Upcoming Shows

Local H, Tuff Sudz

TodayJuly 26, 20248:00pm $25.00

Rock n' roll stalwarts Local H remain as prolific and hungry as ever three decades into their perennially loud career. Shortly after the release of their critically acclaimed, Steve Albini produced album Lifers in 2020, the world changed forever with the onset of the global pandemic. After facing tour cancellations around....

Bunny Blues, Gold Label, Oh Well, OK

TomorrowJuly 27, 20248:00pm $10.00

With the members frequently swapping instruments and passing the mic around in between songs, Bunny Blues shows are all the excitement and whimsy of a game of musical chairs packed into a Milwaukee-based alt/indie rock band. Their new album "When the Tide Broke the Glass" is out 4/12/24.

Jennifer Knapp

SundayJuly 28, 20248:00pm $20.00

Jennifer Knapp is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, author, speaker and advocate. Her impressive history includes selling over one million albums with her first three releases Kansas (debut 1998, Gold-certified), Lay It Down (2000), and The Way I Am (2001). She has earned four Dove Awards and two Grammy nominations.....

Recently Added Shows

Dale Watson and His Lone Stars

MondayJuly 29, 20248:00pm $20.00

Taylor McCall

ThursdaySeptember 5, 20248:00pm $15.00

When the decades-old gospel recording fades into static, from which rises the first guitar chord of Taylor McCall's Mellow War, you feel like you're walking out of one world and into another. Or perhaps, for a moment anyway, straddling two worlds. Born in Greenville, South Carolina, McCall quickly found his true....

Bridging The Music Presents: Milwaukee miniFEST

SaturdaySeptember 14, 20247:00pm $20.00

An evening of music, art & community in a festival-style atmosphere!

Featuring:
Betsy Ade and the Well-Known Strangers
Michael Murphy
Nick Kitchen
NTS J
Ve!!e
RRG 107K

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Great Lake Swimmers

TuesdaySeptember 17, 20248:00pm $20 advance / $25 door

Featuring a blend of acoustic instruments, rural soundscapes, and wistful vocals,Great Lake Swimmersare a critically acclaimed indie-folk group led bysongwriter/vocalistTony Dekker. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the group emerged in the early 2000s with a succession of heavily atmospheric albums recorded in old silos and....

Jimmy the Arm

SaturdaySeptember 21, 20248:00pm $15.00

"Jimmy the Arm" is a beloved Milwaukee-based band founded by brothers Michael, Jerome, and Kevin Linn. With Dwayne Williams on Bass, Charlie Collins and Rob Mangan on Guitar, and Jerry Barker on Keyboards, the band delivers energetic cover songs from the 70s through today.

NIVRANA: Tribute to Nirvana

SaturdaySeptember 28, 20248:00pm $15.00

The best Nirvana tribute band is NIVRANA. Bringing the most authentic nirvana experience to crowds across the U.S. NIVRANA is the only tribute to Nirvana that gives you the original stage performance, gear and sound just as it was in the 1990s. Once again, you can hear the music that made the era special, because NIVRANA....

Colin James

SundaySeptember 29, 20248:00pm $25.00

TALLAN's 10th Annual Life Without You: Tribute To Stevie Ray Vaughan

FridayOctober 4, 20248:00pm $15 advance / $20 door

Celebrate the legacy of the legendary Stevie Ray Vaughan with Life Without You: Tribute To Stevie Ray Vaughan Event taking place at Shank Hall in Milwaukee, WI on Oct 4th. This event promises to be an unforgettable....

The dB's

SundayOctober 13, 20248:00pm $30.00

The dB's are composed of two singer/songwriter/guitarists, Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey; along with Gene Holder, bass; and Will Rigby, drums -- although everyone in the band played everything at one time or another. The foursome emanated from Winston-Salem, N.C., and helped define not only the rich North Carolina....

Tony Moore - AWAKE

TuesdayOctober 22, 20248:00pm $20.00

Get ready to be blown away! Tony Moore is taking to the stage with his electrifying one-man show, "AWAKE." Tony's journey in the music industry has been nothing short of legendary, from being an original member of Iron Maiden to playing with Meatloaf and hitting the charts with his own band in Holland to touring the....

Hackensaw Boys "Love What You Do" 20th Anniversary Tour

ThursdayNovember 7, 20248:00pm $20.00

Roots music shapeshifters Hackensaw Boys have been making audiences holler and dance since way back in 1999. Formed in Charlottesville and now based in Lynchburg, Virginia, this hard traveling group has built an international following for their high-energy performances and down-to-earth presentation. Despite their roots....

Stella Prince

WednesdayDecember 4, 20248:00pm $20.00

Described by Nashville Scene as the artist "carrying the banner for a new generation of folk musicians", Stella's goal is to bring folk music to a new generation, describing her sound as "Gen Z Folk". She recently made history as the youngest performer at this year's Tin Pan South. This past year has been a breakthrough....

Milwaukee Zappafest XXVI

SaturdayDecember 14, 20248:00pm $20.00

Featuring Ray White with Gozortenplat

Alternative Concert Group Presents

Buckethead

FridayAugust 16, 20248:00pm

At The Rave, Milwaukee, WI.

Tickets on sale at therave.com or at The Rave box office.

Del McCoury Band

ThursdaySeptember 5, 20247:30pm $45 | $55

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

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

Daniel O'Donnell

WednesdaySeptember 18, 20247:00pm

Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, WI

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Hoodoo Gurus

ThursdaySeptember 19, 20247:30pm

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

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

Daniel O'Donnell

ThursdaySeptember 19, 20247:00pm $45, $56.50, $67.50, $79

The Weidner, Green Bay, WI

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Daniel O'Donnell

FridaySeptember 20, 20247:00pm

The Grand Theater, Wausau, WI

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Billy Bragg

SundayOctober 6, 20247:30pm $50 | $75

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

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

John Hiatt, Jim Hoehn

SundayOctober 13, 20247:30pm $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).

Rick Wakeman

SaturdayOctober 19, 20248:00pm

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.

Jesse Cook

WednesdayApril 30, 20257:30pm $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).

Jesse Cook

ThursdayMay 1, 20257:30pm $49 | $76

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.

Quick Calendar

Dale Watson, keeper of the true country music flame, latest album Call Me Insane, was recorded in Austin with veteran producer Lloyd Maines (Robert Earl Keen, Jerry Jeff Walker, etc.). The Austin-based honky-tonker carries on in the tradition of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson with his "Ameripolitan" brand of American roots music.

Album highlights include "Jonesin' For Jones," a love song to the music of the legendary George Jones, "A Day At A Time," about "getting by by barely getting by;" "Call Me Insane," the album's moody title track; "Bug Ya For Love," a fun warning to all the single ladies, and "Mamas Don't Let Your Cowboys Grow Up To Be Babies." (Yes, it is an answer song to the Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson hit.) "Crocodile Tears" is a tear-in-your-beer country song that sounds like an instant classic and "Burden Of The Cross" reveals Watson's serious side.

Call Me Insane was recorded in Austin by Watson and his ace touring band, "His Lone Stars": Don Pawlak (pedal steel), Mike Bernal (drums & percussion), and Chris Crepps (upright bass & background vocals). Dale plays electric guitar throughout and Lloyd Maines added acoustic guitar. They were joined in the studio by Danny Levin on piano and the Honky Tonk Horns: Jon Blondell (trombone), Joey Colarusso (saxophone), and Ricky White (trumpet).

"Having known Lloyd over 20 years and worked with him as a musician, I knew he was a great guy and picker," Watson says. "But having Lloyd produce your record is like letting your mom in your kitchen. You know you're gonna like what comes out and it's amazing how such basic ingredients can be made even better. He is an artists' artist.

The admiration is mutual. "I've been a Dale Watson fan since I played steel guitar on some of his early records," Maines says of the sessions. "My early musical influences are the same as Dale's. We both grew up playing real country music. Dale is one of a very short list of today's artists who still keeps it real country. I'm honored that he asked me to produce his new record. I think he knew that I would maintain the integrity of his passion for the music."

Dubbed "the silver pompadoured, baritone beltin', Lone Star beer drinkin', honky-tonk hellraiser" by The Austin Chronicle, Watson sat in with Jimmy Kimmel's house band as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) from SXSW 2015. He also emceed the first ever SXSW "Ameripolitan" showcase featuring the best of Honky-tonk, Outlaw Country, Rockabilly and Texas Swing music.

