​Memphis Kee (from the album Dark Skies available on Edgewater Music Group) (by Bryant Liggett)
 
Memphis Kee is a man, Memphis Kee is a band. The man was a P.I. and detective, a job that if it doesn’t fuel songwriting means you didn’t have your eyes open. Kee, however, did, and as a band walks the musical line between Austin bar band, Singer/Songwriter Roots and a Southern Americana Red Dirt outfit, their latest in Dark Skies all that and more; Alt Country, Southern Rock, Roots Rock’n’Roll, foregoing the descriptors and just call it all great music.

Things kick off with a little Country mixed a little Blues in the album opener “I’ll Come Running”, a rough around the edges cut. The tone changes quickly, but the toughness remains on the balled “Bewitched”, a stand-out tune thanks to the accompanied croon of Jamie Lin Wilson. Dark Skiescontinues to be gloriously gritty. “With None” is down and dirty, “All the Rest” a power-chord heavy cut that’s thick and hammering while “Black Butterfly” is a nice slice of Rootsy Pop. There’s also some psychedelic exploration in the ballad “Being a Kid” that is delivered as a tender moment between a kid and a dad recounting a day at school, and the closer in “Twenty Dollar Chain” finds the band dropping into Punk mode.

Memphis Kee are a band that won’t be painted into a corner, as they drop Singer/Songwriter ballads and heavy Rock riffs with the same proficiency. (by Bryant Liggett)
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Please visit the Memphis Kee website for more information

​Dana Maragos (from the album Unimaginable Things available as a self-release) (by Danny McCloskey)
What began as a local Chicago release in 2024 is finally receiving a worldwide presence as Dana Maragos offers Unimaginable Things. The collection of songs stands testament to Dana’s clear visions when she translates the emotion she feels into words and music. Her vivid storytelling reflects her own past, current hurdles, and the road ahead while she spins tales that feel familiar as the stories tap into a universal human condition. As Dana Maragos was in the studio for the recording, her brother passed away. The tales in Unimaginable Things mirror her attempt to understand mortality as a whole yet can be traced to her own loss when she ponders existence in “Angel” and feels the weight of memory in “The Playground”.

Introducing “Stella and the Marlboro Man” on confident strums, Unimaginable Things boards a Rock’n’Roll beat to promise “You’re Gonna Get Lost in My Eyes” while it strums Country Folk to support the warmth of “When I Watch You Go”. The familiarity in the vocals of Dana Maragos can be attributed to her delivery that features a directness that immediately demands attention. Dana Maragos cruises on a determined guitar in “What You See” as the Unimaginable Things title track floats on the patter of rhythms to share its thoughts. (by Danny McCloskey)
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​Have Gun, Will Travel (from the album Voyager Golden EP available on New West Records) (by Danny McCloskey)

In 1977, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) sent gold records into space aboard Voyager 1 and 2. The collection contained music as well as greetings, images, and sounds reflective of our planet. The music collected stretched from Bach to Chuck Berry. Have Gun, Will Travel have a release. Golden Voyager E.P., that celebrates the event. 

Musically, Golden Voyager has a diverse offering of songs in its six-track span. Scattered throughout melodies is dialogue from the original space flight command center that helps keep the theme in focus. To begin the song roster, HGWT offers “Instructions for Use (Interstellar Overture)”, the initial how-to guide included to explain how to access the information included on the recordings.
The remaining cuts stay true to the storyline by keeping the overall topic as a goal. Indie Rock stop-and-start chord patterns back the story of “Mission to Nowhere” while “Gravity Blues” hammers home its diagnosis with a Rock’n’Roll backbeat. Electric guitar chords signal the entrance into the jangle of “Save the Sound” as a breeze whistles a clarion call for the stripped back Folk Rock of “Into the Distance”. Exiting Golden Voyager E.P. with the opinions and observations of Have Gun, Will Travel, the band offer soft determined strums to voice their declaration march that “Everything Is Made of Stars”. (by Danny McCloskey)
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Please visit Have Gun, Will Travel website for more information

​The Krickets (from the album If You Only Knew available as a self-release) (by Danny McCloskey)
The theme is love, and the emotion is the muse for every story on If You Only Knew, the recent release from The Krickets. Longing spells out the message sent over the raggedy rhythms of “Away from You” as “Your Light” shines on dark thoughts drawn towards its glow while the beat falls like water dripping down a window pane with “Rain”. The all-inclusive textures support the three-part harmony of The Krickets. The beauty of their combined voices wraps around the songs on If You Only Knew like fine cloth; delicate and graceful as they cover the words and music with color commentary.

