A Quick Q & A with Eilen Jewell

In just a few short years, Boise, Idaho-born and Boston-based singer-songwriter Eilen Jewell has been developing quite a reputation on the folk and roots music scene. She is not wedded to any one musical style, and her own music reflects that. Although Jewell continues to pay homage to the folk tradition, she and her band explore some new musical territory on her latest Signature Sounds release, Sea of Tears. Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed a few questions to her recently. [To read Kathy’s Quick Q & A with Eilen Jewell, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingA Quick Q & A with Eilen Jewell

Melissa Greener is a Winner in USA Songwriting Competition

Melissa Greener is the first place winner in the Folk category in the 14th Annual USA Songwriting Competition. The nationally touring folk-rock singer-songwriter, who has called Austin home and currently resides in New York City, won for her song “Bullets to Bite.” [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingMelissa Greener is a Winner in USA Songwriting Competition

Getting to Know… Nels Andrews

Nels Andrews released his first album independently in 2005. But, in that short span of time, the well-traveled, Brooklyn, New York-based singer-songwriter has earned some impressive honors and accolades with his original Americana and folk-rock songs. He’s been a Grassy Hill/Kerrville New Folk Winner, an official showcase artist at this year’s International Folk Alliance Conference, and is among the 24 artists selected to perform in next month’s Emerging Artists Showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. He’s also attracted fans across the U.S. and in Europe, where he is set to tour again in the fall. [To read Kathy Sands-Boehmer's recent interview with Nels Andrews, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingGetting to Know… Nels Andrews

A Quick Q & A with Stevie Coyle

"Stevie Coyle is arguably one of the funniest fingerstyle guitarists known to humankind," asserts Kathy Sands-Boehmer. She cites her recent interview with the San Francisco Bay Area-based artist -- who formerly played with the eclectic string band, The Waybacks, and prior to that was a member of the folk-tribute parody group, The Foremen -- as evidence of that. [To read Kathy's not-so-quick but pretty witty interview with Stevie Coyle, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingA Quick Q & A with Stevie Coyle

Getting to Know… Abi Tapia

Abi TapiaAcousticMusicScene.com featured Abi Tapia in a late-night showcase during the 2008 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference, and I was delighted to introduce her during her first Long Island concert appearance in May. A very talented Americana-style singer-songwriter with a beautiful voice, Tapia will perform at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in Hillsdale, New York in July as one of the emerging artists voted "Most Wanted to Return" by festival-goers last year. Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed a few questions to her recently. [To read Kathy's short Q & A interview with Abi Tapia, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingGetting to Know… Abi Tapia

Quick Q & A with Jenee Halstead

Jenee Halstead, who grew up in Washington State and now lives in Massachusetts, is a gifted singer-songwriter with a beautiful voice. Her self-released debut album, The River Grace, whose sound is rooted in the past yet beckons the progression of Americana, has received considerable airplay by folk radio DJs across the country in recent months. Ethan Baird, a Boston area musician like Jenee, recently posed a few questions to her. [To read the Q & A with Jenee Halstead, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingQuick Q & A with Jenee Halstead

Getting to Know … Chuck E. Costa

Chuck E. Costa, known for his candid and visceral delivery of literate and well-crafted contemporary folk tunes, has been garnering much critical acclaim over the past couple of years. Costa, whose songs were described as “sensitive, introspective… inspired” in The New York Times, won the 2008 Rocky Mountain Folks Fest Songwriting Contest and will again grace the festival’s main stage this August. In 2007, he was finalist in the prestigious Grassy Hill/Kerrville NewFolk competition, as well as a Solarfest (Vermont) songwriting contest winner and Telluride Troubadour third-place winner. A native New Yorker, he returned to the Northeast and has released three independent albums and an EP since graduating from the University of Colorado in 2002. The opening track of his latest, Where The Songs Come From, was featured on a compilation CD released by Hear Music and distributed at Starbucks throughout North America. [Kathy Sands-Boehmer recently posed a few questions to Chuck. To read her interview, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingGetting to Know … Chuck E. Costa

A Quick Q & A with Greg Klyma

Calling Greg Klyma ‘unique’ is not quite adequate. He’s more than unique — all in a good way. His songs resonate with truthfulness, joy, and sadness and remind us all about what it’s like to be human. His vivid lyrics inform us about characters he has met on the road and at home. It’s impossible not to identify with many of them from our own lives. [To read Kathy Sands-Boehmer's recent interview with the self-described "Rust Belt Vagabond," click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingA Quick Q & A with Greg Klyma

A Quick Q & A with Tom Rush

Tom Rush has been captivating audiences with his rich, melodic voice and gently laid-back, rustic brand of folk music since he first burst on the coffeehouse scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts while a student at Harvard in the early 1960s. One of the most acclaimed singer-songwriters of our time, he has both written songs that have been covered by others and introduced the world to other notable artists through his gifted reinterpretations of their work. Kathy Sands-Boehmer posed a few questions to him recently. [To read Kathy's quick Q & A with Tom Rush, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingA Quick Q & A with Tom Rush

A Quick Q & A with AJ Roach

It’s been said that AJ Roach’s music illustrates the blurry line between traditional folk and indie folk. His musical heritage harkens back to the old-time roots of pure and simple Appalachian music, yet there’s a certain edginess that is very evident throughout all of his music, asserts Kathy Sands-Boehmer. She considers that " a great combination." Kathy recently posed a few questions to the Baltimore, Maryland-based singer-songwriter. storyteller and relentlessly touring artist, whose second album, Revelation, reached #1 on the Euro-Americana chart in late 2006, prior to its U.S. release by Waterbug in 2007. AcousticMusicScene.com was pleased to include him in our Midnight Hoot during the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference that year. [To read Kathy's Q & A interview with AJ Roach, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingA Quick Q & A with AJ Roach

A Quick Q & A with David Mallett

His songs -- most notably "The Garden Song" -- have been covered by many artists over the years -- including Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Emmylou Harris, Alison Kraus, Kathy Mattea, and John Denver (with The Muppets). David Mallett also is a gifted singer in his own right, as those who have heard him will readily attest. Kathy Sands-Boehmer recently posed a few questions to the singer-songwriter from Maine, many of whose songs are informed by his own rural small town roots. [To read Kathy's Q & A with David Mallett, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingA Quick Q & A with David Mallett

Q & A with Matt and Shannon Heaton

Guitarist-singer Matt Heaton and Irish flute player-singer Shannon Heaton have been playing music together since 1992, although the two did not begin to focus their creative energies on their duo until 2003. Since then, they have released four albums. Their latest is a collection of traditional love songs and tunes entitled Lovers Well. Kathy Sands-Boehmer recently posed questions to Matt and Shannon. [To read the article, click on the headline.]

Continue ReadingQ & A with Matt and Shannon Heaton