Since the release of El Rancho Azul in 2013, Watson's profile has risen considerably via appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS), Austin City Limits and The Sun Sessions(PBS) and as a guest on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me. A veteran touring artist and consummate entertainer, he is on the road more than 300 days a year. He also put his money where his heart is and took over ownership of two struggling Texas honky-tonks, the Little Longhorn Saloon in Austin (home of Chicken $#!+ Bingo) and The Big T Roadhouse in St. Hedwigs (outside San Antonio). If not on the road, he and His Lone Stars perform at one of them each Sunday.

Dale has flown the flag for classic honky-tonk for over two decades. He's christened his brand of American roots "Ameripolitan" to differentiate it from current crop of Nashville-based pop country. The Alabama-born, Texas-raised Watson may be the hardest working entertainer today and is rapidly approaching legendary status. He is a country music maverick, a true outlaw who stands alongside Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and George Strait as one of the finest country singers and songwriters from the Lone Star State.

For nearly 20 years Johnny A. has traveled the world effortlessly gliding through, bending and blending, musical genres to deliver his own unique style of instrumental guitar music.

To quote the London Free Press (Johnny A. is...) "a musician who resists easy categorization and that's always cool by us."

And as JAZZIZ Magazine so perfectly stated, "Johnny A. has eclectic musical vision and the skills to realize it...A.'s music is both accessible and sophisticated."

His passion began at the age of 13, when he first saw the Beatles in Boston, followed two years later by an in-person witnessing of Jimi Hendrix. From there, he was hooked, getting a cheap beginner guitar to try and play along with his early heroes -- which also included Yardbirds icons Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Soon enough, Johnny A. got it.

By the 1970s, he was forming bands in the New England area, drawing attention from and working with several established musicians, like Derek and the Dominos keyboardist Bobby Whitlock and Doug Clifford of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Johnny A. became Music Director of J. Geils Band singer Peter Wolf's outfit, coordinating the onstage arrangements, playing on several tours and co-producing Wolf's 1996 album, *Long Line*. What's more, he was even asked to join the Yardbirds as their lead guitarist in 2015.

All this is to say that Johnny A. has the chops, and that's not to mention his prolific solo career. Spanning three full-length albums, a live double DVD/CD set and an instructional video, Johnny A. has earned a Grammy Award nomination, the honor of Boston Music Awards "Blues Artist of the Year 2010" and a spot in the revered Boston Music Hall of Fame. He still fervently carries on the tradition of the legends he respected as a teen.

Never content with complacency, and always up for a challenge, Johnny again takes an adventurous musical left turn to present his distinct, instrumental guitar approach coupled with his "live-looping" expertise for the very first time in a completely "solo" intimate atmosphere.

With strong emphasis on melody and arrangements from the British songbook of the 60's, he will be bringing his fluid guitar style to select venues all across the United States and beyond.

The evening promises to be a very special "living room experience" with some of Johnny's favorite songs and stories all of which have molded him into the musician and person he is today.

It's no wonder that Gibson Custom and Epiphone and now Fender Custom guitars have honored him with not one but four signature model guitars designed to his specifications.

Don't miss the rare and unique opportunity to see this Grammy Nominated, Boston Music Hall of Fame Inductee and one of America's finest instrumental guitarists up close and personal.

CHUCK MEAD is a Country singer with a rock n roll heart. He's also a renowned songwriter, producer, music director, musicologist and architect behind the rebirth of Lower Broadway and the Global Neo Traditional Country music movement.

This Kansas native, has been at the forefront of what has come to be known as Americana Music for the better part of 25 years. Perhaps best known for co-founding the famed '90s Alternative Country quintet, BR5-49, whos 7 albums garnered a CMA Award for Best International Touring Act and three Grammy nominations, helped build an indelible bridge between authentic American Roots music and millions of fans worldwide.

Since then he's toured the globe, entertained thousands on the high seas, released 4 solo albums, made 137 appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, co-produced critically acclaimed tribute albums to Johnny Cash & Waylon Jennings, acted as Musical Director/Supervisor/Producer of the Broadway hit musical Million Dollar Quartet AND the companion CMT television show Sun Records.

With a deep connection to Memphis and a burning desire to keep building musical bridges, Chuck packed up the band and took time out of his crazy schedule last summer to record his fourth solo album with Matt Ross-Spang (Margo Price/John Prine/Jason Isbell/Al Green) at legendary Sam Phillips Recording Studios, the result of which, 'Close To Home', was released June 21, 2019 on Plowboy Records.

Since 2019 Chuck has also hosted a radio show on 650AM WSM Radio in Nashville called "Face the Music with Chuck Mead."

Renowned music critic Peter Cooper once said, "Jason Ringenberg is Nashville's greatest 20th-century rock 'n' roll frontman." With statements like that, you would think Jason might rest on his laurels now that he is in his 60s. Not so. His new record Rhinestoned once again sets Ringenberg on a collision course with people's souls. It reaffirms the claim that not only is he one of rock 'n' roll's greatest frontmen but also one of the preeminent singer-songwriters of his generation.

His journey started in the 1960s Midwest, a place straight out of Norman Rockwell's America. He was born and raised on an Illinois hog farm that bordered the Rock Island Line Railroad. At an early age he heard classic country artists on his dad's truck radio but also was exposed to the 1960s singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan and Neil Young by his older siblings. He attended college at Southern Illinois University, studying history and music. He played banjo in a bluegrass band called Gary, Jason, and Chico. After seeing The Ramones in a dorm basement cafeteria, he immediately quit the bluegrass band and formed his own punk rock group, Shakespeare's Riot, gaining notoriety around Southern Illinois as one of the first regional bands to combine classic country with raw punk rock.

By 1981 he realized he had taken that musical journey as far as he could in Southern Illinois. On July 4 he loaded up his '71 Econoline van and headed to that musical Mecca of all Meccas: Nashville, Tennessee. He didn't know a soul nor had ever even set boots in the town. He jumped in feet first, jamming at every dive or party that would let him have the mic. Within a few weeks he formed Jason and the Nashville Scorchers and never looked back. Widely considered one of most influential Americana/Outlaw country bands in history, Jason and the Scorchers tore up stages across the planet. One UK journalist called their 1984 show at the Marquee "one of the Top Five gigs of all time."

By the late 80s their legendary luster began to dim, although they continued to tour and make records. In 1991 Ringenberg snagged a record contract with Capitol Nashville. He began to build his solo brand, touring as a solo artist and eventually releasing a series of critically acclaimed records. In 2002 he launched a children's music character called Farmer Jason, winning an Emmy Award in 2009 for his PBS music video program. He would often perform a Farmer Jason show in the daytime and then a solo Jason Ringenberg concert that night in the same city. From 2000 to 2015 he performed an average of 200 shows a year all over Europe and North America.

In 2017 he saw yet another renaissance in his career. The U.S. National Park Service approached him to be their Artist-in-Residence at the Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park. He spent a month hiking those pristine mountains, doing concerts in the campgrounds, and writing songs. He experienced an explosion of creative energy not seen since his salad days with Jason and the Scorchers. The resulting songs form the basis for two defining records: Stand Tall, released in 2018, and now Rhinestoned. Rhinestoned is heavily influenced by the ethos and energy of mid-1960s Nashville. The record is populated by forgotten ghosts and old souls. There is a song about one of Crazy Horse's close Lakota friends and another about the Freedom Riders. He even tackles a love affair gone wrong in World War I Flanders. He covers Hank Williams, The Carter Family, and the classic Easter hymn Christ the Lord Is Risen Today, all the while making each track sound uniquely his own. The record was recorded by George Bradfute, whose studio is located in the basement of the 1950's country superstar Jim Reeves. The old tile floor and pine paneling are still there, conjuring up old memories and soaking up new ones.

So his journey winds on. As Ringenberg says in Rhinestoned: "A song can be a lover or a true best friend and it will not forsake you when you reach the end..."

Born in Miami, during World War II, Chris Smither grew up in New Orleans where he first started playing music as a child. The son of a Tulane University professor, he was taught the rudiments of instrumentation by his uncle on his mother's ukulele. "Uncle Howard," Smither says, "showed me that if you knew three chords, you could play a lot of the songs you heard on the radio. And if you knew four chords, you could pretty much rule the world." With that bit of knowledge under his belt, he was hooked. "I'd loved acoustic music -- specifically the blues -- ever since I first heard Lightnin' Hopkins' Blues In My Bottle album. I couldn't believe the sound Hopkins got. At first I thought it was two guys playing guitar. My style, to a degree, came out of trying to imitate that sound I heard."