Opening If You Only Knew with an thank you, The Krickets realize that love has always been within reach on “Right in Front of Me” as harmonic ooh’s float like mist around the confessions in “These Games”. A slow trudge supports the disclosures of the title track as bright strings satellite around the memories framing the pictures of a lifetime in “Holding On”. Coming together as solo artists supporting a breast cancer group that provides services to the uninsured, the three women (Rachel Grubb, Emily Stuckey Sellers, Lauren Spring) found common ground in causes and harmony. A tongue-in-cheek threat tells the story of “Just a Matter of Time” as a heartbeat defines the rhythm for “What Do You Know About Love” while the wisdom of experience shouts out a request for salvation with “Let Me Be”. (by Danny McCloskey)
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​Steve Forbert (from the album The Things That I See available on Rolling Tide Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
 
Remixed, re-mastered, and retitled, Steve Forbert presents The Things That I See, a sonically updated version of his 2015 release, Compromised. The release celebrates the 10thanniversary of the original, critically acclaimed album. The former title track, “Compromised”, begins the song cycle with a determined stride. Steve Forbert’s unique vocal becomes a light that draws in listeners as the song seeks to find balance in a relationship. An assured stomp is the beat carries Steve Forbert as he shares the story in “When I Get to California” while The Things That I See strips back the playing for the rolling Folk Rock rolling of “Devil (Here She Comes)” and “Time Seemed So Free”.
 
A Rock’n’Roll beat backs the hopes in “Drink Red Wine” as a shrugging rhythm matches the story in “Whatever, Man” while Steve Forbert ponders how things went wrong with “I Don’t Know If You Know It”. The Things That I See revisits the early days of the British Invasion when its title track recalls a fated meeting in “You’d See the Things That I See (The Day John Met Paul)”, jumping ahead a few years to the day the 60’s died at Altamont Speedway with “Welcome the Rolling Stones”. A rattling groove discusses “A Big Comeuppance” as it sways along the good feeling of “Rollin’ Home to Someone You Love”. A bright bounce accompanies Steve Forbert as he covers a cut from the musical A Little Night Music with “Send in the Clowns” as The Things That I See makes an exit strutting with the news that “Ebenezer’s Back in Town”. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
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For more information, please visit the Steve Forbert website
 

​Tommy Womack (from the album Live a Little available on Schoolkids Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
 
Extolling the virtues of “Speed, Weed, and Alcohol” as a way to ‘make sense of it all”, Tommy Womack rides into his recent release, Live a Little with a satchel full of the observations and opinions of a wise elder in the music maelstrom. Produced by Eric Ambel, who refers to the mood and tone of Live a Little as ‘reflective’, the recordings embed a Rock’n’Roll angst into the music that supports Tommy’s songs of wry irony that boast humorous views of life’s pitfalls and successes. A hammering beat propels Tommy Womack as he stands “Underneath the Water Tower Again” while he wears the skin of a “Horny Mormon” and wrangles a Country ramble when he sits high in the saddle to relate a personal resume in “Ten Feet Tall”.
 
Deliberating adopting a provocative stance, Tommy Womack becomes the ‘gun nut’ spinning a tale from the persona of a gun owner in “Just Another Shooting” as he relates his take on life’s experiences with “Waiting for the Punchline”. A shuffling rhythm cruises underneath Live a Little as it travels to “Hoboken”, slowing the beat for the tender admissions of “If I Could, I’d Pay Your Pain to Go Away” as a raucous groove propels the requests in “A Little Helo Here!”. The playing quiets when Tommy Womack sits gazing at the coffin of a friend admitting “I Guess We’re at That Age”, keeping the theme in place as he exits Live a Little with “Funeral Girl”. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
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For more information, please visit the Tommy Womack website
 

​Jenna Nicholls (from the album The Commuter available on Royal Potato Family) (by Danny McCloskey)
 
Channeling rhythms and melodies from early 20th century music and infusing her songs with train travel across the American landscape, Jenna Nicholls collects the words and music into songs for her recent release, The Commuter. Produced by Larry Campbell, the album bounces to the Southwest swing of “No Boots” while it sticks to Folk with hints of Country for “Tie a String”. She tenderly tosses out “Butterfly Kisses” on ukelele strums and quiets to a piano reverie on The Commuter title track.
 
