The statesmanly Will Oldham, in all his many, many guises (iterations of Palace, Superwolf, Bonnie “Prince” Billy) has been as steady as a steady rock in the world of folk for nearly two decades, and his work both in music and in a variety of other multimedia ventures (you seen his Kanye video with Zach Galifianakis?) has made him one of the most far-reaching presences in the industry. And now he’s used his clout not only to conduct an epic interview with R. Kelly, but to enlist his new relationship with Emmett Kelly of the Cairo Gang to produce “Island Brothers,” a 7” devoted to Haiti in which all proceeds benefit water purification for those affected by last year’s earthquake. With so much to talk about, we called up Mr. Oldham for a lengthy chat—this, Part One, focuses on his encounters with celebrity interviewing, and, coming next week, Part Two will go into detail on the Island Brothers/Edge Outreach charity mission and how you can help (hint: buy this). more ›

Next week, Merle Haggard, undoubtedly one of country music's great legends will take the stage at the Paramount Theater downtown. Haggard's backstory is the kind that inspires, well, good country songs. Raised in a no-frills Great Depression-era household in Bakersfield, he found himself in and out of trouble as a young man, eventually landing in prison. At San Quinton. It was there that he watched Johnny Cash perform (three times), and decided to focus on his songwriting pipe dream. He earned his diploma and performed with the prison band for years before his release in 1960, which he has described as being "One of the loneliest feelings I've ever had." Luckily for him, his incredible voice and visionary approach to country music, which incorporated electric telecasters and revolutionized the country rebel image, earned him 38 #1 hits, several Grammys and Country Music Awards, Hall of Fame honors and an official pardon for past crimes from Ronald Reagan. more ›

Saturday night at Stubb's will likely be awfully warm (the forecast shows around 90 degrees), but it's worth braving the August heat for this strong of a bill. For reasons unknown to us, Rufus Wainwright and Neko Case are both playing at Stubb's, a venue that either performer could likely play on their own. Rufus Wainwright is the moody, theatrical brother in the musical Wainwright clan, which includes father Loudon Wainwright III, sister Martha,... more ›

Now that we're in mid-January, club bookings for winter and spring shows are beginning to emerge. While much internet browsing has already been done looking for the SXSW 2007 lineup, there are also plenty of great touring shows dropping in outside of those dates (thankfully). New shows from The Roots, Explosions In The Sky, Midlake, and a Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard double bill top the new additions, but there is plenty here for all musical... more ›

Well, I posted the last of my guest previews last night, and I want to once again thank John, JD, Jeff, Chris and Becky for helping me out this year. Together they wrote 28 previews for me, and I wouldn't have been able to finish the site without their help. Well... it's not actually finished left, I have six previews left to write. While I work on those, here's an additional set of previews... more ›

Verdict: Well done, and great for Bob's followers. Expect KGSR to play this to death. more ›

List compiled from Waterloo Records and other sources more ›