Music and escapism go hand-in-hand. A concert or an album can unlock another world, if you let it. The Motet respect and revere this time-honored phenomenon. Fusing fiery funk, simmering soul, and improvisational inventiveness, the Denver, CO seven-piece—Lyle Divinsky [vocals], Dave Watts [drums], Joey Porter [keyboards], Garrett Sayers [bass], Ryan Jalbert [guitar], Parris Fleming [trumpet], and Drew Sayers [saxophone]—have continually provided an escape for listeners over the course of seven full-length albums since 1998, including their latest release Totem and with an upcoming 2019 release. That extends to countless sold out shows and festivals everywhere from Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, and Summer Camp to All Good Music Festival and High Sierra Music Festival as well as 16 consecutive years of themed Halloween concerts. “When you’re listening to us, I want your mind to be taken away from wherever you are during the day and into some other place,” states Dave. “It’s all about that.” After quietly building a diehard and devoted following, 2016 represented a watershed year for the musicians. They welcomed Lyle and Drew into the fold and released Totem, which drew acclaim from Relix, AXS, 303 Magazine, and many others.
For the first time, The Motet sold out the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater—the holy grail venue of their hometown—cataloged on Live at Red Rocks. Sell-outs followed everywhere from The Fillmore (San Francisco) and Tipitina’s (New Orleans) to Brooklyn Bowl (Brooklyn), Park West (Chicago), and Crystal Ballroom (Portland). The group locked into an unbreakable groove. “We’ve never been a band that just blew up overnight,” Dave goes on. “We’ve been very tenacious about our movement forward. We’ve been through many different iterations throughout the years.
Right now, it feels like we’ve got the lineup that’s making an impression on our scene. Lyle is the perfect match for us. He’s got musicality and this raw energy we all resonate with. He ignited this spark to put work in and write inspiring music.”
That spark lit again in 2017. Following Jam Cruise and a second Red Rocks gig, the band fired up the new single “Supernova.” Strutting between hypnotic horns and swaggering guitars, the track sees The Motet blast off to another galaxy. Quickly racking up over 150k Spotify streams in a month’s time, it instantly excited fans. “‘Supernova’ is the first song that I was involved with from start to finish,” explains Lyle. “Joey brought in the initial musical idea. We expanded upon it and worked everything out. The word ‘Supernova’ kept jumping out to me. We decided to roll with that and give it an interstellar romantic dance theme.” “Supernova” has kicked off a series of singles, so far including “Get It Right” and “That Dream”, that leads up to a new album coming in early 2019. However, everything comes back to the escape that The Motet deliver. “We want to take people on a journey,” Lyle leaves off. “In order to go on a journey, you have to participate. You can’t just simply let it happen around you. You have to give yourself into that journey. Everything is open. You’re free to be yourself. You’re free to go on that adventure and journey. We want to be the catalyst for listeners to understand themselves and the world around them.” “This is a family,” concludes Dave. “We’ve got each other’s backs. We’re doing this, because we love to be around each other and create together. We’re committed to working together because we appreciate and respect what we have to say and provide the music world and our community.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190116T165125Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:171 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190208T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190208T233000 UID:21FAC3B4-8F3A-4E85-8FEE-97AC99785268 SUMMARY:Whitey Morgan DTSTAMP:20190102T180609Z DESCRIPTION:The history of country music has no shortage of characters hit by hard luck: the hard-working man who can't seem to make ends meet, the heart-of-gold drunk who just can't seem to put down the bottle, the woman who wants to do right but ends up, time and again, doing wrong. No matter the tragedies at the center of the songs, in most cases those characters come off like just that -- characters; inventions of either a particularly gifted songwriter looking to spin a tall tale or a lazy one looking to pad out an album. But in the case of Whitey Morgan, those characters -- the drinker, the troublemaker, the struggling, hard-working man -- all seem arrestingly real.\NThat's largely because the stories on Sonic Ranch -- a big, nasty, whiskey-slugging, bare-knuckle bruiser of a country record -- are pulled from Morgan's own back pages.\NA native of the economically depressed city of Flint, Michigan, Morgan practically bleeds straight into each of the album's 10 songs, making for a kind of rough-and-tumble honky-tonk noir record that can pack the dance floor while doing Bukowski proud. Morgan opens the record at a loss -- "I gave up on Jesus/ When momma gave up on me/ So much for the family life/ It's just me and the whiskey," he growls in the album's opening moments -- and spends the rest of it fighting to keep the rest from being wrenched away, bottle by his side, fists clenched. "If I'm going down tonight," he defiantly sings, "I'm going down drinkin.'"\NCredit most of the album's fighting spirit to Morgan's childhood in Flint. A teenager who, in his own words, "got my ass kicked on a daily basis," Morgan witnessed the toll the city's troubled economy took on the people closest to him. "I experienced Flint through my parents and relatives," he explains. "A lot of them lost jobs at General Motors, and I saw a lot of factories close and get torn down." Despite the turmoil, Morgan's family was close. "We never dwelled on the negative. My mom always had dinner on the table and my dad worked everyday for GM to make sure there was always food. They never let on that things were getting bad, ever. Growing up in Flint ignited the 'never give up' attitude I apply to every part of my life. That's what you learn when you grow up in that town. You also learn that you don't take shit from anyone, ever."\NMorgan's certainly not taking any shit on 'Sonic Ranch.' On the grizzled, smoky cover of Waylon Jennings' "Goin' Down Rocking," he digs his heels in against anyone who would dare try to steamroll him. On "Low Down on the Backstreets," over staggering piano and glistening apostrophes of pedal steel, he's pushing back against a broken heart with country songs and dancing girls. And on the harrowing cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Waitin' 'Round to Die," he's staring down mortality with his jaw set and his eyes narrowed. "I have loved that song since the first time I heard it," Morgan says. "It's a dark masterpiece that looks in on a not-so-perfect, but not uncommon, life story. I did my best to put my own heart, soul and experiences into my version. I had a vision of making it sound as if it could be the score for the next Sergio Leone classic." Morgan achieved his vision; with its ominous, shadowy guitars and spectral lap steel, the song serves as the album's grim, potent centerpiece.\NEven in its lighter moments -- the holler-along revelry of "Ain't Gonna Take It Anymore"; the tender 'Good Timin' Man," which tackles the pressures of love and persona -- Sonic Ranch embraces the grit while maintaining a determinedly unvarnished sound. Much of that has to do with the relaxed atmosphere in the studio that gives the record its name. "My manager told me about this place he had been to outside of El Paso called Sonic Ranch," Morgan says. "That was a real departure from the usual studio vibe. My manager knows how much I do not like the 'studio' thing -- I never feel comfortable. This was exactly what I needed: a laid-back place with great gear where we could make a great record."\NMore than just the physical environment, though, Morgan also needed a producer he could trust. "We needed someone that could get the big bad sound we wanted, that wouldn't slick it up Nashville style. We also needed someone that would push me to my limits and not let me settle. We found that guy when we found Ryan Hewitt." Together Hewitt, Morgan and his band crafted a record as big on heart as it is on attitude. It's a record about loss and pain, but also about picking yourself up and pressing on, fighting to get what you want, and then to hold on to it for dear life.\N"The goal for me on this album was to keep moving forward musically, and try to give the fans my best album yet," Morgan says. "I don't really look at the big picture, I just always try and outdo myself." On Sonic Ranch, he's done exactly that. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The history of country music has no shortage of characters hit by hard luck: the hard-working man who can't seem to make ends meet, the heart-of-gold drunk who just can't seem to put down the bottle, the woman who wants to do right but ends up, time and again, doing wrong. No matter the tragedies at the center of the songs, in most cases those characters come off like just that -- characters; inventions of either a particularly gifted songwriter looking to spin a tall tale or a lazy one looking to pad out an album. But in the case of Whitey Morgan, those characters -- the drinker, the troublemaker, the struggling, hard-working man -- all seem arrestingly real.
That's largely because the stories on Sonic Ranch -- a big, nasty, whiskey-slugging, bare-knuckle bruiser of a country record -- are pulled from Morgan's own back pages.
A native of the economically depressed city of Flint, Michigan, Morgan practically bleeds straight into each of the album's 10 songs, making for a kind of rough-and-tumble honky-tonk noir record that can pack the dance floor while doing Bukowski proud. Morgan opens the record at a loss -- "I gave up on Jesus/ When momma gave up on me/ So much for the family life/ It's just me and the whiskey," he growls in the album's opening moments -- and spends the rest of it fighting to keep the rest from being wrenched away, bottle by his side, fists clenched. "If I'm going down tonight," he defiantly sings, "I'm going down drinkin.'"
Credit most of the album's fighting spirit to Morgan's childhood in Flint. A teenager who, in his own words, "got my ass kicked on a daily basis," Morgan witnessed the toll the city's troubled economy took on the people closest to him. "I experienced Flint through my parents and relatives," he explains. "A lot of them lost jobs at General Motors, and I saw a lot of factories close and get torn down." Despite the turmoil, Morgan's family was close. "We never dwelled on the negative. My mom always had dinner on the table and my dad worked everyday for GM to make sure there was always food. They never let on that things were getting bad, ever. Growing up in Flint ignited the 'never give up' attitude I apply to every part of my life. That's what you learn when you grow up in that town. You also learn that you don't take shit from anyone, ever."
Morgan's certainly not taking any shit on 'Sonic Ranch.' On the grizzled, smoky cover of Waylon Jennings' "Goin' Down Rocking," he digs his heels in against anyone who would dare try to steamroll him. On "Low Down on the Backstreets," over staggering piano and glistening apostrophes of pedal steel, he's pushing back against a broken heart with country songs and dancing girls. And on the harrowing cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Waitin' 'Round to Die," he's staring down mortality with his jaw set and his eyes narrowed. "I have loved that song since the first time I heard it," Morgan says. "It's a dark masterpiece that looks in on a not-so-perfect, but not uncommon, life story. I did my best to put my own heart, soul and experiences into my version. I had a vision of making it sound as if it could be the score for the next Sergio Leone classic." Morgan achieved his vision; with its ominous, shadowy guitars and spectral lap steel, the song serves as the album's grim, potent centerpiece.
Even in its lighter moments -- the holler-along revelry of "Ain't Gonna Take It Anymore"; the tender 'Good Timin' Man," which tackles the pressures of love and persona -- Sonic Ranch embraces the grit while maintaining a determinedly unvarnished sound. Much of that has to do with the relaxed atmosphere in the studio that gives the record its name. "My manager told me about this place he had been to outside of El Paso called Sonic Ranch," Morgan says. "That was a real departure from the usual studio vibe. My manager knows how much I do not like the 'studio' thing -- I never feel comfortable. This was exactly what I needed: a laid-back place with great gear where we could make a great record."
More than just the physical environment, though, Morgan also needed a producer he could trust. "We needed someone that could get the big bad sound we wanted, that wouldn't slick it up Nashville style. We also needed someone that would push me to my limits and not let me settle. We found that guy when we found Ryan Hewitt." Together Hewitt, Morgan and his band crafted a record as big on heart as it is on attitude. It's a record about loss and pain, but also about picking yourself up and pressing on, fighting to get what you want, and then to hold on to it for dear life.
"The goal for me on this album was to keep moving forward musically, and try to give the fans my best album yet," Morgan says. "I don't really look at the big picture, I just always try and outdo myself." On Sonic Ranch, he's done exactly that.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190208T230633Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:333 X-URL:https://lyte.com/commonwealthroom/Whitey-Morgan-76340/ X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190209T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190209T233000 UID:ABD72EC7-AAA1-4640-8330-439F82A0DCEB SUMMARY:Fruition DTSTAMP:20190102T182849Z DESCRIPTION:Fruition will be donating the proceeds from the first 3 months of digital sales and streaming for the tracks "Dirty Thieves" and "New Colossus" to charities closely tied to the subject matter of each track.\N"Dirty Thieves" was written by Jay Cobb Anderson as a result of the band’s van being broken into while playing a show at Brick & Mortar in San Francisco’s Mission district. The song references being woken up to the area's homeless problem by the sound of shattered glass, feeling inconvenienced by the theft at first, but upon looking closer, seeing it as another human struggling to survive. It imagines them using what was taken to somehow improve their desperate situation that is all too often overlooked. Keeping in spirit with the songs message, initial proceeds will go to San Francisco’s Community Housing Partnership who’s mission is to help homeless people secure housing and become self-sufficient.\N"New Colossus," composed by Kellen Asebroek, uses lyrics taken from Emma Lazarus' poem of the same name which is engraved on the base of the Statue of Liberty. In turn, the first 3 months' proceeds will be donated to the National Immigration Law Center. The band also recorded a live version of the track in Brooklyn for NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest while on tour earlier this year: https://youtu.be/JQce2pXOtzw?t=8s\NWith more festivals and a show at Red Rocks on the horizon, the band have announced a new run of headline dates for the fall including stops in Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and New York City and more. They will be joined at various dates by Daniel Rodriguez of Elephant Revival and The Lil Smokies. In November, the band will return to the Pacific Northwest for their first headline shows since they sold out New Year’s shows in Seattle and Portland. Yak Attack will open those 3 shows. \N X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Fruition will be donating the proceeds from the first 3 months of digital sales and streaming for the tracks "Dirty Thieves" and "New Colossus" to charities closely tied to the subject matter of each track.
"Dirty Thieves" was written by Jay Cobb Anderson as a result of the band’s van being broken into while playing a show at Brick & Mortar in San Francisco’s Mission district. The song references being woken up to the area's homeless problem by the sound of shattered glass, feeling inconvenienced by the theft at first, but upon looking closer, seeing it as another human struggling to survive. It imagines them using what was taken to somehow improve their desperate situation that is all too often overlooked. Keeping in spirit with the songs message, initial proceeds will go to San Francisco’s Community Housing Partnership who’s mission is to help homeless people secure housing and become self-sufficient.
"New Colossus," composed by Kellen Asebroek, uses lyrics taken from Emma Lazarus' poem of the same name which is engraved on the base of the Statue of Liberty. In turn, the first 3 months' proceeds will be donated to the National Immigration Law Center. The band also recorded a live version of the track in Brooklyn for NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest while on tour earlier this year: https://youtu.be/JQce2pXOtzw?t=8s
With more festivals and a show at Red Rocks on the horizon, the band have announced a new run of headline dates for the fall including stops in Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and New York City and more. They will be joined at various dates by Daniel Rodriguez of Elephant Revival and The Lil Smokies. In November, the band will return to the Pacific Northwest for their first headline shows since they sold out New Year’s shows in Seattle and Portland. Yak Attack will open those 3 shows.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190208T231021Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:205 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190211T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190211T233000 UID:BB27A839-61BA-4E6C-B34C-F4D940ACEB5B SUMMARY:Richard Thompson Electric Trio DTSTAMP:20190102T184532Z DESCRIPTION:In 2017, Ivor Novello Award-winning and GRAMMY® Award-nominated legend Richard Thompson gave himself up to the music itself. Picking up a guitar, emotions echoed through his deft fleet-fingered fretwork, poetic songwriting, impassioned picking. Those transmissions comprise his nineteenth solo album, 13 Rivers.\N“I never really think about what songs mean,” he admits. “I just write them. Some of them reflect on what happened a few months ago or even a year ago. It’s a process of surveying my life and where I was at.”\NIn 2017, Thompson began composing ideas for what would become 13 Rivers at his California home. Off the road, he focused on writing. As a result of the defined time period, the music possessed a distinct cohesion.\N“I wrote the songs as a group to hang together,” he elaborates. “They belong together in some way and seem to possess a commonality since they were written in the same time and space.”\NTo capture this vision, he retreated to the famed Boulevard Recording Studio in Los Angeles. Known previously as “The Producers Workshop” and once owned by Liberace and his manager, the locale served as the site for seminal classics by Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Ringo Starr, and Joan Baez. It also hosted the mixing sessions for Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Notably, this marked the first time Thompson self-produced in over a decade and he opted to track analog in just ten days. Engineered by Clay Blair (The War on Drugs), usual suspects Michael Jerome [drums, percussion], Taras Prodaniuk [bass], and Bobby Eichorn [guitar] joined him.\N“It’s a funky studio that was quite popular in the sixties and seventies,” he says. “It used to be Hollywood trendy, but it fell into total disrepair. It’s still got some gaps in the walls. I like studios that are honest. It’s about the décor of the sound, and there’s a specific sound to Boulevard. Clay is a Beatles nut, so I could grab a Gretsch off the wall or dial into an amp that had this unbelievable tone reminiscent of The Beatles. They also say Liberace’s ghost still haunts the place, but I hadn’t seen him myself,” laughs Thompson.\N13 Rivers commences on the tribal percussion and guitar rustle of “The Storm Won’t Come” as the artist bellows, “I’m looking for a storm to blow through town.” The energy mounts before climaxing on a lyrical electric lead rife with airy bends and succinct shredding.\N“Obviously it's been a stressful couple of years,” he sighs. “The song references wanting to change your life—but it’s a difficult undertaking. You have to wait for it to happen naturally. You can’t force it.”\NElsewhere, “Her Love Was Meant For Me” spirals into an emotionally charged display of fret fireworks punctuated by his deep wail. “Tears” shakes and shuffles from haunting verses towards a hypnotic refrain “about a friend’s hard and interesting life.”\NMeanwhile, the dreamy “Shaking The Gates” unfolds like a hymnal as he croons, “I’m shaking the gates of heaven.”\N“The are 13 songs on the record, and each one is like a river,” he explains. “Some flow faster than others. Some follow a slow and winding current. They all culminate on this one body of work.”\NIn many ways, his career has pointed towards such a statement. Powered by evocative songcraft, jaw-dropping guitar playing, and indefinable spirit, this venerable icon holds a coveted spot on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and counts a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association in Nashville, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the BBC Awards among his many accolades. 2011 saw Thompson garner an OBE (Order of the British Empire) personally bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Moreover, Time touted his anthem, “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” on its “100 Greatest Songs Since 1923” list.\NThompson’s influence can’t be overstated. Everybody from Robert Plant, Don Henley, and Elvis Costello to REM, Sleater-Kinney and David Byrne has covered his music.\NWilco’s Jeff Tweedy jumped at the chance to produce 2015’s Still - which earned plaudits from Pitchfork, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, and more. Meanwhile, Werner Herzog tapped him for the soundtrack to Grizzly Man. He launched his career by co-founding trailblazing rock outfit Fairport Convention, responsible for igniting a British Folk Rock movement.\NHowever, 13 Rivers represents another high watermark. “The songs are a surprise in a good way,” he leaves off. “They came to me as a surprise in a dark time. They reflected my emotions in an oblique manner that I’ll never truly understand. It’s as if they’d been channeled from somewhere else. You find deeper meaning in the best records as time goes on. The reward comes later.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:In 2017, Ivor Novello Award-winning and GRAMMY® Award-nominated legend Richard Thompson gave himself up to the music itself. Picking up a guitar, emotions echoed through his deft fleet-fingered fretwork, poetic songwriting, impassioned picking. Those transmissions comprise his nineteenth solo album, 13 Rivers.
“I never really think about what songs mean,” he admits. “I just write them. Some of them reflect on what happened a few months ago or even a year ago. It’s a process of surveying my life and where I was at.”
In 2017, Thompson began composing ideas for what would become 13 Rivers at his California home. Off the road, he focused on writing. As a result of the defined time period, the music possessed a distinct cohesion.
“I wrote the songs as a group to hang together,” he elaborates. “They belong together in some way and seem to possess a commonality since they were written in the same time and space.”
To capture this vision, he retreated to the famed Boulevard Recording Studio in Los Angeles. Known previously as “The Producers Workshop” and once owned by Liberace and his manager, the locale served as the site for seminal classics by Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Ringo Starr, and Joan Baez. It also hosted the mixing sessions for Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Notably, this marked the first time Thompson self-produced in over a decade and he opted to track analog in just ten days. Engineered by Clay Blair (The War on Drugs), usual suspects Michael Jerome [drums, percussion], Taras Prodaniuk [bass], and Bobby Eichorn [guitar] joined him.
“It’s a funky studio that was quite popular in the sixties and seventies,” he says. “It used to be Hollywood trendy, but it fell into total disrepair. It’s still got some gaps in the walls. I like studios that are honest. It’s about the décor of the sound, and there’s a specific sound to Boulevard. Clay is a Beatles nut, so I could grab a Gretsch off the wall or dial into an amp that had this unbelievable tone reminiscent of The Beatles. They also say Liberace’s ghost still haunts the place, but I hadn’t seen him myself,” laughs Thompson.
13 Rivers commences on the tribal percussion and guitar rustle of “The Storm Won’t Come” as the artist bellows, “I’m looking for a storm to blow through town.” The energy mounts before climaxing on a lyrical electric lead rife with airy bends and succinct shredding.
“Obviously it's been a stressful couple of years,” he sighs. “The song references wanting to change your life—but it’s a difficult undertaking. You have to wait for it to happen naturally. You can’t force it.”
Elsewhere, “Her Love Was Meant For Me” spirals into an emotionally charged display of fret fireworks punctuated by his deep wail. “Tears” shakes and shuffles from haunting verses towards a hypnotic refrain “about a friend’s hard and interesting life.”
Meanwhile, the dreamy “Shaking The Gates” unfolds like a hymnal as he croons, “I’m shaking the gates of heaven.”
“The are 13 songs on the record, and each one is like a river,” he explains. “Some flow faster than others. Some follow a slow and winding current. They all culminate on this one body of work.”
In many ways, his career has pointed towards such a statement. Powered by evocative songcraft, jaw-dropping guitar playing, and indefinable spirit, this venerable icon holds a coveted spot on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and counts a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association in Nashville, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the BBC Awards among his many accolades. 2011 saw Thompson garner an OBE (Order of the British Empire) personally bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Moreover, Time touted his anthem, “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” on its “100 Greatest Songs Since 1923” list.
Thompson’s influence can’t be overstated. Everybody from Robert Plant, Don Henley, and Elvis Costello to REM, Sleater-Kinney and David Byrne has covered his music.
Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy jumped at the chance to produce 2015’s Still - which earned plaudits from Pitchfork, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, and more. Meanwhile, Werner Herzog tapped him for the soundtrack to Grizzly Man. He launched his career by co-founding trailblazing rock outfit Fairport Convention, responsible for igniting a British Folk Rock movement.
However, 13 Rivers represents another high watermark. “The songs are a surprise in a good way,” he leaves off. “They came to me as a surprise in a dark time. They reflected my emotions in an oblique manner that I’ll never truly understand. It’s as if they’d been channeled from somewhere else. You find deeper meaning in the best records as time goes on. The reward comes later.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190208T233409Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:420 X-URL:https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1801442?_ga=2.105561283.1911465370.1546452681-1919782419.1546452679 X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190214T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190214T233000 UID:35E9B275-D574-48BA-90B5-3E4762027A9A SUMMARY:Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real (Night One) DTSTAMP:20190102T185816Z DESCRIPTION:Sold Out - Missed out on tickets? Try using our Ticket Exchange powered by Lyte to find tickets to this sold out show.\NSince forming 10 years ago, the buzz surrounding Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real has been quietly intensifying. During that time, the 28-year old singer/songwriter/guitarist and his bandmates have played hundreds of shows and major festivals all over the world and built a devoted underground following. Lukas’ profile continued to rise when he contributed three songs and heavenly vocals to his dad Willie Nelson’s 2012 album, Heroes, their voices blending with potent DNA. Then two years later, life took another turn skyward when Neil Young decided to make Promise of the Real his touring and studio band. Young has guided the grateful young musicians ever since as they’ve backed the legend on tour around the world and on his two most recent albums.\NThese experiences were undoubtedly invaluable, but none of what has come before will prepare you for the cosmic country soul of Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, the band’s new, self-titled album, a mesmerizing, emotionally genuine, endlessly rewarding work set for release on Fantasy Records. From the epic “Set Me Down on a Cloud” to the climactic “If I Started Over,” the album delivers one sublime song and inspired performance after another.\N“I knew I had a lot of good songs that transcended the cultural boundaries between rock & roll and country,” Lukas says of his vision for the album. “I wanted to get the songs as pure as they could be. We owe a lot to Neil; we made this record after coming off the road with him for two years. Neil’s been mentoring us, and we’ve been absorbing that energy, and I think it shows. We got acclimated to a different level of artistic expression. We’ve grown.”\NLukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, produced by song-shaping specialist John Alagia (numerous Dave Matthews Band LPs, John Mayer’s Room for Squares) was recorded at The Village Studios in West Los Angeles. Promise of the Real’s six-piece line-up now includes longtime bandmates Tato Melgar (percussion), Anthony LoGerfo (drums) and Corey McCormick (bass, vocals) along with new members Jesse Siebenberg (steel guitars, Farfisa organ, vocals) and Alberto Bof (piano, Wurlitzer, Hammond B3). Stefani “Lady Gaga” Germanotta (who convincingly plays the role of Bonnie to Lukas’ Delaney) added her signature vocals to the rousing “Carolina” and “Find Yourself,” while Jess Wolfe and Holly Lessig of the Brooklyn-based indie-pop duo Lucius provide backing vocals on five of the 12 tracks, evoking Exile on Main St.’s ecstatic, gospel-rooted harmonies.\NThe band’s many influences can be discerned in the opening track, “Set Me Down on a Cloud,” a soulful country rocker that features Lucius’ spiritual vocals and an extended solo underscores Lukas’ tasteful guitar virtuosity.\NThe lilting, pastoral “Just Outside of Austin” features a guitar solo from Willie, while Lukas’ 86-year-old Aunt Bobbi plays piano. “It’s a love letter to Austin, something like Roger Miller or Glen Campbell would write,” he said.\N“Runnin’ Shine,” one of the album’s first-person character studies, is written from the perspective of a young moonshiner trying to outsmart the law while hurtling along Appalachian back roads in a souped-up car loaded with homemade booze. “Perspective is huge,” says Lukas. “If you’re able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and you can relate to them, it’s really hard to hate them, even if you don’t agree with how they live their life.”\NTwo of the album’s most breathtaking songs, “Find Yourself” and “Forget About Georgia,” vividly retrace the turbulent final stages and bittersweet aftermath of the same doomed love affair. “After the relationship ended, I had to play Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind” every night when I was on the road with my dad, which made it literally impossible to forget about her.” Introduced by a wistful four-note guitar lick that reoccurs throughout the arrangement, “Forget About Georgia” unfolds to a “Layla”-like outpouring of romantic yearning, as the band stretches out behind Lukas’ emotional guitar soloing. Not surprisingly, it’s Young’s favorite song on the album.\NInspired by the big ballads of Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley, Lukas delivers a full-throttle vocal on the closing track, “If I Started Over,” at once a cosmic rumination and a rapturous expression of romantic devotion. “The song is asking, what if, after we die, we just come back? What if we have to do the same dream again until we learn the right lessons?\NA seasoned veteran at 28, Austin-born Lukas grew up in Maui, while spending much of his time during school breaks in his hometown and on the road with his dad. “I had a lot of passions growing up,” he says. “I played soccer, I was on the swim team, living a Maui lifestyle, surfing and skateboarding. I also loved singing and wrote my first song when I was 11. I became obsessed with guitar, playing eight to 10 hours a day. I knew what I wanted to do from a super-young age, and I made my life about it.” He and his brother Micah played in bands together in high school, and they struck up a friendship with Uruguay-born Tato Melgar, a skilled musician then making his living as a landscaper, who taught the brothers the basics of drumming.\NIn 2007, Lukas headed to the mainland to attend L.A.’s Loyola Marymount University. A year later, after meeting LoGerfo at a Neil Young concert, he dropped out of school and started a band with LoGerfo, Melgar and original bassist Merlyn Kelly; he named it Promise of the Real, referencing a line in Young’s 1973 song “Walk On”: “Sooner or later it all gets real.” When McCormick joined two years later on bass, the POTR lineup was set. The band woodshedded; averaging more than 200 shows a year. Drawing on Lukas’ lineage as well surrogate uncles like Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and the classic rock and roll of J.J. Cale, The Band, Clapton era Delaney and Bonnie and of course mentor Neil Young, they began to develop their own distinctive style of American music.\NYoung befriended the band after checking them out at Farm Aid several years back. “Neil got in touch after that, and we started talking by email,” Lukas recounts. “Eventually, he asked us to record with him. So we recorded The Monsanto Years and played some shows together, and we fell in love with each other musically, one thing led to another and we became Neil’s band.\N“What’s happened with us feels similar to the career trajectory of The Band,” he continues. “They were already a great band when they started working with Dylan, who lifted them up, which is similar to what Neil’s done for us. He’s also given people a chance to hear what we’re doing and what our own songs have to offer. Then we played the Desert Trip with Neil, along with Paul McCartney, the Stones, the Who and Dylan. That was incredible.”\NThose two weekends in Indio last October turned out to be extremely fortuitous. “We met Lucius at Desert Trip,” says Lukas. “They were playing with Roger Waters—and still are. Then they came to the Bridge School Benefit, where we really got to know them. I love Jess and Holly—they really enhance the record.”\NBradley Cooper also saw Lukas play at Desert Trip, and right afterward contacted a mutual friend about helping him on the new film he’s directing and starring in, a remake of A Star is Born. “At first I was just helping him out, and then I started writing with Stefani (Lady Gaga), who’s in the movie. We connected and she and I became really close. I got very involved in this film and ended up bringing the band into it as well.”\NComing of age in a celebrated musical family, Lukas Nelson learned early on that true originality is hard won, never given. Doubtlessly blessed with a measure of musical ability, it’s clear that his natural gifts have been honed by a singular devotion to craft and a deep appreciation for the sacrifice a creative life requires. Elated by the way things have come together so beautifully, Lukas is gratified that POTR have earned this moment and seized the opportunities that have led to this album—all perfectly capturing what he’d heard in his head 18 months earlier.\N“It’s just amazing how things have flowed,” Lukas marvels. “It feels divine in a way.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Since forming 10 years ago, the buzz surrounding Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real has been quietly intensifying. During that time, the 28-year old singer/songwriter/guitarist and his bandmates have played hundreds of shows and major festivals all over the world and built a devoted underground following. Lukas’ profile continued to rise when he contributed three songs and heavenly vocals to his dad Willie Nelson’s 2012 album, Heroes, their voices blending with potent DNA. Then two years later, life took another turn skyward when Neil Young decided to make Promise of the Real his touring and studio band. Young has guided the grateful young musicians ever since as they’ve backed the legend on tour around the world and on his two most recent albums.
These experiences were undoubtedly invaluable, but none of what has come before will prepare you for the cosmic country soul of Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, the band’s new, self-titled album, a mesmerizing, emotionally genuine, endlessly rewarding work set for release on Fantasy Records. From the epic “Set Me Down on a Cloud” to the climactic “If I Started Over,” the album delivers one sublime song and inspired performance after another.
“I knew I had a lot of good songs that transcended the cultural boundaries between rock & roll and country,” Lukas says of his vision for the album. “I wanted to get the songs as pure as they could be. We owe a lot to Neil; we made this record after coming off the road with him for two years. Neil’s been mentoring us, and we’ve been absorbing that energy, and I think it shows. We got acclimated to a different level of artistic expression. We’ve grown.”
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, produced by song-shaping specialist John Alagia (numerous Dave Matthews Band LPs, John Mayer’s Room for Squares) was recorded at The Village Studios in West Los Angeles. Promise of the Real’s six-piece line-up now includes longtime bandmates Tato Melgar (percussion), Anthony LoGerfo (drums) and Corey McCormick (bass, vocals) along with new members Jesse Siebenberg (steel guitars, Farfisa organ, vocals) and Alberto Bof (piano, Wurlitzer, Hammond B3). Stefani “Lady Gaga” Germanotta (who convincingly plays the role of Bonnie to Lukas’ Delaney) added her signature vocals to the rousing “Carolina” and “Find Yourself,” while Jess Wolfe and Holly Lessig of the Brooklyn-based indie-pop duo Lucius provide backing vocals on five of the 12 tracks, evoking Exile on Main St.’s ecstatic, gospel-rooted harmonies.
The band’s many influences can be discerned in the opening track, “Set Me Down on a Cloud,” a soulful country rocker that features Lucius’ spiritual vocals and an extended solo underscores Lukas’ tasteful guitar virtuosity.
The lilting, pastoral “Just Outside of Austin” features a guitar solo from Willie, while Lukas’ 86-year-old Aunt Bobbi plays piano. “It’s a love letter to Austin, something like Roger Miller or Glen Campbell would write,” he said.
“Runnin’ Shine,” one of the album’s first-person character studies, is written from the perspective of a young moonshiner trying to outsmart the law while hurtling along Appalachian back roads in a souped-up car loaded with homemade booze. “Perspective is huge,” says Lukas. “If you’re able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and you can relate to them, it’s really hard to hate them, even if you don’t agree with how they live their life.”
Two of the album’s most breathtaking songs, “Find Yourself” and “Forget About Georgia,” vividly retrace the turbulent final stages and bittersweet aftermath of the same doomed love affair. “After the relationship ended, I had to play Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind” every night when I was on the road with my dad, which made it literally impossible to forget about her.” Introduced by a wistful four-note guitar lick that reoccurs throughout the arrangement, “Forget About Georgia” unfolds to a “Layla”-like outpouring of romantic yearning, as the band stretches out behind Lukas’ emotional guitar soloing. Not surprisingly, it’s Young’s favorite song on the album.
Inspired by the big ballads of Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley, Lukas delivers a full-throttle vocal on the closing track, “If I Started Over,” at once a cosmic rumination and a rapturous expression of romantic devotion. “The song is asking, what if, after we die, we just come back? What if we have to do the same dream again until we learn the right lessons?
A seasoned veteran at 28, Austin-born Lukas grew up in Maui, while spending much of his time during school breaks in his hometown and on the road with his dad. “I had a lot of passions growing up,” he says. “I played soccer, I was on the swim team, living a Maui lifestyle, surfing and skateboarding. I also loved singing and wrote my first song when I was 11. I became obsessed with guitar, playing eight to 10 hours a day. I knew what I wanted to do from a super-young age, and I made my life about it.” He and his brother Micah played in bands together in high school, and they struck up a friendship with Uruguay-born Tato Melgar, a skilled musician then making his living as a landscaper, who taught the brothers the basics of drumming.
In 2007, Lukas headed to the mainland to attend L.A.’s Loyola Marymount University. A year later, after meeting LoGerfo at a Neil Young concert, he dropped out of school and started a band with LoGerfo, Melgar and original bassist Merlyn Kelly; he named it Promise of the Real, referencing a line in Young’s 1973 song “Walk On”: “Sooner or later it all gets real.” When McCormick joined two years later on bass, the POTR lineup was set. The band woodshedded; averaging more than 200 shows a year. Drawing on Lukas’ lineage as well surrogate uncles like Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and the classic rock and roll of J.J. Cale, The Band, Clapton era Delaney and Bonnie and of course mentor Neil Young, they began to develop their own distinctive style of American music.
Young befriended the band after checking them out at Farm Aid several years back. “Neil got in touch after that, and we started talking by email,” Lukas recounts. “Eventually, he asked us to record with him. So we recorded The Monsanto Years and played some shows together, and we fell in love with each other musically, one thing led to another and we became Neil’s band.
“What’s happened with us feels similar to the career trajectory of The Band,” he continues. “They were already a great band when they started working with Dylan, who lifted them up, which is similar to what Neil’s done for us. He’s also given people a chance to hear what we’re doing and what our own songs have to offer. Then we played the Desert Trip with Neil, along with Paul McCartney, the Stones, the Who and Dylan. That was incredible.”
Those two weekends in Indio last October turned out to be extremely fortuitous. “We met Lucius at Desert Trip,” says Lukas. “They were playing with Roger Waters—and still are. Then they came to the Bridge School Benefit, where we really got to know them. I love Jess and Holly—they really enhance the record.”
Bradley Cooper also saw Lukas play at Desert Trip, and right afterward contacted a mutual friend about helping him on the new film he’s directing and starring in, a remake of A Star is Born. “At first I was just helping him out, and then I started writing with Stefani (Lady Gaga), who’s in the movie. We connected and she and I became really close. I got very involved in this film and ended up bringing the band into it as well.”
Coming of age in a celebrated musical family, Lukas Nelson learned early on that true originality is hard won, never given. Doubtlessly blessed with a measure of musical ability, it’s clear that his natural gifts have been honed by a singular devotion to craft and a deep appreciation for the sacrifice a creative life requires. Elated by the way things have come together so beautifully, Lukas is gratified that POTR have earned this moment and seized the opportunities that have led to this album—all perfectly capturing what he’d heard in his head 18 months earlier.
“It’s just amazing how things have flowed,” Lukas marvels. “It feels divine in a way.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190213T005020Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:713 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190215T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190215T233000 UID:D4C4F13F-90DC-49BC-8D55-83AEA4D68410 SUMMARY:Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real (Night Two) DTSTAMP:20190102T190611Z DESCRIPTION:Sold Out - Missed out on tickets? Try using our Ticket Exchange powered by Lyte to find tickets to this sold out show. \NSince forming 10 years ago, the buzz surrounding Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real has been quietly intensifying. During that time, the 28-year old singer/songwriter/guitarist and his bandmates have played hundreds of shows and major festivals all over the world and built a devoted underground following. Lukas’ profile continued to rise when he contributed three songs and heavenly vocals to his dad Willie Nelson’s 2012 album, Heroes, their voices blending with potent DNA. Then two years later, life took another turn skyward when Neil Young decided to make Promise of the Real his touring and studio band. Young has guided the grateful young musicians ever since as they’ve backed the legend on tour around the world and on his two most recent albums.\NThese experiences were undoubtedly invaluable, but none of what has come before will prepare you for the cosmic country soul of Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, the band’s new, self-titled album, a mesmerizing, emotionally genuine, endlessly rewarding work set for release on Fantasy Records. From the epic “Set Me Down on a Cloud” to the climactic “If I Started Over,” the album delivers one sublime song and inspired performance after another.\N“I knew I had a lot of good songs that transcended the cultural boundaries between rock & roll and country,” Lukas says of his vision for the album. “I wanted to get the songs as pure as they could be. We owe a lot to Neil; we made this record after coming off the road with him for two years. Neil’s been mentoring us, and we’ve been absorbing that energy, and I think it shows. We got acclimated to a different level of artistic expression. We’ve grown.”\NLukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, produced by song-shaping specialist John Alagia (numerous Dave Matthews Band LPs, John Mayer’s Room for Squares) was recorded at The Village Studios in West Los Angeles. Promise of the Real’s six-piece line-up now includes longtime bandmates Tato Melgar (percussion), Anthony LoGerfo (drums) and Corey McCormick (bass, vocals) along with new members Jesse Siebenberg (steel guitars, Farfisa organ, vocals) and Alberto Bof (piano, Wurlitzer, Hammond B3). Stefani “Lady Gaga” Germanotta (who convincingly plays the role of Bonnie to Lukas’ Delaney) added her signature vocals to the rousing “Carolina” and “Find Yourself,” while Jess Wolfe and Holly Lessig of the Brooklyn-based indie-pop duo Lucius provide backing vocals on five of the 12 tracks, evoking Exile on Main St.’s ecstatic, gospel-rooted harmonies.\NThe band’s many influences can be discerned in the opening track, “Set Me Down on a Cloud,” a soulful country rocker that features Lucius’ spiritual vocals and an extended solo underscores Lukas’ tasteful guitar virtuosity.\NThe lilting, pastoral “Just Outside of Austin” features a guitar solo from Willie, while Lukas’ 86-year-old Aunt Bobbi plays piano. “It’s a love letter to Austin, something like Roger Miller or Glen Campbell would write,” he said.\N“Runnin’ Shine,” one of the album’s first-person character studies, is written from the perspective of a young moonshiner trying to outsmart the law while hurtling along Appalachian back roads in a souped-up car loaded with homemade booze. “Perspective is huge,” says Lukas. “If you’re able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and you can relate to them, it’s really hard to hate them, even if you don’t agree with how they live their life.”\NTwo of the album’s most breathtaking songs, “Find Yourself” and “Forget About Georgia,” vividly retrace the turbulent final stages and bittersweet aftermath of the same doomed love affair. “After the relationship ended, I had to play Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind” every night when I was on the road with my dad, which made it literally impossible to forget about her.” Introduced by a wistful four-note guitar lick that reoccurs throughout the arrangement, “Forget About Georgia” unfolds to a “Layla”-like outpouring of romantic yearning, as the band stretches out behind Lukas’ emotional guitar soloing. Not surprisingly, it’s Young’s favorite song on the album.\NInspired by the big ballads of Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley, Lukas delivers a full-throttle vocal on the closing track, “If I Started Over,” at once a cosmic rumination and a rapturous expression of romantic devotion. “The song is asking, what if, after we die, we just come back? What if we have to do the same dream again until we learn the right lessons?\NA seasoned veteran at 28, Austin-born Lukas grew up in Maui, while spending much of his time during school breaks in his hometown and on the road with his dad. “I had a lot of passions growing up,” he says. “I played soccer, I was on the swim team, living a Maui lifestyle, surfing and skateboarding. I also loved singing and wrote my first song when I was 11. I became obsessed with guitar, playing eight to 10 hours a day. I knew what I wanted to do from a super-young age, and I made my life about it.” He and his brother Micah played in bands together in high school, and they struck up a friendship with Uruguay-born Tato Melgar, a skilled musician then making his living as a landscaper, who taught the brothers the basics of drumming.\NIn 2007, Lukas headed to the mainland to attend L.A.’s Loyola Marymount University. A year later, after meeting LoGerfo at a Neil Young concert, he dropped out of school and started a band with LoGerfo, Melgar and original bassist Merlyn Kelly; he named it Promise of the Real, referencing a line in Young’s 1973 song “Walk On”: “Sooner or later it all gets real.” When McCormick joined two years later on bass, the POTR lineup was set. The band woodshedded; averaging more than 200 shows a year. Drawing on Lukas’ lineage as well surrogate uncles like Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and the classic rock and roll of J.J. Cale, The Band, Clapton era Delaney and Bonnie and of course mentor Neil Young, they began to develop their own distinctive style of American music.\NYoung befriended the band after checking them out at Farm Aid several years back. “Neil got in touch after that, and we started talking by email,” Lukas recounts. “Eventually, he asked us to record with him. So we recorded The Monsanto Years and played some shows together, and we fell in love with each other musically, one thing led to another and we became Neil’s band.\N“What’s happened with us feels similar to the career trajectory of The Band,” he continues. “They were already a great band when they started working with Dylan, who lifted them up, which is similar to what Neil’s done for us. He’s also given people a chance to hear what we’re doing and what our own songs have to offer. Then we played the Desert Trip with Neil, along with Paul McCartney, the Stones, the Who and Dylan. That was incredible.”\NThose two weekends in Indio last October turned out to be extremely fortuitous. “We met Lucius at Desert Trip,” says Lukas. “They were playing with Roger Waters—and still are. Then they came to the Bridge School Benefit, where we really got to know them. I love Jess and Holly—they really enhance the record.”\NBradley Cooper also saw Lukas play at Desert Trip, and right afterward contacted a mutual friend about helping him on the new film he’s directing and starring in, a remake of A Star is Born. “At first I was just helping him out, and then I started writing with Stefani (Lady Gaga), who’s in the movie. We connected and she and I became really close. I got very involved in this film and ended up bringing the band into it as well.”\NComing of age in a celebrated musical family, Lukas Nelson learned early on that true originality is hard won, never given. Doubtlessly blessed with a measure of musical ability, it’s clear that his natural gifts have been honed by a singular devotion to craft and a deep appreciation for the sacrifice a creative life requires. Elated by the way things have come together so beautifully, Lukas is gratified that POTR have earned this moment and seized the opportunities that have led to this album—all perfectly capturing what he’d heard in his head 18 months earlier.\N“It’s just amazing how things have flowed,” Lukas marvels. “It feels divine in a way.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Since forming 10 years ago, the buzz surrounding Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real has been quietly intensifying. During that time, the 28-year old singer/songwriter/guitarist and his bandmates have played hundreds of shows and major festivals all over the world and built a devoted underground following. Lukas’ profile continued to rise when he contributed three songs and heavenly vocals to his dad Willie Nelson’s 2012 album, Heroes, their voices blending with potent DNA. Then two years later, life took another turn skyward when Neil Young decided to make Promise of the Real his touring and studio band. Young has guided the grateful young musicians ever since as they’ve backed the legend on tour around the world and on his two most recent albums.
These experiences were undoubtedly invaluable, but none of what has come before will prepare you for the cosmic country soul of Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, the band’s new, self-titled album, a mesmerizing, emotionally genuine, endlessly rewarding work set for release on Fantasy Records. From the epic “Set Me Down on a Cloud” to the climactic “If I Started Over,” the album delivers one sublime song and inspired performance after another.
“I knew I had a lot of good songs that transcended the cultural boundaries between rock & roll and country,” Lukas says of his vision for the album. “I wanted to get the songs as pure as they could be. We owe a lot to Neil; we made this record after coming off the road with him for two years. Neil’s been mentoring us, and we’ve been absorbing that energy, and I think it shows. We got acclimated to a different level of artistic expression. We’ve grown.”
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, produced by song-shaping specialist John Alagia (numerous Dave Matthews Band LPs, John Mayer’s Room for Squares) was recorded at The Village Studios in West Los Angeles. Promise of the Real’s six-piece line-up now includes longtime bandmates Tato Melgar (percussion), Anthony LoGerfo (drums) and Corey McCormick (bass, vocals) along with new members Jesse Siebenberg (steel guitars, Farfisa organ, vocals) and Alberto Bof (piano, Wurlitzer, Hammond B3). Stefani “Lady Gaga” Germanotta (who convincingly plays the role of Bonnie to Lukas’ Delaney) added her signature vocals to the rousing “Carolina” and “Find Yourself,” while Jess Wolfe and Holly Lessig of the Brooklyn-based indie-pop duo Lucius provide backing vocals on five of the 12 tracks, evoking Exile on Main St.’s ecstatic, gospel-rooted harmonies.
The band’s many influences can be discerned in the opening track, “Set Me Down on a Cloud,” a soulful country rocker that features Lucius’ spiritual vocals and an extended solo underscores Lukas’ tasteful guitar virtuosity.
The lilting, pastoral “Just Outside of Austin” features a guitar solo from Willie, while Lukas’ 86-year-old Aunt Bobbi plays piano. “It’s a love letter to Austin, something like Roger Miller or Glen Campbell would write,” he said.
“Runnin’ Shine,” one of the album’s first-person character studies, is written from the perspective of a young moonshiner trying to outsmart the law while hurtling along Appalachian back roads in a souped-up car loaded with homemade booze. “Perspective is huge,” says Lukas. “If you’re able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and you can relate to them, it’s really hard to hate them, even if you don’t agree with how they live their life.”
Two of the album’s most breathtaking songs, “Find Yourself” and “Forget About Georgia,” vividly retrace the turbulent final stages and bittersweet aftermath of the same doomed love affair. “After the relationship ended, I had to play Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind” every night when I was on the road with my dad, which made it literally impossible to forget about her.” Introduced by a wistful four-note guitar lick that reoccurs throughout the arrangement, “Forget About Georgia” unfolds to a “Layla”-like outpouring of romantic yearning, as the band stretches out behind Lukas’ emotional guitar soloing. Not surprisingly, it’s Young’s favorite song on the album.
Inspired by the big ballads of Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley, Lukas delivers a full-throttle vocal on the closing track, “If I Started Over,” at once a cosmic rumination and a rapturous expression of romantic devotion. “The song is asking, what if, after we die, we just come back? What if we have to do the same dream again until we learn the right lessons?
A seasoned veteran at 28, Austin-born Lukas grew up in Maui, while spending much of his time during school breaks in his hometown and on the road with his dad. “I had a lot of passions growing up,” he says. “I played soccer, I was on the swim team, living a Maui lifestyle, surfing and skateboarding. I also loved singing and wrote my first song when I was 11. I became obsessed with guitar, playing eight to 10 hours a day. I knew what I wanted to do from a super-young age, and I made my life about it.” He and his brother Micah played in bands together in high school, and they struck up a friendship with Uruguay-born Tato Melgar, a skilled musician then making his living as a landscaper, who taught the brothers the basics of drumming.
In 2007, Lukas headed to the mainland to attend L.A.’s Loyola Marymount University. A year later, after meeting LoGerfo at a Neil Young concert, he dropped out of school and started a band with LoGerfo, Melgar and original bassist Merlyn Kelly; he named it Promise of the Real, referencing a line in Young’s 1973 song “Walk On”: “Sooner or later it all gets real.” When McCormick joined two years later on bass, the POTR lineup was set. The band woodshedded; averaging more than 200 shows a year. Drawing on Lukas’ lineage as well surrogate uncles like Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, and the classic rock and roll of J.J. Cale, The Band, Clapton era Delaney and Bonnie and of course mentor Neil Young, they began to develop their own distinctive style of American music.
Young befriended the band after checking them out at Farm Aid several years back. “Neil got in touch after that, and we started talking by email,” Lukas recounts. “Eventually, he asked us to record with him. So we recorded The Monsanto Years and played some shows together, and we fell in love with each other musically, one thing led to another and we became Neil’s band.
“What’s happened with us feels similar to the career trajectory of The Band,” he continues. “They were already a great band when they started working with Dylan, who lifted them up, which is similar to what Neil’s done for us. He’s also given people a chance to hear what we’re doing and what our own songs have to offer. Then we played the Desert Trip with Neil, along with Paul McCartney, the Stones, the Who and Dylan. That was incredible.”
Those two weekends in Indio last October turned out to be extremely fortuitous. “We met Lucius at Desert Trip,” says Lukas. “They were playing with Roger Waters—and still are. Then they came to the Bridge School Benefit, where we really got to know them. I love Jess and Holly—they really enhance the record.”
Bradley Cooper also saw Lukas play at Desert Trip, and right afterward contacted a mutual friend about helping him on the new film he’s directing and starring in, a remake of A Star is Born. “At first I was just helping him out, and then I started writing with Stefani (Lady Gaga), who’s in the movie. We connected and she and I became really close. I got very involved in this film and ended up bringing the band into it as well.”
Coming of age in a celebrated musical family, Lukas Nelson learned early on that true originality is hard won, never given. Doubtlessly blessed with a measure of musical ability, it’s clear that his natural gifts have been honed by a singular devotion to craft and a deep appreciation for the sacrifice a creative life requires. Elated by the way things have come together so beautifully, Lukas is gratified that POTR have earned this moment and seized the opportunities that have led to this album—all perfectly capturing what he’d heard in his head 18 months earlier.
“It’s just amazing how things have flowed,” Lukas marvels. “It feels divine in a way.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190212T192140Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:833 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190216T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190216T203000 UID:B59E608A-8535-486E-9260-B32D83FDCACD SUMMARY:The Infamous Stringdusters DTSTAMP:20190102T192313Z DESCRIPTION:"With a nod to the past and a firm foot down on the gas toward the future, the 'Dusters... don't leave bluegrass behind; they're stretching it from within." - New York Times\N"The Stringdusters are the Star Wars of Bluegrass and this is their Return of the Jedi. Stop fiddling with your lightsaber and get this album." - Ryan Adams\N"...these stellar bluegrass players are pushing the music forward." - David Dye/World Café\NA band should never stop progressing.\NForward motion belies creativity and evolution. A staunch and unwavering commitment to progression is how an unassuming group of five friends can collectively become a GRAMMY® Award-winning force of nature. That’s exactly how it happened for The Infamous Stringdusters. Within thirteen years since their 2005 formation, the band—Travis Book [bass, vocals], Andy Falco [guitar, vocals], Jeremy Garrett [fiddle, vocals], Andy Hall [dobro, vocals], and Chris Pandolfi [banjo, vocals]— have consistently forged ahead, relentlessly exploring the musical possibilities of a “bluegrass ensemble” and breaking down boundaries in the process.\NIn a genre known for traditionalism, the ‘Dusters have consistently covered new ground, inspired fans, and redefined what a bluegrass band can be. 2018 represented a high watermark for the quintet as they took home a GRAMMY® Award in the category of “Best Bluegrass Album” for their 2017 release Laws of Gravity.\NEven with such milestones, the members feel like they’re only getting started.\N“I’m most inspired by the evolution of the music,” agrees Book. “The band is reaching new heights with our exploration and jamming. The repertoire is deep, and our crew is so entwined in the music and presentation of the show. It’s all come together in the last year or so.”\NHall adds, “Releasing three recorded projects this year has been artistically exciting. Mostly, the band has taken a huge leap forward in our live show with our improvisation blending from one song into the next. It’s made everything that much more fun.”\NThe motion includes a prolific output that rivals any act in music. In 2017 alone, they released three projects: Laws of Gravity, Laws of Gravity: Live, and Undercover Vol. 2 through Lumenhouse Recordings. Impressively, the band’s eighth full length record, Laws of Gravity, received a 2018 GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Bluegrass Album”, bowed in the Top 10 of the Billboard Heatseekers Chart, and marked their third debut at #1 on the Bluegrass Albums Chart with Undercover Vol. 2 becoming their seventh Top 10 entry. Recognized by some of the top names in the game, they teamed up with Ryan Adams for performances of “Sweet Carolina” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and Newport Folk Festival. Phil Lesh also tapped them as his band for Phil and Friends at Lockn alongside members of Phish.\NAnother tenet of that progression, the second installment of the Undercover series exemplifies the exploration ethos, transforming various recognizable anthems into raw and rootsy gems. “Jessica” by The Allman Brothers Band, rollicks and rolls, “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk maintains its dancefloor energy, and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” adopts newfound urgency. The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” undergoes a bluegrass makeover with galloping banjo and blistering solos.\NAlong the way, The Stringdusters have won three International Bluegrass Music Association Awards in 2007 for their debut record, Fork in the Road, in addition to snagging a nomination for “Instrumental Group of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2010. Meanwhile, Things That Fly’s “Magic No. 9” garnered a 2011 GRAMMY® nod in the category of “Best Country Instrumental.”\NThe Infamous Stringdusters are grateful for the recognition, but they continue to move forward full speed ahead.\N“I just hope that our music gives people a chance to feel free; free from the burdens of everyday life that we all have, free to just be themselves and be happy,” Falco leaves off.\N“It's an amazing gift to play this music, to share this journey with these guys,” concludes Book. “I wouldn't trade it for anything, there's no other gig I'd rather have, no other place I’d rather be than in the moment making this music. This band, our organization and crew, we’re a family and I think I speak for everyone when I say I hope we can do this for years to come.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:"With a nod to the past and a firm foot down on the gas toward the future, the 'Dusters... don't leave bluegrass behind; they're stretching it from within." - New York Times
"The Stringdusters are the Star Wars of Bluegrass and this is their Return of the Jedi. Stop fiddling with your lightsaber and get this album." - Ryan Adams
"...these stellar bluegrass players are pushing the music forward." - David Dye/World Café
A band should never stop progressing.
Forward motion belies creativity and evolution. A staunch and unwavering commitment to progression is how an unassuming group of five friends can collectively become a GRAMMY® Award-winning force of nature. That’s exactly how it happened for The Infamous Stringdusters. Within thirteen years since their 2005 formation, the band—Travis Book [bass, vocals], Andy Falco [guitar, vocals], Jeremy Garrett [fiddle, vocals], Andy Hall [dobro, vocals], and Chris Pandolfi [banjo, vocals]— have consistently forged ahead, relentlessly exploring the musical possibilities of a “bluegrass ensemble” and breaking down boundaries in the process.
In a genre known for traditionalism, the ‘Dusters have consistently covered new ground, inspired fans, and redefined what a bluegrass band can be. 2018 represented a high watermark for the quintet as they took home a GRAMMY® Award in the category of “Best Bluegrass Album” for their 2017 release Laws of Gravity.
Even with such milestones, the members feel like they’re only getting started.
“I’m most inspired by the evolution of the music,” agrees Book. “The band is reaching new heights with our exploration and jamming. The repertoire is deep, and our crew is so entwined in the music and presentation of the show. It’s all come together in the last year or so.”
Hall adds, “Releasing three recorded projects this year has been artistically exciting. Mostly, the band has taken a huge leap forward in our live show with our improvisation blending from one song into the next. It’s made everything that much more fun.”
The motion includes a prolific output that rivals any act in music. In 2017 alone, they released three projects: Laws of Gravity, Laws of Gravity: Live, and Undercover Vol. 2 through Lumenhouse Recordings. Impressively, the band’s eighth full length record, Laws of Gravity, received a 2018 GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Bluegrass Album”, bowed in the Top 10 of the Billboard Heatseekers Chart, and marked their third debut at #1 on the Bluegrass Albums Chart with Undercover Vol. 2 becoming their seventh Top 10 entry. Recognized by some of the top names in the game, they teamed up with Ryan Adams for performances of “Sweet Carolina” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and Newport Folk Festival. Phil Lesh also tapped them as his band for Phil and Friends at Lockn alongside members of Phish.
Another tenet of that progression, the second installment of the Undercover series exemplifies the exploration ethos, transforming various recognizable anthems into raw and rootsy gems. “Jessica” by The Allman Brothers Band, rollicks and rolls, “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk maintains its dancefloor energy, and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” adopts newfound urgency. The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” undergoes a bluegrass makeover with galloping banjo and blistering solos.
Along the way, The Stringdusters have won three International Bluegrass Music Association Awards in 2007 for their debut record, Fork in the Road, in addition to snagging a nomination for “Instrumental Group of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association in 2010. Meanwhile, Things That Fly’s “Magic No. 9” garnered a 2011 GRAMMY® nod in the category of “Best Country Instrumental.”
The Infamous Stringdusters are grateful for the recognition, but they continue to move forward full speed ahead.
“I just hope that our music gives people a chance to feel free; free from the burdens of everyday life that we all have, free to just be themselves and be happy,” Falco leaves off.
“It's an amazing gift to play this music, to share this journey with these guys,” concludes Book. “I wouldn't trade it for anything, there's no other gig I'd rather have, no other place I’d rather be than in the moment making this music. This band, our organization and crew, we’re a family and I think I speak for everyone when I say I hope we can do this for years to come.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190213T004922Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:845 X-URL:https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1788259?_ga=2.107581634.1911465370.1546452681-1919782419.1546452679 X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190219T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190219T233000 UID:5D22C8F4-A54C-4CD0-BD07-91FE8AB70D69 SUMMARY:Chris Robinson Brotherhood DTSTAMP:20190102T193401Z DESCRIPTION:The Chris Robinson Brotherhood are on tour in support of their latest studio album 'Barefoot In The Head.’ In the middle of one of their most prolific periods to date, the band is riding a creative wave with a slew of studio and live records coming out amidst a rigorous tour schedule that only seems to fuel their fire even further. Their stellar new album, 'Barefoot In The Head,' marks the CRB's third studio release in just two years, and it finds them pushing boundaries and breaking new ground with more joy and wonder than ever before. Overspilling with stunning musicianship and infectious energy, the album showcases the continued growth of Robinson's songwriting partnership with his bandmates: guitarist Neal Casal, drummer Tony Leone, keyboardist Adam MacDougall, and bassist Jeff Hill. It revels in the kind of adventurousness that can only come from five artists tuned into the same sonic wavelength.\N'Barefoot In The Head' follows last year's critically acclaimed LP, 'Any Way You Love, We Know How You Feel,' and its companion EP, 'If You Lived Here, You Would Be Home By Now.' It opens with the Americana funk of "Behold The Seer," which sounds like something of a mission statement for the CRB as Robinson sings, "If you want to keep your engine humming / Keep your eyes wide ahead and don't look back." On the dreamy "She Shares My Blanket," Robinson crafts cinematic scenes from a winter love affair in the mountains, while elegant pedal steel added by special guest Barry Sless on "Blonde Light Of Morning" casts a warm, romantic haze and "Blue Star Woman" sounds like T-Rex dressed in overalls living on a West Coast commune. Throughout the album, Robinson and the band deftly intertwine country, blues and psychedelia, even channeling freewheeling 60s' folk on "Hark The Herald Hermit Speaks," a breakneck stream of consciousness that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality. On the English psych inspired "Glow," which Robinson calls "one of the most special things I've ever done in the studio," The CRB are joined by the celebrated sarodist Alam Khan (son of the legendary Ali Akbar Khan).\N"The music that we make, the concerts that we play, it's this world we've created for ourselves and our people," explains Robinson. "We want everybody to understand that no matter where you are in your life that you can always be barefoot in your head. There's always this other place you can go. Is that place it real? That’s your decision to make, what you're going to let be real to you."\NThe Chris Robinson Brotherhood emerged in 2011 by playing close to 50 shows over nine weeks in California before ever leaving the Golden State or officially releasing music. Their introduction on the national stage came in 2012 when they'd release not one, but two acclaimed full-length albums within a few months of each other. Critics hailed their sprawling debut, 'Big Moon Ritual,' as a revelation, with The Independent raving that Robinson had "finally found the ideal vehicle to indulge his taste for 'Cosmic California Music.'" The reviews were similarly ecstatic for its immediate follow-up, 'The Magic Door,' which was praised by Relix as "classic rock in the finest sense." The band's epic tour schedule brought their shimmering acid-Americana around the world for a staggering 118-date tour, firmly establishing the CRB as the new standard-bearers of the psychedelic roots torch. In 2014, they returned to the studio for 'Phosphorescent Harvest,' a masterful collection that showcased the blossoming songwriting partnership between Robinson and Neal Casal. Rolling Stone raved that the album was "electrifying…boast[ing] a vintage rock vibe that’s at once quirky, trippy, soulful and downright magnetic," and Guitar World called it "a treasure trove of soul that advances the band's bluesy, kaleidoscopic sound."\NWith a steady flow of new studio albums and live recordings plus a near non-stop touring schedule, including a growing number of sold out shows, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood are proving themselves among the most prolific rock and roll bands of their time. The quintet have honed their kinetic chemistry and immersive sound into a singular vision, which Uncut Magazine calls, "...a celebration of how American musical traditions can be at once honored and psychedelically expanded.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The Chris Robinson Brotherhood are on tour in support of their latest studio album 'Barefoot In The Head.’ In the middle of one of their most prolific periods to date, the band is riding a creative wave with a slew of studio and live records coming out amidst a rigorous tour schedule that only seems to fuel their fire even further. Their stellar new album, 'Barefoot In The Head,' marks the CRB's third studio release in just two years, and it finds them pushing boundaries and breaking new ground with more joy and wonder than ever before. Overspilling with stunning musicianship and infectious energy, the album showcases the continued growth of Robinson's songwriting partnership with his bandmates: guitarist Neal Casal, drummer Tony Leone, keyboardist Adam MacDougall, and bassist Jeff Hill. It revels in the kind of adventurousness that can only come from five artists tuned into the same sonic wavelength.
'Barefoot In The Head' follows last year's critically acclaimed LP, 'Any Way You Love, We Know How You Feel,' and its companion EP, 'If You Lived Here, You Would Be Home By Now.' It opens with the Americana funk of "Behold The Seer," which sounds like something of a mission statement for the CRB as Robinson sings, "If you want to keep your engine humming / Keep your eyes wide ahead and don't look back." On the dreamy "She Shares My Blanket," Robinson crafts cinematic scenes from a winter love affair in the mountains, while elegant pedal steel added by special guest Barry Sless on "Blonde Light Of Morning" casts a warm, romantic haze and "Blue Star Woman" sounds like T-Rex dressed in overalls living on a West Coast commune. Throughout the album, Robinson and the band deftly intertwine country, blues and psychedelia, even channeling freewheeling 60s' folk on "Hark The Herald Hermit Speaks," a breakneck stream of consciousness that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality. On the English psych inspired "Glow," which Robinson calls "one of the most special things I've ever done in the studio," The CRB are joined by the celebrated sarodist Alam Khan (son of the legendary Ali Akbar Khan).
"The music that we make, the concerts that we play, it's this world we've created for ourselves and our people," explains Robinson. "We want everybody to understand that no matter where you are in your life that you can always be barefoot in your head. There's always this other place you can go. Is that place it real? That’s your decision to make, what you're going to let be real to you."
The Chris Robinson Brotherhood emerged in 2011 by playing close to 50 shows over nine weeks in California before ever leaving the Golden State or officially releasing music. Their introduction on the national stage came in 2012 when they'd release not one, but two acclaimed full-length albums within a few months of each other. Critics hailed their sprawling debut, 'Big Moon Ritual,' as a revelation, with The Independent raving that Robinson had "finally found the ideal vehicle to indulge his taste for 'Cosmic California Music.'" The reviews were similarly ecstatic for its immediate follow-up, 'The Magic Door,' which was praised by Relix as "classic rock in the finest sense." The band's epic tour schedule brought their shimmering acid-Americana around the world for a staggering 118-date tour, firmly establishing the CRB as the new standard-bearers of the psychedelic roots torch. In 2014, they returned to the studio for 'Phosphorescent Harvest,' a masterful collection that showcased the blossoming songwriting partnership between Robinson and Neal Casal. Rolling Stone raved that the album was "electrifying…boast[ing] a vintage rock vibe that’s at once quirky, trippy, soulful and downright magnetic," and Guitar World called it "a treasure trove of soul that advances the band's bluesy, kaleidoscopic sound."
With a steady flow of new studio albums and live recordings plus a near non-stop touring schedule, including a growing number of sold out shows, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood are proving themselves among the most prolific rock and roll bands of their time. The quintet have honed their kinetic chemistry and immersive sound into a singular vision, which Uncut Magazine calls, "...a celebration of how American musical traditions can be at once honored and psychedelically expanded.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190213T005026Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:836 X-URL:https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1780585?_ga=2.129193036.1911465370.1546452681-1919782419.1546452679 X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190226T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190226T233000 UID:A7827F8A-C441-4785-96A7-1E9AEAC9D6EC SUMMARY:Joshua Radin & Lissie DTSTAMP:20190102T195225Z DESCRIPTION:Love and the complications surrounding it have long proven to be Joshua Radin's songwriting forte. Though he never intended to be a live performer, there was little choice when the first song he ever wrote, "Winter," was featured on an episode of "Scrubs." The resulting fervor around the song soon led to a record deal, and over the last decade, Radin has toured the world countless times, sold hundreds of thousands of records and topped the iTunes charts, earned raves from Rolling Stone to The Guardian, performed on "The Tonight Show," "Conan," and more, played Ellen DeGeneres' wedding at her personal request, and had his songs featured in more than 150 different films, commercials, and TV shows. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Love and the complications surrounding it have long proven to be Joshua Radin's songwriting forte. Though he never intended to be a live performer, there was little choice when the first song he ever wrote, "Winter," was featured on an episode of "Scrubs." The resulting fervor around the song soon led to a record deal, and over the last decade, Radin has toured the world countless times, sold hundreds of thousands of records and topped the iTunes charts, earned raves from Rolling Stone to The Guardian, performed on "The Tonight Show," "Conan," and more, played Ellen DeGeneres' wedding at her personal request, and had his songs featured in more than 150 different films, commercials, and TV shows.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190219T213118Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:932 X-URL:https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1780655?_ga=2.162634108.1911465370.1546452681-1919782419.1546452679 X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190227T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190227T233000 UID:54D2D4F2-6E80-4EC6-A826-CD77BE80942A SUMMARY:Lettuce DTSTAMP:20190102T201501Z DESCRIPTION:Known for their incendiary live shows, extensive touring, die-hard fans, and massive two-decade career, Lettuce have brought a new vitality to classic funk, matching their smooth and soulful grooves with a hip-hop-inspired urgency. Their latest offering, Witches Stew [Lettuce Records] is a contemporary jazz fusion album that pays tribute to the late Miles Davis, one of Lettuce's biggest and most beloved influences. An interpretive take on the historically experimental and lauded Bitches Brew era, Witches Stew is a collection of seven songs, handpicked by the band and was recorded at the 2016 Catskill Chill in Lakewood, PA. Released on Halloween Day 2017, the EP brings forth an eerie, ethereal, and psychedelic reimagining to what was one of the most impactful periods in Miles’ legacy, further distinguishing the band for their technical mastery and improvisational, rhythmic genius.\NTo further pay tribute to their hero, Lettuce released the first single from the EP "Shhh / Peaceful" on the 26th anniversary of Miles' passing. Keeping tempo with steady percussion, the track features an otherworldly sound which is echoed by distant horns and tranquil guitar riffs. As a whole the album seamlessly floats from track to track, almost as if telling a story in a language unique to each listener. Taking cue from Miles himself, the brassy crooning of the trumpet threads together each song into a cohesive body of work and brings the listener on a journey that only Lettuce could navigate.\NComprised of a stellar group musicians - Drummer Adam Deitch, guitarist Adam Smirnoff, bassist Erick "Jesus" Coomes, keyboardist and vocalist Nigel Hall, saxophonist Ryan Zoidis, and trumpet player Eric “Benny” Bloom - the members of Lettuce are highly sought after musicians who, together, continue to earn their name as masters of their craft. Blending together these talents in a sound distinctly their own, they have garnered praised by the likes of New York Times, NPR, Billboard, Consequence of Sound, Relix, Red Bull Music and more.\NAccording to the band, it is a sense of unity and togetherness that has much to do with the camaraderie that’s only intensified over the lifespan of the band. Formed in 1992, when several band members attended a summer program at Boston’s Berklee College of Music as teenagers, Lettuce was founded on a shared love of legendary funk artists like Earth, Wind & Fire and Tower of Power. After returning to Berklee as undergrads in 1994, Lettuce started playing in local clubs and steadily built up a following that soon extended to cities across the country and then throughout the world. Releasing their studio debut Outta Here in 2002, its follow-up Rage! in 2009, Fly in 2012, Crush in 2015 and Mt. Crushmore EP in 2016, the band has dedicated their time to balancing their prolific touring with involvement in a host of other musical endeavors.\NIn recent years, Lettuce have watched their fanbase expand as they’ve hit bigger and bigger stages. Selling out shows across the country, they have truly earned their name as a can’t-miss live act. As bass player Erick “Jesus” Coomes puts it, “some of these shows we’ve played over the past couple years have been so amazing, it’s like you go home a different person.”\NThe band is currently spreading their sonic hijinks and soulful vibrations across the country on their Beyond the Clouds 2018 headline tour. Comprised of 23-dates, the tour will lead the band to their third annual Rage Rocks show, which will take place at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Friday, June 8, 2018. A beloved tradition by the band and their fans alike, this will mark Lettuce's fifth time playing at the venue. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Known for their incendiary live shows, extensive touring, die-hard fans, and massive two-decade career, Lettuce have brought a new vitality to classic funk, matching their smooth and soulful grooves with a hip-hop-inspired urgency. Their latest offering, Witches Stew [Lettuce Records] is a contemporary jazz fusion album that pays tribute to the late Miles Davis, one of Lettuce's biggest and most beloved influences. An interpretive take on the historically experimental and lauded Bitches Brew era, Witches Stew is a collection of seven songs, handpicked by the band and was recorded at the 2016 Catskill Chill in Lakewood, PA. Released on Halloween Day 2017, the EP brings forth an eerie, ethereal, and psychedelic reimagining to what was one of the most impactful periods in Miles’ legacy, further distinguishing the band for their technical mastery and improvisational, rhythmic genius.
To further pay tribute to their hero, Lettuce released the first single from the EP "Shhh / Peaceful" on the 26th anniversary of Miles' passing. Keeping tempo with steady percussion, the track features an otherworldly sound which is echoed by distant horns and tranquil guitar riffs. As a whole the album seamlessly floats from track to track, almost as if telling a story in a language unique to each listener. Taking cue from Miles himself, the brassy crooning of the trumpet threads together each song into a cohesive body of work and brings the listener on a journey that only Lettuce could navigate.
Comprised of a stellar group musicians - Drummer Adam Deitch, guitarist Adam Smirnoff, bassist Erick "Jesus" Coomes, keyboardist and vocalist Nigel Hall, saxophonist Ryan Zoidis, and trumpet player Eric “Benny” Bloom - the members of Lettuce are highly sought after musicians who, together, continue to earn their name as masters of their craft. Blending together these talents in a sound distinctly their own, they have garnered praised by the likes of New York Times, NPR, Billboard, Consequence of Sound, Relix, Red Bull Music and more.
According to the band, it is a sense of unity and togetherness that has much to do with the camaraderie that’s only intensified over the lifespan of the band. Formed in 1992, when several band members attended a summer program at Boston’s Berklee College of Music as teenagers, Lettuce was founded on a shared love of legendary funk artists like Earth, Wind & Fire and Tower of Power. After returning to Berklee as undergrads in 1994, Lettuce started playing in local clubs and steadily built up a following that soon extended to cities across the country and then throughout the world. Releasing their studio debut Outta Here in 2002, its follow-up Rage! in 2009, Fly in 2012, Crush in 2015 and Mt. Crushmore EP in 2016, the band has dedicated their time to balancing their prolific touring with involvement in a host of other musical endeavors.
In recent years, Lettuce have watched their fanbase expand as they’ve hit bigger and bigger stages. Selling out shows across the country, they have truly earned their name as a can’t-miss live act. As bass player Erick “Jesus” Coomes puts it, “some of these shows we’ve played over the past couple years have been so amazing, it’s like you go home a different person.”
The band is currently spreading their sonic hijinks and soulful vibrations across the country on their Beyond the Clouds 2018 headline tour. Comprised of 23-dates, the tour will lead the band to their third annual Rage Rocks show, which will take place at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Friday, June 8, 2018. A beloved tradition by the band and their fans alike, this will mark Lettuce's fifth time playing at the venue.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190212T184214Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1529 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190302T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190302T233000 UID:F4A88A0E-076F-4CF6-AD9B-253E1EBBBFEA SUMMARY:Super Diamond - The Tribute to Neil Diamond DTSTAMP:20190206T011802Z DESCRIPTION:Super Diamond – tribute to the much loved, international pop icon Neil Diamond – perform the timeless classics including “Sweet Caroline,” “America,” “Cherry Cherry;” “Song Sung Blue,” “Forever in Blue Jeans” and many more. Super Diamond’s success in America is unprecedented for a tribute band. With a nod from Neil (the man himself), Super Diamond has been embraced by the long time Neil Diamond fan-base and also found huge popularity in the hip rock clubs of America.Over the last ten years, Super Diamond has consistently sold out shows at most of America’s coolest rock venues such as The Fillmore and Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco, The House of Blues (located in multiple major cities across the US) Showbox Theatre in Seattle, Ogden Theatre in Denver, 930 Club in Washington DC, Irving Plaza in New York (to name but a few) and many festivals, fairs, theaters and performing arts centers. Super Diamond has also appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, CNN, Fox News, VH1 and have been featured in Rolling Stone Magazine, Spin, The New York Times… and in July 2011 Super Diamond will perform with the San Diego Symphony during the Summer Pops Concert Series!Super Diamond delivers a glittering performance of Neil’s power ballads and up-tempo hits with unrestrained enthusiasm! Every Super Diamond show is pure entertainment – classic music combined with fun, energy and passion – creating nostalgia for the good old days and excitement for today’s generation.“GOOD TIMES never seemed SO GOOD” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Super Diamond – tribute to the much loved, international pop icon Neil Diamond – perform the timeless classics including “Sweet Caroline,” “America,” “Cherry Cherry;” “Song Sung Blue,” “Forever in Blue Jeans” and many more. Super Diamond’s success in America is unprecedented for a tribute band. With a nod from Neil (the man himself), Super Diamond has been embraced by the long time Neil Diamond fan-base and also found huge popularity in the hip rock clubs of America.Over the last ten years, Super Diamond has consistently sold out shows at most of America’s coolest rock venues such as The Fillmore and Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco, The House of Blues (located in multiple major cities across the US) Showbox Theatre in Seattle, Ogden Theatre in Denver, 930 Club in Washington DC, Irving Plaza in New York (to name but a few) and many festivals, fairs, theaters and performing arts centers. Super Diamond has also appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, CNN, Fox News, VH1 and have been featured in Rolling Stone Magazine, Spin, The New York Times… and in July 2011 Super Diamond will perform with the San Diego Symphony during the Summer Pops Concert Series!Super Diamond delivers a glittering performance of Neil’s power ballads and up-tempo hits with unrestrained enthusiasm! Every Super Diamond show is pure entertainment – classic music combined with fun, energy and passion – creating nostalgia for the good old days and excitement for today’s generation.“GOOD TIMES never seemed SO GOOD”
LOCATION:638 South State Street\, Salt Lake City\, Utah 84111\, USA GEO:40.75528240;-111.88872990 LAST-MODIFIED:20190226T192657Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1158 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190308T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190308T233000 UID:A9C9E0BE-9910-4204-9A2A-FD4E6AF57679 SUMMARY:Young Dubliners DTSTAMP:20190102T212901Z DESCRIPTION:With the summer of 2018 in the rearview mirror, the Young Dubliners have changed gears from the big outdoor festivals back into the clubs. Although the venues have changed, the tour goes on and will now focus on the western half of the US with shows from Utah to California, Nevada to Alaska.\NThe slightly slower pace of live performances in the winter months means that the band can now begin work on their tenth album with new guitarist Justin Pecot who has been a Young Dub for almost a year. “It’s an exciting prospect for us to write and record with Justin. He has been incredible in the live shows all year and now we get to check out his writing and recording skills, as will all of you” says frontman Keith Roberts. He adds “We have a lot of new stuff to sort through. As usual we are our own biggest critics so it’s a daunting but ultimately rewarding task that we go through every album”\NIn recent years the Young Dubs have appeared on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, had songs featured in TV shows (Sons Of Anarchy, Human Target) and toured extensively as a headliner and as the opener for such a diverse list of artists as Collective Soul, Jethro Tull, Johnny Lang, Los Lobos, Chris Isaak and many more.\NAlthough the Young Dubliners sound is most commonly called 'Celtic Rock', that label, as labels can often be, is misleading. The Irish influence is there, certainly, but it's not the only influence that contirbutes to their albums, or the live shows. After all, several of the band members have no Irish roots of any kind. "That was always the idea", explains Roberts. "The sound was always intended to be a hybrid because we all come from different backgrounds. Even though two of us are from Ireland, a lot of the music we listened to growing up wasn't Irish at all. But when we got here we got homesick and developed a new appreciation for Irish music. In truth the Celtic riffs can just as easily come from the American band members. Everyone writes now so you never know what you'll end up with"\NThe band will be drawing from all nine albums at these upcoming shows including quite a few songs from “With All Due respect, The Irish Sessions” which turned ten years old this year. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:With the summer of 2018 in the rearview mirror, the Young Dubliners have changed gears from the big outdoor festivals back into the clubs. Although the venues have changed, the tour goes on and will now focus on the western half of the US with shows from Utah to California, Nevada to Alaska.
The slightly slower pace of live performances in the winter months means that the band can now begin work on their tenth album with new guitarist Justin Pecot who has been a Young Dub for almost a year. “It’s an exciting prospect for us to write and record with Justin. He has been incredible in the live shows all year and now we get to check out his writing and recording skills, as will all of you” says frontman Keith Roberts. He adds “We have a lot of new stuff to sort through. As usual we are our own biggest critics so it’s a daunting but ultimately rewarding task that we go through every album”
In recent years the Young Dubs have appeared on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!, had songs featured in TV shows (Sons Of Anarchy, Human Target) and toured extensively as a headliner and as the opener for such a diverse list of artists as Collective Soul, Jethro Tull, Johnny Lang, Los Lobos, Chris Isaak and many more.
Although the Young Dubliners sound is most commonly called 'Celtic Rock', that label, as labels can often be, is misleading. The Irish influence is there, certainly, but it's not the only influence that contirbutes to their albums, or the live shows. After all, several of the band members have no Irish roots of any kind. "That was always the idea", explains Roberts. "The sound was always intended to be a hybrid because we all come from different backgrounds. Even though two of us are from Ireland, a lot of the music we listened to growing up wasn't Irish at all. But when we got here we got homesick and developed a new appreciation for Irish music. In truth the Celtic riffs can just as easily come from the American band members. Everyone writes now so you never know what you'll end up with"
The band will be drawing from all nine albums at these upcoming shows including quite a few songs from “With All Due respect, The Irish Sessions” which turned ten years old this year.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190212T011722Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1328 X-URL:https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1777305?_ga=2.74037842.1911465370.1546452681-1919782419.1546452679 X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190313T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190313T233000 UID:3DD5B1A7-9D51-4383-A06A-56502971E8BA SUMMARY:Mandolin Orange DTSTAMP:20190102T214321Z DESCRIPTION:Sold Out - Missed out on tickets? Try using our Ticket Exchange powered by Lyte to find tickets to this sold out show.\NMandolin Orange’s music radiates a mysterious warmth —their songs feel like whispered secrets, one hand cupped to your ear. The North Carolina duo have built a steady and growing fanbase with this kind of intimacy, and on Tides of A Teardrop, due out February 1, it is more potent than ever. By all accounts, it is the duo’s fullest, richest, and most personal effort. You can hear the air between them—the taut space of shared understanding, as palpable as a magnetic field, that makes their music sound like two halves of an endlessly completing thought. Singer-songwriter Andrew Marlin and multi- instrumentalist Emily Frantz have honed this lamp glow intimacy for years.\NOn Tides of A Teardrop, Marlin wrote the songs, as he usually does, in a sort of stream of consciousness, allowing words and phrases to pour out of him as he hunted for the chords and melodies. Then, as he went back to sharpen what he found, he found something troubling and profound. Intimations of loss have always haunted the edges of their music, their lyrics hinting at impermanence and passing of time. But Tides of A Teardrop confronts a defining loss head-on: Marlin's mother, who died of complications from surgery when he was 18.\NThese songs, as well as their sentiments, remain simple and quiet, like all of their music. But beneath the hushed surface, they are staggeringly straightforward. “I’ve been holding on to the grief for a long time. In some ways I associated the grief and the loss with remembering my mom. I feel like I’ve mourned long enough. I’m ready to bring forth some happier memories now, to just remember her as a living being."\NFor this album, Marlin and Frantz enlisted their touring band, who they also worked with on their last album Blindfaller. Having recorded all previous albums live in the studio, they approached the recording process in a different way this time. “We went and did what most people do, which we’ve never done before—we just holed up somewhere and worked the tunes out together,” Frantz says. There is a telepathy and warmth in the interplay on Tides of A Teardrop that brings a new dynamic to the foreground—that holy silence between notes, the air that charges the album with such profound intimacy. “This record is a little more cosmic, almost in a spiritual way—the space between the notes was there to suggest all those empty spaces the record touches on,” acknowledges Marlin. There are many powerful ways of acknowledging loss; sometimes the most powerful one is saying nothing at all. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Mandolin Orange’s music radiates a mysterious warmth —their songs feel like whispered secrets, one hand cupped to your ear. The North Carolina duo have built a steady and growing fanbase with this kind of intimacy, and on Tides of A Teardrop, due out February 1, it is more potent than ever. By all accounts, it is the duo’s fullest, richest, and most personal effort. You can hear the air between them—the taut space of shared understanding, as palpable as a magnetic field, that makes their music sound like two halves of an endlessly completing thought. Singer-songwriter Andrew Marlin and multi- instrumentalist Emily Frantz have honed this lamp glow intimacy for years.
On Tides of A Teardrop, Marlin wrote the songs, as he usually does, in a sort of stream of consciousness, allowing words and phrases to pour out of him as he hunted for the chords and melodies. Then, as he went back to sharpen what he found, he found something troubling and profound. Intimations of loss have always haunted the edges of their music, their lyrics hinting at impermanence and passing of time. But Tides of A Teardrop confronts a defining loss head-on: Marlin's mother, who died of complications from surgery when he was 18.
These songs, as well as their sentiments, remain simple and quiet, like all of their music. But beneath the hushed surface, they are staggeringly straightforward. “I’ve been holding on to the grief for a long time. In some ways I associated the grief and the loss with remembering my mom. I feel like I’ve mourned long enough. I’m ready to bring forth some happier memories now, to just remember her as a living being."
For this album, Marlin and Frantz enlisted their touring band, who they also worked with on their last album Blindfaller. Having recorded all previous albums live in the studio, they approached the recording process in a different way this time. “We went and did what most people do, which we’ve never done before—we just holed up somewhere and worked the tunes out together,” Frantz says. There is a telepathy and warmth in the interplay on Tides of A Teardrop that brings a new dynamic to the foreground—that holy silence between notes, the air that charges the album with such profound intimacy. “This record is a little more cosmic, almost in a spiritual way—the space between the notes was there to suggest all those empty spaces the record touches on,” acknowledges Marlin. There are many powerful ways of acknowledging loss; sometimes the most powerful one is saying nothing at all.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190212T012615Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1552 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190316T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190316T233000 UID:F8C4DA75-97C9-4654-B21D-C056B21243A1 SUMMARY:Matt Nathanson DTSTAMP:20190102T215621Z DESCRIPTION:Sold Out - Missed out on tickets? Try using our Ticket Exchange powered by Lyte to find tickets to this sold out show.\NBased in San Francisco, Matt Nathanson has evolved into one of the most applauded songwriters and engaging performers on the music scene today. His 2007 album, Some Mad Hope, yielded his breakthrough multi-platinum hit "Come on Get Higher.” His 2013 release, Last of The Great Pretenders,debuted at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 while hitting #1 on iTunes' Alternative Albums chart. Nathanson's latest album, Show Me Your Fangs, was hailed as his most adventurous and prolific album to date featuring the songs, "Giants," "Bill Murray" and "Adrenaline.”This year, Nathanson has announced his new album Sings His Sad Heart will be released on October 5. The album comes off the heels of Nathanson’s Def Leppard approved cover album of their iconic Pyromania called Pyromattia which shot to #1 on iTunes Alternative chart upon its release. Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott called the album “an amazing reinterpretation” with “heart & soul.” Nathanson is currently out as a special guest on O.A.R.’s Just Like Paradise Tour through September 18th. Nathanson has performed on The Howard Stern Show, Ellen, CONAN, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Dancing with the Stars, Rachael Ray, and The CMA Awards to name a few.\NHis 2013 release, Last of The Great Pretenders,debuted at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 while hitting #1 on iTunes' Alternative Albums chart. Nathanson's latest album, Show Me Your Fangs, was hailed as his most adventurous and prolific album to date featuring the songs, "Giants," "Bill Murray" and "Adrenaline.”This year, Nathanson has announced his new album Sings His Sad Heart will be released on October 5.\NThe album comes off the heels of Nathanson’s Def Leppard approved cover album of their iconic Pyromania called Pyromattia which shot to #1 on iTunes Alternative chart upon its release. Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott called the album “an amazing reinterpretation” with “heart & soul.” Nathanson is currently out as a special guest on O.A.R.’s Just Like Paradise Tour through September 18th. Nathanson has performed on The Howard Stern Show, Ellen, CONAN, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Dancing with the Stars, Rachael Ray, and The CMA Awards to name a few. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Based in San Francisco, Matt Nathanson has evolved into one of the most applauded songwriters and engaging performers on the music scene today. His 2007 album, Some Mad Hope, yielded his breakthrough multi-platinum hit "Come on Get Higher.” His 2013 release, Last of The Great Pretenders,debuted at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 while hitting #1 on iTunes' Alternative Albums chart. Nathanson's latest album, Show Me Your Fangs, was hailed as his most adventurous and prolific album to date featuring the songs, "Giants," "Bill Murray" and "Adrenaline.”This year, Nathanson has announced his new album Sings His Sad Heart will be released on October 5. The album comes off the heels of Nathanson’s Def Leppard approved cover album of their iconic Pyromania called Pyromattia which shot to #1 on iTunes Alternative chart upon its release. Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott called the album “an amazing reinterpretation” with “heart & soul.” Nathanson is currently out as a special guest on O.A.R.’s Just Like Paradise Tour through September 18th. Nathanson has performed on The Howard Stern Show, Ellen, CONAN, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Dancing with the Stars, Rachael Ray, and The CMA Awards to name a few.
His 2013 release, Last of The Great Pretenders,debuted at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 while hitting #1 on iTunes' Alternative Albums chart. Nathanson's latest album, Show Me Your Fangs, was hailed as his most adventurous and prolific album to date featuring the songs, "Giants," "Bill Murray" and "Adrenaline.”This year, Nathanson has announced his new album Sings His Sad Heart will be released on October 5.
The album comes off the heels of Nathanson’s Def Leppard approved cover album of their iconic Pyromania called Pyromattia which shot to #1 on iTunes Alternative chart upon its release. Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott called the album “an amazing reinterpretation” with “heart & soul.” Nathanson is currently out as a special guest on O.A.R.’s Just Like Paradise Tour through September 18th. Nathanson has performed on The Howard Stern Show, Ellen, CONAN, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Dancing with the Stars, Rachael Ray, and The CMA Awards to name a few.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190212T013841Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:988 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190319T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190319T233000 UID:FC4E29B4-3245-4E98-86F8-9D253FC53EC7 SUMMARY:Ryan Bingham DTSTAMP:20190205T131041Z DESCRIPTION:Yes, Ryan Bingham grew up in the South. Texas, mostly. But there wasn’t much in the way of consistency to his upbringing, other than his family’s chronic existence on the wrong side of the tracks.He was born in the small city of Hobbs, New Mexico, hard up against the Texas Panhandle. He grew up in the west Texas oil fields, then spent time as a teenage rodeo cowboy in towns all across the state. Along the way, he absorbed the Cajun culture of western Louisiana, the hardcore hip-hop favored by his Houston friends, and the border songs of the Mexican immigrants. Until he moved to California in 2007, he never lived in any one place for more than two years.From the beginning of his recording career, with “Mescalito,” Bingham has defied easy classification. As a rising country star, he ranged from Woody Guthrie-style folk songs and Spanish-language balladry to gritty hard rock. It’s all American music; fittingly, he was honored as the Americana Music Association’s 2010 Artist of the Year.He’s enjoyed thrilling highs and suffered debilitating lows, sometimes all at once. While his career was taking off – he won both an Oscar and a Grammy for “The Weary Kind,” the theme song he wrote for the film “Crazy Heart” – he was coping with the tragic deaths of his mother, an alcoholic, and his father, who took his own life.The losses put Bingham in a dark tunnel, and it took a while to crawl his way out.With the help of his wife, Anna Axster, and some inner soul-searching, Bingham has come back into the light. “American Love Song,” the third studio album from the Axster- Bingham indie label (after 2012’s “Tomorrowland” and 2015’s “Fear and Saturday Night”), takes all his influences – both musical and experiential – and unites them in Ryan Bingham’s best, most fully realized record to date.“I always really struggled with my identity – who I was, where I was from,” Bingham explains of his long, deliberate pursuit of wholeness. “I always had my cowboy hat with me, but at the same time, you adapt to your environment.” Being the new kid in town usually meant unwanted attention, and having to fight to defend yourself.“You’d blend in as a means of safety,” he recalls. “Now that I’ve grown up, I’ve shed those insecurities. I realized my identity is a blend of different hats, different shoes, different pants.”The new album finds Bingham honing his creativity on two distinct levels, the personal and the cultural. He co-produced it with Charlie Sexton, the superb Austin guitarist who has played for years in Bob Dylan’s touring band. “American Love Song” was recorded at Arlyn Studios and Public Hi-Fi in Austin with additional recording at Matter Music in Los Angeles.From the opening track – the spry “Jingle and Go,” which recounts his early years as an itinerant open-mic performer working, like the great Texas bluesmen before him, for tips – to the closer, “Blues Lady,” a tribute to Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Bingham’s own late mother, and all the other strong women this country has produced, the album combines autobiographical reflection with a bittersweet celebration of our collective spirit in the face of enduring difficulties.There are songs for Anna. “Pontiac” brings a Stones-y crunch to the tale of their meeting and the wild early years they spent on the road together. “Lover Girl,” which features a sweet steel guitar, reveals a more tender side of their relationship: “The scars upon my heart won't hide, but now I found your sparklin' eyes."Musically, “Situation Station” is built on a comfortable lope and a few bright chords. But that’s deceiving. The song is the first of several on the album that take a hard line on the state of the nation, with a scathing verse about a leader “ridin’ on the back of the poor man, selling them lies.”For years, Bingham says, he’s worn his political heart on his sleeve, standing against various kinds of social injustice. It’s a direct product of his own underprivileged upbringing, he says. But there have been those with differing perspectives who’ve failed to notice where he was coming from until they’d been sucked in by his music.“I’m always trying to find ways to use songs to bring people together,” he says. “But the way things are right now, the things our president is saying – I think being complicit is not the way to go.”He’s speaking his mind, and right now he has a lot to say. “Blue,” for instance, is a beautiful storm cloud of a song about Bingham’s own battle with depression after the deaths of his parents. But it’s also, he says, a commentary on the persistent taboo about seeking mental health care in this country.“Wolves” deals with the painful memories of his youth and those inevitable confrontations with the next school bully. But it’s also a response to Bingham’s emotions when the March for Our Lives students, in the wake of the Parkland school shooting, had to contend with men and women questioning their integrity on social media.“Grown people speaking to kids that way, that really bothered me,” he says.Built on a hypnotic, bluesy electric guitar riff, “Hot House” imagines an unjustly imprisoned young man whose life has been effectively cut short. “What Would I’ve Become” is a twang anthem of sorts, one that asks a universal question. What if the singer had stayed put in one small town? If he hadn’t taken a chance on life?Bingham’s growing concerns about where we’re at as a people come to a head on “America,” the album’s somber, instantly memorable signature song. Is there still an American dream, he asks, his voice rising to a poignant pitch.These 15 new songs from one of American music’s most distinct voices answer that simple question with a resounding “Yes!” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Yes, Ryan Bingham grew up in the South. Texas, mostly. But there wasn’t much in the way of consistency to his upbringing, other than his family’s chronic existence on the wrong side of the tracks.He was born in the small city of Hobbs, New Mexico, hard up against the Texas Panhandle. He grew up in the west Texas oil fields, then spent time as a teenage rodeo cowboy in towns all across the state. Along the way, he absorbed the Cajun culture of western Louisiana, the hardcore hip-hop favored by his Houston friends, and the border songs of the Mexican immigrants. Until he moved to California in 2007, he never lived in any one place for more than two years.From the beginning of his recording career, with “Mescalito,” Bingham has defied easy classification. As a rising country star, he ranged from Woody Guthrie-style folk songs and Spanish-language balladry to gritty hard rock. It’s all American music; fittingly, he was honored as the Americana Music Association’s 2010 Artist of the Year.He’s enjoyed thrilling highs and suffered debilitating lows, sometimes all at once. While his career was taking off – he won both an Oscar and a Grammy for “The Weary Kind,” the theme song he wrote for the film “Crazy Heart” – he was coping with the tragic deaths of his mother, an alcoholic, and his father, who took his own life.The losses put Bingham in a dark tunnel, and it took a while to crawl his way out.With the help of his wife, Anna Axster, and some inner soul-searching, Bingham has come back into the light. “American Love Song,” the third studio album from the Axster- Bingham indie label (after 2012’s “Tomorrowland” and 2015’s “Fear and Saturday Night”), takes all his influences – both musical and experiential – and unites them in Ryan Bingham’s best, most fully realized record to date.“I always really struggled with my identity – who I was, where I was from,” Bingham explains of his long, deliberate pursuit of wholeness. “I always had my cowboy hat with me, but at the same time, you adapt to your environment.” Being the new kid in town usually meant unwanted attention, and having to fight to defend yourself.“You’d blend in as a means of safety,” he recalls. “Now that I’ve grown up, I’ve shed those insecurities. I realized my identity is a blend of different hats, different shoes, different pants.”The new album finds Bingham honing his creativity on two distinct levels, the personal and the cultural. He co-produced it with Charlie Sexton, the superb Austin guitarist who has played for years in Bob Dylan’s touring band. “American Love Song” was recorded at Arlyn Studios and Public Hi-Fi in Austin with additional recording at Matter Music in Los Angeles.From the opening track – the spry “Jingle and Go,” which recounts his early years as an itinerant open-mic performer working, like the great Texas bluesmen before him, for tips – to the closer, “Blues Lady,” a tribute to Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Bingham’s own late mother, and all the other strong women this country has produced, the album combines autobiographical reflection with a bittersweet celebration of our collective spirit in the face of enduring difficulties.There are songs for Anna. “Pontiac” brings a Stones-y crunch to the tale of their meeting and the wild early years they spent on the road together. “Lover Girl,” which features a sweet steel guitar, reveals a more tender side of their relationship: “The scars upon my heart won't hide, but now I found your sparklin' eyes."Musically, “Situation Station” is built on a comfortable lope and a few bright chords. But that’s deceiving. The song is the first of several on the album that take a hard line on the state of the nation, with a scathing verse about a leader “ridin’ on the back of the poor man, selling them lies.”For years, Bingham says, he’s worn his political heart on his sleeve, standing against various kinds of social injustice. It’s a direct product of his own underprivileged upbringing, he says. But there have been those with differing perspectives who’ve failed to notice where he was coming from until they’d been sucked in by his music.“I’m always trying to find ways to use songs to bring people together,” he says. “But the way things are right now, the things our president is saying – I think being complicit is not the way to go.”He’s speaking his mind, and right now he has a lot to say. “Blue,” for instance, is a beautiful storm cloud of a song about Bingham’s own battle with depression after the deaths of his parents. But it’s also, he says, a commentary on the persistent taboo about seeking mental health care in this country.“Wolves” deals with the painful memories of his youth and those inevitable confrontations with the next school bully. But it’s also a response to Bingham’s emotions when the March for Our Lives students, in the wake of the Parkland school shooting, had to contend with men and women questioning their integrity on social media.“Grown people speaking to kids that way, that really bothered me,” he says.Built on a hypnotic, bluesy electric guitar riff, “Hot House” imagines an unjustly imprisoned young man whose life has been effectively cut short. “What Would I’ve Become” is a twang anthem of sorts, one that asks a universal question. What if the singer had stayed put in one small town? If he hadn’t taken a chance on life?Bingham’s growing concerns about where we’re at as a people come to a head on “America,” the album’s somber, instantly memorable signature song. Is there still an American dream, he asks, his voice rising to a poignant pitch.These 15 new songs from one of American music’s most distinct voices answer that simple question with a resounding “Yes!”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190212T021414Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3891 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190321T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190321T233000 UID:969255FF-89A3-4897-A46C-5B4DE84E8F1E SUMMARY:Walter Trout DTSTAMP:20190103T182039Z DESCRIPTION:Walter Trout is the beating heart of the modern blues rock scene. Respected by the old guard. Revered by the young guns. Adored by the fans who shake his hand after the show each night. After five decades in the game, Trout is a talismanic figure and the glue that bonds the blues community together, at a time when the wider world has never been so divided. He’s also the only artist with the vision, talent and star-studded address book to pull off a project on the scale of We’re All In This Together. “It was quite a piece of work to get this record together,” he admits. “But I guess I have a lot of friends, y’know…?”\NBefore you even hear a note, We’re All In This Together has your attention. Drafting fourteen A-list stars – including Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Mayall and Randy Bachman – and writing an original song for each, Trout has made the most tantalising album of the year, and found solace after a run of solo albums that chronicled his near-fatal liver disease of 2014. “Now was the right time for this record,” he says. “Battle Scars [2016] was such an intense piece of work, written with tears coming down my face. I needed a break from that, to do something fun and light-hearted. This album was joyous for me.”\N Presented by the Utah Blues Society. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Walter Trout is the beating heart of the modern blues rock scene. Respected by the old guard. Revered by the young guns. Adored by the fans who shake his hand after the show each night. After five decades in the game, Trout is a talismanic figure and the glue that bonds the blues community together, at a time when the wider world has never been so divided. He’s also the only artist with the vision, talent and star-studded address book to pull off a project on the scale of We’re All In This Together. “It was quite a piece of work to get this record together,” he admits. “But I guess I have a lot of friends, y’know…?”
Before you even hear a note, We’re All In This Together has your attention. Drafting fourteen A-list stars – including Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Mayall and Randy Bachman – and writing an original song for each, Trout has made the most tantalising album of the year, and found solace after a run of solo albums that chronicled his near-fatal liver disease of 2014. “Now was the right time for this record,” he says. “Battle Scars [2016] was such an intense piece of work, written with tears coming down my face. I needed a break from that, to do something fun and light-hearted. This album was joyous for me.”
Presented by the Utah Blues Society.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190212T195046Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2113 X-URL:https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1788301/tfly X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190323T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190323T233000 UID:BDB3F31B-2AD1-4F3A-8ADE-365AF4991104 SUMMARY:Twiddle DTSTAMP:20190102T220859Z DESCRIPTION:With 12 years of relentless touring behind them, Vermont-based rock band Twiddle has built an impressive resume spanning Red Rocks to Bonnaroo, and multiple sellouts of historic rock venues including Port Chester, NY's Capitol Theatre, and Washington D.C.'s 9:30 Club. And with the second half of the band's third studio album, PLUMP, on the horizon, the band's career continues to catapult forward. Buoyed by the generous support of 359 Kickstarter donors, the 27-song album does more than showcase the group's beautiful music, but also tells an important story, comprised in PLUMP Chapters 1 & 2.\NRecorded during a two-year span with legendary producer Ron St. Germain, PLUMP serves as a reflection of four brothers' triumphs and struggles, both individual and as a whole. On Chapter 1, songs like "Lost in the Cold" and "Every Soul" detail what it's like to hit rock bottom and how to rise back up.\N"So many fans have shared how these songs carried them through very difficult times, and that alone makes this all worth it," said Brook Jordan, Twiddle's percussionist and vocalist. Comparatively, Chapter 2 contains genre-bending instrumentals, as well as mystifying epics like\N"Nicodemus Portulay" and "Orlando's." More than ten years later, these songs mirror the earliest Twiddle arrangements of 2004-2005 when Mihali Savoulidis and Ryan Dempsey were collaborating in their freshmen dorms at Castleton State College. The completion of PLUMP is timely, coming at a moment when the band's fervent fan base is at an all-time high and expanding rapidly.\NIn the live setting, more and more people are invigorated by Twiddle's community, promoting positivity and the band's skillful improvisational music. So many like-minded people believe in the greater good, and they find that good in Twiddle.\NTwiddle is comprised of Zdenek Gubb on bass and vocals, Ryan Dempsey on keyboards and vocals, Mihali Savoulidis on guitar and lead vocals, and Brook Jordan on percussion and vocals. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:With 12 years of relentless touring behind them, Vermont-based rock band Twiddle has built an impressive resume spanning Red Rocks to Bonnaroo, and multiple sellouts of historic rock venues including Port Chester, NY's Capitol Theatre, and Washington D.C.'s 9:30 Club. And with the second half of the band's third studio album, PLUMP, on the horizon, the band's career continues to catapult forward. Buoyed by the generous support of 359 Kickstarter donors, the 27-song album does more than showcase the group's beautiful music, but also tells an important story, comprised in PLUMP Chapters 1 & 2.
Recorded during a two-year span with legendary producer Ron St. Germain, PLUMP serves as a reflection of four brothers' triumphs and struggles, both individual and as a whole. On Chapter 1, songs like "Lost in the Cold" and "Every Soul" detail what it's like to hit rock bottom and how to rise back up.
"So many fans have shared how these songs carried them through very difficult times, and that alone makes this all worth it," said Brook Jordan, Twiddle's percussionist and vocalist. Comparatively, Chapter 2 contains genre-bending instrumentals, as well as mystifying epics like
"Nicodemus Portulay" and "Orlando's." More than ten years later, these songs mirror the earliest Twiddle arrangements of 2004-2005 when Mihali Savoulidis and Ryan Dempsey were collaborating in their freshmen dorms at Castleton State College. The completion of PLUMP is timely, coming at a moment when the band's fervent fan base is at an all-time high and expanding rapidly.
In the live setting, more and more people are invigorated by Twiddle's community, promoting positivity and the band's skillful improvisational music. So many like-minded people believe in the greater good, and they find that good in Twiddle.
Twiddle is comprised of Zdenek Gubb on bass and vocals, Ryan Dempsey on keyboards and vocals, Mihali Savoulidis on guitar and lead vocals, and Brook Jordan on percussion and vocals.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190320T214524Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1704 X-URL:https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1793026?_ga=2.75019858.1911465370.1546452681-1919782419.1546452679 X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190406T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190406T233000 UID:BBE53E13-0D6E-470F-9D17-2D4F6E475668 SUMMARY:Joseph DTSTAMP:20190206T012429Z DESCRIPTION:I’M ALONE, NO YOU’RE NOTThere is nothing like the sound of siblings singing together. Whether it’s the Beach Boys or the Everly Brothers—or, more recently, First Aid Kit—absorbing the same breathing rhythms and speech patterns adds an element to vocal harmonies that can be pure magic. With the release of I’m Alone, No You’re Not, the mesmerizing, hypnotic sound of the trio known as Joseph—made up of sisters Allison, Meegan, and Natalie Closner—joins this elite company.“It’s just second nature, like a fifth limb that’s already on you,” says first-born Natalie. “There’s an ability to anticipate what’s going to happen and blend with it. When Meegan and Allison sing, they know exactly what I’m going to do and when.”But the Closners didn’t actually start singing together when they were growing up in Oregon, the children of artistic parents (their dad was a jazz singer and drummer, their mom a theater teacher). Natalie was the performer—“the older sister who stood on the edge of the fireplace and told everyone, ‘Watch me!,’“ she says. Twins Meegan and Allison stayed out of her lane, joining in for their mother’s musical theater productions but otherwise avoiding the spotlight.When Natalie was in college, she began pursuing music more seriously. The summer before her senior year, she went to Nashville to check out the scene and work on her guitar playing and songwriting. She had recorded an EP and done a few rounds of touring when a friend sat her down one day.“It was kind of dramatic,” she says, “He took me aside and said, ‘I don’t think you really believe in this.’ It stopped me in my tracks.” She thought deeply about the music she was making and had a curious epiphany; she decided to ask her sisters if they would consider singing with her.Initially, they didn’t really get it. “We thought she was asking us to be background singers, so we didn’t take it that seriously,” says Allison. “It was more commitment than I was expecting—I even tried to leave at one point, but after a while, I was convinced.”A transformation occurred when the Closners were in the process of recording their first album, Native Dreamer Kin. At the time, they were calling themselves Dearborn, but their producer felt that the name didn’t fit the strength of the music. They went to visit their grandfather Jo, in the eastern Oregon town of Joseph. Allison made a playlist for the trip and called it “Joseph,” which is what influenced the band’s name.“Once she said it, it just hit us all—that’s what this is and who we are, these are the sounds of the land that we’ve lived on,” says Natalie.With this new sense of themselves, Meegan and Allison began taking a more active role in the group’s songwriting. Meegan notes that while the process was a “totally new journey” for her, it felt similar to the candor and vulnerability of her long-time journaling—just “pulling out the gold and arranging that into neater lines.”She and Natalie both point to the song “Honest” as a keystone for the development of I’m Alone, No You’re Not. “We were trying really hard to write a song, but nothing was coming,” recalls Natalie. “One night, Meegan was working on some lyrics and getting frustrated, so she wrote in the margin of the page, ‘I can’t say a true thing. It’s hard to be that honest.’ Immediately after that, her most honest sentence spilled out—‘There’s always two thoughts, one after the other: I’m alone. No, you’re not.’ And she thought, ‘Oh, there’s the song.’ “Meanwhile, the group was cultivating a devoted fan base in the most traditional ways possible: touring the Western states playing living room shows, backyard parties, and secret house party gigs; reaching an audience directly through such platforms as Noisetrade; selling their self-released CD and building a loyal following step by step. By the time they were approached by ATO Records, Joseph had already built a strong community of fans on its own.As they moved toward making their second record, the project took an additional turn when the Closners decided to work with some other songwriters in Los Angeles. “We were afraid of it at first because the songs were more pop than we were used to writing,” says Meegan, “but as we internalized them, they started becoming super-important to us.”They point to “More Alive Than Dead,” co-written with Ethan Gruska, as an example of these contributions. “That song describes an experience with a partner where you have hard things in your combined past,” says Natalie. “You’re haunted by them until you realize that those things are dead, and as long as you dwell on them, you’re missing the real live person in front of you.”She adds, though, that Gruska was critical in clarifying and sharpening the nuanced emotion of the lyric. “When Ethan sent us back the demo, I lost it, He was able to see the heart of the song and bring it out, cut to the core of what I was trying to say.”Finally, the women of Joseph recorded the album with acclaimed producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Jenny Lewis, First Aid Kit) at his studio in Omaha. He was able to open up their expansive, evocative vocal sound with powerful and striking arrangements, adding depth while highlighting their haunting intensity.“This was our first time doing a recording like this,” says Natalie, “and we learned so much about creativity. Mike is a genius, and he’s just a total maniac as a musician, so he took these bare bones songs and brought them to life with lush, gorgeous textures and sounds.”The initial reaction to the music on I’m Alone, No You’re Not has been remarkable. Joseph was selected as a #SpotifySpotlight artist, and booked for festivals including Bonnaroo, Pickathon, and Sasquatch even prior to the release of the single “White Flag,” a song inspired by an article predicting a massive earthquake for the Pacific Northwest.“Reading that created a heaviness that was making us jumpy, scared, and miserable,” says Natalie. “It became clear we had two options: be scared and cowering, backing away from the world into paralysis, or keep moving and live. Defy fear. Wear peace. Find better ways to love the people in our lives instead of huddling together like frightened sheep thinking about earthquakes.”Most rewarding for the Closner sisters has been feeling the audience response to the new songs, as they tour supporting such artists as James Bay and Amos Lee. “This is really when you learn what’s special about a song, or if it’s special,” says Natalie. “It’s this crazy firecracker thing that happens—‘Am I feeling something? Is anyone? What is this song, what does it do, which parts make the most sense?’“It really is about connection with people, and we’re so grateful we’ve gotten the chance to do that. This has been a totally wild journey, and we’re constantly blown away with possibility of what could be.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:I’M ALONE, NO YOU’RE NOTThere is nothing like the sound of siblings singing together. Whether it’s the Beach Boys or the Everly Brothers—or, more recently, First Aid Kit—absorbing the same breathing rhythms and speech patterns adds an element to vocal harmonies that can be pure magic. With the release of I’m Alone, No You’re Not, the mesmerizing, hypnotic sound of the trio known as Joseph—made up of sisters Allison, Meegan, and Natalie Closner—joins this elite company.“It’s just second nature, like a fifth limb that’s already on you,” says first-born Natalie. “There’s an ability to anticipate what’s going to happen and blend with it. When Meegan and Allison sing, they know exactly what I’m going to do and when.”But the Closners didn’t actually start singing together when they were growing up in Oregon, the children of artistic parents (their dad was a jazz singer and drummer, their mom a theater teacher). Natalie was the performer—“the older sister who stood on the edge of the fireplace and told everyone, ‘Watch me!,’“ she says. Twins Meegan and Allison stayed out of her lane, joining in for their mother’s musical theater productions but otherwise avoiding the spotlight.When Natalie was in college, she began pursuing music more seriously. The summer before her senior year, she went to Nashville to check out the scene and work on her guitar playing and songwriting. She had recorded an EP and done a few rounds of touring when a friend sat her down one day.“It was kind of dramatic,” she says, “He took me aside and said, ‘I don’t think you really believe in this.’ It stopped me in my tracks.” She thought deeply about the music she was making and had a curious epiphany; she decided to ask her sisters if they would consider singing with her.Initially, they didn’t really get it. “We thought she was asking us to be background singers, so we didn’t take it that seriously,” says Allison. “It was more commitment than I was expecting—I even tried to leave at one point, but after a while, I was convinced.”A transformation occurred when the Closners were in the process of recording their first album, Native Dreamer Kin. At the time, they were calling themselves Dearborn, but their producer felt that the name didn’t fit the strength of the music. They went to visit their grandfather Jo, in the eastern Oregon town of Joseph. Allison made a playlist for the trip and called it “Joseph,” which is what influenced the band’s name.“Once she said it, it just hit us all—that’s what this is and who we are, these are the sounds of the land that we’ve lived on,” says Natalie.With this new sense of themselves, Meegan and Allison began taking a more active role in the group’s songwriting. Meegan notes that while the process was a “totally new journey” for her, it felt similar to the candor and vulnerability of her long-time journaling—just “pulling out the gold and arranging that into neater lines.”She and Natalie both point to the song “Honest” as a keystone for the development of I’m Alone, No You’re Not. “We were trying really hard to write a song, but nothing was coming,” recalls Natalie. “One night, Meegan was working on some lyrics and getting frustrated, so she wrote in the margin of the page, ‘I can’t say a true thing. It’s hard to be that honest.’ Immediately after that, her most honest sentence spilled out—‘There’s always two thoughts, one after the other: I’m alone. No, you’re not.’ And she thought, ‘Oh, there’s the song.’ “Meanwhile, the group was cultivating a devoted fan base in the most traditional ways possible: touring the Western states playing living room shows, backyard parties, and secret house party gigs; reaching an audience directly through such platforms as Noisetrade; selling their self-released CD and building a loyal following step by step. By the time they were approached by ATO Records, Joseph had already built a strong community of fans on its own.As they moved toward making their second record, the project took an additional turn when the Closners decided to work with some other songwriters in Los Angeles. “We were afraid of it at first because the songs were more pop than we were used to writing,” says Meegan, “but as we internalized them, they started becoming super-important to us.”They point to “More Alive Than Dead,” co-written with Ethan Gruska, as an example of these contributions. “That song describes an experience with a partner where you have hard things in your combined past,” says Natalie. “You’re haunted by them until you realize that those things are dead, and as long as you dwell on them, you’re missing the real live person in front of you.”She adds, though, that Gruska was critical in clarifying and sharpening the nuanced emotion of the lyric. “When Ethan sent us back the demo, I lost it, He was able to see the heart of the song and bring it out, cut to the core of what I was trying to say.”Finally, the women of Joseph recorded the album with acclaimed producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Jenny Lewis, First Aid Kit) at his studio in Omaha. He was able to open up their expansive, evocative vocal sound with powerful and striking arrangements, adding depth while highlighting their haunting intensity.“This was our first time doing a recording like this,” says Natalie, “and we learned so much about creativity. Mike is a genius, and he’s just a total maniac as a musician, so he took these bare bones songs and brought them to life with lush, gorgeous textures and sounds.”The initial reaction to the music on I’m Alone, No You’re Not has been remarkable. Joseph was selected as a #SpotifySpotlight artist, and booked for festivals including Bonnaroo, Pickathon, and Sasquatch even prior to the release of the single “White Flag,” a song inspired by an article predicting a massive earthquake for the Pacific Northwest.“Reading that created a heaviness that was making us jumpy, scared, and miserable,” says Natalie. “It became clear we had two options: be scared and cowering, backing away from the world into paralysis, or keep moving and live. Defy fear. Wear peace. Find better ways to love the people in our lives instead of huddling together like frightened sheep thinking about earthquakes.”Most rewarding for the Closner sisters has been feeling the audience response to the new songs, as they tour supporting such artists as James Bay and Amos Lee. “This is really when you learn what’s special about a song, or if it’s special,” says Natalie. “It’s this crazy firecracker thing that happens—‘Am I feeling something? Is anyone? What is this song, what does it do, which parts make the most sense?’“It really is about connection with people, and we’re so grateful we’ve gotten the chance to do that. This has been a totally wild journey, and we’re constantly blown away with possibility of what could be.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190404T194706Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1353 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190420T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190420T233000 UID:121CEDA5-E91C-45FC-AB27-3198E871D977 SUMMARY:Mokie DTSTAMP:20190219T045832Z DESCRIPTION:Utah's #1 Jam Band-Reverbnation"Plan on a night of dancing and partying when you see one of their shows. These guys really know how to jam" --D. Manning X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Utah's #1 Jam Band-Reverbnation"Plan on a night of dancing and partying when you see one of their shows. These guys really know how to jam" --D. Manning
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190409T172400Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2951 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190426T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190426T233000 UID:CAD9CC2C-473B-40D1-BF78-9ACC45BD8C4E SUMMARY:Hayes Carll DTSTAMP:20190102T221249Z DESCRIPTION:The chorus to the title track on the new Hayes Carll album, What It Is, is a manifesto.\NWhat it was is gone forever / What it could be God only knows.What it is is right here in front of me / and I’m not letting go.\NHe’s embracing the moment. Leaving the past where it belongs, accepting there’s no way to know what’s ahead, and challenging himself to be present in both love and life. It’s heady stuff. It also rocks.\NWith a career full of critical acclaim and popular success, Carll could’ve played it safe on this, his sixth record, but he didn’t. The result is a musically ambitious and lyrically deep statement of an artist in his creative prime.\NHayes Carll’s list of accomplishments is long. His third album, 2008’s Trouble In Mind, earned him an Americana Music Association Award for Song of the Year (for “She Left Me for Jesus”). The follow-up, KMAG YOYO was the most played album on the Americana Chart in 2011 and spawned covers by artists as varied as Hard Working Americans and Lee Ann Womack, whose version of "Chances Are" garnered Carll a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song. 2016’s Lovers and Leavers swept the Austin Music Awards, and was his fourth record in a row to reach #1 on the Americana Airplay chart. Kelly Willis and Kenny Chesney have chosen to record his songs and his television appearances include The Tonight Show, Austin City Limits, and Later w/Jools Holland. Carll is the rare artist who can rock a packed dancehall one night and hold a listening room at rapt attention the next.\N“Repeating myself creatively would ultimately leave me empty. Covering new ground, exploring, and taking chances gives me juice and keeps me interested.”\NHe knew he wanted to find the next level. On What It Is, he clearly has.\NIt wasn’t necessarily easy to get there. Carll’s last release, 2016’s Lovers and Leavers was an artistic and commercial risk — a bold move which eschewed the tempo and humor of much of his previous work. The record revealed a more serious singer-songwriter dealing with more serious subjects — divorce, new love in the middle of life, parenting, the worth of work. What It Is finds him now on the other side, revived and happy, but resolute — no longer under the impression that any of it comes for free.\N“I want to dig in so this life doesn’t just pass me by. The more engaged I am the more meaning it all has. I want that to be reflected in the work.” \NAnd meaning there is. Carll sings “but I try because I want to,” on the album’s opening track, “None’Ya.” He’s not looking back lamenting love lost, rather, finding joy and purpose in the one he’s got and hanging on to the woman who sometimes leaves him delightedly scratching his head. “If I May Be So Bold,” finds him standing on similar ground — lyrically taking on the challenge of participating fully in life rather than discontentedly letting life happen.\NBold enough to not surrender bold enough to give a damnBold enough to keep on going or to stay right where I amThere’s a whole world out there waiting full of stories to be toldI’ll heed the call and tell’em all if I may be so bold\NThere’s no wishy washy here and he’s not on the sidelines. In fact, he’s neck-deep in life. On the rambunctious, fiddle-punctuated, “Times Like These,” he laments political division in America while delivering a rapid-fire plea to “do my labor, love my girl, and help my neighbor, while keeping all my joie de vivre.” Carll’s signature cleverness and aptitude for so-personal-you-might-miss-it political commentary is as strong as ever. The stark, “Fragile Men,” co-written with singer-songwriter Lolo, uses humor and dripping sarcasm to examine his gender’s resistance to change in less than three minutes of string-laden, almost Jacques Brel invoking drama. It’s new musical territory for Carll, and the result is powerful. His voice is strong and resonant on these songs, and it’s thrilling to hear him use it with a new authority. He is alternately commanding and tender, yet always soulful.\NCarll returned to trusted producer Brad Jones (producer of 2008’s Trouble in Mind and 2011’s KMAG YOYO) and Alex the Great Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, to record What It Is, and recruited singer-songwriter, author, and fiancee Allison Moorer as co-producer. The production is adventurous while keeping the focus on the singer and his songs and providing a path for him to go where he wants to go. Where that is, is forward.\NThat’s evident in the songwriting. Carll continues to hone his singular voice, but is also a flexible co-writer. Matraca Berg, Charlie Mars, Adam Landry, and Moorer have co-writing credits here, but it was Moorer’s inspiration that provided the largest impact.\N“On the songwriting front she’s just a pro. She helps me cut through the noise and she does it with wit and style.”\NCarll’s own wit and style has never been more evident. Whether it’s with the put-you-in-picture detail of, “Beautiful Thing,” the not quite sheepish enough, dude-esque defense of dishonesty in, “Things You Don’t Wanna Know,” or the strong as a tree trunk declaration of love on, “I Will Stay,” he displays an increasing command of his poetic lexicon.\NWriters most often wrestle with experience and expectations, either romanticizing the past or telling us how good it’s going to be when they get where they’re going. What It Is is a record that is rooted solidly in the present, revealing an artist in the emotional and intellectual here and now. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The chorus to the title track on the new Hayes Carll album, What It Is, is a manifesto.
What it was is gone forever / What it could be God only knows.
What it is is right here in front of me / and I’m not letting go.
He’s embracing the moment. Leaving the past where it belongs, accepting there’s no way to know what’s ahead, and challenging himself to be present in both love and life. It’s heady stuff. It also rocks.
With a career full of critical acclaim and popular success, Carll could’ve played it safe on this, his sixth record, but he didn’t. The result is a musically ambitious and lyrically deep statement of an artist in his creative prime.
Hayes Carll’s list of accomplishments is long. His third album, 2008’s Trouble In Mind, earned him an Americana Music Association Award for Song of the Year (for “She Left Me for Jesus”). The follow-up, KMAG YOYO was the most played album on the Americana Chart in 2011 and spawned covers by artists as varied as Hard Working Americans and Lee Ann Womack, whose version of "Chances Are" garnered Carll a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song. 2016’s Lovers and Leavers swept the Austin Music Awards, and was his fourth record in a row to reach #1 on the Americana Airplay chart. Kelly Willis and Kenny Chesney have chosen to record his songs and his television appearances include The Tonight Show, Austin City Limits, and Later w/Jools Holland. Carll is the rare artist who can rock a packed dancehall one night and hold a listening room at rapt attention the next.
“Repeating myself creatively would ultimately leave me empty. Covering new ground, exploring, and taking chances gives me juice and keeps me interested.”
He knew he wanted to find the next level. On What It Is, he clearly has.
It wasn’t necessarily easy to get there. Carll’s last release, 2016’s Lovers and Leavers was an artistic and commercial risk — a bold move which eschewed the tempo and humor of much of his previous work. The record revealed a more serious singer-songwriter dealing with more serious subjects — divorce, new love in the middle of life, parenting, the worth of work. What It Is finds him now on the other side, revived and happy, but resolute — no longer under the impression that any of it comes for free.
“I want to dig in so this life doesn’t just pass me by. The more engaged I am the more meaning it all has. I want that to be reflected in the work.”
And meaning there is. Carll sings “but I try because I want to,” on the album’s opening track, “None’Ya.” He’s not looking back lamenting love lost, rather, finding joy and purpose in the one he’s got and hanging on to the woman who sometimes leaves him delightedly scratching his head. “If I May Be So Bold,” finds him standing on similar ground
— lyrically taking on the challenge of participating fully in life rather than discontentedly letting life happen.
Bold enough to not surrender bold enough to give a damn
Bold enough to keep on going or to stay right where I am
There’s a whole world out there waiting full of stories to be told
I’ll heed the call and tell’em all if I may be so bold
There’s no wishy washy here and he’s not on the sidelines. In fact, he’s neck-deep in life. On the rambunctious, fiddle-punctuated, “Times Like These,” he laments political division in America while delivering a rapid-fire plea to “do my labor, love my girl, and help my neighbor, while keeping all my joie de vivre.” Carll’s signature cleverness and aptitude for so-personal-you-might-miss-it political commentary is as strong as ever. The stark, “Fragile Men,” co-written with singer-songwriter Lolo, uses humor and dripping sarcasm to examine his gender’s resistance to change in less than three minutes of string-laden, almost Jacques Brel invoking drama. It’s new musical territory for Carll, and the result is powerful. His voice is strong and resonant on these songs, and it’s thrilling to hear him use it with a new authority. He is alternately commanding and tender, yet always soulful.
Carll returned to trusted producer Brad Jones (producer of 2008’s Trouble in Mind and 2011’s KMAG YOYO) and Alex the Great Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, to record What It Is, and recruited singer-songwriter, author, and fiancee Allison Moorer as co-producer. The production is adventurous while keeping the focus on the singer and his songs and providing a path for him to go where he wants to go. Where that is, is forward.
That’s evident in the songwriting. Carll continues to hone his singular voice, but is also a flexible co-writer. Matraca Berg, Charlie Mars, Adam Landry, and Moorer have co-writing credits here, but it was Moorer’s inspiration that provided the largest impact.
“On the songwriting front she’s just a pro. She helps me cut through the noise and she does it with wit and style.”
Carll’s own wit and style has never been more evident. Whether it’s with the put-you-in-picture detail of, “Beautiful Thing,” the not quite sheepish enough, dude-esque defense of dishonesty in, “Things You Don’t Wanna Know,” or the strong as a tree trunk declaration of love on, “I Will Stay,” he displays an increasing command of his poetic lexicon.
Writers most often wrestle with experience and expectations, either romanticizing the past or telling us how good it’s going to be when they get where they’re going. What It Is is a record that is rooted solidly in the present, revealing an artist in the emotional and intellectual here and now.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190405T223947Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1638 X-URL:https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1790923?_ga=2.95532380.1911465370.1546452681-1919782419.1546452679 X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190430T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190430T233000 UID:4C23479E-C87B-425E-A7F5-67C3DA5D9334 SUMMARY:Rival Sons - POSTPONED DTSTAMP:20190102T222055Z DESCRIPTION:Due to multiple factors beyond our control, tonight’s expected sold out show with Rival Sons with special guest The Sheepdogs at The Commonwealth Room in Salt Lake City has been postponed.\NWe are currently working with the Rival Sons team to reschedule this performance very quickly.\N***\NRival Sons are a great rock and roll band so their target audience is broad. Young people and old, rock fans, americana and blues rock fans, heavy rock fans and classic rock fans. The band has a new album (produced by Dave Cobb) being released on Jan 25th (Atlantic/Low Country Sound) , and has a new song coming Dec 14. Current single “Do Your Worst" is top 15 on active chart in US and #1 in Canada.\NPresented by KBER 101. \N X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Due to multiple factors beyond our control, tonight’s expected sold out show with Rival Sons with special guest The Sheepdogs at The Commonwealth Room in Salt Lake City has been postponed.
We are currently working with the Rival Sons team to reschedule this performance very quickly.
***
Rival Sons are a great rock and roll band so their target audience is broad. Young people and old, rock fans, americana and blues rock fans, heavy rock fans and classic rock fans. The band has a new album (produced by Dave Cobb) being released on Jan 25th (Atlantic/Low Country Sound) , and has a new song coming Dec 14. Current single “Do Your Worst" is top 15 on active chart in US and #1 in Canada.
Presented by KBER 101.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190501T005409Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2193 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190504T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190504T233000 UID:53EEACFF-0FFC-4F31-8385-F6427260E5EC SUMMARY:Spring Fling Latin Showcase DTSTAMP:20190403T213708Z DESCRIPTION:The State Room Presents and Latino 106.3 are proud to present the Spring Fling Latin Showcase at The Commonwealth Room on May 4, 2019.\NThis showcase will feature the following artists:\N\NAdassa (Columbia)\NNayi (Venezuela)\NDavid Rolas (Los Angeles)\NKilo Angelino (Los Angeles)\N\NAlso performing (local):\N\NMemory Lanez & Nu-Legend Lo Eye Q Dayron\NJV The Savage Flow music provided by: The DCAC All Star DJ's\N X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:
The State Room Presents and Latino 106.3 are proud to present the Spring Fling Latin Showcase at The Commonwealth Room on May 4, 2019.
This showcase will feature the following artists:
Also performing (local):
Announcing the 2nd annual MURAL FEST! The first event of its kind in Utah!Mural Fest will add 10 new public art pieces to South Salt Lake culminating in a community celebration on May 11th 2019.This will be in addition to the 10 Murals from last years event.
Presented by Utah Arts Alliance and the South Salt Lake City Arts Council.
Mural Fest is a collaboration of artists and community in the creation of 10 new public art murals in South Salt Lake’s downtown neighborhood. The 10 murals are clustered in the area of 2100 South and 2400 South and on or just off of West Temple.The Mural Fest community celebration will be held on Saturday, May 11th at 5:00pm - 10:00 pm at the Commonwealth Room, 195 West 2100 South with live painting, live music, food trucks, artist vendors, beer and cocktail garden, and kids art activities!
A great way to see all the murals? Join us for the Mural Fest Artist Meet & Greet, a self-guided walking or bike tour of all the murals. Artists will be at each mural location. Passport maps will be provided at the Mural Fest Venue or will be available to print online at sslarts.org. Have each artist sign the passport and return it to the Info tent at Mural Fest to receive a give-a-way!
2019 Mural Fest Artists Announced!ArcyAnn ChenBilly HenslerChuck LandvatterDan ToroEvan Jed MemmottMatt MonsoonJosh ScheuermanTraci O’Very CoveyTrent Call
2018 Mural Fest artists include: Billy HenslerBrandon BrumfieldChuck LandvatterDaniel OverstreetElaina CourtElisabeth BunkerJann HaworthJorge ArellanoJosh ScheuermanJustin JohnsonRoger WhitingVeronika Zak
Mural Fest is produced by the non-profits South Salt Lake City Arts Council and Utah Arts Alliance.Festival HoursSaturday, May 11th 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
LocationThe Commonwealth Room, 195 West 2100 South, South Salt Lake City, Utah 84115
Cost: Mural Fest is a free event and open to the public. Food, drink, and art available for purchase.@southsaltlakearts@South Salt Lake Arts Council@utahartsallianceSslarts.orgutaharts.org
For sponsor info contact Derek Dyer at: derek@utaharts.org
For more information and to become a vendor please contact Lesly Allen at: lallen@sslc.comFor volunteer info contact Travis Warnimont at: travis@utaharts.org
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190508T234216Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1540 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190515T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190515T233000 UID:24F8F1F7-E53D-4C24-91FB-7AAB8D560E46 SUMMARY:Colin Hay DTSTAMP:20190102T222508Z DESCRIPTION:Beloved for his intimate, confessional live shows, Colin Hay is widely known for being the influential and celebrated front man of Men At Work with multi-platinum hits that include Down Under, Who Can It Be Now and Overkill among many others.\NThis show will feature Colin Hay and his fantastic band of LA based musicians playing songs from both the Grammy winning Men at Work catalog and Hay’s solo catalog, including hits like Waiting For My Real Life To Begin, Beautiful World and many more.\NThe range of artists who have chosen to cite him as a muse or who have found themselves on stage with him in the past year spans the genre landscape from heavy metal, to Americana, to Cuban rhythms and beyond. His inclusion as a playlist favorite from the likes of Metallica to The Lumineers reflects his continuing relevance and broad appeal. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Beloved for his intimate, confessional live shows, Colin Hay is widely known for being the influential and celebrated front man of Men At Work with multi-platinum hits that include Down Under, Who Can It Be Now and Overkill among many others.
This show will feature Colin Hay and his fantastic band of LA based musicians playing songs from both the Grammy winning Men at Work catalog and Hay’s solo catalog, including hits like Waiting For My Real Life To Begin, Beautiful World and many more.
The range of artists who have chosen to cite him as a muse or who have found themselves on stage with him in the past year spans the genre landscape from heavy metal, to Americana, to Cuban rhythms and beyond. His inclusion as a playlist favorite from the likes of Metallica to The Lumineers reflects his continuing relevance and broad appeal.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190429T205016Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1848 X-URL:https://lyte.com/Commonwealth-Room-eb/Colin-Hay-of-Men-at-Work-84177/ X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190518T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190518T233000 UID:13305C46-AC9D-4DB3-8FC4-6C3319CAD9F1 SUMMARY:Jenny Lewis DTSTAMP:20190102T222943Z DESCRIPTION:Jenny Lewis has confirmed her highly anticipated return with her fourth solo album - On The Line - out spring 2019 on Warner Bros. Records. Since releasing 2014’s critically acclaimed The Voyager— which NPR likened to “California sunshine glinting off the Pacific Ocean, steeped in the West Coast pop sounds of the 1970s”— Jenny Lewis has been plotting her highly anticipated return. Between headlining dates around the globe and stealing the show at Newport Folk Festival 2018, not to mention captivating audiences as special guest of Beck at Madison Square Garden, Jenny has been fastidious in recording brand new material. Featuring a who’s who of supporting players including Beck, Benmont Tench, Don Was, Jim Keltner and Ringo Starr among others, and recorded at the distinguished Capitol Studios, On The Line will no doubt be a triumphant and irresistible highlight of 2019.\NPresented by KRCL 90.9 FM. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Jenny Lewis has confirmed her highly anticipated return with her fourth solo album - On The Line - out spring 2019 on Warner Bros. Records. Since releasing 2014’s critically acclaimed The Voyager— which NPR likened to “California sunshine glinting off the Pacific Ocean, steeped in the West Coast pop sounds of the 1970s”— Jenny Lewis has been plotting her highly anticipated return. Between headlining dates around the globe and stealing the show at Newport Folk Festival 2018, not to mention captivating audiences as special guest of Beck at Madison Square Garden, Jenny has been fastidious in recording brand new material. Featuring a who’s who of supporting players including Beck, Benmont Tench, Don Was, Jim Keltner and Ringo Starr among others, and recorded at the distinguished Capitol Studios, On The Line will no doubt be a triumphant and irresistible highlight of 2019.
Presented by KRCL 90.9 FM.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190327T162356Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2276 X-URL:https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1798028?_ga=2.133714254.1911465370.1546452681-1919782419.1546452679 X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190601T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190601T233000 UID:5AF1CCD5-F521-4804-9D6F-435941E812E6 SUMMARY:Bear's Den DTSTAMP:20190205T232427Z DESCRIPTION:Hello friends, Davie and Kev here.\NWe wanted to write you a note to tell you about what we’ve been up to over the year or so - we’ve been working on a new album, written mainly in an old church in North London and recorded in the wonderful city of Seattle; it’s called 'So that you might hear me'and it comes out on April 26th.\NWe’re also going on tour again from April, in the UK, Europe, Canada and the USA, something we’ve been missing terribly - we can’t wait to get out on the road and play music again!\NIf you want to pre-order the album now on CD or 12” vinyl you can do so from us on bearsdenmusic.co.uk - we’ll sign it and you’ll also get access to the pre-sale for our upcoming tour dates - these will go on sale on Wednesday, February 6th at 10am, 2 days before they go on general sale.\NWe’ve also created an individual piece of artwork for every track on the record, each vinyl pre-ordered via the store will come with one of these special mystery 12” bonus prints.\NThis album means a lot to us personally, we are super proud of it and SO excited for you to hear it, so much so that we’re sharing two tracks from the album NOW - they’re called 'Fuel on the Fire'and ‘Blankets of Sorrow’ and you can listen to them here.\NWe’ve launched a new facebook group if you want to share your thoughts about the songs, tour, or anything else - we’ll be on there too from time to time to say hi, we want to hear from you, we wanna see you all at shows - it’s all just been too long!\NWe couldn’t do what we do without you all, thanks so much for your ongoing love and support, hope you like the new songs and see you at a show soon!\NLove, The Den xxx X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Hello friends, Davie and Kev here.
