Give Us A Hand

Independent venues all across the nation, like Shank Hall, were the first to close and they will be the last to open. Organizations like National Independent Venue Association and Independent Promoter Alliance are trying to get everyone to contact their federal, state and local authorities to help give businesses like Shank Hall support so we can come back. In the meantime, we could use a little bit of a helping hand from you, in the form of gift certificates to future shows or even a direct donation. We thank you for whatever support you can give.

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Upcoming Shows

The Steepwater Band

SaturdayMarch 6, 20218:00pm $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....

Dead Letter Office (R.E.M. Tribute), Without U2 (U2 tribute)

FridayMarch 19, 20218:00pm $20.00

Dead Letter Office has dedicated themselves to faithfully reproducing the music and energy of a live R.E.M. show. Since 2014, Dead Letter Office has been thrilling audiences throughout the U.S. & Canada, providing a show....

No Quarter (Led Zeppelin tribute)

SaturdayMarch 20, 20218:00pm $15.00

In September 1998, No Quarter, The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience was brought together in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Bound and determined to create the most mesmerizing and accurate portrayal of the band, each individual member was selected to portray both the presence, sound and playing styles of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page,....

Recently Added Shows

Peter Bradley Adams

TuesdayMarch 23, 20218:00pm $18 advance / $20 door

Griffin House

WednesdayMarch 24, 20218:00pm $20.00

Anthony Gomes

ThursdayApril 1, 20218:00pm $20.00

Think Floyd USA

SaturdayApril 3, 20218:00pm $20.00

Covering material from "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" through "Division Bell", THINK FLOYD USA, takes the listener on a musical and visual flight through the Pink Floyd galaxy. Recognized as THE AMERICAN PINK FLOYD SHOW, THINK FLOYD USA comes ready to impress. Performing all of Pink Floyd's classic hits from legendary albums....

Albert Cummings

ThursdayApril 8, 20218:00pm $20.00

Southbound (Allman Brothers Tribute)

SaturdayApril 10, 20218:00pm

Join Southbound live at Shank Hall on December 14th for their annual Allman Brothers Band tribute. This show features special guest, James (Jamo) van de Bogert, Allman Brothers Band alum and drummer for the ABB for nearly a decade. His participation brings a new level of authenticity as Southbound performs "Beginnings",....

The Lone Bellow

SundayApril 11, 20218:00pm $35.00

Graham Parker

MondayApril 12, 20218:00pm $30.00

Watkins Family Hour

FridayMay 7, 20218:00pm $35.00

Sacred

FridayMay 14, 20218:00pm $15.00

SACRED is a progressively modern rock band from Milwaukee, WI consisting of artists who met by divine fortune, fueled by emotion & stories to share. The self-titled E.P. was recorded by Kevin Arndt at the Exchange Recording Complex in Milwaukee and mastered by the legendary Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York.

In The Flesh (Pink Floyd tribute)

SaturdayJune 5, 20218:00pm $15.00

In the Flesh! is an exciting, thoroughly entertaining show, featuring Pink Floyd's most beloved classics. You'll hear "Money", "Another Brick in the Wall", and many many other favorites, brought to life in a high-energy, theatrical format that appeals to all ages. Every ITF performance includes a full 7-piece band, along....

Mary Fahl, former lead singer of October Project

ThursdayJune 10, 20218:00pm $25.00

"Sounding like no other singer of her generation" (Allmusic.com), Mary Fahl is an expressive, emotional singer/songwriter who first achieved fame as lead singer and co-founder of the mid-1990s chamber-pop group OCTOBER PROJECT, a band with a sound that was a perfect mixture of Fleetwood Mac, Jefferson Airplane and Adele.....

Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush

TuesdaySeptember 28, 20218:00pm $40.00

Mahogany Rush is a Canadian rock Jam band led by guitarist Frank Marino. The band had its peak of popularity in the 1970s, playing such venues as California Jam II together with bands such as Aerosmith, Ted Nugent and Heart. Mahogany Rush formed in Montreal during 1970. The band is perhaps best known for Marino's....

Alternative Concert Group Presents

Gaelic Storm

TuesdayMarch 9, 20217:30pm $42 / $32

At the Pablo Center for the Arts, Eau Claire, WI.

Tickets on sale at pablocenter.org.

Gaelic Storm

MondayMarch 15, 20217:30pm $40.00

At The Grand, Oshkosh, WI.

Tickets on sale at thegrandoshkosh.org, 920-424-2350 or at The Grand box office Monday-Friday 11:30am-5:00pm, Saturday 11:00am-2:00pm.

Leo Kottke NEW DATE

FridayApril 2, 20218:00pm $46.00

At the Wilson Theatre at Vogel Hall at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, Milwaukee, WI.

Tickets on sale at the Marcus Center box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com or 414-273- 7206.

George Winston

FridayApril 30, 20217:00pm $40.00

At Meyer Theatre, Green Bay, WI

Tickets on sale at meyertheatre.org, the Resch Center box office, online at ticketstaronline.com or by calling 800-895-0071.

Steven Wright

FridayOctober 1, 20218:00pm $48 / $38

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.

Steven Wright NEW DATE

SaturdayOctober 2, 20218:00pm $50 / $40

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

Peter Bradley Adams introduced himself as a member of Eastmountainsouth, the duo he put together with fellow songwriter and vocalist Kat Maslich-Bode. The demos the duo made, produced by Adams, blended pop and folk with subtle electronic touches, making it a pioneering effort in the realm of folktronica with a satisfying blend of ancient folklore and modern technology. Robbie Robertson (of The Band) signed Eastmountainsouth to DreamWorks, but a major label shake up led to the band's demise.

Adams launched his solo career with Gather Up (2006), a brooding, autumnal album recorded in his apartment. Its hushed melancholy won rave reviews and led to Leavetaking (2008), an understated folk rock album that featured the hit "The Longer I Run", followed by Traces (2009), and Between Us (2011), collectively selling over 275,000 single downloads. Adams continues his introspective explorations of the middle ground between hope and heartache on The Mighty Storm.

To make this album, Adams put together a team of like-minded producer/musicians including Lex Price (Mindy Smith, k.d. lang), Joshua Grange (k. d. lang, Sheryl Crow), Joe McMahan (Luella and the Sun), and Ian Fitchuk. "We sat down and worked together, everyone contributing to the playing, arrangements and production," Adams explains. "We recorded in RCA Studio A in Nashville, the old Chet Atkins studio built in 1965. Most of the tracking was done live... we all spread out in the same room, so you can really hear the sound of that space on the record."

Like Adams' other albums, The Mighty Storm is marked by strong melodies, the band's understated, but muscular playing and the calm emotional intensity of his singing. "Hey Believers" is an anti-spiritual that blends hushed acoustic guitar and long sustained notes from a churchy organ to deliver a message that's equal parts faith and desperation. Joshua Grange's crying pedal steel and Joe McMahan's reverb drenched guitar add a soft mournful quality to "She Has to Come Down," the story of a young woman slipping into a self-destructive vortex. The song was inspired by the Jack Kerouac novella, 'Tristessa" and also appears on a recent compilation called "Esperanza". Piano, guitar and pedal steel augment the poignant melody of "Around Us." The lyrics are the album's most positive, but Adams' whispered, aching vocals provide a dramatic contrast, implying the loneliness that often resides in the heart of an enraptured lover. The songs on The Mighty Storm may have a placid surface, but the soothing melodies and Adams' low-key delivery run deep to portray the joys and insecurities of the human condition with a rare compassionate insight.

Peter Bradley Adams discovered The Beatles when he was five years old. It was a life changing experience. "My dad had a large record collection," Adams recalls. "When I was growing up, he was mostly listening to jazz and classical, but I discovered his Beatles records and played them on my aqua-green and gold suitcase record player. I remember being totally astonished how those records sounded."

From that moment on, his course was set. "I was going to be a musician. I never had any other aspiration, even though I didn't know what it would look like. I took a long detour into classical music, got a Masters in Composition at the University of Alabama and, after college, wrote scores for film and TV. At heart, I always wanted to be a singer/songwriter, but I was a bit afraid of pursuing it."

Adams started piano lessons at six and picked up the guitar later on. In high school and college he was in cover bands for fun, and shy about performing. "I was hiding in the background, until I met Kat (Maslich-Bode) and started Eastmountainsouth. A friend introduced us and the minute we started singing together it was clear we had something special. I'd never really sung in public before; playing with Kat was a great way for me to start performing.

"When I left Eastmountainsouth it was like starting from scratch again. I had to learn to perform alone and find my own voice." "I'm not an unhappy person, but I do have a strong melancholic side. And I'm most drawn to the music that reflects that". Adams' melancholic outlook is fully realized on The Mighty Storm, a record that compliments his warm burnished melodies with his most tender vocals to date.

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.

