Video: William Elliott Whitmore - Hell Or High Water (Live on KEXP)

A lot of great music today has a lot of pomp and circumstance (see: Lady GaGa, Kanye West, Gwar), but sometimes the best songs are sung with a quiet, cooing voice and a slowly strummed acoustic guitar. Thus, The Low Anthem . This americana/folk band rose to success with 20082s Oh My God, Charlie Darwin and released Smart Flesh last February, just a few days before they played DC's 6th & I Historic Synagogue (the last time they were here), where NPR live-streamed their performance. On [...]

With the warmer weather here – there will be plenty of quality time spent tipping a few on front porches back decks and roof tops. Nothing to compliment those moments than a fitting soundtrack. Hopefully – each Friday we can provide you with somebody new to throw in the ol' iPod. This week we feature William Elliott Whitmore . From LastFM: With a voice that sounds decades older than he is and full of emotional depth, William again delivers his unique signature style. While comparisons to the gravely voice of Tom [...]

• William Elliott Whitmore - Dry
• William Elliott Whitmore - Old devils

Gravelly-voiced Americana act William Elliott Whitmore is bringing his rustic charm to the Bottleneck in August. Despite his Iowa roots, Whitmore is steeped deep in Delta blues (hell, his rec... Continue reading "William Elliott Whitmore at the Bottleneck" >

Unless you count curvaceous women singing studio-altered ballads written by someone else, and aimed at prepubescent teenagers, it's fair to say that a surefire route to European musical success is something that's yet to be discovered. A good thing that is, too. But if ever there was a recipe for failure, William E Whitmore may just have it: political alternative country music from America's deep south, bred from a hardcore punk background. It's a credit to him, then, that the deep-voiced bluesman from the depths of backcountry Iowa, who still finds cities something of a challenge, has proven [...]

"I've seen him silence an entire room full (300 or so) of gossip prone drinkers/hipsters/rock-n-rolle rs/show-goers/tattooees and etc. types of folks in Chicago and put a good many of them on the verge of tears, with exuberant applause after every song. It was beautiful. Just one guy, one instrument and his songs captivating a large audience. Gave me the chills." -Roy Berry, Lucero As a long-time fan of William Elliott Whitmore , I had high expectations of Animals In The Dark prior to hearing it. I'm happy to report it [...]