Before his career as a singer, songwriter, and recording artist took off, Luke Winslow-King spent several years supporting himself as a busker, both in the United States and Europe. Part of making a living playing on the streets is playing what people want to hear; maybe singing “Brown Eyed Girl” for the fifth time that day isn’t your favorite thing in the world, but if the guy with ten bucks in his hand wants to hear it, that’s what you play. Winslow-King has gone through plenty of changes since those days, and as he’s evolved from his early days playing traditional blues with a soulful accent, he’s opened himself to other sounds, and 2026’s Coast of Light is the work of a different Luke Winslow-King. While tracks like “Don’t Worry Your Mind,” “Shoot from the Hip” and…
Tag Archive: Bloodshot
Justin Townes Earle, the deeply talented but sadly troubled folk/Americana musician, succumbed to an accidental overdose just over five years ago. Yet within the span of just weeks, an authorized biography — What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome — has been released, and musician Sammy Brue is issuing an album largely drawn from Earle’s journals. Aptly titled The Journals and released with the blessing of Earle’s widow, the record stands as both a work of sadness and a celebration of Earle’s remarkable gift as a songwriter.
The striking opening track, “Lonely Mornings,” sets the tone of the record early on with a stripped-down sound – little more than an acoustic guitar and vocals, putting the lyrics at…
Joelton Mayfield grew up living and breathing the Bible, through early youth aligning himself unquestioningly with the Christian fundamentalism of his native Texas. You can hear that familiarity and comfort in songs like “Jacob Dreamed a Ladder,” an earnest, entirely natural, slightly updated exploration of the story from the Book of Genesis. “And behold, the lord, as you’ve never seen before, driving down a highway of solid gold/the mover of the mountains bringing peace into the valley down below,” Mayfield croons, wobbling on the notes to give them extra emotional impact. Yet the slow rocking “Now,” hints at a widening perspective, quoting Wilco and the Mountain Goats, as Mayfield discovers the power of secular music. Crowd Pleaser is not about…