We wanted to write you a note to tell you about what we’ve been up to over the year or so - we’ve been working on a new album, written mainly in an old church in North London and recorded in the wonderful city of Seattle; it’s called 'So that you might hear me'and it comes out on April 26th.
We’re also going on tour again from April, in the UK, Europe, Canada and the USA, something we’ve been missing terribly - we can’t wait to get out on the road and play music again!
If you want to pre-order the album now on CD or 12” vinyl you can do so from us on bearsdenmusic.co.uk - we’ll sign it and you’ll also get access to the pre-sale for our upcoming tour dates - these will go on sale on Wednesday, February 6th at 10am, 2 days before they go on general sale.
We’ve also created an individual piece of artwork for every track on the record, each vinyl pre-ordered via the store will come with one of these special mystery 12” bonus prints.
This album means a lot to us personally, we are super proud of it and SO excited for you to hear it, so much so that we’re sharing two tracks from the album NOW - they’re called 'Fuel on the Fire'and ‘Blankets of Sorrow’ and you can listen to them here.
We’ve launched a new facebook group if you want to share your thoughts about the songs, tour, or anything else - we’ll be on there too from time to time to say hi, we want to hear from you, we wanna see you all at shows - it’s all just been too long!
We couldn’t do what we do without you all, thanks so much for your ongoing love and support, hope you like the new songs and see you at a show soon!
Love, The Den xxx
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190502T212441Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2103 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190604T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190604T233000 UID:1E5BC7D4-16B9-44D8-B259-92FF41C92E02 SUMMARY:Snarky Puppy DTSTAMP:20190102T223400Z DESCRIPTION:Displaying a rare and delicate mixture of sophisticated composition, harmony and improvisation. Fusion-influenced genre-bending Snarky Puppy make exploratory jazz, funk and rock.\NFormed in Denton, Texas in 2004, Snarky Puppy feature a wide ranging group of over 30 musicians affectionately known as "The Fam" centered around bassist, composer and bandleader Michael League. Each live performance features a selection of 8-12 musicians from the rotating cast, insuring that each show is different not only due to ever-changing set lists but also because of the various permutations of musicians X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Displaying a rare and delicate mixture of sophisticated composition, harmony and improvisation. Fusion-influenced genre-bending Snarky Puppy make exploratory jazz, funk and rock.
Formed in Denton, Texas in 2004, Snarky Puppy feature a wide ranging group of over 30 musicians affectionately known as "The Fam" centered around bassist, composer and bandleader Michael League. Each live performance features a selection of 8-12 musicians from the rotating cast, insuring that each show is different not only due to ever-changing set lists but also because of the various permutations of musicians
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190508T234149Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1990 X-URL:https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1793552?_ga=2.74495442.1911465370.1546452681-1919782419.1546452679 X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190607T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190607T233000 UID:CB04A4D5-AD3F-41F0-8A73-166613A48E0B SUMMARY:The Record Company DTSTAMP:20190208T232146Z DESCRIPTION:After that first album, everything just got amplified,” says Chris Vos singer/guitarist for The Record Company. “Our lives got crazier and bigger and more complicated in the best possible ways, and our sound and our songwriting just naturally grew alongside that. We’re the same people we always were, but The Record Company isn’t just three guys in a living room anymore.”\NOne listen to the band’s exhilarating new album, All Of This Life, and it’s clear that things have changed. The gritty slide guitar, fuzzed-out bass, and driving drums are all still front and center, but the songs are bolder and more ambitious, deeper and more reflective, brimming with adventurous vitality while still remaining firmly tethered to the roots of American rock and roll that have always grounded and nourished the group. The stakes were higher this time around to be sure, but the music more than delivers, bolstered by the kind of growth that can only come from the trial-by-fire the band experienced on their meteoric rise.\NBy now, The Record Company’s story is a well-known one: a trio of musicians grit it out on their own for years in bars and clubs, join forces in LA, set up some microphones in a living room, and cut an album that turns their world upside down. Released in 2016, Give It Back To You spawned three Top Ten hits at Triple-A radio (including the #1 smash “Off The Ground”), earned the band a slew of festival appearances and sold-out headline dates around the world, and garnered a GRAMMY nomination. The group made the rounds on late night TV, shared bills with John Mayer, Zac Brown Band, My Morning Jacket and Nathaniel Rateliff among others, and racked up more than ten million streams on Spotify. The critical response was just as ecstatic, with Rolling Stone raving that the band “kick[s] up a raw, rootsy racket” and Entertainment Weekly calling the album a “soul scorcher.”\NFar from altering The Record Company’s DNA, success only served to enhance it, strengthening the band’s bonds and elevating the intangible chemistry that ignited their breakout. At its core, the group is a pure democracy: all the work, all the rewards, all the happiness and heartache and joy and pain are split evenly. Each member brings their own unique strengths to the table, and the three fit together seamlessly, filling in each other’s gaps like pieces of a puzzle.\N“We’re a true band in that we all elevate each other,” explains Vos. “Our individual strengths cover each other’s individual weaknesses, so there’s no way to replace any one of us. We’d all played in bands before, but none of us found what we were looking for until we got together.”\NEven at their first jam session, it was clear that the trio was on to something special. With a sound that blended the biting blues of John Lee Hooker with the charismatic swagger of the Rolling Stones, the band went from releasing their home-recorded debut to taking the stage at Madison Square Garden in the span of just 18 months. As the group’s audience grew, so did their artistry, and when it came time to record All Of This Life, it was clear that their approach in the studio would have to take a big step up to reflect the maturation they’d undergone on the road.\N“What we did making that first record by ourselves in my living room, we wore that like a badge of pride,” says bassist Alex Stiff. “But we evolved so much as a band after that and our songwriting grew so much that we knew we had to take it out of the living room this time around.”\NWhile the group still worked up the core of most songs at home and produced themselves like the old days, they headed to nearby Boulevard Recording in Hollywood on a quest to break new sonic ground. The eclectic array of analog gear in the studio, which had previously hosted everyone from Pink Floyd to Fleetwood Mac to The War on Drugs, enabled the band to push the limits of their productions and arrangements while still capturing all the scintillating power and spontaneity of their live show.\N“We want to be known as the best live band on Earth,” says drummer Marc Cazorla, “and the only way to do that is to believe it. We were an opening band for five years, and we made it our goal every night when we took the stage to be remembered.”\NThe same unshakable faith that sustained the group through their long, arduous climb now courses through the album’s veins. Belief is the record’s lifeblood, a defiant optimism that stands tall in the face of doubt and division. The songs reflect our troubled times, but they focus inwards rather than outwards, musing on personal empowerment, self-improvement, and the supremacy of love. Album opener “Life To Fix” is a driving ode to forward motion and getting through hard times by continually putting one foot in front of the other, while the utterly infectious “Make It Happen” finds Vos proclaiming, “If you want something / You got to go out and get it.”\N“This record to me is about self-reflection and making yourself better,” he explains. “It’s about taking responsibility for your own spot in the world. If you’re not on the right path, the only person who can take that next step to fix it is you, and at the end of the day, after all the highs and lows, all you’re left with is yourself.”\N“We learned from the first album that our audience really connected to songs with a little more inner depth and reflection,” adds Stiff. “Sometimes people would find deeper meaning in the music than we ever thought possible. Folks would come up after shows and tell us that our songs got them through a divorce or a grieving process, which was really powerful and inspiring.”\NIn addition to digging deep lyrically, the band pushed themselves beyond their traditional musical boundaries on the album. “Goodbye To The Hard Life” is a slow-burning 6/8 ballad that calls to mind the simmering potency of Led Zeppelin, while the acoustic twang of “I’m Changing” taps into the rural southern intensity of Johnny Cash, and the rollicking “I’m Getting Better” captures the essence of Bob Dylan’s rambunctious Highway 61 Revisited period as if played by some punk rock kids stepping into the garage for the first time.\N“We wanted to take risks we couldn’t have the first time around,” explains Stiff. “We wanted to create moments that our audience hasn’t seen or heard from us before.”\NIn the end, that’s what makes the record so special. It’s that rare sophomore album that retains the magic of the debut while simultaneously pressing forward into uncharted territory, expanding the band’s emotional and sonic palette to reflect the wild journey they’ve shared these past few years. The muscle and beauty and longing and brotherhood of those original home recordings is still present, but it’s been turned up a notch here, pushed to a new level of command and sophistication. The Record Company has moved out of the living room with All Of This Life, and they’re ready to share it with the world. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:After that first album, everything just got amplified,” says Chris Vos singer/guitarist for The Record Company. “Our lives got crazier and bigger and more complicated in the best possible ways, and our sound and our songwriting just naturally grew alongside that. We’re the same people we always were, but The Record Company isn’t just three guys in a living room anymore.”
One listen to the band’s exhilarating new album, All Of This Life, and it’s clear that things have changed. The gritty slide guitar, fuzzed-out bass, and driving drums are all still front and center, but the songs are bolder and more ambitious, deeper and more reflective, brimming with adventurous vitality while still remaining firmly tethered to the roots of American rock and roll that have always grounded and nourished the group. The stakes were higher this time around to be sure, but the music more than delivers, bolstered by the kind of growth that can only come from the trial-by-fire the band experienced on their meteoric rise.
By now, The Record Company’s story is a well-known one: a trio of musicians grit it out on their own for years in bars and clubs, join forces in LA, set up some microphones in a living room, and cut an album that turns their world upside down. Released in 2016, Give It Back To You spawned three Top Ten hits at Triple-A radio (including the #1 smash “Off The Ground”), earned the band a slew of festival appearances and sold-out headline dates around the world, and garnered a GRAMMY nomination. The group made the rounds on late night TV, shared bills with John Mayer, Zac Brown Band, My Morning Jacket and Nathaniel Rateliff among others, and racked up more than ten million streams on Spotify. The critical response was just as ecstatic, with Rolling Stone raving that the band “kick[s] up a raw, rootsy racket” and Entertainment Weekly calling the album a “soul scorcher.”
Far from altering The Record Company’s DNA, success only served to enhance it, strengthening the band’s bonds and elevating the intangible chemistry that ignited their breakout. At its core, the group is a pure democracy: all the work, all the rewards, all the happiness and heartache and joy and pain are split evenly. Each member brings their own unique strengths to the table, and the three fit together seamlessly, filling in each other’s gaps like pieces of a puzzle.
“We’re a true band in that we all elevate each other,” explains Vos. “Our individual strengths cover each other’s individual weaknesses, so there’s no way to replace any one of us. We’d all played in bands before, but none of us found what we were looking for until we got together.”
Even at their first jam session, it was clear that the trio was on to something special. With a sound that blended the biting blues of John Lee Hooker with the charismatic swagger of the Rolling Stones, the band went from releasing their home-recorded debut to taking the stage at Madison Square Garden in the span of just 18 months. As the group’s audience grew, so did their artistry, and when it came time to record All Of This Life, it was clear that their approach in the studio would have to take a big step up to reflect the maturation they’d undergone on the road.
“What we did making that first record by ourselves in my living room, we wore that like a badge of pride,” says bassist Alex Stiff. “But we evolved so much as a band after that and our songwriting grew so much that we knew we had to take it out of the living room this time around.”
While the group still worked up the core of most songs at home and produced themselves like the old days, they headed to nearby Boulevard Recording in Hollywood on a quest to break new sonic ground. The eclectic array of analog gear in the studio, which had previously hosted everyone from Pink Floyd to Fleetwood Mac to The War on Drugs, enabled the band to push the limits of their productions and arrangements while still capturing all the scintillating power and spontaneity of their live show.
“We want to be known as the best live band on Earth,” says drummer Marc Cazorla, “and the only way to do that is to believe it. We were an opening band for five years, and we made it our goal every night when we took the stage to be remembered.”
The same unshakable faith that sustained the group through their long, arduous climb now courses through the album’s veins. Belief is the record’s lifeblood, a defiant optimism that stands tall in the face of doubt and division. The songs reflect our troubled times, but they focus inwards rather than outwards, musing on personal empowerment, self-improvement, and the supremacy of love. Album opener “Life To Fix” is a driving ode to forward motion and getting through hard times by continually putting one foot in front of the other, while the utterly infectious “Make It Happen” finds Vos proclaiming, “If you want something / You got to go out and get it.”
“This record to me is about self-reflection and making yourself better,” he explains. “It’s about taking responsibility for your own spot in the world. If you’re not on the right path, the only person who can take that next step to fix it is you, and at the end of the day, after all the highs and lows, all you’re left with is yourself.”
“We learned from the first album that our audience really connected to songs with a little more inner depth and reflection,” adds Stiff. “Sometimes people would find deeper meaning in the music than we ever thought possible. Folks would come up after shows and tell us that our songs got them through a divorce or a grieving process, which was really powerful and inspiring.”
In addition to digging deep lyrically, the band pushed themselves beyond their traditional musical boundaries on the album. “Goodbye To The Hard Life” is a slow-burning 6/8 ballad that calls to mind the simmering potency of Led Zeppelin, while the acoustic twang of “I’m Changing” taps into the rural southern intensity of Johnny Cash, and the rollicking “I’m Getting Better” captures the essence of Bob Dylan’s rambunctious Highway 61 Revisited period as if played by some punk rock kids stepping into the garage for the first time.
“We wanted to take risks we couldn’t have the first time around,” explains Stiff. “We wanted to create moments that our audience hasn’t seen or heard from us before.”
In the end, that’s what makes the record so special. It’s that rare sophomore album that retains the magic of the debut while simultaneously pressing forward into uncharted territory, expanding the band’s emotional and sonic palette to reflect the wild journey they’ve shared these past few years. The muscle and beauty and longing and brotherhood of those original home recordings is still present, but it’s been turned up a notch here, pushed to a new level of command and sophistication. The Record Company has moved out of the living room with All Of This Life, and they’re ready to share it with the world.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190311T181504Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2222 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190616T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190616T233000 UID:C3565BFB-9BAB-4FEE-8643-B998B45271AD SUMMARY:Rising Appalachia DTSTAMP:20190412T221845Z DESCRIPTION:As world travelers for nearly two decades, Rising Appalachia have merged multiple global music influences with their own southern roots to create the inviting new folk album, Leylines. Remarkably the band has built its legion of listeners independently -- a self-made success story that has led to major festival appearances and sold-out shows at venues across the country.\NFounded by sisters Leah and Chloe Smith, the band established an international fan base due to relentless touring, tireless activism, and no small degree of stubborn independence. However, for the first time, they opted to bring in a producer for the new album, teaming up with the legendary Joe Henry on the sessions. These were also their first recording sessions outside of the South. For 10 days, all six band members lived and recorded in a castle-like studio in Marin County, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As a result, a sense of unity and immediacy can be heard throughout their seventh album, Leylines.\N“As far as recording goes, we’re open creatively, but we’ve often preferred elements of live recording. I mean, we’re folk musicians at our core,” Leah explains. “The experience of playing music together in one room, looking at each other, is the bedrock of what we do and how we’ve grown up with music. I think Joe very much felt that way as well. He was very clear at the beginning that he was going to encourage us to have as many element of a live recording as possible.”\NAlthough Leah and Chloe Smith consider their voices as their primary instrument, Leah also plays banjo and bodhran on the album, while Chloe plays guitar, fiddle, and banjo. They are joined on Leylines by longtime members David Brown (stand-up bass, baritone guitar) and Biko Casini (world percussion, n’goni), as well as two new members: West African musician Arouna Diarra (n’goni, talking drum) and Irish musician Duncan Wickel (fiddle, cello). The sonic textures of these two cultures are woven into Leylines, enhancing the stunning blend of folk, world, and urban music that has become Rising Appalachia’s calling card.\N“Our songwriting ties into those traditions as well,” Chloe says. “With some of our original songs, it’s a reflection of the times. We’re folk singers and we consider this a folk album, so there’s a lot in there. There’s word of politics, of being women in the music industry, as well as a lot about our lives on the road.”\NIndeed, Rising Appalachia has toured British Columbia by sailboat, traversed the U.S. and Europe by train, and engaged in immersive cultural exchange programs in Bulgaria, Ireland, Southern Italy, Central and South America – not to mention the countless miles in a van. Tour highlights include: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco; Music Hall Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York; Boulder Theatre in Boulder, Colorado; and the Showbox in Seattle, Washington. The band consistently sells between 400 and 1500 tickets wherever they play, a testament to their loyal fan base.\NLeah and Chloe grew up in urban Atlanta as the city’s hip hop scene began to flourish. They absorbed those rhythms through the music they heard at school, then traveled with their family to fiddle camps all across the Southeast on the weekends. The young girls weren’t all that interested in the old-time playing, but their parents were incredibly devout in their study and practice of Appalachian music.\NAfter high school, Leah decided to postpone college and travel internationally. Feeling homesick while living in Southern Mexico, she looked for a connection to her past and taught herself how to play banjo. “I realized that I wanted something from home that I could share, something that would tell people a bit more of the story of where I came from, other than the news,” she recalls.\NA few years later, when Chloe came to visit her abroad, Leah offered some clawhammer banjo lessons. They didn’t necessarily realize it at the time but a musical partnership had been established. Upon their return to the United States, they recorded an album, which they considered an art project, to sell whenever they sang at farmer’s markets. They printed 500 copies, figuring that would last them a lifetime. However, when a local college professor heard them singing at a Christmas party, he booked them as part of a Celtic holiday concert in Atlanta. After two performances, every CD had been sold.\NSurprised and overwhelmed, they mulled over a career as full-time musicians, then realized that performing could be just one component of a greater overall vision – one that includes advocating for social justice, racial justice, environmental justice, and Indigenous rights.\N“We’re able to filter in so many of our passions into this project,” Chloe says. “We do a lot of activism work. We do a lot of outreach. Leah is a visual artist and she can funnel her visual eye into the project. I love to write, so that comes in. There’s a big container and canvas for our life’s work here. Music is part of it, but there are a lot of other creative vehicles that are driving Rising Appalachia.”\NSpecial guests on Leylines include folk hero Ani DiFranco, soulful songwriter Trevor Hall, and jazz trumpeter Maurice Turner. The album title alludes to the concept of invisible lines believed to stretch around the world between sacred spaces, bonded by a spiritual and magnetic presence. That deep sense of connection is key to understanding Rising Appalachia as a whole.\N“Rising Appalachia has come out of this idea that we can take these traditions of southern music – that we’ve been born and raised with – and we can rise out of them, creating all these different bridges between cultures and stories to make them feel alive.” Leah says. “Our music has its foundation in heritage and tradition, but we’re creating a music that also feels reflective of the times right now. That’s always been our work.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:As world travelers for nearly two decades, Rising Appalachia have merged multiple global music influences with their own southern roots to create the inviting new folk album, Leylines. Remarkably the band has built its legion of listeners independently -- a self-made success story that has led to major festival appearances and sold-out shows at venues across the country.
Founded by sisters Leah and Chloe Smith, the band established an international fan base due to relentless touring, tireless activism, and no small degree of stubborn independence. However, for the first time, they opted to bring in a producer for the new album, teaming up with the legendary Joe Henry on the sessions. These were also their first recording sessions outside of the South. For 10 days, all six band members lived and recorded in a castle-like studio in Marin County, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As a result, a sense of unity and immediacy can be heard throughout their seventh album, Leylines.
“As far as recording goes, we’re open creatively, but we’ve often preferred elements of live recording. I mean, we’re folk musicians at our core,” Leah explains. “The experience of playing music together in one room, looking at each other, is the bedrock of what we do and how we’ve grown up with music. I think Joe very much felt that way as well. He was very clear at the beginning that he was going to encourage us to have as many element of a live recording as possible.”
Although Leah and Chloe Smith consider their voices as their primary instrument, Leah also plays banjo and bodhran on the album, while Chloe plays guitar, fiddle, and banjo. They are joined on Leylines by longtime members David Brown (stand-up bass, baritone guitar) and Biko Casini (world percussion, n’goni), as well as two new members: West African musician Arouna Diarra (n’goni, talking drum) and Irish musician Duncan Wickel (fiddle, cello). The sonic textures of these two cultures are woven into Leylines, enhancing the stunning blend of folk, world, and urban music that has become Rising Appalachia’s calling card.
“Our songwriting ties into those traditions as well,” Chloe says. “With some of our original songs, it’s a reflection of the times. We’re folk singers and we consider this a folk album, so there’s a lot in there. There’s word of politics, of being women in the music industry, as well as a lot about our lives on the road.”
Indeed, Rising Appalachia has toured British Columbia by sailboat, traversed the U.S. and Europe by train, and engaged in immersive cultural exchange programs in Bulgaria, Ireland, Southern Italy, Central and South America – not to mention the countless miles in a van. Tour highlights include: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco; Music Hall Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York; Boulder Theatre in Boulder, Colorado; and the Showbox in Seattle, Washington. The band consistently sells between 400 and 1500 tickets wherever they play, a testament to their loyal fan base.
Leah and Chloe grew up in urban Atlanta as the city’s hip hop scene began to flourish. They absorbed those rhythms through the music they heard at school, then traveled with their family to fiddle camps all across the Southeast on the weekends. The young girls weren’t all that interested in the old-time playing, but their parents were incredibly devout in their study and practice of Appalachian music.
After high school, Leah decided to postpone college and travel internationally. Feeling homesick while living in Southern Mexico, she looked for a connection to her past and taught herself how to play banjo. “I realized that I wanted something from home that I could share, something that would tell people a bit more of the story of where I came from, other than the news,” she recalls.
A few years later, when Chloe came to visit her abroad, Leah offered some clawhammer banjo lessons. They didn’t necessarily realize it at the time but a musical partnership had been established. Upon their return to the United States, they recorded an album, which they considered an art project, to sell whenever they sang at farmer’s markets. They printed 500 copies, figuring that would last them a lifetime. However, when a local college professor heard them singing at a Christmas party, he booked them as part of a Celtic holiday concert in Atlanta. After two performances, every CD had been sold.
Surprised and overwhelmed, they mulled over a career as full-time musicians, then realized that performing could be just one component of a greater overall vision – one that includes advocating for social justice, racial justice, environmental justice, and Indigenous rights.
“We’re able to filter in so many of our passions into this project,” Chloe says. “We do a lot of activism work. We do a lot of outreach. Leah is a visual artist and she can funnel her visual eye into the project. I love to write, so that comes in. There’s a big container and canvas for our life’s work here. Music is part of it, but there are a lot of other creative vehicles that are driving Rising Appalachia.”
Special guests on Leylines include folk hero Ani DiFranco, soulful songwriter Trevor Hall, and jazz trumpeter Maurice Turner. The album title alludes to the concept of invisible lines believed to stretch around the world between sacred spaces, bonded by a spiritual and magnetic presence. That deep sense of connection is key to understanding Rising Appalachia as a whole.
“Rising Appalachia has come out of this idea that we can take these traditions of southern music – that we’ve been born and raised with – and we can rise out of them, creating all these different bridges between cultures and stories to make them feel alive.” Leah says. “Our music has its foundation in heritage and tradition, but we’re creating a music that also feels reflective of the times right now. That’s always been our work.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190531T185326Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2528 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190628T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190628T233000 UID:1D2B81A2-2578-4C65-BF33-36C7F552A44D SUMMARY:Jamestown Revival DTSTAMP:20190219T044135Z DESCRIPTION:Since their debut in 2014, Jamestown Revival has been building an extensive fan base through grass roots support and relentless touring, performing at iconic venues from the Ryman Auditorium to Red Rocks Amphitheater as well as festivals such as Coachella, Austin City Limits and Stagecoach among countless others.\NLed by Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance – who have maintained a close friendship since meeting at age 15 in Magnolia, TX – Jamestown Revival is pursuing their own musical vision by focusing on their roots and harmonies. Most of the time, Clay takes lead vocal with Chance on high harmony, a striking blend that appears effortless. This obvious camaraderie is a big part of the group’s appeal. “People say they can see it and they can feel it,” Clay says. “I mean, we’ve been friends forever, it feels like. It’s a brotherhood. We don’t always like each other but we love each other, you know? We truly enjoy being able to do what we do, to make music and travel together.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Since their debut in 2014, Jamestown Revival has been building an extensive fan base through grass roots support and relentless touring, performing at iconic venues from the Ryman Auditorium to Red Rocks Amphitheater as well as festivals such as Coachella, Austin City Limits and Stagecoach among countless others.
Led by Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance – who have maintained a close friendship since meeting at age 15 in Magnolia, TX – Jamestown Revival is pursuing their own musical vision by focusing on their roots and harmonies. Most of the time, Clay takes lead vocal with Chance on high harmony, a striking blend that appears effortless. This obvious camaraderie is a big part of the group’s appeal. “People say they can see it and they can feel it,” Clay says. “I mean, we’ve been friends forever, it feels like. It’s a brotherhood. We don’t always like each other but we love each other, you know? We truly enjoy being able to do what we do, to make music and travel together.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190626T175659Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:4312 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190712T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190712T213000 UID:65160961-D7DF-400B-A19D-B20688B97C65 SUMMARY:Mokie DTSTAMP:20190219T045832Z DESCRIPTION:Utah's #1 Jam Band-Reverbnation"Plan on a night of dancing and partying when you see one of their shows. These guys really know how to jam" --D. Manning X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Utah's #1 Jam Band-Reverbnation"Plan on a night of dancing and partying when you see one of their shows. These guys really know how to jam" --D. Manning
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190613T031304Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1460 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190815T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190815T233000 UID:DD73CC99-6FB6-4587-852F-A52FFA851535 SUMMARY:James McMurtry DTSTAMP:20190515T183504Z DESCRIPTION:James McMurtry’s new single, “State of the Union,” is now available as a free download via his website www.jamesmcmurtry.com. The singular songwriter’s razor-sharp sociopolitical commentary surely will turn heads: “My brother’s a fascist, lives in Palacios, fishes the pier every night,” the song opens. “He holsters his glock in a double retention. He smokes while he waits for a bite. He don’t like the Muslims. He don’t like the Jews. He don’t like the Blacks and he don’t trust the news. He hates the Hispanics and alternative views. He’ll tell you it’s tough to be white.”\N“Every region of the United States seems to have its own way of Anglicizing, or rather, Americanizing Spanish names,” McMurtry explains. “There’s a town called Palacios on the Texas coast. Texans pronounce it ‘Palashuss,’ which just happens to kinda rhyme with ‘fascist.’ While there’s usually at least one in every town, I don’t know for a fact that there’s even one actual fascist residing in or near the town of Palacios, Texas. This song, like most of my songs, is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of any of my characters to actual persons, living or deceased, is just plain lucky. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:James McMurtry’s new single, “State of the Union,” is now available as a free download via his website www.jamesmcmurtry.com. The singular songwriter’s razor-sharp sociopolitical commentary surely will turn heads: “My brother’s a fascist, lives in Palacios, fishes the pier every night,” the song opens. “He holsters his glock in a double retention. He smokes while he waits for a bite. He don’t like the Muslims. He don’t like the Jews. He don’t like the Blacks and he don’t trust the news. He hates the Hispanics and alternative views. He’ll tell you it’s tough to be white.”
“Every region of the United States seems to have its own way of Anglicizing, or rather, Americanizing Spanish names,” McMurtry explains. “There’s a town called Palacios on the Texas coast. Texans pronounce it ‘Palashuss,’ which just happens to kinda rhyme with ‘fascist.’ While there’s usually at least one in every town, I don’t know for a fact that there’s even one actual fascist residing in or near the town of Palacios, Texas. This song, like most of my songs, is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of any of my characters to actual persons, living or deceased, is just plain lucky.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190814T144620Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2366 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190830T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190830T233000 UID:C5C78DA5-4B56-464A-82ED-24BE920F7393 SUMMARY:The Fixx DTSTAMP:20190617T181847Z DESCRIPTION:The Fixx has been often heralded as one of the most innovative bands to come out of the MTV era. The style and substance of the band has always created a special connection with its audience. The Fixx’s themes are often complex, introspective and thought-provoking and it’s also been mass appeal with three #1 hits, five in the Top Five, a dozen reaching the Top Ten and millions of albums sold worldwide. Instantly recognizable, The Fixx sound is unmistakably unique and stands out among the thousands of artists filling the airwaves.\NSongs such as “One Thing Leads To Another”, “Red Skies” and “Saved By Zero” remain everyday staples on the playlists of the radio stations that continue to break new acts inspired the era that The Fixx helped to define. It is rare for an audience to experience a band that has continued to thrive for three decades. The Fixx were then, and still are - Cy Curnin on vocals, Rupert Greenall on keyboards, Jamie West-Oram on guitar, Adam Woods on drums, and bassist Dan K. Brown. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The Fixx has been often heralded as one of the most innovative bands to come out of the MTV era. The style and substance of the band has always created a special connection with its audience. The Fixx’s themes are often complex, introspective and thought-provoking and it’s also been mass appeal with three #1 hits, five in the Top Five, a dozen reaching the Top Ten and millions of albums sold worldwide. Instantly recognizable, The Fixx sound is unmistakably unique and stands out among the thousands of artists filling the airwaves.
Songs such as “One Thing Leads To Another”, “Red Skies” and “Saved By Zero” remain everyday staples on the playlists of the radio stations that continue to break new acts inspired the era that The Fixx helped to define. It is rare for an audience to experience a band that has continued to thrive for three decades. The Fixx were then, and still are - Cy Curnin on vocals, Rupert Greenall on keyboards, Jamie West-Oram on guitar, Adam Woods on drums, and bassist Dan K. Brown.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190818T060340Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2977 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190916T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190916T233000 UID:C4005CCE-3BBD-4DC3-924D-B12E6B2196B1 SUMMARY:Tab Benoit DTSTAMP:20190614T230519Z DESCRIPTION:Tab Benoit is a Grammy nominated singer, songwriter and guitarist who has built a remarkable 30+ year career on the foundation of his gritty and soulful Delta swamp blues and acquiring a devoted legion of fans along the way, as well as 5 Blues Music Awards, including BB King Entertainer of the Year (twice) and an induction into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.\NHe has recorded and/or performed with Junior Wells, George Porter Jr, Dr. John, Willie Nelson, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Billy Joe Shaver, Maria Muldaur, James Cotton, Cyril Neville, Kenny Aronoff, Allen Toussaint, Kim Wilson, Jimmy Thackery, Charlie Musslewhite, Kenny Neal, Chris Layton, Ivan Neville, Jimmy Hall, Jim Lauderdale, Anders Osborne, and Alvin Youngblood Hart to name a few. Tab's accomplishments as a musician are matched only by his devotion to the environmental health of his native Louisiana wetlands.\NBenoit is the founder and driving force behind Voice of the Wetlands, an organization working to preserve the coastal waters of his home state. In 2010, he received the Governor's Award for Conservationist of the Year from the Louisiana Wildlife Federation. Benoit also starred in the iMax motion picture Hurricane on the Bayou, a documentary of Hurricane Katrina's effects and a call to protect and restore the wetlands. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Tab Benoit is a Grammy nominated singer, songwriter and guitarist who has built a remarkable 30+ year career on the foundation of his gritty and soulful Delta swamp blues and acquiring a devoted legion of fans along the way, as well as 5 Blues Music Awards, including BB King Entertainer of the Year (twice) and an induction into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
He has recorded and/or performed with Junior Wells, George Porter Jr, Dr. John, Willie Nelson, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Billy Joe Shaver, Maria Muldaur, James Cotton, Cyril Neville, Kenny Aronoff, Allen Toussaint, Kim Wilson, Jimmy Thackery, Charlie Musslewhite, Kenny Neal, Chris Layton, Ivan Neville, Jimmy Hall, Jim Lauderdale, Anders Osborne, and Alvin Youngblood Hart to name a few. Tab's accomplishments as a musician are matched only by his devotion to the environmental health of his native Louisiana wetlands.
Benoit is the founder and driving force behind Voice of the Wetlands, an organization working to preserve the coastal waters of his home state. In 2010, he received the Governor's Award for Conservationist of the Year from the Louisiana Wildlife Federation. Benoit also starred in the iMax motion picture Hurricane on the Bayou, a documentary of Hurricane Katrina's effects and a call to protect and restore the wetlands.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190912T192322Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1803 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190917T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190917T233000 UID:A16CD3AD-D49C-466B-BBCE-F14AC22C1F22 SUMMARY:Billy Strings DTSTAMP:20190614T193312Z DESCRIPTION:Poised to take bluegrass in bold new directions, singer/songwriter/guitarist Billy Strings is quickly gaining attention for his incendiary live performances and imbuing his take on Americana with distinctive bursts of psychedelic virtuosity.\NWhile deeply reverent of the roots of traditional bluegrass music, which his father shared with him as a boy, Strings learned his high-energy performing skills by playing fleet-fingered guitar solos in a heavy metal band in his native Michigan. While he has matured as a player, singer and songwriter in his own right, and re-embraced the music his father introduced him to, Strings has applied the intensity of heavy metal to bluegrass.\NThe end results, as demonstrated on his most recent release, Turmoil & Tinfoil, provide a fresh jolt to the genre. Look for a new album from Billy Strings this fall. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Poised to take bluegrass in bold new directions, singer/songwriter/guitarist Billy Strings is quickly gaining attention for his incendiary live performances and imbuing his take on Americana with distinctive bursts of psychedelic virtuosity.
While deeply reverent of the roots of traditional bluegrass music, which his father shared with him as a boy, Strings learned his high-energy performing skills by playing fleet-fingered guitar solos in a heavy metal band in his native Michigan. While he has matured as a player, singer and songwriter in his own right, and re-embraced the music his father introduced him to, Strings has applied the intensity of heavy metal to bluegrass.
The end results, as demonstrated on his most recent release, Turmoil & Tinfoil, provide a fresh jolt to the genre. Look for a new album from Billy Strings this fall.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190917T185758Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3364 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20190928T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20190928T233000 UID:19E6CB18-B50F-4937-BD6C-61D335D23CAC SUMMARY:Coco Montoya DTSTAMP:20190614T183938Z DESCRIPTION:“Stratocaster-fueled, fierce slash-and-burn guitar work…dramatic, smoldering Southern soul-rooted intensity. Montoya’s voice is as expressive as his guitar.” –Washington Post\N“Montoya is a show-stopper…Heartfelt singing and merciless guitar with a wicked icy burn…he swings like a jazz man and stings like the Iceman, Albert Collins. He is one of the truly gifted blues artists of his generation.” –Living Blues\NThe old Willie Dixon adage, “blues is truth,” perfectly describes the searing, contemporary blues-rock ofworld-renowned guitarist and vocalist COCO MONTOYA. Taught by the “Master of the Telecaster,” Albert Collins, but with a hard-edged sound and style all his own, Montoya mixes his forceful, melodic guitar playing and passionate vocals with memorable songs, delivering the blues’ hardest truths. He earned his status as a master guitarist and soul-powered vocalist through years of paying his dues as a sideman with Collins (first as a drummer) and then with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, before launching his solo career in 1993. Five years of constant touring with Collins and ten years with Mayall turned him into a monster player and dynamic performer. Montoya has released eight solo albums—including three for Alligator between 2000 and 2007—and has played at clubs, concert halls and major festivals all over the world. Guitar Player says Montoya plays “stunning, powerhouse blues with a searing tone, emotional soloing, and energetic, unforced vocals.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:“Stratocaster-fueled, fierce slash-and-burn guitar work…dramatic, smoldering Southern soul-rooted intensity. Montoya’s voice is as expressive as his guitar.” –Washington Post
“Montoya is a show-stopper…Heartfelt singing and merciless guitar with a wicked icy burn…he swings like a jazz man and stings like the Iceman, Albert Collins. He is one of the truly gifted blues artists of his generation.” –Living Blues
The old Willie Dixon adage, “blues is truth,” perfectly describes the searing, contemporary blues-rock ofworld-renowned guitarist and vocalist COCO MONTOYA. Taught by the “Master of the Telecaster,” Albert Collins, but with a hard-edged sound and style all his own, Montoya mixes his forceful, melodic guitar playing and passionate vocals with memorable songs, delivering the blues’ hardest truths. He earned his status as a master guitarist and soul-powered vocalist through years of paying his dues as a sideman with Collins (first as a drummer) and then with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, before launching his solo career in 1993. Five years of constant touring with Collins and ten years with Mayall turned him into a monster player and dynamic performer. Montoya has released eight solo albums—including three for Alligator between 2000 and 2007—and has played at clubs, concert halls and major festivals all over the world. Guitar Player says Montoya plays “stunning, powerhouse blues with a searing tone, emotional soloing, and energetic, unforced vocals.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20190818T060308Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2759 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191002T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191002T233000 UID:731699A0-8A2E-4A8D-B2FD-9503A5DEA95C SUMMARY:Robert Earl Keen DTSTAMP:20190828T020729Z DESCRIPTION:"The road goes on forever …"\NIt's not always easy to sum up a career - let alone a life's ambition - so succinctly, but those five words from Robert Earl Keen's calling-card anthem just about do it.\NYou can complete the lyric with the next five words - the ones routinely shouted back at Keen by thousands of fans a night ("and the party never ends!") - just to punctuate the point with a flourish, but it's the part about the journey that gets right to the heart of what makes Keen tick. Some people take up a life of playing music with the goal of someday reaching a destination of fame and fortune; but from the get-go, Keen just wanted to write and sing his own songs, and to keep writing and singing them for as long as possible.\N"I always thought that I wanted to play music, and I always knew that you had to get some recognition in order to continue to play music," Keen says. "But I never thought of it in terms of getting to be a big star. I thought of it in terms of having a really, really good career and writing some good songs, and getting onstage and having a really good time."\NNow three-decades on from the release of his debut album - with nineteen records to his name, thousands of shows under his belt and still no end in sight to the road ahead - Keen remains as committed to and inspired by his muse as ever. And as for accruing recognition, well, he's done alright on that front, too; from his humble beginnings on the Texas folk scene, he's blazed a peer, critic, and fan-lauded trail that's earned him living-legend (not to mention pioneer) status in the Americana music world. And though the Houston native has never worn his Texas heart on his sleeve, he's long been regarded as one of the Lone Star State's finest (not to mention top-drawing) true singer-songwriters. He was still a relative unknown in 1989 when his third studio album, West Textures, was released - especially on the triple bill he shared at the time touring with legends Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark - but once fellow Texas icon Joe Ely recorded both "The Road Goes on Forever" and "Whenever Kindness Fails" on his 1993 album, Love and Danger, the secret was out on Keen's credentials as a songwriter's songwriter. By the end of the decade, Keen was a veritable household name in Texas, headlining a millennial New Year's Eve celebration in Austin that drew an estimated 200,000 people. A dozen years later, he was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame along with the late, great Van Zandt and his longtime friend from Texas A & M, Lyle Lovett.\NThe middle child of a geologist father and an attorney mother, Keen was weaned on classic rock (in particular, the psychedelic blues trio Cream) and his older brother's Willie Nelson records - but it was his younger sister's downtown Houston celebrity status as a "world-champion foosball player" that exposed him to the area's acoustic folk scene. By the time he started working on his English degree at Texas A&M, he was teaching himself guitar and setting his poetic musings to song. That in turn led to a college fling with a bluegrass ensemble (featuring his childhood friend Bryan Duckworth, who would continue to play fiddle with Keen well into the '90s) and front-porch picking parties with fellow Aggie Lovett at Keen's rental house - salad days captured in spirit on the Keen/Lovett co-write, "The Front Porch Song," which both artists would eventually record on their respective debut albums.\NWhile Lovett's self-titled debut was released on major-label Curb Records, Keen took the road less travelled, self-financing and producing 1984's No Kinda Dancer and leasing it to the independent label Rounder Records, which issued it on its Philo imprint. "It was difficult, because I didn't know what I was doing ... I literally opened up the phonebook and looked for studios," Keen recalls. "I basically put it all together through brute force and ignorance, but I was shocked with how well it worked out and very happy with it. We had a release party at Butch Hancock's Dixie Bar and Bustop, and Lyle and Nanci Griffith and a lot of those people who were a part of the Austin folkie scene came out."\NKeen himself had already started to make quite a name for himself on that scene, thanks to four years of constant regional gigging and winning the Kerrville Folk Festival's prestigious New Folk songwriting competition in 1983. After his debut's release, he began touring more and more outside of the state lines, eventually moving to Nashville in 1986. Keen's stint in Music City, U.S.A., lasted just under two years, but he returned to Texas armed with a publishing deal, a new label (another indie, Sugar Hill), and a national booking agent. He closed the decade with 1988's The Live Album and the following year's West Textures, the album that marked the debut of "The Road Goes on Forever" and, consequently, kicked his career into high gear.\NWith hindsight, Keen admits he no idea at the time of writing it that his song about a couple of ill-fated lovers running afoul of the law would have the legs it did, but he readily points to the forward thinking of DJ Steve Coffman of San Antonio radio station KRIO for helping to start the fire. "He talked the station into doing sort of a free-form programing format, basically anything he liked, which turned out to be some Texas music along with a lot of cool sort of pop music," he says. "So all of a sudden, I heard my song back-to-back with the Sheryl Crow song that was popular at the time, and that was the first time that I really felt like I was a real part of the music business, despite having been in it already for a pretty long time. And right after that, I went to a show in San Antonio and there were 1,500 people there - whereas up to that point I'd been playing to, max, maybe 150. That was the real ah-hah moment for me that really got me going and kept me going, because before that I'd been doing this for eight or 10 years and had a lot of rejection but very little success."\NAfter that, though, success came in spades. Although he continued to steer clear of the Garth Brooks-dominated waters of the country mainstream, the perfect storm of Keen's literate song craft, razor wit and killer band (more on that in a bit) stirred up a grassroots sensation in Texas not seen since the '70s heyday of maverick "outlaw country" upstarts Willie, Waylon, Kris Kristofferson and the afore-mentioned Guy Clark. Armed with two more albums (1993's A Bigger Piece of Sky and '94's Gringo Honeymoon) brimming with instant classics like "Corpus Christi Bay," "Whenever Kindness Fails," "Gringo Honeymoon," "Dreadful Selfish Crime" and "Merry Christmas From the Family," he began packing dancehalls, roadhouses, theaters, and festival grounds with diverse crowds of rowdy college kids, serious singer-songwriter fans and plenty of folks who, like Keen himself, had been around the Texas music scene long enough to remember Willie's earliest 4th of July Picnics. And the phenomenon was not confined to the Texas state lines. Famed producer and pedal steel ace Lloyd Maines (Joe Ely, Terry Allen) helped Keen and his band bottle lighting on 1996's No. 2 Live Dinner, a next-best-thing-to-being-there concert document that remains one of Keen's best-selling albums, and the burgeoning Americana music scene (bolstered by AAA radio stations across the country and magazines like No Depression) embraced Keen as one of its prime movers. In the wake of albums like 1997's Picnic and '98's Walking Distance (both released on major-label Arista), one would have been hard-pressed to tell the difference between a rabid Robert Earl Keen crowd at Texas' legendary Gruene Hall and those at New York City joints like Tramps and the Bowery Ballroom. Little wonder, then, that when the songwriter-revering "Americana" style was officially recognized by the industry 1998, Keen was the genre's first artist to be featured on the cover of the radio trade magazine Gavin.\NThe '90s may have been a boom period for Keen, but his momentum hasn't ebbed a bit since then - nor has his pursuit of continued growth as a writer and artist. If anything, his output from the last decade has been marked by some of the most adventurous music of his career. "Wild Wind," an unforgettable highlight from Gravitational Forces, his Gurf Morlix-produced 2001 debut for the Nashville-based Americana label Lost Highway, captured the character (and characters) of a small Texas town with a cinematic eye reminiscent of The Last Picture Show; but the album's title track also found Keen wryly experimenting with spacey, beatnik jazz. For the freewheelin', freak-flag-flying Farm Fresh Onions (2003, Audium/Koch), Keen and producer Rich Brotherton (his longtime guitarist) took the band into the proverbial garage to knock out their most rocking set of songs to date - most notably the psychedelic rave-up of the title track. Brotherton also produced the more rootsy but equally playful What I Really Mean (2005, E1 Music), but Lloyd Maines was back at the helm for 2009's eclectic The Rose Hotel and 2011's spirited Ready for Confetti (both released by Lost Highway). The later was especially well received by fans and critics alike, with AllMusic's Thom Jurek raving, "Ready for Confetti is, without question, Keen's most inspired and focused project in nearly 20 years." Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions, released in 2015, was a straight -ahead "love postcard to bluegrass". This was something Keen had wanted to do for a long time and it was now or never. Keen ranked Billboard's No. 2, 2015 Bluegrass Artist of the year. Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions, charted as 2015's Top 5 album at Americana Radio and Billboard's 2015 No. 2 album on the Bluegrass Albums chart.\NTo celebrate the 20th anniversary of the milestone album No. 2 Live Dinner, Keen returned to the legendary John T. Floore's Country Store in the Texas Hill Country town of Helotes in the fall of 2015 where he recorded his latest project, Live Dinner Reunion, and upped the ante by inviting Joe Ely, Bruce Robison, Cory Morrow, Lyle Lovett and a few other friends and fellow Americana and Texas Music stars to sing along. Some 5,000 fans added their voices to the historic occasion.\NThe result, the rousing double-disc celebration Live Dinner Reunion, released in late 2016 on Dualtone Records, an Entertainment One company. The repartee of Keen and the other artists, the crowd's response, the songs, and inspired musicianship combine to magically create the album's you-are-there experience. It's these many special musical moments that propel Live Dinner Reunion into the stratosphere of live albums.\NThis brings Keen’s career to now. In honor of the 25th anniversary of Robert Earl Keen’s iconic album, A Bigger Piece of Sky, Keen and Dualtone will be releasing it on vinyl for the first time. Scheduled for release on November 16, 2019, A Bigger Piece of Sky is available now for advance order at DualtoneStore.com.\N“A Bigger Piece of Sky was the most thrilling, hair-pulling, penny-pinching, cliff-hanging, scariest record I’ve ever made,” says Keen. “I love every song on BPS.”\NA breakthrough album for Keen, A Bigger Piece of Sky and its songs, such as “Amarillo Highway,” “Whenever Kindness Fails,” and “Corpus Christi Bay” are mainstays of his live set. The album was recorded in Nashville, TN, produced by Garry Velletri, and mixed by Velletri and Jeff Coppage. The project features an amazing lineup consisting of Garry Tallent (E Street Band) on upright and electric bass, Marty Stuart on mandolin, Dave Durocher on percussion, Jay Spell on accordion, Jonathan Yudkin on violin, and Maura O’Connell on vocals. It also features guest musicians George Marinelli (Bonnie Raitt) on harmony vocal and electric guitar, Tommy Spurlock on guitar, Michael Snow on tenor banjo, Bryan Duckworth on violin, Dave Heath on upright bass, and Jennifer Prince on harmony vocals.\NIn the midst of the vinyl re-issue, Keen is as busy as ever touring. Though Keen has played sold-out theater dates with icons such as Willie Nelson, the lion's share of his concert schedule still finds him playing full-tilt with his seasoned road and studio band: Brotherton on guitar, Bill Whitbeck on bass, Tom Van Schaik on drums, and Marty Muse on steel guitar, Kym Warner on mandolin and electric guitar and Brian Beken on fiddle, acoustic and electric guitars. "Some of my band members have been with me more than 20 years now," Keen says proudly. "I used to think that was just sort of an interesting fact, but now it's almost a total anomaly - that just doesn't happen much. I always felt like once you lock into the right bunch of people, you try to do the best by them that you can. So, we've been able to stay together a long time, and I think one thing that makes it worthwhile for people to come see us as an act.” Keen’s act and stage presence more than attest to his career’s longevity and its subsequent opportunities.\NREK has had the honor of performing with fellow superstars George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and Lyle Lovett on the Hand in Hand benefit telethon which raised more than $55 million for hurricane relief efforts in Texas. Keen was featured on a benefit concert hosted by the five former living presidents of the United States in 2017. Keen has been involved in many benefits and charity events for communities in his home state of Texas with his main focus of these organizations being the Hill Country Youth Orchestras in Kerrville, TX. Over the course of the last eleven years he has raised more than $500,000.00 for the organization. Add that to his legendary status in the lone star state, and it is no wonder REK was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012.\NREK’s philanthropic and charity work, along with his legendary music career lead him to be presented with the Distinguished Alumni award from Texas A&M University this fall. Awarded jointly by the university and The Association of Former Students, this honor recognizes those Aggies who have achieved excellence in their chosen professions and made meaningful contributions to Texas A&M University and their local communities.\NThe recognition of his legendary career doesn’t stop there. In March 2015, Robert Earl Keen was distinguished as the first recipient of BMI's official Troubadour Award. The Troubadour Award celebrates songwriters who have made a lasting impact on the songwriting community. The award honors writers who craft for the sake of the song and set the pace for generations of songwriters who will follow. To protect songwriters, Keen was a member of the delegation that lobbied US Congress to support musicians' rights, specifically the "Fair Pay for Fair Play Act" which was promoted to the recently passed Music Modernization Act. Keen’s career proves him to be a true trailblazer.\NTroubadour Robert Earl Keen has made many meaningful contributions in both his surrounding Texas communities and in the music industry nationwide. As more projects and opportunities come down the pike, and as Keen continues to tour extensively with his band and in acoustic tours with Lyle Lovett, one thing remains the same: Robert Earl Keen loves what he does.\N“It’s just like, man, I’m lucky to still be hanging out here and doing this,” he says. “I feel like everything came full circle in a wonderful way.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:"The road goes on forever …"
It's not always easy to sum up a career - let alone a life's ambition - so succinctly, but those five words from Robert Earl Keen's calling-card anthem just about do it.
You can complete the lyric with the next five words - the ones routinely shouted back at Keen by thousands of fans a night ("and the party never ends!") - just to punctuate the point with a flourish, but it's the part about the journey that gets right to the heart of what makes Keen tick. Some people take up a life of playing music with the goal of someday reaching a destination of fame and fortune; but from the get-go, Keen just wanted to write and sing his own songs, and to keep writing and singing them for as long as possible.
"I always thought that I wanted to play music, and I always knew that you had to get some recognition in order to continue to play music," Keen says. "But I never thought of it in terms of getting to be a big star. I thought of it in terms of having a really, really good career and writing some good songs, and getting onstage and having a really good time."
Now three-decades on from the release of his debut album - with nineteen records to his name, thousands of shows under his belt and still no end in sight to the road ahead - Keen remains as committed to and inspired by his muse as ever. And as for accruing recognition, well, he's done alright on that front, too; from his humble beginnings on the Texas folk scene, he's blazed a peer, critic, and fan-lauded trail that's earned him living-legend (not to mention pioneer) status in the Americana music world. And though the Houston native has never worn his Texas heart on his sleeve, he's long been regarded as one of the Lone Star State's finest (not to mention top-drawing) true singer-songwriters. He was still a relative unknown in 1989 when his third studio album, West Textures, was released - especially on the triple bill he shared at the time touring with legends Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark - but once fellow Texas icon Joe Ely recorded both "The Road Goes on Forever" and "Whenever Kindness Fails" on his 1993 album, Love and Danger, the secret was out on Keen's credentials as a songwriter's songwriter. By the end of the decade, Keen was a veritable household name in Texas, headlining a millennial New Year's Eve celebration in Austin that drew an estimated 200,000 people. A dozen years later, he was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame along with the late, great Van Zandt and his longtime friend from Texas A & M, Lyle Lovett.
The middle child of a geologist father and an attorney mother, Keen was weaned on classic rock (in particular, the psychedelic blues trio Cream) and his older brother's Willie Nelson records - but it was his younger sister's downtown Houston celebrity status as a "world-champion foosball player" that exposed him to the area's acoustic folk scene. By the time he started working on his English degree at Texas A&M, he was teaching himself guitar and setting his poetic musings to song. That in turn led to a college fling with a bluegrass ensemble (featuring his childhood friend Bryan Duckworth, who would continue to play fiddle with Keen well into the '90s) and front-porch picking parties with fellow Aggie Lovett at Keen's rental house - salad days captured in spirit on the Keen/Lovett co-write, "The Front Porch Song," which both artists would eventually record on their respective debut albums.
While Lovett's self-titled debut was released on major-label Curb Records, Keen took the road less travelled, self-financing and producing 1984's No Kinda Dancer and leasing it to the independent label Rounder Records, which issued it on its Philo imprint. "It was difficult, because I didn't know what I was doing ... I literally opened up the phonebook and looked for studios," Keen recalls. "I basically put it all together through brute force and ignorance, but I was shocked with how well it worked out and very happy with it. We had a release party at Butch Hancock's Dixie Bar and Bustop, and Lyle and Nanci Griffith and a lot of those people who were a part of the Austin folkie scene came out."
Keen himself had already started to make quite a name for himself on that scene, thanks to four years of constant regional gigging and winning the Kerrville Folk Festival's prestigious New Folk songwriting competition in 1983. After his debut's release, he began touring more and more outside of the state lines, eventually moving to Nashville in 1986. Keen's stint in Music City, U.S.A., lasted just under two years, but he returned to Texas armed with a publishing deal, a new label (another indie, Sugar Hill), and a national booking agent. He closed the decade with 1988's The Live Album and the following year's West Textures, the album that marked the debut of "The Road Goes on Forever" and, consequently, kicked his career into high gear.
With hindsight, Keen admits he no idea at the time of writing it that his song about a couple of ill-fated lovers running afoul of the law would have the legs it did, but he readily points to the forward thinking of DJ Steve Coffman of San Antonio radio station KRIO for helping to start the fire. "He talked the station into doing sort of a free-form programing format, basically anything he liked, which turned out to be some Texas music along with a lot of cool sort of pop music," he says. "So all of a sudden, I heard my song back-to-back with the Sheryl Crow song that was popular at the time, and that was the first time that I really felt like I was a real part of the music business, despite having been in it already for a pretty long time. And right after that, I went to a show in San Antonio and there were 1,500 people there - whereas up to that point I'd been playing to, max, maybe 150. That was the real ah-hah moment for me that really got me going and kept me going, because before that I'd been doing this for eight or 10 years and had a lot of rejection but very little success."
After that, though, success came in spades. Although he continued to steer clear of the Garth Brooks-dominated waters of the country mainstream, the perfect storm of Keen's literate song craft, razor wit and killer band (more on that in a bit) stirred up a grassroots sensation in Texas not seen since the '70s heyday of maverick "outlaw country" upstarts Willie, Waylon, Kris Kristofferson and the afore-mentioned Guy Clark. Armed with two more albums (1993's A Bigger Piece of Sky and '94's Gringo Honeymoon) brimming with instant classics like "Corpus Christi Bay," "Whenever Kindness Fails," "Gringo Honeymoon," "Dreadful Selfish Crime" and "Merry Christmas From the Family," he began packing dancehalls, roadhouses, theaters, and festival grounds with diverse crowds of rowdy college kids, serious singer-songwriter fans and plenty of folks who, like Keen himself, had been around the Texas music scene long enough to remember Willie's earliest 4th of July Picnics. And the phenomenon was not confined to the Texas state lines. Famed producer and pedal steel ace Lloyd Maines (Joe Ely, Terry Allen) helped Keen and his band bottle lighting on 1996's No. 2 Live Dinner, a next-best-thing-to-being-there concert document that remains one of Keen's best-selling albums, and the burgeoning Americana music scene (bolstered by AAA radio stations across the country and magazines like No Depression) embraced Keen as one of its prime movers. In the wake of albums like 1997's Picnic and '98's Walking Distance (both released on major-label Arista), one would have been hard-pressed to tell the difference between a rabid Robert Earl Keen crowd at Texas' legendary Gruene Hall and those at New York City joints like Tramps and the Bowery Ballroom. Little wonder, then, that when the songwriter-revering "Americana" style was officially recognized by the industry 1998, Keen was the genre's first artist to be featured on the cover of the radio trade magazine Gavin.
The '90s may have been a boom period for Keen, but his momentum hasn't ebbed a bit since then - nor has his pursuit of continued growth as a writer and artist. If anything, his output from the last decade has been marked by some of the most adventurous music of his career. "Wild Wind," an unforgettable highlight from Gravitational Forces, his Gurf Morlix-produced 2001 debut for the Nashville-based Americana label Lost Highway, captured the character (and characters) of a small Texas town with a cinematic eye reminiscent of The Last Picture Show; but the album's title track also found Keen wryly experimenting with spacey, beatnik jazz. For the freewheelin', freak-flag-flying Farm Fresh Onions (2003, Audium/Koch), Keen and producer Rich Brotherton (his longtime guitarist) took the band into the proverbial garage to knock out their most rocking set of songs to date - most notably the psychedelic rave-up of the title track. Brotherton also produced the more rootsy but equally playful What I Really Mean (2005, E1 Music), but Lloyd Maines was back at the helm for 2009's eclectic The Rose Hotel and 2011's spirited Ready for Confetti (both released by Lost Highway). The later was especially well received by fans and critics alike, with AllMusic's Thom Jurek raving, "Ready for Confetti is, without question, Keen's most inspired and focused project in nearly 20 years." Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions, released in 2015, was a straight -ahead "love postcard to bluegrass". This was something Keen had wanted to do for a long time and it was now or never. Keen ranked Billboard's No. 2, 2015 Bluegrass Artist of the year. Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions, charted as 2015's Top 5 album at Americana Radio and Billboard's 2015 No. 2 album on the Bluegrass Albums chart.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the milestone album No. 2 Live Dinner, Keen returned to the legendary John T. Floore's Country Store in the Texas Hill Country town of Helotes in the fall of 2015 where he recorded his latest project, Live Dinner Reunion, and upped the ante by inviting Joe Ely, Bruce Robison, Cory Morrow, Lyle Lovett and a few other friends and fellow Americana and Texas Music stars to sing along. Some 5,000 fans added their voices to the historic occasion.
The result, the rousing double-disc celebration Live Dinner Reunion, released in late 2016 on Dualtone Records, an Entertainment One company. The repartee of Keen and the other artists, the crowd's response, the songs, and inspired musicianship combine to magically create the album's you-are-there experience. It's these many special musical moments that propel Live Dinner Reunion into the stratosphere of live albums.
This brings Keen’s career to now. In honor of the 25th anniversary of Robert Earl Keen’s iconic album, A Bigger Piece of Sky, Keen and Dualtone will be releasing it on vinyl for the first time. Scheduled for release on November 16, 2019, A Bigger Piece of Sky is available now for advance order at DualtoneStore.com.
“A Bigger Piece of Sky was the most thrilling, hair-pulling, penny-pinching, cliff-hanging, scariest record I’ve ever made,” says Keen. “I love every song on BPS.”
A breakthrough album for Keen, A Bigger Piece of Sky and its songs, such as “Amarillo Highway,” “Whenever Kindness Fails,” and “Corpus Christi Bay” are mainstays of his live set. The album was recorded in Nashville, TN, produced by Garry Velletri, and mixed by Velletri and Jeff Coppage. The project features an amazing lineup consisting of Garry Tallent (E Street Band) on upright and electric bass, Marty Stuart on mandolin, Dave Durocher on percussion, Jay Spell on accordion, Jonathan Yudkin on violin, and Maura O’Connell on vocals. It also features guest musicians George Marinelli (Bonnie Raitt) on harmony vocal and electric guitar, Tommy Spurlock on guitar, Michael Snow on tenor banjo, Bryan Duckworth on violin, Dave Heath on upright bass, and Jennifer Prince on harmony vocals.
In the midst of the vinyl re-issue, Keen is as busy as ever touring. Though Keen has played sold-out theater dates with icons such as Willie Nelson, the lion's share of his concert schedule still finds him playing full-tilt with his seasoned road and studio band: Brotherton on guitar, Bill Whitbeck on bass, Tom Van Schaik on drums, and Marty Muse on steel guitar, Kym Warner on mandolin and electric guitar and Brian Beken on fiddle, acoustic and electric guitars. "Some of my band members have been with me more than 20 years now," Keen says proudly. "I used to think that was just sort of an interesting fact, but now it's almost a total anomaly - that just doesn't happen much. I always felt like once you lock into the right bunch of people, you try to do the best by them that you can. So, we've been able to stay together a long time, and I think one thing that makes it worthwhile for people to come see us as an act.” Keen’s act and stage presence more than attest to his career’s longevity and its subsequent opportunities.
REK has had the honor of performing with fellow superstars George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and Lyle Lovett on the Hand in Hand benefit telethon which raised more than $55 million for hurricane relief efforts in Texas. Keen was featured on a benefit concert hosted by the five former living presidents of the United States in 2017. Keen has been involved in many benefits and charity events for communities in his home state of Texas with his main focus of these organizations being the Hill Country Youth Orchestras in Kerrville, TX. Over the course of the last eleven years he has raised more than $500,000.00 for the organization. Add that to his legendary status in the lone star state, and it is no wonder REK was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012.
REK’s philanthropic and charity work, along with his legendary music career lead him to be presented with the Distinguished Alumni award from Texas A&M University this fall. Awarded jointly by the university and The Association of Former Students, this honor recognizes those Aggies who have achieved excellence in their chosen professions and made meaningful contributions to Texas A&M University and their local communities.
The recognition of his legendary career doesn’t stop there. In March 2015, Robert Earl Keen was distinguished as the first recipient of BMI's official Troubadour Award. The Troubadour Award celebrates songwriters who have made a lasting impact on the songwriting community. The award honors writers who craft for the sake of the song and set the pace for generations of songwriters who will follow. To protect songwriters, Keen was a member of the delegation that lobbied US Congress to support musicians' rights, specifically the "Fair Pay for Fair Play Act" which was promoted to the recently passed Music Modernization Act. Keen’s career proves him to be a true trailblazer.
Troubadour Robert Earl Keen has made many meaningful contributions in both his surrounding Texas communities and in the music industry nationwide. As more projects and opportunities come down the pike, and as Keen continues to tour extensively with his band and in acoustic tours with Lyle Lovett, one thing remains the same: Robert Earl Keen loves what he does.
“It’s just like, man, I’m lucky to still be hanging out here and doing this,” he says. “I feel like everything came full circle in a wonderful way.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191002T220906Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1536 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191003T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191003T230000 UID:32B5BCA7-45FF-4095-AF9F-3EE58666BEC1 SUMMARY:DPS Cinematic Night // Benefiting HEAL Utah DTSTAMP:20190911T013628Z DESCRIPTION:On Thursday, October 3, 2019, join DPS SKIS, Ski City, Stio, and Tender Belly for an evening of soulful skiing and fundraising that will include the world premiere of the new short film 'Stone’s Throw' featuring professional skier and Salt Lake City Local Dash Longe. The proceeds from this event will be donated to Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah).\NAll ages permitted, with beer/alcohol available in 21+ only area. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:On Thursday, October 3, 2019, join DPS SKIS, Ski City, Stio, and Tender Belly for an evening of soulful skiing and fundraising that will include the world premiere of the new short film 'Stone’s Throw' featuring professional skier and Salt Lake City Local Dash Longe. The proceeds from this event will be donated to Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah).
All ages permitted, with beer/alcohol available in 21+ only area.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191002T220834Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1640 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191005T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191005T233000 UID:397778A7-56BC-4E60-9E69-9A0048819D94 SUMMARY:Dirtwire DTSTAMP:20190726T202232Z DESCRIPTION:Dirtwire is David Satori of Beats Antique, Evan Fraser of Bolo and Mark Reveley of Jed and Lucia\NDirtwire sits on the front porch of Americana's future, conjuring up a whirlwind of sound using traditional instrumentation, world percussion, soundscapes, and electronic beats. Comprised of David Satori (Beats Antique), Evan Fraser (Hamsa Lila; Bolo), and Mark Reveley (Jed and Lucia), each performance brings both band and audience to a mysterious crossroads of beats, blues, African, Asian, and South American sounds. The result is a rebirth of Americana and a post-millennial psychedelic journey to downhome goodness. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Dirtwire is David Satori of Beats Antique, Evan Fraser of Bolo and Mark Reveley of Jed and Lucia
Dirtwire sits on the front porch of Americana's future, conjuring up a whirlwind of sound using traditional instrumentation, world percussion, soundscapes, and electronic beats. Comprised of David Satori (Beats Antique), Evan Fraser (Hamsa Lila; Bolo), and Mark Reveley (Jed and Lucia), each performance brings both band and audience to a mysterious crossroads of beats, blues, African, Asian, and South American sounds. The result is a rebirth of Americana and a post-millennial psychedelic journey to downhome goodness.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191002T221029Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3548 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191009T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191009T233000 UID:602C457A-7B07-489D-A1EC-95C48EF4916B SUMMARY:The New Mastersounds DTSTAMP:20190516T184608Z DESCRIPTION:In the late 1990’s, guitarist and producer Eddie Roberts was promong a club night in Leeds called “The Cooker.” When The Cooker moved into a new venue with a second floor in 1999, there was space and the opportunity to put a live band together to complement the DJ sets. Simon Allen and Eddie had previously played together as The Mastersounds, though with a different bassist and no organ. Through friends and the intimate nature of the Leeds music scene, Pete Shand and Bob Birch were added on bass and Hammond respecvely, and The New Mastersounds were born. Though it was raw, and more of a boogaloo sound at first, it was powerful from the start. Their first rehearsal was hot enough for Blow it Hard Records to release on two limited-edition 7” singles in 2000.\NFast-forward 19 years, and the band’s recorded catalogue boasts 24 more 7” singles, 13 studio albums, 3 live albums, 1 remix album and 3 compilaon albums, released variously in UK, Japan, and USA - where they connue to tour extensively. Joe Ta]on, another veteran of the Leeds scene, joined back in 2007, replacing Bob Birch on organ and piano.\NAs a band, and as individuals, they have collaborated with an impressive array of musicians, DJs and producers, including: Lou Donaldson, Corinne Bailey Rae, Quanc, Carleen Anderson, Keb Darge, Kenny Dope, Mr Scruff, LSK, Lack of Afro, Page McConnell, Grace Po]er, Karl Denson, Melvin Sparks, Idris Muhammad, Fred Wesley, Pee-Wee Ellis, Maceo Parker, Bernard Purdie, George Porter Jr, Zigaboo Modeliste, Art Neville, Ernest Ranglin.\NDuring a 2018 US tour, a sit-in by Atlanta-based vocalist Lamar Williams Jr turned heads, and the fit with NMS was so right that they pledged to make a record together. The resulting album was wri]en and recorded in Denver, CO in December of that year and will be released in Fall 2019 on Eddie Roberts’ own Color Red label.\NAs an example of the respect this band commands, Peter Wermelinger - DJ, collector, and author of the crate-diggers’ bible The Funky & Groovy Music Lexicon\N- places the 2001 NMS track ‘Turn This Thing Around’ in his all-time top-ten tunes, along with the likes of Eddie Harris, Funkadelic, and Herbie Hancock. The New Mastersounds are at the very top of an elite selection of acts that bring the true soul out of funk. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:In the late 1990’s, guitarist and producer Eddie Roberts was promo<ng a club night in Leeds called “The Cooker.” When The Cooker moved into a new venue with a second floor in 1999, there was space and the opportunity to put a live band together to complement the DJ sets. Simon Allen and Eddie had previously played together as The Mastersounds, though with a different bassist and no organ. Through friends and the intimate nature of the Leeds music scene, Pete Shand and Bob Birch were added on bass and Hammond respec<vely, and The New Mastersounds were born. Though it was raw, and more of a boogaloo sound at first, it was powerful from the start. Their first rehearsal was hot enough for Blow it Hard Records to release on two limited-edition 7” singles in 2000.
Fast-forward 19 years, and the band’s recorded catalogue boasts 24 more 7” singles, 13 studio albums, 3 live albums, 1 remix album and 3 compila<on albums, released variously in UK, Japan, and USA - where they con<nue to tour extensively. Joe Ta]on, another veteran of the Leeds scene, joined back in 2007, replacing Bob Birch on organ and piano.
As a band, and as individuals, they have collaborated with an impressive array of musicians, DJs and producers, including: Lou Donaldson, Corinne Bailey Rae, Quan<c, Carleen Anderson, Keb Darge, Kenny Dope, Mr Scruff, LSK, Lack of Afro, Page McConnell, Grace Po]er, Karl Denson, Melvin Sparks, Idris Muhammad, Fred Wesley, Pee-Wee Ellis, Maceo Parker, Bernard Purdie, George Porter Jr, Zigaboo Modeliste, Art Neville, Ernest Ranglin.
During a 2018 US tour, a sit-in by Atlanta-based vocalist Lamar Williams Jr turned heads, and the fit with NMS was so right that they pledged to make a record together. The resulting album was wri]en and recorded in Denver, CO in December of that year and will be released in Fall 2019 on Eddie Roberts’ own Color Red label.
As an example of the respect this band commands, Peter Wermelinger - DJ, collector, and author of the crate-diggers’ bible The Funky & Groovy Music Lexicon
- places the 2001 NMS track ‘Turn This Thing Around’ in his all-time top-ten tunes, along with the likes of Eddie Harris, Funkadelic, and Herbie Hancock. The New Mastersounds are at the very top of an elite selection of acts that bring the true soul out of funk.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191004T171233Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3413 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191013T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191013T233000 UID:DBC1273A-F321-41F8-AC9C-0DF4B80BC959 SUMMARY:Canceled: Los Lonely Boys DTSTAMP:20190419T214257Z DESCRIPTION:Los Lonely Boys’ bassist Jojo Garza is stepping away from touring. Subsequently, the remaining dates this year for the band of brothers are being canceled. \NHenry and Ringo need time to decide what directions their musical careers will take without their brother and musical partner.\NAll tickets will be refunded. Due to the U.S. Bank Holiday on Monday, please allow for 10-14 business days for this to be processed. If you purchased your tickets at the box office, please email box@thecommonwealthroom.com. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Los Lonely Boys’ bassist Jojo Garza is stepping away from touring. Subsequently, the remaining dates this year for the band of brothers are being canceled.
Henry and Ringo need time to decide what directions their musical careers will take without their brother and musical partner.
All tickets will be refunded. Due to the U.S. Bank Holiday on Monday, please allow for 10-14 business days for this to be processed. If you purchased your tickets at the box office, please email box@thecommonwealthroom.com.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191012T002052Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3560 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191014T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191014T233000 UID:F86BE64D-C181-405F-8797-505E4D60076E SUMMARY:Todd Snider DTSTAMP:20190716T202235Z DESCRIPTION:Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3\NTodd Snider\NOne morning near the end of August, Todd Snider was relaxing with a visitor on the back porch of his house just outside Nashville, drinking coffee and shooting the breeze while his dog, Cowboy Jim, took a nap nearby. After awhile, Snider said to his guest, “I’ve got an album’s worth of songs, and I think the songs are telling me to make a folk record.”\NThis was a surprising bit of news considering he had spent the last six years making rock albums of one kind or another. But Snider was feeling as if he had “maybe drifted too far from the shore.” He was feeling the pull to start over, to go back to what he was doing when he first began, to return to his roots as a folksinger.\NIf Snider needed any further evidence that was the direction he should pursue, he got it a half hour later. Back inside his home office, he checked his email and had one from his manager informing him he had just received an offer to play the 2019 Newport Folk Festival, an event he had never done.\NSnider mentioned he had been listening to Woody Guthrie’s Library of Congress Recordings, then crossed the room to the turntable and put the needle down on side one of the record. “Woody Guthrie sometimes gets me reset on why you do a song, instead of how,” Snider explains of the man who has long been a touchstone for him. “When I was young, there was something about him that made me want to do it. So once or twice a year, I’ll go back to him, I’ll go back to the source.”\NGuthrie famously had the words “This machine kills fascists” printed on his guitar, and on several of the songs on Snider’s new album, Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3, he squarely aims his guitar at the creeping fascism he sees in America. He had been wanting to make a political record since 2016, and although only half the songs lean in that direction, there is one constant throughout the album: a man, his guitar, and the truth.\NSnider has long been recognized as one of his generation’s most gifted and engaging songwriters, so it’s no surprise he has returned with a brilliant set of songs — and make no mistake, Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3 contains some of his best work as a writer. But what really jumps out on the album is Snider’s growth as a musician and vocalist. He plays all the instruments on the record, and his guitar work and harmonica playing are nothing short of exceptional; not only full of feeling, but highly skilled. In regards to his guitar playing on the record, Snider says he wanted to take everything he’s learned over the past 30 years and play the way he used to play really well.\NAs far as his vocals on the album are concerned, Snider is singing with more confidence than ever, a confidence born in part from his time with Hard Working Americans doing nothing but sing. His stirring vocal performances range from slurring blues mumble to Dylanesque talking blues to gravely, honest ache.\NOf the five songs on which Snider serves up his humorous brand of socio-political commentary, three are performed in the talking blues style: “Talking Reality Television Blues,” a hilariously accurate short history of television; “The Blues on Banjo,” a bad case of the blues caused by the sorry state of everything from the crooked international monetary-military-industrial complex to the spineless politicians who serve it and which references “Blue Suede Shoes,” Richard Lewis, and Townes Van Zandt; and “A Timeless Response to Current Events,” a brilliant bit of wordplay on which he calls bullshit on faux patriotism, crooked capitalism, and lying politicians. Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires contributed backing vocals on the latter two songs.\NThere are two other songs on the album featuring Snider’s socio-political points of view: “Just Like Overnight,” about the surprising inevitability of change, and “Framed,” written from the point of view of the framed "first dollar bill" in a bar, a point of view that shows doing the right thing doesn't pay.\NThere also are three songs with a music theme. If not for the events that led to the writing of one of those songs,“The Ghost of Johnny Cash,” there almost certainly would be no Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3. After a visit to Cash Cabin Studio for a Loretta Lynn session in 2015 where she recorded a song they cowrote, Snider began having a recurring dream about the studio that featured the Man in Black himself. The dream led him to book time at the studio and ultimately inspired him to write “The Ghost of Johnny Cash,” which tells the story of Loretta Lynn dancing with Cash’s ghost outside the studio in the middle of the night. As he did on much of the record, Snider played the century-old Martin that had long been Johnny Cash’s favorite instrument on that song.\NSnider paid tribute to Cash’s longtime friend and confidante in another of the music-themed songs, “Cowboy Jack Clement’s Waltz.” Inspired by the iconic record man’s oft-quoted maxims regarding the art of recording, the song achingly laments Clement’s passing, while touchingly celebrating his legacy.\NThe album opens with the other song with a music theme, “Working on a Song.” It’s an existential exercise, a song Snider wrote about writing a song called “Where Do I Go Now That I’m Gone,” an idea he actually has been working on for thirty years, but which remains unfinished.\NThere are also two songs that are personal in nature: “Watering Flowers in the Rain,” which was inspired by a former associate of Snider’s whose nickname was “Elvis,” and “Like a Force of Nature,” a philosophical reflection on the orbital nature of friendships. Isbell also added harmony vocals to “Like a Force of Nature.”\NIf Snider is anything, he is a true artist, and he reminds us of that on Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3. At a point in time when the world has never been more complicated and confusing, with people getting louder and louder, Snider did a 180, went back to his roots as a folksinger, to a simpler, quieter form of expression; and it might be what the world is waiting to hear: just a man, his guitar, and the truth. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3
Todd Snider
One morning near the end of August, Todd Snider was relaxing with a visitor on the back porch of his house just outside Nashville, drinking coffee and shooting the breeze while his dog, Cowboy Jim, took a nap nearby. After awhile, Snider said to his guest, “I’ve got an album’s worth of songs, and I think the songs are telling me to make a folk record.”
This was a surprising bit of news considering he had spent the last six years making rock albums of one kind or another. But Snider was feeling as if he had “maybe drifted too far from the shore.” He was feeling the pull to start over, to go back to what he was doing when he first began, to return to his roots as a folksinger.
If Snider needed any further evidence that was the direction he should pursue, he got it a half hour later. Back inside his home office, he checked his email and had one from his manager informing him he had just received an offer to play the 2019 Newport Folk Festival, an event he had never done.
Snider mentioned he had been listening to Woody Guthrie’s Library of Congress Recordings, then crossed the room to the turntable and put the needle down on side one of the record. “Woody Guthrie sometimes gets me reset on why you do a song, instead of how,” Snider explains of the man who has long been a touchstone for him. “When I was young, there was something about him that made me want to do it. So once or twice a year, I’ll go back to him, I’ll go back to the source.”
Guthrie famously had the words “This machine kills fascists” printed on his guitar, and on several of the songs on Snider’s new album, Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3, he squarely aims his guitar at the creeping fascism he sees in America. He had been wanting to make a political record since 2016, and although only half the songs lean in that direction, there is one constant throughout the album: a man, his guitar, and the truth.
Snider has long been recognized as one of his generation’s most gifted and engaging songwriters, so it’s no surprise he has returned with a brilliant set of songs — and make no mistake, Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3 contains some of his best work as a writer. But what really jumps out on the album is Snider’s growth as a musician and vocalist. He plays all the instruments on the record, and his guitar work and harmonica playing are nothing short of exceptional; not only full of feeling, but highly skilled. In regards to his guitar playing on the record, Snider says he wanted to take everything he’s learned over the past 30 years and play the way he used to play really well.
As far as his vocals on the album are concerned, Snider is singing with more confidence than ever, a confidence born in part from his time with Hard Working Americans doing nothing but sing. His stirring vocal performances range from slurring blues mumble to Dylanesque talking blues to gravely, honest ache.
Of the five songs on which Snider serves up his humorous brand of socio-political commentary, three are performed in the talking blues style: “Talking Reality Television Blues,” a hilariously accurate short history of television; “The Blues on Banjo,” a bad case of the blues caused by the sorry state of everything from the crooked international monetary-military-industrial complex to the spineless politicians who serve it and which references “Blue Suede Shoes,” Richard Lewis, and Townes Van Zandt; and “A Timeless Response to Current Events,” a brilliant bit of wordplay on which he calls bullshit on faux patriotism, crooked capitalism, and lying politicians. Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires contributed backing vocals on the latter two songs.
There are two other songs on the album featuring Snider’s socio-political points of view: “Just Like Overnight,” about the surprising inevitability of change, and “Framed,” written from the point of view of the framed "first dollar bill" in a bar, a point of view that shows doing the right thing doesn't pay.
There also are three songs with a music theme. If not for the events that led to the writing of one of those songs,“The Ghost of Johnny Cash,” there almost certainly would be no Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3. After a visit to Cash Cabin Studio for a Loretta Lynn session in 2015 where she recorded a song they cowrote, Snider began having a recurring dream about the studio that featured the Man in Black himself. The dream led him to book time at the studio and ultimately inspired him to write “The Ghost of Johnny Cash,” which tells the story of Loretta Lynn dancing with Cash’s ghost outside the studio in the middle of the night. As he did on much of the record, Snider played the century-old Martin that had long been Johnny Cash’s favorite instrument on that song.
Snider paid tribute to Cash’s longtime friend and confidante in another of the music-themed songs, “Cowboy Jack Clement’s Waltz.” Inspired by the iconic record man’s oft-quoted maxims regarding the art of recording, the song achingly laments Clement’s passing, while touchingly celebrating his legacy.
The album opens with the other song with a music theme, “Working on a Song.” It’s an existential exercise, a song Snider wrote about writing a song called “Where Do I Go Now That I’m Gone,” an idea he actually has been working on for thirty years, but which remains unfinished.
There are also two songs that are personal in nature: “Watering Flowers in the Rain,” which was inspired by a former associate of Snider’s whose nickname was “Elvis,” and “Like a Force of Nature,” a philosophical reflection on the orbital nature of friendships. Isbell also added harmony vocals to “Like a Force of Nature.”
If Snider is anything, he is a true artist, and he reminds us of that on Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3. At a point in time when the world has never been more complicated and confusing, with people getting louder and louder, Snider did a 180, went back to his roots as a folksinger, to a simpler, quieter form of expression; and it might be what the world is waiting to hear: just a man, his guitar, and the truth.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191004T170930Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2253 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191017T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191017T233000 UID:8DCA3858-A853-4DBF-BB6E-272B943EADF2 SUMMARY:Temples DTSTAMP:20190603T215803Z DESCRIPTION:It is one of the brilliant facets of recorded music that while it can frame forever in time one of humanity’s most fluid art forms, those captured sounds themselves can go on to become an active launchpad for the ideas, memories, emotions and feelings of those listening. Returning with their third album, Hot Motion, Temples have not just provided a strong demonstration of this dual static/frenetic nature, but they’ve created a record that revels in this beautiful contradiction.\NA brilliantly crafted, thoughtfully recorded collection, the album’s propulsive, seemingly immediate songs soon reveal an impressive depth of ideas and energy with subsequent listens because, as its title warns, Hot Motion is not a record that stands still. \N“I’m excited for people to experience these songs for the first time,” declares singer and guitarist James Bagshaw. “They are constructed in such a way that the album should feel relatively instantaneous, but we did not water down our creative ideas. Getting that balance can be hard, perhaps on the last record on some songs we used too many layers to create depth, but making this album we discovered that depth doesn’t simply come by layering things, it can come from the intensity of an idea.”\NWhile proud of 2017’s electronically orchestrated Volcano, the trio – completed by bassist Tom Walmsley and guitarist Adam Smith – feel they have reconnected with the verve and spirit of their debut, 2014’s Sun Structures, although Hot Motion proves as unique and forward-thinking as any Temples album.\N“There’s something more primal about this record,” suggests Walmsley of its energy. “We didn’t want to complicate things. We wanted it to have a more robust feel to it and focus more on guitars. Having less on there, but making everything sound as big as possible. I’ve always wanted our records to sound quite grand and larger than life, but we achieved that with some more earthy sounds in this time.”\NAs with the band’s first two LPs, the group recorded the album themselves in Northamptonshire, although this side of Temples as evolved too. “We’ve gone from bedroom to living room to a dedicated space. We could all set up in the same room and allow things to play out a lot more like a band. That played a huge part in the sound of the record,” says Walmsley, although despite the extra room Hot Motion remains a home recording like its predecessors.\N“The room is a 300 year-old outbuilding at my house,” continues Bagshaw. “I spent two years fixing it up because it had a leaky iron roof on it. It was nice to work in a space which had a little charm to it but still felt like home recording.”\NThat space fed directly into Temples vision. While retaining their enviably poppy instincts, the band created a host of brand new guitar sounds for this record and also took a lead from the “simplicity” of some 70s rock recordings which ensured the fundamentals behind each track are organic and original. “We were hiding less behind synth sounds and delays, which meant that the pureness of the melodic construct of each song was more thought through,” explains Bagshaw. “There was an element of less is more in some places.”\NA glorious technicolour infuses much if the album, but there is a David Lynch-like undertone that adds a gravity to Hot Motion’s soaring moments. “It felt like there was a darker edge to what we were coming up with and we wanted to make sure that carried through across the whole record,” says Walmsley. “It’s not a ten track, relentless rock record from start to finish, it’s got a lot of light and shade and more tender moments, but that heavier, darker sound for us is something we wanted to make sure was in there and explore further.”\NThe exemplar of this is the opener and title track Hot Motion. Starting with a seemingly innocent, crunked ice cream van-like riff, the song quickly bounds through a sonic landscape of shadowy valleys and exalted highs as the track captures Temples at their inventive best, and shares an expansive, irresistible energy with the listener.\N“Hot Motion is the feature piece,” declares Walmsley. “It was one of the first songs we put together for the record and it felt like it had all the marks and inspiration that we wanted the whole record to have, that was an important track.” Bagshaw agrees, suggesting that it set a tone for the next phase of Temples’ development. “Hot Motion is a better song than I ever dreamed it could be,” he says. “There was something in essence of that song to conjure with.”\NFrom the impressive opening, the rest of Hot Motion similarly boats an initial immediacy before unfurling greater depth and ideas, although each song cascades onto its own unique territory. Tracks like The Beam, It’s All Coming Out and Step Down offer swirling, enticing mini journeys, while the groove on Context “huge and a bit of a nod to an old school hip hop vibe” according to Bagshaw. “Songs like The Howl and Holy Horses have a slightly harder, heavier than we’ve done before,” adds Walmsley. “It felt like it was very important to retain that element on the record because it allowed us to open up with tracks like Atomise.”\NLyrically too, this record has seen Temples embrace “purer, primal” feelings.\N“I’m really proud of You’re Either On Something lyrically because I feel deeply connected with the words – they’re so truthful,” admits Bagshaw. “On that track, I can hear influences of stuff that I listened to when I was growing up. There’s almost a nostalgia to that track, even though it’s very forward-looking. Equally, while the words on [album closer] Monuments are a little cryptic, it’s very much about the time we live in. I wouldn’t say it’s a political song but you can’t help but write about the things that are happening otherwise you’d just be a hermit.” \NFizzing with ideas, bursting with kinetic energy and balancing an immediate impact with an enduring, timeless intensity, Hot Motion is an album that very much provides a snapshot one of Britain’s most progressive bands’ soul, while offering its audience a starting point for their own flights of emotion and imagination. Indeed, one of its creators is jealous that he cannot experience it anew too.\N“This record has really got me excited,” declares Bagshaw. “I really want to be on the receiving end of it more than any other record we’ve done. While we were making it I was thinking I wanted to be able to hear what it sounded like without working on it – I’d love to hear this out of the context in which it was made. I was really longing for that as we worked on each song, so I’m excited for people to experience these songs for the first time.”\NDon’t delay this life-affirming trip, Hot Motion awaits. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:It is one of the brilliant facets of recorded music that while it can frame forever in time one of humanity’s most fluid art forms, those captured sounds themselves can go on to become an active launchpad for the ideas, memories, emotions and feelings of those listening. Returning with their third album, Hot Motion, Temples have not just provided a strong demonstration of this dual static/frenetic nature, but they’ve created a record that revels in this beautiful contradiction.
A brilliantly crafted, thoughtfully recorded collection, the album’s propulsive, seemingly immediate songs soon reveal an impressive depth of ideas and energy with subsequent listens because, as its title warns, Hot Motion is not a record that stands still.
“I’m excited for people to experience these songs for the first time,” declares singer and guitarist James Bagshaw. “They are constructed in such a way that the album should feel relatively instantaneous, but we did not water down our creative ideas. Getting that balance can be hard, perhaps on the last record on some songs we used too many layers to create depth, but making this album we discovered that depth doesn’t simply come by layering things, it can come from the intensity of an idea.”
While proud of 2017’s electronically orchestrated Volcano, the trio – completed by bassist Tom Walmsley and guitarist Adam Smith – feel they have reconnected with the verve and spirit of their debut, 2014’s Sun Structures, although Hot Motion proves as unique and forward-thinking as any Temples album.
“There’s something more primal about this record,” suggests Walmsley of its energy. “We didn’t want to complicate things. We wanted it to have a more robust feel to it and focus more on guitars. Having less on there, but making everything sound as big as possible. I’ve always wanted our records to sound quite grand and larger than life, but we achieved that with some more earthy sounds in this time.”
As with the band’s first two LPs, the group recorded the album themselves in Northamptonshire, although this side of Temples as evolved too. “We’ve gone from bedroom to living room to a dedicated space. We could all set up in the same room and allow things to play out a lot more like a band. That played a huge part in the sound of the record,” says Walmsley, although despite the extra room Hot Motion remains a home recording like its predecessors.
“The room is a 300 year-old outbuilding at my house,” continues Bagshaw. “I spent two years fixing it up because it had a leaky iron roof on it. It was nice to work in a space which had a little charm to it but still felt like home recording.”
That space fed directly into Temples vision. While retaining their enviably poppy instincts, the band created a host of brand new guitar sounds for this record and also took a lead from the “simplicity” of some 70s rock recordings which ensured the fundamentals behind each track are organic and original. “We were hiding less behind synth sounds and delays, which meant that the pureness of the melodic construct of each song was more thought through,” explains Bagshaw. “There was an element of less is more in some places.”
A glorious technicolour infuses much if the album, but there is a David Lynch-like undertone that adds a gravity to Hot Motion’s soaring moments. “It felt like there was a darker edge to what we were coming up with and we wanted to make sure that carried through across the whole record,” says Walmsley. “It’s not a ten track, relentless rock record from start to finish, it’s got a lot of light and shade and more tender moments, but that heavier, darker sound for us is something we wanted to make sure was in there and explore further.”
The exemplar of this is the opener and title track Hot Motion. Starting with a seemingly innocent, crunked ice cream van-like riff, the song quickly bounds through a sonic landscape of shadowy valleys and exalted highs as the track captures Temples at their inventive best, and shares an expansive, irresistible energy with the listener.
“Hot Motion is the feature piece,” declares Walmsley. “It was one of the first songs we put together for the record and it felt like it had all the marks and inspiration that we wanted the whole record to have, that was an important track.” Bagshaw agrees, suggesting that it set a tone for the next phase of Temples’ development. “Hot Motion is a better song than I ever dreamed it could be,” he says. “There was something in essence of that song to conjure with.”
From the impressive opening, the rest of Hot Motion similarly boats an initial immediacy before unfurling greater depth and ideas, although each song cascades onto its own unique territory. Tracks like The Beam, It’s All Coming Out and Step Down offer swirling, enticing mini journeys, while the groove on Context “huge and a bit of a nod to an old school hip hop vibe” according to Bagshaw. “Songs like The Howl and Holy Horses have a slightly harder, heavier than we’ve done before,” adds Walmsley. “It felt like it was very important to retain that element on the record because it allowed us to open up with tracks like Atomise.”
Lyrically too, this record has seen Temples embrace “purer, primal” feelings.
“I’m really proud of You’re Either On Something lyrically because I feel deeply connected with the words – they’re so truthful,” admits Bagshaw. “On that track, I can hear influences of stuff that I listened to when I was growing up. There’s almost a nostalgia to that track, even though it’s very forward-looking. Equally, while the words on [album closer] Monuments are a little cryptic, it’s very much about the time we live in. I wouldn’t say it’s a political song but you can’t help but write about the things that are happening otherwise you’d just be a hermit.”
Fizzing with ideas, bursting with kinetic energy and balancing an immediate impact with an enduring, timeless intensity, Hot Motion is an album that very much provides a snapshot one of Britain’s most progressive bands’ soul, while offering its audience a starting point for their own flights of emotion and imagination. Indeed, one of its creators is jealous that he cannot experience it anew too.
“This record has really got me excited,” declares Bagshaw. “I really want to be on the receiving end of it more than any other record we’ve done. While we were making it I was thinking I wanted to be able to hear what it sounded like without working on it – I’d love to hear this out of the context in which it was made. I was really longing for that as we worked on each song, so I’m excited for people to experience these songs for the first time.”
Don’t delay this life-affirming trip, Hot Motion awaits.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191004T171143Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1925 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191018T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191018T230000 UID:0D166347-5D2C-4642-B7FA-6831AAEF19DD SUMMARY:Samantha Fish DTSTAMP:20190802T153327Z DESCRIPTION:“That was my mission on this album: To really set these songs up so that they have a life of their own,” says Samantha Fish about Kill or Be Kind, her sixth solo album and her debut on Rounder Records. “Strong messages from the heart – that’s what I really set out for.” Indeed, what comes across immediately on hearing the album is the extraordinary level of songcraft on its eleven tracks, the way these songs are so smartly put together to deliver a potent emotional impact.\NAnyone who has ever heard Fish’s previous albums knows that she has earned a place in the top rank of contemporary blues guitarists and that her voice can wring the soul out of a ballad and belt out a rocker with roof-shaking force. And, rest reassured, those virtues are fully in evidence on Kill or Be Kind. But each of the songs on the album does far more than simply provide a setting for Fish’s pyrotechnics. They tell captivating stories, set up by verses that deftly set the scene, choruses that lift with real feeling, and hooks that later rise up in your thoughts, even when you’re not aware that you’re thinking of music at all. It’s the kind of songwriting that emerges when raw talent is leavened by experience and aspiration, and when a committed artist genuinely has something to say. Those qualities make Kill or Be Kind a genuine artistic breakthrough for Fish.\N“I think I’ve grown as a performer and as a player,” she explains. “I’ve become more respectful of the melody. You can go up and down the fret board and up and down your vocal register, but that’s not going to be as powerful as conveying a simple melody that people can really connect to and sing themselves.” To help bring those elements to her music, Fish sought out high-quality songwriting collaborators – the likes of Jim McCormick (who has worked with Fish before and also written for Luke Bryan and Keith Urban); Kate Pearlman (who has worked with Kelly Clarkson); Patrick Sweeney; Parker Millsap; and Eric McFadden. The result is an album on which each song is distinct, but the complete work hangs together as a coherent, entirely satisfying statement. “When you get to this point in your life as an artist,” Fish says, “it’s good to work with others, because it makes you stretch. I think you hear a lot of that nuance on the record, songs that have a pop sensibility to them, hooks that really pull you in.”\NYou get a good sense of the range the album covers from the first two songs released. Fish propels “Watch It Die” with an insistent guitar riff, but near the song’s end two female background singers lend the song a haunting soulful feel. Meanwhile, “Love Letters” moves on an insinuating, stop-time riff in its verses until it bursts in passion on its chorus. Both songs use horn sections for finesse and texture. “Love Letters” also introduces one of the album’s central themes: the allure of losing yourself in love – and the dangers of it. “Keep waking up in the bed I made,” Fish sings. “Forget the pain when you wanna play/I’m back to broken when you go away.”\N“That’s just a love-sick song,” Fish says, laughing. “like I think I was when I wrote it.” The title track, a seductive ballad, offers a lover a stark choice: “Make up your mind/I can kill or be kind.” To explain that dichotomy, Fish says, “It’s funny how love can be so fickle, how quickly you go from object of affection to one of disdain. I’ve always found that dynamic interesting. That track is full of that duality,” she adds, laughing. “I also loved the Memphis sound of the horns on there. They sound modern, but it’s got this vintage feeling as well.” The songs “Dirty,” “Love Your Lies” and “Fair-Weather” explore similar themes – how deceit, self-deception and shifting expectations can alter the course of life and love. The affecting ballad “Dream Girl” stands the endearment of its title on its head and explores the dilemma of a love not coming to fruition. “I wish you’d take the rest of me,” Fish sings. “These tears, they kill your fantasy.” On “She Don’t Live Around Here Anymore,” a soul ballad once again bolstered by tasteful horn parts, the singer confronts the feeling of being used and finds empowerment in walking away. \NThe album is framed by songs -- “Bulletproof” and “You Got It Bad (Better Than You Ever Had).” “Bulletproof digs into the theme of vulnerability, about it being mistaken for weakness, and how we often times feel the need to wear a mask to survive in the world today, while “You Got It Bad (Better Than You Ever Had)” is about working towards your dreams and the knifes edge we often walk to reach our goals.\N“Trying Not to Fall in Love With You” finds the singer not wanting to rush a relationship – and therefore undermine it. “I fall fast,” Fish admits, “I have to remember to take care and not scare the person away.”\NTo make Kill or Be Kind, Fish chose to work at the legendary Royal Studios in Memphis, with Scott Billington as producer. “I worked at Royal before, when I made my Wild Heart album,” she says. “The soul in the walls, the vibe – you can feel it in that place. I’m such a fan of Al Green, Ann Peebles and all the classic recordings that happened there. Memphis just kept calling to me. I’ve always felt so inspired there.” As for Billington, a three-time Grammy winner, Fish appreciated both his open-mindedness and his willingness to ease her out of her comfort zone. “Scott allowed me to see the building-out process of the album all the way through, from the top to the bottom,” she says. “Bringing in background singers and synthesizers, which I’d never done on an album before, that added an extra edge. Honestly, it was a challenge. It pushed me to think about the songs differently. That trust from my producer gave me the freedom to really take some risks.”\NHaving completed an album that she believes in so strongly – “This is me coming through, my personality,” she says – Fish is eager to bring it to the world. “I got the moon in the back of my mind, and I want to shoot for it!” she declares. “I want to reach over genre lines and get out to as many people as possible. This album is so broad – and it’s all me. So I’m just hoping it catches people and appeals to them.”\NShe concludes, “Overall my big goal, career-wise, is to contribute something different and new to music. I want to give something that stands apart and yet is timeless.” With Kill or Be Kind, Samantha Fish is well on her way along that path. – Anthony DeCurtis X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:“That was my mission on this album: To really set these songs up so that they have a life of their own,” says Samantha Fish about Kill or Be Kind, her sixth solo album and her debut on Rounder Records. “Strong messages from the heart – that’s what I really set out for.” Indeed, what comes across immediately on hearing the album is the extraordinary level of songcraft on its eleven tracks, the way these songs are so smartly put together to deliver a potent emotional impact.
Anyone who has ever heard Fish’s previous albums knows that she has earned a place in the top rank of contemporary blues guitarists and that her voice can wring the soul out of a ballad and belt out a rocker with roof-shaking force. And, rest reassured, those virtues are fully in evidence on Kill or Be Kind. But each of the songs on the album does far more than simply provide a setting for Fish’s pyrotechnics. They tell captivating stories, set up by verses that deftly set the scene, choruses that lift with real feeling, and hooks that later rise up in your thoughts, even when you’re not aware that you’re thinking of music at all. It’s the kind of songwriting that emerges when raw talent is leavened by experience and aspiration, and when a committed artist genuinely has something to say. Those qualities make Kill or Be Kind a genuine artistic breakthrough for Fish.
“I think I’ve grown as a performer and as a player,” she explains. “I’ve become more respectful of the melody. You can go up and down the fret board and up and down your vocal register, but that’s not going to be as powerful as conveying a simple melody that people can really connect to and sing themselves.” To help bring those elements to her music, Fish sought out high-quality songwriting collaborators – the likes of Jim McCormick (who has worked with Fish before and also written for Luke Bryan and Keith Urban); Kate Pearlman (who has worked with Kelly Clarkson); Patrick Sweeney; Parker Millsap; and Eric McFadden. The result is an album on which each song is distinct, but the complete work hangs together as a coherent, entirely satisfying statement. “When you get to this point in your life as an artist,” Fish says, “it’s good to work with others, because it makes you stretch. I think you hear a lot of that nuance on the record, songs that have a pop sensibility to them, hooks that really pull you in.”
You get a good sense of the range the album covers from the first two songs released. Fish propels “Watch It Die” with an insistent guitar riff, but near the song’s end two female background singers lend the song a haunting soulful feel. Meanwhile, “Love Letters” moves on an insinuating, stop-time riff in its verses until it bursts in passion on its chorus. Both songs use horn sections for finesse and texture. “Love Letters” also introduces one of the album’s central themes: the allure of losing yourself in love – and the dangers of it. “Keep waking up in the bed I made,” Fish sings. “Forget the pain when you wanna play/I’m back to broken when you go away.”
“That’s just a love-sick song,” Fish says, laughing. “like I think I was when I wrote it.” The title track, a seductive ballad, offers a lover a stark choice: “Make up your mind/I can kill or be kind.” To explain that dichotomy, Fish says, “It’s funny how love can be so fickle, how quickly you go from object of affection to one of disdain. I’ve always found that dynamic interesting. That track is full of that duality,” she adds, laughing. “I also loved the Memphis sound of the horns on there. They sound modern, but it’s got this vintage feeling as well.” The songs “Dirty,” “Love Your Lies” and “Fair-Weather” explore similar themes – how deceit, self-deception and shifting expectations can alter the course of life and love. The affecting ballad “Dream Girl” stands the endearment of its title on its head and explores the dilemma of a love not coming to fruition. “I wish you’d take the rest of me,” Fish sings. “These tears, they kill your fantasy.” On “She Don’t Live Around Here Anymore,” a soul ballad once again bolstered by tasteful horn parts, the singer confronts the feeling of being used and finds empowerment in walking away.
The album is framed by songs -- “Bulletproof” and “You Got It Bad (Better Than You Ever Had).” “Bulletproof digs into the theme of vulnerability, about it being mistaken for weakness, and how we often times feel the need to wear a mask to survive in the world today, while “You Got It Bad (Better Than You Ever Had)” is about working towards your dreams and the knifes edge we often walk to reach our goals.
“Trying Not to Fall in Love With You” finds the singer not wanting to rush a relationship – and therefore undermine it. “I fall fast,” Fish admits, “I have to remember to take care and not scare the person away.”
To make Kill or Be Kind, Fish chose to work at the legendary Royal Studios in Memphis, with Scott Billington as producer. “I worked at Royal before, when I made my Wild Heart album,” she says. “The soul in the walls, the vibe – you can feel it in that place. I’m such a fan of Al Green, Ann Peebles and all the classic recordings that happened there. Memphis just kept calling to me. I’ve always felt so inspired there.” As for Billington, a three-time Grammy winner, Fish appreciated both his open-mindedness and his willingness to ease her out of her comfort zone. “Scott allowed me to see the building-out process of the album all the way through, from the top to the bottom,” she says. “Bringing in background singers and synthesizers, which I’d never done on an album before, that added an extra edge. Honestly, it was a challenge. It pushed me to think about the songs differently. That trust from my producer gave me the freedom to really take some risks.”
Having completed an album that she believes in so strongly – “This is me coming through, my personality,” she says – Fish is eager to bring it to the world. “I got the moon in the back of my mind, and I want to shoot for it!” she declares. “I want to reach over genre lines and get out to as many people as possible. This album is so broad – and it’s all me. So I’m just hoping it catches people and appeals to them.”
She concludes, “Overall my big goal, career-wise, is to contribute something different and new to music. I want to give something that stands apart and yet is timeless.” With Kill or Be Kind, Samantha Fish is well on her way along that path. – Anthony DeCurtis
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191017T173252Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3210 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191019T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191019T233000 UID:9FF78B06-F051-4427-A9D1-AD6DE3E2E12A SUMMARY:Petty Theft DTSTAMP:20190617T184445Z DESCRIPTION:Petty Theft celebrates Tom Petty's Birthday with their now 8th Annual Celebration by bringing the party to Salt Lake City Utah for their debut at The Common Wealth Room. This show will feature two-sets of both classics and gems from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers song book.\N***\NAt the forefront of legendary Rock and Roll bands, you are sure to find Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.\NSince 2003, San Francisco based Petty Theft has been touring the western United States performing Petty’s songs true to the originals and in the spirit of the Heartbreaker’s live shows.\NPetty Theft is not about costumes and get-ups – it’s all about celebrating the music of one of America’s most treasured songwriters…Tom Petty.\NVoted Best Band San Francisco North Bay – The Bohemian – 2011, 2012, and 2013\NBest of Marin 2018 and 2019 : Best Cover Band – Pacific Sun X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Petty Theft celebrates Tom Petty's Birthday with their now 8th Annual Celebration by bringing the party to Salt Lake City Utah for their debut at The Common Wealth Room. This show will feature two-sets of both classics and gems from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers song book.
***
At the forefront of legendary Rock and Roll bands, you are sure to find Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.
Since 2003, San Francisco based Petty Theft has been touring the western United States performing Petty’s songs true to the originals and in the spirit of the Heartbreaker’s live shows.
Petty Theft is not about costumes and get-ups – it’s all about celebrating the music of one of America’s most treasured songwriters…Tom Petty.
Voted Best Band San Francisco North Bay – The Bohemian – 2011, 2012, and 2013
Best of Marin 2018 and 2019 : Best Cover Band – Pacific Sun
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191019T160759Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2206 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191023T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191023T210000 UID:A4494F53-FD5A-4F67-B0D4-9ED47C2C144C SUMMARY:Shovels & Rope DTSTAMP:20190715T154036Z DESCRIPTION:As the Brontë sister wrote, “The ties that bind us to life are tougher than you imagine.” Shovels & Rope, the musical duo of Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst, embody that bond. Married for a decade, their covenant extends to blood and beyond: as parents, bandmates, and creative collaborators who can now add the pursuits of festival curators, film subjects, and children’s book authors to that mighty list. Having released four studio albums and two collaborative projects (Busted Jukebox, Vol. 1 & 2) since 2008, Trent and Hearst have built their reputation on skill, sweat, and, yes, blood. Now, with the tough and elegant new record By Blood, as well as their High Water Festival in their hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, “Shovels & Rope: The Movie”, and the picture book “C’mon Utah!”, Shovels & Rope are primed for their biggest year yet.\NAccomplished musicians in their own right prior to dedicating themselves full time to Shovels & Rope in 2011, Trent and Hearst have made a career together by seizing opportunities and never resting on their laurels or being complacent in doing something just because. Carving out a niche in the music world with strong, roots/indie/folk/rock- inspired efforts like 2012’s O’ Be Joyful, 2014’s Swimmin’ Time, and 2016’s inward- looking Little Seeds, as well as their powerful live show, far-reaching tours, and myriad TV and festival appearances, Shovels & Rope have earned the right to follow their own muse. And so, in an effort to satisfy their numerous creative interests and adapt to a changing industry, Trent and Hearst have firmly planted their flag in realms beyond recording and releasing albums.\NThe third annual High Water Festival curated by the band will be held over a weekend in April and will bring 10,000 fans to a park in North Charleston to witness a lineup of artists comparable to some of the best in the country—including Leon Bridges, The Head & The Heart, Lord Huron, Jenny Lewis, Mitski, and Shovels & Rope themselves. High Water benefits select organizations and water conservation charities in Charleston and aims to avoid the feeling of corporate inundation and discomfort that plagues many big-name music events. Trent and Hearst work with production companies and agencies to book acts, then serve as on-site hosts in addition to performing throughout the weekend.\N“Shovels & Rope: The Movie” is a performance film that has been expanded into feature- length with an external narrative weaving through and connecting the live performances. Directed by their frequent visual collaborator, Curtis Millard, the ‘live show’ portion of the filming took place over two nights at The Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina, during the tour for Little Seeds. The rest of the film was shot in various locations in and around the Southeast. The result can be described as a David Lynch meets John Hughes (a fun, silly, and tongue-in-cheek film for fans to enjoy that also represents the band at the peak of their live power.)\NThe children’s book, “C’mon Utah!”, sets the lyrics from the new song of the same name to illustrations by the artist Julio Cotto. It is an inspirational story, set in the future aftermath of the building and subsequent destruction of the southern border wall. The separated and displaced families are figuring out how to start to put the pieces back together. Communities form to organize and support each other. The parents in these communities tell stories to lift the children spirits and maintain hope through sadness and despair. One such story is about a magic horse named Utah who has the power to help to reunite them with their families on the other side of the devastation. The book is intended as a conversation starter for parents and children to discuss immigration and diversity.\NTrent and Hearst have learned to juggle their busy schedules by relying on each other as well as their team, and by seizing every chance for efficiency. They realized one such opportunity by building a modest studio at home, which is where they began to record By Blood in May of 2018. The new space in their back yard provides a sanctuary where their gear can remain at the ready, a luxury conducive to their creative process—especially when sharing a home with kids.\NBy Blood’s ten songs are vignettes that focus on vulnerable, human characters laid bare, while the textures are gritty, sweeping, and profound. These are tales of inherently good yet incomplete people whose faults are on the table in plain sight, a trait that endears the subjects to the listener and that the songwriters recognize in themselves.\NThe first single “The Wire” is about accepting your own faults and learning to say you’re sorry. Its stylishly minimal verses and wall of sound chorus recall some raw, girl-group era drama as well as timeless rock and roll. As the gorgeous, dark lullaby of the title track brings the album to its end, the beautiful, cinematic journey of By Blood has left its mark.\NAnd so, bound by blood, by sweat, and by love—of creativity, craft, and family—Shovels & Rope are coming out swinging. From the bind in their band name itself to the shared life they have built from scratch, it’s clear that Trent and Hearst are in constant pursuit of their best selves—together. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:As the Brontë sister wrote, “The ties that bind us to life are tougher than you imagine.” Shovels & Rope, the musical duo of Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst, embody that bond. Married for a decade, their covenant extends to blood and beyond: as parents, bandmates, and creative collaborators who can now add the pursuits of festival curators, film subjects, and children’s book authors to that mighty list. Having released four studio albums and two collaborative projects (Busted Jukebox, Vol. 1 & 2) since 2008, Trent and Hearst have built their reputation on skill, sweat, and, yes, blood. Now, with the tough and elegant new record By Blood, as well as their High Water Festival in their hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, “Shovels & Rope: The Movie”, and the picture book “C’mon Utah!”, Shovels & Rope are primed for their biggest year yet.
Accomplished musicians in their own right prior to dedicating themselves full time to Shovels & Rope in 2011, Trent and Hearst have made a career together by seizing opportunities and never resting on their laurels or being complacent in doing something just because. Carving out a niche in the music world with strong, roots/indie/folk/rock- inspired efforts like 2012’s O’ Be Joyful, 2014’s Swimmin’ Time, and 2016’s inward- looking Little Seeds, as well as their powerful live show, far-reaching tours, and myriad TV and festival appearances, Shovels & Rope have earned the right to follow their own muse. And so, in an effort to satisfy their numerous creative interests and adapt to a changing industry, Trent and Hearst have firmly planted their flag in realms beyond recording and releasing albums.
The third annual High Water Festival curated by the band will be held over a weekend in April and will bring 10,000 fans to a park in North Charleston to witness a lineup of artists comparable to some of the best in the country—including Leon Bridges, The Head & The Heart, Lord Huron, Jenny Lewis, Mitski, and Shovels & Rope themselves. High Water benefits select organizations and water conservation charities in Charleston and aims to avoid the feeling of corporate inundation and discomfort that plagues many big-name music events. Trent and Hearst work with production companies and agencies to book acts, then serve as on-site hosts in addition to performing throughout the weekend.
“Shovels & Rope: The Movie” is a performance film that has been expanded into feature- length with an external narrative weaving through and connecting the live performances. Directed by their frequent visual collaborator, Curtis Millard, the ‘live show’ portion of the filming took place over two nights at The Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina, during the tour for Little Seeds. The rest of the film was shot in various locations in and around the Southeast. The result can be described as a David Lynch meets John Hughes (a fun, silly, and tongue-in-cheek film for fans to enjoy that also represents the band at the peak of their live power.)
The children’s book, “C’mon Utah!”, sets the lyrics from the new song of the same name to illustrations by the artist Julio Cotto. It is an inspirational story, set in the future aftermath of the building and subsequent destruction of the southern border wall. The separated and displaced families are figuring out how to start to put the pieces back together. Communities form to organize and support each other. The parents in these communities tell stories to lift the children spirits and maintain hope through sadness and despair. One such story is about a magic horse named Utah who has the power to help to reunite them with their families on the other side of the devastation. The book is intended as a conversation starter for parents and children to discuss immigration and diversity.
Trent and Hearst have learned to juggle their busy schedules by relying on each other as well as their team, and by seizing every chance for efficiency. They realized one such opportunity by building a modest studio at home, which is where they began to record By Blood in May of 2018. The new space in their back yard provides a sanctuary where their gear can remain at the ready, a luxury conducive to their creative process—especially when sharing a home with kids.
By Blood’s ten songs are vignettes that focus on vulnerable, human characters laid bare, while the textures are gritty, sweeping, and profound. These are tales of inherently good yet incomplete people whose faults are on the table in plain sight, a trait that endears the subjects to the listener and that the songwriters recognize in themselves.
The first single “The Wire” is about accepting your own faults and learning to say you’re sorry. Its stylishly minimal verses and wall of sound chorus recall some raw, girl-group era drama as well as timeless rock and roll. As the gorgeous, dark lullaby of the title track brings the album to its end, the beautiful, cinematic journey of By Blood has left its mark.
And so, bound by blood, by sweat, and by love—of creativity, craft, and family—Shovels & Rope are coming out swinging. From the bind in their band name itself to the shared life they have built from scratch, it’s clear that Trent and Hearst are in constant pursuit of their best selves—together.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191023T162457Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2853 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191025T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191025T233000 UID:24BA637A-51A6-4E84-A526-F4D3891D2A91 SUMMARY:Natasha Bedingfield DTSTAMP:20190729T200141Z DESCRIPTION:Natasha Bedingfield grew up in London, surrounded by a culture of creativity in the arts and music after her parents immigrated from New Zealand. Inspired by her brother Daniel, who in 2001 scored his first radio hits, she began writing and soon signed a deal with BMG, followed by a much acclaimed, top-selling album\N"Unwritten" that debuted at number one on the British charts. Bedingfield's rhythmic pop sound netted her Platinum artist status, a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and multiple Brit Awards noms for Best British Female Artist. 'Unwritten' was the most played song on US Top 40 radio that year and was the title track for MTV's 'The Hills' at the peak of reality programming popularity, becoming an anthem of its time.\NHer VH1 award-winning song with John Legend and Kanye West inspired the channel to rank Bedingfield number 66 of 100 greatest women in music. Natasha has collaborated with a wide range of artists from Nicki Minaj (by Minaj's invitation) to Big Sean, Rascal Flatts, Stevie Wonder, Brandy, Bruno Mars, Sean Kingston, Lil Wayne, Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow, and Jon Bon Jovi. Her new album is produced by Multi-Platinum producer Linda Perry, releasing on Perry and Kerry Brown's label WE ARE HEAR in August. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Natasha Bedingfield grew up in London, surrounded by a culture of creativity in the arts and music after her parents immigrated from New Zealand. Inspired by her brother Daniel, who in 2001 scored his first radio hits, she began writing and soon signed a deal with BMG, followed by a much acclaimed, top-selling album
"Unwritten" that debuted at number one on the British charts. Bedingfield's rhythmic pop sound netted her Platinum artist status, a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and multiple Brit Awards noms for Best British Female Artist. 'Unwritten' was the most played song on US Top 40 radio that year and was the title track for MTV's 'The Hills' at the peak of reality programming popularity, becoming an anthem of its time.
Her VH1 award-winning song with John Legend and Kanye West inspired the channel to rank Bedingfield number 66 of 100 greatest women in music. Natasha has collaborated with a wide range of artists from Nicki Minaj (by Minaj's invitation) to Big Sean, Rascal Flatts, Stevie Wonder, Brandy, Bruno Mars, Sean Kingston, Lil Wayne, Paul McCartney, Sheryl Crow, and Jon Bon Jovi. Her new album is produced by Multi-Platinum producer Linda Perry, releasing on Perry and Kerry Brown's label WE ARE HEAR in August.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191025T155051Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2132 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191026T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191026T233000 UID:84D0D093-413E-46D7-AB98-05369896F702 SUMMARY:Justin Townes Earle DTSTAMP:20190723T234511Z DESCRIPTION:Justin Townes Earle has done a lot of living in his 37 years. For starters, there’s the quick-hit bullet points about his childhood that seem to get dredged up in every interview, article or review about the singer-songwriter and guitarist: Born the son of Steve Earle, who was largely absent during Justin’s childhood; struggles from a young age with addiction and numerous stints in rehab; long stretches of itinerancy and general juvenile delinquency; a youth he once said he was “lucky to have gotten out of alive.”\NThat’s before we get to the years spent honing his craft in Nashville bars and on club stages all over the world; the various bands, record labels and industry types that have been drawn toward and, at times, pushed away by him; and, finally, the celebrated and rather formidable body of work he has amassed since releasing his critically-acclaimed 2007 debut EP, Yuma.\NIt’s a seemingly bottomless well of material for a singer-songwriter to mine out of just three decades or so of life. And Earle at times has—most recently on his 2017 album, Kids in the Street, which the artist calls “one of the more personal records I’ve ever made.”\NBut when it came to his newest effort, The Saint of Lost Causes, Earle, these days sober, married and father to a baby girl, chose to focus his gaze outward. “Maybe having a kid has made me look at the world around me more,” he says.\NAs for how he felt after doing that?\N“Frankly, I was horrified,” he says bluntly. Although, he adds, “I already sorta was, anyway.” Make no mistake: there’s nary a party, PBR or pickup truck to be found in any of the 12 tracks on\NThe Saint of Lost Causes. Rather, Earle is focused on a different America—the disenfranchised and the downtrodden, the oppressed and the oppressors, the hopeful and the hopeless. There’s the drugstore-cowboy-turned-cop-killer praying for forgiveness (“Appalachian Nightmare”) and the common Michiganders persevering through economic and industrial devastation (“Flint City Shake It”); the stuck mother dreaming of a better life on the right side of the California tracks (“Over Alameda”) and the Cuban man in New York City weighed down by a world of regret (“Ahi Esta Mi Nina”); the “used up” soul desperate to get to New Orleans (“Ain’t Got No Money”) and the “sons of bitches” in West Virginia poisoning the land and sea (“Don’t Drink the Water”).\NThese are individuals and communities in every corner of the country, struggling through the ordinary—and sometimes extraordinary—circumstances of everyday life.\N“I was trying to look through the eyes of America,” Earle says. “Because I believe in the idea of America—that everybody's welcome here and has the right to be here.”\NEarle tells these American stories in detail and without judgement. But he also lays out his point of view right from the start. The Saint of Lost Causes kicks off in stark fashion with the title track, on which JTE, over a desolate soundscape of acoustic guitar, deliberate snare hits and moaning pedal steel, presents a harsh vision of the world in plainspoken, almost biblical terms: "Got your sheep / got your shepherds / got your wolves amongst men,” he intones, before asking, “Throughout time / between the wolf and the shepherd / who do you think has killed more sheep?”\N“That's kind of like the spooky leftist conspiracy theorist in me,” Earle says with a slight laugh, before turning serious. “But the fact is, if you look around, we live in a time where one of the number-one threats to an inner-city black youth is a police officer. It’s just bizarre. So I think sometimes how we forget how animal we are. We look at ourselves as this sort of higher-functioning being, but we miss the mark quite often at being civilized and such.”\NHe points to another track, the slide-guitar-and-harmonica assisted “Don’t Drink the Water” (“Folks gettin’ sick, talkin’ women and children / ask the man on the stand what he thinks killed ‘em”), as a further example of man’s disregard for his fellow man. “Several years ago one of [coal CEO and former Republican primary candidate for Senate] Don Blankenship's companies leaked a bunch of chemicals into the river outside of Charleston, West Virginia, and there’s still areas where if people take a bath they’ll get lesions on their skin,” he explains of the song’s subject matter. “We live in the richest per-capita country in the world, and we have people who can't bathe in the fucking water. Much less drink it.”\NWhile that song and others like “Flint City Shake It”—where, over a boogie-woogie rhythm, Earle chronicles the decline of the city’s once vibrant auto manufacturing industry (“Then trouble come in ’86 / this son of a bitch named Roger Smith / cut our throat with the stroke of a fountain pen”)—cite historical events, other tracks present fictionalized narratives that are no less harrowing or true-to-life.\NTake the haunting “Appalachian Nightmare,” on which Earle spins a first-person account of how a landscape of little opportunity combined with a few bad decisions can quickly lead to a premature, and literal, dead end. “It's a fictional story, but it's a story we've heard a million times growing up in the South,” he says. “I remember back in the late Nineties we had what they called the ‘Oxycontin Wars,’ which was, like, hillbillies armed to the teeth robbing the shit out of drug stores. People went buck wild and it destroyed a lot of lives.”\NBut Saint of Lost Causes is not all doom and gloom. There are also moments of calm, both musically and lyrically, where Earle pulls back to admire the beauty of the world around him. On the languid “Mornings in Memphis” (“one of my favorite songs on the record”), he watches the sun rise, takes a stroll down Beale Street to the banks of the Mississippi, and, finally, stands alone under a sky full of stars where all he can do is “try not to think / just listen to my heart.”\NHe offers a similar, if more jocular ode to his surroundings on “Pacific Northwestern Blues,” where the Nashville-bred Earle, now relocated a few thousand miles west, laments only being able to drive 20 miles an hour due to the region’s notoriously rainy conditions. “We’re moving so slow / I’m about to lose my mind,” he complains over a loping Western swing accompaniment. Says Earle with a laugh, “I've been living in the Pacific Northwest for a while, and I’ve realized that, you know, the weather really does suck up here!”\NEarle may call the Pacific Northwest his home these days, but when it came time to record The Saint of Lost Causes he headed back to Music City. “I always say, ‘If you want whores and gambling, you go to Vegas. If you want to make records, you go to Nashville,’ ” he reasons. Earle co-produced The Saint of Lost Causes with his longtime engineer Adam Bednarik, and likewise brought in musicians that that he’s known for years, among them guitarist Joe McMahan, pedal steel player Paul Niehaus, drummer Jon Radford and Old Crow Medicine Show keyboardist Cory Younts. “I'm realizing that as I'm getting older and grumpier and set in my ways, I just much more enjoy making a record on my own terms and with people I know well,” he says.\NTo that end, Earle also worked at a studio he knew well, even if he had never actually recorded there before. Sound Emporium is a facility steeped in music history—it was opened by Cowboy Jack Clement in 1969 and has hosted country luminaries like Johnny Cash and Kenny Rogers over the years—and also Earle’s own childhood. “I grew up in that neighborhood, and as a kid I used to ride my bike through the Sound Emporium parking lot,” he says. “It was always an active place in the neighborhood. So it was great to finally be able to record there.”\NAs for where Earle’s sound, which on The Saint of Lost Causes spans everything from traditional country, blues and folk to western swing, roots-rock and boogie-woogie, fits into the larger country music picture beyond Nashville?\N“I see it the same way that Gram Parsons did,” he says. “There’s this idea of moving forward and playing with newer sounds and different modes, but at the same time making sure you keep one foot firmly planted in the past as you feel out the future. I think it’s really important to leave a trail, you know? Put down some breadcrumbs behind you.”\NHe’s similarly resolute when it comes to his lyrics. Ask Earle whether he is at all concerned that the bold stance he takes on The Saint of Lost Causes might raise the country-music establishment’s hackles, and he can only laugh in response.\N“I've never been opposed to pissing off all the right people,” he says matter-of-factly. “But I see it two ways: If you don't like what I have to say politically or anything like that, just don't read my interviews. But you're never going to go to my shows and hear political spiel from me. We're going to play songs and have a good time, because that's what the show is all about.\N“But you know,” he continues, “I'm a disciple of the Woody Guthrie school of thinking about music. I figure it’s always better to just go ahead and tell people the truth.”\NOn The Saint of Lost Causes, Earle proves himself a songwriter and artist who is unflinching and unequivocal in his truth. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Justin Townes Earle has done a lot of living in his 37 years. For starters, there’s the quick-hit bullet points about his childhood that seem to get dredged up in every interview, article or review about the singer-songwriter and guitarist: Born the son of Steve Earle, who was largely absent during Justin’s childhood; struggles from a young age with addiction and numerous stints in rehab; long stretches of itinerancy and general juvenile delinquency; a youth he once said he was “lucky to have gotten out of alive.”
That’s before we get to the years spent honing his craft in Nashville bars and on club stages all over the world; the various bands, record labels and industry types that have been drawn toward and, at times, pushed away by him; and, finally, the celebrated and rather formidable body of work he has amassed since releasing his critically-acclaimed 2007 debut EP, Yuma.
It’s a seemingly bottomless well of material for a singer-songwriter to mine out of just three decades or so of life. And Earle at times has—most recently on his 2017 album, Kids in the Street, which the artist calls “one of the more personal records I’ve ever made.”
But when it came to his newest effort, The Saint of Lost Causes, Earle, these days sober, married and father to a baby girl, chose to focus his gaze outward. “Maybe having a kid has made me look at the world around me more,” he says.
As for how he felt after doing that?
“Frankly, I was horrified,” he says bluntly. Although, he adds, “I already sorta was, anyway.” Make no mistake: there’s nary a party, PBR or pickup truck to be found in any of the 12 tracks on
The Saint of Lost Causes. Rather, Earle is focused on a different America—the disenfranchised and the downtrodden, the oppressed and the oppressors, the hopeful and the hopeless. There’s the drugstore-cowboy-turned-cop-killer praying for forgiveness (“Appalachian Nightmare”) and the common Michiganders persevering through economic and industrial devastation (“Flint City Shake It”); the stuck mother dreaming of a better life on the right side of the California tracks (“Over Alameda”) and the Cuban man in New York City weighed down by a world of regret (“Ahi Esta Mi Nina”); the “used up” soul desperate to get to New Orleans (“Ain’t Got No Money”) and the “sons of bitches” in West Virginia poisoning the land and sea (“Don’t Drink the Water”).
These are individuals and communities in every corner of the country, struggling through the ordinary—and sometimes extraordinary—circumstances of everyday life.
“I was trying to look through the eyes of America,” Earle says. “Because I believe in the idea of America—that everybody's welcome here and has the right to be here.”
Earle tells these American stories in detail and without judgement. But he also lays out his point of view right from the start. The Saint of Lost Causes kicks off in stark fashion with the title track, on which JTE, over a desolate soundscape of acoustic guitar, deliberate snare hits and moaning pedal steel, presents a harsh vision of the world in plainspoken, almost biblical terms: "Got your sheep / got your shepherds / got your wolves amongst men,” he intones, before asking, “Throughout time / between the wolf and the shepherd / who do you think has killed more sheep?”
“That's kind of like the spooky leftist conspiracy theorist in me,” Earle says with a slight laugh, before turning serious. “But the fact is, if you look around, we live in a time where one of the number-one threats to an inner-city black youth is a police officer. It’s just bizarre. So I think sometimes how we forget how animal we are. We look at ourselves as this sort of higher-functioning being, but we miss the mark quite often at being civilized and such.”
He points to another track, the slide-guitar-and-harmonica assisted “Don’t Drink the Water” (“Folks gettin’ sick, talkin’ women and children / ask the man on the stand what he thinks killed ‘em”), as a further example of man’s disregard for his fellow man. “Several years ago one of [coal CEO and former Republican primary candidate for Senate] Don Blankenship's companies leaked a bunch of chemicals into the river outside of Charleston, West Virginia, and there’s still areas where if people take a bath they’ll get lesions on their skin,” he explains of the song’s subject matter. “We live in the richest per-capita country in the world, and we have people who can't bathe in the fucking water. Much less drink it.”
While that song and others like “Flint City Shake It”—where, over a boogie-woogie rhythm, Earle chronicles the decline of the city’s once vibrant auto manufacturing industry (“Then trouble come in ’86 / this son of a bitch named Roger Smith / cut our throat with the stroke of a fountain pen”)—cite historical events, other tracks present fictionalized narratives that are no less harrowing or true-to-life.
Take the haunting “Appalachian Nightmare,” on which Earle spins a first-person account of how a landscape of little opportunity combined with a few bad decisions can quickly lead to a premature, and literal, dead end. “It's a fictional story, but it's a story we've heard a million times growing up in the South,” he says. “I remember back in the late Nineties we had what they called the ‘Oxycontin Wars,’ which was, like, hillbillies armed to the teeth robbing the shit out of drug stores. People went buck wild and it destroyed a lot of lives.”
But Saint of Lost Causes is not all doom and gloom. There are also moments of calm, both musically and lyrically, where Earle pulls back to admire the beauty of the world around him. On the languid “Mornings in Memphis” (“one of my favorite songs on the record”), he watches the sun rise, takes a stroll down Beale Street to the banks of the Mississippi, and, finally, stands alone under a sky full of stars where all he can do is “try not to think / just listen to my heart.”
He offers a similar, if more jocular ode to his surroundings on “Pacific Northwestern Blues,” where the Nashville-bred Earle, now relocated a few thousand miles west, laments only being able to drive 20 miles an hour due to the region’s notoriously rainy conditions. “We’re moving so slow / I’m about to lose my mind,” he complains over a loping Western swing accompaniment. Says Earle with a laugh, “I've been living in the Pacific Northwest for a while, and I’ve realized that, you know, the weather really does suck up here!”
Earle may call the Pacific Northwest his home these days, but when it came time to record The Saint of Lost Causes he headed back to Music City. “I always say, ‘If you want whores and gambling, you go to Vegas. If you want to make records, you go to Nashville,’ ” he reasons. Earle co-produced The Saint of Lost Causes with his longtime engineer Adam Bednarik, and likewise brought in musicians that that he’s known for years, among them guitarist Joe McMahan, pedal steel player Paul Niehaus, drummer Jon Radford and Old Crow Medicine Show keyboardist Cory Younts. “I'm realizing that as I'm getting older and grumpier and set in my ways, I just much more enjoy making a record on my own terms and with people I know well,” he says.
To that end, Earle also worked at a studio he knew well, even if he had never actually recorded there before. Sound Emporium is a facility steeped in music history—it was opened by Cowboy Jack Clement in 1969 and has hosted country luminaries like Johnny Cash and Kenny Rogers over the years—and also Earle’s own childhood. “I grew up in that neighborhood, and as a kid I used to ride my bike through the Sound Emporium parking lot,” he says. “It was always an active place in the neighborhood. So it was great to finally be able to record there.”
As for where Earle’s sound, which on The Saint of Lost Causes spans everything from traditional country, blues and folk to western swing, roots-rock and boogie-woogie, fits into the larger country music picture beyond Nashville?
“I see it the same way that Gram Parsons did,” he says. “There’s this idea of moving forward and playing with newer sounds and different modes, but at the same time making sure you keep one foot firmly planted in the past as you feel out the future. I think it’s really important to leave a trail, you know? Put down some breadcrumbs behind you.”
He’s similarly resolute when it comes to his lyrics. Ask Earle whether he is at all concerned that the bold stance he takes on The Saint of Lost Causes might raise the country-music establishment’s hackles, and he can only laugh in response.
“I've never been opposed to pissing off all the right people,” he says matter-of-factly. “But I see it two ways: If you don't like what I have to say politically or anything like that, just don't read my interviews. But you're never going to go to my shows and hear political spiel from me. We're going to play songs and have a good time, because that's what the show is all about.
“But you know,” he continues, “I'm a disciple of the Woody Guthrie school of thinking about music. I figure it’s always better to just go ahead and tell people the truth.”
On The Saint of Lost Causes, Earle proves himself a songwriter and artist who is unflinching and unequivocal in his truth.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191023T162527Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2289 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191108T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191108T233000 UID:53B6AE64-23A4-47DE-8135-F9462AC2182E SUMMARY:Tommy Castro & Tinsley Ellis - The T'n'T Tour DTSTAMP:20190730T213424Z DESCRIPTION:Two forces of nature from the blues world play the same stage. Tinsley Ellis and Tommy Castro will deliver an evening of high energy blues, rock, and soul music that is sure to lift your spirits.\NSouthern blues-rock guitar wizard, vocalist and songwriter Tinsley Ellis has become a bona fide worldwide guitar hero. Armed with his signature molten licks, melodic riffs and rousing, intense solos, Ellis, as his legions of fans will attest, is among the blues world’s best-loved, hardest working and most well-travelled statesmen. http://tinsleyellis.com\NWhether he’s squeezing out piping hot blues, fiery rock ‘n’ roll or playing the funkiest horn-fueled soul grooves and R&B, legendary blues and soul giant Tommy Castro knows how to ignite a crowd. Over the course of his still-unfolding career, the guitarist, vocalist and songwriter has released 15 albums. No Depression says, “Castro plays gritty, string-bending blues like a runaway soul train…a glorious blend that rocks the soul and lifts the spirits.” http://tommycastro.com X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Two forces of nature from the blues world play the same stage. Tinsley Ellis and Tommy Castro will deliver an evening of high energy blues, rock, and soul music that is sure to lift your spirits.
Southern blues-rock guitar wizard, vocalist and songwriter Tinsley Ellis has become a bona fide worldwide guitar hero. Armed with his signature molten licks, melodic riffs and rousing, intense solos, Ellis, as his legions of fans will attest, is among the blues world’s best-loved, hardest working and most well-travelled statesmen. http://tinsleyellis.com
Whether he’s squeezing out piping hot blues, fiery rock ‘n’ roll or playing the funkiest horn-fueled soul grooves and R&B, legendary blues and soul giant Tommy Castro knows how to ignite a crowd. Over the course of his still-unfolding career, the guitarist, vocalist and songwriter has released 15 albums. No Depression says, “Castro plays gritty, string-bending blues like a runaway soul train…a glorious blend that rocks the soul and lifts the spirits.” http://tommycastro.com
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191025T190054Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3391 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191109T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191109T233000 UID:BAC9ACC4-72A9-4194-8399-BA3672E7901E SUMMARY:REI Co-op Presents 2019 Pray for Snow Salt Lake City DTSTAMP:20191022T023002Z DESCRIPTION:Get Tickets HERE\NIt's almost time to get down! Don't miss the co-op's annual Pray for Snow party!\NHere's what you can expect: libations, live music, a retro skiwear fashion contest (yes, you can participate and win rad prizes!), and your favorite top snow gear brands all under one roof. This is a party you won't want to miss!\NTicket proceeds to benefit the Utah Avalanche Center.\N{youtube}jSEGkIHbR0I{/youtube} X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:It's almost time to get down! Don't miss the co-op's annual Pray for Snow party!
Here's what you can expect: libations, live music, a retro skiwear fashion contest (yes, you can participate and win rad prizes!), and your favorite top snow gear brands all under one roof. This is a party you won't want to miss!
Ticket proceeds to benefit the Utah Avalanche Center.
