Kristi WootenOct 4, 2019Mixing Keyboard Riffs and Famous FriendsJon Regen's latest album Higher Ground bridges the digital gig economy, with a little help from fellow musicians.
Kristi WootenMay 19, 2019Rocketman is a Bodacious Romp, But Elton John Deserves MoreRocketman opened at the Cannes Film Festival this week: it’s a glorious song-and-dance extravaganza interspersed with fantasy and heartbr...
Kristi WootenMay 2, 2019Rench Speaks Out About Lil Nas X“‘The whole endeavor of trying to maintain some sort of genre purity or resist its evolution and mingling is a ridiculous notion.” Atlant...
Kristi WootenApr 5, 2019HuDost Makes Music for the Sacred and the ProfaneHow the Kentucky duo is using social activism and interfaith messaging to forge a new path for independent rock on its latest album Of Wa...
Kristi WootenFeb 11, 2019Grammys 2019: How Music Reclaimed Its PowerThe four-hour broadcast silenced political division with dynamic performances by three generations of women and proved ‘less dancing, mor...
Kristi WootenFeb 8, 2019Rosanne Cash Opens Up About Her New AlbumThe 63-year-old singer’s dedication to amplifying women’s voices is evident in ten new songs with atmospheric, country-gothic textures.
Kristi WootenDec 7, 2018Women Made the Best Albums of 2018.Female songwriters topped publications’ year-end music polls, but few lists captured the gamut of their ages, genres, and talents. From t...
Kristi WootenNov 30, 2018How Elton John Changed Fear of AIDSThe singer (and part-time Atlantan) paved the way for generations of activists determined to eradicate AIDS for good.
Kristi WootenNov 14, 2018Queen's Brilliance at Live Aid: What Bohemian Rhapsody MissedBohemian Rhapsody, the Queen biopic named after one of the British rock group’s most famous songs, opened in theaters two weeks ago. The ...
Kristi WootenOct 4, 2018Jim Kerr Talks About Simple Minds' Hot New Tour and Top-5 AlbumSimple Minds’ latest album, Walk Between Worlds, pierced the Top 5 on the Official U.K. Album Charts earlier this year, and the band is r...
Kristi WootenOct 3, 2018The Modfather Goes Pastoral AgainPaul Weller is consistently one of the most listenable artists of the past forty years, and his latest album is spot-on. The former Jam a...
Kristi WootenSep 18, 2018Sting and Shaggy's Reggae Party Broke the ATLHe may like his toast done on one side, but Sting’s new tour with Shaggy is crispy all the way around. At Atlanta’s Tabernacle Monday nig...
Kristi WootenJul 9, 2018Florence and the Machine’s New Feminist SensibilityFrom the July 9 2018 issueof The Economist magazine: FLORENCE WELCH has made her name both as a hitmaker and as a kind of strong-willed s...
Kristi WootenJun 22, 2018Digital Design, Analog SoulFrom the June 2018 issue of Keyboard magazine: One of the joys of 21st century life is opening a digital music library and discovering an...
Kristi WootenMay 18, 2018U2 in Atlanta: An Oral HistoryWith the boys from Dublin returning to town in May, two generations of Georgians talk about their experiences with the band. On a muggy M...
Kristi WootenMay 17, 2018An Oral History of U2 in AtlantaU2’s intersections with Atlanta over the years have gone beyond the city as a requisite tour stop.
Kristi WootenMar 22, 2018Singing Your Life with The ZombiesROD ARGENT AND COLIN BLUNSTONE began making music as The Zombies eleven years before I was born. By the time I was riding around in my pa...
Kristi WootenDec 8, 2017Petula Clark’s New Songs Offer Good Advice for 2018Petula Clark’s 1964 song, “Downtown,” burnished modern urban life into a smash hit. In 2017, she’s back at age 85 with new music and lots...
Kristi WootenDec 6, 2017What Happens When We Let Data Decide the Best Music of 2017?For my 2017 list of the Top 50 Best Songs and Top 20 Best Albums, I let my stats on Spotify, YouTube, and Shazam–plus my vinyl purchases–...
Kristi WootenDec 3, 2017What No One Else Will Tell You About the New U2 AlbumWhen music critics focus on confirming or denying the band’s place in music history, they miss the real story of Songs of Experience. I w...
