We firmly believe that the bulk of good music that we’ll see in the next decade will find itself launched at our eardrums from the strings of acoustic guitars, mandolins and violins. An increasingly large number of artists wear the trappings of bluegrass, Americana and our personal favorite hybrid, Southern Gothic. And Trampled by Turtles from Duluth, Minnesota, may be our new favorite voice in the movement, despite stiff competition from O’Death and our own Folk Family Revival. They won us over with an amazingly plucky rendition of the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind,” which you can have for free at trampledbyturtles.com, so there is no excuse not to bask in its brilliance. When you can give Frank Black a run for his money with his own damn song, then you know you’re on the right track. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more toe-tapping time in all of Houston while they’re in town.
This article appears in Dec 8-14, 2011.