Upcoming Shows

Talisk

TodayFebruary 7, 20238:00pm $20.00

Ground-breaking, chart-topping, genre-bending, globetrotting, instantly enthralling... it's little wonder that Talisk rank highly amongst the most in-demand folk-based groups to emerge from Scotland in the last decade and more. Mohsen Amini (BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards' Musician of the Year 2018), Graeme Armstrong and....

The Appalachians, Tigera, Lunar Moth

FridayFebruary 10, 20238:00pm $15.00

Birthed in 2009 at Brady Street's legendary 'Up and Under' open mic night, The Appalachians power-house Rock N' Roll sound quickly resonated throughout the Midwest opening for Baraboo's 'Phox', regional tours, festival appearances including 'Summerfest' and Appleton's 'Mile Of Music'. After two studio albums, the band....

Keys for a Cause 2 - Twila Jean and Friends

SaturdayFebruary 11, 20238:00pm $15.00

Recently Added Shows

Moonchild

FridayApril 7, 20238:00pm $30 | $104

Very Garcia: A Jerry Garcia Tribute

SaturdayApril 8, 20238:00pm $15 advance / $20 door

An evening of music to take you on a journey from psychedelic rock to stripped down string band. Featuring seven piece band Another One and members of the bluegrass band Chicken Wire Empire, performing songs of the Grateful Dead, Old & In The Way and more!

Stars

FridayApril 14, 20238:00pm $25.00

Begonia

ThursdayApril 20, 20238:00pm $15.00

Marty Ross

FridayApril 21, 20238:00pm

Southern Rock Night featuring Southbound and The Sociables

SaturdayApril 22, 20238:00pm $17 advance / $20 door

Peter Case, Ben de la Cour

TuesdayApril 25, 20238:00pm $20.00

Kenny Roby

WednesdayMay 3, 20238:00pm $15.00

A songwriter's songwriter, Kenny Roby's 2020 album 'The Reservoir' has been called a master class in that craft. A native of the Carolinas, he was originally known for fronting 6 String Drag, pioneers in the Alt-Country and Americana music movements of the '90s. The band was produced by roots music godfather Steve Earle....

Bad Year, Doubter, Tiqmmy, The Keystones

FridayMay 19, 20238:00pm

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

FridayMay 26, 20238:00pm $12 advance / $15 door

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

Billy Prine & The Prine Time Band Present The Songs of John Prine

TuesdayJune 6, 20238:00pm $35.00

Billy Prine is a natural-born storyteller just like his late, great brother John Prine was a natural-born songwriter. John was a great communicator of the human experience whittled down to the best words. His big, little....

Zoltan Kaszas

FridaySeptember 8, 20238:00pm $25.00

Comedian Zoltan Kaszas has been seen on Dry Bar Comedy, his Cats Vs Dogs video has over 60 million views on Facebook and his full special is on YouTube with over 2 million views. His latest special Modern Male released in March of 2020 has already surpassed 2 million views and tracks from the recording are played regularly....

Zoltan Kaszas

SaturdaySeptember 9, 20238:00pm $25.00

Alternative Concert Group Presents

Lee Greenwood

FridayFebruary 17, 20238:00pm $59 | $49

Capitol Civic Centre, Manitowoc, WI

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Gaelic Storm

FridayFebruary 24, 20238:00pm $40

The Grand, Oshkosh, WI

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Gaelic Storm

SaturdayFebruary 25, 20237:30pm $33

The Pablo Center, Eau Claire, WI

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Gaelic Storm

WednesdayMarch 1, 20237:00pm $44 | $49

Campanile Center for the Arts, Minocqua, WI

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Leo Kottke with special guest Sarah Lee Guthrie

FridayMarch 3, 20238:00pm $40

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

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

Leo Kottke with special guest Sarah Lee Guthrie

SaturdayMarch 4, 20238:00pm $42 | $52

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.

Sam Bush

WednesdayMarch 8, 20237:30pm $45 | $56

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.

Chapel Hart The Glory Days Tour

SundayMarch 26, 20237:30pm $45 / $65 / $125

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

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

Ryan Adams

TuesdayMarch 28, 20237:30pm $60 / $90

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

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

Chapel Hart The Glory Days Tour

ThursdayApril 6, 20237:30pm

The Grand Theater, Wausau, WI

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Chapel Hart The Glory Days Tour

FridayApril 7, 20237:30pm $50

The Pablo Center, Eau Claire, WI

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Chapel Hart The Glory Days Tour

SaturdayApril 8, 20238:00pm

At the Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, WI.

Tickets on sale at pabsttheatergroup.com.

Quick Calendar

Featuring some of the area's busiest and best-known rock keyboardists, Keys for a Cause pays homage to those legends of piano and synth-driven progressive rock. January 2020's inaugural event honored the work of Rick Wakeman; this time it's all about Keith Emerson. Proceeds will benefit the Humane Society.

Classically trained Twila Jean is a long-time Wisconsin music educator-turned-rock performer. Keeping a busy schedule in both Milwaukee and Madison (Bands Bella Brutto and The Eric Look Band, Duo John & TJ), she's thrilled to be joined by several of her musical besties in this wild and somewhat daunting endeavor in playing the music of progressive rock giant Keith Emerson. Performers include Carter Hunnicutt, Terry Michaels, Tony Jefferson, Rob Wessel and others brave enough to jump on board!

Milwaukee based recording artist Carter Hunnicutt has been throwing fingers at the black and whites throughout the Milwaukee music scene since the early eighties. His keyboard prowess has graced stages and recording studios as an integral part of Those Xcleavers, The Flat Rabbits, The Xposed 4heads and The Clancy Carroll Project. These days he presents his original material fronting the Swivels where he sings, plays keys, guitar and harp, and he also plays kick ass rockabilly as keyboardist for the Rock-A- Dials. Carter played at the last Keys for a Cause featuring music of Rick Wakeman. Someone at this event gave him access to a cape, next thing you know he's got a key-tar and chaos ensued! Carter is excited to take a stab at the music of Keith Emerson in the upcoming Keys for a Cause, where he will assemble an ensemble of his bandmates to tackle some very challenging material.

Milwaukee keyboardist Terry Michaels lives and breathes progressive rock. Having started his musical journey as a mere seven-year-old taking accordion lessons, he soon discovered The Beatles and his world was never quite the same! His primary instrument switched to drums, but he also studied guitar, bass, and piano, and by age sixteen he was playing in several area bands. His late teen years were another turning point for him as progressive rock acts like Emerson, Lake and Palmer and Deep Purple rocked his world. Deciding that progressive rock music was the genre for him, he jumped back into classical piano lessons, theory and harmony instruction, and electronic music classes. And the rest is history! Terry is a founding member of Milwaukee's progressive rock band Lyndenthal. Terry and his ensemble performed much of Rick Wakeman's "Six Wives of Henry VIII" at Keys for a Cause 1, and so the question remains, "What Emerson works will Terry present this time?"

Percussionist Tony Jefferson is a walking, breathing encyclopedia regarding knowledge of progressive rock, winning the prize for seeing the most national touring acts in this genre. His percussion expertise runs the gamut from classical to jazz, rock to funk, and he is beloved by all who have had the privilege of sharing the stage with him. Tony has been playing music--drums, percussion, and vocals--for forty-five years. Bands and collaborations include Cyrus, Mobius Trip, True Heart Susie/Quark Quintet, The Freddie Lee Band, Faith, Hope & Love, Lyndenthal, VIVO, Warren Wiegratz Jazz Group, Drive With Horns and Mini-Drive Quartet. Tony's guidance during Keys for a Cause 1 set the stage for what was to come, as he was the first person to suggest we tackle the music of Keith Emerson next! Game on.

Guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and composer Rob Wessel has been making music in the Milwaukee area since the late 80's with bands Beacon, Thick Aza Brick, and original progressive rock groups Concept of Innocence and Lyndenthal. Rob's compositions for Concept of Innocence can be found on several streaming platforms, and his work with Lyndenthal includes not only some of his writing but also guitar, bass, and vocal tracks. Rob is currently writing and recording more progressive rock in his studio, and plans to independently release what he considers his best work to date. We're delighted to have Rob join us in this keyboard-driven craziness that is the music of Keith Emerson!

It has been said that progressive rock is not only a mix of classical music and rock, but also an aggressive, masculine genre. In "The Making of Brain Salad Surgery," Greg Lake states that those tender ballads we all love, interspersed within fast-paced musical gymnastics and constantly changing meters, provided much-needed balance to their albums. Francesca and Tom bring this tenderness to our evening. After many years of terrorizing Milwaukee stages separately, Francesca and Tom joined forces four years ago to conquer the world. So far, so good. Francesca's singing brings a silvery beauty to her fresh, creative songwriting, in a setting anchored by the solid foundations and decorated by the eclectic ornamentations of Tom's guitar playing.

It's a foreboding time to make pop music. But like a sunbeam peering through a haze of wildfire smoke, Early Eyes have somehow persevered through dashed dreams, fractured relationships, historic social justice uprisings in their own hometown, and a society tearing apart at the seams to make an album that is both responsive to the chaos and wearily optimistic.

"It almost feels like Look Alive! is a direct response to the pandemic," bandleader Jake Berglove reflects. "It was like, oh, my goodness, all of our capitalist anxieties just came true! We took all of that anxiety and angry energy and put it into making a really fucked up album."

