Upcoming Shows

Zepparella

TodaySeptember 21, 20238:00pm $25.00

Zepparella is the Led Zeppelin Powerhouse. Vocalist Anna Kristina, Guitarist Gretchen Menn, Bassist Holly West, and Drummer Clementine have brought their passion for the sacred music of the greatest band in the world all over the world. Zepparella shows replicate the nuance and detail of Zeppelin's catalog while honoring....

Erin Viancourt

TomorrowSeptember 22, 20238:00pm $20.00

The Steepwater Band

SaturdaySeptember 23, 20238:00pm $15.00

Although The Steepwater Band got their start as devotees of delta blues, they have since been expanding on their influences taking on everything from psychedelia to Americana, and of course, rock and roll music. Formed in Chicago in 1998, the band's signature sound is at once a nod to earlier rock n' blues combined with a....

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Guytano

WednesdayOctober 4, 20238:00pm $15.00

Minnesota based Guytano is made up of brothers Grant and Eddie Hamilton along with Isaac Hesse and Colter Benoit. The band first met in 2010 while attending middle school in Sartell, Minnesota where they began covering punk rock songs eventually finding their own synth-based pop-rock sound behind the songs of the band's....

Christopher's Project presents The Music of Maze, Maxwell & Kem

SundayOctober 8, 20237:00pm $20 advance / $25 door

Featuring vocalists Jackie Caldwell, Joe Jordan & special guest Terry Jeanne, Jr.

Complimentary appetizers from 6-7.

PHUN (Phish Tribute)

FridayNovember 10, 20238:00pm $15 advance / $20 door

The Midwest's best Phish Tribute Band is returning to Shank Hall! PHUN continues to deliver you the Phish experience, with their own grooves and jams that will melt faces and get you on your feet! PHUN has been blessed with the opportunity to share the music of Phish with crowds all over the Midwest for over ten years.....

Hillbilly Casino

TuesdayNovember 28, 20238:00pm $15.00

U.D.O.

MondayDecember 4, 20238:00pm $35.00

Yam Yam

WednesdayDecember 6, 20238:00pm $15.00

YAM YAM formed in late 2015, coming together from playing in an assortment of local bands in central PA. The band is inspired by 1970s soul music, New Orleans roots of jazz music, and modern/vintage funk and jam music. YAM YAM features raw instruments and captures a high-energetic sound. YAM YAM is Mike Dempsey on keys,....

Southbound

SaturdayDecember 16, 20238:00pm $15 advance / $20 door

Please join Southbound for their Annual Allman Brothers Band Tribute at Shank Hall. The idea for this show started well over a decade ago and this year they're celebrating the 50th Anniversary of one of the most popular albums in history, the ABB Classic LP "Brothers and Sisters." Southbound is a Milwaukee-based band....

The Lovelies

FridayDecember 22, 20238:00pm

The Lovelies are a melodic, harmony soaked band located in Milwaukee. Although they disbanded in the early 2000s, they continue to play reunion shows. They formally released three full length discs. Members are Liv Mueller, Barbara Endes, Damian Strigens and Bill Backes.

No Can Do - A Tribute To The Music of Hall & Oates

FridayDecember 29, 20238:00pm

No Can Do is the passion project of Rich Hoffman, WAMI winning vocalist for Wisconsin band Almighty Vinyl and the original music band, SACRED. Rich's love for the timeless music of Daryl Hall & John Oates compelled him to seek like-minded, top-quality musicians from other well-established bands to recreate their music.....

Damaged Justice (Metallica tribute), Postmortem (Slayer tribute)

SaturdayDecember 30, 20238:00pm $12 advance / $15 door

Damaged Justice is Chicago's female fronted Metallica tribute band, formed in 1996 by drummer Robert Masliansky. Robert kept the band together through the thick and thin of Metallica's career and the local Chicago music scene. It's the band's long-term goal to play every single song in Metallica's catalog live on stage. In....

Pete Correale

FridayJanuary 5, 20247:30pm $30.00

Pete has performed on numerous late night tv shows such as The Tonight Show, Letterman and Conan. as well as filming three of his own one hour television comedy specials, THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE, LET ME TELL YA and the last being on FOR PETE'S SAKE. He has also released two comedy albums, GIVE IT A REST and MADE FOR....

John Masino Band

SaturdayJanuary 6, 20248:00pm $10.00

The John Masino Band hails from Madison, Wisconsin and has been performing shows in the Midwest for many years. The current 5 piece line-up features guitarist/vocalist/songwriter, John Masino, an inimitable Midwest music veteran, and former CBS Nemperor Records recording artist. And on lead vocals is one the area's....

Jeffrey Martin

SaturdayMay 11, 20248:00pm $20.00

Alternative Concert Group Presents

~~John Hiatt~~ CANCELED

TodaySeptember 21, 20237:30pm $75 / $55

If you already have tickets for this show, please return them to the place of purchase for a refund. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Daniel O'Donnell

FridaySeptember 29, 20237:00pm

At Coronado Performing Arts Center, Rockford, IL.

Tickets on sale at coronadopac.org.

LIVE! ON STAGE JONATHAN RICHMAN featuring TOMMY LARKINS on the drums!

SundayOctober 8, 20237:30pm $38.50

Wilson Theater in Vogel Hall at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Milwaukee, WI.

Reserved seats on sale at Marcus Center box office and Tickemaster.com.

The Zombies

SaturdayOctober 14, 20238:00pm

At South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, Milwaukee, WI.

Tickets on sale online, at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center box office or by phone at 414-766-5049.

Tommy Emmanuel

SundayOctober 15, 20238:00pm

At the Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, WI.

Tickets on sale at pabsttheatergroup.com.

Bruce Cockburn

ThursdayNovember 2, 20237:30pm

At South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, Milwaukee, WI.

Tickets on sale online, at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center box office or by phone at 414-766-5049.

Gregorian Pure Chants Tour 2023

FridayNovember 3, 20238:00pm

At South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, Milwaukee, WI.

Tickets on sale online, at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center box office or by phone at 414-766-5049.

Loreena McKennitt

SundayNovember 5, 20237:30pm $55 | $75

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

Tickets on sale at barrymorelive.com or by phone at 608-241-8633 (Mon-Fri noon-5pm).

Todd Snider

ThursdayNovember 9, 20237:30pm $35 | $50

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

Tickets on sale at barrymorelive.com or by phone at 608-241-8633 (Mon-Fri noon-5pm).

Quick Calendar

Full-hearted, free-spirited, and irresistibly genuine, Erin Viancourt's take on country music is both timeless and entirely attuned to the chaos of modern life. On her debut album Won't Die This Way, the Cleveland-bred singer/songwriter/guitarist brings her lived-in storytelling to a gritty but gorgeously detailed batch of songs, encompassing everything from Americana to Western swing to classic outlaw country. Rooted in the warm and radiant vocal presence she's shown onstage in touring arenas with Cody Jinks (who recently made Viancourt the first signing to his Late August Records), Won't Die This Way ultimately reveals her rare capacity to soothe the soul and leave the listener newly empowered to live each day to the absolute fullest.

Co-produced by Viancourt and Kyle Dreaden, Won't Die This Way came to life at Nashville's Forty One Fifteen and The Smoakstack in a series of sessions. With its tracklist comprised of songs she's gathered over the past decade, the album opens on "Cheap Paradise," a joyfully irreverent and tender ode to life's simplest pleasures. "It's always fun to take a big trip to somewhere you've never been, but to me paradise is driving down an open back road or sitting in a dive bar with a good jukebox and bottle of cheap beer," says Viancourt. In its up-close exploration of the human heart's infinite complexity, Won't Die This Way also offers up such soul-baring tracks as "Who Taught You How To Love" (a beautifully aching slow-burner laced with jazz-like percussion) and "Should've Known Better'' (an epic yet exquisitely restrained outpouring of regret, featuring a blistering guitar solo from Lentner). And on Won't Die This Way's title track--co-written with Jinks and Kendell Marvel--Viancourt delivers a defiant anthem whose raw intensity is gloriously heightened by its powerful harmonies and smoldering guitar riffs. "Many can relate to the feeling of needing personal change and realizing that they must be the ones to make it happen," she says. "This applies to relationships, careers, living situations, old habits/mindsets and the list goes on that can affect ones happiness and peace. That responsibility can feel like both a defeat and a breakthrough, but we only get one life. I hope this song inspires others and gives them the extra courage to take the reins and create positive changes."

Showcasing the sheer depth of Viancourt's musicality, Won't Die This Way gracefully journeys from the rowdy honky-tonk of "Crazy in My Mind" to the finespun folk of "Mountain Boy," endlessly spotlighting the effortless vocal command she first began honing as a kid back in Cleveland. "I come from a pretty musical family, and spent a lot of time sitting around the campfire with 5 to 7 guitars going at once," she recalls. At age 18 she started writing songs of her own, tapping into longtime inspirations from Jerry Jeff Walker to Shel Silverstein and honing her singular narrative voice with the help of a stack of poetry books inherited from her paternal grandfather. After graduating high school she headed to Nashville and soon found her own community of fellow musicians and songwriters, then later made her debut with the early-2019 single "Playin' Old Records." Over the past few years, she's gained attention as a magnetic live performer, eventually landing such high-profile gigs as opening for Jinks and the legendary Travis Tritt in 2021. "With the live show I always try to bring a good time and help people to let loose but also connect with each other," says Viancourt. "To me the most special thing about music is how it can help you feel less alone."

In the making of her debut album, Viancourt fully devoted herself to the work of preserving and magnifying her music's emotional impact, continually bringing a profound attention to detail to her production choices. "One of the reasons I loved working with Kyle is how he helped me to understand the process of creating something meaningful to leave behind," she says. "When we first started working on the record I had this idea that I had to nail everything in one take, but he stopped me cold in my tracks and said, 'That's not what we're doing. We're making a fossil.'" And thanks to that extraordinary level of care, Won't Die This Way fulfills the essential mission at the heart of all of Viancourt's songwriting. "I hope this album makes people want to move around a dance floor with a cold beverage, sing at the top of their lungs with the windows down, and keep moving forward with whatever they're looking for in life," she says. "Most of all I hope it reminds everyone that they're not alone and we're all a little crazy--so let's all grow together and do it with style.

"'Just play what you feel, be real about it, and enjoy yourself.' That's what Albert Collins taught me," says the award-winning guitar virtuoso and soul-deep singer Coco Montoya. The self-taught, left-handed Montoya mastered his craft under Collins' tutelage. Incorporating lessons learned from his mentors, the iconic Collins (for whom he originally drummed), and UK legend John Mayall, Montoya puts his own stamp onto every song he performs. Since his first solo album in 1995 (which won him the Blues Music Award for Best New Artist), Montoya's endlessly inventive guitar work and passionate, hard-hitting vocals have kept him at the top of the blues world. With his new Alligator Records album, Writing On The Wall (his sixth for the label), Montoya delivers what he is already calling one of the best records he's ever made. For the very first time on Alligator, he decided to bring his road-tested band--noted keyboardist and songwriter Jeff Paris (Keb' Mo', Bill Withers), bassist Nathan Brown, and drummer Rena Beavers--into the studio with him. Between the camaraderie of the long-time bandmates and the sheer talent of all involved, the results have left Coco, in his words, "over the moon."

Produced by Grammy Award-winner Tony Braunagel (Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal) and co-produced by Jeff Paris, Writing On The Wall is a tour-de-force of memorable, hook-filled songs, sung with passion and fueled by equally memorable, top shelf musicianship. The 13 tracks include five written or co-written by Montoya. The set opens with a signature, career-defining performance of the soul-baring I Was Wrong, written for Coco by songwriter Dave Steen. From the blistering Save It For The Next Fool to the enjoy now/pay later philosophy of Jeff Paris' (I'd Rather Feel) Bad About Doin' It to the riveting reinvention of Lonnie Mack's Stop, Montoya delivers each song with heart-pounding emotion. Special guest Lee Roy Parnell adds his well-seasoned slide guitar to the smoldering A Chip And A Chair. And Coco's friend, guitarist Ronnie Baker Brooks (son of late Alligator star Lonnie Brooks), joins in for some good-natured fun on the droll Baby, You're A Drag and adds his blistering playing to the searing cover of Bobby Bland's You Got Me.

