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Boston-based musician, Mark Erelli, is known for both his songwriting acumen and his ability to bring that talent to co-writing sessions with other recordings artists, like Catie Curtis and Red Molly. But for his latest single, “A Little Kindness,” Erelli turned to a different type of collaborative counterpoint: the memory of the late Hall of Fame musician, Tom Petty. 

Southern California-based singer-songwriter, M. Ward, has lucid dreams. He has recurring visions while sleeping, and the most prevalent one, he says, is a dream about a tsunami raging at a “comfortable” distance away. 

The dream, says Ward, who will release his latest LP, Migration Stories, April 3rd, has shown up in his songs, including the dreamy-jangly track, “Unreal City,” on his new release. The song, which is about a fictitious place, speaks to a blend of paradise and paranoia prevalent in Ward’s work. 

The New Jersey-based dynamo pedal steel player, Robert Randolph, who was recently nominated for his 6th Grammy Award for his 2019 LP, Brighter Days, is a member of many prestigious musical lineages. And a piece of each shows up in the standout moments on the songwriter’s latest record, which is up for Best Contemporary Blues Album at this year’s show. 

In many ways, Los Angeles-based musician, Ethan Gruska, considers himself a creator of collages more than he does a songwriter. And perhaps this is most evident on the second track of his forthcoming album, EN GARDE (out Jan. 24th).

The song, “Nervous System,” first began as a lark, an ambient bit of music made with a friend. But as EN GARDE progressed, the track soon became an essential aspect to the album – it’s credits, so to speak – emblematic of its quintessential collaborative essence. 

Andy Dunnigan, front man for the Montana-based Bluegrass band, The Lil Smokies, thinks the genre he loves is on the verge of something significant. While mountain string bands may not be the first to top most contemporary charts, Dunnigan thinks that’s evolving, changing. That the comradery and harmony offered in the music is pushing it center stage and, if it continues to grow, people will continue to listen. 

It is odd to think that a major rock band had to be brought out of its shell. That, at least according to Brian Aubert, is exactly happened with Silversun Pickups.

Aubert, front man for the Los Angeles-based alternative rock band, explained that the group honed it’s signature distorted-yet-bright vibe in its early days from being inside intimate venues. That the SSPU sound wasn’t coaxed out in a marathon rehearsal or songwriting session but from playing live in front of small audiences in intimate local clubs.