{youtube}jSEGkIHbR0I{/youtube}
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191105T211438Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1699 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191110T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191110T233000 UID:11884DEC-3581-473C-B79E-D25A66EA2D4C SUMMARY:Reckless Kelly DTSTAMP:20190917T194528Z DESCRIPTION:The band’s co-founders Willy and Cody Braun grew up in the White Cloud Mountains of Idaho. They toured the country as part of their father’s band, Muzzie Braun and the Boys, as children. They performed on The Tonight Show twice while sharing the stages with the likes of Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell and Merle Haggard. Their father taught his sons a professional ethic – integrity, persistence, hard work and professionalism – honed over three generations. Still teenagers, they moved to Bend, Oregon, to start their own band and soon after met drummer Jay Nazz.\NThe band took its name from the legend of Ned Kelly, the Australian highwayman, and moved to Austin in the autumn of 1996, where they carved a niche of their own.\NThey listened, watched and interacted with the creative dynamos of the outlaw country scene – Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Billy Joe Shaver, Guy Clark and others – and joined them in a redefinition of what contemporary country music had become. Theirs was gritty, hard-edged, uncompromising and convincing. They turned country music real again.\NReckless Kelly’s string of critically acclaimed albums– set a standard of reliable excellence and commitment to an instinctive vision of Americana. No band exemplifies the broad genre better.\NThe group’s latest effort, Bulletproof Live (2019), is a live album. “A real live album. It was recorded in celebration of the 10yr anniversary of the release of the original “Bulletproof.” Recorded at clubs, festivals, and theaters on the west coast between July and August of 2018. We used same gear, the same guitars, and the same approach we take every night, which is simply set up and try to blow the roof off the joint. The tracks are the best takes, hand picked from our favorite shows. Our good friend and “sixth Beatle,” Bukka Allen came along to play Hammond B3, Piano, and Accordion.” explains Willy Braun\NReckless Kelly is a great band with an apt name. The outlaw’s spirit pervades the ambiance. They are rugged individualists who dedicate themselves to advancing the state of their art. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The band’s co-founders Willy and Cody Braun grew up in the White Cloud Mountains of Idaho. They toured the country as part of their father’s band, Muzzie Braun and the Boys, as children. They performed on The Tonight Show twice while sharing the stages with the likes of Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell and Merle Haggard. Their father taught his sons a professional ethic – integrity, persistence, hard work and professionalism – honed over three generations. Still teenagers, they moved to Bend, Oregon, to start their own band and soon after met drummer Jay Nazz.
The band took its name from the legend of Ned Kelly, the Australian highwayman, and moved to Austin in the autumn of 1996, where they carved a niche of their own.
They listened, watched and interacted with the creative dynamos of the outlaw country scene – Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Billy Joe Shaver, Guy Clark and others – and joined them in a redefinition of what contemporary country music had become. Theirs was gritty, hard-edged, uncompromising and convincing. They turned country music real again.
Reckless Kelly’s string of critically acclaimed albums– set a standard of reliable excellence and commitment to an instinctive vision of Americana. No band exemplifies the broad genre better.
The group’s latest effort, Bulletproof Live (2019), is a live album. “A real live album. It was recorded in celebration of the 10yr anniversary of the release of the original “Bulletproof.” Recorded at clubs, festivals, and theaters on the west coast between July and August of 2018. We used same gear, the same guitars, and the same approach we take every night, which is simply set up and try to blow the roof off the joint. The tracks are the best takes, hand picked from our favorite shows. Our good friend and “sixth Beatle,” Bukka Allen came along to play Hammond B3, Piano, and Accordion.” explains Willy Braun
Reckless Kelly is a great band with an apt name. The outlaw’s spirit pervades the ambiance. They are rugged individualists who dedicate themselves to advancing the state of their art.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191025T190214Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2692 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191114T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191114T233000 UID:AA6C4100-7D07-45CF-891D-399FA5F13488 SUMMARY:Gregory Mountain Products Presents 5Point Adventure Film Festival SLC DTSTAMP:20191009T173419Z DESCRIPTION:Gregory Mountain Products is proud to present a screening of 5Points Adventure Film at The Commonwealth Room on Thursday November 14, 2019.\N5Point Adventure Film Festival showcases the power of adventure while igniting positive change in our communities and our world.\NThrough adventure, we find our best selves and encourage those around us to do the same. Gregory Mountain Products invites you to join us for a night of celebrating these stories at the Commonwealth Room on November 14th. Hear from the filmmakers, win gear from YETI, Chacos, Outdoor Research, Gregory Packs and many more, drink, eat, listen to music and sit back and soak in the magic and power of the films.\NProceeds will be donated to Big City Mountaineers, a non-profit focused on inspiring powerful transformations in the great outdoors\N{vimeo}326676607{/vimeo} X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Gregory Mountain Products is proud to present a screening of 5Points Adventure Film at The Commonwealth Room on Thursday November 14, 2019.
5Point Adventure Film Festival showcases the power of adventure while igniting positive change in our communities and our world.
Through adventure, we find our best selves and encourage those around us to do the same. Gregory Mountain Products invites you to join us for a night of celebrating these stories at the Commonwealth Room on November 14th. Hear from the filmmakers, win gear from YETI, Chacos, Outdoor Research, Gregory Packs and many more, drink, eat, listen to music and sit back and soak in the magic and power of the films.
Proceeds will be donated to Big City Mountaineers, a non-profit focused on inspiring powerful transformations in the great outdoors
{vimeo}326676607{/vimeo}
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191025T190249Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:4589 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191123T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191123T233000 UID:8404058B-22B8-4D6B-A294-008B3B3C9DA2 SUMMARY:The Mother Hips DTSTAMP:20190528T181941Z DESCRIPTION:Twenty-five years into a celebrated career is an unlikely time to switch things up, but the “divinely inspired” (Rolling Stone) Mother Hips have never been ones to follow convention. For their brilliant and exhilarating tenth album, ‘Chorus,’ the California stalwarts turned their recording process on its head in order to make their most fully realized and essential collection yet.\NOriginally signed by Rick Rubin while still just students at Chico State, The Mother Hips have spent two-and-a-half decades at the forefront of a new breed of California rock and roll—one equally informed by the breezy harmonies of the Beach Boys, the funky roots of The Band, and the psychedelic Americana of Buffalo Springfield—and established themselves as “one of the Bay Area’s most beloved live outfits” (San Francisco Guardian) through countless headline shows, massive festival appearances, and dates with everyone from Johnny Cash and Wilco to Lucinda Williams and The Black Crowes. The New Yorker lauded the band’s ability to “sing it sweet and play it dirty,” and ‘Chorus’ is perhaps the finest example yet of that intoxicating dichotomy, a richly melodic album firmly rooted in gritty rock and roll with the kind of evocative storytelling that The Mother Hips do best. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Twenty-five years into a celebrated career is an unlikely time to switch things up, but the “divinely inspired” (Rolling Stone) Mother Hips have never been ones to follow convention. For their brilliant and exhilarating tenth album, ‘Chorus,’ the California stalwarts turned their recording process on its head in order to make their most fully realized and essential collection yet.
Originally signed by Rick Rubin while still just students at Chico State, The Mother Hips have spent two-and-a-half decades at the forefront of a new breed of California rock and roll—one equally informed by the breezy harmonies of the Beach Boys, the funky roots of The Band, and the psychedelic Americana of Buffalo Springfield—and established themselves as “one of the Bay Area’s most beloved live outfits” (San Francisco Guardian) through countless headline shows, massive festival appearances, and dates with everyone from Johnny Cash and Wilco to Lucinda Williams and The Black Crowes. The New Yorker lauded the band’s ability to “sing it sweet and play it dirty,” and ‘Chorus’ is perhaps the finest example yet of that intoxicating dichotomy, a richly melodic album firmly rooted in gritty rock and roll with the kind of evocative storytelling that The Mother Hips do best.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191025T190443Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1829 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191203T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191203T233000 UID:CDCB0F56-3C12-43D9-AC97-255C67B05418 SUMMARY:The Skatalites: this show has been MOVED TO THE STATE ROOM DTSTAMP:20190917T234307Z DESCRIPTION:ATTN TICKET BUYERS: VENUE UPDATE!\NThe Skatalites Band show scheduled for Tuesday, December 3rd at The Commonwealth Room HAS BEEN MOVED TO The State Room.\NAll previously purchased tickets will be honored. Please check your email used at the time of purchase for more information.\NThe show schedule will remain with the same with DOORS @ 7pm and SHOW @ 8PM.\NThank you for your understanding.\N------\N2019 marks the 55th Anniversary of The Skatalites. The original members had played on hundreds of recording sessions before forming the band in 1964. They backed most of the vocalists in Jamaica at that time, including Bob Marley, Toots and The Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, Alton Ellis,Ken Boothe and many more. After disbanding in 1965 the individual members continued playing in various groups as the music evolved from ska to rocksteady to reggae. In the late 70's a resurgence of interest in the music began in the U.K. which caused the creation of many bands such as The Specials, The English Beat, Madness, The Selecter and Bad Manners. This became known as the "Two-Tone era" and these British musicians fused rock music with the ska and reggae. In The early 80's the music started to spread to The U.S.A and other parts of the world and bands began to emerge everywhere playing different flavors of ska and reggae fused with whatever else they wanted to throw in, including hard core , jazz and even punk. In 1983 The Skatalites reunited to play Reggae Sunsplash in Montego Bay and subsequently in London at The Crystal Palace for the U.K version of The Sunsplash event. A few years later they began emigrating to the U.S.A and in 1986 the first US shows began at The Village Gate in NYC. In 1989 the band supported Bunny Wailer on The Liberation Tour and in 1990 they embarked on their first headline tour of The U.S.A. and have not stopped touring the world ever since. The band is available for festivals and also plays in intimate club settings. Their unique infectious brand of real Jamaican ska pleases audiences of all ages across the globe year after year. "We hope you will enjoy listening to our music as much as we enjoy performing it for you. "\NForever indebted to the inspiration and talent of: Roland Alphonso, Lloyd Brevett, Tony DaCosta, Rupert Dillon , Don Drummond, Joseph " Lord Tanamo" Gordon, Jerome "Jah Jerry" Haynes, Lloyd Knibb, Tommy McCook, Donat Roy "Jackie" Mittoo, John " Dizzy Johnny" Moore, Jackie Opel, Doreen Shaffer, Lester Sterling. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:All previously purchased tickets will be honored. Please check your email used at the time of purchase for more information.
The show schedule will remain with the same with DOORS @ 7pm and SHOW @ 8PM.
Thank you for your understanding.
------
2019 marks the 55th Anniversary of The Skatalites. The original members had played on hundreds of recording sessions before forming the band in 1964. They backed most of the vocalists in Jamaica at that time, including Bob Marley, Toots and The Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, Alton Ellis,Ken Boothe and many more. After disbanding in 1965 the individual members continued playing in various groups as the music evolved from ska to rocksteady to reggae. In the late 70's a resurgence of interest in the music began in the U.K. which caused the creation of many bands such as The Specials, The English Beat, Madness, The Selecter and Bad Manners. This became known as the "Two-Tone era" and these British musicians fused rock music with the ska and reggae. In The early 80's the music started to spread to The U.S.A and other parts of the world and bands began to emerge everywhere playing different flavors of ska and reggae fused with whatever else they wanted to throw in, including hard core , jazz and even punk. In 1983 The Skatalites reunited to play Reggae Sunsplash in Montego Bay and subsequently in London at The Crystal Palace for the U.K version of The Sunsplash event. A few years later they began emigrating to the U.S.A and in 1986 the first US shows began at The Village Gate in NYC. In 1989 the band supported Bunny Wailer on The Liberation Tour and in 1990 they embarked on their first headline tour of The U.S.A. and have not stopped touring the world ever since. The band is available for festivals and also plays in intimate club settings. Their unique infectious brand of real Jamaican ska pleases audiences of all ages across the globe year after year. "We hope you will enjoy listening to our music as much as we enjoy performing it for you. "
Forever indebted to the inspiration and talent of: Roland Alphonso, Lloyd Brevett, Tony DaCosta, Rupert Dillon , Don Drummond, Joseph " Lord Tanamo" Gordon, Jerome "Jah Jerry" Haynes, Lloyd Knibb, Tommy McCook, Donat Roy "Jackie" Mittoo, John " Dizzy Johnny" Moore, Jackie Opel, Doreen Shaffer, Lester Sterling.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191202T230527Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1751 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191207T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191207T223000 UID:085A6512-663B-4768-8C4B-F93CF93724DD SUMMARY:Music and Art Collective with Rising Blue DTSTAMP:20191120T211209Z DESCRIPTION:Come and enjoy this special event as the Music and Art Collective performs their end of the year showcase. These kids have performed at numerous festivals and events throughout the year entertaining crowds with their diverse and eclectic shows. They will perform many of this year's favorite songs with a few surprises thrown in. Our special guests will be Rising Blue, a very talented youth blues band. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Come and enjoy this special event as the Music and Art Collective performs their end of the year showcase. These kids have performed at numerous festivals and events throughout the year entertaining crowds with their diverse and eclectic shows. They will perform many of this year's favorite songs with a few surprises thrown in. Our special guests will be Rising Blue, a very talented youth blues band.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:844 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191210T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191210T233000 UID:1B9D9371-1266-4493-8C05-3F18D25F25EB SUMMARY:The White Buffalo DTSTAMP:20191025T221550Z DESCRIPTION:"I've always taken great pleasure in being difficult to categorize," says the White Buffalo's big-voiced frontman, Jake Smith. Since releasing his first album in 2002, Smith has explored the grey area between genres, carving out a sound rooted in dark folk, countrified soul, cinematic storytelling and roadhouse-worthy rock. He keeps things unclassifiable on the White Buffalo's sixth album, Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights, the most hard-hitting, electrified album of his career.\NAlthough recorded in Smith's hometown of Los Angeles, where he grew up listening to the country twang of George Jones and the pissed-off punk of Bad Religion, Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights looks to the passion and punch of White Buffalo's live shows for inspiration. Smith has been a road warrior for more than a decade, doubling as his own tour manager along the way. Gig after gig, he's built a cult following without a major label's support, boosting his band's international visibility with more than a dozen TV- worthy songs — including the Emmy-nominated "Come Join the Murder" — that were featured on shows like Sons of Anarchy and Californication.\N"I'm kind of an island," he says proudly. "We tour on our own and have built our own fanbase, so the idea with this album was to capture that live feel — the passion that we produce in a stage setting — in a studio performance."Island or not, Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights finds Smith reaching far beyond his own experience for a string of detailed, character-driven songs. Many of these tunes explore the gloomy, dangerous corners of America, spinning stories of sinners, crooks, bad decisions and broken hearts. On "Border Town/Bury Me in Baja," a drug dealer awaits his death at the hands of the Mexican mafia. "Avalon," a desperate, driving anthem worthy of Bruce Springsteen, finds its protagonist "wishing he could flip a switch [and] turn his life around." "Nightstalker Blues" — an amped-up blast of harmonica-filled, guitar-fueled roots rock — revolves around the story of serial killer Richard Ramirez, whose murder spree haunted southern California during the mid-Eighties.\NAs the album's own title promises, though, this is a record about balance. A record about life's ups and downs. "I wanted to hit all the emotional spots," explains Smith, whose voice — a booming, rumbling baritone, with a slight quaver that can sound ominous one minute and warmhearted the next — takes a tender turn during love songs like "Observatory" and "If I Lost My Eyes."\NTogether, Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights offers up the White Buffalo's strongest material to date, doubling down on Smith's strengths while pushing his sound into new territory. Stripped-down folk. Electrified swamp-soul. Heartland rock. Bluesy boogie-woogie. It's all here, tied together by the super-sized vocals and articulate songwriting of a bandleader whose work is sometimes moody, sometimes menacing, but always melodic"My hope is that this album will touch people," he says. "Make people feel. The good, the bad, and the ugly. The darkest darks, and the lightest lights." X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:"I've always taken great pleasure in being difficult to categorize," says the White Buffalo's big-voiced frontman, Jake Smith. Since releasing his first album in 2002, Smith has explored the grey area between genres, carving out a sound rooted in dark folk, countrified soul, cinematic storytelling and roadhouse-worthy rock. He keeps things unclassifiable on the White Buffalo's sixth album, Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights, the most hard-hitting, electrified album of his career.
Although recorded in Smith's hometown of Los Angeles, where he grew up listening to the country twang of George Jones and the pissed-off punk of Bad Religion, Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights looks to the passion and punch of White Buffalo's live shows for inspiration. Smith has been a road warrior for more than a decade, doubling as his own tour manager along the way. Gig after gig, he's built a cult following without a major label's support, boosting his band's international visibility with more than a dozen TV- worthy songs — including the Emmy-nominated "Come Join the Murder" — that were featured on shows like Sons of Anarchy and Californication.
"I'm kind of an island," he says proudly. "We tour on our own and have built our own fanbase, so the idea with this album was to capture that live feel — the passion that we produce in a stage setting — in a studio performance."
Island or not, Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights finds Smith reaching far beyond his own experience for a string of detailed, character-driven songs. Many of these tunes explore the gloomy, dangerous corners of America, spinning stories of sinners, crooks, bad decisions and broken hearts. On "Border Town/Bury Me in Baja," a drug dealer awaits his death at the hands of the Mexican mafia. "Avalon," a desperate, driving anthem worthy of Bruce Springsteen, finds its protagonist "wishing he could flip a switch [and] turn his life around." "Nightstalker Blues" — an amped-up blast of harmonica-filled, guitar-fueled roots rock — revolves around the story of serial killer Richard Ramirez, whose murder spree haunted southern California during the mid-Eighties.
As the album's own title promises, though, this is a record about balance. A record about life's ups and downs. "I wanted to hit all the emotional spots," explains Smith, whose voice — a booming, rumbling baritone, with a slight quaver that can sound ominous one minute and warmhearted the next — takes a tender turn during love songs like "Observatory" and "If I Lost My Eyes."
Together, Darkest Darks, Lightest Lights offers up the White Buffalo's strongest material to date, doubling down on Smith's strengths while pushing his sound into new territory. Stripped-down folk. Electrified swamp-soul. Heartland rock. Bluesy boogie-woogie. It's all here, tied together by the super-sized vocals and articulate songwriting of a bandleader whose work is sometimes moody, sometimes menacing, but always melodic
"My hope is that this album will touch people," he says. "Make people feel. The good, the bad, and the ugly. The darkest darks, and the lightest lights."
Bring the entire family to this all-ages show featuring familiar tunes of the season performed by a collection of Utah's finest rock musicians and vocalists. Celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2019, this annual event is produced by Christmas Jam of Utah and proceeds from every performance benefit local charities. Join us as we welcome familiar faces from our past back to the Christmas Jam stage for an amazing, one-night-only event!
We are excited to be bringing Christmas Jam back to The Commonwealth Room again this year with all-ages seating, full bar, concessions, ample parking, and a TRAX station (21st South) served by all 4 lines literally at their front door! Christmas Jam is proud to be supporting The Road Home and Salt Lake City Toys For Tots for 2019! In addition to performance proceeds, we will be collecting and donating new, unwrapped toys, blankets, and clothing. For each item donated the night of the show, discount vouchers will be given for concessions.*
*(Purchases made at the bar are excluded)
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1968 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20191231T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20191231T233000 UID:DE2FE918-F2CA-4C85-8348-3A0B9E8451F7 SUMMARY:Kitchen Dwellers DTSTAMP:20191018T201112Z DESCRIPTION:MONTANA BLUEGRASS: The Evolution of Galaxy Grass\N“This all started as a series of jam sessions in the kitchen,” says Joe Funk, bassist for the breakout progressive bluegrass band Kitchen Dwellers. “We were getting together to play covers and traditional music and old-time tunes for fun after school, and everything else just really evolved from there.”\NFor Kitchen Dwellers, "everything else,” as Funk so modestly puts it, has been nothing short of remarkable. In the near decade they’ve been together, the Montana-based four-piece has performed for thousands at Red Rocks, shared bills with the likes of Railroad Earth, The Infamous String Dusters, and Twiddle, graced festival stages from Northwest String Summit to WinterWonderGrass, and transcended traditional genre boundaries, blending virtuosic bluegrass wizardry with ecstatic rock and roll energy and adventurous psychedelia. With their spectacular new album, ‘Muir Maid,’ the group has come fully into their own, seamlessly blending the past, present, and future of string band music to create their most daring and collaborative work yet. \N“This is the first record with all four of us contributing to the writing together,” says guitarist Max Davies, “and the songs really reflect that. You can hear each of our different backgrounds and influences in the music, and you can also hear how much we’ve grown in the last few years, both as individuals and as a band.”\NWhile much of that growth can be traced to the group’s relentless tour schedule, they’re also quick to credit the influence of The Infamous Stringdusters’ Chris Pandolfi, who produced ‘Muir Maid’ and helped the band reach new heights in the studio and beyond.\N“We call it The Panda Effect,” says banjo player Torrin Daniels. “Just by hanging out with a musician like Chris, you absorb what he says and how he approaches songs, and all of the sudden you’re a better musician for it.”\N‘Muir Maid’ follows Kitchen Dwellers’ acclaimed 2017 LP, ‘Ghost In The Bottle,’ which was produced by Leftover Salmon’s Andy Thorn and featured a slew of special guests, including Little Feat’s Bill Payne and Greensky Bluegrass’s Anders Beck. Tracks from the record racked up more than a million streams on Spotify and garnered rave reviews across the board, with The Huffington Post hailing the band as “a bluegrass phenomenon” and Relix praising the unique way the group’s songwriting “embrac[es] their love of electronica, metal…and everything in between.”\NWhile those wide-ranging influences might not sound like typical fodder for a bluegrass outfit, they’re essential to Kitchen Dwellers’ eclectic identity. Mandolinist Shawn Swain grew up listening to and performing traditional roots music in Colorado, but his bandmates all come from decidedly different backgrounds: Funk studied classical and jazz as a youngster and cites Metallica among his biggest influences; Daniels spent his youth playing drums and listening to punk and metal before he ever picked up a banjo; and Davies found himself drawn to the intersection of rock and jazz, only stumbling upon bluegrass in middle school when he saw Bela Fleck perform live. \N“The band came along at a pivotal time for each of us,” says Daniels. “Our tastes were changing and we were discovering all kinds of new stuff. Even before we started performing together, we were all going to tons of shows and becoming part of this tight knit musical community out here.”\NWhile the Appalachians may be recognized as the birthplace of bluegrass, the Rockies boast their own vibrant roots scene, and Montana embraced Kitchen Dwellers from the very beginning.\N“Bluegrass started out as music for and by hardworking, rural mountain folks, and that description fits Montanans perfectly,” says Daniels. “You’ve got a be a little tougher to get by out here, which is why I think this music resonates with everybody so much.”\NWhen it came time to cut the new album, Kitchen Dwellers decided to tap into the intoxicating energy of their concerts and record everything live for the first time. They began by holing up in a New Hampshire cabin for a few days of preproduction, working out every detail of the performances and arrangements in advance, and then they headed west to Denver, where they captured the album raw and fast under Pandolfi’s deft direction.\N“Chris isn’t the kind of guy who steers the ship,” says Davies. “He’s the kind of guy who helps guide you to a place you didn’t even know you wanted to go. He has this way of getting you to bear down and dig deeper than you ever realized you could.”\NThat depth is apparent from the outset of ‘Muir Maid,’ with album opener “Shadows” showcasing the band’s dazzling musicianship, airtight harmonies, and transportive storytelling. Like much of the record to come, the track features lightning-fast fretwork and brilliant solos, but far from showing off, the instrumental pyrotechnics here always come in service of the song, a guiding principal for the group. \N“The person who wrote a particular tune isn’t always the one who ends up singing it,” says Davies, who shares vocal duties with his bandmates. “We base every decision off of what’s going to be best for the track, and to me, that’s the true definition of collaboration.”\NWith a title like ‘Muir Maid,’ it should come as little surprise that nature plays an important role on the record. The breezy “Woods Lake” looks back fondly on a life spent outdoors, while the charming “Driftwood” draws on memories of a summer spent kayaking around Alaska, and the rollicking title track pays homage to the boat Funk’s father sailed up the Pacific Northwest coast.\N“That’s the kind of bad-assery we like to celebrate,” says Daniels. “I think we saw a lot of parallels to our own sometimes-harrowing journey in that story, as well.”\NThe trials and tribulations of the road are a frequent theme in Kitchen Dwellers’ songwriting. The jaunty “Broken Cage” spins a cowboy tail of life on the trail, while “The Comet” tackles the challenges of maintaining human connection when you’re always on the move, and the introspective “Phaedrus” takes its title from former Montana State University professor Robert Pirsig’s philosophical road-trip classic ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.’ Perhaps, though, it’s “The Living Dread,” a song with no lyrics at all, that best encapsulates what Kitchen Dwellers are all about.\N“That song is a perfect example of the way our different musical backgrounds can all come together as one,” says Funk. “The intro starts with this electronic dub vibe, and then it goes into a metal-influenced section, and then it turns reggae and moves into bluegrass and works its way back to dub by the end. It showcases everyone’s own little flavor.”\NWhen you’re a band born in the kitchen, flavor is everything. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:MONTANA BLUEGRASS: The Evolution of Galaxy Grass
“This all started as a series of jam sessions in the kitchen,” says Joe Funk, bassist for the breakout progressive bluegrass band Kitchen Dwellers. “We were getting together to play covers and traditional music and old-time tunes for fun after school, and everything else just really evolved from there.”
For Kitchen Dwellers, "everything else,” as Funk so modestly puts it, has been nothing short of remarkable. In the near decade they’ve been together, the Montana-based four-piece has performed for thousands at Red Rocks, shared bills with the likes of Railroad Earth, The Infamous String Dusters, and Twiddle, graced festival stages from Northwest String Summit to WinterWonderGrass, and transcended traditional genre boundaries, blending virtuosic bluegrass wizardry with ecstatic rock and roll energy and adventurous psychedelia. With their spectacular new album, ‘Muir Maid,’ the group has come fully into their own, seamlessly blending the past, present, and future of string band music to create their most daring and collaborative work yet.
“This is the first record with all four of us contributing to the writing together,” says guitarist Max Davies, “and the songs really reflect that. You can hear each of our different backgrounds and influences in the music, and you can also hear how much we’ve grown in the last few years, both as individuals and as a band.”
While much of that growth can be traced to the group’s relentless tour schedule, they’re also quick to credit the influence of The Infamous Stringdusters’ Chris Pandolfi, who produced ‘Muir Maid’ and helped the band reach new heights in the studio and beyond.
“We call it The Panda Effect,” says banjo player Torrin Daniels. “Just by hanging out with a musician like Chris, you absorb what he says and how he approaches songs, and all of the sudden you’re a better musician for it.”
‘Muir Maid’ follows Kitchen Dwellers’ acclaimed 2017 LP, ‘Ghost In The Bottle,’ which was produced by Leftover Salmon’s Andy Thorn and featured a slew of special guests, including Little Feat’s Bill Payne and Greensky Bluegrass’s Anders Beck. Tracks from the record racked up more than a million streams on Spotify and garnered rave reviews across the board, with The Huffington Post hailing the band as “a bluegrass phenomenon” and Relix praising the unique way the group’s songwriting “embrac[es] their love of electronica, metal…and everything in between.”
While those wide-ranging influences might not sound like typical fodder for a bluegrass outfit, they’re essential to Kitchen Dwellers’ eclectic identity. Mandolinist Shawn Swain grew up listening to and performing traditional roots music in Colorado, but his bandmates all come from decidedly different backgrounds: Funk studied classical and jazz as a youngster and cites Metallica among his biggest influences; Daniels spent his youth playing drums and listening to punk and metal before he ever picked up a banjo; and Davies found himself drawn to the intersection of rock and jazz, only stumbling upon bluegrass in middle school when he saw Bela Fleck perform live.
“The band came along at a pivotal time for each of us,” says Daniels. “Our tastes were changing and we were discovering all kinds of new stuff. Even before we started performing together, we were all going to tons of shows and becoming part of this tight knit musical community out here.”
While the Appalachians may be recognized as the birthplace of bluegrass, the Rockies boast their own vibrant roots scene, and Montana embraced Kitchen Dwellers from the very beginning.
“Bluegrass started out as music for and by hardworking, rural mountain folks, and that description fits Montanans perfectly,” says Daniels. “You’ve got a be a little tougher to get by out here, which is why I think this music resonates with everybody so much.”
When it came time to cut the new album, Kitchen Dwellers decided to tap into the intoxicating energy of their concerts and record everything live for the first time. They began by holing up in a New Hampshire cabin for a few days of preproduction, working out every detail of the performances and arrangements in advance, and then they headed west to Denver, where they captured the album raw and fast under Pandolfi’s deft direction.
“Chris isn’t the kind of guy who steers the ship,” says Davies. “He’s the kind of guy who helps guide you to a place you didn’t even know you wanted to go. He has this way of getting you to bear down and dig deeper than you ever realized you could.”
That depth is apparent from the outset of ‘Muir Maid,’ with album opener “Shadows” showcasing the band’s dazzling musicianship, airtight harmonies, and transportive storytelling. Like much of the record to come, the track features lightning-fast fretwork and brilliant solos, but far from showing off, the instrumental pyrotechnics here always come in service of the song, a guiding principal for the group.
“The person who wrote a particular tune isn’t always the one who ends up singing it,” says Davies, who shares vocal duties with his bandmates. “We base every decision off of what’s going to be best for the track, and to me, that’s the true definition of collaboration.”
With a title like ‘Muir Maid,’ it should come as little surprise that nature plays an important role on the record. The breezy “Woods Lake” looks back fondly on a life spent outdoors, while the charming “Driftwood” draws on memories of a summer spent kayaking around Alaska, and the rollicking title track pays homage to the boat Funk’s father sailed up the Pacific Northwest coast.
“That’s the kind of bad-assery we like to celebrate,” says Daniels. “I think we saw a lot of parallels to our own sometimes-harrowing journey in that story, as well.”
The trials and tribulations of the road are a frequent theme in Kitchen Dwellers’ songwriting. The jaunty “Broken Cage” spins a cowboy tail of life on the trail, while “The Comet” tackles the challenges of maintaining human connection when you’re always on the move, and the introspective “Phaedrus” takes its title from former Montana State University professor Robert Pirsig’s philosophical road-trip classic ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.’ Perhaps, though, it’s “The Living Dread,” a song with no lyrics at all, that best encapsulates what Kitchen Dwellers are all about.
“That song is a perfect example of the way our different musical backgrounds can all come together as one,” says Funk. “The intro starts with this electronic dub vibe, and then it goes into a metal-influenced section, and then it turns reggae and moves into bluegrass and works its way back to dub by the end. It showcases everyone’s own little flavor.”
When you’re a band born in the kitchen, flavor is everything.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191211T215428Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:4404 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200102T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200102T233000 UID:183D71F9-FB0C-460A-A7ED-CBD5DDFD9BAD SUMMARY:Cracker & Camper Van Beethoven DTSTAMP:20190930T223310Z DESCRIPTION:Cracker\NCracker‘s tenth studio effort, the double-album entitled Berkeley To Bakersfield, finds this uniquely American band traversing two different sides of the California landscape – the northern Bay area and further down-state in Bakersfield.\NDespite being less than a five-hour drive from city to city, musically, these two regions couldn’t be further apart from one another. In the late ‘70s and ‘80s a harder-edged style of rock music emerged from the Bay area, while Bakersfield is renowned for its own iconic twangy country music popularized, most famously, by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Yet despite these differences, they are both elements that Cracker’s two cofounders, David Lowery and Johnny Hickman, have embraced to some degree on nearly every one of their studio albums over the last two decades. On Berkeley To Bakersfield, however, instead of integrating these two genres together within one disc, they’ve neatly compartmentalized them onto their own respective regionally-titled LPs.\NAs Lowery explains, “On the Berkeley disc the band is the original Cracker lineup – Davey Faragher, Michael Urbano, Johnny and myself. This is the first time this lineup has recorded together in almost 20 years. We began recording this album at East Bay Recorders in Berkeley, CA. For this reason we chose to stylistically focus this disc on the music we most associate with the East Bay: Punk and Garage with some funky undertones. To further match our sense of place we often took an overtly political tone in the lyrics.”\N“This Bakersfield disc represents the ‘California country’ side of the band. Throughout the band’s 24-year history we’ve dabbled in Country and Americana but this time we wanted to pay homage to the particular strain of Country and Country-Rock music that emerges from the inland valleys of California.”\NCracker has been described as a lot of things over the years: alt-rock, Americana, insurgent-country, and have even had the terms punk and classic-rock thrown at them. But more than anything Cracker are survivors. Cofounders Lowery and Hickman have been at it for almost a quarter of a century – amassing ten studio albums, multiple gold records, thousands of live performances, hit songs that are still in current radio rotation around the globe (“Low,” “Euro-Trash Girl,” “Get Off This” and “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me” to name just a few), and a worldwide fan base – that despite the major sea-changes within the music industry – continues to grow each year. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Cracker‘s tenth studio effort, the double-album entitled Berkeley To Bakersfield, finds this uniquely American band traversing two different sides of the California landscape – the northern Bay area and further down-state in Bakersfield.
Despite being less than a five-hour drive from city to city, musically, these two regions couldn’t be further apart from one another. In the late ‘70s and ‘80s a harder-edged style of rock music emerged from the Bay area, while Bakersfield is renowned for its own iconic twangy country music popularized, most famously, by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Yet despite these differences, they are both elements that Cracker’s two cofounders, David Lowery and Johnny Hickman, have embraced to some degree on nearly every one of their studio albums over the last two decades. On Berkeley To Bakersfield, however, instead of integrating these two genres together within one disc, they’ve neatly compartmentalized them onto their own respective regionally-titled LPs.
As Lowery explains, “On the Berkeley disc the band is the original Cracker lineup – Davey Faragher, Michael Urbano, Johnny and myself. This is the first time this lineup has recorded together in almost 20 years. We began recording this album at East Bay Recorders in Berkeley, CA. For this reason we chose to stylistically focus this disc on the music we most associate with the East Bay: Punk and Garage with some funky undertones. To further match our sense of place we often took an overtly political tone in the lyrics.”
“This Bakersfield disc represents the ‘California country’ side of the band. Throughout the band’s 24-year history we’ve dabbled in Country and Americana but this time we wanted to pay homage to the particular strain of Country and Country-Rock music that emerges from the inland valleys of California.”
Cracker has been described as a lot of things over the years: alt-rock, Americana, insurgent-country, and have even had the terms punk and classic-rock thrown at them. But more than anything Cracker are survivors. Cofounders Lowery and Hickman have been at it for almost a quarter of a century – amassing ten studio albums, multiple gold records, thousands of live performances, hit songs that are still in current radio rotation around the globe (“Low,” “Euro-Trash Girl,” “Get Off This” and “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me” to name just a few), and a worldwide fan base – that despite the major sea-changes within the music industry – continues to grow each year.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191209T203902Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3289 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200117T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200117T233000 UID:901B2A49-8814-4D17-B99F-E1D135166F39 SUMMARY:The Motet DTSTAMP:20191114T222842Z DESCRIPTION:Throughout history, unity starts on the dancefloor. From ancient tribal cultures to neon night clubs, beats bring bodies together. Once grinding and grooving in unison, the movement generates friction, sparks, and light. That might just be the purest form of energy on the planet. The Motet harness such energy on their ninth full-length, Death or Devotion. In fact, the Denver septet—Dave Watts [drums], Joey Porter [keys], Garrett Sayers [bass], Ryan Jalbert [guitar], Lyle Divinsky [vocals], Drew Sayers [sax], and Parris Fleming [trumpet]—encode a message in their energetic mélange of boisterous badass funk, swaggering soul, and thought-provoking pop.\NIn the process, they challenge convention and arrive with a dynamic, diverse, and definitive statement.\N“The essence is always going to be the groove, but we wanted to expand the idea of what a funk album could be,” says Lyle. “Of course, you want a driving backbeat. However, with the division that’s going on in this country and the world, I think it’s every artist’s responsibility to create a conversation. That conversation doesn’t have to be political either. It can be about love or an introspective journey. I think the commentary should be on what it’s like to be alive today. By drawing on funk, we create a fun, palatable musical vehicle for the message to go down. Our goal is for you to recognize we’re all dancing on the same dance floor—even though our steps may look a little different.”\NDeath or Devotion earmarks an important point in the band’s own journey. Since emerging in 1998, the boys have cooked up eight full-length albums and entranced countless crowds. 2016’s Totem saw them welcome Lyle behind the mic and Drew on sax. Shortly after, they kicked off what has become an annual tradition by selling out the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater for the first time. “It was my six-month anniversary and first show for a hometown crowd,” recalls Lyle. “I’ve got 10,000 people looking at me like, ‘Who the hell is that?’,” he laughs.\NThat night would be chronicled on the fan favorite Live at Red Rocks. In the meantime, the group maintained a prolific pace of 100 shows per year in support of Totem. Along the way, The Motet started recording Death or Devotion during intermittent sessions at Scanhope Sound in 2017.\NFor the first time, Lyle, Drew, and Parris (who joined in 2018) worked on a Motet record together from start-to-finish.\N“On Totem, the train was already moving, and I was just a train hopper,” says Lyle. “Drew, Parris, and I came onboard within the same year. Now, we’re all bringing our pieces to the puzzle. For me, I brought that R&B style. Funk is the common ground, but the music is a result of different inspirations: namely Drew’s hip-hop and reggae knowledge, Ryan’s psychedelic jamming, Dave with the worldbeat, Joey with his encyclopedic understanding of punk, and Garrett being the best bass player to exist. We found a really cool balance between the funkiness and songs that challenge your emotional headspace more than typical pop.”\NThe first single “That Dream” showcases the myriad of musical flavors from all seven members. Clean palm-muted guitars bristle against a swaggering beat as the horns enliven each verse, while a vocal call-and-response relays a head-spinning tale.“I took a nap, and I had the craziest dream I’ve ever had,” he recalls. “In the dream, I’m heartbroken from a nonexistent relationship, so I go out to a bar. I get seduced by this beautiful woman who serves me a glass of wine with poison. I wake up handcuffed and she’s stealing from me and torturing me. It was so dark, but I woke up and thought, ‘That would be a crazy subject to write a party song about!’”\NElsewhere, “Highly Compatible” hinges on an unshakable riff and raucous refrain upheld by sizzling sax. “It’s like that beautiful moment of falling in love where you recognize something as supremely real-life magic,” Lyle goes. “Harry Potter couldn’t conjure a better spell. It’s the magnetic nature of the chemistry. We captured that chemical recognition.”\NFrom the infectious hooks of “Contagious” to the instrumental fireworks on “Speed of Light,” The Motet ultimately propose an important question at the heart of Death Or Devotion.\N“What are you going to bring to yourself and the world?”, Lyle leaves off. “Are you going to bring death, or are you going to bring devotion? The choice is yours. When you listen to this record, I’d love for you to walk away feeling a little bit more connected, whether it be to yourself, to your friends, or to your community. Being able to drop all of the vision for a minute, be present, smile, and dance reminds us we’re all going through this together.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Throughout history, unity starts on the dancefloor. From ancient tribal cultures to neon night clubs, beats bring bodies together. Once grinding and grooving in unison, the movement generates friction, sparks, and light. That might just be the purest form of energy on the planet. The Motet harness such energy on their ninth full-length, Death or Devotion. In fact, the Denver septet—Dave Watts [drums], Joey Porter [keys], Garrett Sayers [bass], Ryan Jalbert [guitar], Lyle Divinsky [vocals], Drew Sayers [sax], and Parris Fleming [trumpet]—encode a message in their energetic mélange of boisterous badass funk, swaggering soul, and thought-provoking pop.
In the process, they challenge convention and arrive with a dynamic, diverse, and definitive statement.
“The essence is always going to be the groove, but we wanted to expand the idea of what a funk album could be,” says Lyle. “Of course, you want a driving backbeat. However, with the division that’s going on in this country and the world, I think it’s every artist’s responsibility to create a conversation. That conversation doesn’t have to be political either. It can be about love or an introspective journey. I think the commentary should be on what it’s like to be alive today. By drawing on funk, we create a fun, palatable musical vehicle for the message to go down. Our goal is for you to recognize we’re all dancing on the same dance floor—even though our steps may look a little different.”
Death or Devotion earmarks an important point in the band’s own journey. Since emerging in 1998, the boys have cooked up eight full-length albums and entranced countless crowds. 2016’s Totem saw them welcome Lyle behind the mic and Drew on sax. Shortly after, they kicked off what has become an annual tradition by selling out the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater for the first time. “It was my six-month anniversary and first show for a hometown crowd,” recalls Lyle. “I’ve got 10,000 people looking at me like, ‘Who the hell is that?’,” he laughs.
That night would be chronicled on the fan favorite Live at Red Rocks. In the meantime, the group maintained a prolific pace of 100 shows per year in support of Totem. Along the way, The Motet started recording Death or Devotion during intermittent sessions at Scanhope Sound in 2017.
For the first time, Lyle, Drew, and Parris (who joined in 2018) worked on a Motet record together from start-to-finish.
“On Totem, the train was already moving, and I was just a train hopper,” says Lyle.
“Drew, Parris, and I came onboard within the same year. Now, we’re all bringing our pieces to the puzzle. For me, I brought that R&B style. Funk is the common ground, but the music is a result of different inspirations: namely Drew’s hip-hop and reggae knowledge, Ryan’s psychedelic jamming, Dave with the worldbeat, Joey with his encyclopedic understanding of punk, and Garrett being the best bass player to exist. We found a really cool balance between the funkiness and songs that challenge your emotional headspace more than typical pop.”
The first single “That Dream” showcases the myriad of musical flavors from all seven members. Clean palm-muted guitars bristle against a swaggering beat as the horns enliven each verse, while a vocal call-and-response relays a head-spinning tale.
“I took a nap, and I had the craziest dream I’ve ever had,” he recalls. “In the dream, I’m heartbroken from a nonexistent relationship, so I go out to a bar. I get seduced by this beautiful woman who serves me a glass of wine with poison. I wake up handcuffed and she’s stealing from me and torturing me. It was so dark, but I woke up and thought, ‘That would be a crazy subject to write a party song about!’”
Elsewhere, “Highly Compatible” hinges on an unshakable riff and raucous refrain upheld by sizzling sax. “It’s like that beautiful moment of falling in love where you recognize something as supremely real-life magic,” Lyle goes. “Harry Potter couldn’t conjure a better spell. It’s the magnetic nature of the chemistry. We captured that chemical recognition.”
From the infectious hooks of “Contagious” to the instrumental fireworks on “Speed of Light,” The Motet ultimately propose an important question at the heart of Death Or Devotion.
“What are you going to bring to yourself and the world?”, Lyle leaves off. “Are you going to bring death, or are you going to bring devotion? The choice is yours. When you listen to this record, I’d love for you to walk away feeling a little bit more connected, whether it be to yourself, to your friends, or to your community. Being able to drop all of the vision for a minute, be present, smile, and dance reminds us we’re all going through this together.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200106T022210Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1886 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200118T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200118T233000 UID:7618AC09-F761-456B-872C-AE01BD872F56 SUMMARY:Shooter Jennings DTSTAMP:20191018T191140Z DESCRIPTION:For nearly two decades, Shooter Jennings has defied expectations while constantly expanding the parameters of country, rock ‘n’ roll, and beyond. The scion of American music royalty, he has affirmed his own place in histories still to come as a truly limitless artist whose ambitious experimentation spans myriad genres and creative platforms, from releasing seven solo LPs, countless EPs, and founding his own label and multimedia outlet, Black Country Rock, to hosting his “Shooter Jennings’ Electric Rodeo” on Sirius XM’s Outlaw Country channel, producing music by Jamey Johnson, Wanda Jackson, and his mom, Jessi Colter, and the creation of acclaimed BBS Door games (available via his own BCRGames.com).\NEver the outlaw, Jennings has now crafted what might well be his most truly idiosyncratic work thus far, SHOOTER. Produced by longtime friend and collaborator, Low Country Sound founder Dave Cobb, at the renowned RCA Studio A on Nashville’s Music Row, the album sees Jennings staking out a fairly straightforward goal: to simply make a great country record. It should be noted, Jennings’ last studio album was a genuinely visionary tribute to Giorgio Moroder so in some ways, making a straight up country record is as much of a left turn as anything else in his brilliantly mercurial career thus far. But with songs like “Fast Horses & Good Hideouts” or the raucous “I’m Wild & My Woman Is Crazy,” Jennings more than affirms his mission by returning to country’s original, if oft misplaced, mandate: singing songs about growing up and getting older, about going out and getting trashed. In short, making music for real people with real lives. With SHOOTER, Jennings truly puts his own mark on country music, living up to his extraordinary birthright with unparalleled passion, experience, and heart.\N“I think that’s why I was so excited to do this now,” he says. “This record is almost a re-centering for me. I wanted to do something straight and simple. It was almost like recalibrating a firearm. Every once in a while you realize you’re shooting wild so you have to stop and recalibrate.”\NJennings’ decade-plus relationship with the GRAMMY® Award-winning Cobb extends all the way back to 2005 and his first trio of solo albums, a landmark series of records in which they tried to “stretch the boundaries of what was acceptable on a country record” by adding elements like electronics, psychedelic guitars, and Shooter’s distinctly modern point of view. SHOOTER – which marks their first full length effort together since 2010’s psychedelic metal concept album, BLACK RIBBONS – turns that experimental approach on its head by stripping the country sound bare to its bones to reveal the genre’s hot blood and hard muscle.\N“I called Dave and said, Everyone is taking the adventurous route we took on my first records but nobody is making records like Hank Williams Jr.,” Jennings says. “Just classic good time honky tonk. I want to do that. I want to make a slammin’ country record. I want to make the best country record for right now. He said, ‘I’m in. Come down to Nashville and let’s record that record.’”\NIndeed, Jennings had just recorded a complex concept album – as yet unreleased – touching on death and the seemingly abrupt changes in the world over past few years and was already set to reunite with Cobb to co-produce of Brandi Carlile’s critically hailed 2018 studio album, BY THE WAY, I FORGIVE YOU. Though raised in Nashville, Jennings has spent the past two decades residing in Los Angeles and admits to having little taste for contemporary Music City’s hard hustle and hipster bustle. With his own peace of mind in mind, he opted to stay with a dear friend from childhood in Springfield, TN, 30 minutes drive from Music Row.\N‘”To me, I was still in L.A.,” Jennings says. “I was only in Nashville because Dave’s a good friend and we work really well together. I wasn’t interested in taking a Nashville state of mind with this record. The label wanted to put me up in a hotel but I said no, I’m going to stay with my friend and his wife. And y’know, it was the right scenario to make this record. It made everything so focused. It let me stay really centered with who I am.”\NSHOOTER stakes its claim as classic country right from the jump, kicking off with the brass-fueled boogie-woogie of “Bound Ta Git Down” (though admittedly, few if any country LPs start with a high-energy honky tonk tune referencing weed, Guns n’ Roses, and Jennings’ good pal, Marilyn Manson). Jennings’ hard-fought clarity and determined honesty can be heard throughout the record, on songs like the tender “Love In A Minor Key” – which he first recorded for 2014’s George Jones tribute EP, DON’T WAIT UP (FOR GEORGE) – and “Rhinestone Eyes,” a heartfelt paean to his wife, Misty. In addition to the “bunch of songs” written at home before heading to Nashville, much of SHOOTER – including highlights like “Denim & Diamonds” and the Lone Star anthem, “Do You Love Texas?” – were co-written by Jennings and Cobb in the studio, “on the spot.”\N“We’re still able to go in and get giddy and excited over creating together,” Jennings says. “Making music and then me writing lyrics. Just these real honest moments of creativity.”\NSHOOTER further features songs co-written with a number of other collaborators. The rowdy, rousing “D.R.U.N.K.” was penned with Nashville songwriter Aaron Ratiere, the first time Jennings admits to any success with a traditional co-write. Elsewhere, “Fast Horses & Good Hideouts” sees Jennings and Cobb sharing a credit with iconoclastic character actor Randy Quaid.\N“We’d been corresponding for a while,” Jennings says. “I was trying to get him and his wife on my radio show, but nothing ever came of it. Then I asked him about one of the YouTube videos they made of him reading out of the Bible, I wanted to play it on the Christmas episode. He wrote back, saying I’d fulfilled this lifelong dream of his to read the Gospel on the radio, and he signed it, ‘Here’s to fast horses and good hideouts.’ I thought, fuck, that would make a great song! So then I went and wrote it.”\NIn June 2017, Jennings and Cobb united a crack line-up of old friends and session legends to join them in the studio, including drummer Chris Powell (Jamey Johnson, Sturgill Simpson), bassist Brian Allen (Rich Robinson, Robben Ford) trumpeter Ben Clark & saxophonist Nate Heffron (Anderson East, Spock’s Beard), legendary steel guitar player Fred Newell (Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson), backing vocalists Bekka Bramlett & Kristen Rogers, and on lead guitar, Leroy Powell, formerly of Jennings’ original backing combo, The .357s.\N“Leroy and I had a falling out years ago,” Jennings says, “but we patched it up really quickly. We were all young back then, young and lost, so to have him come around and play on this record meant a whole lot.”\NAs if that incredible cast weren’t enough, SHOOTER also features a posse of special guests answering the musical question, “Do You Love Texas?,” with an affirmative “Hell yeah!,” including Ray Benson, Jason Boland, Kris Kristofferson, Kacey Musgraves, Whiskey Myers, and Randy Rogers.\N“We were mixing the record when Harvey hit down there,” Jennings says. “Dave had the idea of releasing that song early to raise money for the Rebuild Texas Fund. Then we thought how could we bring in even more money so Dave and I wrote to a bunch of our friends asking if they could give is a ‘Hell yeah’ and it all came together really quickly. The miracle of the Internet let us pull it all off in just one day.”\NWith his encyclopedic knowledge of music history, Jennings is well aware that self-titling an LP usually means one of two things: either the record is exceptionally personal or the artist is flat out of ideas. Suffice to say, Shooter Jennings is not an out-of-ideas kind of guy. The power and passion that rings through SHOOTER make the answer resoundingly clear.\N“It’s a very honest record,” Jennings says. “There are no magic tricks. It’s really stuff that’s from the heart; it really encapsulates a lot of the styles I’ve done across all my records. Dave said, ‘Can’t we just call it SHOOTER?’ I said, I love that. Let’s just call it SHOOTER.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:For nearly two decades, Shooter Jennings has defied expectations while constantly expanding the parameters of country, rock ‘n’ roll, and beyond. The scion of American music royalty, he has affirmed his own place in histories still to come as a truly limitless artist whose ambitious experimentation spans myriad genres and creative platforms, from releasing seven solo LPs, countless EPs, and founding his own label and multimedia outlet, Black Country Rock, to hosting his “Shooter Jennings’ Electric Rodeo” on Sirius XM’s Outlaw Country channel, producing music by Jamey Johnson, Wanda Jackson, and his mom, Jessi Colter, and the creation of acclaimed BBS Door games (available via his own BCRGames.com).
Ever the outlaw, Jennings has now crafted what might well be his most truly idiosyncratic work thus far, SHOOTER. Produced by longtime friend and collaborator, Low Country Sound founder Dave Cobb, at the renowned RCA Studio A on Nashville’s Music Row, the album sees Jennings staking out a fairly straightforward goal: to simply make a great country record. It should be noted, Jennings’ last studio album was a genuinely visionary tribute to Giorgio Moroder so in some ways, making a straight up country record is as much of a left turn as anything else in his brilliantly mercurial career thus far. But with songs like “Fast Horses & Good Hideouts” or the raucous “I’m Wild & My Woman Is Crazy,” Jennings more than affirms his mission by returning to country’s original, if oft misplaced, mandate: singing songs about growing up and getting older, about going out and getting trashed. In short, making music for real people with real lives. With SHOOTER, Jennings truly puts his own mark on country music, living up to his extraordinary birthright with unparalleled passion, experience, and heart.
“I think that’s why I was so excited to do this now,” he says. “This record is almost a re-centering for me. I wanted to do something straight and simple. It was almost like recalibrating a firearm. Every once in a while you realize you’re shooting wild so you have to stop and recalibrate.”
Jennings’ decade-plus relationship with the GRAMMY® Award-winning Cobb extends all the way back to 2005 and his first trio of solo albums, a landmark series of records in which they tried to “stretch the boundaries of what was acceptable on a country record” by adding elements like electronics, psychedelic guitars, and Shooter’s distinctly modern point of view. SHOOTER – which marks their first full length effort together since 2010’s psychedelic metal concept album, BLACK RIBBONS – turns that experimental approach on its head by stripping the country sound bare to its bones to reveal the genre’s hot blood and hard muscle.
“I called Dave and said, Everyone is taking the adventurous route we took on my first records but nobody is making records like Hank Williams Jr.,” Jennings says. “Just classic good time honky tonk. I want to do that. I want to make a slammin’ country record. I want to make the best country record for right now. He said, ‘I’m in. Come down to Nashville and let’s record that record.’”
Indeed, Jennings had just recorded a complex concept album – as yet unreleased – touching on death and the seemingly abrupt changes in the world over past few years and was already set to reunite with Cobb to co-produce of Brandi Carlile’s critically hailed 2018 studio album, BY THE WAY, I FORGIVE YOU. Though raised in Nashville, Jennings has spent the past two decades residing in Los Angeles and admits to having little taste for contemporary Music City’s hard hustle and hipster bustle. With his own peace of mind in mind, he opted to stay with a dear friend from childhood in Springfield, TN, 30 minutes drive from Music Row.
‘”To me, I was still in L.A.,” Jennings says. “I was only in Nashville because Dave’s a good friend and we work really well together. I wasn’t interested in taking a Nashville state of mind with this record. The label wanted to put me up in a hotel but I said no, I’m going to stay with my friend and his wife. And y’know, it was the right scenario to make this record. It made everything so focused. It let me stay really centered with who I am.”
SHOOTER stakes its claim as classic country right from the jump, kicking off with the brass-fueled boogie-woogie of “Bound Ta Git Down” (though admittedly, few if any country LPs start with a high-energy honky tonk tune referencing weed, Guns n’ Roses, and Jennings’ good pal, Marilyn Manson). Jennings’ hard-fought clarity and determined honesty can be heard throughout the record, on songs like the tender “Love In A Minor Key” – which he first recorded for 2014’s George Jones tribute EP, DON’T WAIT UP (FOR GEORGE) – and “Rhinestone Eyes,” a heartfelt paean to his wife, Misty. In addition to the “bunch of songs” written at home before heading to Nashville, much of SHOOTER – including highlights like “Denim & Diamonds” and the Lone Star anthem, “Do You Love Texas?” – were co-written by Jennings and Cobb in the studio, “on the spot.”
“We’re still able to go in and get giddy and excited over creating together,” Jennings says. “Making music and then me writing lyrics. Just these real honest moments of creativity.”
SHOOTER further features songs co-written with a number of other collaborators. The rowdy, rousing “D.R.U.N.K.” was penned with Nashville songwriter Aaron Ratiere, the first time Jennings admits to any success with a traditional co-write. Elsewhere, “Fast Horses & Good Hideouts” sees Jennings and Cobb sharing a credit with iconoclastic character actor Randy Quaid.
“We’d been corresponding for a while,” Jennings says. “I was trying to get him and his wife on my radio show, but nothing ever came of it. Then I asked him about one of the YouTube videos they made of him reading out of the Bible, I wanted to play it on the Christmas episode. He wrote back, saying I’d fulfilled this lifelong dream of his to read the Gospel on the radio, and he signed it, ‘Here’s to fast horses and good hideouts.’ I thought, fuck, that would make a great song! So then I went and wrote it.”
In June 2017, Jennings and Cobb united a crack line-up of old friends and session legends to join them in the studio, including drummer Chris Powell (Jamey Johnson, Sturgill Simpson), bassist Brian Allen (Rich Robinson, Robben Ford) trumpeter Ben Clark & saxophonist Nate Heffron (Anderson East, Spock’s Beard), legendary steel guitar player Fred Newell (Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson), backing vocalists Bekka Bramlett & Kristen Rogers, and on lead guitar, Leroy Powell, formerly of Jennings’ original backing combo, The .357s.
“Leroy and I had a falling out years ago,” Jennings says, “but we patched it up really quickly. We were all young back then, young and lost, so to have him come around and play on this record meant a whole lot.”
As if that incredible cast weren’t enough, SHOOTER also features a posse of special guests answering the musical question, “Do You Love Texas?,” with an affirmative “Hell yeah!,” including Ray Benson, Jason Boland, Kris Kristofferson, Kacey Musgraves, Whiskey Myers, and Randy Rogers.
“We were mixing the record when Harvey hit down there,” Jennings says. “Dave had the idea of releasing that song early to raise money for the Rebuild Texas Fund. Then we thought how could we bring in even more money so Dave and I wrote to a bunch of our friends asking if they could give is a ‘Hell yeah’ and it all came together really quickly. The miracle of the Internet let us pull it all off in just one day.”
With his encyclopedic knowledge of music history, Jennings is well aware that self-titling an LP usually means one of two things: either the record is exceptionally personal or the artist is flat out of ideas. Suffice to say, Shooter Jennings is not an out-of-ideas kind of guy. The power and passion that rings through SHOOTER make the answer resoundingly clear.
“It’s a very honest record,” Jennings says. “There are no magic tricks. It’s really stuff that’s from the heart; it really encapsulates a lot of the styles I’ve done across all my records. Dave said, ‘Can’t we just call it SHOOTER?’ I said, I love that. Let’s just call it SHOOTER.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191206T215411Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3157 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200125T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200125T233000 UID:28B53BF6-6A1D-44C1-BD80-222CDD666738 SUMMARY:The Wailers DTSTAMP:20191107T190950Z DESCRIPTION: \NThe legendary Wailers continue their quest to bring reggae to the forefront of the world's stage. Led by renowned bassist and founder Aston "Familyman" Barrett, and joined by original Wailers guitarist Donald Kinsey, The Wailers give audiences around the globe the opportunity to experience their unique and innovative sound. From 1972 to 1980, Bob Marley & The Wailers recorded, toured, and performed before countless millions worldwide. Since 1981, Familyman has carried on the mission to "keep The Wailers together" - just as Bob requested.\NIn tribute to the late co-founder and drummer Carlton “Carly” Barrett, The Wailers present Familyman’s multi-talented son, Aston Barrett Jr. It’s startling to witness how the young powerhouse delivers with his uncle’s inspiring landmark “one drop” drumming style. Also on stage is polished background singer Shema McGregor, daughter of I Three singer Judy Mowatt and Reggae pioneer Freddie McGregor.\NAccompanying the legends and children-of-legends on stage are many other talented musicians: bass guitarist Owen “Dreadie” Reid, a former student of Familyman who also plays bass with Julian Marley’s Uprising band; front man Joshua David Barrett, Rastaman by lifestyle and culture, who delivers Bob’s powerful message of Jah love and unity through his performance and interaction with the audience; Andres Lopez on keyboards, who has performed with artists such as Alborosie, Lutan Fyah, and Anthony B.; and Anne-Marie Thompson, an experienced gospel singer. FOH/Sound engineer is Christian Cowlin, a Wailers Band veteran who has traveled the world with The Wailers for more than 20 years and who is responsible for the band’s live sound.\NSince Bob Marley’s untimely passing in 1981, Familyman vowed to keep a promise he made to his leader and friend – that he would hold the band together and maintain the music’s quality, to “keep me [Bob Marley] alive through music.” The message is still Burnin’, the Exodus of Jah people continues, Uprising and Survival remain the call to fans. The incomparable Wailers are coming to Babylon by Bus, to rock the stage, to bring the magic and message of Roots Rasta Reggae. It’s a Rastaman Vibration: a slice of music history you must not miss. Legend. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:
The legendary Wailers continue their quest to bring reggae to the forefront of the world's stage. Led by renowned bassist and founder Aston "Familyman" Barrett, and joined by original Wailers guitarist Donald Kinsey, The Wailers give audiences around the globe the opportunity to experience their unique and innovative sound. From 1972 to 1980, Bob Marley & The Wailers recorded, toured, and performed before countless millions worldwide. Since 1981, Familyman has carried on the mission to "keep The Wailers together" - just as Bob requested.
In tribute to the late co-founder and drummer Carlton “Carly” Barrett, The Wailers present Familyman’s multi-talented son, Aston Barrett Jr. It’s startling to witness how the young powerhouse delivers with his uncle’s inspiring landmark “one drop” drumming style. Also on stage is polished background singer Shema McGregor, daughter of I Three singer Judy Mowatt and Reggae pioneer Freddie McGregor.
Accompanying the legends and children-of-legends on stage are many other talented musicians: bass guitarist Owen “Dreadie” Reid, a former student of Familyman who also plays bass with Julian Marley’s Uprising band; front man Joshua David Barrett, Rastaman by lifestyle and culture, who delivers Bob’s powerful message of Jah love and unity through his performance and interaction with the audience; Andres Lopez on keyboards, who has performed with artists such as Alborosie, Lutan Fyah, and Anthony B.; and Anne-Marie Thompson, an experienced gospel singer. FOH/Sound engineer is Christian Cowlin, a Wailers Band veteran who has traveled the world with The Wailers for more than 20 years and who is responsible for the band’s live sound.
Since Bob Marley’s untimely passing in 1981, Familyman vowed to keep a promise he made to his leader and friend – that he would hold the band together and maintain the music’s quality, to “keep me [Bob Marley] alive through music.” The message is still Burnin’, the Exodus of Jah people continues, Uprising and Survival remain the call to fans. The incomparable Wailers are coming to Babylon by Bus, to rock the stage, to bring the magic and message of Roots Rasta Reggae. It’s a Rastaman Vibration: a slice of music history you must not miss. Legend.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191209T204553Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2899 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200128T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200128T233000 UID:936CCA6D-69CD-4F8C-94F6-25DC9ED498E7 SUMMARY:Sons of Apollo DTSTAMP:20190813T203406Z DESCRIPTION:Due to high demand, this show has been moved to The Commonwealth Room. All purchased tickets will be honored INCLUDING reserved seats.\NSONS OF APOLLO: The new supergroup featuring members of Dream Theater, Mr. Big, Guns ‘N Roses, and Journey.\NIn early 2017, rumors began circulating about a new secret project including former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian. Finally, on August 1st, the duo revealed the details to the rest of the world, introducing their new band, SONS OF APOLLO. Reuniting to form SONS OF APOLLO, Portnoy and Sherinian join forces with guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-Guns N’ Roses), bassist Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) and vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force). Their debut album, Psychotic Symphony, was released on October 20 via InsideOutMusic/Sony Music.\NPsychotic Symphony was produced by the dynamic production duo of Portnoy and Sherinian, also affectionately known as “The Del Fuvio Brothers,” the nickname given to them over 20 years ago during their time together in Dream Theater.\NSONS OF APOLLO formed very organically, its seeds planted with a predecessor group, as Portnoy explains: “Derek and I reunited shortly after I left Dream Theater in 2010 and we put together an all-instrumental touring band with Billy Sheehan and Tony MacAlpine. That was my first time working with Derek since the ‘90s when he was in Dream Theater, and it was just great to be working with him again. Ever since that tour, which was really just a one-off live thing, he has been nudging me to start a real, original, full-time band. The timing just had never been right, because I had too many other things on my plate. Long story short, the time was finally right to take the bait and put together a band.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:SONS OF APOLLO: The new supergroup featuring members of Dream Theater, Mr. Big, Guns ‘N Roses, and Journey.
In early 2017, rumors began circulating about a new secret project including former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian. Finally, on August 1st, the duo revealed the details to the rest of the world, introducing their new band, SONS OF APOLLO. Reuniting to form SONS OF APOLLO, Portnoy and Sherinian join forces with guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-Guns N’ Roses), bassist Billy Sheehan (The Winery Dogs, Mr. Big, David Lee Roth) and vocalist Jeff Scott Soto (ex-Journey, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force). Their debut album, Psychotic Symphony, was released on October 20 via InsideOutMusic/Sony Music.
Psychotic Symphony was produced by the dynamic production duo of Portnoy and Sherinian, also affectionately known as “The Del Fuvio Brothers,” the nickname given to them over 20 years ago during their time together in Dream Theater.
SONS OF APOLLO formed very organically, its seeds planted with a predecessor group, as Portnoy explains: “Derek and I reunited shortly after I left Dream Theater in 2010 and we put together an all-instrumental touring band with Billy Sheehan and Tony MacAlpine. That was my first time working with Derek since the ‘90s when he was in Dream Theater, and it was just great to be working with him again. Ever since that tour, which was really just a one-off live thing, he has been nudging me to start a real, original, full-time band. The timing just had never been right, because I had too many other things on my plate. Long story short, the time was finally right to take the bait and put together a band.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200123T192331Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3280 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200129T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200129T233000 UID:02DBE796-CE19-4FA0-BB5C-95B5952B00D3 SUMMARY:Mike Gordon DTSTAMP:20190908T174051Z DESCRIPTION:Mike Gordon (bassist and co-founder of the seminal improvisational rock band Phish) returns with his band in support of new album, OGOGO. The album was produced by GRAMMY Award winning Shawn Everett (producer behind the boards for a slew of critically-lauded releases—this year alone for The War on Drugs, Grizzly Bear, Broken Social Scene, Perfume Genius, among others). Gordon's five-piece band includes Scott Murawski, Robert Walter (Greyboy Allstars), John Kimock, and Craig Myers. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Mike Gordon (bassist and co-founder of the seminal improvisational rock band Phish) returns with his band in support of new album, OGOGO. The album was produced by GRAMMY Award winning Shawn Everett (producer behind the boards for a slew of critically-lauded releases—this year alone for The War on Drugs, Grizzly Bear, Broken Social Scene, Perfume Genius, among others). Gordon's five-piece band includes Scott Murawski, Robert Walter (Greyboy Allstars), John Kimock, and Craig Myers.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200129T195625Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:4550 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200201T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200201T233000 UID:E529C2C1-495F-469D-AD9D-BBB2C1133834 SUMMARY:Whitey Morgan DTSTAMP:20191203T191843Z DESCRIPTION:Whitey Morgan and the 78's anticipated new album, self-produced by Morgan, was recorded in the Neve Room at famed Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas. Featured on the record are collaborations with acclaimed songwriters Travis Meadows and Ward Davis plus a cover of ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid." Alongside Morgan, the 78's consist of Brett Robinson (pedal steel guitar), Joey Spina (guitar), Alex Lyon (bass) and Eric Savage (drums).\NOf the recording, Morgan shares, "It's not like my vision happened overnight. I've been chipping away at it forever. It's slowly evolving and it's going in a little bit different direction. It's not so straightforward anymore. This record definitely has a wider path, it's broader, but it still sounds like a Whitey Morgan record." With grandparents from Tennessee and Kentucky and hometown roots in Flint, Michigan, Morgan's family geography has factored into his approach to music.\NIn a career spanning 15 years, Morgan has released five studio albums and a live recording from his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Additionally, he has toured relentlessly averaging over 125 shows annually. Rolling Stone has described him as a "Waylon Jennings acolyte.. modern day outlaw [with a] hard hitting blue-collar brand of music" while NPR Music hailed, "Staying close to the sound and subject matter of classic outlaw artists like Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and David Allan Coe, Morgan is poised to lead this hand-worn brand of country to the next generation." His most recent LP, Sonic Ranch (2015), was released to critical acclaim and praised by Detroit Free Press as, "a bold well-crafted album that doesn't forsake the gritty undercurrent running through Morgan's stuff." X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Whitey Morgan and the 78's anticipated new album, self-produced by Morgan, was recorded in the Neve Room at famed Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas. Featured on the record are collaborations with acclaimed songwriters Travis Meadows and Ward Davis plus a cover of ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid." Alongside Morgan, the 78's consist of Brett Robinson (pedal steel guitar), Joey Spina (guitar), Alex Lyon (bass) and Eric Savage (drums).
Of the recording, Morgan shares, "It's not like my vision happened overnight. I've been chipping away at it forever. It's slowly evolving and it's going in a little bit different direction. It's not so straightforward anymore. This record definitely has a wider path, it's broader, but it still sounds like a Whitey Morgan record." With grandparents from Tennessee and Kentucky and hometown roots in Flint, Michigan, Morgan's family geography has factored into his approach to music.
In a career spanning 15 years, Morgan has released five studio albums and a live recording from his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Additionally, he has toured relentlessly averaging over 125 shows annually. Rolling Stone has described him as a "Waylon Jennings acolyte.. modern day outlaw [with a] hard hitting blue-collar brand of music" while NPR Music hailed, "Staying close to the sound and subject matter of classic outlaw artists like Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and David Allan Coe, Morgan is poised to lead this hand-worn brand of country to the next generation." His most recent LP, Sonic Ranch (2015), was released to critical acclaim and praised by Detroit Free Press as, "a bold well-crafted album that doesn't forsake the gritty undercurrent running through Morgan's stuff."
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200130T165804Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2519 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200208T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200208T233000 UID:43840FE9-9D47-4785-A079-EB4E8DBD4BBD SUMMARY:BoomBox DTSTAMP:20191111T231242Z DESCRIPTION:A little house, a little blues, a little funk, a little rock, and a whole lot of soul blast through BoomBox.\NSince first emerging in 2004, founder, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Zion Rock Godchaux has been quietly seasoning and simmering this recipe to perfection. However, it reaches a boiling point on his 2018 album, Western Voodoo.\NAt the same time, the Muscle Shoals, AL native stays true to what attracted countless fans in the first place.\N“I remain open to anything you would hear coming out of a boombox,” he explains. “There are a lot of different vibes and angles, but it still adheres to a universal rhythm. This new record is the most musical and varied, yet it’s tightly wound in respect to that syncopation. There are only a few rules. It should be heavy groove. It should make you want to move. Overall, I’ve further developed the sound people are used to.”\N“You hear about different forms of magic around the world,” he goes on. “The West, in general, has its own voodoo influenced by the blues. That’s what shaped me as a musician growing up in this country. It’s hard to put in the words, but you know it when you hear it.”\NYou hear it in everything that BoomBox has done thus far. Over the course of five albums, the group has become a streaming favorite with numerous tracks cracking a million plays on Spotify. Moreover, they’ve made audiences groove everywhere from Electric Forest and Hangout Music Festival to High Sierra Music Festival and Red Rocks.\NIn the end, the new music kicks off the brightest and boldest chapter yet for Godchaux. “Our best side is somewhat medicinal,” he leaves off. “All of the rhythms, melodies, and frequencies add up to these healing properties. I hope people feel rejuvenated and re-focused on some level when they hear us. That’s Western Voodoo.”\NIn the spring of 2019 Zion enlisted his “brother from the same mother” Kinsman MacKay to embark on BoomBox’s most exciting configuration to date. “There’s a special kind of chemistry between two brothers playing music together,” Zion explains. “Since 2003 we’d get together and make tracks just for fun, and realized we had a strong connection in the studio.” The two always knew they would work on a project together someday, and when the doors opened up logistically in 2019, it was the natural move for the brothers to take form as BoomBox. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:A little house, a little blues, a little funk, a little rock, and a whole lot of soul blast through BoomBox.
Since first emerging in 2004, founder, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Zion Rock Godchaux has been quietly seasoning and simmering this recipe to perfection. However, it reaches a boiling point on his 2018 album, Western Voodoo.
At the same time, the Muscle Shoals, AL native stays true to what attracted countless fans in the first place.
“I remain open to anything you would hear coming out of a boombox,” he explains. “There are a lot of different vibes and angles, but it still adheres to a universal rhythm. This new record is the most musical and varied, yet it’s tightly wound in respect to that syncopation. There are only a few rules. It should be heavy groove. It should make you want to move. Overall, I’ve further developed the sound people are used to.”
“You hear about different forms of magic around the world,” he goes on. “The West, in general, has its own voodoo influenced by the blues. That’s what shaped me as a musician growing up in this country. It’s hard to put in the words, but you know it when you hear it.”
You hear it in everything that BoomBox has done thus far. Over the course of five albums, the group has become a streaming favorite with numerous tracks cracking a million plays on Spotify. Moreover, they’ve made audiences groove everywhere from Electric Forest and Hangout Music Festival to High Sierra Music Festival and Red Rocks.
In the end, the new music kicks off the brightest and boldest chapter yet for Godchaux. “Our best side is somewhat medicinal,” he leaves off. “All of the rhythms, melodies, and frequencies add up to these healing properties. I hope people feel rejuvenated and re-focused on some level when they hear us. That’s Western Voodoo.”
In the spring of 2019 Zion enlisted his “brother from the same mother” Kinsman MacKay to embark on BoomBox’s most exciting configuration to date. “There’s a special kind of chemistry between two brothers playing music together,” Zion explains. “Since 2003 we’d get together and make tracks just for fun, and realized we had a strong connection in the studio.” The two always knew they would work on a project together someday, and when the doors opened up logistically in 2019, it was the natural move for the brothers to take form as BoomBox.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191114T180225Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2055 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200218T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200218T233000 UID:49B3041E-23E2-4DBF-B0DF-9968E3ED801D SUMMARY:Murder by Death DTSTAMP:20190930T213833Z DESCRIPTION:Cult-indie band Murder By Death is hitting the road this winter to celebrate 20 years since their first show. Setlists each night will be curated by fans and the band will be playing songs from all 8 records in their catalog. Every ticket comes with a free zine at the show, looking back at the last 20 years of MBD. Don't miss this chance to sing along, stomp your boots, and sip your favorite libations in celebration. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Cult-indie band Murder By Death is hitting the road this winter to celebrate 20 years since their first show.
Setlists each night will be curated by fans and the band will be playing songs from all 8 records in their catalog. Every ticket comes with a free zine at the show, looking back at the last 20 years of MBD. Don't miss this chance to sing along, stomp your boots, and sip your favorite libations in celebration.
Dweezil Zappa and his “rocking teenage combo” will be performing his father’s entire Hot Rats album in sequence live on stage as part of his upcoming 2019 tour.
The album played a pivotal role in establishing Frank Zappa as a composer and guitarist and was also dedicated to Dweezil upon its release in 1969.
The 50-year-old classic album will be surrounded by an assortment of other psychedelic, avant-garde odd-metered toe-tappers well known to Zappa aficionados. Don’t miss out on Dweezil Zappa’s DNA audio stage recreation of Hot Rats and other “Hot Stuff”!
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191029T201216Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2857 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200226T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200226T233000 UID:0F80E960-8C62-4713-93BA-9695976B368C SUMMARY:Hot Tuna Electric Featuring David Bromberg Quintet DTSTAMP:20191018T183506Z DESCRIPTION:The name Hot Tuna invokes as many different moods and reactions as there are Hot Tuna fans — millions of them. To some, Hot Tuna is a reminder of some wild and happy times. To others, that name will forever be linked to their own discovery of the power and depth of American blues and roots music. To newer fans, Hot Tuna is a tight, masterful duo that is on the cutting edge of great music.\NAll of those things are correct, and more. For more than four decades, Hot Tuna has played, toured, and recorded some of the best and most memorable acoustic and electric music ever. And Hot Tuna is still going strong — some would say stronger than ever.\NThe two kids from 1950s Washington, D.C. knew that they wanted to make music. Jorma Kaukonen, son of a State Department official, and Jack Casady, whose father was a dentist, discovered guitar when they were teenagers (Jack, four years younger, barely so). They played, and they took in the vast panorama of music available in the nation’s capital, but found a special love of the blues, country, and jazz played in small clubs.\NJorma went off to college, while Jack sat in with professional bands and combos before he was even old enough to drive, first playing lead guitar, then electric bass.\NIn the mid-1960s Jorma was invited to play in a rock‘n’roll band that was forming in San Francisco; he knew just the guy to play bass and summoned his old friend from back east. The striking signature guitar and bass riffs in the now-legendary songs by the Jefferson Airplane were the result.\NThe half-decade foray into 1960s San Francisco rock music was for Jack and Jorma an additional destination, not the final one. They continued to play their acoustic blues on the side, sometimes performing a mini-concert amid a Jefferson Airplane performance, sometimes finding a gig afterwards in some local club. They were, as Jack says, “Scouting, always scouting, for places where we could play.”\NThe duo did not go unnoticed and soon there was a record contract and not long afterwards a tour. Thus began a career that would result in more than two-dozen albums, thousands of concerts around the world, and continued popularity.\NHot Tuna has gone through changes, certainly. A variety of other instruments, from harmonica to fiddle to keyboards, have been part of the band over the years, and continue to be, varying from project to project. The constant, the very definition of Hot Tuna, has always been Jorma and Jack.\NThe two are not joined at the hip, though; through the years both Jorma and Jack have undertaken projects with other musicians and solo projects of their own. But Hot Tuna has never broken up, never ceased to exist, nor have the two boyhood pals ever wavered in one of the most enduring friendships in music.\NAlong the way, they have been joined by a succession of talented musicians: Drummers, harmonica players, keyboardists, backup singers, violinists and more, all fitting with Jorma and Jack’s current place in the musical spectrum. Jorma and Jack certainly could not have imagined, let alone predicted, where the playing would take them. It’s been a long and fascinating road to numerous, exciting destinations. Two things have never changed: They still love playing as much as they did as kids in Washington, D.C. and there are still many, many exciting miles yet to travel on their musical odyssey. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The name Hot Tuna invokes as many different moods and reactions as there are Hot Tuna fans — millions of them. To some, Hot Tuna is a reminder of some wild and happy times. To others, that name will forever be linked to their own discovery of the power and depth of American blues and roots music. To newer fans, Hot Tuna is a tight, masterful duo that is on the cutting edge of great music.
All of those things are correct, and more. For more than four decades, Hot Tuna has played, toured, and recorded some of the best and most memorable acoustic and electric music ever. And Hot Tuna is still going strong — some would say stronger than ever.
The two kids from 1950s Washington, D.C. knew that they wanted to make music. Jorma Kaukonen, son of a State Department official, and Jack Casady, whose father was a dentist, discovered guitar when they were teenagers (Jack, four years younger, barely so). They played, and they took in the vast panorama of music available in the nation’s capital, but found a special love of the blues, country, and jazz played in small clubs.
Jorma went off to college, while Jack sat in with professional bands and combos before he was even old enough to drive, first playing lead guitar, then electric bass.
In the mid-1960s Jorma was invited to play in a rock‘n’roll band that was forming in San Francisco; he knew just the guy to play bass and summoned his old friend from back east. The striking signature guitar and bass riffs in the now-legendary songs by the Jefferson Airplane were the result.
The half-decade foray into 1960s San Francisco rock music was for Jack and Jorma an additional destination, not the final one. They continued to play their acoustic blues on the side, sometimes performing a mini-concert amid a Jefferson Airplane performance, sometimes finding a gig afterwards in some local club. They were, as Jack says, “Scouting, always scouting, for places where we could play.”
The duo did not go unnoticed and soon there was a record contract and not long afterwards a tour. Thus began a career that would result in more than two-dozen albums, thousands of concerts around the world, and continued popularity.
Hot Tuna has gone through changes, certainly. A variety of other instruments, from harmonica to fiddle to keyboards, have been part of the band over the years, and continue to be, varying from project to project. The constant, the very definition of Hot Tuna, has always been Jorma and Jack.
The two are not joined at the hip, though; through the years both Jorma and Jack have undertaken projects with other musicians and solo projects of their own. But Hot Tuna has never broken up, never ceased to exist, nor have the two boyhood pals ever wavered in one of the most enduring friendships in music.
Along the way, they have been joined by a succession of talented musicians: Drummers, harmonica players, keyboardists, backup singers, violinists and more, all fitting with Jorma and Jack’s current place in the musical spectrum. Jorma and Jack certainly could not have imagined, let alone predicted, where the playing would take them. It’s been a long and fascinating road to numerous, exciting destinations. Two things have never changed: They still love playing as much as they did as kids in Washington, D.C. and there are still many, many exciting miles yet to travel on their musical odyssey.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20191101T220626Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2863 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200227T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200227T233000 UID:C892E428-B1BA-4766-AE30-B221AE7F4CDD SUMMARY:Antibalas DTSTAMP:20191118T194629Z DESCRIPTION:It’s hard to believe that more than twenty years have passed since Antibalas’s humble beginning as a neighborhood dance / protest band in the block parties and underground parties in pre-gentrified Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Over the past two decades they have evolved into what The Guardian called “one of the world’s finest Afrobeat bands” while enjoying equal renown for their cross-genre collaborations with legends of popular music. With a heavy balance of experience and new blood, the group leaps into 2020 with their new Daptone Records full-length “Fu Chronicles.”\NFounded in 1998 by saxophonist Martín Perna, early incarnations of the group included several members of The Dap-Kings including bassist / producer Gabriel Roth, guitarist Binky Griptite, keyboardist Victor Axelrod, conguero Fernando “Bugaloo Velez,” and trumpeter Anda Szilagyi. As the group expanded, it absorbed younger musicians from the Daptone family including bassist Nick Movshon (El Michels, Black Keys) and other musical natives and transplants from downtown Manhattan and North Brooklyn music scenes.\NIn 1999, Perna and Roth dropped in at an atelier / dojo belonging to Duke Amayo. They invited him to a neighborhood concert and then reached out to him later as an emergency substitute for a show. Amayo soon became a fixture in the group, first on percussion, then later on vocals, vibraphone, and keyboards and moving to center stage as the group’s frontman and creating the Afro-Spot, the band’s headquarters as well as the home of the first Daptone Records studio.\NOver the next few years, the band performed several times a month throughout NYC at the Afro-Spot, at benefits, lofts, block parties, and at their Lower Manhattan weekly residency called “Africalia” with regular appearances by friends including Sharon Jones, Lee Fields, and The Sugarman Three. After their second release, “Talkatif” (2002, Ninja Tune), the group began touring heavily throughout North America and Europe including performances at Glastonbury, Montreux Jazz Festival, Coachella, Bonnaroo, and the Newport Jazz Festival. Over the years, expanded their travels to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South America, and most recently, Hong Kong.\NIn the late 2000s, after nearly ten years of road touring, Antibalas was chosen by choreographer Bill T Jones, to serve as the band for the Tony-award winning Broadway musical “Fela.” Around the same time, the band began to draw the attention of the Roots. The two groups joined with Public Enemy to perform a live version of the entire “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back” at the 2009 Roots Picnic as well as the Red Bull Battle of the Bands, as well as numerous guest appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.\NAntibalas has also served as the house band for several star-studded tribute shows at Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theater paying tribute to the music of Aretha Franklin, David Byrne, Paul Simon, and Billie Holiday, backing dozens including Allen Toussaint, Cee Lo Green, Sharon Jones, Santigold, and Angelique Kidjo.\NOver the years, different members have traded production and composition duties from album to album. On the new album—“Fu Chronicles”—Amayo leads us through a thrilling sonic journey of kung fu meets Afrobeat, weaving together the strands of Edo and Yoruba cultural memory from Nigeria with his training and study in Chinese martial arts.\NRecorded in the Summer of 2018, over seventeen musicians and singers crammed into the storied Daptone House of Soul in Bushwick to record the massive body of work. With live versions and arrangements stretching up to thirty minutes, Perna, Amayo, and Roth worked tirelessly to preserve the hypnotic power of the long-form live arrangements into six concise and powerful album tracks.\N“Fu Chronicles” will be the eighth studio album from Antibalas, who have been releasing music over four decades; Liberation Afro Beat Vol. 1 (1999), Talkatif (2002), Who Is This America? (2004), Security (2007), Government Magic (2011), Antibalas (2012), Where the Gods are In Peace (2017), Fu Chronicles (2020) X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:It’s hard to believe that more than twenty years have passed since Antibalas’s humble beginning as a neighborhood dance / protest band in the block parties and underground parties in pre-gentrified Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Over the past two decades they have evolved into what The Guardian called “one of the world’s finest Afrobeat bands” while enjoying equal renown for their cross-genre collaborations with legends of popular music. With a heavy balance of experience and new blood, the group leaps into 2020 with their new Daptone Records full-length “Fu Chronicles.”
Founded in 1998 by saxophonist Martín Perna, early incarnations of the group included several members of The Dap-Kings including bassist / producer Gabriel Roth, guitarist Binky Griptite, keyboardist Victor Axelrod, conguero Fernando “Bugaloo Velez,” and trumpeter Anda Szilagyi. As the group expanded, it absorbed younger musicians from the Daptone family including bassist Nick Movshon (El Michels, Black Keys) and other musical natives and transplants from downtown Manhattan and North Brooklyn music scenes.
In 1999, Perna and Roth dropped in at an atelier / dojo belonging to Duke Amayo. They invited him to a neighborhood concert and then reached out to him later as an emergency substitute for a show. Amayo soon became a fixture in the group, first on percussion, then later on vocals, vibraphone, and keyboards and moving to center stage as the group’s frontman and creating the Afro-Spot, the band’s headquarters as well as the home of the first Daptone Records studio.
Over the next few years, the band performed several times a month throughout NYC at the Afro-Spot, at benefits, lofts, block parties, and at their Lower Manhattan weekly residency called “Africalia” with regular appearances by friends including Sharon Jones, Lee Fields, and The Sugarman Three. After their second release, “Talkatif” (2002, Ninja Tune), the group began touring heavily throughout North America and Europe including performances at Glastonbury, Montreux Jazz Festival, Coachella, Bonnaroo, and the Newport Jazz Festival. Over the years, expanded their travels to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South America, and most recently, Hong Kong.
In the late 2000s, after nearly ten years of road touring, Antibalas was chosen by choreographer Bill T Jones, to serve as the band for the Tony-award winning Broadway musical “Fela.” Around the same time, the band began to draw the attention of the Roots. The two groups joined with Public Enemy to perform a live version of the entire “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back” at the 2009 Roots Picnic as well as the Red Bull Battle of the Bands, as well as numerous guest appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Antibalas has also served as the house band for several star-studded tribute shows at Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theater paying tribute to the music of Aretha Franklin, David Byrne, Paul Simon, and Billie Holiday, backing dozens including Allen Toussaint, Cee Lo Green, Sharon Jones, Santigold, and Angelique Kidjo.
Over the years, different members have traded production and composition duties from album to album. On the new album—“Fu Chronicles”—Amayo leads us through a thrilling sonic journey of kung fu meets Afrobeat, weaving together the strands of Edo and Yoruba cultural memory from Nigeria with his training and study in Chinese martial arts.
Recorded in the Summer of 2018, over seventeen musicians and singers crammed into the storied Daptone House of Soul in Bushwick to record the massive body of work. With live versions and arrangements stretching up to thirty minutes, Perna, Amayo, and Roth worked tirelessly to preserve the hypnotic power of the long-form live arrangements into six concise and powerful album tracks.
“Fu Chronicles” will be the eighth studio album from Antibalas, who have been releasing music over four decades; Liberation Afro Beat Vol. 1 (1999), Talkatif (2002), Who Is This America? (2004), Security (2007), Government Magic (2011), Antibalas (2012), Where the Gods are In Peace (2017), Fu Chronicles (2020)
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200213T232121Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2334 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200228T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200228T233000 UID:F97CD49F-A2D7-4CC5-A0F6-FCBB61650BEB SUMMARY:Pigeons Playing Ping Pong DTSTAMP:20191115T200726Z DESCRIPTION:In the past two years alone, psych-funk trailblazers Pigeons Playing Ping Pong have co-billed at Red Rocks, played halftime at Madison Square Garden, performed on Adult Swim’s FishCenter Live, celebrated the tenth anniversary of their beloved Domefest, and even earned their first headline arena show. What’s the secret to their success? Let’s just call it “bird of mouth.” “Our fans call themselves The Flock,” says guitarist/vocalist Greg Ormont, “and they’ve created one of the biggest, most active fan communities on the internet. Everything we do is for them, so it’s been unbelievably rewarding to watch them grow with us on this amazing journey.” Hailed as “musical explorers” by Rolling Stone, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong first took flight roughly a decade ago at the University of Maryland, and the band has since gone on to play more than a thousand shows across 44 states. Fueled by a relentless work ethic and an ecstatic sound, the fun-loving four-piece built their reputation on epic, blissed-out concerts blending infectious funk grooves with psychedelic jams and intoxicating energy. Glide called them “a band that melts faces and pulls no punches,” while Relix praised the group as “joyous” and “dance-worthy,” and Jambase described them simply as a “powerhouse.” Acting as their own independent label, the Baltimore-based quartet has released four studio albums (including their widely-acclaimed 2017 record, Pizazz) and racked up more than twenty million streams on Spotify. They’ve quickly become festival favorites, too, performing everywhere from Bonnaroo to Electric Forest to Jazz Fest and welcoming top-tier sit-ins along the way from Marcus King and Karl Denson along with members of Vulfpeck, The Revivalists, Umphrey's McGee and The String Cheese Incident among others. This fall, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong—Ormont, fellow guitarist Jeremy Schon, bassist Ben Carrey, and drummer Alex “Gator” Petropulos—will return to the road for some of their biggest headline shows yet in the run-up to their New Year’s Eve extravaganza at ExploreAsheville.com Arena in North Carolina. “I think everything boils down to the live show for us,” says Ormont. “We really don’t hold back when it comes to sharing how happy and excited we are to be onstage, and that lets the audience know that it’s okay to show how much fun they’re having, too. We embrace the excitement and enthusiasm of our live concert experience with hopes of generating the kind of positivity we wish to see in the world all the time.”\NWhen they’re not on the road, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong can almost always be found in their practice space or in the studio, writing and recording a near-constant flow of fresh material. The band’s explosive new single, “King Kong,” offers a sneak peek of what they’ve been up to lately, with lightspeed guitar work and funky horns anchored by a rock-solid rhythm section and wry, playful lyrics. It’s a big, bold sound for a band going big, bold places. “We started doing this for fun in a college dorm room,” reflects Ormont. “Now we get to do it for fun in theaters and arenas across the country!”\NWho knows where the fun will lead next? For Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and their Flock, the sky’s the limit.\N \NPigeons Playing Ping Pong are partnering with Backline to donate $1 from every ticket sold to support their mission of being the music industry’s mental health & wellness resource hub.\NLearn more at www.backline.care X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:In the past two years alone, psych-funk trailblazers Pigeons Playing Ping Pong have co-billed at Red Rocks, played halftime at Madison Square Garden, performed on Adult Swim’s FishCenter Live, celebrated the tenth anniversary of their beloved Domefest, and even earned their first headline arena show. What’s the secret to their success? Let’s just call it “bird of mouth.”
“Our fans call themselves The Flock,” says guitarist/vocalist Greg Ormont, “and they’ve created one of the biggest, most active fan communities on the internet. Everything we do is for them, so it’s been unbelievably rewarding to watch them grow with us on this amazing journey.”
Hailed as “musical explorers” by Rolling Stone, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong first took flight roughly a decade ago at the University of Maryland, and the band has since gone on to play more than a thousand shows across 44 states. Fueled by a relentless work ethic and an ecstatic sound, the fun-loving four-piece built their reputation on epic, blissed-out concerts blending infectious funk grooves with psychedelic jams and intoxicating energy. Glide called them “a band that melts faces and pulls no punches,” while Relix praised the group as “joyous” and “dance-worthy,” and Jambase described them simply as a “powerhouse.” Acting as their own independent label, the Baltimore-based quartet has released four studio albums (including their widely-acclaimed 2017 record, Pizazz) and racked up more than twenty million streams on Spotify. They’ve quickly become festival favorites, too, performing everywhere from Bonnaroo to Electric Forest to Jazz Fest and welcoming top-tier sit-ins along the way from Marcus King and Karl Denson along with members of Vulfpeck, The Revivalists, Umphrey's McGee and The String Cheese Incident among others. This fall, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong—Ormont, fellow guitarist Jeremy Schon, bassist Ben Carrey, and drummer Alex “Gator” Petropulos—will return to the road for some of their biggest headline shows yet in the run-up to their New Year’s Eve extravaganza at ExploreAsheville.com Arena in North Carolina.
“I think everything boils down to the live show for us,” says Ormont. “We really don’t hold back when it comes to sharing how happy and excited we are to be onstage, and that lets the audience know that it’s okay to show how much fun they’re having, too. We embrace the excitement and enthusiasm of our live concert experience with hopes of generating the kind of positivity we wish to see in the world all the time.”
When they’re not on the road, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong can almost always be found in their practice space or in the studio, writing and recording a near-constant flow of fresh material. The band’s explosive new single, “King Kong,” offers a sneak peek of what they’ve been up to lately, with lightspeed guitar work and funky horns anchored by a rock-solid rhythm section and wry, playful lyrics. It’s a big, bold sound for a band going big, bold places.
“We started doing this for fun in a college dorm room,” reflects Ormont. “Now we get to do it for fun in theaters and arenas across the country!”
Who knows where the fun will lead next? For Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and their Flock, the sky’s the limit.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong are partnering with Backline to donate $1 from every ticket sold to support their mission of being the music industry’s mental health & wellness resource hub.
Learn more at www.backline.care
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200227T181502Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1983 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200306T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200306T233000 UID:8CF1F880-8666-4A76-ACBF-F4066ECFE6AE SUMMARY:The Lone Bellow – Half Moon Light Tour DTSTAMP:20191021T175850Z DESCRIPTION:I want it to bring comfort,” The Lone Bellow guitarist Brian Elmquist says. “But it’s not all hard conversations. There’s a lot of light and some dancing that needs to happen.” Brian is reflecting on Half Moon Light, the band’s highly anticipated new album.\NHalf Moon Light is an artistic triumph worked toward for years, earned not by individual posturing, but by collective determination and natural growth. With earthy three-part harmonies and songwriting as provocative as it is honest, the trio made up of Brian, lead vocalist Zach Williams, and multi-instrumentalist Kanene Donehey Pipkin creates sparks that make a stranger’s life matter or bring our sense of childlike wonder roaring back. On Half Moon Light, The Lone Bellow mix light and dark to muster a complex ode to memory, a call for hope, and an exercise in empathy. Anchored in the acoustic storytelling that first so endeared the band to fans and critics, Half Moon Light also takes more chances, experimenting with textures and instrumental fillips to create a full-bodied music experience. The result is The Lone Bellow’s most sophisticated work to date.\N“We try to invite as many people into the process to see what we can make together,” Brian says. “I like that spirit and that freedom. Then, the songs speak for themselves.”\NThat wholehearted embrace of collaboration defines Half Moon Light. The record marks a return to recording in New York with Aaron Dessner, whom the band counts as both a hero and a friend. “We already had a friendship with Aaron and a strong, shared understanding of our musical vision,” Zach says. “It’s really important to us to be a part of a community of musicians. We like that way of making something. Aaron showed us a new way of trusting. His idea of bringing in Josh Kaufman and J.T. Bates was such a beautiful gift. The meekness that these friends brought to the table was something that we will never forget. A sense of controlled fury. Lightning in a shoebox.”\N“Aaron has a powerful quietness about him,” Kanene says. “A lot of people I meet in the music industry have lots of bravado, and it’s something I have trouble believing. Aaron doesn’t have that. He is a joy to work with. A true friend.”\NFor the first time, the band stayed where they recorded, sequestered from the world at Aaron’s studio in upstate New York. They fell asleep at night to the sound of coyotes howling and felt the freedom to fall into rabbit holes that would have otherwise been left unexplored. “We made this record in a place of joy with our friends. We were trying to do something bigger than ourselves,” says Brian. “I think we’ve been wanting to make this record for a while now. It just hasn’t come together as perfectly as it did this time.”\NA lone piano launches into a hymn as the album’s intro track. The pianist is Zach’s grandmother, playing at the funeral of her husband of 64 years––Zach’s grandfather. The hymn returns as an interlude and outro, underscoring The Lone Bellow’s intention for 12 songs to be experienced together, as an album.\NWonder––feeling it, losing it, finding it again––underpins the entire record. Pulsing with the trio’s signature harmonies, the track “Wonder” is a loving call to reclaim the childlike awe and appreciation age takes away. Zach pulled from vivid childhood memories to craft the song, which transports listeners to moments of breathlessness experienced in the everyday: cheap coffee, backroad car rides, pine-tree views, and powerful songs.\NJubilant “I Can Feel You Dancing” rolls into a cathartic celebration. The song pays tribute to “lionhearted” free spirits with horns and soaring vocals. With a winking jungle beat, “Good Times” tells tales Zach has collected over the years. “Some stories were told on a boat I worked on in the Caribbean in the middle of the night. Some were in old Irish pubs in Manhattan. Some were in backyards down in my hometown. Some were in a hospital bed,” Zach says. “I wanted to shine light on the fact that there are still people living with beauty and reckless abandonment.” Delivered over intimate acoustic guitar and hushed backing instrumentation, “Enemies” is a self-contained call and response that reconnects life-defining moments with the frustrating or tenuous present that threatens to snuff out the magic.\NLead single “Count On Me” reminds us to lean on one another with soul-shouting intensity. Praise for deep friendships pops up again and again throughout the album: “Friends” celebrates the relationships forged after years together in the trenches––with a musical swagger that nods to David Byrne and Tom Petty.\NKanene takes the lead on tour-de-force “Just Enough to Get By.” Her inimitable voice––capable of grit and smoothness––pushes through line after line with steely purpose. The performance would saunter were it not for the rage bubbling underneath. Kanene wrote the song about her mother, who was raped at 19, then sent away to have the baby that resulted. When she returned home, she never spoke of what had happened until 40 years later, when Kanene’s half-sister––the baby––found them. “I’ve met my half-sister many times. She’s wonderful and lovely and an amazing story of something never being too broken to be fixed. But my mom had to work through the trauma,” Kanene says. “This song was me putting myself in my mom’s place, releasing a lot of complex emotions. Anger is definitely one of them. Hurt, frustration, sadness. We all have experiences that could be better if we could talk about them, but we keep them hidden.”\NAlbum standout “Illegal Immigrant” also features Kanene’s vocals. Brian took the lead writing the song, which tells the true story of a mother and child separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. The chorus’s “I promised I’d find you, wherever you are, wherever you are / Here I am” is equal parts haunting, heartbreaking, and reassuring––and the unfiltered words actually spoken by the immigrant mother into a press conference microphone. Kanene sings with weighty restraint––like a parent burying their own terror so they can be their child’s rock. “I was trying to tell her story the best I could,” Brian says. “I wanted to keep myself as far out of the equation as I could and just try to connect––to help find some compassion.”\NBrian also penned “Wash It Clean,” which both Zach and Kanene point to as a favorite. Lilting with guitar and harmonica, the song is a letter to Brian’s dad, who passed away suddenly last year. The two had a strained relationship, and Brian spent years trying to find some common ground. They did, and then two months later, his dad was gone. The band recorded the song on the one-year anniversary of Brian’s father’s death, without Brian even realizing it at the time. “I feel like that means he was here––or in me,” Brian says. “Working really hard to find understanding was probably one of the greatest gifts and lessons of my whole life.”\NThe stories behind the songs matter––but they aren’t what matters most. In the end, The Lone Bellow’s music needs no explanation. Just listening offers a salve and a shelter. “In my own perfect little world, I would be able to put the music out and not talk about it––just, Here. Bye. See you next time,” Zach says, then laughs softly. “I do hope someone will find this music in a peaceful moment when they can turn it on and get lost in the story and the sound.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:I want it to bring comfort,” The Lone Bellow guitarist Brian Elmquist says. “But it’s not all hard conversations. There’s a lot of light and some dancing that needs to happen.” Brian is reflecting on Half Moon Light, the band’s highly anticipated new album.
Half Moon Light is an artistic triumph worked toward for years, earned not by individual posturing, but by collective determination and natural growth. With earthy three-part harmonies and songwriting as provocative as it is honest, the trio made up of Brian, lead vocalist Zach Williams, and multi-instrumentalist Kanene Donehey Pipkin creates sparks that make a stranger’s life matter or bring our sense of childlike wonder roaring back. On Half Moon Light, The Lone Bellow mix light and dark to muster a complex ode to memory, a call for hope, and an exercise in empathy. Anchored in the acoustic storytelling that first so endeared the band to fans and critics, Half Moon Light also takes more chances, experimenting with textures and instrumental fillips to create a full-bodied music experience. The result is The Lone Bellow’s most sophisticated work to date.
“We try to invite as many people into the process to see what we can make together,” Brian says. “I like that spirit and that freedom. Then, the songs speak for themselves.”
That wholehearted embrace of collaboration defines Half Moon Light. The record marks a return to recording in New York with Aaron Dessner, whom the band counts as both a hero and a friend. “We already had a friendship with Aaron and a strong, shared understanding of our musical vision,” Zach says. “It’s really important to us to be a part of a community of musicians. We like that way of making something. Aaron showed us a new way of trusting. His idea of bringing in Josh Kaufman and J.T. Bates was such a beautiful gift. The meekness that these friends brought to the table was something that we will never forget. A sense of controlled fury. Lightning in a shoebox.”
“Aaron has a powerful quietness about him,” Kanene says. “A lot of people I meet in the music industry have lots of bravado, and it’s something I have trouble believing. Aaron doesn’t have that. He is a joy to work with. A true friend.”
For the first time, the band stayed where they recorded, sequestered from the world at Aaron’s studio in upstate New York. They fell asleep at night to the sound of coyotes howling and felt the freedom to fall into rabbit holes that would have otherwise been left unexplored. “We made this record in a place of joy with our friends. We were trying to do something bigger than ourselves,” says Brian. “I think we’ve been wanting to make this record for a while now. It just hasn’t come together as perfectly as it did this time.”
A lone piano launches into a hymn as the album’s intro track. The pianist is Zach’s grandmother, playing at the funeral of her husband of 64 years––Zach’s grandfather. The hymn returns as an interlude and outro, underscoring The Lone Bellow’s intention for 12 songs to be experienced together, as an album.
Wonder––feeling it, losing it, finding it again––underpins the entire record. Pulsing with the trio’s signature harmonies, the track “Wonder” is a loving call to reclaim the childlike awe and appreciation age takes away. Zach pulled from vivid childhood memories to craft the song, which transports listeners to moments of breathlessness experienced in the everyday: cheap coffee, backroad car rides, pine-tree views, and powerful songs.
Jubilant “I Can Feel You Dancing” rolls into a cathartic celebration. The song pays tribute to “lionhearted” free spirits with horns and soaring vocals. With a winking jungle beat, “Good Times” tells tales Zach has collected over the years. “Some stories were told on a boat I worked on in the Caribbean in the middle of the night. Some were in old Irish pubs in Manhattan. Some were in backyards down in my hometown. Some were in a hospital bed,” Zach says. “I wanted to shine light on the fact that there are still people living with beauty and reckless abandonment.” Delivered over intimate acoustic guitar and hushed backing instrumentation, “Enemies” is a self-contained call and response that reconnects life-defining moments with the frustrating or tenuous present that threatens to snuff out the magic.
Lead single “Count On Me” reminds us to lean on one another with soul-shouting intensity. Praise for deep friendships pops up again and again throughout the album: “Friends” celebrates the relationships forged after years together in the trenches––with a musical swagger that nods to David Byrne and Tom Petty.
Kanene takes the lead on tour-de-force “Just Enough to Get By.” Her inimitable voice––capable of grit and smoothness––pushes through line after line with steely purpose. The performance would saunter were it not for the rage bubbling underneath. Kanene wrote the song about her mother, who was raped at 19, then sent away to have the baby that resulted. When she returned home, she never spoke of what had happened until 40 years later, when Kanene’s half-sister––the baby––found them. “I’ve met my half-sister many times. She’s wonderful and lovely and an amazing story of something never being too broken to be fixed. But my mom had to work through the trauma,” Kanene says. “This song was me putting myself in my mom’s place, releasing a lot of complex emotions. Anger is definitely one of them. Hurt, frustration, sadness. We all have experiences that could be better if we could talk about them, but we keep them hidden.”
Album standout “Illegal Immigrant” also features Kanene’s vocals. Brian took the lead writing the song, which tells the true story of a mother and child separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. The chorus’s “I promised I’d find you, wherever you are, wherever you are / Here I am” is equal parts haunting, heartbreaking, and reassuring––and the unfiltered words actually spoken by the immigrant mother into a press conference microphone. Kanene sings with weighty restraint––like a parent burying their own terror so they can be their child’s rock. “I was trying to tell her story the best I could,” Brian says. “I wanted to keep myself as far out of the equation as I could and just try to connect––to help find some compassion.”
Brian also penned “Wash It Clean,” which both Zach and Kanene point to as a favorite. Lilting with guitar and harmonica, the song is a letter to Brian’s dad, who passed away suddenly last year. The two had a strained relationship, and Brian spent years trying to find some common ground. They did, and then two months later, his dad was gone. The band recorded the song on the one-year anniversary of Brian’s father’s death, without Brian even realizing it at the time. “I feel like that means he was here––or in me,” Brian says. “Working really hard to find understanding was probably one of the greatest gifts and lessons of my whole life.”
The stories behind the songs matter––but they aren’t what matters most. In the end, The Lone Bellow’s music needs no explanation. Just listening offers a salve and a shelter. “In my own perfect little world, I would be able to put the music out and not talk about it––just, Here. Bye. See you next time,” Zach says, then laughs softly. “I do hope someone will find this music in a peaceful moment when they can turn it on and get lost in the story and the sound.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200115T195138Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2052 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200308T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200308T233000 UID:3B53C6FD-A19D-4101-BAD4-E5FD3C8E885B SUMMARY:The Infamous Stringdusters DTSTAMP:20191104T192550Z DESCRIPTION:The Infamous Stringdusters stand out as the rare group who whose dynamic musicianship can be showcased with contemporary artists on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert one night and jamming on the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre alongside The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh the next.\NEngendering a sense of impassioned fandom, they band have attracted a faithful audience that continues to grow. Moreover, their powerful music and performances paved the way for a GRAMMY® Award win in the category of “Best Bluegrass Album” for 2017’s Laws of Gravity.\NWhen it came time to record what would become Rise Sun, they pushed themselves to evolve once more.\N“Rise Sun is the latest chapter in the progression of our sound,” says Pandolfi. “It’s been a long arc that includes evolution on all fronts—writing, arranging, performing, and maybe most importantly, growing as humans who have more to say as the journey rolls on. New albums are the time when we write and introduce our strongest original material. On our last release Laws of Gravity, we really started to hit our stride with recording live in the studio. Rise Sun is another big step in that direction.”\NFor the first time, the band chose the song order before actually recording. Additionally, they maintained that order throughout the process, recording the songs in sequence which resulted in a natural flow. This choice, “gives it the feeling of a story as you listen down,” says Hall. It represented a moment of collective confidence.\N“We self-produced the last album, so we felt validated in a sense that our instincts were sound,” adds Book. “We came into this one with some confidence. Any doubts about our band or our mission had dissipated. What remained was a deep sense of purpose and love.”\N“The GRAMMY® put some high-octane gas in our tanks as well,” grins Garrett. “We also wanted to rise to the challenge of making a follow-up project worthy of what we had done in the past.”The Infamous Stringdusters introduce the album with the handclap-driven gallop of the title track “Rise Sun.” High energy banjo powers an uplifting and undeniable refrain that immediately shines.\N“It’s a hopeful anthem,” Book elaborates. “The sun is rising, and the light is overtaking the darkness. The idea for the melody, inspired by Southern gospel music, came to me driving out of the mountains into Georgia from my home in North Carolina. When we wrote it, I was feeling a deep sense of hope for humanity that the sun will rise again.”\NThen, there’s the hummable instrumental “Cloud Valley,” which exudes a sci-fi spirit of wonder via sonic intricacy. “Science fiction can transport you to a place of deep imagination,” says Pandolfi. “We wanted to generate a soundscape for an imaginary mystical setting. It really came alive when we all got together.”\NEverything culminates on a heartfelt send-off with “Truth and Love.” Its delicate musical backdrop transmits an important statement for The Infamous Stringdusters.\N“I wrote that a few years ago and brought it back now, because I feel like the message has become more relevant today,” Falco states. “The world is polarized. Everything is so extreme, and partisan politics have become a culture war. The song is a reminder of what’s truly important in life-- seek the truth, find your love, look up high, and aim above. Life is short, so keep your eye on what’s important while you’re here.”\NIn the end, that’s precisely what The Infamous Stringdusters do on Rise Sun as they boldly welcome yet another new day, new phase, and new chapter.\N“We’re a brotherhood, but that family extends beyond the band even,” Falco leaves off. “Our music gives us an opportunity to bring some light in a world that can be dark sometimes.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The Infamous Stringdusters stand out as the rare group who whose dynamic musicianship can be showcased with contemporary artists on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert one night and jamming on the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre alongside The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh the next.
Engendering a sense of impassioned fandom, they band have attracted a faithful audience that continues to grow. Moreover, their powerful music and performances paved the way for a GRAMMY® Award win in the category of “Best Bluegrass Album” for 2017’s Laws of Gravity.
When it came time to record what would become Rise Sun, they pushed themselves to evolve once more.
“Rise Sun is the latest chapter in the progression of our sound,” says Pandolfi. “It’s been a long arc that includes evolution on all fronts—writing, arranging, performing, and maybe most importantly, growing as humans who have more to say as the journey rolls on. New albums are the time when we write and introduce our strongest original material. On our last release Laws of Gravity, we really started to hit our stride with recording live in the studio. Rise Sun is another big step in that direction.”
For the first time, the band chose the song order before actually recording. Additionally, they maintained that order throughout the process, recording the songs in sequence which resulted in a natural flow. This choice, “gives it the feeling of a story as you listen down,” says Hall. It represented a moment of collective confidence.
“We self-produced the last album, so we felt validated in a sense that our instincts were sound,” adds Book. “We came into this one with some confidence. Any doubts about our band or our mission had dissipated. What remained was a deep sense of purpose and love.”
“The GRAMMY® put some high-octane gas in our tanks as well,” grins Garrett. “We also wanted to rise to the challenge of making a follow-up project worthy of what we had done in the past.”
The Infamous Stringdusters introduce the album with the handclap-driven gallop of the title track “Rise Sun.” High energy banjo powers an uplifting and undeniable refrain that immediately shines.
“It’s a hopeful anthem,” Book elaborates. “The sun is rising, and the light is overtaking the darkness. The idea for the melody, inspired by Southern gospel music, came to me driving out of the mountains into Georgia from my home in North Carolina. When we wrote it, I was feeling a deep sense of hope for humanity that the sun will rise again.”
Then, there’s the hummable instrumental “Cloud Valley,” which exudes a sci-fi spirit of wonder via sonic intricacy. “Science fiction can transport you to a place of deep imagination,” says Pandolfi. “We wanted to generate a soundscape for an imaginary mystical setting. It really came alive when we all got together.”
Everything culminates on a heartfelt send-off with “Truth and Love.” Its delicate musical backdrop transmits an important statement for The Infamous Stringdusters.
“I wrote that a few years ago and brought it back now, because I feel like the message has become more relevant today,” Falco states. “The world is polarized. Everything is so extreme, and partisan politics have become a culture war. The song is a reminder of what’s truly important in life-- seek the truth, find your love, look up high, and aim above. Life is short, so keep your eye on what’s important while you’re here.”
In the end, that’s precisely what The Infamous Stringdusters do on Rise Sun as they boldly welcome yet another new day, new phase, and new chapter.
“We’re a brotherhood, but that family extends beyond the band even,” Falco leaves off. “Our music gives us an opportunity to bring some light in a world that can be dark sometimes.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200219T212944Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2250 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200310T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200310T233000 UID:CFB45632-49F6-47C4-B928-7AC4F15CF56A SUMMARY:Twiddle DTSTAMP:20191108T203037Z DESCRIPTION:With 12 years of relentless touring behind them, Vermont-based rock band Twiddle has built an impressive resume spanning Red Rocks to Bonnaroo, and multiple sellouts of historic rock venues including Port Chester, NY’s Capitol Theatre, and Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club. And with the second half of the band’s third studio album, PLUMP, on the horizon, the band’s career continues to catapult forward. Buoyed by the generous support of 359 Kickstarter donors, the 27-song album does more than showcase the group’s beautiful music, but also tells an important story, comprised in PLUMP Chapters 1 & 2. Recorded during a two-year span with legendary producer Ron St. Germain, PLUMP serves as a reflection of four brothers’ triumphs and struggles, both individual and as a whole. On Chapter 1, songs like “Lost in the Cold” and “Every Soul” detail what it’s like to hit rock bottom and how to rise back up.\N“So many fans have shared how these songs carried them through very difficult times, and that alone makes this all worth it,” said Brook Jordan, Twiddle’s percussionist and vocalist.\NComparatively, Chapter 2 contains genre-bending instrumentals, as well as mystifying epics like “Nicodemus Portulay” and “Orlando’s.” More than ten years later, these songs mirror the earliest Twiddle arrangements of 2004-2005 when Mihali Savoulidis and Ryan Dempsey were collaborating in their freshmen dorms at Castleton State College. The completion of PLUMP is timely, coming at a moment when the band’s fervent fan base is at an all-time high and expanding rapidly.\NIn the live setting, more and more people are invigorated by Twiddle’s community, promoting positivity and the band’s skillful improvisational music. So many like-minded people believe in the greater good, and they find that good in Twiddle.\NTwiddle is comprised of Zdenek Gubb on bass and vocals, Ryan Dempsey on keyboards and vocals, Mihali Savoulidis on guitar and lead vocals, and Brook Jordan on percussion and vocals. A more detailed biography of each band member, along with upcoming tour dates and updates, can be found at TwiddleMusic.com.————————————2007 manifested Twiddle’s debut release, The Natural Evolution of Consciousness. This breakout album showcased the band’s eclectic inspirations, imaginative lyrical abilities, and superb instrumentation. Twiddle’s sophomore production, Somewhere on the Mountain (2011), delves into the human spirit, speaking to our ambition, grief, and love. Live at Nectar’s (2014), is a double disc live album recorded in August of 2013 at Burlington, Vermont’s Nectar’s. Live at Nectar’s truly captures Twiddle in its element, the live experience. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:With 12 years of relentless touring behind them, Vermont-based rock band Twiddle has built an impressive resume spanning Red Rocks to Bonnaroo, and multiple sellouts of historic rock venues including Port Chester, NY’s Capitol Theatre, and Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club. And with the second half of the band’s third studio album, PLUMP, on the horizon, the band’s career continues to catapult forward. Buoyed by the generous support of 359 Kickstarter donors, the 27-song album does more than showcase the group’s beautiful music, but also tells an important story, comprised in PLUMP Chapters 1 & 2.
Recorded during a two-year span with legendary producer Ron St. Germain, PLUMP serves as a reflection of four brothers’ triumphs and struggles, both individual and as a whole. On Chapter 1, songs like “Lost in the Cold” and “Every Soul” detail what it’s like to hit rock bottom and how to rise back up.
“So many fans have shared how these songs carried them through very difficult times, and that alone makes this all worth it,” said Brook Jordan, Twiddle’s percussionist and vocalist.
Comparatively, Chapter 2 contains genre-bending instrumentals, as well as mystifying epics like “Nicodemus Portulay” and “Orlando’s.” More than ten years later, these songs mirror the earliest Twiddle arrangements of 2004-2005 when Mihali Savoulidis and Ryan Dempsey were collaborating in their freshmen dorms at Castleton State College. The completion of PLUMP is timely, coming at a moment when the band’s fervent fan base is at an all-time high and expanding rapidly.
In the live setting, more and more people are invigorated by Twiddle’s community, promoting positivity and the band’s skillful improvisational music. So many like-minded people believe in the greater good, and they find that good in Twiddle.
Twiddle is comprised of Zdenek Gubb on bass and vocals, Ryan Dempsey on keyboards and vocals, Mihali Savoulidis on guitar and lead vocals, and Brook Jordan on percussion and vocals. A more detailed biography of each band member, along with upcoming tour dates and updates, can be found at TwiddleMusic.com.
————————————
2007 manifested Twiddle’s debut release, The Natural Evolution of Consciousness. This breakout album showcased the band’s eclectic inspirations, imaginative lyrical abilities, and superb instrumentation. Twiddle’s sophomore production, Somewhere on the Mountain (2011), delves into the human spirit, speaking to our ambition, grief, and love. Live at Nectar’s (2014), is a double disc live album recorded in August of 2013 at Burlington, Vermont’s Nectar’s. Live at Nectar’s truly captures Twiddle in its element, the live experience.
The sophomore effort from Oregon-bred trio Joseph, Good Luck, Kid is a road movie in album form, an odyssey at turns emotional, existential, and entirely literal. With their intimate storytelling and restless intensity, Natalie Schepman and her sisters Allison and Meegan Closner detail that journey in songs that careen and sprawl and often soar, ultimately spinning a narrative of life-changing transformation.
“The through-line of the album is this idea of moving into the driver’s seat of your own life—recognizing that you’re the adult now, and everything’s up to you from this moment on,” says Natalie. “You’re not completely sure of how to get where you need to go, and you don’t have any kind of a map to help you. It’s just the universe looking down on you like, ‘Good luck, kid.’”
In the making of Good Luck, Kid, Joseph deliberately strayed from the dreamy folk of their 2016 debut I’m Alone, No You’re Not, giving way to a far grittier and more dynamic sound. Produced by Christian “Leggy” Langdon (Meg Myers, Charlotte OC), the result is a nuanced breed of pop/rock built on thick drums and lustrous guitars, heavy grooves and radiant melodies. Despite that bolder sonic palette, Good Luck, Kid remains centered on the band’s crystalline vocal work, including the otherworldly harmonies that suggest a near-telepathic connection among sisters.
Kicking off Good Luck, Kid with the sweeping lead single “Fighter,” Joseph immediately prove the transcendent power of that connection, even as their lyrics speak to a nearly disastrous discord. “That song’s about how our band almost broke up,” explains Natalie. “It’s the story of the three of us wanting different things and dealing with that conflict, and eventually deciding to just keep going.” Driven by a heady momentum, Good Luck, Kid then takes on the breakneck pace of the title track, a gloriously dizzying anthem that channels the raw urgency of desire. But on “Green Eyes,” Joseph shift into a torchy poignancy, echoing the album’s undercurrent of romantic devastation. “‘Green Eyes’ is about wanting to stay with someone but giving them the freedom to walk away, and feeling the pain of realizing that they’re no longer in this with you,” Meegan points out.
On “Revolving Door”—the gorgeously sorrowful centerpiece to Good Luck, Kid—that pain reaches a heart-crushing crescendo. “As we were putting the record together, the arc that emerged was ‘Hope, Betrayal, Rebirth,’” says Meegan. “We put ‘Revolving Door’ at the middle because it’s about that moment of finally realizing ‘Okay, you don’t choose this—you don’t choose me.’ It’s the pinnacle of betrayal, and it’s the turning point for the whole album.”
With the remainder of Good Luck, Kid documenting what Natalie describes as “a rising-up out of the ashes,” Joseph grace every song with the captivating chemistry they first discovered upon forming in 2014. Spontaneously choosing their name on a trip to visit their grandfather in the Oregon town of Joseph, the band got their start playing backyard parties, and gradually amassed a devoted fanbase. Following the release of I’m Alone, No You’re Not—an album made with Mike Mogis (First Aid Kit, Jenny Lewis)—Joseph soon began taking the stage at major festivals like Bonnaroo and touring with such artists as James Bay and Amos Lee. As they brought Good Luck, Kid to life, the Closner sisters expanded on the elegant synergy of elements initially glimpsed on their debut: Meegan’s sharp melodic skills, Allison’s gift for uncovering the emotional heart of each track, and Natalie’s extraordinary songwriting instincts. “Making this album, there were so many times when we’d be trying to come up with the next verse to a song, and Natalie would pull together something amazing completely out of nowhere,” Allison recalls. “It’s like she’s some kind of magician.”
In reflecting on the quiet metamorphosis chronicled within Good Luck, Kid, Joseph hope that the album might spark a similar evolution in listeners. “For me this record is about stepping out of being a victim, and I’d love for it to help people feel like they have the power to change their own lives too,” says Meegan. In the spirit of that well-wishing, Good Luck, Kid closes out with a starkly arranged but unforgettably tender benediction called “Room for You.” “My best friend recently had a baby, and as I was holding him I had this feeling like, ‘I never want you to hurt, ever,’” says Natalie. “I love the idea of ending the record by sending people off with that message: ‘I hope the world makes room for you and your dreams.’ I know that an album can’t ever fix anything, but I hope it can be a balm whatever’s hurting, and helps people feel like they’re truly believed in.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200309T201233Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1790 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200314T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200314T233000 UID:B502D8E5-281D-4510-98AC-7245F00C9F72 SUMMARY:Hell's Belles 20th Anniversary Celebration featuring Powerage and Back in Black in their entirety DTSTAMP:20200106T014412Z DESCRIPTION:HELL'S BELLES are first and foremost dedicated AC/DC fanatics. This is what we all have in common. We're all part of a huge community of devotees to one of the greatest rock-n-roll bands in the world. This is who we all are, and this is what HELL'S BELLES strives to deliver with mechanical precision and passionate fury. Endorsed by Angus Young himself (Blender Magazine, 2003), HELL'S BELLES are the closest one can get without actually moving to Australia and joining AC/DC's road crew.\NHELL'S BELLES formed in 2000, the brainchild of former member, Amy Stozenbach, alongside former member, Om Johari. The current line-up features Mandy Reed, rock solid and born ready as Cliff Williams (Bass guitar), Lisa Brisbois, sly and subtly intense as part time Malcolm Young, Sharon Needles of Betty Blowtorch/Butt Trumpet fame part time Malcolm Young (Rhythm guitar), Judy Cocuzza (JuDy-molish of Betty Blowtorch fame) as Phil Rudd (drums), all the way from Australia, Amber Saxon the kind of hard rock bombastic power that makes no apologies and is dangerous around the edges as Bon Scott & Brian Johnson (Vocals) and Adrian Conner, dreadlock slinger and wicked as Angus Young (lead Guitar).\NHELL'S BELLES are indeed ALL female, all the way to their rock-n-roll cores, all the lime and without exception. Representing for a whole new generation of women that won't be intimidated, HELL'S BELLES actively encourage our legions of lady fans to stand up and be counted, and collaborate with women musicians and causes as a part of the mission towards rock and roll inclusion. Not some down-your-throat feminism, but a proactive support and action spirit towards the continued march towards balancing of the gender scales.\NThe thousands of shows HELL'S BELLES have played around the world, including Singapore, Japan, Canada, and the good ol' USA (including Alaska), have become legendary nights of epic proportions. Consistently sexy and sold-out shows - there's not a HELL'S BELLES audience that hasn't been blown away by the raw power, attention to AC/DC details, and undeniable appeal that these bad ass belles deliver with undying devotion. From "Live Wire" to "The Jack" to "TNT", not to mention AC/DC's landmark hits "Highway to Hell", "Thunderstruck", and "Back in Black". The marathon set lists change to include a fresh variety of classics, but the perfection and passion of the show never does.It's an all out rock-n-roll assault that leaves you both satisfied and begging for more. And, more you'll get as HELL'S BELLES keep conquering new cities, new states, and new countries. They'll be in your back yard bringing AC/DC in sound and spirit to you with their new recording VOL. II, so you can always count on taking a little piece of HELL'S BELLES home with ya.\NHELL'S BELLES - committed, ferocious, meticulous women rock musicians delivering authentic ACIDC to the unbelievably supportive and wicked awesome fans. All day and all night long, all over the world, pitch perfect AC/ DC delivered with a highly charged vigor by Amber, Mandy, Judy, Lisa, Sharon and Adrian 'Angus’ Conner.Let there be rock! X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:HELL'S BELLES are first and foremost dedicated AC/DC fanatics. This is what we all have in common. We're all part of a huge community of devotees to one of the greatest rock-n-roll bands in the world. This is who we all are, and this is what HELL'S BELLES strives to deliver with mechanical precision and passionate fury. Endorsed by Angus Young himself (Blender Magazine, 2003), HELL'S BELLES are the closest one can get without actually moving to Australia and joining AC/DC's road crew.
HELL'S BELLES formed in 2000, the brainchild of former member, Amy Stozenbach, alongside former member, Om Johari. The current line-up features Mandy Reed, rock solid and born ready as Cliff Williams (Bass guitar), Lisa Brisbois, sly and subtly intense as part time Malcolm Young, Sharon Needles of Betty Blowtorch/Butt Trumpet fame part time Malcolm Young (Rhythm guitar), Judy Cocuzza (JuDy-molish of Betty Blowtorch fame) as Phil Rudd (drums), all the way from Australia, Amber Saxon the kind of hard rock bombastic power that makes no apologies and is dangerous around the edges as Bon Scott & Brian Johnson (Vocals) and Adrian Conner, dreadlock slinger and wicked as Angus Young (lead Guitar).
HELL'S BELLES are indeed ALL female, all the way to their rock-n-roll cores, all the lime and without exception. Representing for a whole new generation of women that won't be intimidated, HELL'S BELLES actively encourage our legions of lady fans to stand up and be counted, and collaborate with women musicians and causes as a part of the mission towards rock and roll inclusion. Not some down-your-throat feminism, but a proactive support and action spirit towards the continued march towards balancing of the gender scales.
The thousands of shows HELL'S BELLES have played around the world, including Singapore, Japan, Canada, and the good ol' USA (including Alaska), have become legendary nights of epic proportions. Consistently sexy and sold-out shows - there's not a HELL'S BELLES audience that hasn't been blown away by the raw power, attention to AC/DC details, and undeniable appeal that these bad ass belles deliver with undying devotion. From "Live Wire" to "The Jack" to "TNT", not to mention AC/DC's landmark hits "Highway to Hell", "Thunderstruck", and "Back in Black". The marathon set lists change to include a fresh variety of classics, but the perfection and passion of the show never does.
It's an all out rock-n-roll assault that leaves you both satisfied and begging for more. And, more you'll get as HELL'S BELLES keep conquering new cities, new states, and new countries. They'll be in your back yard bringing AC/DC in sound and spirit to you with their new recording VOL. II, so you can always count on taking a little piece of HELL'S BELLES home with ya.
HELL'S BELLES - committed, ferocious, meticulous women rock musicians delivering authentic ACIDC to the unbelievably supportive and wicked awesome fans. All day and all night long, all over the world, pitch perfect AC/ DC delivered with a highly charged vigor by Amber, Mandy, Judy, Lisa, Sharon and Adrian 'Angus’ Conner.Let there be rock!
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200313T015516Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2636 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200317T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200317T200000 UID:98EE3D32-7FF8-4E06-A88F-9146ABC506CE SUMMARY:Jamestown Revival DTSTAMP:20191206T221126Z DESCRIPTION:THIS SHOW HAS BEEN POSTPONED. A MESSAGE FROM THE BAND:\NDear Friends,\NDue to the growing concerns involving everyone’s health surrounding the coronavirus (Covid-19), it is with deep regret we announce the need to postpone our remaining March tour dates (see dates below). This decision does not come easy as we would never want to disappoint you. However, our concern for your health and safety is our number one priority, especially at this time. We are aiming to reschedule these shows at a later date so keep your tickets nearby and we’ll be sure to keep you posted. \NMeanwhile, as always, we deeply appreciate your support and understanding. \NBe well,\NJonathan & Zach\N------\NReflecting the majestic landscape where it was recorded, Jamestown Revival’s new album San Isabel feels calm- ing, spacious, and most of all, natural. Led by Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance, the band embraced a minimalist ap- proach for these 11 tracks, recorded in a remote cabin in central Colorado. Each workday began with coffee on the front porch and a mountainous view of the San Isabel National Forest.“We were out there probably 17 days. Everything just slows down,” Chance says. “We’d go into town to get food in the evenings, just to break it up, but most days when we were recording we would have the doors and the windows open, and the breeze going through it. It’s a small cabin so it’s cozy.”\N“It’s got so much character. You walk into this place and it gives you a really cool feeling,” Clay adds. “The spirit of that mountain range is all over this record.”Following four years of relentless touring, Jamestown Revival essentially disappeared in 2018, spending almost every day together writing new material in their home base of Austin, Texas. Clay and Chance – who met as teenagers in the small town of Magnolia, Texas – set out to pursue their own musical vision, re-focusing on their roots.“When we sat down to write this record, we asked our- selves, ‘What kind of record do we want to write?’” Clay recalls. “The first thing that came up in that conversation was, ‘Well, why did we even start Jamestown Revival in the first place?’ It was because we enjoyed singing harmonies so much. So we decided to write a record built around that. That’s what we started doing this for. It’s re- ally as simple as that. To us, harmonies are the third man. It’s what makes a song feel complete.”\NMost of the time, Clay takes lead vocal with Chance on high harmony, a striking blend that appears effortless. Yet, San Isabel occasionally flips that concept as Clay’s expressive baritone drifts beneath Chance’s pristine tenor lead. “It’s not about who’s singing the loudest or who’s the getting the voice with the most recognition. It’s about blending these voices together so it makes the most impact,” Chance says. “I grew up playing basketball and baseball, and in my mind, harmony is a team sport and it’s a sum of all the parts.”\NFor the first time ever, Jamestown Revival enlisted a co-producer, Jamie Mefford (Nathaniel Rateliff, Gregory Alan Isakov). Finding inspiration in ‘60s and early 70’s folk and pop, the original songs on San Isabel show a reverence for early John Denver and Bob Dylan, as well as Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nestled near the end of the album is a stunning reinter- pretation of the 1965 classic, “California Dreamin’.”The low-key vibe of San Isabel harkens back to the duo’s first recording, Utah, a homemade project from 2014. After signing with a major label, the band expanded and re-released Utah, followed by 2016’s rock-oriented The Education of a Wandering Man. Building a fan base through grass roots support and AAA radio, Jamestown Revival has performed at iconic venues from the Ry- man Auditorium to Red Rocks Amphitheater as well as countless festivals such as Coachella, Austin City Limits, Stagecoach, Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic and more.\NChance says, “This record is different than our previ- ous two and it definitely has more of an ethereal thing. The heads and tails of the songs are longer, so it really is creating a trance. We love records that you can drive to, and hopefully this is one that you can take a road trip to. Jamie really helped bring that out. We would record and get the essentials, whether it be an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar. Then we would add what we started calling ‘celestial seasonings,’ where we would do these tracks with an ethereal vibe, which became an undercur- rent throughout the record.”\NIndeed, listen closely to San Isabel and the sounds of songbirds, a booming tin roof, and even a package of flour tortillas (used as a snare drum) can be heard in the mix. A skilled woodworker, Clay also built a baritone lap steel guitar from a leftover piece of alder wood in order to capture a deep slide guitar groove. However, he didn’t get the instrument’s grounding quite right, meaning that Zach had to put one hand on the guitar jack and the other hand on his bandmate to eliminate the buzzing.That obvious camaraderie is a big part of Jamestown Revival’s appeal. Clay and Chance have maintained a close friendship since they met at age 15, attending high school together in Magnolia, Texas. “People say they can see it and they can feel it,” Clay says. “I mean, we’ve been friends forever, it feels like. It’s a brotherhood. We don’t always like each other but we love each other, you know? We truly enjoy being able to do what we do, to make music and travel together.”\NThe band’s name evokes the beginnings of a new era by combining a reference to one of America’s first settlements (Jamestown, Virginia) with one of their favorite bands (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Now that San Isabel is complete, another revival is imminent.\N“Especially when music is your job, if you’re not out playing shows and you don’t have these tangible things to show what you’re doing, it feels kind of intimidating,” Chance says. “But it is so essential to step away from that and reflect and to spend time working on it. Honing our craft is something I think we’ll always have to do, but in our humble little world, we have to chip away at it however we can. Stepping away like that is important to slow it down a little bit.”\NClay adds, “We wrote this record with sort of an overarching theme, which is cutting out the noise for a minute and maybe stepping away from social media, from the internet, and from the complicated, busy nature of most of our lives – and focusing on existing for a minute. If this record inspires people to do a little bit of that, then we would be really happy with that result.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:THIS SHOW HAS BEEN POSTPONED. A MESSAGE FROM THE BAND:
Dear Friends,
Due to the growing concerns involving everyone’s health surrounding the coronavirus (Covid-19), it is with deep regret we announce the need to postpone our remaining March tour dates (see dates below). This decision does not come easy as we would never want to disappoint you. However, our concern for your health and safety is our number one priority, especially at this time. We are aiming to reschedule these shows at a later date so keep your tickets nearby and we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
Meanwhile, as always, we deeply appreciate your support and understanding.
Be well,
Jonathan & Zach
------
Reflecting the majestic landscape where it was recorded, Jamestown Revival’s new album San Isabel feels calm- ing, spacious, and most of all, natural. Led by Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance, the band embraced a minimalist ap- proach for these 11 tracks, recorded in a remote cabin in central Colorado. Each workday began with coffee on the front porch and a mountainous view of the San Isabel National Forest.
“We were out there probably 17 days. Everything just slows down,” Chance says. “We’d go into town to get food in the evenings, just to break it up, but most days when we were recording we would have the doors and the windows open, and the breeze going through it. It’s a small cabin so it’s cozy.”
“It’s got so much character. You walk into this place and it gives you a really cool feeling,” Clay adds. “The spirit of that mountain range is all over this record.”
Following four years of relentless touring, Jamestown Revival essentially disappeared in 2018, spending almost every day together writing new material in their home base of Austin, Texas. Clay and Chance – who met as teenagers in the small town of Magnolia, Texas – set out to pursue their own musical vision, re-focusing on their roots.
“When we sat down to write this record, we asked our- selves, ‘What kind of record do we want to write?’” Clay recalls. “The first thing that came up in that conversation was, ‘Well, why did we even start Jamestown Revival in the first place?’ It was because we enjoyed singing harmonies so much. So we decided to write a record built around that. That’s what we started doing this for. It’s re- ally as simple as that. To us, harmonies are the third man. It’s what makes a song feel complete.”
Most of the time, Clay takes lead vocal with Chance on high harmony, a striking blend that appears effortless. Yet, San Isabel occasionally flips that concept as Clay’s expressive baritone drifts beneath Chance’s pristine tenor lead. “It’s not about who’s singing the loudest or who’s the getting the voice with the most recognition. It’s about blending these voices together so it makes the most impact,” Chance says. “I grew up playing basketball and baseball, and in my mind, harmony is a team sport and it’s a sum of all the parts.”
For the first time ever, Jamestown Revival enlisted a co-producer, Jamie Mefford (Nathaniel Rateliff, Gregory Alan Isakov). Finding inspiration in ‘60s and early 70’s folk and pop, the original songs on San Isabel show a reverence for early John Denver and Bob Dylan, as well as Simon & Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Nestled near the end of the album is a stunning reinter- pretation of the 1965 classic, “California Dreamin’.”
The low-key vibe of San Isabel harkens back to the duo’s first recording, Utah, a homemade project from 2014. After signing with a major label, the band expanded and re-released Utah, followed by 2016’s rock-oriented The Education of a Wandering Man. Building a fan base through grass roots support and AAA radio, Jamestown Revival has performed at iconic venues from the Ry- man Auditorium to Red Rocks Amphitheater as well as countless festivals such as Coachella, Austin City Limits, Stagecoach, Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic and more.
