No Depression No. 76: Surveying the Past, Present, and Future of American Music

From its debut in 1995 as a 32-page quarterly magazine to its zenith ten years later as a 180-page bimonthly, No Depression magazine grew from humble beginnings. It became the most prominent publication covering American roots music, starting from the point where country combined with rock 'n' roll and tracing the common bonds through genres that include bluegrass, folk, blues, gospel, soul, jazz, indie, Cajun, conjunto, and beyond. Along the way, No Depression grew to be acknowledged as one of the finest music magazines ever published, often compared to the 1960s origins of Rolling Stone or the 1970s heyday of Creem, receiving awards from the Utne Reader, ASCAP, and the International Country Music Conference, and cited by the Chicago Tribune in 2004 as one of the nation's Top 20 magazines in any category. In early 2008, No Depression announced that its May-June issue, ND #75, would be its finale as a bimonthly magazine. To ward off the disappearance of No Depression in print, the University of Texas Press stepped into the vacuum, arranging for a new semiannual ND ''bookazine'' to be published each fall and spring. The first installment--to be called No Depression #76, reflecting continuity with the magazine's history--will be issued this fall and will carry on the publication's tradition of outstanding long-form writing about major and influential American roots musicians, along with quality photographs and other elements all presented via the graphic design imprint of ND art director Grant Alden. This book/magazine hybrid is essentially groundbreaking territory in both of those publishing worlds. Sharing the editorial vision for the bookazine will be Alden and Peter Blackstock, co-founders of No Depression and its co-editors from the beginning. Many of the senior editors and contributing editors who helped shape the voice and tone of the magazine will contribute to the bookazine, which will feature entirely new content in every issue: Unlike ND's previous project with UT Press (2005's The Best Of No Depression: Writing about American Music), these will not be anthologies of previously published works, but rather entirely fresh creations every six months. If you loved No Depression magazine, this is where it lives on, in print. For most of its thirteen-year history as a beloved and decorated music magazine, No Depressionsought to be an instrument of change: to draw attention to the deep well of American musical traditions; to shine a light on performers whose gifts far exceed the size of their audiences or their pocketbooks; and to provide a safe harbor for the best long-form writing about music on the newsstand. These traditions continue through No Depression's now semi-annual series of bookazines. The inaugural bookazine, numbered ND #76so as to make explicit the continuity between No Depression's original and new formats, focused on the next generation of emerging roots music performers. ND #78, due out the fall of 2009, will focus on prominent families in American roots music, kinfolk who have stretched their artistic influence across generations. This will include in-depth pieces about bedrock clans of country music--the Carters and the Cashes--and folk music--the Guthries and the Seegers; profiles of country mavericks Steve and Justin Townes Earle and of jazz great Charlie Haden and his musically adventurous children; plus a more "metaphorical family" piece on the artistic "sons" of bluesman Rev. Gary Davis. The magazine's cofounders and coeditors, Grant Alden and Peter Blackstock, continue to guide the bookazine. The magazine's senior writers and contributors remain on board to shape the tone and voice of the bookazine, and its distinctive graphic design imprint continues in the hands of NDart director Grant Alden Contents......Page 2 Hello Stranger......Page 5 SAMANTHA CRAIN (Mark Guarino)......Page 7 BOWERBIRDS (David Menconi)......Page 12 SARAH JAROSZ (David Baxter)......Page 15 SIERRA HULL (Silas House)......Page 20 HOMEMADE JAMZ BLUES BAND (Edd Hurt)......Page 26 BASIA BULAT (Peter Blackstock)......Page 31 GARY CLARK JR. (Michael Hoinski)......Page 38 A PORTFOLIO OF PHOTOS (from our esteemed photographers)......Page 43 INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS (Jewly Hight)......Page 57 CROOKED STILL (Lloyd Sachs)......Page 67 ABIGAIL WASHBURN & THE SPARROW QUARTET (Barry Mazor)......Page 77 BEN SOLLEE (Barry Mazor)......Page 90 CARRIE RODRIGUEZ (Don McLeese)......Page 93 DUHKS (Roy Kasten)......Page 105 HANSON (David Cantwell)......Page 115 YOUNGER THAN THAT NOW (an essay by Paul Cantin)......Page 127 MARK OLSON & GARY LOURIS......Page 131 RODNEY CROWELL......Page 133 EMMYLOU HARRIS......Page 134 GLEN CAMPBELL......Page 135 MUDCRUTCH......Page 137 JOHN MELLENCAMP......Page 138 AL GREEN......Page 139 IRMA THOMAS......Page 140 WILLIE NELSON & WYNTON MARSALIS......Page 142 RAY LAMONTAGNE......Page 143 RY COODER......Page 144 Samantha Crain / By Mark Guarino -- Bowerbirds / By David Menconi -- Sarah Jarosz / By David Baxter -- Sierra Hull / By Silas House -- Homemade Jamz Blues Band / By Edd Hurt -- Basia Bulat / By Peter Blackstock -- Gary Clark, Jr. / By Michael Hoinski -- A Portfolio Of Photos -- Infamous Stringdusters / By Jewly Hight -- Crooked Still / By Lloyd Sachs -- Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet / By Barry Mazor -- Ben Sollee / By Barry Mazor -- Carrie Rodriguez / By Don Mcleese -- Duhks / By Roy Kasten -- Hanson / By David Cantwell -- Younger Than That Now : An Essay / By Paul Cantin -- Appendix. Reviews / Mark Olson & Gary Louris [and Others]. Fall 2008.