Anthony Gomes, #1 Billboard Blues Artist, is a triple threat force as a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. Blues Revue Magazine recently declared that, "Gomes' formidable guitar chops and authentic singing place him in the forefront of modern blues." This, along with his high-energy shows and dynamic stage presence, make him one of the top draws on the Rock/Blues circuit today. Gomes has headlined concerts in 17 countries and has had the honor of sharing the stage with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Robert Plant, Joe Bonamassa, Heart, Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

Word of Gomes' electrifying performances has reached Eric Clapton, Morgan Freeman, John Goodman, Toby Keith, Jonny Lang, Ron White and Vince Vaughn who have all attended Gomes' concerts. After experiencing Gomes live, John Goodman referred to him as "a pure soul brother" and comedian Ron White declared his official endorsement of Anthony Gomes. Perhaps the greatest complement was offered by Morgan Freeman who jokingly professed that Anthony was, "not bad for a white boy."

In addition to performing, Gomes is an award winning blues history scholar, earning the University of Toronto's C.P. Stacey Award for the highest overall academic grade point average by a history major. Anthony completed his master's degree thesis on the racial and cultural evolution of blues music, graduating with high distinction.

Believing that music can inspire the human spirit, Anthony founded the Music Is The Medicine Foundation in 2010. This non-profit organization is dedicated to changing the lives of others through the healing power of music. Through private donations and winning sizable grants from State Farm Insurance and CVS Pharmacy, the foundation has funded songwriting scholarships, offered music education programs, and donated musical instruments to those in need.

Born in Toronto, Canada to a Portuguese father and a French-Canadian mother, Gomes began playing guitar in his early teens and was drawn to the blues sounds of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.

He relocated to Chicago in the late '90s to learn from the blues masters. During his brief stint as a sideman for Magic Slim and the Teardrops, Gomes put together his own group and won the first annual Buddy Guy's Legends "Best Unsigned Blues Band" competition in 1998. Later that year, Gomes released his debut CD, Blues in Technicolor, which introduced him as a guitar-slinger loaded with impressive firepower.

On 2002's Unity, he accomplished the album's title with a heavy mix of styles leading Bandit Blues Radio to name it one of the "Top 30 Essential Blues CDs" of all time. Gomes was elevated to the top of the blues field just one year later when BluesWax Magazine named him "Artist of the Year," an award he would claim for several years in a row due to his endless commitment and touring. Music Is the Medicine (2006) peaked at number four on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart, only to be outdone by LIVE (2008) debuting at number one. In 2012, Gomes received critical acclaim for his release of Up 2 Zero. The album was named the "Best Blues CD of 2012" by A1 Blues.com and the Blues Underground Network voted the album "Best Blues Rock CD of 2012." The accolades continued in 2013 with the release of Gomes' gusty acoustic album ...Before The Beginning. Blues 411 honored the release with the "Jimi Award" for best Blues/Rock CD of 2013 and it continues to make many "Best Albums of the Year" lists.

Gomes shows no signs of slowing down. 2015 will see the release of Electric Field Holler, a guitar driven blues infused rock 'n' roll album that showcases Gomes' blistering six string work and whiskey soaked voice. "I feel like this will be our pinnacle year in terms of creativity and artistic achievement," says Gomes, "it's time to turn it up."

For over two decades, Cowboy Mouth has dished up its unique style of rock & roll gumbo, mixing a rowdy spirit reflective of the band's hometown -- New Orleans -- with the fierce firepower of a group that lives on the road. These Louisiana natives have played more than 2,500 concerts and launched their signature song, "Jenny Says," into the upper half of the Billboard rock charts. Above all else, they earned a well-deserved rep as a raucous, redemptive, live music experience.

Formed during the glory days of grunge music, Cowboy Mouth forged a different sound from the very start. It's a sound rooted in rock, punk, blues, and the attitude of the Big Easy, a town known for its week-long parties and swampy, southern vibe. Bandleader Fred LeBlanc, who'd previously sharpened his teeth with the punk band Dash Rip Rock, pulls double-duty as the group's frontman and drummer, leading the charge with his larger-than-life personality and percussive attack. During the band's early days, record companies warned him against singing and drumming at the same time, claiming that audiences would never go for it... but by the mid-'90s, those same record companies were clamoring to sign the band to a major-label deal.

In other words, in a decade filled with angsty alt-rock, Cowboy Mouth stood out for all the right reasons.

The band released its original music with MCA Records, then Atlantic Records. Once the 2000s kicked into gear, the band released music on its own label, cutting out the middleman and focusing on the biggest thing that's kept Cowboy Mouth afloat since 1990: the audience.

"Cowboy Mouth isn't so much about the people onstage as it is about the feeling in the crowd," says LeBlanc.

The people onstage certainly help, though. Since the band's inception, LeBlanc has shared that stage with guitarist John Thomas Griffith (formerly of the band Red Rockers and singer / co-writer of their hit song "China"). Now backed by bandmates Matt Jones on guitar and Brian Broussard on bass, LeBlanc and Griffith have led Cowboy Mouth on a wild, critically-acclaimed ride, selling more than 500,000 albums domestically, playing shows with artists like Bo Diddley (whose bluesy, beat-driven music has always been a big influence on Cowboy Mouth's own sound), and performing in front of more than 9 million fans.

Cowboy Mouth's music lives in concert with its loyal fans! Fred's raw and engaging performance style has played ring leader to the audience for decades.

"Our shows are celebratory, life-affirming experiences," LeBlanc says proudly. "With every show, no matter where it is, we try to turn it into New Orleans during the middle of Mardi Gras. It's an unique live concert experience. It's like a southern gospel revival without the religion."

Over the years, an estimated 9 million people would agree. We hope to see you all out on the road!

Entertaining audiences from his phenomenal guitar work to his incredibly impassioned lyrics and overall songwriting prowess - one thing has certainly become clear about Albert Cummings' music: He is FAR MORE than simply just the guitarist or the bluesman he's often painted as by fans and the media alike. He offers the complete package.

Though undoubtedly a masterful guitar player who burst onto the blues rock scene in the early 2000's and almost immediately began gaining praise in that realm, his latest release "Live at the '62 Center"further portrays not only his versatility as singer/songwriter and live performer but as an artist first and foremost.

This comes to fruition in the true spontaneity and creative spirit of the album, in which he put together a newly formed version of his usual trio that afternoon of the October, 2016 recording. With longtime friend and Grammy Winner Jim Gaines behind the soundboard, what comes through in both sight and sound is an incredible journey into the live performance world and true artistry of one of today's most seasoned musicians.

"His muscular guitar work is simply outstanding. He's a great blues singer as well with passion for the tunes inherent in his full throttle approach." - Rock and Blues Muse on Live at the '62 Center

Like many greats before him who've been painted into a corner as merely great blues players, or guitar players, or singers - Cummings seeks to rise above these labels and be praised for the devotion to his overall craft as a true musician. In artist terms - he's sought to be known for the overall pallet of his music, rather than one specific color. From greats like Eric Clapton to the more recent stylings of John Mayer, his artistic integrity has allowed him to focus on the big picture, writing songs from the heart rather than catering to his specifics strengths as a singer, guitarist, or bandleader (all of which he does impeccably, however).

His musical journey began when young Albert first picked up a guitar - learning the requisite three chords from his father, but later switched over to banjo at the age of 12 after becoming a bluegrass fan. After hearing the early recordings of Stevie Ray Vaughan, he was impressed by the sheer virtuosity of the artist, and following his first chance to see him LIVE while in college in Boston he returned to the guitar with a new outlook and resolve.

At age 27, as he continued to grow in his newfound passion, he landed on the Northeast blues circuit with his first band Swamp Yankee. Then, in 1998, after walking into a Northeast Blues Society's open jam, Cummings won the right to compete in the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge the following year. By 2000, his debut single "The Long Way" was released to rave reviews, and began opening new doors for the artist.

His first big opportunity came in the form of a chance to work with Double Trouble, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan's rhythm section. So taken with Albert's fire and passion were bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton that they volunteered to play on and produce his solo debut recording, 2003's self-released From the Heart. Recorded in Austin, Texas, it featured Cummings fronting Double Trouble (including Reese Winans) in their first recording project since Stevie Ray's passing. Having began his musical journey in part due to Vaughan's inspiration, it seemed Cummings' passion had brought him full-circle.

Cummings' soulful and explosive approach to blues and rock then caught the attention of Blind Pig Records (Muddy Waters, Jimmy Vivino, Elvin Bishop), which signed him to a multi-album deal. On his label debut, True to Yourself, released in 2004, Cummings was again joined by bassist Tommy Shannon. Recorded by producer extraordinaire Jim Gaines (Santana, Stevie Ray, Buddy Guy), the all-original release showcased Albert's rapidly developing songwriting chops and deeply emotional vocals as well as stunning guitar pyrotechnics, fully showcasing his well-rounded talents. Soon tours and shows with blues legends B.B. King, Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy and others brought Albert's music to a much larger audience.

His second release, Working Man (2006), also produced by Jim Gaines, furthered a growing focus and maturity both in Albert's stinging, incisive guitar work as well as in his fluently idiomatic songwriting - leading Billboard Magazine to exclaim "This recording is the calling card of a star who has arrived".

2008 saw his first live album "Feel So Good", recorded at the historic Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Massachusetts which has hosted everyone from Will Rogers to Al Jolson. The audience was so enthralled and supportive they became part of the performance in a way that's rarely heard. As AllMusic put it, "It sounds like it was one hell of a party that night". Music Connection also called it "one of the best live albums recorded in a long time".