Chance says, “This record is different than our previ- ous two and it definitely has more of an ethereal thing. The heads and tails of the songs are longer, so it really is creating a trance. We love records that you can drive to, and hopefully this is one that you can take a road trip to. Jamie really helped bring that out. We would record and get the essentials, whether it be an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar. Then we would add what we started calling ‘celestial seasonings,’ where we would do these tracks with an ethereal vibe, which became an undercur- rent throughout the record.”
Indeed, listen closely to San Isabel and the sounds of songbirds, a booming tin roof, and even a package of flour tortillas (used as a snare drum) can be heard in the mix. A skilled woodworker, Clay also built a baritone lap steel guitar from a leftover piece of alder wood in order to capture a deep slide guitar groove. However, he didn’t get the instrument’s grounding quite right, meaning that Zach had to put one hand on the guitar jack and the other hand on his bandmate to eliminate the buzzing.
That obvious camaraderie is a big part of Jamestown Revival’s appeal. Clay and Chance have maintained a close friendship since they met at age 15, attending high school together in Magnolia, Texas. “People say they can see it and they can feel it,” Clay says. “I mean, we’ve been friends forever, it feels like. It’s a brotherhood. We don’t always like each other but we love each other, you know? We truly enjoy being able to do what we do, to make music and travel together.”
The band’s name evokes the beginnings of a new era by combining a reference to one of America’s first settlements (Jamestown, Virginia) with one of their favorite bands (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Now that San Isabel is complete, another revival is imminent.
“Especially when music is your job, if you’re not out playing shows and you don’t have these tangible things to show what you’re doing, it feels kind of intimidating,” Chance says. “But it is so essential to step away from that and reflect and to spend time working on it. Honing our craft is something I think we’ll always have to do, but in our humble little world, we have to chip away at it however we can. Stepping away like that is important to slow it down a little bit.”
Clay adds, “We wrote this record with sort of an overarching theme, which is cutting out the noise for a minute and maybe stepping away from social media, from the internet, and from the complicated, busy nature of most of our lives – and focusing on existing for a minute. If this record inspires people to do a little bit of that, then we would be really happy with that result.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200317T153239Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2760 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200327T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200327T233000 UID:83E797E8-C0D9-44C5-863A-D8EE76940EF9 SUMMARY:The English Beat DTSTAMP:20200212T034420Z DESCRIPTION:The English Beat is a band with an energetic mix of musical styles and a sound like no other. The band's unique sound has allowed it to endure for nearly three decades and appeal to fans, young and old, all over the world.\NWhen The English Beat (known simply as The Beat in their native England) rushed on to the music scene in 1979, it was a time of massive social and political unrest and economic and musical upheaval. This set the stage for a period of unbridled musical creativity, and thanks in large part to the Punk movement and it's DIY approach to making music, artists like The Beat were able to speak out and speak their mind on the news of the day, as in “Stand Down Margaret”, things that mattered to them and the youth culture, as in “Get A Job”, and universal matters of the heart and soul, as in their classic hits “I Confess” and “Save It For Later”.\NThe original band consisted of singer-songwriter Dave Wakeling on vocals and guitar, Andy Cox on guitar, David Steele on bass, and Everett Morton on drums – later additions Ranking Roger (toasting) and foundational First Wave Ska legend Saxa (saxophone) completed the outfit. The band crossed over fluidly between soul, reggae, pop and punk, and from these disparate pieces they created an infectious dance rhythm.\NThe Beat first came to prominence as founding members of the British Two Tone Ska movement, with their classic first album “Just Can't Stop It” fitting squarely in that genre. Along with their contemporaries The Specials, The Selecter, and Madness, the band became an overnight sensation and one of the most popular and influential bands of that movement.\NHowever, band leader Dave Wakeling never felt constrained by the movement. Dave has always viewed ska as a springboard, not a straight jacket. Indeed, the band's sound continued to evolve over their first three studio albums, through the General Public era (a band formed by Dave with Ranking Roger, the toaster from The Beat), and has continued it's evolution with the forthcoming English Beat album “Here We Go Love”, a PledgeMusic crowd-funded album set for release in 2016, the band's first new album since 1982's “Special Beat Service”.\NConsummate showman that he is, Dave Wakeling has continued to keep The Beat alive and strong. Dave continues to tour the world as The English Beat with an amazing all-star ska backing band playing all the hits of The Beat, General Public, and songs from his new album “Here We Go Love”.\NYou just can’t stop The English Beat! X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The English Beat is a band with an energetic mix of musical styles and a sound like no other. The band's unique sound has allowed it to endure for nearly three decades and appeal to fans, young and old, all over the world.
When The English Beat (known simply as The Beat in their native England) rushed on to the music scene in 1979, it was a time of massive social and political unrest and economic and musical upheaval. This set the stage for a period of unbridled musical creativity, and thanks in large part to the Punk movement and it's DIY approach to making music, artists like The Beat were able to speak out and speak their mind on the news of the day, as in “Stand Down Margaret”, things that mattered to them and the youth culture, as in “Get A Job”, and universal matters of the heart and soul, as in their classic hits “I Confess” and “Save It For Later”.
The original band consisted of singer-songwriter Dave Wakeling on vocals and guitar, Andy Cox on guitar, David Steele on bass, and Everett Morton on drums – later additions Ranking Roger (toasting) and foundational First Wave Ska legend Saxa (saxophone) completed the outfit. The band crossed over fluidly between soul, reggae, pop and punk, and from these disparate pieces they created an infectious dance rhythm.
The Beat first came to prominence as founding members of the British Two Tone Ska movement, with their classic first album “Just Can't Stop It” fitting squarely in that genre. Along with their contemporaries The Specials, The Selecter, and Madness, the band became an overnight sensation and one of the most popular and influential bands of that movement.
However, band leader Dave Wakeling never felt constrained by the movement. Dave has always viewed ska as a springboard, not a straight jacket. Indeed, the band's sound continued to evolve over their first three studio albums, through the General Public era (a band formed by Dave with Ranking Roger, the toaster from The Beat), and has continued it's evolution with the forthcoming English Beat album “Here We Go Love”, a PledgeMusic crowd-funded album set for release in 2016, the band's first new album since 1982's “Special Beat Service”.
Consummate showman that he is, Dave Wakeling has continued to keep The Beat alive and strong. Dave continues to tour the world as The English Beat with an amazing all-star ska backing band playing all the hits of The Beat, General Public, and songs from his new album “Here We Go Love”.
You just can’t stop The English Beat!
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200313T015921Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1782 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200424T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200424T233000 UID:B6A29832-E02E-4174-A5D4-FA47E055882A SUMMARY:Soccer Mommy DTSTAMP:20191115T213819Z DESCRIPTION:THIS SHOW HAS BEEN POSTPONED. A MESSAGE FROM SOPHIE:\NDue to the evolving coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic, our north american tour will be postponed. we are working on scheduling new dates for these shows and will update you as soon as we can. hold onto your tickets, they will be valid for the rescheduled dates but refunds will be issued if you can no longer attend. unfortunately, due to conflicts our shows in montreal and denver are cancelled – refunds for these two shows will be processed automatically via point of purchase. we promise we'll be back to those cities soon. thank you for understanding, stay safe and healthy ❤\Nxo\NSophie \N------\NFor Sophie Allison, aka Soccer Mommy, color theory is a distillation of hard-won catharsis. The album confronts the ongoing mental health and familial trials that have plagued the 22-year-old artist since pre-pubescence, presenting listeners with an uncompromisingly honest self-portrait, and reminding us exactly why her critically-acclaimed debut, 2018’s Clean, made her a hero to many. Wise beyond her years, Allison is a songwriter capable of capturing the fleeting moments of bliss that make an embattled existence temporarily beautiful. With color theory, Allison’s fraught past becomes a lens through which we might begin to understand what it means to be resilient. Clean demonstrated Allison’s nuanced approach to lyricism and her disinterest in reducing complex emotional worlds into easily-digestible sound bites. On it, she projected the image of a confused but exceedingly mature teenager -- the type to offer up life-saving advice while cutting class under the bleachers. Clean led Soccer Mommy to sell out tour dates and play major music festivals around the world on top of opening for the likes of Kacey Musgraves, Vampire Weekend, and Paramore. A grueling touring schedule made it so that Allison had to get used to writing on the road, a challenge that exhilarated her. She wrote dozens of songs in hotels, green rooms, and in the backseat of the van. The ones that make up color theory were recorded in her hometown of Nashville at Alex The Great, a modest studio where the likes of Yo La Tengo have recorded, just two miles from her childhood home. Produced by Gabe Wax and engineered by Lars Stalfors (Mars Volta, HEALTH, St. Vincent), color theory’s sonic landscape is vast and dextrous, illustrating how much Allison has evolved as a musician and matured as a person over the past year. The melodies on color theory shimmer on the surface, but they reveal an unsettling darkness with each progressive listen. “I wanted the experience of listening to color theory to feel like finding a dusty old cassette tape that has become messed up over time, because that’s what this album is: an expression of all the things that have slowly degraded me personally,” Allison says. “The production warps, the guitar solos occasionally glitch, the melodies can be poppy and deceptively cheerful. To me, it sounds like the music of my childhood distressed and, in some instances, decaying.” Allison used a sampling keyboard and string arrangements drawn from old floppy discs to lend color theory a timeworn aesthetic. She also opted to enlist her band in the recording process, which hadn’t been the case on any of her earlier releases. “At the base of every song on color theory is a live take done to tape. This album reflects our live performance, which I’ve grown really happy with,” she says. color theory is thematically subdivided into three sections, each of which is named for a color that distills the mood Allison wanted to freeze in time. We begin with blue, a color that evokes a certain melancholy, and for Allison, illuminates depressive episodes and memories of inflicting self-harm. On “circle the drain,” she admits that “the days thin me out or just burn me straight through” over a swirling, guitar-driven arrangement that inspires a sense of ease in spite of the distressing lyrical content. The next section is represented by yellow, a color that points to illness, both mental and physical. “My mom has been terminally ill since I was a pre-teen, and I never really found a way to deal with it,” Allison says. “On ‘yellow is the color of her eyes,’ I sing about a period when I was on an international tour and kept feeling like my time with her was ticking away.” Lackadaisical from the outset, the song marries its relaxed arrangement with gutting lyrics that will ring true to anyone who has ever witnessed a loved one’s health decline. The final section, represented by grey, addresses that fear of loss directly. “Watching my parents age and witnessing sickness take its toll made me think a lot about the cycle of life, and forced me to confront the paranoid sense that death is coming for me,” Allison says. On the color theory’s closer, “grey light,” she doesn’t shrink from the terrifying promise of death’s inevitability and instead gives herself over to it completely. Atop a faded, oceanic bed of instrumentation, she unflinchingly admits, “I see the noose/ It follows me closely whatever I do.” But it’s not all tragic, and moments of lightness appear on this album, too. Take lead single “lucy,” which navigates an all-consuming dread with cunning wit and showcases Allison’s deft songwriting prowess. Here, she pleads with a devilish character and succumbs to his cruelty just as easily as she delights in his attention. “That irks me -- that I’m falling down/ From heaven through the Earth/ To hellfire to wear his crown,” she sings, the twinkling instrumentation taking on an eerie, unsettling bent as the song progresses. color theory investigates a traumatic past in exacting detail; in doing so, Allison finds inroads for healing through self-acceptance, and occasionally, humor. (“I’m the princess of screwing up!” she declares at one point.) This isn’t a quest to uncover some long-since forgotten happiness so much as it is an effort to stare-down the turmoil of adolescence that can haunt a person well into adulthood. Allison is a gifted storyteller, one who is able to take personal experience and project it to universal scale. On color theory, she beckons in outsiders, rejects, and anyone who has ever felt desperately alone in this world, lending them a place to unburden themselves and be momentarily free. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:THIS SHOW HAS BEEN POSTPONED. A MESSAGE FROM SOPHIE:
Due to the evolving coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic, our north american tour will be postponed. we are working on scheduling new dates for these shows and will update you as soon as we can. hold onto your tickets, they will be valid for the rescheduled dates but refunds will be issued if you can no longer attend. unfortunately, due to conflicts our shows in montreal and denver are cancelled – refunds for these two shows will be processed automatically via point of purchase. we promise we'll be back to those cities soon. thank you for understanding, stay safe and healthy ❤
xo
Sophie
------
For Sophie Allison, aka Soccer Mommy, color theory is a distillation of hard-won catharsis. The album confronts the ongoing mental health and familial trials that have plagued the 22-year-old artist since pre-pubescence, presenting listeners with an uncompromisingly honest self-portrait, and reminding us exactly why her critically-acclaimed debut, 2018’s Clean, made her a hero to many. Wise beyond her years, Allison is a songwriter capable of capturing the fleeting moments of bliss that make an embattled existence temporarily beautiful. With color theory, Allison’s fraught past becomes a lens through which we might begin to understand what it means to be resilient.
Clean demonstrated Allison’s nuanced approach to lyricism and her disinterest in reducing complex emotional worlds into easily-digestible sound bites. On it, she projected the image of a confused but exceedingly mature teenager -- the type to offer up life-saving advice while cutting class under the bleachers. Clean led Soccer Mommy to sell out tour dates and play major music festivals around the world on top of opening for the likes of Kacey Musgraves, Vampire Weekend, and Paramore. A grueling touring schedule made it so that Allison had to get used to writing on the road, a challenge that exhilarated her. She wrote dozens of songs in hotels, green rooms, and in the backseat of the van. The ones that make up color theory were recorded in her hometown of Nashville at Alex The Great, a modest studio where the likes of Yo La Tengo have recorded, just two miles from her childhood home. Produced by Gabe Wax and engineered by Lars Stalfors (Mars Volta, HEALTH, St. Vincent), color theory’s sonic landscape is vast and dextrous, illustrating how much Allison has evolved as a musician and matured as a person over the past year. The melodies on color theory shimmer on the surface, but they reveal an unsettling darkness with each progressive listen.
“I wanted the experience of listening to color theory to feel like finding a dusty old cassette tape that has become messed up over time, because that’s what this album is: an expression of all the things that have slowly degraded me personally,” Allison says. “The production warps, the guitar solos occasionally glitch, the melodies can be poppy and deceptively cheerful. To me, it sounds like the music of my childhood distressed and, in some instances, decaying.” Allison used a sampling keyboard and string arrangements drawn from old floppy discs to lend color theory a timeworn aesthetic. She also opted to enlist her band in the recording process, which hadn’t been the case on any of her earlier releases. “At the base of every song on color theory is a live take done to tape. This album reflects our live performance, which I’ve grown really happy with,” she says.
color theory is thematically subdivided into three sections, each of which is named for a color that distills the mood Allison wanted to freeze in time. We begin with blue, a color that evokes a certain melancholy, and for Allison, illuminates depressive episodes and memories of inflicting self-harm. On “circle the drain,” she admits that “the days thin me out or just burn me straight through” over a swirling, guitar-driven arrangement that inspires a sense of ease in spite of the distressing lyrical content. The next section is represented by yellow, a color that points to illness, both mental and physical. “My mom has been terminally ill since I was a pre-teen, and I never really found a way to deal with it,” Allison says. “On ‘yellow is the color of her eyes,’ I sing about a period when I was on an international tour and kept feeling like my time with her was ticking away.” Lackadaisical from the outset, the song marries its relaxed arrangement with gutting lyrics that will ring true to anyone who has ever witnessed a loved one’s health decline.
The final section, represented by grey, addresses that fear of loss directly. “Watching my parents age and witnessing sickness take its toll made me think a lot about the cycle of life, and forced me to confront the paranoid sense that death is coming for me,” Allison says. On the color theory’s closer, “grey light,” she doesn’t shrink from the terrifying promise of death’s inevitability and instead gives herself over to it completely. Atop a faded, oceanic bed of instrumentation, she unflinchingly admits, “I see the noose/ It follows me closely whatever I do.” But it’s not all tragic, and moments of lightness appear on this album, too. Take lead single “lucy,” which navigates an all-consuming dread with cunning wit and showcases Allison’s deft songwriting prowess. Here, she pleads with a devilish character and succumbs to his cruelty just as easily as she delights in his attention. “That irks me -- that I’m falling down/ From heaven through the Earth/ To hellfire to wear his crown,” she sings, the twinkling instrumentation taking on an eerie, unsettling bent as the song progresses.
color theory investigates a traumatic past in exacting detail; in doing so, Allison finds inroads for healing through self-acceptance, and occasionally, humor. (“I’m the princess of screwing up!” she declares at one point.) This isn’t a quest to uncover some long-since forgotten happiness so much as it is an effort to stare-down the turmoil of adolescence that can haunt a person well into adulthood. Allison is a gifted storyteller, one who is able to take personal experience and project it to universal scale. On color theory, she beckons in outsiders, rejects, and anyone who has ever felt desperately alone in this world, lending them a place to unburden themselves and be momentarily free.
THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELED. ALL TICKETS WILL BE REFUNDED AT THE POINT OF PURCHASE.
------
Since the release of her acclaimed debut album, Alas I Cannot Swim in 2008, Laura Marling has swiftly and confidently become one of the UK’s most singular and gifted of British artists.
Barely out of her twenties and yet currently working diligently on what will become her seventh studio album later this year, Laura has that rare charm of being instantly recognisable by her voice and phrasing, and yet none of her records sound alike. Imbued with the rich story-telling qualities that has come to define many of the greats of their generation, Laura’s music is not defined by one genre alone. Each of her six albums; all melody and poetry, reveal a new phase of this lauded musician’s story.
It’s a story that has taken her right across the world, performing alongside the venerable likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young, winning a BRIT Award and being nominated for a Grammy and multiple Mercury Prize awards too, Laura’s name carries a unique weight for the quality of her work and its timelessness.
Fiercely independent but a keen collaborator, Laura’s side-project, LUMP, in partnership with Mike Lindsay of Tunng, released a standout, self-titled debut album in the Summer of 2018, and there’s more due to come from LUMP soon too.
Laura embarks on a global solo tour throughout the Spring, and is putting the finishing touches to new material due for release later this year.
THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELED. All tickets will automatically be refunded.
A message from Benee:
Hello friends! I’m gutted to say this but it looks like it’ll be a lil while now before I can tour ): I’m having to cancel all the North America shows officially so we can refund your tickets. It’s obviously a weird time for everyone but it’s just something we’re all going to have to work through. I plan on putting out more music very soon so when I do get back on tour I’m very
excited about sharing new material! So much love to you all, your support has been insane. Be kind to each other, keep your distance & I can’t wait to see you when it’s safe for all of us
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BENEE is 2020’s breakout indie pop phenomenon from New Zealand with her music buzzing around the hippest playlists throughout last year and a fervent audience growing around her sweetly groove-drenched sound and quirky lyrical take on the world.
In June, BENEE dropped FIRE ON MARZZ, a debut EP featuring hit tracks "Soaked" and “Glitter”. Both tracks have reached over 30m Spotify streams and “Glitter” continues to pick up pace around the world.
She followed with a second EP, STELLA & STEVE in November. It saw her introduce her first feature guest vocalist as Gus Dapperton jumped on the irrepressible bop "Supalonely". The EP also featured her Halloween treat "Monsta" and Triple J Australia chart topper "Find An Island”.
BENEE’s touring action has sold out shows everywhere from London and New York to all across Australia and her hometown of Auckland. She appeared at the Spilt Milk and Laneway festivals in Australia and in between toured the US with Conan Gray in December.
The young artist, whose real name is Stella Bennett, claimed four New Zealand Music Awards in November, taking home the prizes for Best Single (for Soaked), Best Solo Artist, Best Pop Artist & Breakthrough Artist.
Proving that her appeal is stretching beyond her home shores, she claimed three places in the listener-voted Triple J Hottest 100 2020 in January. The influential Australian song poll put Glitter at #19, Find An Island at #25 and Evil Spider #52 in the best songs of the year.
BENEE returns for Northern Hemisphere adventures from April and new musical drops in the months beyond.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200421T210050Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1214 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200502T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200502T233000 UID:AB350744-2038-4B81-ADA3-E1BC980798CE SUMMARY:Roots Rawka Presents Dinah Jane DTSTAMP:20200121T230332Z DESCRIPTION:A soulful vocalist, Dinah Jane is best known as a founding member of Fifth Harmony, the all-girl pop group that formed on The X Factor in 2011. Jane and her Fifth Harmony bandmates left the show as break-out stars and issued three Top Five Billboard 200 albums, beginning with 2015's Reflection, and scoring hits like "Worth It," and "Work from Home." In 2018, she launched her solo career with the single "Bottled Up." X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:A soulful vocalist, Dinah Jane is best known as a founding member of Fifth Harmony, the all-girl pop group that formed on The X Factor in 2011. Jane and her Fifth Harmony bandmates left the show as break-out stars and issued three Top Five Billboard 200 albums, beginning with 2015's Reflection, and scoring hits like "Worth It," and "Work from Home." In 2018, she launched her solo career with the single "Bottled Up."
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200410T174702Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1430 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200503T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200503T233000 UID:D4ED5035-30F1-4EA7-AB3D-0D31E58221A6 SUMMARY:Rising Appalachia DTSTAMP:20200130T191158Z DESCRIPTION:Due to the Coronavirus, Rising Appalachia's performance originally scheduled for Sunday, May 3rd at the Commonwealth Room has been postponed to a TBD date. Wellness for everyone (emotional and physical) is our first priority. Stay safe and smart and be gentle with yourselves.\N----\NAs world travelers for nearly two decades, Rising Appalachia have merged multiple global music influences with their own southern roots to create the inviting new folk album, Leylines. Remarkably the band has built its legion of listeners independently -- a self-made success story that has led to major festival appearances and sold-out shows at venues across the country.\NFounded by sisters Leah and Chloe Smith, the band established an international fan base due to relentless touring, tireless activism, and no small degree of stubborn independence. However, for the first time, they opted to bring in a producer for the new album, teaming up with the legendary Joe Henry on the sessions. These were also their first recording sessions outside of the South. For 10 days, all six band members lived and recorded in a castle-like studio in Marin County, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As a result, a sense of unity and immediacy can be heard throughout their seventh album, Leylines.\N“As far as recording goes, we’re open creatively, but we’ve often preferred elements of live recording. I mean, we’re folk musicians at our core,” Leah explains. “The experience of playing music together in one room, looking at each other, is the bedrock of what we do and how we’ve grown up with music. I think Joe very much felt that way as well. He was very clear at the beginning that he was going to encourage us to have as many element of a live recording as possible.”\NAlthough Leah and Chloe Smith consider their voices as their primary instrument, Leah also plays banjo and bodhran on the album, while Chloe plays guitar, fiddle, and banjo. They are joined on Leylines by longtime members David Brown (stand-up bass, baritone guitar) and Biko Casini (world percussion, n’goni), as well as two new members: West African musician Arouna Diarra (n’goni, talking drum) and Irish musician Duncan Wickel (fiddle, cello). The sonic textures of these two cultures are woven into Leylines, enhancing the stunning blend of folk, world, and urban music that has become Rising Appalachia’s calling card.\N“Our songwriting ties into those traditions as well,” Chloe says. “With some of our original songs, it’s a reflection of the times. We’re folk singers and we consider this a folk album, so there’s a lot in there. There’s word of politics, of being women in the music industry, as well as a lot about our lives on the road.”\NIndeed, Rising Appalachia has toured British Columbia by sailboat, traversed the U.S. and Europe by train, and engaged in immersive cultural exchange programs in Bulgaria, Ireland, Southern Italy, Central and South America – not to mention the countless miles in a van. Tour highlights include: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco; Music Hall Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York; Boulder Theatre in Boulder, Colorado; and the Showbox in Seattle, Washington. The band consistently sells between 400 and 1500 tickets wherever they play, a testament to their loyal fan base.\NLeah and Chloe grew up in urban Atlanta as the city’s hip hop scene began to flourish. They absorbed those rhythms through the music they heard at school, then traveled with their family to fiddle camps all across the Southeast on the weekends. The young girls weren’t all that interested in the old-time playing, but their parents were incredibly devout in their study and practice of Appalachian music.\NAfter high school, Leah decided to postpone college and travel internationally. Feeling homesick while living in Southern Mexico, she looked for a connection to her past and taught herself how to play banjo. “I realized that I wanted something from home that I could share, something that would tell people a bit more of the story of where I came from, other than the news,” she recalls.\NA few years later, when Chloe came to visit her abroad, Leah offered some clawhammer banjo lessons. They didn’t necessarily realize it at the time but a musical partnership had been established. Upon their return to the United States, they recorded an album, which they considered an art project, to sell whenever they sang at farmer’s markets. They printed 500 copies, figuring that would last them a lifetime. However, when a local college professor heard them singing at a Christmas party, he booked them as part of a Celtic holiday concert in Atlanta. After two performances, every CD had been sold.\NSurprised and overwhelmed, they mulled over a career as full-time musicians, then realized that performing could be just one component of a greater overall vision – one that includes advocating for social justice, racial justice, environmental justice, and Indigenous rights.\N“We’re able to filter in so many of our passions into this project,” Chloe says. “We do a lot of activism work. We do a lot of outreach. Leah is a visual artist and she can funnel her visual eye into the project. I love to write, so that comes in. There’s a big container and canvas for our life’s work here. Music is part of it, but there are a lot of other creative vehicles that are driving Rising Appalachia.”\NSpecial guests on Leylines include folk hero Ani DiFranco, soulful songwriter Trevor Hall, and jazz trumpeter Maurice Turner. The album title alludes to the concept of invisible lines believed to stretch around the world between sacred spaces, bonded by a spiritual and magnetic presence. That deep sense of connection is key to understanding Rising Appalachia as a whole.\N“Rising Appalachia has come out of this idea that we can take these traditions of southern music – that we’ve been born and raised with – and we can rise out of them, creating all these different bridges between cultures and stories to make them feel alive.” Leah says. “Our music has its foundation in heritage and tradition, but we’re creating a music that also feels reflective of the times right now. That’s always been our work.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Due to the Coronavirus, Rising Appalachia's performance originally scheduled for Sunday, May 3rd at the Commonwealth Room has been postponed to a TBD date. Wellness for everyone (emotional and physical) is our first priority. Stay safe and smart and be gentle with yourselves.
----
As world travelers for nearly two decades, Rising Appalachia have merged multiple global music influences with their own southern roots to create the inviting new folk album, Leylines. Remarkably the band has built its legion of listeners independently -- a self-made success story that has led to major festival appearances and sold-out shows at venues across the country.
Founded by sisters Leah and Chloe Smith, the band established an international fan base due to relentless touring, tireless activism, and no small degree of stubborn independence. However, for the first time, they opted to bring in a producer for the new album, teaming up with the legendary Joe Henry on the sessions. These were also their first recording sessions outside of the South. For 10 days, all six band members lived and recorded in a castle-like studio in Marin County, California, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As a result, a sense of unity and immediacy can be heard throughout their seventh album, Leylines.
“As far as recording goes, we’re open creatively, but we’ve often preferred elements of live recording. I mean, we’re folk musicians at our core,” Leah explains. “The experience of playing music together in one room, looking at each other, is the bedrock of what we do and how we’ve grown up with music. I think Joe very much felt that way as well. He was very clear at the beginning that he was going to encourage us to have as many element of a live recording as possible.”
Although Leah and Chloe Smith consider their voices as their primary instrument, Leah also plays banjo and bodhran on the album, while Chloe plays guitar, fiddle, and banjo. They are joined on Leylines by longtime members David Brown (stand-up bass, baritone guitar) and Biko Casini (world percussion, n’goni), as well as two new members: West African musician Arouna Diarra (n’goni, talking drum) and Irish musician Duncan Wickel (fiddle, cello). The sonic textures of these two cultures are woven into Leylines, enhancing the stunning blend of folk, world, and urban music that has become Rising Appalachia’s calling card.
“Our songwriting ties into those traditions as well,” Chloe says. “With some of our original songs, it’s a reflection of the times. We’re folk singers and we consider this a folk album, so there’s a lot in there. There’s word of politics, of being women in the music industry, as well as a lot about our lives on the road.”
Indeed, Rising Appalachia has toured British Columbia by sailboat, traversed the U.S. and Europe by train, and engaged in immersive cultural exchange programs in Bulgaria, Ireland, Southern Italy, Central and South America – not to mention the countless miles in a van. Tour highlights include: Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco; Music Hall Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York; Boulder Theatre in Boulder, Colorado; and the Showbox in Seattle, Washington. The band consistently sells between 400 and 1500 tickets wherever they play, a testament to their loyal fan base.
Leah and Chloe grew up in urban Atlanta as the city’s hip hop scene began to flourish. They absorbed those rhythms through the music they heard at school, then traveled with their family to fiddle camps all across the Southeast on the weekends. The young girls weren’t all that interested in the old-time playing, but their parents were incredibly devout in their study and practice of Appalachian music.
After high school, Leah decided to postpone college and travel internationally. Feeling homesick while living in Southern Mexico, she looked for a connection to her past and taught herself how to play banjo. “I realized that I wanted something from home that I could share, something that would tell people a bit more of the story of where I came from, other than the news,” she recalls.
A few years later, when Chloe came to visit her abroad, Leah offered some clawhammer banjo lessons. They didn’t necessarily realize it at the time but a musical partnership had been established. Upon their return to the United States, they recorded an album, which they considered an art project, to sell whenever they sang at farmer’s markets. They printed 500 copies, figuring that would last them a lifetime. However, when a local college professor heard them singing at a Christmas party, he booked them as part of a Celtic holiday concert in Atlanta. After two performances, every CD had been sold.
Surprised and overwhelmed, they mulled over a career as full-time musicians, then realized that performing could be just one component of a greater overall vision – one that includes advocating for social justice, racial justice, environmental justice, and Indigenous rights.
“We’re able to filter in so many of our passions into this project,” Chloe says. “We do a lot of activism work. We do a lot of outreach. Leah is a visual artist and she can funnel her visual eye into the project. I love to write, so that comes in. There’s a big container and canvas for our life’s work here. Music is part of it, but there are a lot of other creative vehicles that are driving Rising Appalachia.”
Special guests on Leylines include folk hero Ani DiFranco, soulful songwriter Trevor Hall, and jazz trumpeter Maurice Turner. The album title alludes to the concept of invisible lines believed to stretch around the world between sacred spaces, bonded by a spiritual and magnetic presence. That deep sense of connection is key to understanding Rising Appalachia as a whole.
“Rising Appalachia has come out of this idea that we can take these traditions of southern music – that we’ve been born and raised with – and we can rise out of them, creating all these different bridges between cultures and stories to make them feel alive.” Leah says. “Our music has its foundation in heritage and tradition, but we’re creating a music that also feels reflective of the times right now. That’s always been our work.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200410T174746Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2180 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200509T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200509T233000 UID:999E3033-FA05-41B4-9DA7-66691A8B583B SUMMARY:The California Honeydrops DTSTAMP:20200213T200807Z DESCRIPTION:THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELED. All tickets will be automatically refunded at the point of purchase.\NA Message from The Band: \NHello Honeydrop Family, Near and Far!\NFirst off, we hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. We are sending our hearts out to all of you in these trying times. We regret to inform you that our Spring 2020 Tour has been canceled. Please contact your point of sale directly regarding a refund (more information below).\NIn the meantime, we will be trying our best to do some live stream concerts for you. The first one is this Friday, March 27th, 6 pm-7 pm PST with Lech Live From The Blues Cave. Tune in live on our Facebook page and please invite your friends. We will be donating 25% of all funds raised to the following local and national charities:\N\NSF Marin\NProject Open Hand: Meals with Love\NMeals on Wheels\NNo Kid Hungry\N\NMore information can be found on our website: www.cahoneydrops.com/spreadinhoney\NWe understand that this is a hard time for all of us, and we hope our music can bring you all some joy.\NMuch love,\NThe Drops\N----\NThe California Honeydrops celebrate their 11th year together with the release of their latest live album, “Honeydrops Live 2019” and international touring to Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. This follows the release of their 7th studio album and first-ever double album, “Call It Home: Vol. 1 & 2” in 2018. Led by dynamic vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Lech Wierzynski, and drawing on diverse musical influences from Bay Area R&B, funk, Southern soul, Delta blues, and New Orleans second-line, the Honeydrops bring vibrant energy and infectious dance-party vibes to their shows. They’ve taken the party all over the world, playing festivals of all kinds and touring widely across North America, Europe and Australia. In 2016 & 2017 the Honeydrops were honored to support Bonnie Raitt on her North America release tour—and in the past have been privileged to support the likes of B.B. King, Allen Toussaint, Buddy Guy, and Dr. John. Whether in those high-profile performances or in more intimate venues where the band itself can leave the stage and get down on the dance floor, the California Honeydrops’ shared vision and purpose remain: to make the audience dance and sing.\NThe Honeydrops have come a long way since guitarist and trumpeter Lech Wierzynkski and drummer Ben Malament started busking in an Oakland subway station, but the band has stayed true to that organic, street-level feel. Listening to Lech sing, it can be a surprise that he was born in Warsaw, Poland, and raised by Polish political refugees. He learned his vocal stylings from contraband American recordings of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Louis Armstrong, and later at Oberlin College and on the club circuit in Oakland, California. With the additions of Johnny Bones on tenor sax and clarinet, Lorenzo Loera on keyboards, and Beau Bradbury on bass, they’ve built a powerful full-band sound to support Wierzynski’s vocals. More like parties than traditional concerts, their shows feature extensive off-stage jamming and crowd interaction. “The whole point is to erase the boundaries between the crowd and us,” Wierzynski says. “We don’t make setlists. We want requests. We want crowd involvement, to make people become a part of the whole thing by dancing along, singing, picking the songs and generally coming out of their shells.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELED. All tickets will be automatically refunded at the point of purchase.
A Message from The Band:
Hello Honeydrop Family, Near and Far!
First off, we hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. We are sending our hearts out to all of you in these trying times. We regret to inform you that our Spring 2020 Tour has been canceled. Please contact your point of sale directly regarding a refund (more information below).
In the meantime, we will be trying our best to do some live stream concerts for you. The first one is this Friday, March 27th, 6 pm-7 pm PST with Lech Live From The Blues Cave. Tune in live on our Facebook page and please invite your friends. We will be donating 25% of all funds raised to the following local and national charities:
More information can be found on our website: www.cahoneydrops.com/spreadinhoney
We understand that this is a hard time for all of us, and we hope our music can bring you all some joy.
Much love,
The Drops
----
The California Honeydrops celebrate their 11th year together with the release of their latest live album, “Honeydrops Live 2019” and international touring to Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. This follows the release of their 7th studio album and first-ever double album, “Call It Home: Vol. 1 & 2” in 2018. Led by dynamic vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Lech Wierzynski, and drawing on diverse musical influences from Bay Area R&B, funk, Southern soul, Delta blues, and New Orleans second-line, the Honeydrops bring vibrant energy and infectious dance-party vibes to their shows. They’ve taken the party all over the world, playing festivals of all kinds and touring widely across North America, Europe and Australia. In 2016 & 2017 the Honeydrops were honored to support Bonnie Raitt on her North America release tour—and in the past have been privileged to support the likes of B.B. King, Allen Toussaint, Buddy Guy, and Dr. John. Whether in those high-profile performances or in more intimate venues where the band itself can leave the stage and get down on the dance floor, the California Honeydrops’ shared vision and purpose remain: to make the audience dance and sing.
The Honeydrops have come a long way since guitarist and trumpeter Lech Wierzynkski and drummer Ben Malament started busking in an Oakland subway station, but the band has stayed true to that organic, street-level feel. Listening to Lech sing, it can be a surprise that he was born in Warsaw, Poland, and raised by Polish political refugees. He learned his vocal stylings from contraband American recordings of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Louis Armstrong, and later at Oberlin College and on the club circuit in Oakland, California. With the additions of Johnny Bones on tenor sax and clarinet, Lorenzo Loera on keyboards, and Beau Bradbury on bass, they’ve built a powerful full-band sound to support Wierzynski’s vocals. More like parties than traditional concerts, their shows feature extensive off-stage jamming and crowd interaction. “The whole point is to erase the boundaries between the crowd and us,” Wierzynski says. “We don’t make setlists. We want requests. We want crowd involvement, to make people become a part of the whole thing by dancing along, singing, picking the songs and generally coming out of their shells.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200410T174915Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1240 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200513T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200513T233000 UID:54130EA5-F130-4F3A-A4BA-32CB9BDD1981 SUMMARY:Meat Puppets & Mudhoney DTSTAMP:20191107T201426Z DESCRIPTION:It’s time to pull your flannel shirts and Doc Martens out of your closet. We’re hosting two ‘90s alternative legends in one when Mud Honey and the Meat Puppets hit our stage for one night of your teenage angst-ridden nostalgia.\NMudhoney, hailing from Seattle (natch) is largely credited with creating the trademark sound of grunge – dirty guitar-heavy distortion. Their grunge bona fides don’t stop there, though. They had a stint with Sub Pop records and opened for Pearl Jam’s 20th-anniversary tour. Best known for their song “Touch Me I’m Sick,” Mudhoney released a new album, Digital Garbage, last year.\NSome things never change. That’s not just the refrain from the Meat Puppets biggest hit, “Backwater,” but also an apt description of the band, who tours often and rocks just as hard as ever. They like Mudhoney, are credited with being at the forefront of the grunge genre and have been named as influences for bands including Nirvana, Pavement and Sublime. In fact, Cobain had two Meat Puppets perform with him on his legendary MTV Unplugged special.\NMudHoney\NFacebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube\NMudhoney's time line begins in 1980, when teenaged Mark Arm formed the band Mr. Epp and the Calculations with some high-school friends from the Seattle suburb of Bellevue; none of whom actually knew how to play at the time. More interested in goofing off, breaking things, and posting flyers for shows that were never scheduled than actually making music, Mr. Epp didn't get around to playing a show until late 1981, opening for a band called Student Nurse. Despite their legendary ineptitude (they were described as "the worst band in the world" on more than one occasion), Mr. Epp began to develop a following, and released a 7" EP in 1982. In 1983, in a bid to sound more like a real band, the group added a second guitarist, Steve Turner, who had previously played in a garage band called the Ducky Boys. That same year they released their Live As All Get Out cassette, but things began to peter out for the group, and they played their final show in February 1984. In 1981, Arm and Turner, who'd become fast friends, also began playing in another joke-punk band, the Limp Richerds, and briefly placed their focus on that group until the Richerds also broke up near the end of 1984.\NEager to start playing again, Arm and Turner teamed up with drummer Alex Vincent, who had played with Turner in a short-lived band called Spluii Numa, and bassist Jeff Ament, who had recently arrived in the Northwest from Montana. When Arm decided he wanted to put down his guitar and concentrate on vocals, Turner asked former Ducky Boys guitarist Stone Gossard to join the group, and Green River was born. Along with fellow Washingtonians the Melvins, Green River were pioneers of a new Northwest rock sound, merging the snot-nosed sneer of punk with the minor-key thud of heavy metal. It didn't take long for Green River to get noticed on the Seattle rock scene, and in 1985 the band released their first EP, Come On Down. By the time the record hit the streets, Turner had left the band to return to college (he was also growing disenchanted with the harder rock direction the band was following); and with new guitarist Bruce Fairweather, the band set out on a nationwide tour that was little short of disastrous, in large part because a delay in the record's release had the band supporting an album that hadn't come out yet. The band survived to make a second EP, Dry As a Bone, for a new Seattle label, Sub Pop Records, in 1987; but, by the time their first full-length album, Rehab Doll, was released in the summer of 1988, tensions between members of the band caused Green River to split up. Ament and Gossard formed a new band called Mother Love Bone, Fairweather joined Love Battery, and Vincent went to law school.\NArm and Turner, meanwhile, had formed a side project while in Green River called the Thrown Ups, featuring graphic artist Ed Fotheringham on vocals. Essentially a more extreme example of the sort of goofy onslaught Arm and Turner had let loose with Mr. Epp, the Thrown Ups brought the two friends back together again, but Turner expressed a desire to form a new band that actually rehearsed songs before they played them in front of an audience. In his spare time, Turner began working up new material with Arm and drummer Dan Peters, who had played in Bundle of Hiss and Feast. Needing a bassist, the three hooked up with Matt Lukin, who had recently left the Melvins shortly before they left Washington for California. Naming themselves Mudhoney, after a Russ Meyer film none of them had actually seen, the new foursome took the punk metal formula of Green River and the Melvins, added a dollop of '60s garage rock swagger and a large portion of Fun House-era Stooges, and ran it all through the cheap stomp boxes Arm and Turner so cherished. Turner initially expected the band to last about six month.\N1988, Sub Pop released the band's first single, "Touch Me I'm Sick" b/w "Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More", with the EP Superfuzz Bigmuff following a few months later. The timing proved fortuitous. The indie circuit success of the Replacements and Big Black had created a demand at college radio and the nderground club circuit for harder and heavier bands, and Sub Pop's homegrown-but-earnest media blitz was helping to make "the Seattle Sound" -- soon to be dubbed "grunge" -- the next big thing, with Mudhoney the chief beneficiary. While the band's first american tour was nothing to write home about, the Sub Pop hype machine had already begun to take hold overseas, and the band scored a European tour -- mostly dates in Germany -- in early 1989. A few months later, Sonic Youth, who'd been big fans of Green River, invited Turner and Arm's new band to join them for a British tour, and soon Mudhoney found themselves the talk of the U.K. rock press. Superfuzz Bigmuff landed on the British indie charts and stayed there for the better part of a year, and the band wasted no time returning for a headlining tour, complete with massive press coverage and riotous shows. Word of Mudhoney's rep in Europe quickly crossed the pond, and the band was the new heroes of underground rock by the time their first full-length album, simply called Mudhoney, came out in late 1989.\NIn the wake of Mudhoney's success, a number of other Sub Pop acts began making big noise on college radio and the indie club circuit, including Soundgarden, Tad, the Fluid, and a trio of Melvins fans from Aberdeen, WA, called Nirvana. However, while Sub Pop was doing a fine job of creating the Next Big Thing, they weren't making much money at it just yet; and the label's financial problems were one reason Mudhoney's second full-length album, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge -- which found the band upping the garage punk quotient in heir formula -- didn't hit stores until 1991. By the end of the year, Mudhoney was shopping for a new label, and they could have hardly chosen a better time; Nirvana had already taken the major-label bait in 1990, and by December of 1991, Nevermind had made them the biggest and most talked about rock band in America. Soon, seemingly every band in Seattle was being offered a major label contract, and Mudhoney signed a deal with Reprise/Warner Bros. Their first major-label album, Piece of Cake, made it clear that the band's new corporate sponsorship wasn't going to change their musical approach; but their presence on a major label seemed to alienate old fans, while the mass audience who had embraced Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam (featuring Arm and Turner's old Green River bandmates Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament) found Mudhoney's work too eccentric for comfort. While Mudhoney remained a potent live draw, their record sales during their tenure with Reprise were disappointing, though they recorded two of their finest albums for the label: My Brother the Cow and Tomorrow Hit Today.In 1999, after an extensive tour supporting Tomorrow Hit Today, Reprise announced that they had dropped Mudhoney from their roster, and shortly after that, the band announced that Matt Lukin had turned in his resignation, citing his dislike of touring. With the release of March to Fuzz, a comprehensive career-retrospective compilation, many observers assumed that Mudhoney had called it a day, but in 2001 the band began playing a few live dates around the Northwest, with Steve Dukich (formerly with Steel Wool) sitting in on bass. The shows went well enough that Mudhoney decided to take another stab at their career, and Guy Maddison -- who'd been a member of Bloodloss, one of Arm's many part-time bands -- signed on as Mudhoney's new official bassist. Arm and Turner also found time to record and tour with a side project, the garage blues band Monkeywrench. When they came back together, they recorded Since We've Become Translucent and released it in the summer of 2002. The angry political and social commentary Under a Billion Suns appeared in 2006, followed by the deliberately raw, return to their aggressive roots The Lucky Ones in 2008.\NIn the years following The Lucky Ones, Mudhoney toured regularly, with one of the highlights being a showcase of the entire Superfuzz Bigmuff album at the 2010 All Tomorrows Parties in New York. All this was preparation for a 25th Anniversary blow-out in 2013, when the band released their ninth studio album, Vanishing Point, and a home video release of the documentary I'm Now, which was screened at various film festivals in 2012.\NMeat Puppets\NFacebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube\NThe Meat Puppets’ story begins with idle time spent in the wide-open spaces of the Phoenix area during the early 1980s. Friendly high school acquaintances, Bostrom and Curt Kirkwood were in the dawn of their twenties, unemployed and “starting to hang out because we were the only guys home,” the drummer recalled with a laugh. “Cris was going to school at the time, so we would lay around waiting for him to get out, and then he would join us as a trio. We began to make such a hellacious racket that we knew we were on to something.”\NThe collective influences in play ran the gamut—classic rock, British prog, the Dead, Zappa, Beefheart, fusion, the jazz avant-garde and, of course, punk rock, which had enjoyed a tightknit but robust scene in Phoenix since the mid-to-late ’70s. But the fascinating take on hardcore that can be heard on Meat Puppets, the band’s 1982 SST debut, had more to do with punk rock’s ethos of creative freedom (and Arizona’s psychedelic history) than with any calculated musical strategy. “Curt was trying to play in straight bands and getting kicked out,” Bostrom recalled. “I told him, ‘No—in this day and age you can be anything you need to be, and this band is going to support your weirdness.”\NThroughout the ’80s, the Meat Puppets found a crucial advocate in SST. Founded by Black Flag’s Greg Ginn, the trailblazing indie label emboldened the trio to follow their whims from one artistically brazen record to the next, and spearheaded a national touring network that gave them hard-earned exposure. Still, the hardcore kids devoted to the likes of Flag didn’t always take kindly to three longhairs whose punk was infused with Neil Young. “I got spit on so much,” Curt said. “I would get spit in my open eyeball and come offstage with loogies dripping off the guitar. It was hideous.”\NBut the band persevered, and by the late ’80s a dependable legion of Meatheads had accrued. “It was the attrition of the naysayers going away,” Curt recalled, “and not bothering to come and waste their money and waste our time.” But the same nonstop cycle of touring and recording that allowed the band to gather their following was also threatening to burn it out. “We were trying to do this to make a living,” Bostrom said, “so we were definitely interested in new opportunities.”\NMajor labels had begun to pluck the best of what was then called college rock, but the Meat Puppets weren’t the easiest sell. “We were not punk enough, and we were too punk,” Bostrom said. Eventually a deal was struck with London, and the Meat Puppets’ second album for the label, Too High to Die, became a gold record with a breakout single, “Backwater.”\NDuring the fall prior to that album’s January ’94 release, essential groundwork was laid. Nirvana, touring in support of In Utero, asked the band to open some shows in October. A couple of nights into the stint, Kurt Cobain told Kirkwood that Nirvana was taping an MTV Unpluggedsoon, and that he needed the brothers to guest at the performance in New York. “He said he couldn’t play the guitar parts,” Kirkwood said with a chuckle. And so “Lake of Fire” and “Plateau,” two of Cobain’s favorite tunes off of one of his favorite albums, Meat Puppets II, became staples of MTV when the network was still a taste-making behemoth. As Kirkwood saw it, his songs were being interpreted by a once-in-a-generation talent. “That’s a special voice,” he said. “That’s like a George Jones voice, somebody that’s immediately recognizable. A Neil Young voice.” A quarter-century later, the Nirvana association continues to be a catalyst for fandom. “It’s been the most constant vein that draws people in,” Kirkwood said.\NDespite such achievement, the Meat Puppets hit a wall not much later. No Joke!, the follow-up to Too High, was strong,but lightning didn’t strike twice. The majors were quickly losing interest in the indie scene they’d been exploiting, Cris’ drug use had become a dire problem, and Bostrom was at a crossroads. “I needed to get a life,” he said. “I’d been on the road for 15 years.” Post-Nirvana sales and royalties had given everyone some savings, so we could afford to part ways.\NKirkwood and Bostrom remained on good terms. A computer enthusiast who built a thriving career in information technology, Bostrom became the band’s webmaster and oversaw their ambitious Rykodisc reissue campaign in 1999. By the time Kirkwood assembled a new Meat Puppets lineup for 2000’s Golden Lies, Bostrom was happily settled into his work and family life. Cris, once again happy and healthy, and Curt reunited for 2007’s Rise to Your Kneesand three well-received subsequent albums. The Meat Puppets continued to grow and impress as a live act, though the set lists mostly acknowledged albums such as Meat Puppets IIand Up on the Sun, which had long been recognized as landmarks of alternative music.\NAt their induction into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2017, the Meat Puppets, one of the most compelling, original and enduring bands in rock history, managed to both honor their story and introduce its next chapter.\NOn that night in August, at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, founding members Curt Kirkwood, on vocals and guitar; his brother Cris Kirkwood, on bass and vocals; and Derrick Bostrom, on drums, joined together onstage for the first time in over two decades. Throughout a set that included era-defining songs like“Lake of Fire,” “Plateau” and “Backwater,” the chemistry was more than promising, as Bostrom isn’t shy to point out. “It was so intense that even I couldn’t deny it!” he recalled recently. “It was just like,now I remember why we did this. It was magical.” In addition to the newly reformed founding trio, the album features keyboardist Ron Stabinsky, a jazz-trained virtuoso adept at any style, and Curt Kirkwood’s son Elmo, whose old-school rock-guitar grit ideally complements his father’s spacier explorations. Intuitive, inspired and overflowing with genuine musicianship, it’s the sort of band that can transform what Curt describes as “simple yet engaging” songs into maiden voyages each night on the road. “I can ignore my vocal and listen to the other four guys play,” Kirkwood said, chuckling. “They’re all so good.” For the Meat Puppets, the backstory that led to that peak reads like a kind of Great American Rock Novel. It begins with kids, enamored of music and immersed in the psychedelic drug culture of Arizona in the ’70s, who find their way to punk rock, painstakingly become one of the most important bands of the American underground and go on to achieve mainstream rock stardom. A hiatus and resurrection follow, as Kirkwood doggedly furthers the Meat Puppets’ legacy—first on his own, and then alongside his brother, who’d conquered profound personal demons.\NStepping outside the band again, Bostrom can only marvel at the brothers’ tenacity. “The Meat Puppets have just been a really, really deep font of creativity,” he said. “Love it or hate it, hit or miss, Curt is just prodigious. When I got to know these guys again, I realized that they are still living the rock lifestyle; they’re not doing it by half measures. They stayed on the road. These guys are uncompromising. I consider the Meat Puppets to be a national treasure.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:It’s time to pull your flannel shirts and Doc Martens out of your closet. We’re hosting two ‘90s alternative legends in one when Mud Honey and the Meat Puppets hit our stage for one night of your teenage angst-ridden nostalgia.
Mudhoney, hailing from Seattle (natch) is largely credited with creating the trademark sound of grunge – dirty guitar-heavy distortion. Their grunge bona fides don’t stop there, though. They had a stint with Sub Pop records and opened for Pearl Jam’s 20th-anniversary tour. Best known for their song “Touch Me I’m Sick,” Mudhoney released a new album, Digital Garbage, last year.
Some things never change. That’s not just the refrain from the Meat Puppets biggest hit, “Backwater,” but also an apt description of the band, who tours often and rocks just as hard as ever. They like Mudhoney, are credited with being at the forefront of the grunge genre and have been named as influences for bands including Nirvana, Pavement and Sublime. In fact, Cobain had two Meat Puppets perform with him on his legendary MTV Unplugged special.
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Mudhoney's time line begins in 1980, when teenaged Mark Arm formed the band Mr. Epp and the Calculations with some high-school friends from the Seattle suburb of Bellevue; none of whom actually knew how to play at the time. More interested in goofing off, breaking things, and posting flyers for shows that were never scheduled than actually making music, Mr. Epp didn't get around to playing a show until late 1981, opening for a band called Student Nurse. Despite their legendary ineptitude (they were described as "the worst band in the world" on more than one occasion), Mr. Epp began to develop a following, and released a 7" EP in 1982. In 1983, in a bid to sound more like a real band, the group added a second guitarist, Steve Turner, who had previously played in a garage band called the Ducky Boys. That same year they released their Live As All Get Out cassette, but things began to peter out for the group, and they played their final show in February 1984. In 1981, Arm and Turner, who'd become fast friends, also began playing in another joke-punk band, the Limp Richerds, and briefly placed their focus on that group until the Richerds also broke up near the end of 1984.
Eager to start playing again, Arm and Turner teamed up with drummer Alex Vincent, who had played with Turner in a short-lived band called Spluii Numa, and bassist Jeff Ament, who had recently arrived in the Northwest from Montana. When Arm decided he wanted to put down his guitar and concentrate on vocals, Turner asked former Ducky Boys guitarist Stone Gossard to join the group, and Green River was born. Along with fellow Washingtonians the Melvins, Green River were pioneers of a new Northwest rock sound, merging the snot-nosed sneer of punk with the minor-key thud of heavy metal. It didn't take long for Green River to get noticed on the Seattle rock scene, and in 1985 the band released their first EP, Come On Down. By the time the record hit the streets, Turner had left the band to return to college (he was also growing disenchanted with the harder rock direction the band was following); and with new guitarist Bruce Fairweather, the band set out on a nationwide tour that was little short of disastrous, in large part because a delay in the record's release had the band supporting an album that hadn't come out yet. The band survived to make a second EP, Dry As a Bone, for a new Seattle label, Sub Pop Records, in 1987; but, by the time their first full-length album, Rehab Doll, was released in the summer of 1988, tensions between members of the band caused Green River to split up. Ament and Gossard formed a new band called Mother Love Bone, Fairweather joined Love Battery, and Vincent went to law school.
Arm and Turner, meanwhile, had formed a side project while in Green River called the Thrown Ups, featuring graphic artist Ed Fotheringham on vocals. Essentially a more extreme example of the sort of goofy onslaught Arm and Turner had let loose with Mr. Epp, the Thrown Ups brought the two friends back together again, but Turner expressed a desire to form a new band that actually rehearsed songs before they played them in front of an audience. In his spare time, Turner began working up new material with Arm and drummer Dan Peters, who had played in Bundle of Hiss and Feast. Needing a bassist, the three hooked up with Matt Lukin, who had recently left the Melvins shortly before they left Washington for California. Naming themselves Mudhoney, after a Russ Meyer film none of them had actually seen, the new foursome took the punk metal formula of Green River and the Melvins, added a dollop of '60s garage rock swagger and a large portion of Fun House-era Stooges, and ran it all through the cheap stomp boxes Arm and Turner so cherished. Turner initially expected the band to last about six month.
1988, Sub Pop released the band's first single, "Touch Me I'm Sick" b/w "Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More", with the EP Superfuzz Bigmuff following a few months later. The timing proved fortuitous. The indie circuit success of the Replacements and Big Black had created a demand at college radio and the nderground club circuit for harder and heavier bands, and Sub Pop's homegrown-but-earnest media blitz was helping to make "the Seattle Sound" -- soon to be dubbed "grunge" -- the next big thing, with Mudhoney the chief beneficiary. While the band's first american tour was nothing to write home about, the Sub Pop hype machine had already begun to take hold overseas, and the band scored a European tour -- mostly dates in Germany -- in early 1989. A few months later, Sonic Youth, who'd been big fans of Green River, invited Turner and Arm's new band to join them for a British tour, and soon Mudhoney found themselves the talk of the U.K. rock press. Superfuzz Bigmuff landed on the British indie charts and stayed there for the better part of a year, and the band wasted no time returning for a headlining tour, complete with massive press coverage and riotous shows. Word of Mudhoney's rep in Europe quickly crossed the pond, and the band was the new heroes of underground rock by the time their first full-length album, simply called Mudhoney, came out in late 1989.
In the wake of Mudhoney's success, a number of other Sub Pop acts began making big noise on college radio and the indie club circuit, including Soundgarden, Tad, the Fluid, and a trio of Melvins fans from Aberdeen, WA, called Nirvana. However, while Sub Pop was doing a fine job of creating the Next Big Thing, they weren't making much money at it just yet; and the label's financial problems were one reason Mudhoney's second full-length album, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge -- which found the band upping the garage punk quotient in heir formula -- didn't hit stores until 1991. By the end of the year, Mudhoney was shopping for a new label, and they could have hardly chosen a better time; Nirvana had already taken the major-label bait in 1990, and by December of 1991, Nevermind had made them the biggest and most talked about rock band in America. Soon, seemingly every band in Seattle was being offered a major label contract, and Mudhoney signed a deal with Reprise/Warner Bros. Their first major-label album, Piece of Cake, made it clear that the band's new corporate sponsorship wasn't going to change their musical approach; but their presence on a major label seemed to alienate old fans, while the mass audience who had embraced Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam (featuring Arm and Turner's old Green River bandmates Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament) found Mudhoney's work too eccentric for comfort. While Mudhoney remained a potent live draw, their record sales during their tenure with Reprise were disappointing, though they recorded two of their finest albums for the label: My Brother the Cow and Tomorrow Hit Today.
In 1999, after an extensive tour supporting Tomorrow Hit Today, Reprise announced that they had dropped Mudhoney from their roster, and shortly after that, the band announced that Matt Lukin had turned in his resignation, citing his dislike of touring. With the release of March to Fuzz, a comprehensive career-retrospective compilation, many observers assumed that Mudhoney had called it a day, but in 2001 the band began playing a few live dates around the Northwest, with Steve Dukich (formerly with Steel Wool) sitting in on bass. The shows went well enough that Mudhoney decided to take another stab at their career, and Guy Maddison -- who'd been a member of Bloodloss, one of Arm's many part-time bands -- signed on as Mudhoney's new official bassist. Arm and Turner also found time to record and tour with a side project, the garage blues band Monkeywrench. When they came back together, they recorded Since We've Become Translucent and released it in the summer of 2002. The angry political and social commentary Under a Billion Suns appeared in 2006, followed by the deliberately raw, return to their aggressive roots The Lucky Ones in 2008.
In the years following The Lucky Ones, Mudhoney toured regularly, with one of the highlights being a showcase of the entire Superfuzz Bigmuff album at the 2010 All Tomorrows Parties in New York. All this was preparation for a 25th Anniversary blow-out in 2013, when the band released their ninth studio album, Vanishing Point, and a home video release of the documentary I'm Now, which was screened at various film festivals in 2012.
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The Meat Puppets’ story begins with idle time spent in the wide-open spaces of the Phoenix area during the early 1980s. Friendly high school acquaintances, Bostrom and Curt Kirkwood were in the dawn of their twenties, unemployed and “starting to hang out because we were the only guys home,” the drummer recalled with a laugh. “Cris was going to school at the time, so we would lay around waiting for him to get out, and then he would join us as a trio. We began to make such a hellacious racket that we knew we were on to something.”
The collective influences in play ran the gamut—classic rock, British prog, the Dead, Zappa, Beefheart, fusion, the jazz avant-garde and, of course, punk rock, which had enjoyed a tightknit but robust scene in Phoenix since the mid-to-late ’70s. But the fascinating take on hardcore that can be heard on Meat Puppets, the band’s 1982 SST debut, had more to do with punk rock’s ethos of creative freedom (and Arizona’s psychedelic history) than with any calculated musical strategy. “Curt was trying to play in straight bands and getting kicked out,” Bostrom recalled. “I told him, ‘No—in this day and age you can be anything you need to be, and this band is going to support your weirdness.”
Throughout the ’80s, the Meat Puppets found a crucial advocate in SST. Founded by Black Flag’s Greg Ginn, the trailblazing indie label emboldened the trio to follow their whims from one artistically brazen record to the next, and spearheaded a national touring network that gave them hard-earned exposure. Still, the hardcore kids devoted to the likes of Flag didn’t always take kindly to three longhairs whose punk was infused with Neil Young. “I got spit on so much,” Curt said. “I would get spit in my open eyeball and come offstage with loogies dripping off the guitar. It was hideous.”
But the band persevered, and by the late ’80s a dependable legion of Meatheads had accrued. “It was the attrition of the naysayers going away,” Curt recalled, “and not bothering to come and waste their money and waste our time.” But the same nonstop cycle of touring and recording that allowed the band to gather their following was also threatening to burn it out. “We were trying to do this to make a living,” Bostrom said, “so we were definitely interested in new opportunities.”
Major labels had begun to pluck the best of what was then called college rock, but the Meat Puppets weren’t the easiest sell. “We were not punk enough, and we were too punk,” Bostrom said. Eventually a deal was struck with London, and the Meat Puppets’ second album for the label, Too High to Die, became a gold record with a breakout single, “Backwater.”
During the fall prior to that album’s January ’94 release, essential groundwork was laid. Nirvana, touring in support of In Utero, asked the band to open some shows in October. A couple of nights into the stint, Kurt Cobain told Kirkwood that Nirvana was taping an MTV Unpluggedsoon, and that he needed the brothers to guest at the performance in New York. “He said he couldn’t play the guitar parts,” Kirkwood said with a chuckle. And so “Lake of Fire” and “Plateau,” two of Cobain’s favorite tunes off of one of his favorite albums, Meat Puppets II, became staples of MTV when the network was still a taste-making behemoth. As Kirkwood saw it, his songs were being interpreted by a once-in-a-generation talent. “That’s a special voice,” he said. “That’s like a George Jones voice, somebody that’s immediately recognizable. A Neil Young voice.” A quarter-century later, the Nirvana association continues to be a catalyst for fandom. “It’s been the most constant vein that draws people in,” Kirkwood said.
Despite such achievement, the Meat Puppets hit a wall not much later. No Joke!, the follow-up to Too High, was strong,but lightning didn’t strike twice. The majors were quickly losing interest in the indie scene they’d been exploiting, Cris’ drug use had become a dire problem, and Bostrom was at a crossroads. “I needed to get a life,” he said. “I’d been on the road for 15 years.” Post-Nirvana sales and royalties had given everyone some savings, so we could afford to part ways.
Kirkwood and Bostrom remained on good terms. A computer enthusiast who built a thriving career in information technology, Bostrom became the band’s webmaster and oversaw their ambitious Rykodisc reissue campaign in 1999. By the time Kirkwood assembled a new Meat Puppets lineup for 2000’s Golden Lies, Bostrom was happily settled into his work and family life. Cris, once again happy and healthy, and Curt reunited for 2007’s Rise to Your Kneesand three well-received subsequent albums. The Meat Puppets continued to grow and impress as a live act, though the set lists mostly acknowledged albums such as Meat Puppets IIand Up on the Sun, which had long been recognized as landmarks of alternative music.
At their induction into the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2017, the Meat Puppets, one of the most compelling, original and enduring bands in rock history, managed to both honor their story and introduce its next chapter.
On that night in August, at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, founding members Curt Kirkwood, on vocals and guitar; his brother Cris Kirkwood, on bass and vocals; and Derrick Bostrom, on drums, joined together onstage for the first time in over two decades. Throughout a set that included era-defining songs like“Lake of Fire,” “Plateau” and “Backwater,” the chemistry was more than promising, as Bostrom isn’t shy to point out. “It was so intense that even I couldn’t deny it!” he recalled recently. “It was just like,now I remember why we did this. It was magical.”
In addition to the newly reformed founding trio, the album features keyboardist Ron Stabinsky, a jazz-trained virtuoso adept at any style, and Curt Kirkwood’s son Elmo, whose old-school rock-guitar grit ideally complements his father’s spacier explorations. Intuitive, inspired and overflowing with genuine musicianship, it’s the sort of band that can transform what Curt describes as “simple yet engaging” songs into maiden voyages each night on the road. “I can ignore my vocal and listen to the other four guys play,” Kirkwood said, chuckling. “They’re all so good.”
For the Meat Puppets, the backstory that led to that peak reads like a kind of Great American Rock Novel. It begins with kids, enamored of music and immersed in the psychedelic drug culture of Arizona in the ’70s, who find their way to punk rock, painstakingly become one of the most important bands of the American underground and go on to achieve mainstream rock stardom. A hiatus and resurrection follow, as Kirkwood doggedly furthers the Meat Puppets’ legacy—first on his own, and then alongside his brother, who’d conquered profound personal demons.
Stepping outside the band again, Bostrom can only marvel at the brothers’ tenacity. “The Meat Puppets have just been a really, really deep font of creativity,” he said. “Love it or hate it, hit or miss, Curt is just prodigious. When I got to know these guys again, I realized that they are still living the rock lifestyle; they’re not doing it by half measures. They stayed on the road. These guys are uncompromising. I consider the Meat Puppets to be a national treasure.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200410T174939Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2282 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200529T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200529T233000 UID:45A1EA1D-5D10-42D0-A6F4-6A3CC3E7F381 SUMMARY:Jon Wolfe DTSTAMP:20200306T195950Z DESCRIPTION:The best introduction to Jon Wolfe is the basic yet not so simple fact that he’s a country singer and songwriter. Country music, as it was, is and always should be, with boots firmly standing on the bedrock of tradition and an eye focused on taking it into the future. And that, as any fan of true country knows, is no simple proposition.\N“At heart, it’s all about being a great singer and storyteller.”\NHence the other best introduction to Jon Wolfe is to hear him sing and share the stories in the songs he performs and writes. And to learn his life story — from small town Oklahoma to the bustling big city commodities trading floor to the dance halls and honky-tonks of Texas and Oklahoma to Music Row, to give the highlights — and witness his faith in the power of music and determination to touch the hearts of others with something that means so much to him.\NIt’s world-class country music from the American heartland, informed by the great singers that inspired Wolfe — like George Strait, Garth Brooks (a fellow Okie), Clint Black, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson and Dwight Yoakam, to name a few — yet fired by his own contemporary energy and vision.\N“A seasoned performer, Wolfe has opened for some of country’s biggest stars and has played more than 400 live shows over the past four years. ”\NHis 2010 release, It All Happened In A Honky Tonk, became such a regional success that it was re-released as a Deluxe Edition by Warner Music Nashville in 2013. The album debuted at #34 on the Billboard Album Chart and has collectively sold 25,000 units.\N2015's Natural Man debuted #13 on iTunes, #25 on the Billboard chart, and #8 on the Nielsen SoundScan Top New Artist Albums Chart. The 13-track collection merges Wolfe's signature traditional sound, influenced by some of country music's greatest legends, with an edgy, modern energy.\NThe blend of rawness and accessibility of Natural Man gave Wolfe the undeniable identity of a torchbearer for country music. Any Night In Texas (2017) - Wolfe’s most recent and proudest collection of songs to date - landed at #3 on iTunes Country, #15 on Billboard Country, and continues to burn up the charts. With three highly-lauded studio albums in his repertoire, Wolfe’s garnered 12 consecutive Top Ten singles (8 have hit No.1), positioning him as a must-see act in Texas, Oklahoma, and well beyond.\NJon recently launched his own tequila brand under the moniker of his name in Spanish: Juan Lobo. The brand launched alongside two huge music festivals that Wolfe organized and produced. Alongside his packed 2019 touring schedule, Wolfe released an EP of brand new music produced by the visionary Dave Brainard in June of 2019.\N“Wolfe invites country music fans everywhere to dust off your boots, download or spin the single, and come see the electrifying live show that has everyone talking. The numbers don’t lie: Jon Wolfe is the torchbearer for country music.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The best introduction to Jon Wolfe is the basic yet not so simple fact that he’s a country singer and songwriter. Country music, as it was, is and always should be, with boots firmly standing on the bedrock of tradition and an eye focused on taking it into the future. And that, as any fan of true country knows, is no simple proposition.
“At heart, it’s all about being a great singer and storyteller.”
Hence the other best introduction to Jon Wolfe is to hear him sing and share the stories in the songs he performs and writes. And to learn his life story — from small town Oklahoma to the bustling big city commodities trading floor to the dance halls and honky-tonks of Texas and Oklahoma to Music Row, to give the highlights — and witness his faith in the power of music and determination to touch the hearts of others with something that means so much to him.
It’s world-class country music from the American heartland, informed by the great singers that inspired Wolfe — like George Strait, Garth Brooks (a fellow Okie), Clint Black, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson and Dwight Yoakam, to name a few — yet fired by his own contemporary energy and vision.
“A seasoned performer, Wolfe has opened for some of country’s biggest stars and has played more than 400 live shows over the past four years. ”
His 2010 release, It All Happened In A Honky Tonk, became such a regional success that it was re-released as a Deluxe Edition by Warner Music Nashville in 2013. The album debuted at #34 on the Billboard Album Chart and has collectively sold 25,000 units.
2015's Natural Man debuted #13 on iTunes, #25 on the Billboard chart, and #8 on the Nielsen SoundScan Top New Artist Albums Chart. The 13-track collection merges Wolfe's signature traditional sound, influenced by some of country music's greatest legends, with an edgy, modern energy.
The blend of rawness and accessibility of Natural Man gave Wolfe the undeniable identity of a torchbearer for country music. Any Night In Texas (2017) - Wolfe’s most recent and proudest collection of songs to date - landed at #3 on iTunes Country, #15 on Billboard Country, and continues to burn up the charts. With three highly-lauded studio albums in his repertoire, Wolfe’s garnered 12 consecutive Top Ten singles (8 have hit No.1), positioning him as a must-see act in Texas, Oklahoma, and well beyond.
Jon recently launched his own tequila brand under the moniker of his name in Spanish: Juan Lobo. The brand launched alongside two huge music festivals that Wolfe organized and produced. Alongside his packed 2019 touring schedule, Wolfe released an EP of brand new music produced by the visionary Dave Brainard in June of 2019.
“Wolfe invites country music fans everywhere to dust off your boots, download or spin the single, and come see the electrifying live show that has everyone talking. The numbers don’t lie: Jon Wolfe is the torchbearer for country music.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200504T154809Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1405 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200603T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200603T233000 UID:1BF8DB27-AB42-4679-B598-9E3A3BA78559 SUMMARY:Reckless Kelly + Micky & The Motor Cars DTSTAMP:20200306T214658Z DESCRIPTION:RECKLESS KELLY\NFacebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube \NUnderstanding the virtuosity of Reckless Kelly requires the perspective of where the band has been. Cody and Willy Braun grew up in the White Cloud Mountains of Idaho. They moved to Bend, Oregon, and then migrated to that great musical fountainhead, Austin, Texas.\NThe band’s co-founders and frontmen toured the country as part of their father’s band, Muzzie Braun and the Boys, as children. They performed on The Tonight Show twice. Their father taught his four sons a professional ethic – integrity, persistence, hard work and professionalism – honed over three generations. They overcame hardships, struggled for recognition, and learned the lessons of the trial and error that defined them.\NIn one sense, it’s remarkable in the way of any musician, athlete, or businessperson who bucks the odds. In another, though, it’s utterly natural that Reckless Kelly, born in the dreams of the two Braun brothers and their heritage but nurtured in the bumpy road of maturity, became the very essence of Americana music in all its far-flung glory.\N“We came along in that second wave of the movement,” Cody Braun says. “Son Volt’s album Trace had a major effect on us. People like Joe Ely, Ray Kennedy and Robert Earl Keen were always big supporters. Our goal was to make music that had a country vibe but a solid rock edge.”\NIn the end, all the recipe required was to just add water. Water facilitates life. It enriches the soul. As Music Row magazine proclaimed, “In my perfect world, this is what country radio would sound like.”\N“This” is Reckless Kelly.\NThe heartland gave the band authenticity. Musical lives honed its skill. Adversity instilled its persistence. Moving to Austin gave it wings to fly.\NAs kids, the Brauns – Cody, Willy, Micky and Gary – shared a stage with the likes of Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell and Merle Haggard. Micky and Gary Braun now helm their own band, Micky and the Motorcars. In Bend, Cody and Willy added drummer Jay Nazz, who brought with him his own unique experience.\N“I had grown up in the Northeast, performing at clubs and weddings with my dad and brother from the age of 13,” Nazz recalls, “so, when I met Willy and Cody, we already had that in common. Both of our dads were musicians with a very similar kind of performing discipline. That helped us bond immediately.”\NThe band took its name from the legend of Ned Kelly, the Australian highwayman, and the three moved to Austin in the autumn of 1996, where they carved a niche of their own. Early on, Keen, a Texas legend himself, took them under his wing and became their first manager. They listened, watched and interacted with the creative dynamos of the outlaw country scene – Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Billy Joe Shaver, Guy Clark and others – and joined them in a redefinition of what contemporary country music had become. Theirs was gritty, hard-edged, uncompromising and convincing. They turned country music real again.\NWilly Braun wrote half the songs of Millican, 1998’s self-released debut, in an abandoned school bus, where he had lived for six months in Bend. The effect of that album was to emblazon Reckless Kelly with a reputation as a band of no-nonsense insurgents that could raise the rafters while still retaining a heart and soul of honesty, soul and conviction.\NThey evolved, adding David Abetya, a graduate of the Berklee School of Music, on lead guitar in 2000. Kansas-bred bassist Joe Miller — who had grown up on a family farm before becoming a broadcaster at his college radio station and migrating to Austin – signed on 2012.\NReckless Kelly’s string of critically acclaimed albums – Under the Table and Above the Sun (2003), Wicked Twisted Road (2005), Bulletproof (2008), Somewhere in Time (2010), Grammy-nominated Good Luck & True Love (2011) and Grammy-winning Long Night Moon (2013) – set a standard of reliable excellence and commitment to an instinctive vision of Americana. No band exemplifies the broad genre better.\NIndependent? Oh, yeah. Doggedly so. Nothing demonstrates it more than the band’s path through a succession of prestigious record labels – Sugar Hill and Yep Roc, among them – en route to a label, No Big Deal, of their own.\NFor two decades, the band has toured coast to coast relentlessly. It has demonstrated its longevity in a world where trendy newcomers are proclaimed the Next Big Thing by spinning a couple pop hits. They disappear from the radar, doomed by the very fad that invented them. Not unlike the pioneers who preceded them on the western frontier where the Brauns were raised, they have forged their survival without compromise, combining hard work with a resolve that success is only satisfying when achieved by their own standards and definition.\NThe group’s most recent studio album, Sunset Motel, is, like all its predecessors, distinctive in its own way while true to form. Self-produced and recorded in Austin’s renowned Arlyn Studios (where Millican was made two decades ago) and mixed by Jim Scott (Rolling Stones, Dixie Chicks, Tom Petty, Sting, Roger Daltrey, Crowded House, et al.), it reflects Reckless Kelly’s attention to craft and continuity.\NTwenty years since its founding, Reckless Kelly continues to fight for wider recognition, secure in the knowledge that fans, critics and contemporaries will continue to sing its praises.\NThe songs hit one emotional peak after another: the infectious “Volcano,” the urgent “One More One Last Time,” the desperate desire that comes full circle in “How Can You Love Him (You Don’t Even Like Him)” and the bittersweet title track. With steady guitar drive and a series of insistent choruses, they all ring with power and conviction that make Sunset Motel a breathtaking listening experience.\N“Willy wrote 30 or 40 songs for the new album and we cut about half of them,” Cody says. “We ended up using 13 of them, but there were still some good ones left on the cutting-room floor.”\NCody, Willy and Nazz have been constants since the beginning. Abeyta and Miller add their own wrinkles to a signature sound that remains intact. The populist following grows, but the band has also moved on to play in performing arts centers and listening rooms that provide more focused encounters.\N“We’re at the point where we’re not content to be categorized as simply a party band anymore,” Willy says. “We would like folks to really hear these songs, to be able to hear the lyrics and appreciate the musicianship that goes into the arrangements. Yes, we still want our audiences to have a good time, but we also want to show that this is a real band with a cohesive attitude and a muscular backbone, as well. We don’t want to be pigeonholed as simply a Texas-based, beer-drinking, rowdy bunch of party boys. There’s a lot more to it than that.”\N“This is a really good place to be,” Cody adds. “We’ve built a solid fan base, which gives us a nice safety net. At the same time, we can take things at a more leisurely pace because we can control our own destiny.”\NGreat bands know good music. They make it the way they like, confident that what they love, what excites them, will also gain traction with thousands and thousands, perhaps even millions, of passionate fans.\NReckless Kelly is, by the best possible definition, a great band.\NFreedom to pursue its own destiny has always been at the center of the band’s ambitions. Their fate is as much in their own hands as is reasonably possible.\N“We’ve toured extensively over the course of our career,” Cody says. “We’ve traveled front and back, up and down, across this country. Happily, we’re at a point where we’re not killing ourselves to pay the bills.”\NThat point liberates them to be true to their background, their heritage and, most importantly, themselves.\N“We’ve always been hands-on in terms of our marketing and our delivery,” Willy says. “The labels always gave us the freedom we asked for, but an A&R person doesn’t always know what’s best for the band.”\NThe fierce self-reliance and independent spirit keeps Reckless Kelly happy, appreciative and charitable. Their annual festival, The Braun Brothers Reunion, in Challis, Idaho, has been ongoing for 37 years now. They reunite with their brothers, Gary and Micky (and the Motorcars). The Brauns run it without major sponsors or outside promoters.\NThe band also hosts the yearly Reckless Kelly Celebrity Softball Jam to raise money for Austin-area youth charities, putting $300,000 in those coffers over the past seven years.\N“It’s a great way to give back,” Cody says. “It’s great to be able to share our success in such a positive way.”\NCollectively, they’ve played over 3,000 shows and traveled over 1,500,000 miles to 49 states.\NReckless Kelly is a great band with an apt name. The outlaw’s spirit pervades the ambiance. They are rugged individualists who dedicate themselves to advancing the state of their art.\NThey’re good guys, too. Their hearts dwell in the right places, and those are where the music follows.\NMICKY & THE MOTOR CARS\NFacebook | Instagram | Twitter\NLong Time Comin’ 2019\N For a handful of summers about 30 years ago, tourists who wandered into a large dancehall in Stanley, Idaho, witnessed a family tradition finding new life. Young and old sat shoulder-to-shoulder, taking a break from the town’s mountain hikes and river campgrounds to take in Muzzie Braun and the Boys––a local family band who’d made it to the Grand Ole Opry, effortlessly spouted cowboy poetry and Western swing at gatherings around the country, and featured Muzzie’s four young sons––precocious boys with rock-and-roll futures.\N “There were kids running around, people dancing,” says Micky Braun, the youngest brother who first climbed on stage to join the family when he was about five years-old. “Gary and I’d get up and play a couple of songs, then we’d get off and the older brothers would stay up and play a couple more. It’s pretty funny, looking back on it.” He laughs a little, then adds, still smiling, “That’s how we got started playing.”\N The Braun brothers never stopped. Big brothers Cody and Willy started Reckless Kelly, and Micky and Gary left Idaho for Austin and started Micky and the Motorcars, a road-dogging favorite whose nonstop tour for the last 17 years has defined not just the lives of the brothers, but also shaped Austin’s roots-rock resurgence that has played out over the last two decades. With their anticipated new album Long Time Comin’, the Motorcars cement their place as elder statesmen of that alt-country scene who have managed to master that ever-elusive blend of artistic familiarity and surprise.\N “I hope people take the time to hear the album as a whole, and I hope they like it,” Gary says from his home in Austin. “I think this one is a little bit better.” He pauses and laughs as he drawls, “So I hope they like it a little more.”\N For the Motorcars, the question is never really whether to tour but where to play next. Gary––who handles guitar, mandolin, harmonica, harmonies, and occasionally lead vocals––and Micky, lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist, are joined in the Motorcars by Joe Fladger on bass, Bobby Paugh on drums and percussion, and new bandmate Pablo Trujillo on guitar. The combination of familiar and fresh players has reinvigorated the Motorcars’ live show, which buzzes through a low-key rock-and-roll rapture built on grooves and the Brauns’ signature harmonies.\N A mix of new and old also shaped the Long Time Comin’ recording process. Produced by Keith Gattis, the 11-song album relied in part on Gattis’ go-to Nashville studio players––a first for the Motorcars. “It still sounds like Micky and the Motorcars, but it was fun working with different guys who we’d never worked with before,” Micky says. “They’ve been Keith’s band for 15 years. He can say, ‘Give me a shuffle with a boom-chuck,’ and they know what he’s talking about.”\N The band isn’t the only change on Long Time Comin’. Gary, who has always contributed a song or two to Motorcar records, wrote or co-wrote six of the album’s tracks and sings every tune he penned. “I don’t think I decided to really write more––I think I just got better at it and worked a little harder at it the past couple of years,” Gary says. “In the past, I just let Micky do it because he was good at it. It was easy for me not to do it.”\N Micky loves the shift. “It’s almost a split album between the two of us on lead vocal––very different from our normal,” he says. “I think our fans will enjoy it. They always love the songs Gary sings live. They always want him to sing more.”\N The album kicks off with the ambling “Road to You.” Written by Micky and Courtney Patton, the rollicking singalong is classic Motorcars and an ideal welcome mat for the collection. Sauntering “Rodeo Girl” swings and punches up the pace, before “Alone Again Tonight”––a Gary track written with Gattis––watches loneliness with empathetic ache.\NSeveral tracks take note of the universal search for comfort––even when it’s not the stuff of fairytales or even particularly dignified. Over crunchy guitars, “Stranger Tonight” captures an evening’s quest for no-strings companionship. “It was an idea I had just watching people at bars––that lonely girl I saw time and time again but with a different set of glasses, over and over,” Gary says. “It seems like everybody can relate to that––out looking for something new that doesn’t have to be love.”\NSweet and sad, “Break My Heart,” another track penned by Gary with Jeff Crosby, looks back after the end of a relationship. “You’re not mad anymore but you’re thankful of the good times,” Gary says. “It’s also about finding yourself again. It’s a moving-on song.” Quiet and sparse, the Gary-penned “Run into You” details a longing to cross paths with an ex-lover who’s moved on with heartbreaking clarity.\NAnchored by crying B-3 organ, “Hold This Town Together” explores the struggle to enjoy what once was easy after the loss of someone who’ll never come back. After years of trying, Micky wrote the song for Mark, a friend and the Motorcars’ first bassist, who passed away. “Hold This Town,” written by Micky and Jeff Crosby, muses over the hometown faces and places that never change. “There are the same people at the same bars, the same people working at the grocery stores,” Micky says, then adds with a laugh, “It’s kind of a depressing party song.” Another Jeff Crosby-Micky collaboration, “Thank My Mother’s God” pays beautiful tribute to moms and their devotion to their black sheep, running wild.\NTwo album standouts stand tall: “Lions of Kandahar,” written by Gary alone, and the title track, which Micky penned with master songwriter Bruce Robison. Over instrumentation that evokes the tense hum of Middle Eastern military activity, “Lions of Kandahar” follows a deployment from a first-person perspective. The result is jarring, compelling, and deeply human––a breathtaking piece of songwriting that took five years to complete. Winsome “Long Time Comin’” is an ode to the satisfaction of patience and perseverance rewarded in different forms––a stunning tapestry that also reflects the road to the album itself.\NGuitars and songs at the ready, Micky and Gary hope most of all that their sprawling cross-continental fanbase connect with Long Time Comin’, a collection four years in the making. “If you can put your heart on your sleeve and say it, it’s the best medicine for people,” Micky says, reflecting on the album. “They can lock into it and enjoy the ride.”\N X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube
Understanding the virtuosity of Reckless Kelly requires the perspective of where the band has been. Cody and Willy Braun grew up in the White Cloud Mountains of Idaho. They moved to Bend, Oregon, and then migrated to that great musical fountainhead, Austin, Texas.
The band’s co-founders and frontmen toured the country as part of their father’s band, Muzzie Braun and the Boys, as children. They performed on The Tonight Show twice. Their father taught his four sons a professional ethic – integrity, persistence, hard work and professionalism – honed over three generations. They overcame hardships, struggled for recognition, and learned the lessons of the trial and error that defined them.
In one sense, it’s remarkable in the way of any musician, athlete, or businessperson who bucks the odds. In another, though, it’s utterly natural that Reckless Kelly, born in the dreams of the two Braun brothers and their heritage but nurtured in the bumpy road of maturity, became the very essence of Americana music in all its far-flung glory.
“We came along in that second wave of the movement,” Cody Braun says. “Son Volt’s album Trace had a major effect on us. People like Joe Ely, Ray Kennedy and Robert Earl Keen were always big supporters. Our goal was to make music that had a country vibe but a solid rock edge.”
In the end, all the recipe required was to just add water. Water facilitates life. It enriches the soul. As Music Row magazine proclaimed, “In my perfect world, this is what country radio would sound like.”
“This” is Reckless Kelly.
The heartland gave the band authenticity. Musical lives honed its skill. Adversity instilled its persistence. Moving to Austin gave it wings to fly.
As kids, the Brauns – Cody, Willy, Micky and Gary – shared a stage with the likes of Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell and Merle Haggard. Micky and Gary Braun now helm their own band, Micky and the Motorcars. In Bend, Cody and Willy added drummer Jay Nazz, who brought with him his own unique experience.
“I had grown up in the Northeast, performing at clubs and weddings with my dad and brother from the age of 13,” Nazz recalls, “so, when I met Willy and Cody, we already had that in common. Both of our dads were musicians with a very similar kind of performing discipline. That helped us bond immediately.”
The band took its name from the legend of Ned Kelly, the Australian highwayman, and the three moved to Austin in the autumn of 1996, where they carved a niche of their own. Early on, Keen, a Texas legend himself, took them under his wing and became their first manager. They listened, watched and interacted with the creative dynamos of the outlaw country scene – Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Billy Joe Shaver, Guy Clark and others – and joined them in a redefinition of what contemporary country music had become. Theirs was gritty, hard-edged, uncompromising and convincing. They turned country music real again.
Willy Braun wrote half the songs of Millican, 1998’s self-released debut, in an abandoned school bus, where he had lived for six months in Bend. The effect of that album was to emblazon Reckless Kelly with a reputation as a band of no-nonsense insurgents that could raise the rafters while still retaining a heart and soul of honesty, soul and conviction.
They evolved, adding David Abetya, a graduate of the Berklee School of Music, on lead guitar in 2000. Kansas-bred bassist Joe Miller — who had grown up on a family farm before becoming a broadcaster at his college radio station and migrating to Austin – signed on 2012.
Reckless Kelly’s string of critically acclaimed albums – Under the Table and Above the Sun (2003), Wicked Twisted Road (2005), Bulletproof (2008), Somewhere in Time (2010), Grammy-nominated Good Luck & True Love (2011) and Grammy-winning Long Night Moon (2013) – set a standard of reliable excellence and commitment to an instinctive vision of Americana. No band exemplifies the broad genre better.
Independent? Oh, yeah. Doggedly so. Nothing demonstrates it more than the band’s path through a succession of prestigious record labels – Sugar Hill and Yep Roc, among them – en route to a label, No Big Deal, of their own.
For two decades, the band has toured coast to coast relentlessly. It has demonstrated its longevity in a world where trendy newcomers are proclaimed the Next Big Thing by spinning a couple pop hits. They disappear from the radar, doomed by the very fad that invented them. Not unlike the pioneers who preceded them on the western frontier where the Brauns were raised, they have forged their survival without compromise, combining hard work with a resolve that success is only satisfying when achieved by their own standards and definition.
The group’s most recent studio album, Sunset Motel, is, like all its predecessors, distinctive in its own way while true to form. Self-produced and recorded in Austin’s renowned Arlyn Studios (where Millican was made two decades ago) and mixed by Jim Scott (Rolling Stones, Dixie Chicks, Tom Petty, Sting, Roger Daltrey, Crowded House, et al.), it reflects Reckless Kelly’s attention to craft and continuity.
Twenty years since its founding, Reckless Kelly continues to fight for wider recognition, secure in the knowledge that fans, critics and contemporaries will continue to sing its praises.
The songs hit one emotional peak after another: the infectious “Volcano,” the urgent “One More One Last Time,” the desperate desire that comes full circle in “How Can You Love Him (You Don’t Even Like Him)” and the bittersweet title track. With steady guitar drive and a series of insistent choruses, they all ring with power and conviction that make Sunset Motel a breathtaking listening experience.
“Willy wrote 30 or 40 songs for the new album and we cut about half of them,” Cody says. “We ended up using 13 of them, but there were still some good ones left on the cutting-room floor.”
Cody, Willy and Nazz have been constants since the beginning. Abeyta and Miller add their own wrinkles to a signature sound that remains intact. The populist following grows, but the band has also moved on to play in performing arts centers and listening rooms that provide more focused encounters.
“We’re at the point where we’re not content to be categorized as simply a party band anymore,” Willy says. “We would like folks to really hear these songs, to be able to hear the lyrics and appreciate the musicianship that goes into the arrangements. Yes, we still want our audiences to have a good time, but we also want to show that this is a real band with a cohesive attitude and a muscular backbone, as well. We don’t want to be pigeonholed as simply a Texas-based, beer-drinking, rowdy bunch of party boys. There’s a lot more to it than that.”
“This is a really good place to be,” Cody adds. “We’ve built a solid fan base, which gives us a nice safety net. At the same time, we can take things at a more leisurely pace because we can control our own destiny.”
Great bands know good music. They make it the way they like, confident that what they love, what excites them, will also gain traction with thousands and thousands, perhaps even millions, of passionate fans.
Reckless Kelly is, by the best possible definition, a great band.
Freedom to pursue its own destiny has always been at the center of the band’s ambitions. Their fate is as much in their own hands as is reasonably possible.
“We’ve toured extensively over the course of our career,” Cody says. “We’ve traveled front and back, up and down, across this country. Happily, we’re at a point where we’re not killing ourselves to pay the bills.”
That point liberates them to be true to their background, their heritage and, most importantly, themselves.
“We’ve always been hands-on in terms of our marketing and our delivery,” Willy says. “The labels always gave us the freedom we asked for, but an A&R person doesn’t always know what’s best for the band.”
The fierce self-reliance and independent spirit keeps Reckless Kelly happy, appreciative and charitable. Their annual festival, The Braun Brothers Reunion, in Challis, Idaho, has been ongoing for 37 years now. They reunite with their brothers, Gary and Micky (and the Motorcars). The Brauns run it without major sponsors or outside promoters.
The band also hosts the yearly Reckless Kelly Celebrity Softball Jam to raise money for Austin-area youth charities, putting $300,000 in those coffers over the past seven years.
“It’s a great way to give back,” Cody says. “It’s great to be able to share our success in such a positive way.”
Collectively, they’ve played over 3,000 shows and traveled over 1,500,000 miles to 49 states.
Reckless Kelly is a great band with an apt name. The outlaw’s spirit pervades the ambiance. They are rugged individualists who dedicate themselves to advancing the state of their art.
They’re good guys, too. Their hearts dwell in the right places, and those are where the music follows.
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Long Time Comin’ 2019
For a handful of summers about 30 years ago, tourists who wandered into a large dancehall in Stanley, Idaho, witnessed a family tradition finding new life. Young and old sat shoulder-to-shoulder, taking a break from the town’s mountain hikes and river campgrounds to take in Muzzie Braun and the Boys––a local family band who’d made it to the Grand Ole Opry, effortlessly spouted cowboy poetry and Western swing at gatherings around the country, and featured Muzzie’s four young sons––precocious boys with rock-and-roll futures.
“There were kids running around, people dancing,” says Micky Braun, the youngest brother who first climbed on stage to join the family when he was about five years-old. “Gary and I’d get up and play a couple of songs, then we’d get off and the older brothers would stay up and play a couple more. It’s pretty funny, looking back on it.” He laughs a little, then adds, still smiling, “That’s how we got started playing.”
The Braun brothers never stopped. Big brothers Cody and Willy started Reckless Kelly, and Micky and Gary left Idaho for Austin and started Micky and the Motorcars, a road-dogging favorite whose nonstop tour for the last 17 years has defined not just the lives of the brothers, but also shaped Austin’s roots-rock resurgence that has played out over the last two decades. With their anticipated new album Long Time Comin’, the Motorcars cement their place as elder statesmen of that alt-country scene who have managed to master that ever-elusive blend of artistic familiarity and surprise.
“I hope people take the time to hear the album as a whole, and I hope they like it,” Gary says from his home in Austin. “I think this one is a little bit better.” He pauses and laughs as he drawls, “So I hope they like it a little more.”
For the Motorcars, the question is never really whether to tour but where to play next. Gary––who handles guitar, mandolin, harmonica, harmonies, and occasionally lead vocals––and Micky, lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist, are joined in the Motorcars by Joe Fladger on bass, Bobby Paugh on drums and percussion, and new bandmate Pablo Trujillo on guitar. The combination of familiar and fresh players has reinvigorated the Motorcars’ live show, which buzzes through a low-key rock-and-roll rapture built on grooves and the Brauns’ signature harmonies.
A mix of new and old also shaped the Long Time Comin’ recording process. Produced by Keith Gattis, the 11-song album relied in part on Gattis’ go-to Nashville studio players––a first for the Motorcars. “It still sounds like Micky and the Motorcars, but it was fun working with different guys who we’d never worked with before,” Micky says. “They’ve been Keith’s band for 15 years. He can say, ‘Give me a shuffle with a boom-chuck,’ and they know what he’s talking about.”
The band isn’t the only change on Long Time Comin’. Gary, who has always contributed a song or two to Motorcar records, wrote or co-wrote six of the album’s tracks and sings every tune he penned. “I don’t think I decided to really write more––I think I just got better at it and worked a little harder at it the past couple of years,” Gary says. “In the past, I just let Micky do it because he was good at it. It was easy for me not to do it.”
Micky loves the shift. “It’s almost a split album between the two of us on lead vocal––very different from our normal,” he says. “I think our fans will enjoy it. They always love the songs Gary sings live. They always want him to sing more.”
The album kicks off with the ambling “Road to You.” Written by Micky and Courtney Patton, the rollicking singalong is classic Motorcars and an ideal welcome mat for the collection. Sauntering “Rodeo Girl” swings and punches up the pace, before “Alone Again Tonight”––a Gary track written with Gattis––watches loneliness with empathetic ache.
Several tracks take note of the universal search for comfort––even when it’s not the stuff of fairytales or even particularly dignified. Over crunchy guitars, “Stranger Tonight” captures an evening’s quest for no-strings companionship. “It was an idea I had just watching people at bars––that lonely girl I saw time and time again but with a different set of glasses, over and over,” Gary says. “It seems like everybody can relate to that––out looking for something new that doesn’t have to be love.”
Sweet and sad, “Break My Heart,” another track penned by Gary with Jeff Crosby, looks back after the end of a relationship. “You’re not mad anymore but you’re thankful of the good times,” Gary says. “It’s also about finding yourself again. It’s a moving-on song.” Quiet and sparse, the Gary-penned “Run into You” details a longing to cross paths with an ex-lover who’s moved on with heartbreaking clarity.
Anchored by crying B-3 organ, “Hold This Town Together” explores the struggle to enjoy what once was easy after the loss of someone who’ll never come back. After years of trying, Micky wrote the song for Mark, a friend and the Motorcars’ first bassist, who passed away. “Hold This Town,” written by Micky and Jeff Crosby, muses over the hometown faces and places that never change. “There are the same people at the same bars, the same people working at the grocery stores,” Micky says, then adds with a laugh, “It’s kind of a depressing party song.” Another Jeff Crosby-Micky collaboration, “Thank My Mother’s God” pays beautiful tribute to moms and their devotion to their black sheep, running wild.
Two album standouts stand tall: “Lions of Kandahar,” written by Gary alone, and the title track, which Micky penned with master songwriter Bruce Robison. Over instrumentation that evokes the tense hum of Middle Eastern military activity, “Lions of Kandahar” follows a deployment from a first-person perspective. The result is jarring, compelling, and deeply human––a breathtaking piece of songwriting that took five years to complete. Winsome “Long Time Comin’” is an ode to the satisfaction of patience and perseverance rewarded in different forms––a stunning tapestry that also reflects the road to the album itself.
Guitars and songs at the ready, Micky and Gary hope most of all that their sprawling cross-continental fanbase connect with Long Time Comin’, a collection four years in the making. “If you can put your heart on your sleeve and say it, it’s the best medicine for people,” Micky says, reflecting on the album. “They can lock into it and enjoy the ride.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200512T151702Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1532 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20200605T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20200605T233000 UID:066882BD-4C0F-48D5-A33E-00C981061187 SUMMARY:Rodney Atkins DTSTAMP:20200310T192144Z DESCRIPTION:Rodney Atkins’ fifth studio album, Caught Up in the Country (5/10/19), reveals an artist who is confident enough to know that making your best music can require patience and experimentation. While his storied career has reached such heights as being named the Top New Male Vocalist at the 2006 ACM awards and seeing his single "Watching You" become the Number One Song of the Decade according to Country Aircheck, it’s been more than seven years since Take a Back Road, his last record of new material. But Atkins knew that this time, he wanted to bring his songs further than he had ever gone before. “I’ve never taken it lightly,” he says, “but with some of the other albums, I got to take my time for part of the album. But then when you get that first single finished, you gotta go, and you start working at a faster pace for the second half of the album. This time, I got to take that time with every song.” The results, he believes, are the most daring collection of his career, touching on emotions and sounds which continue to expand his range—from the twangy celebration of the album’s title track (featuring the roof-raising vocals of the Fisk Jubilee Singers) to the slow-burn cover of Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up.” And with six Number One singles, eight Top Five singles, and over 13 million units sold, Atkins sees that his track record validates his approach. With Caught Up in the Country, one of country music’s biggest stars is starting his next chapter. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:
Rodney Atkins’ fifth studio album, Caught Up in the Country (5/10/19), reveals an artist who is confident enough to know that making your best music can require patience and experimentation. While his storied career has reached such heights as being named the Top New Male Vocalist at the 2006 ACM awards and seeing his single "Watching You" become the Number One Song of the Decade according to Country Aircheck, it’s been more than seven years since Take a Back Road, his last record of new material. But Atkins knew that this time, he wanted to bring his songs further than he had ever gone before.
“I’ve never taken it lightly,” he says, “but with some of the other albums, I got to take my time for part of the album. But then when you get that first single finished, you gotta go, and you start working at a faster pace for the second half of the album. This time, I got to take that time with every song.”
The results, he believes, are the most daring collection of his career, touching on emotions and sounds which continue to expand his range—from the twangy celebration of the album’s title track (featuring the roof-raising vocals of the Fisk Jubilee Singers) to the slow-burn cover of Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up.” And with six Number One singles, eight Top Five singles, and over 13 million units sold, Atkins sees that his track record validates his approach.
With Caught Up in the Country, one of country music’s biggest stars is starting his next chapter.
The show scheduled for March 22nd, 2020 has been RESCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 4th, 2020
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At one point on his 2019 album, Buddha and The Blues, Anders Osborne sings, “Oh, it’s a miracle we still care. Oh, it’s so wonderful we’re still here. We’re still here!”
He’s not going anywhere either…
Osborne’s six-string virtuosity, inventive musicality, and poetic songcraft underpin an ever-expanding three-decade catalog celebrated by fans and critics alike. As a sought-after studio talent, his writing resounds through Keb Mo’s GRAMMY® Award-winning Slow Down, Tim McGraw’s number one “Watch The Wind Blow By,” and covers by Brad Paisley, Jonny Lang, Edwin McCain, Aaron Neville, and more. His output live and in the studio spans working with everyone from Eric Church, Toots and the Maytals, and John Scofield to The Meters, North Mississippi Allstars, and Galactic. His extensive touring history encompasses gigs, collaborations, and performances alongside everyone from Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, and Stanton Moore to The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh and Jackie Greene. Not to mention, he lights up the screen on an episode of the HBO hit Treme. Plus, he has garnered acclaim from USA Today, Guitar Player, Relix, Offbeat, and more.
He also gives back whenever possible via the “Send Me A Friend” foundation and through writing music for New Orleans Children’s Museum. A pair of 2016 albums—Spacedust & Ocean Views and Flowerbox—maintained his prolific output at a record pace. Now, 2019’s Buddha and the Blues references the full scope of the creative and personal duality at the heart of everything this maverick does.
“I came up with the title early on, so I knew what the vibe of the record should be,” he explains. “Buddha and the Blues means the duality of our existence.”
As Osborne crafted the music, he pondered an existential struggle we all face. On the one hand, humans do good, but it’s under the expectation of personal gratification. On the other hand, they desire success and wealth, but they attempt to maintain an appearance of humility. This constant push-and-pull led him to write about “not getting lost in a sunken path or idolizing an intangible future, but instead to be present in this moment and to be fully alive.”
These thoughts filtered into the words, especially.
He goes on, “The lyrics are supposed to be true, conversational, and uplifting with clean, classic, and thumpin’ sounds. That’s what I set out to accomplish.”
In order to do so, he joined forces with “a world-class ensemble” of Waddy Wachtel [guitar], Bob Glaub [bass], Benmont Tench [keys], Windy Wagner-Cromwell [background vocals], and Chad Cromwell [guitar]. Chad also assumed the role of producer. Like “a big brother” to Osborne, the producer and artist leveraged years of friendship, trust, and creative kinship to “make a record [they] wanted to do for many years.”
“I didn’t have to push,” admits Chad. “It was his idea to let me ‘drive the bus,’ so to speak. That allowed him to focus on songs and his performances. The freer he is to write, play, and sing; the better the record. He really trusted me. To trust someone to help you make a record is an act of faith. It’s a big responsibility to make sure that happens. That’s a mighty thing Anders did, and I appreciate his trust. All signs pointed to this team, this time, and this music.”
The setting proved to be as instrumental as the players did. From the beginning, Osborne envisioned making the album in California, but not the big screen vision of Hollywood. It made perfect sense to zero in on a location just far enough from the city. Ojai felt perfect to siphon the soul of SoCal into wistful sun-soaked soundscapes. You can practically hear Ojai in the aural fabric of the album.
“The Southern California vibe was essential to the record,” Osborne continues. “Early on, Chad and I agreed it had to be tracked out there. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, and we needed to go out there. You can hear the influence. It’s played with a gentle breeze and tight precision. Cutting it in Ojai was crucial to achieving the right atmosphere. I usually write with a location in mind, so it helps me stay focused and guides me to craft a body of tunes rather than individual songs.”
That “body of tunes” kicks off with the dusty dynamics of “Alone.” In the pocket of a steady beat, the twang of clean guitar offsets his gruff delivery as the track unfurls towards a discordant guitar lead highlighted by organ.
“‘Alone’ was a meditative prose I wrote in my backyard,” he says. “It had a circular vibe to it, When I added the music, I wanted it to match the poem: a small word with an epic impression.”
Elsewhere, “Escape” captures the tension prior to his California trip with its off-kilter groove and roots-y shuffle. A wail of slide guitar cuts through sunny strumming as an idyllic narrative unfolds on “Traveling with Friends.”
He adds, “I wrote ‘Traveling with Friends’ on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands while on vacation with my family. We had an amazing spot on top of a mountain overlooking a big part of the island, and I felt inspired and really grateful. I had a moment of relief from all of my searching and dissonance. I saw us all for what we are—beautiful, fragile, and in this tumultuous space trip all together.”
He crafted the perfect soundtrack to the trip with Buddha and The Blues, illuminating his own duality like never before. The message ultimately becomes clear in the music.
“Learn to choose,” he leaves off. “Be happy or continue suffering.”
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Americana and roots singer-songwriter Jackie Greene is a jack-of-all-trades, and an artist who can croon over soulful piano ballads as much as he can shred a bluesy guitar solo (like he did as the lead guitarist for The Black Crowes in 2013). A road warrior and musician's musician, Greene's new EP 'The Modern Lives - Vol 2' (out October 2018 on Blue Rose Music) finds him at a new chapter in his life: his first months of fatherhood, time off his relentless touring circuit, and a cross-country move from Brooklyn to his birthplace of Northern California.
This new collection of six original songs is a thematic extension of 'The Modern Lives - Vol 1' EP (released in 2017 on Blue Rose Music), imbued with a Brooklyn basement DIY feel and ethos. He is a student of American music, transfixed upon its progression through time, as well as how regional sounds fit in a contemporary context. Whereas 'Vol 1' saw Greene experiment with the Delta blues as a canvas for his examinations of modern society, 'Vol 2' sees Greene embrace the sounds of the bluegrass and folk tapes of his youth.
Lead single "Crazy Comes Easy" showcases Greene's dynamic, multi-instrumental range as he plays slide guitar, organ, bass, and percussion, the guitar licks an appreciative nod to his time in The Black Crowes. Meanwhile, "Good Old Bad Times" highlights Greene as the songwriter as he rattles off lines like "How can somebody find a future? / If they ain't got a foothold in the past?" while taking a critical eye to the idea of nostalgia. Piano ballad "Victim Of The Crime" was one of Jackie's oldest demos up until the feel of these sessions gave him the tools to finish a song that, in his words, was written for his wife before she was his wife. While the title possesses a kind of melodrama, the song itself is tender and heartfelt as he details love's trials and tribulations.
Greene partnered with Academy Award-nominated "king of indie animation" Bill Plympton for a series of music videos for 'The Modern Lives - Vol 1' that would eventually become an animated short film titled 'The Modern Lives'. The film is currently making the rounds at film festivals where it has already won the Jury Award at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, TX, and the Grand Remi Award / Best in Show at WorldFest in Houstin, TX. The short is also being exhibited at the 71st Festival de Cannes/Court Metrage, Melbourne International Animation Festival, and ASIFA-East Festival, amongst others.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20200314T153536Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2662 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20201106T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20201106T233000 UID:7F0B4F8F-563A-4333-9B29-D4675F80771A SUMMARY:Leftover Salmon DTSTAMP:20191202T191527Z DESCRIPTION:THE SHOW PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 13, 2020 HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6th, 2020!\N------\NFew bands stick around for thirty years. Even fewer bands leave a legacy during that time that marks them as a truly special, once-in-lifetime type band. And no band has done all that and had as much fun as Leftover Salmon. Since their earliest days as a forward thinking, progressive bluegrass band who had the guts to add drums to the mix and who was unafraid to stir in any number of highly combustible styles into their ever evolving sound, to their role as a pioneer of the modern jamband scene, to their current status as elder-statesmen of the scene who cast a huge influential shadow over every festival they play, Leftover Salmon has been a crucial link in keeping alive the traditional music of the past while at the same time pushing that sound forward with their own weirdly, unique style.\NAs Leftover Salmon nears their 30th year, their inspiring story is set to be told in a brand new book, Leftover Salmon: Thirty Years of Festival! that will be released February 2019 by Rowman & Littlefield. In this book, critically acclaimed author of Bluegrass in Baltimore: The Hard Drivin’ Sound & It’s Legacy, Tim Newby presents an intimate portrait of Leftover Salmon through the personal recollections of its band members, family, friends, former band-mates, managers, and the countless musicians they have influenced. Leftover Salmon: Thirty Years of Festival! is a thorough guide covering a thirty-year journey of a truly remarkable band. It is a tale of friendships and losses, musical discoveries and Wild West adventures, and the brethren they surround themselves with who fortify Salmon’s unique voice. Their story is one of tragedy and rebirth, of unimaginable highs and crushing lows, of friendships, of music, but most importantly it is the story of a special band and those that have lived through it all to create, inspire, and have everlasting fun.\NHeading into their fourth decade Leftover Salmon is showing no signs of slowing down as they are coming off the release of their most recent album, Something Higher (released in 2018) which has been universally hailed as one of the band’s finest releases. Something Higher shows how even upon preparing to enter their fourth decade Leftover Salmon is proving it possible to recreate themselves without changing who they are. The band now features a line-up that has been together longer than any other in Salmon history and is one of the strongest the legendary band has ever assembled. Built around the core of founding members Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, the band is now powered by banjo-wiz Andy Thorn, and driven by the steady rhythm section of bassist Greg Garrison, drummer Alwyn Robinson, and keyboardist Erik Deutsch. The new line-up is continuing the long, storied history of Salmon which found them first emerging from the progressive bluegrass world and coming of age as one the original jam bands, before rising to become architects of what has become known as Jamgrass and helping to create a landscape where bands schooled in the traditional rules of bluegrass can break free of those bonds through nontraditional instrumentation and an innate ability to push songs in new psychedelic directions live. Salmon is a band who over their thirty-year career has never stood still; they are constantly changing, evolving, and inspiring. If someone wanted to understand what Americana music is they could do no better than to go to a Leftover Salmon show, where they effortlessly glide from a bluegrass number born on the front porch, to the down-and-dirty Cajun swamps with a stop on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, to the hallowed halls of the Ryman in Nashville, before firing one up in the mountains of Colorado. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:THE SHOW PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 13, 2020 HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6th, 2020!
------
Few bands stick around for thirty years. Even fewer bands leave a legacy during that time that marks them as a truly special, once-in-lifetime type band. And no band has done all that and had as much fun as Leftover Salmon. Since their earliest days as a forward thinking, progressive bluegrass band who had the guts to add drums to the mix and who was unafraid to stir in any number of highly combustible styles into their ever evolving sound, to their role as a pioneer of the modern jamband scene, to their current status as elder-statesmen of the scene who cast a huge influential shadow over every festival they play, Leftover Salmon has been a crucial link in keeping alive the traditional music of the past while at the same time pushing that sound forward with their own weirdly, unique style.
As Leftover Salmon nears their 30th year, their inspiring story is set to be told in a brand new book, Leftover Salmon: Thirty Years of Festival! that will be released February 2019 by Rowman & Littlefield. In this book, critically acclaimed author of Bluegrass in Baltimore: The Hard Drivin’ Sound & It’s Legacy, Tim Newby presents an intimate portrait of Leftover Salmon through the personal recollections of its band members, family, friends, former band-mates, managers, and the countless musicians they have influenced. Leftover Salmon: Thirty Years of Festival! is a thorough guide covering a thirty-year journey of a truly remarkable band. It is a tale of friendships and losses, musical discoveries and Wild West adventures, and the brethren they surround themselves with who fortify Salmon’s unique voice. Their story is one of tragedy and rebirth, of unimaginable highs and crushing lows, of friendships, of music, but most importantly it is the story of a special band and those that have lived through it all to create, inspire, and have everlasting fun.
Heading into their fourth decade Leftover Salmon is showing no signs of slowing down as they are coming off the release of their most recent album, Something Higher (released in 2018) which has been universally hailed as one of the band’s finest releases. Something Higher shows how even upon preparing to enter their fourth decade Leftover Salmon is proving it possible to recreate themselves without changing who they are. The band now features a line-up that has been together longer than any other in Salmon history and is one of the strongest the legendary band has ever assembled. Built around the core of founding members Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, the band is now powered by banjo-wiz Andy Thorn, and driven by the steady rhythm section of bassist Greg Garrison, drummer Alwyn Robinson, and keyboardist Erik Deutsch. The new line-up is continuing the long, storied history of Salmon which found them first emerging from the progressive bluegrass world and coming of age as one the original jam bands, before rising to become architects of what has become known as Jamgrass and helping to create a landscape where bands schooled in the traditional rules of bluegrass can break free of those bonds through nontraditional instrumentation and an innate ability to push songs in new psychedelic directions live. Salmon is a band who over their thirty-year career has never stood still; they are constantly changing, evolving, and inspiring. If someone wanted to understand what Americana music is they could do no better than to go to a Leftover Salmon show, where they effortlessly glide from a bluegrass number born on the front porch, to the down-and-dirty Cajun swamps with a stop on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, to the hallowed halls of the Ryman in Nashville, before firing one up in the mountains of Colorado.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20201021T174651Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3037 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20210205T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20210205T233000 UID:50A91F57-FBD3-49C2-BA78-FB3B32570068 SUMMARY:John Moreland DTSTAMP:20191018T173555Z DESCRIPTION: Due to COVID-19, THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELED. All ticket buyers have been contacted via email with information regarding refunds. \N----\NOver the last half a dozen years or so, John Moreland’s honesty has stunned us––and stung. As he put hurts we didn’t even realize we had or shared into his songs, we sang along. And we felt better. But there has always been far more to Moreland than sad songs. Today, his earthbound poetry remains potent, but in addition to his world-weary candor, Moreland’s music smolders with gentle wisdom, flashes of wit and joy, and compassion. And once again, as we listen, we feel better.\N“I can’t dress myself up and be some folk singer character that I’m not really,” Moreland says. “I figured, I can’t dress up these songs and try to sell them that way. All I can do is be me.”\NOut February 2020, his latest album LP5 proves John Moreland has gotten really good at being John Moreland––thank God. A masterful display of songwriting by one of today’s best young practitioners of the art form, LP5 is Moreland’s finest record to date. The album’s experimentations with instrumentation and sounds capture an artist whose confidence has grown, all without abandoning the hardy roots rock bed and the lyrics-first approach Moreland’s work demands. “I feel like just this year, in the past few months, I’ve reached a point where I feel like I know what I’m doing here now,” he says. “And I feel comfortable with it.”\NThere was a time when Moreland thought LP5 may not happen. Wary of expectations and his cemented status as a writer’s writer and critical darling, the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Moreland found writing difficult at best––and completely undesirable at worst. “I’m hesitant to talk about it because I know people don’t want to hear some dude complaining that his dream of being a successful musician came true, but there are things about it that you don’t expect that can mess you up,” Moreland says. “One of the results of that was I really didn’t want to write songs for a couple of years.” He pauses and sighs. “One of the ways I got back into liking music again was to let go of the idea that every time I’d go mess around with an instrument, I’d have to be writing a really good song. I just gave myself the freedom to go into my little music room every day and mess around with different instruments and different sounds. It doesn’t have to be anything. It doesn’t have to result in anything.”\NMoreland points to that liberating rediscovery as a major influence on the sonic choices that shape LP5. There is no grand or alarming stylistic departure here––just different textures and background layers that add muscly new dimensions to Moreland’s heretofore instrumentally sparse recordings. The record also marks Moreland’s first time working with a producer. He chose Matt Pence. “I wouldn’t say that he pushed me into trying anything that I didn’t already want to do, but I think I came in with a lot of ideas that I found interesting but didn’t know how to execute. Matt was great at expanding on those things,” Moreland says.\NFor Moreland, falling back in love with music also coincided with an even more personal change. “This past year, I’ve been getting into mindfulness and being kinder to myself,” he says. “I was really on that wave when I started writing these songs. I guess it shows.”\NIt does show––beautifully. Album opener “Harder Dreams” is a clear-eyed confession, not of wrongdoing, but of disbelief in a life defined by unworthiness and threatened by damnation. Echoing percussive punches make the music sound like a transmitted message, fighting its way through the atmosphere. Punctuated by keys and fuzzy guitar, “Terrestrial” picks up on the same idea, and delivers the kind of killer line we’ve come to expect from Moreland: “As a child I repented my nature, till as a man, I repented my past.”\N“It goes back to being kind to yourself,” Moreland says. “Part of that process for me was realizing all the ways I have been taught or learned to be cruel to myself or to hate myself through my life. A big source of that was church for me. They teach you that you’re bad and you have to repent for what you are. Now, I feel like I’ve grown up, and I repent for that––because that was a sin against myself.”\NSlow-burning blues song “A Thought is Just a Passing Train” quells worry with the truth: “I had a thought about darkness. / A thought’s just a passing train,” Moreland sings. His gravelly voice, capable of both hushed devastation and rock-anthem growls, sounds more powerful than ever. “Learning How to Tell Myself the Truth” is both wry and gorgeous––a rare combination Moreland is uniquely suited to perfect. “I Always Let You Burn Me to the Ground” unfurls into a plea and admission, while harmonica-rich “Let Me Be Understood” looks backward with new eyes and embraces enlightenment. Two instrumentals offer meditative pauses: “Two Stars” plays like a lilting acoustic guitar lullaby, while “For Ichiro” breaks with expectations to revel in mesmerizing keys and trills.\NMoreland wrote “When My Fever Breaks” for his wife. He started the song when the two were dating, then finished it three years later. The track is a tribute to the trust and comfort that come with being loved well. “It took me a long time to write it,” he says. “It was hard to figure out, how do I write the kind of love song that I am comfortable with?”\NAchingly beautiful “In the Times Between” was inspired by Moreland’s friend Chris Porter, a singer-songwriter who died on the road in 2016. Moreland wrote the song about two weeks after Porter passed, when the pain was still heavy and constant. Line after line captures moments Porter’s presence is felt––as well as his absence.\NWith its winsome singalong chorus and big organ chords, “East October” is a striking highlight. The song’s title nods to Porter, whose song “East December” reframed time as progress from east to west. Moreland’s song asks tough questions with tender persistence.\NWhen pressed about the hard-won wisdom and peace that seem to define LP5, Moreland is characteristically both direct and humble. “I definitely am wiser than I was five years ago––I guess anybody would hope to be wiser than they were five years ago,” he says with a laugh. “But I do feel more mellow. Settled. I don’t feel as antsy or think I’ve got to prove myself anymore. I feel really comfortable and free to just do what I want to do.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Due to COVID-19, THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELED. All ticket buyers have been contacted via email with information regarding refunds.
----
Over the last half a dozen years or so, John Moreland’s honesty has stunned us––and stung. As he put hurts we didn’t even realize we had or shared into his songs, we sang along. And we felt better. But there has always been far more to Moreland than sad songs. Today, his earthbound poetry remains potent, but in addition to his world-weary candor, Moreland’s music smolders with gentle wisdom, flashes of wit and joy, and compassion. And once again, as we listen, we feel better.
“I can’t dress myself up and be some folk singer character that I’m not really,” Moreland says. “I figured, I can’t dress up these songs and try to sell them that way. All I can do is be me.”
Out February 2020, his latest album LP5 proves John Moreland has gotten really good at being John Moreland––thank God. A masterful display of songwriting by one of today’s best young practitioners of the art form, LP5 is Moreland’s finest record to date. The album’s experimentations with instrumentation and sounds capture an artist whose confidence has grown, all without abandoning the hardy roots rock bed and the lyrics-first approach Moreland’s work demands. “I feel like just this year, in the past few months, I’ve reached a point where I feel like I know what I’m doing here now,” he says. “And I feel comfortable with it.”
There was a time when Moreland thought LP5 may not happen. Wary of expectations and his cemented status as a writer’s writer and critical darling, the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Moreland found writing difficult at best––and completely undesirable at worst. “I’m hesitant to talk about it because I know people don’t want to hear some dude complaining that his dream of being a successful musician came true, but there are things about it that you don’t expect that can mess you up,” Moreland says. “One of the results of that was I really didn’t want to write songs for a couple of years.” He pauses and sighs. “One of the ways I got back into liking music again was to let go of the idea that every time I’d go mess around with an instrument, I’d have to be writing a really good song. I just gave myself the freedom to go into my little music room every day and mess around with different instruments and different sounds. It doesn’t have to be anything. It doesn’t have to result in anything.”
Moreland points to that liberating rediscovery as a major influence on the sonic choices that shape LP5. There is no grand or alarming stylistic departure here––just different textures and background layers that add muscly new dimensions to Moreland’s heretofore instrumentally sparse recordings. The record also marks Moreland’s first time working with a producer. He chose Matt Pence. “I wouldn’t say that he pushed me into trying anything that I didn’t already want to do, but I think I came in with a lot of ideas that I found interesting but didn’t know how to execute. Matt was great at expanding on those things,” Moreland says.
For Moreland, falling back in love with music also coincided with an even more personal change. “This past year, I’ve been getting into mindfulness and being kinder to myself,” he says. “I was really on that wave when I started writing these songs. I guess it shows.”
It does show––beautifully. Album opener “Harder Dreams” is a clear-eyed confession, not of wrongdoing, but of disbelief in a life defined by unworthiness and threatened by damnation. Echoing percussive punches make the music sound like a transmitted message, fighting its way through the atmosphere. Punctuated by keys and fuzzy guitar, “Terrestrial” picks up on the same idea, and delivers the kind of killer line we’ve come to expect from Moreland: “As a child I repented my nature, till as a man, I repented my past.”
“It goes back to being kind to yourself,” Moreland says. “Part of that process for me was realizing all the ways I have been taught or learned to be cruel to myself or to hate myself through my life. A big source of that was church for me. They teach you that you’re bad and you have to repent for what you are. Now, I feel like I’ve grown up, and I repent for that––because that was a sin against myself.”
Slow-burning blues song “A Thought is Just a Passing Train” quells worry with the truth: “I had a thought about darkness. / A thought’s just a passing train,” Moreland sings. His gravelly voice, capable of both hushed devastation and rock-anthem growls, sounds more powerful than ever. “Learning How to Tell Myself the Truth” is both wry and gorgeous––a rare combination Moreland is uniquely suited to perfect. “I Always Let You Burn Me to the Ground” unfurls into a plea and admission, while harmonica-rich “Let Me Be Understood” looks backward with new eyes and embraces enlightenment. Two instrumentals offer meditative pauses: “Two Stars” plays like a lilting acoustic guitar lullaby, while “For Ichiro” breaks with expectations to revel in mesmerizing keys and trills.
Moreland wrote “When My Fever Breaks” for his wife. He started the song when the two were dating, then finished it three years later. The track is a tribute to the trust and comfort that come with being loved well. “It took me a long time to write it,” he says. “It was hard to figure out, how do I write the kind of love song that I am comfortable with?”
Achingly beautiful “In the Times Between” was inspired by Moreland’s friend Chris Porter, a singer-songwriter who died on the road in 2016. Moreland wrote the song about two weeks after Porter passed, when the pain was still heavy and constant. Line after line captures moments Porter’s presence is felt––as well as his absence.
With its winsome singalong chorus and big organ chords, “East October” is a striking highlight. The song’s title nods to Porter, whose song “East December” reframed time as progress from east to west. Moreland’s song asks tough questions with tender persistence.
When pressed about the hard-won wisdom and peace that seem to define LP5, Moreland is characteristically both direct and humble. “I definitely am wiser than I was five years ago––I guess anybody would hope to be wiser than they were five years ago,” he says with a laugh. “But I do feel more mellow. Settled. I don’t feel as antsy or think I’ve got to prove myself anymore. I feel really comfortable and free to just do what I want to do.”
LOCATION:638 South State Street\, Salt Lake City\, Utah 84111\, USA\; 195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.75528240;-111.88872990 LAST-MODIFIED:20210122T002820Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3172 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20210206T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20210206T233000 UID:F87D0890-9379-42A2-B654-4BD7BE2EBF2A SUMMARY:The Dip DTSTAMP:20191115T175406Z DESCRIPTION:Due to COVID-19, this show has been CANCELED. All ticket buyers have been contacted via email with information regarding refunds.\N---- \NHailing from Seattle, The Dip is an electrifying seven-piece ensemble that melds vintage rhythm and blues with classic pop storytelling. Acclaimed by KEXP as “one of the most exciting and joyous acts to emerge in recent years,” the band features frontman Tom Eddy’s compelling vocals over an effortlessly deep pocket and energetic melodies from the three-piece Honeynut Horns. Hard-hitting but sensitive, The Dip draws inspiration from the musical roots of decades prior while sounding undeniably relevant today. Following the organic buzz of the 2015 debut, the band arrived on the international stage with their 2019 sophomore full-length, The Dip Delivers. Buoyed by the hit single “Sure Don’t Miss You,” the album was entirely recorded and mixed by the band in their own studio and dishes out a nourishing dose of stylistic and sonic variety. Following an ambitious 2019 that took the band throughout North America, Europe, and Japan, The Dip will captivate audiences with brand new music to complement their vibrant live shows and solidify their reputation as one of the most engaging acts on the road today.\N \N \N X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:----
Hailing from Seattle, The Dip is an electrifying seven-piece ensemble that melds vintage rhythm and blues with classic pop storytelling. Acclaimed by KEXP as “one of the most exciting and joyous acts to emerge in recent years,” the band features frontman Tom Eddy’s compelling vocals over an effortlessly deep pocket and energetic melodies from the three-piece Honeynut Horns. Hard-hitting but sensitive, The Dip draws inspiration from the musical roots of decades prior while sounding undeniably relevant today. Following the organic buzz of the 2015 debut, the band arrived on the international stage with their 2019 sophomore full-length, The Dip Delivers. Buoyed by the hit single “Sure Don’t Miss You,” the album was entirely recorded and mixed by the band in their own studio and dishes out a nourishing dose of stylistic and sonic variety. Following an ambitious 2019 that took the band throughout North America, Europe, and Japan, The Dip will captivate audiences with brand new music to complement their vibrant live shows and solidify their reputation as one of the most engaging acts on the road today.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20210119T202957Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2797 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20210806T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20210806T233000 UID:1E124E55-FD3D-44CB-B951-A2B9FBB72FEB SUMMARY:Mokie DTSTAMP:20210627T190026Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20210723T175821Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2817 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20210807T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20210807T233000 UID:033493B6-A993-4D81-940B-8C8787577EFC SUMMARY:Jon Wolfe DTSTAMP:20210627T191422Z DESCRIPTION:The best introduction to Jon Wolfe is the basic yet not so simple fact that he’s a country singer and songwriter. Country music, as it was, is and always should be, with boots firmly standing on the bedrock of tradition and an eye focused on taking it into the future. And that, as any fan of true country knows, is no simple proposition.\N“At heart, it’s all about being a great singer and storyteller.”\NHence the other best introduction to Jon Wolfe is to hear him sing and share the stories in the songs he performs and writes. And to learn his life story — from small town Oklahoma to the bustling big city commodities trading floor to the dance halls and honky-tonks of Texas and Oklahoma to Music Row, to give the highlights — and witness his faith in the power of music and determination to touch the hearts of others with something that means so much to him.\NIt’s world-class country music from the American heartland, informed by the great singers that inspired Wolfe — like George Strait, Garth Brooks (a fellow Okie), Clint Black, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson and Dwight Yoakam, to name a few — yet fired by his own contemporary energy and vision.\N“A seasoned performer, Wolfe has opened for some of country’s biggest stars and has played more than 400 live shows over the past four years. ”\NHis 2010 release, It All Happened In A Honky Tonk, became such a regional success that it was re-released as a Deluxe Edition by Warner Music Nashville in 2013. The album debuted at #34 on the Billboard Album Chart and has collectively sold 25,000 units. \N2015's Natural Man debuted #13 on iTunes, #25 on the Billboard chart, and #8 on the Nielsen SoundScan Top New Artist Albums Chart. The 13-track collection merges Wolfe's signature traditional sound, influenced by some of country music's greatest legends, with an edgy, modern energy. \NThe blend of rawness and accessibility of Natural Man gave Wolfe the undeniable identity of a torchbearer for country music. Any Night In Texas (2017) - Wolfe’s most recent and proudest collection of songs to date - landed at #3 on iTunes Country, #15 on Billboard Country, and continues to burn up the charts. With three highly-lauded studio albums in his repertoire, Wolfe’s garnered 12 consecutive Top Ten singles (7 have hit No.1), positioning him as a must-see act in Texas, Oklahoma, and well beyond.\NJon released his latest EP, Feels Like Country Music, in 2019 produced by Grammy nominated producer, Dave Brainard. So far, Feels Like Country Music has garnered two additional, consecutive number one singles in Texas with Some Ol’ Bar in the 90s and the title track, Feels Like Country Music.\NJon Wolfe recently created his own 100% Blue Agave tequila under the moniker of his name in Spanish: Juan Lobo. Juan Lobo Tequila is now available all over Texas, California, and Colorado. You can learn more about Juan Lobo Tequila here, attend the next Juan Lobo Tequila Fest, or simply sip on a Juan Lobo Tequila at the next Jon Wolfe show near you!\N“Wolfe invites country music fans everywhere to dust off your boots, download or spin the single, and come see the electrifying live show that has everyone talking. The numbers don’t lie: Jon Wolfe is the torchbearer for country music.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:
The best introduction to Jon Wolfe is the basic yet not so simple fact that he’s a country singer and songwriter. Country music, as it was, is and always should be, with boots firmly standing on the bedrock of tradition and an eye focused on taking it into the future. And that, as any fan of true country knows, is no simple proposition.
“At heart, it’s all about being a great singer and storyteller.”
Hence the other best introduction to Jon Wolfe is to hear him sing and share the stories in the songs he performs and writes. And to learn his life story — from small town Oklahoma to the bustling big city commodities trading floor to the dance halls and honky-tonks of Texas and Oklahoma to Music Row, to give the highlights — and witness his faith in the power of music and determination to touch the hearts of others with something that means so much to him.
It’s world-class country music from the American heartland, informed by the great singers that inspired Wolfe — like George Strait, Garth Brooks (a fellow Okie), Clint Black, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson and Dwight Yoakam, to name a few — yet fired by his own contemporary energy and vision.
“A seasoned performer, Wolfe has opened for some of country’s biggest stars and has played more than 400 live shows over the past four years. ”
His 2010 release, It All Happened In A Honky Tonk, became such a regional success that it was re-released as a Deluxe Edition by Warner Music Nashville in 2013. The album debuted at #34 on the Billboard Album Chart and has collectively sold 25,000 units.
2015's Natural Man debuted #13 on iTunes, #25 on the Billboard chart, and #8 on the Nielsen SoundScan Top New Artist Albums Chart. The 13-track collection merges Wolfe's signature traditional sound, influenced by some of country music's greatest legends, with an edgy, modern energy.
The blend of rawness and accessibility of Natural Man gave Wolfe the undeniable identity of a torchbearer for country music. Any Night In Texas (2017) - Wolfe’s most recent and proudest collection of songs to date - landed at #3 on iTunes Country, #15 on Billboard Country, and continues to burn up the charts. With three highly-lauded studio albums in his repertoire, Wolfe’s garnered 12 consecutive Top Ten singles (7 have hit No.1), positioning him as a must-see act in Texas, Oklahoma, and well beyond.
Jon released his latest EP, Feels Like Country Music, in 2019 produced by Grammy nominated producer, Dave Brainard. So far, Feels Like Country Music has garnered two additional, consecutive number one singles in Texas with Some Ol’ Bar in the 90s and the title track, Feels Like Country Music.
Jon Wolfe recently created his own 100% Blue Agave tequila under the moniker of his name in Spanish: Juan Lobo. Juan Lobo Tequila is now available all over Texas, California, and Colorado. You can learn more about Juan Lobo Tequila here, attend the next Juan Lobo Tequila Fest, or simply sip on a Juan Lobo Tequila at the next Jon Wolfe show near you!
“Wolfe invites country music fans everywhere to dust off your boots, download or spin the single, and come see the electrifying live show that has everyone talking. The numbers don’t lie: Jon Wolfe is the torchbearer for country music.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20210801T173511Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1514 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20210829T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20210829T233000 UID:48FF2B14-A915-435D-BD57-E03B71AFBD2D SUMMARY:Wynonna Judd & The Big Noise DTSTAMP:20210630T202922Z DESCRIPTION:UPDATE REGARDING CANCELATION: Due to the ever-changing complexities of COVID-19, we have made the decision to cancel the Wynonna Judd show. We hope we can reschedule a future date, but for now, all tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase. Vax4Live.org\NRespected by the millions of fans who are drawn to her music and undeniable talent, Wynonna's rich and commanding voice has sold over 30-million albums worldwide spanning her remarkable 34-year career. As one-half of the legendary mother/daughter duo "The Judds," Wynonna was once dubbed by Rolling Stone as "the greatest female country singer since Patsy Cline." This iconic performer has received over 60 industry awards, with countless charting singles, including 20 No.1 hits such as "Mama He's Crazy," "Why Not me," and "Grandpa, (Tell Me 'Bout The Good Ole Days)."\NWynonna and her band The Big Noise, led by her husband/drummer/producer, Cactus Moser, released their debut full-length album in February 2016 via Curb Records to critical acclaim. Wynonna has described the new sound as "vintage yet modern" and a "return to the well." It's a rootsy work encompassing country, Americana, blues, soul and rock. The album features special guests Derek Trucks, Jason Isbell, Susan Tedeschi and Timothy B. Schmit. NPR's Ann Powers noted that, "With her tight band behind her after touring together for several years, she just sounds like she's home...You can just feel the grin on her face." X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:UPDATE REGARDING CANCELATION: Due to the ever-changing complexities of COVID-19, we have made the decision to cancel the Wynonna Judd show. We hope we can reschedule a future date, but for now, all tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase. Vax4Live.org
Respected by the millions of fans who are drawn to her music and undeniable talent, Wynonna's rich and commanding voice has sold over 30-million albums worldwide spanning her remarkable 34-year career. As one-half of the legendary mother/daughter duo "The Judds," Wynonna was once dubbed by Rolling Stone as "the greatest female country singer since Patsy Cline." This iconic performer has received over 60 industry awards, with countless charting singles, including 20 No.1 hits such as "Mama He's Crazy," "Why Not me," and "Grandpa, (Tell Me 'Bout The Good Ole Days)."
Wynonna and her band The Big Noise, led by her husband/drummer/producer, Cactus Moser, released their debut full-length album in February 2016 via Curb Records to critical acclaim. Wynonna has described the new sound as "vintage yet modern" and a "return to the well." It's a rootsy work encompassing country, Americana, blues, soul and rock. The album features special guests Derek Trucks, Jason Isbell, Susan Tedeschi and Timothy B. Schmit. NPR's Ann Powers noted that, "With her tight band behind her after touring together for several years, she just sounds like she's home...You can just feel the grin on her face."