Relocating from an NYC corporate job to the nurturing musical community of New York state’s Hudson Valley, Jenna Nicholls expresses the joy of her decision with every note of The Commuter. Backing her songs with a musical spinning wheel of sounds that use a template of Folk and Americana, Jenna Nichols offers a self-assessment in “Holy Moses” and confides “When A Good Love Goes Away” on a vintage sway. The Commuter wraps “Small Talk” with a Ragtime rhythm and gently spins around the wobbly groove of “All Those Days You Won’t Remember”. Jenna Nicholls confesses “I Lost My Girl from Memphis” on a Western Swing dance beat as she undulates on the revolving rhythms of “You, Me, and the Moon”. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
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For more information, please visit the Jenna Nicholls website
 

​Jared Rabin (from E.P. Clocks Ticking available as a self-release) (by Danny McCloskey)
 
Heads up….no clocks can be heard with either a tick or a tock on the recent E.P. release from Jared Rabin, Clocks Ticking. What can be experienced is four new tracks from the Chicago-based instrumentalist as well as one cover. The E.P begins the song cycle with the E.P. title track. “Clocks Ticking” spins a tale of introspection as Jared Rabin leaves earthly problems behind promising to soar in the song as he watches ‘all the days get washed away by the waves passing time’. Determined chord strums define the rhythms when the Top-Shelf multi-instrumentalist hurries along on a train-track drum beat, using his own words as encouragement to take a moment in “Remind Myself to Breathe”.
 
A caffeinated groove asks questions of an unnamed power as he stands tall in his beliefs, refusing to give up any ground, admitting ‘you can’t change somebody’s perspective who doesn’t want to see’ in “Time Marches”. A funky sway shimmies as Clocks Ticking confides ‘someone’s got to lose so someone else can win…ain’t that the way it’s always been’ as the story tries to find a balance in “Feel the Temperature”. Closing out the E.P., Jared Rabin borrows a tune from Townes Van Zandt letting soft chords and playful picking sparkle as he vows “I’ll Be Here in the Morning”. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
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Duwayne Burnside (from the album Red Rooster available on Lucky 13 Records) (by Danny McCloskey)
 
A lifelong ambassador for the North County, Mississippi Hill-style playing of the Blues, Duwayne Burnside delivers a new release steeped in the musical legacy with Red Rooster. The son of Hill Country Blues foundation stone, R.L. Burnside, Duwayne first learned notes and chords from his father at a young age, a quick study, he soon began backing local club owner Junior Kimbrough and his band The Soul Blue Boys. He honed his skills with a move to Memphis, Tennessee, sitting in with B.B. King, Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, and Albert King. In addition, Duwayne Burnside joined North Mississippi Allstars when they formed, recording and touring with the band since the early 1990’s.
 
On his recent release, Duwayne Burnside’s Blues guitar is the link that connects the lyrical flow of “King” with the hard-edged juke-joint Blues of “Thing Ain’t Going My Way”. Red Roosteropens on an eerie edge with the echoing reverbed notes of “Nightmare Blues” as it confesses “Crazy ‘Bout You”, wrapping the track in the sonic distortion of electric guitar notes. Duwayne Burnside strides a walking beat admitting “Somebody Stole My Girl” as he offers “Tribute” on an assured rhythm and traces a “Circle in the Sky” with sizzling electric guitar notes that duet with his vocals. Red Rooster offers advice on a determined groove for “Nobody Wants You When You’re Down and Out” before Duwayne Burnside exits the album on the front porch jam promise of “Mississippi Here I Come”. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
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For more information, please visit the Duwayne Burnside website
 

​Grant Peeples (from the album Code to Live By available as a self-release) (by Danny McCloskey)
 
A raggedy rhythm signals the beginning of the album when a jug band offers a live recording of “Sunshine State”. The tune is from Grant Peeples, a seventh-generation Floridian, and he lists the reasons his home state stands out from other 49 with wry humor and a clear understanding of where it all went wrong. The track is the opening salvo on Code to Live By, the recent and fourteenth studio album from Grant Peeples. His recordings and live shows stand testament to his role as political humorist when he delivers his clear-eyed observations served up with a wink and a smile. The patter of rhythms and clouds of distorted notes poke at a marching melody as Grant Peeples rises to the pulpit to deliver his sermon on “Slouching Towards Bethlehem” while memories swirl around Code to Live By for “Little Island” and a poem tells a horror story of contemporary life in the U.S.A. as it reads from “The Ledger”.
 
Breezy finger-picking sparkles as a background for “Right This Time” as Code to Live By tells the tale of a railroad man in “Some Times” and touches “Something Else” with a Latin texture in its plucked notes and scratchy beat. Singing a tribute to fellow Floridian Jimmy Buffet, Grant Peeples jumbles the words for Jimmy’s “A Pirate Looks at Forty” with “An Artist Looks at Eighty”. A low rumble surrounds the words of “Sins of the Fathers” with dark clouds of sound while a dreamy drifting Jazz rhythm floats underneath Grant Peeples as he speaks his truths to close out Code to Live By with the title track. (by Danny McCloskey)
 
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For more information, please visit the Grant Peeples website