Hey, it's Mike again, you know the friend of Sarah's from way back who occaisionally fulfills her need for a list of albums because she spends 90,000 hours agonizing over her own. (Do I really like this Andrew Bird album more than this other Andew Bird album?) Ha. I keed. So I did this thing last year, and since I mentioned Paper Route, and Gavin (Paper Route's drummer) tweeted a link to the site, I gave Sarah a bunch of traffic, so she owes me, and that's why you get the:

The first show after the release of A Friend of A Friend was at the Melting Point in Athens, Georgia, and I was there. They went on an hour late -- because, Rawlings said, he was trying to make a set list and eventually just threw up his hands and figured it'd all work out somehow. The result then, and in every tape I've heard and show I've seen since, was something only slightly more formal than a jam session -- which is important.

The trio steps into an old tradition of storytelling and instrument swapping. Genuine Negro Jig is a bonafide bluegrass record; even their cover of 2001 pop hit “Hit ‘Em Up Style” sounds like it’s straight out of a scratchy 1920’s record.

David Eugene Edwards returns with Wovenhand’s fifth studio album, The Threshingfloor. The band’s music, as always, draws on traditional Americana sounds, mixed liberally with influences from Native American, Middle Eastern, and Celtic tradition.