Stasia Lanier

For four decades, Richard Thompson has consistently set songwriting and performance standards to which others aspire. He has long been acknowledged as both a sensitive writer and an innovative guitarist. 

Thompson has just released his new CD  'Electric', produced by another guitar hero, Buddy Miller. The disc features some rock and roll, along with a few acoustic gems. Check out Ken Tucker's review from 'Fresh Air' here.  

“I don’t know if it was ever some big idea,” says Kelly Willis with a musical laugh. “It’s just something we’ve always sort of done. Our Christmas shows were always so fun, and obviously we’ve always been part of each other’s records. But we’re also our own people. We’ve always been very careful about not losing sight of that. We didn’t want to get lost in a duo because we are so different, and we’ve each worked so hard to establish our own careers.” The thing about chemistry, though, is it can’t be denied.

My True Story, the new album from soul/R&B legend and multiple Grammy Award-winning artist Aaron Neville, just released on Blue Note Records. The album, produced by Don Was and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, finds Neville revitalizing some of his favorite songs from the doo-wop era that have become the underpinning for all of the remarkable music he has created across five decades. (Watch a video about the making of My True Story here.)

"I’m laying out some extreme emotional highs and lows, which feels good," observes Carrie Rodriguez on her fifth solo album Give Me All You Got, an album of personal and confessional songs that returns the Austin, TX singer and fiddler to the task of songwriting after 2010's covers album Love and Circumstance.

'The Carpenter' is the 2012 album from the critically acclaimed North Carolina Folk-Pop-Rock band The Avett Brothers. Produced by Rick Rubin and recorded in North Carolina and Malibu, the record follows the group's 2009 breakthrough release and celebrated major label debut, I And Love And You. Blending Bluegrass, Folk and Punk with a Rock 'n' Roll attitude, the quintet, led by brothers Seth and Scott Avett, continues to pen poignant and powerful songs on this new release.

The Wallflowers long-awaited new studio album 'Glad All Over' was released in October. Recorded in Nashville at Easy Eye Sound studio, the new album finds frontman Jakob Dylan joining original band members Greg Richling (bass) and Rami Jaffee (keyboards), with The Wallflowers’ longtime guitarist Stuart Mathis and drummer Jack Irons (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam) rounding out the lineup.