Shannon McNally – The Ardmore Music Hall – Ardmore, PA – May 11, 2017 – photo by Jim Rinaldi © 2017 Shannon McNally Gets Her Irish Up by Jay S. Jacobs It’s hard to believe that Shannon McNally has been flying under the radar for about 20 years now. A strong-voiced songstress with a love of musical variety, she was signed up by Capitol Nashville in 1997 while still playing coffee houses and attending Franklin and Marshall College. Her acclaimed debut album Jukebox Sparrows was

Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt – Scottish Rite Auditorium – Collingswood, New Jersey – January 26, 2017 – Photo by Chris Sikich © 2017 Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt – Scottish Rite Auditorium – Collingswood, New Jersey – January 26, 2017 On Thursday, January 26, the Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood resonated with the sounds of two of the premiere voices in music – Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt. Alternating between each other on lead vocals, their acoustic guitars and stories fi

Steve Earle – WXPN XPoNential Music Festival – Wiggins Waterfront Park & Marina – Camden, NJ – July 23, 2016 – Photo by Chris Sikich © 2016 Steve Earle With a Little Help From His Friend by Jay S. Jacobs If you think of the term “cult artist,” chances are you will picture Steve Earle.  Earle broke out of Nashville in the late-1980s, releasing critically acclaimed and best-selling albums like Guitar Town and Copperhead Road.  However, Earle was always a bit too rock and roll a

Ronstadt Generations Ronstadt Generations Rooted In Family By Mark Mussari “Though leaves are many,” the Irish Poet William Butler Yeats once observed, “the root is one.” Sit down to talk with the members of Ronstadt Generations — Michael J. Ronstadt and his sons Michael G. and Petie — and you’ll feel the strength of their roots in Tucson, Arizona. In the late 1980s, Linda Ronstadt — the family’s most celebrated member and Michael J.’s older sister — explored the family’s Mex