Saby Reyes-Kulkarni
Saby Reyes-Kulkarni has been covering music across a variety of styles and platforms since 2002. Based in Western New York State, he sees himself more as a curator than a critic and prefers that you view his music commentary not as gospel truth, but as a signpost to your own opinion.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Steve Earle - Copperhead Road
After working within a standard country template for his first two albums, Steve Earle embraced hard rock with his third effort Copperhead Road, kicking off the doggedly nonconformist streak that’s defined his career ever since.
STAFF PICKS•Loney Hutchins - Buried Loot: Demos from the House of Cash and Outlaw Era, ‘73-‘78
A double-album’s worth of 70s recordings never intended for public consumption, Buried Loot is a treasure trove of lost outlaw country classics.
ALBUM REVIEW•Punch Brothers - Hell on Church Street
With Hell on Church Street, the Punch Brothers once again re-imagine bluegrass as more than just a revivalist art form - even as they recreate a 1983 album from genre legend Tony Rice.
ALBUM REVIEW•Lost Dog Street Band - Glory
As they move into a stage where they can no longer define themselves according to what they oppose, Lost Dog Street Band are starting to make the most lifelike music of their career.
ALBUM REVIEW•The Slocan Ramblers - Up the Hill and Through the Fog
Canadian bluegrass outfit The Slocan Ramblers capture the poetry of the everyday so convincingly that it's as if they write stadium anthems for your front porch.
ALBUM REVIEW•My Morning Jacket - My Morning Jacket
My Morning Jacket certainly make a resolute statement with this new album, i.e: “we’re back”. Of course, coming as it does from a group so averse to explosive displays, it's the kind of measured statement one needs to lean-in to discern.
ALBUM REVIEW•Wilco - Cruel Country
Wilco come home to their alt-country roots - sort of - with a surprise double album of intimate group performances steeped in reflections on America.
ALBUM REVIEW•Old Crow Medicine Show - Paint This Town
With Paint This Town, Old Crow Medicine Show remind us how we’re better off facing our past, without toning down the celebration in their music.
ALBUM REVIEW•Willie Nelson - Live at Budokan
On Live at Budokan, messy performances from Willie Nelson’s band mar a historic document of Nelson’s first trip to Japan.
ALBUM REVIEW•Willi Carlisle - Peculiar, Missouri
With his sophomore effort Peculiar, Missouri, Willi Carlisle secures his place as one of today’s most captivating storytellers.
ALBUM REVIEW•Various Artists - Live Forever: A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver
On the aptly-titled Live Forever, outlaw country godfather Billy Joe Shaver gets a loving tribute.
ALBUM REVIEW•Kitchen Dwellers - Wise River
As Wise River shows, the Kitchen Dwellers have preserved their sense of youthful experimentation.
ESSENTIALS•The Best Eagles Country Songs
With not one but two of the best-selling albums of all time to their name, The Eagles have been enshrined in the fabric of pop culture for almost half a century.
INTERVIEW•In Conversation: Rhett McLaughlin's James and the Shame
McLaughlin, who is best known as one-half of the popular YouTube comedy duo Rhett & Link, is no stranger to making music.
ALBUM REVIEW•Lilly Hiatt - Lately
Lately will likely challenge listeners looking for more of what Lilly Hiatt’s last two albums offered, but her music remains as unabashedly approachable as ever.
ALBUM REVIEW•Po' Ramblin' Boys - Never Slow Down
All the members of the Po' Ramblin' Boys carry themselves with a like-minded mix of casual attitude and a musical sure-footedness that never wavers. It’s this combination that gives Never Slow Down its accessibility and charm.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•The Black Crowes - The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
Though Southern Harmony was followed by The Black Crowes’ slow descent from mainstream visibility, it marked the beginning of a vibrant creative streak that still resounds beautifully this many years later.
ALBUM REVIEW•Elles Bailey - Shining in the Half Light
On her third studio full-length, Elles Bailey sounds exceedingly comfortable crafting a bar-friendly blend of country, rock and blues - with such remarkable fluency that the listener feels as at home in the music as she sounds playing it.
COUNTRY CLASSICS•Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger
‘Red Headed Stranger’ not only catapulted Willie Nelson to superstardom, but it also marked his first artistic triumph on his own terms. Its impact on country music has been incalculable.
ALBUM REVIEW•Vandoliers - The Vandoliers
Listeners averse to slick sounds will likely be put off by the gloss that defines this music, but underneath the candy-coating lives a band of remarkable agility.
ALBUM REVIEW•Doc Watson - Life’s Work: A Retrospective
Spanning the breadth of Doc Watson’s career, this new box set offers a thorough —if disjointed —overview of one of the most important country/bluegrass figures of the 20th-century.
ALBUM REVIEW•Del McCoury - Almost Proud
Listening to Almost Proud, you might think effortlessness is something that comes along with age.
ALBUM REVIEW•Harrison Whitford - Afraid of Nothing
With his sophomore effort, Harrison Whitford fleshes out the hushed, contemplative sound he introduced on his solo debut and emerges as a producer with a unique vision.
ALBUM REVIEW•Town Mountain - Lines in the Levee
With Lines in the Levee, Town Mountain balance bigger-picture concerns with everyday drama and benefit from a touch of gloss.
STAFF PICKS•Charley Crockett - The Man From Waco
The Man from Waco is a resolute statement about what’s possible when you stick to your guns.
ALBUM REVIEW•Lyle Lovett - 12th of June
The Texan master’s first album in a decade alternates between the large-ensemble jazz of his childhood and the stripped-down twang that’s long been his signature.