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20210819T210311Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2998 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20210918T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20210918T233000 UID:B2CA2098-1CE3-44E6-B9C4-1C52C9B95ABD SUMMARY:The Allman Betts Band DTSTAMP:20210627T190821Z DESCRIPTION:In December of 2017, Devon Allman was ready. After a year of mourning the losses of his mother and father, Allman was ready to make music again. He deeply appreciated all of the condolences and well-wishes, but, respectfully, it was time to forge ahead.\NAllman organized a concert at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco to honor the music and memory of his father, founding Allman Brothers Band keyboardist and singer, Gregg Allman, and also to debut his new band, The Devon Allman Project. A proverbial star-studded affair- with guests such as G. Love and Robert Randolph- the marathon performance also marked the beginning of a partnership with Duane Betts, son of founding Allman Brothers Band guitarist and singer, Dickey Betts. It was time, in that historic venue, to pass the spirt to this next generation. It was time to take all the lessons of the past, all their collective experiences, and make something new.\NBetts recently had turned solo after a touring stint with folk-rockers Dawes, and would serve as an opening artist on the Devon Allman Project 2018 world tour, as well as joining Allman each night for a musical tip of the hat to their respective fathers. The year-long trek was the first to pair Allman and Betts, and saw the two tally nearly 100 dates at theatres and festivals nationally and internationally, including a summer leg in Europe, and notable appearances at Colorado’s venerable Red Rocks amphitheater, the Peach Festival, Gov’t Mule’s Island Exodus in Jamaica, and a return to The Fillmore for the second annual, sold-out Allman Family Revival.\N2018 provided them a certifiable proof-of-concept: Performing a repertoire gleaned mostly from their respective solo careers, as well as a handful of Brothers gems, the Devon Allman Project with Duane Betts consistently drew audiences growing in size and enthusiasm with each successive leg.\NNow, they were both determined to embrace a new challenge; to write and record new music that could someday join the classics; to wow new audiences; to form a new band. During off-days on the bus or in hotel rooms, Devon and Duane collaborated on new original material, inviting respected songwriter Stoll Vaughn for writing sessions on the road.\NOn the still-smoldering heels of the hugely successful Project world tour, Devon and Duane circled back to their roots for this ambitious next step. They called up their old friend Berry Duane Oakley, son of the Allman Brothers Band’s founding late bassist, Berry Oakley, and floated the idea of joining them. The trio’s musical friendship traces back to The Allman Brothers Band’s 20th anniversary summer tour in 1989 when the three first met, and often sat-in with the Rock-And-Roll Hall of Fame inductees; teenage descendants rightfully joining a rock-and-roll legacy.\NAs well, they recruited seasoned players from the Project ensemble: slide guitar sorcerer Johnny Stachela, drummer John Lum, and percussionist R Scott Bryan (Sheryl Crow). In November of 2018, they announced the formation of The Allman Betts Band.\NEnlisting producer Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price) the band booked a post-Thanksgiving week at the famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. They brought in Gregg’s former bandmate, Peter Levin, and former Allman Brother and current Rolling Stone’s keybordist Chuck Leavell as guests, adding organ and piano. For a subsequent world tour, they recruited keyboardist John Ginty (Dixie Chicks, Robert Randolph). Motivated by classic recording techniques and vintage gear in the historic Alabama studio, they cut the album live. No computers. No digital editing. Setting-up as one in the studio, they tracked nine songs on two-inch analog tape, resulting in their debut album, Down to the River, a Top-10 entry on several rock charts including Number One on iTunes Rock, released in June of ’19.\NThis is The Allman Betts Band.\NThe Allman Betts Band is:\NDevon Allman – guitar, vocals\NDuane Betts – guitar, vocals\NBerry Duane Oakley – bass, vocals\NJohnny Stachela – guitar, vocals\NJohn Ginty – keyboards\NR Scott Bryan – percussion, vocals\NJohn Lum – drums X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:In December of 2017, Devon Allman was ready. After a year of mourning the losses of his mother and father, Allman was ready to make music again. He deeply appreciated all of the condolences and well-wishes, but, respectfully, it was time to forge ahead.
Allman organized a concert at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco to honor the music and memory of his father, founding Allman Brothers Band keyboardist and singer, Gregg Allman, and also to debut his new band, The Devon Allman Project. A proverbial star-studded affair- with guests such as G. Love and Robert Randolph- the marathon performance also marked the beginning of a partnership with Duane Betts, son of founding Allman Brothers Band guitarist and singer, Dickey Betts. It was time, in that historic venue, to pass the spirt to this next generation. It was time to take all the lessons of the past, all their collective experiences, and make something new.
Betts recently had turned solo after a touring stint with folk-rockers Dawes, and would serve as an opening artist on the Devon Allman Project 2018 world tour, as well as joining Allman each night for a musical tip of the hat to their respective fathers. The year-long trek was the first to pair Allman and Betts, and saw the two tally nearly 100 dates at theatres and festivals nationally and internationally, including a summer leg in Europe, and notable appearances at Colorado’s venerable Red Rocks amphitheater, the Peach Festival, Gov’t Mule’s Island Exodus in Jamaica, and a return to The Fillmore for the second annual, sold-out Allman Family Revival.
2018 provided them a certifiable proof-of-concept: Performing a repertoire gleaned mostly from their respective solo careers, as well as a handful of Brothers gems, the Devon Allman Project with Duane Betts consistently drew audiences growing in size and enthusiasm with each successive leg.
Now, they were both determined to embrace a new challenge; to write and record new music that could someday join the classics; to wow new audiences; to form a new band. During off-days on the bus or in hotel rooms, Devon and Duane collaborated on new original material, inviting respected songwriter Stoll Vaughn for writing sessions on the road.
On the still-smoldering heels of the hugely successful Project world tour, Devon and Duane circled back to their roots for this ambitious next step. They called up their old friend Berry Duane Oakley, son of the Allman Brothers Band’s founding late bassist, Berry Oakley, and floated the idea of joining them. The trio’s musical friendship traces back to The Allman Brothers Band’s 20th anniversary summer tour in 1989 when the three first met, and often sat-in with the Rock-And-Roll Hall of Fame inductees; teenage descendants rightfully joining a rock-and-roll legacy.
As well, they recruited seasoned players from the Project ensemble: slide guitar sorcerer Johnny Stachela, drummer John Lum, and percussionist R Scott Bryan (Sheryl Crow). In November of 2018, they announced the formation of The Allman Betts Band.
Enlisting producer Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price) the band booked a post-Thanksgiving week at the famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. They brought in Gregg’s former bandmate, Peter Levin, and former Allman Brother and current Rolling Stone’s keybordist Chuck Leavell as guests, adding organ and piano. For a subsequent world tour, they recruited keyboardist John Ginty (Dixie Chicks, Robert Randolph). Motivated by classic recording techniques and vintage gear in the historic Alabama studio, they cut the album live. No computers. No digital editing. Setting-up as one in the studio, they tracked nine songs on two-inch analog tape, resulting in their debut album, Down to the River, a Top-10 entry on several rock charts including Number One on iTunes Rock, released in June of ’19.
This is The Allman Betts Band.
The Allman Betts Band is:
Devon Allman – guitar, vocals
Duane Betts – guitar, vocals
Berry Duane Oakley – bass, vocals
Johnny Stachela – guitar, vocals
John Ginty – keyboards
R Scott Bryan – percussion, vocals
John Lum – drums
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20210803T172100Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:4669 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20210921T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20210921T233000 UID:FFDE5541-4BF9-47BD-95B6-2FBA8E68C822 SUMMARY:Samantha Fish DTSTAMP:20210630T180342Z DESCRIPTION:"That was my mission on this album: To really set these songs up so that they have a life of their own,” says Samantha Fish about Kill or Be Kind, her sixth solo album and her debut on Rounder Records. “Strong messages from the heart – that’s what I really set out for.” Indeed, what comes across immediately on hearing the album is the extraordinary level of songcraft on its eleven tracks, the way these songs are so smartly put together to deliver a potent emotional impact.\NAnyone who has ever heard Fish’s previous albums knows that she has earned a place in the top rank of contemporary blues guitarists and that her voice can wring the soul out of a ballad and belt out a rocker with roof-shaking force. And, rest reassured, those virtues are fully in evidence on Kill or Be Kind. But each of the songs on the album does far more than simply provide a setting for Fish’s pyrotechnics. They tell captivating stories, set up by verses that deftly set the scene, choruses that lift with real feeling, and hooks that later rise up in your thoughts, even when you’re not aware that you’re thinking of music at all. It’s the kind of songwriting that emerges when raw talent is leavened by experience and aspiration, and when a committed artist genuinely has something to say. Those qualities make Kill or Be Kind a genuine artistic breakthrough for Fish.\N“I think I’ve grown as a performer and as a player,” she explains. “I’ve become more respectful of the melody. You can go up and down the fret board and up and down your vocal register, but that’s not going to be as powerful as conveying a simple melody that people can really connect to and sing themselves.” To help bring those elements to her music, Fish sought out high-quality songwriting collaborators – the likes of Jim McCormick (who has worked with Fish before and also written for Luke Bryan and Keith Urban); Kate Pearlman (who has worked with Kelly Clarkson); Patrick Sweeney; Parker Millsap; and Eric McFadden. The result is an album on which each song is distinct, but the complete work hangs together as a coherent, entirely satisfying statement. “When you get to this point in your life as an artist,” Fish says, “it’s good to work with others, because it makes you stretch. I think you hear a lot of that nuance on the record, songs that have a pop sensibility to them, hooks that really pull you in.”\NYou get a good sense of the range the album covers from the first two songs released. Fish propels “Watch It Die” with an insistent guitar riff, but near the song’s end two female background singers lend the song a haunting soulful feel. Meanwhile, “Love Letters” moves on an insinuating, stop-time riff in its verses until it bursts in passion on its chorus. Both songs use horn sections for finesse and texture. “Love Letters” also introduces one of the album’s central themes: the allure of losing yourself in love – and the dangers of it. “Keep waking up in the bed I made,” Fish sings. “Forget the pain when you wanna play/I’m back to broken when you go away.”\N“That’s just a love-sick song,” Fish says, laughing. “like I think I was when I wrote it.” The title track, a seductive ballad, offers a lover a stark choice: “Make up your mind/I can kill or be kind.” To explain that dichotomy, Fish says, “It’s funny how love can be so fickle, how quickly you go from object of affection to one of disdain. I’ve always found that dynamic interesting. That track is full of that duality. ,” she adds, laughing. “I also loved the Memphis sound of the horns on there. They sound modern, but it’s got this vintage feeling as well.” The songs “Dirty,” “Love Your Lies” and “Fair-Weather” explore similar themes – how deceit, self-deception and shifting expectations can alter the course of life and love. The affecting ballad “Dream Girl” stands the endearment of its title on its head, and explores the dilemma of a love not coming to fruition. “I wish you’d take the rest of me,” Fish sings. “These tears, they kill your fantasy.” On “She Don’t Live Around Here Anymore,” a soul ballad once again bolstered by tasteful horn parts, the singer confronts the feeling of being used and finds empowerment in walking away.\NThe album is framed by songs — “Bulletproof” and “You Got It Bad (Better Than You Ever Had).” “Bulletproof digs into the theme of vulnerability, about it being mistaken for weakness, and how we often times feel the need to wear a mask to survive in the world today, while “You Got It Bad (Better Than You Ever Had)” is about working towards your dreams and the knifes edge we often walk to reach our goals.\N“Trying Not to Fall in Love With You” finds the singer not wanting to rush a relationship – and therefore undermine it. “I fall fast,” Fish admits, “I have to remember to take care and not scare the person away.”\NTo make Kill or Be Kind, Fish chose to work at the legendary Royal Studios in Memphis, with Scott Billington as producer. “I worked at Royal before, when I made my Wild Heartalbum,” she says. “The soul in the walls, the vibe – you can feel it in that place. I’m such a fan of Al Green, Ann Peebles and all the classic recordings that happened there. Memphis just kept calling to me. I’ve always felt so inspired there.” As for Billington, a three-time Grammy winner, Fish appreciated both his open-mindedness and his willingness to ease her out of her comfort zone. “Scott allowed me to see the building-out process of the album all the way through, from the top to the bottom,” she says. “Bringing in background singers and synthesizers, which I’d never done on an album before, that added an extra edge. Honestly, it was a challenge. It pushed me to think about the songs differently. That trust from my producer gave me the freedom to really take some risks.”\NHaving completed an album that she believes in so strongly – “This is me coming through, my personality,” she says – Fish is eager to bring it to the world. “I got the moon in the back of my mind, and I want to shoot for it!” she declares. “I want to reach over genre lines and get out to as many people as possible. This album is so broad – and it’s all me. So I’m just hoping it catches people and appeals to them.”\NShe concludes, “Overall my big goal, career-wise, is to contribute something different and new to music. I want to give something that stands apart and yet is timeless.” With Kill or Be Kind, Samantha Fish is well on her way along that path. – Anthony DeCurtis X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:"That was my mission on this album: To really set these songs up so that they have a life of their own,” says Samantha Fish about Kill or Be Kind, her sixth solo album and her debut on Rounder Records. “Strong messages from the heart – that’s what I really set out for.” Indeed, what comes across immediately on hearing the album is the extraordinary level of songcraft on its eleven tracks, the way these songs are so smartly put together to deliver a potent emotional impact.
Anyone who has ever heard Fish’s previous albums knows that she has earned a place in the top rank of contemporary blues guitarists and that her voice can wring the soul out of a ballad and belt out a rocker with roof-shaking force. And, rest reassured, those virtues are fully in evidence on Kill or Be Kind. But each of the songs on the album does far more than simply provide a setting for Fish’s pyrotechnics. They tell captivating stories, set up by verses that deftly set the scene, choruses that lift with real feeling, and hooks that later rise up in your thoughts, even when you’re not aware that you’re thinking of music at all. It’s the kind of songwriting that emerges when raw talent is leavened by experience and aspiration, and when a committed artist genuinely has something to say. Those qualities make Kill or Be Kind a genuine artistic breakthrough for Fish.
“I think I’ve grown as a performer and as a player,” she explains. “I’ve become more respectful of the melody. You can go up and down the fret board and up and down your vocal register, but that’s not going to be as powerful as conveying a simple melody that people can really connect to and sing themselves.” To help bring those elements to her music, Fish sought out high-quality songwriting collaborators – the likes of Jim McCormick (who has worked with Fish before and also written for Luke Bryan and Keith Urban); Kate Pearlman (who has worked with Kelly Clarkson); Patrick Sweeney; Parker Millsap; and Eric McFadden. The result is an album on which each song is distinct, but the complete work hangs together as a coherent, entirely satisfying statement. “When you get to this point in your life as an artist,” Fish says, “it’s good to work with others, because it makes you stretch. I think you hear a lot of that nuance on the record, songs that have a pop sensibility to them, hooks that really pull you in.”
You get a good sense of the range the album covers from the first two songs released. Fish propels “Watch It Die” with an insistent guitar riff, but near the song’s end two female background singers lend the song a haunting soulful feel. Meanwhile, “Love Letters” moves on an insinuating, stop-time riff in its verses until it bursts in passion on its chorus. Both songs use horn sections for finesse and texture. “Love Letters” also introduces one of the album’s central themes: the allure of losing yourself in love – and the dangers of it. “Keep waking up in the bed I made,” Fish sings. “Forget the pain when you wanna play/I’m back to broken when you go away.”
“That’s just a love-sick song,” Fish says, laughing. “like I think I was when I wrote it.” The title track, a seductive ballad, offers a lover a stark choice: “Make up your mind/I can kill or be kind.” To explain that dichotomy, Fish says, “It’s funny how love can be so fickle, how quickly you go from object of affection to one of disdain. I’ve always found that dynamic interesting. That track is full of that duality. ,” she adds, laughing. “I also loved the Memphis sound of the horns on there. They sound modern, but it’s got this vintage feeling as well.” The songs “Dirty,” “Love Your Lies” and “Fair-Weather” explore similar themes – how deceit, self-deception and shifting expectations can alter the course of life and love. The affecting ballad “Dream Girl” stands the endearment of its title on its head, and explores the dilemma of a love not coming to fruition. “I wish you’d take the rest of me,” Fish sings. “These tears, they kill your fantasy.” On “She Don’t Live Around Here Anymore,” a soul ballad once again bolstered by tasteful horn parts, the singer confronts the feeling of being used and finds empowerment in walking away.
The album is framed by songs — “Bulletproof” and “You Got It Bad (Better Than You Ever Had).” “Bulletproof digs into the theme of vulnerability, about it being mistaken for weakness, and how we often times feel the need to wear a mask to survive in the world today, while “You Got It Bad (Better Than You Ever Had)” is about working towards your dreams and the knifes edge we often walk to reach our goals.
“Trying Not to Fall in Love With You” finds the singer not wanting to rush a relationship – and therefore undermine it. “I fall fast,” Fish admits, “I have to remember to take care and not scare the person away.”
To make Kill or Be Kind, Fish chose to work at the legendary Royal Studios in Memphis, with Scott Billington as producer. “I worked at Royal before, when I made my Wild Heartalbum,” she says. “The soul in the walls, the vibe – you can feel it in that place. I’m such a fan of Al Green, Ann Peebles and all the classic recordings that happened there. Memphis just kept calling to me. I’ve always felt so inspired there.” As for Billington, a three-time Grammy winner, Fish appreciated both his open-mindedness and his willingness to ease her out of her comfort zone. “Scott allowed me to see the building-out process of the album all the way through, from the top to the bottom,” she says. “Bringing in background singers and synthesizers, which I’d never done on an album before, that added an extra edge.
Honestly, it was a challenge. It pushed me to think about the songs differently. That trust from my producer gave me the freedom to really take some risks.”
Having completed an album that she believes in so strongly – “This is me coming through, my personality,” she says – Fish is eager to bring it to the world. “I got the moon in the back of my mind, and I want to shoot for it!” she declares. “I want to reach over genre lines and get out to as many people as possible. This album is so broad – and it’s all me. So I’m just hoping it catches people and appeals to them.”
She concludes, “Overall my big goal, career-wise, is to contribute something different and new to music. I want to give something that stands apart and yet is timeless.” With Kill or Be Kind, Samantha Fish is well on her way along that path. – Anthony DeCurtis
LAST-MODIFIED:20210803T172126Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3380 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20210925T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20210925T233000 UID:EDE4E9D1-E2CD-45E4-8AB7-E01559AC3781 SUMMARY:Tommy Castro & The Painkillers DTSTAMP:20210623T045142Z DESCRIPTION:“Castro is one of the brightest stars in the blues-soul genre. Voracious blues energy and ultimate soul power...impassioned vocals and pure inventiveness in his stellar guitar solos.” –Blues Music Magazine\N“Sizzling, slow-burning, gritty blues and rock...shimmering, swampy, downright funky vibes drenched with Castro’s stinging, pure and crisp lead runs and fluid, jet-fueled solos.” –Living Blues\N“Soul-baring, roadhouse-meets-church, Memphis guitar licks...gritty voice...Southern colors and rootsy textures.” –Washington Post\N“The hardest thing to do,” says internationally beloved soul-blues rocker Tommy Castro, “is be yourself, take some chances and bring your fans along with you.” Throughout his long, constantly evolving career, guitarist, singer and songwriter Tommy Castro has always remained true to himself while exploring, growing and creating new music, and he has taken his thousands of devoted fans right along with him. Since his solo debut in 1994, he’s made 16 albums—the last seven for Alligator—each its own unique chapter in the book of Tommy Castro. Ranging from horn-fueled R&B to piping hot blues to fiery, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll, each release is solidly built upon Castro’s unshakable musical foundation—a dynamic mix of 1960s-influenced guitar-fueled blues, testifying Memphis-soaked blue-eyed soul and Latin-tinged East San Jose funk, all driven by Castro’s grab-you-by-the-collar vocals and passionate guitar work. Blues Revue declared, “Tommy Castro can do no wrong.”\NFor Castro’s new album, a roots music odyssey entitled Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town, he tells a timeless story. This special project was composed by Castro along with Grammy Award-winning producer Tom Hambridge. Through its 13 songs, A Bluesman Came To Town tells the tale of a young man working on his family farm who gets bitten by the blues bug. He masters the guitar and heads out on the road seeking fame and fortune, only to find what he’s left behind is the treasure he’s been looking for. Each memorable song—from the blistering title track to the pleading Child Don’t Go to the hopeful I Caught A Break to the emotional Blues Prisoner—stands on its own, as well as contributing to the larger story.\N“I like to keep things fresh and interesting,” says Castro, “Tom and I have talked about making a record together for a long time. Collaborating with him was even better than I imagined. I had an outline for the story and then Tom and I talked it out and the songs just started to organically grow out of each other.” Castro continues, “A Bluesman Came To Town isn’t a story about me. It’s pulled from some of my friends’ and my experiences though. I’ve seen first-hand for a lot of years what it’s like out there on the road.”\NThe road has always been Castro’s home away from home. He’ll instantly ignite a crowd, turn them into loyal fans and then keep those fans coming back for more. He has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles and performed thousands of gigs, leading his bands at clubs, concert halls, and festivals all over the world. Famed guitarist Joe Bonamassa says, “Tommy has always been top of the heap among blues guitar players. He always puts on a great show.”\NBorn in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He fell under the spell of Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal, Mike Bloomfield and other blues artists of the day. Almost every major rock and soul act, from Ike and Tina Turner to Janis Joplin to the J. Geils Band to Tower Of Power, toured through the area, and Castro was at every show. He saw John Lee Hooker, Albert King, and Buddy Guy and Junior Wells at the same local blues bar, JJ’s, where he often jammed, dreaming of one day busting out. Mixing the blues and rock and roll he loved and the soul music he heard blasting from lowriders in his neighborhood Tommy started to create his own personal sound and style. He honed his guitar skills and intense, gritty vocals, learning how to capture an audience as he performed on San Francisco’s highly competitive club scene. As his reputation spread, Tommy played in a variety of Bay Area bands, soon making a name for himself as a hotter-than-hot live artist bursting at the seams with talent. In 1985, he was recruited to become lead singer and guitarist for the regionally popular blues band NiteCry, gigging regularly throughout Northern California. Castro joined Warner Brothers’ artists The Dynatones in the late 1980s, performing all over the country. He formed the first Tommy Castro Band in 1992 and has not stopped touring since. In 1995, soon after releasing his first album on Blind Pig Records, The Tommy Castro Band was selected as the house band for three seasons on NBC Television’s Comedy Showcase (airing right after Saturday Night Live). The show brought him in front of millions of viewers every week and cemented his reputation as a not-to-be-missed, nationally touring live performer.\NAfter a series of successful releases on the Blind Pig, Telarc and 33rd Street labels, Tommy Castro joined Alligator Records in 2009. His label debut, Hard Believer, was released to massive popular and critical acclaim. With the album, Castro won four of his six career Blues Music Awards, including the coveted B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year Award (the very highest award a blues performer can receive). In 2012, Castro stripped his music down to its raw essence, creating a high-energy, larger-than-life sound with the formation of The Painkillers. Tommy Castro & The Painkillers’ initial release, The Devil You Know, was embraced by his legion of fans and discovered by hordes of new ones. With the current version of The Painkillers (bassist Randy McDonald, drummer Bowen Brown and keyboardist Michael Emerson), Castro released Method To My Madness in 2015, Stompin’ Ground in 2017, and the irresistible Killin’ It–Live in 2019, with critics shouting praise and admirers cheering the group’s every move. The band has coalesced into one of the telepathically tightest units Castro has ever assembled, making them one of the most in-demand live roots music acts performing today, delivering soul-shaking, muscular music.\NCastro’s relentless road-dog approach—gig after gig, night after night—has won him loyal, lifelong fans everywhere he plays. The Washington Post says Castro is “phenomenal and funky” with “soulful vocals and inspired blues guitar.” The San Francisco Chronicle describes Castro’s music as, “funky Southern soul, big city blues and classic rock...silvery guitar licks that simultaneously sound familiar and fresh.” No Depression says “Castro plays gritty, string-bending blues like a runaway train...a glorious blend that rocks the soul and lifts the spirits.”\NUpon release of A Bluesman Came To Town, Castro will hit the road with The Painkillers, performing fan favorites as well as songs from the new album. “I’ve made seven albums for Alligator,” Castro says, “and I’ve never made the same record twice. I will always try to be my most authentic self. I give it all I’ve got every time we hit the stage!”\NTOMMY CASTRO ON ALLIGATOR RECORDS2021 A Bluesman Came To Town2019 Killin’ It — Live2017 Stompin’ Ground2015 Method To My Madness2014 The Devil You Know2011 The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue — Live!2009 Hard Believer X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:“Castro is one of the brightest stars in the blues-soul genre. Voracious blues energy and ultimate soul power...impassioned vocals and pure inventiveness in his stellar guitar solos.” –Blues Music Magazine
“Sizzling, slow-burning, gritty blues and rock...shimmering, swampy, downright funky vibes drenched with Castro’s stinging, pure and crisp lead runs and fluid, jet-fueled solos.” –Living Blues
“Soul-baring, roadhouse-meets-church, Memphis guitar licks...gritty voice...Southern colors and rootsy textures.” –Washington Post
“The hardest thing to do,” says internationally beloved soul-blues rocker Tommy Castro, “is be yourself, take some chances and bring your fans along with you.” Throughout his long, constantly evolving career, guitarist, singer and songwriter Tommy Castro has always remained true to himself while exploring, growing and creating new music, and he has taken his thousands of devoted fans right along with him. Since his solo debut in 1994, he’s made 16 albums—the last seven for Alligator—each its own unique chapter in the book of Tommy Castro. Ranging from horn-fueled R&B to piping hot blues to fiery, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll, each release is solidly built upon Castro’s unshakable musical foundation—a dynamic mix of 1960s-influenced guitar-fueled blues, testifying Memphis-soaked blue-eyed soul and Latin-tinged East San Jose funk, all driven by Castro’s grab-you-by-the-collar vocals and passionate guitar work. Blues Revue declared, “Tommy Castro can do no wrong.”
For Castro’s new album, a roots music odyssey entitled Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town, he tells a timeless story. This special project was composed by Castro along with Grammy Award-winning producer Tom Hambridge. Through its 13 songs, A Bluesman Came To Town tells the tale of a young man working on his family farm who gets bitten by the blues bug. He masters the guitar and heads out on the road seeking fame and fortune, only to find what he’s left behind is the treasure he’s been looking for. Each memorable song—from the blistering title track to the pleading Child Don’t Go to the hopeful I Caught A Break to the emotional Blues Prisoner—stands on its own, as well as contributing to the larger story.
“I like to keep things fresh and interesting,” says Castro, “Tom and I have talked about making a record together for a long time. Collaborating with him was even better than I imagined. I had an outline for the story and then Tom and I talked it out and the songs just started to organically grow out of each other.” Castro continues, “A Bluesman Came To Town isn’t a story about me. It’s pulled from some of my friends’ and my experiences though. I’ve seen first-hand for a lot of years what it’s like out there on the road.”
The road has always been Castro’s home away from home. He’ll instantly ignite a crowd, turn them into loyal fans and then keep those fans coming back for more. He has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles and performed thousands of gigs, leading his bands at clubs, concert halls, and festivals all over the world. Famed guitarist Joe Bonamassa says, “Tommy has always been top of the heap among blues guitar players. He always puts on a great show.”
Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He fell under the spell of Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal, Mike Bloomfield and other blues artists of the day. Almost every major rock and soul act, from Ike and Tina Turner to Janis Joplin to the J. Geils Band to Tower Of Power, toured through the area, and Castro was at every show. He saw John Lee Hooker, Albert King, and Buddy Guy and Junior Wells at the same local blues bar, JJ’s, where he often jammed, dreaming of one day busting out. Mixing the blues and rock and roll he loved and the soul music he heard blasting from lowriders in his neighborhood Tommy started to create his own personal sound and style. He honed his guitar skills and intense, gritty vocals, learning how to capture an audience as he performed on San Francisco’s highly competitive club scene. As his reputation spread, Tommy played in a variety of Bay Area bands, soon making a name for himself as a hotter-than-hot live artist bursting at the seams with talent. In 1985, he was recruited to become lead singer and guitarist for the regionally popular blues band NiteCry, gigging regularly throughout Northern California. Castro joined Warner Brothers’ artists The Dynatones in the late 1980s, performing all over the country. He formed the first Tommy Castro Band in 1992 and has not stopped touring since. In 1995, soon after releasing his first album on Blind Pig Records, The Tommy Castro Band was selected as the house band for three seasons on NBC Television’s Comedy Showcase (airing right after Saturday Night Live). The show brought him in front of millions of viewers every week and cemented his reputation as a not-to-be-missed, nationally touring live performer.
After a series of successful releases on the Blind Pig, Telarc and 33rd Street labels, Tommy Castro joined Alligator Records in 2009. His label debut, Hard Believer, was released to massive popular and critical acclaim. With the album, Castro won four of his six career Blues Music Awards, including the coveted B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year Award (the very highest award a blues performer can receive). In 2012, Castro stripped his music down to its raw essence, creating a high-energy, larger-than-life sound with the formation of The Painkillers. Tommy Castro & The Painkillers’ initial release, The Devil You Know, was embraced by his legion of fans and discovered by hordes of new ones. With the current version of The Painkillers (bassist Randy McDonald, drummer Bowen Brown and keyboardist Michael Emerson), Castro released Method To My Madness in 2015, Stompin’ Ground in 2017, and the irresistible Killin’ It–Live in 2019, with critics shouting praise and admirers cheering the group’s every move. The band has coalesced into one of the telepathically tightest units Castro has ever assembled, making them one of the most in-demand live roots music acts performing today, delivering soul-shaking, muscular music.
Castro’s relentless road-dog approach—gig after gig, night after night—has won him loyal, lifelong fans everywhere he plays. The Washington Post says Castro is “phenomenal and funky” with “soulful vocals and inspired blues guitar.” The San Francisco Chronicle describes Castro’s music as, “funky Southern soul, big city blues and classic rock...silvery guitar licks that simultaneously sound familiar and fresh.” No Depression says “Castro plays gritty, string-bending blues like a runaway train...a glorious blend that rocks the soul and lifts the spirits.”
Upon release of A Bluesman Came To Town, Castro will hit the road with The Painkillers, performing fan favorites as well as songs from the new album. “I’ve made seven albums for Alligator,” Castro says, “and I’ve never made the same record twice. I will always try to be my most authentic self. I give it all I’ve got every time we hit the stage!”
TOMMY CASTRO ON ALLIGATOR RECORDS
2021 A Bluesman Came To Town
2019 Killin’ It — Live
2017 Stompin’ Ground
2015 Method To My Madness
2014 The Devil You Know
2011 The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue — Live!
2009 Hard Believer
We are genuinely thrilled to be able to announce an entire tour of new shows. It’s been a long year and we are beyond grateful to be able to get back on the road and reconnect with yall. And what better time to play some shows in a way that we’ve never done before. The “Bare Bones Tour” will be our first truly stripped down tour. Piano. Guitar. Voices.. and that’s pretty much it. Rooms will be a bit more intimate and we are all probably going to be a bit more quiet in volume, but just as loud in spirit. Expect some classics, some deep cuts, and maybe a few new tunes. Let’s get intimate!
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20210803T191753Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3198 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211008T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211008T233000 UID:FFB71810-F9C6-4892-8310-4DA01E65609E SUMMARY:Andy Frasco & The U.N. DTSTAMP:20210728T230731Z DESCRIPTION:Born and raised in California, Frasco’s first exposure to the music industry came not onstage, but rather in an office. As a young teenager, he worked with legendary indie label Drive-Thru Records and helped book bands like Hello Goodbye, and by the time he turned 18, he’d already moved to New York City for a gig with Atlantic Records. When the job fell through, though, Frasco made a leap of faith and decided to launch his own career as an artist, taking everything he’d learned working with other bands and applying it to himself.\NInitially, Frasco hired local pickup musicians off of Craigslist to back him for gigs, but soon he put together a steady(ish) lineup, and Andy Frasco & The U.N. began taking the world by storm. The group would release a series of acclaimed records, share bills with the likes of Leon Russell, Galactic, Gary Clark, Jr., The Revivalists, and Marcus King among others, and slay festival stages everywhere from Mountain Jam in the U.S. to Rock am Ring in Germany and COTAI Jazz & Blues in China (this summer, Frasco will perform at multiple summer festivals including Summer Camp, FloydFest and hopefully many more to be announced). NME hailed the constantly evolving group as “party-starting touring stalwarts,” while Relix praised their “raucous energy,” and Clash lauded their live show as a “nightly high-octane experience that doubles as a celebration of life and music…energized by a powerfully entertaining multi-cultural soundtrack that will shake the foundations of all nearby structures.”\NEvery party has to end sometime, though, and while it seemed Frasco was living out his rock and roll dreams on his 2019 and early 2020 tours, he was facing an internal darkness few knew about.\N“I hit a breaking point,” he explains. “I was sitting alone in my van, and I realized that I didn’t know who my friends were. Worse, I didn’t know who I was. I was drinking too much, I was addicted to cocaine, and I was dealing with really heavy depression. I even contemplated suicide, but I decided that if I’m fortunate enough to leave behind a legacy, I didn’t want to be remembered just as some good-time party guy. I wanted to show people that I’m more than the crowd-surfing, Jameson-drinking maniac they see onstage.”\NFrasco began writing poetry that eventually became songs. He wrote about despair and anxiety, about friendship and growth, about accountability and potential, transforming the poems into defiant rock and roll anthems. These songs became his most recent album ‘Keep On Keeping On' released at the beginning of the pandemic in April of 2020.\NLike many, the pandemic hit Andy hard. He was once again feeling that ‘breaking point’ and he quickly transformed his high energy roadshow into a year-long digital blitz of new music, a 33 episode variety show (Andy Frasco’s World Saving ShitShow) which garnered 20 million views, a highly attended digital Dance Party and Andy further developed his already successful and compelling podcast (Andy Frasco’s World Saving Podcast). His variety show and podcast included interviews and musical performances by many notable guests such as Tony Hawk, Kurt Vile, Nathaniel Rateliff, Kamasi Washington, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and more.\NAdditionally, Frasco recently scored ‘The Great Depresh,’ an HBO documentary about Gary Gulman exploring the comic’s struggles with depression that was produced by Judd Apatow and directed by Mike Bonfiglio. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Born and raised in California, Frasco’s first exposure to the music industry came not onstage, but rather in an office. As a young teenager, he worked with legendary indie label Drive-Thru Records and helped book bands like Hello Goodbye, and by the time he turned 18, he’d already moved to New York City for a gig with Atlantic Records. When the job fell through, though, Frasco made a leap of faith and decided to launch his own career as an artist, taking everything he’d learned working with other bands and applying it to himself.
Initially, Frasco hired local pickup musicians off of Craigslist to back him for gigs, but soon he put together a steady(ish) lineup, and Andy Frasco & The U.N. began taking the world by storm. The group would release a series of acclaimed records, share bills with the likes of Leon Russell, Galactic, Gary Clark, Jr., The Revivalists, and Marcus King among others, and slay festival stages everywhere from Mountain Jam in the U.S. to Rock am Ring in Germany and COTAI Jazz & Blues in China (this summer, Frasco will perform at multiple summer festivals including Summer Camp, FloydFest and hopefully many more to be announced). NME hailed the constantly evolving group as “party-starting touring stalwarts,” while Relix praised their “raucous energy,” and Clash lauded their live show as a “nightly high-octane experience that doubles as a celebration of life and music…energized by a powerfully entertaining multi-cultural soundtrack that will shake the foundations of all nearby structures.”
Every party has to end sometime, though, and while it seemed Frasco was living out his rock and roll dreams on his 2019 and early 2020 tours, he was facing an internal darkness few knew about.
“I hit a breaking point,” he explains. “I was sitting alone in my van, and I realized that I didn’t know who my friends were. Worse, I didn’t know who I was. I was drinking too much, I was addicted to cocaine, and I was dealing with really heavy depression. I even contemplated suicide, but I decided that if I’m fortunate enough to leave behind a legacy, I didn’t want to be remembered just as some good-time party guy. I wanted to show people that I’m more than the crowd-surfing, Jameson-drinking maniac they see onstage.”
Frasco began writing poetry that eventually became songs. He wrote about despair and anxiety, about friendship and growth, about accountability and potential, transforming the poems into defiant rock and roll anthems. These songs became his most recent album ‘Keep On Keeping On' released at the beginning of the pandemic in April of 2020.
Like many, the pandemic hit Andy hard. He was once again feeling that ‘breaking point’ and he quickly transformed his high energy roadshow into a year-long digital blitz of new music, a 33 episode variety show (Andy Frasco’s World Saving ShitShow) which garnered 20 million views, a highly attended digital Dance Party and Andy further developed his already successful and compelling podcast (Andy Frasco’s World Saving Podcast). His variety show and podcast included interviews and musical performances by many notable guests such as Tony Hawk, Kurt Vile, Nathaniel Rateliff, Kamasi Washington, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and more.
Additionally, Frasco recently scored ‘The Great Depresh,’ an HBO documentary about Gary Gulman exploring the comic’s struggles with depression that was produced by Judd Apatow and directed by Mike Bonfiglio.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20210909T182634Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1939 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211010T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211010T233000 UID:B8701338-7923-4F53-99DA-24D43DE9D348 SUMMARY:Tyler Rich DTSTAMP:20210612T170154Z DESCRIPTION:The distance. It’s something every touring musician learns to deal with when it comes to relationships. Tyler Rich decided to bring the issue front and center on his debut album, TWO THOUSAND MILES, released via The Valory Music Co. The title references the stretch between Nashville and Los Angeles, as well as Tyler’s two great loves — the dream of his career and his biggest muse. More specifically, it signifies the door-to-door distance between the apartments he and actress Sabina Gadecki, whom he married last September, share in each city. \N“Between Sabina, my record deal, and the road, my life has been a constant four-year back-and-forth between both places,” says the Northern California native who was named a 2018 CMT Listen Up artist on the strength of his GOLD-certified breakthrough single, “The Difference.” \N“Almost every song that came into this project was inspired by that crazy grind and making that relationship work. It was clearly the obvious title for the first official chapter of my career.” \NTWO THOUSAND MILES completes the introduction of a singer who has won over Country fans with diverse singles like “The Difference,” “Leave Her Wild” and “Rather Be Us.” A singer that Rolling Stone Country says is “rising quickly through country’s mainstream ranks, unafraid to fill his music with R&B vocal runs and modern-rock aggression,” Tyler has toured with Brett Young, Justin Moore, LANCO and Dustin Lynch, plus shared bills alongside Sam Hunt, Brett Eldredge, Cole Swindell, Dan + Shay and more. Recorded primarily in Nashville with producers including Lindsay Rimes, Michael Knox, Big Machine Label Group President/CEO Scott Borchetta and Julian Raymond, TWO THOUSAND MILES features the singles that already have earned Tyler more than 200 million streams, as well as several new tracks, including the rousing hit “Feels Like Home.” \NIt’s appropriate that TWO THOUSAND MILES begins with “Feels Like Home,” a sing-along anthem with an Irish flair inspired by a visit to a Dublin pub. The final album cut for the track was recorded in the spring of 2020 during the coronavirus sheltering with each musician contributing parts while sequestered in their homes in Nashville and Los Angeles. Other tracks, including “Real Love” and “Still Love You,” were completed with participants on opposite sides of the country. \N“It’s crazy that we were calling the album TWO THOUSAND MILES, and my producer and I finished the album 2000 miles apart, as well,” Tyler says. \N“Real Love” has the throwback sway favored by R&B groups like The Temptations. Tyler wrote the song shortly after he got engaged, along with Andy Albert, who was about to pop the question to his girlfriend, and Rimes, who was already married. “When you’re looking for love, you’ll find all the wrong people or mess things up because you’re trying too hard,” Tyler says. “When it’s real, it finds you.” They must have tapped into some magic that day: “Everybody that wrote that song is now married.” \NThe same trio wrote “Still Love You” — which Tyler thinks of as “the polar opposite of ‘Real Love’” — the following Valentine’s Day. “We thought, ‘We’ve already written a song about finding love; let’s write the anti-love song,” he says. “Sometimes an Indie/Alt-Rock angst creeps into my music, and that song embodies it.” \N“Here With You” envisions a future Tyler would just as soon never experience. “I wrote it imagining if something ever happened that led to Sabina and I not being together,” he says, “wondering what it would be like being with somebody else and comparing every single thing to her.” \N“The Difference,” one of only three songs on the album Tyler didn’t have a hand in writing, also helps set the tone for his debut. In addition to reflecting his feelings about the woman who would become his wife, it also gave Tyler a chance to take some advice Garth Brooks gave him when he first came to Nashville. \N“He told me. ‘As a songwriter, always write the best song you possibly can, but as an artist, always record the best songs you’ve ever heard.’” When Tyler heard a demo for “The Difference” near the end of a marathon listening session, “I was immediately hooked. By the time it got to the end of the chorus and I heard the way the lyrics flipped and the whole song came to life, I immediately knew I had to have the song.” \NLike “The Difference,” “Leave Her Wild” highlights the shift from casual to committed relationships — much like his real-life courtship, which evolved quickly after the two met at Stagecoach in 2016. “There was a huge connection immediately, but we both pretended we wanted to keep it casual,” he says. “Within four or five weeks, though, it was head-on.” \N“Leave Her Wild” was inspired by a line from Canadian poet Atticus, a favorite of Sabina’s. “I thought, ‘It seemed like it was every girl’s favorite thing to say, ‘leave me wild’ — why hadn’t anybody written that song?’ Tyler wonders. “So Chris DeStefano, Jon Nite, and I went in and wrote all about Sabina and accepting everybody for who they want to be, because that’s the only answer.” \NBillboard says Tyler possesses “a blue-eyed soul sensibility propelling his California-grown country,” and that doesn’t appear more evident than on the album’s closing track, a version of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” that says volumes about Tyler’s inclusive approach to Country music. The song has been part of his sets for years. \N“When I sang in casino lounges, sitting at the corner of the bar playing background music, I had to figure out what popular songs I could make my own that would get me tips,” he says. “I came up with this Country-Bluesish rendition of ‘Billie Jean’ that I could count on to get me 40 bucks a night.” \NTyler considers Brooks and Keith Urban his two biggest Country influences, but they’re only part of an eclectic musical template that gives TWO THOUSAND MILES its vibrant color. “Garth — along with Brooks & Dunn and the other ‘90s guys — sucked me in as a kid,” he says. “After I veered off for a while in high school, Keith brought me back. \N“I feel like I can hear them as the common denominator in these songs, but then there will be tweaks like the Irish vibe in ‘Feels Like Home’ or ‘The Difference,’ where there’s maybe a little Jason Mraz in there. And the ‘Billie Jean’ cover hits my Bill Withers and Motown love. In my mind, TWO THOUSAND MILES a collection of my varied playlist, with a Country character throughout.” \NRaised in Yuba City, California, about 50 miles north of Sacramento, Tyler’s love of Country music began with a sold-out George Strait concert at ARCO Arena when he was 8. He idolized his Uncle Tim — “At any family function, he would be the guy who would show up with his guitar and play songs, getting everybody singing,” Tyler says — and he received his first guitar as a Christmas gift from his grandparents just before he turned 14. \NImpressed by one of Tyler’s Instagram covers, Dustin Lynch encouraged the aspiring singer and slotted him on a four-month tour before Tyler ever got a record deal. Jon Pardi, who grew up in the same part of California and coincidentally was coached in football by Tyler’s Uncle Tim, also provided invaluable introductions and advice. As their friendship has grown over the years, Pardi also invited Tyler to open select tour dates. \N“I had champions in my corner when they didn’t really have anything to champion,” Tyler says. “They were authentic friendships that turned into opportunities for a person randomly moving two thousand miles across the country.” \NTyler’s passion for animals followed him across the country. He rescued his Husky named Abby, who appeared in “The Difference” video, when he was 19 and she was a neglected puppy. A Samoyed-Husky mix named Max recently joined the family. Through his Rich Rescues initiative, he uses Instagram on tour stops to feature local animal shelters and encourage fans to adopt them. “Almost every animal we’ve featured has been adopted,” Tyler says. “It also helps my fans and me make a deeper connection because they’ll send me pictures and videos of their animals.” \NMusically and thematically, TWO THOUSAND MILES covers a lot of ground. Ultimately, though, Tyler sings about feelings all people have in common, whether they’re sharing a bed or separated by a continent — the needs for acceptance, devotion, and places to call their own. The songs on TWO THOUSAND MILES feel like home, and Tyler Rich feels like an artist who can go the distance. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The distance. It’s something every touring musician learns to deal with when it comes to relationships. Tyler Rich decided to bring the issue front and center on his debut album, TWO THOUSAND MILES, released via The Valory Music Co. The title references the stretch between Nashville and Los Angeles, as well as Tyler’s two great loves — the dream of his career and his biggest muse. More specifically, it signifies the door-to-door distance between the apartments he and actress Sabina Gadecki, whom he married last September, share in each city.
“Between Sabina, my record deal, and the road, my life has been a constant four-year back-and-forth between both places,” says the Northern California native who was named a 2018 CMT Listen Up artist on the strength of his GOLD-certified breakthrough single, “The Difference.”
“Almost every song that came into this project was inspired by that crazy grind and making that relationship work. It was clearly the obvious title for the first official chapter of my career.”
TWO THOUSAND MILES completes the introduction of a singer who has won over Country fans with diverse singles like “The Difference,” “Leave Her Wild” and “Rather Be Us.” A singer that Rolling Stone Country says is “rising quickly through country’s mainstream ranks, unafraid to fill his music with R&B vocal runs and modern-rock aggression,” Tyler has toured with Brett Young, Justin Moore, LANCO and Dustin Lynch, plus shared bills alongside Sam Hunt, Brett Eldredge, Cole Swindell, Dan + Shay and more. Recorded primarily in Nashville with producers including Lindsay Rimes, Michael Knox, Big Machine Label Group President/CEO Scott Borchetta and Julian Raymond, TWO THOUSAND MILES features the singles that already have earned Tyler more than 200 million streams, as well as several new tracks, including the rousing hit “Feels Like Home.”
It’s appropriate that TWO THOUSAND MILES begins with “Feels Like Home,” a sing-along anthem with an Irish flair inspired by a visit to a Dublin pub. The final album cut for the track was recorded in the spring of 2020 during the coronavirus sheltering with each musician contributing parts while sequestered in their homes in Nashville and Los Angeles. Other tracks, including “Real Love” and “Still Love You,” were completed with participants on opposite sides of the country.
“It’s crazy that we were calling the album TWO THOUSAND MILES, and my producer and I finished the album 2000 miles apart, as well,” Tyler says.
“Real Love” has the throwback sway favored by R&B groups like The Temptations. Tyler wrote the song shortly after he got engaged, along with Andy Albert, who was about to pop the question to his girlfriend, and Rimes, who was already married. “When you’re looking for love, you’ll find all the wrong people or mess things up because you’re trying too hard,” Tyler says. “When it’s real, it finds you.” They must have tapped into some magic that day: “Everybody that wrote that song is now married.”
The same trio wrote “Still Love You” — which Tyler thinks of as “the polar opposite of ‘Real Love’” — the following Valentine’s Day. “We thought, ‘We’ve already written a song about finding love; let’s write the anti-love song,” he says. “Sometimes an Indie/Alt-Rock angst creeps into my music, and that song embodies it.”
“Here With You” envisions a future Tyler would just as soon never experience. “I wrote it imagining if something ever happened that led to Sabina and I not being together,” he says, “wondering what it would be like being with somebody else and comparing every single thing to her.”
“The Difference,” one of only three songs on the album Tyler didn’t have a hand in writing, also helps set the tone for his debut. In addition to reflecting his feelings about the woman who would become his wife, it also gave Tyler a chance to take some advice Garth Brooks gave him when he first came to Nashville.
“He told me. ‘As a songwriter, always write the best song you possibly can, but as an artist, always record the best songs you’ve ever heard.’” When Tyler heard a demo for “The Difference” near the end of a marathon listening session, “I was immediately hooked. By the time it got to the end of the chorus and I heard the way the lyrics flipped and the whole song came to life, I immediately knew I had to have the song.”
Like “The Difference,” “Leave Her Wild” highlights the shift from casual to committed relationships — much like his real-life courtship, which evolved quickly after the two met at Stagecoach in 2016. “There was a huge connection immediately, but we both pretended we wanted to keep it casual,” he says. “Within four or five weeks, though, it was head-on.”
“Leave Her Wild” was inspired by a line from Canadian poet Atticus, a favorite of Sabina’s. “I thought, ‘It seemed like it was every girl’s favorite thing to say, ‘leave me wild’ — why hadn’t anybody written that song?’ Tyler wonders. “So Chris DeStefano, Jon Nite, and I went in and wrote all about Sabina and accepting everybody for who they want to be, because that’s the only answer.”
Billboard says Tyler possesses “a blue-eyed soul sensibility propelling his California-grown country,” and that doesn’t appear more evident than on the album’s closing track, a version of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” that says volumes about Tyler’s inclusive approach to Country music. The song has been part of his sets for years.
“When I sang in casino lounges, sitting at the corner of the bar playing background music, I had to figure out what popular songs I could make my own that would get me tips,” he says. “I came up with this Country-Bluesish rendition of ‘Billie Jean’ that I could count on to get me 40 bucks a night.”
Tyler considers Brooks and Keith Urban his two biggest Country influences, but they’re only part of an eclectic musical template that gives TWO THOUSAND MILES its vibrant color. “Garth — along with Brooks & Dunn and the other ‘90s guys — sucked me in as a kid,” he says. “After I veered off for a while in high school, Keith brought me back.
“I feel like I can hear them as the common denominator in these songs, but then there will be tweaks like the Irish vibe in ‘Feels Like Home’ or ‘The Difference,’ where there’s maybe a little Jason Mraz in there. And the ‘Billie Jean’ cover hits my Bill Withers and Motown love. In my mind, TWO THOUSAND MILES a collection of my varied playlist, with a Country character throughout.”
Raised in Yuba City, California, about 50 miles north of Sacramento, Tyler’s love of Country music began with a sold-out George Strait concert at ARCO Arena when he was 8. He idolized his Uncle Tim — “At any family function, he would be the guy who would show up with his guitar and play songs, getting everybody singing,” Tyler says — and he received his first guitar as a Christmas gift from his grandparents just before he turned 14.
Impressed by one of Tyler’s Instagram covers, Dustin Lynch encouraged the aspiring singer and slotted him on a four-month tour before Tyler ever got a record deal. Jon Pardi, who grew up in the same part of California and coincidentally was coached in football by Tyler’s Uncle Tim, also provided invaluable introductions and advice. As their friendship has grown over the years, Pardi also invited Tyler to open select tour dates.
“I had champions in my corner when they didn’t really have anything to champion,” Tyler says. “They were authentic friendships that turned into opportunities for a person randomly moving two thousand miles across the country.”
Tyler’s passion for animals followed him across the country. He rescued his Husky named Abby, who appeared in “The Difference” video, when he was 19 and she was a neglected puppy. A Samoyed-Husky mix named Max recently joined the family. Through his Rich Rescues initiative, he uses Instagram on tour stops to feature local animal shelters and encourage fans to adopt them. “Almost every animal we’ve featured has been adopted,” Tyler says. “It also helps my fans and me make a deeper connection because they’ll send me pictures and videos of their animals.”
Musically and thematically, TWO THOUSAND MILES covers a lot of ground. Ultimately, though, Tyler sings about feelings all people have in common, whether they’re sharing a bed or separated by a continent — the needs for acceptance, devotion, and places to call their own. The songs on TWO THOUSAND MILES feel like home, and Tyler Rich feels like an artist who can go the distance.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20210621T155703Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1855 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211030T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211030T233000 UID:D7C1D455-F545-4643-8F1C-BCFD3B4CB857 SUMMARY:An Evening with Talia Keys & The Love DTSTAMP:20210929T005548Z DESCRIPTION:This Salt Lake City "musical powerhouse" is known for sourcing energies reminiscent of the bluesy rawness of Janis Joplin and the fire of Jimi Hendrix. Synergizing that old soul vibe with new school sounds, described by Katie Bain as "blistering." Having been "struck by her talent, stage presence, and refreshing candor." - Insomniac: Best of Electric Forest\NCurrently focused on two main projects, Gemini Mind, a full electric solo live looping show producing big sounds, ripping guitar solos, body buzzing synth bass, and drum pad with dynamic vocals and lyrics that captivate the hearts and minds of people everywhere.\NTalia Keys & The Love is a foot-stomping, jaw-dropping soul-funk-rock n’ roll heavy hitting five-member band. Having dropped their first album, We're Here on 4/20/2018, they're currently back in the studio tracking a new album for your earholes!\NTK & The Love was organically created with the release of TK's first full-length solo album, Fool's Gold (July 2015). Tracking a majority of it herself, Talia invited some of Salt Lake area's finest to recreate it live. Including Dave Brogan (ALO) on drums and Ryan Conger (Joe McQueen Quartet) on keys, shortly after adding Josh Olsen on bass and Lisa Giacoletto on backing vocals.\NYou can find them playing festivals and venues, with music ranging from all original sets to full-blown tribute shows. In addition to performing, Talia writes, produces, and records all original material, totaling four albums so far.\NAs an active member in her community, Talia graciously accepted the role of Music Director for the non-profit organization Rock Camp SLC - An empowerment camp for Girls, Transgender, and Gender Expansive youth. She is very excited for this next season, having grown from the first year with 40 campers to now 120 + new rock n' rollers each summer! 2020 would have marked Salt Lake's third annual adult rock camp Slay Lake City, however, because of Covid, Slay At Home was created. Our first ever virtual Rock Camp that is open to ALL genders, creating Family Bands, Covid Bubble Bands, and Physically Distant Bands. Check out our free six-week course on our YouTube channel, Rock Camp SLC.\NWomen Who Rock is a new music series Talia curated with local fave KRCL 90.9fm presenting the showcase. Inspired by the Women Who Rock segment on the mid-day show with Eugenie Hero Jaffe, this series spotlights women in music by promoting and featuring female-fronted bands releasing original music. This series has been promoted at The State Room, The Depot, and all programming at the 2019 Utah Arts Festival. Stay tuned for more Women Who Rock.\NHaving been off work during the Covid quarantine, being invited to be a radio DJ on RCL 90.9fm, was something to look forward to. Starting 11/1/2020 you can tune in to the NEW radio show - We're Here with Talia Keys every Saturday night at midnight - 2am (MDT). All genders and all your favorite genres!\NNative to SLC, TK is proud to be featured as "a new face" for their re-branding campaign, SKI CITY. Licensing her original song "Me", introducing the campaign as well as singing, playing guitars and drums throughout the commercial. You may have seen it previewing for Warren Miller's 2016 - Here, There and Every Where, online winter sporting events, and select cable networks to name a few. Skiing from the age of six and playing music from the age of nine, it felt like a good fit.\NAdvocating for human rights Talia uses her music to convey a message of growth, awareness, and love. Promoting compassion and respect for our Earth and one another. "Music is very healing. If I can inspire just one person a show, I feel I am doing something right!" - Talia\N X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:This Salt Lake City "musical powerhouse" is known for sourcing energies reminiscent of the bluesy rawness of Janis Joplin and the fire of Jimi Hendrix. Synergizing that old soul vibe with new school sounds, described by Katie Bain as "blistering." Having been "struck by her talent, stage presence, and refreshing candor." - Insomniac: Best of Electric Forest
Currently focused on two main projects, Gemini Mind, a full electric solo live looping show producing big sounds, ripping guitar solos, body buzzing synth bass, and drum pad with dynamic vocals and lyrics that captivate the hearts and minds of people everywhere.
Talia Keys & The Love is a foot-stomping, jaw-dropping soul-funk-rock n’ roll heavy hitting five-member band. Having dropped their first album, We're Here on 4/20/2018, they're currently back in the studio tracking a new album for your earholes!
TK & The Love was organically created with the release of TK's first full-length solo album, Fool's Gold (July 2015). Tracking a majority of it herself, Talia invited some of Salt Lake area's finest to recreate it live. Including Dave Brogan (ALO) on drums and Ryan Conger (Joe McQueen Quartet) on keys, shortly after adding Josh Olsen on bass and Lisa Giacoletto on backing vocals.
You can find them playing festivals and venues, with music ranging from all original sets to full-blown tribute shows. In addition to performing, Talia writes, produces, and records all original material, totaling four albums so far.
As an active member in her community, Talia graciously accepted the role of Music Director for the non-profit organization Rock Camp SLC - An empowerment camp for Girls, Transgender, and Gender Expansive youth. She is very excited for this next season, having grown from the first year with 40 campers to now 120 + new rock n' rollers each summer! 2020 would have marked Salt Lake's third annual adult rock camp Slay Lake City, however, because of Covid, Slay At Home was created. Our first ever virtual Rock Camp that is open to ALL genders, creating Family Bands, Covid Bubble Bands, and Physically Distant Bands. Check out our free six-week course on our YouTube channel, Rock Camp SLC.
Women Who Rock is a new music series Talia curated with local fave KRCL 90.9fm presenting the showcase. Inspired by the Women Who Rock segment on the mid-day show with Eugenie Hero Jaffe, this series spotlights women in music by promoting and featuring female-fronted bands releasing original music. This series has been promoted at The State Room, The Depot, and all programming at the 2019 Utah Arts Festival. Stay tuned for more Women Who Rock.
Having been off work during the Covid quarantine, being invited to be a radio DJ on RCL 90.9fm, was something to look forward to. Starting 11/1/2020 you can tune in to the NEW radio show - We're Here with Talia Keys every Saturday night at midnight - 2am (MDT). All genders and all your favorite genres!
Native to SLC, TK is proud to be featured as "a new face" for their re-branding campaign, SKI CITY. Licensing her original song "Me", introducing the campaign as well as singing, playing guitars and drums throughout the commercial. You may have seen it previewing for Warren Miller's 2016 - Here, There and Every Where, online winter sporting events, and select cable networks to name a few. Skiing from the age of six and playing music from the age of nine, it felt like a good fit.
Advocating for human rights Talia uses her music to convey a message of growth, awareness, and love. Promoting compassion and respect for our Earth and one another. "Music is very healing. If I can inspire just one person a show, I feel I am doing something right!" - Talia
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211018T213747Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1339 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211103T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211103T235900 UID:4D0375E5-D925-4B6E-A9AB-BAD9943D03E0 SUMMARY:Anderson East DTSTAMP:20210513T135131Z DESCRIPTION:Maybe We Never Die, Anderson East's third release for Elektra/Low Country Sound takes the Alabama born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter’s seductively vintage voice in a decidedly fresh direction. The 12 tracks flow together with an overarching sense of urgency but maintain distinct musical boundaries. The energy toggles between a hunger for vulnerability in togetherness and a clinging to solitude as a romantic self-defense. There is consternation with the speed and volume at which the world operates and solace to be found in the simple act of getting up and going. And the beguiling title track, with its woozy strings swirling around East’s celestial falsetto as it curls towards the ceiling like smoke is, as they say, a whole mood; a sense of a single night’s dusk-to-sunrise contemplation. Collaborating once again with Dave Cobb along with longtime bandleader and now co-producer Philip Towns, East has found an enticing new avenue, one that maintains a connection to his past but keeps his eyes on the road ahead.\NMaybe We Never Die is East's first new music since 2018's breakthrough album, Encore, which featured the Grammy-nominated #1 AAA radio single, "All On My Mind." Heralded by critics, The New York Times praised Encore as, “…an often lustrous revisiting of raucous Southern soul, rousingly delivered and pinpoint precise. He has a voice full of extremely careful scrape and crunch, but his howls never feel unhinged," while Rolling Stone declared, “On Encore, East’s influences meld seamlessly, stacking the album with Stax-worthy R&B grooves, gospel-blues ooohs and aaahs, surging keys and blasting brass.” Known for his magnetic live performances, East and his band have performed sold-out shows worldwide and have been featured on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and "CBS This Morning Saturday," NBC's "TODAY" and "Late Night with Seth Meyers," PBS' "Austin City Limits" and more. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:
Maybe We Never Die, Anderson East's third release for Elektra/Low Country Sound takes the Alabama born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter’s seductively vintage voice in a decidedly fresh direction. The 12 tracks flow together with an overarching sense of urgency but maintain distinct musical boundaries. The energy toggles between a hunger for vulnerability in togetherness and a clinging to solitude as a romantic self-defense. There is consternation with the speed and volume at which the world operates and solace to be found in the simple act of getting up and going. And the beguiling title track, with its woozy strings swirling around East’s celestial falsetto as it curls towards the ceiling like smoke is, as they say, a whole mood; a sense of a single night’s dusk-to-sunrise contemplation. Collaborating once again with Dave Cobb along with longtime bandleader and now co-producer Philip Towns, East has found an enticing new avenue, one that maintains a connection to his past but keeps his eyes on the road ahead.
Maybe We Never Die is East's first new music since 2018's breakthrough album, Encore, which featured the Grammy-nominated #1 AAA radio single, "All On My Mind." Heralded by critics, The New York Times praised Encore as, “…an often lustrous revisiting of raucous Southern soul, rousingly delivered and pinpoint precise. He has a voice full of extremely careful scrape and crunch, but his howls never feel unhinged," while Rolling Stone declared, “On Encore, East’s influences meld seamlessly, stacking the album with Stax-worthy R&B grooves, gospel-blues ooohs and aaahs, surging keys and blasting brass.” Known for his magnetic live performances, East and his band have performed sold-out shows worldwide and have been featured on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and "CBS This Morning Saturday," NBC's "TODAY" and "Late Night with Seth Meyers," PBS' "Austin City Limits" and more.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211028T190232Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2294 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211104T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211104T233000 UID:2EBD3AF5-1CE1-41BE-A8D6-9ABB0F8B2A13 SUMMARY:Twiddle DTSTAMP:20210709T174336Z DESCRIPTION:With 15 years of relentless touring behind them, Vermont-based rock band Twiddle has built an impressive resume spanning Red Rocks to Bonnaroo, and multiple sellouts of historic rock venues including Port Chester, NY’s Capitol Theatre, and Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club. And with the second half of the band’s third studio album, PLUMP, on the horizon, the band’s career continues to catapult forward. Buoyed by the generous support of 359 Kickstarter donors, the 27-song album does more than showcase the group’s beautiful music, but also tells an important story, comprised in PLUMP Chapters 1 & 2.\NRecorded during a two-year span with legendary producer Ron St. Germain, PLUMP serves as a reflection of four brothers’ triumphs and struggles, both individual and as a whole. On Chapter 1, songs like “Lost in the Cold” and “Every Soul” detail what it’s like to hit rock bottom and howto rise back up.\N“So many fans have shared how these songs carried them through very difficult times, and that alone makes this all worth it,” said Brook Jordan, Twiddle’s percussionist and vocalist.\NComparatively, Chapter 2 contains genre-bending instrumentals, as well as mystifying epics like “Nicodemus Portulay” and “Orlando’s.” More than ten years later, these songs mirror the earliest Twiddle arrangements of 2004-2005 when Mihali Savoulidis and Ryan Dempsey were collaborating in their freshmen dorms at Castleton State College. The completion of PLUMP is timely, coming at a moment when the band’s fervent fan base is at an all-time high and expanding rapidly.\NIn the live setting, more and more people are invigorated by Twiddle’s community, promoting positivity and the band’s skillful improvisational music. So many like-minded people believe in the greater good, and they find that good in Twiddle.\NTwiddle is comprised of Zdenek Gubb on bass and vocals, Ryan Dempsey on keyboards and vocals, Mihali Savoulidis on guitar and lead vocals, and Brook Jordan on percussion and vocals. A more detailed biography of each band member, along with upcoming tour dates and updates, can be found at TwiddleMusic.com.\N____________________________________\N2007 manifested Twiddle’s debut release, The Natural Evolution of Consciousness. This breakout album showcased the band’s eclectic inspirations, imaginative lyrical abilities, and superb instrumentation. Twiddle’s sophomore production, Somewhere on the Mountain (2011), delves into the human spirit, speaking to our ambition, grief, and love. Live at Nectar’s (2014), is a double-disc live album recorded in August of 2013 at Burlington, Vermont’s Nectar’s. Live at Nectar’s truly captures Twiddle in its element, the live experience. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:With 15 years of relentless touring behind them, Vermont-based rock band Twiddle has built an impressive resume spanning Red Rocks to Bonnaroo, and multiple sellouts of historic rock venues including Port Chester, NY’s Capitol Theatre, and Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club. And with the second half of the band’s third studio album, PLUMP, on the horizon, the band’s career continues to catapult forward. Buoyed by the generous support of 359 Kickstarter donors, the 27-song album does more than showcase the group’s beautiful music, but also tells an important story, comprised in PLUMP Chapters 1 & 2.
Recorded during a two-year span with legendary producer Ron St. Germain, PLUMP serves as a reflection of four brothers’ triumphs and struggles, both individual and as a whole. On Chapter 1, songs like “Lost in the Cold” and “Every Soul” detail what it’s like to hit rock bottom and how
to rise back up.
“So many fans have shared how these songs carried them through very difficult times, and that alone makes this all worth it,” said Brook Jordan, Twiddle’s percussionist and vocalist.
Comparatively, Chapter 2 contains genre-bending instrumentals, as well as mystifying epics like “Nicodemus Portulay” and “Orlando’s.” More than ten years later, these songs mirror the earliest Twiddle arrangements of 2004-2005 when Mihali Savoulidis and Ryan Dempsey were collaborating in their freshmen dorms at Castleton State College. The completion of PLUMP is timely, coming at a moment when the band’s fervent fan base is at an all-time high and expanding rapidly.
In the live setting, more and more people are invigorated by Twiddle’s community, promoting positivity and the band’s skillful improvisational music. So many like-minded people believe in the greater good, and they find that good in Twiddle.
Twiddle is comprised of Zdenek Gubb on bass and vocals, Ryan Dempsey on keyboards and vocals, Mihali Savoulidis on guitar and lead vocals, and Brook Jordan on percussion and vocals. A more detailed biography of each band member, along with upcoming tour dates and updates, can be found at TwiddleMusic.com.
____________________________________
2007 manifested Twiddle’s debut release, The Natural Evolution of Consciousness. This breakout album showcased the band’s eclectic inspirations, imaginative lyrical abilities, and superb instrumentation. Twiddle’s sophomore production, Somewhere on the Mountain (2011), delves into the human spirit, speaking to our ambition, grief, and love. Live at Nectar’s (2014), is a double-disc live album recorded in August of 2013 at Burlington, Vermont’s Nectar’s. Live at Nectar’s truly captures Twiddle in its element, the live experience.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211022T192845Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2764 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211113T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211113T233000 UID:2E1990D6-3A52-48E0-B16C-B5B35DDF9E51 SUMMARY:Infamous Stringdusters - Night 1 - SOLD OUT DTSTAMP:20210817T154132Z DESCRIPTION:The Infamous Stringdusters dig deep into their bluegrass roots for their eleventh full-length record A Tribute to Bill Monroe, made available on Americana Vibes. For this album - which pays homage to the Father of Bluegrass includes songs that shaped them individually, and as a band, and recorded them each remotely from their home studios.\N“Bill Monroe was, as far as I can remember, the first bluegrass music I owned,” shared Andy Hall. I asked my uncle for a Bill Monroe CD box set and got it as a birthday present when I turned 18. The sound coming out of my speakers blew my mind, almost like ancient acoustic heavy metal. But then a song like ‘A Voice From On High’ would come on, and even though it was slow, it had this captivating power. The ancient tones.” The GRAMMY® Award-winning quintet—Andy Falco [guitar], Chris Pandolfi [banjo], Andy Hall [dobro], Jeremy Garrett [fiddle], and Travis Book [double bass]—have musical influences that truly run the gamut, but their common denominator is certainly bluegrass -- the sound that has in essence defined the course of their career.\NThis particular body of work, the first in a series of bluegrass tribute albums, was an obvious choice in that Bill Monroe truly laid the foundation for bluegrass as we know it today.\NThis particular style of music is still played, and honored, 75 years later and remains a total creative force, something that albeit separated by the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the live music industry, the ‘Dusters (as they’re known to their fans) came together in their truest, most authentic form to create.\NThe Infamous Stringdusters stand out as the rare group who can team up with contemporary artists on late night television one night and headline the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre or perform alongside The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh the next, and have recently emerged as proprietors behind their newly found independent record label, Americana Vibes. Manifesting an actual flock of impassioned fandom, much like those who paved the road before them, the band have attracted a faithful international audience that continues to grow. Moreover, their powerful music and performances paved the way for a GRAMMY® Award win in the category of “Best Bluegrass Album” for 2017’s Laws of Gravity, and a number of International Bluegrass Music Awards in a variety of categories.\NSometimes going back to the roots is where we are most likely to find opportunities for growth and evolution, so A Tribute to Bill Monroe was the catalyst for returning home.\N“Once we realized that we were going to be grounded for a good while, we found the best way for us to stay connected musically, as a band spread out around the country, would be to record remotely, each guy from his own home studio,” shared Andy Falco. “The silver lining of it was recording albums [such as Dust the Halls: An Acoustic Christmas Holiday and A Tribute to Bill Monroe) like we always talked about but didn’t have the time to actually do because of our busy touring schedule. The most important thing is for the art to continue, and we are very happy to have been able to create despite our different geographical locations.” Bill Monroe was most widely known for his mandolin playing, however interestingly enough, the mandolin does not appear once in the Dusters’ interpretation. So, while the nature of Bill Monroe’s bluegrass resides within the spirit of innovation, the Dusters took that same leap of faith in excluding Monroe’s instrument in that they “followed their own path to be innovators in the music they create together,” shared Jeremy Garrett, “along with exploiting the musical foundation they all share.” This album, like both December 2020’s holiday album and their last pre-pandemic effort, Rise Sun, was self-produced offering the band an opportunity to stay connected musically, together/apart, for which they are grateful.\NA Tribute to Bill Monroe is the Infamous Stringdusters telling listeners that they are slowly and continually evolving, by honoring the roots of the music that has shaped them as a band and individually. The songs are meaningful, and the musical parts have become more essential.\NThe Dusters are a brotherhood, but that family extends beyond the band even. And with most of the past year apart (and off), the guys can’t wait to hear what the future has in store for them musically speaking, and the hope is to bring that very musical joy back into people’s lives.\N"[the band] summon the light, which is all the more astonishing considering they tend to formulate their ideas individually before bringing them to the table." - Bluegrass Situation\N"...they represent a different side of the same socially aware coin that funds less positive, equally progressive artists’ countercultural capital." - No Depression X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The Infamous Stringdusters dig deep into their bluegrass roots for their eleventh full-length record A Tribute to Bill Monroe, made available on Americana Vibes. For this album - which pays homage to the Father of Bluegrass includes songs that shaped them individually, and as a band, and recorded them each remotely from their home studios.
“Bill Monroe was, as far as I can remember, the first bluegrass music I owned,” shared Andy Hall. I asked my uncle for a Bill Monroe CD box set and got it as a birthday present when I turned 18. The sound coming out of my speakers blew my mind, almost like ancient acoustic heavy metal. But then a song like ‘A Voice From On High’ would come on, and even though it was slow, it had this captivating power. The ancient tones.”
The GRAMMY® Award-winning quintet—Andy Falco [guitar], Chris Pandolfi [banjo], Andy Hall [dobro], Jeremy Garrett [fiddle], and Travis Book [double bass]—have musical influences that truly run the gamut, but their common denominator is certainly bluegrass -- the sound that has in essence defined the course of their career.
This particular body of work, the first in a series of bluegrass tribute albums, was an obvious choice in that Bill Monroe truly laid the foundation for bluegrass as we know it today.
This particular style of music is still played, and honored, 75 years later and remains a total creative force, something that albeit separated by the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the live music industry, the ‘Dusters (as they’re known to their fans) came together in their truest, most authentic form to create.
The Infamous Stringdusters stand out as the rare group who can team up with contemporary artists on late night television one night and headline the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre or perform alongside The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh the next, and have recently emerged as proprietors behind their newly found independent record label, Americana Vibes.
Manifesting an actual flock of impassioned fandom, much like those who paved the road before them, the band have attracted a faithful international audience that continues to grow. Moreover, their powerful music and performances paved the way for a GRAMMY® Award win in the category of “Best Bluegrass Album” for 2017’s Laws of Gravity, and a number of International Bluegrass Music Awards in a variety of categories.
Sometimes going back to the roots is where we are most likely to find opportunities for growth and evolution, so A Tribute to Bill Monroe was the catalyst for returning home.
“Once we realized that we were going to be grounded for a good while, we found the best way for us to stay connected musically, as a band spread out around the country, would be to record remotely, each guy from his own home studio,” shared Andy Falco. “The silver lining of it was recording albums [such as Dust the Halls: An Acoustic Christmas Holiday and A Tribute to Bill Monroe) like we always talked about but didn’t have the time to actually do because of our busy touring schedule. The most important thing is for the art to continue, and we are very happy to have been able to create despite our different geographical locations.”
Bill Monroe was most widely known for his mandolin playing, however interestingly enough, the mandolin does not appear once in the Dusters’ interpretation. So, while the nature of Bill Monroe’s bluegrass resides within the spirit of innovation, the Dusters took that same leap of faith in excluding Monroe’s instrument in that they “followed their own path to be innovators in the music they create together,” shared Jeremy Garrett, “along with exploiting the musical foundation they all share.”
This album, like both December 2020’s holiday album and their last pre-pandemic effort, Rise Sun, was self-produced offering the band an opportunity to stay connected musically, together/apart, for which they are grateful.
A Tribute to Bill Monroe is the Infamous Stringdusters telling listeners that they are slowly and continually evolving, by honoring the roots of the music that has shaped them as a band and individually. The songs are meaningful, and the musical parts have become more essential.
The Dusters are a brotherhood, but that family extends beyond the band even. And with most of the past year apart (and off), the guys can’t wait to hear what the future has in store for them musically speaking, and the hope is to bring that very musical joy back into people’s lives.
"[the band] summon the light, which is all the more astonishing considering they tend to formulate their ideas individually before bringing them to the table." - Bluegrass Situation
"...they represent a different side of the same socially aware coin that funds less positive, equally progressive artists’ countercultural capital." - No Depression
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211111T225310Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2068 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211114T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211114T203000 UID:D2CA4CB7-D0D4-4B1D-B2AA-DEFFF90500F4 SUMMARY:Infamous Stringdusters - Night 2! DTSTAMP:20210817T155148Z DESCRIPTION:The Infamous Stringdusters dig deep into their bluegrass roots for their eleventh full-length record A Tribute to Bill Monroe, made available on Americana Vibes. For this album - which pays homage to the Father of Bluegrass includes songs that shaped them individually, and as a band, and recorded them each remotely from their home studios.\N“Bill Monroe was, as far as I can remember, the first bluegrass music I owned,” shared Andy Hall. I asked my uncle for a Bill Monroe CD box set and got it as a birthday present when I turned 18. The sound coming out of my speakers blew my mind, almost like ancient acoustic heavy metal. But then a song like ‘A Voice From On High’ would come on, and even though it was slow, it had this captivating power. The ancient tones.” The GRAMMY® Award-winning quintet—Andy Falco [guitar], Chris Pandolfi [banjo], Andy Hall [dobro], Jeremy Garrett [fiddle], and Travis Book [double bass]—have musical influences that truly run the gamut, but their common denominator is certainly bluegrass -- the sound that has in essence defined the course of their career.\NThis particular body of work, the first in a series of bluegrass tribute albums, was an obvious choice in that Bill Monroe truly laid the foundation for bluegrass as we know it today.\NThis particular style of music is still played, and honored, 75 years later and remains a total creative force, something that albeit separated by the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the live music industry, the ‘Dusters (as they’re known to their fans) came together in their truest, most authentic form to create.\NThe Infamous Stringdusters stand out as the rare group who can team up with contemporary artists on late night television one night and headline the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre or perform alongside The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh the next, and have recently emerged as proprietors behind their newly found independent record label, Americana Vibes. Manifesting an actual flock of impassioned fandom, much like those who paved the road before them, the band have attracted a faithful international audience that continues to grow. Moreover, their powerful music and performances paved the way for a GRAMMY® Award win in the category of “Best Bluegrass Album” for 2017’s Laws of Gravity, and a number of International Bluegrass Music Awards in a variety of categories.\NSometimes going back to the roots is where we are most likely to find opportunities for growth and evolution, so A Tribute to Bill Monroe was the catalyst for returning home.\N“Once we realized that we were going to be grounded for a good while, we found the best way for us to stay connected musically, as a band spread out around the country, would be to record remotely, each guy from his own home studio,” shared Andy Falco. “The silver lining of it was recording albums [such as Dust the Halls: An Acoustic Christmas Holiday and A Tribute to Bill Monroe) like we always talked about but didn’t have the time to actually do because of our busy touring schedule. The most important thing is for the art to continue, and we are very happy to have been able to create despite our different geographical locations.” Bill Monroe was most widely known for his mandolin playing, however interestingly enough, the mandolin does not appear once in the Dusters’ interpretation. So, while the nature of Bill Monroe’s bluegrass resides within the spirit of innovation, the Dusters took that same leap of faith in excluding Monroe’s instrument in that they “followed their own path to be innovators in the music they create together,” shared Jeremy Garrett, “along with exploiting the musical foundation they all share.” This album, like both December 2020’s holiday album and their last pre-pandemic effort, Rise Sun, was self-produced offering the band an opportunity to stay connected musically, together/apart, for which they are grateful.\NA Tribute to Bill Monroe is the Infamous Stringdusters telling listeners that they are slowly and continually evolving, by honoring the roots of the music that has shaped them as a band and individually. The songs are meaningful, and the musical parts have become more essential.\NThe Dusters are a brotherhood, but that family extends beyond the band even. And with most of the past year apart (and off), the guys can’t wait to hear what the future has in store for them musically speaking, and the hope is to bring that very musical joy back into people’s lives.\N"[the band] summon the light, which is all the more astonishing considering they tend to formulate their ideas individually before bringing them to the table." - Bluegrass Situation\N"...they represent a different side of the same socially aware coin that funds less positive, equally progressive artists’ countercultural capital." - No Depression X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The Infamous Stringdusters dig deep into their bluegrass roots for their eleventh full-length record A Tribute to Bill Monroe, made available on Americana Vibes. For this album - which pays homage to the Father of Bluegrass includes songs that shaped them individually, and as a band, and recorded them each remotely from their home studios.
“Bill Monroe was, as far as I can remember, the first bluegrass music I owned,” shared Andy Hall. I asked my uncle for a Bill Monroe CD box set and got it as a birthday present when I turned 18. The sound coming out of my speakers blew my mind, almost like ancient acoustic heavy metal. But then a song like ‘A Voice From On High’ would come on, and even though it was slow, it had this captivating power. The ancient tones.”
The GRAMMY® Award-winning quintet—Andy Falco [guitar], Chris Pandolfi [banjo], Andy Hall [dobro], Jeremy Garrett [fiddle], and Travis Book [double bass]—have musical influences that truly run the gamut, but their common denominator is certainly bluegrass -- the sound that has in essence defined the course of their career.
This particular body of work, the first in a series of bluegrass tribute albums, was an obvious choice in that Bill Monroe truly laid the foundation for bluegrass as we know it today.
This particular style of music is still played, and honored, 75 years later and remains a total creative force, something that albeit separated by the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the live music industry, the ‘Dusters (as they’re known to their fans) came together in their truest, most authentic form to create.
The Infamous Stringdusters stand out as the rare group who can team up with contemporary artists on late night television one night and headline the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre or perform alongside The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh the next, and have recently emerged as proprietors behind their newly found independent record label, Americana Vibes.
Manifesting an actual flock of impassioned fandom, much like those who paved the road before them, the band have attracted a faithful international audience that continues to grow. Moreover, their powerful music and performances paved the way for a GRAMMY® Award win in the category of “Best Bluegrass Album” for 2017’s Laws of Gravity, and a number of International Bluegrass Music Awards in a variety of categories.
Sometimes going back to the roots is where we are most likely to find opportunities for growth and evolution, so A Tribute to Bill Monroe was the catalyst for returning home.
“Once we realized that we were going to be grounded for a good while, we found the best way for us to stay connected musically, as a band spread out around the country, would be to record remotely, each guy from his own home studio,” shared Andy Falco. “The silver lining of it was recording albums [such as Dust the Halls: An Acoustic Christmas Holiday and A Tribute to Bill Monroe) like we always talked about but didn’t have the time to actually do because of our busy touring schedule. The most important thing is for the art to continue, and we are very happy to have been able to create despite our different geographical locations.”
Bill Monroe was most widely known for his mandolin playing, however interestingly enough, the mandolin does not appear once in the Dusters’ interpretation. So, while the nature of Bill Monroe’s bluegrass resides within the spirit of innovation, the Dusters took that same leap of faith in excluding Monroe’s instrument in that they “followed their own path to be innovators in the music they create together,” shared Jeremy Garrett, “along with exploiting the musical foundation they all share.”
This album, like both December 2020’s holiday album and their last pre-pandemic effort, Rise Sun, was self-produced offering the band an opportunity to stay connected musically, together/apart, for which they are grateful.
A Tribute to Bill Monroe is the Infamous Stringdusters telling listeners that they are slowly and continually evolving, by honoring the roots of the music that has shaped them as a band and individually. The songs are meaningful, and the musical parts have become more essential.
The Dusters are a brotherhood, but that family extends beyond the band even. And with most of the past year apart (and off), the guys can’t wait to hear what the future has in store for them musically speaking, and the hope is to bring that very musical joy back into people’s lives.
"[the band] summon the light, which is all the more astonishing considering they tend to formulate their ideas individually before bringing them to the table." - Bluegrass Situation
"...they represent a different side of the same socially aware coin that funds less positive, equally progressive artists’ countercultural capital." - No Depression
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211110T195744Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1796 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211117T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211117T233000 UID:04648625-1613-4FAB-9554-68EAB1585C41 SUMMARY:Heartless Bastards DTSTAMP:20210612T171208Z DESCRIPTION:Taking the name "Heartless Bastards" from an incorrect answer on a multiple-choice trivia game (the question: what is the name of Tom Petty's backing band), Wennerstrom founded the band in 2003 in Cincinnati. It started as a recording project and evolved into a live band with a revolving cast of musicians, and they began playing regularly throughout the Midwest. When Patrick Carney of the Black Keys saw the band, he liked what he heard and passed along a copy of their demo to his label at the time, Fat Possum Records. Heartless Bastards signed with Fat Possum, releasing their first 3 albums, Stairs and Elevators (2005), All this Time (2006), and The Mountain (2009). \NIn 2007 Wennerstrom relocated to Austin, TX, and recorded The Mountain. A new touring lineup formed including David Colvin on drums and Jesse Ebaugh on bass, bringing the project in full circle as both Colvin and Ebaugh had played on the original Heartless Bastards demos 6 years earlier. Mark Nathan joined on guitar in 2009, and the band became a 4-piece. They signed to Partisan records and released 2 critically acclaimed records, Arrow (2012) and Restless Ones (2015). \NAfter more than a decade fronting the band, Wennerstrom released the album Sweet Unknown under her own given name in 2018. “It was a deeply personal album and it just felt fitting to use my name. It kind of forced me to allow myself to be a little more exposed, and stand on my own two feet. I feel like I’ve grown so much creatively and personally through this process.”\NNow some good news for fans of Heartless Bastards — which has released five critically- acclaimed albums since their 2003 inception, appeared on many late night television shows, and has drawn praise from Rolling Stone, Time, New York Times — in early 2020, Wennerstrom returned to the studio with producer Kevin Ratterman (Strand of Oaks, Jim James, White Reaper), and a new album is in the works. \NFans can also rest assured that what they’ve grown to love about Heartless Bastards is still front-and-center. Wennerstrom's trademark vocals that NPR so aptly calls “warm yet gritty, throaty yet sweet, gigantic, yet intimate” are that… times 10. And the bluesy, rock vibes that Relix describes as “smoky, late night [rock] that exists somewhere between Royal Trux and the Rolling Stones” has only gotten smokier and bluesier. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Taking the name "Heartless Bastards" from an incorrect answer on a multiple-choice trivia game (the question: what is the name of Tom Petty's backing band), Wennerstrom founded the band in 2003 in Cincinnati. It started as a recording project and evolved into a live band with a revolving cast of musicians, and they began playing regularly throughout the Midwest. When Patrick Carney of the Black Keys saw the band, he liked what he heard and passed along a copy of their demo to his label at the time, Fat Possum Records. Heartless Bastards signed with Fat Possum, releasing their first 3 albums, Stairs and Elevators (2005), All this Time (2006), and The Mountain (2009).
In 2007 Wennerstrom relocated to Austin, TX, and recorded The Mountain. A new touring lineup formed including David Colvin on drums and Jesse Ebaugh on bass, bringing the project in full circle as both Colvin and Ebaugh had played on the original Heartless Bastards demos 6 years earlier. Mark Nathan joined on guitar in 2009, and the band became a 4-piece. They signed to Partisan records and released 2 critically acclaimed records, Arrow (2012) and Restless Ones (2015).
After more than a decade fronting the band, Wennerstrom released the album Sweet Unknown under her own given name in 2018. “It was a deeply personal album and it just felt fitting to use my name. It kind of forced me to allow myself to be a little more exposed, and stand on my own two feet. I feel like I’ve grown so much creatively and personally through this process.”
Now some good news for fans of Heartless Bastards — which has released five critically- acclaimed albums since their 2003 inception, appeared on many late night television shows, and has drawn praise from Rolling Stone, Time, New York Times — in early 2020, Wennerstrom returned to the studio with producer Kevin Ratterman (Strand of Oaks, Jim James, White Reaper), and a new album is in the works.
Fans can also rest assured that what they’ve grown to love about Heartless Bastards is still front-and-center. Wennerstrom's trademark vocals that NPR so aptly calls “warm yet gritty, throaty yet sweet, gigantic, yet intimate” are that… times 10. And the bluesy, rock vibes that Relix describes as “smoky, late night [rock] that exists somewhere between Royal Trux and the Rolling Stones” has only gotten smokier and bluesier.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211015T225522Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3213 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211118T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211118T233000 UID:0ABBB3D7-ADE4-48F5-A9B9-1595E761BC0E SUMMARY:Citizen DTSTAMP:20211110T150126Z DESCRIPTION:*VENUE CHANGE* Citizen are now performing at The Commonwealth Room on Nov 18th, 2021. All ticket for their previous show at Soundwell will be honored at the new venue. Please email nic@sartainandsaunders.com for any questions.\NCitizen have always eluded definition. The Toledo, Ohio-based three-piece have been making dynamic, wide-ranging guitar music for over ten years, challenging expectations with each new album and refusing to fit neatly in a box. On their fourth full-length, Life In Your Glass World, Citizen have crafted their most singular work to date completely on their own terms—proving that only the band themselves can define their identity. Since forming in 2009, Citizen—vocalist Mat Kerekes, guitarist Nick Hamm, and bassist Eric Hamm—have endlessly pushed themselves with each successive release, actively resisting the comfort zones that often plague bands as they grow. The band has fearlessly taken risks with their sound on each new album, and shown themselves capable of exploring impassioned post-hardcore, raw noise rock, shimmering indie pop, anthemic alternative, and more—often on the same album, and sometimes even the same track. But growth isn’t always painless, and the band has been navigating the fraught music industry from a young age—learning as they went and sometimes feeling pulled in different directions at once. When it came time to make Life In Your Glass World, Citizen’s need to continue moving forward creatively went hand in hand with their desire to be fully in control of their creative destiny. Nick Hamm explains: “I don’t have a lot of regret but there have definitely been times when we felt powerless during the band’s existence. This time we really owned every part of the process. It’s easy to feel like you’re on autopilot when you’re in a band, but that’s not a good place to be this far into our existence. We consciously knew we wanted to break free.”\NFor Citizen that meant taking the entire album-making process home to Toledo (the Glass City) and creating everything in-house. Kerekes built a studio in his garage, a project that was both empowering and practical. “It’s super easy and convenient,” he says. “But I also felt like building the studio was a way to prove we don’t need anything but ourselves.” Hamm adds, “This is the first self-sufficient Citizen record. There was no pressure at all and moving at our own pace allowed the songs to be a little more fleshed out.” The looser recording process afforded the band time to focus on each song’s individual mood, making their signature blend of aggression and melody all the more pronounced, and even capturing appealing imperfections. The result is an album that representsthe members’ vision in its purest form, something that feels distinctly Citizen while also marking the start of a fresh chapter.\NOne of the most immediately striking elements of Life In Your Glass World is the band’s attention to rhythm. Many of the songs feature undeniably danceable beats and sharply grooving guitar lines, which give both the barnburner and the brooding atmospheric tracks a pulsating heart. “When you write songs the same way for X amount of years, you start to want to try something new,” Kerekes says. “These songs were mostly built from drums and bass first, which was different for us. I’d start with a completely different beat every time to get a certain energy.” The band’s desire to assert themselves is palpable both in the music and Kerekes’ lyrics, mirroring not only their creative frustrations but also a long year of personal upheavals. “There’s a lot of anger in these songs and we wanted the music to communicate that,” Hamm says. “I think a lot of people expect bands to slow down or chill out when they get to where we are, but we consciously didn’t want to do that.”\NThe opening one-two punch of “Death Dance Approximately” and “I Want To Kill You” exemplifies the acerbic-yet-buoyant feel of Life In Your Glass World, and the latter sums up the album’s defiant themes. Kerekes puts it plainly: “Sometimes you feel like you’re being used. A lot of the lyrics are liberating, they’re reclaiming control.”\NThe band wastes no time in showing their range, pivoting to the melancholy haze of “Blue Sunday” and the bounceof “Thin Air,” both ofwhich meditate on the struggle to invest so much in something only to be let down and retreat inside oneself instead. Elsewhere tracks like “Call Your Bluff” and “Black and Red” showcase Citizen’s knack for big choruses, while “Pedestal” features towering drums and a distorted bass line that’s as malevolent sounding as Kerekes’ vitriolic words. “Fight Beat,” with its tense mix of otherworldly menace and memorable hooks, takes the band’s rhythmic-centric writing to its furthest point yet; lyrically, the song grapples with the realization that one has passed a point of no return, a sentiment that permeates the attitude of Life In Your Glass World. “This isn’t a baby step,” Hamm says. “It’s exactly what we want to do.”\NMuch of Life In Your Glass World deals with the bleak and challenging aspects of being human, and the album often feels like an exorcism of pent-up negative feelings. But those feelings give way to a sense of hope with the closing track “Edge of The World.” Interweaving guitars rise around Kerekes’ voice as he considers past pain with the kind of clarity that can only come from time and distance—and finds promise in looking towards the future. The song builds to a soaring finale as the clouds part and Kerekes declares, “At the end of the day there was beauty in tragedy.” It’s one last turn, the kind of affirmation that makes you reexamine everything you just heard with a newfound perspective. It’s a fitting conclusion for Life In Your Glass World – borne of the confidence gained through years of trials, tribulations, and self reflection – and one that asserts that Citizen’s true identity is rooted in the raw energy of constant evolution. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:*VENUE CHANGE* Citizen are now performing at The Commonwealth Room on Nov 18th, 2021. All ticket for their previous show at Soundwell will be honored at the new venue. Please email nic@sartainandsaunders.com for any questions.
Citizen have always eluded definition. The Toledo, Ohio-based three-piece have been making dynamic, wide-ranging guitar music for over ten years, challenging expectations with each new album and refusing to fit neatly in a box. On their fourth full-length, Life In Your Glass World, Citizen have crafted their most singular work to date completely on their own terms—proving that only the band themselves can define their identity. Since forming in 2009, Citizen—vocalist Mat Kerekes, guitarist Nick Hamm, and bassist Eric Hamm—have endlessly pushed themselves with each successive release, actively resisting the comfort zones that often plague bands as they grow. The band has fearlessly taken risks with their sound on each new album, and shown themselves capable of exploring impassioned post-hardcore, raw noise rock, shimmering indie pop, anthemic alternative, and more—often on the same album, and sometimes even the same track. But growth isn’t always painless, and the band has been navigating the fraught music industry from a young age—learning as they went and sometimes feeling pulled in different directions at once. When it came time to make Life In Your Glass World, Citizen’s need to continue moving forward creatively went hand in hand with their desire to be fully in control of their creative destiny. Nick Hamm explains: “I don’t have a lot of regret but there have definitely been times when we felt powerless during the band’s existence. This time we really owned every part of the process. It’s easy to feel like you’re on autopilot when you’re in a band, but that’s not a good place to be this far into our existence. We consciously knew we wanted to break free.”
For Citizen that meant taking the entire album-making process home to Toledo (the Glass City) and creating everything in-house. Kerekes built a studio in his garage, a project that was both empowering and practical. “It’s super easy and convenient,” he says. “But I also felt like building the studio was a way to prove we don’t need anything but ourselves.” Hamm adds, “This is the first self-sufficient Citizen record. There was no pressure at all and moving at our own pace allowed the songs to be a little more fleshed out.” The looser recording process afforded the band time to focus on each song’s individual mood, making their signature blend of aggression and melody all the more pronounced, and even capturing appealing imperfections. The result is an album that represents
the members’ vision in its purest form, something that feels distinctly Citizen while also marking the start of a fresh chapter.
One of the most immediately striking elements of Life In Your Glass World is the band’s attention to rhythm. Many of the songs feature undeniably danceable beats and sharply grooving guitar lines, which give both the barnburner and the brooding atmospheric tracks a pulsating heart. “When you write songs the same way for X amount of years, you start to want to try something new,” Kerekes says. “These songs were mostly built from drums and bass first, which was different for us. I’d start with a completely different beat every time to get a certain energy.” The band’s desire to assert themselves is palpable both in the music and Kerekes’ lyrics, mirroring not only their creative frustrations but also a long year of personal upheavals. “There’s a lot of anger in these songs and we wanted the music to communicate that,” Hamm says. “I think a lot of people expect bands to slow down or chill out when they get to where we are, but we consciously didn’t want to do that.”
The opening one-two punch of “Death Dance Approximately” and “I Want To Kill You” exemplifies the acerbic-yet-buoyant feel of Life In Your Glass World, and the latter sums up the album’s defiant themes. Kerekes puts it plainly: “Sometimes you feel like you’re being used. A lot of the lyrics are liberating, they’re reclaiming control.”
The band wastes no time in showing their range, pivoting to the melancholy haze of “Blue Sunday” and the bounceof “Thin Air,” both of
which meditate on the struggle to invest so much in something only to be let down and retreat inside oneself instead. Elsewhere tracks like “Call Your Bluff” and “Black and Red” showcase Citizen’s knack for big choruses, while “Pedestal” features towering drums and a distorted bass line that’s as malevolent sounding as Kerekes’ vitriolic words. “Fight Beat,” with its tense mix of otherworldly menace and memorable hooks, takes the band’s rhythmic-centric writing to its furthest point yet; lyrically, the song grapples with the realization that one has passed a point of no return, a sentiment that permeates the attitude of Life In Your Glass World. “This isn’t a baby step,” Hamm says. “It’s exactly what we want to do.”
Much of Life In Your Glass World deals with the bleak and challenging aspects of being human, and the album often feels like an exorcism of pent-up negative feelings. But those feelings give way to a sense of hope with the closing track “Edge of The World.” Interweaving guitars rise around Kerekes’ voice as he considers past pain with the kind of clarity that can only come from time and distance—and finds promise in looking towards the future. The song builds to a soaring finale as the clouds part and Kerekes declares, “At the end of the day there was beauty in tragedy.” It’s one last turn, the kind of affirmation that makes you reexamine everything you just heard with a newfound perspective. It’s a fitting conclusion for Life In Your Glass World – borne of the confidence gained through years of trials, tribulations, and self reflection – and one that asserts that Citizen’s true identity is rooted in the raw energy of constant evolution.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211112T170841Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:733 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211130T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211130T233000 UID:42E95246-63D9-48F2-85F6-9E46A4F97AA5 SUMMARY:Dawes DTSTAMP:20210409T175120Z DESCRIPTION:Good Luck With Whatever: A Biography of the Band DAWES \NTaylor Goldsmith (Guitar, Vocals) - Griffin Goldsmith (Drums, Vocals) Wylie Gelber (Sweet Sweet Bass) - Lee Pardini (Keys, Vocals)\NFrom the first downbeat, Good Luck With Whatever, the seventh studio album by the Los Angeles-based rock band Dawes, sets a tone all its own. The album unfurls with the crunchy chordal cadence of what could only be Goldsmith’s guitar. As the band quickly hops their way aboard this rhythmic rail car, we find ourselves thinking “Hey, these guys are pretty good. I’m so glad you dragged me to see some live music!” — “Still Feel Like A Kid” serves as a reminder that we all love a good filet, but there’s no shame in still ordering off the kids menu from time to time. You can hear the eye contact in the room, you can see the lyrics as they fly from Goldsmith’s mouth straight into your ears, you’ll find yourself singing along to a song you’re hearing for the first time. It’s fresh, it’s raw, it’s a four-tiered seafood tower of all American ear candy. Think “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, I’m A Toys R Us Kid” meets “I Wanna Be Sedated”. \NRecorded at the historic RCA studios in Nashville Tennessee, the boys teamed up with six-time Grammy award-winning producer Dave “Corn On The” Cobb (Brandi, Jasi, Chrisi, Sergi, etc) and just decided to LET IT RIP. “We were out in Nashville for just under 730 hours, or 1 human month,” says bass player and resident ‘problem child’ Wylie Gelber. “We wanted that sloth-like urgency, that cold heat, that all-knowing curiosity. And me thinks that’s what we got.” The arrangements are as lively as they are lovely, from the rapid ruckus “Who Do You Think You’re Talking To” to the robustly restrained “St. Augustine at Night”. A culmination of their entire catalog and career all wrapped up in nine tracks. If you don’t know Dawes by now, you will never never never know them... \NFar from apathetic, Good Luck With Whatever is Dawes at their most unapologetic. It’s sympathetic and magnetic, 50% genetic, and highly kinetic. Songs like “Didn’t Fix Me” and “Me Especially” showcase Goldsmith’s poetic prowess perfectly; a historian of the human condition, transforming turmoil into motor oil. Drop the tonearm down, turn the volume up, unplug the phone and if you still feel nothing… call a doctor. \NHaving self-released their music for the last 1/20 of a century, Dawes has now joined forces with their former legal counsil now president of Rounder Records, John P. Strohm. Attorney-client privilege has been lifted. Finally without the constraints of the fat cats up on Capitol Hill and their ever-flowing spools of bureaucratic red tape, Dawes and their beloved ex-ambulance chaser are together again. Court is in session and they’re prepared, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. \N“We’ve learned so much over the years about what it means to be A BAND,” says drummer/free-range dog farmer Griffin Goldsmith, “I used to want all our records to be ONLY drums, but I’m finally starting to realize, maybe a lil’ bass, keys, guitars and vocals ain’t so bad after all.” How right he is, the ballet of interplay between these four is nothing short of breathtaking. Where Griffin dives, Wylie ducks. Where Taylor weaves, Lee is sure to bob. \NDawes began their journey in the San Fernando Valley back in 2009, it was the year of the Ox, but don’t be fooled, these guys are No Bulls#$t. Having played with, for, and against some of rock’n roll’s most illustrious icons, the merry men have picked up more than a few things when it comes to sticking around and what it means to be a true BAND. “Sometimes I wish I did hate my brother”, explains frontman/stuntman Taylor Goldsmith, “might sell us a few more books… but the reality is, I can’t get enough of the guy! Scariest part bout’ it all is, knowing we’re gonna be playing music together for a long, long time.” \N“We’re a living breathing organism,” says keyboardist/San Jose’s 15th most famous man, Lee Pardini. “People love to say, ‘this record sounds so THIS’ and ‘that record sounds so THAT,’ but to us, it just sounds like Dawes. We make records to document where we are at that time, but every time I check, it just sounds like Griff, Taylor, Wylie, and me.” \NGood Luck With Whatever is an unfiltered photograph of a band doing what they do best. A moment in the timeline of 10-year-old band who still possess the wonderment and fearlessness of a 10-year-old man. These guys learned to rock before they could crawl and now it’s time to let em’ run. Ask any scientist and they’ll tell you one thing… you can’t fake chemistry. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Taylor Goldsmith (Guitar, Vocals) - Griffin Goldsmith (Drums, Vocals) Wylie Gelber (Sweet Sweet Bass) - Lee Pardini (Keys, Vocals)
From the first downbeat, Good Luck With Whatever, the seventh studio album by the Los Angeles-based rock band Dawes, sets a tone all its own. The album unfurls with the crunchy chordal cadence of what could only be Goldsmith’s guitar. As the band quickly hops their way aboard this rhythmic rail car, we find ourselves thinking “Hey, these guys are pretty good. I’m so glad you dragged me to see some live music!” — “Still Feel Like A Kid” serves as a reminder that we all love a good filet, but there’s no shame in still ordering off the kids menu from time to time. You can hear the eye contact in the room, you can see the lyrics as they fly from Goldsmith’s mouth straight into your ears, you’ll find yourself singing along to a song you’re hearing for the first time. It’s fresh, it’s raw, it’s a four-tiered seafood tower of all American ear candy. Think “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, I’m A Toys R Us Kid” meets “I Wanna Be Sedated”.
Recorded at the historic RCA studios in Nashville Tennessee, the boys teamed up with six-time Grammy award-winning producer Dave “Corn On The” Cobb (Brandi, Jasi, Chrisi, Sergi, etc) and just decided to LET IT RIP. “We were out in Nashville for just under 730 hours, or 1 human month,” says bass player and resident ‘problem child’ Wylie Gelber. “We wanted that sloth-like urgency, that cold heat, that all-knowing curiosity. And me thinks that’s what we got.” The arrangements are as lively as they are lovely, from the rapid ruckus “Who Do You Think You’re Talking To” to the robustly restrained “St. Augustine at Night”. A culmination of their entire catalog and career all wrapped up in nine tracks. If you don’t know Dawes by now, you will never never never know them...
Far from apathetic, Good Luck With Whatever is Dawes at their most unapologetic. It’s sympathetic and magnetic, 50% genetic, and highly kinetic. Songs like “Didn’t Fix Me” and “Me Especially” showcase Goldsmith’s poetic prowess perfectly; a historian of the human condition, transforming turmoil into motor oil. Drop the tonearm down, turn the volume up, unplug the phone and if you still feel nothing… call a doctor.
Having self-released their music for the last 1/20 of a century, Dawes has now joined forces with their former legal counsil now president of Rounder Records, John P. Strohm. Attorney-client privilege has been lifted. Finally without the constraints of the fat cats up on Capitol Hill and their ever-flowing spools of bureaucratic red tape, Dawes and their beloved ex-ambulance chaser are together again. Court is in session and they’re prepared, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
“We’ve learned so much over the years about what it means to be A BAND,” says drummer/free-range dog farmer Griffin Goldsmith, “I used to want all our records to be ONLY drums, but I’m finally starting to realize, maybe a lil’ bass, keys, guitars and vocals ain’t so bad after all.” How right he is, the ballet of interplay between these four is nothing short of breathtaking. Where Griffin dives, Wylie ducks. Where Taylor weaves, Lee is sure to bob.
Dawes began their journey in the San Fernando Valley back in 2009, it was the year of the Ox, but don’t be fooled, these guys are No Bulls#$t. Having played with, for, and against some of rock’n roll’s most illustrious icons, the merry men have picked up more than a few things when it comes to sticking around and what it means to be a true BAND. “Sometimes I wish I did hate my brother”, explains frontman/stuntman Taylor Goldsmith, “might sell us a few more books… but the reality is, I can’t get enough of the guy! Scariest part bout’ it all is, knowing we’re gonna be playing music together for a long, long time.”
“We’re a living breathing organism,” says keyboardist/San Jose’s 15th most famous man, Lee Pardini. “People love to say, ‘this record sounds so THIS’ and ‘that record sounds so THAT,’ but to us, it just sounds like Dawes. We make records to document where we are at that time, but every time I check, it just sounds like Griff, Taylor, Wylie, and me.”
Good Luck With Whatever is an unfiltered photograph of a band doing what they do best. A moment in the timeline of 10-year-old band who still possess the wonderment and fearlessness of a 10-year-old man. These guys learned to rock before they could crawl and now it’s time to let em’ run. Ask any scientist and they’ll tell you one thing… you can’t fake chemistry.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211118T214354Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3168 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211204T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211204T233000 UID:ED93AD93-2DE5-40BB-834B-69853B470C82 SUMMARY:Noah Kahan DTSTAMP:20210621T170000Z DESCRIPTION:Seasons change. Places change. People change. As Noah Kahan changes, he casts those experiences onto songs like light through a film projector. At the core of the music’s upbeat energy and unfiltered lyrics, you’ll hear who he was before and who he became—almost in real-time. The Vermont singer still pens songs straight from the heart and still cracks jokes with his signature, self-deprecating sense of humor; he’s just changed in all of the right ways (and chronicled them via his songwriting).\NThe critically acclaimed singer and songwriter simply took two years of milestones and transformed them into his upcoming second full-length album, I Was // I Am [Republic Records].\N“While writing this record, I’ve taken stock of who I am as compared to who I was when I started and what that means, for better or worse. I do have some perspective. I’ve also lost a lot. I’ve lost people close to me for different reasons. I’ve lost friendships. I lost my dog. Those experiences haven’t necessarily hardened me, but they’ve made me incredibly grateful for what I have now. The biggest change is a little bit of clarity in terms of who I am and the person I want to end up being. The songs on the record represent a new understanding of myself,” he says.\NHe gained that understanding through quite the journey from small town Vermont to global renown. He’s racked up over one billion streams, released his full-length debut album Busyhead, picked up a Gold Certification for “Hurt Somebody” feat. Julia Michaels, and performed on television shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and TODAY. His 2020 Cape Elizabeth EP received widespread critical acclaim, and not to mention, he’s collaborated with everyone from Chelsea Cutler to mxmtoon to Quinn XCII to Gryffin. In the fall of 2020, he headed to Los Angeles in order to record with engineer Mark Rankin (in person) and his Busyhead collaborator and Grammy Award-winning producer Joel Little [Taylor Swift, Lorde, Shawn Mendes, Jonas Brothers, Khalid] (via Zoom from New Zealand). Together, they tracked the bulk of the record during this trip.\N“We would start at 3pm PT, because Joel was just waking up in New Zealand, and I was at my most impatient,” laughs Noah. “It’s the worst time of the day for me, because I still have some residual drama from being in high school. However, it felt like Joel was in the room. He’s the greatest producer ever, in my opinion, and it was super fun to do this with him and Mark. Ironically, we made an album about changing, while staying in one place,” he grins.\NPreserving his commitment to vivid lyricism, he kickstarted the music with faster tempos and sweeping hooks, recharging the overall vision.\N“I wanted these songs to be emotional, but I also wanted them to be bigger,” he exclaims. “It’s upbeat shit with sad and contemplative lyrics. You can listen to the record as a story, but each one of these songs is a big old banger.”\NHis first single “Part of Me” perfectly encapsulates that sentiment. As handclaps and guitar ring out, the intimate verses drive towards a sweeping and soaring refrain as he tries to grasp a fleeting moment, “Got so close to love with you my dear, but I don’t miss you, I miss the way you made me feel.”\N“I’ve met so many people briefly and often by chance either on the road or through friends, but I still think about them all of the time,” he says. “They left a lasting impact. That line, ‘I don’t miss you, I miss the way you made me feel,’ is important to me. It’s not about the person; it’s about\Nthe feeling of meeting someone who makes you consider this linear-head-down path you’re on isn’t right—or maybe they opened your eyes for just one second. You’ll think about that one second for years. I know I do.”\N“Godlight” shines over glistening acoustic guitar as he admits, “I’m not the way I was,” in a fluttering high register. “I was on tour with a lighting director who said I needed more ‘Godlight’ on stage,” he recalls. “‘Godlight’ is the light that fixates on the singer, while the rest of the band is blackened down. In my life, I was chasing that. This ego was growing, and I saw it growing. I knew it was affecting my relationships. As a little kid if I saw myself giving so much of a shit about the attention on me instead of the music, I’d be really disappointed. The song is like I’m singing to my older self at a family reunion.”\NThen, there’s “Animal” where his falsetto skates over head-bobbing handclaps and a slick beat. “Someone Like You” sways with Noah’s soulful vocals towards another chantable refrain. “It’s about immediate regret,” he goes on. “When you lose someone in a relationship, you don’t really understand that the person is gone. You’re never going to have exactly that again.”\NFor as much as he may have changed, Noah’s goal stays the same.\N“I still want to be able to connect to folks in the way I do and value when I listen to music,” he leaves off. “Change is something you can learn from. It’s never too late to be a better person and to move forward. Always work on yourself and give yourself a fucking break every once in a while. I hope listeners feel like there’s more to learn about me, just like I do when I listen to my favorite artists. I also hope they’re happy to stay along for the ride, because I’ve been so grateful for them so far.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Seasons change. Places change. People change. As Noah Kahan changes, he casts those experiences onto songs like light through a film projector. At the core of the music’s upbeat energy and unfiltered lyrics, you’ll hear who he was before and who he became—almost in real-time. The Vermont singer still pens songs straight from the heart and still cracks jokes with his signature, self-deprecating sense of humor; he’s just changed in all of the right ways (and chronicled them via his songwriting).
The critically acclaimed singer and songwriter simply took two years of milestones and transformed them into his upcoming second full-length album, I Was // I Am [Republic Records].
“While writing this record, I’ve taken stock of who I am as compared to who I was when I started and what that means, for better or worse. I do have some perspective. I’ve also lost a lot. I’ve lost people close to me for different reasons. I’ve lost friendships. I lost my dog. Those experiences haven’t necessarily hardened me, but they’ve made me incredibly grateful for what I have now. The biggest change is a little bit of clarity in terms of who I am and the person I want to end up being. The songs on the record represent a new understanding of myself,” he says.
He gained that understanding through quite the journey from small town Vermont to global renown. He’s racked up over one billion streams, released his full-length debut album Busyhead, picked up a Gold Certification for “Hurt Somebody” feat. Julia Michaels, and performed on television shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and TODAY. His 2020 Cape Elizabeth EP received widespread critical acclaim, and not to mention, he’s collaborated with everyone from Chelsea Cutler to mxmtoon to Quinn XCII to Gryffin. In the fall of 2020, he headed to Los Angeles in order to record with engineer Mark Rankin (in person) and his Busyhead collaborator and Grammy Award-winning producer Joel Little [Taylor Swift, Lorde, Shawn Mendes, Jonas Brothers, Khalid] (via Zoom from New Zealand). Together, they tracked the bulk of the record during this trip.
“We would start at 3pm PT, because Joel was just waking up in New Zealand, and I was at my most impatient,” laughs Noah. “It’s the worst time of the day for me, because I still have some residual drama from being in high school. However, it felt like Joel was in the room. He’s the greatest producer ever, in my opinion, and it was super fun to do this with him and Mark. Ironically, we made an album about changing, while staying in one place,” he grins.
Preserving his commitment to vivid lyricism, he kickstarted the music with faster tempos and sweeping hooks, recharging the overall vision.
“I wanted these songs to be emotional, but I also wanted them to be bigger,” he exclaims. “It’s upbeat shit with sad and contemplative lyrics. You can listen to the record as a story, but each one of these songs is a big old banger.”
His first single “Part of Me” perfectly encapsulates that sentiment. As handclaps and guitar ring out, the intimate verses drive towards a sweeping and soaring refrain as he tries to grasp a fleeting moment, “Got so close to love with you my dear, but I don’t miss you, I miss the way you made me feel.”
“I’ve met so many people briefly and often by chance either on the road or through friends, but I still think about them all of the time,” he says. “They left a lasting impact. That line, ‘I don’t miss you, I miss the way you made me feel,’ is important to me. It’s not about the person; it’s about
the feeling of meeting someone who makes you consider this linear-head-down path you’re on isn’t right—or maybe they opened your eyes for just one second. You’ll think about that one second for years. I know I do.”
“Godlight” shines over glistening acoustic guitar as he admits, “I’m not the way I was,” in a fluttering high register. “I was on tour with a lighting director who said I needed more ‘Godlight’ on stage,” he recalls. “‘Godlight’ is the light that fixates on the singer, while the rest of the band is blackened down. In my life, I was chasing that. This ego was growing, and I saw it growing. I knew it was affecting my relationships. As a little kid if I saw myself giving so much of a shit about the attention on me instead of the music, I’d be really disappointed. The song is like I’m singing to my older self at a family reunion.”
Then, there’s “Animal” where his falsetto skates over head-bobbing handclaps and a slick beat. “Someone Like You” sways with Noah’s soulful vocals towards another chantable refrain. “It’s about immediate regret,” he goes on. “When you lose someone in a relationship, you don’t really understand that the person is gone. You’re never going to have exactly that again.”
For as much as he may have changed, Noah’s goal stays the same.
“I still want to be able to connect to folks in the way I do and value when I listen to music,” he leaves off. “Change is something you can learn from. It’s never too late to be a better person and to move forward. Always work on yourself and give yourself a fucking break every once in a while. I hope listeners feel like there’s more to learn about me, just like I do when I listen to my favorite artists. I also hope they’re happy to stay along for the ride, because I’ve been so grateful for them so far.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211205T031307Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2721 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211205T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211205T233000 UID:CE06F993-8063-46BA-8D21-AA788255BB1A SUMMARY:Noah Kahan - 2nd Show Added! DTSTAMP:20210621T170000Z DESCRIPTION:DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND - 2ND SHOW ADDED!\NSeasons change. Places change. People change. As Noah Kahan changes, he casts those experiences onto songs like light through a film projector. At the core of the music’s upbeat energy and unfiltered lyrics, you’ll hear who he was before and who he became—almost in real-time. The Vermont singer still pens songs straight from the heart and still cracks jokes with his signature, self-deprecating sense of humor; he’s just changed in all of the right ways (and chronicled them via his songwriting).\NThe critically acclaimed singer and songwriter simply took two years of milestones and transformed them into his upcoming second full-length album, I Was // I Am [Republic Records].\N“While writing this record, I’ve taken stock of who I am as compared to who I was when I started and what that means, for better or worse. I do have some perspective. I’ve also lost a lot. I’ve lost people close to me for different reasons. I’ve lost friendships. I lost my dog. Those experiences haven’t necessarily hardened me, but they’ve made me incredibly grateful for what I have now. The biggest change is a little bit of clarity in terms of who I am and the person I want to end up being. The songs on the record represent a new understanding of myself,” he says.\NHe gained that understanding through quite the journey from small town Vermont to global renown. He’s racked up over one billion streams, released his full-length debut album Busyhead, picked up a Gold Certification for “Hurt Somebody” feat. Julia Michaels, and performed on television shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and TODAY. His 2020 Cape Elizabeth EP received widespread critical acclaim, and not to mention, he’s collaborated with everyone from Chelsea Cutler to mxmtoon to Quinn XCII to Gryffin. In the fall of 2020, he headed to Los Angeles in order to record with engineer Mark Rankin (in person) and his Busyhead collaborator and Grammy Award-winning producer Joel Little [Taylor Swift, Lorde, Shawn Mendes, Jonas Brothers, Khalid] (via Zoom from New Zealand). Together, they tracked the bulk of the record during this trip.\N“We would start at 3pm PT, because Joel was just waking up in New Zealand, and I was at my most impatient,” laughs Noah. “It’s the worst time of the day for me, because I still have some residual drama from being in high school. However, it felt like Joel was in the room. He’s the greatest producer ever, in my opinion, and it was super fun to do this with him and Mark. Ironically, we made an album about changing, while staying in one place,” he grins.\NPreserving his commitment to vivid lyricism, he kickstarted the music with faster tempos and sweeping hooks, recharging the overall vision.\N“I wanted these songs to be emotional, but I also wanted them to be bigger,” he exclaims. “It’s upbeat shit with sad and contemplative lyrics. You can listen to the record as a story, but each one of these songs is a big old banger.”\NHis first single “Part of Me” perfectly encapsulates that sentiment. As handclaps and guitar ring out, the intimate verses drive towards a sweeping and soaring refrain as he tries to grasp a fleeting moment, “Got so close to love with you my dear, but I don’t miss you, I miss the way you made me feel.”\N“I’ve met so many people briefly and often by chance either on the road or through friends, but I still think about them all of the time,” he says. “They left a lasting impact. That line, ‘I don’t miss you, I miss the way you made me feel,’ is important to me. It’s not about the person; it’s about\Nthe feeling of meeting someone who makes you consider this linear-head-down path you’re on isn’t right—or maybe they opened your eyes for just one second. You’ll think about that one second for years. I know I do.”\N“Godlight” shines over glistening acoustic guitar as he admits, “I’m not the way I was,” in a fluttering high register. “I was on tour with a lighting director who said I needed more ‘Godlight’ on stage,” he recalls. “‘Godlight’ is the light that fixates on the singer, while the rest of the band is blackened down. In my life, I was chasing that. This ego was growing, and I saw it growing. I knew it was affecting my relationships. As a little kid if I saw myself giving so much of a shit about the attention on me instead of the music, I’d be really disappointed. The song is like I’m singing to my older self at a family reunion.”\NThen, there’s “Animal” where his falsetto skates over head-bobbing handclaps and a slick beat. “Someone Like You” sways with Noah’s soulful vocals towards another chantable refrain. “It’s about immediate regret,” he goes on. “When you lose someone in a relationship, you don’t really understand that the person is gone. You’re never going to have exactly that again.”\NFor as much as he may have changed, Noah’s goal stays the same.\N“I still want to be able to connect to folks in the way I do and value when I listen to music,” he leaves off. “Change is something you can learn from. It’s never too late to be a better person and to move forward. Always work on yourself and give yourself a fucking break every once in a while. I hope listeners feel like there’s more to learn about me, just like I do when I listen to my favorite artists. I also hope they’re happy to stay along for the ride, because I’ve been so grateful for them so far.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND - 2ND SHOW ADDED!
Seasons change. Places change. People change. As Noah Kahan changes, he casts those experiences onto songs like light through a film projector. At the core of the music’s upbeat energy and unfiltered lyrics, you’ll hear who he was before and who he became—almost in real-time. The Vermont singer still pens songs straight from the heart and still cracks jokes with his signature, self-deprecating sense of humor; he’s just changed in all of the right ways (and chronicled them via his songwriting).
The critically acclaimed singer and songwriter simply took two years of milestones and transformed them into his upcoming second full-length album, I Was // I Am [Republic Records].
“While writing this record, I’ve taken stock of who I am as compared to who I was when I started and what that means, for better or worse. I do have some perspective. I’ve also lost a lot. I’ve lost people close to me for different reasons. I’ve lost friendships. I lost my dog. Those experiences haven’t necessarily hardened me, but they’ve made me incredibly grateful for what I have now. The biggest change is a little bit of clarity in terms of who I am and the person I want to end up being. The songs on the record represent a new understanding of myself,” he says.
He gained that understanding through quite the journey from small town Vermont to global renown. He’s racked up over one billion streams, released his full-length debut album Busyhead, picked up a Gold Certification for “Hurt Somebody” feat. Julia Michaels, and performed on television shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and TODAY. His 2020 Cape Elizabeth EP received widespread critical acclaim, and not to mention, he’s collaborated with everyone from Chelsea Cutler to mxmtoon to Quinn XCII to Gryffin. In the fall of 2020, he headed to Los Angeles in order to record with engineer Mark Rankin (in person) and his Busyhead collaborator and Grammy Award-winning producer Joel Little [Taylor Swift, Lorde, Shawn Mendes, Jonas Brothers, Khalid] (via Zoom from New Zealand). Together, they tracked the bulk of the record during this trip.
“We would start at 3pm PT, because Joel was just waking up in New Zealand, and I was at my most impatient,” laughs Noah. “It’s the worst time of the day for me, because I still have some residual drama from being in high school. However, it felt like Joel was in the room. He’s the greatest producer ever, in my opinion, and it was super fun to do this with him and Mark. Ironically, we made an album about changing, while staying in one place,” he grins.
Preserving his commitment to vivid lyricism, he kickstarted the music with faster tempos and sweeping hooks, recharging the overall vision.
“I wanted these songs to be emotional, but I also wanted them to be bigger,” he exclaims. “It’s upbeat shit with sad and contemplative lyrics. You can listen to the record as a story, but each one of these songs is a big old banger.”
His first single “Part of Me” perfectly encapsulates that sentiment. As handclaps and guitar ring out, the intimate verses drive towards a sweeping and soaring refrain as he tries to grasp a fleeting moment, “Got so close to love with you my dear, but I don’t miss you, I miss the way you made me feel.”
“I’ve met so many people briefly and often by chance either on the road or through friends, but I still think about them all of the time,” he says. “They left a lasting impact. That line, ‘I don’t miss you, I miss the way you made me feel,’ is important to me. It’s not about the person; it’s about
the feeling of meeting someone who makes you consider this linear-head-down path you’re on isn’t right—or maybe they opened your eyes for just one second. You’ll think about that one second for years. I know I do.”
“Godlight” shines over glistening acoustic guitar as he admits, “I’m not the way I was,” in a fluttering high register. “I was on tour with a lighting director who said I needed more ‘Godlight’ on stage,” he recalls. “‘Godlight’ is the light that fixates on the singer, while the rest of the band is blackened down. In my life, I was chasing that. This ego was growing, and I saw it growing. I knew it was affecting my relationships. As a little kid if I saw myself giving so much of a shit about the attention on me instead of the music, I’d be really disappointed. The song is like I’m singing to my older self at a family reunion.”
Then, there’s “Animal” where his falsetto skates over head-bobbing handclaps and a slick beat. “Someone Like You” sways with Noah’s soulful vocals towards another chantable refrain. “It’s about immediate regret,” he goes on. “When you lose someone in a relationship, you don’t really understand that the person is gone. You’re never going to have exactly that again.”
For as much as he may have changed, Noah’s goal stays the same.
“I still want to be able to connect to folks in the way I do and value when I listen to music,” he leaves off. “Change is something you can learn from. It’s never too late to be a better person and to move forward. Always work on yourself and give yourself a fucking break every once in a while. I hope listeners feel like there’s more to learn about me, just like I do when I listen to my favorite artists. I also hope they’re happy to stay along for the ride, because I’ve been so grateful for them so far.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211206T001844Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1584 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211208T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211208T233000 UID:776C63AE-ABCD-4464-B1EF-C39A60C02678 SUMMARY:Gregory Alan Isakov DTSTAMP:20211103T235943Z DESCRIPTION:$1 from every ticket will go to The Land Institute. The Land Institute is a non-profit whose vision is to develop an agricultural system that can produce ample food, reduce or eliminate impacts from the disruptions and dependencies of industrial agriculture, and inform cultural change through education. www.landinstitute.org\NBorn in Johannesburg, South Africa, and now calling Colorado home, horticulturist-turned-musician Gregory Alan Isakov has cast an impressive presence on the indie-rock and folk worlds with his five full-length studio albums: That Sea, The Gambler; This Empty Northern Hemisphere; The Weatherman; Gregory Alan Isakov with the Colorado Symphony; and Evening Machines (nominated for a Grammy award for Best Folk Album). Isakov tours internationally with his band, and has performed with several national symphony orchestras across the United States. In addition to owning his independent record label, Suitcase Town Music, he also manages a small farm in Boulder County, which provides produce to the farm’s CSA members and to local restaurants. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:$1 from every ticket will go to The Land Institute. The Land Institute is a non-profit whose vision is to develop an agricultural system that can produce ample food, reduce or eliminate impacts from the disruptions and dependencies of industrial agriculture, and inform cultural change through education. www.landinstitute.org
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and now calling Colorado home, horticulturist-turned-musician Gregory Alan Isakov has cast an impressive presence on the indie-rock and folk worlds with his five full-length studio albums: That Sea, The Gambler; This Empty Northern Hemisphere; The Weatherman; Gregory Alan Isakov with the Colorado Symphony; and Evening Machines (nominated for a Grammy award for Best Folk Album). Isakov tours internationally with his band, and has performed with several national symphony orchestras across the United States. In addition to owning his independent record label, Suitcase Town Music, he also manages a small farm in Boulder County, which provides produce to the farm’s CSA members and to local restaurants.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211209T030027Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3451 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20211231T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20211231T233000 UID:0678289F-A132-4D92-B8DA-3CA8EFB28EC4 SUMMARY:Mokie DTSTAMP:20211027T230049Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211105T162412Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2400 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220110T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220110T233000 UID:C7154299-35AE-487D-9642-C5A5AF119F83 SUMMARY:Kody West & Austin Meade DTSTAMP:20211115T152819Z DESCRIPTION:Kody West\NKody recorded his first full production EP in Stephenville, Texas with producers Ben Hussey and Josh Serrato. The EP titled Higher Ground released January of 2016 with “Playing Cards” as a single. Shortly after the release he had formed a band and they continue to travel around Texas together to play his tunes. Kody’s music is a mix of Texas Country and Bluegrass with some good for the soul grooves.\NAustin Meade\NOfficial Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify\NThanks to his metal- and classic-rock loving dad, Meade got to see bands like Judas Priest and worshipped Whitesnake. In junior high, he related to Paramore and Fall Out Boy's intense emo-rock and the power of songwriters like John Mayer. Yet, thanks to plainspoken but deep heartland songwriters like Tom Petty, and cutting his teeth touring in the Texas and Oklahoma Red Dirt scene, Meade’s music overflows with wide-open soulfulness. He was a drummer for years, even teaching to pay the bills, but Meade found his true voice when he began playing guitar as a teen in his pastor-father’s church. Those experiences lend both a gravitas and rebelliousness to Meade’s songs and self. Inspired by the rock music that molded Meade’s adolescence comes his current singles that include ‘Happier Alone’ ‘Cave In,’ ‘DÉJÀ VU,’ AND 'Dopamine Drop' from THE NEWLY RELEASED record ‘Black SheeP.’ X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Kody recorded his first full production EP in Stephenville, Texas with producers Ben Hussey and Josh Serrato. The EP titled Higher Ground released January of 2016 with “Playing Cards” as a single. Shortly after the release he had formed a band and they continue to travel around Texas together to play his tunes. Kody’s music is a mix of Texas Country and Bluegrass with some good for the soul grooves.
Official Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify
Thanks to his metal- and classic-rock loving dad, Meade got to see bands like Judas Priest and worshipped Whitesnake. In junior high, he related to Paramore and Fall Out Boy's intense emo-rock and the power of songwriters like John Mayer. Yet, thanks to plainspoken but deep heartland songwriters like Tom Petty, and cutting his teeth touring in the Texas and Oklahoma Red Dirt scene, Meade’s music overflows with wide-open soulfulness. He was a drummer for years, even teaching to pay the bills, but Meade found his true voice when he began playing guitar as a teen in his pastor-father’s church. Those experiences lend both a gravitas and rebelliousness to Meade’s songs and self. Inspired by the rock music that molded Meade’s adolescence comes his current singles that include ‘Happier Alone’ ‘Cave In,’ ‘DÉJÀ VU,’ AND 'Dopamine Drop' from THE NEWLY RELEASED record ‘Black SheeP.’
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220108T000406Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1739 X-URL:https://www.axs.com/events/418696/kody-west-austin-meade-tickets?skin=stateroom X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220113T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220113T233000 UID:1651488A-DCF0-41BF-9EB7-68EE476C5DE6 SUMMARY:The Church DTSTAMP:20220113T214737Z DESCRIPTION:Few bands enter their fifth decade of making music with all the fierce creative energy of their early years. Few bands are like The Church.\NThe Australian psych-guitar masters are deep into recording the band’s 25th studio album over 40 years after their formation.\NThe 2021 epic line-up is bassist, vocalist and founder Steve Kilbey; with longtime collaborator timEbandit Powles drummer and producer across 17 albums since '94; guitarist Ian Haug who joined the band in 2013 and Jeffrey Cain, touring multi-instrumentalist who is now a full-time member of The Church since the departure of Peter Koppes in early 2020. The band have also recently recruited one of Australia's finest and most respected guitarists Ashley Naylor (Even, The Grapes). Ashley and Steve have collaborated on many different projects over the years and now was the perfect time to bring Ashley into the band.\NKilbey says: "A band is like a family and over 40 years it is only natural that families will change. It's too big a body of work not to keep exploring it."\NThat body of work stretches back in a continuous line to classic early albums 'Of Skins and Heart' and 'The Blurred Crusade', which revealed a distinctive soundscape of sharp pop hooks and towering guitars complementing Kilbey's lyrics and vocal tones. The more intricate arrangements of 'Heyday' gave way to the wide-open atmosphere of 'Starfish' the 1988 album which broke into the mainstream and gave them the international hit 'Under the Milky Way'. The hit single has been regarded as one of the most influential and recognisable Australian rock anthems of all time. Starfish also gave us 'Reptile', a song that never seems to date, and is a live favourite around the world.\NIn 2010 The Church were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame and reaffirmed their status as one of the world's great live bands with the 'Future Past Perfect' tour, performing their Untitled #23, Priest=Aura and Starfish albums to rapturous audiences in the US and Australia.\NThe five-year gap after the release of Untitled #23 became the most extended break between new albums in the band's career. Haug, formerly of Australian rock icons Powderfinger, joined after the departure of Marty Willson-Piper, sparking a renaissance with Further/Deeper (2014) and Man Woman Life Death Infinity (2017) and introducing new anthems like Miami to the set.\NIn 2018 the band played the Meltdown Festival in London at the invitation of curator Robert Smith of The Cure. The Church went on to play sold-out shows in the UK, US, Canada and Australia celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of Starfish. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Few bands enter their fifth decade of making music with all the fierce creative energy of their early years. Few bands are like The Church.
The Australian psych-guitar masters are deep into recording the band’s 25th studio album over 40 years after their formation.
The 2021 epic line-up is bassist, vocalist and founder Steve Kilbey; with longtime collaborator timEbandit Powles drummer and producer across 17 albums since '94; guitarist Ian Haug who joined the band in 2013 and Jeffrey Cain, touring multi-instrumentalist who is now a full-time member of The Church since the departure of Peter Koppes in early 2020. The band have also recently recruited one of Australia's finest and most respected guitarists Ashley Naylor (Even, The Grapes). Ashley and Steve have collaborated on many different projects over the years and now was the perfect time to bring Ashley into the band.
Kilbey says: "A band is like a family and over 40 years it is only natural that families will change. It's too big a body of work not to keep exploring it."
That body of work stretches back in a continuous line to classic early albums 'Of Skins and Heart' and 'The Blurred Crusade', which revealed a distinctive soundscape of sharp pop hooks and towering guitars complementing Kilbey's lyrics and vocal tones. The more intricate arrangements of 'Heyday' gave way to the wide-open atmosphere of 'Starfish' the 1988 album which broke into the mainstream and gave them the international hit 'Under the Milky Way'. The hit single has been regarded as one of the most influential and recognisable Australian rock anthems of all time. Starfish also gave us 'Reptile', a song that never seems to date, and is a live favourite around the world.
In 2010 The Church were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame and reaffirmed their status as one of the world's great live bands with the 'Future Past Perfect' tour, performing their Untitled #23, Priest=Aura and Starfish albums to rapturous audiences in the US and Australia.
The five-year gap after the release of Untitled #23 became the most extended break between new albums in the band's career. Haug, formerly of Australian rock icons Powderfinger, joined after the departure of Marty Willson-Piper, sparking a renaissance with Further/Deeper (2014) and Man Woman Life Death Infinity (2017) and introducing new anthems like Miami to the set.
In 2018 the band played the Meltdown Festival in London at the invitation of curator Robert Smith of The Cure. The Church went on to play sold-out shows in the UK, US, Canada and Australia celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of Starfish.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220115T002442Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:4 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220114T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220114T233000 UID:A2D2CAAB-DDE6-4CA3-BC09-D1D0B7160768 SUMMARY:The Motet — Night 1! DTSTAMP:20211115T183043Z DESCRIPTION:Since 1998, The Motet have inspired the world with their unique style of dance music. Over the course of nine full-length albums, they’ve traversed the lines between funk, soul, jazz, and rock and built a diehard audience in the process. They’ve headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre six times and sold out countless legendary venues coast-to-coast. In addition to racking up nearly 20 million total streams and views, they’ve also garnered widespread acclaim from numerous publications including Relix, Glide Magazine, and AXS. The band has also graced the stages of festivals such as Bonnaroo, Bottlerock, Electric Forest, Bumbershoot, Summer Camp, and High Sierra. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Since 1998, The Motet have inspired the world with their unique style of dance music. Over the course of nine full-length albums, they’ve traversed the lines between funk, soul, jazz, and rock and built a diehard audience in the process. They’ve headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre six times and sold out countless legendary venues coast-to-coast. In addition to racking up nearly 20 million total streams and views, they’ve also garnered widespread acclaim from numerous publications including Relix, Glide Magazine, and AXS. The band has also graced the stages of festivals such as Bonnaroo, Bottlerock, Electric Forest, Bumbershoot, Summer Camp, and High Sierra.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211119T170822Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2254 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220115T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220115T233000 UID:50A3BE90-2331-4D50-B638-C71442BB1BD5 SUMMARY:The Motet — Night 2! DTSTAMP:20211116T200811Z DESCRIPTION:Since 1998, The Motet have inspired the world with their unique style of dance music. Over the course of nine full-length albums, they’ve traversed the lines between funk, soul, jazz, and rock and built a diehard audience in the process. They’ve headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre six times and sold out countless legendary venues coast-to-coast. In addition to racking up nearly 20 million total streams and views, they’ve also garnered widespread acclaim from numerous publications including Relix, Glide Magazine, and AXS. The band has also graced the stages of festivals such as Bonnaroo, Bottlerock, Electric Forest, Bumbershoot, Summer Camp, and High Sierra. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Since 1998, The Motet have inspired the world with their unique style of dance music. Over the course of nine full-length albums, they’ve traversed the lines between funk, soul, jazz, and rock and built a diehard audience in the process. They’ve headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre six times and sold out countless legendary venues coast-to-coast. In addition to racking up nearly 20 million total streams and views, they’ve also garnered widespread acclaim from numerous publications including Relix, Glide Magazine, and AXS. The band has also graced the stages of festivals such as Bonnaroo, Bottlerock, Electric Forest, Bumbershoot, Summer Camp, and High Sierra.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211119T170832Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1288 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220118T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220118T233000 UID:43AC0444-74CE-4C5F-ACDE-272FFF1342C1 SUMMARY:Yonder Mountain String Band DTSTAMP:20211102T221449Z DESCRIPTION:Yonder Mountain String Band — Get Yourself Outside\NWith its latest album, “Get Yourself Outside,” Colorado-based quintet Yonder Mountain String Band once again echoes out into the universe its place as not only a pioneering jam-grass act, but also one of the most innovative, intricate groups in the live music scene — something the groundbreaking ensemble has proudly held high for the better part of a quarter-century.\N“The whole thing has always been about the energy and the connection with all of us onstage and everyone out in the audience,” says guitarist Adam Aijala. “And with this third iteration of Yonder Mountain, we’re really tapping into that onstage connection once again.”\NThis “third chapter” of YMSB is one of my facets. Aside from the obvious nature of the new album, it’s a complete restart for the live music industry. Internally, it’s also a fresh start for the group in welcoming its newest member, mandolinist Nick Piccininni.\N“Nick is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist. He’s brought a whole new vibe and dynamic to the band,” Aijala says. “But, at the same time, it’s such a natural fit, where he hits that sweet spot of the Yonder Mountain sound we’ve come to be known for.”\NRecorded during the shutdown at Cinder Sound Studio (Gunbarrel, Colorado) with producer John McVey, “Get Yourself Outside” (Frog Pad Records) is a musical odyssey of string instruments and sonic textures.There’s the usual foot-stomping melodies and sorrowful ballads that reside at the core of the Yonder Mountain signature tone. But, there’s also a deep, honest sense of renewal and rejuvenation running through the heart of the record.\NAnd, by being back on the road, Yonder Mountain has been taking note of its long, bountiful journey from its foundation in 1998 to the here and now.“Playing music live can be like medicine for my soul and that’s something we’ve never taken for granted in Yonder Mountain,” Kaufmann says.It’s also a testament to the life and legacy of Yonder Mountain that three of the founding members — Aijala, Kaufmann and banjoist Dave Johnston — remain at the helm of this American musical institution, something complemented and accelerated in recent years by the fiery fiddle work of Allie Kral, who joined the group in 2015.\NLooking back on those early days, the members of Yonder Mountain can’t help but shake their heads in awe — of where it all originated from, and what the live music landscape looked like at that time.\N“When we started, we were the only example of what we were trying to do,” Kaufmann notes. “You can see a bluegrass band at a rock festival now. But, there was a time where something like that was incomprehensible.”And it’s the fearlessness of youth — of being present within the serendipitous whirlwind of artistic collaboration and musical discovery — that remains a thick thread of inspiration and ambition within Yonder Mountain.\N“I’ve never doubted for a second that this band wouldn’t work,” Kaufmann says. “That’s a wonderful experience to have known that early on — to not have fear or doubt in the creative experience. And when you think of it, how unlikely of a journey has this been?”\NFrom selling out Red Rocks Amphitheatre at a time when that was unheard of for a string act, to standing at the microphone in front of tens of thousands at festivals like Bonnaroo, Yonder Mountain was the initial spark in an acoustic inferno decades ago that endures headlong into the 21st century — one burning brightly in an ongoing tidal wave movement that now includes marquee names like Billy Strings, Greensky Bluegrass, and The Infamous Stringdusters. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Yonder Mountain String Band — Get Yourself Outside
With its latest album, “Get Yourself Outside,” Colorado-based quintet Yonder Mountain String Band once again echoes out into the universe its place as not only a pioneering jam-grass act, but also one of the most innovative, intricate groups in the live music scene — something the groundbreaking ensemble has proudly held high for the better part of a quarter-century.
