Sean Smith is an Executive Vice President at the Recording Academy and a freelance writer. He writes on music, culture and fatherhood, with a focus on the revival of traditional country, western, and folk music. Follow him on Instagram @saddle_mountain.
Seismic shifts in music — the kind that reverberate across the social landscape to reveal something essential about the moment, that challenge a dominant narrative, or herald the start of a new era — often rumble the ground for a while before the cultural gatekeepers start to feel it. When the shaking can no longer be ignored, the movement is…
With the release of an album documentary by filmmaker Keenan O’Reilly, and a new set of shows this summer, singer/songwriter Riddy Arman is enjoying an extended run of momentum ignited by her powerful debut album. It’s no wonder: Arman’s 2021 self-titled collection contains one gut-wrenching gem after another, her voice like a cello, narrating weary, leathery, patient stories drawn from…
The cover photo on Ian Noe’s exceptional new album, River Fools and Mountain Saints, is like a still life image. Noe is sitting on a stool in a cinder block basement surrounded by old jars, bottles and other artifacts of an earnest, hardscrabble life. It’s a fitting choice given that the songs on the record — sparse, unvarnished close-ups of…