In his early twenties, Smither turned his back on his anthropology studies and headed to Boston at the urging of legendary folk singer Eric von Schmidt. It was the mid-'60s and acoustic music thrived in the streets and coffeehouses there. Smither forged lifelong friendships with many musicians, including Bonnie Raitt who went on to record his songs, "Love You Like A Man" and "I Feel the Same. (Their friendship has endured as their career paths intertwined over the years.) What quickly evolved from his New Orleans and Cambridge musical experiences is his enduring, singular guitar sound -- a beat-driven finger-picking, strongly influenced by the playing of Mississippi John Hurt and Lightnin' Hopkins, layered over the ever-present backbeat of his rhythmic, tapping feet (always mic'd in performance).

Smither's first albums, I'm A Stranger, Too! (1971) and Don't It Drag On (1972) were released on Poppy Records, home of kindred spirit Townes Van Zandt. By the time Smither recorded his third album, Honeysuckle Dog with Lowell George and Dr. John helping out, United Artists had absorbed Poppy and ultimately dropped much of their roster, including Smither. Smither made his next record in 1985, when the spare It Ain't Easy on Adelphi Records marked his return to the studio.

By the early '90s, Smither's steady nationwide touring and regular release of consistently acclaimed albums cemented his reputation as one of the finest acoustic musicians in the country. His 1991 album, Another Way to Find You, was recorded live in front of an in-studio audience with no overdubs or second takes. This would be the first of two albums with Flying Fish Records. His next recording, Happier Blue, was embraced by Triple A radio and received the NAIRD (now AFIM) award as Best Folk Recording of 1993. Up On The Lowdown (1995) marked the first of a trio of albums to be recorded with producer Stephen Bruton at The Hit Shack in Austin and his first of five albums with roots label HighTone Records. Up On the Lowdown rode the crest of the newly formed Americana radio format wave and sparked considerable interest abroad. A tour of Australia with Dave Alvin and extensive solo touring in Europe led to an expanding global interest in Smither. His song, "I Am the Ride," from this album inspired the independent film, The Ride, for which Smither also composed the original score.

In early 1997 Smither released Small Revelations. It climbed the Americana and Triple A radio charts and led to concert dates with B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Nanci Griffith, and the hugely successful, original Monsters of Folk' tour with Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Dave Alvin and Tom Russell. Small Revelations also generated several film projects for Smither. Emmylou Harris recorded his song, "Slow Surprise," for the The Horse Whisperer soundtrack on MCA. And his recording of "Hold On" was used in the indie feature film Love From Ground Zero. Smither also shared insight into his guitar style and technique on two instructional DVDs, available from Homespun Video.

His CD, Drive You Home Again (1999), garnered four-stars from Rolling Stone. And with it, Smither continued to tour world-wide. Shortly after, in 2000, Smither released his one-man-tour-de-force, Live As I'll Ever Be. Recorded in-concert at various clubs and concert halls in California, Dublin, Galway, Boston, and Washington DC, it has proven to be a fan favorite, capturing Smither at what he loves to do: performing in front of an audience.

Train Home (2003) was Smither's last record for HighTone and his first with producer David Goodrich. Over a six-week period, basic tracks for Train Home were recorded in the relaxed environment of Smither's home near Boston. Working with new session musicians, the record is simultaneously sparse and assured. Bonnie Raitt graciously provided backing vocals and slide guitar on Smither's cover of Bob Dylan's "Desolation Row." And Smither's "Seems So Real" from the CD earned a Folk Alliance Award as "Song of the Year."

In 2005, jazz great Diana Krall covered "Love Me Like A Man," introducing what is now a blues standard to a whole world of jazz fans. Shortly after, Smither's song "Slow Surprise" was included in the independent film, Brother's Shadow. In addition, Smither narrated a two-CD audio book recording of "Will Rogers' Greatest Hits." Continuing to expand his creative horizon, Smither was invited to contribute an essay to Sixty Things to Do When You Turn Sixty, a 2006 collection of essays by American luminaries on reaching that milestone. In 2009, Melville House published Amplified, a book featuring 16 short stories by notable American performing songwriters. Smither's story Leroy Purcell about a touring musician's encounter with a Texas State Patrolman leads off the collection.

With the release of his 12th recording Leave The Light On (2006) on his own imprint, Mighty Albert, Smither began a new label relationship with the renowned acoustic and modern folk label, Signature Sounds. For the recording, Smither reunited with producer David Goodrich and session musicians Mike Piehl, Lou Ulrich and Anita Suhanin. As an added treat, Smither invited good friend and Grammy Award-winning multi- instrumentalist, Tim O'Brien, along with rising American roots stars, Ollabelle, to add their distinctive talents on several tracks. Smither followed this with Time Stands Still (2009), his most stripped down recording in some time, working with just two accompanists after the same trio had played a rare band performance -- a non-solo setup required in order to play a Netherlands festival.

About the recording Smither says, "We're the only three guys on this record, and most of the songs only have three parts going on. We had a freewheeling feeling at that festival gig, and we managed to make a lot of that same feeling happen in this record." In 2011 Smither put out two fan projects: a collection of live tracks from newly discovered concert recordings from the 1980s-1990s titled Lost and Found and the rollicking EP, What I Learned in School, on which Smither covered six classic rock and roll songs.

Smither followed these fan-projects with Hundred Dollar Valentine (2012), a ????? (MOJO) studio record of all Smither-penned songs. With longtime producer David "Goody" Goodrich at the helm, this collection sported Smither's trademark acoustic guitar sound and evocative sonic textures meshed with spare, brilliant songs, delivered in a bone-wise, hard-won voice.

In 2014 Smither released Still on the Levee (2014) -- a double-CD retrospective. Recorded in New Orleans at the Music Shed, this career-spanning project features fresh new takes on 24 iconic songs from his vast career and some very special guests including the legendary Allen Toussaint and Loudon Wainwright III.

The coffee table style book Chris Smither Lyrics 1966-2012 and Signature Sounds' Link of Chain -- an all-star tribute record including a stellar list of artists offering their takes on some Smither favorites including Josh Ritter, Bonnie Raitt, Loudon Wainwright III, Dave Alvin, Peter Case, Tim O'Brien, Patty Larkin, and many others were fan-favorite accompaniments to the retrospective CD .

In March 2018, Smither released his eighteenth record, Call Me Lucky (Signature Sounds/Mighty Albert) once again teaming up with producer and multi-instrumentalist David Goodrich. Also joined by Billy Conway (Morphine) and Matt Lorenz (The Suitcase Junket), Smither recorded eight new originals along with some very special and surprising covers at the Blue Rock studios in the Texas hills in June 2017.

In October 2020, More From The Levee, the followup to the 50-year career retrospective Still on the Levee, was released.

Acoustic Guitar: Smither sings about "the big things -- life, love, loss -- in a penetrating and poetic yet unpretentious way."

Raised outside Houston by first-generation Korean immigrant parents, BettySoo grew up listening to the Great American songbook and country radio. Older sisters led her to the world of singer/songwriters, and nights spent at The Cactus Caf� and Hole In The Wall turned her on to the legacy of Texas song.

Her 2007 solo disc, Little Tiny Secrets, garnered heavy regional airplay; 2009's Heat Sin Water Sin produced by Gurf Morlix (Lucinda Williams, Ray Wylie Hubbard), provided building blocks to a national (and international) audience. In 2014, When We're Gone, co-produced with cellist Brian Standefer (Alejandro Escovedo, Terry Allen) placed her firmly in the first rank of songwriters working today.

She's won the requisite awards: Kerrville NewFolk, Big Top Chautauqua Songwriter of the Year, Dave Carter Songwriting Award at Sisters Folk Festival, Mountain Stage NewSong Competition. She's played the festivals: multiple SXSW's, Kerrville, Calgary, and more. And the radio shows: E-Town, Mountain Stage, WoodSongs, BBC 2 with Bob Harris.

BettySoo tours nonstop, these days either as a solo headliner or as dedicated support for James McMurtry and Chris Smither. Along with her agile guitar playing, her intelligent, tightly-constructed lyrics and captivating melodies keep audiences entranced, and if you're lucky, you'll also find her onstage demonstrating her other super-power when she is singing harmonies with various luminaries.

In the Time of COVID-19, BettySoo was found cutting a unique path through the broad streaming landscape with her weekly Nobody's Happy Hour zoom shows, often praised as the most creative online residency in the songwriter world. As with everything she does, she approached it in a way that invites authentic connection, encourages compassion, and merits listening.

Abe Partridge is a heralded musician, singer/songwriter, visual artist, and podcaster based in Mobile, Alabama. His 2018 debut, Cotton Fields and Blood For Days earned him rave reviews, with Tony Paris saying in The Bitter Southerner: "He plays guitar the same way he writes lyrics, bashing the strings with abandon until they are just about to come loose, then beautifully picking the notes until every last word falls into place. More to the point, Partridge writes to make you sit up and think. He wants to jar your reality. Sometimes, his lyrics are sly and subtle. Sometimes they come at you with a roar and thunder, as if the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were approaching, and the heavens were opening up to herald a warning."