As he continued to grow, playing with the likes of legends from B.B. King (who called dubbed him "a great guitarist"), Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, and many more - Cummings built on not only his all- around songwriting and musicianship but his guitar playing skill as well. Using his knowledge to give back to fellow guitarists wanting to advance in their craft, he released the instructional DVD "Working Man Blues Guitar" in 2011. His next album, 2012's self-released "No Regrets" followed as a return to his true musical roots, poignantly capturing the core of his influences and displaying the impact that R&B, Rock, Soul, Country, and the Blues have had on both his playing and writing. It debuted at #1 on iTunes music charts in the USA, Canada and France.

2015's "Someone Like You" was recorded in Southern California with Grammy-winning producer David Z. (Buddy Guy, Prince, Jonny Lang, Gov't Mule) at the helm. Said Z, "Albert Cummings writes, plays and sings the blues like nobody else. What a blast to watch him jell in the studio with some of the best musicians in Los Angeles." One of those musicians was Blind Pig label mate and leader of The Basic Cable Band on the Conan TV show, Jimmy Vivino, who performs on three cuts.

Now, as he continues writing and performing, relentlessly devoting effort to his craft, Cumming's is ready to continue on his ever expansive musical journey.

"I want it to bring comfort," The Lone Bellow guitarist Brian Elmquist says. "But it's not all hard conversations. There's a lot of light and some dancing that needs to happen." Brian is reflecting on Half Moon Light, the band's highly anticipated new album.

Half Moon Light is an artistic triumph worked toward for years, earned not by individual posturing, but by collective determination and natural growth. With earthy three-part harmonies and songwriting as provocative as it is honest, the trio made up of Brian, lead vocalist Zach Williams, and multi-instrumentalist Kanene Donehey Pipkin creates sparks that make a stranger's life matter or bring our sense of childlike wonder roaring back. On Half Moon Light, The Lone Bellow mix light and dark to muster a complex ode to memory, a call for hope, and an exercise in empathy. Anchored in the acoustic storytelling that first so endeared the band to fans and critics, Half Moon Light also takes more chances, experimenting with textures and instrumental fillips to create a full-bodied music experience. The result is The Lone Bellow's most sophisticated work to date.

"We try to invite as many people into the process to see what we can make together," Brian says. "I like that spirit and that freedom. Then, the songs speak for themselves."

That wholehearted embrace of collaboration defines Half Moon Light. The record marks a return to recording in New York with Aaron Dessner, whom the band counts as both a hero and a friend. "We already had a friendship with Aaron and a strong, shared understanding of our musical vision," Zach says. "It's really important to us to be a part of a community of musicians. We like that way of making something. Aaron showed us a new way of trusting. His idea of bringing in Josh Kaufman and J.T. Bates was such a beautiful gift. The meekness that these friends brought to the table was something that we will never forget. A sense of controlled fury. Lightning in a shoebox."

"Aaron has a powerful quietness about him," Kanene says. "A lot of people I meet in the music industry have lots of bravado, and it's something I have trouble believing. Aaron doesn't have that. He is a joy to work with. A true friend."

For the first time, the band stayed where they recorded, sequestered from the world at Aaron's studio in upstate New York. They fell asleep at night to the sound of coyotes howling and felt the freedom to fall into rabbit holes that would have otherwise been left unexplored. "We made this record in a place of joy with our friends. We were trying to do something bigger than ourselves," says Brian. "I think we've been wanting to make this record for a while now. It just hasn't come together as perfectly as it did this time."

A lone piano launches into a hymn as the album's intro track. The pianist is Zach's grandmother, playing at the funeral of her husband of 64 years----Zach's grandfather. The hymn returns as an interlude and outro, underscoring The Lone Bellow's intention for 12 songs to be experienced together, as an album.

Wonder----feeling it, losing it, finding it again----underpins the entire record. Pulsing with the trio's signature harmonies, the track "Wonder" is a loving call to reclaim the childlike awe and appreciation age takes away. Zach pulled from vivid childhood memories to craft the song, which transports listeners to moments of breathlessness experienced in the everyday: cheap coffee, backroad car rides, pine-tree views, and powerful songs.

Jubilant "I Can Feel You Dancing" rolls into a cathartic celebration. The song pays tribute to "lionhearted" free spirits with horns and soaring vocals. With a winking jungle beat, "Good Times" tells tales Zach has collected over the years. "Some stories were told on a boat I worked on in the Caribbean in the middle of the night. Some were in old Irish pubs in Manhattan. Some were in backyards down in my hometown. Some were in a hospital bed," Zach says. "I wanted to shine light on the fact that there are still people living with beauty and reckless abandonment." Delivered over intimate acoustic guitar and hushed backing instrumentation, "Enemies" is a self-contained call and response that reconnects life-defining moments with the frustrating or tenuous present that threatens to snuff out the magic.

Lead single "Count On Me" reminds us to lean on one another with soul-shouting intensity. Praise for deep friendships pops up again and again throughout the album: "Friends" celebrates the relationships forged after years together in the trenches----with a musical swagger that nods to David Byrne and Tom Petty.

Kanene takes the lead on tour-de-force "Just Enough to Get By." Her inimitable voice----capable of grit and smoothness----pushes through line after line with steely purpose. The performance would saunter were it not for the rage bubbling underneath. Kanene wrote the song about her mother, who was raped at 19, then sent away to have the baby that resulted. When she returned home, she never spoke of what had happened until 40 years later, when Kanene's half-sister----the baby----found them. "I've met my half-sister many times. She's wonderful and lovely and an amazing story of something never being too broken to be fixed. But my mom had to work through the trauma," Kanene says. "This song was me putting myself in my mom's place, releasing a lot of complex emotions. Anger is definitely one of them. Hurt, frustration, sadness. We all have experiences that could be better if we could talk about them, but we keep them hidden."

Album standout "Illegal Immigrant" also features Kanene's vocals. Brian took the lead writing the song, which tells the true story of a mother and child separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. The chorus's "I promised I'd find you, wherever you are, wherever you are / Here I am" is equal parts haunting, heartbreaking, and reassuring----and the unfiltered words actually spoken by the immigrant mother into a press conference microphone. Kanene sings with weighty restraint----like a parent burying their own terror so they can be their child's rock. "I was trying to tell her story the best I could," Brian says. "I wanted to keep myself as far out of the equation as I could and just try to connect----to help find some compassion."

Brian also penned "Wash It Clean," which both Zach and Kanene point to as a favorite. Lilting with guitar and harmonica, the song is a letter to Brian's dad, who passed away suddenly last year. The two had a strained relationship, and Brian spent years trying to find some common ground. They did, and then two months later, his dad was gone. The band recorded the song on the one-year anniversary of Brian's father's death, without Brian even realizing it at the time. "I feel like that means he was here----or in me," Brian says. "Working really hard to find understanding was probably one of the greatest gifts and lessons of my whole life."

The stories behind the songs matter----but they aren't what matters most. In the end, The Lone Bellow's music needs no explanation. Just listening offers a salve and a shelter. "In my own perfect little world, I would be able to put the music out and not talk about it----just, Here. Bye. See you next time," Zach says, then laughs softly. "I do hope someone will find this music in a peaceful moment, when they can turn it on and get lost in the story and the sound."

Graham Parker and The Rumour were formed in the summer of 1975 and released their first album, "Howlin' Wind," in January 1976 to worldwide critical acclaim. Their second album, "Heat Treatment," followed six months later, garnering similar critical reaction and propelled Parker to international recognition.

That same year, a 4-track EP, featuring a cover of the Trammps' "Hold Back The Night," claimed the band two appearances on Top Of The Pops and gave them a UK top twenty single.

Their third album, "Stick To Me," (1977) made the UK top 20 and "The Parkerilla," a three-sided live album, reached #14 in the spring of 1978. "Parkerilla" spawned a hit single with the re-recorded and somewhat discofied version of Howlin' Wind's epic "Don't Ask Me Questions."

The bands' classic 1979 release, "Squeezing Out Sparks," cemented their position as one of Britain's top live acts and ensured sell out concerts on their seemingly endless world tours. "The Up Escalator" followed in 1980, reaching #11 on the UK charts and sold well throughout the world.

GP and The Rumour disbanded after "Escalator" and Parker went on to forge a solo career that continues to produce powerful work including 1988's "The Mona Lisa's Sister," 1991's "Struck By Lightning" and the hard rocking "Acid Bubblegum," released in 1996.

Dozens of compilations are available on a variety of record labels and Parker continues to tour frequently, sometimes with backing musicians but more often as a solo act. In June 2000, Parker released "Carp Fishing On Valium," a collection of short fiction published by St. Martin's Press (US) and Simon & Schuster (UK). He composed songs to compliment the stories and took "Carp Fishing On Valium Ã‘ the Stories, the Songs" on the road in September/October 2000. The book was also published in paperback in May 2001.

Parker's first four albums plus a collection of lost demos and the fabled "Live at Marbl Arch" were recently re-released by Universal in the U.K.

The powerful and eclectic "Deepcut To Nowhere" was released on August 21st, 2001 on Razor and Tie and was voted one of the ten best albums of the year by Sound And Vision magazine.

