Upcoming Shows

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root with Dirk Miller

TodaySeptember 18, 20198:00pm $20.00

Rusted Root, the multi-platinum band out of Pittsburgh, evolved around front-man Michael Glabicki's distinct sound and grew into a musical entity that has thrived in a non-genre specific category all its own. In addition to the two decades with Rusted Root, Glabicki is exploring new sounds and opening new doors with his....

Roger Clyne Acoustic - Honky Tonk Union 20 Year Anniversary, Dalton Domino

TomorrowSeptember 19, 20198:00pm $20.00

Bridging the gap between rock & roll, roadhouse Americana, and the music sound of the southwestern United States, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers have carved their own path over the last 25years. They've traveled the world,....

Nobody's Girl, Colin Gilmore

FridaySeptember 20, 20198:00pm $15.00

Hailing from Texas, Alabama, and Georgia respectively, now neighbors in Austin, BettySoo, Grace Pettis, and Rebecca Loebe are bewitching audiences with sumptuous harmonies and unforgettable songwriting. Friends now for a decade, they first met at the legendary Kerrville Folk Festival, each winners of the annual "New Folk"....

Recently Added Shows

George Shingleton

SundayOctober 13, 20198:00pm $15.00

From the first note he sings, George Shingleton doesn't just ask for your attention, he commands it. You sit up and lean in. Then you're blown away by his power. His body is an amplifier ushering rich, stirring tones from deep within his soul sending them straight to yours. Shingleton's energy creates a capsule-like....

3.2 featuring Robert Berry

SundayOctober 20, 20198:00pm $20.00

Roots of a Rebellion

ThursdayOctober 24, 20198:00pm $15.00

Roots of A Rebellion are a jam band from Nashville, TN playing heavy Reggae-Rock-Dub music for the soul. The band is known for their dynamic live performances showing their progressive sound and energy. Having shared the stage with The Wailers, Rebelution, 311, Slightly Stoopid, moe., North Mississippi Allstars, SOJA,....

Yipes!

FridayNovember 1, 20198:00pm $20.00

Launched in late 1977, Yipes crisscrossed the Midwest playing hundreds of shows and logging thousands of miles playing 4 sets a night often 6 nights a week, nearly 300 times a year. The hard work paid off and earned Yipes a record contract with RCA/Millennium Records. Yipes released 2 albums on RCA/Millennium. The....

Corb Lund

TuesdayNovember 12, 20198:00pm $15.00

Hailing from the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada, and with a family lineage of ranchers and rodeo pe ople, Lund is about as authentic as they come. Embracing his Western heritage through his music, Lund has been known to touch on a range of cowboy themes past and present - from rough - and - tumble tales of lawless....

Trigger Hippy

ThursdayNovember 14, 20198:00pm $20.00

30th Anniversary Shank Hall show with Semi Twang and Loey Nelson

SaturdayNovember 23, 20198:00pm $15.000

Maybe Semi-Twang should have tried something else. Back in 1988 when Warner Brothers released their first record, Salty Tears, someone was thinking their kind of country-tinged midcoast rock and roll was sorely needed. That....

Seaside Zoo - Grateful Dead Tribute

WednesdayNovember 27, 20198:00pm $8.00

Seaside Zoo is a Madison, WI tribute to the Grateful Dead. We're comprised of longtime Madison musicians Jonas Pritzl, Tim and Sheryl Hall, and Rob Bloch (formerly of New Speedway Players) with the fresh new twist of Kyle O'Hara and Lucas Trilling (of The Bellybutton Club) and Zach Watson from Milwaukee. The communal....

Samantha Fish

WednesdayDecember 4, 20198:00pm $35.00

Kung Fu

WednesdayDecember 11, 20198:00pm $20.00

Proud to be firmly installed in the new-funk movement, KUNG FU is quickly popularizing their unique sonic contribution, blurring the line between intense electro-fusion, and blistering dance arrangements. Making fusion music "cool" again, the band draws on influences such as early Headhunters and Weather Report, and....

Albert Lee

FridayJanuary 3, 20208:00pm $30.00

Albert Lee is one of the most respected and renowned guitarists in music history, having worked with The Everly Brothers, Eric Clapton, Emmylou Harris and The Cricketts over his long and illustrious career. The British-born country-rock artist started his career during the emerging rock 'n' roll scene of sixties London,....

Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials

FridayJanuary 17, 20208:00pm $15.00

Animation (A Tribute to RUSH), In The Flesh (Pink Floyd tribute)

SaturdayJanuary 18, 20208:00pm $12.00

Animation has been headlining as "A Tribute to RUSH" since their first show in March, 1987 at "Chances R" in Palatine, IL. Animation is a Chicago based 3 Piece RUSH Tribute Band. They are 3 RUSH fanatics who's attention to....

Alternative Concert Group Presents

Crash Test Dummies, Mo Kenney

TuesdaySeptember 24, 20197:30pm $35.00

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

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

Adrian Belew

SaturdayOctober 5, 20198:00pm

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

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

Justin Townes Earle

SaturdayOctober 19, 20198:00pm

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

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

John Hiatt

SundayOctober 20, 20197:30pm $45.00

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

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

Dream Theater: The Distance Over Time Tour

TuesdayNovember 5, 20197:30pm $55 - $225

At Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, WI.

Tickets on sale online, at the Overture box office or by phone at 608-258-4141.

Arlo Guthrie

SaturdayNovember 9, 20198:00pm $45.00

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

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

Arlo Guthrie

WednesdayNovember 13, 20197:00pm $55 / $45

At the Meyer Theatre, Green Bay, WI

Tickets on sale at the Resch Center box office, Ticket Star or by phone 800-895-0071.

Marc Cohn

WednesdayNovember 20, 2019

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.

George Winston

TuesdayDecember 17, 20198:00pm $51.25

At Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, WI.

Tickets on sale online, at the Overture box office or by phone at 608-258-4141.

George Winston

WednesdayDecember 18, 20198:00pm $51.25

At Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, WI.

Tickets on sale online, at the Overture box office or by phone at 608-258-4141.

George Winston

FridayDecember 20, 20198:00pm $50 / $39

At South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, Milwaukee, WI.

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

Quick Calendar

Everybody in your life will write his or her own chapter in your story. Take a step back, and you'll see the influence of your loved ones, mentors, and friends in your decisions. Shook Twins refer to these folks in the title of their fourth album, Some Good Lives. Throughout fourteen tracks, the duo--identical twin sisters Katelyn Shook [vocals, guitar] and Laurie Shook [banjo, vocals]--pay homage to everyone from a late grandpa and godfather to Bernie Sanders.