"The album was not just an expression of all of our frustrations, but also an escape from it," adds guitarist Joe Villano. "And I feel like the process of making it really carried us through the year."

Look Alive! vibrates with angst, punctuated by computerized glitches and disintegrating threads of abandoned melodies that echo in the distance before roaring back to life. A track like "Chemicals" will begin with Early Eyes' signature buoyant and catchy pop-rock, but as the song progresses it grows more ominous before shattering apart in an earthquake of rattling, subterranean bass.

Early Eyes signed to Epitaph Records in January 2020 and put out their first singles with the label that march--just as the pandemic brought the entire music industry screeching to a halt. As weeks turned into months, and as their city of Minneapolis imploded in a catastrophic moment of fury, grief, and protest, the band alternated between doing what they could to support mutual aid efforts and holing up in the studio to channel their complicated emotions into song. Along the way, they also parted ways with their previous rhythm section, further escalating their sonic reinvention.

"It kind of gave us an entirely new identity," Jake says. "It almost feels like we're completely different people. The three of us who were remaining wanted to pursue this new direction with the band and kind of embrace the chaos that comes with living in 2021." Away from the gaze of the public, they were free to make whatever best captured their mood in the moment. "We would write stuff previously with the understanding that we are writing to play live," guitarist John O'Brien says. "And then when playing live stopped being a thing that we had to worry about immediately, we were able to approach the songwriting process with a different mindset, being more production oriented, creating impossible textures and sounds."

Since his neo-psychedelic Green On Red days, Chuck Prophet has been turning out country, folk, blues, and Brill Building classicism. THE LAND THAT TIME FORGET is something different, a weather vane picking up signals from outer space -- or maybe it's the Heartland.

Priced out of his beloved hometown, San Francisco, Prophet found himself re-energized in Upstate NY just a few miles from the Vermont border -- and made a record that is much a 21st century exorcism as it is America.

The songs inhabit a world where a Fast Kid might be on the run from the truant officer or a handsy boss...or the Immigration Service. These are love songs that turn political on a dime (Love Doesn't Come from the Barrel of a Gun), and melodic hallucinations about kicking back in the Oval Office after hours "talking to my baby, saying baby, let's not fight."

Where else besides a Chuck Prophet LP are songs going to come at you from both the Tenderloin and an English roundabout, with stopovers in Nixonland and a love-struck mirror on a Saturday night while a workingman tries his Best Shirt On? With special appearances by the ghost of Johnny Thunders and Willie Wonka and John the Baptist and the train that brought Abraham Lincoln home one last time.

In Waving Goodbye, a young girl leaves small town attitudes behind to conquer the world one gig at a time. Then there's a dance Marathon, lost in time and reborn as a reality show. According to Womankind, men had their run, but it's over. (The good news is he can still try to sing his way into her heart.)

And it all leads up to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue where a singer has his say, in two and a half loping verses and a middle eight.

Here's Chuck:

"Have any of you been to a 24-hour Walmart on the outskirts of Pittsburgh after midnight lately? It was just me and a couple tweakers roaming the auto parts aisles. We got along just fine. Long story short, I fixed that guitar by my lonesome and am playing it right now. I'm kind of proud of that."

"I will say this, though, about Ohio. Some of my truest hard earned fans are in Ohio. Go on and call it a fly-over-state, but not while Chrissie Hynde is in earshot, unless you want a vegan boot up your ass. All I'm saying is that a state is a lot more than which candidate won by how many votes. I mean you gotta feel sorry for the conservatives. The only songs they can play at their rallies without getting hit with a cease and desist order are by Ted Nugent and Charlie Daniels. And those two sure aren't shy about expressing their opinions."

THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT got off the ground in the Money Belt, only to find its legs in the Borscht Belt. Musically it has deep roots, from the Southern Delta to the discos of Munich. There's a kind of folkish inevitability to it, lots of acoustic instruments, on top of each other and side by side. But as much as folk music is the soil all music grows from, it never hurts to have a boiler room. So, there's always a rhythm section shuffling under your feet here.

Written mostly with longtime co-conspirator klipschutz, this LP steps out of Chuck Prophet's comfort zone ("two guitars, bass, and drums"). After nailing three tracks in S.F. with Grammy-winning alchemist Matt Winegar, Prophet confesses, "We hit a wall. Schedules. Money. Towed vehicles: a thousand large to get one van out of lockup."

So he went out on tour, a solo tour. Driving through the Catskills he dropped into Kenny Siegal's Old Soul Studios, in a "5-bedroom Greek Revival listed on the National Registry," Chuck and Kenny immediately began to argue. Over anything. Whether it was too hot or too cold (according to WHOM?). At the end of the day -- "a very long day, three weeks of them -- let's just say Kenny's the man. At Old Soul, musicians drop in, sometimes complete blind dates. We did everything live. The drummer gigs with Kevin Morby. The bass player, out of some jazz scene. Piano player, an honorary Bad Seed. A mish mash of personalities and styles. Turns out you can make a lot of noise with acoustic instruments, if there are enough of them."

When asked about his life, Prophet is candid and evasive all at once: "What do you want to know. Death, health issues, financial hijinks, I've had them all the past few years. We lost my dad and we lost Stephie's dad too. The basement flooded. My shoulder went out. I got hives over 80% of my body; was quarantined. The only break I caught was when the ear, eye, nose, and throat doctors were all in the same building. Oh, and I almost got killed about seven times in rented cars in snowstorms, lost on the way to gigs. Hey, maybe we should talk about songs instead."

Mike Silverman (a.k.a. That 1 Guy) is a classically trained bassist. From the age of 15, this gifted musician seemed destined for a musical career his parents could be proud of: playing bass in promising ensembles, winning a Dave Brubeck Jazz Scholarship competition, studying classical upright at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and jazz bass at Los Medanos College. But at some point on the path to respectable mainstream success, something went fantastically wrong.

In 2003, Silverman wrote, recorded, produced and mastered the debut album from his demented alter ego That 1 Guy -- a magnificently insane one-man show that has been making waves across America since the late '90s. He made the record with an unwieldy homemade instrument called The Magic Pipe, wrote songs called "It's Raining Meat" and "Weasel Potpie," and titled the disc Songs In The Key Of Beotch. Whatever drove the mild-mannered Silverman to do this is debatable, but one thing is for sure: fans of the musically bizarre will be forever grateful.

That 1 Guy began quickly and unexpectedly, after Silverman finished a gig with his beloved Bay Area group The Fabulous Hedgehogs. After the club owner paid the 5-piece band a meager $50, Silverman joked that the next time around he'd play the show alone. The owner took him up on the offer, and right then and there, That 1 Guy was born. In a fit of experimentation, Silverman removed all his bass strings except for one and picked up a drum machine as accompaniment. That 1 Guy's first show, at Dr. Bombay's in San Francisco's Mission District, was a learning experience. The club had no stage, so Silverman performed standing on the bar, his head touching the ceiling, his microphone plugged into the jukebox. "It was the worst gig ever, yet somehow my greatest musical accomplishment up to that point," Silverman reminisces.

Since that fateful night, Silverman has worked hard on perfecting his one-man show and building the beautiful monstrosity that is The Magic Pipe. Seven feet of galvanized steel and hardware store trinkets, the metallic, one-stringed instrument is brought to life by an array of electronic gadgets. Silverman claims the pipe, "not only has a limitless harmonic and sonic range, but limitless rhythmic possibilities as well."

When That 1 Guy performs live, his imagination is what truly seems limitless. On top of his infectious, innovative style, the artist throws more avant-garde treats into the mix, like impassioned Whodini covers and electrified cowboy boots. His indisputably original show has attracted the attention of a wide range of artists, and as a result, Silverman has shared the stage with the likes of Ani DiFranco, Soul Coughing, Saul Williams, Bob Weir and Ratdog, Yo La Tengo, Fabolous, Drums & Tuba, Naughty By Nature and countless others.

Employing a dazzling mix of glam rock, hard rock, and progressive rock, Angel's outrageous, white-satin-heavy image and equally over-the-top stage shows, made them one of the more colorful arena rock bands of the mid-'70s and early '80s. Discovered by Kiss bass player Gene Simmons, the group issued their eponymous debut album in 1975, which hewed closer to prog rock than the glam pop that would inform future endeavors like On Earth as It Is in Heaven (1977) and Sinful (1979). The group went their separate ways in 1981, but re-formed in the late '90s with a new lineup, and released two studio albums (1999's In the Beginning and 2019's Risen) and numerous compilations.

Formed in Washington, D.C., the group's self-titled 1975 debut was recorded for the flamboyant Casablanca Records label -- home to Kiss -- with a line-up comprising Frank DiMino (vocals), Punky Meadows (guitar, ex-BUX), Gregg Giuffria (keyboards), Mickie Jones (bass, ex-BUX), and Barry Brandt (drums). A heady slab of heavy pomp rock with lengthy songs swathed in Giuffria's atmospheric keyboards and featuring the longtime stage favorite "Tower," it was followed in 1976 by Helluva Band, which continued in a similar vein, with the group's famous white satin stage clothing making its debut on the album sleeve. On Earth as It Is in Heaven saw a distinct change in musical direction, as the band adopted a a more pop/rock-oriented sound, and introduced a clever logo that read identically when upside down.