In November, 2003, Thunder's Mouth Press published Parker's new novel, "The Other Life Of Brian." (Graham wrote a surreal, comedic novel, "The Great Trouser Mystery" when he was just 21. The book was finally published in the UK in 1980 with illustrations by Willy Smax.) In 2004 Parker released "Your Country" on Chicago's Bloodshot Records, a rootsy collection that included a cover of Jerry Garcia's "Sugaree." His version of this classic was much acclaimed by the songs' co-writer Robert Hunter and heralded by horror fiction writer Stephen King as the best ever version of the song in "Entertainment Weekly." "Your Country" was followed in 2005 by the powerful full force rocker "Songs Of No Consequence," this set backed by Parker's occasional touring band The Figgs.

In addition to his studio albums and the many live sets and compilations released on traditional record companies, Parker's website now sells an "official" bootleg, "Yer Cowboy Boot," featuring the multi-talented Tom Freund. ("Live Cuts From Somewhere," backed by the Figgs, was the first in the "official bootleg series" but has long since been sold out.)

The professionally recorded "Live Alone: The Bastard Of Belgium!" is on sale but is also very near sold out.

2006 shows no sign of Parker slowing down with the haunting new song "2000 Funerals" released as a one-off single only in downloadable form on itunes and emusic.

New GP tunes are being tried regularly out at his solo shows and a new album can't be far behind!

KICK - The INXS Experience is the USA's most captivating salute and tribute to the internationally acclaimed rock band, INXS.

Formed in 2014, two years after INXS stopped touring, KICK - The INXS Experience has beautifully managed to capture the spirit of INXS in both its sound and live performance, bringing the highest level of musicianship to the audience while showing a true passion for the music of INXS. Vocalist, guitarist, and singer-songwriter Cory Massi is the founding frontman of KICK, and has long held a respect and admiration for the late great Michael Hutchence. Massi even auditioned for the reality TV show, Rockstar: INXS, in 2004, where contestants competed to become the new lead vocalist for INXS. What convinced him to audition? "I loved Michael's singing and his personality," notes Massi. "I saw INXS when I was a teenager in '88 and '89; they were great, and the people were just gaga over them. Michael left a big impression with his star power; he really had it, that guy. Our range is similar and I just went for it. I had to sing "Mystify" acappella so I was kind of nervous because I didn't have a band behind me. There was a camera a foot away from my face and it was out of my comfort zone; I would probably still feel uncomfortable today. I didn't get the gig: I was one of the last people to try out and I think by the time I auditioned they had already made their selection. No excuse: it was a good experience. We include "Mystify" in our set and when I sing it, I have my band with me and we love the music, so we play it with a lot of heart."

KICK is already garnering the attention, admiration, and accolades of well-seasoned "ears" in the music industry. Radio personalities in several markets have been quick to offer praise; WZXL / Atlantic City program director Steve Raymond, a longtime fan of INXS, raved after listening to only part of one song, "Wow! These guys have got the vibe down. Really impressive!" 107.1 The BOSS (WWZY)'s midday air personality Michele Amabile concurred, "I had to go back and listen again with my eyes closed.... I could have sworn I was hearing Michael Hutchence!"

Sounding like legendary frontman Michael Hutchence is no easy task. "I guess the hardest thing, the most challenging thing when I started KICK," acknowledges Massi, "was capturing the great variety in Hutchence's voice. He can sound sensitive and soft and he can be super strong and really belt it out and sometimes that all happens within one phrase or even a word. It took a lot of self-control to capture how he projects his lyrics and the music. It's impossible to really sound and look like him; he's an Adonis, another Jim Morrison, Morrison in a pop sense. I can't mimic that; all I can do is do my best to capture his spirit."

The focus has been on faithfully recreating the music in its most powerful sense; an in-the-pocket bottom end from bass player Don Leslie and drummer Gary Forbes, a brilliant combination of piano and synth by John Cassidy, the signature guitar tones produced by guitarist Todd King and Jason Taylor, the saxophone by Nottingham, England's Tom Wheat, and the spot-on lead vocals by Cory Massi, all lend to a powerful high-energy show. KICK - The INXS Experience will take you back. It will reignite your passion for INXS. It will introduce you to music that is still as fresh today as the day it was written; from "Original Sin" to "Elegantly Wasted" and everything in between, including (but not limited to) "Need You Tonight," "New Sensation," "What You Need," "Don't Change," "Listen Like Thieves," "The One Thing," "Bitter Tears," "Suicide Blonde," "Not Enough Time," "Beautiful Girl," and "Devil Inside."

Altered Five Blues Band makes music with a swaggering stomp of bruising, barrelhouse grit. According to Downbeat magazine, frontman Jeff Taylor "sings powerfully" and "Jeff Schroedl's live-wire guitar reaches the high bar of mixed invention and fluidity." Blues Bytes magazine declares the group features "the funkiest rhythm section outside of Memphis."

A 2018 Blues Music Award nominee, the Milwaukee-based quintet released its new album, Ten Thousand Watts, September 6 on Blind Pig Records. Recorded over four days in Nashville, TN and produced by three-time Grammy winner Tom Hambridge, the 12 tracks stir up a thunderstorm of original, roots-rockin' music. The set kicks off with the burning boogie of "Right On, Right On" and is followed by "Too Mad to Make Up," a roadhouse rocker about a relationship in peril. The title track then finds Taylor strutting his stuff, testifying his powerful passion. The audacious theme continues with "Mischief Man," before the band cuts loose on "Great Minds Drink Alike," a sure-fire hit with the bar crowd. "Don't Rock My Blues" eases the tempo and captures a traditional vibe. The collection of succinct, tight-but-loose songs reflect the continuing evolution of the band's deft songwriting, blended with the intuitive musical interplay of the longtime bandmates. The album reached #10 on the Billboard Blues Chart, and hit #1 on both the iTunes and Amazon blues charts.

The new album arrives on the heels of back-to-back award-winning records. Cryin' Mercy won "Best Self-Released Album" at the International Blues Challenge in 2015, and Charmed & Dangerous scored Song of the Year at both the Independent Music Awards and Wisconsin Music Awards in 2018. Both albums reached the Top 5 in the iTunes blues store and hit #1 on the Roots Music Report Blues Album Chart. Guitar World magazine called the song "Charmed & Dangerous" a "menacing, swampy blues," and the track has been in regular rotation on SiriusXM's Bluesville along with many other programs and playlists. The album's third track, "Three Forks," was inspired by legendary Delta bluesman Robert Johnson and features music, adapted with permission, from the seminal classic "Crossroads."

Altered Five Blues Band now have five studio albums to their name, including Gotta Earn It (2012) and Bluesified (2008), both on Cold Wind Records. The group has performed at many renowned festivals and venues such as: Lucerne Blues Fest (Switzerland), Grolsch Blues Fest (Germany), W.C. Handy Blues Fest (Kentucky), Ann Arbor Blues Fest, King Biscuit Blues Fest, Baltic Blues Fest (Germany), Milwaukee Summerfest, Magic City Blues Fest (Montana), Fargo Blues Fest, B.B. King's Blues Club (Memphis), Buddy Guy's Legends (Chicago), and several appearances on local television.

Bassist Mark Solveson anchors the rock-solid rhythm section with drummer Alan Arber, who joined the band in 2017, and Raymond Tevich melds his crafty keyboard work to top off the group's signature sound. It's been said that "the blues is a feeling," so when the Minneapolis Star Tribune states that the band is a "righteous blast," you know they play it right.

Joe Louis Walker, a Blues Hall of Fame inductee and four-time Blues Music Award winner celebrates a career that exceeds a half a century. His new album Everybody Wants A Piece cements his legacy as a prolific torchbearer for the blues. Looking back on his rich history, Walker shares, "I'd like to be known for the credibility of a lifetime of being true to my music and the blues. Sometimes I feel I've learned more from my failures, than from my success . But that's made me stronger and more adventurous. And helped me create my own style . I'd like to think that when someone puts on one of my records they would know from the first notes, 'That's Joe Louis Walker.'"

Always an artist deeply expressive lyrically, Walker continues to write and sing about themes that are universal. On "Black & Blue" he talks about a love affair that's falling apart, but there's an effort to keep it going. He offers, "The lyric 'Let's find a quiet place, A place out of town...We Need to talk this thru, Be honest & True' says it all in trying to save the relationship." He cites the title track as a composition that might not have a deep meaning, but in presenting the thought, "Everybody wants a piece of your love," offers a double entendre that speaks for itself. With a deep history and background in gospel, Walker looks towards Wade in the Water" as an instant all time favorite. He reveals, "The inspirational lyric 'The water is deep, the water is cold, it chills my body, BUT NOT MY SOUL" is expressing my belief that the spiritual will carry you through when the physical can't."

This time out Joe has brought on Paul Nelson to produce his album which was recorded at his famed Chop Shop studio on the east coast. Nelson is a Grammy winning guitarist/producer who was rock/blues legend Johnny Winter's guitarist, and who also appears as guest guitarist on two tracks on Everybody Wants A Piece.

A true powerhouse guitar virtuoso, unique singer and prolific songwriter, he has toured extensively throughout his career, performed at the world's most renowned music festivals, and earned a legion of dedicated fans. Walker's 1986 debut album Cold Is the Night on HighTone announced his arrival in stunning fashion, and his subsequent output has only served to further establish Walker as one of the leading bluesmen on the scene.

