MUSIC REVIEW: JOHN PRINE

Prine gives jubilant, revealing show at Louisville Palace

When John Prine performs in Louisville, his show is generously laced with stories about his family connections in Kentucky, from his grandparents on his mother's side to the rowdy cousins who always fill a few seats in the theater. He went one better Friday night at the Louisville Palace. (11/16/08) More

FAITH IN ACTION | BASHFORD MANOR BAPTIST CHURCH

Bluegrass jam shows its joy

Next Saturday night, as they have once a month since September, a group of bluegrass pickers will gather at Bashford Manor Baptist Church to make some joyful noise unto the Lord. (11/15/08) More

Digital Downloads

Music made easy

eMusic.com is one of the biggest retailers of digital music in the virtual world, specializing in independent music but with a whole lot of everything else. To help make sense of it all, eMusic has redesigned its Web site. (11/15/08) More

Sound Effects

A musical storyteller

John Prine was 24 when he released his first album, but his songs sounded as if they were in their mid- to late 50s. Prine's secret has never been complicated. He's a good listener and a keen observer, but, more important, he can tell a story. Listen tonight at the Louisville Palace. (11/14/08) More

Album Review

Girl Talk's sampling is hook city for pop fans

Gregg Gillis is an obsessive-compulsive freak raised in the age of music software and ADD. Gillis records as Girl Talk, and his fourth album, "Feed the Animals," uses about 200 samples for 14 (technically) original songs. It can all be kind of maddening, in both a good and bad way. (11/14/08) More

Music

The kids are all right

Mates of State does something few rock bands do — raises two little girls. Drummer Jason Hammel and organist Kori Gardner have for 10 years created often irresistible indie pop. They've been a couple for just as long. Married, they tote their two young daughters, Magnolia and June, on tour. (11/14/08) More

Music

CMAs: Chesney entertainer of year

Kenny Chesney won his fourth entertainer of the year award at last night's Country Music Association awards, highlighted by a lavish performance by Taylor Swift, a surprise appearance by rapper Lil Wayne, and the return of one of country's biggest stars, Shania Twain. (11/13/08) More

• CMA Awards
• Arrivals at the CMA Awards

Opera's young pros tackle Baroque bill

Employing members of its Studio Artist program for young professional singers, Kentucky Opera will present an unusual hybrid blending staged opera with concert-format arias and ensemble numbers. (11/10/08) More

Brass quintet is intriguing

Yesterday's Chamber Music Society of Louisville concert featured the American Brass Quintet, which has had more than 100 works written for it since its inception almost half a century ago. (11/10/08) More

Two soloists, one clear vision

There is something wondrous when two exceptional musicians communicate as a single expressive entity. Instead of wondering where one begins and the other ends, a listener merely gets to bask in the totality of the experience. (11/10/08) More

Digital Downloads

Dime store music

According to a story in the Los Angeles Times, Sony BMG and Lala Media Inc. have brainstormed to revamp digital music delivery service lala.com so that any of the available 6 million songs cost only 10 cents — well below the standard 89 or 99 cents. (11/8/08) More

Unmistakably Holland

For a musician with such a distinct, almost hyper-personalized sound, Jolie Holland is for many a blank canvas. Followers of jazz hear Billie Holiday. Country and bluegrass fans feel a connection to Williams or Dock Boggs. Reach your own conclusion tomorrow at 930 Listening Room. (11/7/08) More

Sound Effects

Try a sample of Girl Talk

Gregg Gillis, the sonic clip artist responsible for Girl Talk, has taken sampling to its extreme by crafting four albums of original music that is 99.9 percent composed of samples from other songs. He's meticulous, obsessive and, in a very particular way, brilliant. (11/7/08) More

Album Review

Best of 'Ice' stands with AC/DC's best

"Black Ice," the band's first album in nearly eight years, sounds exactly like AC/DC, only better — or at least better than the last six or seven records. When the band is rumbling through songs that find the sweet spot between pop and hard rock, it's like being 16 again. (11/7/08) More

Album Review

Holly country

Haste doesn't make waste as far as the remarkably prolific British singer-songwriter Holly Golightly is concerned. When she's recording with Lawyer Dave, it makes perfect sense. The London-based duo's new CD, "Dirt Don't Hurt," was recorded in five days. (11/7/08) More

Singer didn't go away

Last January, in a classic "American Idol" preseason meltdown, the hyper-emotional Josiah Leming was sent home — which in his case meant to his car. Now, less than a year later, in one of "Idol's" unlikely turns of fate, the high school dropout is living the high life in Los Angeles. (11/7/08) More

Concert to benefit orphaned refugees

A concert will be held this weekend to benefit two children who were orphaned when their mother, Maria Ndimuzigo, was killed by a hit-and-run driver Oct. 11. (11/6/08) More