Issue Articles — Features
Raw and Nervy: Sonia Tetlow’s sense of optimism
When Sonia Tetlow started playing around town, doing raw and nervy songs with an acoustic guitar, she got told she was too rock for folk and too folk for rock. […]
Singing and the Drums Jamison Ross’ rhythm and melody
“I’m sitting down at the drums with nothing but melodies on my mind,” sings Jamison Ross on the groove tune “Call Me” from his new Concord Jazz release, All For […]
300 Songs for 300 Years: Mardi Gras songs
Welcome to what may be the most ambitious project we’ve ever undertaken here at OffBeat. As promised last month, in honor of the 300th birthday of New Orleans, we’re going […]
Lifetime Achievement in Music Business: Steve and Cézanne Nails
After a car crash left musician Steve Nails paralyzed in 1984, he searched for a way to stay in music. Dockside Studio on the banks of the Vermilion River near […]
Lifetime Achievement in Music Education: Michael Pellera
“I always suspected I might have a talent for teaching because my mind always wanted answers to questions,” says pianist Michael Pellera, whose first serious jump into academia came at […]
Positive Vibrations HeartBeat Award (Culture Bearer): Clarence Johnson III
“I’m not necessarily just trying to play music, I’m using music to imitate life,” says the ever-soulful and spiritual saxophonist Clarence Johnson III. “Guys like Wayne Shorter, they’ll go in […]
Positive Vibrations HeartBeat Award (Musician): Anders Osborne
When Anders Osborne started his Send Me a Friend foundation last year, he had a simple goal: He wanted musicians in recovery from substance addiction to continue working as musicians. […]
Bon Voyage!: Music on the High Seas
The coming months will find a few local favorites taking to the high seas. Concert cruises have become a big deal in recent years, one of the ultimate indulgences for […]
The complete list of nominees for Best of the Beat
The OffBeat Music and Cultural Arts Foundation’s Best of the Beat Awards 2017 nominations are in. We solicited nominations from musicians and others in the music community. We then gave […]
Simply the Best: The 50 Best Albums of 2017
We’ve polled our writers and editorial staff and have gathered 50 of our most recommended albums of the year. We didn’t include reissues and only included releases reviewed in 2017. […]