ROBERT RANDOLPH The pedal-steel powerhouse blazes funky new trails on his latest set By Bob Cannon On Lickety Split, the latest album by Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Robert Randolph takes the pedal steel guitar where no one has gone before. In his hands the instrument is no longer just the province of weepy country ballads—it contains multiple personalities, a musical Sybil that alternately evokes the ghosts of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi... 

BOB CANNON Unbreakable Heart facebook.com/bobcannonmusic As a journalist whose byline has appeared in such publications as Entertainment Weekly and M Music & Musicians, Cannon has soaked up the finest in country, rockabilly and pop. As a musician he reveals his connoisseurship here, loading his debut with hooks, subtle humor and, above all, heart. Along the way he faces heartache, joblessness and treacherous women—check out “Weapons of Mass... 

FREEDY JOHNSTON After eight years, he’s back thanks to some discipline in the studio Freedy Johnston didn’t mean to spend eight years between albums. “I tried to make it a couple times on my own, and it didn’t work out for various reasons,” says the singer-songwriter. He discovered the key to his new Rain on the City album when he brought in producer Richard McLaurin as his collaborator. “You learn some lessons and go down one hallway,...