So many variables determine what makes an artist or band “essential” — longevity, impact, influence, history. On-air and online, we celebrate the musicians who have shaped our cultural soundtrack for the past fifty years. Let’s love these FUV Essential artists while they’re here, and honor those who have departed too soon.
There is a perfect yin-yang balance to the music of Emily Saliers and Amy Ray, known as (the) Indigo Girls, and one of our FUV Essentials artists. As a duo that has broken barriers, they are sharp and caring cultural commentators and an example of how our differences make us better and stronger when we work together.
Van Morrison is the subject of an all-star tribute at Carnegie Hall on March 21 — and FUV revisits his music as one of our original FUV Essentials.
Van Morrison (photo by Gus Philippas)
"I went swimming in the river with the ghosts and debris," sings Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin (photo courtesy of Big Hassle, PR)
From the jaunty tilt of her scarlet beret to her languid drawl, Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones in 2010 (photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Dolly Parton is being honored this week as MusiCares' 2019 "Person of the Year" and Courtney Marie Andrews, a fan of the country music icon, weighs in with her "Five Essential Dolly Parton Songs."
Courtney Marie Andrews (photo by Laura E. Partain, PR)
[February 2019 update: At this year's 61st annual Grammy awards, broadcast on Sunday, Feb
Brandi Carlile (photo by Laura Fedele, WFUV)
On what would have been Warren Zevon's 72nd birthday on January 24, FUV asked one of his admirers, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, to weigh in with his "Five Essential Warren Zevon Songs."
Dawes (photo by Magdalena Wosinska, PR)
For his uncanny way with words, rambunctious wit, roller coaster rock 'n' roll intensity, complicated legacy, and the transformative way he finally taught all of us about the ephemeral magic of life, Warren Zevon is an FUV Essentials artist.
Warren Zevon in 1989 (AP Photo/Alan Greth)
The exhilaration of a debut album is undeniable.
Essential debuts (collage of album covers by Laura Fedele, WFUV)
[January 2019 update: With a record contract dated January 1, 1989 (even though the band really signed in June; the contract was b
Warpaint's Theresa Wayman (photo courtesy of the artist)