“The whole thing has always been about the energy and the connection with all of us onstage and everyone out in the audience,” says guitarist Adam Aijala. “And with this third iteration of Yonder Mountain, we’re really tapping into that onstage connection once again.”
This “third chapter” of YMSB is one of my facets. Aside from the obvious nature of the new album, it’s a complete restart for the live music industry. Internally, it’s also a fresh start for the group in welcoming its newest member, mandolinist Nick Piccininni.
“Nick is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist. He’s brought a whole new vibe and dynamic to the band,” Aijala says. “But, at the same time, it’s such a natural fit, where he hits that sweet spot of the Yonder Mountain sound we’ve come to be known for.”
Recorded during the shutdown at Cinder Sound Studio (Gunbarrel, Colorado) with producer John McVey, “Get Yourself Outside” (Frog Pad Records) is a musical odyssey of string instruments and sonic textures.
There’s the usual foot-stomping melodies and sorrowful ballads that reside at the core of the Yonder Mountain signature tone. But, there’s also a deep, honest sense of renewal and rejuvenation running through the heart of the record.
And, by being back on the road, Yonder Mountain has been taking note of its long, bountiful journey from its foundation in 1998 to the here and now.
“Playing music live can be like medicine for my soul and that’s something we’ve never taken for granted in Yonder Mountain,” Kaufmann says.
It’s also a testament to the life and legacy of Yonder Mountain that three of the founding members — Aijala, Kaufmann and banjoist Dave Johnston — remain at the helm of this American musical institution, something complemented and accelerated in recent years by the fiery fiddle work of Allie Kral, who joined the group in 2015.
Looking back on those early days, the members of Yonder Mountain can’t help but shake their heads in awe — of where it all originated from, and what the live music landscape looked like at that time.
“When we started, we were the only example of what we were trying to do,” Kaufmann notes. “You can see a bluegrass band at a rock festival now. But, there was a time where something like that was incomprehensible.”
And it’s the fearlessness of youth — of being present within the serendipitous whirlwind of artistic collaboration and musical discovery — that remains a thick thread of inspiration and ambition within Yonder Mountain.
“I’ve never doubted for a second that this band wouldn’t work,” Kaufmann says. “That’s a wonderful experience to have known that early on — to not have fear or doubt in the creative experience. And when you think of it, how unlikely of a journey has this been?”
From selling out Red Rocks Amphitheatre at a time when that was unheard of for a string act, to standing at the microphone in front of tens of thousands at festivals like Bonnaroo, Yonder Mountain was the initial spark in an acoustic inferno decades ago that endures headlong into the 21st century — one burning brightly in an ongoing tidal wave movement that now includes marquee names like Billy Strings, Greensky Bluegrass, and The Infamous Stringdusters.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211217T180843Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1644 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220125T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220125T233000 UID:EC0EDFF0-2DE4-4C55-8857-D955E343C06D SUMMARY:Jamestown Revival DTSTAMP:20211004T214611Z DESCRIPTION:Jamestown Revival have made the quietest record of their career with Young Man, yet it may resonate the most. Recorded in their home state of Texas, it is their first project without electric guitars, with the emphasis instead on skillful songwriting, flawless harmony, and intricate fingerpicking. In addition, it’s the first time that bandmates Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance have created an album with a producer -- in this case, Robert Ellis, a fellow Texan and a recording artist in his own right.\N“I really think this is an album about coming of age and settling into an identity,” Clay says. “It’s about losing your identity and searching for it. It’s feeling like you found it and then realizing that’s not it. And it’s about our experiences over the last 15 years of making music – the successes and failures and all of those things mixed up together.”\NSonically the album draws on inspirations such as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Doobie Brothers (particularly “Black Water”), yet there’s also a dusty Western feel to Young Man, similar to a Guy Clark or Townes Van Zandt album where the detailed backdrop and acoustic arrangements convey the story as eloquently as the lyrics do.\N“This is our first excursion with fiddle and we didn’t hold back,” Chance says. “We wrote a lot of these songs about the questions and the perspectives now that we’re a lot older and have been doing this longer. It’s almost like having a conversation with ourselves at times. We wanted it to feel earthy and rootsy, so the fiddle was a big part of that identity.”\NA sense of spaciousness came naturally in past projects like 2014’s Utah, recorded in the Wasatch Mountains, and 2019’s San Isabel, recorded in a Colorado cabin. This time, the band opted for a studio for the first time, choosing Niles City Sound in Fort Worth, Texas. Studio co-founder Josh Block engineered Young Man to evoke the experience of musicians huddled together, singing and playing without headphones or click tracks. Chance and Clay are joined on the session by their longtime rhythm section of bassist Nick Bearden and drummer Ed Benrock.\N“The songs move, the tempos move, but we really wanted to capture the performances,” Clay explains. “We wanted the songs to push and pull as they needed to, and not to have to adhere to a grid. It feels like the songs straighten out too much when that happens, so it was cool to be in a studio with an engineer and producer who really supported that idea.”\NChance continues, “All of the adventures we’ve had recording in different places have been fun, but the burden of bringing our own gear, setting it up, and then being our own producer is a lot to carry on our shoulders sometimes. With Robert, he always has an opinion and he could help us pick a direction. We could relinquish control and focus on capturing our best performance.”\NYoung Man opens with “Coyote,” a plaintive ballad the duo wrote on their ranch near Huntsville, Texas, about an hour north of their hometown of Magnolia. With its lonesome tones and sly title character, it sets the tone for the album, pulling in listeners with blended voices and a narrative that befits a campfire setting. From there, songs like “Young Man,” “Moving Man,” “Northbound,” and especially “These Days” further explore their restless frame of mind, due in no small part to the pandemic.\NAs Clay explains, “I think what we asked ourselves a lot throughout this process were questions like, ‘Damn, where did our fire go? Do we still have it?’ I didn’t pick up a guitar for six months after our tour got canceled when COVID hit. I just felt like music had turned on me. I felt like I was asking, ‘Am I a musician anymore?’” Chance agrees with that sentiment, adding, “It’s easier for us whenever we’re in motion. I don’t think you ever stop to question how fragile it actually is, and then it gets taken away. You lose the ability to identify with it.”\NEven as “One Step Forward” finds the duo seeking a silver lining, “Slow It Down” shows them embracing the situation – by strumming their guitars, driving down dirt roads, and catching crawfish. That homegrown approach carries over into “Way It Was,” even as the opening lines address the inevitable changes in life. Meanwhile, “Old Man Looking Back” is a co-write with Ellis, completed in Chance’s kitchen in the weeks leading up to the sessions for Young Man.\NHowever, it’s a different gathering that set Jamestown Revival on the course to make Young Man. After a year apart of not playing together, Chance and Clay invited their band to the ranch to hang out and to record a few songs in their hay barn. The results served as an unintended pre-production of sorts, sparking ideas that they eventually carried into the sessions with Ellis. They also wrote “Coyote” during that time, as well as the album’s closer, “Working on Love.”\NAsked about the message of that final song, Chance replies, “For me, it was about the idea of love – and not just intimate love but love in general – being a lifelong journey. It’s similar to how you’ve got to plow the fields and replant the seeds and water it and tend to it. It’s the same way you have to approach your patience for love in your life.”\NChance and Clay envision Young Man as a collection of songs that should be played all the way through, like reading a book. “We had the most amazing time recording this album. We laughed nonstop,” Clay says. “When I listen to this album top to bottom, I’m really proud of what we did. I hope that this album transports people because it’s like a time capsule. It takes us right back to that studio and to that couple of weeks. It felt like we were doing what we were meant to do.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Jamestown Revival have made the quietest record of their career with Young Man, yet it may resonate the most. Recorded in their home state of Texas, it is their first project without electric guitars, with the emphasis instead on skillful songwriting, flawless harmony, and intricate fingerpicking. In addition, it’s the first time that bandmates Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance have created an album with a producer -- in this case, Robert Ellis, a fellow Texan and a recording artist in his own right.
“I really think this is an album about coming of age and settling into an identity,” Clay says. “It’s about losing your identity and searching for it. It’s feeling like you found it and then realizing that’s not it. And it’s about our experiences over the last 15 years of making music – the successes and failures and all of those things mixed up together.”
Sonically the album draws on inspirations such as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Doobie Brothers (particularly “Black Water”), yet there’s also a dusty Western feel to Young Man, similar to a Guy Clark or Townes Van Zandt album where the detailed backdrop and acoustic arrangements convey the story as eloquently as the lyrics do.
“This is our first excursion with fiddle and we didn’t hold back,” Chance says. “We wrote a lot of these songs about the questions and the perspectives now that we’re a lot older and have been doing this longer. It’s almost like having a conversation with ourselves at times. We wanted it to feel earthy and rootsy, so the fiddle was a big part of that identity.”
A sense of spaciousness came naturally in past projects like 2014’s Utah, recorded in the Wasatch Mountains, and 2019’s San Isabel, recorded in a Colorado cabin. This time, the band opted for a studio for the first time, choosing Niles City Sound in Fort Worth, Texas. Studio co-founder Josh Block engineered Young Man to evoke the experience of musicians huddled together, singing and playing without headphones or click tracks. Chance and Clay are joined on the session by their longtime rhythm section of bassist Nick Bearden and drummer Ed Benrock.
“The songs move, the tempos move, but we really wanted to capture the performances,” Clay explains. “We wanted the songs to push and pull as they needed to, and not to have to adhere to a grid. It feels like the songs straighten out too much when that happens, so it was cool to be in a studio with an engineer and producer who really supported that idea.”
Chance continues, “All of the adventures we’ve had recording in different places have been fun, but the burden of bringing our own gear, setting it up, and then being our own producer is a lot to carry on our shoulders sometimes. With Robert, he always has an opinion and he could help us pick a direction. We could relinquish control and focus on capturing our best performance.”
Young Man opens with “Coyote,” a plaintive ballad the duo wrote on their ranch near Huntsville, Texas, about an hour north of their hometown of Magnolia. With its lonesome tones and sly title character, it sets the tone for the album, pulling in listeners with blended voices and a narrative that befits a campfire setting. From there, songs like “Young Man,” “Moving Man,” “Northbound,” and especially “These Days” further explore their restless frame of mind, due in no small part to the pandemic.
As Clay explains, “I think what we asked ourselves a lot throughout this process were questions like, ‘Damn, where did our fire go? Do we still have it?’ I didn’t pick up a guitar for six months after our tour got canceled when COVID hit. I just felt like music had turned on me. I felt like I was asking, ‘Am I a musician anymore?’” Chance agrees with that sentiment, adding, “It’s easier for us whenever we’re in motion. I don’t think you ever stop to question how fragile it actually is, and then it gets taken away. You lose the ability to identify with it.”
Even as “One Step Forward” finds the duo seeking a silver lining, “Slow It Down” shows them embracing the situation – by strumming their guitars, driving down dirt roads, and catching crawfish. That homegrown approach carries over into “Way It Was,” even as the opening lines address the inevitable changes in life. Meanwhile, “Old Man Looking Back” is a co-write with Ellis, completed in Chance’s kitchen in the weeks leading up to the sessions for Young Man.
However, it’s a different gathering that set Jamestown Revival on the course to make Young Man. After a year apart of not playing together, Chance and Clay invited their band to the ranch to hang out and to record a few songs in their hay barn. The results served as an unintended pre-production of sorts, sparking ideas that they eventually carried into the sessions with Ellis. They also wrote “Coyote” during that time, as well as the album’s closer, “Working on Love.”
Asked about the message of that final song, Chance replies, “For me, it was about the idea of love – and not just intimate love but love in general – being a lifelong journey. It’s similar to how you’ve got to plow the fields and replant the seeds and water it and tend to it. It’s the same way you have to approach your patience for love in your life.”
Chance and Clay envision Young Man as a collection of songs that should be played all the way through, like reading a book. “We had the most amazing time recording this album. We laughed nonstop,” Clay says. “When I listen to this album top to bottom, I’m really proud of what we did. I hope that this album transports people because it’s like a time capsule. It takes us right back to that studio and to that couple of weeks. It felt like we were doing what we were meant to do.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220105T010459Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2016 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220127T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220127T233000 UID:92A39C5D-887A-47CD-AE55-09701D2E23F6 SUMMARY:Leftover Salmon — Postponed DTSTAMP:20211021T155258Z DESCRIPTION:A note from Leftover Salmon's team: "We have made the difficult decision to cancel part of our January tour that would otherwise require compromising the health of our touring party. All Colorado concerts will continue as scheduled at this time, Salt Lake City is postponed, and, unfortunately, January 20th in Jackson, WY, through January 26th in Boise, ID, have been canceled. Refunds will be issued or can be requested at the point of purchase. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to joining you at a time when we feel more confident about keeping you, our crew, and ourselves safe."\N \N-\N \NFew bands stick around for thirty years. Even fewer bands leave a legacy during that time that marks them as a truly special, once-in-lifetime type band. And no band has done all that and had as much fun as Leftover Salmon. Since their earliest days as a forward thinking, progressive bluegrass band who had the guts to add drums to the mix and who was unafraid to stir in any number of highly combustible styles into their ever evolving sound, to their role as a pioneer of the modern jamband scene, to their current status as elder-statesmen of the scene who cast a huge influential shadow over every festival they play, Leftover Salmon has been a crucial link in keeping alive the traditional music of the past while at the same time pushing that sound forward with their own weirdly, unique style.\NAs Leftover Salmon nears their 30th year, their inspiring story is set to be told in a brand new book, Leftover Salmon: Thirty Years of Festival! that will be released February 2019 by Rowman & Littlefield. In this book, critically acclaimed author of Bluegrass in Baltimore: The Hard Drivin' Sound & It's Legacy, Tim Newby presents an intimate portrait of Leftover Salmon through the personal recollections of its band members, family, friends, former band-mates, managers, and the countless musicians they have influenced. Leftover Salmon: Thirty Years of Festival! is a thorough guide covering a thirty-year journey of a truly remarkable band. It is a tale of friendships and losses, musical discoveries and Wild West adventures, and the brethren they surround themselves with who fortify Salmon's unique voice. Their story is one of tragedy and rebirth, of unimaginable highs and crushing lows, of friendships, of music, but most importantly it is the story of a special band and those that have lived through it all to create, inspire, and have everlasting fun.\NHeading into their fourth decade Leftover Salmon is showing no signs of slowing down as they are coming off the release of their most recent album, Something Higher (released in 2018) which has been universally hailed as one of the band's finest releases. Something Higher shows how even upon preparing to enter their fourth decade Leftover Salmon is proving it possible to recreate themselves without changing who they are. The band now features a line-up that has been together longer than any other in Salmon history and is one of the strongest the legendary band has ever assembled. Built around the core of founding members Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, the band is now powered by banjo-wiz Andy Thorn, and driven by the steady rhythm section of bassist Greg Garrison, drummer Alwyn Robinson, and keyboardist Erik Deutsch. The new line-up is continuing the long, storied history of Salmon which found them first emerging from the progressive bluegrass world and coming of age as one the original jam bands, before rising to become architects of what has become known as Jamgrass and helping to create a landscape where bands schooled in the traditional rules of bluegrass can break free of those bonds through nontraditional instrumentation and an innate ability to push songs in new psychedelic directions live. Salmon is a band who over their thirty-year career has never stood still; they are constantly changing, evolving, and inspiring. If someone wanted to understand what Americana music is they could do no better than to go to a Leftover Salmon show, where they effortlessly glide from a bluegrass number born on the front porch, to the down-and-dirty Cajun swamps with a stop on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, to the hallowed halls of the Ryman in Nashville, before firing one up in the mountains of Colorado. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:A note from Leftover Salmon's team: "We have made the difficult decision to cancel part of our January tour that would otherwise require compromising the health of our touring party. All Colorado concerts will continue as scheduled at this time, Salt Lake City is postponed, and, unfortunately, January 20th in Jackson, WY, through January 26th in Boise, ID, have been canceled. Refunds will be issued or can be requested at the point of purchase. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to joining you at a time when we feel more confident about keeping you, our crew, and ourselves safe."
-
Few bands stick around for thirty years. Even fewer bands leave a legacy during that time that marks them as a truly special, once-in-lifetime type band. And no band has done all that and had as much fun as Leftover Salmon. Since their earliest days as a forward thinking, progressive bluegrass band who had the guts to add drums to the mix and who was unafraid to stir in any number of highly combustible styles into their ever evolving sound, to their role as a pioneer of the modern jamband scene, to their current status as elder-statesmen of the scene who cast a huge influential shadow over every festival they play, Leftover Salmon has been a crucial link in keeping alive the traditional music of the past while at the same time pushing that sound forward with their own weirdly, unique style.
As Leftover Salmon nears their 30th year, their inspiring story is set to be told in a brand new book, Leftover Salmon: Thirty Years of Festival! that will be released February 2019 by Rowman & Littlefield. In this book, critically acclaimed author of Bluegrass in Baltimore: The Hard Drivin' Sound & It's Legacy, Tim Newby presents an intimate portrait of Leftover Salmon through the personal recollections of its band members, family, friends, former band-mates, managers, and the countless musicians they have influenced. Leftover Salmon: Thirty Years of Festival! is a thorough guide covering a thirty-year journey of a truly remarkable band. It is a tale of friendships and losses, musical discoveries and Wild West adventures, and the brethren they surround themselves with who fortify Salmon's unique voice. Their story is one of tragedy and rebirth, of unimaginable highs and crushing lows, of friendships, of music, but most importantly it is the story of a special band and those that have lived through it all to create, inspire, and have everlasting fun.
Heading into their fourth decade Leftover Salmon is showing no signs of slowing down as they are coming off the release of their most recent album, Something Higher (released in 2018) which has been universally hailed as one of the band's finest releases. Something Higher shows how even upon preparing to enter their fourth decade Leftover Salmon is proving it possible to recreate themselves without changing who they are. The band now features a line-up that has been together longer than any other in Salmon history and is one of the strongest the legendary band has ever assembled. Built around the core of founding members Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, the band is now powered by banjo-wiz Andy Thorn, and driven by the steady rhythm section of bassist Greg Garrison, drummer Alwyn Robinson, and keyboardist Erik Deutsch. The new line-up is continuing the long, storied history of Salmon which found them first emerging from the progressive bluegrass world and coming of age as one the original jam bands, before rising to become architects of what has become known as Jamgrass and helping to create a landscape where bands schooled in the traditional rules of bluegrass can break free of those bonds through nontraditional instrumentation and an innate ability to push songs in new psychedelic directions live. Salmon is a band who over their thirty-year career has never stood still; they are constantly changing, evolving, and inspiring. If someone wanted to understand what Americana music is they could do no better than to go to a Leftover Salmon show, where they effortlessly glide from a bluegrass number born on the front porch, to the down-and-dirty Cajun swamps with a stop on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, to the hallowed halls of the Ryman in Nashville, before firing one up in the mountains of Colorado.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220121T050310Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1683 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220205T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220205T233000 UID:C2F6B2E8-9959-4C14-9B3D-99B9FFFE9A92 SUMMARY:Houndmouth DTSTAMP:20211206T203704Z DESCRIPTION:Houndmouth is an American alternative blues band from New Albany, Indiana formed in 2011, consisting of Matt Myers (guitar, vocals), Zak Appleby (bass, vocals), and Shane Cody (drums, vocals).Houndmouth formed in the summer of 2011. After playing locally in Louisville and Indiana, they performed at the SXSW music festival in March 2012 to promote their homemade self-titled EP. Geoff Travis, the head of Rough Trade was in the audience and offered a contract shortly after. In 2012, the band was named "Band Of The Week" by The Guardian. In 2013 Houndmouth's debut album, From the Hills Below the City, was released by Rough Trade. This led to performances on Letterman, Conan, World Cafe, and several major festivals (ACL, Americana Music Festival, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Newport Folk Festival). SPIN and Esquire.com named Houndmouth a "must-see" band at Lollapalooza, and Garden & Gun said, "You'd be hard pressed to find a more effortless, well-crafted mix of roots and rock this year than the debut album from this Louisville quartet."\NOn their new album Good For You, Houndmouth share a collection of songs set in places as far-flung as the Alamo and the Hudson River, each populated by a motley cast of characters: fairy-tale princesses and vampires, parking-lot lovers and wanna-be beauty queens. The fourth full-length from the Indiana-bred band—vocalist/guitarist Matthew Myers, drummer/vocalist Shane Cody, and bassist/vocalist Zak Appleby—the result is a lovingly gathered catalogue of those wild and fleeting moments that stay lodged in our hearts forever, taking on a dreamlike resonance as years go by.\NProduced by Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Hiss Golden Messenger) and mixed by Jon Ashley (The War on Drugs, B.J. Barham), Good For You came to life at Houndmouth’s longtime headquarters, a 19th-century shotgun-style house decked out in gold wallpaper and crystal chandeliers. “It was my grandparents’ place, and after they passed we kept it the exact same, full of all their old stuff,” Cody explains. Over the course of a year spent holed up at the so-called Green House, Houndmouth slowly shaped the warm and unhurried sound of Good For You. “Except for the first EP we’d never recorded in our own space before,” says Myers. “It was perfect because we all felt so comfortable, and there were no time constraints on anything.”\NIn a departure from the shambolic spirit of past work like Little Neon Limelight (Houndmouth’s 2015 breakout, featuring the platinum-selling “Sedona”), Good For You bears a hi-fi minimalism that beautifully illuminates its finespun storytelling. “From working with Brad and Jon we learned to go for the simplest parts that best support the melody, and to let the frequencies take up more space in the songs,” says Myers. On the album-opening title track, Houndmouth bring that approach to a sweetly languid breakup song set against the surreal backdrop of the Kentucky Derby (“I wrote that before Covid, but at the time I was sort of emotionally going through a pandemic,” Myers points out). On “Miracle Mile,” Houndmouth pay homage to the many misfits they’ve met on the road, including a woman they’ve nicknamed after the Greek god of wine and ritual madness (“Sweet Dionysus/She never really liked us/Hangs on and stays too long/And then supplies us all with vices”). One of the most heavy-hearted moments on Good For You, “McKenzie” looks back on an ex-girlfriend of Cody’s and spins a tender portrait of wasted longing (“Everybody’s coming over/To smoke and go nowhere/Once a steady conversation/Just a bunch of hot air”). And on “Cool Jam,” Houndmouth eulogize a doomed romance, embedding their lyrics with so much broken wisdom (e.g., “Ain’t no heaven when you’re having a good time”).\NOn its closing track “Las Vegas,” Good For You shifts into a far rowdier mood, offering up a freewheeling anthem that once again reveals Houndmouth’s ability to build a novel’s worth of tension in just a few lines (“You wore makeup for three days straight/Half a Xanax for the holidays/By the look on your face/You’re rolling eights the hard way”). Working from a demo they’d laid down years before, the band produced “Las Vegas” on their own in the frenetic final session for the album. “We had a mic at one end of the hallway, and we were all just screaming the harmonies together from the other end,” Myers notes. In assembling the tracklist for Good For You, Houndmouth nearly withheld the song due to its outlier status, but ultimately found its joyfully unhinged energy well-suited to a world waking up from a year of grief and isolation. “I love how you can hear the difference between Brad really anchoring us down on all the rest of the album, and then the chaos of us handling that one ourselves,” says Cody.\NFor Houndmouth, the making of Good For You allowed for a major leap forward in their songwriting and sound while recalling the pure abandon of the band’s early days. “I remember the first time I ever came to the Green House and saw what was happening here and I thought, ‘I’m never leaving this place,’” says Myers, who met Appleby and Cody in high school and started collaborating with them in college. “This album felt like being back in that time again, only now everything’s a little more dialed-back and cared-for. It was like a return to the way we fell in love with playing music together.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Houndmouth is an American alternative blues band from New Albany, Indiana formed in 2011, consisting of Matt Myers (guitar, vocals), Zak Appleby (bass, vocals), and Shane Cody (drums, vocals).Houndmouth formed in the summer of 2011. After playing locally in Louisville and Indiana, they performed at the SXSW music festival in March 2012 to promote their homemade self-titled EP. Geoff Travis, the head of Rough Trade was in the audience and offered a contract shortly after. In 2012, the band was named "Band Of The Week" by The Guardian. In 2013 Houndmouth's debut album, From the Hills Below the City, was released by Rough Trade. This led to performances on Letterman, Conan, World Cafe, and several major festivals (ACL, Americana Music Festival, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Newport Folk Festival). SPIN and Esquire.com named Houndmouth a "must-see" band at Lollapalooza, and Garden & Gun said, "You'd be hard pressed to find a more effortless, well-crafted mix of roots and rock this year than the debut album from this Louisville quartet."
On their new album Good For You, Houndmouth share a collection of songs set in places as far-flung as the Alamo and the Hudson River, each populated by a motley cast of characters: fairy-tale princesses and vampires, parking-lot lovers and wanna-be beauty queens. The fourth full-length from the Indiana-bred band—vocalist/guitarist Matthew Myers, drummer/vocalist Shane Cody, and bassist/vocalist Zak Appleby—the result is a lovingly gathered catalogue of those wild and fleeting moments that stay lodged in our hearts forever, taking on a dreamlike resonance as years go by.
Produced by Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Hiss Golden Messenger) and mixed by Jon Ashley (The War on Drugs, B.J. Barham), Good For You came to life at Houndmouth’s longtime headquarters, a 19th-century shotgun-style house decked out in gold wallpaper and crystal chandeliers. “It was my grandparents’ place, and after they passed we kept it the exact same, full of all their old stuff,” Cody explains. Over the course of a year spent holed up at the so-called Green House, Houndmouth slowly shaped the warm and unhurried sound of Good For You. “Except for the first EP we’d never recorded in our own space before,” says Myers. “It was perfect because we all felt so comfortable, and there were no time constraints on anything.”
In a departure from the shambolic spirit of past work like Little Neon Limelight (Houndmouth’s 2015 breakout, featuring the platinum-selling “Sedona”), Good For You bears a hi-fi minimalism that beautifully illuminates its finespun storytelling. “From working with Brad and Jon we learned to go for the simplest parts that best support the melody, and to let the frequencies take up more space in the songs,” says Myers. On the album-opening title track, Houndmouth bring that approach to a sweetly languid breakup song set against the surreal backdrop of the Kentucky Derby (“I wrote that before Covid, but at the time I was sort of emotionally going through a pandemic,” Myers points out). On “Miracle Mile,” Houndmouth pay homage to the many misfits they’ve met on the road, including a woman they’ve nicknamed after the Greek god of wine and ritual madness (“Sweet Dionysus/She never really liked us/Hangs on and stays too long/And then supplies us all with vices”). One of the most heavy-hearted moments on Good For You, “McKenzie” looks back on an ex-girlfriend of Cody’s and spins a tender portrait of wasted longing (“Everybody’s coming over/To smoke and go nowhere/Once a steady conversation/Just a bunch of hot air”). And on “Cool Jam,” Houndmouth eulogize a doomed romance, embedding their lyrics with so much broken wisdom (e.g., “Ain’t no heaven when you’re having a good time”).
On its closing track “Las Vegas,” Good For You shifts into a far rowdier mood, offering up a freewheeling anthem that once again reveals Houndmouth’s ability to build a novel’s worth of tension in just a few lines (“You wore makeup for three days straight/Half a Xanax for the holidays/By the look on your face/You’re rolling eights the hard way”). Working from a demo they’d laid down years before, the band produced “Las Vegas” on their own in the frenetic final session for the album. “We had a mic at one end of the hallway, and we were all just screaming the harmonies together from the other end,” Myers notes. In assembling the tracklist for Good For You, Houndmouth nearly withheld the song due to its outlier status, but ultimately found its joyfully unhinged energy well-suited to a world waking up from a year of grief and isolation. “I love how you can hear the difference between Brad really anchoring us down on all the rest of the album, and then the chaos of us handling that one ourselves,” says Cody.
For Houndmouth, the making of Good For You allowed for a major leap forward in their songwriting and sound while recalling the pure abandon of the band’s early days. “I remember the first time I ever came to the Green House and saw what was happening here and I thought, ‘I’m never leaving this place,’” says Myers, who met Appleby and Cody in high school and started collaborating with them in college. “This album felt like being back in that time again, only now everything’s a little more dialed-back and cared-for. It was like a return to the way we fell in love with playing music together.”
✨ A mosaic of poolside grooves and lingering, sun-kissed melodies ✨
Est 2015, Miami FL
Magic City Hippies is: Robby Hunter, Pat Howard, John Coughlin
Shades on and shirts unbuttoned, Magic City Hippies generate the kind of heat that could’ve powered a high seas yacht party in the seventies or shake a Coachella stage next summer. If the trio—Robby Hunter, Pat Howard, and John Coughlin—stepped off the screen from some long-lost Quentin Tarantino flick in slow-motion (instruments in hand), nobody would question it. Embracing everything from AM radio rock and poolside pop to nimble raps and salsa, they lock into an era-less vibe with no shortage of funk or hooks. The three-piece deliver the kind of bangers you can play on the way to the party, during the party, and to smooth over the comedown as the sun comes up.
As the guys so eloquently describe it, they “give people a choice to enjoy this on the surface level, feel funky in their bodies, and dance…or go deeper into the music.”
As legend has it, the origin of Magic City Hippies can be traced back to Robby’s days of permit-less busking in Miami. Eventually, Pat and John proved to be better accompaniment than his loop pedal, so the trio played regular bar gigs and built an audience locally. They formed as Robby Hunter Band, released the Magic City Hippies album, and adopted the title as their name. That LP gained traction in 2013 with syncs on The CW’s iZombie and Showtime’s Ray Donovan. On its heels, 2015’s Hippie Castle EP catalyzed their breakout as “Limestone” piled up over 20 million Spotify streams followed by “Fanfare” with another 19 million Spotify streams. They toured endlessly and moved crowds at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Hulaween, Okeechobee Fest, Electric Forest, and Austin City Limits, to name a few. Along the way, the band also picked up acclaim from Relix and OnesToWatch as they dropped the fan favorite Modern Animal in 2019. When the world shutdown, the boys settled in different parts of the country (Rob “doing his Johny Mayer thing” in Bozeman, MT, Pat in Los Angeles, CA, and John still in Miami). Remotely, they wrote an album’s worth of new songs. As things opened back up, the musicians put it all together in person, and began teasing out their new bounty to fans. During summer 2021 they released 5 singles, keeping their fans well fed with a slew of new auditory delights.
Armed with singles such as “Queen,” the falsetto-spiked “High Beams” [feat. Nafets], “Diamond,” and “Water Your Garden” [feat. maye], Magic City Hippies are ready to heat up their next chapter now.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220121T194520Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1571 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220208T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220208T233000 UID:544A0C46-0384-4071-AF70-CE9B8E85D754 SUMMARY:Dark Star Orchestra DTSTAMP:20211129T220125Z DESCRIPTION:Performing to critical acclaim for over 20 years and over 3000 shows, Dark Star Orchestra continues the Grateful Dead live concert experience. Their shows are built off the Dead's extensive catalog and the talent of these seven fine musicians. On any given night, the band will perform a show based on a set list from the Grateful Dead's 30 years of extensive touring or use their catalog to program a unique set list for the show. This allows fans both young and old to share in the experience. By recreating set lists from the past, and by developing their own sets of Dead songs, Dark Star Orchestra offers a continually evolving artistic outlet within this musical canon. Honoring both the band and the fans, Dark Star Orchestra's members seek out the unique style and sound of each era while simultaneously offering their own informed improvisations.\NDark Star Orchestra offers much more than the sound of the Grateful Dead, they truly encapsulate the energy and the experience. It's about a sense of familiarity. It's about a feeling that grabs listeners and takes over. It's about that contagious energy...in short, it's about the complete experience and consistent quality show that the fan receives when attending a Dark Star Orchestra show.\NDark Star Orchestra has performed throughout the entire United States, including a sold out debut at Colorado’s Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater, plus shows in Europe and the Caribbean with the band touching down in seven different countries. DSO continues to grow its fan base by playing at larger venues for two and even three-night stands, as well as performing at major music festivals including Bonnaroo, Milwaukee's SummerFest, The Peach Music Festival, Jam Cruise, Wanee Festival, SweetWater 420 Festival, Mountain Jam, and many more.\NIn addition to appearing at some of the nation's top festival, Dark Star Orchestra hosts its own annual music festival and campaign gathering, titled the "Dark Star Jubilee", currently in its eighth year where DSO headline all three nights and are joined by a mix of established and up and coming national touring acts. Beyond the shores of the United States, DSO has taken its internationally-acclaimed Grateful Dead tribute to the beaches of Jamaica in the dead of winter for the past six years, with their event appropriately titled 'Jam in the Sand'. Featuring an ocean-side stage, DSO sets up camp to perform shows for four nights along the tropical sands of an all-inclusive resort, selling out the event each year for hundreds of lucky attendees.\NFans and critics haven't been the only people caught up in the spirit of a Dark Star show. The band has featured guest performances from six original Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, Vince Welnick, Tom Constanten and even toured with longtime Dead soundman, Dan Healy. Other notable guests have included Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman of Phish, Keller Williams, Warren Haynes, Steve Kimock, Peter Rowan, Ramblin' Jack Elliot and many more.\N"For us it's a chance to recreate some of the magic that was created for us over the years," keyboardist and vocalist Rob Barraco explains. "We offer a sort of a historical perspective at what it might have been like to go to a show in 1985, 1978 or whenever. Even for Deadheads who can say they've been to a hundred shows in the 90s, we offer something they never got to see live." X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Performing to critical acclaim for over 20 years and over 3000 shows, Dark Star Orchestra continues the Grateful Dead live concert experience. Their shows are built off the Dead's extensive catalog and the talent of these seven fine musicians. On any given night, the band will perform a show based on a set list from the Grateful Dead's 30 years of extensive touring or use their catalog to program a unique set list for the show. This allows fans both young and old to share in the experience. By recreating set lists from the past, and by developing their own sets of Dead songs, Dark Star Orchestra offers a continually evolving artistic outlet within this musical canon. Honoring both the band and the fans, Dark Star Orchestra's members seek out the unique style and sound of each era while simultaneously offering their own informed improvisations.
Dark Star Orchestra offers much more than the sound of the Grateful Dead, they truly encapsulate the energy and the experience. It's about a sense of familiarity. It's about a feeling that grabs listeners and takes over. It's about that contagious energy...in short, it's about the complete experience and consistent quality show that the fan receives when attending a Dark Star Orchestra show.
Dark Star Orchestra has performed throughout the entire United States, including a sold out debut at Colorado’s Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater, plus shows in Europe and the Caribbean with the band touching down in seven different countries. DSO continues to grow its fan base by playing at larger venues for two and even three-night stands, as well as performing at major music festivals including Bonnaroo, Milwaukee's SummerFest, The Peach Music Festival, Jam Cruise, Wanee Festival, SweetWater 420 Festival, Mountain Jam, and many more.
In addition to appearing at some of the nation's top festival, Dark Star Orchestra hosts its own annual music festival and campaign gathering, titled the "Dark Star Jubilee", currently in its eighth year where DSO headline all three nights and are joined by a mix of established and up and coming national touring acts. Beyond the shores of the United States, DSO has taken its internationally-acclaimed Grateful Dead tribute to the beaches of Jamaica in the dead of winter for the past six years, with their event appropriately titled 'Jam in the Sand'. Featuring an ocean-side stage, DSO sets up camp to perform shows for four nights along the tropical sands of an all-inclusive resort, selling out the event each year for hundreds of lucky attendees.
Fans and critics haven't been the only people caught up in the spirit of a Dark Star show. The band has featured guest performances from six original Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, Vince Welnick, Tom Constanten and even toured with longtime Dead soundman, Dan Healy. Other notable guests have included Mike Gordon and Jon Fishman of Phish, Keller Williams, Warren Haynes, Steve Kimock, Peter Rowan, Ramblin' Jack Elliot and many more.
"For us it's a chance to recreate some of the magic that was created for us over the years," keyboardist and vocalist Rob Barraco explains. "We offer a sort of a historical perspective at what it might have been like to go to a show in 1985, 1978 or whenever. Even for Deadheads who can say they've been to a hundred shows in the 90s, we offer something they never got to see live."
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20211203T223833Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3033 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220210T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220210T233000 UID:4D251A44-16E3-47D0-A677-1A0EA446FA3B SUMMARY:Josh Ritter DTSTAMP:20211213T232533Z DESCRIPTION:A Note from Josh about this upcoming tour: “Hi Everyone!\NI don’t know about you, but for me this past year has had more than its fair share of long nights of the soul. Whether in song or prose or one of those weird creatures that lives between, I’ve returned to stories over and over again for sustenance and counsel and forgetting. I’ve also found myself dreaming of touring again, being on stage, performing my songs - my stories - like I did for so long before the world turned on its head. I’ve lived in those memories when I couldn’t be on stage in any other way. Now I get the chance to perform again. I’m so excited I almost can’t contain it. I want my first set of shows in a year and a half to be in places that will allow me to sing some of the stranger, quieter, more narrative songs that I may not always get to at a rock show. I want the venues to be special and beautiful, I want laughter and music and stories that are true even if they’re unreal. Finally, I want to perform again, stomp the dust off, see what new appendages and teeth and claws have grown from this time in the wilderness, see what joy can come from sorrow and what tears can come from joy. I’m so excited to see you again.\NRock On!Josh”\N \NJosh Ritter’s new novel, The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All, is in stores September 7th.\NCritical praise for Josh Ritter:\N“Harking back to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and maybe a little Mark Knopfler, Mr. Ritter has always been a slinger of serious ideas and high-flown imagery.” - The New York Times\N“Josh Ritter remains at the top of his game two decades into a highlight-strewn career. He’d be forgiven for loosening his grip, but his hand has never felt surer.” - NPR Music\N“If you love music and have a device on which to play it, you should listen to Josh Ritter whenever you need sound.”—Mary-Louise Parker in Esquire\N“Mysterious, melancholy, melodic...and those are only the M’s.”—Stephen King in Entertainment Weekly\N“There have been plenty of highlights in Ritter’s nearly 20-year recording career.” - AP\N“Josh Ritter is sharper than ever.” - Salon\N“100 Greatest Living Songwriters” - Paste X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:A Note from Josh about this upcoming tour:
“Hi Everyone!
I don’t know about you, but for me this past year has had more than its fair share of long nights of the soul. Whether in song or prose or one of those weird creatures that lives between, I’ve returned to stories over and over again for sustenance and counsel and forgetting. I’ve also found myself dreaming of touring again, being on stage, performing my songs - my stories - like I did for so long before the world turned on its head. I’ve lived in those memories when I couldn’t be on stage in any other way.
Now I get the chance to perform again. I’m so excited I almost can’t contain it. I want my first set of shows in a year and a half to be in places that will allow me to sing some of the stranger, quieter, more narrative songs that I may not always get to at a rock show. I want the venues to be special and beautiful, I want laughter and music and stories that are true even if they’re unreal. Finally, I want to perform again, stomp the dust off, see what new appendages and teeth and claws have grown from this time in the wilderness, see what joy can come from sorrow and what tears can come from joy.
I’m so excited to see you again.
Rock On!
Josh”
Josh Ritter’s new novel, The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All, is in stores September 7th.
Critical praise for Josh Ritter:
“Harking back to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and maybe a little Mark Knopfler, Mr. Ritter has always been a slinger of serious ideas and high-flown imagery.” - The New York Times
“Josh Ritter remains at the top of his game two decades into a highlight-strewn career. He’d be forgiven for loosening his grip, but his hand has never felt surer.” - NPR Music
“If you love music and have a device on which to play it, you should listen to Josh Ritter whenever you need sound.”—Mary-Louise Parker in Esquire
“Mysterious, melancholy, melodic...and those are only the M’s.”—Stephen King in Entertainment Weekly
“There have been plenty of highlights in Ritter’s nearly 20-year recording career.” - AP
“Josh Ritter is sharper than ever.” - Salon
“100 Greatest Living Songwriters” - Paste
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220208T210212Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1989 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220212T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220212T233000 UID:C4510CB2-5396-463C-A2B9-9626854AB787 SUMMARY:Watchhouse DTSTAMP:20211026T201110Z DESCRIPTION:By the time 2019 came to its fitful end, Andrew Marlin knew he was tired of touring. He was grateful, of course, for the ascendancy of Mandolin Orange, the duo he’d cofounded in North Carolina with fiddler Emily Frantz exactly a decade earlier. With time, they had become new flagbearers of the contemporary folk world, sweetly singing soft songs about the hardest parts of our lives, both as people and as a people. Their rise—particularly crowds that grew first to fill small dives, then the Ryman, then amphitheaters the size of Red Rocks—humbled Emily and Andrew, who became parents to Ruby late in 2018. They’d made a life of this.Still, every night, Andrew especially was paid to relive a lifetime of grievances and griefs onstage. After 2019’s Tides of a Teardrop, a tender accounting of his mother’s early death, the process became evermore arduous, even exhausting. What’s more, those tunes—and the band’s entire catalogue, really—conflicted with the name Mandolin Orange, an early-20s holdover that never quite comported with the music they made. Nightly soundchecks, at least, provided temporary relief, as the band worked through a batch of guarded but hopeful songs written just after Ruby’s birth. They offered a new way to think about an established act.Those tunes are now Watchhouse, which would have been Mandolin Orange’s sixth album but is instead their first also under the name Watchhouse, a moniker inspired by Marlin’s place of childhood solace. The name, like the new record itself, represents their reinvention as a band at the regenerative edges of subtly experimental folk-rock. Challenging as they are charming, and an inspired search for personal and political goodness, these nine songs offer welcome lessons about what any of us might become when the night begins to break.“We’re different people than when we started this band,” Marlin says, reflecting on all these shifts. “We’re setting new intentions, taking control of this thing again.”When 2020 dawned, Emily and Andrew hatched a plan to break old habits: For the first time, they’d leave Ruby with Emily’s mom and escape with their longtime bandmates to a cabin on the edge of Smith Mountain Lake, a sprawling hideaway at the foot of the Appalachians. Also for the first time, after a decade of Andrew engineering and producing most of the music the band made, they’d bring help—Josh Kaufman, the producer and multi-instrumentalist who had wowed them with his work alongside the likes of The National and his trio Bonny Light Horseman. There were no expectations. This was simply a full-band retreat with a new friend and co- producer, working together in the refulgent sunshine of grand lakeside windows.Almost immediately, they realized this wasn’t some audition; they were making Watchhouse. On the first day, Kaufman told Emily and Andrew to imagine this were their first record and to realize that conceptions of how they had worked, recorded, or even sounded belonged only in the past. In a way, Andrew had new permission and space to lean into his vision for what Watchhouse might become.“Andrew is so confident in what he wants to hear, so full of ideas. Even beyond what we’d worked out together on tour with these songs, he knew what he wanted,” Emily says. “Having Josh in the studio meant Andrew didn’t have to bear the whole weight of getting there.”Alongside drummer Joe Westerlund, guitarist Josh Oliver, and bassist Clint Mullican, Andrew and Emily indulged novel structures and textures. “Better Way,” a kind-hearted meditation on online meanness, shifts slowly from a bluegrass trot into a spectral marvel before an immersive acoustic drone frames a new future. The gentle harmonies of “Belly of the Beast” eventually turn into a tangle above baying strings, Andrew and Emily guiding each other through the shared perils of whatever comes next.These songs, after all, started with a fundamental shift in Emily and Andrew’s life. In the first few months after Ruby’s birth, they split the day into shifts: Emily minded Ruby during the waking hours, while Andrew sat beside Ruby all night, watching their firstborn sleep as he quietly strummed strings. In those wee hours, he allowed his writing to wander, capturing the uncanny sense of wonder and intrigue that pervades the darkest parts of night. “If I didn’t have Ruby in my hands, I had an instrument in them,” remembers Andrew. “And watching Ruby sleep, being surrounded by that mystery at night, led to a feeling of magical realism in these songs. I used melodies and ideas I’d never use.”Long-lost relatives, for instance, gather with him around the crib in communion during “Lonely Love Affair,” mentoring him through this staggering upheaval. He expresses the fears of a new father, alleviated by the possibility and goodness he sees in his sleeping baby. These songs allowed Marlin and Frantz to take the chance Kaufman proposed because they’re about the value of doing exactly that, of trusting in grand acts borne of personal uncertainty.Likewise, Emily’s dual turns here as lead singer are absolute breakthroughs, equally wrought from the confidence of past success and the excitement of present energy. As Emily coolly considers the ups and downs of mere existence, “Upside Down” pirouettes from the country thump of Neil Young in 1971 to the surging epiphanies of Radiohead a quarter-century later. Andrew wrote “Beautiful Flowers” after crashing into and presumably killing a butterfly with his car—this quiet triumph is a history of the automobile that doubles as a poignant chronicle of the modern tragedies and miracles we normalize. It reckons with climate change and the fatal side- effects of our industrious, industrialized nature with beguiling humility. Emily delivers all this with a gospel conviction, astral horns slowly unspooling beneath her as a reminder of the fragility at work.With harmonies so easy they sound like kitchen-table talk, Andrew and Emily sail through “New Star,” an ode to the self-sacrifice and renewal of trying to create something, like a child, that might make the world better. Revolutionary kindness, social responsibility, collective understanding: These simple but staggering ideas are the unseen threads of Watchhouse, a miraculous expression of measured domestic protest.In our era of recalcitrant typecasts and incessant cultural churn, it is rare to witness anyone press ahead into the unknown while holding fast to what’s best about their past, too. That’s what Watchhouse have done with their self-titled debut. Emily and Andrew have discarded neither their tenderness nor thoughtfulness; instead, they’ve enriched those essential qualities by submitting to the risks of new sounds, structures, and inputs. They’ve embraced surprising notions that make their steadfastness stronger.\NIt will be tempting to summarize this record as Watchhouse’s inevitable parenthood record, or maybe the one where they got a little strange, or maybe the one where they change their name. It is, instead, a record about growing up without growing old, about experiencing the world and letting it change you, whether through the mystery of a newborn or the vagaries of improvising or the comforts of familiar and wondrous love. Watchhouse is a perfectly rendered link between their longtime allure as Mandolin Orange and an unwritten future as the band Watchhouse, one that’s only as hopeful as we can imagine it might be. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:By the time 2019 came to its fitful end, Andrew Marlin knew he was tired of touring. He was grateful, of course, for the ascendancy of Mandolin Orange, the duo he’d cofounded in North Carolina with fiddler Emily Frantz exactly a decade earlier. With time, they had become new flagbearers of the contemporary folk world, sweetly singing soft songs about the hardest parts of our lives, both as people and as a people. Their rise—particularly crowds that grew first to fill small dives, then the Ryman, then amphitheaters the size of Red Rocks—humbled Emily and Andrew, who became parents to Ruby late in 2018. They’d made a life of this.
Still, every night, Andrew especially was paid to relive a lifetime of grievances and griefs onstage. After 2019’s Tides of a Teardrop, a tender accounting of his mother’s early death, the process became evermore arduous, even exhausting. What’s more, those tunes—and the band’s entire catalogue, really—conflicted with the name Mandolin Orange, an early-20s holdover that never quite comported with the music they made. Nightly soundchecks, at least, provided temporary relief, as the band worked through a batch of guarded but hopeful songs written just after Ruby’s birth. They offered a new way to think about an established act.
Those tunes are now Watchhouse, which would have been Mandolin Orange’s sixth album but is instead their first also under the name Watchhouse, a moniker inspired by Marlin’s place of childhood solace. The name, like the new record itself, represents their reinvention as a band at the regenerative edges of subtly experimental folk-rock. Challenging as they are charming, and an inspired search for personal and political goodness, these nine songs offer welcome lessons about what any of us might become when the night begins to break.
“We’re different people than when we started this band,” Marlin says, reflecting on all these shifts. “We’re setting new intentions, taking control of this thing again.”
When 2020 dawned, Emily and Andrew hatched a plan to break old habits: For the first time, they’d leave Ruby with Emily’s mom and escape with their longtime bandmates to a cabin on the edge of Smith Mountain Lake, a sprawling hideaway at the foot of the Appalachians. Also for the first time, after a decade of Andrew engineering and producing most of the music the band made, they’d bring help—Josh Kaufman, the producer and multi-instrumentalist who had wowed them with his work alongside the likes of The National and his trio Bonny Light Horseman. There were no expectations. This was simply a full-band retreat with a new friend and co- producer, working together in the refulgent sunshine of grand lakeside windows.
Almost immediately, they realized this wasn’t some audition; they were making Watchhouse. On the first day, Kaufman told Emily and Andrew to imagine this were their first record and to realize that conceptions of how they had worked, recorded, or even sounded belonged only in the past. In a way, Andrew had new permission and space to lean into his vision for what Watchhouse might become.
“Andrew is so confident in what he wants to hear, so full of ideas. Even beyond what we’d worked out together on tour with these songs, he knew what he wanted,” Emily says. “Having Josh in the studio meant Andrew didn’t have to bear the whole weight of getting there.”
Alongside drummer Joe Westerlund, guitarist Josh Oliver, and bassist Clint Mullican, Andrew and Emily indulged novel structures and textures. “Better Way,” a kind-hearted meditation on online meanness, shifts slowly from a bluegrass trot into a spectral marvel before an immersive acoustic drone frames a new future. The gentle harmonies of “Belly of the Beast” eventually turn into a tangle above baying strings, Andrew and Emily guiding each other through the shared perils of whatever comes next.
These songs, after all, started with a fundamental shift in Emily and Andrew’s life. In the first few months after Ruby’s birth, they split the day into shifts: Emily minded Ruby during the waking hours, while Andrew sat beside Ruby all night, watching their firstborn sleep as he quietly strummed strings. In those wee hours, he allowed his writing to wander, capturing the uncanny sense of wonder and intrigue that pervades the darkest parts of night. “If I didn’t have Ruby in my hands, I had an instrument in them,” remembers Andrew. “And watching Ruby sleep, being surrounded by that mystery at night, led to a feeling of magical realism in these songs. I used melodies and ideas I’d never use.”
Long-lost relatives, for instance, gather with him around the crib in communion during “Lonely Love Affair,” mentoring him through this staggering upheaval. He expresses the fears of a new father, alleviated by the possibility and goodness he sees in his sleeping baby. These songs allowed Marlin and Frantz to take the chance Kaufman proposed because they’re about the value of doing exactly that, of trusting in grand acts borne of personal uncertainty.
Likewise, Emily’s dual turns here as lead singer are absolute breakthroughs, equally wrought from the confidence of past success and the excitement of present energy. As Emily coolly considers the ups and downs of mere existence, “Upside Down” pirouettes from the country thump of Neil Young in 1971 to the surging epiphanies of Radiohead a quarter-century later. Andrew wrote “Beautiful Flowers” after crashing into and presumably killing a butterfly with his car—this quiet triumph is a history of the automobile that doubles as a poignant chronicle of the modern tragedies and miracles we normalize. It reckons with climate change and the fatal side- effects of our industrious, industrialized nature with beguiling humility. Emily delivers all this with a gospel conviction, astral horns slowly unspooling beneath her as a reminder of the fragility at work.
With harmonies so easy they sound like kitchen-table talk, Andrew and Emily sail through “New Star,” an ode to the self-sacrifice and renewal of trying to create something, like a child, that might make the world better. Revolutionary kindness, social responsibility, collective understanding: These simple but staggering ideas are the unseen threads of Watchhouse, a miraculous expression of measured domestic protest.
In our era of recalcitrant typecasts and incessant cultural churn, it is rare to witness anyone press ahead into the unknown while holding fast to what’s best about their past, too. That’s what Watchhouse have done with their self-titled debut. Emily and Andrew have discarded neither their tenderness nor thoughtfulness; instead, they’ve enriched those essential qualities by submitting to the risks of new sounds, structures, and inputs. They’ve embraced surprising notions that make their steadfastness stronger.
It will be tempting to summarize this record as Watchhouse’s inevitable parenthood record, or maybe the one where they got a little strange, or maybe the one where they change their name. It is, instead, a record about growing up without growing old, about experiencing the world and letting it change you, whether through the mystery of a newborn or the vagaries of improvising or the comforts of familiar and wondrous love. Watchhouse is a perfectly rendered link between their longtime allure as Mandolin Orange and an unwritten future as the band Watchhouse, one that’s only as hopeful as we can imagine it might be.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220121T185054Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2518 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220218T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220218T233000 UID:94F5A05E-4FBF-43C4-9790-510AF2728CC9 SUMMARY:The Lil Smokies DTSTAMP:20211109T142858Z DESCRIPTION:Drawing on the energy of a rock band and the Laurel Canyon songwriting of the ‘70s, The Lil Smokies are reimagining their approach to roots music on Tornillo, named for the remote Texas town where the album was recorded. Produced by Bill Reynolds (The Avett Brothers, Band of Horses), Tornillo is the band’s third studio album. Formed in Missoula, Montana, The Lil Smokies have built a national following through constant touring, they have performed at Red Rocks, LOCKN’, High Sierra, Telluride, Bourbon & Beyond and more.a X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Drawing on the energy of a rock band and the Laurel Canyon songwriting of the ‘70s, The Lil Smokies are reimagining their approach to roots music on Tornillo, named for the remote Texas town where the album was recorded. Produced by Bill Reynolds (The Avett Brothers, Band of Horses), Tornillo is the band’s third studio album. Formed in Missoula, Montana, The Lil Smokies have built a national following through constant touring, they have performed at Red Rocks, LOCKN’, High Sierra, Telluride, Bourbon & Beyond and more.a
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220124T204202Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1667 X-URL:https://www.axs.com/events/418044/the-lil-smokies-tickets?skin=stateroom X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220220T203000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220220T233000 UID:9EB09A18-A87C-48B2-B475-806542958650 SUMMARY:Eric Krasno & Son Little - Moved to The State Room DTSTAMP:20211108T205206Z DESCRIPTION:Eric Krasno\NVery few things last forever. Family does though. In the face of trauma, trials, and tribulations, it weathers every storm. Eric Krasno consecrates, commends, and celebrates the permanence of family on his fourth full-length solo offering, Always. The Soulive and Lettuce co-founder, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning songwriter-producer defines himself as not only an artist, but also as a husband, father, and man across these ten tracks with inimitable instrumentation, eloquent songcraft, and raw honesty.\N“Before 2020, I was having a good time, but I wasn’t grounded at all,” he explains. “I was going from gig to gig. I was always running around without a purpose. During the last year, I found my people in terms of my wife and son. I’ve created a family who will always be there for me. That’s what the album is about.”\NA dynamic career thus far positioned him to present such an everlasting vision. Something of a musical journeyman, his extensive catalog comprises three solo albums, four Lettuce albums, twelve Soulive albums, and production and/or songwriting for Norah Jones, Robert Randolph, Pretty Lights, Talib Kweli, 50 Cent, Aaron Neville, and Allen Stone. As a dynamic performer, he’s shared stages with Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, and The Roots. Out of seven nominations, he picked up two GRAMMY® Awards for his role as a songwriter and guitarist on Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Revelator and guitarist on Derek Trucks Band’ Already Free. In 2019, he served up Telescope under the KRAZ moniker. The cinematic concept album earned widespread acclaim from the likes of Relix and Salon who hailed it as “a timely New York story.”\NAs the Global Pandemic irrevocably changed the world’s plans, he found himself thinking a lot and writing just as much. At the suggestion of old Lettuce bandmate Adam Deitch, he followed musician and producer Otis McDonald on social media. They conversed online until Otis asked him to contribute to the SongAid performance series. Bob Dylan’s “The Man In Me” had recently taken on a deeper significance for Eric, so they covered the tune in support of NAACP and uncorked instant creative chemistry.“During the past two years, my wife and I got married, bought a house, and had a baby,” he recalls. “When she was pregnant, I kept hearing ‘The Man In Me’. I had heard the song many times before, but it had never quite hit me the way it was hitting me. I recorded it with just acoustic guitar and vocals, and I loved what Otis did to it. He sent it back to me, and I thought, ‘This is exactly how I want to make my next record’. I wanted it to sound like a band but knock like a hip-hop record. We didn’t even have to talk about it. We were going to do the album.”\NThe initial sessions took place virtually, but as life took on some semblance of normalcy, Eric ventured up to the Bay Area’s legendary Hyde Street Studios famous for 2Pac, Grateful Dead, and Digital Underground to record face-to-face. Even though “90% of the record happened online,” they managed to tap into a shared spirit as co-producers. They also formed Eric Krasno & The Assembly with Otis on bass, Wil Blades on keys and organ, Curtis Kelly on drums, and James VIII on guitar and vocals.\N“My goal was for this to feel like a band record, and I ended up with a great band,” he smiles. “You’ll hear a lot of guitar harmony or what I like to call ‘guit-harmony’,” he laughs.\NOn the first single “So Cold,” an icy beat bolts down the groove as Eric’s soulful intonation cools the tense riff. In the wake of a hummable hook, a bluesy guitar solo takes hold as each bend wails.\N“It’s about a relationship,” he explains. “This girl takes out her anger on other people, and the guy is trying to get to the bottom of what’s wrong and why she’s so cold. You’re trying to leave dark things behind and move into a more positive place. It has a hopeful tone because I’ve gotten past it.”\NHead-nodding handclaps, horns from Jazz Mafia, and a funkified bass line drive “Lost Myself” as the track spirals out into a wah-drenched lead.“It seems negative, but it’s not,” he observes. “It’s about losing your ego when you find someone who works for you. It’s the funkiest track on the album.”\NThen, there’s “Leave Me Alone.” The up-tempo song hinges on an unshakable bounce with a catchy hook that “addresses people who love gossip.” The opener “Silence” leans into a laidback pocket before unspooling another simmering solo. He wrote the heartfelt “Hold Tight” about the birth of his son, while the finale “Always With You” also pays homage to his family.\N“The first verse was about meeting my wife,” he says. “The second is about how we created a child during this dark time in history. Something beautiful came out of it.”\NIn the end, Eric welcomes everyone to be a part of his family on Always.“If you take away a message of love and the Always concept, that’s great,” he leaves off. “Most of all, I want to put you in a happy place. In the past, I personally just felt like I was a guitarist, songwriter, and a producer. Now, I feel like a fully formed artist.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Very few things last forever. Family does though. In the face of trauma, trials, and tribulations, it weathers every storm. Eric Krasno consecrates, commends, and celebrates the permanence of family on his fourth full-length solo offering, Always. The Soulive and Lettuce co-founder, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning songwriter-producer defines himself as not only an artist, but also as a husband, father, and man across these ten tracks with inimitable instrumentation, eloquent songcraft, and raw honesty.
“Before 2020, I was having a good time, but I wasn’t grounded at all,” he explains. “I was going from gig to gig. I was always running around without a purpose. During the last year, I found my people in terms of my wife and son. I’ve created a family who will always be there for me. That’s what the album is about.”
A dynamic career thus far positioned him to present such an everlasting vision. Something of a musical journeyman, his extensive catalog comprises three solo albums, four Lettuce albums, twelve Soulive albums, and production and/or songwriting for Norah Jones, Robert Randolph, Pretty Lights, Talib Kweli, 50 Cent, Aaron Neville, and Allen Stone. As a dynamic performer, he’s shared stages with Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, and The Roots. Out of seven nominations, he picked up two GRAMMY® Awards for his role as a songwriter and guitarist on Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Revelator and guitarist on Derek Trucks Band’ Already Free. In 2019, he served up Telescope under the KRAZ moniker. The cinematic concept album earned widespread acclaim from the likes of Relix and Salon who hailed it as “a timely New York story.”
As the Global Pandemic irrevocably changed the world’s plans, he found himself thinking a lot and writing just as much. At the suggestion of old Lettuce bandmate Adam Deitch, he followed musician and producer Otis McDonald on social media. They conversed online until Otis asked him to contribute to the SongAid performance series. Bob Dylan’s “The Man In Me” had recently taken on a deeper significance for Eric, so they covered the tune in support of NAACP and uncorked instant creative chemistry.
“During the past two years, my wife and I got married, bought a house, and had a baby,” he recalls. “When she was pregnant, I kept hearing ‘The Man In Me’. I had heard the song many times before, but it had never quite hit me the way it was hitting me. I recorded it with just acoustic guitar and vocals, and I loved what Otis did to it. He sent it back to me, and I thought, ‘This is exactly how I want to make my next record’. I wanted it to sound like a band but knock like a hip-hop record. We didn’t even have to talk about it. We were going to do the album.”
The initial sessions took place virtually, but as life took on some semblance of normalcy, Eric ventured up to the Bay Area’s legendary Hyde Street Studios famous for 2Pac, Grateful Dead, and Digital Underground to record face-to-face. Even though “90% of the record happened online,” they managed to tap into a shared spirit as co-producers. They also formed Eric Krasno & The Assembly with Otis on bass, Wil Blades on keys and organ, Curtis Kelly on drums, and James VIII on guitar and vocals.
“My goal was for this to feel like a band record, and I ended up with a great band,” he smiles. “You’ll hear a lot of guitar harmony or what I like to call ‘guit-harmony’,” he laughs.
On the first single “So Cold,” an icy beat bolts down the groove as Eric’s soulful intonation cools the tense riff. In the wake of a hummable hook, a bluesy guitar solo takes hold as each bend wails.
“It’s about a relationship,” he explains. “This girl takes out her anger on other people, and the guy is trying to get to the bottom of what’s wrong and why she’s so cold. You’re trying to leave dark things behind and move into a more positive place. It has a hopeful tone because I’ve gotten past it.”
Head-nodding handclaps, horns from Jazz Mafia, and a funkified bass line drive “Lost Myself” as the track spirals out into a wah-drenched lead.
“It seems negative, but it’s not,” he observes. “It’s about losing your ego when you find someone who works for you. It’s the funkiest track on the album.”
Then, there’s “Leave Me Alone.” The up-tempo song hinges on an unshakable bounce with a catchy hook that “addresses people who love gossip.” The opener “Silence” leans into a laidback pocket before unspooling another simmering solo. He wrote the heartfelt “Hold Tight” about the birth of his son, while the finale “Always With You” also pays homage to his family.
“The first verse was about meeting my wife,” he says. “The second is about how we created a child during this dark time in history. Something beautiful came out of it.”
In the end, Eric welcomes everyone to be a part of his family on Always.
“If you take away a message of love and the Always concept, that’s great,” he leaves off. “Most of all, I want to put you in a happy place. In the past, I personally just felt like I was a guitarist, songwriter, and a producer. Now, I feel like a fully formed artist.”
Celebrating over 40 years since their founding in 1977, New Orleans-based Dirty Dozen Brass Band has taken the traditional foundation of brass band music and incorporated it into a blend of genres including Bebop Jazz, Funk and R&B/Soul. This unique sound, described by the band as a ‘musical gumbo,’ has allowed the Dirty Dozen to tour across 5 continents and more than 30 countries, record 12 studio albums and collaborate with a range of artists from Modest Mouse to Widespread Panic to Norah Jones. Forty-plus years later, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a world-famous music machine whose name is synonymous with genre-bending romps and high-octane performances.
Roger Lewis - Baritone Sax/Vocals
Kevin Harris - Tenor Sax/Vocals
Gregory Davis - Trumpet/Vocals
Kirk Joseph - Sousaphone
TJ Norris - Trombone/Vocals
Julian Addison - Drums
Takeshi Shimmura - Guitar
The History of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band
In 1977, The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club in New Orleans began showcasing a traditional Crescent City brass band. It was a joining of two proud, but antiquated, traditions at the time: social and pleasure clubs dated back over a century to a time when black southerners could rarely afford life insurance, and the clubs would provide proper funeral arrangements. Brass bands, early predecessors of jazz as we know it, would often follow the funeral procession playing somber dirges, then once the family of the deceased was out of earshot, burst into jubilant dance tunes as casual onlookers danced in the streets. By the late '70s, few of either existed. The Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club decided to assemble this group as a house band, and over the course of these early gigs, the seven-member ensemble adopted the venue's name: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.
DBT is finally back on the road after the year and half pandemic lockdown. Just in time to celebrate our 25th birthday.
The band had just released its 12th studio album in January 2020. The Unraveling was mostly recorded in Memphis at Sam Phillips Recording Service – nine new songs detailing the horrific state of MAGA America in songs that addressed white supremacy, school shootings and the opioid crisis.
The album earned excellent reviews (including later being named “Album of the Year” by Rolling Stone in France) and we set out on the road playing shows up the east coast including NYC, Boston and DC. Unfortunately, the pandemic happened and we only completed one three-week leg of what was supposed to be a 15-month tour.
In lockdown, we all did what we could. Cooley, Jay and I played numerous virtual shows from our respective homes. Matt Patton built up his already successful studio (Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, MS) and album productions including acclaimed records from Bette Smith and Jimbo Mathus. Jay Gonzalez released his third excellent solo album Back to the Hive.
I wrote two new songs inspired by the BLM protests occurring around the country and the federal occupation of my adopted hometown of Portland, OR. We combined them with some tracks we had already recorded in Memphis and released The New OK.
Its nine songs picked up where The Unraveling had left off, continuing the themes of an unraveling country, but also breaking away on a more personal front. It included the title cut single (which had a very moving video centered on the Portland protests) and the song “Tough To Let Go” which displayed a poppier side of the band than is usually mentioned. It got stellar reviews and ended up in UNCUT Magazine’s Top 5 at the end of the year.
With the lockdown ending and shows starting up again, DBT is excited to reactivate in a big way. I have solo dates, Cooley and I are going out to play some Dimmer Twin dates including three shows in NYC and an appearance at the Newport Folk Festival. DBT will begin playing out in late July with a full-on tour beginning in August that will take us across the USA and our long delayed UK/European Tour next spring.
DBT will also begin work on our 14th studio album; one that should take us in some new directions. On tour, we‘ll be playing songs from all of our albums as well as surely premiering some new ones. As usual, we won’t be using a set list so anything goes.
Turn it up loud and see you at the Rock and Roll Show,
Patterson Hood
(DBT)
After 16 years, eight albums, and hundreds of shows, Joshua Radin still treats music as an antidote to any ailment. The LA-based singer/songwriter finds healing in between waves of acoustic eloquence and dyed-in-the-wool Americana storytelling. On his ninth album The Ghost And The Wall [Nettwerk], the troubadour continues a cycle of catharsis meant to be shared among any and all receptive hearts.
Since 2004, he’s affected countless listeners with palpable transparency, selling over 1 million records, generating 1 billion+ streams, and garnering a gold plaque for the single “I’d Rather Be With You.” Landing north of 150 film, television, and commercial syncs, his voice courses throughout the zeitgeist. Among many highlights, First Ladies Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden personally handpicked “Brand New Day” for a commercial in support of the troops. In addition to memorable performances on Ellen, The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Conan, and Today Show, he famously serenaded avowed super fan Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi during their wedding. Beyond sold-out headline shows on four continents, he’s performed alongside Ed Sheeran, Sara Bareilles, Ingrid Michaelson, Sheryl Crow, Tori Amos, Imogen Heap, and more. He also remains a committed philanthropist, supporting charities like Little Kids Rock and North Shore Animal League America (NSALA), among others.
The Ghost And The Wall was produced entirely remotely by Jonathan Wilson [Father John Misty, Conor Oberst, Dawes}.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220228T221500Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2051 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220301T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220301T233000 UID:B17945E5-B4E6-464F-8798-C50A038DB438 SUMMARY:The Wood Brothers DTSTAMP:20211020T212722Z DESCRIPTION:“Everyone has these little kingdoms in their minds,” says Chris Wood, “and the songs on this album all explore the ways we find peace in them. They look at how we deal with our dreams and our regrets and our fears and our loves. They look at the stories we tell ourselves and the ways we balance the darkness and the light.”\NThat balance of darkness and light is at the heart of ‘Kingdom In My Mind,’ The Wood Brothers’ seventh studio release and their most spontaneous and experimental collection yet. Recorded over a series of freewheeling, improvised sessions, the record is a reckoning with circumstance, mortality, and human nature, one that finds strength in accepting what lies beyond our control. Thoughtfully honing in on the bittersweet beauty that underlies our doubt and pain, the songs grapple with the power of our external surroundings to shape our internal worlds (and vice versa) through vivid character studies and unflinching self-examination. The lyrics dig deep here, but the arrangements always manage to remain buoyant, drawing from across a broad sonic spectrum to create a transportive, effervescent listening experience that’s indicative of the trio’s unique place in the modern musical landscape.\N“My brother came to this band from the blues and gospel world, and my history was all over the map with jazz and R&B,” says Chris Wood, who first rose to fame with the pioneering trio Medeski Martin & Wood. “The idea for this group has always been to marry our backgrounds, to imagine what might happen if Robert Johnson and Charles Mingus had started a band.”\N‘Kingdom In My Mind’ follows The Wood Brothers’ most recent studio release, 2018’s ‘One Drop Of Truth,’ which hit #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and garnered the band their first GRAMMY Award-nomination for Best Americana Album. NPR praised the record’s “unexpected changes and kaleidoscopic array of influences,” while Uncut hailed its “virtuosic performances and subtly evocative lyrics,” and Blurt proclaimed it “a career-defining album.” Tracks from the record have racked up roughly 8 million streams on Spotify alone, and the band took the album on the road for extensive tour dates in the US and Europe, including their first-ever headline performance at Red Rocks, two nights at San Francisco’s legendary Fillmore (captured on their 2019 release, ‘Live At The Fillmore’), and festival appearances everywhere from Bonnaroo to XPoNential.\NOn past records, the band—brothers Oliver and Chris Wood, and Jano Rix—would often write a large batch of songs and then deliberately capture them all at once, but when it came to making ‘Kingdom In My Mind,’ The Wood Brothers began recording without even realizing it. At the time, the trio thought they were simply breaking in their new Nashville recording studio/rehearsal space, laying down a series of extended instrumental jam sessions with engineer Brook Sutton as a way to learn the lay of the land. Some rooms, they found, were spacious with natural reverb, others were tight and dry; some recording setups required a gentle touch, others encouraged blistering energy.\N“We weren’t performing songs,” explains Oliver. “We were just improvising and letting the music dictate everything. Normally when you’re recording, you’re thinking about your parts and your performances, but with these sessions, we were just reacting to each other and having fun in the moment.”\NThere was something undeniably alive and uninhibited about those performances, and after listening back, the band realized they’d never be able to recreate such spontaneous magic. So, like a sculptor chipping away at a block of marble, Chris took the band’s sprawling improvisations and carefully chiseled out verses and choruses and bridges and solos until distinctive songs began to take shape, songs that reflected influences and elements of the band (like Jano’s smoldering piano work and Chris’s affinity for Latin and African music) that had never shone through in quite the same way before. From there, the brothers divvied up the material that spoke to them most, penning lyrics both separately and together as they pondered what it takes to know contentment in our chaotic and confusing world.\NThe jaunty “Little Bit Sweet,” which was born from the band’s very first session, learns to appreciate the ups and downs in the circle of life, while the soulful “Cry Over Nothing” and hypnotic “Little Blue” playfully meditate on ego and perspective, and the funky “Little Bit Broken” celebrates the imperfections that make us human. Tracks like the bluesy “A Dream’s A Dream” and hypnotic “Don’t Think About My Death,” meanwhile, grapple with separating truth from fiction, ultimately coming to terms with the fact that our brains will always find new ways to blur those lines. Though the album advocates for acceptance, it’s not a passive brand the brothers sing about, but rather one rooted in strength and empowerment. To understand exactly what that means, look no further than album opener “Alabaster,” which paints a deeply empathetic portrait of a woman who’s broken free from the shackles of her old life and started over fresh.\N“At the same time we were making this album, we were looking for some sort of philanthropic organization we could support with our music and in a bit of synchronicity, we came across this great group called Thistle Farms, which was based just down the street from our studio,” says Oliver. “Their goal is to help women who have been victims of sex trafficking or prostitution or addiction to get off the street and into safe housing where they can participate in therapy and job training. The work they were doing was so inspiring and it felt like such a fit with the kind of album we were writing that we teamed up with them to donate a portion of ticket sales from all our shows. It’s our way of using what we’ve got to do whatever good we can in the world.”\NMore than anything, it’s that mindset, that recognition that we’ve all been dealt our own particular hand of cards and life is in the way we play them, that defines ‘Kingdom In My Mind.’ As Oliver sings on the captivating “Satisfied,” which finds its narrator wondering about the glories of the afterlife before ultimately deciding to make the most of his time on Earth, “I’ve got nothing left to be afraid of / Because I will be satisfied.” With an album this remarkable, The Wood Brothers have plenty to be satisfied about. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:“Everyone has these little kingdoms in their minds,” says Chris Wood, “and the songs on this album all explore the ways we find peace in them. They look at how we deal with our dreams and our regrets and our fears and our loves. They look at the stories we tell ourselves and the ways we balance the darkness and the light.”
That balance of darkness and light is at the heart of ‘Kingdom In My Mind,’ The Wood Brothers’ seventh studio release and their most spontaneous and experimental collection yet. Recorded over a series of freewheeling, improvised sessions, the record is a reckoning with circumstance, mortality, and human nature, one that finds strength in accepting what lies beyond our control. Thoughtfully honing in on the bittersweet beauty that underlies our doubt and pain, the songs grapple with the power of our external surroundings to shape our internal worlds (and vice versa) through vivid character studies and unflinching self-examination. The lyrics dig deep here, but the arrangements always manage to remain buoyant, drawing from across a broad sonic spectrum to create a transportive, effervescent listening experience that’s indicative of the trio’s unique place in the modern musical landscape.
“My brother came to this band from the blues and gospel world, and my history was all over the map with jazz and R&B,” says Chris Wood, who first rose to fame with the pioneering trio Medeski Martin & Wood. “The idea for this group has always been to marry our backgrounds, to imagine what might happen if Robert Johnson and Charles Mingus had started a band.”
‘Kingdom In My Mind’ follows The Wood Brothers’ most recent studio release, 2018’s ‘One Drop Of Truth,’ which hit #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and garnered the band their first GRAMMY Award-nomination for Best Americana Album. NPR praised the record’s “unexpected changes and kaleidoscopic array of influences,” while Uncut hailed its “virtuosic performances and subtly evocative lyrics,” and Blurt proclaimed it “a career-defining album.” Tracks from the record have racked up roughly 8 million streams on Spotify alone, and the band took the album on the road for extensive tour dates in the US and Europe, including their first-ever headline performance at Red Rocks, two nights at San Francisco’s legendary Fillmore (captured on their 2019 release, ‘Live At The Fillmore’), and festival appearances everywhere from Bonnaroo to XPoNential.
On past records, the band—brothers Oliver and Chris Wood, and Jano Rix—would often write a large batch of songs and then deliberately capture them all at once, but when it came to making ‘Kingdom In My Mind,’ The Wood Brothers began recording without even realizing it. At the time, the trio thought they were simply breaking in their new Nashville recording studio/rehearsal space, laying down a series of extended instrumental jam sessions with engineer Brook Sutton as a way to learn the lay of the land. Some rooms, they found, were spacious with natural reverb, others were tight and dry; some recording setups required a gentle touch, others encouraged blistering energy.
“We weren’t performing songs,” explains Oliver. “We were just improvising and letting the music dictate everything. Normally when you’re recording, you’re thinking about your parts and your performances, but with these sessions, we were just reacting to each other and having fun in the moment.”
There was something undeniably alive and uninhibited about those performances, and after listening back, the band realized they’d never be able to recreate such spontaneous magic. So, like a sculptor chipping away at a block of marble, Chris took the band’s sprawling improvisations and carefully chiseled out verses and choruses and bridges and solos until distinctive songs began to take shape, songs that reflected influences and elements of the band (like Jano’s smoldering piano work and Chris’s affinity for Latin and African music) that had never shone through in quite the same way before. From there, the brothers divvied up the material that spoke to them most, penning lyrics both separately and together as they pondered what it takes to know contentment in our chaotic and confusing world.
The jaunty “Little Bit Sweet,” which was born from the band’s very first session, learns to appreciate the ups and downs in the circle of life, while the soulful “Cry Over Nothing” and hypnotic “Little Blue” playfully meditate on ego and perspective, and the funky “Little Bit Broken” celebrates the imperfections that make us human. Tracks like the bluesy “A Dream’s A Dream” and hypnotic “Don’t Think About My Death,” meanwhile, grapple with separating truth from fiction, ultimately coming to terms with the fact that our brains will always find new ways to blur those lines. Though the album advocates for acceptance, it’s not a passive brand the brothers sing about, but rather one rooted in strength and empowerment. To understand exactly what that means, look no further than album opener “Alabaster,” which paints a deeply empathetic portrait of a woman who’s broken free from the shackles of her old life and started over fresh.
“At the same time we were making this album, we were looking for some sort of philanthropic organization we could support with our music and in a bit of synchronicity, we came across this great group called Thistle Farms, which was based just down the street from our studio,” says Oliver. “Their goal is to help women who have been victims of sex trafficking or prostitution or addiction to get off the street and into safe housing where they can participate in therapy and job training. The work they were doing was so inspiring and it felt like such a fit with the kind of album we were writing that we teamed up with them to donate a portion of ticket sales from all our shows. It’s our way of using what we’ve got to do whatever good we can in the world.”
More than anything, it’s that mindset, that recognition that we’ve all been dealt our own particular hand of cards and life is in the way we play them, that defines ‘Kingdom In My Mind.’ As Oliver sings on the captivating “Satisfied,” which finds its narrator wondering about the glories of the afterlife before ultimately deciding to make the most of his time on Earth, “I’ve got nothing left to be afraid of / Because I will be satisfied.” With an album this remarkable, The Wood Brothers have plenty to be satisfied about.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220228T221515Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2905 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220302T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220302T233000 UID:699CC086-BA27-4A29-8E20-FBBE89834D39 SUMMARY:Hiss Golden Messenger DTSTAMP:20210531T201906Z DESCRIPTION:“I went looking for peace,” says songwriter M.C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger about his new album Quietly Blowing It, out June 25, 2021, on Merge Records. “It’s not exactly a record about the state of the world—or my world—in 2020, but more a retrospective of the past five years of my life, painted in sort of impressionistic hues. Maybe I had the presence of mind when I was writing Quietly Blowing It to know that this was the time to go as deep as I needed to in order to make a record like this. And I got the time required in order to do that.” He pauses and laughs ruefully. “I got way more time than I needed, actually.” \NQuietly Blowing It was written and arranged by Taylor in his home studio—his 8’ × 10’ sanctuary packed floor to ceiling with books, records, and old guitars—as he watched the chaotic world spin outside his window. “Writing became a daily routine,” he explains, “and that was a ballast for me. Having spent so much time on the road over the past ten years, where writing consistently with any kind of flow can be tricky, it felt refreshing. And being in my studio, which is both isolated from and totally connected to the life of my family, felt appropriate for these songs.” Between March and June, Taylor wrote and recorded upwards of two dozen songs—in most cases playing all of the instruments himself— before winnowing the collection down and bringing them to the Hiss band. In July, the group of musicians, with Taylor in the production seat, went into Overdub Lane in Durham, \NNC, for a week, where they recorded Quietly Blowing It as an organic unit honed to a fine edge from their years together on the road. “We all needed to be making that music together,” he recalls. “We’ve all spent so many years traveling all over the world, but in that moment, it felt cathartic to be recording those particular songs with each other in our own small hometown.” \NThroughout Quietly Blowing It, Taylor brings his keen eye to our “broken American moment”—as he first sang on Hiss Golden M e s s e n g e r ’s c r i t i c a l l y a c c l a i m e d , G R A M M Y ® - n o m i n a t e d Terms of Surrender—in ways that feel devastatingly intimate and human. Beginning with the wanderer’s lament of “Way Back in the Way Back,” with its rallying cry of “Up with the mountains, down with the system,” Taylor carries the listener on a musical journey that continually returns to themes of growing up, loss, obligation, and labor with piercing clarity, and his musical influences—including classic Southern soul and gospel, renegade country, and spiritual jazz—have never felt more genuine. Indeed, Quietly Blowing It is a distillation of the rolling Hiss Golden Messenger groove, from the rollicking, Allman-esque “The Great Mystifier” to the chiming falsetto soul of “It Will If We Let It,” to the smoky, shuffling title track with its bittersweet guitar assist from Nashville legend Buddy Miller. The album ends with soulful lead single “Sanctuary,” a song about trying to reconcile tragedy and joy, with references to John Prine (“Handsome Johnny had to go, child...”), economic disparity, and the redemptive quality of hope. Indeed, when he sings, “Feeling bad, feeling blue, can’t get out of my own mind; but I know how to sing about it,” it feels like the album’s spiritual thesis. Throughout Quietly Blowing It, Taylor reckons with the tumultuous present in wholly personal terms, encouraging listeners to do the same. “These songs always circle back to the things that I feel like I have a handle on and the things that I’m not proud of about myself. When I think of the phrase ‘quietly blowing it,’ I think of all the ways that I’ve misstepped, misused my gifts, miscommunicated. ‘Born on the level, quietly blowing it.’ That’s what’s on my mind there. Always fuckin’ up in little ways.” \NSurrounding himself with a trusted cast of collaborators that includes Miller, songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov, songwriter and Tony Award–winning playwright Anaïs Mitchell, multi- instrumentalist Josh Kaufman, Dawes’ brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith, and his oldest musical confidant Scott Hirsch, Taylor has made his most audacious and hopeful work yet with Quietly Blowing It; it’s an album that speaks personal truth to this moment in which the old models of being feel broken and everything feels at stake. “I don’t know that the peace that I crave when I’m far from home exists, actually,” says Taylor. “It’s more complicated. I still don’t know what peace means for me, because I can be sitting on the couch watching a movie with my family and be completely tangled up in my head. But if I keep on doing my own personal work on myself—writing records like Quietly Blowing It—I have to think that I’m getting closer.” \N$1 from every ticket goes to support the Durham Public Schools Foundation whose mission is to foster community support for public schools and invest in our students, educators, and families to ensure success and equity for every student. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:“I went looking for peace,” says songwriter M.C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger about his new album Quietly Blowing It, out June 25, 2021, on Merge Records. “It’s not exactly a record about the state of the world—or my world—in 2020, but more a retrospective of the past five years of my life, painted in sort of impressionistic hues. Maybe I had the presence of mind when I was writing Quietly Blowing It to know that this was the time to go as deep as I needed to in order to make a record like this. And I got the time required in order to do that.” He pauses and laughs ruefully. “I got way more time than I needed, actually.”
Quietly Blowing It was written and arranged by Taylor in his home studio—his 8’ × 10’ sanctuary packed floor to ceiling with books, records, and old guitars—as he watched the chaotic world spin outside his window. “Writing became a daily routine,” he explains, “and that was a ballast for me. Having spent so much time on the road over the past ten years, where writing consistently with any kind of flow can be tricky, it felt refreshing. And being in my studio, which is both isolated from and totally connected to the life of my family, felt appropriate for these songs.” Between March and June, Taylor wrote and recorded upwards of two dozen songs—in most cases playing all of the instruments himself— before winnowing the collection down and bringing them to the Hiss band. In July, the group of musicians, with Taylor in the production seat, went into Overdub Lane in Durham,
NC, for a week, where they recorded Quietly Blowing It as an organic unit honed to a fine edge from their years together on the road. “We all needed to be making that music together,” he recalls. “We’ve all spent so many years traveling all over the world, but in that moment, it felt cathartic to be recording those particular songs with each other in our own small hometown.”
Throughout Quietly Blowing It, Taylor brings his keen eye to our “broken American moment”—as he first sang on Hiss Golden M e s s e n g e r ’s c r i t i c a l l y a c c l a i m e d , G R A M M Y ® - n o m i n a t e d Terms of Surrender—in ways that feel devastatingly intimate and human. Beginning with the wanderer’s lament of “Way Back in the Way Back,” with its rallying cry of “Up with the mountains, down with the system,” Taylor carries the listener on a musical journey that continually returns to themes of growing up, loss, obligation, and labor with piercing clarity, and his musical influences—including classic Southern soul and gospel, renegade country, and spiritual jazz—have never felt more genuine. Indeed, Quietly Blowing It is a distillation of the rolling Hiss Golden Messenger groove, from the rollicking, Allman-esque “The Great Mystifier” to the chiming falsetto soul of “It Will If We Let It,” to the smoky, shuffling title track with its bittersweet guitar assist from Nashville legend Buddy Miller. The album ends with soulful lead single “Sanctuary,” a song about trying to reconcile tragedy and joy, with references to John Prine (“Handsome Johnny had to go, child...”), economic disparity, and the redemptive quality of hope. Indeed, when he sings, “Feeling bad, feeling blue, can’t get out of my own mind; but I know how to sing about it,” it feels like the album’s spiritual thesis. Throughout Quietly Blowing It, Taylor reckons with the tumultuous present in wholly personal terms, encouraging listeners to do the same. “These songs always circle back to the things that I feel like I have a handle on and the things that I’m not proud of about myself. When I think of the phrase ‘quietly blowing it,’ I think of all the ways that I’ve misstepped, misused my gifts, miscommunicated. ‘Born on the level, quietly blowing it.’ That’s what’s on my mind there. Always fuckin’ up in little ways.”
Surrounding himself with a trusted cast of collaborators that includes Miller, songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov, songwriter and Tony Award–winning playwright Anaïs Mitchell, multi- instrumentalist Josh Kaufman, Dawes’ brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith, and his oldest musical confidant Scott Hirsch, Taylor has made his most audacious and hopeful work yet with Quietly Blowing It; it’s an album that speaks personal truth to this moment in which the old models of being feel broken and everything feels at stake. “I don’t know that the peace that I crave when I’m far from home exists, actually,” says Taylor. “It’s more complicated. I still don’t know what peace means for me, because I can be sitting on the couch watching a movie with my family and be completely tangled up in my head. But if I keep on doing my own personal work on myself—writing records like Quietly Blowing It—I have to think that I’m getting closer.”
$1 from every ticket goes to support the Durham Public Schools Foundation whose mission is to foster community support for public schools and invest in our students, educators, and families to ensure success and equity for every student.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220228T221525Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2740 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220308T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220308T233000 UID:59158014-FB49-4FCA-A31F-CE204DBDEFF4 SUMMARY:G. Love & The Juice DTSTAMP:20211122T171249Z DESCRIPTION:After 27 years of coast to coast touring, the global pandemic grounded the touring juggernaut we have come to know as G. Love & Special Sauce. With band members sheltered in place and scattered across the country and G. Love's ever-pressing need to release creative juices bore a collaborative and experimental musical group.\N G. Love & The Juice is that new mosaic, drawing from his signature hip hop blues he invited seasoned touring musicians who shared in this vision to deliver a musical experience which includes classic G. Love songs, improvisation jams and the low-down dirty blues which has been a hallmark of Garrett Dutton shows since the 1990’s.\NG. Love & The Juice is a collective of all-star musicians which will be hitting a city or town near you. The current configuration has G. Love fronting the band with his legendary Harmonic, Guitar and Vocals. Jimi Jazz Prescott on upright bass performing his patented electrified upright bass. Chuck Treece, Iconic Philadelphia musician, professional skateboard and longtime collaborator on vocals and drums and Van Gordon Martin of the Organically Good Trio, Big Daddy Kane and Dub Apocalypses on Lead Guitar. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:After 27 years of coast to coast touring, the global pandemic grounded the touring juggernaut we have come to know as G. Love & Special Sauce. With band members sheltered in place and scattered across the country and G. Love's ever-pressing need to release creative juices bore a collaborative and experimental musical group.
G. Love & The Juice is that new mosaic, drawing from his signature hip hop blues he invited seasoned touring musicians who shared in this vision to deliver a musical experience which includes classic G. Love songs, improvisation jams and the low-down dirty blues which has been a hallmark of Garrett Dutton shows since the 1990’s.
G. Love & The Juice is a collective of all-star musicians which will be hitting a city or town near you. The current configuration has G. Love fronting the band with his legendary Harmonic, Guitar and Vocals. Jimi Jazz Prescott on upright bass performing his patented electrified upright bass. Chuck Treece, Iconic Philadelphia musician, professional skateboard and longtime collaborator on vocals and drums and Van Gordon Martin of the Organically Good Trio, Big Daddy Kane and Dub Apocalypses on Lead Guitar.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220308T182118Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2215 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220311T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220311T233000 UID:E58E9BD5-82EA-4C81-BDFD-8F425AD9ACC5 SUMMARY:Pixie and the Partygrass Boys + Head for the Hills DTSTAMP:20220111T181458Z DESCRIPTION:Meet the band: hailed as “the hottest band in the Wasatch” by the Intermountain Acoustic Music Association, Pixie and The Partygrass Boys is composed of lifelong professional musicians drawn together by a common love of bluegrass and skiing in the Wasatch. Featuring soulful, often harmonic vocals and solid strings and rhythm, this tight-knit crew was born out of the belly of a warm cabin after a long day on the slopes- drinking whiskey and singing into the night. With a high energy sound and a love for silly outfits, they travel the land spreading the gospel of whiskey, chickens, and fun for everyone. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Meet the band: hailed as “the hottest band in the Wasatch” by the Intermountain Acoustic Music Association, Pixie and The Partygrass Boys is composed of lifelong professional musicians drawn together by a common love of bluegrass and skiing in the Wasatch. Featuring soulful, often harmonic vocals and solid strings and rhythm, this tight-knit crew was born out of the belly of a warm cabin after a long day on the slopes- drinking whiskey and singing into the night. With a high energy sound and a love for silly outfits, they travel the land spreading the gospel of whiskey, chickens, and fun for everyone.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220228T221718Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2157 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220322T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220322T233000 UID:8C60B361-E27D-4F96-8454-48E5739B28F5 SUMMARY:Anders Osborne & Jackie Greene DTSTAMP:20210920T212951Z DESCRIPTION:Jackie Greene & Anders Osborne\NTourgether\NNot too long-ago, Anders Osborne and Jackie Greene were booked to do a few solo acoustic shows together. One thought, and the other agreed, that the shows would be a helluva lot more fun if they joined together and did them “in the round.” For two friends that are gifted as both singer-songwriters and guitarists—impromptu “jamming” is second nature. But for these shows, they’ve ditched their bands for some stripped down acoustic performances, each taking a turn with one of their songs, while the other provides accompaniment.\NIt was a great experience for each of them and audience alike and Jackie and Anders are excited to continue this sit-down evening of old fashioned tune trading.\NJackie Greene\NJackie Greene has been chasing his muse ever since his teenage years, when he released his critically acclaimed independent debut, signed his first record deal and began a lifetime of touring that would see him supporting the likes of BB King, Mark Knopfler, Susan Tedeschi, and Taj Mahal, in addition to gracing festival stages from Bonnaroo to Outside Lands. The New York Times hailed his "spiritual balladry," Bob Weir anointed him the "cowboy poet" of Americana and blues, and the San Francisco Chronicle raved that he has "a natural and intuitive connection with… just about any musical instrument."\NWhile Greene's songwriting chops were more than enough to place him in a league of his own (NPR's World Café raved that his "sound seems at once achingly intimate, surprisingly energetic and unburdened by adherence to genre"), Greene also emerged as a singular singer and guitarist, prompting Rolling Stone to praise his "honeyed tenor" and name him among "the most notable guitarists from the next generation of six-string legends." Between studio albums and his own tours, Greene took up prestigious gigs playing with Phil Lesh & Friends, The Black Crowes, Levon Helm, and Trigger Hippy, his supergroup with Joan Osborne.\N"As artists and writers, I think we're all just sort of amalgamations of what we listen to and what we do," Greene says of his omnivorous approach to music. "You play with The Black Crowes or Phil Lesh for a year, and it's inevitable that some of that's going to sort of rub off on you. And I'm grateful for that," he adds with a laugh, "because as it turns out, I really love their music."\NJackie recently entered into a partnership with Blue Rose Music, a venture that allows him to record and release music with greater artistic freedom than a traditional label allows. The first release for Blue Rose, the EP, The Modern Lives – Vol 1, was released in 2017 and accompanied by a music video that was animated by the king of indie animation, Bill Plympton. The Modern Lives – Vol 2 along with an animated short film will follow in 2018.\NAnders Osborne\NBetween the potency of his richly detailed songwriting, his intensely emotional, soulful vocals and his piercing, expert guitar work, New Orleans’ Anders Osborne is a true musical treasure. He is among the most original and visionary musicians writing and performing today. Guitar Player calls him “the poet laureate of Louisiana’s fertile roots music scene.” New Orleans' Gambit Weekly has honored Osborne as the Entertainer Of The Year. OffBeat named him the Crescent City’s Best Guitarist for the third year in a row, and the Best Songwriter for the second straight year. Osborne also won Song Of The Year for his composition, Louisiana Gold.\NOsborne’s latest released Flower Box, his second full-length album of 2016, recorded in his hometown of New Orleans late last year, Flowerbox is a heavier, guitar-driven follow-up to the acclaimed Spacedust & Ocean Views.\N"I love the way this record comes out stout and determined right out the gate, a four-piece rock & roll band making beautiful and conquering noise," says Osborne. "The producer, Mark Howard, has a way of making you play in the moment and being confident. His sounds and engineering style is that of classic records, with his own special sauce of 'haunting' on top of it. The musicians on here are undoubtedly some of my absolute favorites in the world, both as players and as people. Their contributions are invaluable. Scott Metzger, Brady Blade, Carl Dufrene, Chad Cromwell, Marc Broussard, David LaBruyere, Rob McNelley & Justin Tocket. Bad boys! I've been wanting to make this record for several years and I am stoked it's finally here."\NA powerful live performer, the musician has won over fans through non-stop touring as well as a heralded collaboration with the North Mississippi Allstars & Southern Soul Assembly.\NJambands.com said, "Osborne finds a striking balance of muscle and grace that allows for the smaller moments of quiet to be just as resounding as the sonic booms." And USA Today has praised his music, saying "The relentless approach amplifies the anguished lyrics, which appear to be about the death of a loved one or a relationship torn asunder or perhaps a spiritual crisis." In a review of Spacedust & Ocean Views, Boulder Weekly said the album "finds the guitarist in a (largely) reflective mood, an extended meditation on place and moments in time, memory, passages through and exits from paragraphs in the non-fiction docudrama of life. Through languid, gently formed figures, Osborne coaxes odes of gratitude and compelling imagery in what seems a little like a travelogue — like watching his kid chasing seabirds on the beach..."\NOsborne has earned hordes of new fans. He has toured virtually non-stop, either with his own band, as a solo artist, or as a guest with his countless musical admirers, including Toots and The Maytals, Stanton Moore, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Keb Mo, The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh, Jackie Greene and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. He’s produced and played on critically acclaimed albums by Tab Benoit, Johnny Sansone and Mike Zito.\NAnders Osborne\NFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify\NJackie Greene\NFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Tourgether
Not too long-ago, Anders Osborne and Jackie Greene were booked to do a few solo acoustic shows together. One thought, and the other agreed, that the shows would be a helluva lot more fun if they joined together and did them “in the round.” For two friends that are gifted as both singer-songwriters and guitarists—impromptu “jamming” is second nature. But for these shows, they’ve ditched their bands for some stripped down acoustic performances, each taking a turn with one of their songs, while the other provides accompaniment.
It was a great experience for each of them and audience alike and Jackie and Anders are excited to continue this sit-down evening of old fashioned tune trading.
Jackie Greene has been chasing his muse ever since his teenage years, when he released his critically acclaimed independent debut, signed his first record deal and began a lifetime of touring that would see him supporting the likes of BB King, Mark Knopfler, Susan Tedeschi, and Taj Mahal, in addition to gracing festival stages from Bonnaroo to Outside Lands. The New York Times hailed his "spiritual balladry," Bob Weir anointed him the "cowboy poet" of Americana and blues, and the San Francisco Chronicle raved that he has "a natural and intuitive connection with… just about any musical instrument."
While Greene's songwriting chops were more than enough to place him in a league of his own (NPR's World Café raved that his "sound seems at once achingly intimate, surprisingly energetic and unburdened by adherence to genre"), Greene also emerged as a singular singer and guitarist, prompting Rolling Stone to praise his "honeyed tenor" and name him among "the most notable guitarists from the next generation of six-string legends." Between studio albums and his own tours, Greene took up prestigious gigs playing with Phil Lesh & Friends, The Black Crowes, Levon Helm, and Trigger Hippy, his supergroup with Joan Osborne.
"As artists and writers, I think we're all just sort of amalgamations of what we listen to and what we do," Greene says of his omnivorous approach to music. "You play with The Black Crowes or Phil Lesh for a year, and it's inevitable that some of that's going to sort of rub off on you. And I'm grateful for that," he adds with a laugh, "because as it turns out, I really love their music."
Jackie recently entered into a partnership with Blue Rose Music, a venture that allows him to record and release music with greater artistic freedom than a traditional label allows. The first release for Blue Rose, the EP, The Modern Lives – Vol 1, was released in 2017 and accompanied by a music video that was animated by the king of indie animation, Bill Plympton. The Modern Lives – Vol 2 along with an animated short film will follow in 2018.
Between the potency of his richly detailed songwriting, his intensely emotional, soulful vocals and his piercing, expert guitar work, New Orleans’ Anders Osborne is a true musical treasure. He is among the most original and visionary musicians writing and performing today. Guitar Player calls him “the poet laureate of Louisiana’s fertile roots music scene.” New Orleans' Gambit Weekly has honored Osborne as the Entertainer Of The Year. OffBeat named him the Crescent City’s Best Guitarist for the third year in a row, and the Best Songwriter for the second straight year. Osborne also won Song Of The Year for his composition, Louisiana Gold.
Osborne’s latest released Flower Box, his second full-length album of 2016, recorded in his hometown of New Orleans late last year, Flowerbox is a heavier, guitar-driven follow-up to the acclaimed Spacedust & Ocean Views.
"I love the way this record comes out stout and determined right out the gate, a four-piece rock & roll band making beautiful and conquering noise," says Osborne. "The producer, Mark Howard, has a way of making you play in the moment and being confident. His sounds and engineering style is that of classic records, with his own special sauce of 'haunting' on top of it. The musicians on here are undoubtedly some of my absolute favorites in the world, both as players and as people. Their contributions are invaluable. Scott Metzger, Brady Blade, Carl Dufrene, Chad Cromwell, Marc Broussard, David LaBruyere, Rob McNelley & Justin Tocket. Bad boys! I've been wanting to make this record for several years and I am stoked it's finally here."
A powerful live performer, the musician has won over fans through non-stop touring as well as a heralded collaboration with the North Mississippi Allstars & Southern Soul Assembly.
Jambands.com said, "Osborne finds a striking balance of muscle and grace that allows for the smaller moments of quiet to be just as resounding as the sonic booms." And USA Today has praised his music, saying "The relentless approach amplifies the anguished lyrics, which appear to be about the death of a loved one or a relationship torn asunder or perhaps a spiritual crisis." In a review of Spacedust & Ocean Views, Boulder Weekly said the album "finds the guitarist in a (largely) reflective mood, an extended meditation on place and moments in time, memory, passages through and exits from paragraphs in the non-fiction docudrama of life. Through languid, gently formed figures, Osborne coaxes odes of gratitude and compelling imagery in what seems a little like a travelogue — like watching his kid chasing seabirds on the beach..."
Osborne has earned hordes of new fans. He has toured virtually non-stop, either with his own band, as a solo artist, or as a guest with his countless musical admirers, including Toots and The Maytals, Stanton Moore, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Keb Mo, The Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh, Jackie Greene and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. He’s produced and played on critically acclaimed albums by Tab Benoit, Johnny Sansone and Mike Zito.
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220322T192649Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3228 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220324T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220324T233000 UID:7198DBA7-B92C-4390-B1EF-6C4DD4FE3828 SUMMARY:The Fruit Bats DTSTAMP:20211108T231321Z DESCRIPTION:Fruit Bats begins its 20-year anniversary with announcement of new studio album The Pet Parade.\NOn March 5, Eric D. Johnson’s Fruit Bats will return with The Pet Parade, an album that emerges in troubled times, living within what Johnson refers to as the beauty and absurdity of existence. Pre-order the record today on CD, LP, and red and black swirl Peak Vinyl in the Merge store or wherever records are sold. Also exclusive to the Merge store: The Pet Parade bandanas for you and your furry friends!\NToday, Fruit Bats is sharing The Pet Parade’s “Holy Rose” ahead of album release, a song that introduces itself as a ballad but soon blossoms with fuzzed-out guitars and organ.\N"“Holy Rose” is possibly the most “direct” song on The Pet Parade. I wrote this about the 2017 Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County and was finishing it up right when fire season was raging in California. My wife grew up in Sonoma County and just had to sit there and watch her childhood burn down. This is a love song to the native West Coasters." - Eric D. Johnson\NWhile many of the songs on The Pet Parade were actually written before the pandemic, it’s impossible to disassociate the record from the times. As an example, producer Josh Kaufman (The Hold Steady, Bob Weir, The National, and Bonny Light Horseman, in which he plays with Johnson and Anaïs Mitchell) was brought in for his deep emotional touch and bandleading abilities. However, Johnson, Kaufman, and the other musicians on The Pet Parade—drummers Joe Russo and Matt Barrick (The Walkmen, Fleet Foxes, Muzz), singer-songwriter Johanna Samuels, pianist Thomas Bartlett (Nico Muhly, Sufjan Stevens), and fiddler Jim Becker (Califone, Iron & Wine)—were forced to self-record their parts in bedrooms and home studios across America.\NAt times upbeat and reassuring and at times quietly contemplative, The Pet Parade marks a milestone for Johnson, who celebrates 20 years of Fruit Bats in 2021. In some ways still a cult band, in other ways a time-tested act, Fruit Bats has consistently earned enough small victories to carve out a career in a notoriously fickle scene.\NAnd Johnson himself—who has played in The Shins, composed film scores, gone solo and returned back to the moniker that started it all, and, most recently, earned two GRAMMY® nominations with Bonny Light Horseman—doesn’t take this long route of life’s pet parade for granted. “I’m still really excited to make records,” he says. “Lucky and happy and maybe happier that things went slower for me. I’m savoring it a lot more.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Fruit Bats begins its 20-year anniversary with announcement of new studio album The Pet Parade.
On March 5, Eric D. Johnson’s Fruit Bats will return with The Pet Parade, an album that emerges in troubled times, living within what Johnson refers to as the beauty and absurdity of existence. Pre-order the record today on CD, LP, and red and black swirl Peak Vinyl in the Merge store or wherever records are sold. Also exclusive to the Merge store: The Pet Parade bandanas for you and your furry friends!
Today, Fruit Bats is sharing The Pet Parade’s “Holy Rose” ahead of album release, a song that introduces itself as a ballad but soon blossoms with fuzzed-out guitars and organ.
"“Holy Rose” is possibly the most “direct” song on The Pet Parade. I wrote this about the 2017 Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County and was finishing it up right when fire season was raging in California. My wife grew up in Sonoma County and just had to sit there and watch her childhood burn down. This is a love song to the native West Coasters." - Eric D. Johnson
While many of the songs on The Pet Parade were actually written before the pandemic, it’s impossible to disassociate the record from the times. As an example, producer Josh Kaufman (The Hold Steady, Bob Weir, The National, and Bonny Light Horseman, in which he plays with Johnson and Anaïs Mitchell) was brought in for his deep emotional touch and bandleading abilities. However, Johnson, Kaufman, and the other musicians on The Pet Parade—drummers Joe Russo and Matt Barrick (The Walkmen, Fleet Foxes, Muzz), singer-songwriter Johanna Samuels, pianist Thomas Bartlett (Nico Muhly, Sufjan Stevens), and fiddler Jim Becker (Califone, Iron & Wine)—were forced to self-record their parts in bedrooms and home studios across America.
At times upbeat and reassuring and at times quietly contemplative, The Pet Parade marks a milestone for Johnson, who celebrates 20 years of Fruit Bats in 2021. In some ways still a cult band, in other ways a time-tested act, Fruit Bats has consistently earned enough small victories to carve out a career in a notoriously fickle scene.
And Johnson himself—who has played in The Shins, composed film scores, gone solo and returned back to the moniker that started it all, and, most recently, earned two GRAMMY® nominations with Bonny Light Horseman—doesn’t take this long route of life’s pet parade for granted. “I’m still really excited to make records,” he says. “Lucky and happy and maybe happier that things went slower for me. I’m savoring it a lot more.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220304T005735Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1909 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220325T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220325T233000 UID:D7402B5A-89B8-4176-B06E-B371EB1ADCC2 SUMMARY:The Brothers Comatose DTSTAMP:20220110T192135Z DESCRIPTION:Whether traveling to gigs on horseback or by tour bus, Americana mavens The Brothers Comatose forge their own path with raucous West Coast renderings of traditional bluegrass, country and rock ‘n’ roll music. The five-piece string band is anything but a traditional acoustic outfit with their fierce musicianship and rowdy, rock concert-like shows.\NThe Brothers Comatose is comprised of brothers Ben Morrison (guitar, vocals) and Alex Morrison (banjo, vocals), Scott Padden (bass, vocals), Philip Brezina (violin), and Greg Fleischut (mandolin). When they’re not headlining The Fillmore for a sold-out show or appearing at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, the band is out on the road performing across America, Canada, Australia, and hosting their very own music festival, Comatopia, in the Sierra foothills.\NApril of this year is finding the band touring Latvia and Lithuania as cultural ambassadors for American Music Abroad, which is run by the US State Department with the goal of sending American artists all over the world as a cultural exchange program. The band toured China in 2018 under the same program.\NThe remainder of 2019 will see the Brothers Comatose hitting the studio to record on their fifth studio album to be released on AntiFragile Records. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Whether traveling to gigs on horseback or by tour bus, Americana mavens The Brothers Comatose forge their own path with raucous West Coast renderings of traditional bluegrass, country and rock ‘n’ roll music. The five-piece string band is anything but a traditional acoustic outfit with their fierce musicianship and rowdy, rock concert-like shows.
The Brothers Comatose is comprised of brothers Ben Morrison (guitar, vocals) and Alex Morrison (banjo, vocals), Scott Padden (bass, vocals), Philip Brezina (violin), and Greg Fleischut (mandolin). When they’re not headlining The Fillmore for a sold-out show or appearing at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, the band is out on the road performing across America, Canada, Australia, and hosting their very own music festival, Comatopia, in the Sierra foothills.
April of this year is finding the band touring Latvia and Lithuania as cultural ambassadors for American Music Abroad, which is run by the US State Department with the goal of sending American artists all over the world as a cultural exchange program. The band toured China in 2018 under the same program.
The remainder of 2019 will see the Brothers Comatose hitting the studio to record on their fifth studio album to be released on AntiFragile Records.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220228T222013Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3003 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220329T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220329T233000 UID:4B8DB5D2-7650-4F64-B9BC-76CF49FDF364 SUMMARY:Leprous DTSTAMP:20211116T032925Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220228T222129Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1508 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220405T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220405T233000 UID:2C32652E-C5C4-4B98-BBB5-CE1D4713EF98 SUMMARY:Spiritualized — CANCELED DTSTAMP:20211027T223013Z DESCRIPTION:UPDATE: Due to unforeseen weather and circumstances, tonight's Spiritualized show has been canceled. Refunds will be issued automatically via point of purchase. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:UPDATE: Due to unforeseen weather and circumstances, tonight's Spiritualized show has been canceled. Refunds will be issued automatically via point of purchase.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220405T211823Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2596 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220410T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220410T233000 UID:70322793-1FFA-44E7-8B4B-68510497EBFE SUMMARY:Rock N' Roll Benefit Concert for The Heavy Metal Shop DTSTAMP:20220323T202343Z DESCRIPTION:Kevin Kirk (owner of The Heavy Metal Shop and a pillar in the Salt Lake City community) has been faced with the tragic and unexpected death of his wife, leaving him with insurmountable medical debt and heartache. Join us in rallying behind him to raise money with a Rock n’ Roll Benefit Concert at The Commonwealth Room. Musical performances by Triggers & Slips, Thunderfist, Utah County Swillers, and an opening set by Sammy Brue. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Kevin Kirk (owner of The Heavy Metal Shop and a pillar in the Salt Lake City community) has been faced with the tragic and unexpected death of his wife, leaving him with insurmountable medical debt and heartache. Join us in rallying behind him to raise money with a Rock n’ Roll Benefit Concert at The Commonwealth Room. Musical performances by Triggers & Slips, Thunderfist, Utah County Swillers, and an opening set by Sammy Brue.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220406T165436Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2062 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220413T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220413T233000 UID:B4FDE63D-BAA3-46FC-8D3D-D01718757E2E SUMMARY:Paul Cauthen DTSTAMP:20220321T012025Z DESCRIPTION:Want to get a bead on Paul Cauthen?\NGood freakin' luck -- especially on his third album, COUNTRY COMING DOWN.\NSuffice to say that the singer, songwriter and proud son of Tyler, Texas -- steward of a rich, resonant, bass-leaning tenor dubbed Big Velvet -- covers a lot of ground and embodies a lot of characters. He'll tell you right off the bat that he's "Country As Fuck," throwing down a wad of "Fuck You Money" and heading into the night to "Cut a Rug." His "Country Clubbin'" has as much to do with swinging as his swing. But a song or two later dude's vowing to be loving his wife "Till the Day I Die" and, in COUNTRY COMING DOWN's title track, dreams of living in "a cabin in the country, far away from the city lights" where "life is slow and easy."\NThe fact that all of that exists within the same guy, who's full of good humor, sharp wit and a heart as big as his home state is what makes Cauthen someone who's easy, and exciting, to spend 10 songs with."Y'know, you got your bangers and you got your ballads," Cauthen acknowledges. "You got your meaningful songs where you're opening up more of your vulnerable side, and then you're putting on a fucking show -- all in one album. And it's all honest, I'll tell ya that. Everything on there is something I've felt or thought before."\NCOUNTRY COMING DOWN has been in motion awhile, actually. The title track, one of several co-writes with good Nashville pal Aaron Raitiere, has been around since before Cauthen's dark sophomore album ROOM 41. Its sense of campfire calm and "damn near off the map" idyll set a bar, for both music and lifestyle, that Cauthen aspired to, while the rest of the new album, recorded at Modern Electric Sound Recorders in Dallas with regular collaborators Beau Bedford (Texas Gentlemen) and Jason Burt (Medicine Man Revival), shows that Cauthen was able to get there without losing any of the playful "hot dog holly golly dagnabit" good-time spirit that rolls off his tongue like a tumbleweed in the west Texas panhandle.\NAs he promises in "Country As Fuck," "I ain't gotta sell my soul. If I want it then I grab it."\N"I'm having fun," Cauthen says. "I've finally figured it out. I'm more settled and comfortable. I know I’m good at making records and great at entertaining. That's my gift more than anything, to be able to get up there and deliver these songs to people."\NThat gift is part of Cauthen's DNA, of course, from a family deeply steeped in music. Texan on both sides, his paternal grandfather went to school with Hank Williams while his maternal grandpa, who worked with Buddy Holly and the Crickets during his youth, introduced Cauthen to singing. His grandmother taught him to play piano, while his grandfather and great uncle were the song leader and preacher, respectively, of the local Christian Church of Christ.\N"Yeah, I had no choice, really" Cauthen says now. "(Music) is what I call my birddog trait; You don't have to tell a birddog to jump in the river and grab the duck and bring it back to you. And you don't have to tell me to get up on stage and perform. That's what I'm supposed to do. My family enjoyed watching me perform when I was a kid; I would get up in front of everybody at Christmas with my guitar and play 'Jackson' with my grandmother. I learned my trade, y'know?"\NCauthen pursued that trade into young adulthood, showcasing at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos and forming the duo Sons of Fathers, whose early albums were produced by Lloyd Maines. After the group ran its course, Cauthen set off on his own in 2016, recording MY GOSPEL partly in Muscle Shoals, AL.; The album made Rolling Stone's list of Top 40 Country Records that year. 2018’s HAVE MERCY EP began his association with Bedford and featured contributions by other members of the Texas Gentlemen, and also led to Cauthen's Grand Ole Opry debut as a solo artist on June 22, 2018.\NThe critically acclaimed ROOM 41, meanwhile, chronicled and exorcised a rough period in Cauthen's life, marked by a romantic breakup, substance abuse, depression and anxiety issues. "My growing years were like going to college," Cauthen confesses. "I just got screwed so many times by so many different people on this whole freakin' journey. I had this void I was trying to fill in my heart, with booze or any type of, just, abuse. I made every stupid mistake you can make in the business, and in life, in order to learn 'em all.\N"I don't feel that hurt anymore. I've changed."\NMarriage helped, he says. So did cleaning house and restructuring the business operation that surrounded him. That allowed Cauthen to plunge into COUNTRY COMING DOWN with a lighter heart and wicked humor -- one that allowed him to find the profound meaning in a "schmoozie bougie brouhaha."\NIf you want to know what that sounds like, tuck into the album's sonic array, an austere, sinewy attack that puts Cauthen's vocals dead center in the ride. "We've really unleashed Big Velvet in this situation, which I love," he says. Nowhere is that more true than "Country As Fuck," with a taut groove and loping gait tailor made for a 21st century honky tonk. Cauthen, Bedford and Burt play with that template throughout COUNTRY COMING DOWN, punctuating "Caught Me At a Good Time" with a sharp guitar solo, "High Heels" with a tasteful Wurlitzer break and the satiristic "Country Clubbin'" with a disco beat and chorus of female backing vocals.\NBut just when you buy in -- and happily convert -- to Cauthen's brand of unapologetic hedonism, the soul comes out. "Till The Day I Die" smoothes his raw heart with the promise of true and lasting love, while the stock-taking "Roll On Over" takes a wistful look in his rearview mirror. And "Country Coming Down" realizes a dream of calm -- although not exclusive of the next sojourn with "Champagne & a Limo."\NI'm always on a quest, sonically," Cauthen explains. "I was wanting to go at this just serving the song, more, 'What does this call for?' rather than worrying about genre or sonic palette or any certain sound. I had a lot of these songs brewing for a long time, and we just let them grow on their own."\NHis muse fully engaged, Cauthen is looking towards doing more of that in the future, with a few conceptual ideas up his sleeve about what he might do next. No matter what direction he takes, however, he won’t be abandoning that cabin in the hills or the "Country Clubbin'" life; Cauthen will just be adding more to the mix he's stirred together.\N"It's just about looking at yourself in the mirror and knowing that what you've done to this day has been in good standing, with good morals and a good compass in life, driven the right way," he says. "Legacy is\Nall we have -- that, and try to be a good person as well. If you get all that together, then you can do whatever the fuck you want and it'll be alright." X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Want to get a bead on Paul Cauthen?
Good freakin' luck -- especially on his third album, COUNTRY COMING DOWN.
Suffice to say that the singer, songwriter and proud son of Tyler, Texas -- steward of a rich, resonant, bass-leaning tenor dubbed Big Velvet -- covers a lot of ground and embodies a lot of characters. He'll tell you right off the bat that he's "Country As Fuck," throwing down a wad of "Fuck You Money" and heading into the night to "Cut a Rug." His "Country Clubbin'" has as much to do with swinging as his swing. But a song or two later dude's vowing to be loving his wife "Till the Day I Die" and, in COUNTRY COMING DOWN's title track, dreams of living in "a cabin in the country, far away from the city lights" where "life is slow and easy."
The fact that all of that exists within the same guy, who's full of good humor, sharp wit and a heart as big as his home state is what makes Cauthen someone who's easy, and exciting, to spend 10 songs with.
"Y'know, you got your bangers and you got your ballads," Cauthen acknowledges. "You got your meaningful songs where you're opening up more of your vulnerable side, and then you're putting on a fucking show -- all in one album. And it's all honest, I'll tell ya that. Everything on there is something I've felt or thought before."
COUNTRY COMING DOWN has been in motion awhile, actually. The title track, one of several co-writes with good Nashville pal Aaron Raitiere, has been around since before Cauthen's dark sophomore album ROOM 41. Its sense of campfire calm and "damn near off the map" idyll set a bar, for both music and lifestyle, that Cauthen aspired to, while the rest of the new album, recorded at Modern Electric Sound Recorders in Dallas with regular collaborators Beau Bedford (Texas Gentlemen) and Jason Burt (Medicine Man Revival), shows that Cauthen was able to get there without losing any of the playful "hot dog holly golly dagnabit" good-time spirit that rolls off his tongue like a tumbleweed in the west Texas panhandle.
As he promises in "Country As Fuck," "I ain't gotta sell my soul. If I want it then I grab it."
"I'm having fun," Cauthen says. "I've finally figured it out. I'm more settled and comfortable. I know I’m good at making records and great at entertaining. That's my gift more than anything, to be able to get up there and deliver these songs to people."
That gift is part of Cauthen's DNA, of course, from a family deeply steeped in music. Texan on both sides, his paternal grandfather went to school with Hank Williams while his maternal grandpa, who worked with Buddy Holly and the Crickets during his youth, introduced Cauthen to singing. His grandmother taught him to play piano, while his grandfather and great uncle were the song leader and preacher, respectively, of the local Christian Church of Christ.
"Yeah, I had no choice, really" Cauthen says now. "(Music) is what I call my birddog trait; You don't have to tell a birddog to jump in the river and grab the duck and bring it back to you. And you don't have to tell me to get up on stage and perform. That's what I'm supposed to do. My family enjoyed watching me perform when I was a kid; I would get up in front of everybody at Christmas with my guitar and play 'Jackson' with my grandmother. I learned my trade, y'know?"
Cauthen pursued that trade into young adulthood, showcasing at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos and forming the duo Sons of Fathers, whose early albums were produced by Lloyd Maines. After the group ran its course, Cauthen set off on his own in 2016, recording MY GOSPEL partly in Muscle Shoals, AL.; The album made Rolling Stone's list of Top 40 Country Records that year. 2018’s HAVE MERCY EP began his association with Bedford and featured contributions by other members of the Texas Gentlemen, and also led to Cauthen's Grand Ole Opry debut as a solo artist on June 22, 2018.
The critically acclaimed ROOM 41, meanwhile, chronicled and exorcised a rough period in Cauthen's life, marked by a romantic breakup, substance abuse, depression and anxiety issues. "My growing years were like going to college," Cauthen confesses. "I just got screwed so many times by so many different people on this whole freakin' journey. I had this void I was trying to fill in my heart, with booze or any type of, just, abuse. I made every stupid mistake you can make in the business, and in life, in order to learn 'em all.
"I don't feel that hurt anymore. I've changed."
Marriage helped, he says. So did cleaning house and restructuring the business operation that surrounded him. That allowed Cauthen to plunge into COUNTRY COMING DOWN with a lighter heart and wicked humor -- one that allowed him to find the profound meaning in a "schmoozie bougie brouhaha."
If you want to know what that sounds like, tuck into the album's sonic array, an austere, sinewy attack that puts Cauthen's vocals dead center in the ride. "We've really unleashed Big Velvet in this situation, which I love," he says. Nowhere is that more true than "Country As Fuck," with a taut groove and loping gait tailor made for a 21st century honky tonk. Cauthen, Bedford and Burt play with that template throughout COUNTRY COMING DOWN, punctuating "Caught Me At a Good Time" with a sharp guitar solo, "High Heels" with a tasteful Wurlitzer break and the satiristic "Country Clubbin'" with a disco beat and chorus of female backing vocals.
But just when you buy in -- and happily convert -- to Cauthen's brand of unapologetic hedonism, the soul comes out. "Till The Day I Die" smoothes his raw heart with the promise of true and lasting love, while the stock-taking "Roll On Over" takes a wistful look in his rearview mirror. And "Country Coming Down" realizes a dream of calm -- although not exclusive of the next sojourn with "Champagne & a Limo."
I'm always on a quest, sonically," Cauthen explains. "I was wanting to go at this just serving the song, more, 'What does this call for?' rather than worrying about genre or sonic palette or any certain sound. I had a lot of these songs brewing for a long time, and we just let them grow on their own."
His muse fully engaged, Cauthen is looking towards doing more of that in the future, with a few conceptual ideas up his sleeve about what he might do next. No matter what direction he takes, however, he won’t be abandoning that cabin in the hills or the "Country Clubbin'" life; Cauthen will just be adding more to the mix he's stirred together.
"It's just about looking at yourself in the mirror and knowing that what you've done to this day has been in good standing, with good morals and a good compass in life, driven the right way," he says. "Legacy is
all we have -- that, and try to be a good person as well. If you get all that together, then you can do whatever the fuck you want and it'll be alright."
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220414T001514Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1379 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220414T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220414T233000 UID:A2C44A30-348F-41C1-B48C-38B41F3FFE30 SUMMARY:Paul Cauthen DTSTAMP:20220210T161551Z DESCRIPTION:Want to get a bead on Paul Cauthen?\NGood freakin' luck -- especially on his third album, COUNTRY COMING DOWN.\NSuffice to say that the singer, songwriter and proud son of Tyler, Texas -- steward of a rich, resonant, bass-leaning tenor dubbed Big Velvet -- covers a lot of ground and embodies a lot of characters. He'll tell you right off the bat that he's "Country As Fuck," throwing down a wad of "Fuck You Money" and heading into the night to "Cut a Rug." His "Country Clubbin'" has as much to do with swinging as his swing. But a song or two later dude's vowing to be loving his wife "Till the Day I Die" and, in COUNTRY COMING DOWN's title track, dreams of living in "a cabin in the country, far away from the city lights" where "life is slow and easy."\NThe fact that all of that exists within the same guy, who's full of good humor, sharp wit and a heart as big as his home state is what makes Cauthen someone who's easy, and exciting, to spend 10 songs with."Y'know, you got your bangers and you got your ballads," Cauthen acknowledges. "You got your meaningful songs where you're opening up more of your vulnerable side, and then you're putting on a fucking show -- all in one album. And it's all honest, I'll tell ya that. Everything on there is something I've felt or thought before."\NCOUNTRY COMING DOWN has been in motion awhile, actually. The title track, one of several co-writes with good Nashville pal Aaron Raitiere, has been around since before Cauthen's dark sophomore album ROOM 41. Its sense of campfire calm and "damn near off the map" idyll set a bar, for both music and lifestyle, that Cauthen aspired to, while the rest of the new album, recorded at Modern Electric Sound Recorders in Dallas with regular collaborators Beau Bedford (Texas Gentlemen) and Jason Burt (Medicine Man Revival), shows that Cauthen was able to get there without losing any of the playful "hot dog holly golly dagnabit" good-time spirit that rolls off his tongue like a tumbleweed in the west Texas panhandle.\NAs he promises in "Country As Fuck," "I ain't gotta sell my soul. If I want it then I grab it."\N"I'm having fun," Cauthen says. "I've finally figured it out. I'm more settled and comfortable. I know I’m good at making records and great at entertaining. That's my gift more than anything, to be able to get up there and deliver these songs to people."\NThat gift is part of Cauthen's DNA, of course, from a family deeply steeped in music. Texan on both sides, his paternal grandfather went to school with Hank Williams while his maternal grandpa, who worked with Buddy Holly and the Crickets during his youth, introduced Cauthen to singing. His grandmother taught him to play piano, while his grandfather and great uncle were the song leader and preacher, respectively, of the local Christian Church of Christ.\N"Yeah, I had no choice, really" Cauthen says now. "(Music) is what I call my birddog trait; You don't have to tell a birddog to jump in the river and grab the duck and bring it back to you. And you don't have to tell me to get up on stage and perform. That's what I'm supposed to do. My family enjoyed watching me perform when I was a kid; I would get up in front of everybody at Christmas with my guitar and play 'Jackson' with my grandmother. I learned my trade, y'know?"\NCauthen pursued that trade into young adulthood, showcasing at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos and forming the duo Sons of Fathers, whose early albums were produced by Lloyd Maines. After the group ran its course, Cauthen set off on his own in 2016, recording MY GOSPEL partly in Muscle Shoals, AL.; The album made Rolling Stone's list of Top 40 Country Records that year. 2018’s HAVE MERCY EP began his association with Bedford and featured contributions by other members of the Texas Gentlemen, and also led to Cauthen's Grand Ole Opry debut as a solo artist on June 22, 2018.\NThe critically acclaimed ROOM 41, meanwhile, chronicled and exorcised a rough period in Cauthen's life, marked by a romantic breakup, substance abuse, depression and anxiety issues. "My growing years were like going to college," Cauthen confesses. "I just got screwed so many times by so many different people on this whole freakin' journey. I had this void I was trying to fill in my heart, with booze or any type of, just, abuse. I made every stupid mistake you can make in the business, and in life, in order to learn 'em all.\N"I don't feel that hurt anymore. I've changed."\NMarriage helped, he says. So did cleaning house and restructuring the business operation that surrounded him. That allowed Cauthen to plunge into COUNTRY COMING DOWN with a lighter heart and wicked humor -- one that allowed him to find the profound meaning in a "schmoozie bougie brouhaha."\NIf you want to know what that sounds like, tuck into the album's sonic array, an austere, sinewy attack that puts Cauthen's vocals dead center in the ride. "We've really unleashed Big Velvet in this situation, which I love," he says. Nowhere is that more true than "Country As Fuck," with a taut groove and loping gait tailor made for a 21st century honky tonk. Cauthen, Bedford and Burt play with that template throughout COUNTRY COMING DOWN, punctuating "Caught Me At a Good Time" with a sharp guitar solo, "High Heels" with a tasteful Wurlitzer break and the satiristic "Country Clubbin'" with a disco beat and chorus of female backing vocals.\NBut just when you buy in -- and happily convert -- to Cauthen's brand of unapologetic hedonism, the soul comes out. "Till The Day I Die" smoothes his raw heart with the promise of true and lasting love, while the stock-taking "Roll On Over" takes a wistful look in his rearview mirror. And "Country Coming Down" realizes a dream of calm -- although not exclusive of the next sojourn with "Champagne & a Limo."\NI'm always on a quest, sonically," Cauthen explains. "I was wanting to go at this just serving the song, more, 'What does this call for?' rather than worrying about genre or sonic palette or any certain sound. I had a lot of these songs brewing for a long time, and we just let them grow on their own."\NHis muse fully engaged, Cauthen is looking towards doing more of that in the future, with a few conceptual ideas up his sleeve about what he might do next. No matter what direction he takes, however, he won’t be abandoning that cabin in the hills or the "Country Clubbin'" life; Cauthen will just be adding more to the mix he's stirred together.\N"It's just about looking at yourself in the mirror and knowing that what you've done to this day has been in good standing, with good morals and a good compass in life, driven the right way," he says. "Legacy is\Nall we have -- that, and try to be a good person as well. If you get all that together, then you can do whatever the fuck you want and it'll be alright." X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Want to get a bead on Paul Cauthen?
Good freakin' luck -- especially on his third album, COUNTRY COMING DOWN.
Suffice to say that the singer, songwriter and proud son of Tyler, Texas -- steward of a rich, resonant, bass-leaning tenor dubbed Big Velvet -- covers a lot of ground and embodies a lot of characters. He'll tell you right off the bat that he's "Country As Fuck," throwing down a wad of "Fuck You Money" and heading into the night to "Cut a Rug." His "Country Clubbin'" has as much to do with swinging as his swing. But a song or two later dude's vowing to be loving his wife "Till the Day I Die" and, in COUNTRY COMING DOWN's title track, dreams of living in "a cabin in the country, far away from the city lights" where "life is slow and easy."
The fact that all of that exists within the same guy, who's full of good humor, sharp wit and a heart as big as his home state is what makes Cauthen someone who's easy, and exciting, to spend 10 songs with.
"Y'know, you got your bangers and you got your ballads," Cauthen acknowledges. "You got your meaningful songs where you're opening up more of your vulnerable side, and then you're putting on a fucking show -- all in one album. And it's all honest, I'll tell ya that. Everything on there is something I've felt or thought before."
COUNTRY COMING DOWN has been in motion awhile, actually. The title track, one of several co-writes with good Nashville pal Aaron Raitiere, has been around since before Cauthen's dark sophomore album ROOM 41. Its sense of campfire calm and "damn near off the map" idyll set a bar, for both music and lifestyle, that Cauthen aspired to, while the rest of the new album, recorded at Modern Electric Sound Recorders in Dallas with regular collaborators Beau Bedford (Texas Gentlemen) and Jason Burt (Medicine Man Revival), shows that Cauthen was able to get there without losing any of the playful "hot dog holly golly dagnabit" good-time spirit that rolls off his tongue like a tumbleweed in the west Texas panhandle.
As he promises in "Country As Fuck," "I ain't gotta sell my soul. If I want it then I grab it."
"I'm having fun," Cauthen says. "I've finally figured it out. I'm more settled and comfortable. I know I’m good at making records and great at entertaining. That's my gift more than anything, to be able to get up there and deliver these songs to people."
That gift is part of Cauthen's DNA, of course, from a family deeply steeped in music. Texan on both sides, his paternal grandfather went to school with Hank Williams while his maternal grandpa, who worked with Buddy Holly and the Crickets during his youth, introduced Cauthen to singing. His grandmother taught him to play piano, while his grandfather and great uncle were the song leader and preacher, respectively, of the local Christian Church of Christ.
"Yeah, I had no choice, really" Cauthen says now. "(Music) is what I call my birddog trait; You don't have to tell a birddog to jump in the river and grab the duck and bring it back to you. And you don't have to tell me to get up on stage and perform. That's what I'm supposed to do. My family enjoyed watching me perform when I was a kid; I would get up in front of everybody at Christmas with my guitar and play 'Jackson' with my grandmother. I learned my trade, y'know?"
Cauthen pursued that trade into young adulthood, showcasing at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos and forming the duo Sons of Fathers, whose early albums were produced by Lloyd Maines. After the group ran its course, Cauthen set off on his own in 2016, recording MY GOSPEL partly in Muscle Shoals, AL.; The album made Rolling Stone's list of Top 40 Country Records that year. 2018’s HAVE MERCY EP began his association with Bedford and featured contributions by other members of the Texas Gentlemen, and also led to Cauthen's Grand Ole Opry debut as a solo artist on June 22, 2018.
The critically acclaimed ROOM 41, meanwhile, chronicled and exorcised a rough period in Cauthen's life, marked by a romantic breakup, substance abuse, depression and anxiety issues. "My growing years were like going to college," Cauthen confesses. "I just got screwed so many times by so many different people on this whole freakin' journey. I had this void I was trying to fill in my heart, with booze or any type of, just, abuse. I made every stupid mistake you can make in the business, and in life, in order to learn 'em all.
"I don't feel that hurt anymore. I've changed."
Marriage helped, he says. So did cleaning house and restructuring the business operation that surrounded him. That allowed Cauthen to plunge into COUNTRY COMING DOWN with a lighter heart and wicked humor -- one that allowed him to find the profound meaning in a "schmoozie bougie brouhaha."
If you want to know what that sounds like, tuck into the album's sonic array, an austere, sinewy attack that puts Cauthen's vocals dead center in the ride. "We've really unleashed Big Velvet in this situation, which I love," he says. Nowhere is that more true than "Country As Fuck," with a taut groove and loping gait tailor made for a 21st century honky tonk. Cauthen, Bedford and Burt play with that template throughout COUNTRY COMING DOWN, punctuating "Caught Me At a Good Time" with a sharp guitar solo, "High Heels" with a tasteful Wurlitzer break and the satiristic "Country Clubbin'" with a disco beat and chorus of female backing vocals.
But just when you buy in -- and happily convert -- to Cauthen's brand of unapologetic hedonism, the soul comes out. "Till The Day I Die" smoothes his raw heart with the promise of true and lasting love, while the stock-taking "Roll On Over" takes a wistful look in his rearview mirror. And "Country Coming Down" realizes a dream of calm -- although not exclusive of the next sojourn with "Champagne & a Limo."
I'm always on a quest, sonically," Cauthen explains. "I was wanting to go at this just serving the song, more, 'What does this call for?' rather than worrying about genre or sonic palette or any certain sound. I had a lot of these songs brewing for a long time, and we just let them grow on their own."
His muse fully engaged, Cauthen is looking towards doing more of that in the future, with a few conceptual ideas up his sleeve about what he might do next. No matter what direction he takes, however, he won’t be abandoning that cabin in the hills or the "Country Clubbin'" life; Cauthen will just be adding more to the mix he's stirred together.
