These days, that familiar expression, “What’s old is new again” seems especially apt. Communal combos like the Punch Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, and Donna the Buffalo have proven that axiom time and time again by combining a traditional sensibility and reverence for their roots with a modern, energized approach that’s…

The city of Hialeah is known for many things — its large Latin population, a rich history, and streets that are numbered seemingly without regard to the rest of Miami Dade County, making it easy to lose your way if you’re not a local. Now however, it has another attraction…

The 2016 Virginia Key Grassroots Festival returns to South Florida for the fifth year in a row, and it once again promises a wide array of headlining artists, both local and national. Next year’s gathering will take place February 18 through the 21 in its familiar locale midway between Downtown…

Though he had made several albums, become a regular on the coffeehouse circuit in his native Hawaii, and attained the status of a popular concert draw in Japan, ukulele player Jake Shimabukuro was virtually unknown as far as the rest of the world was concerned. Then a YouTube video of…

Dee Dee Bridgewater could be considered a renaissance woman. Born Denise Eileen Garrett, she’s gained fame on Broadway, in concert, and on vinyl, winning three Grammys and a Tony in the process. She hosts her own radio show on PBS, JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater, and serves as a United…

With the plethora of themed musical cruises popping up practically every day, it was inevitable that an established band like the Moody Blues should jump on the proverbial bandwagon — or in this case, the luxurious cruise ship, the NCL Pearl — and host an outing of their own. “The…

Despite the constant influx of new music themed cruises, there’s an upcoming outing that ought to find favor with folks who maybe have been reticent to get their feet wet with any offering so far. In effect, it allows passengers to wet their gullets instead. That would be the forthcoming…

When an excursion identifies itself as a “Cruise to the Edge,” it doesn’t exactly bode well for its final destination. But when the voyage is also identified with a band like Yes, whose work include the album from which the cruise takes its name, Close to the Edge, suddenly the…

It’s hard to put a handle on Brendan O’Hara. For one thing, he rarely sits still. A bundle of irrepressible energy, he’s constantly on the move, both physically and philosophically. A Miami native, he’s been travelling the country for the better part of a millennium while sharing his music and…

When, in 1966, Bob Lind scored a major pop hit with his song “Elusive Butterfly,” few realized that he was also helping to plow the course for an entirely new genre that would soon be known as “folk rock.” Nearly fifty years on, Lind remains as prolific as ever, having…

Forget the fact it’s been nearly 30 years since Howard Jones wrote the songs that made him a radio staple. With a string of chart triumphs including tracks such as “New Song,” “Life in One Day,” “Like to Get to Know You Well,” “No One Is to Blame,” “Hide and…

Anyone who happened to catch the enormously hilarious 2003 film A Mighty Wind could hardly be blamed for having a somewhat stilted view of folk music. In the film’s parodied reality, the genre was presented as a maudlin, over zealous form of fanciful musical expression suited mainly to aging hipsters in…

In the minds of many, the Eagles were the first band to successfully fuse the strains of country music with the relentless appeal of rock ‘n’ roll. In truth, that’s a false assumption, one that runs contrary to pop music realities. Let’s begin with a little history lesson. Chapter 1:…

From the moment Jim Camacho and his brother John came onto the scene with the band the Goods in the late ’80s and early ’90s, he’s been a steady presence in South Florida music. Aside from releasing a series of nearly flawless solo albums, he’s continued to spread his wings,…