On Angels, Rodriguez puts that anxiety to rest. She embraces the center of attention, producing the album with Taylor and writing half the tracks with him as well. While she hasn't abandoned country-folk altogether - there's plenty of steel guitar and banjo here - standout crossover tracks like the sexy "Got Your Name on It" are sure to inspire more panting than pickin'.

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MODERN-DAY MOUNTAIN MAN

His music is described as folk, Appalachian, bluegrass, and sometimes even "reggae grass" and "jam grass." But whatever you want to call it, it works. Because it's ­Michael Holland.
By James Mayfield

Though he's been making music since he was eight years old, Michael Holland hasn't exactly reached household-name status … yet. But it's not for lack of talent or work ethic on his part. The 37-year-old North Carolina-based singer-songwriter possesses­ both qualities in spades.

From 1992 to 2003, Holland fronted Jennyanykind, an alternative-rock-based quartet that saw the release of eight albums. After the band's breakup, Holland pursued a solo career and his own take on what would be folk music to some, Appalachian to others - a melting pot of bluegrass and acoustic guitar-based tunes that came together in 2004 with his debut Bootlegger's Dreams and gained momentum on last year's follow-up Tomorrows American Treasures.

The latter features a combination of six-string strums, banjo picks, fiddle, organ, upright bass, and a mandolin, courtesy of the Chapel Hill outfit known as Big Fat Gap Bluegrass, which assists Holland in bringing into the modern age what Flatt and Scruggs, Charlie Poole, and the Carter Family brought down from the mountain.