1978's White Hot, with Felix Robinson replacing Jones, was helped by Eddie Leonetti's sympathetic production, and produced minor U.S. hits in "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" and "The Winter Song." Leonetti subsequently produced Sinful and the in-concert set Live Without a Net. Angel's record sales never quite reflected their popularity as a live act, and a legal dispute with PolyGram prompted the band's breakup in 1981. Giuffria attempted to revive the band in 1984, but the abortive reunion led to the formation of the more successful House of Lords. Robinson, meanwhile, appeared in an early White Lion line-up and played with 707. Brandt and DiMino re-formed Angel in the late '90s to record In the Beginning, with the help of guitarist and songwriter Richard Marcello. They staged an Angel reunion of sorts by persuading former colleagues Robinson and Meadows to play on the track "Set Me Free."

The group performed off and on during the early 2000s and issued a handful of compilation albums. Bassist and founding member Mickie Jones passed away in 2009 after battling liver cancer. Punky Meadows released a solo LP, Fallen Angel, in 2016, and in 2018, Meadows and DiMino toured under the name Frank DiMino & Punky Meadows of Angel. The band officially re-formed the following year with Meadows and DiMino joined by Danny Farrow, Steve E. Ojane, Billy Orrico, and Charlie Calv. The newly reactivated Angel released their seventh studio effort, Risen, later that October.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today, McDermott has offered his best.

Kudos to Michael McDermott - overnight success.

After a series of indie record releases, Shawn Mullins' critical breakthrough came when 1998 Soul's Core album shot him to fame on the strength of its Grammy-nominated No. 1 hit, "Lullaby" followed by AAA/Americana No. 1 "Beautiful Wreck" from 2006's 9th Ward Pickin Parlor. His song, "Shimmer" was used in promotion of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and was included on the Dawson's Creek soundtrack. He co-wrote "All in My Head" which was featured in episode one of the hit TV sitcom "Scrubs." Mullins also co- wrote the Zac Brown Band's No. 1 country tune "Toes." In early 2002, he formed super group The Thorns with Matthew Sweet and Peter Droge. Mullins' most recent album My Stupid Heart, was released in 2015, the theme of which, Mullins says, can be summed up most succinctly by the song title, "It All Comes Down To Love," the guiding force behind just about every song on the album.

Mullins is currently embarking on a recording project in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the release of his album Soul's Core, which came out July 17, 1998!

He always performs songs from Soul's Core in his live sets including "Lullaby" (Rockabye), "Gulf of Mexico,""Twin Rocks Oregon," "Shimmer" and "Anchored in You". The song arrangements have evolved through the years as he continues to perform them live and grow as an artist.

For the 20th anniversary, Shawn will revisit the music on Soul's Core and record two new versions of the album. He is calling this Soul's Core Revival. This is not a remix or a remaster of the original, but rather brand new recordings with new arrangements of the songs -- one album will be new stripped down solo performances, some on guitar, some on piano and maybe one a cappella and the second will be a new studio recording with his full band, Soul Carnival.

Mullins has partnered with PledgeMusic to reach out to fans to join him in the process of making these records. Supporters of the project can take part by pre-ordering a download of the records, signed CDs, high-quality vinyl, a live guitar or vocal lesson online with Shawn, Soul's Core Revival swag -- t-shirts, caps, mugs and sweatshirts, a visit to the studio while he records the albums, a personalized Platinum record plaque of Soul's Core, handwritten lyrics to "Lullaby" -- these and many more options to participate in the making of these records are available on the Shawn Mullins PledgeMusic page at www.pledgemusic.com/projects/shawn-mullins.

Multi-instrumentalist-singer-songwriter Larry Campbell and singer-guitarist Teresa Williams' acclaimed eponymous 2015 debut, released after seven years of playing in Levon Helm's band -- and frequent guesting with Phil Lesh, Little Feat, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, brought to the stage the crackling creative energy of a decades-long offstage union. A whirlwind of touring and promo followed, and when the dust cleared, the duo was ready to do it all again. Which brings us to Contraband Love, a riskier slice of Americana.

Larry, who produced Contraband Love, says, "I wanted this record to be a progression, bigger than the first one. That's all I knew. I wanted the songwriting to be deeper, the arrangements more interesting, the performances more dynamic. Specifically how to get there, I didn't know. I did know the songs were different. The subject matter was darker than anything else I've written."

"More painful!" Teresa says, and laughs.

"Yeah," Larry says with a smile. "I'm proud of our debut, but I felt like the songs were lighter than what I'm capable of doing. As a songwriter, I aspire to a sense of uniqueness: this is a great song and it could only have been written by me. I want to get there. It's a journey, a goal, a pursuit. The mechanics of that pursuit are figuring out what you need to do to surpass your last body of work."

Although it was not his conscious intent, three of the eight tunes Campbell penned for Contraband Love deal either obliquely or directly with various emotions surrounding addiction. For the blues rocking "Three Days in A Row," he authoritatively delves into the crucial first seventy-two hours directly following an addict going cold turkey in an effort to get clean. "I was thinking about the things I've quit in my life," he says. "The last time was cigarettes. I remembered the dreams I had in withdrawal." Vintage-sounding country nugget "Save Me from Myself" (featuring Little Feat's Bill Payne on piano) explores a troubled soul's heartrending knowledge that they are hard to love. "I've certainly felt both sides of that situation," Larry says, "and observed it many times." Delicate waltz "Contraband Love," a captivating vocal showcase for Teresa, takes on the other side of the story, when a parent (or spouse, or friend, etc.) realizes their only recourse for dealing with an addict is merely to stand "with arms wide open." Of this remarkable piece, Larry says, "That melody would not leave me alone. It's one of the more unique songs I've ever written."

"Larry's writing this stuff," Teresa says, "and we're naming off all the people in our lives who are currently going through this (addiction and loss) with a loved one, not to mention the family members and friends we've lost in the past from this affliction. That may have driven him. One of my oldest, most intimate friends -- a functioning substance abuser since he was a teenager -- died on the street in New York while we were in the studio. We dedicated the album to him."

"The stuff of loss resonates," Larry says.

Musically, Contraband Love revisits the Americana textures of the duo's debut, deftly channeling Memphis, Chicago, the Delta, and Appalachia with equal assurance. Larry's world-famous guitar work -- scorching here, funky there, stellar always -- punctuates the proceedings with riveting emotion, often like a third voice weighing in on a myriad of emotional states.

The barnburner leadoff single, "Hit and Run Driver," is a harrowing-but-rocking survivor's tale, showcasing longtime drummer and engineer/mixer Justin Guip.

To leaven out the darker tunes, Larry and Teresa added a recording of the reassuring Carl Perkins country classic "Turn Around," with old friend and mentor Levon Helm, captured on drums shortly before his passing. Jaunty folk blues "My Sweetie Went Away," features new bass player Jesse Murphy doubling on tuba for a distinctly New Orleans feel; traditional gutbucket country blues "Delta Slide," is spiced with irresistible, harmonized yodeling.

"Stylistically, there's a lot of different things going on," Larry says. "So the sequencing was difficult. But I think I got it right."

Indeed. Contraband Love stands as a new, bolder chapter in a story that arose triumphantly joyous from loss. "When Levon died," Teresa says, "that put Larry into high gear. He'd already had his head set about making a record, but then it felt like a train took off! We just said, 'life is short.'"

Another motivator for creating Contraband Love was the experience of taking the Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams show out on the road, as a duo, with a band, and opening for Jackson Browne (who loaned them his band). "It felt fabulous and fantastic," Larry says. "After I met Teresa (in the mid 80s), I'd be out with Bob Dylan [Larry toured with the Nobel laureate for eight years] and something was missing. I gotta gig, and it's what I always wanted, but it's not my stuff, and it's not with the person I want to be with. And then, when we got a taste of being a performing duo at the Rambles with Levon, the idea that we could expand on that was completely alluring.

"So virtually everything we've done musically since I left Dylan's band, we've been asked to do together: Levon, Phil and Friends, Jorma and Jack, Little Feat; we've done it all as a unit, a duo, and it's great. It's rewarding on a lot of levels. The way I see it, when Teresa and I are together, doing our material for people who come to see us, then everything I ever wanted out of life is pretty well complete."

Much like gumbo, the famous dish of their hometown, the New Orleans-born Cowboy Mouth uses a potent blend of musical ingredients - rock, blues, punk, funk, country, pop, soul and whatever else feels good -- to create their bodacious, kickass tunes. Frontman, drummer, and co-founder Fred LeBlanc has asserted "if The Neville Brothers and The Clash had a baby, it would be Cowboy Mouth." His description not only reflects the group's amazing diverse sound, but it also conveys the fire and commitment they bring to their music.

Cowboy Mouth has perfected their wonderfully rambunctious style over the band's three decades together. During that time, they have sold over a half a million albums domestically, performed before more than 10 million people, and played over 3,000 concerts. These relentless road warriors built their reputation and developed their devoted fan base through powerhouse live performances (frequently averaging 250 gigs a year). "With every show, no matter where it is, we try to turn it into New Orleans during the middle of Mardi Gras," LeBlanc proclaims. "It's like a southern gospel revival without the religion" -- unless your religion is rock 'n' roll!

Cowboy Mouth formed in 1990, and their festive, free-wheeling style stood in sharp contrast to the then-popular grunge sound. In 1996, the band signed with MCA and their major label debut, Are You With Me?, spawned their biggest hit, "Jenny Says," which cracked the top 40 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock and Alternative Rock charts. Their tunes have appeared in films ranging from the crime drama The Underneath (which featured them performing on screen) to the family comedy Meet The Robinsons. After doing several more albums on MCA Records and then Atlantic Records, Cowboy Mouth has continued to get their music to the people with a series of well-received independent and self-released albums.