Born on December 25, 1949 in San Francisco, at age 14, he took up the guitar. Just two years later, he was a known quantity on the Bay Area music scene, playing blues with an occasional foray into psychedelic rock. For a while, he roomed with Mike Bloomfield, who introduced him to Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead. Walker even made a brief pilgrimage to Chicago to check out the blues scene there. In 1975, burned out on blues, Walker turned to God, singing for the next decade with a gospel group, the Spiritual Corinthians. When the Corinthians played the 1985 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Walker was inspired to embrace his blues roots again. He assembled the Boss Talkers, and throughout the 1990s merged many of his gospel, jazz, soul, funk and rock influences with his trademark blues sensibilities on recordings released by Polydor/Polygram. These albums feature Walker's collaborations with a diverse group of first-rate artists including Branford Marsalis, James Cotton, Tower of Power, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, Ike Turner and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Walker has steadily released recordings since the turn of the millennium, and recently signed to Provogue / Mascot Label Group.

NPR Music has called Walker "a legendary boundary-pushing icon of modern blues," and he is already being referred to within the blues world as a living legend. However, at this stage of his life, Walker profoundly shares, "I'd really like to inspire younger musicians to carry on the legacy of blues/roots music. But play, and do it your way. Don't be afraid to mix it up. There's no right, or wrong way. Just the way you wanna express yourself. And above all, ENJOY YOURSELF."

Greg Koch and the Koch-Marshall Trio consist of American guitarist Greg Koch, his son Dylan Koch on drums and Hammond B3 specialist Toby Lee Marshall. At the heart of this organ trio is a blues sensibility - but Koch's compositions are an amalgam of rock, funk, jazz and country served up with heavy grooves and dynamic improvisations delivered with no small dose of humor and occasional wild abandon.

Milwaukee native Greg Koch has forged a successful career as a guitar player's guitarist. He has been called "fiendishly talented" by author and former editor- in-chief of Guitar Player Magazine Tom Wheeler and "scary good" by guitar phenom Joe Bonamassa. In addition to his 15 releases on multiple record labels which feature his unique take on a variety of American guitar styles and his versatile compositions, Koch is widely known for his lengthy tenure as an international ambassador for Fender Guitars which listed him in their "Top Ten Unsung Guitarists" onÂ Fender.com.Â He is also a best-selling author and video instructor for music publisher Hal Leonard. Greg is a contributing columnist for a variety of guitar magazines including Guitar Player Magazine which listed Greg's "Chief's Blues" in their "40 Badass Blues Solos You Must Hear" and Premier Guitar. For the last few years Greg is renowned for his wildly popular internet videos (which number in the thousands with views exceeding 50 million) originating from the legendary Colorado guitar shop Wildwood Guitars.

Dylan Koch gravitated to the drums early on in his life using kitchen utensils to play along with music as soon as he could walk. After digesting an early diet of Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, Mitch Mitchell and John Bonham, Dylan was mentored by the legendary Tom Brechtlein (Chick Corea/Robben Ford). In high school Dylan participated in the Jazz Institute at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and furthered his studies at the McNally Smith School of Music in the Twin Cities. While still in his teens he performed with young guitar guns Tallan Noble Latz and Jared James Nichols and has performed alongside his father with such artists as Robben Ford, Little Feat's Paul Barrere, Jon Cleary, David Grissom, Roscoe Beck and Malford Milligan. Dylan was recently nominated for drummer of the year by the Wisconsin Area Music Awards (WAMI). â€‹

Toby Lee Marshall's screaming B3 is the perfect compliment to the musical stew that is the Koch songbook. Hailing from the Twin Cities area he came from a musical family, playing piano for years until falling under the spell of the sound of the organ while at a baseball game at age seven. His fascination for the Hammond B3 took hold after his Dad took him to see Steve Cherewan playing with Dr. Mambo's Combo at their legendary residency at Bunker's in Minneapolis. Steve mentored Toby in the ways of the B3 and he hit the ground running landing a gig with bluesman Lonnie Brooks while still a teen. He would go on to travel the world as a member of Bernard Allison's band. After taking a hiatus to spend some family time, Toby is returning to music with a vehemence and the Koch-Marshall format gives him a long leash to let his freak flag fly, providing groovy bass lines, sinuous chordal work and incendiary solos.

The trio blends the explosive guitar manipulations of Greg, the groove-centric, power-pocket playing of his son Dylan on drums (who share many telepathic musical moments) and the glorious, Hammond organ stylings of the uber-talented Toby Marshall, Gregâ€™s compositions are properly portrayed in the blues drenched, funk, chicken-fried, gospelly, jazz-rock panorama in which they were conceived.

Backwoods bravado, patriot's pride, country soul, keg-thumping beats -- these are the qualities that Moonshine Bandits have championed since they began their journey. Armed with a hybrid arsenal of country and hip hop fusion, the California duo of Dusty 'Tex' Dahlgren and Brett 'Bird' Brooks are back with the grittiest, spirited and distinctly grass-roots release of their sixteen year campaign of musical badassery -- "Gold Rush."

If you ain't about this life then you ain't about shit." -- From the Track 'Mud Money' on the Moonshine Bandits latest release 'Gold Rush"'

Since their formation in Los Banos California in 2003 the Moonshine Bandits have continued a campaign of crossover genre-bending musical mayhem that appeals to the eclectic, color-outside-the-lines tastes of listeners, aka The Shiners, and they fiercely refuse to have their tastes confined and filed into categories. "Our musical style has always been full throttle and in your face," says Moonshine Bandit Tex. Just like the rumrunners, bootleggers, smugglers and outlaws of old -- the Moonshine Bandits provide a supply of the goods for the demand, defying the mandates and trends of mainstream pop culture.

The course of their career has seen ups and downs, hard partying and self-reflection. The Moonshine Bandits have crisscrossed the country performing hundreds of shows a year, ventured into branding their own beef jerky and moonshine, collaborated with some of the music business's most prolific artists, outshined in the face of record industry roadblocks, earned a fiercely loyal fan following, and embrace the unconventional. Hell, they've even had the honor of friend and adult film legend Tera Patrick spicing up a music video! It's all part of a journey filled with good, bad and even some ugly, but ultimately the Moonshine Bandit philosophy is summed up by Tex and Bird's joint statement -- "We always felt there aren't stops or boundaries if you pave your own lane."

And now the Moonshine Bandits have hit the proverbial motherlode with the release of Gold Rush on their very own record label MSB. Taking its inspiration from all that embodied the struggles and successes of America's extraordinary era when dreams were being made while hunting for that elusive precious gem. It wasn't entirely about the dollar sign though. The Gold Rush was far more dynamic in terms of the greater meaning and effect it had on all those who took part. Big or small, bust or windfall, for many people the Gold Rush ultimately provided the experience of building a new life in a wild place that had a code of its own.

"Our Gold Rush wasn't always about the glitter because we took the long haul," Tex says, and just like many of the hopeful dreamers who panned the creeks of the old west's badlands, the Moonshine Bandits encountered their share of setbacks but never quit. "We got in the trenches," Tex continues, "learned and got burned." The group's Gold Rush reflects on a career that wasn't about following some set of rules; this is about living by a code. Now with the debut of their own label, the group can fully exercise that code. "There's a right way, a wrong way, and now there's our way." Characterize it as rebellion, call it anti-establishment, or perhaps it's a little bit of symbolic of an elusive time when there actually was Honor among thieves, but the Bandits simply see it as lessons learned from experience.

Thematically, Tex and Bird describe the Gold Rush album as homage not only to the band's career journey but also, and profoundly, "a journey about the people we have come in contact with. The people that inspire our songs." This is especially true of the track "Two Bar Town" which speaks volumes of the brick and mortar, mom and pop's, local friends and corner watering holes that truly provided the foundation of everyday life, culture and economics in America. Tex says the theme is all about the 'small town' and despite the fact that 'small towns' have naturally changed with time that "doesn't mean you have to, you can still be proud of where you came from and keep those memories forever."

Long before people figured out country and rap had a lot in common, the Moonshine Bandits released their genre-blending album, "Whiskey & Women," and took the world of outlaw music by storm. The group's blue-collar work ethic and unwavering persistence has led to over 60 million views on the ShinerTV YouTube channel -- collectively over 80 million views on YouTube -- while their video for "My Kind of Country" peaked at #1 on CMT Pure. The Bandits also charted Billboard simultaneously with a top 10 in Rap and a top 20 in Country Music and have been Recognized by Rolling Stone Magazine, CMT, Youtube Honors, MTV, AOL THE BOOT, YAHOO, and the list goes on. Connecting with fans on all levels, Moonshine Bandits have built a solid "Shiner Nation" of loyal fans, started their own 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization known as Operation Packing Company, Inc. that specializes in sending supplies to our Troops Overseas, Beef Jerky and legal Moonshine. The Bandits earned a 2018 Telly Award for their "Take This Job" music video featuring David Allan Coe.

Born and raised on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, Indigenous front man Mato Nanji (Ma-TOE NON-gee) dedicates his latest release Time Is Coming (on Blues Bureau International) to the indigenous youth and all young people on the indigenous reservations.

