Tagged Folk

Hailing from New York state by way of Manhattan, Eden Ariel lets her environment take up a character of its own in her lyricism on her new EP Altars (2020). Opening track “City Rain” is a love story about ...

Who is Jon Bunting? I was able to catch up with the local musician over some Chinese food to talk about his debut EP. Originally from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Bunting has been in the Bay for 13 years, wher...

Mt. Joy is in good company. They drift within the same waters as The Head and the Heart and the Lumineers, and are quickly establishing themselves as a household name in the folk-pop genre. On March 30th, Phila...

When I approached August Hall on March 15th, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I was promised a “healing sound bath - live in concert,” but it felt no different from every other indie rock show, comp...

Already at his 19th album since his first solo release in 2007, Steve Gunn’s latest effort, The Unseen in Between (2019) marks itself as one of Gunn’s most polished albums to date, with mature songwriting a...

I have never found solace in church. Even as a young child I remember questioning my mom about God, imploring why such a benevolent creator would cause so much suffering for his beloved children. Yet somehow ev...

There are few albums that seem to have a profound effect on not only its listeners but on fellow musicians as well. Bruce Springsteen said that it gave him “a sense of the divine.” It has been described as ...

Mumford & Sons was the banjo band, and can be cited as one of the leading forces behind bringing the indie-folk movement to the mainstream. They continue to be one of the twenty-first century’s strangest ...

Kurt Vile has perfected his paradox in Bottle It In (2018). He sings whimsically about darkness. He stumbles over his words gracefully, looking for meaning. He articulates his thoughts with abstract precision. ...

Jason Isbell challenges what it means to be a country singer. In fact, he doesn’t even consider himself a country singer, and most people would probably agree once they’ve heard his brutally honest lyrics a...

If you’ve seen the show 13 Reasons Why, you’ll know that its soundtrack contains a rather unexpected wealth of alternative music. Amid wide controversy over the show, I was drawn to watch its first season, ...

If black coffee and cigarettes on a Sunday morning had a soundtrack, it would be the music of Caamp. Caamp is comprised of Taylor Meier and Evan Westfall, two childhood friends who have been playing music since...

Crystal Bowersox is cool. She is honest and vulnerable, you don’t have to worry about any gimmicks with her. In many ways, she reminds me of a contemporary Janis Joplin: a female powerhouse vocalist set on au...

Earth Day became a national holiday in 1970, in light of a growing concern for the planet’s health. In the 25 years following World War II, the United States experienced a major increase in the number of cars...

In anticipation of the Marfa Myths music festival this April in Marfa, Texas, the indie record label Mexican Summer has released the third album in their “Myths” series. Myths 003 (2018) combines the sound...