"I am so proud of this one," Montoya says of Writing On The Wall. "We recorded in Jeff Paris' studio and everything just gelled together. And the band inspired me; they all gave extra effort at every turn. Jeff, Nathan and Rena played so great, they ended up making me play even harder. They made me sound better than I am!"

Henry "Coco" Montoya was born in Santa Monica, California, on October 2, 1951, and raised in a working-class family. Growing up, Coco immersed himself in his parents' record collection. He listened to big band jazz, salsa, doo-wop and rock 'n' roll. His first love was drums; he acquired a kit at age 11. He got a guitar two years later. "I'm sure the Beatles had something to do with this," Montoya recalls. "I wanted to make notes as well as beats." But guitar was his secondary instrument. Montoya turned his love of drumming into his profession, playing in a number of area rock bands while still in his teens and becoming an in-demand drummer.

In 1969, Montoya saw Albert King opening a Creedence Clearwater Revival/Iron Butterfly concert at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. He was transformed. "After King got done playing," says Montoya, "my life was changed. When he played, the music went right into my soul. It grabbed me so emotionally that I had tears welling up in my eyes. Nothing had ever affected me to this level. He showed me what music and playing the blues were all about. ?I knew that was what I wanted to do."

The next chapter of Montoya's story was kick-started by a chance meeting in the mid-1970s with legendary bluesman Albert Collins. Montoya says, "Albert was coming through Los Angeles and needed to borrow my drum set, which I left at the club where he was going to be playing. I went down to see his show that night and it just tore my head off. The thing that I had seen and felt with Albert King came pouring back on me when I saw Albert Collins."

A short time later, Collins hired Montoya as his band's drummer. With Albert mentoring Coco on the guitar during the band's downtime, Coco soon became Collins' second guitarist. "We'd sit in hotel rooms for hours and play guitar," remembers Montoya. "He'd play that beautiful rhythm of his and just have me play along. He was always saying, 'Don't think about it, just feel it.' He was like a father to me," says Coco, who often slept at Collins' home. When Collins declared Montoya his "son," it was the highest praise and affection he could offer. In return, Montoya learned everything he could from the legendary Master of the Telecaster.

Needing a more regular paycheck, Montoya left Collins' band after two years and took a job tending bar, jamming on weekends at Los Angeles clubs. One day, legendary British musician John Mayall heard Coco playing Otis Rush's All Your Love (I Miss Loving) onstage. Soon after, Mayall called on Montoya to join his famous Bluesbreakers. Filling the shoes of previous Bluesbreaker guitarists Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor would not be easy, but Montoya knew he could not pass up the opportunity to play with another legend. For the next ten years he toured the world and recorded with Mayall on seven albums, soaking up the experience of life on the road and in the recording studio.

Montoya's recorded debut as a bandleader came with 1995's Gotta Mind To Travel (originally on Silvertone Records in England and later issued in the USA on Blind Pig Records). The album became an instant fan favorite. Blues enthusiasts, radio programmers and critics sent praise from all corners. The album immediately made it clear that Montoya ranked among the best players on the contemporary scene. Two more Blind Pig albums followed, and Coco was well on his way.

In 2000, Montoya's Alligator debut, Suspicion, quickly became the best-selling album of his career, earning regular radio airplay on over 120 stations nationwide. Montoya's fan base exploded. After two more highly successful and massively popular Alligator releases--2002's Can't Look Back and 2007's Dirty Deal--Montoya signed with Ruf Records, cutting both a live and a studio album. Returning to Alligator with 2017's Hard Truth and 2019's Coming In Hot, the guitar master continued to blaze his trail. "Montoya unleashes one career-topping performance after another," declared the UK's Blues Matters.

Still an indefatigable road warrior, Montoya continues to tour virtually nonstop, bringing audiences to their feet from New York to New Orleans to Chicago to San Francisco. Across the globe, he's performed in countries including Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, England, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, Italy, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic and Canada.

Now, with the dynamic Writing On The Wall and a tour calendar busting at the seams, Coco Montoya is as excited as he's ever been to perform the new songs live with his burning-hot band. Montoya's well-earned reputation as an eye-popping live performer precedes him. Vintage Guitar states, "Coco keeps getting better and better. He plays with fire and passion rarely seen in this day and age." Billboard declares, "In a world of blues guitar pretenders, Coco Montoya is the real McCoy. He exudes power and authenticity. Be prepared to get scorched by the real thing."

Some folks are lucky to find what they love to do at an early age and settle in for the long haul working to expand and improve their work over the arc of a lifetime. Willy Porter is one of those folks. He has followed his own path to explore the sacred language that music truly is. 30 years after his solo recording debut, he continues to reach further into his guitar & pen while stretching the form of what his own music can be. He's currently working on his 13th album for release in early 2022.

Willy Porter continues on a musical and personal odyssey spanning over two decades, 11 albums, and multiple continents. His journey has been defined by an inquisitive love for humanity and the language that describes what we all hold to be true. Porter's songs weave a universal perspective about the questions, struggles, and triumphs of human existence. His live shows are guitar-driven grit, soul, silence and muscle-- at times electrifying, dynamic, and unique in the way that Porter's voice blends and fuses with his fret work.

A largely self-taught musician, Porter began treating audiences to his brand of guitar playing and wry storytelling in the late '80's while living in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1990, he released his first full-length independent album, The Trees Have Soul, and the touring life has flowed steadily ever since. Porter has literally logged millions of miles across America, Canada, the UK, and Europe, touring solo, as well as with various incarnations of the Willy Porter Band and in support of artists like Tori Amos, Paul Simon, Jethro Tull, Sting, and Jeff Beck.

Porter's breakthrough album, Dog Eared Dream, was released in 1994, and the song "Angry Words" quickly became a staple at the burgeoning AAA radio format. This led to a major label deal with BMG/Private Music in 1995. Unfortunately, Private was dismantled by BMG just as Porter was preparing to release his follow-up. With contractual freedom in 1998, Porter quickly signed with the San Francisco-based label Six Degrees. There he released three albums beginning with the studio gem, Falling Forward (1999), produced by multiple Grammy-winner Neil Dorfsman (Dire Straits, Sting). The eponymous Willy Porter (2001) followed featuring great guest performances by Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull and Tony Levin. His fan-favorite solo disc, High Wire Live (2003) was co-produced with Grammy-winner Ben Wisch (Marc Cohn, Shawn Colvin).

In 2005 Porter left Six Degrees and launched his own imprint, Weasel Records. Together with longtime keyboardist/ collaborator Dave Adler, Porter produced the atmospheric album Available Light in 2006. His work with Guild & Fender guitars over the next several years would result in the manufacture of the "Willy Porter Signature" acoustic guitar. Porter then took time to record and produce singer/songwriter Natalia Zukerman, on her whip-smart Weasel debut, Brand New Frame (2008). Porter released his next disc, How to Rob a Bank in 2009, the heavily Americana-flavored record featuring the contributions of the LA-based quartet, Raining Jane. Bank was followed with a live disc recorded with the Carpe Diem String Quartet in (2010). This collaboration produced a gorgeous EP featuring several of Porter's most enduring tunes ("Breathe," "Paper Airplane," "Watercolor"), elevated and reinterpreted against a backdrop of lush string arrangements.

In 2011, Porter produced the second Weasel release for Natalia Zukerman, the driving Gas Station Roses. A partnership with Milwaukee-based singer/ songwriter Carmen Nickerson resulted in the album, Cheeseburgers and Gasoline (2013). This spartan production illuminates themes of life-longing and relationship repair, all while balancing the dream of self-actualization on the axle of a carnival's Tilt-a-Whirl. The record also includes Porter's brilliant cover arrangement of Peter Gabriel's "Digging in the Dirt." Porter's follow-up release, Human Kindness (2015) incorporated all of his acoustic, electric, and multi-string chops to bear in service of a great selection of songs bearing the influence of soul, rock, blues/Americana, showcasing Porter's growth as a writer, musician, and producer.

After touring extensively together for more than two years, Porter and Nickerson released a full-length disc of original co-writes: Bonfire to Ash (2016). Produced by Grammy winning producer Ben Wisch (Marc Cohn, Jonatha Brooke) and featuring Bassist Zev Katz and Drummer/Producer Ben Wittman, Bonfire to Ash is a record that charts the experiences bridging the intimate with the universal. Porter and Nickerson borrow from their strong stage chemistry to render the same kind of musical conversation that unfolds in performance within a studio setting. This dialogic style broadens to consider the connections and values forged in the communities we call home ("Living Proof") and in the responsibility we have to the planet that gives itself to house us ("Plant A Garden"). Bonfire to Ash compiles candid snapshots of the human journey, exposing ideas such as hope, regret, love, loss, and connection that remain immutable against time, history, or place.

In addition to making a life in music, Porter finds ways to make an impact on local and international levels. He is an active supporter of Advocates of Ozaukee, a shelter and treatment facility for victims of domestic violence and abuse in Mequon, Wisconsin. His annual benefit concerts have raised more than $100,000 for this organization to date. He is also an Ambassador for Guitars for Vets, a Milwaukee-based International organization that works to improve the lives of veterans by providing them with guitars and music lessons.

Willy Porter lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with his wife and two children.

Juliana Hatfield's inimitable 35-year career has seen her an underground darling, a cultural emblem and a time-tested veteran whose tender singing and exemplary guitar playing is an iconic and enduring pinnacle of indie and alternative rock. In 1986, she co-founded beloved Boston indie-rock trio the Blake Babies with Freda Love and John Strohm, injecting a glassy pop sensibility and keen knack for melody into the East Coast's vibrant underground rock scene, which included peers like Dinosaur Jr., the Pixies and The Lemonheads. After releasing three LPs and an EP with the band, in 1992 her debut solo album, Hey Babe, proved Hatfield a force in her own right. Its 11 tracks of melodic alt-rock portend the explosion of her singular blend of hard and soft (and also the cultural impact of grunge figureheads Nirvana, detailed in the album's song of the same name). That's not to mention Hatfield's crucial contribution as bassist and backing vocalist on The Lemonheads' celebrated albums It's a Shame About Ray (1992) and Come on Feel The Lemonheads (1993).

But it was Hatfield's 1993 album Become What You Are -- released under the moniker The Juliana Hatfield Three -- that marked her a star. Its runaway single, "My Sister," gave voice to women and girls worldwide, detailing the complex emotional stew of sisterhood and female friendship, and becoming a rare hit without a chorus. It topped the Billboard alternative chart in 1993, and the album was designated a rising phenomenon on the publication's heatseekers index, peaking at the pole position. "Spin the Bottle," a quirky, rollicking tune written in 5/4, was featured in Reality Bites, one of the era's most celebrated films. Its accompanying video, directed by Ben Stiller, features Hatfield and the band playing the pubescent-favorite game alongside the actor Ethan Hawke and Belly's Tanya Donelly. Its follow-up, Hatfield's Only Everything, released in 1995, further highlighted her dexterous guitar shredding against a backdrop of melodic pop structures. It catapulted her fierce-yet-tender outlook to new heights, and produced two more celebrated singles, "Universal Heart-Beat" and "What a Life." The same year, she contributed the original song "So-Called Angels" to cult-favorite television show My So-Called Life, and made her acting debut on the show's Christmas episode.

