has been consistently playing shows around the country after relocating to Portland, OR including an opening on a national tour for Albert Hammond Jr. They are now being represented by the management duo of Bryna Gootkind (Melissa Ferrick, Port O'Brien) and Ryan Gentles (The Strokes, Albert Hammond Jr.). The band began in Boston in 2006. They were longtime friends and had played around Boston in various configurations for years, but when they gathered in Dec '08 to record some new songs of Michael's, there were no grand plans to see through or deadlines to meet. They had an engineer friend and a couple hundred bucks and some notions about maybe making some back-to-basics rock 'n roll. As Michael puts it, "these day, the only way forward i...  (less)

album included songs in praise of Cologne Cathedral or Lake Michigan, but backed by the Sparks' austere songs--often just guitar, autoharp, and drum machine--with occasional help by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, the music has an almost Appalachian simplicity and newfound depth of feeling. Like coming across a brownstone in the mountains, the Handsome Family's music is simultaneously disconcerting and strangely beautiful. --Steven Mirkin  (less)

his new album of guitar duets "in a car on the way back from a trip," he says. "I was thinking about all these guys that had influenced me and that some of them weren't going to be around forever. I was thinking about records like Mark O'Connor's record of fiddle heroes and Jerry Douglas's record with all the Dobro players. And I got this idea of recording with these guys that were my heroes and also good buddies and advice-givers--people that have helped me in my career as a player. I felt like it was something I could do, and I felt honored to be in a position to be able to call everybody up and ask if they wanted to record." Sutton is one of the most high-profile acoustic guitarists in bluegrass and country music these days, a first-call Nashville sess...  (less)

iTunes and in the mix on your car stereo.  (less)

city. A long--but never boring–-set, it features both veterans and newcomers mixing obscurities with traditional standards, including cool covers of two Gene Autry chart toppers and Ron Stewart's George Jones-ish take on "Silver Bells." It's the newcomers who make the most memorable contributions, including the sweet Emmylou Harris-meets-the-Andrews Sisters vocals of the Shankman Twins and the primal hillbilly fire of Open Road, who deliver a "Blue Christmas" that's about as faithful to Elvis's version as the King's "Blue Moon of Kentucky" was to Bill Monroe. Though recorded in 2002, this'll make you feel like you're spending Christmas at the Ryman Auditorium in the '50s or even by a fire in the Appalachian Mountains today. O Christmas Tree ...  (less)

MA (J. even plays on the record a bit). Plus, the new record features an amazing and sweetly torching version of Sade's "By Your Side." Really.  (less)