"We realized there was a theme," Katelyn reveals. "Even though our minds are mostly on the women of today and wanting the monarchy to rise up, we have several men in our lives who have been such positive forces. We wanted to thank them and honor the good guys who showed us the beauty in this crazy world we live in. So, it's an album for Some Good Lives that have crossed paths with ours--and to them, we are grateful."

Laurie agrees, "It's also an acknowledgment of our thankfulness of the good life that we get to live."

However, the pair derived their own strength from these relationships. Over the course of three full-length releases and a handful of EPs since 2008, acclaim would come by way of everyone from USA Today and Baeble Music to Langhorne Slim, The Lumineers, Mason Jennings, and iconic best-selling author Neil Gaiman who enthusiastically decreed, "They make music that twines through your soul the way vines cover an abandoned shack in the woods." Beyond gigs with the likes of Gregory Alan Isakov and Ani DiFranco, they captivated crowds at High Sierra Music Festival, Lightning In A Bottle, Bumbershoot, Hulaween, Summer Camp Music Festival, and Northwest String Summit, to name a few.

During 2016, they planted the seeds for what would become Some Good Lives by thinking bigger. The girls intermittently recorded at Hallowed Halls in Portland, OR. Within this old library building, "which feels full of stories," they tapped into palpable energy like never before, locking into a groove inside of the spacious, reverberant live room. Moreover, the full band--Barra Brown [drums], Sydney Nash [bass], and Niko Slice [guitar, mandolin]--expanded the sonic palette.

"It took us a long time to find the band that we wanted to record these songs with and for the songs to fully mature," admits Laurie. "Once Barra, Sydney, and Niko joined us, we really started to explore what our music could be. These amazing players helped us realize that we could be more than just 'folk pop'. We started adding other genres to the word like 'disco,' 'psychedelic,' 'funk,' and 'soul.' We really honed in on a new sound."

They initially teased that evolution with the single "Safe." Its airy acoustic guitar and delicate harmonies materialize as a heartfelt and hypnotic rumination on love. The track quickly surpassed 1 million Spotify streams and stoked excitement among audiences for the eventual arrival of Some Good Lives.

"'Safe' was written up at a cabin in the woods," recalls Katelyn. "I had the line 'a love that feels safe' in my mind for a while. That's the only kind of love truly possible and healthy when you're touring and away from your person all the time. You feel like you can trust it, and it's not going to change within either of you--no matter how long and far you are away from each other."

"I was struggling to find that kind of love at the time, and Katelyn had this other perspective," adds Laurie. "It's my breakup song my sister wrote for me," she laughs.

Elsewhere, opener "What Have We Done" struts forward on funky tambourine and boisterous horns before culminating on the shuddering soulful chant, "My God, what have we done?" Inspired by "feeling the Bern," the track serves as a "wake-up-and-do better social commentary to fire people up." Meanwhile, the dreamy "Figure It Out" sways from vivid verses into a catchy and confessional hook.

"To me, it's about being lost and trying to figure 'it' out over and over again," continues Katelyn. "We're always going to be trying to figure things out, and that's okay."

The intimate "Grandpa Piano" draws on 1992 tapes of the girls' grandpa performing on a grand piano during the final weeks of his life. Such moments thematically thread together the record, following its concept.

Katelyn adds, "You can hear our grandma, uncle, and godfather who have all passed on speaking in those clips too. These are little glimpses of those lives that we are honoring. I knew it was the perfect thing to add and complete the theme."

Meanwhile, the album concludes on "Dog Beach"--a song penned by their godfather Ted as his only original composition in 1989. Preserving the raw spirit, Shook Twins tracked their background vocals over the initial tape 28 years after the initial recording. As Ted passed away recently, the song possessed a special place in their hearts.

"It's like our village anthem in a way," says Katelyn. "We made him sing it, and we'd all sing the responses at every campfire we had growing up."

In the end, Shook Twins do Some Good Lives justice by reaching new heights themselves as musicians, lyricists, artists, and women.

"I hope people will hear this music as part of the soundtrack to their lives," Laurie leaves off. "I hope it makes them feel joy, relaxation, or makes them want to dance a little. I hope they're satisfied with the way we captured these songs."

"I want them to feel the love that emanates from the songs: the love of the sounds we made and the love of the people we are honoring through them," concludes Katelyn.

Named among Yahoo Music's "Top 10 Bands to Watch in 2017," The Accidentals' adventure began in their hometown of Traverse City, MI, when Larson, a sophomore cellist, and Buist, a junior violinist, were paired for a high school orchestra event. The gifted young musicians became fast friends and before long, bandmates. Having both grown up in musical families with professional pianists for fathers and vocalists for mothers, their shared influences bounced between classical, jazz, bluegrass, country, alt-rock, and the obscure.

Dubbing themselves after the musical notes that fall outside of a key signature, The Accidentals recorded and released a pair of independent albums in 2012 and 2013, the latter funded by a hugely successful Kickstarter. Their original songs revealed a band with wide-ranging influences but always true to their orchestral roots. National applause and attention followed, as did acclaimed collaborations with some fellow local artists and independent filmmakers. Other career highlights included scoring arrangements for a 75-piece orchestra to accompany them on their original songs as well as arranging pieces for an opera/dance production with Jennifer and Ryan Lott (Son Lux).

The past five years have seen The Accidentals perform over a thousand live shows, including headline dates, festival sets, and shared stages along such diverse acts as Keller Williams, Martin Sexton, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Bird, The Wailers, Joan Baez, and others. 2015 saw the band embark on their first full-scale national tour. Their SXSW debut saw them hailed by Billboard Magazine for "displaying a genre-hopping range of influences and some smart songwriting skills to go with their abundant musical chops."

Now, at long last, The Accidentals unveil their most compelling and finely honed work to date. Co-produced by Buist, Larson, and Dause with engineer Jason Lehning (Mat Kearney, Guster, George Jones, Alison Krauss) at Asheville, NC's Echo Mountain Recording, ODYSSEY sees the band joined by such friends and fans as acoustic guitar maestro Kaki King, bassist -- and fellow Michigander -- Dominic John Davis (Jack White, Beck), Carbon Leaf guitarist Carter Gravatt, Keller Williams and The Decemberists' Jenny Conlee, who spent three days in the studio alongside the band, lending her distinctive organ to a number of the album's key tracks.

"It was a really collaborative process," says Larson. "A lot of these songs had been hashed out at our live shows over the past few years, so we had a very strong idea of what we wanted in the arrangements.

The Accidentals' inviting spirit of shared creativity is perhaps best represented by the album's audacious first single, "KW," showcasing the inimitable guitar work of Keller Williams, whose own virtuosic genre-agnostic approach towards music making inspired the song in the first place.

