Mac Randall

6 days ago | acousticguitar.com | Mac Randall |Natalia Zukerman |Karen Peterson |Adam Perlmutter

Valerie June’s soundscapes stretch from Memphis soil to cosmic skies. Her voice is a mix of earth and ether, channeling gospel, blues, and folk traditions into something unmistakably her own. “I’m basically an ambassador for joy,” she says, and it’s hard to argue otherwise. June’s latest album, Owls, Omens, and Oracles (Concord), offers a mix of love, sweetness, and light.

2 months ago | acousticguitar.com | Mac Randall |E.E. Bradman |Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |Kenny Berkowitz

Sitting in the spacious living room of his home on California’s central coast, Lloyd Baggs exudes the air of an old-school craftsman. As he peers through thick-rimmed glasses from beneath a gray baseball cap, his handsomely weathered face radiates both hard-earned wisdom and good humor; a trim white goatee only adds to that impression. If you didn’t know what Baggs did for a living, you might guess he made high-end furniture or built schooners by hand.

2 months ago | acousticguitar.com | Mac Randall |Natalia Zukerman |Steve James |Christopher Paul Stelling

Sue Foley steps onto the stage in a bright pink suit, a well-worn guitar slung over her shoulder, and digs into a deep, driving groove. Whether she’s tearing through a Texas blues shuffle on her Telecaster or coaxing out the hushed warmth of a nylon-string guitar, her playing is rooted, rhythmic, and unmistakably hers. Over the decades, she’s built a career that’s equal parts fire and scholarship—an artist with both a deep love for the blues and a historian’s instinct for uncovering its stories.

Mar 7, 2025 | acousticguitar.com | Mac Randall |Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |Mark Small |Bob Doerschuk

When talking to Rosanne Cash, it’s hard to avoid the word legacy. (For the record, she said it first, in the second exchange of our Q&A below.) And what a legacy she represents, not only by virtue of her lineage—daughter of one American musical icon, Johnny Cash, and stepdaughter of another, June Carter Cash—but through her own work as a musician. Over a 45-year, 18-album career, Cash has built an estimable reputation for herself.

Nov 10, 2024 | acousticguitar.com | Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers |Mac Randall |Nick Rossi

During the swing era, roughly 1929 to 1946, professional opportunities for acoustic guitar players reached an all-time high. Even at the depth of the Great Depression, bands performed nationwide for the country’s most popular recreation: dancing. With the dominance of radio and its reliance on live performance during this era, the acoustic guitar held a significant place in the American cultural landscape.