"It's just about looking at yourself in the mirror and knowing that what you've done to this day has been in good standing, with good morals and a good compass in life, driven the right way," he says. "Legacy is
all we have -- that, and try to be a good person as well. If you get all that together, then you can do whatever the fuck you want and it'll be alright."
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220404T225130Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2995 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220419T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220419T233000 UID:6B6C343C-3FDD-4097-9D67-17605F337F24 SUMMARY:Hayes Carll DTSTAMP:20211206T192828Z DESCRIPTION:The country simplicity that imbues Hayes Carll’s songs can sometimes hide the social conscience and sharp humor that also runs through them, but if you want to find those things, they are there. In fact, Carll has spent over 20 years having a conversation about what it is we’re all doing here with anyone who will listen. He makes us laugh––but then he makes us cry. We judge a song’s protagonist, only for Carll to spin us around to commiserate with them.\N“I like to tug at heartstrings, find commonality with others, reflect on my own life, and sometimes I do it in a lighthearted way,” says Carll. “A lot of musical styles found their way onto this record, but my first and most formative influences came from country music. This is a country singer-songwriter record. It’s just unapologetically me.”\NCarll is talking about You Get It All, his eighth album. His voice, rich but worn, has never sounded better. As a songwriter, he is in top form, turning droll confessions, messy relationships, motel room respites, and an exasperated, hitchhiking God into modern nuggets.\NThe New York Times likened Carll’s ability to undergird humor with a weightier narrative to Bob Dylan. When Carll talks about the sounds that are in his own head, he mentions Randy Travis. That juxtaposition defines the singularity of Carll’s career: He exists in a space of his own, informed by John Prine, Tom Waits, and Dylan but also by Travis, Kenny Rogers, and Hank Williams, Jr.\NThose influences may have made him hard to pigeonhole, but he’s still been embraced. Two Americana Music Awards, a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song, and multiple Austin Music Awards line his resumé́. He’s had the most-played record on Americana radio twice. His songs appear on the screen regularly and have been recorded by Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, and Brothers Osborne, to name a few.\NYou Get It All was produced by Allison Moorer and guitar legend Kenny Greenberg. Carll credits his partnership with singer, songwriter, and artist Moorer, his wife, as a force that helps both clarify what he wants and challenge self-imposed limits. “She’s a world-class artist who has a way of helping me articulate my vision,” he says.\NOpener “Nice Things” layers a laugh-out-loud narrative exposing humanity’s botched stewardship of Earth––and one another––over vintage country cool. In the song written with the Brothers Osborne, God comes down to check on us––and she is not impressed. “It’s social commentary, but it’s not dour,” Carll says. “I hope the song can make peoplesing along, laugh a bit, and maybe recognize that we can do better.”\NThe title track is classic Carll—a front-porch singalong with a deeper message for those who want it. Self-deprecating and sweet, the song is an ode to bringing one’s whole self to a relationship––the good and the bad. “I’m at a point in my life where that rings true to me,” says Carll. “What I want, and what I think a lot of people want, is to feel like they’re getting the real thing.”\N“Help Me Remember” is a feat of storytelling that tackles an underrepresented topic in art: dementia from the perspective of the patient. “It’s a visual song. To tell this story, we had to put the listener right there,” Carll says. “I was thinking about how scary and sad it is for the person who is suffering from it, and how heartbreaking and frustrating it is for the friends and family going through it with them.”\NAmong Carll’s co-writers is singer-songwriter Brandy Clark, who helped him pen and perform “In the Mean Time,” a gorgeous, honky-tonk waltz which perfectly depicts the damage couples can inflict on each other when they’re at their worst. The multi-dimensionality of relationships is a thread woven throughout the entire album. “When we’re our weakest or most afraid, real damage can be done to our relationships, as well as our spirits,” says Carll. “You can love somebody, everything can be as good as you could’ve imagined, but when your traumas or fears come out, all that love can disappear in an instant.”\NRollicking through snarling 80s country guitar licks, “To Keep From Being Found” is an escape to a motel room with a TV on wheels, a bath, and line after delectable line. Subdued album closer “If It Was Up to Me” aches through a list of wishes that seem frivolous at first but build into a portrait of pain that’s far more complicated. Written with Moorer and Sean McConnell, it’s a gorgeous example of one of Carll’s favorite artistic devices: leading listeners to underestimate a character with whom they’ll ultimately empathize. “The way humor and sadness can work together is powerful,” he says.\NHonest and sometimes subversive, but never mean-spirited, Carll keeps writing sad, funny, compelling songs in which nobody’s perfect or predictable––at least not for long. And he can’t quit wishing we’ll all realize that’s the way anything worth having or being has got to go. “I hope this record helps people feel good, laugh a bit, and maybe give them something to lean on when they need it,” he says. “I hope they dance to it, too.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The country simplicity that imbues Hayes Carll’s songs can sometimes hide the social conscience and sharp humor that also runs through them, but if you want to find those things, they are there. In fact, Carll has spent over 20 years having a conversation about what it is we’re all doing here with anyone who will listen. He makes us laugh––but then he makes us cry. We judge a song’s protagonist, only for Carll to spin us around to commiserate with them.
“I like to tug at heartstrings, find commonality with others, reflect on my own life, and sometimes I do it in a lighthearted way,” says Carll. “A lot of musical styles found their way onto this record, but my first and most formative influences came from country music. This is a country singer-songwriter record. It’s just unapologetically me.”
Carll is talking about You Get It All, his eighth album. His voice, rich but worn, has never sounded better. As a songwriter, he is in top form, turning droll confessions, messy relationships, motel room respites, and an exasperated, hitchhiking God into modern nuggets.
The New York Times likened Carll’s ability to undergird humor with a weightier narrative to Bob Dylan. When Carll talks about the sounds that are in his own head, he mentions Randy Travis. That juxtaposition defines the singularity of Carll’s career: He exists in a space of his own, informed by John Prine, Tom Waits, and Dylan but also by Travis, Kenny Rogers, and Hank Williams, Jr.
Those influences may have made him hard to pigeonhole, but he’s still been embraced. Two Americana Music Awards, a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song, and multiple Austin Music Awards line his resumé́. He’s had the most-played record on Americana radio twice. His songs appear on the screen regularly and have been recorded by Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, and Brothers Osborne, to name a few.
You Get It All was produced by Allison Moorer and guitar legend Kenny Greenberg. Carll credits his partnership with singer, songwriter, and artist Moorer, his wife, as a force that helps both clarify what he wants and challenge self-imposed limits. “She’s a world-class artist who has a way of helping me articulate my vision,” he says.
Opener “Nice Things” layers a laugh-out-loud narrative exposing humanity’s botched stewardship of Earth––and one another––over vintage country cool. In the song written with the Brothers Osborne, God comes down to check on us––and she is not impressed. “It’s social commentary, but it’s not dour,” Carll says. “I hope the song can make people
sing along, laugh a bit, and maybe recognize that we can do better.”
The title track is classic Carll—a front-porch singalong with a deeper message for those who want it. Self-deprecating and sweet, the song is an ode to bringing one’s whole self to a relationship––the good and the bad. “I’m at a point in my life where that rings true to me,” says Carll. “What I want, and what I think a lot of people want, is to feel like they’re getting the real thing.”
“Help Me Remember” is a feat of storytelling that tackles an underrepresented topic in art: dementia from the perspective of the patient. “It’s a visual song. To tell this story, we had to put the listener right there,” Carll says. “I was thinking about how scary and sad it is for the person who is suffering from it, and how heartbreaking and frustrating it is for the friends and family going through it with them.”
Among Carll’s co-writers is singer-songwriter Brandy Clark, who helped him pen and perform “In the Mean Time,” a gorgeous, honky-tonk waltz which perfectly depicts the damage couples can inflict on each other when they’re at their worst. The multi-dimensionality of relationships is a thread woven throughout the entire album. “When we’re our weakest or most afraid, real damage can be done to our relationships, as well as our spirits,” says Carll. “You can love somebody, everything can be as good as you could’ve imagined, but when your traumas or fears come out, all that love can disappear in an instant.”
Rollicking through snarling 80s country guitar licks, “To Keep From Being Found” is an escape to a motel room with a TV on wheels, a bath, and line after delectable line. Subdued album closer “If It Was Up to Me” aches through a list of wishes that seem frivolous at first but build into a portrait of pain that’s far more complicated. Written with Moorer and Sean McConnell, it’s a gorgeous example of one of Carll’s favorite artistic devices: leading listeners to underestimate a character with whom they’ll ultimately empathize. “The way humor and sadness can work together is powerful,” he says.
Honest and sometimes subversive, but never mean-spirited, Carll keeps writing sad, funny, compelling songs in which nobody’s perfect or predictable––at least not for long. And he can’t quit wishing we’ll all realize that’s the way anything worth having or being has got to go. “I hope this record helps people feel good, laugh a bit, and maybe give them something to lean on when they need it,” he says. “I hope they dance to it, too.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220404T231240Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2399 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220424T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220424T210000 UID:5275ED94-AFB9-4A41-9D1F-DBA2DFEEE2A9 SUMMARY:The Far Side DTSTAMP:20220404T164415Z DESCRIPTION:We’re not going to talk about how IMANI, Slimkid3 and Fatlip created two of the most classic back-to-back Hip Hop albums in the 1990s as the Pharcyde (Bizarre Ride II: The Pharcyde and Labcabincalifornia). We’re not going to talk about how the Pharcyde was one of the most popular Hip Hop acts of that era nor are we going to talk about the necessary lineup changes needed to move forward. No. We’re going to talk about where they are now and how IMANI, Slimkid3 and Fatlip made what was once only a dream finally come true. Officially reunited as The Far Side (formerly of the Pharcyde), the talented West Coast trio is preparing to embark on a six-week spring tour in April. But before that was even a possibility, IMANI had to go through some spiritual transformations that took him to a place of forgiveness and acceptance. After all, in a 2015 interview, IMANI said it would essentially take an act of God for him to reunite with Slimkid3 and Fatlip, who’d been performing as Bizarre Ride following the Pharcyde’s split. But after the death of his grandmother, life looked different. “That's just really what it was, just to keep it real,” IMANI says. “I was dealing with issues inside my own head, and I thought it was the world, but it was inside my own mind. I created my own demons. “I asked myself, ‘What do you want if you don't have to worry about what anybody else's wants or to make anybody else happy?’ And the first thing that came up to me, the universe said, ‘You got to make it right with your brothers.’ And the universe didn't say, "Make music with them." It said, ‘Make it right.’” And that’s precisely what he did. The Far Side (formerly of the Pharcyde) is currently working on new music and a 30th anniversary project to commemorate the release of Bizarre Ride II. A limited edition producer’s tape was released on January 22nd featuring The Far Side (formerly of the Pharcyde), Wu-Tang Clan luminary Inspectah Deck and more. Executive produced by Spear of the Nation, the tape kicks off yet another colorful chapter in IMANI, Slimkid3 and Fatlip’s story, one that’s just beginning and the guys are back in business! X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:We’re not going to talk about how IMANI, Slimkid3 and Fatlip created two of the most classic back-to-back Hip Hop albums in the 1990s as the Pharcyde (Bizarre Ride II: The Pharcyde and Labcabincalifornia).
We’re not going to talk about how the Pharcyde was one of the most popular Hip Hop acts of that era nor are we going to talk about the necessary lineup changes needed to move forward.
No. We’re going to talk about where they are now and how IMANI, Slimkid3 and Fatlip made what was once only a dream finally come true. Officially reunited as The Far Side (formerly of the Pharcyde), the talented West Coast trio is preparing to embark on a six-week spring tour in April.
But before that was even a possibility, IMANI had to go through some spiritual transformations that took him to a place of forgiveness and acceptance. After all, in a 2015 interview, IMANI said it would essentially take an act of God for him to reunite with Slimkid3 and Fatlip, who’d been performing as Bizarre Ride following the Pharcyde’s split. But after the death of his grandmother, life looked different.
“That's just really what it was, just to keep it real,” IMANI says. “I was dealing with issues inside my own head, and I thought it was the world, but it was inside my own mind. I created my own demons.
“I asked myself, ‘What do you want if you don't have to worry about what anybody else's wants or to make anybody else happy?’ And the first thing that came up to me, the universe said, ‘You got to make it right with your brothers.’ And the universe didn't say, "Make music with them." It said, ‘Make it right.’”
And that’s precisely what he did. The Far Side (formerly of the Pharcyde) is currently working on new music and a 30th anniversary project to commemorate the release of Bizarre Ride II. A limited edition producer’s tape was released on January 22nd featuring The Far Side (formerly of the Pharcyde), Wu-Tang Clan luminary Inspectah Deck and more. Executive produced by Spear of the Nation, the tape kicks off yet another colorful chapter in IMANI, Slimkid3 and Fatlip’s story, one that’s just beginning and the guys are back in business!
What do we hold on to from our past? What must we let go of to truly move forward?
Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield, a lyricist who has always let her listeners know exactly where she is at a given moment, spent much of 2018 reckoning with these questions and revisiting her roots to look for answers. The result is Saint Cloud, an intimate journey through the places she’s been, filled with the people she’s loved.
Written immediately in the period following her decision to get sober, the album is an unflinching self-examination. From a moment of reckoning in Barcelona to a tourist trap in Tennessee to a painful confrontation on Arkadelphia Road, from a nostalgic jaunt down 7th Street in New York City to the Mississippi Gulf, Crutchfield creates a sense of place for her soul-baring tales, a longtime staple of her storytelling.
This raw, exposed narrative terrain is aided by a shift in sonic arrangements as well. While her last two records featured the kind of big guitars, well-honed noise, and battering sounds that characterized her Philadelphia scene and strongly influenced a burgeoning new class of singer-songwriters, Saint Cloud strips back those layers to create space for Crutchfield’s voice and lyrics. The result is a classic Americana sound with modern touches befitting an artist who has emerged as one of the signature storytellers of her time.
From the origins of her band name—the beloved creek behind her childhood home—to scene-setting classics like “Noccalula” and “Sparks Fly,” listening to Waxahatchee has always felt like being invited along on a journey with a steely-eyed navigator. On Saint Cloud, Crutchfield adds a new sense of perspective to her travels. Reflecting on this, she says, “I think all of my records are turbulent and emotional, but this one feels like it has a little dose of enlightenment. It feels a little more calm and less reckless.”
Many of the narratives on Saint Cloud concern addiction and the havoc it wreaks on ourselves and our loved ones, as Crutchfield comes to a deeper understanding of love not only for those around her but for herself. This coalesces most clearly on “Fire,” which she says was literally written in transit, during a drive over the Mississippi River into West Memphis, and serves as a love song to herself, a paean to moving past shame into a place of unconditional self-acceptance. Coming from a songwriter long accustomed to looking in other directions for love, it’s a stirring moment when Crutchfield sings, “I take it for granted/If I could love you unconditionally/I could iron out the edges of the darkest sky.”
Which is not to say that Saint Cloud lacks Crutchfield’s signature poetry on matters of romantic love. Still, her personal evolution in this area is evident too, as this time around, Crutchfield examines what it really means to be with someone and how it feels to see our own patterns more clearly. On “Hell,” she sings: “I hover above like a deity/But you don’t worship me, you don’t worship me/You strip the illusion, you did it well/I’ll put you through hell.”
Crutchfield also looks at what it’s like to be romantically involved with another artist, someone in search of their own truth, on “The Eye”: “Our feet don’t ever touch the ground/Run ourselves ragged town to town/Chasing uncertainty around, a siren sound” and “We leave love behind without a tear or a long goodbye/as we wait for lightning to strike/We are enthralled by the calling of the eye.”
And of course, even when Crutchfield is taking a more nuanced approach to love, her ease with all-encompassing sentiments is still clear, with lines like “I give it to you all on a dime/I love you till the day I die” which sound culled from a classic torch song.
Over the course of Saint Cloud’s 11 songs, which were recorded in the summer of 2019 at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, TX, and Long Pond in Stuyvesant, NY, and produced by Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Big Red Machine), Crutchfield peels back the distortion of electric guitars to create a wider sonic palette than on any previous Waxahatchee album. It is a record filled with nods to classic country (like the honky tonk ease of “Can’t Do Much”), folk-inspired tones (heard in the confessional lilt of “St. Cloud”), and distinctly modern touches (like the pulsating minimalism of “Fire”).
To bolster her vision, Crutchfield enlisted Bobby Colombo and Bill Lennox, both of the Detroit-based band Bonny Doon, to serve as her backing band on the record, along with Josh Kaufman (Hiss Golden Messenger, Bonny Light Horseman) on guitar and keyboards and Nick Kinsey (Kevin Morby, Elvis Perkins) on drums and percussion. Bonny Doon will also perform as Crutchfield’s live band during her extensive tours planned for 2020, which include the US and Europe.
Saint Cloud marks the beginning of a journey for Crutchfield, one that sees her leaving behind past vices and the comfortable environs of her Philadelphia scene to head south in search of something new. If on her previous work Crutchfield was out in the storm, she’s now firmly in the eye of it, taking stock of her past with a clear perspective and gathering the strength to carry onward.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220407T160526Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2845 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220426T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220426T210000 UID:46D120EA-9A43-4F6D-811D-F47A22AE0FD7 SUMMARY:Margo Price DTSTAMP:20220127T225728Z DESCRIPTION:A lot can change in a year: markets boom and bust, trends come and go, presidents get elected. In 2015, Margo Price was a country underdog just trying to keep enough gas in the tank to get to the next gig, but by the end of 2016, she was one of the genre’s most celebrated new artists and a ubiquitous presence on late night television and at major festivals around the world. It’s the kind of year most musicians can only dream of, and the arrival of Price’s spectacular sophomore album, “All American Made,” proves that she hasn’t taken a moment of it for granted. Delivering on the promise of her debut and then some, the record finds Price planting her flag firmly in the soil as a songwriter who’s here for the long haul, one with the chops to hang with the greats she so often finds herself sharing stages with these days.\N“People have started asking me, ‘Now that you’re having success, what are you going to write about?’” Price recounts with a laugh. “A lot of what I wrote on my debut came out of my struggles in the music business, but we don’t have any shortage of material now. I’m just excited to finally have an audience and know that people are going to listen to our songs.”\NA prolific writer with a knack for candid self-reflection, Price has never had to look too far for inspiration, and on ‘All American Made,’ she and her songwriting partner/husband, Jeremy Ivey, continue to depict the trials of everyday life with unflinching honesty, painting poetically plainspoken portraits of men and women just trying to get by. Highs and lows, long nights and hard days, wild women and cocaine cowboys, politics and sexism, it’s all in there, singularly filtered through Price’s wry, no-bullshit perspective. Throughout the album, her contemporary take on classic sounds is at once familiar and daring, an infectious blend of Nashville country, Memphis soul, and Texas twang that tips its cap to everyone from Waylon and Willie (who makes a guest appearance) to Loretta and Dolly, all while flipping a middle finger to the cookie-cutter pop that dominates modern country radio. Rich with swirling pedal steel, honky-tonk rhythms, and Price’s stop-you-in-your-tracks vocals, ‘All American Made’ is deeply reverent of tradition even as it challenges conventions, a nuanced exploration of conflicted emotions for our deeply conflicted times.\NFar from overnight, Price’s recent meteoric rise is the product of more than a decade of hard work and sacrifice. While she’d long been one of East Nashville’s best-kept-secrets, she burst onto the international scene with the 2016 release of her first solo album, ‘Midwest Farmer’s Daughter.’ The record debuted in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Country Albums chart and graced Best-Of lists everywhere from Entertainment Weekly to NPR Music, who called it "the hard-won arrival of an artist who feels like she's always been here.” Vulture described Price as “one of the most compelling country talents to come out of Nashville in recent memory,” while Pitchfork hailed the album as “a potential classic,” and Rolling Stone praised its “amazingly vivid songcraft.” Price solidified her next-big-thing status with stellar performances on Saturday Night Live, Colbert, Fallon, CBS This Morning, Seth Meyers, A Prairie Home Companion, and more, in addition to taking home Emerging Artist of the Year honors at the Americana Music Awards and winning The American Music Prize for the year’s best debut album. She shared stages and bills with Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, and Chris Stapleton among others, and her compelling story—years of toil in the Nashville trenches, the loss of her family’s farm and the tragic death of her infant child, a brush with the law, selling her car and pawning her wedding ring to afford studio time, signing to Jack White’s Third Man Records as the label’s first country artist—was recounted in glowing profiles everywhere from the NY Times Magazine and the New Yorker to Morning Edition and Fader.\NWhen it was time to record the follow-up, Price and her band headed back to Memphis, TN, where they’d cut ‘Midwest Farmer’s Daughter’ on a shoestring budget. Instead of returning to Sun Studios, though, they moved down the street to the larger Sam Phillips Recording studio, which the legendary producer opened in 1960 when his own skyrocketing success necessitated more space.\N“We recorded live again because that’s really how I like to work,” Price explains. “We’d get in around ten or eleven each morning, and then after about twelve hours of recording, we’d all start yelling for tequila, take a shot, and then just keep going.”\NThat spirited, energetic atmosphere infuses even the record’s darkest moments with a potent sense of vitality. On the uptempo album opener “Don’t Say It,” Price dishes out sardonic wordplay over smoking hot guitar, while the pedal-steel and fiddle-fueled “Weakness” toes the line between sobriety and mayhem, and the tender “Learning To Lose” finds her living out a country music fantasy as she duets with Willie Nelson.\N“We’d gotten to know him a bit from playing shows together and I idolized the hell out of him,” says Price. “I didn’t know there were people like that, who’d achieved such massive stardom but remained so down to earth.”\NOld school country may be the album’s most obvious touchstone, but Price and her band incorporate 60’s and 70’s R&B into many of the arrangements here, fusing two of Tennessee’s greatest musical exports. The funky “Do Right By Me” shimmies and grooves with Gospel legends The McCrary Sisters helping out on backing vocals, and the driving “A Little Pain” gets an assist from sweeping orchestration by Memphis legend Lester Snell (the man responsible for the string arrangements in “Shaft”).\N“Sometimes you feel like you’ve got to please everybody, but ultimately you should be the one you’re worrying about taking care of,” Price says of the inspiration behind the song. “I wrote it pretty quickly just thinking about being on the road and trying to keep it together while you’re burning the candle at both ends.”\NThey say write what you know, and there are few things Price knows better than the road and the myriad of obstacles facing women who make their living on it. On “Pay Gap,” she laments the financial state of gender inequality (“why don’t you do the math? / Pay gap, pay gap / Ripping my dollar in half,” she sings), and “Wild Women” looks at the hypocrisies of what’s expected from male musicians compared to their female counterparts.\N“There’s a definite double standard,” says Price, “but I think if you’re out there long enough, you stop giving any fucks and you just want to call it out. I get asked questions in interviews that no man would be asked, and if I’m assertive about what I want for me and my band, I get called a ‘diva.’ That song is really about the judgment I get from people who act like women shouldn’t be out on the road. Girls should be encouraged to follow their careers and their dreams just as much as men.”\NThe album closes with an intimate, acoustic rendition of “All American Made,” a song which calls to mind “Born In The USA” with its patriotic-sounding title and far more troubled lyrics.\N“We actually wrote that song during the Obama administration,” says Price, “but it really altered meaning for me on the day Trump was elected. That song embodies the good and the bad in the ugly in this country. America is so beautiful to me, but it’s in a really hard spot right now. I feel like I was one of the first and only country artists to speak out so openly against Trump, and I had a lot of people tell me I shouldn’t be giving my opinion, but as far as I’m concerned, there’s not a lot of doubt about the difference between right and wrong.”\NThat candor is part of what makes ‘All American Made’ such a powerful follow-up release. Price could have taken her moment in the spotlight as an opportunity to homogenize and chase a slicker, more polished sound built for radio and arenas, but instead, she doubled down on the grit and the truth in her music. It’s honesty that brought her to this remarkable moment, and honesty that will continue to carry her into the future. How much higher will Margo Price’s star rise? Only time will tell, but just remember, a lot can change in a year. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:A lot can change in a year: markets boom and bust, trends come and go, presidents get elected. In 2015, Margo Price was a country underdog just trying to keep enough gas in the tank to get to the next gig, but by the end of 2016, she was one of the genre’s most celebrated new artists and a ubiquitous presence on late night television and at major festivals around the world. It’s the kind of year most musicians can only dream of, and the arrival of Price’s spectacular sophomore album, “All American Made,” proves that she hasn’t taken a moment of it for granted. Delivering on the promise of her debut and then some, the record finds Price planting her flag firmly in the soil as a songwriter who’s here for the long haul, one with the chops to hang with the greats she so often finds herself sharing stages with these days.
“People have started asking me, ‘Now that you’re having success, what are you going to write about?’” Price recounts with a laugh. “A lot of what I wrote on my debut came out of my struggles in the music business, but we don’t have any shortage of material now. I’m just excited to finally have an audience and know that people are going to listen to our songs.”
A prolific writer with a knack for candid self-reflection, Price has never had to look too far for inspiration, and on ‘All American Made,’ she and her songwriting partner/husband, Jeremy Ivey, continue to depict the trials of everyday life with unflinching honesty, painting poetically plainspoken portraits of men and women just trying to get by. Highs and lows, long nights and hard days, wild women and cocaine cowboys, politics and sexism, it’s all in there, singularly filtered through Price’s wry, no-bullshit perspective. Throughout the album, her contemporary take on classic sounds is at once familiar and daring, an infectious blend of Nashville country, Memphis soul, and Texas twang that tips its cap to everyone from Waylon and Willie (who makes a guest appearance) to Loretta and Dolly, all while flipping a middle finger to the cookie-cutter pop that dominates modern country radio. Rich with swirling pedal steel, honky-tonk rhythms, and Price’s stop-you-in-your-tracks vocals, ‘All American Made’ is deeply reverent of tradition even as it challenges conventions, a nuanced exploration of conflicted emotions for our deeply conflicted times.
Far from overnight, Price’s recent meteoric rise is the product of more than a decade of hard work and sacrifice. While she’d long been one of East Nashville’s best-kept-secrets, she burst onto the international scene with the 2016 release of her first solo album, ‘Midwest Farmer’s Daughter.’ The record debuted in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Country Albums chart and graced Best-Of lists everywhere from Entertainment Weekly to NPR Music, who called it "the hard-won arrival of an artist who feels like she's always been here.” Vulture described Price as “one of the most compelling country talents to come out of Nashville in recent memory,” while Pitchfork hailed the album as “a potential classic,” and Rolling Stone praised its “amazingly vivid songcraft.” Price solidified her next-big-thing status with stellar performances on Saturday Night Live, Colbert, Fallon, CBS This Morning, Seth Meyers, A Prairie Home Companion, and more, in addition to taking home Emerging Artist of the Year honors at the Americana Music Awards and winning The American Music Prize for the year’s best debut album. She shared stages and bills with Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, and Chris Stapleton among others, and her compelling story—years of toil in the Nashville trenches, the loss of her family’s farm and the tragic death of her infant child, a brush with the law, selling her car and pawning her wedding ring to afford studio time, signing to Jack White’s Third Man Records as the label’s first country artist—was recounted in glowing profiles everywhere from the NY Times Magazine and the New Yorker to Morning Edition and Fader.
When it was time to record the follow-up, Price and her band headed back to Memphis, TN, where they’d cut ‘Midwest Farmer’s Daughter’ on a shoestring budget. Instead of returning to Sun Studios, though, they moved down the street to the larger Sam Phillips Recording studio, which the legendary producer opened in 1960 when his own skyrocketing success necessitated more space.
“We recorded live again because that’s really how I like to work,” Price explains. “We’d get in around ten or eleven each morning, and then after about twelve hours of recording, we’d all start yelling for tequila, take a shot, and then just keep going.”
That spirited, energetic atmosphere infuses even the record’s darkest moments with a potent sense of vitality. On the uptempo album opener “Don’t Say It,” Price dishes out sardonic wordplay over smoking hot guitar, while the pedal-steel and fiddle-fueled “Weakness” toes the line between sobriety and mayhem, and the tender “Learning To Lose” finds her living out a country music fantasy as she duets with Willie Nelson.
“We’d gotten to know him a bit from playing shows together and I idolized the hell out of him,” says Price. “I didn’t know there were people like that, who’d achieved such massive stardom but remained so down to earth.”
Old school country may be the album’s most obvious touchstone, but Price and her band incorporate 60’s and 70’s R&B into many of the arrangements here, fusing two of Tennessee’s greatest musical exports. The funky “Do Right By Me” shimmies and grooves with Gospel legends The McCrary Sisters helping out on backing vocals, and the driving “A Little Pain” gets an assist from sweeping orchestration by Memphis legend Lester Snell (the man responsible for the string arrangements in “Shaft”).
“Sometimes you feel like you’ve got to please everybody, but ultimately you should be the one you’re worrying about taking care of,” Price says of the inspiration behind the song. “I wrote it pretty quickly just thinking about being on the road and trying to keep it together while you’re burning the candle at both ends.”
They say write what you know, and there are few things Price knows better than the road and the myriad of obstacles facing women who make their living on it. On “Pay Gap,” she laments the financial state of gender inequality (“why don’t you do the math? / Pay gap, pay gap / Ripping my dollar in half,” she sings), and “Wild Women” looks at the hypocrisies of what’s expected from male musicians compared to their female counterparts.
“There’s a definite double standard,” says Price, “but I think if you’re out there long enough, you stop giving any fucks and you just want to call it out. I get asked questions in interviews that no man would be asked, and if I’m assertive about what I want for me and my band, I get called a ‘diva.’ That song is really about the judgment I get from people who act like women shouldn’t be out on the road. Girls should be encouraged to follow their careers and their dreams just as much as men.”
The album closes with an intimate, acoustic rendition of “All American Made,” a song which calls to mind “Born In The USA” with its patriotic-sounding title and far more troubled lyrics.
“We actually wrote that song during the Obama administration,” says Price, “but it really altered meaning for me on the day Trump was elected. That song embodies the good and the bad in the ugly in this country. America is so beautiful to me, but it’s in a really hard spot right now. I feel like I was one of the first and only country artists to speak out so openly against Trump, and I had a lot of people tell me I shouldn’t be giving my opinion, but as far as I’m concerned, there’s not a lot of doubt about the difference between right and wrong.”
That candor is part of what makes ‘All American Made’ such a powerful follow-up release. Price could have taken her moment in the spotlight as an opportunity to homogenize and chase a slicker, more polished sound built for radio and arenas, but instead, she doubled down on the grit and the truth in her music. It’s honesty that brought her to this remarkable moment, and honesty that will continue to carry her into the future. How much higher will Margo Price’s star rise? Only time will tell, but just remember, a lot can change in a year.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220405T221616Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2800 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220429T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220429T220000 UID:A659D97B-E092-4065-A364-54082B03E163 SUMMARY:The English Beat + Mad Professor DTSTAMP:20220309T204215Z DESCRIPTION:A story behind every song…\NDave Wakeling is a hell of a nice guy! Dave loves to tell you the stories behind his songs, either from stage or after the show. Ask any one of the thousands of fans who have met him over the years and that’s what you’ll hear. Never mind that Dave is the singer/songwriter from two of the most popular bands of the end of the millennium, The English Beat and General Public, he’s a stand up man from Brum. Whether it’s the personal as political in How Can You Stand There, making politics personal in Stand Down Margaret, taking a stand against global warming as he did making Greepeace’s Alternative NRG, or helping little kids stand tall with Smile Train, Dave has always stood for something.\NAnd like the might Redwoods of his adopted home of California (dude!), it’s easy for Dave to take a stand because of his strong roots…\NHailing from working-class Birmingham, England, Dave and The English Beat entered the music scene in the troubled times of 1979. When The English Beat rushed on to the music scene it was a time of social, political and musical upheaval. Into this storm came they came, trying to calm the waters with their simple message of love and unity set to a great dance beat.\NThe six member band consisted of singer/songwriter Dave Wakeling (vocals & guitar), Andy Cox (guitar), David Steele (bass), Everett Morton (drums), Saxa (saxophone) and Ranking Roger (toasting). The band managed to fuse all of their respective musical influences – soul, reggae, pop and punk – into a unique sound that was highly danceable. Along with contemporaries such as The Specials, The Selecter and Madness, The English Beat became one of the most popular and influential bands of the British Two Tone Ska movement.\NOver the course of three albums, The English Beat achieved great success in their home country, charting several singles into the top 10. In addition to their UK chart success, in America the band found a solid base of young fans eager to dance to the their hypnotic rhythms and absorb their message of peace, love & unity. Their constant touring with iconic bands such as The Clash and The Police helped to boost their popularity in the States.\NDespite his huge success, Dave didn’t stop singing and acting on the problems caused by what he called the “noise in this world”. The band donated all the profits from their highly successful single version of “Stand Down Margaret” to the Committee for Nuclear Disarmament. They donated their music to causes including the anti-nuclear benefit album “Life in The European Theatre”, “The World of Music and Dance” album focusing on indigenous people’s art, and lent their voice to The Special AKA’s anthemic song of freedom “Free Nelson Mandela”, to name but a few.\NDave Wakeling once told me that every great band only has three really good albums. And true to form, The English Beat disbanded in 1983, after their third album, “Special Beat Service”.\NThe end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one…\NIt was at this point that Dave recruited Roger, Stoker (drums) and Mickey Billingham (keyboards) of Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Horace Panter (bass) of The Specials, and Clash guitarist Mick Jones to form a new band: General Public. Their first album, All The Rage, met with phenomenal success, charting high in the U.S., U.K. and even winning the band a coveted Juno award in Canada for Best New Artist in 1984.\NAfter the fantastic success of All The Rage, Dave spent two years writing and recording the follow-up album, Hand to Mouth. Like Wha’ppen before it, this sophomore effort was more introspective, taking fans along with him on Dave’s continual exploration of the light and dark side of human emotion. The album was a critical and fan favorite, and spawned two hit singles, Too Much or Nothing and Come Again.\NAfter the second General Public Album, Dave decided to go in a different musical direction and follow his own muse. Having previously worked in Hollywood with John Hughes on his iconic film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Dave returned to work for the silver screen, producing the soundtrack and recording the title track for Hughes 1988 film She’s Having a Baby. After that he recorded his first solo record, No Warning. The album maintained the pop sensibilities for which General Public had been known, and in addition exposed even more of the mind and emotions of the man behind it all.\NForward as one…\NAfter his solo album, Dave decided to put his notoriety to good use, and pursued a full-time position saving the planet at a job with Greenpeace. This didn’t mean a break from music, just a break from being the lead singer, as he stepped inside the mixing booth to produce the Greenpeace album Alternative NRG.\NWhat made this album outstanding and ground breaking was not just the outstanding roster of rock luminaries Dave convinced to appear on the album, including REM, U2, Midnight Oil, UB40, Annie Lennox, and Sonic Youth, to name a few, but the fact that it was recorded in 14 separate venues across America using a recording truck powered exclusively by solar power – a 160 square foot, 1,920-watt solar panel array contained in a trailer known as Cyrus. The power produced by the solar array, once converted to AC (the sun is DC), generated enough electricity to meet the needs of an average-size house for several days, and was proof positive of the viability of solar and other forms of alternative energy.\NI’ll take you there…\NAfter a metaphorical bump on the head from Elvis Costello for abandoning his post as crooner (a true story, ask Dave about it some time), Dave felt the need to “take us there” one more time. Dave teamed up with old friends to reform General Public and wrote and released his third GP album, Rub It Better, in 1995. The album and Dave’s return to the stage were met with an outpouring of critical raves and fan support. The album provided yet another hot single for Dave, with his infectious reggae remake of an old Staples Singers song, I’ll Take You There, climbing the singles charts and anchoring the soundtrack of the very hip, box office hit Threesome, starring Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Baldwin, and Josh Charles.\NHaving stricken a whole new group of fans with Beat-madness, Dave then disband General Public in 1996. However, true to his philanthropic bent and always looking to help other musicians out, Dave reformed GP in 1998 to play a benefit concert for Sweet Relief, a wonderful grassroots organization that provides assistance to career musicians.\NThe English Beat goes on…\NHaving accepted and embraced his true calling again (thanks Declan) , Dave continued to perform, touring back and forth across the States. Dave did it old school, touring clubs and playing countless gig from sea to shining sea, re-connecting with his Beat and General Public fans and building a strong and loyal fan base that continues to love his songs and embrace the evolution of his music.\NThen, in February 2003, we saw a dream come true for Dave and many Beat fans as the band reunited (no, not on that show) for a mini-tour in the UK, which culminated in their sold-out command performance at the Royal Festival Hall! Dave, Everett, Roger, Blockhead and the star of the show, Saxa, took the crowd by storm! It was a magical homecoming for Dave and a really wonderful experience for the fans, with band members and fans gathering from around the globe for a night or irie, ska-ful rock-steady Beat! Being the hard driving ska legend that he is, however, Dave Wakeling was not content to rest on his laurels after the RFH reunion…\NBeat this!\NTongue firmly in cheek, feet on the ground and eyes on the future, Dave takes the stage time and again, touring across the States, Canada, the UK and beyond. He does it for two reasons. First, he loves to play music, period. Second, he sees his job here on Earth to be bringing a message of love, unity and a steady, rhythmic groove of danceable songs with a message to the masses. Fans see him as an icon and to the young bands coming up he’s the elder statesman of ska. His swooning croon has been covered by such rock luminaries as Peter Townshend, Eddie Vedder and Elvis Costello.\NHe’s repeatedly referred to in the press now as a “legacy artist” and an “icon”: he’s wasn’t quite sure what it all meant and thought he might be entitled to some extra initials after his name (he wasn’t).\NHowever, he learned what those terms actually mean early in 2006 when, much to his surprise, bemusement, and eternal joy, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame contacted him and asked him for his trademark Vox teardrop guitar, to be displayed in a place of honour alongside the axes of Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. Truly a wonderful and humbling experience for a working class boy from Brum!\NDave is currently entering a musical renaissance and, still enjoying that legacy moment, he’s now planning on going into the studio to lay down a new album. Dave also continues to tour as The English Beat, as he had done for the last three decades, with an amazing all-star ska backing band (featuring players from The English Beat, General Public, and guest stars from the likes of The Specials, The Selecter, and other 2Tone bands) playing all the hits of those bands and his new songs. Expect the unexpected and prepare to be blown away by the ever-changing King of Ska!\NOne thing that hasn’t and won’t change though, Dave Wakeling remains a hell of a nice guy. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:A story behind every song…
Dave Wakeling is a hell of a nice guy! Dave loves to tell you the stories behind his songs, either from stage or after the show. Ask any one of the thousands of fans who have met him over the years and that’s what you’ll hear. Never mind that Dave is the singer/songwriter from two of the most popular bands of the end of the millennium, The English Beat and General Public, he’s a stand up man from Brum. Whether it’s the personal as political in How Can You Stand There, making politics personal in Stand Down Margaret, taking a stand against global warming as he did making Greepeace’s Alternative NRG, or helping little kids stand tall with Smile Train, Dave has always stood for something.
And like the might Redwoods of his adopted home of California (dude!), it’s easy for Dave to take a stand because of his strong roots…
Hailing from working-class Birmingham, England, Dave and The English Beat entered the music scene in the troubled times of 1979. When The English Beat rushed on to the music scene it was a time of social, political and musical upheaval. Into this storm came they came, trying to calm the waters with their simple message of love and unity set to a great dance beat.
The six member band consisted of singer/songwriter Dave Wakeling (vocals & guitar), Andy Cox (guitar), David Steele (bass), Everett Morton (drums), Saxa (saxophone) and Ranking Roger (toasting). The band managed to fuse all of their respective musical influences – soul, reggae, pop and punk – into a unique sound that was highly danceable. Along with contemporaries such as The Specials, The Selecter and Madness, The English Beat became one of the most popular and influential bands of the British Two Tone Ska movement.
Over the course of three albums, The English Beat achieved great success in their home country, charting several singles into the top 10. In addition to their UK chart success, in America the band found a solid base of young fans eager to dance to the their hypnotic rhythms and absorb their message of peace, love & unity. Their constant touring with iconic bands such as The Clash and The Police helped to boost their popularity in the States.
Despite his huge success, Dave didn’t stop singing and acting on the problems caused by what he called the “noise in this world”. The band donated all the profits from their highly successful single version of “Stand Down Margaret” to the Committee for Nuclear Disarmament. They donated their music to causes including the anti-nuclear benefit album “Life in The European Theatre”, “The World of Music and Dance” album focusing on indigenous people’s art, and lent their voice to The Special AKA’s anthemic song of freedom “Free Nelson Mandela”, to name but a few.
Dave Wakeling once told me that every great band only has three really good albums. And true to form, The English Beat disbanded in 1983, after their third album, “Special Beat Service”.
The end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one…
It was at this point that Dave recruited Roger, Stoker (drums) and Mickey Billingham (keyboards) of Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Horace Panter (bass) of The Specials, and Clash guitarist Mick Jones to form a new band: General Public. Their first album, All The Rage, met with phenomenal success, charting high in the U.S., U.K. and even winning the band a coveted Juno award in Canada for Best New Artist in 1984.
After the fantastic success of All The Rage, Dave spent two years writing and recording the follow-up album, Hand to Mouth. Like Wha’ppen before it, this sophomore effort was more introspective, taking fans along with him on Dave’s continual exploration of the light and dark side of human emotion. The album was a critical and fan favorite, and spawned two hit singles, Too Much or Nothing and Come Again.
After the second General Public Album, Dave decided to go in a different musical direction and follow his own muse. Having previously worked in Hollywood with John Hughes on his iconic film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Dave returned to work for the silver screen, producing the soundtrack and recording the title track for Hughes 1988 film She’s Having a Baby. After that he recorded his first solo record, No Warning. The album maintained the pop sensibilities for which General Public had been known, and in addition exposed even more of the mind and emotions of the man behind it all.
Forward as one…
After his solo album, Dave decided to put his notoriety to good use, and pursued a full-time position saving the planet at a job with Greenpeace. This didn’t mean a break from music, just a break from being the lead singer, as he stepped inside the mixing booth to produce the Greenpeace album Alternative NRG.
What made this album outstanding and ground breaking was not just the outstanding roster of rock luminaries Dave convinced to appear on the album, including REM, U2, Midnight Oil, UB40, Annie Lennox, and Sonic Youth, to name a few, but the fact that it was recorded in 14 separate venues across America using a recording truck powered exclusively by solar power – a 160 square foot, 1,920-watt solar panel array contained in a trailer known as Cyrus. The power produced by the solar array, once converted to AC (the sun is DC), generated enough electricity to meet the needs of an average-size house for several days, and was proof positive of the viability of solar and other forms of alternative energy.
I’ll take you there…
After a metaphorical bump on the head from Elvis Costello for abandoning his post as crooner (a true story, ask Dave about it some time), Dave felt the need to “take us there” one more time. Dave teamed up with old friends to reform General Public and wrote and released his third GP album, Rub It Better, in 1995. The album and Dave’s return to the stage were met with an outpouring of critical raves and fan support. The album provided yet another hot single for Dave, with his infectious reggae remake of an old Staples Singers song, I’ll Take You There, climbing the singles charts and anchoring the soundtrack of the very hip, box office hit Threesome, starring Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Baldwin, and Josh Charles.
Having stricken a whole new group of fans with Beat-madness, Dave then disband General Public in 1996. However, true to his philanthropic bent and always looking to help other musicians out, Dave reformed GP in 1998 to play a benefit concert for Sweet Relief, a wonderful grassroots organization that provides assistance to career musicians.
The English Beat goes on…
Having accepted and embraced his true calling again (thanks Declan) , Dave continued to perform, touring back and forth across the States. Dave did it old school, touring clubs and playing countless gig from sea to shining sea, re-connecting with his Beat and General Public fans and building a strong and loyal fan base that continues to love his songs and embrace the evolution of his music.
Then, in February 2003, we saw a dream come true for Dave and many Beat fans as the band reunited (no, not on that show) for a mini-tour in the UK, which culminated in their sold-out command performance at the Royal Festival Hall! Dave, Everett, Roger, Blockhead and the star of the show, Saxa, took the crowd by storm! It was a magical homecoming for Dave and a really wonderful experience for the fans, with band members and fans gathering from around the globe for a night or irie, ska-ful rock-steady Beat! Being the hard driving ska legend that he is, however, Dave Wakeling was not content to rest on his laurels after the RFH reunion…
Beat this!
Tongue firmly in cheek, feet on the ground and eyes on the future, Dave takes the stage time and again, touring across the States, Canada, the UK and beyond. He does it for two reasons. First, he loves to play music, period. Second, he sees his job here on Earth to be bringing a message of love, unity and a steady, rhythmic groove of danceable songs with a message to the masses. Fans see him as an icon and to the young bands coming up he’s the elder statesman of ska. His swooning croon has been covered by such rock luminaries as Peter Townshend, Eddie Vedder and Elvis Costello.
He’s repeatedly referred to in the press now as a “legacy artist” and an “icon”: he’s wasn’t quite sure what it all meant and thought he might be entitled to some extra initials after his name (he wasn’t).
However, he learned what those terms actually mean early in 2006 when, much to his surprise, bemusement, and eternal joy, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame contacted him and asked him for his trademark Vox teardrop guitar, to be displayed in a place of honour alongside the axes of Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. Truly a wonderful and humbling experience for a working class boy from Brum!
Dave is currently entering a musical renaissance and, still enjoying that legacy moment, he’s now planning on going into the studio to lay down a new album. Dave also continues to tour as The English Beat, as he had done for the last three decades, with an amazing all-star ska backing band (featuring players from The English Beat, General Public, and guest stars from the likes of The Specials, The Selecter, and other 2Tone bands) playing all the hits of those bands and his new songs. Expect the unexpected and prepare to be blown away by the ever-changing King of Ska!
One thing that hasn’t and won’t change though, Dave Wakeling remains a hell of a nice guy.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220323T233054Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3015 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220430T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220430T233000 UID:F13C431D-79AD-48E0-9545-57B9FD5CC963 SUMMARY:St. Paul & The Broken Bones DTSTAMP:20211108T204220Z DESCRIPTION:A fever dream in sonic form, St. Paul & The Broken Bones’ new album The Alien Coast represents the most adventurous and original output yet from an ever-evolving musical powerhouse. In a profound shift for the Alabama-bred eight-piece—Paul Janeway (vocals), Jesse Phillips (bass), Browan Lollar (guitar), Kevin Leon (drums), Al Gamble (keyboards), Allen Branstetter (trumpet), Chad Fisher (trombone), and Amari Ansari (saxophone)—the band’s fourth full-length and first for ATO Records strays far from the time-bending soul of past work like their 2014 debut, arriving at a convergence of rock & roll, R&B, psychedelia and funk. At turns explosive, elegant, and unhinged, that sound makes for a majestic backdrop to St. Paul & The Broken Bones’ visceral exploration of the strangest dimensions of the human psyche.\NProduced by Matt Ross-Spang, The Alien Coast is the first album St. Paul & The Broken Bones have ever recorded in their hometown of Birmingham. In creating the ultra-vivid dreamscape threaded throughout The Alien Coast, the band’s chief lyricist drew inspiration from such disparate sources as Greek mythology, dystopian sci-fi, 17th century Italian sculpture, and colonial-period history books. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:A fever dream in sonic form, St. Paul & The Broken Bones’ new album The Alien Coast represents the most adventurous and original output yet from an ever-evolving musical powerhouse. In a profound shift for the Alabama-bred eight-piece—Paul Janeway (vocals), Jesse Phillips (bass), Browan Lollar (guitar), Kevin Leon (drums), Al Gamble (keyboards), Allen Branstetter (trumpet), Chad Fisher (trombone), and Amari Ansari (saxophone)—the band’s fourth full-length and first for ATO Records strays far from the time-bending soul of past work like their 2014 debut, arriving at a convergence of rock & roll, R&B, psychedelia and funk. At turns explosive, elegant, and unhinged, that sound makes for a majestic backdrop to St. Paul & The Broken Bones’ visceral exploration of the strangest dimensions of the human psyche.
Produced by Matt Ross-Spang, The Alien Coast is the first album St. Paul & The Broken Bones have ever recorded in their hometown of Birmingham. In creating the ultra-vivid dreamscape threaded throughout The Alien Coast, the band’s chief lyricist drew inspiration from such disparate sources as Greek mythology, dystopian sci-fi, 17th century Italian sculpture, and colonial-period history books.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220425T201145Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2966 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220507T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220507T233000 UID:BB218EBE-FBD5-44DF-BD01-4B25873ADF44 SUMMARY:The Church DTSTAMP:20220118T185354Z DESCRIPTION:Few bands enter their fifth decade of making music with all the fierce creative energy of their early years. Few bands are like The Church.\NThe Australian psych-guitar masters are deep into recording the band’s 25th studio album over 40 years after their formation.\NThe 2021 epic line-up is bassist, vocalist and founder Steve Kilbey; with longtime collaborator timEbandit Powles drummer and producer across 17 albums since '94; guitarist Ian Haug who joined the band in 2013 and Jeffrey Cain, touring multi-instrumentalist who is now a full-time member of The Church since the departure of Peter Koppes in early 2020. The band have also recently recruited one of Australia's finest and most respected guitarists Ashley Naylor (Even, The Grapes). Ashley and Steve have collaborated on many different projects over the years and now was the perfect time to bring Ashley into the band.\NKilbey says: "A band is like a family and over 40 years it is only natural that families will change. It's too big a body of work not to keep exploring it."\NThat body of work stretches back in a continuous line to classic early albums 'Of Skins and Heart' and 'The Blurred Crusade', which revealed a distinctive soundscape of sharp pop hooks and towering guitars complementing Kilbey's lyrics and vocal tones. The more intricate arrangements of 'Heyday' gave way to the wide-open atmosphere of 'Starfish' the 1988 album which broke into the mainstream and gave them the international hit 'Under the Milky Way'. The hit single has been regarded as one of the most influential and recognisable Australian rock anthems of all time. Starfish also gave us 'Reptile', a song that never seems to date, and is a live favourite around the world.\NIn 2010 The Church were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame and reaffirmed their status as one of the world's great live bands with the 'Future Past Perfect' tour, performing their Untitled #23, Priest=Aura and Starfish albums to rapturous audiences in the US and Australia.\NThe five-year gap after the release of Untitled #23 became the most extended break between new albums in the band's career. Haug, formerly of Australian rock icons Powderfinger, joined after the departure of Marty Willson-Piper, sparking a renaissance with Further/Deeper (2014) and Man Woman Life Death Infinity (2017) and introducing new anthems like Miami to the set.\NIn 2018 the band played the Meltdown Festival in London at the invitation of curator Robert Smith of The Cure. The Church went on to play sold-out shows in the UK, US, Canada and Australia celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of Starfish. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Few bands enter their fifth decade of making music with all the fierce creative energy of their early years. Few bands are like The Church.
The Australian psych-guitar masters are deep into recording the band’s 25th studio album over 40 years after their formation.
The 2021 epic line-up is bassist, vocalist and founder Steve Kilbey; with longtime collaborator timEbandit Powles drummer and producer across 17 albums since '94; guitarist Ian Haug who joined the band in 2013 and Jeffrey Cain, touring multi-instrumentalist who is now a full-time member of The Church since the departure of Peter Koppes in early 2020. The band have also recently recruited one of Australia's finest and most respected guitarists Ashley Naylor (Even, The Grapes). Ashley and Steve have collaborated on many different projects over the years and now was the perfect time to bring Ashley into the band.
Kilbey says: "A band is like a family and over 40 years it is only natural that families will change. It's too big a body of work not to keep exploring it."
That body of work stretches back in a continuous line to classic early albums 'Of Skins and Heart' and 'The Blurred Crusade', which revealed a distinctive soundscape of sharp pop hooks and towering guitars complementing Kilbey's lyrics and vocal tones. The more intricate arrangements of 'Heyday' gave way to the wide-open atmosphere of 'Starfish' the 1988 album which broke into the mainstream and gave them the international hit 'Under the Milky Way'. The hit single has been regarded as one of the most influential and recognisable Australian rock anthems of all time. Starfish also gave us 'Reptile', a song that never seems to date, and is a live favourite around the world.
In 2010 The Church were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame and reaffirmed their status as one of the world's great live bands with the 'Future Past Perfect' tour, performing their Untitled #23, Priest=Aura and Starfish albums to rapturous audiences in the US and Australia.
The five-year gap after the release of Untitled #23 became the most extended break between new albums in the band's career. Haug, formerly of Australian rock icons Powderfinger, joined after the departure of Marty Willson-Piper, sparking a renaissance with Further/Deeper (2014) and Man Woman Life Death Infinity (2017) and introducing new anthems like Miami to the set.
In 2018 the band played the Meltdown Festival in London at the invitation of curator Robert Smith of The Cure. The Church went on to play sold-out shows in the UK, US, Canada and Australia celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of Starfish.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220228T223200Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2568 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220517T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220517T233000 UID:7A177554-78EE-4172-B50D-F64FDC387703 SUMMARY:The Slackers DTSTAMP:20211220T172419Z DESCRIPTION:The Slackers are self styled masters of Reggae, Ska and Rock’n’Roll from New York City.\NThe Slackers began in 1991 in NYC. After years of local gigs and rehearsing in a dingy basement in Manhattan’s lower east side, the band released its debut album, Better Late Than Never, in 1996. The band’s success resulted in the release of a second album, Red Light, on the Epitaph label in 1997. Since then the Slackers have released 11 more studio albums (The Question, Wasted Days, Slackers & Friends, Close My Eyes, Slackers in Dub, Peculiar, Boss Harmony Sessions, Self Medication, Lost and Found, The Great Rocksteady Swindle, and The Slackers [self-titled, 2016] ) 3 live albums (Live at Ernestos, Upsettin Ernestos, Slack in Japan), several EPs (International War Crimminal, My Bed is a Boat), and numerous singles and compilation tracks.\NSince 1997 the Slackers have played over 100 shows every year in a total of 46 american states, 7 Canadian provinces, 22 European countries, 5 Latin American countries, and 2 Asian countries.\NThe band’s musical style is distinct from their contemporaries; a mix of early Jamaican music with classic 50’s and 60s American styles. There are influences from 50s and 60s Rock’n’Roll, Rythmn and Blues, Jazz and Latin music. Singer Vic Ruggiero has coined the term ‘Jamaican Rock’nRoll.’ to describe it. He says, “The band might play a classic Jamaican style but the vocals are distinctly American east coast, revealing the obvious connection of Jamaican music to the Doo-Wop of Harlem and the Bronx.”\NWith the demise of record companies over the last 5 years, the Slackers have successfully used crowdfunding (www.bigtun.es/theslackers.) to release new music including the latest release, The Slackers [self-titled] in February 2016. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The Slackers are self styled masters of Reggae, Ska and Rock’n’Roll from New York City.
The Slackers began in 1991 in NYC. After years of local gigs and rehearsing in a dingy basement in Manhattan’s lower east side, the band released its debut album, Better Late Than Never, in 1996. The band’s success resulted in the release of a second album, Red Light, on the Epitaph label in 1997. Since then the Slackers have released 11 more studio albums (The Question, Wasted Days, Slackers & Friends, Close My Eyes, Slackers in Dub, Peculiar, Boss Harmony Sessions, Self Medication, Lost and Found, The Great Rocksteady Swindle, and The Slackers [self-titled, 2016] ) 3 live albums (Live at Ernestos, Upsettin Ernestos, Slack in Japan), several EPs (International War Crimminal, My Bed is a Boat), and numerous singles and compilation tracks.
Since 1997 the Slackers have played over 100 shows every year in a total of 46 american states, 7 Canadian provinces, 22 European countries, 5 Latin American countries, and 2 Asian countries.
The band’s musical style is distinct from their contemporaries; a mix of early Jamaican music with classic 50’s and 60s American styles. There are influences from 50s and 60s Rock’n’Roll, Rythmn and Blues, Jazz and Latin music. Singer Vic Ruggiero has coined the term ‘Jamaican Rock’nRoll.’ to describe it. He says, “The band might play a classic Jamaican style but the vocals are distinctly American east coast, revealing the obvious connection of Jamaican music to the Doo-Wop of Harlem and the Bronx.”
With the demise of record companies over the last 5 years, the Slackers have successfully used crowdfunding (www.bigtun.es/theslackers.) to release new music including the latest release, The Slackers [self-titled] in February 2016.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220516T183109Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2902 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220518T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220518T233000 UID:E1CA39CF-C74E-41CD-9503-465BE45DBEEE SUMMARY:Nilüfer Yanya DTSTAMP:20211129T162041Z DESCRIPTION:It does not take long listening to West London-based singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya’s music to realise that playing by the rules has never been her forte. First discovered at 20 years old after uploading her sparse, acoustic demos to Soundcloud, Yanya quickly made a name for herself following the release of her first three EPs. Starting with Small Crimes in 2016, her early releases set the stage for Yanya’s artistry as a lo-fi bedroom pop artist who could spin deftly weaved guitars and honeyed vocals into earworm melodies. Her brand of heartfelt indie pop led to support slots playing alongside likeminded artists such as Mitski, The xx, and Sharon Van Etten, along with receiving a litany of accolades including being longlisted for BBC Sound of 2018.\NAs the daughter of two visual artists (her Irish-Barbadian mother is a textile designer and her Turkish-born father’s work is exhibited at the British Museum) creativity was always destined for Yanya’s future. First picking up the guitar at 12, she credits her love for music to her parents’ music collection and her school, which offered subsidised music classes. “It was life changing for me,” Yanya says of her school days as we sit outside a Ladbroke Grove café, “having that community in school was really good for everyone else as well, even if they're not doing music.”\NBy the time her debut album Miss Universe landed in 2019, Yanya fully established herself as a singular artist with a distinctive voice that needed to be heard. The critically acclaimed debut is an 18-track concept record that takes a tongue in cheek swipe at the most self-involved corners of the health and wellness industry. The album allowed Yanya to further open up her eclectic world, bringing in jazz-inflected guitar licks, and grunge indebted songs that were backed up by limber drum beats and noughties leaning synth lines.\NFollow up release, the three song EP Feeling Lucky?, further explored Yanya’s fascination with ‘90s alt-rock melodies, drawing on themes of resentment, her fear of flying, and the concept of luck. She also re-released her early EPs on vinyl for the first time this year on the record Inside Out. The release is a fundraiser for Artists in Transit, an arts collaborative group Yanya founded with her sister Molly that delivers art workshops to communities in times of hardship.\NNow as she enters the next stage of her creative journey, Yanya is running head first into the depths of emotional vulnerability on her sophomore record PAINLESS. The album was recorded between a basement studio in Stoke Newington and Riverfish Music in Penzance (owned by her uncle Joe Dworniak a former bassist in funk band I Level), with Miss Universe collaborator and producer Wilma Archer, DEEK Recordings founder Bullion, Big Thief producer Andrew Sarlo, and musician Jazzi Bobbi.\NYanya began considering her second album back in 2020 after coming home from a year-long headline tour for her debut album. Initially she worried about the mistakes she didn’t want to repeat from making her first record. “Obviously I was really proud of it,” she says of her debut album, “but I also could have done it differently, there wasn't a rush.” The anxieties that clouded the making of her debut were gone when she got back in the studio with Archer. “It just happened a lot more organically. [Archer] had all these amazing ideas and they were so easy to turn into songs. It just felt fun.”\NWhere Miss Universe stretched musical boundaries to include a litany of styles from smooth jazz melodies to radio ready pop, PAINLESS takes a more direct sonic approach. By narrowing down her previously broad palette to a handful of robust ideas that revolve around melancholy harmonies and looped industrial beats to mimic the insular focus of the lyrics, Yanya has smoothed out the idiosyncrasies of previous releases without losing what is essential to her.\NPAINLESS is a record that forces the listener to sit with the discomfort that accompanies so many of life’s biggest challenges whether it be relationship breakdowns, coping with loneliness, or the search for our inner self. “It's a record about emotion,” Yanya explains. “I think it's more open about that in a way that Miss Universe wasn't because there's so many cloaks and sleeves with the concept I built around it.” She adds, summing up the ethos of the new album, “I'm not as scared to admit my feelings”.\NWith influences as wide ranging as ‘90s alt-rock bands like Nirvana, indie artists Radiohead and Elliott Smith, and drum and bass culture, the anxiety inducing themes of the record are captured in the bones of each song. Audible in the raw, distorted guitar riffs, hip hop-indebted percussion, and Yanya’s mercurial voice which veers from deadpan speak-singing to a sublime, wandering falsetto. This can be heard best on ‘Shameless’ a molasses-slow track with an alt-rock edge that sees Yanya deliver the lines, barely above a whisper, “You can hate me / if you feel like … under it all I’m shameless / until you fall it’s painless.”\NThe organic way the songs came together was partly an inspiration behind the album title PAINLESS, but it also harkened to the introspective theme of the album. “The lyric [in ‘Shameless’] is ‘until you fall its painless’. It's not that everything is painless, it’s that pain is not a bad thing.”\NOn ‘L/R’ Yanya showcases her heritage playing the saz, a string instrument used often in Turkish folk music. “I’ve always viewed it as my dad's instrument because it's something he would play around me a lot when I was younger,” she explains. “It definitely has that nostalgia element to it, but also acts as a step into the mostly undiscovered part of me and my identity.”\NOver a fast-paced, nimble guitar line on ‘Stabilise’ Yanya sings “There’s nothing out there / For you and me / I’m going nowhere”. It is a song about the mundanity of the city where dog fights, small flats, and endless high-rise buildings can induce claustrophobia. “I was really thinking about your surroundings and how much they influence or change your perception of things. A lot of the city is just grey and concrete, there's no escape,” she says, “A lot of people don't leave the city their whole lives, wherever they’re from.\N“It’s weird because on that one the chorus is about going nowhere and I really didn't want that to be the chorus but it was the only thing that was working, so it was like the song was trying to tell me something.”\NOn ‘Midnight Sun’, a brooding, trip-hop influenced track, Yanya asks for strength from both an imaginary other and herself when she sings: “You’re my best machine, you’re my midnight sun.” For a song that started life according to Yanya resembling a “jaded country rock song” ‘Midnight Sun’ evolved into a mantra one could repeat to pull themselves up from the brink.\N“[The lyrics] can easily fit into a relationship scenario but it also can be about your relationship with yourself. It’s like you're the sun, you're the light guiding me through the night. With ‘best machine’ I imagine you're going to war but against who. It could be something that protects you, something you only take out when you really need it, or maybe it's something that serves you every day.”\NLater, on ‘Belong With You’ Yanya battles against knowing they are in a self-destructive relationship (“I don’t even like you bitch”) while feeling drawn back into the chaos again and again. “It's definitely like you're still wrapped up in all the feelings of it, but it's time for you to exit.”\NWritten with school friend and member of her touring band Jazzi Bobbi, ‘Belong With You’ had a very unlikely early influence. “A big reference was Tatu. You know that song ‘All The Things She Said,” laughs Yanya. “I think it was the 'I belong with you, I belong with you' part. The repetitiveness of that and then it has that pop, early noughties vibe. Sometimes it’s nice to make things that aren't as weighty and heavy. I know this is going to be fun when we play it live too.”\NAlthough PAINLESS is about trudging through the mires of our emotional selves, the writing process left Yanya feeling more confident in her abilities as a songwriter. “It made me feel really good to make it and to write it and put it out.”\NIn the making of the album her growth is evident to see. “I'm a completely different person. It's hard to know where the growth is. I think it's about the openness of the record. Even feeling comfortable sharing my process with another person.”\NShe continues: “On the last record I didn't want to work too much with one person because I thought it's going to become their record, and that's just rubbish. I think sharing [the process] is a really beautiful thing. You don't always come by that. You really have to work on that, so this album is very much a product of that creative friendship.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:It does not take long listening to West London-based singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya’s music to realise that playing by the rules has never been her forte. First discovered at 20 years old after uploading her sparse, acoustic demos to Soundcloud, Yanya quickly made a name for herself following the release of her first three EPs. Starting with Small Crimes in 2016, her early releases set the stage for Yanya’s artistry as a lo-fi bedroom pop artist who could spin deftly weaved guitars and honeyed vocals into earworm melodies. Her brand of heartfelt indie pop led to support slots playing alongside likeminded artists such as Mitski, The xx, and Sharon Van Etten, along with receiving a litany of accolades including being longlisted for BBC Sound of 2018.
As the daughter of two visual artists (her Irish-Barbadian mother is a textile designer and her Turkish-born father’s work is exhibited at the British Museum) creativity was always destined for Yanya’s future. First picking up the guitar at 12, she credits her love for music to her parents’ music collection and her school, which offered subsidised music classes. “It was life changing for me,” Yanya says of her school days as we sit outside a Ladbroke Grove café, “having that community in school was really good for everyone else as well, even if they're not doing music.”
By the time her debut album Miss Universe landed in 2019, Yanya fully established herself as a singular artist with a distinctive voice that needed to be heard. The critically acclaimed debut is an 18-track concept record that takes a tongue in cheek swipe at the most self-involved corners of the health and wellness industry. The album allowed Yanya to further open up her eclectic world, bringing in jazz-inflected guitar licks, and grunge indebted songs that were backed up by limber drum beats and noughties leaning synth lines.
Follow up release, the three song EP Feeling Lucky?, further explored Yanya’s fascination with ‘90s alt-rock melodies, drawing on themes of resentment, her fear of flying, and the concept of luck. She also re-released her early EPs on vinyl for the first time this year on the record Inside Out. The release is a fundraiser for Artists in Transit, an arts collaborative group Yanya founded with her sister Molly that delivers art workshops to communities in times of hardship.
Now as she enters the next stage of her creative journey, Yanya is running head first into the depths of emotional vulnerability on her sophomore record PAINLESS. The album was recorded between a basement studio in Stoke Newington and Riverfish Music in Penzance (owned by her uncle Joe Dworniak a former bassist in funk band I Level), with Miss Universe collaborator and producer Wilma Archer, DEEK Recordings founder Bullion, Big Thief producer Andrew Sarlo, and musician Jazzi Bobbi.
Yanya began considering her second album back in 2020 after coming home from a year-long headline tour for her debut album. Initially she worried about the mistakes she didn’t want to repeat from making her first record. “Obviously I was really proud of it,” she says of her debut album, “but I also could have done it differently, there wasn't a rush.” The anxieties that clouded the making of her debut were gone when she got back in the studio with Archer. “It just happened a lot more organically. [Archer] had all these amazing ideas and they were so easy to turn into songs. It just felt fun.”
Where Miss Universe stretched musical boundaries to include a litany of styles from smooth jazz melodies to radio ready pop, PAINLESS takes a more direct sonic approach. By narrowing down her previously broad palette to a handful of robust ideas that revolve around melancholy harmonies and looped industrial beats to mimic the insular focus of the lyrics, Yanya has smoothed out the idiosyncrasies of previous releases without losing what is essential to her.
PAINLESS is a record that forces the listener to sit with the discomfort that accompanies so many of life’s biggest challenges whether it be relationship breakdowns, coping with loneliness, or the search for our inner self. “It's a record about emotion,” Yanya explains. “I think it's more open about that in a way that Miss Universe wasn't because there's so many cloaks and sleeves with the concept I built around it.” She adds, summing up the ethos of the new album, “I'm not as scared to admit my feelings”.
With influences as wide ranging as ‘90s alt-rock bands like Nirvana, indie artists Radiohead and Elliott Smith, and drum and bass culture, the anxiety inducing themes of the record are captured in the bones of each song. Audible in the raw, distorted guitar riffs, hip hop-indebted percussion, and Yanya’s mercurial voice which veers from deadpan speak-singing to a sublime, wandering falsetto. This can be heard best on ‘Shameless’ a molasses-slow track with an alt-rock edge that sees Yanya deliver the lines, barely above a whisper, “You can hate me / if you feel like … under it all I’m shameless / until you fall it’s painless.”
The organic way the songs came together was partly an inspiration behind the album title PAINLESS, but it also harkened to the introspective theme of the album. “The lyric [in ‘Shameless’] is ‘until you fall its painless’. It's not that everything is painless, it’s that pain is not a bad thing.”
On ‘L/R’ Yanya showcases her heritage playing the saz, a string instrument used often in Turkish folk music. “I’ve always viewed it as my dad's instrument because it's something he would play around me a lot when I was younger,” she explains. “It definitely has that nostalgia element to it, but also acts as a step into the mostly undiscovered part of me and my identity.”
Over a fast-paced, nimble guitar line on ‘Stabilise’ Yanya sings “There’s nothing out there / For you and me / I’m going nowhere”. It is a song about the mundanity of the city where dog fights, small flats, and endless high-rise buildings can induce claustrophobia. “I was really thinking about your surroundings and how much they influence or change your perception of things. A lot of the city is just grey and concrete, there's no escape,” she says, “A lot of people don't leave the city their whole lives, wherever they’re from.
“It’s weird because on that one the chorus is about going nowhere and I really didn't want that to be the chorus but it was the only thing that was working, so it was like the song was trying to tell me something.”
On ‘Midnight Sun’, a brooding, trip-hop influenced track, Yanya asks for strength from both an imaginary other and herself when she sings: “You’re my best machine, you’re my midnight sun.” For a song that started life according to Yanya resembling a “jaded country rock song” ‘Midnight Sun’ evolved into a mantra one could repeat to pull themselves up from the brink.
“[The lyrics] can easily fit into a relationship scenario but it also can be about your relationship with yourself. It’s like you're the sun, you're the light guiding me through the night. With ‘best machine’ I imagine you're going to war but against who. It could be something that protects you, something you only take out when you really need it, or maybe it's something that serves you every day.”
Later, on ‘Belong With You’ Yanya battles against knowing they are in a self-destructive relationship (“I don’t even like you bitch”) while feeling drawn back into the chaos again and again. “It's definitely like you're still wrapped up in all the feelings of it, but it's time for you to exit.”
Written with school friend and member of her touring band Jazzi Bobbi, ‘Belong With You’ had a very unlikely early influence. “A big reference was Tatu. You know that song ‘All The Things She Said,” laughs Yanya. “I think it was the 'I belong with you, I belong with you' part. The repetitiveness of that and then it has that pop, early noughties vibe. Sometimes it’s nice to make things that aren't as weighty and heavy. I know this is going to be fun when we play it live too.”
Although PAINLESS is about trudging through the mires of our emotional selves, the writing process left Yanya feeling more confident in her abilities as a songwriter. “It made me feel really good to make it and to write it and put it out.”
In the making of the album her growth is evident to see. “I'm a completely different person. It's hard to know where the growth is. I think it's about the openness of the record. Even feeling comfortable sharing my process with another person.”
She continues: “On the last record I didn't want to work too much with one person because I thought it's going to become their record, and that's just rubbish. I think sharing [the process] is a really beautiful thing. You don't always come by that. You really have to work on that, so this album is very much a product of that creative friendship.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220517T164059Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2200 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220520T220000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220520T223000 UID:E8F88A9F-E279-469C-9BCD-EAA145538657 SUMMARY:Moon Hooch DTSTAMP:20220216T174506Z DESCRIPTION:“I‘m realizing more and more every day that you can make anything happen for yourself if you really want to,” says Moon Hooch horn player Mike Wilbur. “You can change your existence by just going out and doing it, by taking simple actions every day.”\NIf any band is a poster child for turning the power of positive thoughts and intentions into reality, it’s the explosive horn-and-percussion trio Moon Hooch. In just a few short years, the group— Wilbur and fellow horn player Wenzl McGowen—have gone from playing on New York City subway platforms to touring with the likes of Beats Antique, They Might Be Giants, and Lotus, as well as selling out their own headline shows in major venues around the country.\NThough the band—whose members initially met as students at the New School—turned heads in the music industry as relative unknowns with a charismatic, unconventional sound (they play with unique tonguing techniques and utilize found objects like traffic cones attached to the bells of their horns to manipulate tone, for instance), they were already a familiar and beloved sight to strangers in New York, who would react with such joy and fervor to their impromptu subway platform sets that the NYPD had to ban them from locations that couldn’t handle the crowds. NY Mag once referred to their sound as “Jay Gatsby on ecstasy,” while the NY Post fell for their “catchy melodic hooks and funky rhythms,” saying they had “the power to make you secretly wish that the short [subway] wait becomes an indefinite delay.”\NWhile the band’s busking days are behind them now, the lessons they learned from all those platform parties helped guide their approach to recording ‘Life on Other Planets.’\N“What we discovered playing in the subway,” McGowen explains, “is that the more focus and the more energy you put into the music, and the more you listen to everything around you and integrate everything around you into your expression, the more the music becomes this captivating force for people.”\NThe band followed up 'Red Sky' by releasing the 'Light It Up' EP in 2018. Recorded in bucolic Williston, Vermont and co-produced by Tonio Sagan (grandson of famed astronomer Carl Sagan), this collection of three songs was a foray into a more electronic and studio-produced sound. Full of horn textures, big drops, and throbbing bass lines, these tracks extend the possibilities of their subway instrumentation. Between 'Red Sky' and the 'Light It Up' EP, the band uses an evolving arsenal of electroacoustic techniques to utterly demolish any and every possible barrier that could stand between your ass and the dance floor.\N“When we were playing in the subways, we were playing entirely acoustic,” explains Wilbur. “It was just two saxes and a drum set. Then Wenzl acquired a baritone sax and we all started getting into music production and incorporating electronic music into our live shows.” At their performances, the band now plays through what they call a Reverse DJ setup, in which the live sound from their horns runs through Ableton software on their laptops to process recorded effects onto the output. In addition, to flesh out their sound on the road, the band began utilizing Moog synthesizers, an EWI (an electronic wind instrument that responds to breath in addition to touch), and other exotic woodwinds like the contrabass clarinet and bass saxophone. Wilbur has even added vocals to his repertoire on some tracks (something the subway never allowed him to do).\NThe band members all speak reverently of meditation and consciousness and the role it plays in their music (McGowen believes his introduction to it, spurred on in part by Wilbur and former member James Muschler, saved his life), but equally close to their hearts are the environmental causes they champion. Moon Hooch tries to live up to their green ideals while traveling as much as possible, playing benefit shows, organizing action days to support local farmers and co-ops, participating in river cleanups, planting trees, filming informative videos for their fans, and more.\NFor the members of Moon Hooch, commitments to consciousness, environmentalism, veganism, philosophy, and peace aren’t separate from their commitment to music, but actually integral parts of it. It’s all tied into that same core approach that led to their discovery on the subway platform: try, even if it’s just a little bit every day, even if it’s just with the power of your mind, to make the world less like it is and more like you wish it could be.\N“I’d say all of our songs express the essence of that kind of energy,” concludes McGowen, “because before you can even think any thoughts, there exists the energy that drives those thoughts, and that energy is intention. I feel like we’re putting the intention of positive change constantly into our music. While we’re playing, I often see the future emerging: skyscrapers getting covered in plants, frowns turning into smiles, fistfights into hugs. I can see the energy of love and collaboration and trust replace the energy of fear, hatred and violence.” It’s an ambitious vision, to be sure, but considering the band’s track record at turning their thoughts and dreams into action and reality, perhaps it’s only a matter of time. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:“I‘m realizing more and more every day that you can make anything happen for yourself if you really want to,” says Moon Hooch horn player Mike Wilbur. “You can change your existence by just going out and doing it, by taking simple actions every day.”
If any band is a poster child for turning the power of positive thoughts and intentions into reality, it’s the explosive horn-and-percussion trio Moon Hooch. In just a few short years, the group— Wilbur and fellow horn player Wenzl McGowen—have gone from playing on New York City subway platforms to touring with the likes of Beats Antique, They Might Be Giants, and Lotus, as well as selling out their own headline shows in major venues around the country.
Though the band—whose members initially met as students at the New School—turned heads in the music industry as relative unknowns with a charismatic, unconventional sound (they play with unique tonguing techniques and utilize found objects like traffic cones attached to the bells of their horns to manipulate tone, for instance), they were already a familiar and beloved sight to strangers in New York, who would react with such joy and fervor to their impromptu subway platform sets that the NYPD had to ban them from locations that couldn’t handle the crowds. NY Mag once referred to their sound as “Jay Gatsby on ecstasy,” while the NY Post fell for their “catchy melodic hooks and funky rhythms,” saying they had “the power to make you secretly wish that the short [subway] wait becomes an indefinite delay.”
While the band’s busking days are behind them now, the lessons they learned from all those platform parties helped guide their approach to recording ‘Life on Other Planets.’
“What we discovered playing in the subway,” McGowen explains, “is that the more focus and the more energy you put into the music, and the more you listen to everything around you and integrate everything around you into your expression, the more the music becomes this captivating force for people.”
The band followed up 'Red Sky' by releasing the 'Light It Up' EP in 2018. Recorded in bucolic Williston, Vermont and co-produced by Tonio Sagan (grandson of famed astronomer Carl Sagan), this collection of three songs was a foray into a more electronic and studio-produced sound. Full of horn textures, big drops, and throbbing bass lines, these tracks extend the possibilities of their subway instrumentation. Between 'Red Sky' and the 'Light It Up' EP, the band uses an evolving arsenal of electroacoustic techniques to utterly demolish any and every possible barrier that could stand between your ass and the dance floor.
“When we were playing in the subways, we were playing entirely acoustic,” explains Wilbur. “It was just two saxes and a drum set. Then Wenzl acquired a baritone sax and we all started getting into music production and incorporating electronic music into our live shows.” At their performances, the band now plays through what they call a Reverse DJ setup, in which the live sound from their horns runs through Ableton software on their laptops to process recorded effects onto the output. In addition, to flesh out their sound on the road, the band began utilizing Moog synthesizers, an EWI (an electronic wind instrument that responds to breath in addition to touch), and other exotic woodwinds like the contrabass clarinet and bass saxophone. Wilbur has even added vocals to his repertoire on some tracks (something the subway never allowed him to do).
The band members all speak reverently of meditation and consciousness and the role it plays in their music (McGowen believes his introduction to it, spurred on in part by Wilbur and former member James Muschler, saved his life), but equally close to their hearts are the environmental causes they champion. Moon Hooch tries to live up to their green ideals while traveling as much as possible, playing benefit shows, organizing action days to support local farmers and co-ops, participating in river cleanups, planting trees, filming informative videos for their fans, and more.
For the members of Moon Hooch, commitments to consciousness, environmentalism, veganism, philosophy, and peace aren’t separate from their commitment to music, but actually integral parts of it. It’s all tied into that same core approach that led to their discovery on the subway platform: try, even if it’s just a little bit every day, even if it’s just with the power of your mind, to make the world less like it is and more like you wish it could be.
“I’d say all of our songs express the essence of that kind of energy,” concludes McGowen, “because before you can even think any thoughts, there exists the energy that drives those thoughts, and that energy is intention. I feel like we’re putting the intention of positive change constantly into our music. While we’re playing, I often see the future emerging: skyscrapers getting covered in plants, frowns turning into smiles, fistfights into hugs. I can see the energy of love and collaboration and trust replace the energy of fear, hatred and violence.” It’s an ambitious vision, to be sure, but considering the band’s track record at turning their thoughts and dreams into action and reality, perhaps it’s only a matter of time.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220516T225244Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1715 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220609T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220609T210000 UID:B324CE0F-B6D2-43E8-A48B-55D0F2F82BE9 SUMMARY:Calexico DTSTAMP:20220301T030139Z DESCRIPTION:Calexico — El Mirador\NCalexico's Joey Burns and John Convertino return in 2022 with their luminous 10th studio album, El Mirador; a hopeful, kaleidoscopic beacon of rock, bluesy ruminations and Latin American sounds, to be released on April 8. Convening at longtime bandmate Sergio Mendoza's home studio in Tucson, Arizona, the ensemble recorded throughout the summer of 2021, crafting one of their most riveting and whimsical productions to date. Convertino, who now resides in El Paso, and Burns, who relocated to Boise in 2020, channeled cherished memories of Southwestern landscapes and joyful barrio melting pots into an evocative love letter to the desert borderlands that nourished them for over 20 years.\N“El Mirador is dedicated to family, friends and community,” says Burns; singer, multi- instrumentalist and co-founder of Calexico. “The pandemic highlighted all the ways we need each other, and music happens to be my way of building bridges and encouraging inclusiveness and positivity. That comes along with sadness and melancholy, but music sparks change and movement.”\NOscillating between haunting desert noirs and buoyant jolts of cumbia and Cuban son, the album is permeated by longing. The title track conjures images of a lighthouse, beckoning to lost souls in the night with hypnotic bass lines and cascading percussion. That same search for meaning and safety carries over onto “Cumbia Peninsula,” a soaring dance floor epic about confronting our fear of the unknown. The song weaves themes of immigration, a world in turmoil, and the virulent manipulation of information; never offering a diagnosis but wholeheartedly advocating for unity and compassion as a treatment for our social ills.\N“El Mirador” features gossamer vocals from Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno, while Spanish rocker Jairo Zavala brings his signature bravado to “Cumbia Peninsula.” By working with friends and recurring collaborators, Calexico also highlights the unique social and linguistic intersections at the US-Mexico border and the magnificent possibilities of a borderless world. “The album is trying to convey openness,” adds Burns. “Look around you. If you're in the North, you need a South to live in balance. We're all breathing together.”\N“There is romance in this music,” says Convertino, Calexico's drummer and fellow co-founder. “When I was driving out to Tucson to work with Sergio and Joey, I didn't have any specific song ideas in mind. I was searching for a vibe and a mood.” The instrumental “Turquoise” perfectly captures El Mirador's atmospheric universe, where swirling rhythm guitars and distant horns recall dark, heavy skies, almost echoing the record-setting monsoon season that engulfed Arizona during their studio sessions.\NBurns and Convertino have been performing together for over 30 years, sharing a deep love of jazz and usually building songs on a foundation of bass and drums. But all these years later,\NCalexico is still breaking new ground. El Mirador showcases a sunnier side of the band, cutting through two years of pandemic fog with a blast of danceable optimism. Writing and recording alongside Sergio Mendoza (keys, accordion, percussion), the album expands on long running influences of cumbia, mariachi and the plethora of diaspora sounds flourishing throughout the Southwest.\N“I've been playing with Calexico for about 15 years, and I admire Joey and John's constant search for new sounds,” reflects Mendoza, who’s newly built home studio became a refuge for the band and reduced pandemic risks while fostering a more organic creative process. “After so many albums,” he adds, “I'm really proud we were able to achieve something so fresh together.”\NMendoza was born and raised in Nogales, where he soaked up the classic cumbias, rancheras and corridos that soundtrack daily life at the border. This rich melange of influences translates into the effervescent “The El Burro Song,” complete with mariachi strings, slide guitars and zapateado performance that transports the listener to a papel picado-decorated backyard party. On “Liberada,” piano and Cuban percussion provide an exuberant canvas for a universal tale of resilience, where even in the face of adversity, celebrating your uncle's 80th birthday always comes first.Calexico delivers one of their most loving desert anthems on “Cumbia del Polvo,” enlisting a production assist from frequent collaborator Camilo Lara, who infuses the song with his signature wizardry of electronic beats, organic instrumentation and otherworldly backing vocals. El Mirador's all-star guest list is rounded out by poet Pieta Brown, who wrote “El Paso” and “Then You Might See,” as well as Iron & Wine's Sam Beam, who provides backing vocals on the fluttering choruses of “Harness The Wind.”El Mirador stands both as a lookout point and beacon in the dark; an opportunity to search inwards, ponder our connections to the Earth and its people, and hopefully illuminate a path forward. After decades on the road Calexico's music remains boundless and romantic, still gazing upon the horizon in search of their next adventure. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Calexico — El Mirador
Calexico's Joey Burns and John Convertino return in 2022 with their luminous 10th studio album, El Mirador; a hopeful, kaleidoscopic beacon of rock, bluesy ruminations and Latin American sounds, to be released on April 8. Convening at longtime bandmate Sergio Mendoza's home studio in Tucson, Arizona, the ensemble recorded throughout the summer of 2021, crafting one of their most riveting and whimsical productions to date. Convertino, who now resides in El Paso, and Burns, who relocated to Boise in 2020, channeled cherished memories of Southwestern landscapes and joyful barrio melting pots into an evocative love letter to the desert borderlands that nourished them for over 20 years.
“El Mirador is dedicated to family, friends and community,” says Burns; singer, multi- instrumentalist and co-founder of Calexico. “The pandemic highlighted all the ways we need each other, and music happens to be my way of building bridges and encouraging inclusiveness and positivity. That comes along with sadness and melancholy, but music sparks change and movement.”
Oscillating between haunting desert noirs and buoyant jolts of cumbia and Cuban son, the album is permeated by longing. The title track conjures images of a lighthouse, beckoning to lost souls in the night with hypnotic bass lines and cascading percussion. That same search for meaning and safety carries over onto “Cumbia Peninsula,” a soaring dance floor epic about confronting our fear of the unknown. The song weaves themes of immigration, a world in turmoil, and the virulent manipulation of information; never offering a diagnosis but wholeheartedly advocating for unity and compassion as a treatment for our social ills.
“El Mirador” features gossamer vocals from Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno, while Spanish rocker Jairo Zavala brings his signature bravado to “Cumbia Peninsula.” By working with friends and recurring collaborators, Calexico also highlights the unique social and linguistic intersections at the US-Mexico border and the magnificent possibilities of a borderless world. “The album is trying to convey openness,” adds Burns. “Look around you. If you're in the North, you need a South to live in balance. We're all breathing together.”
“There is romance in this music,” says Convertino, Calexico's drummer and fellow co-founder. “When I was driving out to Tucson to work with Sergio and Joey, I didn't have any specific song ideas in mind. I was searching for a vibe and a mood.” The instrumental “Turquoise” perfectly captures El Mirador's atmospheric universe, where swirling rhythm guitars and distant horns recall dark, heavy skies, almost echoing the record-setting monsoon season that engulfed Arizona during their studio sessions.
Burns and Convertino have been performing together for over 30 years, sharing a deep love of jazz and usually building songs on a foundation of bass and drums. But all these years later,
Calexico is still breaking new ground. El Mirador showcases a sunnier side of the band, cutting through two years of pandemic fog with a blast of danceable optimism. Writing and recording alongside Sergio Mendoza (keys, accordion, percussion), the album expands on long running influences of cumbia, mariachi and the plethora of diaspora sounds flourishing throughout the Southwest.
“I've been playing with Calexico for about 15 years, and I admire Joey and John's constant search for new sounds,” reflects Mendoza, who’s newly built home studio became a refuge for the band and reduced pandemic risks while fostering a more organic creative process. “After so many albums,” he adds, “I'm really proud we were able to achieve something so fresh together.”
Mendoza was born and raised in Nogales, where he soaked up the classic cumbias, rancheras and corridos that soundtrack daily life at the border. This rich melange of influences translates into the effervescent “The El Burro Song,” complete with mariachi strings, slide guitars and zapateado performance that transports the listener to a papel picado-decorated backyard party. On “Liberada,” piano and Cuban percussion provide an exuberant canvas for a universal tale of resilience, where even in the face of adversity, celebrating your uncle's 80th birthday always comes first.
Calexico delivers one of their most loving desert anthems on “Cumbia del Polvo,” enlisting a production assist from frequent collaborator Camilo Lara, who infuses the song with his signature wizardry of electronic beats, organic instrumentation and otherworldly backing vocals. El Mirador's all-star guest list is rounded out by poet Pieta Brown, who wrote “El Paso” and “Then You Might See,” as well as Iron & Wine's Sam Beam, who provides backing vocals on the fluttering choruses of “Harness The Wind.”
El Mirador stands both as a lookout point and beacon in the dark; an opportunity to search inwards, ponder our connections to the Earth and its people, and hopefully illuminate a path forward. After decades on the road Calexico's music remains boundless and romantic, still gazing upon the horizon in search of their next adventure.
EVENT UPDATE:
"SLC Fans, We are so sorry to have to do this, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we will not be performing in Salt Lake City on the 15th. All tickets will be refunded and we will do what we can to make it up." — Kings Kaleidoscope
-
Kings Kaleidoscope is an American alternative rock band based in Seattle, led by producer, singer and songwriter Chad Gardner. Their music features an eclectic range of electronic, woodwind, string and brass instruments, with a musical style described as indie rock meets hip hop production with a sprinkle of Disney.
The marriage of electronic and analogue soundscapes is a love letter to Motown and math rock, with illustrative lyricism that runs the gamut of haunting, uplifting, and resolved. Singer/songwriter Chad Gardner carries these lyrics with a soulful treatment that complements calculated drum work to create a balance between groove and mathematics.
Often described as designed chaos, Kings Kaleidoscope's high energy live performances bring a collective spirit of improvisation and audience interaction that creates memorable moments night after night.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220614T093525Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1709 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220618T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220618T160000 UID:44802D95-5807-410A-9D9C-52E8FFAE2509 SUMMARY:Rock Camp SLC Camper Showcase DTSTAMP:20220614T202441Z DESCRIPTION:Rock Camp SLC presents 2022 June Camper Showcase!\NALL AGES ARE WELCOME TO ROCK OUT!\NSaturday, June 18th at The Commonwealth Room. Doors at 1:30 PM Show starts at 2:00 PM.\NCome see what happens when 60+ campers (ages 8-17) come together and form 12 bands in 5 days, then perform their original songs in one of Salt Lake's best music venues!\N$5 suggested donation for entry.\NMasks Required unless unable to wear one for medical reasons. We will continue to follow CDC guidelines and strive to keep our most vulnerable safe.\NAn ADA section will be available, if you have any other needs please reach out.\NIf you can't make the show, please spread the word about this event!Let's show these brave campers their community loves and supports them and their hard work.\NTake Up Space!!! BE LOUD!!! ♥ X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Rock Camp SLC presents 2022 June Camper Showcase!
ALL AGES ARE WELCOME TO ROCK OUT!
Saturday, June 18th at The Commonwealth Room. Doors at 1:30 PM Show starts at 2:00 PM.
Come see what happens when 60+ campers (ages 8-17) come together and form 12 bands in 5 days, then perform their original songs in one of Salt Lake's best music venues!
$5 suggested donation for entry.
Masks Required unless unable to wear one for medical reasons. We will continue to follow CDC guidelines and strive to keep our most vulnerable safe.
An ADA section will be available, if you have any other needs please reach out.
If you can't make the show, please spread the word about this event!
Let's show these brave campers their community loves and supports them and their hard work.
Take Up Space!!! BE LOUD!!! ♥
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220614T202540Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:480 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220716T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220716T220000 UID:219EE9AC-4318-4C50-8509-506179E015E7 SUMMARY:Grid City Fest DTSTAMP:20220617T172334Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220624T200204Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1211 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220717T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220717T210000 UID:107FEAFD-204E-4ECC-8BDC-2B08F070AC1F SUMMARY:Grid City Fest DTSTAMP:20220517T235615Z DESCRIPTION:Roscoe is a road dog. The 14-year-old Boston Terrier has been there for the whole ride of Mapache, Clay Finch and Sam Blasucci’s band, which has grown from being the casual project of two longtime buds to one of the most formidable cosmic-folk acts around. “Roscoe’s been through a lot of shit,” says Blasucci, the dog’s formal owner. “He’s been all around the country, come on tour a little bit.” With some bemused pride, Finch points out that, for a few years, he and Blasucci bunked together in a room in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles that was just big enough to fit two twin beds. “It was the two of us and the dog,” he laughs.\NNaturally, Roscoe has found himself the subject of a good handful of Mapache songs in the past—and on Roscoe’s Dream, the band’s third LP of originals, he takes center stage. (That’s him in quilt form on the album cover.) “I Love My Dog” opens up the album with a blissed-out stack of acoustic guitars and a lyrical explanation of one of Roscoe’s many talents: “I love my dog / Keepin’ the policeman out.”\NJust as much an easygoing trip with Gram Parsons into the desert as a mad dash with the Grateful Dead away from the law, Roscoe’s Dream is the purest distillation yet of the distinct Mapache sound, which has been brewing for many years now. Finch and Blasucci first met as students at La Cañada High School, just north of Los Angeles: “There wasn’t much supervision or anything,” remembers Blasucci. “It was really nice. And we got to just play guitars together.”\NThe two stayed friends through their college years—Finch went to Chico State and Blasucci spent two years as a missionary in Mexico—and eventually they ended up back in L.A., spending their days playing guitar together once again, just like old times. Working with producer/engineer Dan Horne (Cass McCombs, Allah-Lahs), they recorded two albums of originals (2017’s Mapache and 2020’s From Liberty Street) as well an album of covers, 2021’s 3. Often trading solos, and occasionally switching from English to Spanish, Finch and Blasucci are now a well-oiled machine.\NSo when it came time to record Roscoe’s Dream, they didn’t mess with the formula. The band booked some time at Horne’s Lone Palm Studio and called in a handful of friends to play additional parts, including Farmer Dave Scher of Beachwood Sparks on melodica and lap steel on a couple tracks. The family affair has always been how the band likes to work, but this time they approached it on a grander scale than before, recording live as a full group in some cases, as opposed to working over Finch and Blasucci’s initial guitar/vocal parts. “It was a bit more of a band experience,” explains Finch.\NThe finished product is an ode to the past as well as a bridge forward. Covers of songs like Bo Diddley’s “Diana” and Gabby Pahinui’s “Kaua‘i Beauty” act as nods to heroes of theirs while originals like “Man and Woman” and “Pearl to the Swine” take the template of golden-age rock and lovingly deconstruct it in a modernist lens. “(They Don’t Know) At the Beach” was inspired by the idea of what trailblazing oldies DJ Art Laboe might like—but the gentle ripper of a song would fit right in at a backyard party in 2022.\NHard to imagine after years of being roommates, Finch and Blasucci are also bridging forward in new ways themselves. After the album was in the can, Finch decided to get a little closer to the water by moving to Malibu, and Blasucci moved about an hour north to Ojai with his girlfriend (and Roscoe, of course). But they’re not worried about the new distance slowing them down: “I think if anything it will be bringing more things to the table,” Blasucci considers. “We’re just expanding out in different directions.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Roscoe is a road dog. The 14-year-old Boston Terrier has been there for the whole ride of Mapache, Clay Finch and Sam Blasucci’s band, which has grown from being the casual project of two longtime buds to one of the most formidable cosmic-folk acts around. “Roscoe’s been through a lot of shit,” says Blasucci, the dog’s formal owner. “He’s been all around the country, come on tour a little bit.” With some bemused pride, Finch points out that, for a few years, he and Blasucci bunked together in a room in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles that was just big enough to fit two twin beds. “It was the two of us and the dog,” he laughs.
Naturally, Roscoe has found himself the subject of a good handful of Mapache songs in the past—and on Roscoe’s Dream, the band’s third LP of originals, he takes center stage. (That’s him in quilt form on the album cover.) “I Love My Dog” opens up the album with a blissed-out stack of acoustic guitars and a lyrical explanation of one of Roscoe’s many talents: “I love my dog / Keepin’ the policeman out.”
Just as much an easygoing trip with Gram Parsons into the desert as a mad dash with the Grateful Dead away from the law, Roscoe’s Dream is the purest distillation yet of the distinct Mapache sound, which has been brewing for many years now. Finch and Blasucci first met as students at La Cañada High School, just north of Los Angeles: “There wasn’t much supervision or anything,” remembers Blasucci. “It was really nice. And we got to just play guitars together.”
The two stayed friends through their college years—Finch went to Chico State and Blasucci spent two years as a missionary in Mexico—and eventually they ended up back in L.A., spending their days playing guitar together once again, just like old times. Working with producer/engineer Dan Horne (Cass McCombs, Allah-Lahs), they recorded two albums of originals (2017’s Mapache and 2020’s From Liberty Street) as well an album of covers, 2021’s 3. Often trading solos, and occasionally switching from English to Spanish, Finch and Blasucci are now a well-oiled machine.
So when it came time to record Roscoe’s Dream, they didn’t mess with the formula. The band booked some time at Horne’s Lone Palm Studio and called in a handful of friends to play additional parts, including Farmer Dave Scher of Beachwood Sparks on melodica and lap steel on a couple tracks. The family affair has always been how the band likes to work, but this time they approached it on a grander scale than before, recording live as a full group in some cases, as opposed to working over Finch and Blasucci’s initial guitar/vocal parts. “It was a bit more of a band experience,” explains Finch.
The finished product is an ode to the past as well as a bridge forward. Covers of songs like Bo Diddley’s “Diana” and Gabby Pahinui’s “Kaua‘i Beauty” act as nods to heroes of theirs while originals like “Man and Woman” and “Pearl to the Swine” take the template of golden-age rock and lovingly deconstruct it in a modernist lens. “(They Don’t Know) At the Beach” was inspired by the idea of what trailblazing oldies DJ Art Laboe might like—but the gentle ripper of a song would fit right in at a backyard party in 2022.
Hard to imagine after years of being roommates, Finch and Blasucci are also bridging forward in new ways themselves. After the album was in the can, Finch decided to get a little closer to the water by moving to Malibu, and Blasucci moved about an hour north to Ojai with his girlfriend (and Roscoe, of course). But they’re not worried about the new distance slowing them down: “I think if anything it will be bringing more things to the table,” Blasucci considers. “We’re just expanding out in different directions.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220624T181834Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1822 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220802T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220802T233000 UID:A45AC243-842C-4092-85AC-8A1BB18FAD27 SUMMARY:Son Volt DTSTAMP:20220227T170000Z DESCRIPTION:Son Volt\N2020 was not quite what Jay Farrar was expecting for the 25th anniversary of Son Volt, the band he started in 1995 after leaving the seminal group Uncle Tupelo, whose No Depression album helped define the alt-country and Americana genre. The group had just finished an Outlaw Country Cruise when the pandemic hit and sent them into their homes on lockdown.\NInstead of a triumphant tour marking the illustrious landmark, Farrar was forced indoors by the pandemic, and his “Reverie” during that time helped define Electro Melodier, Son Volt’s 10th studio album – and third for influential Nashville indie Thirty Tigers. The title, taken from the names of two vintage amplifiers from the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, also describes the disc’s unique blend of folk, country, blues, soul and rock – an electric troubadour with melodies that hit and stick. Social protest songs like “Living in the U.S.A.” and “The Globe,” the former about the promises of this nation gone wrong, the latter referencing the street protests accompanying the Black Lives Matter movement, exist side by side with odes to long-term relationships (specifically his 25-year marriage) in “Diamonds and Cigarettes” and “Lucky Ones.”\NOnce again accompanied by the current Son Volt line up – keyboardist/steel guitarist Mark Spencer, bassist Andrew Duplantis, guitarist Chris Frame and drummer Mark Patterson – Farrar takes a slight turn from 2019’s politically pointed Union to a series of songs that asks questions rather than demanding answers – think of “Living in the U.S.A.” as Farrar’s version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” or Patti Smith’s “People Have the Power,” an anthem to unite the populace.\N“I had more time to devote to and concentrate on the writing,” says Farrar about his enforced quarantine. “We were fortunate in that we had just released Union and toured the country, so we were off cycle. It was still a rough year, but as a songwriter, I was able to make the most of it.”\NOne listen to Electro Melodier, which opens with “Reverie,” describing Farrar’s contemplative state gazing out his window, enlivened with Mark Spencer’s “Wichita Lineman” guitar riffs and the lush Big Star melodies, and you wonder why no other rock ‘n’ roll bands or singer/songwriters are making albums like this about what we’re all going through.\N“I wanted to concentrate on the melodies which got me into music in the first place,” says Farrar. “I wanted politics to take a back seat this time, but it always seems to find a way back in there.”\NListen to the Moog line from The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” channeled in “The Globe,” or the Led Zeppelin homage in “Someday Is Now,” the nod to gut-bucket Mississippi delta blues in the Lightnin’ Hopkins low-tuned guitar stylings of “War on Misery” or Spencer’s haunting slide on the funereal dirge of “The Levee On Down,” which takes Andrew Jackson to task for everything from the “Trail of Tears” massacre of the Cherokees to his face on the $20 bill instead of Harriet Tubman. The environmentally conscious “Arkey Blue” nods to a honky-tonk in Bandera, TX, Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar, where Hank Williams, Sr. allegedly carved his name into one of the wood tables, and even quotes Pope Francis on “turbulent rains never before seen.”\N“I’m just asking the same question, how can so much go wrong in a country that is held up as an example to the world of something righteous,” explains Farrar about songs like “Living in the U.S.A.,” in which you can hear doomsaying prophecies like Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction” set to the guitar riffs of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane.”Still based in St. Louis (“It kinda makes sense as a central location for touring because all the interstates connect through here”), Farrar was born in Belleville, IL, where he formed Uncle Tupelo with his high school classmate Jeff Tweedy. “We had similar musical interests and took it from there,” says Jay modestly about the groundbreaking group.Farrar is grateful to his wife of 25 years, a sentiment which he expresses lovingly on “Diamonds and Cigarettes” – featuring vocals by country singer Laura Cantrell, along with songs like the soulful “Lucky Ones” and “Sweet Refrain,” a song that captures the spirit of Bentonia, Mississippi, home of Skip James along with name checks for local legends Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and the Bluefront Cafe. “These are the Times” was recorded entirely remotely by Zoom, signaling one of the new methods of making music ushered in by Covid.\NWith tour dates scheduled before the end of 2021, Son Volt is ready to return to what they know best after a welcome period of introspection.“It’s a good time to take stock of what’s lost and what’s gained,” said Farrar. “At this point, we’re not even sure what we’re going to get back.”The songs of Electro Melodier help remind us to be thankful of what we still have – new music from Jay Farrar and Son Volt. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:2020 was not quite what Jay Farrar was expecting for the 25th anniversary of Son Volt, the band he started in 1995 after leaving the seminal group Uncle Tupelo, whose No Depression album helped define the alt-country and Americana genre. The group had just finished an Outlaw Country Cruise when the pandemic hit and sent them into their homes on lockdown.
Instead of a triumphant tour marking the illustrious landmark, Farrar was forced indoors by the pandemic, and his “Reverie” during that time helped define Electro Melodier, Son Volt’s 10th studio album – and third for influential Nashville indie Thirty Tigers. The title, taken from the names of two vintage amplifiers from the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, also describes the disc’s unique blend of folk, country, blues, soul and rock – an electric troubadour with melodies that hit and stick. Social protest songs like “Living in the U.S.A.” and “The Globe,” the former about the promises of this nation gone wrong, the latter referencing the street protests accompanying the Black Lives Matter movement, exist side by side with odes to long-term relationships (specifically his 25-year marriage) in “Diamonds and Cigarettes” and “Lucky Ones.”
Once again accompanied by the current Son Volt line up – keyboardist/steel guitarist Mark Spencer, bassist Andrew Duplantis, guitarist Chris Frame and drummer Mark Patterson – Farrar takes a slight turn from 2019’s politically pointed Union to a series of songs that asks questions rather than demanding answers – think of “Living in the U.S.A.” as Farrar’s version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” or Patti Smith’s “People Have the Power,” an anthem to unite the populace.
“I had more time to devote to and concentrate on the writing,” says Farrar about his enforced quarantine. “We were fortunate in that we had just released Union and toured the country, so we were off cycle. It was still a rough year, but as a songwriter, I was able to make the most of it.”
One listen to Electro Melodier, which opens with “Reverie,” describing Farrar’s contemplative state gazing out his window, enlivened with Mark Spencer’s “Wichita Lineman” guitar riffs and the lush Big Star melodies, and you wonder why no other rock ‘n’ roll bands or singer/songwriters are making albums like this about what we’re all going through.
“I wanted to concentrate on the melodies which got me into music in the first place,” says Farrar. “I wanted politics to take a back seat this time, but it always seems to find a way back in there.”
Listen to the Moog line from The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” channeled in “The Globe,” or the Led Zeppelin homage in “Someday Is Now,” the nod to gut-bucket Mississippi delta blues in the Lightnin’ Hopkins low-tuned guitar stylings of “War on Misery” or Spencer’s haunting slide on the funereal dirge of “The Levee On Down,” which takes Andrew Jackson to task for everything from the “Trail of Tears” massacre of the Cherokees to his face on the $20 bill instead of Harriet Tubman. The environmentally conscious “Arkey Blue” nods to a honky-tonk in Bandera, TX, Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar, where Hank Williams, Sr. allegedly carved his name into one of the wood tables, and even quotes Pope Francis on “turbulent rains never before seen.”
“I’m just asking the same question, how can so much go wrong in a country that is held up as an example to the world of something righteous,” explains Farrar about songs like “Living in the U.S.A.,” in which you can hear doomsaying prophecies like Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction” set to the guitar riffs of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane.”
Still based in St. Louis (“It kinda makes sense as a central location for touring because all the interstates connect through here”), Farrar was born in Belleville, IL, where he formed Uncle Tupelo with his high school classmate Jeff Tweedy. “We had similar musical interests and took it from there,” says Jay modestly about the groundbreaking group.
Farrar is grateful to his wife of 25 years, a sentiment which he expresses lovingly on “Diamonds and Cigarettes” – featuring vocals by country singer Laura Cantrell, along with songs like the soulful “Lucky Ones” and “Sweet Refrain,” a song that captures the spirit of Bentonia, Mississippi, home of Skip James along with name checks for local legends Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and the Bluefront Cafe. “These are the Times” was recorded entirely remotely by Zoom, signaling one of the new methods of making music ushered in by Covid.
With tour dates scheduled before the end of 2021, Son Volt is ready to return to what they know best after a welcome period of introspection.
“It’s a good time to take stock of what’s lost and what’s gained,” said Farrar. “At this point, we’re not even sure what we’re going to get back.”
The songs of Electro Melodier help remind us to be thankful of what we still have – new music from Jay Farrar and Son Volt.
"Brooklyn’s Kaleta & Super Yamba Band are fronted by Afrobeat and Juju veteran Leon Ligan-Majek a.k.a. Kaleta. The singer/guitarist from the West African country of Benin Republic lived his adolescent life in Lagos, Nigeria where Afrobeat was born. Kaleta's guitar chops earned him decades of touring and recording with Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Lauryn Hill and more. Kaleta got his start in the late 70s performing in church and was soon after picked up by iconic Juju master and world music pioneer King Sunny Ade. A few years later Fela Kuti came calling. Kaleta would go on to tour the world playing guitar for the King of Afrobeat in his storied band Egypt 80 through the 1980s and into the 1990s. Now based in New York City, Kaleta has been leading Super Yamba Band since 2017. Their debut album ""Mèdaho,"" which was released by California indie label Ubiquity Records, draws on the group’s shared reverence for the raw, psychedelic sounds that captivated Kaleta as a music loving kid in 1970s Benin. Mèdaho means ""big brother,"" ""elder"" or ""teacher"" and is dedicated to Kaleta's late brother Ligan-Ozavino Pascal who introduced him to funk and soul music at a very early age. The album was included on Bandcamp’s “Best Albums of Summer 2019” list and two of the songs were chosen for the ABC/Hulu series High Fidelity staring Zoe Kravitz. Kaleta and his band have also erupted onto the stages and video screens of major music festivals and music publications across the US. They performed at the historic Apollo Theatre in 2019. They even prompted Action Bronson to stop his own show on VICELAND TV just so he could hear more Yamba. They also performed on Adult Swim’s Fishcenter Live show in 2019. In 2017 they rocked Paste Magazine’s Emerging Music Festival in NYC and after that performance Afropop Worldwide fell in love with Kaleta, saying “his James Brown grunts have got to be some of the best in the business!”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220802T161715Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1286 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220806T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220806T220000 UID:73FD7CC8-BBDB-447A-B749-A700C23A03D7 SUMMARY:Micky & The Motorcars / Jordan Matthew Young DTSTAMP:20220617T165516Z DESCRIPTION:For a handful of summers about 30 years ago, tourists who wandered into a large dancehall in Stanley, Idaho, witnessed a family tradition finding new life. Young and old sat shoulder-to-shoulder, taking a break from the town’s mountain hikes and river campgrounds to take in Muzzie Braun and the Boys––a local family band who’d made it to the Grand Ole Opry, effortlessly spouted cowboy poetry and Western swing at gatherings around the country, and featured Muzzie’s four young sons––precocious boys with rock-and-roll futures.\N“There were kids running around, people dancing,” says Micky Braun, the youngest brother who first climbed on stage to join the family when he was about five years-old. “Gary and I’d get up and play a couple of songs, then we’d get off and the older brothers would stay up and play a couple more. It’s pretty funny, looking back on it.” He laughs a little, then adds, still smiling, “That’s how we got started playing.”\NThe Braun brothers never stopped. Big brothers Cody and Willy started Reckless Kelly, and Micky and Gary left Idaho for Austin and started Micky and the Motorcars, a road-dogging favorite whose nonstop tour for the last 17 years has defined not just the lives of the brothers, but also shaped Austin’s roots-rock resurgence that has played out over the last two decades. With their anticipated new album Long Time Comin’, the Motorcars cement their place as elder statesmen of that alt-country scene who have managed to master that ever-elusive blend of artistic familiarity and surprise.\N“I hope people take the time to hear the album as a whole, and I hope they like it,” Gary says from his home in Austin. “I think this one is a little bit better.” He pauses and laughs as he drawls, “So I hope they like it a little more.”\NFor the Motorcars, the question is never really whether to tour but where to play next. Gary––who handles guitar, mandolin, harmonica, harmonies, and occasionally lead vocals––and Micky, lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist, are joined in the Motorcars by Joe Fladger on bass, Bobby Paugh on drums and percussion, and new bandmate Pablo Trujillo on guitar. The combination of familiar and fresh players has reinvigorated the Motorcars’ live show, which buzzes through a low-key rock-and-roll rapture built on grooves and the Brauns’ signature harmonies.\NA mix of new and old also shaped the Long Time Comin’ recording process. Produced by Keith Gattis, the 11-song album relied in part on Gattis’ go-to Nashville studio players––a first for the Motorcars. “It still sounds like Micky and the Motorcars, but it was fun working with different guys who we’d never worked with before,” Micky says. “They’ve been Keith’s band for 15 years. He can say, ‘Give me a shuffle with a boom-chuck,’ and they know what he’s talking about.”\NThe band isn’t the only change on Long Time Comin’. Gary, who has always contributed a song or two to Motorcar records, wrote or co-wrote six of the album’s tracks and sings every tune he penned. “I don’t think I decided to really write more––I think I just got better at it and worked a little harder at it the past couple of years,” Gary says. “In the past, I just let Micky do it because he was good at it. It was easy for me not to do it.”\NMicky loves the shift. “It’s almost a split album between the two of us on lead vocal––very different from our normal,” he says. “I think our fans will enjoy it. They always love the songs Gary sings live. They always want him to sing more.”\NThe album kicks off with the ambling “Road to You.” Written by Micky and Courtney Patton, the rollicking singalong is classic Motorcars and an ideal welcome mat for the collection. Sauntering “Rodeo Girl” swings and punches up the pace, before “Alone Again Tonight”––a Gary track written with Gattis––watches loneliness with empathetic ache.\NSeveral tracks take note of the universal search for comfort––even when it’s not the stuff of fairytales or even particularly dignified. Over crunchy guitars, “Stranger Tonight” captures an evening’s quest for no-strings companionship. “It was an idea I had just watching people at bars––that lonely girl I saw time and time again but with a different set of glasses, over and over,” Gary says. “It seems like everybody can relate to that––out looking for something new that doesn’t have to be love.”\NSweet and sad, “Break My Heart,” another track penned by Gary with Jeff Crosby, looks back after the end of a relationship. “You’re not mad anymore but you’re thankful of the good times,” Gary says. “It’s also about finding yourself again. It’s a moving-on song.” Quiet and sparse, the Gary-penned “Run into You” details a longing to cross paths with an ex-lover who’s moved on with heartbreaking clarity.\NAnchored by crying B-3 organ, “Hold This Town Together” explores the struggle to enjoy what once was easy after the loss of someone who’ll never come back. After years of trying, Micky wrote the song for Mark, a friend and the Motorcars’ first bassist, who passed away. “Hold This Town,” written by Micky and Jeff Crosby, muses over the hometown faces and places that never change. “There are the same people at the same bars, the same people working at the grocery stores,” Micky says, then adds with a laugh, “It’s kind of a depressing party song.” Another Jeff Crosby-Micky collaboration, “Thank My Mother’s God” pays beautiful tribute to moms and their devotion to their black sheep, running wild.\NTwo album standouts stand tall: “Lions of Kandahar,” written by Gary alone, and the title track, which Micky penned with master songwriter Bruce Robison. Over instrumentation that evokes the tense hum of Middle Eastern military activity, “Lions of Kandahar” follows a deployment from a first-person perspective. The result is jarring, compelling, and deeply human––a breathtaking piece of songwriting that took five years to complete. Winsome “Long Time Comin’” is an ode to the satisfaction of patience and perseverance rewarded in different forms––a stunning tapestry that also reflects the road to the album itself.\NGuitars and songs at the ready, Micky and Gary hope most of all that their sprawling cross-continental fanbase connect with Long Time Comin’, a collection four years in the making. “If you can put your heart on your sleeve and say it, it’s the best medicine for people,” Micky says, reflecting on the album. “They can lock into it and enjoy the ride.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:For a handful of summers about 30 years ago, tourists who wandered into a large dancehall in Stanley, Idaho, witnessed a family tradition finding new life. Young and old sat shoulder-to-shoulder, taking a break from the town’s mountain hikes and river campgrounds to take in Muzzie Braun and the Boys––a local family band who’d made it to the Grand Ole Opry, effortlessly spouted cowboy poetry and Western swing at gatherings around the country, and featured Muzzie’s four young sons––precocious boys with rock-and-roll futures.
“There were kids running around, people dancing,” says Micky Braun, the youngest brother who first climbed on stage to join the family when he was about five years-old. “Gary and I’d get up and play a couple of songs, then we’d get off and the older brothers would stay up and play a couple more. It’s pretty funny, looking back on it.” He laughs a little, then adds, still smiling, “That’s how we got started playing.”
The Braun brothers never stopped. Big brothers Cody and Willy started Reckless Kelly, and Micky and Gary left Idaho for Austin and started Micky and the Motorcars, a road-dogging favorite whose nonstop tour for the last 17 years has defined not just the lives of the brothers, but also shaped Austin’s roots-rock resurgence that has played out over the last two decades. With their anticipated new album Long Time Comin’, the Motorcars cement their place as elder statesmen of that alt-country scene who have managed to master that ever-elusive blend of artistic familiarity and surprise.
“I hope people take the time to hear the album as a whole, and I hope they like it,” Gary says from his home in Austin. “I think this one is a little bit better.” He pauses and laughs as he drawls, “So I hope they like it a little more.”
For the Motorcars, the question is never really whether to tour but where to play next. Gary––who handles guitar, mandolin, harmonica, harmonies, and occasionally lead vocals––and Micky, lead vocalist and acoustic guitarist, are joined in the Motorcars by Joe Fladger on bass, Bobby Paugh on drums and percussion, and new bandmate Pablo Trujillo on guitar. The combination of familiar and fresh players has reinvigorated the Motorcars’ live show, which buzzes through a low-key rock-and-roll rapture built on grooves and the Brauns’ signature harmonies.
A mix of new and old also shaped the Long Time Comin’ recording process. Produced by Keith Gattis, the 11-song album relied in part on Gattis’ go-to Nashville studio players––a first for the Motorcars. “It still sounds like Micky and the Motorcars, but it was fun working with different guys who we’d never worked with before,” Micky says. “They’ve been Keith’s band for 15 years. He can say, ‘Give me a shuffle with a boom-chuck,’ and they know what he’s talking about.”
The band isn’t the only change on Long Time Comin’. Gary, who has always contributed a song or two to Motorcar records, wrote or co-wrote six of the album’s tracks and sings every tune he penned. “I don’t think I decided to really write more––I think I just got better at it and worked a little harder at it the past couple of years,” Gary says. “In the past, I just let Micky do it because he was good at it. It was easy for me not to do it.”
Micky loves the shift. “It’s almost a split album between the two of us on lead vocal––very different from our normal,” he says. “I think our fans will enjoy it. They always love the songs Gary sings live. They always want him to sing more.”
The album kicks off with the ambling “Road to You.” Written by Micky and Courtney Patton, the rollicking singalong is classic Motorcars and an ideal welcome mat for the collection. Sauntering “Rodeo Girl” swings and punches up the pace, before “Alone Again Tonight”––a Gary track written with Gattis––watches loneliness with empathetic ache.
Several tracks take note of the universal search for comfort––even when it’s not the stuff of fairytales or even particularly dignified. Over crunchy guitars, “Stranger Tonight” captures an evening’s quest for no-strings companionship. “It was an idea I had just watching people at bars––that lonely girl I saw time and time again but with a different set of glasses, over and over,” Gary says. “It seems like everybody can relate to that––out looking for something new that doesn’t have to be love.”
Sweet and sad, “Break My Heart,” another track penned by Gary with Jeff Crosby, looks back after the end of a relationship. “You’re not mad anymore but you’re thankful of the good times,” Gary says. “It’s also about finding yourself again. It’s a moving-on song.” Quiet and sparse, the Gary-penned “Run into You” details a longing to cross paths with an ex-lover who’s moved on with heartbreaking clarity.
Anchored by crying B-3 organ, “Hold This Town Together” explores the struggle to enjoy what once was easy after the loss of someone who’ll never come back. After years of trying, Micky wrote the song for Mark, a friend and the Motorcars’ first bassist, who passed away. “Hold This Town,” written by Micky and Jeff Crosby, muses over the hometown faces and places that never change. “There are the same people at the same bars, the same people working at the grocery stores,” Micky says, then adds with a laugh, “It’s kind of a depressing party song.” Another Jeff Crosby-Micky collaboration, “Thank My Mother’s God” pays beautiful tribute to moms and their devotion to their black sheep, running wild.
Two album standouts stand tall: “Lions of Kandahar,” written by Gary alone, and the title track, which Micky penned with master songwriter Bruce Robison. Over instrumentation that evokes the tense hum of Middle Eastern military activity, “Lions of Kandahar” follows a deployment from a first-person perspective. The result is jarring, compelling, and deeply human––a breathtaking piece of songwriting that took five years to complete. Winsome “Long Time Comin’” is an ode to the satisfaction of patience and perseverance rewarded in different forms––a stunning tapestry that also reflects the road to the album itself.
Guitars and songs at the ready, Micky and Gary hope most of all that their sprawling cross-continental fanbase connect with Long Time Comin’, a collection four years in the making. “If you can put your heart on your sleeve and say it, it’s the best medicine for people,” Micky says, reflecting on the album. “They can lock into it and enjoy the ride.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220802T161734Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1235 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220820T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220820T233000 UID:7E0A0457-252D-484E-8529-43B60380238F SUMMARY:FREE SHOW // Talia Keys, Sammy Brue, and members of Red Dog Revival! DTSTAMP:20220411T180646Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220821T005605Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:269 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220821T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220821T220000 UID:8162435D-8271-4C4E-86D3-1EE5FBDD9C43 SUMMARY:Shamarr Allen / Flamingo DTSTAMP:20220617T170240Z DESCRIPTION:Shamarr Allen is the definition of New Orleans! Hailing from the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Allen has influences in jazz, hip-hop, rock, funk rhythms, blues and country. He is the lead vocalist and trumpeter of his band “Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs.” In addition to performing with his band, Allen has collaborated with many renowned artists around the world such as Willie Nelson, Patti LaBelle, Galatic, Harrick Connick Jr, and Lenny Kravitz, to name a few. He is a sought after artist for festivals and venues around the world. In addition to displaying his skills on the front-line as a lead performer, Allen is also a music composer, writer, and producer. With a scintillating and unique sound, look, and exemplary talents, Shamarr Allen transcends musical boundaries. He is the True Orleans experience! X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Shamarr Allen is the definition of New Orleans! Hailing from the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Allen has influences in jazz, hip-hop, rock, funk rhythms, blues and country. He is the lead vocalist and trumpeter of his band “Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs.” In addition to performing with his band, Allen has collaborated with many renowned artists around the world such as Willie Nelson, Patti LaBelle, Galatic, Harrick Connick Jr, and Lenny Kravitz, to name a few. He is a sought after artist for festivals and venues around the world. In addition to displaying his skills on the front-line as a lead performer, Allen is also a music composer, writer, and producer. With a scintillating and unique sound, look, and exemplary talents, Shamarr Allen transcends musical boundaries. He is the True Orleans experience!
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220817T192012Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1139 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220826T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220826T233000 UID:3D58A606-86D3-41D2-A756-2C35FF8ED81A SUMMARY:John Moreland DTSTAMP:20211020T224409Z DESCRIPTION:Over the last half a dozen years or so, John Moreland’s honesty has stunned us––and stung. As he put hurts we didn’t even realize we had or shared into his songs, we sang along. And we felt better. But there has always been far more to Moreland than sad songs. Today, his earthbound poetry remains potent, but in addition to his world-weary candor, Moreland’s music smolders with gentle wisdom, flashes of wit and joy, and compassion. And once again, as we listen, we feel better.\N“I can’t dress myself up and be some folk singer character that I’m not really,” Moreland says. “I figured, I can’t dress up these songs and try to sell them that way. All I can do is be me.”\NOut February 2020, his latest album LP5 proves John Moreland has gotten really good at being John Moreland––thank God. A masterful display of songwriting by one of today’s best young practitioners of the art form, LP5 is Moreland’s finest record to date. The album’s experimentations with instrumentation and sounds capture an artist whose confidence has grown, all without abandoning the hardy roots rock bed and the lyrics-first approach Moreland’s work demands. “I feel like just this year, in the past few months, I’ve reached a point where I feel like I know what I’m doing here now,” he says. “And I feel comfortable with it.”\NThere was a time when Moreland thought LP5 may not happen. Wary of expectations and his cemented status as a writer’s writer and critical darling, the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Moreland found writing difficult at best––and completely undesirable at worst. “I’m hesitant to talk about it because I know people don’t want to hear some dude complaining that his dream of being a successful musician came true, but there are things about it that you don’t expect that can mess you up,” Moreland says. “One of the results of that was I really didn’t want to write songs for a couple of years.” He pauses and sighs. “One of the ways I got back into liking music again was to let go of the idea that every time I’d go mess around with an instrument, I’d have to be writing a really good song. I just gave myself the freedom to go into my little music room every day and mess around with different instruments and different sounds. It doesn’t have to be anything. It doesn’t have to result in anything.”\NMoreland points to that liberating rediscovery as a major influence on the sonic choices that shape LP5. There is no grand or alarming stylistic departure here––just different textures and background layers that add muscly new dimensions to Moreland’s heretofore instrumentally sparse recordings. The record also marks Moreland’s first time working with a producer. He chose Matt Pence. “I wouldn’t say that he pushed me into trying anything that I didn’t already want to do, but I think I came in with a lot of ideas that I found interesting but didn’t know how to execute. Matt was great at expanding on those things,” Moreland says.\NFor Moreland, falling back in love with music also coincided with an even more personal change. “This past year, I’ve been getting into mindfulness and being kinder to myself,” he says. “I was really on that wave when I started writing these songs. I guess it shows.”\NIt does show––beautifully. Album opener “Harder Dreams” is a clear-eyed confession, not of wrongdoing, but of disbelief in a life defined by unworthiness and threatened by damnation. Echoing percussive punches make the music sound like a transmitted message, fighting its way through the atmosphere. Punctuated by keys and fuzzy guitar, “Terrestrial” picks up on the same idea, and delivers the kind of killer line we’ve come to expect from Moreland: “As a child I repented my nature, till as a man, I repented my past.”\N“It goes back to being kind to yourself,” Moreland says. “Part of that process for me was realizing all the ways I have been taught or learned to be cruel to myself or to hate myself through my life. A big source of that was church for me. They teach you that you’re bad and you have to repent for what you are. Now, I feel like I’ve grown up, and I repent for that––because that was a sin against myself.”\NSlow-burning blues song “A Thought is Just a Passing Train” quells worry with the truth: “I had a thought about darkness. / A thought’s just a passing train,” Moreland sings. His gravelly voice, capable of both hushed devastation and rock-anthem growls, sounds more powerful than ever. “Learning How to Tell Myself the Truth” is both wry and gorgeous––a rare combination Moreland is uniquely suited to perfect. “I Always Let You Burn Me to the Ground” unfurls into a plea and admission, while harmonica-rich “Let Me Be Understood” looks backward with new eyes and embraces enlightenment. Two instrumentals offer meditative pauses: “Two Stars” plays like a lilting acoustic guitar lullaby, while “For Ichiro” breaks with expectations to revel in mesmerizing keys and trills.\NMoreland wrote “When My Fever Breaks” for his wife. He started the song when the two were dating, then finished it three years later. The track is a tribute to the trust and comfort that come with being loved well. “It took me a long time to write it,” he says. “It was hard to figure out, how do I write the kind of love song that I am comfortable with?”\NAchingly beautiful “In the Times Between” was inspired by Moreland’s friend Chris Porter, a singer-songwriter who died on the road in 2016. Moreland wrote the song about two weeks after Porter passed, when the pain was still heavy and constant. Line after line captures moments Porter’s presence is felt––as well as his absence.\NWith its winsome singalong chorus and big organ chords, “East October” is a striking highlight. The song’s title nods to Porter, whose song “East December” reframed time as progress from east to west. Moreland’s song asks tough questions with tender persistence.\NWhen pressed about the hard-won wisdom and peace that seem to define LP5, Moreland is characteristically both direct and humble. “I definitely am wiser than I was five years ago––I guess anybody would hope to be wiser than they were five years ago,” he says with a laugh. “But I do feel more mellow. Settled. I don’t feel as antsy or think I’ve got to prove myself anymore. I feel really comfortable and free to just do what I want to do.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Over the last half a dozen years or so, John Moreland’s honesty has stunned us––and stung. As he put hurts we didn’t even realize we had or shared into his songs, we sang along. And we felt better. But there has always been far more to Moreland than sad songs. Today, his earthbound poetry remains potent, but in addition to his world-weary candor, Moreland’s music smolders with gentle wisdom, flashes of wit and joy, and compassion. And once again, as we listen, we feel better.
“I can’t dress myself up and be some folk singer character that I’m not really,” Moreland says. “I figured, I can’t dress up these songs and try to sell them that way. All I can do is be me.”
Out February 2020, his latest album LP5 proves John Moreland has gotten really good at being John Moreland––thank God. A masterful display of songwriting by one of today’s best young practitioners of the art form, LP5 is Moreland’s finest record to date. The album’s experimentations with instrumentation and sounds capture an artist whose confidence has grown, all without abandoning the hardy roots rock bed and the lyrics-first approach Moreland’s work demands. “I feel like just this year, in the past few months, I’ve reached a point where I feel like I know what I’m doing here now,” he says. “And I feel comfortable with it.”
There was a time when Moreland thought LP5 may not happen. Wary of expectations and his cemented status as a writer’s writer and critical darling, the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Moreland found writing difficult at best––and completely undesirable at worst. “I’m hesitant to talk about it because I know people don’t want to hear some dude complaining that his dream of being a successful musician came true, but there are things about it that you don’t expect that can mess you up,” Moreland says. “One of the results of that was I really didn’t want to write songs for a couple of years.” He pauses and sighs. “One of the ways I got back into liking music again was to let go of the idea that every time I’d go mess around with an instrument, I’d have to be writing a really good song. I just gave myself the freedom to go into my little music room every day and mess around with different instruments and different sounds. It doesn’t have to be anything. It doesn’t have to result in anything.”
Moreland points to that liberating rediscovery as a major influence on the sonic choices that shape LP5. There is no grand or alarming stylistic departure here––just different textures and background layers that add muscly new dimensions to Moreland’s heretofore instrumentally sparse recordings. The record also marks Moreland’s first time working with a producer. He chose Matt Pence. “I wouldn’t say that he pushed me into trying anything that I didn’t already want to do, but I think I came in with a lot of ideas that I found interesting but didn’t know how to execute. Matt was great at expanding on those things,” Moreland says.
For Moreland, falling back in love with music also coincided with an even more personal change. “This past year, I’ve been getting into mindfulness and being kinder to myself,” he says. “I was really on that wave when I started writing these songs. I guess it shows.”
It does show––beautifully. Album opener “Harder Dreams” is a clear-eyed confession, not of wrongdoing, but of disbelief in a life defined by unworthiness and threatened by damnation. Echoing percussive punches make the music sound like a transmitted message, fighting its way through the atmosphere. Punctuated by keys and fuzzy guitar, “Terrestrial” picks up on the same idea, and delivers the kind of killer line we’ve come to expect from Moreland: “As a child I repented my nature, till as a man, I repented my past.”
“It goes back to being kind to yourself,” Moreland says. “Part of that process for me was realizing all the ways I have been taught or learned to be cruel to myself or to hate myself through my life. A big source of that was church for me. They teach you that you’re bad and you have to repent for what you are. Now, I feel like I’ve grown up, and I repent for that––because that was a sin against myself.”
Slow-burning blues song “A Thought is Just a Passing Train” quells worry with the truth: “I had a thought about darkness. / A thought’s just a passing train,” Moreland sings. His gravelly voice, capable of both hushed devastation and rock-anthem growls, sounds more powerful than ever. “Learning How to Tell Myself the Truth” is both wry and gorgeous––a rare combination Moreland is uniquely suited to perfect. “I Always Let You Burn Me to the Ground” unfurls into a plea and admission, while harmonica-rich “Let Me Be Understood” looks backward with new eyes and embraces enlightenment. Two instrumentals offer meditative pauses: “Two Stars” plays like a lilting acoustic guitar lullaby, while “For Ichiro” breaks with expectations to revel in mesmerizing keys and trills.
Moreland wrote “When My Fever Breaks” for his wife. He started the song when the two were dating, then finished it three years later. The track is a tribute to the trust and comfort that come with being loved well. “It took me a long time to write it,” he says. “It was hard to figure out, how do I write the kind of love song that I am comfortable with?”
Achingly beautiful “In the Times Between” was inspired by Moreland’s friend Chris Porter, a singer-songwriter who died on the road in 2016. Moreland wrote the song about two weeks after Porter passed, when the pain was still heavy and constant. Line after line captures moments Porter’s presence is felt––as well as his absence.
With its winsome singalong chorus and big organ chords, “East October” is a striking highlight. The song’s title nods to Porter, whose song “East December” reframed time as progress from east to west. Moreland’s song asks tough questions with tender persistence.
When pressed about the hard-won wisdom and peace that seem to define LP5, Moreland is characteristically both direct and humble. “I definitely am wiser than I was five years ago––I guess anybody would hope to be wiser than they were five years ago,” he says with a laugh. “But I do feel more mellow. Settled. I don’t feel as antsy or think I’ve got to prove myself anymore. I feel really comfortable and free to just do what I want to do.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220405T231651Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3506 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220909T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220909T203000 UID:5E0367CB-9428-48ED-BABA-E2858A14900E SUMMARY:Béla Fleck — My Bluegrass Heart DTSTAMP:20220621T162113Z DESCRIPTION:Béla FleckJust in case you aren’t familiar with Béla Fleck, there are many who say he’s the premiere banjo player in the world. Others claim that Fleck has virtually reinvented the image and the sound of the banjo through a remarkable performing and recording career that has taken him all over the musical map and on a range of solo projects and collaborations. If you are familiar with Fleck, you know that he just loves to play the banjo, and put it into unique settings.\NA fifteen-time Grammy Award-winner, Fleck has the virtuosic, jazz-to-classical ingenuity of an iconic instrumentalist and composer with bluegrass roots. His collaborations range from his ground-breaking standard-setting ensemble Béla Fleck and the Flecktones to a staggeringly broad array of musical experiments. From writing concertos for full symphony orchestra, exploring the banjo’s African roots, and collaborating with Indian musical royalty Zakir Hussain and Rakesh Churasia with Edgar Meyer, to performing as a folk duo with wife Abigail Washburn, and jazz duos with Chick Corea, many tout that Béla Fleck is the world’s premier banjo player. As Jon Pareles wrote for The New York Times, “That’s a lot of territory for five strings.”\NSierra HullIn her first 25 years alone, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sierra Hull hit more milestones than many musicians accomplish in a lifetime. After making her Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 10, the Tennessee-bred virtuoso mandolinist played Carnegie Hall at age 12, then landed a deal with Rounder Records just a year later. Now 28-years-old, Hull delivered her fourth full-length album for Rounder in 2020: an elegantly inventive and endlessly captivating album called 25 Trips. Revealing her profound warmth as a storyteller, the album finds Hull shedding light on the beauty and chaos and sometimes sorrow of growing up and getting older. To that end, the album’s title nods to a particularly momentous year of her life, including her marriage to fellow bluegrass musician Justin Moses and the release of her widely acclaimed album Weighted Mind — a Béla Fleck-produced effort nominated for Best Folk Album at the 2017 Grammy Awards.\NBilly ContrerasBilly Contreras is a fiddler from Nashville TN. He has studied with Buddy Spicher and Rachel Barton Pine. He enjoys playing a variety of styles as well as reimagining old tunes and also coming up with new ones. Billy is incredibly honored to be a part of Bela Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart record. He has recorded or performed with Crystal Gayle, George Jones, Lionel Hampton, Doc Severinsen, Marty Stuart, Ray Price, and The Texas Playboys among others. Billy is the fiddler for Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder and teaches at Belmont University as well as performing and recording in Nashville and around the country.\NJustin MosesJustin Moses is an award winning multi-instrumentalist celebrated as one of the most versatile musicians in all of acoustic music. A prominent Nashville session musician, he has appeared on stage or in the studio with an endless list of diverse artists such as Alison Krauss, Del McCoury, Garth Brooks, Emmylou Harris, Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, Bruce Hornsby, Béla Fleck, Peter Frampton, Rosanne Cash, Marty Stuart and Barry Gibb among many others. In 2018 and 2020 he was named Dobro Player of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association. Moses began his musical journey at the age of six after becoming interested in the mandolin. He soon developed a lasting passion for making music. He started to hone his skills playing in his family's band as a child. Since then, he's toured with bands such as Blue Moon Rising, The Dan Tyminski Band, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Blue Highway and The Gibson Brothers. In his two-year stint with Tyminski, he realized an early dream of playing the Grand Ole Opry for the first time and recorded the 2009 IBMA Album of the Year and Grammy-nominated album, Wheels. He released his full-length album Fall Like Rain on January 22, 2021 with Mountain Fever Records.\NShaun RichardsonWith a seasoned career already under his belt, Shaun is no stranger to the music industry. Originally hailing from Michigan where he honed his craft from a young age, Shaun made the move to Nashville while already in-demand for on the road touring and session work. Shaun has been able to contribute his artistic vision to a unique variation of musical projects. With accomplished skills in multi-instrumental musicianship, writing and arranging, and producing, he plays a triple threat in everything he is a part of.\NMark SchatzTwice named IBMA’s Bass Player of the Year, Mark Schatz has toured and recorded with a stellar array of artists including Bela Fleck, Tony Rice, John Hartford, Tim O’Brien, Nickel Creek, Claire Lynch, and Sarah Jarosz. Mark is the Musical Director for internationally acclaimed Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble which showcases other talents such as clawhammer banjo and Southern Appalachian clog dancing. This versatile multi-instrumentalist has two of his own solo recordings, Brand New Old Tyme Way and Steppin’ in the Boiler House on Rounder Records, which feature his own eclectic blend of original compositions on the banjo, and two bass instructional videos on Homespun. Mark recently launched his own solo show: Mark Schatz — The Solo Concert, in which he brings all of his skills to bear to tell his story through his own tunes and songs. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Béla Fleck
Just in case you aren’t familiar with Béla Fleck, there are many who say he’s the premiere banjo player in the world. Others claim that Fleck has virtually reinvented the image and the sound of the banjo through a remarkable performing and recording career that has taken him all over the musical map and on a range of solo projects and collaborations. If you are familiar with Fleck, you know that he just loves to play the banjo, and put it into unique settings.