Since her commercial peak, Hatfield has released 16 solo albums of stirring originals and imaginative covers, delving further into her love of melodic pop and rock frameworks, and fine-tuning her unmatched vision. In 2001 she reconvened the Blake Babies for a new album, God Bless the Blake Babies, and in 2016 she collaborated with The Replacements' Paul Westerberg under the band name The I Don't Cares. She's adorned magazine covers and played the country's most celebrated rock clubs but at her core Hatfield is an artist and a technician -- a skilled singer, songwriter and player whose influence and endurance is all but unmatched.

Globally acclaimed by critics and fans alike for his unique acoustic and electric ?ngerstyle guitar playing, Adrian Legg masterfully blends diverse musical styles, in?uences and inspirations to create a distinctive sound all his own. With multiple awards and accolades spanning four decades, Legg has been heralded as a "guitarist of astonishing virtuosity, (whose) imagination and melodic invention seem unbounded," (Q magazine); "ridiculously talented," (Music Week) and "simply the best acoustic guitar player I've ever heard."(guitar icon Joe Satriani). Setting the stage for his international success in the decades to follow, Legg was named as Acoustic Guitarist of the Decade by the UK's Guitarist Magazine(1984-94), and Best Acoustic Fingerstylist in Guitar Player Magazine's Readers' Poll for four years in a row. (1993-96).

But there's even more to Adrian Legg's draw as an engaging, one-of-a-kind performer. Described by Audio Magazine as a "kind of cross between Robert Fripp and Garrison Keillor," Legg is more fully characterized as a "genuine entertainer who excels at not only painting pictures, if not frescoes, and telling stories with music-- but also wittily regaling his audiences with tales from his life and travels and his cogent and often oblique yet thought-provoking observations on a spectrum of topics. It's all part of his dedication to making his performances a fullblooded emotional experience."

Over his career, Legg has released a dozen or more recordings of his original compositions, which are consistently described as "thrilling, engaging, emotionally compelling and evocative." Legg encapsulates his own music by saying, "I'm a collision between European classicism and the American guitar."

Loyal fans around the globe enthusiastically appreciate Legg's witty, entertaining stories, often shared in between songs onstage and on his live albums. As noted by popular BBC radio personality Andy Kershaw, "Quite simply, there is no one else like him," citing Legg's "dazzling technique and equally large dollops of spirit, humor, passion, eclecticism and spontaneity."

For Legg, the essence of his creativity is in live performance."Playing live is the whole point," he stresses."Everyone makes a journey, an effort; we all come together -- me, the audience,the people who run the venue -- to share this wonderful, universal, human emotional interaction. This is where music lives; it has a huge social value which I think is very important."

When it comes to musical technique, Legg plays ?ngerstyle guitar, mixing an alternating-bass style with harmonics, banjo-peg retuning and single or double string bending. Often, he plays a piece entirely in arpeggios (similar to a classical guitar style) and extensively uses altered tunings and capos to create his signature sound.

In addition to his well-honed gifts as a performer, Legg is an innovator in guitar design and ampli?cation technology, an instructor, photographer, writer, author, and an at-large commentator for National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" which still regularly uses many of his varied guitar interpretations of its theme music. So it's no wonder that What's Up magazine hails London-born Legg as "the greatest British import since Newcastle Brown Ale."

The eighth full-length from singer/songwriter Jason Eady, To The Passage Of Time first took shape in a frenetic burst of creativity back in the doldrums of quarantine. Over the course of a three-day period last August, the Fort Worth, Texas-based musician wrote more than half of the album, locking himself in his bedroom and emerging only when he felt completely burnt out. "I went in thinking I was going to write just one song--but then the songs kept coming, and I didn't want to break the spell," he recalls. "I'd go to sleep with the guitar by the bed, pick it back up when I woke up the next morning, and do it all again. I'd never really experienced anything like that before."

With its nuanced exploration of aging and loss and the fragility of life, To The Passage Of Time arrives as the Mississippi-bred artist's most lyrically complex and compelling work to date. As Eady reveals, the album's understated power stems in part from the intentionality of the recording process, which involved enlisting Band of Heathens' Gordy Quist as producer and gathering many of Eady's favorite musicians he's played with over the years (including Noah Jeffries on mandolin and fiddle, Mark Williams on upright bass and cello, and Geoff Queen on Dobro, pedal steel, and lap steel). "I really love egoless players--people who know how to serve the song," notes Eady, who recorded at The Finishing School in Austin and made ample use of the studio's goldmine of vintage gear. "We started every song with just me on guitar, and if someone felt like they had a part to add, they had to come forward and say what they heard there. Everything was built from the ground up, and because of that there's no filler--nobody playing to show off or take up space."

On the album's exquisite centerpiece "French Summer Sun"--a devastating epic astoundingly captured in the very first take--Eady shares one of his most riveting pieces of storytelling yet. "My grandfather fought at Battle of Anzio in Italy in World War II, and a few years ago on tour I went to visit the beach where the battle took place," says Eady. "I was struck by how small the beach was--I realized that if my grandfather had made one wrong move he would've been killed, and I wouldn't be standing there thinking those thoughts. I ended up writing this song about how when someone dies in war, it isn't just killing that person: it's killing the generations of people who would have come from them." Building to a shattering plot twist in its final moments, "French Summer Sun" drifts between its somberly sung chorus and spoken-word verses, attaining an unlikely transcendence as Eady sheds equally poignant light on the horror of war and the ephemeral beauty of everyday
life.

Looking back on the making of To The Passage Of Time, Eady points to such unexpected moments as the recording of the album-opening "Nothing On You." "Apart from my guitar, the only two instruments on that song are cello and steel guitar--which is a combination I'd never heard before, and gave it a whole new character that took my breath away," he says. But for the most part, Eady achieved a rare outcome in the album's production: a direct expression of his deep-rooted and highly specific vision. "I write my songs on acoustic guitar, so sometimes in the studio things take different turns and end up not really matching with what you had in your head," says Eady. "But because of the approach we took with this album, there's hardly anything that came out different from what I'd envisioned. This is 100 percent the album I hoped I would make."

In Chicago, a city overflowing with unrivaled blues talent, world-renowned Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials have been standing tall for almost 30 years. The band's big sound, fueled by Lil' Ed's gloriously rollicking slide work and deep blues string bending, along with his rough-edged, soulful vocals, is as real and hard-hitting as Chicago blues gets. The Chicago Sun-Times says, "Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials are the hottest purveyors of bottleneck boogie to come out of Chicago since Hound Dog Taylor."

Lil' Ed Williams comes to the blues naturally. His uncle, Chicago slide guitar king and master songwriter J.B. Hutto, taught him how to feel, not just play the blues. Nine albums and thousands of performances later, Lil' Ed is now universally hailed as a giant of the genre. Lil' Ed and The Blues Imperials--bassist (and Ed's half-brother) James "Pookie" Young, guitarist Mike Garrett and drummer Kelly Littleton--have remained together for nearly 30 years (an extraordinary feat for any group), the band fueling Ed's songs with their rock-solid, road-tested, telepathic musicianship.

The Big Sound Of Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials is the musically electrifying, emotionally intense and downright fun new album from the band Guitar Player calls "a snarling boogie-blues machine...they blow down the walls." The CD features Lil' Ed's incendiary playing and playful, passionate singing, with the ragged-but-right Blues Imperials cooking like mad alongside him. Produced by Williams and Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, it is a tour-de-force of authentic, deeply rooted Chicago blues. Williams wrote or co-wrote all but two of album's 14 songs, the other gems written by Uncle J.B. The Chicago Reader says the band's music "is a soundtrack for dancing and celebration infused with a sense of hard-won survival. Williams attacks his lyrics like he attacks his guitar: with bare-bones intensity that makes each word sound like a matter of life or death."

Born in Chicago on April 8, 1955, in the heart of Chicago's tough West Side, Ed grew up surrounded by music. He was playing guitar, then drums and bass, by the time he was 12. Ed and Pookie received lessons and support from their famous uncle. "J.B. taught me everything I know," says Ed. "I wouldn't be where I am today without him." Ed and Pookie spent their teen years making music together, and in 1975 formed the first incarnation of The Blues Imperials. They played their first gig at a West Side club called Big Duke's Blue Flame, splitting the $6 take four ways. Over the next few years, the group played every club in the neighborhood. Even so, they still needed day jobs to pay the bills. Ed worked ten hours a day as a buffer at the Red Carpet Car Wash. Pookie drove a school bus. Night after night they played their roaring brand of blues in tiny clubs, and eventually the word reached Alligator president Bruce Iglauer.

At the time, Iglauer was looking for local talent for The New Bluebloods, an anthology of some of Chicago's younger blues musicians. "Ed and his band had a good reputation," recalls Iglauer. "I had only seen them live once or twice. I knew Ed was a hot slide player, but I had no idea what he and the band were really capable of. I just knew that their music reminded me of Hound Dog Taylor and J.B. Hutto, two of my favorite musicians. It seemed like having a band this rough and ready would be a nice change of pace for the anthology, so I asked them to come down to the studio and cut a couple of songs. I never expected what happened."

The band--never having been in a recording studio before--treated the studio like a club, playing live to Iglauer, the engineer, and all the people on the other side of the control room glass. After Ed recorded his two rehearsed songs quickly, there was still plenty of studio time left, so they just kept playing. After 10 songs were in the can, Iglauer offered the band a full album contract. The end result of the session was 30 songs cut in three hours with no overdubs and only one second take. Twelve of those songs became the band's debut album, Roughhousin', released in September of 1986.

The national press reacted with amazement to the blues world's new discovery. Feature stories ran in Spin, Musician, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune and dozens of other publications. The Village Voice declared, "Roughhousin' just may be the blues album of the year." The New York Times raved, "Raw-boned, old-fashioned Chicago blues has a new young master--Lil' Ed Williams."

But it wasn't until 1987, when guitarist Mike Garrett joined the band, and a year later, when Garrett recruited his Detroit hometown friend Kelly Littleton to play drums, that things really began to take off. Garrett's risk-taking rhythm guitar work and Littleton's unpredictable, old school drumming were the perfect complement to Lil' Ed's and Pookie's rambunctious playing. With their 1989 album Chicken, Gravy & Biscuits, doors opened and audiences poured in. Through relentless touring, the group crystallized, becoming tighter with each performance, more adept in their abilities to read each other's musical moves. Their spontaneous and unpredictable live show became legendary among blues fans worldwide.

They have played the Chicago Blues Festival multiple times, and have appeared at The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Portland's Waterfront Blues Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, The San Diego Blues Festival, The Pennsylvania Blues Festival and dozens of other festivals around the country. Satisfying worldwide demand, they have performed at festivals in Canada, Great Britain, France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Japan, Australia, India, Turkey and Panama.

Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials released eight Alligator albums between 1986 and 2012. With each one, the band's national and international stature grew as their fan base--known internationally as "Ed Heads"--continued to expand. With 2006's Rattleshake, Ed and company reached a whole new audience. Die-hard "Ed Head" Conan O'Brien brought the band before millions of television viewers on two separate occasions. Success and accolades never stop pouring in. Living Blues called 2012's Jump Start "scorching and soulful" with "crafty, clever lyrics...joyous and stomping."

The group took home the Living Blues Award for Best Live Performer in 2011, 2012 and 2013. They won the prestigious Blues Music Award for Band Of The Year in both 2007 and 2009. The Associated Press says, "Williams fills Chicago's biggest shoes with more life and heat than anyone on stage today."

With The Big Sound Of Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials, the band continues to bring their blistering Chicago blues to "Ed Heads" new and old. Their infectious energy, joyful showmanship and masterful playing have been honed to a razor's edge by their many years together. Lil' Ed, Pookie, Mike and Kelly have seen sports stars and presidents, musical fads and fashion trends come and go. Meanwhile, their fiery music has more than stood the test of time. "We're not band members," says Williams, "we're family, and families stay together." Night after night, gig after riotous gig, the musical family called Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials bring their big, dynamic Chicago blues sound to fans across the country and around the world

Since their arrival on the music scene in the first wave of 1960s psychedelia, the name Soft Machine has become synonymous with musical experimentation, instrumental virtuosity, and inspired creativity all animated by a truly adventurous, progressive spirit. Although the personnel may have changed over the years, the commitment of those playing in Soft Machine today has remained consistent.

