Tory Troutman

Despite all the permutations and possibilities of what is dubbed country music, the wrong hands just can’t make it work. For Texas native Wayne “The Train” Hancock, being the real deal while not sitting still is what it’s about. At times a dead ringer for Hank Williams vocally, Hancock could parlay a novelty act at […]

Despite all the permutations and possibilities of what is dubbed country music, the wrong hands just can’t make it work. For Texas native Wayne “The Train” Hancock, being the real deal while not sitting still is what it’s about. At times a dead ringer for Hank Williams vocally, Hancock could parlay a novelty act at […]

The engaging Vienna Teng became a singer/songwriter after she tried a lot of other things first. While classical piano training, a degree from Stanford University and a software engineering job at Cisco Systems Inc., might not sound like the red-dirt résumé one might expect from a folksinger scheduled to serenade The Blue Door, Teng isn’t […]

Those who watched the 1987 documenary “Athens, GA ” Inside/Out” probably expected a durable cinematic souvenir of the coronation of R.E.M. as the band unexpectedly ascended. While the film delivered a few great R.E.M. moments and a handful of notable scenes with other eccentric denizens of Bulldog Country, it was North Carolina’s Flat Duo Jets […]

When Charlie Louvin sings now, his voice carries the dry Old Testament gravity of Johnny Cash without as much bleakness. He’s blunt, like classic George Jones, but twice as sober and without the bluesy phrasing. SATURDAY SHOWPROUD OF THE ATTENTION There’s no use comparing the 81-year-old singer’s current country to the legacy he created in […]

When a recent building inspection of The Blue Door raised concerns about those same walls, scores of dedicated musicians lined up to help shore up the humble venue with a benefit concert this Saturday. “We have to get a lot of things done. We’re going in front of the zoning commission, and you never know […]

In the world of Xiu Xiu (pronounced “shoe-shoe”), quick blasts of electronic noise and dissonance clash with kitchen-sink folk ” the only constant being the committed intensity of James Stewart’s lead vocals. He’s not a singer, exactly, but a confessional raw-nerve vocalist fronting a group emotionally reminiscent of Plastic Ono Band, although the band is […]

h as music, our northern neighbors have, on occasion, handed us our hats and showed how it’s done. Beyond Canada’s musical contributions of Rush, Celine Dion or even Neil Young, there is the renowned acoustic assembly Po’ Girl who will perform March 9 at The Blue Door, 2805 N. McKinley. Tickets are $15   In […]

Despite being based in Tennessee, the indie-rock foursome AutoVaughn has more in common with atmospheric Eighties bands like U2 and celestial Seventies performers like David Bowie than floor-walkin’ Ernest Tubb or honkytonk man Lefty Frizzell. The band’s debut, “Space,” was released in 2006, but while they continue to tour in support of “Space,” they’re also […]