The Close To Picture EP was released recently on August 6, 2013. The responsible parties are Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge who is best known for his work with the prolific Punch Brothers. Close To Picture is a four track EP available to own at only four dollars. It is a small collection of thought provoking works for acoustic guitar. The melodies and compositional forms are engaging, and the performances are highly virtuosic. Seldom do guitar players in this medium perform with this high of a sense of shape, tone, musicality, and composition. In their own words, "With Lage’s background in modern jazz and new music, and Eldridge’s deep relationship with bluegrass as well as his being a member of the widely acclaimed band, Punch Brothers, this duo lives at the nexus of improvisation, spontaneous composition, and virtuosic refinement, all performed on their respective 1939 Martin guitars."

Hello Dig Nation, and good morning from the West Coast in beautiful Portland Oregon. It feels good to be back after taking some time off to pack up my life and schlep my humble belongings across this big nation of ours. Since we last convened I ate cheese and drank beer in Milwaukee WI, hiked the flatirons in Boulder CO, hung with some old school lounge lizards in Las Vegas NV, dipped my toes in the stoic waters that run through Yosemite National Park, ran along the coast line in the pseudo-summer that is San Francisco in June, and high fived giant Redwood trees on northbound highway 101 all the way up the California coast before arriving at my new home in Portland. Now that it's all said in done I can boast that I saw 21 of the continental 48 states in under two months and I'm pleased to say that taking in American all at once like that truly is everything Jack Kerouac promised me it would be. Regardless, the blogosphere waits for no man and there is business to attend to so let's get back to work.

Jacob Miller and the Bridge City Crooners have been a recent staple of the PDX music scene and were my first order of business in live music here. I had the pleasure of taking in the ragtime revival group at the Portland International Beer Fest over the weekend where they played not one, but two sets over the course of the weekend long party in the Pearl Disctrict. It was also a landmark weekend for Jacob Miller and the fellas because they celebrated the release of their first full length album on Friday July 19th. You can check it out and get my complete thoughts on their old-timey opus by clicking the Read On link below. You dig?

I've been trying to "review" albums a little more frequently; there is just so much good music out there and I want to get as much on TWD as possible. Adding to the recent burst of posts is an absolutely stellar album Ripely Pine by Aly Spaltro, better known as Lady Lamb the Beekeeper. Seriously, this is not one to miss.

Good morning Dig Nation. It's good to be back, thank you to Steve for holding down the fort, or blog, or whatever, for me while I was away for work and then down and out with a pretty nasty cold. Today I've got a Seattle based singer songwriter for you named Noah Gundersen. Alongside his sister Abby Gundersen they've put out a steady line of work since 2009 but this summer you will be able to check them out live at the Timber! Outdoor Music Fest – a great event that just keeps on booking amazing artists.

Read on for my thoughts on Noah Gundersen's 2011 release Family as well as a streaming copy the album complete with his music video for the side one track entitled David.

Over the past few months, I kept receiving emails about the new album Say What You Mean by Allison Weiss and the various songs being released. Single after single, they just kept coming, and I kept putting off a post so that I could include them all. The album came out 4/16 and I still haven't shared anything, which is really a shame because it's quite awesome. So check it out today if you haven't already.