There's a trick to being a band who writes timely, socially aware music; we're just not exactly sure how the trick works. You keep yourself open to the world. You react. You jerk your knee back and you respond to the news- sometimes appropriately, sometimes in ways you don't intend, sometimes in ways your don't realize- and in that way writing timely, socially aware music is a lot like engaging in an argument online. In our experience with the latter, you don't plan it or eve

We've spent the last six weeks in the San Joaquin Valley, California's central valley, with the Coastal Range to the West and the majestic Sierra Nevada's to the East. In the strict, technical sense, California is no longer in its seven year drought, but during our six weeks here, we've had three, maybe four, days of rain. Which is not much rain. (The skies did manage to open up a little bit on the couple days that we had designated to pack and move the camper, soaking the la

This week on Double Americana, we’re performing a song that most American kids know before they know anything. “Oh! Susanna” is one of the most widely performed and well known folk songs in the western cannon and for good reason. It was written by Stephen Foster in 1846 in Cincinnati, OH, when he worked as a bookkeeper in his brother’s steamship company. It was first performed on September 11th, 1847 at Andrew’s Eagle Ice Cream Saloon in Pittsburgh, PA by a local quintet, whi