Video Feature & Web-Exclusive Interview Musician:  GRACE PETTIS Video Premiere:  “I TAKE CARE OF ME NOW”      DOWN TO THE LETTER WITH AMERICANA’S WORKING WOMAN GRACE PETTIS   by Rodeo Marie Hanson An American juvenile cinéma vérité, reminiscent of 1985’s The Breakfast Club, unfolds within every school’s granite and brick corridors, monochromatic carpeted classrooms and institutionalized cafeterias. In this microcosm,... 

Video Feature & Web-Exclusive Interview Artist:  MEGAN NADIN Video:  “The Joker”  POP VOCAL SONGSTRESS MEGAN NADIN PREMIERES EMOTIONALLY HAUNTING “THE JOKER” Canadian pop vocal songstress Megan Nadin’s vocal style is radio-ready to rocket up the charts. What makes her even more powerful is that she genuinely cares about the songs she writes. She wants her songs to be used for positive change: “‘The Joker’ highlighted the... 

Video Feature & Web-Exclusive Interview Artist:  ERIN IVEY Video:  “Lost Girl”  ERIN IVEY RELEASES EMOTIONALLY HAUNTING “LOST GIRL” FROM HER NEW ALBUM SOLACE IN THE WILD Erin Ivey’s Solace in the Wild was three years in the making. She recorded the album at Blue Rock Studio in Wimberley, Texas. It was released January 29, 2021. Ivey’s albums have garnered numerous Top 10 and Album of the Year recognitions, a Black Fret artist... 

Musician: SLAID CLEAVES Video: “One Good Year”  SLAID CLEAVES AT BLUE ROCK ALIVE! COOL NIGHTS 2020 THIS THURSDAY, NOVEMBE 19 Slaid Cleaves will be featured at the Blue Rock aLive! Cool Nights 2020 virtual concert series this Thursday, November 19. The series is “for the songs, for the artists, for all of us.” You can buy a Season Pass for only $105—and have a seat in the house by sending in your headshot. They will place the large headshot... 

Photo Credit: Bill Bernstein Video Feature & Web-Exclusive Interview Musician:  RACHAEL SAGE Video:  Joy! EP—Exclusive Stream Hear The JOY!  Rachael Sage Debuts First Holiday EP Award-Winning NYC Songstress Rachael Sage Shares New Holiday Collection Award-winning New York City songstress Rachael Sage never ceases to surprise. Whether it’s her innovative, often handmade stage-costumes or unlikely collaborations with artists like Howard... 

VIDEO FEATURE & WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Band:  COLD ROSES Music Video:  “Staying Alive Ain’t Easy” Philly-based Indie-Rock Band Cold Roses Releases New Video “Staying Alive Ain’t Easy” Cold Roses captures the essence of the Philly-soul sound in their new album Escape to Anywhere released on Los Angeles indie-label Recorded Records. “Staying Alive Ain’t Easy” is the first single—and the infectious chorus jumps out and grabs... 

VIDEO PREMIERE Musician: LISA BOUCHELLE – with JOHN POPPER Music Video:  “Only the Tequila Talkin’” INDIE AMERICANA SINGER LISA BOUCHELLE FEATURES BLUES TRAVELER’S JOHN POPPER ON THE SINGLE “ONLY THE TEQUILA TALKIN’”—WITH 500,000 PLAYS ON SPOTIFY LISA BOUCHELLE (with JOHN POPPER) Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David LISA BOUCHELLE How did the EP Lipstick Tomboy evolve? We put... 

VIDEO FEATURE & WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Musician:  RYAN SHUPE Video: “We Rode On”   RYAN SHUPE Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David   Ryan Shupe will be touring the country to promote his eighth album, the independently released We Rode On—a fusion of rock themes with an acoustic bluegrass influence. A Utah-based, fifth generation fiddler, as well as an accomplished mandolin... 

VIDEO FEATURE & WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Artist:  ROBBY HECHT Song: “Soon I Was Sleeping” Duet with Rose Cousins Directed by Ryan Newman ROBBY HECHT Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David How did the idea of “Soon I Was Sleeping” come to you? I actually wrote this song over the course of about six years. I had the “put that bottle of whiskey right where she used to kiss me” hook for... 

VIDEO FEATURE & WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Songwriter:  MARK CAWLEY Song: “My Angel is Here” Songwriters: Mark Cawley, Billy Lawrie, Lulu (Marie Lawrie)   MARK CAWLEY Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David How did the idea of “My Angel is Here” come to you? This song is so unusual in so many ways. I wrote it with Lulu (yep, that “To Sir with Love” Lulu) and her brother Billy Lawrie.... 

KEYS TO SUCCESS The world of keyboards is vast and complex, so how do you choose the right one for you?   From the classic analog synths of the ’70s to the cutting-edge digital workstations of today, keyboards have been an integral part of music for nearly half a century. Nearly every genre, including pop, rock and jazz, relies on keyboards in the studio and onstage as a mainstay instrument. And scoring and production for TV and film wouldn’t... 

RON ANIELLO  Doing whatever it takes to make the record great             By Michael Gallant When Ron Aniello was selected to produce Bruce Springsteen’s 2012 album Wrecking Ball, he faced a daunting challenge—how to offer constructive criticism to a personal hero. “Being in the studio, and hearing the voice of my childhood was the main thing I had to get over,” Aniello says with a laugh. “Telling an artist like Bruce that a certain... 

Alex Rosamilia, Alex Levine, Brian Fallon, Benny Horowitz THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM For their latest project, the folk-punk rockers go bigger and bolder   Accolades piled up fast after Gaslight Anthem’s 2010 album, American Slang, but the New Jersey band shut out as much of the hype as possible to focus on writing music for their latest, Handwritten. “Really, you just want to make great songs,” says drummer Benny Horowitz. “That’s where it... 

  FOLK FORWARD How a sound born of tradition is thriving in the modern day   By Peter Cooper It’s the other “F” word. And like its more obscene counterpart, it means different things to different people in different contexts. In the 1950s, it was sweater-vested political subversives. Later, it was shape-shifting musical revolutionaries and introspective singer-songwriters. It has been used to describe troubadours who specialize in journalistic... 

Rock’s top lighting designer helps you turn an ordinary show into a dazzling spectacle Certainly, the first and foremost reason we attend concerts is to hear great music—but skillful stage lighting can transform a relatively simple treat for the ears into an unforgettable multimedia experience. To ensure that what audiences see is as vibrant and explosive as what they hear, many of the world’s biggest touring acts turn to lighting designer Marc... 

LITTLE STEVEN VAN ZANDT Bruce Springsteen’s right-hand man is on a rockin’ crusade Little Steven Van Zandt has diagnosed America’s ills—and he has the prescription. “We have no great art to replenish ourselves,” he says. “Art is not a luxury. We’re the only country in the world that thinks art is a luxury! There’s no spiritual nourishment going on right now. That comes from great art.” Van Zandt is doing his part to get great art...