Mato Nanji's father, the late Greg Zephier, Sr., was a well-known and highly respected spiritual advisor and spokesperson for the International Indian Treaty Council. In addition to this leadership role, he was an accomplished musician and a member of the musical group, The Vanishing Americans. Formed by Greg and his brothers in the '60's, The Vanishing Americans toured nationally and shared bills with such legends as Bonnie Raitt. Besides being heavily influenced by the music his father and uncles were making, Mato was exposed to Greg's vast collection of blues records by legendary artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B. King. Consequently, Mato embraced and began utilizing his own musical talent at a young age. With the experience, love and wisdom of their father to guide them, Mato, his brother, sister and cousin formed the band Indigenous while in their late teens.

After much time invested in practicing and building a following, they began touring extensively across the country. In 1998, they released their award winning debut album Things We Do. The title track's video, directed by Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals), won the American Indian Film Festival Award and was shown at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Indigenous' music caught the attention of blues icon B.B. King and the young band was invited to play on his annual B.B. King's Blues Tour in 1999. Sadly, Mr. Zephier would pass away before seeing his children receive this great honor.

With momentum gaining, Indigenous' 2000 sophomore release, Circle, was produced and arranged by Stevie Ray Vaughan's longtime friend and collaborator, the late Doyle Bramhall, Sr. Three more cds; Fistful of Dirt (2002), Indigenous (2003) and Long Way Home (2005) would follow before the 2006 decision by the siblings to 'disband' and pursue their own musical paths but Mato carried on with the Indigenous band name. "Playing with my family for 10 years was a lot of fun, but it was time to grow and keep moving forward."

Mato continued touring and in 2006 released Chasing The Sun. Two of the cd's songs, "Come On Home" and "Leaving", were featured on the hit Discovery Channel show The Deadliest Catch. "Come on Home" was also featured on FX's Sons of Anarchy.

On 2008's Broken Lands, an intensely personal record, Mato and Leah, his lyricist and wife, pay tribute to his Native heritage. The album decries the poverty, isolation and reality of life on the reservation with "Place I Know." The album gains its title from the line, "all is lost in these broken lands."

Of The Acoustic Sessions (released in 2010), Mato commented, "It's a collection of some of my favorite songs that celebrate 10 years of releasing albums. Every song that I have ever written began with the acoustic guitar, so it only felt natural to create an acoustic album."

Indigenous featuring Mato Nanji (2012) would mark Nanji's debut on the Blues Bureau International label and the beginning of his collaboration with noted producer, Mike Varney. Joining Mato on the disc's opening track "Free Yourself, Free Your Mind" is the soulful Jonny Lang. On it, the two guitar-masters trade vocals and guitar solos. It's truly a blues lover's 'match made in heaven'.

In addition to his Indigenous 'day job', Mato Nanji has been a member of the critically acclaimed Experience Hendrix Tour since 2002. Playing alongside original Jimi Hendrix band members Billy Cox and the late Mitch Mitchell, the tour roster includes some of today's blues greats including Buddy Guy, Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon (Double Trouble), Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Johnson, and Robert Randolph.

Once the 2012 Experience Hendrix Tour concluded, Mato and fellow EHT tour mates David Hidalgo (Los Lobos) and Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) would collaborate and release the hard-driving, psychedelic blues-infused 3 Skulls and the Truth (Blues Bureau International) disc. The album's no-holds barred setting is the ideal foundation for the three veteran axemen to simply 'let it fly'.

February 2013 would bring the Mato Nanji-inspired release from trance-blues artist Otis Taylor, My World Is Gone (Telarc). Mato and Otis explore the plight of the American Indian people in a lightning bolt of musical creativity and social commentary. "Mato inspired the entire direction of this album," says Taylor. "We were talking about history backstage at a Jimi Hendrix tribute concert he had just played, and, in reference to his people, the Native American Nakota Nation, he said 'My world is gone.' The simplicity and honesty of those four words was so heavy, I know what I had to write about."

"My dad was my favorite musician so he really influenced me a lot with everything. I just felt it was time to pay tribute to him and his band," says Nanji. That tribute, Vanishing Americans, was released on May 21, 2013 and promptly found its place on iTunes Top 10 Blues Chart. Blues Rock Review (6/5/13) said: "each song is brought together with heavy and powerful guitar riffs akin to those of Carlos Santana and Jimi Hendrix, while bellowing, raspy vocals turn a talented guitarist's vision into a relatable song for many, just as any praiseworthy blues album should."

"Mato continues to refine his guitar and vocal vocabularies with each new release and is also expanding his songwriting skills with his wife Leah," said producer Mike Varney of Time Is Coming (May 2014). From the infectious opening track of "Grey Skies"; the Soundgarden/Rage Against the Machine influenced "Won't Be Around No More"; and the gut-wrenching blues of "Don't Know What To Do", and at all points in between, Mato Nanji "tears at his guitar strings, bending and shaking them to within an inch of their life, it is clear that he is no mere copyist. He is a genuine virtuoso..." (Rhys Williams, bluesblastmagazine.com 5/14).

Ultimately, Mato dedicates Time Is Coming, to the Indigenous youth and all young people on the Indigenous reservations. Of the song says Nanji; "still to this day, the struggle continues to just live in peace. Growing up here on the reservation I've seen a lot of broken families...broken homes. I feel our families' "Tiospaye" are the core of what makes us who we are. Now family and its meaning is not as strong as it used to be for our people...almost non-existent. So I send my heart and soul out to the indigenous children having a tough time in their lives and in their homes. This record is inspired by them and made in their honor. I hope for the best for all. Tomorrow is another day."

The Plateros, a three piece award winning family band from the Navajo Nation in Tohajiilee, New Mexico consider Mato Nanji and Indigenous one of their greatest musical influences.

Levi and The Plateros played their first show, a festival in Bird Springs, AZ in December 2004, and by April 2005, they would find themselves onstage performing at the largest PowWow in the world, The Gathering of Nations. Lead guitarist Levi, with his natural born talent, slid across the stage with power chords and screaming blues that amazed the packed crowd. He was just 13 years old.

In the years to follow, Levi, along with his cousins Douglas Platero on drums and Bronson Begay on bass would receive numerous nominations for native music and video awards, and their cd Hang On would take home a win for Best Blues Album at the 2009 New Mexico Music Awards.

In 2012, they joined Indigenous for The Kinship Tour, with The Plateros opening the double bill. They would join Mato for blistering encores that would bring the proverbial house down.

Touring in support of Time Is Coming in the summer of 2014, Mato Nanji would once again call on Levi, Douglas and Bronson to hit the road with him. This time, though, would be different. They would be onstage as Indigenous' rhythm section; Mato and Levi trading leads and solos while Bronson and Douglas provided the strong, stable rhythmic foundation that allowed the two guitarists to 'tear it up'.

As the band made its way across the east coast, the after show buzz was audible. The incendiary chemistry of Mato Nanji, Levi Platero, Bronson Begay and Douglas Platero innate.

They are Indigenous.

Returning to the studio as Watkins Family Hour, Sean and Sara Watkins consider brother sister a duo-centric record -- yet one that feels bigger than just two people. With Sean primarily on guitar and Sara on fiddle, and with both of them sharing vocals, the siblings enlisted producer Mike Viola (Jenny Lewis, Mandy Moore, J.S. Ondara) and mixer-engineer Clay Blair to harness the energy and honesty of their live sound.

"From the beginning, our goal was to work on these songs to be as strong as they could be, just the two of us," Sara explains. "And with a few exceptions on the record, that's really how things were. It was a tight little group of us, working dense days where we could squeeze them in.

Sean (who is four years older than Sara) adds, "Because of the limited amount of time we had collectively to spend in the studio, there was a general sense of urgency, which I think the three of us (Sara, Mike and I) kinda strive for on these days. We didn't have that much time and that made it fun and exciting. It was just us, in one room, facing each other with some really great mics, often playing and singing at the same time, trying to capture what Sara and I do in a real way."

For the first time, the Los Angeles-based siblings carved out time to write with each other, often during the naptime of Sara's toddler. They took early versions of the new songs to Viola, who instinctively rearranged some of the song structures in an effort to draw attention to interesting lyrics or surprising arrangements.

"Mike brings a diverse musical-history to his production work," Sean says. "He's worked with a lot of people [from The Figgs to Fall Out Boy] that surpass just bluegrass or folk, but his sense of the songwriting craft and melody is right in line with us. He was bringing ideas that we would have never had, and vice versa."

As Watkins Family Hour's first project since a self-titled debut album in 2015, brother sister begins with "The Cure," which Sean was inspired to write after watching Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. The concept of throwing things away is evident in the lyrics; there's also a sense of knowing that you're in an unhealthy relationship, but still choosing to avoid fixing it.

"Part of the fun of being a songwriter is being able to write about something that started from an image and then transcends that image to speak to something greater," Sara observes.

Sara chose the beautiful "Neighborhood Name" after hearing it on a record by Courtney Hartman and Taylor Ashton, while "Just Another Reason" is an original that Sean describes as having "a vague, nebulous vibe" lingering below the surface. In contrast, the instrumental "Snow Tunnel" is like an epiphany, titled after Sean's memory of driving through Zion National Park, emerging from the darkness of a loud tunnel into a peaceful panorama of snow.

