort yet. “It’s not like I haven’t gone there before,” says Lavigne, who has sold more than 10 million albums since releasing her debut, 2002’s Let Go, at age 17. “I’ve done that on some of my albums, but I was really in that place and wanted to go more in that direction.”... 

THE DUKE SPIRIT A powerhouse band, a flamethrowing singer, a bruising album—and home décor too Liela Moss is covered in paint. The Duke Spirit’s lead singer is taking advantage of a lull in the group’s tour schedule to take care of some decorating around her house in London. “You’ve got to keep things looking nice,” she chirps in her clipped, melodious British accent. Few would guess that this cheerful, petite gal-about-the-house is... 

JASON ISBELL The feeling, the fever, the folks, the fiddles, a farewell and the 400 Unit Jason Isbell is not feeling well. “I’m always kind of glad to get sick at home,” he says optimistically, “because I don’t want to mess with it when I’m on the road.” He’ll have to get out of his sickbed soon, like it or not—he and his backup group the 400 Unit have just completed their new album, and a series of high-profile gigs awaits. The... 

WANDA JACKSON The Queen of Rockabilly proves you’re never too old to earn new Stripes When the blues had a baby called rock ’n’ roll, Wanda Jackson was there for the delivery. “Back when I was touring with Elvis in 1957, we didn’t even call it rock ’n’ roll,” she remembers. “It was just ‘the kind of songs the kids liked.’” Jackson credits her then-boyfriend Presley with encouraging her to branch out from her country roots... 

BAND OF HEATHENS The secret to this Austin collective’s success? Don’t plan, just play It’s noon in Austin, but the Band of Heathens’ Gordy Quist sounds like he’s still sleepy. “I’m a bit hazy,” he says by way of apology. “It’s been a long 24 hours.” With upward of 200 gigs a year, the group’s devotion to its packed-out schedule comes naturally by now. In fact, the Band of Heathens was quite literally born on stage—the group... 

PANIC! AT THE DISCO No need for alarm—the synth-popsters have returned to the dance floor When Panic! At the Disco announced in July 2009 that it was reinserting the exclamation point it had dropped from its name the previous year, there were two ways to read the news. One: The Las Vegas band really was panicking. This would have been understandable, given that bassist Jon Walker and guitarist and primary lyricist Ryan Ross had just quit, leaving... 

JOHN OATES Writing a musical autobiography by rediscovering his roots When John Oates first started getting to know Darryl Hall more than four decades ago, the two young Philadelphia natives had a love of R&B in common. But Oates had another passion, one that got obscured during the duo’s subsequent rise to pop stardom: roots music. Although you might not guess it from Hall and Oates’ hits, he cut his teeth on classic folk and blues as a... 

DENGUE FEVER Giving new life to a genre once thought lost to tragedy When the brutal Khmer Rouge regime took control of Cambodia in 1975, it set about destroying all elements of Western culture. American-influenced music was banned, and singers like Sinn Sisamouth, Pan Ron and Ros Sereysothea were put to death along with more than a million of their countrymen. Cambodia’s distinctive brand of garage-style rock practically vanished. “So much of... 

TIERRA NEGRA & MURIEL ANDERSON Worlds collide—and a vibrant new brand of flamenco is born Guitar maven Muriel Anderson’s initial encounter with Tierra Negra came when she visited the booth at a European music festival where the German flamenco duo was selling its signature line of handmade guitars. “When we got there one morning, we found Muriel with one of our guitars playing her song ‘Angelina Baker,’” recalls Tierra Negra’s... 

JAMES BLUNT Pop troubadour goes looking for trouble—and discovers electricity James Blunt’s first two albums, Back to Bedlam and All the Lost Souls, catapulted him to stardom with hits like “You’re Beautiful” and “1973.” Those discs also cast him in the guise of sensitive pop crooner. With his new album, Some Kind of Trouble, the former British Army officer shakes free of his balladeer reputation and unleashes an upbeat collection of... 

ERIC JOHNSON To shred or not to shred? For this guitar hero, that is the question By Russell Hall Eric Johnson might be the world’s most reluctant guitar hero. In the 1980s, as his star was first rising, the Austin native earned a reputation as a white-hot shredder. But from the start, Johnson has emphasized that technique is just part of a larger musical landscape. “If you play a show where you shred for two hours, you’ll see a lot of the... 

PETER ASHER Coaxing the best work from pop’s most amazing voices By Jeff Tamarkin When he and singing partner Gordon Waller began enjoying hits in the 1960s as Peter and Gordon, London-born Peter Asher made the most of his opportunity. In the recording studio, Asher kept a close eye on the steps that producers Norman Newell and John Burgess took to make now-classics like “A World Without Love” and “Nobody I Know” sound the way they did.... 

GREGG ALLMAN After a brush with mortality, a rock legend gets back to the blues By Chris Neal It’s been a few months since doctors used a device to spread Gregg Allman’s rib cage as part of his treatment for cancer, but he still winces at the thought. “That hurt so damn bad,” he says. “Unh! All the rib bones that go back and connect to your spine, they disrupt all that. Boy, that hurts. They can cut and sew muscles and skin, and that’s... 

THE DECEMBERISTS Whether in the studio or a barn, getting back to basics isn’t always easy Following 2009’s The Hazards of Love—the Decemberists’ second straight high-concept fairy-tale song cycle in a row—frontman and principal songwriter Colin Meloy decided to ditch the theatrics and record a batch of no-frills Americana tunes. Taking cues from the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St. and the Band’s self-titled sophomore effort—barebones... 

IRON & WINE Making a clean break with some help from a little kiss of R&B From the spare solo acoustic songs of Iron & Wine’s early-2000s work to the expansive arrangements of the new Kiss Each Other Clean, Sam Beam has consistently steered his songs in ever more complex directions. For his latest, Beam drew from the sounds he heard on the radio as a kid, expanding his rustic folk sensibility with R&B horns, Afro-pop polyrhythms... 

BRIGHT EYES Conor Oberst and company reinvent themselves once again Could Bright Eyes be doomed? Rumors of the indie-rock powerhouse’s demise spread like wildfire when frontman Conor Oberst said in an interview that he had been thinking about bringing the band to an end. But fans can relax—for now, at least. “I was probably feeling that way that day,” he says. “But we’re just focused on getting the new record out and doing the tour. That’s... 

DURAN DURAN Mining fresh sounds from the musical territory they first pioneered Duran Duran emerged from England 30 years ago with a sound that uniquely melded dance, rock and New Wave. In the time since, the group has sought to continually reinvent itself—but when producer Mark Ronson suggested to the members that they return to some of the sonic trademarks that defined classic albums like 1982’s Rio, they were willing to try. The result is... 

THE DEARS Welcoming new voices and familiar spirits into a house built on constant change Over the last three years, no fewer than 15 people have had the privilege of calling themselves Dears. Of the four musicians who joined founding frontman Murray Lightburn and longtime keyboardist Natalia Yanchak in recording the band’s fifth album, Degeneration Street, three are on their third stints as Dears. For their loyal service, they earned a privilege...