SXSW Record Reviews

Slightly grizzled on the cover, Robbie Fulks now finds himself a veteran singer-songwriter capable of telling haunting stories that reach into old weird Americana with a sense of life lived simply yet richly. Upland is the southern region of Appalachia, close to where Fulks was raised. These tunes reflect the mountain music it spawned, including the fiddle-driven "Fare Thee Well, Carolina Gals" and plaintive "Never Come Home." A continuation of the warm folk, fiddle, and banjo style of 2013's Gone Away Backward, here Fulks continues proving he's one of music's best song craftsmen. (Wed., 8pm, Swan Dive; Thu., 12mid, Victorian Room at the Driskill)