Since the release of his debut, Partridge has toured relentlessly, including several tours of the Netherlands and the U.K. developing a reputation for moving, passionate, and sometimes comedic, performances at prestigious songwriter festivals such as 30A Songwriters Festival, Frank Brown Songwriters Festival, and Americanafest. He is a regular at the Bluebird Café in Nashville and Eddie's Attic in Decatur. He has performed on the syndicated radio programs, Mountain Stage and Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour. He has shared the stage with Morgan Wade, Paul Thorn, Steve Poltz, Dan Bern, Jerry Joseph, Glen Phillips (Toad The Wet Sprocket), Tommy Stinson, Shawn Mullins, John Fullbright, and more.

Most recently, Partridge and co-producer Ferrill Gibbs released the Alabama Astronaut podcast, where they explore songs previously undocumented at churches in Appalachia. The podcast finds Partridge chatting with Holiness preachers and looking into the practice of snake handling. It was in the Top Ten documentary podcasts on Apple Podcasts within days of its release and now has over 50k downloads and a 4.9-star rating.

When Partridge is not writing or touring, he is also a highly acclaimed visual artist. His paintings, primarily acrylic on tarred board and watercolors, now hang in art galleries around the southeast and in the private collections of Tyler Childers, Mike Wolfe (American Pickers), Rick Hirsch (Wet Willie), and Tommy Prine. His artwork was featured in Stephen King's 2019 sequel to The Shining - Dr. Sleep. He painted the cover art for Charlie Parr's, Last Of The Better Days Ahead (Smithsonian Folkways). He also created art for Tyler Childers' 2022 release, Can I Take My Hounds To Heaven?

American Songwriter Magazine said, "Abe Partridge has established himself as one of the most respected songwriters and visual folk artists in the southeast."

In November of 2022, Partridge released the EP Alabama Skies on Baldwin Co. Public Records label which includes "Abe Partridge's 403d Freakout". Partridge told Songfacts the story behind the song: " 'Abe Partridge's 403d Freakout' was a song I wrote in about 20 minutes. It took me two weeks to make it rhyme, and then it took me about six months to learn it. I just sat and wrote a couple of pages of thoughts as they came to me. It was my attempt at describing my thoughts chronologically as they sometimes occur in my head before I filter them. It is those thoughts that I often have if I allow myself to mentally wander."

Partridge's exhibit With Signs Following was on exhibition at the Alabama Contemporary Art Center in Mobile, AL from January 13 - May 20 of 2023 and is expected to travel to other city contemporary art centers in the next few years. His full-length studio album, Love In The Dark, on BCPR label, was released on May 12, 2023.

Evolution. It's what keeps the best bands afloat -- song after song, show after show, record after record.

Mike Harmeier was still in his early 20s when he formed Mike and the Moonpies. From the start, they were the definition of a workingman's country band, cutting their teeth with five-hour sets on Austin's dancehall circuit before spreading their music to the rest of America. By the early 2020s, they'd become global ambassadors of homegrown Texas music, flying their flag everywhere from Abbey Road Studios (where they recorded 2019's Cheap Silver & Solid Country Gold with help from the London Symphony Orchestra) to the Grand Ole Opry.

The growth was remarkable, but all that momentum left Harmeier and his four bandmates -- drummer Taylor Englert, guitarist Catlin Rutherford, bassist Omar Oyoque, and steel guitarist Zachary Moulton -- looking for something new. After all, their music had decidedly changed. Why shouldn't their name do the same?

Silverada marks a new chapter in the band's history. It's not just the title of the boldest release of the group's critically-acclaimed career; it's also the name of the reinvigorated band itself.

"Back in the day, all we wanted to do was play the Broken Spoke," says Harmeier, nodding to the hometown honky-tonk in Austin, TX, where Silverada began sowing the seeds for a sound that mixed timeless twang with modern-day dynamics. "We had different aspirations back then. We were still figuring out what kind of band we were gonna be, and that took a lot of time and a lot of records."

A lot of records, indeed. Silverada marks the group's ninth release, and it balances the strengths they've accumulated along the way -- sharp, detailed songwriting that bounces between autobiographical sketches and character studies; gorgeous swells of pedal steel that drift through the songs like weather; a rhythm section capable of country shuffles, hard-charging rock & roll tempos, and everything in between -- with a willingness to break old rules and open new doors. "Radio Wave" is a roots-rock anthem for the highway and the heartland, peppered with Springsteen-worthy hooks and War On Drugs-inspired atmospherics. "Eagle Rare" launches the band into outer space during its explosive middle section, which the band improvised in the recording studio. "Stay By My Side" showcases Silverada's road-warrior credentials -- the band recorded the track live during a tour across the American Southeast, capturing it in a single take at Capricorn Sound Studios in Macon, Georgia -- while "Wallflower" blends the organic with the otherworldly, finding room for harmonized guitar solos, driving disco beats, and 808 percussion.

"Going into the studio, everybody in the band felt inspired to do something bigger than what they'd done before," Harmeier explains. "We all knew we were at a precipice, and we wanted to jump. I brought in some songs that were metaphorical and not always straightforward, and that showed the guys that I wanted to take this music somewhere new... so they threw their own rulebooks out the window, too."

Harmeier wrote the bulk of Silverada in his backyard studio, surrounded by dozens of books he'd picked up at a local Goodwill. "We'd been on tour for so long, playing the same set for almost two years, and I wanted to write something that was a departure," he remembers. Jeff Tweedy's books on songwriting were a big help, but Harmeier pushed himself to get weird, too, finding inspiration in everything from astronomy texts to sci-fi novels. "I would read some, work a little bit, read some more, and work a little more," he says of the creative process. "I spent a full month in that studio, going there every night, making word ladders and highlighting lines and learning to free write."

Recorded at Yellow Dog Studios with longtime producer/collaborator Adam Odor, Silverada propels the band forward without losing sight of their roots. "Stubborn Son" -- a loving, unsparing sketch of the family patriarch who set Harmeier's creativity in motion -- unfolds like a close cousin to Steak Night at the Prairie Rose's title track, laced with fiddle solos from longtime George Strait collaborator Gene Elders. "Doing It Right" channels the same throwback, slow-dance ambiance that informed 2019's "You Look Good in Neon." "Load Out," which chronicles the grind of blue-collar jobs both on and off the road, could've found a home on 2021's One To Grow On.

There's a smart sense of history here -- a celebration not only of where the band is headed, where they've been, too. Even so, Silverada doesn't spend much time looking in the rearview mirror. Instead, it keeps its gaze focused on the road ahead. This is a snapshot of a band in motion, chasing down the next horizon, writing the soundtrack to some new discovery. It's the sound of alchemy, of some new metal being forged. And like silver itself, Silverada shines brightly.

"We spent the first part of our career figuring out who we are and what we're good at," says Harmeier. "Now we want to evolve not only the sound of the band, but the dynamic of the live show, too. We're all lifers here. We're in this for the long haul. Silverada is us setting the stage for the next leg of the journey."

"Patience is a virtue." Those words are tattooed across Coleman Williams' right arm, forever reminding the alternative-country singer/songwriter of the benefits of taking one's time.

The lesson wasn't always so clear. As the great-grandson of Hank Williams Sr., grandson of Hank Williams Jr., and only son of Hank 3, Coleman spent years waging an internal battle with the expectations thrust upon him by his own lineage. He represented the fourth generation of country music's most legendary family -- hence his nickname, "IV" -- and the pressure to launch his own career was enormous. Although Coleman would eventually make his mark with Southern Circus -- the genre-bending debut from his band, IV and the Strange Band, combining southern storytelling and country textures with 100-watt guitar amps and DIY attitude -- he needed to break free first and discover his own musical approach along the way. [read more="Read more" less="Read less"]

"Before I even knew who I was, people were already expecting things of me," he says. "It felt like there was zero freedom of expression for someone with the last name 'Williams.' Singing about a bloodline didn't appeal to me, though. I wasn't interested in fitting into a shadow that already existed. What did appeal to me was the underground scene in Nashville."

Coleman became a fierce champion of Nashville's house-show circuit as a teenager, drawn in by the scene's supportive spirit and DIY ethics. This was a community that valued principles over pedigrees. A community that offered artists of all stripes a place to express themselves. From punk shows to heavy metal gigs to electronic experiments, Coleman loved it all... and for the first time in his life, he felt like he belonged somewhere.