From the orchestrated rock of "Memorial Day" to the album-closing "Ballad Tendered Gun" -- surprisingly, The Accidentals' first instrumental to be included on an LP -- ODYSSEY is a strikingly dynamic work, both layered and unhurried, bittersweet yet life-affirming. Rich with literary references, whispers of nostalgia, and an unstoppable sense of forward motion, its songs were written independently by Buist and Larson and then arranged and refined by the group, creating a perfect yin/yang between individual introspection and dynamic cooperation, each artist bringing her own unique perspective to the process.

"We rely on each other to create a balance," Buist says. "I think that's the key to this band. Our styles of songwriting and arrangement are very different, so when they come together, they create this variation that couldn't happen any other way."

The goal as ever is to experiment and experience, exploring new ideas and approaches while always staying true to their roots. With ODYSSEY, The Accidentals have conjured a truly one of its kind sound and vision, booming with free-thinking musicality, wisdom, and an understanding that growth is a process, not something that happens overnight. The Accidentals are already moving forward on their amazing journey, rolling down the windows on an open road towards someplace that's both true and transcendent.

"I don't think there are really any limits in terms of genre or instrumentation," Larson says. "We just really enjoy making music that connects."

"For us, it's about the experience and collaboration and trying to learn as much as we can," Buist says. Every day is an opportunity."

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.

Doug Stone, a contemporary country star, found his mark in music as a lonesome baritone balladeer, although he was very adept at hard-up-tempo country. Doug began at age five learning guitar from his mother an avid singer and guitarist. At age seven he was given the opportunity, by his mother, to open for Loretta Lynn. Life presented Doug a drastic change with the divorce of his mother and father. Doug, as result, moved in with his dad. As his youthful years past, Doug played at skating rinks, local bars or any money making project to help his father make ends meet. In the daytime Doug worked as a mechanic, something else that came to him naturally.

Doug had already past the age of 30 when a Nashville manager paired him up with Epic, his first record label. He debuted in 1990 with the single, "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)," the first release from his 1990 self-titled debuted album "Doug Stone" for Epic records. This album produced a handful of chart-topping singles. Following these songs was his first number one, "In a Different Light". In addition, the single was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song. Both this album and its successor, 1991's I Thought It Was You, earned a platinum certification from The Recording Industry Association of America for U.S. shipments of one million copies. Two more albums for Epic, 1992's From The Heart and 1994's More Love, were each certified gold. Stone has charted --twenty-two singles on Hot Country Songs, with his greatest chart success coming between 1990 and 1995. In this time span, he charted eight Number Ones including: "In a Different Light", "A Jukebox and a Country Song", "Too Busy Being in Love", "Addicted to a Dollar, and "Why Didn't I think of That" to name a few, plus fifteen more Top Five singles.

In early 1992, Stone found that one of the arteries in his heart was almost entirely blocked. He underwent quadruple bypass surgery and took time off to recover, just as his third album, "From the Heart," was released. With a gold certification for shipments of 500,000 copies, "From the Heart" included two Number Ones among its four singles: "Too Busy Being in Love" and "Why Didn't I Think of That." The other two singles were "Warning Labels" and "Made for Lovin' You," at No. 4 and No.6 respectively. One month later Stone released an album titled "The First Christmas."

In June 1994 Stone discovered that he was having breathing problems, which were affecting his singing. Doctors at Vanderbilt University's medical center failed to find any problems in his throat. A second consultation revealed a lump in his nostril but amazingly it was not cancerous. While Stone was undergoing treatment, his Greatest Hits, Vol.1 compilation was released in late 1994.This album included the new song "Little Houses, "which debuted on the charts in October 1994 and peaked at No. 7 in early 1995.

Stone made his acting debut in the 1995 film "Gordy." "Gordy," a heartwarming story featured Doug as Luke McAllister, a struggling musician. Gordy paved the way for stone's acting career and as well featured several of his songs. In 2011 Doug moved on to another movie role, "When the Storm God Rides," a Thomas E. Kelly film.

Always the adventurer, in 2000 Doug suffered a broken ankle and a cracked rib after crashing his ultra light plane in Robertson County, TN. An experience that would put him back in the studio recording the self-inspired single "Caught Dead Living", based off of Doug's "larger than life personality", and love for living life to it's fullest.

In April 2012 Doug Stone and Dr. Gerald Murray of Muscle Shoals, Alabama signed a management contract. Murray is the former manager of George Jones and the late Vern Gosdin. In 2014 Doug released the album "Doug Stone 'The Demo's': 20 Years of Life".

Now- 28 years, 8 #1 singles, 15 Top 5 singles, and millions and millions of album sales later- the singer of timeless country hits like "A Jukebox with a Country Song" and "In a different Light" is still running the roads hard performing to dedicated fans all across the nation. With a new record slated for release in the Fall of 2018, Doug Stone continues to produce pure country gold.

For a long time, singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Matt Gilmour didn't take life very seriously. He didn't have to. He was in love, young and healthy, and music was in his genes. However, a series of painful and transformative events found him heartbroken, fighting for his life, and facing some serious realizations.

"After I was diagnosed with cancer, something in me changed," Matt shares. "I was fed up with who I was, and I knew I needed to start many things in my life from scratch."

Today, through brave introspection and hard work, Matt has emerged triumphant with his life reclaimed. The English-born, Austin, Texas-based artist is now making music on his own terms with his band of brothers in The Matt Gilmour Band. He's forging his own legacy with a distinct cinematic psych-rock aesthetic and a ground-breaking live performance streaming series.

The Matt Gilmour Band is an interstellar vehicle that plays psychedelic rock with touches of prog, blues, indie, folk, and funk. The band is a collaborative effort under the banner of The Matt Gilmour Band. "There is no way I could do this without the guys. They're amazing musicians and amazing friends," Matt says. In addition to Matt, the band features AJ Vincent on keys, and Danny Coco on drums. The Matt Gilmour Band gigs regionally and nationally, often performing with dazzling light show accompaniment.

Matt was born and raised in England where he grew up watching his father--Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour--from the side of the stage as he captivated arena crowds. Eventually, Matt began to solidify his musical chops and forge his own path discovering his identity through traversing a myriad of musical influences. As a signature sound coalesced, and Matt's talents shined through, he began to write compelling compositions. One track he posted online caught the ear of legendary producer/engineer and Steppenwolf guitarist Danny Johnson who invited Matt to Austin to record a solo album. That album, The Grey, snapshots Matt in an intimate bluesy folk setting.

His early time in Austin was humbling for Matt. He found himself a small fish in a big pond. Totally out on his own, he struggled to make a living. And the various bands he put together kept imploding.

