Alt-Country
Governors Ball 2021 Day 1: The 5 Best Things We Saw
It was just a few months ago that Foo Fighters welcomed back live music in New York City with their Madison Square Garden show, and that already feels like a lifetime ago. If that was the city healing, the return of Governors Ball is NYC thriving. The festival kicked off its 10th anniversary celebration on Friday night, beckoning the throngs of music-hungry youths to its new location at Citi Field. The parking lot setting is a far cry from the barely-accessible Randall’s Island of years’ past, and frankly that’s a good thing. There was already enough anxiety about being in such massive throngs once again (checked for vaccinations and negative tests though they were) without worrying about cramming onto a bus or missing the last ferry to get off the island. That relative ease compared to ye...
Governors Ball 2021 Day 1 Live Gallery: Portugal. The Man, EARTHGANG, Future Islands and More
Governors Ball kicked off its 10th anniversary celebration on Friday, September 24th. After a year when all music festivals were furloughed due to the pandemic, it was glorious to see New York City’s premiere live music event return — even if it was in a new location at Citi Field. Headlined by Billie Eilish, Day 1 of Gov Ball 2021 saw electric sets from Bartees Strange, Orville Peck, Leon Bridges, Future Islands, Portugal. The Man, Freddie Gibbs, EARTHGANG, and many more. We may not have been able to catch all the incredible music that hit the stages throughout the day, but you can see what we saw by checking out this photo gallery from Consequence’s own Ben Kaye and Perry Froelich. Stay tuned for more daily galleries from the fest, plus catch our complete photo collection and portra...
Orville Peck Shares Cover of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”, Announces 2021 “Summertime Tour”
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-06-04T18:18:41+00:00“>June 4, 2021 | 2:18pm ET Cult country artist Orville Peck has unveiled his cover of Lady Gaga’s 2011 hit, “Born This Way”. The track was recorded for Gaga’s upcoming reimagined version of Born This Way in celebration of the 10th anniversary of her sophomore album. Officially titled “Born This Way (The Country Road Version)”, the cover features Peck giving it his own twist while largely staying true to the original lyrics. However, he does add an extra flair to the breakdown while singing, “If I wanna make it country, baby, it’s okay/ I was born, I was born, I was born this way/ From London, Paris, Japan, back to USA/ I was born on the road, I was born...
Amigo the Devil Digs Further Into His Own Voice on Born Against: Review
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-15T22:13:59+00:00“>April 15, 2021 | 6:13pm ET The Lowdown: Amigo the Devil is back with his second full-length album, Born Against, the follow-up to his acclaimed 2018 debut, Everything Is Fine. The Austin-based artist also known as Danny Kiranos has been winning over fans with his unique dark Americana vibe that pairs clever storytelling with an infectious musical soundtrack. While Amigo continues to tackle the macabre subjects that were featured on his first LP, Born Against offers a more introspective look at the dark side of the world. The Good: There’s not one single genre that can apply to Amigo the Devil, and that’s a good thing. While his music is deeply rooted in folk, h...
Amigo the Devil Shares New Song “Murder at the Bingo Hall”: Stream
Dark Americana artist Amigo the Devil has returned with another chilling tale, “Murder at the Bingo Hall”. The track is from the Austin singer-songwriter’s forthcoming sophomore album, Born Against, arriving April 16th. Once again, Amigo the Devil assumes the role of a grim storyteller, weaving a tongue-in-cheek tale of bloodshed in the most unlikely of places. As the temper of the paranoid bingo-playing protagonist grows fiercer with each passing number, the song careens to a climactic, violent conclusion. Amigo the Devil, aka Danny Kiranos, has become one of Americana’s rising acts thanks to his brand of entertaining narrative songwriting. Think Marty Robbins’ Gunfighter Ballads channeled through the grim post-modernism and black humor of Breaking Bad. Holding to the folk-music conventio...
Here’s an Exclusive Look at Sturgill Simpson’s Sound & Fury Graphic Novel
When Sturgill Simpson released Sound & Fury back in 2019, it wasn’t just one of the best albums of that year, it created a whole world. The record was paired with a Netflix anime film of the same name, showcasing the visual styles of Jumpei Miszusaki, Takashi Okazaki, Kôji Morimoto, and other animators to depict a post-apocalyptic corporate hellscape. Now, a new graphic novel is set to reveal how the greed of Slick and Slim’s 1,000 Likes Corporation brought about the world of Sound & Fury and the wrath of the mysterious samurai driver. Coming via Z2 Comics (the same folks behind the recently announced Blondie graphic novel), the graphic novel was written by acclaimed comic writers Jason Aaron (Avengers vs X-Men, Thor, Southern Bastards) and Ryan Cady (MAGDALENA, Infinite Dark). An ...