"I was a weird kid who grew up in an unusual situation,"he says. "When I began going to house shows in Nashville, I felt like I'd found a family of people whom nobody else wanted -- kids who were different and misunderstood -- and during these two-hour shows, everyone belonged, everyone felt accepted, and everyone had a place. The experience taught me to trust my instincts. It gave me a new sense of independence. I have to believe that's why Hank Williams made music, too; he could see what it did for people."

Inspired to blaze his own trail, Coleman left town after high school and traveled across America, developing musical tastes that were as diverse as the country itself. Over the decade that followed, he became a history buff, a poet, a metalworker, and an educator. Back home in Nashville, he continued his lifelong practice of writing songs, developing the unique sound -- a blend of the amplified and the acoustic, laced with fiddle one minute and heavy guitars the next -- that would later fill Southern Circus. Coleman took his time. He wanted the sound to be right. Patience is a virtue, after all.

Local producer Jason Dietz became a fan of Coleman's songs, prompting the two to begin collaborating. Guitarist David Talley joined them, as did banjo player, Daniel Mason and drummer Carson Kehrer. All five musicians (along with fiddler Laura Beth Jewell and steel player, John Judkins who both appear on the record) came from different musical backgrounds, but they worked together to build something new, using Coleman's acoustic tunes as the blueprint for a southern sound that was soothing one minute and strident the next. An album began taking shape. Just shy of his thirtieth birthday, Coleman Williams made his long-awaited debut with"Son of Sin," a single that was released in 2021 by IV and the Strange Band.

"I like to say, 'What doesn't kill you makes you stranger,'" he explains. "I love strangeness and I love my Strange Band. The most genuine people in this world are those who allow themselves to be the weirdos they truly are, because once you repress yourself, that's when you become someone you're not."

Coleman channeled this love of the weird and self-certainty into Southern Circus which bounces between autobiographical songs and story-driven tracks inspired by Coleman's historical interests. On "Inbred," he turns the true-life tale of the Fugates -- a Kentucky family whose inbred history attracted the attention and anger of religious zealots during the 1800s -- into a song about Christian hypocrisy. "Malice" is a swaggering country song based upon a newspaper article about a married couple who each decided to poison the other on the same morning, while "Drinking Sad"pays tribute to the outlaw country bar songs that soundtracked Coleman's childhood. Appropriately, modern-day outlaw Jaime Wyatt appears on the hauntingly elegant "Broken Pieces," contributing vocals to a song about, as Coleman puts it, "the idea someone can't truly love you unless they know how fucked up you really are."

Perhaps nothing encapsulates Coleman Williams' story better than "Stand Your Ground," a seize-the-day anthem that advises its listener to roll with the world's punches and refuse to remain knocked down. The song opens with a leisurely lope, only to segue into a faster section propelled by train beats, banjo arpeggios, and Coleman's anthemic melodies. There are flashes of country twang and rock & roll grit throughout, fused together by a man who's not afraid to blur the dividing line between those camps. Southern Circus offers a peak into Coleman's personal world, and under this Big Top, all southern sounds -- and all people -- are welcome.

"PT Barnum always said, 'The clowns are the heart of the circus,'" Coleman notes. "The circus is all about expression -- about being yourself and finding a unique family, just like the house-show scene -- and clowns embody that spirit. They're comfortable with being themselves, and they're trying to give you a pure, emotional catharsis. I love that. I feel like I'm the clown of this southern circus."

Southern Circus finds a balance between spectacle and spirit, determination and deliverance, melodies and muscle. It's the sound of a man honoring his family tree while planting his own garden. To make it, Coleman had to leave home, explore sounds that stretched beyond his bloodline's catalog, and challenge the world's expectations that he'd join family business. Southern Circus is his homecoming: an album that finds him not falling into a legacy, but earning it.

The Minneapolis, Minnesota duo Bad Bad Hats are named after a little-known song from "Madeline," a beloved children's book series about a mischievous young girl and her yellow-clad classmates. Founded by singer/songwriter Kerry Alexander and guitarist Chris Hoge, the band traffics in similarly playful concepts and warm scenes of youth. Bad Bad Hats are celebrated for crispy, lived-in melodies, big choruses that stick for days, and an easy musicianship that carries across their eclectic, wide-ranging releases.

The band's lead singer Kerry Alexander grew up between Tampa, Florida and Birmingham, Alabama. As a child, she was a student of the glossy MTV pop that defined the early 2000s, as well as the David Bowie and Tom Petty CDs her parents would play while making dinner. Singer songwriters like Alanis Morissette, Kim Deal, and later, Michelle Branch, were an early inspiration for Kerry: after discovering songwriting as a profession while watching American Idol, the young teenaged Kerry began filling binders with songs, planning to one day write hit records for stars.

As her confidence grew, Kerry began testing her performance chops at open mic nights, and eventually began sharing demos on Myspace, where she first connected with Chris Hoge, a savvy guitarist and classmate at the small liberal arts school Macalester College. The pair's chemistry was undeniable, sharing common tastes in songwriting and sound, and they flourished creatively--and, soon, as a couple. They refined demos together and gigged around the Twin Cities, where they received consistently strong responses from friends who'd come to their shows. Soon, Kerry and Chris were assembling their first EP, "It Hurts," and catching the ear of local indie labels. After fleshing out the line up with bassist Noah Boswell, Bad Bad Hats was officially born.

"Psychic Reader," BBH's debut LP, arrived in 2015. Led by the ebullient single "Midway," the album highlighted the band's cinematic sound, punchy rhythm sections, and Kerry's heart-aching vocals. With "Psychic Reader," the band expanded their audience beyond local Twin Cities venues, as their music spread organically via college radio and shared links. New fans seemed to discover the music daily, their growth coincided with a renaissance in young bedroom musicians via streaming through the 2010s. With their follow up full length albums "Lightning Round" (2018) and "Walkman" (2021), Bad Bad Hats expanded their sound and look, with hilariously DIY music videos that cast the band as ice hockey players, Elvis impersonators, secret agents and more. In the years since their initial noodling around St. Paul, Bad Bad Hats have toured globally with peers like The Beths and Hippo Campus, and storied acts like The Front Bottoms and the aforementioned Michelle Branch, who picked them up for her 2022 headlining world tour. It was a full-circle moment for Kerry, one that she made clear on stage at each show.

Last January, Kerry, Chris, and longtime bandmate Con Davison cozied up under frigid winter in Chris and Kerry's Twin Cities home, writing and recording their latest, self-titled LP. Each day for two weeks, Kerry would make sandwiches for lunch (tuna salad on Tuesdays), and the crew would get to work in the basement home studio, stacked to the brim with gear. The group recorded more quickly than usual, and even incorporated a few songwriting prompts sent in directly from their fans as jumping-off points. Where BBH are typically known for big song topics like love and heartache, Kerry took to smaller ideas this go round--included are songs inspired by parking tickets, scorching Tampa grocery store lots she remembered from her youth, and other autobiographical scenes woven into dancefloor-ready numbers.

Today, Bad Bad Hats are back to their founding duo, and their upcoming record is the band's first time self-producing, with a freewheeling, pristine tone and several unexpectedly funky turns. The new album suggests a band still having deep fun creating and playing, inviting listeners new and old to live life to their heartfelt tunes. "Bad Bad Hats" will be available on April 12th, 2024 via Don Giovanni Records.

Michael McDermott burst onto the scene in his early 20s with his exceptional debut, 620 W. Surf and subsequently found himself touted as Rock's 'Next Big Thing'. MTV, Rolling Stone, The New York Times and even author, Stephen King added their appreciative nods and having the backing of Giant Records and prestigious producers like, Brian Koppelman and Don Gehman, seemed to go a long way towards assuring his success - overnight success.

The missteps and failures that followed, the collapse of an industry that once embraced him as its next sensation, are troubles and travails that either ruin a person completely, or they force a change of attitude and staunch determination to gather one's resolve to not only survive, but overcome. McDermott vowed to do both. Ten albums in, it's resulted in Willow Springs (Pauper Sky, June 17, 2016), one of the most honest, daring and defiant recordings of McDermott's career. Named for the small town where he now resides with his wife and young daughter, it reflects a certain circumspect about his life, the situations he's encountered, while realizing that ultimately, his fate resided in his own hands.

"This is an album of reckoning I suppose," McDermott reflects. "There was a real cacophony of change going on in my life at the time... being a new father, losing my own father, leaving the city for the country, dealing with sobriety, grief, death, mortality, shame and forgiveness. It was a veritable emotional tsunami and yet somehow I had to navigate through it all. That journey is reflected in these songs. Willow Springs is the name of the place where I took refuge and had to confront a lot of things".