Another trying time for Matt occurred when he was diagnosed with cancer at just 26, and he had to move back to England for chemo treatment. In a way, the whole experience galvanized Matt. Upon his full recovery, he returned to the US with a renewed sense of purpose. His clarity of mind showed in his lyrics which became less coded, his band lineups became steadier, and his personal musical vision became more unique.

The Matt Gilmour Band represents a culmination of these profound times of personal and artistic growth. Standouts in the band's current body of work are "Dear" and "Push." The track "Dear" patiently unfolds from an airy piano-driven ballad to a majestic rocker with soaring melodies, cathartic hooks, and a fleet-fingered bluesy guitar solo. The grandly ethereal "Push" boasts an imaginative arrangement that feels like a spiritual journey offering a rousing uplifting message. "That song is about those times when we think can't go any further, and we want to stop or give up. During those times of doubt, I think about my past, and how far I've come, and I feel a second wind. I just push through" Matt says.

These tracks, and others, are produced and recorded in collective collaboration with producer, and close friend, Chris "Frenchie" Smith from Bubble Studios. Chris lives with Matt and some of the guys, and, together, they revel in an intuitive creative consciousness. The recordings are live-band-to-recording-device--with no Pro Tools editing--and favor groove and humanness over sterile quantized perfection.

Up next, The Matt Gilmour Band are concentrating on its innovative series of streaming performances, the band's recorded output, and performing live regionally and nationally. At the moment, Matt says, the band is enjoying a wellspring of creativity. "It feels really like everything is taking off now. There is this wonderful unspoken energy and excitement that's unqualifiable. I am looking so forward to the future," he says.

Ian Noe draws on the day-to-day life of Eastern Kentucky on his debut album, Between the Country. Recorded in Nashville with unhurried production by Dave Cobb, these 10 original songs introduce a number of complicated characters, diverse in their own downfalls but bound together by Noe’s singular voice.

“I’ve always thought that Eastern Kentucky had a certain kind of sound, and I can’t really explain it any better than that,” he says. “What I was trying to do was write songs that sounded like where I was living.”

The lead track, “Irene (Ravin’ Bomb),” sets the tone for the album, telling the story of an alcoholic woman who fails to conceal her addiction from her family. Throughout the remaining tracks, family relationships are tested, bad decisions are inevitable, and more than a few people meet an untimely end. Titles like “Junk Town,” “Dead on the River (Rolling Down)” and “Meth Head” capture the dramatic situations faced by people in the region.

However, Between the Country is not necessarily an autobiographical album. Instead, Noe absorbed these harrowing experiences through people he’s met or stories he’s heard. Not yet 30, Noe was raised as the oldest of three children in Beattyville, Kentucky, where his parents still live in the house he grew up in. His father is a longtime youth social worker, while his mother has been employed by the same local factory for more than 20 years.

Noe learned to play guitar from his father and grandfather. As a young boy, he adored Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and spent years trying to emulate Berry’s way of playing guitar. Before long, Noe could pick country standards like “I Saw the Light” and “Wildwood Flower.” By his teen years, he gravitated to Bob Dylan and John Prine after discovering them through his family’s music collection. Neil Young soon became another favorite, along with Dwight Yoakam and Tom T. Hall, who hail from the same part of the state.

Noe says, “There’s a silence about Eastern Kentucky. It’s quiet, at least where I was raised. There are a lot of places you can go and write and listen to music and not be bothered.”

All through his childhood, his great aunt often asked Noe if he’d written any songs yet. By 15 or 16, he decided to try. A family friend, who was also a manager at the Dairy Queen where Noe worked in high school, offered to help him book a few shows and get some songs recorded. Although Noe considers them just bedroom recordings now, the discs gave him something to sell when he started playing coffee shops and other small stages around Winchester and Lexington, Kentucky, and a little bit in Ohio.

“For me it was a turning point just getting a few songs that I was happy with. I didn’t understand anything about making a record, or what that meant, when I was 15 or 16,” Noe admits. “It was the farthest thing from my mind, but once I got a couple of songs that I was satisfied with, I just kept going.”

After high school, Noe took an office job close to home instead of enrolling in college. In his early 20s, he relocated to Louisville, hoping to get a band together and write music, but he had to constantly work odd jobs as a subcontractor to make rent. After a year, he briefly returned to the office job back home before finding work on an Eastern Kentucky oil rig – which he considers the best job he’s ever had, outside of music.

Soaked with oil after his 12-hour shifts, Noe never once considered what a career in music would look like. Yet through a mutual acquaintance, his original songs attracted the attention of an artist manager. Impressed with his raw talent, she sent him an email of encouragement, which ultimately led to a working relationship. Since that time, Noe has opened multiple dates for kindred spirit Colter Wall, tapping into an audience that appreciates the sincerity and austerity in Noe’s original songs, too.

Noe received another stamp of approval in February 2019 after singing at a John Prine tribute concert at the Troubadour in Los Angeles – with Prine himself in the crowd. Staged the night before the Grammys, Noe’s performance led to an offer to open three shows for his musical hero. As Noe puts it, “I’ve sat around my whole life thinking about what that would be like.”

Although touring is imminent, Between the Country serves as a potent snapshot of home. The black-and-white cover photo alludes to a lyric in the title track but Noe believes it also illustrates the album as a whole. It’s the same approach that Lucinda Williams employed on her landmark 1998 album, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, which Noe cites as one of his all-time favorites. “If you have a collection of songs where the subject matter is pretty much the same, and it’s coming from the same place, I think it’s important to have some kind of picture that reflects that. I’ve always felt that way,” he says.

Noe now lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky, about an hour north of Nashville, where his bandmates are based. After years of writing songs alone and playing solo acoustic sets, he now prefers touring with a band, making it possible to carry the overall mood of Between the Country out on the road as well. After all, he and Cobb recorded the album live on the floor, completing the sessions in two days. Amid these uncluttered arrangements and a relaxed vibe, Noe’s evocative voice truly stands out.

“I wanted a warm sound – that analog sound,” Noe says. “When we were getting the rough mixes going, that’s how it sounded, and that’s the direction it went in. You want people to be able to hear what you’re saying and what you’re singing about, and I think analog makes a good song stand the test of time.”

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Trashcan Sinatras were formed in 1987 in the coastal town of Irvine, Scotland, by John Douglas, Paul Livingston, David Hughes, Stephen Douglas and Francis Reader. Quickly signed to esteemed British indie label Go!Discs, the group used its label advance to set up their own recording studio, Shabby Road, in nearby Kilmarnock, where they settled in to create three critically- acclaimed albums.

