Shelby Lynne

Lost Highway is a terrific label, they've focused on so-called "alt country" from the start - they're actually a subdivision of Island, but it seems like they're fairly independent. They started off with some great smaller acts like Ryan Adams and Lucinda Williams and now have artists like Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, Lyle Lovett and even the Eagles on the roster.

If you enjoy the Jayhawks, their lead singer Gary Louris just released a fine solo album called Vagabonds.

Well, Gary Louris and Mark Olsen have an album slated to come out sometime later this year (it's apparently been done for awhile but was held back so it wouldn't conflict with Louris' solo album), hopefully we'll at least get another Mark & Gary tour to go along with it. There's an interview with Louris on AVclub.com where he also mentions wanting to re-release the first Jayhawks recordings (which have never been on CD) along with rarities and unreleased stuff. Should be a good year for Jayhawks fans!