Moving from one landscape to the next -- literally and musically -- is nothing new to Sean and Sara Watkins, who have performed separately and together for nearly their whole lives. Growing up near San Diego, they played countless shows at a local pizza place in Carlsbad, California, with their childhood friend, Chris Thile. As young adults, those three musicians broke out nationally as Nickel Creek, an acoustic ensemble that sold millions of albums, won a Grammy, and toured the world.

Encouraged by a local club owner in Los Angeles, Sean and Sara formed Watkins Family Hour in 2002 as an outlet to try out some original songs and a few covers that wouldn't work in Nickel Creek. That club, Largo, has since become the home base for Watkins Family Hour, whose shows frequently pair musicians who seem to have little in common, yet find a shared language in their music.

With Nickel Creek on hiatus, Sean and Sara released multiple solo albums and pursued other collaborations, most recently with Sara's involvement in I'm With Her. However, the siblings gravitated toward the idea of another Watkins Family Hour album after realizing that their calendars afforded them a rare opportunity to write, record, and tour together.

Their musical chemistry is clear on songs like "Lafayette," an ode to Hollywood as well as the hometowns left behind by its aspiring stars; "Fake Badge, Real Gun," about confronting authority figures as well as your own beliefs; "Miles of Desert Sand," whose haunting coda underscores the vivid imagery of immigration; and "Bella and Ivan," a playful instrumental named for a friend's two dogs who love to wrestle.

Two choice covers complete brother sister. Warren Zevon's poignant "Accidentally Like a Martyr," which they unearthed for a tribute show, conveys all the complicated facets of love, and "Keep It Clean," the rabble-rousing Charley Jordan gem from the '30s, serves as a grand finale, with David Garza, Gaby Moreno, and John C. Reilly all chiming in on vocals.

"That's just fun to sing," Sean says. "Going into this record, we wanted to focus on the duo-centric thing, but this was a chance to lean into the group aspect, and have some of the people that have been a part of the Family Hour but weren't on the first record that we made years ago."

However, brother sister remains exactly that -- the result of a brother and sister creating music.

"It felt really good to dig into the potential of two people," Sara says. "There are a few songs on the record where Matt Chamberlain comes in to play drums, and we filled in the low end in a few cases with Mike Viola playing MOOG or piano, but the primary goal of this record became to see what we could do when it is just the two of us. The arrangements and the writing were all focused on that. Listening now, I'm really proud of what we did. These are songs that would not have come out of either one of us individually, and it feels like a band sound, like this is what we do, the two of us."

The Nielsen Trust - a Midwest musical legacy of memories, dreams and nightmares. The Nielsen Trust promises an intimate look at the life and songs of a family that isn't completely f#*ked up. A very special evening of songs and stories from the uniquely colorful world of growing up Nielsen. Not the American Osbournes.

"Hey, have you heard about that rockin' new family band, the Nielsen Trust?"

"The Nelson Trust? You mean like Ozzie and Harriet? Ricky? They're not what I
would call rockin'."

"Rick, yes, but not Nelson, Nielsen. Rick Nielsen, y'know, the guy from Cheap Trick? He and two of his sons have formed a side band. It's gonna be cool! Like the Griswolds on acid."

"Wait, doesn't Cheap Trick tour all the time? And isn't Daxx Nielsen their drummer? And doesn't Miles Nielsen have a band of his own? And isn't Miles'wife Kelly a singer and songwriter as well? How will they find the time?"

True, true, true and true. But that's not enough to slow the hyper-musical Nielsen family. The Nielsen Trust, established 2019, connects the family's generations -- a sign of trust -- for very special evenings of songs and stories from the uniquely colorful world of growing up Nielsen.

Rick promises "a Midwest musical legacy -- memories, dreams and nightmares"and notes, ominously, "The Nielsens are not your warm, fuzzy and cuddly musical group. We're not the American Osbournes."Or, as Miles puts it, "a way to experience music and stories between a father and his family, an intimate look at the life and songs of a family that isn't completely f#*ked up."

The back story: Miles and Daxx started off playing together in Harmony Riley, a Midwest quintet which released albums in 1999 and 2002. Then Daxx went off to drum for surf legend Dick Dale, Brandi Carlile and others. He got the "you are needed" call from Cheap Trick in 2010.

Big brother Miles played bass for Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons and then launched his solo career with the Rusted Hearts. His fourth album, Ohbahoy, has just been released, and that's not counting the EP, Weep & Willow, he and his wife Kelly Steward issued in 2016. She has a new album, Tales and Tributes of the Deserving and Not So, as well. Rick, well, he's been playing a hundred-plus Cheap Trick shows a year all over the world, while writing and recording non-stop. So, with characteristic Midwest industry (and the encouragement of wife and mom Karen Nielsen), the four are testing family bonds by adding another musical project to their busy lives.

Actually, Daxx says, music has the power to intensify family ties. "Miles and I played in a band together for years and built an amazing chemistry. Rick and I have now played together for years and have also formed a great bond. When the three of us are all together it's going to be incredible."

With Miles out front as singer and storyteller, they're working up lesser-known songs from Rick's enormous Cheap Trick catalogue, adding some Miles and Kelly originals, choice covers and, who knows?, maybe writing some new tunes together. Asked for some titles, Miles says they're thinking about such Trick tunes as "Can't Hold On," "Didn't Know I Had It," "Fan Club" and "On Top of the World."

The goal, Miles says, is to play a dozen shows a year, accentuate the rock side ("dynamic and delicate") more than he normally does and give the family legend a chance to play in a band that he doesn't have to lead. Miles and Kelly will bring their three teenagers along to ensure that the binding of generations and the handing down of traditions continues for a long time to come. For the fans, the shows offer an intimate connection, an invitation to the Nielsen world, which may be rock star glamorous from the outside, but inside the checkerboard there's a family just like yours and mine. Well, maybe not just like...

Rick once had the fretboard of a red Les Paul Jr. inlaid with the words "You know you like it." That didn't sound too trustworthy a sentiment. But this time, with the Nielsen Trust, you know he means it.

More than four decades have passed since Steve Forbert made his way to New York City from his Meridian, Mississippi birthplace in quest of a career in music. It was the most unlikely time and place for a folk singer to leap into the fray in a burgeoning scene where new wave and punk were emerging while he took the stage as a the archetypal folkie, armed with just an acoustic guitar and sheaf of very personal songs. After busking on the street for change from passers by, he rose to sharing bills at CBGB's with the likes of Talking Heads, The Shirts and John Cale as well as headlining more traditional venues such as The Bitter End and Kenny's Castaways. Against staggering odds, he found blazing success early on with a string of critically acclaimed and commercially accepted albums including Alive on Arrival (1978), Jackrabbit Slim (1979), and Little Stevie Orbit (1980) and a most unlikely smash hit single, "Romeo's Tune."

His career had its share of triumphs as well as stumbles and disappointments as did his private life. Through it all, over the course of a marriage, divorce, raising three children, writing and recording 18 studio albums and fronting an ever changing line-up of supporting musicians, he persevered and stayed true to his roots and the folk ethos.

Now, those life-changing experiences have been chronicled by Forbert in Big City Cat: My Life In Folk Rock, co-written with Therese Boyd, that will be released September 14 by PFP Publishing. The memoir, originally conceived as a stage play, offers a uniquely introspective view of a life and career during a period of cultural upheaval and the author's emerging self-awareness. Sharing reflections and journals he kept at the time, Forbert weaves an absorbing narrative that fully addresses the trials, travails and triumphs that would eventually play out over the course of his prolific 40+ year career. With a colorful cast of characters that includes managers Danny Fields and Linda Stein, along with such music legends as Doc Pomus and John Simon, it offers a revelatory look at his personal life and family, as well. Big City Cat: My Life In Folk Rock features first-person commentary from those who worked with Forbert on the road and in the studio.

The book will, in a manner of speaking, be accompanied by its own soundtrack. Simultaneous with the release comes an evocative new Steve Forbert album from Blue Rose Music entitled The Magic Tree. Produced by Karl Derfler (Tom Waits, No Doubt, Two Gallants), it offers a series of songs gleaned from previously recorded acoustic demos, augmented with new backing tracks. The collection rings with the verve and vitality that Forbert's fans have always come to expect. It takes on special meaning in light of the recent health scare that sidelined him for several months while he recovered from kidney surgery and chemotherapy with the help of his girlfriend of 17 years. Consistently upbeat and optimistic, the album's songs recorded in Meridian, Nashville, New York, and New Jersey and Virginia convey a firm sense that age ought not diminish a lust for living. Big City Cat and The Magic Tree underscore what revered critic the late Paul Nelson wrote about Forbert in Rolling Stone almost 40 years ago: "..Nothing, nothing in this world, is going to stop Steve Forbert, and on that I'll bet anything you'd care to wager."