The first of these, Cake, was released in the summer of 1990 and featured debut single "Obscurity Knocks" and its follow-up "Only Tongue Can Tell", both of which became alternative radio hits in the USA, and introduced the group to what has become a loving and loyal fan base around the world. Their beloved second album, I've Seen Everything, came along in 1993, preceded by the lauded single "Hayfever." The group's next album, 1996's self-produced A Happy Pocket, featured four singles, including the band's much-loved cover of "To Sir, With Love".

After leaving Go! Discs in 1998, the group kept a low profile until the release of their fourth album, Weightlifting, in the autumn of 2004. Extensive touring in support of that album followed, with shows in the UK, Europe, USA, Japan and Australia. In winter 2007/2008, they record a fifth studio album, In the Music, at Stratosphere Sound in Manhattan and on Martha's Vineyard. The group celebrated the album's release in 2009 with concerts and promotional appearances over the next two years in the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom. It was during the In the Music tours that the band began playing "house parties" for fans, which have since become a staple of their touring schedule.

In early 2015, the group set up camp with producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Justin Townes Earle, First Aid Kit, Rilo Kiley) at his ARC Studios in Omaha, Nebraska to record their sixth LP. Released in April 2016, the album, Wild Pendulum, received a warm welcome from music critics and fans. The A.V. Club said "Wild Pendulum is lovingly crafted, with layers in all the right places," while Allmusic exclaimed the album is "quite likely the best sophisticated guitar pop album anyone is likely to hear in 2016." The band returned to the road for the first time in five years, supporting the release with concerts in the United States, Scotland, England, Ireland and Japan.

Paul, John and Francis hit the road as a three-piece unit in September 2017 for a six week acoustic tour of North America, playing nearly all of the 100+ songs they had written together over the last 30 years. The tour included sold-out shows in New York City and Los Angeles, amongst others, and was capped off with a second sell-out in Los Angeles, where the group filmed the show for a live CD/DVD, All Night In America (released in October 2018).

Trashcan Sinatras toured again in 2018, in both their acoustic and full-band configurations. A 30 date North American acoustic "One Night, Two Albums" tour, where they played Cake and I've Seen Everything in their entirety, was followed by a full-band supporting slot in the UK with Del Amitri, as well as their own headline shows in the UK and elsewhere.

In 2019, the band is beginning the creative process for a new album, while its acoustic lineup reprises the "One Night, Two Albums" tour concept. Spanning North America for six weeks in the Fall, the band will play both A Happy Pocket and Weightlifting (celebrating its 15 year anniversary) in their entirety.

Robert Berry, riding high with his latest release, "3.2-The Rules Have Changed", co-written with keyboardist Keith Emerson has just revealed the members in his stellar four-piece touring band. They're set to begin performing soon. Those who appreciate the artistry of YES, ELP, Keith Emerson, Genesis, Jethro Tull, and the like are in for a real treat. Berry is renowned for his bass and vocal work, as a multi-instrumentalist, and for writing and touring with Emerson, Carl Palmer, Steve Howe (Yes), GTR, and Ambrosia, to name but a few. Rounding out the new touring group are drummer Jimmy Keegan (Spock's Beard), guitarist Paul Keller (Emerson/Palmer), and keyboardist Andrew Colyer (Circuline, Cell15). In addition to the instrumental heavy lifting, all four band members sing -- a rarity in the world of Prog.

Berry, Keegan, Keller and Colyer began live rehearsals in November 2018, and are looking forward to not only performing Keith Emerson great final work, but will also be pulling from Berry's 30-year catalogue of Progressive Rock. Additionally, the sets will draw from Berry's work with Steve Howe, Ambrosia, his solo efforts, and his critically acclaimed songs from various Magna Carta tribute albums which feature the music of YES, ELP, Genesis, and Jethro Tull.

Robert Berry is an American musician, songwriter, and producer. He's co-written with Steve Howe for the band GTR, and is a former Ambrosia band member. He earned international acclaim for his powerful version of the Yes' "Roundabout" for Magna Carta, drawing some to anoint him as a "crafty American version of Trevor Rabin". An honor Berry seems too humble to talk about. Berry and Keith Emerson formed "3" in the 1980's along with Carl Palmer, and had the #9 Billboard hit "Talkin' Bout". Their debut album "To The Power of 3" on Geffen -- a label known at the time for their stable of notable artists such as Peter Gabriel, charted respectably.

In 2015, a Boston radio station unearthed tapes from the 1988 "3" tour, and released them as a live album. After hearing that impressive live performance, Emerson was inspired to reunite with Berry, and the pair resumed work on the unfinished "3" follow up album. Then, with Emerson's tragic passing in 2016, it appeared the new album might be lost but Berry persevered. In the spring of 2018, with the blessing of the Emerson Estate, Berry and Frontiers Music released the long awaited new record. The first official pre-release single, "Somebody's Watching", unleased in May, sparked impressive pre-orders on Amazon. That initial excitement generated 7,000 YouTube views in the first 36 hours, surged to over 12,000 views in the first week and continues to grow. A musical phoenix had indeed risen. The album was released on August 10, 2018, and hit #1 on Amazon, selling out on the first day, and placed in the top tier on two Billboard charts. A pair of videos from the album have over 64,000 cumulative views on YouTube. The new album has met with unanimous positive acclaim internationally, from over 100 magazine articles, blog and website reviews, and FM and internet radio stations interviews.

What if Robert Berry was in YES today, and they were just now writing Roundabout? How would that sound? We got the answer when Berry re-envisioned and re-arranged the song for the Tales From Yesterday album, and it was wickedly fantastic! His series of classic Prog re-workings for Magna Carta Records not only won him international acclaim, but earned him praise from the creators of those songs. Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson reached out with a gracious personal letter expressing how much he enjoyed Berry's re-working of "Minstrel in the Gallery". Berry's friend Steve Howe, wrote that he quite liked the new recording of Yes' "Roundabout", saying that the new bass line "kicks the original all about". Howe even played acoustic guitar on Berry's new version. "Watcher of The Skies" (Genesis) is about as quintessential Prog as anything. To many it's the Holy Grail of the genre, so it's hard to imagine anyone even daring to alter it -- yet the new Berry version is heavier and deeper in many ways. For Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "Karn Evil #9" he pays tribute to his mates Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer, by calling on Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess for Keyboards, along with Drummer Simon Phillips, and Violinist Mark Wood. And let's not forget Berry was a former member of Ambrosia, and he gives us a heavier and punchier version of their classic "Life Beyond L.A." His unmistakable Vocals, Bass and Guitar form a clear sonic trademark on all five of these re-envisioned songs -- they really are astounding -- and they will all be performed in the band's new live show as well.