New Orleans and Louisiana have always been special places for Cowboy Mouth, who are inductees in The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame. Their tune, "Mardi Gras State Of Mind," featuring another NOLA luminary Big Sam Williams (of Big Sam's Funky Nation) on trombone, delivers a joy-filled, footloose tribute to the world-famous carnival.

LeBlanc (previously of the punkabilly band Dash Rip Rock) and former Red Rocker guitarist John Thomas Griffith have been guiding Cowboy Mouth from the very beginning. Bassist Brian "Bruiser" Broussard joined the group in 2014, and quickly developed a telepathic groove with drummer LeBlanc (Broussard, by the way, is a beermaster too). The band's newest member is Frank (aka Frankie G) Grocholski, who has teamed up with Griffith to create a formidable two-man guitar army.

The phrase "Cowboy Mouth" typically is defined as "one with a loud and raucous voice," and the term fits the band too. This is especially true for their legendary live performances that have been described as celebratory, life-affirming experiences possessing the ability to save souls. The galvanizing connection between band and fans is one reason Cowboy Mouth has stayed strong for so many years. LeBlanc, however, offers another explanation: "bullheaded tenacity and determination, with a pretty healthy dose of faith."

Years before Americana music earned its own category at the Grammy Awards, Steve Forbert helped pioneer the genre's mix of folk, roots-rock, and richly delivered storytelling. He's been a torchbearer of that sound for more than four decades since, navigating the twists and turns of an acclaimed career that's taken him from gold records to Grammy nominations, from New York City's CBGB to Nashville's Bluebird Cafe, from his 1978 debut album to 2022's vital and versatile Moving Through America.

"I'm not trying to refine or reimagine what I do," says Forbert, a longtime road warrior who continues to spend the bulk of each year onstage, on the road, and in the writing room. "This is a continuation. I'm telling new stories, but my focus has always been the same. It's always been about the songs."

The songs take centerstage once again with Moving Through America. Filled with character portraits and quirky insights, the album unfolds like a mosaic of modern-day American life, delivered by someone who's been crisscrossing the country for nearly half a century. With an author's nuance and a humorist's wit, Forbert offer glimpses into the everyday lives of his characters: a dog running from the sky's thunderclaps; a Houston man preparing to take his girlfriend out for fried oysters; a former drug dealer celebrating his freedom after incarceration; a road-tripping motorist steadily making his way across the midwest. Forbert inhabits each character, turning their storylines into first-person narratives that blur the lines between subject and scribe. Backed by the same band that appeared on his collection of cover songs, Early Morning Rain, in 2020, he sounds every bit as spirited as he did in the late 1970s, back when he left his hometown of Meridian, Mississippi, and headed to New York in search of new horizons.

"I was a fan of the Byrds and the Lovin' Spoonful," he recalls of those early years up north, "but I also loved the singer/songwriters from that era. Country music, too. Gram Parsons was a real touchstone for me, and there wasn't a name yet that could encompass all those sounds. I wanted to keep that sound alive with my own music, and I didn't care that this was the late 1970s in New York City. I watched pop music go through a lot of changes, particularly in the eighties, but it never made me want to change what I was doing. I was making music that sounded like the way I felt."

His unwavering work ethic soon paid off. "Romeo's Tune," a track from Forbert's 1979 breakthrough, Jackrabbit Slim, became a hit, climbing to Number 11 in the U.S. and pushing its accompanying album to gold status. When New Wave bands began to dominate the FM airwaves several years later, Forbert stuck to his guns, continuing to fly the flag for organic roots music that proudly blurred the lines between genres. Releasing 20 albums in twice as many years, he has remained prolific well into the 21st century, serving as an elder statesman of Americana music while still writing music that's spry and steadfast. He's also a member of the Mississippi Music Hall of Fame, author of the lauded memoir Big City Cat: My Life in Folk-Rock, and a Grammy nominee for his tribute to Jimmie Rodgers, Any Old Time. Meanwhile, his older songs continue to resonate in today's world, with Keith Urban recording his own version of "Romeo's Tune" on the artist's platinum-certified album Greatest Hits: 18 Kids.

Moving Through America marks a new chapter in a story that's still unfolding. These are songs for the head, the heart, and the heartland, from the acoustic funky-tonk of "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" to the Tom Petty-worthy "Say Hello to Gainesville," which salutes the head Heartbreaker himself. It's an album that celebrates the art found in the everyday, created by a legacy songwriter with plenty of fuel left in the tank. Steve Forbert is still moving through America, and with his latest album, he takes us with him.

"Here's to life!" Fans around the world can be found singing the chorus of the Roger Clyne-penned fan favorite "Mekong" and toasting their glasses in unison to celebrate life through rock-n-roll. But the inspiration for the song dates back to the time Roger went to Taipei, Taiwan, as a college student to teach English during the day and busk with his guitar at night for money.

Today, as Clyne prepares to record his 11th studio album, he continues to transform his life experiences, inspirations, observations and his own muses into timeless music. And whether he's wearing his Converse high tops, boots or sandals, Clyne's blend of punk rock, country-western and mariachi influences have made him, drummer PH Naffah, guitarist Jim Dalton and bassist Nick Scropos -- collectively known as Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers -- one of America's best live rock-n-roll bands.

Starting with the seminal Tempe quartet, The Refreshments, Clyne and Naffah put the fun in rock during the 90s grunge era with a sense of humor. They also started what would become a trademark sound on all future albums by adding mariachi horns, something Clyne was influenced by while in college studying Cultural Anthropology with an ethnography study of mariachis during a three month immersion stay with a local family in Ensenada, Mexico.

The Refreshments' debut album, "Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy," became a cult classic. It produced the alternative radio hit "Banditos" which also had significant airplay on MTV and earned The Freshies an appearance on The Conan O'Brien Show. Clyne then penned and performed the theme song for the Mike Judge animated TV series, King of Hill. In 2017, Here's to Life: The story of The Refreshments, was released. The feature-length documentary was a hit with fans and critics alike.

Changes within their record label and internal band issues resulted in Clyne and Naffah going on a vision quest of sorts in the Whetstone Mountains near the Clyne Ranch in Southeastern Arizona. It was there that Clyne found inspiration in the rolling hills and the jukeboxes of small town taverns that still played Marty Robbins and Johnny Cash -- music he had shed from his youth in favor of bands like Camper Van Beethoven & They Might Be Giants. But after reconnecting with those old country records, Clyne and Naffah wrote and recorded under a new moniker what would become Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers' debut album, "Honky Tonk Union."

The album was the perfect combination of classic rock and twang, and fans immediately connected with it. Their independent release, "Honky Tonk Union," debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's internet sales chart in 1999 prompting a call from a Billboard exec to their Manager demanding, " Who the hell is Roger Clyne and why is he #1 on my chart?!" beating out much better known artists

RCPM released eight more albums that landed in the top ten of Billboard's Internet Sales Chart, including a No. 1 debut for their third album, "Americano!" -- all without the backing of a major record label and while flying under the radar of commercial radio.

In 2019, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers were inducted into the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame, joining the likes of fellow Arizona legends Alice Cooper, Buck Owens, Glen Campbell, Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt and Waylon Jennings.

Later that fall, RCPM was invited by a man who, like Roger, also knows a little something about tequila and throwing big parties in Mexico. The band headlined Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo Cantina on the eve of Hagar's weekend birthday celebration.

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers have curated their own annual music festival, Circus Mexicus, in the sleepy beach town of Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, which draws thousands of fans from around the world. The festival not only has a major impact on the local economy, but charity events hosted by the band and fans alike help raise money for a local orphanage, support local youth sports and help feed shelter animals.

Clyne not only sings about life in the border-lands, he also produces his own ultra-premium spirit, Mexican Moonshine Tequila (soon to be re-named Canción Tequila). Owned by the entire band, it was the official tequila at the Arizona Diamondbacks Chase stadium in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Started in 2011, the award-winning spirit is distributed in multiple states as well as Sonora, Mexico.

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers have toured all over the US and achieved a faithful following through hard work and great music. They have done this all while being independent, without the safety net of a label or a label's radio promotion department. Dubbed "The Springsteen of the Southwest," by the Asbury Park Press. The band delivers exciting live performances that garner declarations like the one from emcee Jay Peterman of the Seinfeld TV show at Alice Cooper's annual Christmas Pudding event, "Young man, you light that stage a-flame!"

Moonchild are a LA-based multi-instrumentalists Amber Navran, Max Bryk, and Andris Mattson. In 2015, they signed to Tru Thoughts and officially released their album 'Please Rewind' on the Brighton imprint. This was greeted with an overwhelming response and the album racked up reviews in specialist music magazines: Echoes & Jazz Thing, and radio spins from Gilles Peterson (BBC 6Music), Don Letts (BBC 6Music) and Robert Elms (BBC Radio London). The album's first single "The Truth" acquired 1.5 million Spotify streams, and their second offering "Don't Wake Me" was featured as KCRW's 'Today's Top Tune'. Releasing "The Truth" (DJ Jazzy Jeff & James Poyser remix) earlier this year to great acclaim, Moonchild are set to release their new album 'Voyager' on 26th May via Tru Thoughts.