Some of the very brightest stars in the British jazz firmament have served in the ranks of this revered musical institution. Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge, Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper, Karl Jenkins, John Marshall, Roy Babbington, Allan Holdsworth, John Etheridge, Theo Travis, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen, Andy Summers, Jack Bruce, Gary Husband, and many others, have all focussed their own unique musicality to help shape the band's sound and personality.

Just like those earlier configurations, since they began recording and working live in 2004 as Soft Machine Legacy and the arrival of Theo Travis in 2006, the current lineup continues to defy easy categorization For Theo Travis, there's a rich combination of elements that combine to form what he believes to be Soft Machine's appeal. "I like the freedom, I like the variety of colors, the band improvisation. The fact that it has such a strong catalogue of music going back over 50 years from which we dip into and play. With a lot of jazz stuff, you do it and people come up and say 'good gig' or whatever, but it's not like it means something in the same way as a band that has history and a cultural significance in the way that Soft Machine has. For me, it's a suitable combination of rock, jazz, improv, melody, risk-taking, textures, and experimental looping. It's pretty much all the things I like to play in."

Their latest album, Other Doors, sees them move seamlessly between hardcore improvisation, pop-tinged ebullience, muscular rock, and visceral jazz along with shimmering electronica and ambient overtones. The album also signifies another change within the Softs' roster, marking the first recording to feature new bassist Fred Baker, who had guested with the band on occasion dating back to 2008 but actually took over permanent live duties from Roy Babbington in 2021. Baker, a superb musician with connections to the whole of the extended Canterbury family tree that includes a long-established duo with Phil Miller and the band In Cahoots, has enjoyed touring with Soft Machine. "We recently played a large theatre in Istanbul and it was sold out. There were lots of young people and they were coming up after the gig wanting things signed which was fantastic." Alongside the new compositions which Baker enjoys, is Soft Machine's impressive back catalogue which is featured through their live shows. Giving people an opportunity to hear these compositions in a live setting is important, he believes. "My big thing with all this music is I see it like in a way that people used to look at, say classical music or early music. . . it's keeping the music alive and in the present, enabling people to revisit music that they might only have heard on record. I'm so glad to be part of it."

The release of Other Doors in 2023 is also the end of an era as the last studio session with the legendary John Marshall, who first joined the group in 1972 and at the age of 81 has decided to retire. Marshall's place has been taken by another good friend of the band, drummer and composer Asaf Sirkis. Lauded by Robert Wyatt who says of Sirkis, "there's nothing he can't do when he puts his mind to it," Asaf had previously played with Soft Machine when Marshall was unable to tour due to ill health. However, a fan of the group since he first heard Softs' 1975 album, Bundles, featuring Allan Holdsworth, the music of the group has been incredibly influential on his whole outlook and career. "It's very exciting for me especially because of my history. Obviously, I'm a relative latecomer compared to the others in Soft Machine but it's the music I grew up listening to and not just Soft Machine, but the music of all the various people that have played in the band over the years. So, it's really exciting, like the closing of a big, big circle for me."

Marshall's departure from recording and performing now leaves John Etheridge, who joined the group in 1975, as the last surviving member of the group with roots in Soft Machine's 1970s heyday. A highly respected player, Etheridge has performed in a variety of settings across his long and distinguished career but, he says Soft Machine feels like his spiritual home. "I definitely feel when I pick up the guitar and play under the banner of Soft Machine, I feel different to any of my other gigs. It's my favorite of all things I do by far. When I play with the Soft Machine, that is when I really feel like I'm contacting the player I want to be."

Whilst the primary focus is on new work and improvisation their ability to call up almost any part of the back catalogue is something all members relish. The latest album, Other Doors, includes Joy Of A Toy, which was first heard on 1968's debut, The Soft Machine. This much-loved number, written by Kevin Ayers, has been included in the band's recent live set for a while now. Putting it on the album seemed very natural, says Etheridge. "Of course, it's long before my time and it wasn't something I knew but it's a great piece. Fred Baker transcribed the original with Kevin Ayers' charming bass playing. it's got a sort of nice bounce about it. . . As a group, we are always, looking for variety, not for its own sake but to cover a broader territory. So, to be playing the second-ever Soft Machine single alongside brand-new compositions is something that's a really good approach. There's a degree of eccentricity about that's very important to Soft Machine."

This is Soft Machine - a living, breathing music that is as vital and relevant today as it ever was. Both long-time fans and new converts alike can take heart in the knowledge that the Soft Machine family tree -- with its deep roots in the musical revolution of the '60s - continues to sprout healthy new limbs well into the new century, showing no signs of slowing. The legacy is in very good hands indeed. In 2018 Soft Machine released the album 'Hidden Details' which reached the Number 1 slot in the Amazon.co.uk Jazz Fusion chart. It also reached Number 1 for 8 weeks in the prestigious progressive radio chart from Philadelphia USA 'Gagliarchives' with Tom Gagliardi. Following the 50 date, 50th Anniversary World Tour, Soft Machine released a live album at the prestigious Los Angeles club the Baked Potato. - 'Live at the Baked Potato' was released in 2020 to great acclaim.

At a time when the world seems intent on pushing us further inward and further apart, Kiss the Tiger are here to rattle our bones and bust us out of our cocoons with some good old fashioned rock and roll.

Fronted by the magnetic and disarming Meghan Kreidler, who draws on her background in theater to break the fourth wall between audience and band with her righteous fist pumps and high kicks, this is a band that doesn't just play. They combust. And watching them set the stage ablaze, it's hard not to feel that tension that's been built up in all of us these past few years slowly release, too, like a collective exhale set to ratcheting guitars, buoyant bass lines and Kreidler's perfectly pitched screams. Theirs is a clean-burning fire. Hell, you might even call it healing.

"We want to give the audience an experience that is visceral and jolts them awake--creating community in that moment," Kreidler notes. "I think that's a really nice gift you can give people: Just let go."

Over the past few years Kiss the Tiger have set the Twin Cities ablaze, and there's nary a club, block party, park amphitheater or backyard that they haven't transformed with their commanding live shows. And their rigorous performance schedule has paid off: The band has never sounded tighter or more certain of its mission. Kreidler is backed on stage by her longtime partner and creative foil, Michael Anderson, on rhythm guitar, plus lead guitarist Bridger Fruth, bassist Paul DeLong, and drummer Jay DeHut.

Their sets are often accompanied by sing-alongs to regional hits like the hard-knocking "Motel Room," their ode to pandemic loneliness, "I Miss You," or their pleading anthem "Hold On to Love," all of which have become instantly recognizable to locals thanks to regular airplay on the tastemaking public radio station 89.3 The Current. ("Hold On to Love," specifically, spent a whopping nine weeks at No. 1 on The Current's Chart Show and was inducted into the Chart Show Hall of Fame.)

Their latest album, Vicious Kid, is a tour de force through the band's increasingly sophisticated songwriting, which is handled jointly by Kreidler and Anderson. There are plenty of moments where they embody the spirit of late '70s new wave punk, like in the ridiculously fun "Who Does Her Hair?" But they have started weaving in softer textures, too, like the crooning and feminist alt-country ballad "Grown Ass Woman" or the skeletal and simmering "Out of My Mind." Unsurprisingly, Vicious Kid was named one of the Best Minnesota Albums of 2021 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune and highlighted as their longtime critic Chris Riemenschneider's personal favorite that year.

In addition to exploring a wider variety of sounds and genres, Vicious Kid also features some of Kiss the Tiger's most thought-provoking lyrics to date. In "Grown Ass Woman," Kreidler pleads, and then demands, that she be allowed to cut her own path in this world--a message that dovetails seamlessly with Kiss the Tiger's approach to making music. "The angel of death wants me to draw another breath/But angel won't you leave me alone," she sings and sighs. "Even near the end not a foe or a friend/Is gonna tell me what to do."

In addition to headlining their own barn-burning shows, Kiss the Tiger have also been tapped to open for prominent acts like Lake Street Dive, The Suburbs, Ike Reilly, Jackie Venson, Black Joe Lewis, and Daughtry. They have also brought their act on the road to open for Philly's Low Cut Connie, Austin's Emily Wolfe, and fellow Minneapolis indie favorites Bad Bad Hats. Given how quickly they've won over the Twin Cities, Kiss the Tiger are poised to roar into more markets soon. Their transcendent, heart-forward rock and roll is right on time. -Andrea Swensson

Electric Six. The band that put out an album a year for what seemed like 666 years. The most reliable act in show business, there was simply no question that each year would bring another E6 record on Metropolis Records. Mayans based their calendar on Electric Six. Flocks of migrating birds used the new Electric Six record as a homing device. Small time criminals were sentenced to four to seven E6 albums with time off for wonderful behavior. In a business so fickle, so unreliable, so difficult to navigate...the only constant was Electric Six. There was always an album a year...

....until there wasn't.

Five years has gone by since the last Electric Six offering and we've heard the chatter. "Electric Six just doesn't have it anymore." "Electric Six has really let me down." "Gotye will have an album before Electric Six does."

As we all know...talk is cheap. And bullshit walks. And now there's a new goddamn Electric Six record ready to go and it's good, Jack. Real good.

Behold Turquoise is here, the long awaited studio album return of Electric Six!!! Perhaps the catchiest, brightest album in their catalog, Electric Six reminds you how profoundly fun they can be, hitting you over the head with fourteen pop explosions guaranteed to burrow their way into your dance hole.

The recording of Turquoise began in January of 2020, but you know, something distracted us for a couple of years shortly after starting the record. The pandemic tacked a bit of time onto the schedule of this project and Electric Six certainly felt the need to tap into the collective feelings of the time in tracks like "Panic! Panic!" and the title track "Turquoise".

The overall vibe of Turquoise ranges from the infectious pop of "Take Me To The Sugar" and "Staten Island Ass Squad", to the heavy rock of "Child Of Hunger" and "Skywriting", to the Springsteeny goodness of "Units of Time". Electric Six is a band for all tastes, all times and all sizes.

The pandemic slowed us all down and ripped time into shreds. It forced Electric Six to take a little time to look at itself in the mirror. And who did Electric Six see staring back? The answer? It saw Electric Six. It saw Turquoise. When a band finally makes an album this exciting, it doesn't need to do anything else anymore anytime soon ever again.

But it will.....Electric Six can never die. And we are still the band that does one album a year....if you re-define "year". Which we do.

Turquoise is Electric Six's long awaited 15th studio album and it is available on Metropolis Records on September 8, 2023.

The Surfrajettes are a four-piece instrumental combo from Toronto, ON, Canada. Since forming in late 2015, the band has charmed audiences with their clever mix of psychedelic rock and reverb-drenched surf music, sky-high beehives, go-go boots, and eyeliner as thick as their guitar strings.

The band achieved viral online notoriety from their home-made performance videos and their feature by Norman's Rare Guitars in LA. The debut 45 single "Party Line / Toxic" released late 2018 on Hi-Tide Recordings to immediate success. The band has toured extensively in its support, including performances on The Beach Boys Cruise, The Melissa Etheridge Cruise, at Nashville Boogie, Wild O Fest in Mexico City, The New England Shake-Up!, Surf Guitar 101 Convention, Tiki Oasis & Hi-Tide Summer Holiday: Asbury Park.

The band released the follow up single "Hale'iwa Hustle / Banzai Pipeline" in 2020, supported by a festival appearance at Hi-Tide Winter Holiday: Pittsburgh. The group spent the rest of 2020 and most of 2021 writing and recording their debut LP "Roller Fink" - in stores NOW from Hi-Tide Recordings.

