KAFM Music Blog

'Sweet Tennessee Honey', the second release for KAFM favorites Zach Smith and Caitlin Doyle of Nashville based 'Smooth Hound Smith', debuts at number one on KAFM's roots chart.  

And what's not to like?  Dirty country blues, country sway, ballads, sunny syncopation, foot stompin' foot drum, slide guitar, finger picked frets, with a who's who of guest appearances from Natalie Maines, Sarah Jarosz, Noam Pikelny, Eamon McLoughlin, and Jano Rix.

Fast on the heels of the CD release is this video, featuring Zach and Caitlin performing 'Stopgap Woman Blues'.  So grab your cat, dog, significant other, whatever's handy, and turn it up!  



We have got to get these Quick read more or view full article guys to KAFM's 80 seat venue, The Radio Room, and soon! Read Less

Added this week to the new music wall at KAFM: Marlon Williams, with his self titled album Marlon Williams.
From the first track you think you know what the album will be. "Hello Miss Lonesome" features fast picking,
fast vocals, and an overall Americana, nearly bluegrass feel. It certainly draws you in. Yet as the album goes
along, it gets farther and farther from the norm. "Dark Child," the single from the album, is a deeply heartwrenching
anthem, as is "Strange Things." This track though adds a whole new element to the story telling, combining
perfect volume and tone to accentuate the odd and upsetting feeling of the tale. "I'm Lost Quick read more or view full article Without You" has an almost
50's feel, and "After All" and "Silent Passage" completely capture Americana. This album is varied in so many 
ways but is strung together perfectly by William's rich, expressive vocals.

"Each song is a character,” says Marlon Williams of his self-titled solo debut: a remarkably assured and
diverse nine-track tapestry, united by one of the most versatile and evocative voices you’ll hear this or
any other year. “I don’t really ever sing out of character. Even if it’s a very personal song, once it’s written
it doesn’t belong to me.”
(Marlonwilliams.co.nz)

This album absolutely captured me, and I am GREATLY anticipating a tour date in Colorado.


Tori Miner
Music Director Read Less

So from now on I'm going to be showing your our TOP ADDS as well for each chart!
What's a TOP ADD you say? Here's my spiel: 

TOP ADDS  



ROOTS

1 SMOOTH HOUND SMITH  Sweet Tennessee Honey  
2 SAM LEWIS  Waiting On You
3 CHRIS ISAAK  First Comes the Night
4 THE WESTIES  West Side Stories
5 JOHN DEL TORO RICHARDSON  Tengo Blues
6 KING LOUIE AND LARHONDA STEELE  Rock Me Baby
7 JOHNNY RAWLS  Tiger in a Cage
8 BENNY TURNER  When She's Gone
9 RACKY THOMAS  Goin' Home
10 TOMMY Z  Blizzard of Blues
  Read Less

First, The Broncos win Superbowl 50 and now this!?!  It's almost too much.  KAFM programmers supported 'The Lumineers' self titled 2013 debut with airplay very early on, way before they became domestic and international nu-folk sensations.
 
Guitarist and lead vocalist Wesley Schultz had this to say about the bands new album, 'Cleopatra', that will be released April 8th, their second for Dualtone.  “We took the same approach this time as we did with the first album, recording demos in a small house we rented in the original Denver neighbourhood where we first moved. The record is our greatest hits reflecting what’s happened to us over the last three years. We tried to come up with the best Quick read more or view full article possible version of every song, so we recorded a lot of different iterations, changing the tempos, dressing ’em up, stripping ’em down. It took a lot of work to make them sound so easy. We’re very passionate about the process. It was a very intense and beautiful experience. There was a lot of battling, a lot of tears, but some amazing stuff came out, and at the end, we were much better off. It transformed our relationship.”

Check out the first single, 'Ophelia', below....

 

....and keep your dial set to 88.1. We'll discover the best new, emerging artists together. Read Less

Sometimes you just fall in love with a record.
That is exactly what happened to me with Photo Ops new album, Vacation. (Bad Friend Records)

This album is deep and dreamy, full of pop melodies The Beach Boys would applaud. In fact, a lot of the production and vocals sound as if they could have come from Brian Wilson himself, which I believe is one of the highest compliments a pop song could receive. The amount of pain channeled through these songs is immense, almost hidden beneath the gorgeous voice of Terry Price. If you simply listen at the surface of this album, you will undoubtably dance around your house or Quick read more or view full article tap your desk, much to the annoyance of your cubicle mate.
But, give it a second listen. Hear Price's words, and not only will you be dancing, you'll be connecting. Understanding. 
This is certainly a body of work that hits the heart, but it's a good pain. It's the feeling of release.
My favorite tracks are "Memories that Glow," "Maybe We'll Change," "You Could Be Great," "I'd Be Dead," and "To Move On."
I honestly could list every song off the album though, it's magical as a complete work. I do love the Indiana/Chicago reference in "You and Me Driving Cross Country." Nothing like an I-65 reference to remind me of my home state and my 3.5 hour monthly trips up and down that interstate.

I've been listening this album on repeat for a full week now and I simply cannot stop. 

This album enters the KAFM on-air studio this week, so tune in for some spins off of Photo Ops - Vacation


Track List:
1. Once Around the Town Square
2. Old Lullabies
3. I'd Be Dead
4. You Could Be Great
5. Memories That Glow
6. Maybe We'll Change
7. You and Me Driving Cross Country
8. Kathleen
9. To Move On
10. It Isn't Mine


Tori Miner
Music Director Read Less