Wayne Bledsoe

• Bledsoe: 'Dolly' box helps affirm Parton as music great Published 10/30/2009 at 6:06 p.m.

  It seems as if Dolly Parton is as much legend as a real human being. She's a classic American rags-to-riches story, a personality that's bigger than life - even when her hair isn't hampering air traffic. And while she's worked ...

• Bledsoe: Music is the therapy for tragedy for music vet Dave Alvin Published 10/23/2009 at 5:29 p.m.

  Dave Alvin calls his current band, Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women, "one of the most amazing bands" he's ever worked with. Yet, the circumstances of the group have been bookended by tragedies.

• Bledsoe: Avett Brothers' big-label break not their best Published 10/09/2009 at 6:01 p.m.

  There's a lot riding on the Avett Brothers' "I & Love & You." The release takes the scrappy North Carolina band from being one of the best acoustic underground acts in Americana music to an act that just might give ...

• Bledsoe: The Gourds still grow outside confines of music biz Updated 10/08/2009 at 12:27 p.m.

  The Gourds are just about the most joyous group of contrarians in music. Try to describe them and you’re stuck. It’s a little country, little folky, a little old-timey and a little progressive. There are elements of Tex-Mex, Cajun, rock, ...

• Bledsoe: Robert Earl Keen satisfies; Mark Mulcahy tribute is fascinating Published 09/25/2009 at 5:20 p.m.

  There are few more personable voices in music than that of Robert Earl Keen. A contemporary of Lyle Lovett (the two wrote the great "The Front Porch Song" while they were both students at Texas A and M) and championed ...

• Bledsoe: Rarities shine in new'Nuggets' Published 09/20/2009 at midnight

  Ever since Lenny Kaye compiled the first "Nuggets" albums in 1972, garage rock has enjoyed a little extra (and deserved) credibility.

• Bledsoe: Black Crowes are hot on 'Frost' Published 09/13/2009 at midnight

  "Before the Frost ...," "... Until the Freeze," The Black Crowes (Silver Arrow)

• Bledsoe: Royal Bangs bring on the noise, bring on the fuzz on 'Let It Beep' Published 09/04/2009 at 5 p.m.

  It's loud. It's noisy. It is in love with distortion. This is Royal Bangs' new album "Let It Beep." The Knoxville band's first new recording since signing with Audio Eagle Records (owned by Patrick Carney of the Black Keys) is ...

• Bledsoe: Quirky pop band has the ingredients for fun Published 08/30/2009 at midnight

  The hardest music to describe is something that uses elements that shouldn't work together, but somehow do. Convincing someone to listen to "Aim and Ignite," the debut album from trio fun. is a little like trying to convince someone to ...

• KSO's Richman wrote 'Streetcar' score Published 08/30/2009 at midnight

  Knoxville Symphony Orchestra director and conductor Lucas Richman never offered to write music for "A Streetcar Named Desire."

• Bledsoe: Write it in stone to make it last Published 11/08/2009 at midnight

  The Apocalypse is on the way. At least that's what some folks want us to believe. The Mayan 5,000-year calendar comes to an end in the year 2012. Forget that the Mayans seemed to think something good might happen then. ...

• Bledsoe: Chesnutt ups the ante with two new discs Updated 11/06/2009 at 3:12 p.m.

  It's a little puzzling why Vic Chesnutt and two record companies chose to release two new Chesnutt albums a little more than a month apart, but call it an embarrassment of riches. Chesnutt is one of America's most individual singer-songwriters, ...

• Artist Wessell Anderson emphasizes the lost element in jazz Published 11/06/2009 at midnight

  Jazz is an art, but jazz saxophone great Wessell Anderson says an essential part of the art is often lost — entertainment. "This music is fun,” says Anderson, talking on his cell phone from East Lansing, Mich. “People used to ...

• Songwriters provide the spirit in Band of Heathens Published 11/05/2009 at 3:34 p.m.

  There are few rock groups that contain three lead singer-songwriters, but Band of Heathens co-lead singer-songwriter Colin Brooks says this might be the perfect time for it. The group has been on a roll lately, with an album that became ...

• For April Verch, the fiddle better get you on your feet Published 11/05/2009 at 1:42 p.m.

  Most of us don't know what we want for lunch when we're 3 years old. April Verch knew what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She wanted to be a fiddler.

• Malcolm Holcombe still knows how to get ‘a grin or two’ Updated 11/05/2009 at 6:02 p.m.

  Malcolm Holcombe has been busy. “My wife keeps me off the couch pretty regular,” says Holcombe, in a call from his home in Swannanoa, N.C. “We went to Dollywood for the first time the other day. I think Dolly did ...

• Bruce Bruce at Auditorium Published 11/04/2009 at 6:08 p.m.

  Homecoming comedy show Friday to feature Bruce Bruce, Dominique and Steve Brown

• Dierks Bentley: Making every second count Published 10/29/2009 at 12:16 p.m.

  Dierks Bentley has had to re-think his view of music over the past few years. He says it was hearing Hank Williams Jr.'s song "Man to Man" that affected him.

• JJ Grey speaks philosophically of life in rural Florida Published 10/29/2009 at noon

  A talk about songwriting with John "JJ" Grey may start simply, but it quickly veers into the philosophical. Grey leads the band Mofro and writes songs that reflect his upbringing in a rural area of Jacksonville, Fla., and an outlook ...

• Jonathan Tyler sets sail after a year of being three sheets to the wind Published 10/29/2009 at 11:44 a.m.

  The photograph on the cover of Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights' album "Hot Trottin'" is dramatic. A cigarette dangles precariously from Tyler's lips. The stem of the cigarette is only ash down the filter and the disheveled Tyler seems ...

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