A native Texan, Ruthie Foster’s family tree was ripe with Gospel singers, but she quickly absorbed the Lone Star State’s other musical identities, like Folk, Blues, Country and Rock, to which she added her own soulful spin.   

Sharon Van Etten’s first two albums revealed an emotionally visceral songwriter and performer who wasn’t afraid to explore love gone sour via a voice that’s as moving and expressive as any on the current landscape  

Remember a few years ago when you couldn’t walk into a Starbucks without hearing the words, “Three words that became hard to say/I and love and you?” At the time, you probably rolled your eyes, but The Avett Brothers ended up becoming kind of a big deal. While “I and Love and You,” as a song, was mostly mellow and Folk-ish, it’s far from a decent indicator of the sort of noise the Brothers are capable of creating.  

Talking about race is always a dodgy premise, but Carolina Chocolate Drops and their music practically encourage such discussions. “It's a very strong statement to say that you're a black string band musician,” said Drops' Dom Flemons in an interview with Fairfield Weekly. “That helps people open up the article or what-not and then they get to find out a whole part of the Folk music history that they might not have known before.”   

Eight years ago, guitarist/vocalist Justin Ringle relocated from his native Idaho to Portland, Ore., and very quickly shifted his stylistic allegiance from the aggressive Rock he had played at home to a gentler Folk sound. He formed Horse Feathers to pursue his newfound acoustic passion and garnered rabid fans and critical acclaim, with reviewers consistently pointing out the wonderful tension between the dark poignancy of Ringle’s lyrics and the expansive beauty of the music that surrounds them.  

The local Roots music scene and its fans have a cool new music venue to check out. This Friday-Sunday is the grand opening of Plain Folk Café, a converted two-room schoolhouse (originally built in 1913) featuring coffee, beer, food and regular live music from area Folk, Bluegrass, Americana and acoustic acts.  

Thanks at least partially to our proximity to Appalachia, Greater Cincinnati has long had one of the finest Roots/Americana music scenes in the region. And the finest band from that impressive batch of artists right now is Magnolia Mountain, the band formed by Rock veteran and singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Mark Utley about five years ago.   

Troupe Larry and His Flask (there is no actual Larry but it’s a safe bet that there are several real flasks) was assembled nearly a decade ago by the brothers Marshall. LAHF expanded to a sextet in 2008, picked up acoustic instruments and jumped the tracks toward a Twangcore sound, playing every dicey gig that was offered to them in order to spread their new wild gospel.   

This is one of those random weeks where there are so many notable events involving local bands, we could have done an all-music double issue of CityBeat and still not have room for it all. Thankfully, we do have constantly updated Staff Blogs. So here’s what’s up, lightning-round-style; check the blog throughout the week for more details.   

I don't think I've ever written anything about Jake Speed without mentioning Woody Guthrie. Call me lazy, but the political Folk pioneer is such an obvious influence on Speed's songs and lyrics it almost seems dishonest not to mention it.