3.2 featuring Robert Berry Live is More Than Just a Concert -- It's An Event: With his 30 year history of playing side-by- side with many of Prog and Rock music's elite, Berry has a deep well of enlightening tales to share and his warm personality, spontaneity and approach allow him to appeal to fans of many musical genres. More than just a concert, these shows will have the songs and the road stories and recollections behind those storied songs.

Pioneers in the use of cello as the sole instrument within a rock band, Rasputina has been inspiring young string players to commit a number of musical sins since 1996. The group's concept was written as a manifesto, and manifested accordingly by directress Melora Creager as a wily subterfuge for a plot to open audiences to adventure. The funny, the sad, the heavy, the tender-- it can all exist together. Employing elaborate costuming spanning a number of historical periods, Rasputina brings marginalized historical female figures and stories to light in the pop form, using archetypal characters such as Indian princesses, Hawaiian handmaidens and Medieval queens. Melora last performed in Europe with Nirvana, on their final tour in 1994. Over the years, Rasputina has performed/recorded with Marilyn Manson, Porno For Pyros, Cheap Trick, Goo Goo Dolls and many others. Hardened road-dogs, and with more than 7 albums under their belt, Rasputina continues to amaze and amuse.

About 'UNKNOWN'- the new Rasputina album:
Melora says, "Unknown' is 14 new songs recorded alone in a dank basement studio. I quite liked it though, that dank basement studio. I didn't feel at all alone. Using only one microphone, the whole album poured out of me in just 3 weeks- writing, recording, the whole thing. "Unknown is a CD only release- non-digital. Why? At one level, this album is about trauma, Melora's trauma at being hacked- silently and anonymously observed through the Cloud. Conceptually, this album doesn't exist on the Internet. It's a real and physical thing. Anyone who purchases it is known to her.

MELORA CREAGER - voice, cello, banjo
Kansas born & raised, she moved to NYC in the 1980s. Melora received classical music training as a child, but her performance career began with rock bands and East Village drag/performance artists. She founded the alternative/ historical cello ensemble Rasputina in 1991 as a way to meet like-minded girls- girls that wanted to rock out on the cello and wear fine costumery. The sound and visual concepts that began in Creager's Rasputina manifestos presaged and influenced movements and trends such as Modern Victorians, Steampunk, freak-folk, corsetry, and crafting. In 19 recordings, and countless public performances, Creager has led a 20 year exploration in cello amplification, recording, and performance.

LUIS MOJICA- piano, beat-boxing
Luis uses the piano to cast, wild narrative spells. His eyes are that of an androgynous monk with rainbow tentacles. Luis loops words, chants, and sounds through a loop pedal AKA beatboxing, 'Beat-Boxing Baroque'. Luis brings his musical madness to Rasputina today.

CARPELLA PARVO- cello, voice
Cello-fingers in flight and with the voice of a bird, Carpella is from another country, but keeps it a secret which one. She played on Rasputina's debut album, Thanks for the Ether (1996), then succumbed to the very condition from which she takes her name- carpal tunnel syndrome. Having healed over 20 years, Carpella jubilantly returns to Rasputina in the 21st century.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesse Malin -- whom the London Times says "writes vivid songs with killer tunes and sings them with scary conviction" -- and Lucinda Williams -- the southern troubadour once named "America's best songwriter" by Time magazine -- first met in the early 2000s at a jazz club in NYC's West Village. In a joint 2017 Rolling Stone interview, the two discussed their "shared love of miscreants, misfits, the misunderstood and the mysteries of everyday lives binds them across the Mason-Dixon line."

"From the early frontier days of hardcore in New York to all the punk rock and singer/songwriter touring," says Malin, "it's all been about survival and reinvention. I wanted to make an open-sounding record with the space to tell these stories. I like to write about characters and people I meet along the way. The dreamers, schemers, hustlers, romantics, lovers, leavers and believers."Many of the dreamers, schemers and so on from Jesse's own life contribute to Sunset Kids, his new album of highly personal songs being released August 30 on Wicked Cool Records.

Sunset Kids first took shape at The Hollywood Bowl, when Jesse accepted Lucinda's invitation to see her open for what turned out to be Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' final concert. The bittersweet experience inspired one of the new album's highlights, "Shining Down," a rainy day jangle about "keeping alive the spirits of the ones we've lost." During that same visit, the idea came about of three-time Grammy-winning Lucinda producing Jesse's next record.

"Lucinda has a great eye for finding the beauty in broken things and a knack for always picking the right take. Once she started dancing in the control room, we knew we had it."

In addition to this rare turn in the producer's chair for Williams, she co-wrote and sang on the evocative Country-flavored "Room 13," which Malin calls "the heart of the record in a lot of ways, about those meditative moments far away from home, where you're forced to reflect on the things that really matter."

The album also features "Chemical Heart," an upbeat pop basher located at a mythical point on Queens Boulevard where Paul Simon and The Ramones intersect, namechecking Bernie Taupin and Jake LaMotta among others. "Shane" is a gentle ballad about one of his heroes, the lovably shambolic Shane MacGowan of The Pogues.

"My first album, The Fine Art Of Self-Destruction, was about finding glory in the wreckage," says Malin of the album which was upon release Uncut's "Album of the Month." "Sunset Kids is about owning it. The failures, the victories, the moments. And moving up from there."

After reflecting on his life while walking the streets of London, jamming riffs in an East Village basement and writing songs in Florida hotel rooms while visiting his ailing father, the ambitious 14-song album was recorded on both coasts between the two artists' touring schedules.

It opens with the pre-apocalyptic confession "Meet Me At The End Of The World Again," which includes backing vocals by Malin confidante and collaborator Joseph Arthur. Another key guest contribution comes courtesy of Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, who co-wrote and sang on "Strangers & Thieves."

"Billie Joe was in town and I showed him where we hung out when we were kids in the hardcore days," Malin recalls. "A couple days later, I got a text and he had finished the song. He went into the details of his experience in the Bay Area with that scene, and also my experiences, which were very parallel in New York."

Those early days found a young Jesse "riding the subway trains from Queens to the record stores and nightclubs in dirty, pre-Disney New York City" and never looking back. His band Heart Attack put out the first New York hardcore single "God Is Dead" when Malin was 14 years old. He later went on to acclaim as the frontman for the fast and loud D Generation, whose albums were produced by Ric Ocasek, Tony Visconti and David Bianco.

Bianco is one of the Sunset Kids referenced in the album's title. The engineer who won a Grammy for his pristine sonics on Tom Petty's Wildflowers and produced the first major-label release of Jesse's career passed away suddenly after overseeing the initial sessions for Sunset Kids in his L.A. studio.

