California's Own Ismay Paints the Landscape of Americana-Folk Music with Rich, Earthy Hues. California's golden vistas carry the reverberations of a heartfelt tone, which the mountains softly reflect. Avery Hellman, better known by their stage name Ismay, is an engaging folk/Americana musician whose music beautifully reflects the spirit of her native California. As early as 2020, publications like American Songwriter and No Depression were raving about the...

Some songs are like a time machine. You press play, and suddenly you’re somewhere else, some other time. Maybe it’s a smoky bar in the 1970s, a sweaty punk club in the 80s, or, in the case of “Oh Denise,” the new single from Ken Woods and The Old Blue Gang, a dusty dancehall on the outskirts of Austin, Texas, sometime in the not-too-distant past. The...