FEATURES
JJT’s New “Rock and Soul Fable” Available Now
This story is about how music brings a diverse community of characters together – after some profound personal and community tragedies – to accomplish something miraculous when they least expect it.
New Music by The Wayside (feat Steve Hindalong, Jimmy Abegg and more)
It’s hard for me to explain how excited – and honestly how nervous – I am to be releasing new original music after such a long time. Music is always […]
Video Premiere: “Rhyming Dictionary” by Jeff Elbel + Ping
“Waiting Room” director Andrew “*frosh.” Pickett has crafted a clever and comical video for “Rhyming Dictionary” by Jeff Elbel + Ping. The song is an odd exercise in trying to […]
Jon Anderson of YES (in conversation w Jeff Elbel)
The meticulous progressive rock sound of Yes has challenged the norms of popular music and fascinated fans since the arrival of the band’s 1969 self-titled debut. The English group’s fifth […]
New True Tunes Merch Is Here!
Look Good AND Support True Tunes AT THE SAME TIME! We are back from our Summer road trips, where we debuted three brand new merch items that are now ready […]
JJT / True Tunes Upcoming Events
True Tunes Out and About This Spring! With the pandemic receding, and the weather warming up, I am excited to have several events in the coming weeks and months. […]
Stonehill & Keaggy Go Back To Ohio
A Contextualized Refection on a 50 Year Musical Friendship and a Live Concert by Brian Quincy Newcomb When we heard that Phil Keaggy and Randy Stonehill would be closing out […]
New True Tunes Threadless Store Launches!
Just in time for gift season, the new store at TrueTunes.Threadless.com is open for business. Look cool and support your favorite music podcast at the same time.
True Tunes Live – A Different Kind of Music Conversation
Over the last forty years or so, the only thing I’ve been more obsessed with than excellent music is the power of community. In fact, what is music other […]
The Jesus People Concert, Oct 8, 2021 (by Dan MacIntosh)
The Jesus People Concert October 8, 2021 Biola University Reviewed By Dan MacIntosh A nostalgic journey down Jesus music memory lane was held not at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood […]
Catching Up With Jason Martin of Starflyer 59
Starflyer 59 just dropped Vanity, their sixteenth album, via the always impressive Velvet Blue Music. We’ve been featuring the singles from this record on our weekly Spotify Mixtape, and […]
Musings on Nostalgia at Furnace Fest (by Fr. Christopher Foley of Luxury)
Musings on Nostalgia at Furnace Fest By Fr. Christopher Foley I have just returned from a beautiful weekend playing music with my dear friends after a 20-year hiatus of […]
Robert Vaughn’s Obscure 80s “Classic” Coming Back?
Another of my “All-Time-Favorite” albums is getting a meticulous makeover by one of my All-Time-Favorite people. I started what I thought would be a quick Facebook post and it turned […]
Jesus Music Rediscovered?
Multiple Films and an Unlikely Roots Gospel Album Bring Back Old Sounds and Raise New Questions About The Roots, Range, and Future of ‘Jesus Music’ A Reflection by John J. […]
Nowhere Else (A Festival Reflection by BQN)
Nowhere Else Festival 2021 Featuring: Over the Rhine and the Band of Sweethearts, Patty Griffin, Mary Gauthier, Joe Henry, Allison Russell, Peter Mulvey, Anna Tivel, Scott Mulvahill, and more Martinsville, […]
Haseltine, Nelson, & The Music of The Chosen
Dan Haseltine (Jars of Clay) and multi-instrumentalist Matthew S. Nelson talk with John J. Thompson on the True Tunes Podcast about the music they are composing for the hit television series The Chosen.
Gallery Stage Mix Tape Hits 5,000 Songs!
The Gallery Stage Mix Tape Hits 5,000 Songs! You know the old cliché. Some attribute it to Elvis Costello, others say he ripped it from someone else, but he […]
Good News: What’s Going On is 50
Good News: What’s Going On is 50 The Enduring Gospel of Marvin Gaye’s Masterpiece By Anthony Peterson May 2021 (Editor: I have been wanting to write a tribute to this, […]
True Tunes’ Biggest Giveaway Yet!
