americana
Live Review: Bluesfest, Byron Bay (14-18 April, 2022)- Despite Covid-19 Cancellations and Devastating Floods – Still Australia’s Best Festival Experience
Following cancellations in both 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 and the devastating floods in Northern New South Wales in March 2022, Bluesfest came back in its’ 33rd iteration, bigger and better than ever. A large contingent of Australian artists were named in the initial artist announcements, with Bluesfest committing to getting the music industry …
Exclusive: Kyle Morgan records Deer In The Pines live in session for Backseat Mafia
In wake wake of the release of his new album ’Younger at most everything’, Queens based singer-songwriter has released a liver version of one of the stand out tracks from the album, Deer in the pines for us her at Backseat Mafia. Taking his usual stripped down acoustic Americana – with a little bit of …
Premiere: Sydney’s Winter Starlings alight with the jangling statuesque single ‘Arise’ and announce launch date.
We are honoured to premiere the new single ‘Arise’ from Sydney group Winter Starlings. ‘Arise’ has a warm veracity with raw and visceral guitars that jangle into the stratosphere, replete with yearning vocals and delicate harmonies. There is a subtle folk/americana in the delivery, a Byrdsian jingle jangle with a Teenage Fanclub pop spine. However, …
Album Review: Ceramic Animal – Sweet Unknown
New signings to Black Keys’ frontman Dan Auerbach’s fledgeling Easy Eye Sound label Ceramic Animal release their new album, ‘Sweet Unknown’, on March 4th. Hailing from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Ceramic Animal’s previous three albums have all been ruggedly self-released DIY efforts, with this, their fourth, being their first foray into outside label-dom. Also produced by Auerbach, …
Live Review: Big Country / Harriet Rose Band, The Picturedrome, Holmfirth, 28.01.2022
A trip to a fantastic venue on Friday. Holmfirth Picturedrome is located in the middle of this countryside town, its a popular spot right next to the river and not your usual type of live concert setting. The room is acoustically excellent and the floor is set on a slope so wherever you stand you …
Premiere: Mark Stevens releases the beautifully wistful Santa Fe
Peterborough based folk singer Mark Stevens is on the verge of releasing his first ever EP, Rodeo, out on Laundry Rooms on January 21st, and from it we’re delighted to premiere the song Santa Fe right here on Backseat Mafia today. We spoke to Mark about the track and he told us “In terms of …
Track: Erin Rae glides into an album and tour in the new year on the psych-country of ‘Candy & Curry’
WITH a sweet, hook-laden but straighter country-pop number, “Modern Woman”, dropping last month, Nashville’s Erin Rae has revealed a more gossamer, delicate psych-folk side to her forthcoming third album in the lighter-than-air “Candy & Curry”, sprinkled with a little retro synth and possessed of a real Margo Guryan harmonic feel; you can swoon for that …
See: North Carolina’s Owen FitzGerald invites you to his outsider country confessional, ‘Bismuth, The Last Gentleman’
HE’S a gentleman of the leftfield country music scene, is Durham, North Carolina’s Owen FitzGerald who, after appearing in the music world as Jokes&Jokes&Jokes awhile, has returned to his ‘government name’ – the name under which he snuck out two fine if lyrically troubled and akimbo albums digitally in 2015, Tight Gyre and Pointer. That …
Premiere: Exclusive stream of the debut album Wild Oak, from Portland singer-songwriter J Nicolás: A collection of Folk-Americana gems
Portland, Oregon singer songwriter J. Nicolás is gearing up for the release of his debut album Wild Oak, and we’re delighted to be able to premiere a stream of the album right here on Backseat Mafia ahead of its release tomorrow. After spending nigh on two decades playing in bands and touring across the country, …
Track: With her British tour kicking off today, Frazey Ford drops the honeyed, spectral folk of ‘Saul’
WITH an eleven-date UK tour beginning this evening in Milton Keynes, former Be Good Tanya and ethereally transporting talent in her own right Frazey Ford has released a track recorded for sessions for U Kin B the Sun but whose omittance from the final running order will surely surprise you as much as it does …