"Playing music is something I need to do. Singing under those hot lights every night is a great exorcism. We get to put together this pirate ship of characters and go around the world making trouble and singing our guts out."

As the line in crucial cut "When You're Young" says, "Don't waste your life on things that don't get better." Malin concludes: "It's about finding ways to survive and navigate through all this stuff. Being compassionate and loving in a world that will break your heart. But you're still here. You wake up again and put one foot in front of the other and live every day like it could be your last."

"We've come Full Circle And Then Some," goes the chorus to the title track of Trigger Hippy's sophomore album, and it's the perfect description of the long road these experienced musicians have traveled to harness their collective roots -- from country, Delta blues, R&B and gospel to Southern rock and funk. Trigger Hippy co-founders, former Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman and songwriter bassist Nick Govrik, believe the band's sophomore album, on Turkey Grass Records distributed by Thirty Tigers, embodies the music and vision they've chased since the two met 15 years ago.

For Steve, working with Thirty Tigers is personally significant: it reunites Gorman with Thirty Tigers founder/owner David Macias. Over 30 years ago, Macias played a pivotal role in the development of first recording contract for The Black Crowes.

The new collection spotlights Trigger Hippy's patented call-and-response duets and three-part vocal harmonies, with a stylistic range that encompasses traditional country plaints ("Strung Out on the Pain"), classic rockers (the title track), honking blues ("Dandelion"), a Basement Tapes-ish swamppop nod to the devastation of Katrina ("Goddamn Hurricane"), Dr. John-meets Allen Toussaint bayou grooves ("Long Lost Friend") and even a psychedelic "trance/dirge raga" ("Born To Be Blue").

Recorded largely in a small hillside home, dubbed the Tree House, in Nashville's eclectic Love Circle district, the album boasts some of the city's finest musicians, including longtime Willie Nelson harp player Mickey Raphael, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit's guitarist Sadler Vaden, guitarist/mandolin player Guthrie Trapp, London-born pedal steel player Spencer Cullum, and guitarist Sol Philcox- Littlefield, among others.

Trigger Hippy's co-founders -- Gorman and local Nashville mainstay (and restaurateur) Govrik -- first met shortly after Gorman moved to town in 2004, taking part in a jam session organized by Govrik at a local music haunt, the Family Wash.

"We hit it off right away," says Govrik, whose own love of southern rock icons like Lowell George, Leon Russell and Levon Helm can be heard throughout. "Steve was like a freight train barreling from the get go. He played the show like it was Madison Square Garden, and we just been doing it virtually non-stop ever since."

For Govrik, who'd spent more than a decade with his '90s group Highwater, a "boogie-woogie, dance bar band", and recorded three albums at the famed Muscle Shoals studios for Mississippi blues label Malaco. he longed for another opportunity to be part of a group, and Trigger Hippy more than fit the bill.

The first incarnation of Trigger Hippy took place in 2009 at a benefit for the Allman Brothers Big House Museum at the Cox Capital Theatre in Macon, GA.

"We were just a full-on rock jam cover band initially," says Gorman, looking for a new direction after his roller coaster ride as co-founder of the Black Crowes -- which he details in his upcoming memoir, Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of the Black Crowes. "But once I heard Nick's songs, I realized his tunes were a great starting point for us. We share a common sensibility across the board about music."

In 2014, joined by singer Joan Osborne and guitarist Jackie Greene, the band released its self-titled debut on Rounder Records, taking a "let's see what happens" approach, performing some 40 live dates over seven months.

Says Gorman: "Nick and I always pushed for more of a commitment to become a functioning, fulltime band, but everyone had their own things going on, which made it difficult to keep that lineup together. We always had a vision and an idea of what we wanted to do."

After a lengthy break, a new lineup emerged with multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ed Jurdi (Band of Heathens) and vocalist/sax player Amber Woodhouse joining Gorman and Govrik. "We took our time -- we knew the chemistry had to be right. With Ed, we found our new direction right away and when Amber came along, we knew we'd found the final piece."

"This is the culmination of a 15-year conversation, and I mean that literally and musically," explains Gorman of his partnership with Govrik.

It's no surprise that Trigger Hippy is built on a rhythm section because each song on Full Circle and Then Some starts with a solid foundation that underlines its many strengths.

According to Govrik, Full Circle and Then Some is the band's story to this point. "We never really wavered, we just kept going. We've come full circle because we believed in each other, even with the changes this band has been through...new lineup, new commitment." He concludes, "We're doing this the way we want to, the way we want it to sound...and that's the beauty of this."

Donna the Buffalo offers everything you want in a roots band -- songs that matter, a groove that makes you dance, an audience that spans generations, and a musical voice that evokes a sense of community.

Dance in the Street, their first new album in five years, captures the dynamic energy that has earned the band the love and respect of their fans, "the Herd", for thirty years.

Donna The Buffalo is well known for their lyrics about human potential and community. Throughout Dance in the Street, Jeb Puryear and Tara Nevins, the band's co-founders, share songs of social commentary and self empowerment. "We feel the album provides an enjoyable ride between the general and the personal, from both male and female perspectives," says Puryear.

Puryear took it upon himself to write a topical song after a friend slyly commented, "We could use some songs like you used to write." That off-handed remark led directly to "Dance in the Street," which falls somewhere between Bob Dylan and Bob Marley, with lyrics:

For change of rule, we had better stand,
Before there's nowhere left to land,
Doomed to histories repeat,
It's time to dance in the street.

Nevins adapted the imagery in the lyrics from "Dance in the Street" to create the globally-inspired album cover.

"My songs on this record are about letting go," says Nevins. "Whether it be the attachment of love lost, the past, or the particular blue funk you're coming out of." Nevins in particular adds an interesting twist of "creating future" in Motor, the inspired second cut of the album with the chorus:

You'll be dancing under the moon before too long,
You'll be flying high as a kite when the wind gets blowing,
You'll be right back where you started,
You'll be holding tight to the motor that gets you going.

Donna the Buffalo joined forces with legendary Producer/ Engineer Rob Fraboni to record Dance in the Street at Sonic Ranch Studio in El Paso, Texas. Best known as producer of The Last Waltz soundtrack, Fraboni is also acclaimed for his work with Bob Dylan, The Band, Eric Clapton, and The Rolling Stones. Fraboni set out to capture the essence of Donna The Buffalo's live performances on a studio record. He had the band record in a circle directly to tape. Dance In The Street is a fully analog recording all the way to vinyl. The track list alternates in his-and-hers fashion; even so, Nevins believes the album makes a cohesive statement. "We think of it as painting a picture and I like the picture that we've painted with this record," she says.