Our Biggest Giveaway YET! In a blatant and unabashed attempt to build our email list and to welcome new people into this conversation we are giving away a PILE OF […]
Ronnie and Jason Martin’s Long Lost Debut Resurfaces (Exclusive Early Spin!)
Catching Up With Ronnie Martin (Joy Electric, Dancehouse Children) On The Release Of A Long Lost Treasure [Plus an EXCLUSIVE early spin!] Before Joy Electric, even before Dancehouse Children – […]
Catching Up With Jeff Johnson
Jeff Johnson has been carefully crafting a wide range of contemplative instrumental and vocal music on his own terms since the mid-1970s. While his main instrument is the piano, […]
New JJT Novel Coming Soon! (You Can Help!)
Hey friends! I am almost finished with my next book! It’s a novel this time – my first fictional book actually – and it’s about music and community and, well… […]
Beki Hemingway’s Map of the Soul
Beki Hemingway: Points on the map and places in the soul By Jeff Elbel The tall tales and small stories captured on Beki Hemingway’s new album Earth and Asphalt […]
Special Edition #2: The Conversation So Far (Learning To Listen)
Apple Link Special Edition #2 – The Conversation So Far; Learning to Listen On this Special Edition of the True Tunes Podcast, we look back at some special moments […]
TT Premiere: Kevin Max Revisits Norman’s “Pardon Me”
You heard us talk about Larry Norman’s 1972 masterpiece, Only Visiting This Planet on the most recent episode of the True Tunes Podcast. It’s been our fastest-growing episode yet! […]
A Rockin’ Birthday Blast for Mike Roe, Derri Daugherty, and Jeff Elbel!
Our own Bruce A. Brown has pulled together a special 2-hour long, super-eclectic mix in honor of our good friends and heroes Derri Daugherty of The Choir and Lost Dogs […]
The Tragic Tale of Two Pound Planet’s Hydrogen Jukebox
The Hopefull Re-issue of an Obscure Classic and The Sad Rock and Roll Tragedy of Two Pound Planet Hydrogen Jukeboxes; Exciting – But Not Safe Two Pound Planet Kickstarter (with […]
Ep 14 Ella Mine and the Beauty, Purpose, and Potential of Darkness and Pain in Art
Apple Podcasts Link Why is it that some of the most compelling art is the dark stuff? Likewise – why is it that when music, or film, or literature, […]
True Tunes Rebooted – One Year Down! Record Giveaway!
True Tunes Re-Booted – YEAR ONE IN THE BOOKS! We re-launched True Tunes a year ago last week! Wow. What a year it has been. And we are just […]
Over The Rhine – Love & Revelation Concert Review (by BQN)
Parish Auditorium – Miami University (Hamilton Campus) Hamilton, OH – February 22, 2020 “We’re a lousy party band,” admitted singer Karin Bergquist, about half-way through Over the Rhine’s concert at the Parish […]
True Tunes Presents: The 77s Postponed in Nashville!
Michael Roe and Jan Eric Volz, founding members of The 77s, perform ONE unplugged show in Nashville, April 1, 2020. Presented by TrueTunes.com and StoryForge Nashville.
