On the cover: Kelly Willis. Photograph by Todd V. Wolfson. Song lyric from "Reason To Believe" by Kelly Willis.

FRONT PORCH
Hello Stranger; Box Full Of Letters; Field Reportings;
Farther Along.

A PLACE TO BE
Regional portrait
Bristol, Virginia, the birthplace of country music.

MIKED
Live reviews
Dr. Ralph Stanley’s Memorial Bluegrass Festival in Coeburn, VA; Earl Scruggs: Family & Friends in Fairborn, OH; Paul Westerberg in Seattle, WA; Drive-By Truckers in Amsterdam, Netherlands; Jackson Browne in Greensboro, NC; Scotty Moore & Lee Rocker in Alexandria, VA; Jimmy LaFave in Wakefield, Quebec; Houston International Festival in Houston, TX; A Concert For Walter Hyatt & Champ Hood in Spartanburg, SC.

TOWN & COUNTRY
Brief regional features
Pieta Brown (Iowa City, IA); Will Rigby (Nashville, TN); Cornell Hurd Band (Austin, TX); Starlings, TN (Nashville, TN); Cave Catt Sammy (San Antonio, TX); Git (Melbourne, Australia); Leslie Woods (Knoxville, TN); Wichita Shut-Ins (Chicago, IL); Chad Rex (Kansas City, MO); Horse Stories (Los Angeles, CA).

DON’T ASK ME NO QUESTIONS
Q&A
Mark Olson (interview by Peter Blackstock).

THE LONG WAY AROUND
Extended features
Heather Myles (by Barry Mazor)
Beth Orton (by Paul Cantin)
Chuck Prophet (by David Cantwell)
Kelly Willis (by Silas House)
Linda Thompson (by Geoffrey Himes)
Bobby Bare and Bobby Bare Jr. (by Grant Alden)

SITTIN’ & THINKIN’
Essay
On authenticity, and alt-country (by Barry Mazor).

NOT FADE AWAY
Reissues
Alejandro Escovedo; Townes Van Zandt; The Band; Randy Newman; Fats Domino; John Hartford; International Submarine Band; Fred Neil; Hot Rize; Amy Rigby; Brute; BoDeans.

WAXED
Reviews
Solomon Burke; Ralph Stanley; Dolly Parton; Alejandro Escovedo; Mary Gauthier; Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen; Dave Alvin & the Guilty Men; Warren Zevon; Jason Ringenberg; Jack Ingram; Marah; David Baerwald; Los Lobos; Eugene Chadbourne; James Talley; Meat Purveyors; Marlee MacLeod; Bob Egan; Nathan Hamilton; Cassandra Wilson; Mae Moore; Richard Kaufmann; Drew Emmitt; Herb Steiner & the Retrobillies; Otis Taylor; Jolene; Messerly And Ewing; Ronny Elliott; Danielle Howle & the Tantrums; Hillbilly Idol; Maquiladora; Ray Mason Band; Jill Olson; Tim Krekel; J-200; $1,000 Wedding; Greg Jacobs; Azure Ray; Kangaroo; Shame Train; Candlewyck. Compilations: Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood soundtrack; The Bottle Let Me Down: Songs For Bumpy Wagon Rides; Heroes & Horses: Corridos From The Arizona-Sonora Borderlands; It Came From Memphis, Volume 2. EPs: Jay Farrar; Beachwood Sparks; Deer Whistle. Film: The Last Waltz; Johnny Cash At "Town Hall Party". Books: Close Harmony: A History Of Southern Gospel (by James R. Goff Jr.); Ring Of Fire: The Johnny Cash Reader (edited by Michael Streissguth); Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey In Rural North Dakota (by Chuck Klosterman).

THE NO DEPRESSION TOP 40
A retail chart for March-April 2002.

SCREEN DOOR
Stuff we like
The alt-photography of John Shimon & Julie Lindemann (by Michael Perry).