Nevins and Puryear have nurtured a close friendship after meeting at an old-time fiddle convention years ago. In 1989 they landed their first gig in a Trumansburg, NY restaurant setting Puryear and Nevins on their musical path. During that time, Puryear took note of Nevins' songwriting ability -- "the first person I met that wrote songs that sounded like you could hear them on the radio". While they mostly write separately, their music is often on the same wavelength." Our history is so long and very successful musically," he says. "She's my best friend -- we've done this forever. It's a big part of what makes it still interesting to do. We definitely have a good, rough-and-tumble, super-longstanding respect and love."

Donna The Buffalo is not just a band, rather one might say that Donna The Buffalo has become a lifestyle for its members and audiences. The band has played thousands of shows and countless festivals including Bonnaroo, Newport Folk Festival, Telluride, Austin City Limits Festival, Merle Fest, and Philadelphia Folk Festival. At several festivals Donna The Buffalo has become the house band for closing the events by backing up artists including The Avett Brothers, Keller Williams, Zac Brown, Bela Fleck, John Paul Jones, and Chris Thile. They've opened for The Dead and have toured with Peter Rowan, Del McCoury, Los Lobos, Little Feat, Jim Lauderdale, Rusted Root, and Railroad Earth to name a few. They also toured with Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen to help raise awareness about increased corporate spending in politics. In 1991, the band started the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival in Trumansburg, NY. The four day festival has become an annual destination for over 15,000 music lovers every year and was started as an AIDS benefit. It continues as a benefit for arts and education. To date, the event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and is now one of three Grassroots Festivals; the Bi-annual Shakori Hills fest in North Carolina and Virginia Key festival in Florida. In 2016 GrassRoots Culture Camp was introduced in Trumansburg, New York as four days of music, art, dance and movement workshops, including nightly dinners and dances.

"Successes? We have certainly tried to make a difference in the world, trying to inspire ourselves and others to treat their lives as a work of art, and our collective destiny as something that we are creating, not just something we are subject to. And at the same time we're having a blast, who wouldn't want to ride around on a bus playing music with their friends?" Puryear added.

The most loyal fans in the Herd are always eager to accept a call to action. Last year Donna the Buffalo started a crowdfunding campaign to buy a new tour bus; within three weeks, they had raised $90,000. "You can imagine how validating that felt for us," Nevins says, still overwhelmed at the generosity.

By creating a bridge between generations, Donna the Buffalo attracts one of the broadest demographics on the festival circuit. When Nevins encounters young women in the autograph line, she likes to write "Girl Power!" She's proud to see them looking up at the stage and watching a female musician really getting down, comprehending that they could do the same thing one day. In addition, Puryear has noted that Vietnam veterans have gravitated to the band. During a songwriting workshop, Puryear sang "Killing A Man," which examines the complicated psychological ramifications of ending another person's life. He felt uncertain about recording it, he says, until a veteran came up and asked him how he got those emotions exactly right.

Dance In The Street closes with "I Believe," a song with a message of support. From the stage, Nevins often hears men and women singing it with her. "I think our message is encouraging. It's something for people to latch onto," she says. "And what an awesome sound and feeling to hear an audience en masse singing your song with you."

Donna the Buffalo draws on a lot of musical influences, from country and rock 'n' roll, to bluegrass and old-time fiddle, as well as Cajun and Zydeco. In many ways, they were Americana before the term was ever coined. The common thread? Songs of the human spirit, and an incredibly tight relationship with their fans.

"The fans, they show up to be a part of it. We show up to be a part of it," Puryear says. "And we don't have an intimidating vibe where we're different than them. If a scene is really on, it doesn't matter whether you're watching, listening, dancing, or playing -- it's on, everybody knows it's on and it feels great! I think that's the nature of the connection."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Whether one leans towards the blues, opts for Americana or ignites some special fervor by playing with a garage band, there's a common bond that suggests a reverence for the roots. Looking back towards an earlier template -- no matter what the genre -- proves the point that appreciating what came before can be a stepping stone for what comes next.

Samantha Fish knows that all too well, and it's been evidenced in the music she's made her entire career. While she's well known as a purveyor of blues, having been lauded by such legends as Buddy Guy, the Royal Southern Brotherhood and Luther Dickinson, her real love is simply raw, scrappy rock and roll. "I grew up on it," she insists. "Working with Luther on my last album further instilled that spirit in me. It made me realize just how much that basic, unfettered sound means to me, and how well it ties into soul music, R&B, country and so many other forms of music that are essential even today."

It's little wonder then that when it came time to record her new album, Chills & Fever (released March 17, 2017), Fish ventured off in another new direction, one she was exploring for the first time in her career. She traveled to Detroit and joined forces with members of the Detroit Cobras, a band whose insurgent ethic has made them darlings of the Midwest punk/blues scene. The two entities -- which included Joe Mazzola on guitar, Steve Nawara on bass, and Kenny Tudrick along with Bob Mervak on keys, and the New Orleans horn section featuring Mark Levron and Travis Blotsky on trumpet and saxophone -- bonded over a common love of classic soul and rollicking rhythms, so much so that the results testify to a seemingly timeless template. Covering songs from the '60s and '70s -- indelible melodies from the pens of legends like Jackie DeShannon, Jerry Ragavoy, Bert Berns and Allen Toussaint -- and revisiting some earlier demos she cut along with producer Bobby Harlow, Fish and the Cobras created an album that's best described as a pure slab of rocking rhythm n' blues.

"I listened to a lot of soul music, and I dug deep into people like Otis Redding and Ray Charles," Fish recalls. "I was also influenced by people like R.L. Burnside and North Mississippi's Junior Kimbrough. It's a lot less restrained style of music than the sound people may be used to hearing from me, but it's definitely a different facet of my personality. It's far more straight forward."

The fact is, Fish has never been bound by any expectations whatsoever. Growing up in Kansas City, she switched from drums to guitar at the tender age of 15. She spent much of her time in local watering holes listening to visiting blues bands. Samantha caught the attention of Ruf Records. The label subsequently released her album, Girls with Guitars, which found her co-billed with Cassie Taylor and Dani Wilde. That led to her forming her own trio and recording three more albums, Runaway (2011), Black Wind Howlin' (2013) and Wild Heart (2015), as reaping an awards for Best Artist Debut at the 2012 Blues Music Awards in Memphis. Along the way she found herself working with other artists as well -- Jimmy Hall, Devon Allman, and Reese Wynans, among them.

Still, nothing she's done before can prepare her faithful fans and followers to the seminal sounds of Chills & Fever.

I don't think I ever enjoyed making a record quite as much as I enjoyed making this one," Fish insists. "I love the sound of the brass and the edgier intensity. One thing's for sure. Nothing ever felt so authentic."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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