Guardian Music — Apollo, ManchesterNorah Jones has undergone a few changes since emerging as a Grammy-sweeping singer of tastefully boring jazz ballads almost a decade ago. Now 30, and clearly at a crossroads, she's ditched her boyfriend and her band, appeared with a... more info

Guardian Music — Purcell Room, London"If you wanna play the blues, you gotta pay some dues, cause it ain't coming easy," sings Bettye LaVette during her second Meltdown performance of the evening. You can say that again. The Detroit-raised soul singer, now 64, has ha... more info

Guardian Music — Singer and arranger with the US folk group the HighwaymenDave Fisher, who has died of a bone marrow disease aged 69, was the lead singer, guitarist and musical director of the US folk group the Highwaymen, who enjoyed chart success in 1961 with the s... more info

Totally Fuzzy — Levin said... Carole King - Tapestry (1971)FLAC Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson – VH1 Storytellers (1998)FLAC Sabu - Palo Congo (1957) André Christovam - Catharsis (1997) Chris Hinze - Telemann - My Way (1969) Pink Floyd - The Final Cut (1983)FLAC Col... more info

The Vinyl Villain — There was a spell, not long after I first got married back in 1988 (something that was fated to be a disaster from the early days), that I seemed to spend a fair bit of time out back, getting drunk with the new but who would prove to be short-lived n... more info

Guardian Music — Founder member and bass guitarist of cult US metal band SlipknotPaul Gray, who has been found dead at the age of 38, was the bass guitarist and a founder member of the US nu-metal band Slipknot. However, fans knew him simply as No 2 or The Pig. The... more info

L.A. Times - Entertainment — Facility that stored equipment for country stars such as Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and Vince Gill, and housed instruments belonging to Jimi Hendrix, the Who's Peter Townshend and Johnny Cash, spent six days under nine feet of water. ... more info

Guardian Music — (Brownswood)Pianist Elan Mehler has already made two albums for DJ Gilles Peterson's Brownswood label, accessible but cliche-avoiding sessions that sometimes resembled soundtracks to a romantic movie and which suggested classical music played with a ... more info

The 9513 Country Music — On Monday, Kyle Coroneos interviewed Roger Alan Wade, a country songwriter who has worked with George Jones, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash, and is related to MTV stuntman Johnny Knoxville. With those associations, it’s not surprisi... more info

Guardian Music — How a rebel shook up the country music establishmentThere's some wonderful YouTube footage of Kris Kristofferson receiving a gong at the 1970 Country Music Association awards. He lopes on stage with his hair covering his shoulders and his trousers ha... more info