They are all over Lanzarote: When we first came to live here, five years ago now, they somehow seemed to be telling us not to come too close, as they stood in spiky clusters by the roadside. These long, four-metre stalks tilt at a 45 degree angle on hillsides; in their sparse little clusters they are the closest the island gets to a forest.
come walk with us,… from ireland to Lanzarote, to Reading and North to Hot (Manchester) Biscuits to rapping, brainstorming . Join with folk on the move.
the book takes readers on an evocative journey through John Prine’s Chicago.
every time I visit Jameos del Agua I skip down the marvellous outside stair way to walk beside the pool and up a slight incline to the entrance to the theatre, (or, perhaps more correctly, mouth of the cave !) and as I step over the threshold into this natural phenomenon of a theatre I am always so overwhelmed by its grandeur that for a few moments I forget that in a couple of hours time I will be heading back up that outdoor stairway, a slow, tired and wary old man.
When Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon arrived in Philadelphia in November 1763, no one would have recognized them apart from the other passengers on the ship. However, after their five-year stay in the American colonies, their names are forever remembered with the border that separates Pennsylvania from Maryland and the other surrounding states. Most importantly for scientists and geographers around the country and world, when Mason and Dixon were surveying the line, they measured the first degree of latitude in North American and made the first scientific gravity measurements recorded across the Atlantic Ocean.
SXSW is as big or small as you make it, and there’s always something happening worth seeing. We had four people with diverse tastes covering the music at this year’s SXSW—though I think at least three of us had Swedish indie-rock quartet Girl Scout in our favorites. But below are our personal picks. That many of these are from High Noon at High Noon—the Paste showcase presented by Ilegal Mezcal—is mostly due to our initial booking of the bands we most wanted to see going in, and the fact that we all spent a lot of time there. Here, in alphabetical order, are our favorite acts from SXSW 2023.
While the singer recently gave fans a look into her life’s story with a new Netflix documentary, we over here at American Songwriter wanted to look back at her discography for ourselves. Though Twain has no shortage of record-shattering hits, let’s look at just a few of the tracks that didn’t soar up the charts – though are just as deserving of a spot on your playlist.
Last weekend, when I sent details of my Hot Biscuits mix-cloud programme for the week I also included details of a couple of jazz albums that had caught my attention of new albums by emerging artists that might attract a few of Sidetracks And Detours´readers as well as my radio audience. I was pleased to see that Norm had published a piece about these albums immediately on receipt, and had also e mailed Dominic, who had provided me with that information. Dominic immediately responded to Norm and thanked him and offered to include Sidetracks and Detours on all his mailing lists in future. This is how synergies are formed, and audiences are built !
Spanning several decades of the American experience, One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer tells three tales of Hooker’s storied life through the perspective of those who lived within his massive orbit, weaving textured and interpretative stories that rise to the lofty creative heights of his music and fall to the gritty reality of trying to thrive in several unforgiving eras.
A conversation confirmed Crowell and Tweedy were a mutual admiration society, and Tweedy suggested Crowell should come to Chicago sometime and do some recording at the Loft, Wilco’s Windy City rehearsal space and private studio. Crowell took Tweedy up on the offer, and the result was 2023’s The Chicago Sessions.
SIDETRACKS & DETOURS: 7 / 12 / 25 classical, jazz, folk, rock, americana; songwriters & invisible angels7th December 2025 - 7:00 am
SIDETRACKS & DETOURS Pass It On 2/11/2025 Jenny Bray, Nash and Asher, Opus 222nd November 2025 - 7:00 am
A LITTLE BUNDLE OF SUMMER. sidetracks & detours 3rd September 2025 featuring Jazz Artist, Jenny Bray. Broadcaster and writer, Steve Bewick, Expo Folk and Sound Roots3rd September 2025 - 7:00 am