The Surfrajettes are guitarists Shermy Freeman and Nicole Damoff, bassist Sarah Butler, and drummer Annie Lillis. When not on tour, the group is busy woodshedding in their secret beach hut, sewing new miniskirts, debating vintage gear, and daydreaming about performing in a Quentin Tarantino movie.

Sometimes you have to fall apart in order to find the most real version of yourself.

On the surface R&B and soul singer Alanna Royale appeared to be brimming with confidence. Yet the artist behind the internal earthquake "Trouble Is" insists that until this latest LP she felt fragmented. Only after the most unnerving time of her life did Royale finally feel at ease bringing her full artistic self to the table. "There is a lyric by one of my favorite rappers that goes "You gave me the tools but didn't show me how to hold them," she explains citing how everything finally congealed on this record. After a brutal period that ended with an emotional collapse, Royale produced her most hauntingly honest, poetic collection of songs yet. "I wanted to make something so intensely personal but now have to live with it," she partially jokes.

Laugh out loud funny and fearlessly outspoken, one doesn't have to wonder if Alanna Royale is in the room. Since storming the Nashville scene in 2013, Royale has repeatedly made her presence known from calling out politicians she can't stand to calling monopoly on her classically minded, R&B sound. In her first year alone, the artist landed headlining slots at Nashville Pride Fest and won "Road to Bonnaroo" with only an EP under her belt. After fine tuning her swagger fronting punk bands, it appeared Royale had found her perfect niche marrying soul and pop. Or so she thought.

"Trouble Is," produced by Kelly Finnigan of Monophonics, came on the heels of the singer scrapping an entire album and saying goodbye to some long-time bandmates. Already at an inflection point, the pandemic spurred Royale to make even greater leaps. Jumping at the opportunity to work with Finnigan, as a long-time fan, Royale drove cross-country to meet him in San Francisco. She had her dog as company and an entirely fresh perspective guiding her. Royale was ready to take chances and learn how to capture her emotions in a clearer, more articulate way when they began recording in early 2020. Whereas her previous EPs Achilles and So Bad You Can Taste It had been written for a big band style, songwriting now took precedence. "Kelly taught me how to write a song that could be played in any iteration because of its strength," she says.

As Finnigan pushed her to repeatedly go back to the drawing board, Royale had plenty of material to sift through. In between dealing with imposter syndrome ("Even as we would be in the studio, I would tell myself maybe he just feels sorry for you, which is still so ego-driven") she was also grappling with the fallout from EMDR therapy sessions. On top of that, her mother was in cancer treatment, three family deaths had just occurred, and Royale's brother had recently come out as transgender. With Tennessee botching every pandemic-related protocol, she leapt at the opportunity to sort through her feelings in a new setting. "After hanging on by a thread at the beginning of the pandemic, I decided to just exist for a while," she says.

She also realized that the songs she'd written pre-pandemic no longer resonated with her. Writing became about exploring what was happening at the moment and also respecting the fact that some things were too raw to reveal. "If something felt unprocessed then my means of self-protecting would be to save it for later," she says. Similar to her album artwork, which shows Royale's public and private selves merging, it took time to figure out her emotional comfort level. However, once she found that middle ground, Royale threw every ounce of herself into dissecting the many revelations she'd had throughout 2020. "Things that were previously jumbled up, I was now able to write about because they were figured out up here," she says tapping her head.

Like a well-written film, "Trouble Is" starts out with a crisis, hits a crescendo of turmoil, and lands on a softer note when some peace has been found. However, until optimism returns to Royale the listener can feel her trying to make sense of the pain by putting pen to paper. Whether it is reconciling with past abuse or dealing with career disappointments, the day-to-day is just too much sometimes. "The phrase 'trouble is' speaks to the caveat that always seemed to exist," Royale says. After a period where life was unrelenting, the repetition of the title phrase signifies how fed up she was. "It wasn't meditative but rather agitated," she says.

Playing off the theme of acceptance is "The Other Side" about the boundaries one needs to love someone who is self-destructive. Like anyone who has had experience with addicts, it speaks to keeping them at a distance to ensure disappointment stays at bay. "You have to be sure someone did the work before you can put yourself back out there again," she explains.

And yet the disease that was hardest for Royale to drop was her own thoughts. In "Imagination" she paints a picture of the mental unraveling that can follow long-repressed memories resurfacing. "Imagination" is her way of making the trauma loop that she was stuck in concrete, which she found impossible to communicate at the time. It also honors those who are brave enough to crack themselves open and heal whatever is holding them back. "I know how scary it is to be in such deep mental anguish where there is no set solution," she says.

Ambiguity also plays into Royale's view of romantic love, which she feels is too often explored at the onset or finale. On "Fall in Love Again" Royale addresses the in-between moments that can make or break a relationship. The song is about the almost impossible task that couples ask of one another which is to grow individually and in sync. The only solution, in Royale's eyes, is to repeatedly love the person in the room. "This is about the moment before a relationship fades to black when you ask yourself are we going to press on or call it quits?" she says. "Why Won't You Let Me Love You?" continues the conversation of how complex love can be. It speaks to being intertwined with another and yet not totally integrated. "This song is a plead to another person to believe they are worthy of love, no matter what has happened to them in the past," she says.

At heart Royale is an optimist which is best captured on "Run Around," a nod to the 90s summer jams that she cherishes. Like the best pop songs "Run Around" is hooky and hangs in the listener's head. It also captures the double-sided nature of love with a simple phrase; wanting to chase someone while also worrying they're wasting your time. "Despite what society, your own history, or friends say, if you have a gut feeling that something is good then you have to ignore those factors and go for it," Royale says.

"Waiting, Waiting, Waiting (For Sully") where Royale leaves us, signifies the hope she now feels on a visceral level. The reward she received after running towards her issues came in the form of a new addition to her family. Welcoming her brother's first child, Sully, to the unit symbolized new beginnings and discovering a new way forward by facing your demons. "This song is about basking in the light of surviving a very tough time and finally being able to do your job well because you have your head on straight," she says.

However, the biggest triumph for Royale is that "Trouble Is" avoids the dreaded genre trap. As someone who has always followed artists that bravely morph from one record to the next, she also aspires for that same level of investment from her audience. She'll keep boldly turning the wheel and have faith that they will follow along. "After giving myself permission to make the kind of record that felt good to me, I was finally able to show all of my parts rather than trying to fit into some kind of preconceived notion of what an artist is supposed to be," she says.

Altered Five smokes, smolders and burns like a swig of good whiskey. The hip Milwaukee quintet is known for its strong brew of tough, original blues and hard-hitting live shows. Blues Blast raves that barrel-chested front man Jeff Taylor possesses a "smooth, warm-toned voice as monumental and undeniable as Howlin' Wolf with the finish and flourish of B.B. King." Downbeat declares stealth guitarist Jeff Schroedl "reaches the high bar of mixed invention and fluidity." Fueled by a rhythm section laying down the deepest grooves this side of the MGs, the five blues blasters hit the ground running 21 years ago and show no sign of easing up. Their sixth studio album, Holler If You Hear Me, debuted at #3 on the Billboard Blues Chart and received three Blues Music Award nominations, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year.

The new record kicks hard like the three award-winning records preceding it. Cryin' Mercy nabbed "Best Self-Released Album" at the International Blues Challenge in 2015. Charmed & Dangerous garnered "Song of the Year" at the Independent Music Awards and Wisconsin Music Awards in 2018. Guitar World magazine called the title track a "menacing, swampy blues" and it was in regular rotation on SiriusXM's Bluesville in addition to many other programs and playlists. In 2019, Ten Thousand Watts reached #10 on the Billboard Blues Chart, hit #1 on both the iTunes and Amazon blues charts, while "Great Minds Drink Alike" captured first place in the blues category of the International Songwriting Competition.

All band members contribute as a songwriting team to be reckoned with. Memorable, incisive lyrics run the gamut from slyly suggestive ("Ten Thousand Watts") to blues history tributes ("Three Forks") and inventive contemporary themes ("Urgent Care," "Back Button").

Altered Five have consistently checked all the boxes, making lasting, deeply expressive original blues for the mind and body. Up front and leading the big blues train, Taylor exhorts and cajoles while carrying the weight of the lyrical content. Neither imitating nor hiding his debt to the legendary blues singers of the past, he commands deserved attention on his own. Schroedl propels, embellishes, and adds palpable power through his varied rhythm accompaniment and riveting guitar solos. While inspired by, but not tethered to the kings and titans of blues guitar, he has found his own estimable path to personal expression always at the service of the song.

The muscular yet limber rhythm section of bassist Mark Solveson and drummer Alan Arber lock into the full range of blues grooves from classic slow Chicago drag ("Holding on With One Hand") and romping Texas shuffles ("Mint Condition") to soulful R&B worthy of Stax Records ("Gonna Lose My Lady"). In addition, returning keyboardist Steve Huebler always provides a rich pad of lush harmony along with his own and soaring solos.

Whether live or on record, Altered Five performs seamlessly as a powerhouse entity encompassing the timeless blues virtues of passion and unwavering commitment funneled through technical excellence.

Doubt, followed by discovery. Demos that ended up as finished tracks. New beginnings, rear-view reflections, and ruminations on the fluidity of time: Uncertain Country captures these feelings and so much more.

This celebration, 11-songs long, follows a prolonged period of collective anxiety. Though recorded in different locales--and with a variety of musicians--a theme of questioning runs throughout. Even before the world turned upside down, singer-songwriter Tony Dekker felt mired in uncertainty: from the climate crisis and the ever-changing political landscape to deep shifts within the music industry. The "uncertain country" Dekker chose as the album's theme is not a specific place. Rather, it's a territory we, as humans, inhabit in the 21st century -- a world that, more often than not, is confusing, unfamiliar and unsettling.

The long journey from there to here started more than three years ago, when Dekker took a 10-day trip to one of his favorite places: the north shore of Lake Superior. A pair of friends and collaborators: Adam CK Vollick (who filmed the experience) and Joe Lapinski (who co-produced Uncertain Country) joined him. On this immersive trip, the songwriter soaked in the beauty of the landscapes and learned the stories of the people who have inhabited them since time immemorial.

The two songs that open Uncertain Country, the title track and "When The Storm Has Passed," were recorded at the Oddfellows Temple Hall in St. Catharines, Ontario in September 2020. These jubilant sessions, following five months of unease, were a much-needed release for Dekker and his band. Both songs capture the album's themes of the elasticity of time and processing change.

Making this joyful noise together again set a tone--and direction--for the record. The music morphed from hushed and folky to a more comforting, curated listening experience, acting as a kind of salve. One hears echoes of some of Dekker's early 1990s influences: propeller-pop and indie lo-fi bands like Teenage Fanclub, Galaxie 500, and Buffalo Tom.

The rest of the songs on Uncertain Country were recorded in other acoustically distinctive locations close to Dekker's home in the Niagara Region. Locales included the Silver Spire United Church in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario and a pair of buildings in Ball's Falls Conservation Area in the village of Jordan Station: an old chapel that featured a pump organ and a historic barn on the same property.

Long-time Great Lake Swimmers member, multi-instrumentalist Bret Higgins is featured on many of the songs, as is keyboardist Kelsey McNulty. Guests include newcomers and old friends: the group Minuscule, an all-woman identifying choir based in the Niagara Region, led by choral arranger Laurel Minnes, and JUNO Award-winner Serena Ryder, who sings on a pair of songs: "I Tried to Reach You" and "Swimming Like Flying."

"Moonlight, Stay Above" epitomizes what Great Lake Swimmers represents. The 10-voice strong choir lifts the lonely-sounding and wistful song up. As with that addition, the band on each album is fluid and always evolving. It always starts and ends with Dekker, but the songs themselves suggest what players and instrumentation might fit best with each new recording and live touring band.

Twenty years since the first self-titled release, Uncertain Country shows a songwriter at the top of his craft with so much more to say. In a time of uncertainty, one thing is certain: the Great Lake Swimmers' first collection of new songs in five years is worth the wait.