Profile: Old Bear Records
Old Bear Records is an indie label from Upstate New York that continues to impress with both new projects from developing upstart artists, and fantastic vinyl re-issues from wonderful, and […]
Thankfulness without Reflection is Noise
Gratitude is a complicated thing, isn’t it? It’s easy to say “Thank you,” and move on. But are sentimentality and nostalgia really the same thing as deep, gratitude and thankfulness? […]
New Single, “It’s Christmas, Eve” from former True Tunes House Band member
As has been noted, The Wayside was often considered the unofficial “house band” of True Tunes – mostly because True Tunes founder John J. Thompson was the lead singer and […]
Across Generations; The Carter Family’s Circle Remains Unbroken
Album Review by Brian Quincy Newcomb To be honest, I had to come to an appreciation of anything resembling country music the hard way. Growing up in the cross-hairs of […]
An Evening with Bruce Cockburn (Concert Review by Brian Quincy Newcomb)
An Evening with Bruce Cockburn Stuart’s Opera House Nelsonville, OH September 23, 2019 At 74, Canadian-born singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn hadn’t played in the Midwest of the U.S. consistently for quite […]
Will The Circle Be Unbroken? Burns’ New “Country” Doc Is A Revelation
By Mark Hollingsworth America’s favorite documentarian, Ken Burns, has once again created a PBS masterpiece with his new 8 part, 16 1/2 hour series, “Country Music.” In his trademark style […]
Electric Jesus Film In Production, True Tunes Is There!
True Tunes is proud to be deeply involved in the production of Electric Jesus, a romantic comedy / rock and roll road story about Erik, a 16 year-old kid who […]
Burlap to Cashmere and Phil Keaggy Celebrate 20 Years of “Anybody Out There”
Burlap to Cashmere “Celebrating 20 Years: Anybody Out There?” With Special Guest: Phil Keaggy Yellow Cab Tavern Dayton, OH Sunday, July 21, 2019 By Brian Quincy Newcomb It had already […]
True Tunes Celebrates 30 Years and a Future!
Although the “30 Year Class Reunion,” marking the opening of the original True Tunes store in 1989, will include several other events throughout the rest of the year, the “hometown” […]
The True Tunes Swag Shop Is Open!
Now you can look awesome and support True Tunes at the same time! The brand new True Tunes Swag is in stock and shipping. Check out the “Swag Shop” and […]
True Tunes Conversations: Phil Keaggy and Rex Paul (Pt.1) “I Believe”
The legendary Phil Keaggy and guitarist / producer Rex Paul invited JJT into the studio to hear their new album, ILLUMINATION. Here’s a clip from that conversation that explores the […]
Deep Trust on Sacred Ground at the Nowhere Else Festival
Josh Hurst is a fabulous writer. If you are not familiar with his work I strongly encourage you to become so. His review of the new Vampire Weekend album is, […]
Greg Lawless of Adam Again remembers Perfecta
As part of our ongoing HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE series, we would like to thank long time True Tunes contributor Jeff Elbel for this conversation with Greg Lawless, guitarist for one of […]
The True Tunes Gallery Stage Mixtape(s) Explained
A few new readers and friends have been asking me about the Gallery Stage Mixtape we’re always talking about around here. “How does it fit into the overall vision of the […]
NEWS: Inhaler, Ashworth, Alarm, OTR Fest, Ocean Blue, Vampires, ASCAP
True Tunes News: Forget the movie theaters, this week has been all about MUSIC. New tunes from The Hollywood Vampires, Sam Ashworth, The Alarm, The Ocean Blue, and Inhaler are […]
Chasing Larry, Finding Grace (Part 2 of 2)
(This is the second installment of a two-part reflection on my experiences with the enigmatic singer, songwriter, and iconoclast, Larry Norman. If you are coming upon this for the first […]
The Good “New” Days! Crowdfunding Part 3 – Advice From The Experts
With so many options, the process of launching the right crowdfunding program can seem overwhelming to an artist considering shifting to this model for the first time. Each of our […]
Crowdfunding Part 2; Does Patreon Replace Kickstarter? (2 of 3)
In Part One (of three) of this series we were introduced to our panel of experts; Terry Scott Taylor of Daniel Amos, Tyler Somers of Jenny & Tyler, Bradford […]
Phil Madeira Inducted Into Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame, Prepping Songwriting Camp
On April 29thsongwriter, artist, bandleader, multi-instrumentalist, and side-man extraordinaire, Phil Madeira, was inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame alongside blues legend Taj Mahal and others. Madeira, who […]