John Vaites

Deep Dark River “King of the Forest” (Independent, 2019)

August 22, 2019 John Vaites 0

Self-described as artsy, folksy, classical “Deep Dark River” are a Toronto based duo comprising Morgan Rider on guitar, piano, synth and vocals and Nathen Morrison on cello. “King of the Forest” is their second album, though the […]

Norrie McCulloch “Compass” (Independent, 2019)

June 17, 2019 John Vaites 0

As many of you will no doubt appreciate early Americana is deep-rooted in traditional Celtic folk music that emigrated over to North America from Scotland and Ireland. No surprise then that Ayrshire born Norrie McCulloch is […]

Secret Emchy Society “Mark’s Yard: The Campfire Covers” (Independent, 2018)

May 28, 2019 John Vaites 0

This is the second full length offering from Oakland, California’s “first lady of queer country” Cindy Emchy and her spirited band of folky musician friends. As the title suggests it’s an open air politely rambunctious lo-fi […]

JJ Cale “Stay Around” (Because Records, 2019)

May 21, 2019 John Vaites 1

‘Stay Around’ is a posthumous collection of previously unreleased JJ Cale tracks curated by longtime friend and manager Mike Kappus and Cale’s musician widow Christine Lakeland Cale. Rarely can there have been such a rich treasure […]

Kelly Hunt “Even the Sparrow” (Rare Bird Records, 2019)

May 3, 2019 John Vaites 0

Kelly Hunt’s debut album ‘Even the Sparrow’ is exceptionally good. The wistful soulful voice, the mellowness of the vintage calfskin tenor banjo, the frugality of the arrangements all combine to produce an album that is near […]

Can’t Live With It, Can’t Live Without It: Tom Waits

August 5, 2026 2

The musical influence of Tom Waits over the last seven decades has spanned far beyond what one might define as americana. His deep, gravely voice, has been described as having been soaked in a vat of […]

Paul McClure “The Good And The Bad Of It”

August 5, 2026 0

The Rutland Troubadour returns for album number four. Paul McClure, on his fourth album, decided to go to pastures new and left the rural north and travelled south to East Sussex and the fine Bex-Pop Studios […]

Artists with Hearts of Gold contribute to two more albums of Neil Young covers

August 5, 2026 0

Includes tracks from My Morning Jacket, Lucinda Williams and MJ Lenderman among others. Cinema Music Group, Killphonic Records, and City Slang have announced Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young, Vol. 2 – Out of […]

Articles by John Vaites