In the short space of three years, Moonchild have released two acclaimed albums, and collaborated or played live with many notable names in the soul-jazz scene including Stevie Wonder, Jill Scott, India.Arie, Leela James, The Internet, Kamasi Washington and more. Attracting international tastemaker support from the likes of Gilles Peterson (BBC 6 Music), WHUR-DC, KCRW and LA 102.3, the band have also found themselves being praised by a host of iconic artists including Jill Scott, Robert Glasper, Laura Mvula, James Poyser, Jazzy Jeff, Jose James and Tyler, The Creator.

Speaking of Stevie Wonder, in 2014 Moonchild were swept off their feet by an unimaginable offer; they were called up by DJ Kevin Nash from Stevie Wonder's radio station L.A. 102.3 KJLH and offered the chance to open for Wonder in 24 hours' time. Wonder later told the band that he had heard their music the day before and loved it so much that he ordered the radio station to invite them as performers for his House Full of Toys Benefit Concert.

Since infiltrating LA's iconic music scene, Moonchild only have positive things to say about their involvement and how it inspires them. Andris affirms that "There's so much good music coming out of LA right now, a real creative energy surrounding the city". Moonchild's sound epitomises the LA mix of intricate, progressive musicality with the classic laid-back and blissful sound with which the West Coast has been associated across the decades.

'Voyager' follows two years after their widely-praised album 'Please Rewind', marking a new level of maturity in the band's sound. Recorded in a series of sessions in a cabin at Lake Arrowhead, California, Moonchild blend their trademark style of soul and new-school jazz whilst exploring themes of relationships. "Voyager is also the name of the satellite that has music on it -- which is cool" Amber adds.

Last year the band supported The Internet and Kamasi Washington on their US tours. Since finishing the new album, the band are looking forward to announcing a string of tour dates across USA, Europe and Asia. "We feel like we progress and get better with each album and we're really excited to put this out." Andris enthuses.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paul Cebar cut his teeth musically in the coffeehouse folk scene of the mid-'70s in Milwaukee. First paying gigs took place in late '76 with an emphasis on solo recasting of small combo jump-blues and other early R&B. Upon graduation from New College in Sarasota, Florida, with a thesis addressing rhythm & blues varieties featuring a hearty emphasis on Louis Jordan and Buddy Johnson, Cebar dedicated himself to trodding the boards in earnest and spent substantial amounts of time testing the waters out New York way while exploring band dynamics with a soul and New Orleans-minded crew called the R&B Cadets back home. The Cadets ranged about from 1980 to 1986 and featured the grand original tunes of John Sieger alongside the winning assortment of B sides and obscurities that were the fruits of Cebar's research. Concurrently, he kept alive the spark of his solo work with a small group which came to be known as The Milwaukeeans. Throughout the early 80s, this combo featured Rip Tenor on tenor sax, Alan Anderson on upright bass, Robyn Pluer on vocals and Paul on acoustic guitar and vocals, and drew most of its repertoire from '30s, '40s and '50s jazz and R&B.

With the demise of the Cadets in mid-1986, Cebar and Pluer, Tenor and Anderson welcomed drummer Randy Baugher and early Cadet saxophonist/vocalist Juli Wood to a new dance-floor fortified version of The Milwaukeeans which reflected Paul's ongoing and deepening fascination with African, Latin American and Caribbean rhythm & blues analogues. Rambling about the Midwest for the remainder of the '80s with occasional forays east and south, The Milwaukeeans began to rely more and more upon the original material that began to emerge in the aftermath of years of interpolation and grappling with favorites.

The first studio album, "That Unhinged Thing," which was culled from a number of years of recording, finally saw the light of day in 1993. It sparked a wider itinerary in the touring department, with initial forays to the west coast and Canada, as well as returns to the east and south. Following the release of the record and six months of touring, founding member and estimable vocalist Robyn Pluer left the band to attend to le private life.

Rebuffing the command of the record label, Shanachie, that he add a female vocalist, Cebar and cohorts ventured forth into the storm without a label umbrella for what turned into two years of enthusiastic touring with much attendant hand-wringing. Finally, they landed on the shores of a little label that could (for awhile), Don't Records, a Milwaukee-based, heart-driven indie. In the summer of '95, they set about making "Upstroke for the Downfolk," while upon its release in the fall of that year began to make inroads at adult album alternative radio outlets nationwide. The single "Didn't Leave Me No Ladder" ushered the fellows to a new level of visibility and the vans rolled on.

A six-song EP, "I Can't Dance For You," followed in the spring of '96 and was superseded by "The Get-Go," a full-length recording released in the fall of '97. Radio support was more sporadic, though the fan corps kept growing. But halfway through '98, Don't's distributor declared bankruptcy and its inventory was impounded. With its merchandise out of reach, Don't found it increasingly difficult and ultimately impossible to carry on.

In 2001, 15 1/2 years into the dance band incarnation of The Milwaukeeans, the fellows presented, "Suchamuch",a long-requested live album recorded at Martyr's in Chicago and continued to offer their multifarious wares to all and sundry. The present day incarnation of Tomorrow Sound took shape with the arrival (8 years back) of bassist, Mike Fredrickson, joining 22 year veterans Reggie Bordeaux on drums and Bob Jennings on saxophones and keyboards.

The peripatetic pageant continues unabated with renewed focus on "the song " in the context of the increasingly forceful rhythmic exploration that is at the heart of Cebar's quest. Stripping back to 4 pieces has opened up space for the understated command of Bob Jennings' keyboard and saxophonic thinking. Field Marshall Cebar's pithy guitar musing comes to the fore building upon the muscular rhythmic lattice laid by Reggie and Mike. With an ever-deepening appreciation for the funk and the polyglot rhythmic conception that is their trademark, Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound said More! More! More! in 2004. Way to thrive in 2005! Dipped their wicks in 2006, Partied like '11 in 2007, and have their wild heads on straight in 2008. Fine fine Fine into 2009! funked it again and again and again and again in '10, made like 2107 in '11, and have packed up the worry they shelved in '12, incorporated the added vim they were flirtin' with in '13 and are full-on sportin' A-team in '18

Presently spreading the word with their gangling, headlong and insouciant record,"FINE RUDE THING", Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound want and need you to come on out and help them get down.

Many musicians have graced the stage with Paul in the course of the aforementioned wander. He'd like to thank them all again for the loving spirit they brought to bear on the music. A partial list would include: Rip Tenor, Alan Anderson, Robin Pluer, Guy Hoffman, Juli Wood, Randy Baugher, Peter Roller, Tony Jarvis, Greg Tardy, Mac Perkins, Paul Scher, Michael Kashou, Michael Walls, Ethan Bender,Patrick Patterson, Romero Beverly and the present day crew, Bob Jennings, Reggie Bordeaux,and Mike Fredrickson. Viva le Musicianers!!!!!!!

If you Google "Capelton Hill," you won't find much. The search engine will correct and redirect you: did you mean Mapleton Hill? Capelton Hill is a place that somehow still exists outside the grasp of algorithms and internet surveillance, in the rolling green foothills around North Hatley, Quebec. Without people who know the place, it basically wouldn't exist. But those who know it won't know it forever; their times will end, and their knowledge of and relationship to Capelton Hill will end as well.

This includes the members of Canadian band Stars, whose connections to North Hatley trace back to when vocalist Torquil Campbell's grandfather built homes in the area in the late 1800s. For bandmates Campbell, Amy Millan, Chris Seligman, Evan Cranley, and Patty McGee, Capelton Hill is a place where things don't change. The same scrappy chairs sit on the porch year after year, the same ancient stove haunts the kitchen, and old wood boards grow pale under the sun.

But around these things, people grow and age: the years march on, unforgiving, and remind us that like our parents and grandparents, we too will no longer exist here. The impossibly vivid explosions of emotion we feel for these places, which seem like some cosmic, universal force, will disappear.

The new record from Stars is about this place, these relationships, the inevitable decay of them all, and the joy and life that happens in between. It is called From Capelton Hill, a collection of 12 tracks that all, at their root, tie back to North Hatley.

"I guess what From Capelton Hill means to me is from memory, from the past, from a place that seems permanent but isn't, and I think that that sense of impermanence is a big part of what's in the record: realizing that things don't last forever, and that even the things that I thought would be there forever aren't going to be," says Campbell. "Capelton Hill is a place where things in my mind, in my life, they've never changed. And yet it will go."

These hard-won revelations aren't solely the stuff of creeping dread; whether by nature or necessity, they're also coloured on the record with a peaceful acceptance, like watching a world-ending tidal wave cresting and marveling at its magnitude. More than ever, the music on From Capelton Hill feels like a direct channeling of Stars' decades-long pursuit: "This band has always been us trying to navigate what it means to be inside a life that is going to end," says Millan. "And we're getting closer."

The record's cover art tells this story, too. (It marks the first occasion that the members of Stars have been on the cover of a release.) The photo shows the band, dressed to the nines and stern like in an early 1900s family portrait, waist-deep in North Hatley's Lac Massawippi in the pouring rain. The image evinces that which From Capelton Hill will tell listeners: this is Stars at their most courageous and naked.

"What I love about the album," Millan continues, "is that we're chasing the truth of the matter rather than chasing a hook. We're just telling the truth."

The music for From Capelton Hill was composed between Seligman and Cranley over the first half of 2020, and after a first attempt to assemble the record from afar with mixed results, the band convened in Montreal to record with Marcus Paquin and Jace Lasek at Mixart Studios, Lasek's Breakglass Studio, and the band's own space, Zoomer. McGee says that after months of trying to work remotely, once they gathered in a room together, everything clicked--first as friends, then as a working band.

