Laura Cantrell was born and raised in Nashville, and even though she was surrounded by country music, she never thought about being a singer or songwriter when she was young. She relocated to New York to attend Columbia University before the performing bug bit her. After graduation, Cantrell worked full-time at a bank, hosted a country radio show on WFMU in Jersey City, put together a band, kept writing songs and started making records. She used traditional country songs as a template for compositions of her own that stretched the boundaries of the music and won her a legion of loyal fans. BBC DJ John Peel called Not The Tremblin’ Kind, her 2000 debut, “my favorite record of the last 10 years, possibly my life.” Cantrell made two more albums in the 2000s, balancing well-chosen covers with her original material, but on her new album, No Way There From Here, she presents 11 originals with only one cover. Cantrell will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new feature on her.
Cantrell: Jim has regularly been playing Monday nights on the LES for more than 10 years. By far one of the more innovative guitarists to play in New York City, Campilongo has the ability to straddle styles ranging from Roy Buchanan to Chet Atkins to Jimmy Bryant. A regular of Norah Jones’ country ensemble, the Little Willies, Campilongo has been branching out beyond country jazz stylings in his solo work, reaching for a more angular, singular guitar style. And Monday nights he works it all out for tips in the small room at Rockwood Music Hall. Really how hard can it be to get your ass down there?!
Video after the jump.
