americana

National Folk Festival winner of the 2008 Lis Johnston Award for vocal excellence, Ange Takats' voice has been described as Joan Baez meets Gillian Welch. Her debut album Aniseed Tea tells stories of knitting, longing and lovely Irishmen. Born in Sydney but now based on the Sunny Coast, Ange somehow managed to begin her musical journey in Bangkok where she was based for two years as a foreign correspondent.

While Kurt Wagner’s role as bandleader in seminal soul/country/folk collective Lambchop sees him deal in multiple shades of deep-orange warmth, Cortney Tidwell’s solo career is often shaded by a kind of icy detachment; an engaging, beautiful coldness. At first glance they might not seem the most natural fit for an album of country takes from the 60s and 70s, but look a little deeper and Invariable Heartache makes perfect sense.

The Felice Brothers are a folk rock/country rock band from upstate New York founded in 2006. It is comprised of the five main members Ian Felice (lead vocals, guitar, piano), David Turbeville (drums, vocals), James Felice (accordion, piano, organ), and Christmas (bass), previously a traveling dice player. They have been joined by Farley, a washboard player and fiddler, and others who at times had a horn section to the band. The brothers are from the Catskill Mountains of New York. They hail from Palenville, NY, twenty minutes from Woodstock.

Writing a concise biography of Chris Altmann is hard. It’s hard to pin him down. Perhaps “Multi-instrumentalist” is the most fitting description, but that doesn’t allow for his other artistic facets; he’s also a songwriter, a performer, a band leader, a collaborator, and a session musician. “Multi-talented” may be a better depiction. Altmann has been fascinated with music since he was old enough to reach the keys on a piano.