"We're a bunch of fuckin' jokers that get together and play music together, and the emotional spirit of that keeps us going," McGee says. "We always want to be an electronic band, and we always end up being a human band. Those two things always meet."

Campbell agrees: the band's greatest work isn't their recorded output, but the relationships they've built with one another. "Just being together for 20 years is a piece of art in and of itself," he says.

From Capelton Hill begins with tinny dialogue from the 1964 film Seance On A Wet Afternoon : "Your guardian angel has put candles on both your knees; one on each knee." Synths dance across a fading sunset sky before Campbell's voice and McGee's drums swell toward the chorus, buoyed by keys and guitar: "Tell me what the future will be/Take my hands and practice palmistry," Campbell sings.

Lead single "Pretenders" follows, a triumphant, romantic, Thelma and Louise-level commitment to seeing things through, even as the walls close in: "We laid our bets, we made our beds on staying young forever," Millan and Campbell sing in harmony on the soaring indie-anthem chorus. Millan wrote the song's lyrics as a "love letter" to Campbell and the band's origins. "When we wrote all those songs 20 years ago, we were young," says Millan. "That's what being in a band is: you're putting down your chips on feeling young and being young. It doesn't necessarily work out because time does its thing."

"Obviously, we lost that bet," says Campbell. "But we are young in the moment of singing it. That's the incredible thing about music: you are young in the moment of singing that line, even if you're 80."

Elsewhere, "That Girl" is a gentle synth lament, with Millan mourning the person she was, which time has taken from her. "My body is changing so much, your face changes with age, the people that I look at across the stage from me look different," says Millan. "There's already something you've lost just in time passing."

The record closes on the tender, acoustic "Snowy Owl," with Millan and Campbell swapping verses and twinning each other on the choruses. It might be the final chapter in the long, winding book that the two have been writing for decades, about two characters that continue to try to be together but keep destroying one another. Campbell says the song is the epilogue to their stories. "I don't know what comes after," he says. "I just make records about other people and in the end, they turn out to be about me."

In the end, From Capelton Hill is about a group of people who have spent more than 20 years together, and who have now started to face the awful, necessary calculus that each human eventually must do: when will all of this end? The lyrics of "Capelton Hill," in its bittersweet, end-of-season farewell to the ramshackle house in North Hatley, offer a useful equation: "Close up the house for one more year, wave to the lake and drive away/That feeling in your chest, it isn't fear, it's just the passing of the day."

When Alexa Dirks started describing her latest album as Begonia, Powder Blue, she turns to vivid imagery: her baby blanket, the airiness of clouds on a summer day, chlorine-filled water in a hotel pool, circa-1970s Elvis Presley wearing an ill-fitting jumpsuit, her collection of faded denim jackets. "Powder Blue is more of an emotion," explains the Winnipeg, Canada, native. "The name of this album needed to be something that encompasses all of the feelings that these songs give me when they are put together. When I listen to them as a unit, they send me back to the words, the color."

Fittingly, Powder Blue's music feels timeless and classic, as well as eclectic. Trip-hop beats and propulsive grooves pulse throughout the album, shadowing Dirks' stunning voice; she alternates between a dusky croon and an expressive, belting delivery. The album nods to vintage soul ("I'm Not Dying," "Crying") sunny R&B ("Bleeding Heart") and soaring balladry ("Chasing Every Sunrise"). Yet the album is firmly in the realm of contemporary music: Standout "The Only One" is modern, keyboard-polished pop that features Dirks' most powerful vocal performance on the album.

Begonia has exhibited such power since emerging into the Canadian music scene on the strength of her critically acclaimed 2017 EP Lady In Mind and her 2019 debut full-length album, Fear. The latter was nominated for a JUNO Award for Adult Alternative Album Of The Year and was longlisted for The Polaris Music Prize. Songs from the album were also heard in numerous productions on Netflix & Oprah Winfrey Network, and NPR named Begonia as one of 10 Artists You Need to Know.

Fear is a deeply personal album bursting with ruminations on solitude, self-doubt, anxiety, and panic, all bundled up in that serene feeling that comes with an artist fully embracing their past and present self. Although Powder Blue's lyrics do mention specific situations--"NYE 2013" describes vivid heartbreak at a memorable party--the album wrestles with life's thornier moments in more evocative ways.

"Crying" espouses embracing defiance in the face of harsh criticism and pigeonholing, while the narrator of "I'm Not Dying" has finally realized they'll be okay after a breakup. On the flipside is "Married By Elvis," where a couple embraces unconventionality, and "Chasing Every Sunrise," which describes a tender and vulnerable (if imperfect) relationship.

With Powder Blue, Dirks is also trying to let go of needing concrete lyrical definition. "I still feel like I have to be like, 'Let me explain to you exactly where I was coming from,' even though I don't always want to do that," she says. "I don't want to tell people how they should feel or what they should think when they listen to the music."

Powder Blue emerged during a challenging time for Dirks, as she was navigating emotional ups and downs. "Some of it was written when I'm feeling lower than I ever have in my life," she confesses. "And then some of it was written through all these different waves of taking care of myself--and then not taking care of myself."

Despite the turmoil from which it emerged, Powder Blue represents Dirks feeling settled by coming to terms with her past and present. "The last record I wrote felt a bit more frantic," she says. "And it's so interesting that this was all written during the time of pandemic, amidst a sense of loss and longing, but it doesn't feel as frantic to me. Even the name Powder Blue, it feels like a bit calmer even though there are still moments of release. There is a sense of calm in the unknown."

Marty Ross is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who is best known for his role in the TV series the New Monkees, as a member of the power pop band The Wigs and as a singer in 2018 through 2022 with the legendary west coast session players The Wrecking Crew.

Ross was born in Eugene, Oregon. His mother Margaret, born in England, was a folk singer, his father Gordon was a professor of history at Rockford College, now known as Rockford University. Ross became proficient at the tenor banjo by his 5th birthday and learned to play the guitar at 6 years old. He was influenced by his mother's folk harmonies and his Uncle Bob Fisher's (his mom's brother) sense of rock and roll. Fisher quit the band he was in to move from England to live with the Ross family in the late 1960s in Rockford, Illinois. The band he quit would go on to become the popular rock band Mott The Hoople. Ross was schooled in Rockford and during his father's sabbatical Ross went to high school in London, United Kingdom, Barcelona, Spain then returned to finish schooling in Rockford. It was in Spain that Ross learned flamenco guitar which eventually became part of his style of play. Following high school graduation, he enrolled at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois majoring in music but before the end of his freshman year moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to begin his music career. In Milwaukee he joined the power pop band The Wigs. The band's album File Under Pop Vocal was a regional hit. He later auditioned for and was offered a part in the pop rock music group New Monkees and in the television series of the same name.

As a member of The Wigs, Ross appeared in the motion picture My Chauffeur and sang on camera the song "Fire!" which he wrote. Jim Cushinery of The Wigs wrote seven songs for the film making the band's contribution to the film a total of eight songs. The soundtrack to My Chauffeur was released in June 2013. Ross also performed a song for the film Murphy's Law, produced three songs and performed a cover of the Deep Purple classic "Hush" for the movie "Stateside" and the opening theme for Kounterfeit. Ross wrote and produced songs for the feature films "Mod Squad","The Runner" and many others. He can also be heard singing in the Showtime movie "Noriega: Gods Favorite ". Ross teamed with Randy Gerston to produce for the movie Blair Witch Project the single mix of " The Order Of Death" by Public Image Limited. Ross co-wrote a song with composer Billy Sullivan for the documentary film Platoon: Brothers in Arms. In 2019 Ross co-wrote a song with composer Billy Sullivan for the film The Truth About Marriage.

Ross appeared in the 1987 syndicated musical situation comedy television series New Monkees produced by Columbia Pictures Television. The producers selected him for one of the four leading roles after auditioning over 5,000 people. The series was produced by Bob Rafelson, Burt Scheneider and Steve Blauner of the original TV show The Monkees. After the show was cancelled Ross rejoined Jim Cushinery and Bobby Tews from The Wigs to form the band 57 Braves. He eventually shifted his career from a live performer to one of a music composer for film and TV. He provided songs for over 300 episodes of television including, but not limited to traditional music from different and varied musical cultures throughout the world. These instrumentals proved to be useful in many shows including Nash Bridges, Soldier Of Fortune, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, The Ricki Lake Show, CBS Sports, Fame Fortune and Romance, Home Videos of The Stars and numerous TV movies.

Southbound will bring forth their special blend of Southern Rock that Southeast Wisconsin has enjoyed for more than 30 years. Southbound specializes in classic, blues, and southern rock with a jam-based groove. With a reputation of producing authentic versions of the best rock music in history, Southbound maintains the integrity of music they cover while adding a touch of their own originality and improvisation. Southbound has enjoyed much success in the Midwest performing in front of large audiences and high-profile concerts. Southbound has built an extraordinary following which appeals to a wide range of music lovers who appreciate great rock and roll.

"Southbound is like the house band for the entire city of Milwaukee, playing practically every week at bars, clubs, and festivals, as well as traveling throughout the state. Though the group packs its sets with crowd-pleasing covers, Southbound recorded a CD of original compositions. So, in addition to works by the Allman Brothers (whose "Southbound" inspired this band's name), the Grateful Dead, and the Rolling Stones, fans can now shout for Southbound's own material..." -- The Onion.