Recorded at his home in the country and fan-funded, Willow Springs finds McDermott behind the boards as producer for the first time with longtime producer and collaborator, Lex Price doing the mix. Having enlisted a stellar support group of musicians -- including multi-instrumentalist, Price; guitarist, Will Kimbrough; keyboard player, John Deaderick ; sax player Rich Parenteau; and McDermott's wife, Heather Horton on backing vocals - McDermott found himself able to craft the unassuming yet cutting sound he envisioned.

Indeed, the results bear out the fact that Willow Springs is the most honest and expressive album of McDermott's extraordinary 25 year career. Songs such as, 'These Last Few Days', 'Getaway Car', 'Half Empty Kinda Guy', 'One Minus One' and the title track, convey all at once, a sound that's both reflective and confessional - borne by stark emotion and a tattered, battered delivery that's both sobering and sublime. McDermott remains more determined than ever, and Willow Springs is the result. "My enthusiasm is only matched by my desire to continue to evolve as an artist" he insists.

Accolades and kudos can be accumulated one minute and quickly dissipate the next. After all, the music biz is a fickle beast and it doesn't matter how much you pleased the masses last year, last month or even last week, but rather, about what you offer today.

Today, McDermott has offered his best.

Kudos to Michael McDermott - overnight success.

After the success of her critically-acclaimed 2021 release Daddy' s Country Gold, Melissa Carper, dubbed "HillBillie Holiday" by friend and collaborator Chris Scruggs, was eager to get back in the studio. With co-producers Andrija Tokic (St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Hurray For The Riff Raff) and Dennis Crouch (The Time Jumpers) behind the boards again at Tokic's analog paradise The Bomb Shelter in Nashville, Carper assembled that same crew of magical music makers -- plus a few more -- to embark on her newest effort, Ramblin' Soul, set for release November 18th via Thirty Tigers.

Carper's deep, old-timey music roots were firmly planted as a child, playing upright bass and singing in her family's traveling country band in rural Nebraska. Her love of country classics was cultivated as she laid beneath the console listening to her parents' record collection. Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, and more became the soundtrack of her youth. When Carper's father gifted her a collection of Jimmie Rodgers' recordings, she began to find her voice and calling as a songwriter.

Carper attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on a music scholarship, and spent much of her time in the music library, instinctively drawn to the great jazz classics and jazz vocalists such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole. She also discovered Lead Belly, uncovering a deep well within when singing his songs. Carper stands firmly on the shoulders of American ramblers, crooners, and songsters -- the building blocks of her musical foundation.

After two years of college, wanderlust set in, and Carper hit the road in the family's 1980 Dodge Maxi Van, and landed in historic Eureka Springs, Arkansas. There, she was welcomed into the busking community, and found a new home base -- a place to write, reflect, and rejuvenate in years to come. As she belted out the lyrics to "Ramblin' Man" life began to imitate art. Carper put a few hundred thousand miles on her vans and pick-up trucks, playing the streets and clubs of New Orleans, Austin, and even a stint in NYC as a founding member of The Maybelles. Magnetically pulled into the cultural heritage wherever she went, she immersed herself in the music of those who sang on those same street corners, and off the beaten path in times gone by.

Along the way, she founded award-winning bands like power trio The Carper Family, the perfect outlet for her unique skills and style. The band brought her original work to life in a simple yet dynamic fashion that also served her inspirations -- country, bluegrass, western swing, and old-style jazz, playing festivals and shows across the globe, and on shows like "A Prairie Home Companion." Carper also holds a spot in award-winning Arkansas foursome Sad Daddy, and founded roots duo Buffalo Gals with Sad Daddy bandmate and partner, award-winning fiddler Rebecca Patek.

In 2020, grappling with the loss of regular gigs, Carper and Patek moved to a friend's farm near Austin, working in exchange for housing, organic vegetables, and fresh, country air. The simpler life afforded Carper the space and rejuvenation needed to channel her muse, and begin writing for her next album.

"I had a handful of songs about rambling around and living a free life that I wanted to weave through the album," Carper recalls. "I wrote the title track driving back home to Texas, and it felt like the seeds of the next album were planted. I also knew I wanted Ramblin' Soul to have a different feel than Daddy's Country Gold, with more upbeat and diverse styles and grooves."

Ramblin' Soul features a co-write with life long ramblin' buddy and bandmate Gina Gallina, a song penned by friend and frequent collaborator Brennen Leigh; a reimagined classic from folk pioneer Odetta; and ten Carper originals. The album ventures into blues, early rock and roll, and old school soul, along with Carper's signature styles of country, western swing, and jazz.

Album track "Ain't a Day Goes By" breaks your heart, then mends it again in the universal longing for a loved one now gone on. Backed up by Hammond B3 organ (John Pahmer), the emotion is punctuated by the gospel-style harmony stylings of Kyshona Armstrong, Nickie Conley, and Maureen Murphy. "1980 Dodge Van" heralds pulsing electric guitar and a grooving upright bass (Dennis Crouch) in an ode to the loyal family vehicle, while "I Don't Need to Cry" is a Patsy Cline-esque lament showcasing Carper's classic country range and songwriting finesse. The upbeat, tongue-in-cheek "Holding All The Cards" transports us to a smoky New Orleans speakeasy, with wordplay, honky tonk piano, and playful clarinet, while Carper pays an upbeat western swing tribute to her current home state in "Texas, Texas. Texas."

Carper's lifelong, steadfast listening has come to fruition in the songs on Ramblin' Soul. Her childhood love of the family record collection planted the seeds of what is her own bountiful orchard today.

Under The Rug, the Austin, Texas-based indie outfit, has crafted a unique, heart-on-sleeve musical journey over their decade-long career. Led by the dynamic trio of vocalist and guitarist Casey Dayan, alongside the deft musicianship of guitarist Sean Campbell and drummer Brendan McQueeney, the band seamlessly blends an eclectic mix of indie, folk, and Americana, all while remaining steadfast in their commitment to the art of storytelling.

Known for their DIY marketing efforts, the band has built a fierce and dedicated fan base through direct-to-fan handwritten letters and their membership service, The Secret Hideout. Their dedication to songwriting as a craft is evident, delivering earnest tracks that resonate with listeners worldwide. Whether performing at sold-out shows or writing on the go in their beat-up van, the band continues to resonate with fans, capturing both hearts and imaginations. Under The Rug has garnered cheers from American Songwriter, Rolling Stone India, Atwood Magazine, and even received a co-sign from The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle.

Building on the success of their acclaimed Junior LP, Homesick For Another World, and the viral sensation of their hit single, "Lonesome and Mad"--which topped Spotify's search charts in the US and continues to dominate virality playlists in numerous other countries--Under The Rug is set to sustain their momentum. The band eagerly anticipates their upcoming release, happiness is easy, and is preparing for their headlining US tour in support.

Under The Rug's upcoming release, happiness is easy, is a sprawling 2-part, 30-track exploration of the challenges of pursuing happiness, delivered with the band's signature irreverence, irony, and dark humor. Produced with the help of David Peters, and featuring co-writers like Sam Hollander (Panic! At the Disco, Fitz and the Tantrums) and Mason Jennings, the album blends poignant personal themes with universal questions on life and fulfillment.

With songs like lead single "mad girl's love song," an interpretation of Sylvia Plath's famed villanelle, title track "happiness is easy," and "i don't want to cry in my car anymore," each offering a tongue-in-cheek look into the headspace of lyricist Dayan, the album navigates topics such as self-discovery, authenticity, drug use, and loneliness, while providing moments of levity and insight. Dayan wrote happiness is easy as a reflection on coming to terms with identity and the pursuit of joy in a complicated world. "It's the least fictional thing I've written," she reveals. The album is filled with gentle arpeggios, evocative lyrics, and piercing guitar melodies that reveal the band's growth and commitment to authenticity. It's not just a meditation on personal struggles but also a search for meaning and connection in the modern age.

After 20 studio albums, 8 Juno Awards, 31 Maple Blues Awards and multi-platinum record sales, Colin James remains at the top of his game, continuing to challenge himself musically.

His upcoming release, Chasing the Sun, finds the blues-rock singer-songwriter's electrifying 21st studio album featuring the kind of towering musical guests typically found on the other side of velvet ropes. Co-produced by Colin Linden, guest artists include Americana icon Lucinda Williams, bassist Darryl Jones and drummer Charley Drayton (who have backed Miles Davis and The Rolling Stones) plus American harmonica ace Charlie Musselwhite and gospel greats Ann and Regina McCrary.

