GALLEYWINTER

*Charlie Daniels passed away this morning at the age of 83. The 1970’s in the American south was truly a time of innovation, recognition and acclaim. A Georgia peanut farmer won the White House, Muscle Shoals became the center of the music world, a couple bands from Jacksonville would create and expand an entirely new genre. And there would be a session musician and master of anything with strings from Wilmington, North Carolina named Charlie Daniels that would end up tying all of that transcendence together. Daniels first success as a musician came in the studios of Nashville, but it

“Man, that song sucks!” That was the response I got as I commandeered the state of the art Pioneer cd player in my buddy’s maroon Pontiac Grand Am to play him the brand new Foo Fighters record that had just come out. That was 25 years ago this week. My peer group was comprised of folks who loved 90’s country like Garth, 90’s hip-hop like Snoop and anything heavy metal. Pantera and Metallica were the top two favorites, but we all loved anything heavy and loud. We were also music snobs without knowing what that meant. Our conversations veered all

What a year 2020 has been. All the optimism that abounded on January 1 was lost by Friday March 13. The world stopped and it hasn’t quite gotten back on track since. Throughout it all, the creators and artists have kept on keeping on in the remarkable ways only they know how. In our music scene, live shows have ground to a halt but new music releases haven’t slowed down at all. It’s been an interesting six months of releases. Below you’ll find our favorite 12 albums of the first half of the year. Several artists such as Lori McKenna,

June 26, 2020 6/26/20 In light of Governor Abbott’s announcement this morning shutting down both bars and river outfitters due to the rise in Covid-19 cases, we are announcing that River Jam 2020 is cancelled. The possibility of a rescheduled or postponed date is in play for later this year and we will announce that as soon as possible. Hold on to your tickets if you already purchased, they will be good for any rescheduled shows and refunded at point of purchase if need be. That being said, please keep our venue partners and scheduled musicians in your thoughts. We

Going solo after being in a massively successful band is one of the more difficult propositions in the music business. It has rarely been done with any measure of equal success. Projects from titans like Lennon, McCartney, Henley and Frey jump to mind. Petty delivered Full Moon Fever as a solo project, but it was merely a de facto Heartbreakers album. The most notable example from the Texas/Red Dirt scene is Johnny Chops of the Randy Rogers Band releasing a handful of fantastic rock-infused jams that have built a solid solo brand. Cody Canada’s post-Ragweed deserves consideration in this conversation