While his music is uniquely stylized, Lyle Lovett was Americana before Americana music was cool. When he appears at the Taft Theater this week, he will be with his all-star Acoustic Group, playing cuts off his new album, Release Me, and more.   

MilkDrive’s latest album is called Waves and it swings with a fun, light and breezy mid-1960s feel. The band brings mostly original music to the table, but they will also put a jazzy twist on songs by The Beatles and others along the way.  

There isn’t much about Cleveland that Cincinnatians will admit to liking — it’s a bitter rivalry we just can’t move past. Cleveland did, however, offer us one very good reason to love them.Raised in Cleveland, singer-songwriter Joshua Radin quickly rose to success with his soft-spoken lyrics and acoustic guitar.   

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.  

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.   

When Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady assembled Hot Tuna in 1969, it seemed like little more than a busman’s Blues holiday for the respective guitarist and bassist from Jefferson Airplane, a way for the duo to work out their Delta and Piedmont obsession while the Airplane sat on the runway. Amazingly and against all conceivable odds, Hot Tuna is still a vital musical entity 43 years after its formation.