Buck Up, the new studio album from singer and songwriter Carsie Blanton, due out February 15 2019, opens with a siren. The warning -- or call to (dis)arms -- segues into the first notes of "Twister." Finger snaps alone accompany Blanton's smoky vocals, before piano, upright bass, cello, trumpet, and drums join the proceedings. You're immediately drawn in to her riveting tale of natural -- and erotic -- disaster. Brimming with catchy hooks, sensual vocals, and lyrics boasting a gift for rhyme and meter, Buck Up is Blanton's melodic mandate for survival following the 2016 presidential election: passion, lust, and humor. "There are two themes on this record," says Blanton of Buck Up's ten electrifying tracks. "One is the feeling of catastrophe happening in American politics, and the other is this feeling of personal catastrophe": when you fall for "That Boy," for example, a reckless wild child, the type who populate her life and imagination. Though Buck Up may be "basically about being depressed," according to Blanton, "if there's not a sense of humor or playfulness, I don't want to listen to it. Music is about play."

Over the past dozen years, Blanton has been making music that personifies play. Her work has been called "impeccably catchy" by critic Robert Christgau, with musician John Oates admiring her songs' "sly wit and urbane imagery" that remind him of Cole Porter. She's toured across America and Europe sharing stages with Madeleine Peyroux, The Weepies and others. Though based in New Orleans since 2012, the self-described "proud socialist" has been on the road since her teens. As a child in tiny Luray, Virginia, she began playing piano at 6 and learned guitar at 13. The budding songwriter's life was forever changed when her grandpa sent her a batch of jazz recordings for her thirteenth birthday. "Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong -- that's when it started for me," Blanton says of the gift two decades ago that remains "the most inspiring to me as a songwriter and a singer. I'd started performing and he wanted to make sure my musical education was well rounded." She was deeply smitten with Holiday's recording of Irving Berlin's "How Deep Is the Ocean": "I just love him," she says of the composer, "and Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hart. They're all masters of music and words." Such influences would surface as Blanton began crafting her own witty lyrics and using jazz phrasing in her vocals.

Blanton left the Blue Ridge mountains an angst-ridden 16-year-old and began living within an artistic community in Eugene, Oregon, until she was 20. There, guitar in hand, "I realized by being creative, I could be a happier person and take care of myself," she says. After more travels, she settled in Philadelphia, where she worked at a nonprofit while recording her first album. She left her job to make music her life and has never looked back. By the time she was 23, she was touring solo and as an opener for such artists as the Wood Brothers. Vocalist/guitarist Oliver Wood, an early mentor who produced a previous Blanton album, lends his distinctive fingerpicking and vocals to Buck Up's exuberant title track.

Since locating to New Orleans, Blanton has "become more prolific as a songwriter," she says. "There's something about the spirit of the city. It's very musical but also very dark with a lot of pathos." Her last release, 2016's So Ferocious, documented her love affair with the city, and the Big Easy vibe imbues her new album. Sequestered in her NOLA home, she wrote the first song for Buck Up, "Bed," in November 2016: "I'm not gonna get out of bed today/I've tried to do it but what can I say/Every time I turn on the news it's a kick to the head/Why don't you wake me up when the president's dead." "That song shook loose a lot of feelings I had about the political landscape and growing up in America," Blanton reports. "If I can write one song that really captures the feeling of a project, then the rest come more easily." In fact, bed imagery trickles throughout the album's tracks.

For the recording, Blanton returned to the south Jersey studio of guitarist Pete Donnelly (the Figgs, Graham Parker), who coproduced Buck Up with Blanton. Joining them was her longtime bassist and sometime co-writer Joe Plowman, keyboardist Patrick Firth, and drummer Nicholas Falk.

While her lyrics grapple with some dark subject matter, Blanton's engaging, captivating vocals are relaxed and flirty on "Jacket," her ode to the female gaze and masturbation. She sounds wistful and sweet on the strings-and-accordion-accented "Harbor," and sex-drenched on "Desire," "an apocalyptic love story," one of her favorite genres, she says. "Lust and passion and romantic energy are a beautiful, joyful source of pleasure in life," says Blanton, "but also a source for heartache and devastation. It reminds you of how short life is, so it feels very connected to death and mortality to me. One of my major inspirations as a songwriter is feeling the erotic connection. When I get connected to the erotic force, I feel so turned on by life and also hooked up to death at the same point." Song ideas flow when she "goes out there and looks for some sexy young man who's a mess -- that's the muse that works for me. That's where I get my mojo." In addition to songcraft, her erotic life inspired her to invent "a sexy card game, The F'ing Truth," says Blanton, intended for "people who f' and tell" and deemed a "f'ing blast" by sex columnist Dan Savage.

Blanton's thing for bad boys can bring moody moments to her songs, but her cheeky takedown of male hipsters adds lighthearted fun to Buck Up. The upbeat "Mustache," a co- write with Plowman, asks, "why'd you have to grow that mustache," while its sonics, complete with calliope-sounding keys, is her homage to another musical favorite, The Supremes.

The heart of the album, says Blanton, resides within the pop-rock anthem, "American Kid." Its hummable tune camouflages Blanton's downhearted lyrics detailing disillusionment that comes with the realization that "we done them wrong": "It's my journey from being a standard liberal moderate to being really radicalized and losing my belief in American capitalism. I want to connect with this feeling of 'we can be compassionate and we can change what we're doing and not take it lying down.'"

At the crossroads of nihilism and determination -- the former described in the harrowing "Battle" ("I know I won't survive the battle in my heart") -- Blanton chooses to "Buck Up," which closes the album with mirth. "Buck Up" is a "rallying cry," says Blanton. "Enough with the sadness and wallowing about America. We have to get people together to make change, even though it's daunting." Paraphrasing Tom Waits, she quips, "I hope this album will help to improve the quality of our suffering." And with a feisty nod to the work of another hero, John Prine, she coos, "Make 'em laugh if you can't lick 'em."

Blues is not for the faint-hearted. Since the genre first drew breath, its greatest practitioners have embraced the darkness, spinning tales of hardship and death, hellhounds and devilry. If the sleeve of Witchy Feelin' suggests that Kim Simmonds, too, has a tendency towards the macabre, then Savoy Brown's iconic leader is happy to confirm it. "Blues has always dealt with themes of the Devil, witchcraft and so forth, and I've always written along those lines. At least three of the songs on Witchy Feelin' have that hoodoo vibe..."

Released in 2017 on Ruf Records, Witchy Feelin' proves the Devil still has all the best tunes. From the thrillingly brittle guitar riff that opens Why Did You Hoodoo Me, we are in the hands of a master, with Simmonds reigniting the seismic vocals and searing fretwork that established Savoy Brown as linchpins of the '60s British blues boom. "On this album, I tried my best to get my voice in its power zone," he explains. "I'm a baritone singer. I like listening to singers I can relate to, such as J.J. Cale, Mark Knopfler, Tony Joe White and Tom Rush. For my guitar playing, I still get inspiration from Otis Rush, Buddy Guy and all the Chicago players I grew up listening to back in '63... but I always listen to new music too."

Recording alongside Pat Desalvo (bass), Garnet Grimm (drums) and engineer Ben Elliott, Simmonds leads us into a world of dark nights, wild weather, women and whiskey: all perennial themes given a modern twist by this ageless bluesman. "The songs on this album have been two years in the making," he reflects. "I tried to write songs that had a personal point of view yet can be relatable to everyone. On Vintage Man, I wrote about being the type of guy who doesn't change as he gets older. I wrote about the power of love on Why Did You Hoodoo Me. And with Guitar Slinger, I wrote a song about seeing a great guitar player in an old country bar -- as I did when I first saw Roy Buchanan in '69."

Anyone who witnessed Savoy Brown leave the blocks in 1965 would speak of a similar epiphany. Back then, the band were the spark that ignited the blues-boom, signing to Decca, opening for Cream's first London show and boasting a lead guitarist who was being namedropped in the same reverential breath as peers like Clapton and Hendrix (with whom Simmonds jammed). Already, the guitarist was emerging as the band's driving force. "I had a vision," he reflects. "When I started the band back in 1965, the concept was to be a British version of a Chicago blues band. And the exciting thing now is, that vision is still alive."

Soon, Savoy Brown had achieved what most British bands never did -- success in America -- and became a major US draw thanks to their high-energy material and tireless work ethic. "There's far too much said about sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll," Simmonds told Classic Rock. "It's a clichÃ©. We were all extremely hard-working guys. When we came over to America, we were like a little army. I look at that time as being filled with incredible talent."
Times changed, of course, and by 1979, Simmonds had moved from a London he no longer recognised -- "The punks were everywhere!" -- to settle permanently in New York. The Savoy Brown bandmembers came and went, and the music scene shifted around him, but the guitarist stuck thrillingly to his guns and reaped the rewards, performing in iconic venues like Carnegie Hall and the Fillmore East and West, releasing thirty-odd albums, and later enjoying a well-deserved induction into Hollywood's Rock Walk Of Fame.

Even in the post-millennium, while his peers grow soft and drift into semi-retirement, Simmonds retains a vision and an edge, spitting out acclaimed albums that include 2011's Voodoo Moon, 2014's Goin' To The Delta, 2015's The Devil To Pay -- and the emphatic new addition to Savoy Brown's catalogue, Witchy Feelin'. "I'm amazed that I still have the energy inside me to play guitar, create music and write songs," he considers. "I've been blessed in my life and I thank God for that. I've never been a believer in holding on to the past -- I don't look over my shoulder and congratulate myself. I always want to climb the next mountain -- and I'm very pleased with this new album..."

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.

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