For as long as he can remember, Ryan Montbleau's been a seeker. From the jungles of Peru to the volcanoes of Hawaii, from the beaches of Costa Rica to the streets of Brooklyn, from the backseat of a 16-passenger van to backstage at Carnegie Hall, the acclaimed singer/songwriter has spent much of his life crisscrossing the globe on a perpetual search for meaning, purpose, and understanding. It's a quest that's guided him both personally and professionally over the years, one that's come to define not only his music, but his very sense of self. And yet, listening to Montbleau's ambitious new multi-part album, Wood, Fire, Water, and Air, there is a profound sense of satisfaction in sitting still, a recognition that perhaps all those spiritual treasures he's been chasing for so long were closer than he thought.

"My whole adult life has been this journey of trying to figure out where home is," Montbleau reflects. "I think I've finally found it."

Set to roll out across four distinct EPs, Wood, Fire, Water, and Air marks Montbleau's first studio release since putting down permanent roots in Burlington, Vermont, where he recently purchased a house after more than two decades of living on the road. While much of the material here was written in fits and starts over the past several years, it's clear that the desire for stability was very much on Montbleau's mind even before he settled on the banks of Lake Champlain, and the songs reflect a maturity and self-awareness that can only come from the difficult work of rigorous self-examination. Montbleau is quick to credit therapy for his growth of late, but he sings about more than just himself here, mixing sly humor and deep revelations as he meditates on the ties that bind all of us perfectly imperfect humans together. Taken as a whole, it's a broad, insightful collection balancing boisterous rock and roll energy with intimate folk introspection, a sprawling, magnetic record all about listening, letting go, and living life.

"I've been through a lot over these past few years," says Montbleau, "and I've experienced some monumental shifts in my perspective. The only way for me to write about it was to just get as honest and vulnerable as I could."

Honesty and vulnerability have been hallmarks of Montbleau's career since the early 2000's, when he first began performing around his native Massachusetts. In the years to come, he'd go on to collaborate with artists as diverse as Martin Sexton, Trombone Shorty, Tall Heights, and Galactic, and rack up more than 100 million streams on Spotify alone. Along the way, Montbleau would share bills with stars like Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ani DiFranco, The Wood Brothers, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Mavis Staples, but it was his ecstatic headline shows--often more than 200 of them a year--that solidified his reputation as a roots rock powerhouse and an inexorable road warrior. NPR's Mountain Stage compared his "eloquent, soulful songwriting" to Bill Withers and James Taylor, while Relix celebrated his "poetic Americana," and The Boston Herald raved that "he's made a career of confident, danceable positivity."

That positivity would serve Montbleau well on the long and winding road to Wood, Fire, Water, and Air. Work on the record first began in the summer of 2019 at the gorgeous Guilford Sound studio in southern Vermont, where Montbleau and producer Adam Landry (Deer Tick, Rayland Baxter) laid down basic tracks with a rotating cast of players. At the time, Montbleau had little idea what he was getting himself into.

"I honestly didn't know what this project was going to be for a very long time," he explains. "All I knew was that I had a bunch of songs I was really excited about, and that I wanted to take a new approach to recording them."

For much of his career, Montbleau had worked fast and loose in the studio, capturing music as raw and organically as possible. This time around, though, he found himself craving a bolder, more fully realized sound, and by the time he finished basic tracking in Guilford, it was clear that his work had only just begun. What followed was a yearlong odyssey of adding, subtracting, revising, and reimagining, as Montbleau and mixer/engineer James Bridges fleshed out the sessions with a broad array of instruments, textures, and colors.

"It took a long time for me to get to a place where I could trust myself enough to stretch out like this," says Montbleau, who experimented with synthesizers and drum machines and added piano and mandolin to his repertoire for the project. "I'd always kind of deferred to other people's expertise in the studio, but learning to trust my ears and get my hands dirty with the music was a totally empowering experience."

As the songs took shape, it became clear to Montbleau that there were discrete themes at work within the larger collection, both sonically and emotionally. Rather than release the entire 15-track record all at once, then, he decided he would unveil the album more deliberately over the course of four separate EPs, each inspired by an element of the natural world. First up: Wood, a rustic, earthy trio of tracks taking stock of just what it means to be human in these bewildering times. Songs like the playful "Perfect" and soulful "Ankles" wrap weighty ruminations inside deceptively lighthearted packages, and the spare, stripped-down arrangements make for an ideal bridge between Montbleau's earlier work and the more adventurous sounds to come on the album's second installment, Fire. Infused with an infectious energy and feel-good pop optimism, Fire showcases the rock and roll side of Montbleau's personality, celebrating the joy and liberation that comes with learning to live in the moment.

"The songs on Fire were a chance for me to just let loose and have fun," says Montbleau. "They were an opportunity to not overthink things for a change, to trust my gut and follow what felt good."

The arrival of Water quickly cools things down, though, bringing the music back to Earth with a more sober, meditative quality. Montbleau wrote several of the tracks while doing medicine work in Peru, and the healing, regenerative nature of that trip is obvious on songs like the dreamy "Forgiveness," which features extensive keyboard contributions from avant-garde icon John Medeski. By the time we reach the album's final chapter, Air, Montbleau seems to have found peace within himself, coming to terms with the transient, fleeting nature of our existence. "Just know that you are not alone," he sings on "The Dust," "and that's all you get to know now."

"Even though COVID kind of upended everything with my career, this past year has been a rare chance for me to stay put for a while and focus on what really matters," says Montbleau, who recently invited his girlfriend and her daughter to move in with him in Burlington. "I feel like I finally have a real family life now, and I'm living on stable ground for the first time."

That doesn't mean the hunt for purpose and meaning is over. Ryan Montbleau will always be a seeker, and that's alright. As Wood, Fire, Water, and Air so beautifully demonstrates, sometimes the search is its own reward.

Jack O'Neill and Cary Pierce, the "Jack O" and "Pierce" who make up the seminal duo Jackopierce, are celebrating 30 years of making music that has amassed a loyal following of millions of fans across the country and the world with a super high-energy live show and what the Dallas Morning News has called "spotless harmonies."

Having just released their first studio project 'Feel This Good' in 5 years, Jackopierce is poised and ready to get back on the road full-time.

Jackopierce formed in 1988 in Dallas as theater students at SMU. The duo steadily made a name for themselves, especially with two of their signature tracks, "Vineyard" and their version of the classic "Please Come to Boston." They released ten studio albums (two for major label A&M), toured three continents, nine countries, and 45 states - amassing millions of loyal fans along the way . Over the years They have shared the stage with John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Matchbox20, Counting Crows, The Wallflowers, Sheryl Crow, Toad the Wet Sprocket - to name a few. After a five-year breakup, the guys reunited in 2002 to test out the waters. They were very warm and city by city, Jack & Cary got back out there to play for grateful fans that thought they would never see them again. The two now have a totally renewed creative vigor, mutual respect and deep gratitude for their fans.

These good vibes shine through on their 25th anniversary live album "Live 25."

It's definitely been a creative time for the duo, and celebrating the past inspires the guys to move forward in new, inventive ways. To freshen up the live show, Jackopierce started creating uniquely intimate "Destination Shows." These shows are a whole new fan experience where people can enjoy gorgeous scenery, share delicious food & wine and have "campfire"- type access to their favorite band. It's a vacation and concert in one. Each Destination Show provides a unique experience dedicated to the local culture: Napa/Sonoma vineyards at sunset, a ranch in Austin Hill Country, high society in Dallas, a two-mile-high a private club in Aspen, amazing history at the Biltmore in NC, a 14,000 square foot hacienda in San Miguel de Allende, MX - and the list goes on. July 27, Jackopierce will host their first 7th Destination Show in Martha's Vineyard and they'll be back for their fourth annual Destination Show in San Miguel in April 2020.

"We have been doing destination events for 10 years now and they have been a huge hit with our fans and have allowed us to make so many great new ones along the way," said Cary Pierce. "I think these events continue to grow and sell out because people want more than "just a show" - they want an experience. They want to create lasting memories, explore a new place or visit an old favorite. In some cases, we're offering them a trip of a lifetime. We're finding there a lot of people that really value these experiences."

Jackopierce has celebrated numerous career milestones including the T-Bone Burnett produced A&M debut album "Bringing on The Weather," being a part of one of the world's largest live events with close to 400K people in attendance at the 1997 Blockbuster RockFest at Texas Motor Speedway alongside artists No Doubt, Counting Crows, and Matchbox Twenty, performing on Conan O'Brien in 1992 with the Max Weinberg Band backing them up and sitting in the chairs on the Rosie O'Donnell Show.

"Even after 30 years I feel like we're just getting started," said Cary Pierce.

It really doesn't take much...

With nothing more than a Gibson Les Paul slung over his shoulder, a warm amp turned all the way up, and a hot microphone on and ready, Jared James Nichols churns out the kind of rock that rips, roars, and rolls without filter or apology. The Wisconsin-born and Nashville-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist delivers a one-two punch of gritty vocals straight from the gut and incendiary fret fireworks. After earning widespread acclaim from the likes of American Songwriter, Guitar World, Relix, and more, tallying millions of streams, and packing houses at countless shows, he showcases every side of himself on his 2023 self-titled third full-length offering, Jared James Nichols [Black Hill Records].

"You have to strip yourself back so many times to figure out what you're trying to do," he observes. "For me, it was quite simple. As an artist, music is freedom; music is whatever you want it to be. So, I see it with the bumps, the bruises, the crashes, and everything intact. The album is a day in the life with the ups and downs, but it musically rings true to who I am as an artist."

Back in 2015, Jared emerged with his debut Old Glory & The Wild Revival. On its heels, the 2018 follow-up Black Magic yielded the fan favorite "Honey Forgive Me," piling up over 3.8 million Spotify streams and counting. In between showstopping solo shows, he performed alongside icons a la Slash, Billy Gibbons, Zakk Wylde, and even the late Leslie West, to name a few. Guitar World attested, "If you've never witnessed Jared James Nichols onstage, let us say right now: you're missing out, big time." Following the 2021 fan favorite Shadow Dancer EP, he collaborated with both Maggie Rose and Joe Bonamassa in 2022 for revised versions of his song "Threw Me To The Wolves."

Along the way, Gibson formally welcomed him as an official ambassador, plotting the release of several signature Jared James Nichols guitars. Blackstar Amps followed suit and Seymour Duncan also designed a signature pickup to his specification--due out in 2023.

Officially partnering with Gibson was a huge moment in the guitar aficionado's life. Nearly a decade ago, a Les Paul literally landed into the yard of a fan during the biggest tornado ever to impact Washington, IL. The fan shared a picture of the guitar with Jared. "It was one of the earliest known Les Pauls ever created from 1952," he explains. "It was battered and bruised with a broken neck from the tornado, but it was still salvageable." The fan offered to give it to Jared to restore and play. He sent it to one of the world's best luthiers, Joel Wilkins.

"It is a very important piece of musical history as it is a prototype--1 of 25--to the most important electric guitar shape in the world, the Gibson Les Paul," he smiles. "It is one of the most perfect instruments I have ever played. I play it every day, take it on tour, and make music with it all over the world. It's the best way to honor its legacy. I named the guitar 'Dorothy' after the tornado experience."

Fast forward to present time, and after weathering the Pandemic, Jared's long-awaited return to the road would be unceremoniously derailed. About two weeks into a tour with Black Stone Chery in the fall of 2021, he tried to help his band pack up the stage and upon grabbing a road case, he felt a pop in his right arm. What he thought might be a pulled muscle wound up being bone scraping inside his arm. Whisked away to the emergency room, the x-ray showed a chipped humerus bone due to longtime stress fractures. The only solution proved to be emergency surgery with a chance he might never play guitar again or even use the arm.

"After surgery, I found myself with a plate and 16 screws in my arm, completely sidelined, and back home in bed," he sighs. "I did not let this hold me down, and I found myself re-working how to use my right arm to play again within days. If anything, breaking my arm forced me right back to square one and to rebuild into the best possible version of myself I could be."