The Avett Brothers Perform “I Go To My Heart” on Fallon: Watch
On Thursday night, The Avett Brothers supported their new album The Third Gleam, with an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. For their performance of “I Go To My Heart”, the trio of Seth and Scott Avett and Bob Crawford appeared remotely from a balcony inside of the Belk Theater in Charlotte, North Carolina. Catch the replay below. The Avett Brothers are also offering a behind-the-scenes look of their Fallon performance on our Instagram page. Head here to follow along. Released back in August 2020, The Third Gleam serves as the third installment in the band’s ongoing Gleam series, following the initial Gleam EP from 2006 and the 2008 Second Gleam project. To continue the spirit of these releases, The Avett Brothers revisit...
Cartalk Announces Debut Album Pass Like Pollen, Shares “Las Manos”: Stream
Cartalk is the indie rock project of Los Angeles musician Chuck Moore (they/them), and today they’ve announced their debut album, Pass Like Pollen. You may not know who Cartalk is just yet, but chances are many of your favorite indie artists probably do. The forthcoming record was produced by Sarah Tudzin, a.k.a. Illuminati Hotties, and it features numerous contributions from musicians that have also worked with Lucy Dacus, Vagabon, Runnner, and more. Collin Pastore (boygenius, Julien Baker) mixed the record, and it was mastered by Jett Galindo (Neil Young, Nile Rodgers) at the LA institution The Bakery. Those are some pretty tall endorsements for a debut album, but Moore’s songwriting exceeds the hype. Four of the album’s nine songs, including today’s “Las Manos”, have tri...
R.I.P. Justin Townes Earle, Singer-Songwriter Dies at 38
Singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle has died at the age of 38. “It is with tremendous sadness that we inform you of the passing of our son, husband, father and friend Justin,” read a statement posted to the musician’s social media. “So many of you have relied on his music and lyrics over the years and we hope that his music will continue to guide you on your journeys.” A cause of death was not immediately made available. Justin Townes Earle was the son of country legend Steve Earle, who named him after his own musical mentor, Townes van Zandt. The father and son had a complicated relationship; Steve left Justin’s mother when he was only two years old. After Steve got sober, however, Justin returned to live with his father and became immersed in Nashville’s music scene. As a teenager, Jus...
Orville Peck Unleashes New Show Pony EP: Stream
Orville Peck has finally dropped his new Show Pony EP. The effort was originally due out earlier this year, but Peck postponed the release so as not to distract from the Black Lives Matter protests. The six-track project is highlighted by a so-called “dream come true” duet with country legend Shania Twain, aptly titled “Legends Never Die”. There’s also a cover of the Bobbie Gentry classic “Fancy”, as well as early original singles “Summertime” and “No Glory in the West”. Show Pony is Peck’s second-ever project following last year’s Pony debut album, which earned the masked alt-country star widespread critical acclaim. It also comes a month after his cover of Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy”, released in honor of Pride month. Editors’ Picks Stream Show Pony below via Apple Music an...
The Chicks’ Gaslighter Galvanizes The Trio’s Long-Awaited Return: Review
The Lowdown: The most infamous act in country music, The Chicks (formerly known as the Dixie Chicks), stopped releasing new music 14 years ago, after their seventh album, Taking the Long Way, netted five Grammys. These included Album of the Year, plus Record of the Year and Song of the Year for “Not Ready to Make Nice”, which settled any lingering questions about whether they regretted their 2003 criticism of George W. Bush (they did not). Gaslighter marks the trio’s official return, and a lot has changed, both in the surrounding world and in the sound of The Chicks’ music. But some crucial elements remain the same: their attention is firmly focused ahead of them and on the things they care for. In the songs that focus on deteriorating relationships, and notably lead singer Natalie Maines’...
The Chicks Perform “March March”, Talk Dropping “Dixie” on Colbert: Watch
When the pandemic hit and lockdown was initiated, Stephen Colbert was forced to abandon the iconic Ed Sullivan Theater. His last guests scheduled to appear at the New York City landmark were the then-named Dixie Chicks, but they were understandably bumped in favor of CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta. On Thursday night, the group now called just The Chicks were finally able to make up that missed appearance on The Late Show with a remote performance of “March March” and a discussion about their new moniker. Asked why they’d chosen now to drop “Dixie” from their name, lead singer Natalie Maines said a change was always in the works. “Well, it’s because of everything that’s going on in the world. It was about time; we’ve wanted to change it for a long time, actually,” she explaine...