His 2021 release, Open Road, for which he won a 2022 Juno Award for best Blues Album and was nominated for the Blues Foundation 2023 best Blues Rock Album (his first), is a celebration of personal connections. It includes original tunes written with long time collaborators as well as reinterpretations of covers by a diverse group of songwriters.

His 2018 album Miles To Go garnered worldwide attention, debuting on the Billboard Blues Charts and held a position on the RMR Blues Chart for 24 weeks, 14 weeks in the top 10.

Colin's career is a timeline rich in highlights. His 1988 self-titled debut, featuring his two self- penned hits "Voodoo Thing" and "Five Long Years," was the fastest-selling album in Canadian history. It won him his first Juno and an opening spot on tour with Keith Richards. His second album, Sudden Stop, featured his hit "Just Came Back," which reached #3 on the U.S. radio charts and earned him the Juno Award for "Single of the Year." Colin was next credited with launching the swing revival, thanks to his wildly popular Little Big Band, which has released four successful albums to date. In 2013 he was inducted into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame.

However, it wasn't until 2016's Blue Highways that James found himself on a blues chart: the album spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Roots Music Report's Blues Chart. It also landed him one of his biggest hits: "Riding in the Moonlight," a Willie Dixon song that garnered millions of streams on Spotify. Colin has often been put in the rock category because of his early pop hits, but if you really look at his past there's a lot of blues in there.

Over the years Colin has worked with some of the world's most revered artists including, Bonnie Raitt, Albert Collins, Pops Staples, Robert Cray, Albert King, Keith Richards, Mavis Staples, Luther Allison, Roomful of Blues, Bobby King and Terry Evans, John Hammond Jr., The Chieftains, Carlos Santana, Jeff Healey, and Buddy Guy.

For over 35 years, Colin has been a consummate professional, a superb guitarist, and a musician's musician. The confidence that comes with maturity can be heard in his voice and seen in his electrifying stage performance. He does what comes naturally -- he always has -- he knows no other way and no other life. As he approaches his 60th birthday, he still finds joy in making music and touring and loves what he does.

The ever metamorphosing entity that is Gong launches, as ever, into unknown -- and unknowing -- territory with a new album and tour, destined to be talked about, discussed, and argued over, up and down the land.

From its beginnings in a French commune in 1967, through the Virgin Records years, mismanagement, court cases, break-ups and rejoinings, deaths and rebirths -- there has always been a continuous thread of beautiful, dangerous and extraordinary music.

The current holders of the flame have come together over the last seven years; sinuous bass player Dave Sturt joined just as the album 2032 was shown to the world; Ian 'Eastwinds' East was the next to blow in through the portal; Fabio Golfetti brought his guitars from Brazil (after working with Daevid for many years); Kavus Torabi appeared to Daevid in a vision; Cheb Nettles just sort of turned up.

Gong's musically diverse world includes shades of psychedelia, space rock, jazz, avant-garde, krautrock and surreal soundscapes.

Signed-up members of the precariat, Gong have never played it safe.

Australian beatnik poet Daevid Allen (ex-Soft Machine) began making music with his partner Gilli Smyth in the late 1960s, along with a constantly evolving community of creative musicians. Albums from this period include Magick Brother, Mystic Sister (1969) and the influential Bananamoon (1971) -- one of David Bowie's favourite 20 albums.

A stable line-up of the band, now named Gong, eventually materialised featuring Didier Malherbe (sax and reeds), Christian Tritsch (bass), and Pip Pyle (drums), along with Allen (glissando guitar, vocals) and Smyth (space whisper, vocals). This band released the album Camembert Electrique in late 1971, as well as providing the soundtrack to the iconic biker film Continental Circus and music for the album Obsolete by French poet Dashiel Hedayat.

Gong's next three albums, released on Virgin Records, became known as the known as the Radio Gnome Trilogy, consisting of Flying Teapot (1973), Angel's Egg (1974), and You (1975). Over the course of the Trilogy, Tritsch and Pyle left and were replaced by Mike Howlett (bass) and Pierre Moerlen (drums). New members Steve Hillage (guitar) and Tim Blake (synthesizers) also joined.

After You, Allen, Hillage, Blake and Smyth left the group, guitarist Allan Holdsworth joined, and the band moved into a virtuosic jazz fusion style. Nevertheless the trilogy lineup reunited for a few one-off concerts including a 1977 French concert, documented on the Gong Est Mort, Vive Gong album. Allen also reunited with Malherbe and Pyle for 1992's Shapeshifter album and the Gong 25th Birthday Party in 1994.

A great gathering of the Gong family took place in Amsterdam at the Unconvention in 2006 featuring many previous members and related bands. This event reinvigorated the band, leading to the release of the album 2032 in 2009 and the subsequent tour saw the arrival of Dave Sturt (bass) and Ian East (saxophone).

In 2012, Daevid Allen also enlisted Fabio Golfetti (guitar) and Orlando Allen (drums) for a tour of Europe, UK, Japan and Brazil. By 2013 Kavus Torabi (guitar) had also joined the group and the line-up of Allen, Sturt, East, Golfetti, Allen and Torabi then recorded the album I See You (2014). That year, Daevid Allen was diagnosed with cancer and was unable to perform whilst undergoing treatment. Fulfilling his wishes, the band continued the Gong tradition without him and toured to promote the album, bringing in Cheb Nettles (drums).

In 2015, Daevid Allen passed away. His influence and legacy were honoured on the band's subsequent album, Rejoice! I'm Dead! (2016).

The band have continued to tour all around the UK and Europe since that time including visits to China, Japan, Brazil and The Cruise To The Edge in the Caribbean. They released the album The Universe Also Collapses, on Kscope music in May 2019.

Unending Ascending is the new studio album released on Kscope music in November 2023. The band is touring extensively in 2024.

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 B�hm; 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 J�rgen 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.

Following the release of Everything Harmony, which garnered acclaim from Questlove, Iggy Pop, Anthony Fantano, The Guardian, and countless others, The Lemon Twigs--the New York City rock band fronted by brothers Brian and Michael D'Addario--have once again captured the attention of the music listening public. They are in their premature "comeback" stage, and coming back this early has its benefits; the brothers have the energy of 24- and 26- year-olds, plus the experience and songwriting chops of seasoned musicians, having recorded their first album, Do Hollywood, nearly a decade ago at ages 15 and 17.

Set for release less than a year after their last album, A Dream Is All We Know is a joyous affair. As the title suggests, it's less of a sober look at the darker side of life, and more a hopeful sojourn into the realm of dreams. The tone has shifted away from dreary melancholic ballads and moody power pop. Brian and Michael are revisiting their "1968" sound. This album feels closely related to Do Hollywood, but their songwriting and recording techniques have vastly improved over the course of five albums.

The brothers combine elements of the Merseybeat sound, the California Beach Boy harmony sound, and Bubblegum to create a unique collection of pop nuggets. (They say it's part of a new "Merseybeach" movement, sure to catch on, though that fact remains to be seen.)

The sense of urgency imbued in lead single "My Golden Years" comes in part from the jangly 12-string guitars and driving drums, but also from the anxiety of a narrator who can feel their "golden years" slipping away from them. Michael's line, "In time I hope that I can show all the world the love in my mind," can serve as a statement of intent for the whole collection of songs, as the brothers race against time to create as much quality pop material as possible.

"They Don't Know How To Fall In Place" propels the album forward into bubblegum paradise with its euphoric harmonies and biting clavinet, while the Roy Wood inspired "Church Bells" takes you on a journey in its two-minute and nine-second run time. At every turn you're introduced to a new instrument, and as Michael sings "ring goes the bell," the drummer switches to the bell of the ride cymbal and the song reveals itself as a pop tone poem, complete with cellos, mandolin and trumpets, all played by Brian. Not to mention the fun Mersey pun, using famous drummer Ringo's name in a song that conflates images of the west side of Manhattan with the atmosphere of northern England. Next comes the titular "A Dream Is All I Know," an existential space age epic, followed by the baroque pocket-prog of "Sweet Vibration."

Equipped with the songwriting chops of a lost era (somewhere between The Brill Building and 10452 Bellagio Road) the new record was carefully arranged and produced entirely analog in the brothers' Brooklyn recording studio. Most of the tracks were constructed with the two brothers swapping instruments and layering all the parts themselves. One of the exceptions to that rule was "In The Eyes Of The Girl," co-produced by Sean Ono Lennon in his upstate New York studio, which had the brothers tracking drums and piano while Lennon handled bass duties. On top of that, the brothers add multilayered harmonies that bring to mind The Beach Boys, The Four Freshman, and The Free Design.