Busting his ass to restore a semblance of normalcy, he pushed forward and regained use of the arm and his storied guitar proficiency. Going into the next season, Jared made a decision to track his next body of work live, reflecting the spirit of his show on tape like never before. Joined by producer Eddie Spear, the album proudly preserves all of the grit and gusto from the rooms in Blackbird Studios and Sienna Studios where he first cut the tunes.

"It was made live with intention and zero fucks given," he notes. "It wasn't like we could fix the tempos. We didn't use a click track. I wrote a batch of songs to capture everything I'm about. I didn't hold back. I thought of what I listened to growing up, whether it was grunge or blues. We got a little heavier. I made a record to serve as the menu for the live show. There's an element of excitement and danger. It's my version of rock 'n' roll with a little more humanity."

Speaking of, he paved the way for the record with the 2022 release of the hypnotic and hyper-charged "Hard Wired." Born from a jam session with Tyler Bryant and Graham Whitford, the single bulldozed a path for Jared James Nichols with no shortage of raw and raucous six-string bravado.

"Sometimes, a song comes out of nowhere and basically writes itself, and that is exactly what happened with this one," he says. "I immediately knew it was going to be a song I wanted to incorporate into my live set and cut for this record. Lyrically, it comes from a place of self-destruction. You know something is bad for you, but you continue to do it anyway even though the result will be tragic. It's like a stick of dynamite ready to blow, and it encapsulates the mood and tone of this entire record."

On the follow-up single "Down The Drain," vulnerable vocals snake around melodic guitar in ominous fashion. Baring its fangs, it snaps into a chantable chorus punctuated by a wailing lead.

"It's easy to get addicted to a shitty relationship," he reveals. "You know it's going to end wrong, but you can't get out. You're going down the drain. The concept is relatable to everyone, whether it's about a friend or a romantic relationship."

From the jump, the record kicks into high gear with the bluesy wallop of "My Delusion." In between steady tambourine, distortion roars as he confesses, "Your body is my temple, and your heart is my ruin."

"'My Delusion' kept evolving," he recalls. "It was like water starting to boil. By the time you get into the solo and the riff, it's ready to go off the rails. When we stopped after the second take, we were sweating head-to-toe. We knew we got it!"

On "Hallelujah," a flurry of drums gives way to a thick and heavy battering ram of a blues riff only to crash into a rickety bass line and atomic shredding.

"It was recorded balls to the wall," he remembers. "We were like, 'Let's go'. I was channeling all of my heroes. Obviously, the first riff I ever learned was a Black Sabbath tune. It's a fist in the air song."

"Good Time Girl" pays homage to "going out, drinking, partying, and having a good time" over a hummable guitar groove. The record culminates on the emotionally charged "Out Of Time." Jared's Les Paul practically cries out as he says goodbye to his old man with a heartfelt and tearful tribute.

"I lost my dad, and it was the hardest thing I've ever dealt with in my life," he admits. "I wrote 'Out of Time' when I was thinking of him. It's a heavy song. I was crying when I was doing the vocals. It's a different vibe, but it's impactful for me."

By keeping it simple, Jared remains primed to leave his imprint on rock 'n' roll forever.

"I hope you listen to this record and connect to it," he leaves off. "Rock 'n' roll is not always about a throwback. It's fucking 2022, dude. I'm right here, and I'm ready to rip. I'm not trying to be anybody but myself and play the music I love for today. I'm giving you loud ass guitars and no fucks given rock 'n' roll, and I'm loving it."

Genre bending, Alternative Outlaw, Southern Rock artist Cage Willis breaks all the rules with his debut album, Who I Am. Like dynamite drenched in gasoline, Who I Am delivers an undeniably explosive listening experience.

Willis' powerfully honest vocal, attitude fueled guitar playing, and inspirational songwriting will have you immersed in an instant. The debut album, produced by hit songwriter Chris Robertson of Black Stone Cherry, will leave your soul overflowing. A beautifully balanced masterpiece of modern tones paired with classic southern flavor. Follow Cage on social media for updates on new music, tour dates, and more!

The R&B Cadets played their first gig shortly after New Year's in 1980 and their last in the summer of 1986. In that time they got a lot of folks out on the dance floor, playing a distinctive mix of of deep soul cuts from Paul Cebar's massive record collection and some sparkling originals, written by John Sieger, often in tandem with Michael Feldman, a friend and now longtime host of Public Radio's Whad'ya Know?

Splitting lead duties with Sieger and Cebar was the lovely chanteuse, Robin Pluer. Owner of one the lovelier voice heard in the midwest, Ms. Pluer was a dollop of sweetness at the top of the band's deep range. Rounding out the lineup was Mike Sieger, John's brother and vocal doppelganger, who played bass. Original drummer Cy Costabile, was later replaced by Bobby Schneider and the saxophonist Juli Wood was replaced by keyboard/sax man Bob Jennings.

In it's prime, the band had a large following in Milwaukee, where they were pretty much the house band at the late, lamented Century Hall. They travelled well too, with fans in the Twin Cities, Chicago, Madison and even New York where they played legendary clubs like CBGB's, The Knitting Factory and The Lone Star. Their only record, Top Happy, came out in 198-. It featured a song produced by Nick Lowe, a fan who had stumbled across them after playing a show in Milwaukee. The record got great reviews and could have been the start of even bigger things, but like many bands, people were pulling, and being pulled, in different directions.

The positive result of their breakup was two, then three very vital and entertaining acts. There was Semi-Twang, which concentrated on John's songs and did a record, Salty Tears for Warner Brothers that gathered more love than sales. John later moved to nashville and had many of his songs recorded by artist like Dwight Yoakam, Flaco Jimenez and The Bodeans.

Paul and Robin continued with the beefed up and ever-popular Milwaukeeans, releasing a record in the 1990s on Shenachie that got radio play around the country. That lineup stayed around until Robin bid adieu. Tired of touring and now married, she headed to New York for a while, before returning. She has carved out a special niche between soul, swing, standards and the French chanson that she loves, and is still performing today.

In 2009 Semi-Twang reunited and have released two CDs, both of which garnered raves. Paul has continued non-stop, his latest was out last year with his most recent moniker, Tomorrow Sound. The three headed beast has been in rehearsal, tightening up songs old and new. The crowd at their first reunion gig in many years was up and dancing at the first down beat, you probably will be too.

In a town known more for generating pop country 'hat acts' and contemporary Christian music, there is a storm brewing. Small independent bands with no management, booking, record labels (or even local media support) are changing the way people think about Nashville Tennessee.

Now they've got three full length CD's under their belt. 'Sucker Punched', (Dec.2006), 'Three Step Windup' (April,2008) and 'Hang Your Stockings..... Say Your Prayers' the band's Christmas CD (Nov, 2008). Each one totally DIY, produced and engineered by Firebaugh and Dickson and recorded in Andrew Dickson's garage, lovingly known as 'Studio D'. Each CD blends elements of honkytonk, rockabilly, psychobilly, and straight up rock and roll. Every member of the Hillbilly Casino brings their own special flavor to the band, from Nic's background in hip hop and rockabilly, to Geoff's love of old school punk rock and ska, and you'll find elements of all of this in every Hillbilly Casino record and show. 2008 also saw the release of 'Buy-in' a full length Documentary by Doug Farrar at Rockstep Creative. Doug followed the band around for over a year, attending dozens of shows, and collecting performance, and interview footage, which he compiled into a revealing look at a band just trying to make a living and have fun.

While you'll see a lot of bands sitting around waiting to get 'signed', the Hillbilly Casino took a cue from bands like Black Flag, Fugazi, and Youth Brigade, booking their own tours, and producing and releasing their own CD's and T-shirts, and spending hundreds of hours in their old grey Econoline van getting the rock 'n' roll out to the people. From thirty minute opening slots, to 3 and 4 hour marathon sets, these boys are gonna bring their 'A' game, and you'll probably get tired before they do.

The Hillbilly Casino has performed along with the following national Acts...
Brian Setzer Orchestra (7 shows), Rev. Horton Heat, Rancid, Los Straightjackets, Southern Culture on the Skids, Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, The Horrorpops, The Blasters, The Supersuckers, Doyle Bramhall, 7 Shot Screamers, Koffin Kats, Flatfoot 56, Lonesome Spurs, Three Blue Teardrops.

The Hillbilly Casino has performed at these festivals and venues... Gibson Amphitheater (Hollywood CA), Ryman Auditorium (Nashville, TN), House Of Blues (Chicago, IL), Headliners (Louisville, KY), Exit/In (Nashville, TN), Mercy Lounge (Nashville, TN) Bergenfest (Bergen, Norway), Kilkenny Rhythm and Roots Festival (Kilkenny, Ireland), Rockin' 50's Fest (Green Bay, WI), State Theater (Detroit, MI), Tractor Tavern (Seattle, WA), Rocketown (Nashville, TN), Rodeo Bar (New York, NY)
Members of the Hillbilly Casino are endorsed by King Doublebass, Gretsch Guitars, and Fender Amps.

A German heavy metal outfit founded and fronted by powerhouse vocalist , U.D.O. emerged in the late '80s after exited the popular power metal group . Beginning with 1987's Animal House, and a rotating cast of players carved out a huge swath of heavy metal real estate, averaging a full-length LP every year or so (2021's Game Over was the group's 17th full-length effort) and touring on the strength of an impressive catalog of European power metal that also included classics like "Balls to the Wall" and "Fast as a Shark."

Following his departure from in 1987, formed U.D.O. with guitarists Peter Szigeti and Mathias Dieth, bassist Frank Rittel, and drummer Tomas Franke. The group's debut album, Animal House, was in fact written by 's former bandmates in , and by the time of its 1988 follow-up Mean Machine, Szigeti, Rittel, and had all been dismissed, replaced by guitarist , bassist Thomas Smuszynski, and drummer Stefan Schwarzmann. himself was out of U.D.O. for 1990's Faceless World, replaced by guitarist Wolla Böhm; the same roster who recorded 1991's Time Bomb, although the band split in the wake of a subsequent tour, with rejoining from 1992 to 1996. He re-formed U.D.O. with Dieth, Schwarzmann, guitarist Stefan Kaufmann, and bassist Michael Voss to contribute a track to the tribute album Legends of Metal; only Schwarzmann and Kaufmann remained on board for 1997's full-length Solid, which featured new guitarist Jürgen Graf-Biardi and bassist Fitty Wienhold. No Limits followed a year later, and in 1999 U.D.O. resurfaced with the punishing Holy, which saw the group delivering their most visceral LP in years. 2002's Man and Machine featured the hit "Dancing with an Angel," a duet with vocalist Doro Pesch, and was followed by a string of hard-hitting studio albums: Thunderball (2004), Mission No. X (2005), Mastercutor (2007), Dominator (2009), and Rev-Raptor (2011). The following year saw the departure of guitarist Stefan Kaufmann, who had to leave the fold for health reasons. He was replaced by Andrey Smirnov, who made his first studio appearance with the group on 2013's Steelhammer. Decadent, the band's 15th long-player, arrived in a timely fashion in early 2015. Later that year, announced that he would be embarking on a massive tour comprising only songs, with the intention of retiring the material. A double-live LP, Back to the Roots: Accepted, chronicled the tour in 2017. U.D.O. returned with their 16th studio long-player Steelfactory in 2018. Two years later they released the follow-up We Are One, an orchestral album written and recorded in collaboration with the Concert Band of the German Armed Forces, followed in 2021 by Game Over.

It is a true, and nowadays rare, musician who writes lyrics so vulnerable and authentic that an audience is irrevocably captured by the powerful experience of sharing the journey. An album that is essentially an autobiographical account of personal mistakes, change, and growth, offers listeners a chance to reflect on their own experiences and connect with another's story.

