Dean Nardi

Exclusive AUK Mini-Gig: Nick Meltio

July 10, 2025 Dean Nardi 0

The burly, bearded man you see hugging his Gibson J45 guitar in the video is Niklas (Nick) Meltio, who comes from Finland but is smitten by americana music. His debut album, “Desert Bound,” reflects the allure […]

Behind the Songs: Chris Stamey “Anything Is Possible”

July 10, 2025 Dean Nardi 0

North Carolina singer-songwriter and producer Chris Stamey is an indie rock icon with a long and illustrious history, starting in the mid-70s with Mitch Easter in the band Sneakers, then co-founding the avant-pop band The dBs […]

Exclusive AUK Mini-Gig: Monica Aben

July 2, 2025 Dean Nardi 0

This next AUK mini-gig is brought to you live from Monica Aben’s bedroom studio in California, which she shares with a Taylor 714 CE guitar that she got for a gift instead of a car for […]

Interview: Michelle Billingsley on honky-tonkin’ and two-steppin’

July 2, 2025 Dean Nardi 0

It was a windy, wintry January day in Chicago when June, Michelle Billingsley’s 50-pound Australian Shepherd, jumped up beside her on the couch. “Yeah, she saw me putting on my makeup, which usually means I’m going […]

Interview: Swarme of Beese finds more poetry in darkness than in light

June 30, 2025 Dean Nardi 0

The term mutant folk seems to fit. In the band’s early days, before The Victor Mourning emerged from the pupa into an adult Swarme of Beese, their songs elicited unusual receptions. Co-songwriter Lynne Adele recalls performing […]