Side two's opener "If You And I Are Not Wise," has the brothers channeling the Everlys' close harmonies while seeking spiritual illumination with the line, "I wish that someone could tell me what my soul knows that I don't know." Brother Brian says, "There's definitely an escapist bend to this album. Joyous music can take you out of the world when things get too heavy, which everyone needs sometimes. "

"How Can I Love Her More?" is a whirlwind of musical flights of fancy. Blaring horns and strings set the stage before the song settles into a rollicking shuffle, complete with two drum sets, an adventurous bass part, theremin, flutes and harpsichord. It's a kitchen sink approach, full of left turns, but never bordering on cacophony. It segues directly into the peaceful, sparser "Ember Days," propelled by a meditative nylon string pattern that's part bossa nova, part Nick Drake. The peace doesn't last long though, as "Peppermint Roses" erupts with a menacing Farfisa into a two-part nightmare comedy that doesn't let up. The album unwinds with the dreamy "I Should've Known Right From The Start." It's like a forgotten piece of French Pop that just happens to be sung in English, complete with arpeggiated acoustic guitar, melodic bass and catchy drum hooks.

While the album is chock full of progressive pop ideas, it closes with an ode to early rock and roll on"Rock On (Over and Over)." "Rock On" contextualizes the band as part of a lineage of rock and roll that's never really stopped. In every decade there have been bands that have put their own spin on the music and "push(ed) it on down to the line." But none have done it with the attention to detail and raw talent of these brothers. For The Lemon Twigs, it took almost a decade for critics and audiences alike to present them with the major accolades they've earned this past year. While their initial records were appreciated for the musical proficiency they displayed, the brothers' past few records have communicated their ideas with more clarity and emotional resonance. In other words, "It took too long to say 'rock on.'"

Working outside the confines of the traditional music industry, Adam Ezra and his bandmates -- Corinna Smith (fiddle), Alex Martin (drums), Poche Ponce (bass) - built a community of fans through sheer grit and determination, regularly performing hundreds of shows a year for the past two decades without any major label or mainstream radio support. Fusing folk intimacy and rock energy with soul power and pop charm, the band first emerged from Boston in the early 2000s and quickly garnered widespread acclaim for their bold, insightful songwriting and interactive, euphoric performances. From hole in the wall bars and house concerts to sold-out headline shows and dates with the likes of Little Big Town, The Wallflowers, Gavin DeGraw, Train, and The Wailers, Ezra and his bandmates treated every single gig like their last, attracting a die-hard following that believed not just in the music, but in their commitment to activism and social change, as well.

After their tour was cancelled at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ezra brought the show online to continue this commitment and created The Gathering Series which to-date has reached a cumulative audience of 15 million viewers. The bands ongoing daily livestreams since March of 2020 stands as a testament not only to Ezra's artistic endurance, but also his ability to connect with viewers and provide an accepting and supportive space for newcomers to join his tight-knit community of fans. Through his own experience with COVID, his move across the country, and even his wedding day, Ezra has broadcasted without fail from wherever he found himself each night at 7pm Eastern. In addition to bringing The Gathering Series to the real world as they performed nearly 50 safe, socially distanced shows in parks and backyards around the United States to bring light to fans through music, the band didn't stop there. Their homegrown festival, The Ramble, hosted by RallySound, raises money and marshals resources to help homeless veterans find safe and dignified housing for the last ten years. While the band was unable to bring the festival to fans live in the year of COVID, they instead incorporated it into The Gathering Series and hosted a 24-hour, nonstop livestream where they raised enough money to help house 64 veterans.

The Adam Ezra Group hit their 500th Live stream show on July 25th, 2021. They have also played an additional 50 backyard socially distanced shows, and are starting to tour heavily again in traditional and outdoor venues. As if this wasn't enough to keep them busy, the band also embarked on an ambitious new recording series dubbed 'The Album Project' which will see the band releasing at least 19 new singles over the next few years. What comes next for the Adam Ezra Group? The future is anyone's guess right now, and the only thing the Adam Ezra Group knows for sure, is they'll be out there making music however and whenever they can.

Sunny Sweeney, a genre-bending, songwriting spitfire who has spent equal time in the rich musical traditions of Texas and Tennessee, returns with Married Alone, the celebrated singer-songwriter's fifth studio album and the follow-up to 2017's critically acclaimed Trophy. Co-produced by beloved Texas musician and larger-than-life personality Paul Cauthen and the Texas Gentlemen's multi-hyphenate Beau Bedford, Married Alone is Sweeney's finest work yet, bringing together confessional songwriting, image-rich narratives and no shortage of sonic surprises for a loosely conceptual album about loss and healing.

Married Alone began as most of Sweeney's projects do: with a visit to her deep vault of unreleased songs. Since debuting with Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame in 2006, Sweeney has been a prolific writer, writing whatever is on her heart rather than with a particular project in mind. That habit afforded her a rich well of material for Married Alone, some of which is over a decade old.

"I have a lot of older songs that still make the cut of like, 'Am I gonna put this on a record?' And I always start with those songs, songs that have been important to me for whatever reason. And then I try to build around that. It doesn't necessarily have to be around a theme, but sometimes it turns out to be that there is one."

Opener "Tie Me Up" declares that, despite its loose theme, Married Alone is not a somber record, with Sweeney in full spitfire mode and cheekily declaring to a would-be suitor, "You can tie me up, but baby you can't tie me down." Cauthen's and Bedford's production especially shines on the track, which would sound at home at a roadside juke joint or in front of thousands of fans at a festival.

Cauthen joins Sweeney on "A Song Can't Fix Everything," one of the album's rawer moments. "That song can't bring my mother back to life," Sweeney sings at the song's start, before recounting the many ways that music may be able to transport us to the past but can never fix it. "Want You to Miss Me" is an honest take on the complexities of a difficult breakup, with Sweeney's nimble vocal wavering between defiance and doubt. "Easy as Hello" is Sweeney's writing at its finest, channeling the heartache that comes with the end of a treasured relationship, for a track that recalls -- vocally and lyrically -- the work of Stevie Nicks.

"Someday You'll Call My Name" reads as a break-up kiss-off -- and it's a great one, at that -- but the song, pulled from Sweeney's vault, was originally inspired by her early days as a musician, longing to be recognized by major country institutions like the Grand Ole Opry. She and co-writer Brennen Leigh reworked their 10-year-old version of the track to better fit Married Alone, and that session helped set the tone for what would become the full album.

The full potential of the album really revealed itself, though, when a friend sent Sweeney a demo of what would become its title track, "Married Alone." Though she wasn't a co-writer on the track, Sweeney felt her own story reflected in its lyrics. The song, which features a particularly emotional guest vocal from living country legend Vince Gill, charts the painful moments sometimes experienced in marriages that have run their course.

"There may be rings on our fingers, but we're married alone," she and Gill sing, over weeping pedal steel and reverbed guitar.

"My jaw hit the floor when I heard that song, because I had just gone through my second divorce, which is also cliche of a country singer," Sweeney says, with a laugh. "I was still pretty raw about my divorce, but also very candid and trying to find levity in the situation. You have to be able to laugh at yourself at some point and not let it just totally get you down."

A few months after securing the song and mining her own vault for a track list, Sweeney traveled to Dallas, TX, to record -- alongside Cauthen and Bedford -- what would become Married Alone.

Sweeney and team planned for Jeff Saenz to mix the album, but in the summer of 2021 -- a few days before mixing would start -- the widely loved, Dallas-based producer was electrocuted in a freak accident that left him without use of his arms. The group put the album on hold until they had word Saenz would pull through. While Sweeney was anxious to get her new music out, Saenz's accident shifted her priorities.

"Jeff lost his arms," she says. "His arms. Jeff's never going to hold his fianc�e's hand again, never going to hold his baby again. I had a major, major turning point with his accident, personally, as did most of our friends that know him."

About eight months later, Bedford had a surprise for Sweeney. When she arrived at the studio for one of their final mixing sessions, Bedford had brought Saenz along. Saenz was able to help the group finish up the album, a full-circle moment that was especially emotional for Sweeney.

"It was exactly how it should have been," she says. "And it was really, really emotional. Jeff definitely is a part of this album; I really wanted him to be a part of the album. And Beau knew that. So, Beau went and he made that happen."

In addition to releasing Married Alone, Sweeney is marking a new chapter in her professional life with a brand-new team by her side, most of whom are women. While it wasn't a conscious choice, Sweeney says, she feels like she's surrounded by the right group of people, who just happen to be "badass women."

Like the narrator of "Someday You'll Call My Name," Sweeney is not the kind of artist you come across then forget. With Married Alone, she further cements her status as one of country music's finest storytellers.

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