With Griffin House's upcoming album, So On And So Forth, it is clear the artist digs deep and offers up his narrative after much reflection. House is now a young family man and artist who is choosing sobriety and celebrating the path to his success, through songs which share his perspective on how people remember the past with rose-colored glasses, how we grow up and realize what we deeply need, and how we must find happiness in ourselves in the present.

"The record has a lot to do with recognizing the ego in one's self and letting it die. It can feel like your whole identity is being wiped away, and you don't even know who you are anymore. For the person singing these songs, holding on to one's own individuality in order to remain special or important in the world has started to became far less important than being content with being a good, decent, and loving person. But old habits die hard," adds House.

The project was tracked last summer at Lakehouse Recording Studios, in Asbury Park, New Jersey. House's ties to Asbury Park go all the back to 2004, when he was invited to tour with Patti Scialfa. His first show in the boardwalk town was opening a show for Scialfa at the Paramount Theatre. It was there that Griffin met her husband, Bruce Springsteen, and all the wonderful characters in their crew and band. Those memories and experiences made returning to Asbury Park over a decade later to record So On And So Forth feel like a full circle moment in his career.

House recorded the essentially live project with no click track and very little overdubbing. Lakehouse owner, Jon Leidersdorff, helped assemble the band. Prior to walking into the studio, House had never met the musicians and had no idea how the songs would turn out. He adds, "The experience ended up being one of the most fun and positive of my career. The process was stress-free and freeing." The resulting album reflects this journey -- a leap of faith with triumphant results.

Recording and performing for over a decade, House has toured with Ron Sexsmith, Patti Scialfa, Josh Ritter, John Mellencamp, Mat Kearney, and The Cranberries. He received early critical acclaim on the CBS Sunday Morning, and his songs have since been featured in countless films and television shows such as One Tree Hill, Army Wives, and Brothers and Sisters. He has also appeared on Late Night with Craig Ferguson. Most recently, CNN Newsroom invited House to perform "Paris Calling," from So On and So Forth, live on the air, and the song has been picked up by radio prior to being serviced. House has released ten albums and continues to headline his own national tours. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife Jane and their two daughters.

Dan Navarro's long and eclectic resume includes "songwriter," "recording artist," "singer", "voice actor", "road warrior" and "arts advocate" in its extensive range of credits.

His former acoustic duo, Lowen & Navarro, released 13 albums from 1990-2008, enjoyed widespread Triple A radio airplay and performed 1500 shows before Eric Lowen's retirement in 2008 and passing from ALS in 2012. Dan set out solo in 2006.

Dan's new album, "Horizon Line", released in 2022, reunited Dan with Grammy® winning producer Jim Scott, who helmed six L&N albums. The album features performances from Chris Stills, Steve Postell (David Crosby, The Immediate Family), Doug Pettibone (Lucinda Williams), Brian Whelan (Dwight Yoakum), Jimmy Paxson (Lindsay Buckingham), Mai Leisz (David Crosby, Jackson Browne), Sebastian Steinberg (Soul Coughing), Taras Prodaniuk & Michael Jerome (The Richard Thompson Trio), Phil Parlapiano (John Prine), Peter Adams, Aubrey Richmond (Shooter Jennings), Carlos Murguia, Leyla Hoyle and Derek Nakamoto. The album twice charted Top Ten at NACC Folk, and reviews have been the finest of Dan's career.

In July 2021, he released a duo album with James Lee Stanley, "All Wood and Led", with acoustic "Laurel Canyon" re-imaginations of Led Zeppelin tunes which saw extensive radio action at Americana stations nationwide.

As a songwriter, Dan has written or co-written heartfelt songs for Pat Benatar (the Grammy® nominated "We Belong"), The Bangles, Japanese girl group Wink (the #1 hit "One Night in Heaven"), Dutch superstar Marco Borsato (the Top Ten "Je Hoeft Niet Naar Huis Vannacht"), Dave Edmunds, The Temptations, Dionne Warwick, and Austin outlaw country legend Rusty Weir.

His songs have appeared in the films Deadpool 2, Pitch Perfect 2 and Talladega Nights, TV series This Is Us, Mare of Easttown, Halt and Catch Fire, American Idol, The Voice, American Dad and The Office and national commercials for Corona Beer, Sargento Cheese, Pepsi, Sheraton Hotels, Chase Bank and the United Way.

As a bilingual singer and voice actor, he sang in Oscar® winners Encanto (including the #1 hit "We Don't Talk About Bruno"), Coco and Happy Feet, the 2022 hit Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, the new Latin-themed Father of the Bride, plus Sing 2, The Addams Family, Dora and the City of Lost Gold, The Lorax, and two Ice Age films; TV series The Simpsons, Prison Break, Close Enough and American Dad; voiced characters in Pirates of the Caribbean 5, The Book Of Life, The Playmobil Movie, We Bare Bears, Invincible, The Boys: Diabolical, Pantheon, Ultra City Smiths and over 400 episodes of Family Guy and American Dad; dubbed English voices on foreign TV series Team Chocolate, Love Is Blind: Brazil, La Ultima, 4Ever and Machos Alfa; sung on albums by Luis Miguel, Andrea Bocelli, Jose Feliciano and Neil Young; voiced video games Red Dead Redemption II, Fallout 4 and Uncharted 4, and performed vocals and voice-overs in literally hundreds of commercials for Toyota, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Honda and more.

During the 2020 Covid pandemic lockdown, Dan launched his "Songs From the CoronaZone" live stream series, running almost daily for much of the run of over 250 2-hour+ live streams in 13 months, on Facebook Live, YouTube Live, Twitch and Periscope. He then taught live stream techniques in workshops for SAG-AFTRA and Folk Alliance's "FAR-West" region (earning FAR-West's 2021 Humanitarian Award in the process), as well as online songwriting classes dubbed "Songwriting and the Creative Muse".

In his "spare" time, Dan serves on the Board of SAG-AFTRA, the actor-performer-broadcaster's union; is a Trustee on the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Fund; serves on a committee of the Mechanical Licensing Collective and is a past president of Folk Alliance International. He has been a vocal activist in Washington DC for intellectual property rights for over 20 years, having testified before the US Senate Judiciary Committee, the Copyright Royalty Board, and in May 2023, before the House Judiciary Subcommitte on IP regarding AI and copyright.

Dan Navarro's music probes life at its most resonant. In his rich baritone, he sings songs of heart and insight, steeped in experience, soulful tales from a long road well-traveled.

He's the proud father of a 26-year old filmmaker son, thinks music is food, art is love, and sleep is for babies.

On a small corner lot in southeast Portland, Oregon, Jeffrey Martin holed up through the winter recording his quietly potent new album Thank God We Left The Garden. Long nights bled into mornings in the tiny shack he built in the backyard, eight feet by ten feet. What began as demos meant for a later visit to a proper studio became the album itself, spare and intimate and true. Recorded live and alone around two microphones, Jeffrey often held his breath to wait for the low diesel hum of a truck to pass one block over on the busy thoroughfare. During the coldest nights, he timed recording between the clicks of the oil coil heater cycling on and off.

Martin's fourth full length album, Thank God We Left The Garden comes out on Portland's beloved Fluff and Gravy Records Nov __. He produced and engineered it himself, recalling, "There was a magic quality to the sounds I was getting in the shack with these two cheap microphones, some lucky recipe of time and place that allowed my voice and the way I play guitar and the shape of these new songs to come together with the kind of honesty I was craving."

So much has happened in the world since the release of his previous album One Go Around (heralded by No Depression as 'the poetry of America'), and Jeffrey has filled the time doggedly, but happily, touring the US and Europe, watching it all unfold in a stream of small town conversations and city sprawl. In a moment where depth is so often traded for the instantaneous, where tech billionaires are building rockets to escape the planet, where the dead-eyed stare of artificial intelligence is promising to existentially upend our world, and where divisiveness in our culture is breeding delusional levels of certainty, Jeffrey Martin's new record feels like a hopeful and fully human antidote.

There are holes in all the side walls where the wind it brings the rain in
And the gold crowns have been found out to be brass that has been painted
There are holes in all our bibles where we make secret compartments
To hide the broken treasures we smuggled out of the garden -Quiet Man

The sounds feel warm, close, and refreshingly real, all held up by the richness and rare candor of Jeffrey's voice. Production is restrained mostly to his guitar and vocals, with flashes of classical guitar for a tumbling wash of melody and low end color. Martin's voice sits high above everything, reaching into new melodic territory that goes beyond his earlier work. "I feel like I've only just learned how to sing," Martin said. "Like I've been chasing this record since my very first recordings. I wanted to really see what I could do, just my guitar and my voice and little else. I don't think it was conscious. I think maybe it was a reaction to the pace of life these days. The churning news and entertainment and politics and violence of it all. I needed to know that even in this day and age, just a few simple ingredients still hold up."

Beloved Portland-based guitarist Jon Neufeld added electric guitar to three tracks. Sticking to the same less-ismore approach, his playing skillfully and subtly elevates the lyrical intention. Neufeld's touch is best displayed on Red Station Wagon, a searing story about one man's transformation from a narrow-minded bigot into a person who feels deep remorse for the ugliness of his youth. In his transformation he discovers the clarity of empathy and compassion. The devastating and redemptive four minute song contains the emotional arch of an entire film, and each turn is beautifully punctuated by Neufeld's guitar. In addition to his guitar work, Neufeld mixed and mastered the album, and was such a crucial part of the final feel of the record that Martin also credited him as a producer.

"Jon and I really produced this album together," he said. "Me in the shack, and then him in his studio working with what I brought him as he mixed and mastered. It was such a treat to work with him. I brought this pile of rough songs and he was able to dial it in and make up for my complete lack of recording know-how. I love the performances I got, but Jon's magic is what helped them breathe and truly come to life."

No less lyrically weighty than his previous work, Thank God We Left The Garden holds a new kindness and easy solace that feels timeless and full of generosity. The title is a paradoxical nod to Martin's own spiritual conclusions, a theme that is subtly woven throughout the album. The son of a pastor, he touches on his religious upbringing then carries us well beyond his past where the weight of his deepest questions are free to unfold.

"It's always bothered me how uptight religion gets around the messiness of our human natures, always trying to tell people they're broken and flawed from the get go. The only God I can imagine is one who is overjoyed with the mess. Who revels in the edgeless mystery. I imagine hanging around with angels all day gets boring pretty fast. So maybe we got the story wrong. Maybe we were supposed to leave the Garden all along. Maybe that was the first good thing we ever did. After all, I can't think of anything that has an ounce of meaning or dimension that doesn't come from failure."

This is an album that craves your full attention, best experienced as a whole. Each song further illuminates the scene until you find yourself resting in the strangely comforting tangle of aliveness and meaning (and full spectrum of being alive./what it means to be alive.). At its core Thank God We Left The Garden is an album made of questions, humble and nuanced, a reverent celebration of the asking.

In my mind there's a garden, full of beauty and darkness
Full of sorrow and sweet things where my heart can be honest
In that garden there's a fruit tree and I eat from it daily
The same that Adam and Eve ate / what does that make me? -Garden

Whether singing about his own internal landscape, telling a story of someone else's, or reflecting on the elusive relationship between scarcity and contentment, Martin's writing never pushes the listener away, never points a finger. He sings of things we can all pin a memory on, holding the rough shorn gem of human experience up to the light.

There's a treasure that we all know but we can't have it / It's a place beyond the measure of our minds
It is where we go when we forget we're living / It is where we go when we forget we die . . .
And all the tools we use to feel important / they are useless as a sailboat in the sky
Where old bones and heart aches are forgotten / It's a place we don't have words to describe
The sun will rise like it always does on the day that I die
The world will spin, the sun will go on burning
Never even knowing I was alive
-There Is A Treasure

Thank God We Left the Garden will be released on Fluff and Gravy Records in the fall of 2023. Subsequent touring will carry Jeffrey Martin through all of the US, Canada, and Europe.

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