"The knock on 'cover bands' - groups that play songs written by others - is that lack of original material (whatever that means) automatically assigns them second-class status. The sentiment ignores the fact that much of today's 'post modern,' 'Information Age' music -- sample based electronic and hip-hop, for example - is culled, with varying degrees of legality, from previously recorded or written material. It also fails to recognize that some cover bands please crowds by combining accessible material with top-notch musicianship, including improvisation within cover songs. The members of the local band Southbound, who play tunes by the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Doors and others, aren't exactly losing sleep over the cover band label." -- Milwaukee Magazine

A Milwaukee institution, The Sociables live show draws a devoted following and has an uncanny ability to relate to those with a love of music. The Sociables have opened for Molly Hatchet, REO Speedwagon, Foghat, Marshall Tucker Band, George Thorogood, Kansas, the Outlaws, and many more. The Sociables have been nominated for the WAMI "Top Cover Rock Band" category numerous times. "The group strives to be a Southern Rock powerhouse and has, in turn, gained the respect of the artists who made this music popular," from the VanZant Brothers. Bobby Ingham & Phil McCormick from Molly Hatchet stated, "If it wasn't for bands like the Sociables our music may not be in such demand in the Milwaukee area." Doug Grey from The Marshall Tucker Band has been a friend for a long time and has also provided positive comments on the band. Most of the national acts always wonder why The Sociables are not out nationally.

"I try to take things I love and use them in a new way," said triple Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Peter Case of his 16th solo album Doctor Moan. Case brings his considerable songwriting ability to an 11-song collection, largely performed on piano, including his first solo recorded instrumental. Released by Sunset Blvd Records on March 31, Case's piano-based songs are emotionally, sonically and stylistically rich.

As a founding member of the early punk era trio The Nerves, in 1977 Case toured the nation sharing bills with the Ramones, Mink DeVille, Pere Ubu, and Devo. The Nerves single "Hanging on the Telephone," was covered by Blondie. In 1979, Case formed the Plimsouls, a record-breaking live act in California, recording albums for Planet/Elektra and Geffen. Their independent single, "A Million Miles Away," entered the Billboard charts and remains a garage rock standard, performed by bands around the world. The band performed in the cult classic film Valley Girl and the Nerves and Plimsouls timeless teenage rock 'n' roll continues to appeal to fans of each new generation.

After the Plimsouls, Case rediscovered his musical roots on his self-titled solo debut, produced by T Bone Burnett. The New York Times declared Peter Case the best album of 1986. It earned a five-star Rolling Stone review and a Grammy nomination. As one of the first songwriters of his generation to turn from rock music toward an acoustic sound, Case also helped usher in what became known as Americana music.

There are singer-songwriters, and there are troubadours. Singer-songwriters are sensitive, polished souls, sharing their journal entries with the world, whereas troubadours do their best just to stay out of jail. In the wake of Ben de la Cour's astonishing new record, Shadow Land, you can add his name to the top of the list of younger troubadours to whom this ever-so-occasionally poisoned chalice is being passed.

Shadow Land shimmers. It's both terrifying and soothing, suffused with honesty, craft and a rare soul-baring fearlessness but with enough surprises to keep the listener guessing. It gets down and dirty with electric guitar but also features Ben's diffident fingerpicking in quieter moments. Ultimately, it is a darkly beautiful meditation on what it means to be human. Ben's voice renders raw emotion with authority as he recounts tales of suspicious characters, lost love, murder, bank robbers, suicide and mental illness against a backdrop of a dark and haunted America.

Ben de la Cour's music has been featured on SiriusXM Outlaw Country, BBC Radio, Paste Magazine and NPR while receiving high praise from American Songwriter, Maverick Magazine, No Depression,Twangville and Dusted Magazine amongst others. He is a former Kerrville New Folk Winner and currently spends over a hundred days a year on the road touring the U.S, Canada, Europe and Australia.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In 2004 The Goddamn Gallows began their rough and tumble voyage and haven't looked in the review mirror since. Leaving six studio albums in their path, they have been reinventing their music with every record. Spit from the heart of America's Rust Belt, arising from a night of flophouse violence. Drifting across the states, they cemented their sound in Portland, OR and later in Los Angeles, CA, where they lived in abandoned buildings, squatter camps, storage units and shoebox apartments. In 2007, they left everything behind and spent the next four years living out of whatever vehicle would get them to the next town. [read more="Read more" less="Read less"]

Building upon their original sound of twanged-out, punk rock "gutterbilly" (Life of Sin 2004 and Gutterbillyblues 2007), they began picking up stray musicians along the way and adding to their sound; washboard, accordion, mandolin and banjo (Ghost of th' Rails 2009 and 7 Devils 2011) creating a sound referred to as "hobocore", "gypsy-punk" or "americana-punk", while never being stuck in any one sound. Enter 2018 and The Goddamn Gallows have reinvented themselves once again with The Trial. From rockabilly, psychobilly and punk rock, to bluegrass and metal, The Trial infuses disparate sounds into a new strange recipe of seamless genre bending profundities. Chock full of impromptu antics of the shocking variety and hauntingly eclectic instrumentation, The Goddamn Gallows have made legions of fans with their legendary, live shows. The Goddamn Gallows, takes their progression of mixing punk rock, bluegrass, psychobilly, and metal to a whole new level! The Goddamn Gallows have now partnered with Sailor's Grave Records to help deliver the next chapter of their legacy to the world. The Trial begins now.

Brothers Joshua and Jeremiah Zimmerman and their band The Silent Comedy know trouble. Facing that trouble head on permeates their work. Rough-hewn, expansive American rock & roll with dirt under its nails and whiskey on its breath, the music of The Silent Comedy channels the iron spine of the blues, Honky-Tonk sweat, and punk swagger into a euphoric declaration that when trouble rears its worrisome head it's time to crack knuckles, lock arms, and lift our voices high.

The brothers spent their formative years traveling the world with missionary parents before settling in California. In search of catharsis, the teens found solace in songwriting and stage lights. The young band proved capable of raucous shows and word spread. Years of touring followed, performing with Dave Matthews Band, Queens of the Stone Age, Mumford and Sons, Arctic Monkeys, and Vampire Weekend, and festival plays at Bonnaroo, Wakarusa, Under The Big Sky, Summer Meltdown and more.

The band recorded and self-released a series of albums including Sunset Stables (LP), The Silent Comedy (EP), Common Faults (LP) and Cruelty & Clemency (EP). Studio collaborations with Kris Kristofferson and members of Dave Matthews Band followed. Still, the brothers weren't satisfied. They needed to capture the magic of their live show. They found the answer in Grammy-nominated producer Chris "Frenchie" Smith (...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Jet, The Darkness). The resulting sessions led to a body of work that includes the EP Friends Divide and LP Enemies Multiply.

The brothers channeled a time of conflict into Enemies Multiply. Born of a rough patch in the Zimmerman's lives, it was too personal, too raw. The project was shelved. As the United States entered a period of elevated tensions and discord in 2016, the band decided to revisit the album and release it on their own "I realized that the feeling of this type of era in history is what we wrote this music for." Joshua recalls.

Near the end of recording Enemies Multiply Joshua found himself struggling with an acute mental health crisis. After a tour of Europe, the band took a hiatus. Joshua returned to visual storytelling, filming and directing content for television including material for the series Vikings and Wild Crime. Jeremiah channeled his talent for songwriting and production into scoring and sound design for television and podcasts (including breakout Stephen King project Strawberry Spring).

This time away from the band has sparked a creative renaissance. After six years spent on opposite coasts the brothers find themselves both living in Nashville, TN. Collaboration on film opened new artistic doors. "We are writing together in a different way now" explains Joshua. "The guard rails have been taken off a bit."

As was the case with Enemies Multiply, the churn of contemporary reality has driven The Silent Comedy to action. While their lyrics are often focused on the darker side of humanity, they also bring catharsis and comfort to people who find themselves in difficult times. Heeding the call, The Silent Comedy is ready once again to bring their medicine to the masses.

Fittingly, the band's first release in years is a diesel-fueled, anthemic reinterpretation of the Fleetwood Mac classic "The Chain". Recorded at the end of the Enemies Multiply sessions, there is a raw urgency to it that is unique among their recordings; Joshua's mental health crisis peaked during vocal tracking. "Fleetwood Mac was in a period of turmoil when they recorded the original," explains Joshua. "this seems like a fitting tribute in a strange way."

The road these brothers have wandered has been fraught, and not without peril. Yet, the music of The Silent Comedy has always served as a source of comfort in the face of uncertainty, chaos, and despair. "If our music continues to have that effect on anyone at all, then we will be here, making more of it" says Joshua. "Dark songs for dark days."

Stars in their native Australia and cult heroes around the world, the Hoodoo Gurus are a band who blend their passion for '60s and '70s rock & roll with a delight for the joys of pop culture -- vintage exploitation cinema, television comedies, dance crazes, and roadside attractions, among other things. Their songs were usually rooted in classic garage rock, surf, and AM Pop formulas, but with the punch of power pop (especially on 1985's Mars Needs Guitars) and the crunchy guitars of hard rock (especially prominent on 1989's Magnum Cum Louder and 2004's Mach Schau), while the lyrics shifted between sincere contemplations of love and heartache and witty celebrations of all that was cool and trashy. The excellence of their material and the joyous ferocity of their performances won them a loyal audience that kept them in the game even after four decades together, when they released 2022's Chariot of the Gods.

Singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter Dave Faulkner began putting together the band after he left the Perth proto-punk outfit the Manikins. He soon teamed up with three other musicians on the Perth underground scene -- guitarists Kimble Rendall (formerly of the XL Capris) and Roddy Radalj (who had played with the Scientists) and drummer James Baker (ex-Victims). After comparing notes at a New Year's Eve party, they began working on material and adopted the name Le Hoodoo Gurus. The three-guitar lineup wasted little time, and by October 1982, they had put out their first single, "Leilani," through the Australian indie label Phantom Records. Not long after the record came out, they dropped the "Le" from their name, and the song did well enough to earn the group a few appearances on Australian TV. However, Rendall dropped out and went on to a successful career as a director in film and television. Radalj left in solidarity with Rendall, and to fill out the lineup they brought aboard bassist Clyde Bramley, who played with the Sydney group the Hitmen. Bramley was sharing a flat with Brad Shepherd, the former guitarist with Fun Things, and Bramley soon brought Shepherd into the group.

The Hoodoo Gurus had built enough of a buzz that the Australian label Big Time signed them up, and their first album, Stoneage Romeos (named after a Three Stooges short), was issued in March 1984. The LP went gold in Australia on the strength of the singles "I Want You Back" and "My Girl," and A&M Records licensed it for American release the following September, though their re-sequenced edition was given a drab new cover that did little to attract the eye. Within a few months of Stoneage Romeos appearing in shops, drummer James Baker was fired from the Gurus, and Mark Kingsmill took his place behind the kit. August 1985 brought their second album, Mars Needs Guitars! It peaked on the Australian charts at number five, and would go on to earn triple-platinum status there. In America, Elektra took up the group's contract, and thanks to extensive touring (including several dates opening for the Bangles), the album charted at a respectable number 140 in the States. For 1987's Blow Your Cool!, the group opted for a more polished production and a bit less lyrical eccentricity; the LP charted high in Australia (going all the way to number two) and moved more units in America than Mars Needs Guitars!, while members of the Bangles and the Dream Syndicate pitched in on backing vocals. After the touring cycle for Blow Your Cool! was completed, Clyde Bramley left the band, and Rick Grossman became their new bassist. Unhappy with their record contract, the Hoodoo Gurus filed a lawsuit to win their freedom, which kept them off the road for most of 1988, and it wasn't until mid-1989 that their next album appeared as part of an international deal with BMG. Magnum Cum Louder was produced by the band themselves, and boasted a tougher and more straightforward sound than Blow Your Cool! It went platinum at home, and topped out at number 101 in the U.S. The opening tune, "Come Anytime," would later become the theme song for the Australian TV series Thank God You're Here.

In 1991, the Hoodoo Gurus delivered the album Kinky, which included the hit singles "Miss Freelove '69" and "1000 Miles Away," and earned them another platinum award in Australia. A pair of compilations were issued in 1992; Electric Soup gathered their biggest hits and went triple platinum, while Gorilla Biscuit was devoted to B-sides and rare tracks. Crank was issued in 1994, and was followed by several rounds of international touring, including a number of dates in Brazil, where they had developed a sizable audience. The Hoodoo Gurus parted ways with BMG and signed with Mushroom Records for 1996's Blue Cave, while Zoo Entertainment released it in the United States. An arm injury suffered by Mark Kingsmill forced the band to postpone their touring in support of the LP, and their run of Australian dates didn't end until December 1996. A month later, Dave Faulkner broke the news that the Hoodoo Gurus were breaking up at the end of 1997. After another successful tour of Brazil, the band booked an extensive number of farewell dates that kept them occupied until January 1998. The final tour coincided with another pair of collections from the Gurus' back catalog: Electric Chair was devoted to their more raucous rock & roll numbers, and Armchair Gurus featured ballads and love songs. After the tour was completed, a live album was released, 1998's Bite the Bullet, that featured material from the final shows.

The four members of the group each pursued solo projects, while a career-spanning two disc anthology, Ampology, came out in 2000. By September 2001, Faulkner, Shepherd, Grossman, and Shepherd got the itch to play shows again, and re-formed under the name the Persian Rugs, where they indulged their 1960s rock influences. The Persian Rugs would issue an album in 2003, Turkish Delight, and even contributed a new version of "Be My Guru" to a Hoodoo Gurus tribute album, Stoneage Cameos. The Gurus reunited under their own name in 2003 to record a version of "What's My Scene," rewritten as "What's My Team," for the National Rugby League, with the band's share of the proceeds going to cancer charities. Their eighth studio album, Mach Schau, was released in March 2004; it was produced by Kim Salmon of the Scientists and the Beasts of Bourbon. In 2007, the Australian Recording Industry Association inducted the Hoodoo Gurus into their Hall of Fame, and they did several rounds of international touring, including an Australian "Clash of the Titans" tour where they shared the bill with Radio Birdman and the Stems.

In 2009 the Hoodoo Gurus struck a deal with Sony Music Australia, which resulted in their ninth full-length studio album, 2010's Purity of Essence. In 2012, with their 30th anniversary in sight, the Gurus released another career-spanning compilation, Gold Watch: 20 Golden Greats, which combined 19 favorites from their library along with one new tune. 2014's Gravy Train was a four-song EP that presented fresh recordings of three songs that had to be left off Stoneage Romeos in 1984, as well as a remake of "Leilani." The recordings featured all current and former members of the group, each playing on the songs suitable for their time of membership. The Hoodoo Gurus remained active as a live act over the next 18 years, staging major shows in Australia and occasionally touring elsewhere. The band scheduled a rare North American tour for the fall of 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic led to the shows being rescheduled twice before they were postponed indefinitely. However, they chose to use their time off profitably, and completed their first full-length album since 2010. Featuring 14 songs on CD and with three additional tracks on vinyl, Chariot of the Gods was released in March 2022; the Gurus performed the songs in full in a live streamed concert on March 10, with Australian tours planned for later in the year.

Rooted in Midwest punk rock...

...Bad Year formed in 2019 and calls Milwaukee home. Inspired by heartbreak, angst, and self-reformation, Bad Year injects the scene with anthemic chorus hooks and brutal optimism. In the spirit of promoting positive aspects of empathy and mental health, their cathartic melodies are known for freely inspiring listeners with a sense of mutual understanding and hope. The group put a fresh, more decorated feel on musical incarnations and lived experiences of the past.

Bad Year's groundbreaking debut EP "Handshakes'' received immediate acclaim from listeners and an unmediated Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) Award nomination while the title track's music video gained over 100k views within its first month. The trio refrained from allowing a pandemic to slow their upbeat tempo with their one-off single "Blackout". Keeping the momentum and expanding boundaries of incendiary music composition, "Blackout" was Bad Year's first production with highly sought-after producer, Nick Rad. Ending 2020 on a high note, "A Moment In Time" EP, was released and creates acoustic landscapes of sound that evoke feelings, energies, and memories.

The recent feeling of shared musical experiences has been sorely missed. With the music community recovering from feeling displaced and longing for connection together, these desires will surely be met by this upcoming release. Born from lived experience and forged from the pandemic, the recent singles Killing Me, Paranoid Failure, and The End have exceeded listeners' expectations. The spankin' new EP and singles like Charcoal Black are no exception. We hope our songs help listeners get through hard times because let's admit it, life sucks sometimes.

Expanding our intellectual horizons, shaping relationships, and allowing the lyrical composition process to elegantly represent our experiences are among the endless activities that make us feel alive. Bad Year is not only an outlet for us to express and voice our true emotions that helps heal and improve our lives, but it's a setting where we freely aim our practice to give back to society and help others by making music that others can identify with. As musicians, we hope that our fans experience a sample of the passion and healing that we've experienced through our influences through hard times. We are blessed to continue to have abundant opportunities granted to us and are honored to work together with organizations that promote our shared beliefs. Our goals consist of continuing to share our music in hopes of working together to help spread a love of music, raise mental health awareness, and offer harm reduction and prevention methods to the public. Bad Year is determined to continue spreading love and positivity through our music and friendships.

What makes our band stand out amongst others? We're the only band that's resurrecting a lost art. Pop-Punk has returned on the back of a STALLION named Doubter. If we're not allowed to finish our work, this music will be lost to the withering passage of time; scattered by forces of entropy as our world is destroyed and made new. To us this is music, but to some distant relative of mankind, it will be understood as the idea upon which society rests.

This idea...is Doubter.

Live with us
Laugh with us
Love with us
LEARN with us
and escape the shackling concept of what you THINK music is.
There's only one sure thing in this crazy mixed up world we're living in.... and that's Doubter.

The q is silent.

Hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, tiqmmy combine their influences from emo, pop-punk, hip-hop, and alt-rock to make genre blended songs full of honest lyrics and personal songwriting.

The Keystones are an alternative rock group based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Born in Waukesha, the very same place as the electric guitar, the members of this 3-piece outfit pay homage to the biggest names in 2000s modern rock -- Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, The Strokes, Wallows and Catfish and the Bottlemen -- all while carving out a distinct, indie-alternative stadium sound that brings something entirely new to the genre. With a blend of Brit-indie-grunge and new-age alternative tracks, the band is prepared to do more than just play shows that put audiences on their feet -- they want to make the town that created the guitar as we know it proud.

All shows 21+

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