A fifteen-time Grammy Award-winner, Fleck has the virtuosic, jazz-to-classical ingenuity of an iconic instrumentalist and composer with bluegrass roots. His collaborations range from his ground-breaking standard-setting ensemble Béla Fleck and the Flecktones to a staggeringly broad array of musical experiments. From writing concertos for full symphony orchestra, exploring the banjo’s African roots, and collaborating with Indian musical royalty Zakir Hussain and Rakesh Churasia with Edgar Meyer, to performing as a folk duo with wife Abigail Washburn, and jazz duos with Chick Corea, many tout that Béla Fleck is the world’s premier banjo player. As Jon Pareles wrote for The New York Times, “That’s a lot of territory for five strings.”
Sierra Hull
In her first 25 years alone, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sierra Hull hit more milestones than many musicians accomplish in a lifetime. After making her Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 10, the Tennessee-bred virtuoso mandolinist played Carnegie Hall at age 12, then landed a deal with Rounder Records just a year later. Now 28-years-old, Hull delivered her fourth full-length album for Rounder in 2020: an elegantly inventive and endlessly captivating album called 25 Trips. Revealing her profound warmth as a storyteller, the album finds Hull shedding light on the beauty and chaos and sometimes sorrow of growing up and getting older. To that end, the album’s title nods to a particularly momentous year of her life, including her marriage to fellow bluegrass musician Justin Moses and the release of her widely acclaimed album Weighted Mind — a Béla Fleck-produced effort nominated for Best Folk Album at the 2017 Grammy Awards.
Billy Contreras
Billy Contreras is a fiddler from Nashville TN. He has studied with Buddy Spicher and Rachel Barton Pine. He enjoys playing a variety of styles as well as reimagining old tunes and also coming up with new ones. Billy is incredibly honored to be a part of Bela Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart record. He has recorded or performed with Crystal Gayle, George Jones, Lionel Hampton, Doc Severinsen, Marty Stuart, Ray Price, and The Texas Playboys among others. Billy is the fiddler for Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder and teaches at Belmont University as well as performing and recording in Nashville and around the country.
Justin Moses
Justin Moses is an award winning multi-instrumentalist celebrated as one of the most versatile musicians in all of acoustic music. A prominent Nashville session musician, he has appeared on stage or in the studio with an endless list of diverse artists such as Alison Krauss, Del McCoury, Garth Brooks, Emmylou Harris, Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, Bruce Hornsby, Béla Fleck, Peter Frampton, Rosanne Cash, Marty Stuart and Barry Gibb among many others. In 2018 and 2020 he was named Dobro Player of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association. Moses began his musical journey at the age of six after becoming interested in the mandolin. He soon developed a lasting passion for making music. He started to hone his skills playing in his family's band as a child. Since then, he's toured with bands such as Blue Moon Rising, The Dan Tyminski Band, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Blue Highway and The Gibson Brothers. In his two-year stint with Tyminski, he realized an early dream of playing the Grand Ole Opry for the first time and recorded the 2009 IBMA Album of the Year and Grammy-nominated album, Wheels. He released his full-length album Fall Like Rain on January 22, 2021 with Mountain Fever Records.
Shaun Richardson
With a seasoned career already under his belt, Shaun is no stranger to the music industry. Originally hailing from Michigan where he honed his craft from a young age, Shaun made the move to Nashville while already in-demand for on the road touring and session work. Shaun has been able to contribute his artistic vision to a unique variation of musical projects. With accomplished skills in multi-instrumental musicianship, writing and arranging, and producing, he plays a triple threat in everything he is a part of.
Mark Schatz
Twice named IBMA’s Bass Player of the Year, Mark Schatz has toured and recorded with a stellar array of artists including Bela Fleck, Tony Rice, John Hartford, Tim O’Brien, Nickel Creek, Claire Lynch, and Sarah Jarosz. Mark is the Musical Director for internationally acclaimed Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble which showcases other talents such as clawhammer banjo and Southern Appalachian clog dancing. This versatile multi-instrumentalist has two of his own solo recordings, Brand New Old Tyme Way and Steppin’ in the Boiler House on Rounder Records, which feature his own eclectic blend of original compositions on the banjo, and two bass instructional videos on Homespun. Mark recently launched his own solo show: Mark Schatz — The Solo Concert, in which he brings all of his skills to bear to tell his story through his own tunes and songs.
Legendary musician Bob Mould announces his “Distortion and Blue Hearts!” tour starting September 16, 2021, in Boston at Paradise. The tour is in two parts. For the first three weeks, Bob will be joined by Jason Narducy on bass and drummer Jon Wurster. Beginning October 15 in Bloomington, IL, Mould will perform “Solo Distortion” electric shows (full run of dates and locations below).
On July 16, 2021, before any tour dates happen, Demon Music Group will conclude their year-long Bob Mould retrospective campaign with their fourth vinyl box, Distortion: Live. The 8 LP set includes live recordings from Mould’s solo career and his band Sugar.
This box follows October 2020’s 8 LP Distortion: 1989-1995 vinyl set, which took in Mould’s early solo outings as well as his records with the much-beloved Sugar, January 2021’s 9 LP Distortion: 1996-2007 box set continuing through the next steps in Mould’s solo career and his outings as LoudBomb and Blowoff, April 2021’s 7 LP Distortion 2008-2019 covering District Line to Sunshine Rock, and the 24 CD Distortion: 1989-2019 box, which covers the entirety of his post-Hüsker Dü output.
Mould’s live shows will span his entire 40+ year career, including songs from the Distortion collection and from his landmark band Hüsker Dü, as well as songs from last year’s explosive and critically acclaimed album Blue Hearts — about which Rolling Stone’s 4 out of 5 star review raved, “feels like a lost Hüsker Dü album with Mould howling invective over his buzzsawing guitar.”
“It’s been a year and a half away from the stage. I’ve missed the noise, the sweat, and seeing your smiling faces. I’m fully vaccinated, and I hope you are too, because this Fall will be a punk rock party with the band — and the solo shows will be loud and proud as well. It’s time to make up lost time, reconnect, and celebrate together with live music!”
As with the previously released box sets in the Distortion collection, each album has been mastered by Jeff Lipton and Maria Rice at Peerless Mastering in Boston and is presented with brand new artwork designed by illustrator Simon Marchner and pressed on 140g clear vinyl with unique splatter effects. This box set includes 4 live albums: Live At The Cabaret Metro, 1989; the Sugar album The Joke Is Always On Us, Sometimes; LiveDog98 (first time on vinyl), and Live at ATP 2008 (first time on vinyl). In addition, the set includes a 28-page companion booklet featuring liner notes by journalist Keith Cameron; contributions from Bully’s Alicia Bognanno; rare photographs and memorabilia, and a bonus LP Distortion Plus: Live, which features live rarities including B-Sides and stand-out tracks from the Circle of Friends concert film.
Discover more about the box sets including full track listings and FAQs here: https://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/bob-mould-distortion/
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220816T175511Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1445 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220917T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220917T220000 UID:887D1A3D-75AA-4CB9-914E-75A10EB3C3D3 SUMMARY:Wild Rivers DTSTAMP:20220502T214237Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220727T000018Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2057 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220921T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220921T233000 UID:0561775F-F555-4FB6-B65E-D0E07A6DB4F2 SUMMARY:Dirtwire DTSTAMP:20220817T170532Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220912T201251Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1651 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220927T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220927T210000 UID:9FAE6990-2100-43A5-9B0D-08E675183F45 SUMMARY:Matt Nathanson DTSTAMP:20220621T160615Z DESCRIPTION:"as a kid, i couldn't get out of new england fast enough. i left massachusetts when i was 18 and would've moved to the moon if i could have. instead, i drove out to california with my buddy jeff and never looked back… built a support system, a family, a career. i left a place where i didn’t feel understood or connected and went about creating one where i did.\Nand you know what's crazy…\Nthe group of friends i made along the way... the ones i trust most, the ones who made me feel understood and connected… almost every one of those people are from massachusetts.\Nthat’s what this record's about.\Nit’s about being jealous of the cool kids who got to spend their summers on nantucket and martha’s vineyard. it’s about how the hint of a boston accent can make me drop my guard and feel connected to a complete stranger. it’s about how growing up listening to folk singers like james taylor, cat stevens, indigo girls & tracy chapman shaped the music i’ve always wanted to make.\Nand it’s about surrendering to the fact that the person i’ve become is built squarely on the back of the person i was."\N___\NOver his almost 30 year career, Matt Nathanson has evolved into one of the most applauded songwriters and engaging performers on the music scene today. His sixth studio album, Some Mad Hope, yielded his breakthrough multi-platinum hit "Come on Get Higher.” He followed up with Modern Love, a critically acclaimed album (PopMatters called it "the closest a pop album comes to perfection this year”) that garnered Nathanson two RIAA Gold Certified singles, “Faster” & “Run (featuring Sugarland)”. His 2013 release, Last of The Great Pretenders, debuted at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 while hitting #1 on iTunes' Alternative Albums chart. His most recent album, Sings His Sad Heart spawned the hit single “Used To Be” which was a chart climber - hitting top 20 at Adult Top 40. Throughout his career, Nathanson has been known to cover songs and artists that inspire him. His Def Leppard approved cover album of their iconic Pyromania called Pyromattia shot to #1 on iTunes Alternative chart and Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott called the album “an amazing reinterpretation” with “heart & soul.” Last year he covered U2’s Achtung Baby as a tribute to his all time favorite album. His holiday LP Farewell December, includes "Blue Christmas” to “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” — as well as his somber take on Joni Mitchell’s “River.” Nathanson has performed on The Howard Stern Show, Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Dancing with the Stars, Rachael Ray, and The CMA Awards to name a few. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:"as a kid, i couldn't get out of new england fast enough. i left massachusetts when i was 18 and would've moved to the moon if i could have. instead, i drove out to california with my buddy jeff and never looked back… built a support system, a family, a career. i left a place where i didn’t feel understood or connected and went about creating one where i did.
and you know what's crazy…
the group of friends i made along the way... the ones i trust most, the ones who made me feel understood and connected… almost every one of those people are from massachusetts.
that’s what this record's about.
it’s about being jealous of the cool kids who got to spend their summers on nantucket and martha’s vineyard. it’s about how the hint of a boston accent can make me drop my guard and feel connected to a complete stranger. it’s about how growing up listening to folk singers like james taylor, cat stevens, indigo girls & tracy chapman shaped the music i’ve always wanted to make.
and it’s about surrendering to the fact that the person i’ve become is built squarely on the back of the person i was."
___
Over his almost 30 year career, Matt Nathanson has evolved into one of the most applauded songwriters and engaging performers on the music scene today. His sixth studio album, Some Mad Hope, yielded his breakthrough multi-platinum hit "Come on Get Higher.” He followed up with Modern Love, a critically acclaimed album (PopMatters called it "the closest a pop album comes to perfection this year”) that garnered Nathanson two RIAA Gold Certified singles, “Faster” & “Run (featuring Sugarland)”. His 2013 release, Last of The Great Pretenders, debuted at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 while hitting #1 on iTunes' Alternative Albums chart. His most recent album, Sings His Sad Heart spawned the hit single “Used To Be” which was a chart climber - hitting top 20 at Adult Top 40. Throughout his career, Nathanson has been known to cover songs and artists that inspire him. His Def Leppard approved cover album of their iconic Pyromania called Pyromattia shot to #1 on iTunes Alternative chart and Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott called the album “an amazing reinterpretation” with “heart & soul.” Last year he covered U2’s Achtung Baby as a tribute to his all time favorite album. His holiday LP Farewell December, includes "Blue Christmas” to “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” — as well as his somber take on Joni Mitchell’s “River.” Nathanson has performed on The Howard Stern Show, Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Dancing with the Stars, Rachael Ray, and The CMA Awards to name a few.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220913T214202Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2272 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20220928T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20220928T233000 UID:E73E8124-69C7-44FC-B633-37835B558F76 SUMMARY:Bear's Den DTSTAMP:20220117T234238Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220727T191320Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1719 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221002T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221002T210000 UID:7050EE15-F6A1-463A-A6EA-B25C95C80B7B SUMMARY:The Afghan Whigs DTSTAMP:20220502T223203Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220613T181523Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1607 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221007T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221007T233000 UID:96C1D450-D27E-4C9C-A3DD-337B259BED5F SUMMARY:Amanda Shires DTSTAMP:20220621T160418Z DESCRIPTION:Grammy and Americana-award-winning singer-songwriter and virtuoso violinist Amanda Shires has pushed the reset button, releasing an album that is so unlike anything she has ever recorded before that you would be tempted to think it’s her debut album instead of her seventh. Take It Like a Man is a fearless confessional, showing the world what turning 40 looks like in 10 emotionally raw tracks, and as the title track intimates, not only can she “take it like a man,” but more importantly she can “Take it like Amanda,” as the last line proclaims-- the clue to the entire album, and perhaps Shires herself.\N“I wrote that last line, ‘take it like a man,’” says Shires from her barn/studio located about 30 minutes outside of Nashville. “Then I changed it. I realized you can try and do what they say and take it like a man and show that you can withstand anything. But truly you can only take it like yourself.”\NThere are few musicians of Amanda Shires’ stature who would be willing to sacrifice so much of their privacy and personal life for the sake of a record. But for her, art isn’t meant to be constrained, ever since her earliest days.\NThe native Texan got her start playing fiddle with the legendary Texas Playboys at 15. She toured and collaborated with John Prine, Todd Snider, Justin Townes Earle and others, and has long been a member of husband Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit band. Winner of the Americana Music Association’s 2017 Emerging Artist of the Year award, she has released a series of rapturously received solo albums.\NIn Shires’ world, music is how the tribe communicates. It’s that sort of communal thinking that inspired her to form The Highwomen – a concept that was born in 2016 which Amanda envisioned as an all-women supergroup intended to share the same swashbuckling spirit as ‘80s outlaw country outfit The Highwaymen. That band, consisting of country music legends Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, was a successful reaction to a prevalent ageism in Nashville circles. The Highwomen – Shires, Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby -- aspired to redress the scarcity of women artists on country radio, and released a critically acclaimed self-titled album in 2019.\N“I realize I have a responsibility to tell the truth and if it empowers someone, all the better,” Shires says, who is often seen donning one of her trademark hats from her vast collection. “My goal is to accurately explain my feelings to myself and hopefully find folks out there that feel or have felt the ways that I do. I share so much personal information so that others don’t have to feel alone.”\NThat’s something she has achieved superbly on her new album, thanks in large part to a creative rebirth inspired by a chance encounter. Shires had no plans to record an album during the pandemic ... if at all. A couple of events left her disenchanted with some of her choices, musical and otherwise, and had her wondering if she should continue.\N“I just wasn’t thinking about recording or performing, because I was protecting myself from what I thought could be the loss of music and touring altogether,” Shires admits. “Even when it was clear this wasn’t the bubonic plague, I wasn’t letting myself think of what the future looked like.”\NMeanwhile, Lawrence Rothman, an extravagantly talented gender-fluid singer-songwriter and producer, was in the process of recording their sophomore album, Good Morning, America. Rothman, who has also worked with the likes of Angel Olsen, Girl in Red, Courtney Love and Kim Gordon, wanted Shires to sing harmonies on one of the tracks.\N“When I discovered Amanda’s music it was the first time I heard a voice where I said to myself if I ever had to get in the studio with anybody other than myself to produce my own music, it would definitely be this fairy over here, this little bird of a woman. I was just mesmerized. I thought she was the new Dolly Parton; Dolly for a new generation,” remembers Rothman on the phone from Los Angeles.\NWhile Shires hadn’t heard of Rothman, she responded to their request because of something her late mentor and friend John Prine taught her. “John listened to everything that crossed his desk, and that’s why he took a chance on me. Lawrence Rothman’s manager sent my manager a song, and because of John I listened to it. ‘Wow, OK,’ I thought after I heard it. Plus, I loved that they wanted me to sing. Usually people just want me to play violin.”\NIn November 2020, Shires got in touch with Rothman. The two began a conversation by text that continued for hours. By day’s end they had cowritten a song on their phones. The two worked for three “trial” days right before Christmas, and ended up with three songs.\N“Those just clicked, but other than that, I had nothing else written,” explains Shires. “We decided to meet up after Christmas and continue working.” That collaboration also resulted in 2021’s critically acclaimed For Christmas album, the rare holiday record that explores the full range of emotions people cycle through during a season that’s not all comfort and joy.\N“I wasn’t going to take any of that ‘I’m giving up on music’ from her,” says Rothman. “I do know that she was on the brink of like throwing the towel in. The whole time I stood by her, right by her mike while we did everything. I was never in the control room. I said to her, ‘I’m like your hype girl. I’m like your cheerleader. I’m your f------coach.”\N“Lawrence talked about feelings in music and about sounds for hours all day, and it rekindled in me the warmth I have for music and the love I have for words -- and reminded me that the music business isn’t all just a grimy slimeball,” explains Shires. “Everything just seemed to fall into place.\N“The problem was,” she laughs, “When we came back after our trial days, I had to write more songs.\N“I had plenty of things written down between my journals and my index cards,” says Shires. “My writing process is I take the journals that I’ve kept and I go through with a highlighter and pick out words, partial lines, ideas or themes. Sometimes just a metaphor or something my daughter has said or an observation. Then I copy all highlighted words onto an index card with a black Sharpie and I put the index cards in a box. Then I put the journals in the shredder and I put the shredder in the compost, which goes to my tomatoes in the summer.”\NBy the time Rothman came back a month later, the compost box was overflowing and the walls of Shires’ barn were covered in index cards that she’d attached with painter’s tape (doesn’t ruin the paint!). In less than a month Shires had written 26 songs deciphering what had been going through her mind, from 2018, where her To the Sunset album left off, to the present.\NThe result is a song cycle of ruthlessly candid tunes written as a document about her life as a woman, a wife (to husband Jason Isbell) and a mother during a tumultuous time. Produced by Rothman, and featuring Isbell on guitar on several tracks, it’s an album filled with revealing autobiography, sexual tempestuousness, resentments and recrimination, spun out with a logic and sequencing as obliquely plotted as an Agatha Christie mystery. Each song reveals either a hidden passage to another song or an insight into the marriage, the crimes that were committed, the accusations sparked but never uttered, and the love that exists between them still.\NBut it’s not a break-up album. Its arc feels more like the anatomy of a marriage, depicting how over time affection and closeness rise and fall.\N“I’m uncomfortable with the idea of everything in the public seeming so perfect, and needing to be presented right. Just because people listen to Jason’s records and go to his shows and whatnot doesn’t mean they don’t need to know that our marriages look exactly the same as theirs. You take all that celebrity stuff away, and our marriage is just like everybody else's,” Shires says. “We were having problems before Covid, and then during Covid there was a lot of pressure, like with everybody,” she amplifies. “We were sitting here in our wonderful house and talking about the people that didn’t make it through that. What we decided is that we’re happiest if we work on ourselves. Then we have more to offer each other.”\NAnd all the time alone came with some big realizations for Shires. While both she and her husband are artists, she had more domestic jobs and responsibilities than he did, and it was making her resentful.\N“Jason’s Covid talent was getting better at the guitar, playing it eight hours a day. What was my Covid talent? It was setting boundaries. I allowed myself to take up more space in my own life. That’s what Covid did for me. It gave me the courage and freedom to say, ‘I’m working on something that's important to me, and I’m going to keep working on it till I have it right.’\N“Because of that decision, I think these are better songs than I’d written ever before, because I held that line. There is a confidence that comes from not bending. This album is a document of what the past few years have been like for me. I figured out what it takes for me to feel satisfied at the end of the day. I drew my boundaries. I held on tight. I allowed myself to serve my work uncompromisingly. It’s true what they say on airplanes before you take off: You have to put your own mask on before you can help anybody else.”\NJust as important was Shires’ realization that she needed an identity outside of her relationship and motherhood. No longer the well-behaved musician of her earlier albums, she has gotten rid of most of the good-girl trappings, the plaid shirts and pigtails. On Take It Like a Man, she’s written songs that crackle with pain, resentment, longing, anger, and ennui. The album documents a woman giving birth to herself: a musical version of the famous 1932 Frida Kahlo painting My Birth, only a little less graphic. Over this suite of songs, she fearlessly excavated what the couple had gone through.\N“Hawk for the Dove” is a dark, haunting Southern gothic full of minor-chord bravado and overt seduction, shot through with an evocative gypsy fiddle and Isbell’s echoing guitar. Her voice on the title track -- originally titled “Common Loon” -- is a revelation: It’s a song about being brave enough to choose to go ahead and fall in love knowing that love/relationships don’t always go as planned. Tremulous and anxious, it’s an elegant waltz full of peril and sadness, a song that wouldn’t be amiss as an accompaniment to Edgar Allen Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death.”\NElsewhere, standout “Empty Cups” turns back time; with its gauzy imagery and wrecked poetry, it recalls Van Morrison during his early years. Featuring background vocals from Highwomen cohort Maren Morris, it shows the true depth of Shires’ songwriting abilities. “Don’t Be Alarmed” offers a small shred of hope and humor thanks to the crack team of Shires, Ruston Kelly, Liz Rose and Isbell, and contains some of the album’s best lines.\NAnother key track is “Fault Lines,” the first song Shires wrote for the album. “That was a big clue to what was going on. For some people marriage is easy. For my mom it is -- she’s done it five times!” laughs Shires.\N“I second-guessed myself a lot by keeping ‘Fault Lines’ on the record, saying to myself, ‘Do you really want people to know this or hear this?’” says Shires softly. “I guess I could’ve been more vague with words, but my intentions were to tell the truth the best that I could from the place that I was in.”\NAs a stately drum mimics a beating heart and the second stage of grief, “Fault Lines” assigns responsibility for relationship strains equally. “Here He Comes,” the last song written for the record, is upbeat, jazzy and hopeful, while “Bad Behavior,” with Brittney Spencer and Maren Morris’ background vocals, is suggestively light and loungy. The title track, buttressed by mournful horns, seethes with Shires’ raging, unruly electric violin.\N“Stupid Love” promises a smoky blue light at the end of a claustrophobic tunnel, while “Lonely at Night” contends that love endures no matter what has transpired. Enhanced by singer-songwriter Brittney Spencer’s harmonies, it sounds like something Dusty Springfield could have sung in the ‘60s or Cat Power in the ‘90s. “Everything Has Its Time,” co-written with Highwomen band member Natalie Hemby, is a cautionary tale, cinematic and prophetic and full of homespun truths, like the kinds Dolly Parton used to dispense around the time of “Jolene.”\N“Everything on the record is autobiographical. I didn’t hold anything back. Then, if the details were boring I infused other stories,” she laughs. “Like my granddad said, if your story’s not good enough just make it better.”\N“I think what I’ve learned is any time you get your heart broke, from love, music, your business, your life, you always think that’s it!” Shires reflects. “But it hardly ever is. You look back and say ‘I’m glad that wasn’t it at all.’ It’s a cycle that keeps repeating over and over, like Gabriel García Márquez’s A Hundred Years of Solitude. The end is rarely the end; it’s just another loop of the wheel. Matters of the heart get confusing. But when you’re in need of something, somehow the universe gives it to you if you can just hold on a little bit longer.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Grammy and Americana-award-winning singer-songwriter and virtuoso violinist Amanda Shires has pushed the reset button, releasing an album that is so unlike anything she has ever recorded before that you would be tempted to think it’s her debut album instead of her seventh. Take It Like a Man is a fearless confessional, showing the world what turning 40 looks like in 10 emotionally raw tracks, and as the title track intimates, not only can she “take it like a man,” but more importantly she can “Take it like Amanda,” as the last line proclaims-- the clue to the entire album, and perhaps Shires herself.
“I wrote that last line, ‘take it like a man,’” says Shires from her barn/studio located about 30 minutes outside of Nashville. “Then I changed it. I realized you can try and do what they say and take it like a man and show that you can withstand anything. But truly you can only take it like yourself.”
There are few musicians of Amanda Shires’ stature who would be willing to sacrifice so much of their privacy and personal life for the sake of a record. But for her, art isn’t meant to be constrained, ever since her earliest days.
The native Texan got her start playing fiddle with the legendary Texas Playboys at 15. She toured and collaborated with John Prine, Todd Snider, Justin Townes Earle and others, and has long been a member of husband Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit band. Winner of the Americana Music Association’s 2017 Emerging Artist of the Year award, she has released a series of rapturously received solo albums.
In Shires’ world, music is how the tribe communicates. It’s that sort of communal thinking that inspired her to form The Highwomen – a concept that was born in 2016 which Amanda envisioned as an all-women supergroup intended to share the same swashbuckling spirit as ‘80s outlaw country outfit The Highwaymen. That band, consisting of country music legends Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, was a successful reaction to a prevalent ageism in Nashville circles. The Highwomen – Shires, Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby -- aspired to redress the scarcity of women artists on country radio, and released a critically acclaimed self-titled album in 2019.
“I realize I have a responsibility to tell the truth and if it empowers someone, all the better,” Shires says, who is often seen donning one of her trademark hats from her vast collection. “My goal is to accurately explain my feelings to myself and hopefully find folks out there that feel or have felt the ways that I do. I share so much personal information so that others don’t have to feel alone.”
That’s something she has achieved superbly on her new album, thanks in large part to a creative rebirth inspired by a chance encounter. Shires had no plans to record an album during the pandemic ... if at all. A couple of events left her disenchanted with some of her choices, musical and otherwise, and had her wondering if she should continue.
“I just wasn’t thinking about recording or performing, because I was protecting myself from what I thought could be the loss of music and touring altogether,” Shires admits. “Even when it was clear this wasn’t the bubonic plague, I wasn’t letting myself think of what the future looked like.”
Meanwhile, Lawrence Rothman, an extravagantly talented gender-fluid singer-songwriter and producer, was in the process of recording their sophomore album, Good Morning, America. Rothman, who has also worked with the likes of Angel Olsen, Girl in Red, Courtney Love and Kim Gordon, wanted Shires to sing harmonies on one of the tracks.
“When I discovered Amanda’s music it was the first time I heard a voice where I said to myself if I ever had to get in the studio with anybody other than myself to produce my own music, it would definitely be this fairy over here, this little bird of a woman. I was just mesmerized. I thought she was the new Dolly Parton; Dolly for a new generation,” remembers Rothman on the phone from Los Angeles.
While Shires hadn’t heard of Rothman, she responded to their request because of something her late mentor and friend John Prine taught her. “John listened to everything that crossed his desk, and that’s why he took a chance on me. Lawrence Rothman’s manager sent my manager a song, and because of John I listened to it. ‘Wow, OK,’ I thought after I heard it. Plus, I loved that they wanted me to sing. Usually people just want me to play violin.”
In November 2020, Shires got in touch with Rothman. The two began a conversation by text that continued for hours. By day’s end they had cowritten a song on their phones. The two worked for three “trial” days right before Christmas, and ended up with three songs.
“Those just clicked, but other than that, I had nothing else written,” explains Shires. “We decided to meet up after Christmas and continue working.” That collaboration also resulted in 2021’s critically acclaimed For Christmas album, the rare holiday record that explores the full range of emotions people cycle through during a season that’s not all comfort and joy.
“I wasn’t going to take any of that ‘I’m giving up on music’ from her,” says Rothman. “I do know that she was on the brink of like throwing the towel in. The whole time I stood by her, right by her mike while we did everything. I was never in the control room. I said to her, ‘I’m like your hype girl. I’m like your cheerleader. I’m your f------coach.”
“Lawrence talked about feelings in music and about sounds for hours all day, and it rekindled in me the warmth I have for music and the love I have for words -- and reminded me that the music business isn’t all just a grimy slimeball,” explains Shires. “Everything just seemed to fall into place.
“The problem was,” she laughs, “When we came back after our trial days, I had to write more songs.
“I had plenty of things written down between my journals and my index cards,” says Shires. “My writing process is I take the journals that I’ve kept and I go through with a highlighter and pick out words, partial lines, ideas or themes. Sometimes just a metaphor or something my daughter has said or an observation. Then I copy all highlighted words onto an index card with a black Sharpie and I put the index cards in a box. Then I put the journals in the shredder and I put the shredder in the compost, which goes to my tomatoes in the summer.”
By the time Rothman came back a month later, the compost box was overflowing and the walls of Shires’ barn were covered in index cards that she’d attached with painter’s tape (doesn’t ruin the paint!). In less than a month Shires had written 26 songs deciphering what had been going through her mind, from 2018, where her To the Sunset album left off, to the present.
The result is a song cycle of ruthlessly candid tunes written as a document about her life as a woman, a wife (to husband Jason Isbell) and a mother during a tumultuous time. Produced by Rothman, and featuring Isbell on guitar on several tracks, it’s an album filled with revealing autobiography, sexual tempestuousness, resentments and recrimination, spun out with a logic and sequencing as obliquely plotted as an Agatha Christie mystery. Each song reveals either a hidden passage to another song or an insight into the marriage, the crimes that were committed, the accusations sparked but never uttered, and the love that exists between them still.
But it’s not a break-up album. Its arc feels more like the anatomy of a marriage, depicting how over time affection and closeness rise and fall.
“I’m uncomfortable with the idea of everything in the public seeming so perfect, and needing to be presented right. Just because people listen to Jason’s records and go to his shows and whatnot doesn’t mean they don’t need to know that our marriages look exactly the same as theirs. You take all that celebrity stuff away, and our marriage is just like everybody else's,” Shires says.
“We were having problems before Covid, and then during Covid there was a lot of pressure, like with everybody,” she amplifies. “We were sitting here in our wonderful house and talking about the people that didn’t make it through that. What we decided is that we’re happiest if we work on ourselves. Then we have more to offer each other.”
And all the time alone came with some big realizations for Shires. While both she and her husband are artists, she had more domestic jobs and responsibilities than he did, and it was making her resentful.
“Jason’s Covid talent was getting better at the guitar, playing it eight hours a day. What was my Covid talent? It was setting boundaries. I allowed myself to take up more space in my own life.
That’s what Covid did for me. It gave me the courage and freedom to say, ‘I’m working on something that's important to me, and I’m going to keep working on it till I have it right.’
“Because of that decision, I think these are better songs than I’d written ever before, because I held that line. There is a confidence that comes from not bending. This album is a document of what the past few years have been like for me. I figured out what it takes for me to feel satisfied at the end of the day. I drew my boundaries. I held on tight. I allowed myself to serve my work uncompromisingly. It’s true what they say on airplanes before you take off: You have to put your own mask on before you can help anybody else.”
Just as important was Shires’ realization that she needed an identity outside of her relationship and motherhood. No longer the well-behaved musician of her earlier albums, she has gotten rid of most of the good-girl trappings, the plaid shirts and pigtails. On Take It Like a Man, she’s written songs that crackle with pain, resentment, longing, anger, and ennui. The album documents a woman giving birth to herself: a musical version of the famous 1932 Frida Kahlo painting My Birth, only a little less graphic. Over this suite of songs, she fearlessly excavated what the couple had gone through.
“Hawk for the Dove” is a dark, haunting Southern gothic full of minor-chord bravado and overt seduction, shot through with an evocative gypsy fiddle and Isbell’s echoing guitar. Her voice on the title track -- originally titled “Common Loon” -- is a revelation: It’s a song about being brave enough to choose to go ahead and fall in love knowing that love/relationships don’t always go as planned. Tremulous and anxious, it’s an elegant waltz full of peril and sadness, a song that wouldn’t be amiss as an accompaniment to Edgar Allen Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death.”
Elsewhere, standout “Empty Cups” turns back time; with its gauzy imagery and wrecked poetry, it recalls Van Morrison during his early years. Featuring background vocals from Highwomen cohort Maren Morris, it shows the true depth of Shires’ songwriting abilities. “Don’t Be Alarmed” offers a small shred of hope and humor thanks to the crack team of Shires, Ruston Kelly, Liz Rose and Isbell, and contains some of the album’s best lines.
Another key track is “Fault Lines,” the first song Shires wrote for the album. “That was a big clue to what was going on. For some people marriage is easy. For my mom it is -- she’s done it five times!” laughs Shires.
“I second-guessed myself a lot by keeping ‘Fault Lines’ on the record, saying to myself, ‘Do you really want people to know this or hear this?’” says Shires softly. “I guess I could’ve been more vague with words, but my intentions were to tell the truth the best that I could from the place that I was in.”
As a stately drum mimics a beating heart and the second stage of grief, “Fault Lines” assigns responsibility for relationship strains equally. “Here He Comes,” the last song written for the record, is upbeat, jazzy and hopeful, while “Bad Behavior,” with Brittney Spencer and Maren Morris’ background vocals, is suggestively light and loungy. The title track, buttressed by mournful horns, seethes with Shires’ raging, unruly electric violin.
“Stupid Love” promises a smoky blue light at the end of a claustrophobic tunnel, while “Lonely at Night” contends that love endures no matter what has transpired. Enhanced by singer-songwriter Brittney Spencer’s harmonies, it sounds like something Dusty Springfield could have sung in the ‘60s or Cat Power in the ‘90s. “Everything Has Its Time,” co-written with Highwomen band member Natalie Hemby, is a cautionary tale, cinematic and prophetic and full of homespun truths, like the kinds Dolly Parton used to dispense around the time of “Jolene.”
“Everything on the record is autobiographical. I didn’t hold anything back. Then, if the details were boring I infused other stories,” she laughs. “Like my granddad said, if your story’s not good enough just make it better.”
“I think what I’ve learned is any time you get your heart broke, from love, music, your business, your life, you always think that’s it!” Shires reflects. “But it hardly ever is. You look back and say ‘I’m glad that wasn’t it at all.’ It’s a cycle that keeps repeating over and over, like Gabriel García Márquez’s A Hundred Years of Solitude. The end is rarely the end; it’s just another loop of the wheel. Matters of the heart get confusing. But when you’re in need of something, somehow the universe gives it to you if you can just hold on a little bit longer.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220727T201401Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2171 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221012T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221012T233000 UID:B9539B7D-7F16-483B-B2E8-E19D22EEFAE7 SUMMARY:Patrick Watson DTSTAMP:20220602T212809Z DESCRIPTION:This is the biography of Patrick Watson (based on things he told me.)\NOnce there was a boy named Patrick Watson who was born on a military base in the Mojave Desert. His father rode around in planes carrying bombs, waiting for a command to drop them that never came. He was the baby in a family of five, which would include a future figure skater, an engineer and an air force pilot, but he was seven years younger than his next older sibling. The trouble with being born this late into a family is they have all already gone mad, and they are engaged in domestic dramas, chasing each other around with knives. He was left to make too many assumptions about love and life on his own, and he still has the philosophy of a wise beyond their years wide-eyed child.\NThe family moved to Hudson Quebec when Patrick was four. He was asked by an old gentleman by the name of Frank Cobatt to sing in the church choir. Perhaps they met in the cough drop section of the local grocery store. And Patrick sang in the church and his little boy’s pretty, melancholic voice broke everyone’s heart. And the choir director had him sing at the foot of a grave at a funeral. Because there is something in his voice that captures all the lovely things in life we can only hold onto temporarily and how their transience is what makes them wonderful.\NPatrick started playing piano when he was a child, of course. The piano used to belong to a boy named Gordon. The boy would appear as a ghost and teach Patrick how to play in the middle of the night. Even if Patrick played at three in the morning, his mother never interrupted these vital lessons. He showed me the photo of Gordon who looked, more or less, like a terrifying psychopath with tuberculosis who probably slit his whole family’s throats while they were sleeping. But I did not say so.\NPatrick says he became a singer by accident. He thought he would compose scores for others to play, which seems like an odd thing to say because he is so clearly sprinkled with the pixie dust that causes a person to be transfixing on stage. And it’s now hard to imagine Montreal without the soundtrack of his songs.\NBut he met the artist Brigitte Henry who was taking surreal underwater photographs of people in their clothes to make a book. This seemed like very important business to Patrick, so he made music for her exhibition. They performed the show at the porno movie theatre Cinema L’Amour. It was sold out. Brigitte Henry still designs some of his album covers, including this one.\NPatrick likes to hang on to people. He met his first guitar player Simon Angell playing guitar on the small streets of Hudson. In his first jazz class at college he walked in and Robbie Kuster and Mishka Stein were both sitting there. It was as though they were all waiting for each other. They would play together for the next twenty years.\NWhile they were working on his first album, the band lived in an abandoned church. They were kicked out for ringing the church bells when homeless people came in to be married, waking all the neighbours up in the middle of the night, in a misguided attempt to let them know love existed.\NThey opened up for James Brown where they learned to manage a large crowd. Every day before a concert James Brown and his team would hold hands and pray the show would be amazing. This taught the band that being on stage is a humbling honor and a music show is where people come to have a mystical experience. In the end, it was not so different than when he sang in church as a boy.\NWhile writing this new album, the drummer Robbie left, Patrick and his partner separated, and his mother passed away. Much of this album is about having a wave knock you over when you realize that everything you have in life can be wiped away in a moment. He brought a notebook underneath the waves and composed tunes about melancholy while listening to the lonely hymns of mermaids. And the songs are about how sometimes you have to sing a love song to yourself when no one else will. Melody Noir is about writing a song to the hole inside us all.\NSome of the songs, including Turn out the Lights and Look at You, are about falling in love again and learning how to be intimate in a new way. And how surprizing it is that, although life can change, it can turn out to be better in so many ways than you could ever have imagined. And, ultimately, the album is about rebuilding your life from scratch.\NThe songs are marked by the idiosyncratic personalities of each of his band members. Mishka Stein grew up in the Ukraine where he wore little suits and accidentally set his building on fire, but he did a brave job helping the firemen put it out. A sweet Soviet latchkey boy, he spent much of his time watching Russian cartoons. The influence of the absurd anthemic melodies of those cartoons can be felt in the songs, particularly Look at You and Melody Noir.\NJoe Grass, who has been playing guitar and pedal steel since Loves Songs for Robots, is a jackknife of sounds. He always creates a distinctive voice within the band's particular brand of music. Evan Tighe landed magically at the perfect moment to take up the drums. The band was very lucky to find such a great drummer in time.\NPatrick also worked with Leonard Cohen on one of his last songs before the legend passed away. This had a profound influence on the way he writes lyrics and the possibilities of poetry in song. The collaboration influenced his vocal delivery to be more dry, to have less notes and to simply deliver the words.\NThe beginning artist's craft is so intuitive and odd, drawing from a trunk of recipes for happiness and hope. They begin with an idea that the world is good and things and love will work out. The mature artist creates from a place of melancholy and understanding of foibles and accepting a story that has already been written. It’s the difference between singing a solo at a stranger’s grave as a child and singing one at your own mother’s funeral.It’s the same magical and sweet Patrick Watson on this album, but each of the feelings are deeper and dive down to stranger places, where even happiness seems impossible to bear. So the album moves from a dark place of loss to one of hope and magic and new love. The way you thought life was going to work out, but never does. Then it sometimes turns out to be more beautiful and surprising once it is broken. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:This is the biography of Patrick Watson (based on things he told me.)
Once there was a boy named Patrick Watson who was born on a military base in the Mojave Desert. His father rode around in planes carrying bombs, waiting for a command to drop them that never came. He was the baby in a family of five, which would include a future figure skater, an engineer and an air force pilot, but he was seven years younger than his next older sibling. The trouble with being born this late into a family is they have all already gone mad, and they are engaged in domestic dramas, chasing each other around with knives. He was left to make too many assumptions about love and life on his own, and he still has the philosophy of a wise beyond their years wide-eyed child.
The family moved to Hudson Quebec when Patrick was four. He was asked by an old gentleman by the name of Frank Cobatt to sing in the church choir. Perhaps they met in the cough drop section of the local grocery store. And Patrick sang in the church and his little boy’s pretty, melancholic voice broke everyone’s heart. And the choir director had him sing at the foot of a grave at a funeral. Because there is something in his voice that captures all the lovely things in life we can only hold onto temporarily and how their transience is what makes them wonderful.
Patrick started playing piano when he was a child, of course. The piano used to belong to a boy named Gordon. The boy would appear as a ghost and teach Patrick how to play in the middle of the night. Even if Patrick played at three in the morning, his mother never interrupted these vital lessons. He showed me the photo of Gordon who looked, more or less, like a terrifying psychopath with tuberculosis who probably slit his whole family’s throats while they were sleeping. But I did not say so.
Patrick says he became a singer by accident. He thought he would compose scores for others to play, which seems like an odd thing to say because he is so clearly sprinkled with the pixie dust that causes a person to be transfixing on stage. And it’s now hard to imagine Montreal without the soundtrack of his songs.
But he met the artist Brigitte Henry who was taking surreal underwater photographs of people in their clothes to make a book. This seemed like very important business to Patrick, so he made music for her exhibition. They performed the show at the porno movie theatre Cinema L’Amour. It was sold out. Brigitte Henry still designs some of his album covers, including this one.
Patrick likes to hang on to people. He met his first guitar player Simon Angell playing guitar on the small streets of Hudson. In his first jazz class at college he walked in and Robbie Kuster and Mishka Stein were both sitting there. It was as though they were all waiting for each other. They would play together for the next twenty years.
While they were working on his first album, the band lived in an abandoned church. They were kicked out for ringing the church bells when homeless people came in to be married, waking all the neighbours up in the middle of the night, in a misguided attempt to let them know love existed.
They opened up for James Brown where they learned to manage a large crowd. Every day before a concert James Brown and his team would hold hands and pray the show would be amazing. This taught the band that being on stage is a humbling honor and a music show is where people come to have a mystical experience. In the end, it was not so different than when he sang in church as a boy.
While writing this new album, the drummer Robbie left, Patrick and his partner separated, and his mother passed away. Much of this album is about having a wave knock you over when you realize that everything you have in life can be wiped away in a moment. He brought a notebook underneath the waves and composed tunes about melancholy while listening to the lonely hymns of mermaids. And the songs are about how sometimes you have to sing a love song to yourself when no one else will. Melody Noir is about writing a song to the hole inside us all.
Some of the songs, including Turn out the Lights and Look at You, are about falling in love again and learning how to be intimate in a new way. And how surprizing it is that, although life can change, it can turn out to be better in so many ways than you could ever have imagined. And, ultimately, the album is about rebuilding your life from scratch.
The songs are marked by the idiosyncratic personalities of each of his band members. Mishka Stein grew up in the Ukraine where he wore little suits and accidentally set his building on fire, but he did a brave job helping the firemen put it out. A sweet Soviet latchkey boy, he spent much of his time watching Russian cartoons. The influence of the absurd anthemic melodies of those cartoons can be felt in the songs, particularly Look at You and Melody Noir.
Joe Grass, who has been playing guitar and pedal steel since Loves Songs for Robots, is a jackknife of sounds. He always creates a distinctive voice within the band's particular brand of music. Evan Tighe landed magically at the perfect moment to take up the drums. The band was very lucky to find such a great drummer in time.
Patrick also worked with Leonard Cohen on one of his last songs before the legend passed away. This had a profound influence on the way he writes lyrics and the possibilities of poetry in song. The collaboration influenced his vocal delivery to be more dry, to have less notes and to simply deliver the words.
The beginning artist's craft is so intuitive and odd, drawing from a trunk of recipes for happiness and hope. They begin with an idea that the world is good and things and love will work out. The mature artist creates from a place of melancholy and understanding of foibles and accepting a story that has already been written. It’s the difference between singing a solo at a stranger’s grave as a child and singing one at your own mother’s funeral.
It’s the same magical and sweet Patrick Watson on this album, but each of the feelings are deeper and dive down to stranger places, where even happiness seems impossible to bear. So the album moves from a dark place of loss to one of hope and magic and new love. The way you thought life was going to work out, but never does. Then it sometimes turns out to be more beautiful and surprising once it is broken.
Spafford are known for their astonishing improvisational ability and off-the-cuff extended jams, Spafford paints a picture in real-time each night with a musical palette known only to each other. It’s a private language comprised of both their talent as musicians as well as their formidable catalog of influences, spanning 90’s alt-rock radio hits to Steely Dan and The Crystal Method. Each Spafford show is a sonic pilgrimage, the journey of a team of musicians so in tune with each other that a single note communicates intent and purpose. Spafford is amongst the most creative and hard-traveling bands on the contemporary jam scene, performing countless sold-out headline dates along with high-profile festival sets at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Firefly Music Festival, and many others.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220912T204333Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1485 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221018T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221018T233000 UID:22184FA6-FD0C-4D36-AE92-173E4C90024B SUMMARY:Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs DTSTAMP:20220602T192430Z DESCRIPTION:It's a classic rock & roll story: the chance encounter that becomes collaboration, then a band; the gathering of players and like-minded spirits that tightens and grows in songwriting, rehearsals and club dates; a debut album that finally arrives after all of the labor and waiting; the follow-up that beats a new set of odds and jumps ahead in vision and drive, proving the first record was no one-shot deal.\NFor Mike Campbell, External Combustion – the second album by his first band as a leader, the Dirty Knobs – is proof that lightning can strike twice. Campbell experienced all of the above and more with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – riding shotgun with his friend and captain as lead guitarist, co-producer and, at times, co-writer – when he met guitarist Jason Sinay at a session in Los Angeles in 2000. "I didn't like him at first because he had a green guitar and a mohawk," Campbell recalls with a laugh. "But when we started playing together, I realized he had good rhythm, good sound. And he worked really well with me."\NIt wasn't quite a mohawk, Sinay claims. "But I had done this thing with my hair, and I think it freaked Mike out." Sinay had his own case of nerves. "Mike liked how I played, but he is one of my heroes. I couldn't even breathe." Even so, "a couple of days later, my phone rang. It was Mike asking me to come to his house and work on music with him."\NThat call turned into the Dirty Knobs, named after a faulty amp dial (with bonus double entendre) and originally including bassist Ron Blair and drummer Steve Ferrone of the Heartbreakers. "We would go into the studio for fun and occasionally get a bar gig to try the songs out for people," Campbell explains. "Then I thought, for my own identity, I should have a different rhythm section. And I lucked out" – in 2004 – "when these two guys walked in who were amazing." Recommended by Sinay and Campbell's longtime guitar tech Steve "Chinner" Winstead, drummer Matt Laug and bassist Lance Morrison were friends who often worked together on tours and sessions. "With Jason," Campbell says, "that became the band."\NCampbell claims he was never offered a solo deal in his four decades with Petty and the Heartbreakers, although he wrote and produced for other artists such as Roy Orbison and Don Henley. "I wouldn't have known what to do with it," he adds quickly. "I was Tom's partner. Lyrics and singing – he could always do it much better. But I was writing and recording more music than Tom could deal with. That's when I got the Dirty Knobs, which gave me a chance to try singing. So I started woodshedding. And then when my life changed" – with Petty's death in October, 2017 – "it was, 'Time to do this now.'"\NThe Dirty Knobs' debut album was ready to go in the spring of 2020 along with their first-ever tour. The pandemic blew out the latter. But Wreckless Abandon – released that November and co-produced by Campbell with George Drakoulias – delivered the good times in every other way: the psychedelic spell of the title track; the late-Sixties British-blues fire in "Sugar" and "Loaded Gun"; the brawling country rock of "Pistol Packin' Mama" with guest Chris Stapleton. Wreckless Abandon was Campbell's first album as the featured writer and singer. But, he says, "I wanted it to sound like four guys having fun."\N"The first album was about the boogie," affirms Drakoulias. But External Combustion – which he also co-produced with Campbell – "threw the net wider." Country firebird Margo Price sings backing vocals in "Cheap Talk," a bluesy march in smokey orchestration, and duets with Campbell in the country-soul ballad "State of Mind," decked out with strings and brass in the frontier-symphony image of the Band. That's the distinctive glam-Dylan bite of Mott The Hoople singer Ian Hunter in the second verse of "Dirty Job," while Heartbreakers pianist Benmont Tench brings the Jerry Lee Lewis in "Lightning Boogie."\NAnd in "It Is Written," Campbell conjures ghostly wisps of Bob Dylan-like harmonica in a topical urgency that turns into a reflection "about the devotion to one person," Campbell says – his wife Marcie. "It's a true story about coming out to California, her taking me in." But that's not a harmonica – it's a piano riff run backwards.\NThe Dirty Knobs made External Combustion in three weeks over the summer of 2021, "a few days at a time," Drakoulias says. "Everything was coming off the floor – whatever they were playing, whatever felt good." That speed and raw commitment comes right out of the starting gate in the garage-rock torpedo "Wicked Mind"; jumps to a Howlin' Wolf-style shuffle in "Brigitte Bardot"; and is there at the finish in "Electric Gypsy," a blaze of guitars in waltz time that Campbell began writing in the morning and showed to the band in the afternoon. The Knobs cut the song – named after one of Campbell's guitars, a gorgeous instrument with a mosaic finish in mother-of-pearl and abalone – the same day in one pass.\N"Mike doesn't like to do a lot of takes," Morrison observes. There were times on External Combustion "where Mike was showing us the song as we were recording," Laug says. "That became the take." Sinay contends that Campbell "loves it when the band doesn't totally know the songs. Wide-eyed, freaking out, ears open – that's the magic."\N"The band became this spontaneous type of combustion – to borrow a word," Campbell says. "The longer we played, the more intuitive it got. If I say, 'What about this song?,' maybe they've heard it, maybe they haven't. They just follow me, and they're tight. I'm lucky to have them."\N* * * * * *\NWhen Drakoulias first met Campbell during the recording of Petty's 1994 solo album, Wildflowers, "My first impression was awe," he says. The second was "How am I going to get this guy to talk to me? He was so quiet, not a typical lead-guitar guy." At the time, Drakoulias was a staff producer at Rick Rubin's American Recordings; Rubin was co-producing Wildflowers with Petty and Campbell. Drakoulias later worked with Petty and the Heartbreakers on the 1995 box set, Playback, and co-produced the 2002 album, The Last DJ.\N"There was so much there," he says of Campbell. "People didn't give him the props for the writing in some of those songs. And he's such a tasteful player. It's not just 'Turn me up,' although he's perfectly capable of blasting away. It's more like 'Let me get inside the song.' He wants to play off the lyric, the way it's sung."\NThat was always Campbell's way as lead guitarist and counsel for Petty in the Heartbreakers and, before that, in their first band together, Mudcrutch. "There's never been a time," Petty said of Campbell in one of our interviews, "when he wasn't giving back to me more than I was asking him to give . . . That's the mark of a really great musician."\NSinay points out that two tracks on Mojo, the 2010 album by Petty and the Heartbreakers – the Southern-rock juggernaut "First Flash of Freedom" and the grinding closer "Good Enough" – began as Campbell tunes played with the Dirty Knobs. "I always wrote with the hope that Tom would hear something he liked," Campbell acknowledges. "But I was gonna write what I feel in the moment with no preconceptions."\NExternal Combustion, in turn, has "a couple of cool songs I completely forgot about," Campbell says, going as far back as the 1980s. "Cheap Talk" and "State of Mind" both "popped up" on tapes from his vault. For the latter, Campbell not only kept the original backing track but his vocal as well "because it sounded right. It had the honesty of the guy." "Rat City" is another vintage item "left on a tape somewhere," Campbell says. Laug remembers it from "way before" Wreckless Abandon "when we were doing fun gigs between Heartbreakers tours." The drummer laughs. "It's too many songs to keep up. It's amazing how many songs Mike writes and forgets."\N"The thing about Mike," Sinay says, "is that he keeps writing. Sometimes I fall in love with something, and he's moved on from it. But he's the one who has to sing it, to sell the song. We're there to make sure he gets what he's after."\NBorn in Los Angeles, Sinay caught an early break as a guitarist, working for an uncle who was, he says, "one of the top jingle guys" in L.A. studios. By 2000, Sinay was a regular on recording dates for Don Smith, an engineer and producer who worked with Petty and the Rolling Stones. "He invited me to a session one day – and there was Mike Campbell." Sinay remembers "playing Dylan covers and some Grateful Dead" on his first visit to Campbell's home studio. "And there were songs Mike was working on that he wanted to hear fleshed out with a band. It wasn't a solo session, more like a workshop."\NLaug was born in Florida, growing up in Jacksonville – Campbell's hometown – and South Carolina before moving to L.A. where he got into session work and met Morrison, a Texas native who landed in L.A. after finishing college in Virginia. "We played really well together," Laug says. "From that, we became best friends," recommending each other for jobs. They were the rhythm section on Alanis Morissette's 1995 blockbuster, Jagged Little Pill (an album that, coincidentally, has Benmont Tench on organ). And when Chinner called Laug, asking if he'd like to audition for Campbell, the drummer replied with a question of his own: "Does he need a bass player? I've got one."\N"I felt like I was back in high school with my buddies," Morrison says. "We were in Mike's pool house, jamming and learning songs. He kept pulling these songs out. I'd think it was some Neil Young thing I hadn't heard. But it was always an original song he'd written, and they just kept coming." At the sessions for Wreckless Abandon, "there would be a list of songs we were thinking of cutting. But Mike would come in with two or three ideas he'd written that night, and we'd warm up with those."\NThe Dirty Knobs have now been a band for nearly two decades – and played about 20 gigs, by Laug's count, mostly "in the cracks between Heartbreakers tours." But Drakoulias says it was at the early club shows that Campbell became "a real bandleader with the patter, telling stories, communicating. That motivated him to work on the singing – to dig down, take it seriously.\N"Both he and Tom – being in a band was what they really loved," the producer adds. Campbell now has "guys he loves playing with. He's trying to find his own world, one that feels like him. And he's achieving that."\N"We've all been tripping on it, haven't we?" Campbell says of the last two years. "But I had my home studio, everybody was comfortable and the sounds were ready to go." External Combustion "was just a matter of 'One, two, three, four – here's how it goes. Okay, next song.'\N"I never gave up," he insists. "The band's too good – I want people to hear it. And now we have two albums to promote" when the Dirty Knobs finally open their first tour in March, 2022.\N"Mike told me the other day: 'No matter what happens, we're going' – that's what I wanted to hear," Sinay says. "It's definitely Mike's turn to go out and do it." X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:It's a classic rock & roll story: the chance encounter that becomes collaboration, then a band; the gathering of players and like-minded spirits that tightens and grows in songwriting, rehearsals and club dates; a debut album that finally arrives after all of the labor and waiting; the follow-up that beats a new set of odds and jumps ahead in vision and drive, proving the first record was no one-shot deal.
For Mike Campbell, External Combustion – the second album by his first band as a leader, the Dirty Knobs – is proof that lightning can strike twice. Campbell experienced all of the above and more with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – riding shotgun with his friend and captain as lead guitarist, co-producer and, at times, co-writer – when he met guitarist Jason Sinay at a session in Los Angeles in 2000. "I didn't like him at first because he had a green guitar and a mohawk," Campbell recalls with a laugh. "But when we started playing together, I realized he had good rhythm, good sound. And he worked really well with me."
It wasn't quite a mohawk, Sinay claims. "But I had done this thing with my hair, and I think it freaked Mike out." Sinay had his own case of nerves. "Mike liked how I played, but he is one of my heroes. I couldn't even breathe." Even so, "a couple of days later, my phone rang. It was Mike asking me to come to his house and work on music with him."
That call turned into the Dirty Knobs, named after a faulty amp dial (with bonus double entendre) and originally including bassist Ron Blair and drummer Steve Ferrone of the Heartbreakers. "We would go into the studio for fun and occasionally get a bar gig to try the songs out for people," Campbell explains. "Then I thought, for my own identity, I should have a different rhythm section. And I lucked out" – in 2004 – "when these two guys walked in who were amazing." Recommended by Sinay and Campbell's longtime guitar tech Steve "Chinner" Winstead, drummer Matt Laug and bassist Lance Morrison were friends who often worked together on tours and sessions. "With Jason," Campbell says, "that became the band."
Campbell claims he was never offered a solo deal in his four decades with Petty and the Heartbreakers, although he wrote and produced for other artists such as Roy Orbison and Don Henley. "I wouldn't have known what to do with it," he adds quickly. "I was Tom's partner. Lyrics and singing – he could always do it much better. But I was writing and recording more music than Tom could deal with. That's when I got the Dirty Knobs, which gave me a chance to try singing. So I started woodshedding. And then when my life changed" – with Petty's death in October, 2017 – "it was, 'Time to do this now.'"
The Dirty Knobs' debut album was ready to go in the spring of 2020 along with their first-ever tour. The pandemic blew out the latter. But Wreckless Abandon – released that November and co-produced by Campbell with George Drakoulias – delivered the good times in every other way: the psychedelic spell of the title track; the late-Sixties British-blues fire in "Sugar" and "Loaded Gun"; the brawling country rock of "Pistol Packin' Mama" with guest Chris Stapleton. Wreckless Abandon was Campbell's first album as the featured writer and singer. But, he says, "I wanted it to sound like four guys having fun."
"The first album was about the boogie," affirms Drakoulias. But External Combustion – which he also co-produced with Campbell – "threw the net wider." Country firebird Margo Price sings backing vocals in "Cheap Talk," a bluesy march in smokey orchestration, and duets with Campbell in the country-soul ballad "State of Mind," decked out with strings and brass in the frontier-symphony image of the Band. That's the distinctive glam-Dylan bite of Mott The Hoople singer Ian Hunter in the second verse of "Dirty Job," while Heartbreakers pianist Benmont Tench brings the Jerry Lee Lewis in "Lightning Boogie."
And in "It Is Written," Campbell conjures ghostly wisps of Bob Dylan-like harmonica in a topical urgency that turns into a reflection "about the devotion to one person," Campbell says – his wife Marcie. "It's a true story about coming out to California, her taking me in." But that's not a harmonica – it's a piano riff run backwards.
The Dirty Knobs made External Combustion in three weeks over the summer of 2021, "a few days at a time," Drakoulias says. "Everything was coming off the floor – whatever they were playing, whatever felt good." That speed and raw commitment comes right out of the starting gate in the garage-rock torpedo "Wicked Mind"; jumps to a Howlin' Wolf-style shuffle in "Brigitte Bardot"; and is there at the finish in "Electric Gypsy," a blaze of guitars in waltz time that Campbell began writing in the morning and showed to the band in the afternoon. The Knobs cut the song – named after one of Campbell's guitars, a gorgeous instrument with a mosaic finish in mother-of-pearl and abalone – the same day in one pass.
"Mike doesn't like to do a lot of takes," Morrison observes. There were times on External Combustion "where Mike was showing us the song as we were recording," Laug says. "That became the take." Sinay contends that Campbell "loves it when the band doesn't totally know the songs. Wide-eyed, freaking out, ears open – that's the magic."
"The band became this spontaneous type of combustion – to borrow a word," Campbell says. "The longer we played, the more intuitive it got. If I say, 'What about this song?,' maybe they've heard it, maybe they haven't. They just follow me, and they're tight. I'm lucky to have them."
* * * * * *
When Drakoulias first met Campbell during the recording of Petty's 1994 solo album, Wildflowers, "My first impression was awe," he says. The second was "How am I going to get this guy to talk to me? He was so quiet, not a typical lead-guitar guy." At the time, Drakoulias was a staff producer at Rick Rubin's American Recordings; Rubin was co-producing Wildflowers with Petty and Campbell. Drakoulias later worked with Petty and the Heartbreakers on the 1995 box set, Playback, and co-produced the 2002 album, The Last DJ.
"There was so much there," he says of Campbell. "People didn't give him the props for the writing in some of those songs. And he's such a tasteful player. It's not just 'Turn me up,' although he's perfectly capable of blasting away. It's more like 'Let me get inside the song.' He wants to play off the lyric, the way it's sung."
That was always Campbell's way as lead guitarist and counsel for Petty in the Heartbreakers and, before that, in their first band together, Mudcrutch. "There's never been a time," Petty said of Campbell in one of our interviews, "when he wasn't giving back to me more than I was asking him to give . . . That's the mark of a really great musician."
Sinay points out that two tracks on Mojo, the 2010 album by Petty and the Heartbreakers – the Southern-rock juggernaut "First Flash of Freedom" and the grinding closer "Good Enough" – began as Campbell tunes played with the Dirty Knobs. "I always wrote with the hope that Tom would hear something he liked," Campbell acknowledges. "But I was gonna write what I feel in the moment with no preconceptions."
External Combustion, in turn, has "a couple of cool songs I completely forgot about," Campbell says, going as far back as the 1980s. "Cheap Talk" and "State of Mind" both "popped up" on tapes from his vault. For the latter, Campbell not only kept the original backing track but his vocal as well "because it sounded right. It had the honesty of the guy." "Rat City" is another vintage item "left on a tape somewhere," Campbell says. Laug remembers it from "way before" Wreckless Abandon "when we were doing fun gigs between Heartbreakers tours." The drummer laughs. "It's too many songs to keep up. It's amazing how many songs Mike writes and forgets."
"The thing about Mike," Sinay says, "is that he keeps writing. Sometimes I fall in love with something, and he's moved on from it. But he's the one who has to sing it, to sell the song. We're there to make sure he gets what he's after."
Born in Los Angeles, Sinay caught an early break as a guitarist, working for an uncle who was, he says, "one of the top jingle guys" in L.A. studios. By 2000, Sinay was a regular on recording dates for Don Smith, an engineer and producer who worked with Petty and the Rolling Stones. "He invited me to a session one day – and there was Mike Campbell." Sinay remembers "playing Dylan covers and some Grateful Dead" on his first visit to Campbell's home studio. "And there were songs Mike was working on that he wanted to hear fleshed out with a band. It wasn't a solo session, more like a workshop."
Laug was born in Florida, growing up in Jacksonville – Campbell's hometown – and South Carolina before moving to L.A. where he got into session work and met Morrison, a Texas native who landed in L.A. after finishing college in Virginia. "We played really well together," Laug says. "From that, we became best friends," recommending each other for jobs. They were the rhythm section on Alanis Morissette's 1995 blockbuster, Jagged Little Pill (an album that, coincidentally, has Benmont Tench on organ). And when Chinner called Laug, asking if he'd like to audition for Campbell, the drummer replied with a question of his own: "Does he need a bass player? I've got one."
"I felt like I was back in high school with my buddies," Morrison says. "We were in Mike's pool house, jamming and learning songs. He kept pulling these songs out. I'd think it was some Neil Young thing I hadn't heard. But it was always an original song he'd written, and they just kept coming." At the sessions for Wreckless Abandon, "there would be a list of songs we were thinking of cutting. But Mike would come in with two or three ideas he'd written that night, and we'd warm up with those."
The Dirty Knobs have now been a band for nearly two decades – and played about 20 gigs, by Laug's count, mostly "in the cracks between Heartbreakers tours." But Drakoulias says it was at the early club shows that Campbell became "a real bandleader with the patter, telling stories, communicating. That motivated him to work on the singing – to dig down, take it seriously.
"Both he and Tom – being in a band was what they really loved," the producer adds. Campbell now has "guys he loves playing with. He's trying to find his own world, one that feels like him. And he's achieving that."
"We've all been tripping on it, haven't we?" Campbell says of the last two years. "But I had my home studio, everybody was comfortable and the sounds were ready to go." External Combustion "was just a matter of 'One, two, three, four – here's how it goes. Okay, next song.'
"I never gave up," he insists. "The band's too good – I want people to hear it. And now we have two albums to promote" when the Dirty Knobs finally open their first tour in March, 2022.
"Mike told me the other day: 'No matter what happens, we're going' – that's what I wanted to hear," Sinay says. "It's definitely Mike's turn to go out and do it."
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220610T160048Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2137 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221022T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221022T233000 UID:8DF4B6DD-FC2C-43FE-91F7-F777CEB11AD8 SUMMARY:Pixie & The Partygrass Boys DTSTAMP:20220808T222244Z DESCRIPTION:Hailed as “the hottest band in the Wasatch” by the Intermountain Acoustic Music Association, Pixie and The Partygrass Boys is composed of lifelong professional musicians drawn together by a common love of bluegrass and skiing in the Wasatch. Featuring soulful, often harmonic vocals and solid strings and rhythm, this tight-knit crew was born out of the belly of a warm cabin after a long day on the slopes- drinking whiskey and singing into the night. With a high energy sound and a love for silly outfits, they travel the land spreading the gospel of whiskey, chickens, and fun for everyone. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Hailed as “the hottest band in the Wasatch” by the Intermountain Acoustic Music Association, Pixie and The Partygrass Boys is composed of lifelong professional musicians drawn together by a common love of bluegrass and skiing in the Wasatch. Featuring soulful, often harmonic vocals and solid strings and rhythm, this tight-knit crew was born out of the belly of a warm cabin after a long day on the slopes- drinking whiskey and singing into the night. With a high energy sound and a love for silly outfits, they travel the land spreading the gospel of whiskey, chickens, and fun for everyone.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220907T181253Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2472 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221026T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221026T233000 UID:01818447-525E-47DD-B6F9-9638721012A4 SUMMARY:James McMurtry DTSTAMP:20220719T162659Z DESCRIPTION:In James McMurtry’s new effort, The Horses and the Hounds, the acclaimed songwriter backs personal narratives with effortless elegance (“Canola Fields”) and endless energy (“If It Don’t Bleed”). This first collection in seven years, due August 20 on New West Records, spotlights a seasoned tunesmith in peak form as he turns toward reflection (“Vaquero”) and revelation ( closer “Blackberry Winter”). Familiar foundations guide the journey. “There’s a definite Los Angeles vibe to this record,” McMurtry says. “The ghost of Warren Zevon seems to be stomping around among the guitar tracks. Don’t know how he got in there. He never signed on for work for hire.”\NThe Horses and the Hounds is a reunion of sorts. McMurtry recorded the new album with legendary producer Ross Hogarth (John Fogerty, Van Halen, Keb’ Mo’) at Jackson Browne’s Groovemaster’s in Santa Monica, California, a world class studio that has housed such legends as Bob Dylan (2012’s Tempest) and David Crosby (2016’s Lighthouse) as well as Browne himself for I’m Alive (1993) and New Found Glory, Coming Home (2006). McMurtry and Hogarth first worked together 30 years ago, when Hogarth was a recording engineer in the employ of John Mellencamp at Mellencamp’s own Belmont Studios near Bloomington, Indiana. Hogarth recorded McMurtry’s first two albums, Too Long in the Wasteland and Candyland, for Columbia Records and later mixed McMurtry’s first self-produced album, Saint Mary of the Woods, for Sugar Hill Records. Another veteran of those three releases, guitarist David Grissom (Joe Ely, John Mellencamp, Dixie Chicks), returns with some of his finest work.\NAccordingly, the new collection marks another upward trajectory: The Horses and the Hounds will be McMurtry’s debut album on genre-defining Americana record label New West Records (Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Lucinda Williams, John Hiatt, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Buddy Miller, dozens more).\N“I first became aware of James McMurtry’s formidable songwriting prowess while working at Bug Music Publishing in the ’90s,” says New West president John Allen. “He’s a true talent. All of us at New West are excited at the prospect of championing the next phase of James’ already successful and respected career.” McMurtry perfectly fits a label housing “artists who perform real music for real people.” After all, No Depression says of the literate songwriter’s most recent collection, Complicated Game: “Lyrically, the album is wise and adventurous, with McMurtry — who’s not prone to autobiographical tales — credibly inhabiting characters from all walks of life.” “[McMurtry] fuses wry, literate observations about the world with the snarl of barroom rock,” National Public Radio says. “The result is at times sardonic, subversive and funny, but often vulnerable and always poignant.”\NHis lauded storytelling — check out songs such as “Operation Never Mind” and “Ft. Walton Wake-Up Call” on The Horse and the Hounds— consistently has turned heads for decades now. “James writes like he’s lived a lifetime,” said John Mellencamp back in 1989, when Too Long in the Wasteland hit the Billboard 200. “James McMurtry is one of my very few favorite songwriters on Earth and these days he’s working at the top of his game,” says Americana all-star Jason Isbell. “He has that rare gift of being able to make a listener laugh out loud at one line and choke up at the next. I don’t think anybody writes better lyrics.” McMurtry’s albums Just Us Kids (2008) and Childish Things (2005) back the claim, each scoring endless critical praise. The former earned McMurtry his highest Billboard 200 chart position in two decades (since eclipsed by Complicated Game) and notched Americana Music Award nominations. Childish Things spent six full weeks topping the Americana Music Radio chart in 2005 and 2006, and won the Americana Music Association’s Album of the Year, with “We Can’t Make It Here” named the organization’s Song of the Year.\NOther accolades include a 1996 Grammy nomination for Long Form Music Video for Where’d You Hide the Body and an American Indie Award for Best Americana Album for It Had to Happen (1997).\NMcMurtry tours year-round and consistently throws down unparalleled powerhouse performances, reflected in the release of two live discs: the universally lauded Live in Aught-Three on Compadre Records, and 2009’s Live in Europe, which captured the McMurtry band’s first European tour and extraordinary live set. Along with seasoned band members Ronnie Johnson, Daren Hess, and Tim Holt, Live in Europe features special guests Ian McLagan (Faces) and Jon Dee Graham (True Believers, Skunks). (Video of the performance is available on the included DVD.)\N“Lyircally gritty, musically gutsy, go tell ‘em all…we need James McMurtry bringin’ us more.” —Andrew Farrris, INXS\N“James McMurtry may be the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation” —Stephen King X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:In James McMurtry’s new effort, The Horses and the Hounds, the acclaimed songwriter backs personal narratives with effortless elegance (“Canola Fields”) and endless energy (“If It Don’t Bleed”). This first collection in seven years, due August 20 on New West Records, spotlights a seasoned tunesmith in peak form as he turns toward reflection (“Vaquero”) and revelation ( closer “Blackberry Winter”). Familiar foundations guide the journey. “There’s a definite Los Angeles vibe to this record,” McMurtry says. “The ghost of Warren Zevon seems to be stomping around among the guitar tracks. Don’t know how he got in there. He never signed on for work for hire.”
The Horses and the Hounds is a reunion of sorts. McMurtry recorded the new album with legendary producer Ross Hogarth (John Fogerty, Van Halen, Keb’ Mo’) at Jackson Browne’s Groovemaster’s in Santa Monica, California, a world class studio that has housed such legends as Bob Dylan (2012’s Tempest) and David Crosby (2016’s Lighthouse) as well as Browne himself for I’m Alive (1993) and New Found Glory, Coming Home (2006). McMurtry and Hogarth first worked together 30 years ago, when Hogarth was a recording engineer in the employ of John Mellencamp at Mellencamp’s own Belmont Studios near Bloomington, Indiana. Hogarth recorded McMurtry’s first two albums, Too Long in the Wasteland and Candyland, for Columbia Records and later mixed McMurtry’s first self-produced album, Saint Mary of the Woods, for Sugar Hill Records. Another veteran of those three releases, guitarist David Grissom (Joe Ely, John Mellencamp, Dixie Chicks), returns with some of his finest work.
Accordingly, the new collection marks another upward trajectory: The Horses and the Hounds will be McMurtry’s debut album on genre-defining Americana record label New West Records (Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Lucinda Williams, John Hiatt, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Buddy Miller, dozens more).
“I first became aware of James McMurtry’s formidable songwriting prowess while working at Bug Music Publishing in the ’90s,” says New West president John Allen. “He’s a true talent. All of us at New West are excited at the prospect of championing the next phase of James’ already successful and respected career.” McMurtry perfectly fits a label housing “artists who perform real music for real people.” After all, No Depression says of the literate songwriter’s most recent collection, Complicated Game: “Lyrically, the album is wise and adventurous, with McMurtry — who’s not prone to autobiographical tales — credibly inhabiting characters from all walks of life.” “[McMurtry] fuses wry, literate observations about the world with the snarl of barroom rock,” National Public Radio says. “The result is at times sardonic, subversive and funny, but often vulnerable and always poignant.”
His lauded storytelling — check out songs such as “Operation Never Mind” and “Ft. Walton Wake-Up Call” on The Horse and the Hounds— consistently has turned heads for decades now. “James writes like he’s lived a lifetime,” said John Mellencamp back in 1989, when Too Long in the Wasteland hit the Billboard 200. “James McMurtry is one of my very few favorite songwriters on Earth and these days he’s working at the top of his game,” says Americana all-star Jason Isbell. “He has that rare gift of being able to make a listener laugh out loud at one line and choke up at the next. I don’t think anybody writes better lyrics.” McMurtry’s albums Just Us Kids (2008) and Childish Things (2005) back the claim, each scoring endless critical praise. The former earned McMurtry his highest Billboard 200 chart position in two decades (since eclipsed by Complicated Game) and notched Americana Music Award nominations. Childish Things spent six full weeks topping the Americana Music Radio chart in 2005 and 2006, and won the Americana Music Association’s Album of the Year, with “We Can’t Make It Here” named the organization’s Song of the Year.
Other accolades include a 1996 Grammy nomination for Long Form Music Video for Where’d You Hide the Body and an American Indie Award for Best Americana Album for It Had to Happen (1997).
McMurtry tours year-round and consistently throws down unparalleled powerhouse performances, reflected in the release of two live discs: the universally lauded Live in Aught-Three on Compadre Records, and 2009’s Live in Europe, which captured the McMurtry band’s first European tour and extraordinary live set. Along with seasoned band members Ronnie Johnson, Daren Hess, and Tim Holt, Live in Europe features special guests Ian McLagan (Faces) and Jon Dee Graham (True Believers, Skunks). (Video of the performance is available on the included DVD.)
“Lyircally gritty, musically gutsy, go tell ‘em all…we need James McMurtry bringin’ us more.” —Andrew Farrris, INXS
“James McMurtry may be the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation” —Stephen King
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221025T204640Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1849 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221102T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221102T233000 UID:9CDBB7AE-3A45-4937-ABA4-342167D2CA44 SUMMARY:TAUK + Kanika Moore DTSTAMP:20220728T210105Z DESCRIPTION:TAUK may be an instrumental band, but even without words, the group’s extraordinary new album, Chaos Companion, manages to speak volumes about the ups and downs of a year that challenged—and transformed—us all.\N“Everyone’s got a chaos companion, something that keeps you grounded in the midst of all the madness,” says bassist Charlie Dolan. “Maybe it’s your spouse, maybe it’s your kids, maybe it’s your dog. For us, it was the music.”\NRecorded at the band’s newly completed studio on their native Long Island, Chaos Companion is indeed a work of profound comfort and catharsis, but more than that, it’s a testament to the kind of growth and evolution that can emerge in the face of struggle and uncertainty. Forced off the road for the first time in years by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dolan and his bandmates—guitarist Matt Jalbert, drummer Isaac Teel, and keyboardist Alric Carter—used the rare break from touring to stretch themselves as writers and instrumentalists, leaning into the sense of liberation and possibility that came with an empty calendar and letting it guide them toward uncharted musical territory. The resulting songs push TAUK’s sound to bold new heights, fearlessly fusing elements of progressive rock, funk, soul, EDM, and hip-hop into a richly melodic, groove-driven blend, one that’s complemented perfectly here by the equally adventurous production work of longtime collaborator Robert Carranza. Add it all up and you’ve got an evocative, cinematic collection that hints at everything from 70’s film scores and 80’s videogame soundtracks to 90’s R&B and modern dance music, an immersive, transportive record that blurs the lines between the analog and the electronic as it balances old school grit and futuristic sheen in equal measure.\N“Being in an instrumental band already comes with a lot of freedom,” says Carter, “but having all that time away from the road really allowed each of us to experiment and explore in our own ways. It opened up whole new palettes for us to paint with.”\NTAUK has been painting with sound for nearly a decade now, pushing boundaries and reinventing themselves every chance they get. Founded by Dolan, Jalbert, and Carter, who began playing together as middle schoolers on Long Island, the band landed on its present incarnation in 2012, when college pal Teel joined full time. Since then, the quartet has gone on to tour with the likes of Umphrey’s McGee, Widespread Panic, and Lettuce, landed festival slots everywhere from Bonnaroo to Electric Forest, racked up millions of streams across platforms, and garnered extensive critical praise with a series of widely lauded studio and live albums. The Washington Post hailed the band’s music as “a hard-charging, often melodic fusion that—thanks to a penchant for improv—offers limitless possibilities,” while Keyboard Magazine declared that their sound “doesn’t adhere to a single genre but, instead, creates its own,” and Relix dubbed them “an incredibly impressive ensemble of talent.”\NThrilling as it was, TAUK’s breakout success and relentless tour schedule left the band with little opportunity to catch their breath. That all changed in 2020, though, when the coronavirus pandemic brought the entire live music industry to a grinding halt.\N“More than anything, being forced to take a break allowed us to reset and refocus,” says Teel. “It was a chance get back to basics and put 100% of our energy into writing, a chance for each of us to dig deeper into our own personal influences.”\NWhen the band finally reunited in late 2020, they found themselves with such a glut of new ideas that they could afford to be more intentional than ever before, taking their time to craft a deliberate sonic and emotional arc with the material.\N“Being able to work in our own studio every day and just live with the songs was a game changer, too” says Jalbert. “When you don’t have a tour coming up, you have the freedom to move more slowly and experiment in ways that can wind up pushing the music in whole new directions.”In addition to having more time on their hands, TAUK was also able to hit the ground running in the studio thanks to the most fully realized set of demos they’d ever created.\N“With the four of us all writing and working on ideas independently during the pandemic, we started exploring more of the possibilities that come with recording software like Logic and Ableton,” says Carter. “For me as a keyboard player, it was like adding another four arms to my body in terms of what I could play.”\N“Writing on Ableton actually changed my whole approach,” adds Jalbert. “Working with sampled drums and then recording bass and keys on top made it so that I could really flesh everything out, and a lot of those sounds from early in the writing process ended up making it onto the final record.”\NUsing those more fleshed out demos as a jumping off point, TAUK cut much of what would become Chaos Companion live in the studio, embracing the energy of the moment and their undeniable chemistry as a quartet to deliver vibrant, arresting performances that ranged from the hypnotic to the explosive and back again, sometimes within the very same track. Meditative album opener “Chandara” sets the stage, with a spacious, dreamy soundscape that evokes the break of day on some serene and distant planet. Like much of the album, there’s an air of science fiction to the track, a sense that the song itself may be an invitation to some alternate dimension where all of our earthly fears and anxieties are nothing more than a memory. The mesmerizing “Moon Dub” soars and swaggers its way through the stars, while the driving “Make Your Move” brims with the rousing confidence and determination of an action movie montage, and “The Let Out” offers an impossibly smooth blend of sensual R&B and heavy guitars that lands somewhere between Erykah Badu and Tom Morello. Elsewhere on the album, special guests—like The Shady Horns, who add some extra punch to the urgent “Dormammu,” and celebrated film composer Tyler Bates (John Wick, Guardians of the Galaxy), who contributes additional production to the epic “Lonely Robot”—help the band break down even more sonic barriers.“In the past, we’ve been pretty conscious about having our live show sound consistent with our albums,” says Carter, “ but this time around we wanted to ditch all the limitations and rethink what our live show could be. I think people are going to be blown away by what we’re doing when we hit the road again.”\NIn the end, that’s what Chaos Companion is all about: defying expectations, transcending reality, reimagining what’s possible. It’s a dose of the familiar in the midst of the foreign, a wordless album that’ll leave you speechless. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:TAUK may be an instrumental band, but even without words, the group’s extraordinary new album, Chaos Companion, manages to speak volumes about the ups and downs of a year that challenged—and transformed—us all.
“Everyone’s got a chaos companion, something that keeps you grounded in the midst of all the madness,” says bassist Charlie Dolan. “Maybe it’s your spouse, maybe it’s your kids, maybe it’s your dog. For us, it was the music.”
Recorded at the band’s newly completed studio on their native Long Island, Chaos Companion is indeed a work of profound comfort and catharsis, but more than that, it’s a testament to the kind of growth and evolution that can emerge in the face of struggle and uncertainty. Forced off the road for the first time in years by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dolan and his bandmates—guitarist Matt Jalbert, drummer Isaac Teel, and keyboardist Alric Carter—used the rare break from touring to stretch themselves as writers and instrumentalists, leaning into the sense of liberation and possibility that came with an empty calendar and letting it guide them toward uncharted musical territory. The resulting songs push TAUK’s sound to bold new heights, fearlessly fusing elements of progressive rock, funk, soul, EDM, and hip-hop into a richly melodic, groove-driven blend, one that’s complemented perfectly here by the equally adventurous production work of longtime collaborator Robert Carranza. Add it all up and you’ve got an evocative, cinematic collection that hints at everything from 70’s film scores and 80’s videogame soundtracks to 90’s R&B and modern dance music, an immersive, transportive record that blurs the lines between the analog and the electronic as it balances old school grit and futuristic sheen in equal measure.
“Being in an instrumental band already comes with a lot of freedom,” says Carter, “but having all that time away from the road really allowed each of us to experiment and explore in our own ways. It opened up whole new palettes for us to paint with.”
TAUK has been painting with sound for nearly a decade now, pushing boundaries and reinventing themselves every chance they get. Founded by Dolan, Jalbert, and Carter, who began playing together as middle schoolers on Long Island, the band landed on its present incarnation in 2012, when college pal Teel joined full time. Since then, the quartet has gone on to tour with the likes of Umphrey’s McGee, Widespread Panic, and Lettuce, landed festival slots everywhere from Bonnaroo to Electric Forest, racked up millions of streams across platforms, and garnered extensive critical praise with a series of widely lauded studio and live albums. The Washington Post hailed the band’s music as “a hard-charging, often melodic fusion that—thanks to a penchant for improv—offers limitless possibilities,” while Keyboard Magazine declared that their sound “doesn’t adhere to a single genre but, instead, creates its own,” and Relix dubbed them “an incredibly impressive ensemble of talent.”
Thrilling as it was, TAUK’s breakout success and relentless tour schedule left the band with little opportunity to catch their breath. That all changed in 2020, though, when the coronavirus pandemic brought the entire live music industry to a grinding halt.
“More than anything, being forced to take a break allowed us to reset and refocus,” says Teel. “It was a chance get back to basics and put 100% of our energy into writing, a chance for each of us to dig deeper into our own personal influences.”
When the band finally reunited in late 2020, they found themselves with such a glut of new ideas that they could afford to be more intentional than ever before, taking their time to craft a deliberate sonic and emotional arc with the material.
“Being able to work in our own studio every day and just live with the songs was a game changer, too” says Jalbert. “When you don’t have a tour coming up, you have the freedom to move more slowly and experiment in ways that can wind up pushing the music in whole new directions.”
In addition to having more time on their hands, TAUK was also able to hit the ground running in the studio thanks to the most fully realized set of demos they’d ever created.
“With the four of us all writing and working on ideas independently during the pandemic, we started exploring more of the possibilities that come with recording software like Logic and Ableton,” says Carter. “For me as a keyboard player, it was like adding another four arms to my body in terms of what I could play.”
“Writing on Ableton actually changed my whole approach,” adds Jalbert. “Working with sampled drums and then recording bass and keys on top made it so that I could really flesh everything out, and a lot of those sounds from early in the writing process ended up making it onto the final record.”
Using those more fleshed out demos as a jumping off point, TAUK cut much of what would become Chaos Companion live in the studio, embracing the energy of the moment and their undeniable chemistry as a quartet to deliver vibrant, arresting performances that ranged from the hypnotic to the explosive and back again, sometimes within the very same track. Meditative album opener “Chandara” sets the stage, with a spacious, dreamy soundscape that evokes the break of day on some serene and distant planet. Like much of the album, there’s an air of science fiction to the track, a sense that the song itself may be an invitation to some alternate dimension where all of our earthly fears and anxieties are nothing more than a memory. The mesmerizing “Moon Dub” soars and swaggers its way through the stars, while the driving “Make Your Move” brims with the rousing confidence and determination of an action movie montage, and “The Let Out” offers an impossibly smooth blend of sensual R&B and heavy guitars that lands somewhere between Erykah Badu and Tom Morello. Elsewhere on the album, special guests—like The Shady Horns, who add some extra punch to the urgent “Dormammu,” and celebrated film composer Tyler Bates (John Wick, Guardians of the Galaxy), who contributes additional production to the epic “Lonely Robot”—help the band break down even more sonic barriers.
“In the past, we’ve been pretty conscious about having our live show sound consistent with our albums,” says Carter, “ but this time around we wanted to ditch all the limitations and rethink what our live show could be. I think people are going to be blown away by what we’re doing when we hit the road again.”
In the end, that’s what Chaos Companion is all about: defying expectations, transcending reality, reimagining what’s possible. It’s a dose of the familiar in the midst of the foreign, a wordless album that’ll leave you speechless.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221101T220454Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1664 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221103T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221103T233000 UID:AA497DAF-5F0B-4384-8745-753A30EFCFBE SUMMARY:Sammy Rae & The Friends DTSTAMP:20220614T161748Z DESCRIPTION:For as much as Sammy Rae & The Friends may be a band, this collective of, dreamers, and artists considers itself a family first.\NFronted by singer and songwriter Sammy Rae, the group flourishes in any spotlight with a combination of all-for-one and one-for-all camaraderie, palpable chemistry, deft virtuosity, and vocal fireworks. Their sound is a mélange of Sammy’s influences, rooted in classic rock, folk, and funk and sprinkled with soul and jazz. Complete with a rhythm section, horn section, keyboards, and backing vocals, Sammy Rae & The Friends have or will deliver their high-energy, spirited, and unrestrained shows to sold-out audiences in the Northeast and beyond, including Terminal 5 in NYC, two consecutive nights at the Boston Royal, 9:30 Club in DC, Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia, The Showbox in Seattle, the Cannery Ballroom in Nashville, and many more. NPR Music, the Boston Globe and American Songwriter alike have dubbed her an artist to watch is 2022.\NWhile the band considers themselves the “7 faces of The Friends,” they advocate for the importance of their community. Avid music fans themselves, they pride themselves on this original grassroots, word-of-mouth growth. The Friends is their community of followers, artists and creatives who help in the creation of their songs and sustenance of the project—their mixing engineer, band photographer, graphic designer, budget manager, and everyone who hangs around the shows supporting the vision. The shows are like a shot in the arm of affirmation of individuality. They are safe spaces to feel overwhelmed with love and acceptance. “Friends”in the audience are encouraged to dress how they like, dance how they like, join the party and form person-to-person Friendships.\NSammy Rae & The Friends just wrapped a five-week tour celebrating her latest single, "Follow Me Like the Moon," and will be on the festival circuit this summer. Their next single,"Time Being", comes out on 7/15/22. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:For as much as Sammy Rae & The Friends may be a band, this collective of, dreamers, and artists considers itself a family first.
Fronted by singer and songwriter Sammy Rae, the group flourishes in any spotlight with a combination of all-for-one and one-for-all camaraderie, palpable chemistry, deft virtuosity, and vocal fireworks. Their sound is a mélange of Sammy’s influences, rooted in classic rock, folk, and funk and sprinkled with soul and jazz. Complete with a rhythm section, horn section, keyboards, and backing vocals, Sammy Rae & The Friends have or will deliver their high-energy, spirited, and unrestrained shows to sold-out audiences in the Northeast and beyond, including Terminal 5 in NYC, two consecutive nights at the Boston Royal, 9:30 Club in DC, Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia, The Showbox in Seattle, the Cannery Ballroom in Nashville, and many more. NPR Music, the Boston Globe and American Songwriter alike have dubbed her an artist to watch is 2022.
While the band considers themselves the “7 faces of The Friends,” they advocate for the importance of their community. Avid music fans themselves, they pride themselves on this original grassroots, word-of-mouth growth. The Friends is their community of followers, artists and creatives who help in the creation of their songs and sustenance of the project—their mixing engineer, band photographer, graphic designer, budget manager, and everyone who hangs around the shows supporting the vision. The shows are like a shot in the arm of affirmation of individuality. They are safe spaces to feel overwhelmed with love and acceptance. “Friends”in the audience are encouraged to dress how they like, dance how they like, join the party and form person-to-person Friendships.
Sammy Rae & The Friends just wrapped a five-week tour celebrating her latest single, "Follow Me Like the Moon," and will be on the festival circuit this summer. Their next single,"Time Being", comes out on 7/15/22.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221031T191918Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2098 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221104T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221104T233000 UID:0BCB6AAD-D252-448B-A0A2-7C4309ADDC3B SUMMARY:The Milk Carton Kids & Katie Pruitt DTSTAMP:20220726T174054Z DESCRIPTION:Listening to The Milk Carton Kids -- Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale -- talk about their creative process, it’s easy to imagine them running in opposite directions even while yoked together. “Joey and I famously have an adversarial relationship,” Pattengale says. They dig at each other in interviews and on stage, where Ryan plays his own straight man, while Pattengale tunes his guitar. The songs emerge somewhere in the silences and the struggle between their sensibilities. They have been known to argue over song choices. They have been known to argue about everything from wardrobe to geography to grammar. But their singing is the place where they make room for each other and the shared identity that rises out of their combined voices. Defying the conventions of melody and harmony is a strategy The Milk Carton Kids have consciously embraced. “Sometimes we’ll switch parts for a beat or a bar or a note,” Ryan says. “And that starts to obfuscate what is the melody and what is the supporting part because we think of both of them being strong enough to stand alone.”\N“There are only so many things you can do alone in life that allow you to transcend your sense of self for even a short period,” Pattengale continues. “I’m the lucky recipient of a life in which for hundreds of times, day after day, I get to spend an hour that is like speaking a language only two people know and doing it in a space with others who want to hear it.\NThe Only Ones, the group’s new record (out now on the band’s own Milk Carton Records imprint in partnership with Thirty Tigers), finds Ryan and Pattengale performing a stripped-down acoustic set without a backing band. On The Only Ones, the pair returns to the core of what they are about musically: the duo.\NRyan and Pattengale also recently hosted the 18th annual Americana Honors & Awards for the second year in a row, while the group has been nominated for three Grammy Awards: Best Folk Album in 2013 (The Ash & Clay); Best American Roots Performance in 2015 (“The City of Our Lady”); and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, in 2018 (All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do).\NOver the past few years, life has changed dramatically for The Milk Carton Kids. Pattengale has moved to Nashville, where he is also producing records; Ryan is now the father of two children and works as a producer on Live from Here with Chris Thile. A break from years of non-stop touring, Ryan says, has yielded “space outside of the band that gives us perspective on what the band is.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Listening to The Milk Carton Kids -- Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale -- talk about their creative process, it’s easy to imagine them running in opposite directions even while yoked together. “Joey and I famously have an adversarial relationship,” Pattengale says. They dig at each other in interviews and on stage, where Ryan plays his own straight man, while Pattengale tunes his guitar. The songs emerge somewhere in the silences and the struggle between their sensibilities. They have been known to argue over song choices. They have been known to argue about everything from wardrobe to geography to grammar. But their singing is the place where they make room for each other and the shared identity that rises out of their combined voices. Defying the conventions of melody and harmony is a strategy The Milk Carton Kids have consciously embraced. “Sometimes we’ll switch parts for a beat or a bar or a note,” Ryan says. “And that starts to obfuscate what is the melody and what is the supporting part because we think of both of them being strong enough to stand alone.”
“There are only so many things you can do alone in life that allow you to transcend your sense of self for even a short period,” Pattengale continues. “I’m the lucky recipient of a life in which for hundreds of times, day after day, I get to spend an hour that is like speaking a language only two people know and doing it in a space with others who want to hear it.
The Only Ones, the group’s new record (out now on the band’s own Milk Carton Records imprint in partnership with Thirty Tigers), finds Ryan and Pattengale performing a stripped-down acoustic set without a backing band. On The Only Ones, the pair returns to the core of what they are about musically: the duo.
Ryan and Pattengale also recently hosted the 18th annual Americana Honors & Awards for the second year in a row, while the group has been nominated for three Grammy Awards: Best Folk Album in 2013 (The Ash & Clay); Best American Roots Performance in 2015 (“The City of Our Lady”); and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, in 2018 (All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do).
Over the past few years, life has changed dramatically for The Milk Carton Kids. Pattengale has moved to Nashville, where he is also producing records; Ryan is now the father of two children and works as a producer on Live from Here with Chris Thile. A break from years of non-stop touring, Ryan says, has yielded “space outside of the band that gives us perspective on what the band is.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220819T170311Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2140 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221105T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221105T233000 UID:6444A2DA-AF35-4ACD-8310-C62EA6056DF3 SUMMARY:Charlie Parr DTSTAMP:20220930T195346Z DESCRIPTION:Charlie Parr is an incorruptible outsider who writes novelistic, multi-layered stories that shine a kaleidoscopic light on defiant, unseen characters thriving in the shadows all around us. Parr has a new record with only his name on it, and it isn’t shiny and perfect and commercial and catchy. It’s him. It’s pure Charlie Parr and that’s enough. He hasn’t moved to LA or Nashville; he’s stayed in the cold grey north of Minnesota, because that’s his home. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Charlie Parr is an incorruptible outsider who writes novelistic, multi-layered stories that shine a kaleidoscopic light on defiant, unseen characters thriving in the shadows all around us. Parr has a new record with only his name on it, and it isn’t shiny and perfect and commercial and catchy. It’s him. It’s pure Charlie Parr and that’s enough. He hasn’t moved to LA or Nashville; he’s stayed in the cold grey north of Minnesota, because that’s his home.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221003T231204Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1202 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221106T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221106T180000 UID:E366BA68-887B-4F7B-8187-5AB0992F1D20 SUMMARY:Cory Wong (EARLY SHOW) DTSTAMP:20220727T190152Z DESCRIPTION:Music motivates at the most primal level.\NYou instinctually hum a tune in order to get pumped up in the morning, for fuel on the treadmill, to soundtrack your commute, or as the pre-game to a big night out. As much as he treasures his roles as a guitarist, composer, and producer, Cory Wong fashions himself “a hype man,” first and foremost. Living up to this classification, he slings a Stratocaster and hurls “dad jokes” from the stage with the same panache, poise, and power.“For me, it’s all about the listener’s experience,” he explains. “I want them to have a visceral response like: ‘I feel better,’ ‘That was really fun,’ or ‘I got to escape for an hour.’ You’ll hear my voice through the guitar, but I’m just a hype man. To uplift audiences with instrumental music that has no singing or lyrics is a fun challenge. I’m trying to solve the riddle. If I can get one person to feel good this way, it’s a success.\NStraight out of Minneapolis, Cory positioned himself as music’s answer to motivational speakers like Tony Robbins since emerging in 2011. Head-spinning rhythm guitar wizardry, technical ebullience, laugh-out-loud jokes, and radiance on stage established him as both a sought-after collaborator and celebrated solo artist alike. He lent his talents to television programs such as The Voice at the dawn of his career. After an impromptu meeting at the weekly jam hosted by Prince’s rhythm section (where the Purple One often either performed or watched), he crossed paths with Vulfpeck who welcomed him as a frequent collaborator and member of the band. Solidifying a fruitful partnership, the group named their most popular instrumental track “Cory Wong,” in tribute. Lighting up the stage in the band everywhere from Red Rocks Amphitheatre to Madison Square Garden, he remains a cornerstone of Vulfpeck’s storied gigs.\N“I try to feature the guitar, but I don’t force myself into being the star of every song,” he says. “The instrument plays an appropriate role. It’s not all flash. I’m bringing rhythm to the forefront where it’s not so shreddy. I refer to it as ‘Covert chops.’ I’m doing things that are sneakily hard, but they lay in the cut. I allow the song to breathe and present myself as more of a composer rather than a guitar player.”\NIn the end, Cory transmits joy in its purest form through the guitar.\N“The guiding light is to impart a feeling of joy,” he leaves off. “I want people to experience instrumental music in a different way. This is hype. It’s more than just guitar.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Music motivates at the most primal level.
You instinctually hum a tune in order to get pumped up in the morning, for fuel on the treadmill, to soundtrack your commute, or as the pre-game to a big night out. As much as he treasures his roles as a guitarist, composer, and producer, Cory Wong fashions himself “a hype man,” first and foremost. Living up to this classification, he slings a Stratocaster and hurls “dad jokes” from the stage with the same panache, poise, and power.
“For me, it’s all about the listener’s experience,” he explains. “I want them to have a visceral response like: ‘I feel better,’ ‘That was really fun,’ or ‘I got to escape for an hour.’ You’ll hear my voice through the guitar, but I’m just a hype man. To uplift audiences with instrumental music that has no singing or lyrics is a fun challenge. I’m trying to solve the riddle. If I can get one person to feel good this way, it’s a success.
Straight out of Minneapolis, Cory positioned himself as music’s answer to motivational speakers like Tony Robbins since emerging in 2011. Head-spinning rhythm guitar wizardry, technical ebullience, laugh-out-loud jokes, and radiance on stage established him as both a sought-after collaborator and celebrated solo artist alike. He lent his talents to television programs such as The Voice at the dawn of his career. After an impromptu meeting at the weekly jam hosted by Prince’s rhythm section (where the Purple One often either performed or watched), he crossed paths with Vulfpeck who welcomed him as a frequent collaborator and member of the band. Solidifying a fruitful partnership, the group named their most popular instrumental track “Cory Wong,” in tribute. Lighting up the stage in the band everywhere from Red Rocks Amphitheatre to Madison Square Garden, he remains a cornerstone of Vulfpeck’s storied gigs.
“I try to feature the guitar, but I don’t force myself into being the star of every song,” he says. “The instrument plays an appropriate role. It’s not all flash. I’m bringing rhythm to the forefront where it’s not so shreddy. I refer to it as ‘Covert chops.’ I’m doing things that are sneakily hard, but they lay in the cut. I allow the song to breathe and present myself as more of a composer rather than a guitar player.”
In the end, Cory transmits joy in its purest form through the guitar.
“The guiding light is to impart a feeling of joy,” he leaves off. “I want people to experience instrumental music in a different way. This is hype. It’s more than just guitar.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221021T181145Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1502 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221106T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221106T233000 UID:C00B352A-95C5-46B9-AE99-F0F90A22BE2B SUMMARY:Cory Wong (EVENING SHOW) DTSTAMP:20220726T235557Z DESCRIPTION:Music motivates at the most primal level.\NYou instinctually hum a tune in order to get pumped up in the morning, for fuel on the treadmill, to soundtrack your commute, or as the pre-game to a big night out. As much as he treasures his roles as a guitarist, composer, and producer, Cory Wong fashions himself “a hype man,” first and foremost. Living up to this classification, he slings a Stratocaster and hurls “dad jokes” from the stage with the same panache, poise, and power. “For me, it’s all about the listener’s experience,” he explains. “I want them to have a visceral response like: ‘I feel better,’ ‘That was really fun,’ or ‘I got to escape for an hour.’ You’ll hear my voice through the guitar, but I’m just a hype man. To uplift audiences with instrumental music that has no singing or lyrics is a fun challenge. I’m trying to solve the riddle. If I can get one person to feel good this way, it’s a success.\NStraight out of Minneapolis, Cory positioned himself as music’s answer to motivational speakers like Tony Robbins since emerging in 2011. Head-spinning rhythm guitar wizardry, technical ebullience, laugh-out-loud jokes, and radiance on stage established him as both a sought-after collaborator and celebrated solo artist alike. He lent his talents to television programs such as The Voice at the dawn of his career. After an impromptu meeting at the weekly jam hosted by Prince’s rhythm section (where the Purple One often either performed or watched), he crossed paths with Vulfpeck who welcomed him as a frequent collaborator and member of the band. Solidifying a fruitful partnership, the group named their most popular instrumental track “Cory Wong,” in tribute. Lighting up the stage in the band everywhere from Red Rocks Amphitheatre to Madison Square Garden, he remains a cornerstone of Vulfpeck’s storied gigs.\N“I try to feature the guitar, but I don’t force myself into being the star of every song,” he says. “The instrument plays an appropriate role. It’s not all flash. I’m bringing rhythm to the forefront where it’s not so shreddy. I refer to it as ‘Covert chops.’ I’m doing things that are sneakily hard, but they lay in the cut. I allow the song to breathe and present myself as more of a composer rather than a guitar player.”\NIn the end, Cory transmits joy in its purest form through the guitar.\N“The guiding light is to impart a feeling of joy,” he leaves off. “I want people to experience instrumental music in a different way. This is hype. It’s more than just guitar.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Music motivates at the most primal level.
You instinctually hum a tune in order to get pumped up in the morning, for fuel on the treadmill, to soundtrack your commute, or as the pre-game to a big night out. As much as he treasures his roles as a guitarist, composer, and producer, Cory Wong fashions himself “a hype man,” first and foremost. Living up to this classification, he slings a Stratocaster and hurls “dad jokes” from the stage with the same panache, poise, and power.
“For me, it’s all about the listener’s experience,” he explains. “I want them to have a visceral response like: ‘I feel better,’ ‘That was really fun,’ or ‘I got to escape for an hour.’ You’ll hear my voice through the guitar, but I’m just a hype man. To uplift audiences with instrumental music that has no singing or lyrics is a fun challenge. I’m trying to solve the riddle. If I can get one person to feel good this way, it’s a success.
Straight out of Minneapolis, Cory positioned himself as music’s answer to motivational speakers like Tony Robbins since emerging in 2011. Head-spinning rhythm guitar wizardry, technical ebullience, laugh-out-loud jokes, and radiance on stage established him as both a sought-after collaborator and celebrated solo artist alike. He lent his talents to television programs such as The Voice at the dawn of his career. After an impromptu meeting at the weekly jam hosted by Prince’s rhythm section (where the Purple One often either performed or watched), he crossed paths with Vulfpeck who welcomed him as a frequent collaborator and member of the band. Solidifying a fruitful partnership, the group named their most popular instrumental track “Cory Wong,” in tribute. Lighting up the stage in the band everywhere from Red Rocks Amphitheatre to Madison Square Garden, he remains a cornerstone of Vulfpeck’s storied gigs.
“I try to feature the guitar, but I don’t force myself into being the star of every song,” he says. “The instrument plays an appropriate role. It’s not all flash. I’m bringing rhythm to the forefront where it’s not so shreddy. I refer to it as ‘Covert chops.’ I’m doing things that are sneakily hard, but they lay in the cut. I allow the song to breathe and present myself as more of a composer rather than a guitar player.”
In the end, Cory transmits joy in its purest form through the guitar.
“The guiding light is to impart a feeling of joy,” he leaves off. “I want people to experience instrumental music in a different way. This is hype. It’s more than just guitar.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221021T181237Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1842 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221107T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221107T233000 UID:47EE6988-E330-429F-A90F-4489B5910CB3 SUMMARY:Leonid & Friends DTSTAMP:20221011T203708Z DESCRIPTION:With multiple sold-out U.S. tours under its belt and hundreds of thousands of fans around the world, Leonid & Friends continues to astound its global audience with its unique ability in capturing the spirit, musicality, and fire of American supergroup Chicago.\NAnd what is even more stunning is that Leonid & Friends, comprised of 11 of the finest musicians in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus, haven't seen Chicago perform live, yet replicates the band’s complex arrangements amazingly note for note.\NChicago has never been in Russia, and none of us have attended their concerts," said Leonid Vorobyev, a multi-instrumentalist who is the band’s leader. "We have only recordings and videos (to help us learn Chicago songs)." X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:With multiple sold-out U.S. tours under its belt and hundreds of thousands of fans around the world, Leonid & Friends continues to astound its global audience with its unique ability in capturing the spirit, musicality, and fire of American supergroup Chicago.
And what is even more stunning is that Leonid & Friends, comprised of 11 of the finest musicians in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus, haven't seen Chicago perform live, yet replicates the band’s complex arrangements amazingly note for note.
Chicago has never been in Russia, and none of us have attended their concerts," said Leonid Vorobyev, a multi-instrumentalist who is the band’s leader. "We have only recordings and videos (to help us learn Chicago songs)."
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221014T165707Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1027 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221108T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221108T210000 UID:A228D464-4D51-4BD0-AE49-69EE8A626922 SUMMARY:Kevin Morby DTSTAMP:20220301T033315Z DESCRIPTION:I. “This is a photograph.”\NThe story begins with Kevin Morby, absentmindedly flipping through a box of old family photos in the basement of his childhood home in Kansas City. Anything to take his mind off the events of earlier that day.\NJust hours before, at a family dinner, his father had collapsed in front of him at the table and had to be rushed to the hospital. Hours later, Morby still felt the shock and fear lodged in his bones.\NSo he gazed at the images until one of the pictures jumped out at him: his father as a young man, proud and strong and filled with confidence, posing on a lawn with his shirt off.\NIt was a jarring moment; remembering the frailty and loss of control he had witnessed earlier in the evening and yet seeing this portrait of great strength and confidence that resided inside the same man.\NThis was in January of 2020. As the months went on and the world dramatically changed around him, Morby felt an eerie similarity between his feelings of that night and the atmosphere of those spring days. Fear, anxiety, hope and resilience all churning together. The themes began twisting in his mind. History, trauma and the grand fight against time. Having the courage to dream, even while knowing the tragedy that often awaits those who dare to dream.\NWhile his father regained his strength, Morby meditated on these ideas. And then, he headed to Memphis.\NII. “If you go down to Memphis, please don't go swimming in the Mississippi River.”\NHe had visited the city before of course. But this trip felt different. It called to him as both a place to begin writing on these new themes and also one that could further enhance his vision.\N“Memphis became the representation of all of the American cities and towns I wanted to talk about. Because of all it had been through, there’s a resilience there that spoke to what we were all dealing with in different ways at the time.”\NHe moved into the Peabody Hotel, Room 409. The once vibrant epicenter of the downtown had a taken on a haunted quality, further underscoring Morby’s own feelings about mortality. His days were spent paying tribute and genuflecting to the dreamers he admired. On these gray afternoons, Morby would walk to the Lorraine Motel, pausing for a moment of reflection outside and then head down to the banks of the Mississippi River, to the spot where Jeff Buckley met his end. He’d wander around the neighborhood where Jay Reatard spent his last day then drive by the Stax marquee for a brief lift in his spirits. Then cruise out past Graceland, before traversing Highway 61, letting the ghosts call to him and shape his own dreams.\NIt was a perfectly disparate series of inspirations, all speaking to his meditations on time and what we do with the little of it that we have. In the evening, he would return to his room and document his new ideas on a makeshift recording set-up, with just his guitar and a microphone. The songs, elegiac in nature, befitting all he had seen, poured out of him.\NIII. “Stop before I cry.”\NTo call This Is A Photograph “Americana” would not do it justice; the word having become a toothless moniker conjuring images of weather-beaten flags, rustic junk and anodyne pedal steel. It ignores the grand fucked-up-ness of it all that Morby taps into. If Oh My God saw Morby getting celestial and in constant motion and Sundowner was a study in localized intent, This Is A Photograph finds Morby making an Americana paean, a visceral life and death, blood on the canvas outpouring.\NThere might be another songwriter who could reach at the melancholy beauty of “Bittersweet, TN” —a duet with Erin Rae that traffics in loss and nostalgia and ultimately time itself (“how does one sail on the waves of time?”) —but not one that could then evince deep sympathy in lines like “my tears in the cum rag” on “Five Easy Pieces,” just moments later. And yet, both work together: aching farewells and meditations on what we did with the time we had.\NEven the album’s sweetest moments are laced with caution, with Morby imploring his lover to “stop before I cry.”\NThe apparitions that filled Morby’s days haunt the record; from the twisted rock and roll rave-up of “Rock Bottom” (“All of my life, oh to be anything but in the rock bottom”) to the funeral march of “A Coat Of Butterflies” (“But Jeff if you're anything like me you only care about America, where you're always in someone's wake, or you're singing while you're sinking in sand”). Tributes to dreamers past from Big Star to Stax studio legends fill out Morby’s story with allusions, but ultimately, his tale remains a personal one. As he lets us know on the album’s closing song “Goodbye to Good Times”: “Well this is a photograph, a window to the past, of a family growing old.”\NIt’s a record that doesn’t shy away from the confusion and sadness of the times. “It’s Over,” feels downright stark, as if the the singer was channeling all the loss in his heart and the world into one song: “It’s over, it's over now, used to take our dinner babe, by the sea, everyone was a winner then, when everyone was free.”\NAnd yet, the signature hopefulness that has characterized all of Morby’s sonic journeys over his previous six albums remains. As he intones, on “A Random Act of Kindness,” for all of the tricks that time may play on us, the sun will rise. “Sun came up, through my hands, Sun came up, with no plan, Sun came up, strike up the band.”\NIV. “Strike up the band.”\NEasier said than done. The logistics of getting people together safely in a room were difficult; so Morby started with a skeleton crew, befitting the times.\NOnce again, Sam Cohen (who had produced Singing Saw and Oh My God), helmed the project. They began in Cohen’s upstate New York studio that was still being built, along with drummer Nick Kinsey, working on the songs slowly as the journey of the recording matched the start-stop quality of 2021 itself, with magical moments sprinkled into the precarious navigations. Over time, the cast began to fill out. Former touring pianist Oliver Hill and his mother Meg and sister Charlotte provided strings. Touring compatriots Cochemea Gastelum (saxophone), Jared Samuel (organ) and Alecia Chakour (vocals, tambourine) joined the sessions as well as Eric Johnson (banjo). And new collaborators like drummer Josh Jaeger (drums, percussion), Brandee Younger (harp), Makaya McCraven (drums), Cassandra Jenkins (vocals) and Tim Heidecker and Alia Shawkat (the laughs on “Rock Bottom”) added to the developing picture. Morby’s own field recordings of his daily pilgrimages around Memphis mark the record as well as spontaneous moments, like the whistling of a tufted titmouse that flew by the studio during the live tracking of “It’s Over.”\NAnd fittingly, in the end, the last sessions were held live in Memphis at Sam Philip’s Recording Co., helmed by his son Jerry Philips —who reads Morby’s poem “Forever Inside A Picture”—which carries on with the legacy of the original Sun Records studio.\NThey worked on the song “This Is A Photograph” that last day, with recent Stax Academy of Music alumni singing the backing harmonies. Something so simple that had been so elusive over the previous year: people coming together to spend a few hours making music and helping to shape a dream. As the song played on, Morby’s voice reached a fever pitch: “this is what I'll miss about being alive.”\NV. “Sun came up.”\NAs Morby reminds us early on in This Is A Photograph, time is undefeated. So what do we do while we’re still here?\NThis is a photograph of that sense of yearning. That fight. And so, we’ll have tortuous affairs and then listen to Otis Redding. We’ll bury our dead and visit their graves and do our best to honor what they stood for. We’ll fall short, we’ll try again. We’ll toast Mickey Mantle and Tina Turner and Diane Lane. We’ll worry about those we love growing old, weak and frail. We’ll laugh until it hurts. We’ll remember our lover and how they looked all dressed up. Then we’ll go out dancing. We’ll say goodbye to old friends, sometimes for the last time. Then slide into a dream.\NAnd then watch, as the sun rises all over again. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:I. “This is a photograph.”
The story begins with Kevin Morby, absentmindedly flipping through a box of old family photos in the basement of his childhood home in Kansas City.
Anything to take his mind off the events of earlier that day.
Just hours before, at a family dinner, his father had collapsed in front of him at the table and had to be rushed to the hospital. Hours later, Morby still felt the shock and fear lodged in his bones.
So he gazed at the images until one of the pictures jumped out at him: his father as a young man, proud and strong and filled with confidence, posing on a lawn with his shirt off.
It was a jarring moment; remembering the frailty and loss of control he had witnessed earlier in the evening and yet seeing this portrait of great strength and confidence that resided inside the same man.
This was in January of 2020. As the months went on and the world dramatically changed around him, Morby felt an eerie similarity between his feelings of that night and the atmosphere of those spring days. Fear, anxiety, hope and resilience all churning together. The themes began twisting in his mind. History, trauma and the grand fight against time. Having the courage to dream, even while knowing the tragedy that often awaits those who dare to dream.
While his father regained his strength, Morby meditated on these ideas. And then, he headed to Memphis.
II. “If you go down to Memphis, please don't go swimming in the Mississippi River.”
He had visited the city before of course. But this trip felt different. It called to him as both a place to begin writing on these new themes and also one that could further enhance his vision.
“Memphis became the representation of all of the American cities and towns I wanted to talk about. Because of all it had been through, there’s a resilience there that spoke to what we were all dealing with in different ways at the time.”
He moved into the Peabody Hotel, Room 409. The once vibrant epicenter of the downtown had a taken on a haunted quality, further underscoring Morby’s own feelings about mortality. His days were spent paying tribute and genuflecting to the dreamers he admired. On these gray afternoons, Morby would walk to the Lorraine Motel, pausing for a moment of reflection outside and then head down to the banks of the Mississippi River, to the spot where Jeff Buckley met his end. He’d wander around the neighborhood where Jay Reatard spent his last day then drive by the Stax marquee for a brief lift in his spirits. Then cruise out past Graceland, before traversing Highway 61, letting the ghosts call to him and shape his own dreams.
It was a perfectly disparate series of inspirations, all speaking to his meditations on time and what we do with the little of it that we have.
In the evening, he would return to his room and document his new ideas on a makeshift recording set-up, with just his guitar and a microphone.
The songs, elegiac in nature, befitting all he had seen, poured out of him.
III. “Stop before I cry.”
To call This Is A Photograph “Americana” would not do it justice; the word having become a toothless moniker conjuring images of weather-beaten flags, rustic junk and anodyne pedal steel. It ignores the grand fucked-up-ness of it all that Morby taps into. If Oh My God saw Morby getting celestial and in constant motion and Sundowner was a study in localized intent, This Is A Photograph finds Morby making an Americana paean, a visceral life and death, blood on the canvas outpouring.
There might be another songwriter who could reach at the melancholy beauty of “Bittersweet, TN” —a duet with Erin Rae that traffics in loss and nostalgia and ultimately time itself (“how does one sail on the waves of time?”) —but not one that could then evince deep sympathy in lines like “my tears in the cum rag” on “Five Easy Pieces,” just moments later. And yet, both work together: aching farewells and meditations on what we did with the time we had.
Even the album’s sweetest moments are laced with caution, with Morby imploring his lover to “stop before I cry.”
The apparitions that filled Morby’s days haunt the record; from the twisted rock and roll rave-up of “Rock Bottom” (“All of my life, oh to be anything but in the rock bottom”) to the funeral march of “A Coat Of Butterflies” (“But Jeff if you're anything like me you only care about America, where you're always in someone's wake, or you're singing while you're sinking in sand”). Tributes to dreamers past from Big Star to Stax studio legends fill out Morby’s story with allusions, but ultimately, his tale remains a personal one. As he lets us know on the album’s closing song “Goodbye to Good Times”: “Well this is a photograph, a window to the past, of a family growing old.”
It’s a record that doesn’t shy away from the confusion and sadness of the times. “It’s Over,” feels downright stark, as if the the singer was channeling all the loss in his heart and the world into one song: “It’s over, it's over now, used to take our dinner babe, by the sea, everyone was a winner then, when everyone was free.”
And yet, the signature hopefulness that has characterized all of Morby’s sonic journeys over his previous six albums remains. As he intones, on “A Random Act of Kindness,” for all of the tricks that time may play on us, the sun will rise. “Sun came up, through my hands, Sun came up, with no plan, Sun came up, strike up the band.”
IV. “Strike up the band.”
Easier said than done. The logistics of getting people together safely in a room were difficult; so Morby started with a skeleton crew, befitting the times.
Once again, Sam Cohen (who had produced Singing Saw and Oh My God), helmed the project. They began in Cohen’s upstate New York studio that was still being built, along with drummer Nick Kinsey, working on the songs slowly as the journey of the recording matched the start-stop quality of 2021 itself, with magical moments sprinkled into the precarious navigations. Over time, the cast began to fill out. Former touring pianist Oliver Hill and his mother Meg and sister Charlotte provided strings. Touring compatriots Cochemea Gastelum (saxophone), Jared Samuel (organ) and Alecia Chakour (vocals, tambourine) joined the sessions as well as Eric Johnson (banjo). And new collaborators like drummer Josh Jaeger (drums, percussion), Brandee Younger (harp), Makaya McCraven (drums), Cassandra Jenkins (vocals) and Tim Heidecker and Alia Shawkat (the laughs on “Rock Bottom”) added to the developing picture.
Morby’s own field recordings of his daily pilgrimages around Memphis mark the record as well as spontaneous moments, like the whistling of a tufted titmouse that flew by the studio during the live tracking of “It’s Over.”
And fittingly, in the end, the last sessions were held live in Memphis at Sam Philip’s Recording Co., helmed by his son Jerry Philips —who reads Morby’s poem “Forever Inside A Picture”—which carries on with the legacy of the original Sun Records studio.
They worked on the song “This Is A Photograph” that last day, with recent Stax Academy of Music alumni singing the backing harmonies. Something so simple that had been so elusive over the previous year: people coming together to spend a few hours making music and helping to shape a dream. As the song played on, Morby’s voice reached a fever pitch: “this is what I'll miss about being alive.”
V. “Sun came up.”
As Morby reminds us early on in This Is A Photograph, time is undefeated. So what do we do while we’re still here?
This is a photograph of that sense of yearning. That fight. And so, we’ll have tortuous affairs and then listen to Otis Redding. We’ll bury our dead and visit their graves and do our best to honor what they stood for. We’ll fall short, we’ll try again. We’ll toast Mickey Mantle and Tina Turner and Diane Lane. We’ll worry about those we love growing old, weak and frail. We’ll laugh until it hurts. We’ll remember our lover and how they looked all dressed up. Then we’ll go out dancing. We’ll say goodbye to old friends, sometimes for the last time. Then slide into a dream.
And then watch, as the sun rises all over again.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221108T220714Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2894 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221112T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221112T233000 UID:7ADCB49E-EBEF-4301-958C-045A75B3E732 SUMMARY:Lucius DTSTAMP:20220808T221210Z DESCRIPTION:Every Lucius song begins with what Holly Laessig calls “coffee talks,” in which she and Jess Wolfe share what’s on their minds—and in the spring of 2020, they had a lot to discuss. Since 2007, Laessig and Wolfe have written this way, learning each other’s stories by heart before weaving them into the lyrics and chord progressions of their inventive indie-pop anthems. Onstage, they’re two identically-dressed and coiffed halves of the same whole, the mirror image of each other at the microphone; off-stage, they step into their respective lives—separate, but close—as chosen family. They’ve shared countless joys as they’ve seen the world while touring behind their 2013 debut album, Wildewoman, and its follow-up, 2016’s Good Grief, but they’ve weathered profound losses and lows together, too. And when one of them experiences a seismic shift that shakes their world, the other is there to listen, and reflect, in order to help write through it.\N“Holly and I are actual witnesses to each other's lives,” says Wolfe. “Not only are we able to talk about these things and offer perspective, but she has this unique view into my life, and I into hers. We have been together almost constantly for the last 16 years.” Second Nature, Lucius’ third album, is the closest thing yet to the musical versions of these intimate conversations. “We’ve gotten so used to helping each other write about very personal things,” says Laessig. “It’s funny, because Second Nature makes perfect sense as a title: it’s become second nature to write for each other. A lot of what we wrote about on the record were things we hadn’t talked about before: there wasn’t a readiness to face some of those things.”\NThe period between Good Grief and Second Nature is the most transformative—and tumultuous—one Lucius has faced to date. In the fall of 2016, Laessig and Wolfe, along with their bandmates, multi-instrumentalists Peter Lalish and Dan Molad, were dangerously close to burning out after three years of relentless touring behind Wildewoman and Good Grief. On top of that, Wolfe and Molad, who had married months before Wildewoman’s release in 2013, had hit a rough patch in their relationship. It was then when Roger Waters invited Laessig and Wolfe to join him on an international tour as his supporting vocalists. The benefits were clear in that urgent moment: if they said yes, this detour would give them an opportunity to explore new sounds in a musical world outside their own. It would also give Lucius the rest it desperately needed in order to survive.\N“It was time to keep Lucius intact, but step away for a minute, just to get some perspective and a breath of fresh air,” says Wolfe. “We made a deal with the guys, and let them know this was only a short-term thing—something we felt that could help the band, but also give us some new-found inspiration. That turned into three years. Roger is someone who creates every moment in his mind-blowing show to be something meaningful. To take that and be able to see our own project with new eyes – well, that’s the whole purpose of learning from the people around you, your heroes. It’s to gather all of these wisdoms and put them to use for your own art.”\NTheir experience with Waters surpassed their wildest dreams, but they were eager to return to Los Angeles—and to Lucius, even though they were unsure as to what, exactly, they were returning to. Molad and Wolfe separated in 2018, but they remained devoted to their creative partnership, even as their marriage dissolved and ultimately ended in divorce. In spite of what was happening at home, Lucius kept working: they recorded and released Nudes, an acoustic album that reimagined previously released material and covers, and Laessig and Wolfe continued to collaborate with the world’s favorite rock and pop stars. They remained busy, but the need to write—and to put all they’d learned, and endured, into their own music—felt stronger than ever.\N“People caught wind of us as supporting vocalists, and a lot of artists started inquiring if we’d sing on their records,” says Laessig, who, alongside Wolfe, recorded with Sheryl Crow, Harry Styles, Ozzy Osborne, John Legend, The War on Drugs, and Brandi Carlile, to name a few, before the close of 2019. “It was flattering and honorable to sing with so many people we've admired, but after a while, there was an urgency to get back to focusing on the record we needed to make for ourselves. Just as we were doing that, the pandemic hit.”\NCo-produced by Carlile, their longtime friend, collaborator, and champion, and Dave Cobb, whose production credits have earned handfuls of Grammys and industry-wide accolades, Second Nature is a new chapter for Lucius in more ways than one. They left Los Angeles and decamped to Nashville in March of 2020, where they crashed with Crow (and wrote their first song for the album, “The Man I’ll Never Find,” on the piano in her living room). They opened themselves up to co-writing, which they’d never done before, and incorporated voices besides their own (both Carlile and Crow contributed backing vocals). Laessig and Wolfe also met separate, but substantial, inflection points while bringing Second Nature into being. Laessig became pregnant with and welcomed her first child. Wolfe and Molad, who had not seen each other since finalizing their divorce, reunited in the studio. There, they commenced with their new normal as bandmates, and proceeded to navigate these songs that were directly inspired by what they’d just lived through.\NWhen the time came to tap into these painful conclusions and hopeful new beginnings, Laessig and Wolfe found themselves gravitating less toward the folkier inclinations of Wildewoman or the experimental urges of Good Grief to express themselves, and more towards the four-on-the-floor inclinations of dance-pop. Carlile encouraged them to push their immense vocal power to its max in order to create “grandiose” moments: “She’d say, ‘You’ve got this in you, you can push this further, let’s go for it, let’s make a thing out of this moment.’ That happened all over the record,” Laessig remembers. Cobb, mostly known for his exceptional work across country and folk, eagerly embraced the chance to direct them to the dance floor.\N“Dave at one point said, ‘I wanna make a disco record!’” Laessig recalls. “The fact that was coming from him, it wasn’t something you expected, and it was exciting because it was like “Oh, we’re all gonna do this thing that we’ve never done. That sounds really enticing and fresh.’ After being in lockdown for so long, it felt like we wanted to dance. I don’t think anyone wanted to mope around too much at the end of this.’”\NSecond Nature fuses funk and disco (which pulses through the title track and “Next to Normal”) with ‘80s new wave (“Heartbursts;” “LSD”) and millennial club catharsis (“Dance Around It”); it draws a throughline from Abba’s unabashed dance floor devotion to Kate Bush’s cerebral art-pop and the vibrant vulnerability of Robyn, all without sacrificing an ounce of Lucius’ own style and ingenuity. And though many of the melodies are synth-laden and steeped in endorphins, the lyrics are very much anchored in the uncertainty, fear, and difficult epiphanies Laessig and Wolfe faced as they wrote through their experiences—direct lines of dialogue seemingly pulled from their coffee talks. “Promises” pairs a sunny acoustic guitar line and sing-along chorus with the play-by-play of a break-up (“Promises, empty like the bed you sleep in/Broken like the spell you’re keepin’”), while “The Man I’ll Never Find” stuns with its poignant apologies (“I thought that it would be you/I wanted it to be you/And I’m sorry I was always looking for the man that I’ll never find”) as much as it does its grand, symphonic arrangement. When Molad first heard the latter, so clearly inspired by the heartbreak they shared, he told Wolfe it was the best song they’d ever written.\NMany of the truths of Second Nature are hard to confront, but Lucius learned that there’s so much more to gain from facing the impossible than shying away from it—especially when you’ve got someone standing by your side through it all.\N“It is a record that begs you not to sit in the difficult moments, but to dance through them,” says Wolfe. “It touches upon all these stages of grief, and some of that is breakthrough. Being able to have the full spectrum of the experience that we have had, or that I’ve had in my divorce, or that we had in lockdown, having our careers come to a halt, so to speak—I think you can really hear and feel the spectrum of emotion, and hopefully find the joy in the darkness. It does exist. That’s why we made Second Nature and why we wanted it to sound the way it did: our focus was on dancing our way through the darkness.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Every Lucius song begins with what Holly Laessig calls “coffee talks,” in which she and Jess Wolfe share what’s on their minds—and in the spring of 2020, they had a lot to discuss. Since 2007, Laessig and Wolfe have written this way, learning each other’s stories by heart before weaving them into the lyrics and chord progressions of their inventive indie-pop anthems. Onstage, they’re two identically-dressed and coiffed halves of the same whole, the mirror image of each other at the microphone; off-stage, they step into their respective lives—separate, but close—as chosen family. They’ve shared countless joys as they’ve seen the world while touring behind their 2013 debut album, Wildewoman, and its follow-up, 2016’s Good Grief, but they’ve weathered profound losses and lows together, too. And when one of them experiences a seismic shift that shakes their world, the other is there to listen, and reflect, in order to help write through it.
“Holly and I are actual witnesses to each other's lives,” says Wolfe. “Not only are we able to talk about these things and offer perspective, but she has this unique view into my life, and I into hers. We have been together almost constantly for the last 16 years.”
Second Nature, Lucius’ third album, is the closest thing yet to the musical versions of these intimate conversations. “We’ve gotten so used to helping each other write about very personal things,” says Laessig. “It’s funny, because Second Nature makes perfect sense as a title: it’s become second nature to write for each other. A lot of what we wrote about on the record were things we hadn’t talked about before: there wasn’t a readiness to face some of those things.”
The period between Good Grief and Second Nature is the most transformative—and tumultuous—one Lucius has faced to date. In the fall of 2016, Laessig and Wolfe, along with their bandmates, multi-instrumentalists Peter Lalish and Dan Molad, were dangerously close to burning out after three years of relentless touring behind Wildewoman and Good Grief. On top of that, Wolfe and Molad, who had married months before Wildewoman’s release in 2013, had hit a rough patch in their relationship. It was then when Roger Waters invited Laessig and Wolfe to join him on an international tour as his supporting vocalists. The benefits were clear in that urgent moment: if they said yes, this detour would give them an opportunity to explore new sounds in a musical world outside their own. It would also give Lucius the rest it desperately needed in order to survive.
“It was time to keep Lucius intact, but step away for a minute, just to get some perspective and a breath of fresh air,” says Wolfe. “We made a deal with the guys, and let them know this was only a short-term thing—something we felt that could help the band, but also give us some new-found inspiration. That turned into three years. Roger is someone who creates every moment in his mind-blowing show to be something meaningful. To take that and be able to see our own project with new eyes – well, that’s the whole purpose of learning from the people around you, your heroes. It’s to gather all of these wisdoms and put them to use for your own art.”
Their experience with Waters surpassed their wildest dreams, but they were eager to return to Los Angeles—and to Lucius, even though they were unsure as to what, exactly, they were returning to. Molad and Wolfe separated in 2018, but they remained devoted to their creative partnership, even as their marriage dissolved and ultimately ended in divorce. In spite of what was happening at home, Lucius kept working: they recorded and released Nudes, an acoustic album that reimagined previously released material and covers, and Laessig and Wolfe continued to collaborate with the world’s favorite rock and pop stars. They remained busy, but the need to write—and to put all they’d learned, and endured, into their own music—felt stronger than ever.
“People caught wind of us as supporting vocalists, and a lot of artists started inquiring if we’d sing on their records,” says Laessig, who, alongside Wolfe, recorded with Sheryl Crow, Harry Styles, Ozzy Osborne, John Legend, The War on Drugs, and Brandi Carlile, to name a few, before the close of 2019. “It was flattering and honorable to sing with so many people we've admired, but after a while, there was an urgency to get back to focusing on the record we needed to make for ourselves. Just as we were doing that, the pandemic hit.”
Co-produced by Carlile, their longtime friend, collaborator, and champion, and Dave Cobb, whose production credits have earned handfuls of Grammys and industry-wide accolades, Second Nature is a new chapter for Lucius in more ways than one. They left Los Angeles and decamped to Nashville in March of 2020, where they crashed with Crow (and wrote their first song for the album, “The Man I’ll Never Find,” on the piano in her living room). They opened themselves up to co-writing, which they’d never done before, and incorporated voices besides their own (both Carlile and Crow contributed backing vocals). Laessig and Wolfe also met separate, but substantial, inflection points while bringing Second Nature into being. Laessig became pregnant with and welcomed her first child. Wolfe and Molad, who had not seen each other since finalizing their divorce, reunited in the studio. There, they commenced with their new normal as bandmates, and proceeded to navigate these songs that were directly inspired by what they’d just lived through.
When the time came to tap into these painful conclusions and hopeful new beginnings, Laessig and Wolfe found themselves gravitating less toward the folkier inclinations of Wildewoman or the experimental urges of Good Grief to express themselves, and more towards the four-on-the-floor inclinations of dance-pop. Carlile encouraged them to push their immense vocal power to its max in order to create “grandiose” moments: “She’d say, ‘You’ve got this in you, you can push this further, let’s go for it, let’s make a thing out of this moment.’ That happened all over the record,” Laessig remembers. Cobb, mostly known for his exceptional work across country and folk, eagerly embraced the chance to direct them to the dance floor.
“Dave at one point said, ‘I wanna make a disco record!’” Laessig recalls. “The fact that was coming from him, it wasn’t something you expected, and it was exciting because it was like “Oh, we’re all gonna do this thing that we’ve never done. That sounds really enticing and fresh.’ After being in lockdown for so long, it felt like we wanted to dance. I don’t think anyone wanted to mope around too much at the end of this.’”
Second Nature fuses funk and disco (which pulses through the title track and “Next to Normal”) with ‘80s new wave (“Heartbursts;” “LSD”) and millennial club catharsis (“Dance Around It”); it draws a throughline from Abba’s unabashed dance floor devotion to Kate Bush’s cerebral art-pop and the vibrant vulnerability of Robyn, all without sacrificing an ounce of Lucius’ own style and ingenuity. And though many of the melodies are synth-laden and steeped in endorphins, the lyrics are very much anchored in the uncertainty, fear, and difficult epiphanies Laessig and Wolfe faced as they wrote through their experiences—direct lines of dialogue seemingly pulled from their coffee talks. “Promises” pairs a sunny acoustic guitar line and sing-along chorus with the play-by-play of a break-up (“Promises, empty like the bed you sleep in/Broken like the spell you’re keepin’”), while “The Man I’ll Never Find” stuns with its poignant apologies (“I thought that it would be you/I wanted it to be you/And I’m sorry I was always looking for the man that I’ll never find”) as much as it does its grand, symphonic arrangement. When Molad first heard the latter, so clearly inspired by the heartbreak they shared, he told Wolfe it was the best song they’d ever written.
Many of the truths of Second Nature are hard to confront, but Lucius learned that there’s so much more to gain from facing the impossible than shying away from it—especially when you’ve got someone standing by your side through it all.
“It is a record that begs you not to sit in the difficult moments, but to dance through them,” says Wolfe. “It touches upon all these stages of grief, and some of that is breakthrough. Being able to have the full spectrum of the experience that we have had, or that I’ve had in my divorce, or that we had in lockdown, having our careers come to a halt, so to speak—I think you can really hear and feel the spectrum of emotion, and hopefully find the joy in the darkness. It does exist. That’s why we made Second Nature and why we wanted it to sound the way it did: our focus was on dancing our way through the darkness.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221111T220722Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2257 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221117T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221117T233000 UID:84E5D94B-9F79-4903-BA11-75BEFBFB8F73 SUMMARY:Saving Abel DTSTAMP:20220719T160726Z DESCRIPTION:In late 2004 vocalist Jared Weeks and guitarist Jason Null met at a concert in Corinth, MS; the two began writing songs by early 2005 under the name Shade of Grace. The duo attracted attention from well known grammy award winning producer Skidd Mills (12 Stones, 3rd Day and Skillet). Writing and recording the demos for their untitled project lead them down an unexpected path. Weeks tells the story of transitioning to what we came to learn as Saving Abel. “We had written and recorded 18 days, Beautiful Day and Drowning Face Down as Shade of Grace. With Skidd we had this new direction and formula. He was pushing us creatively in ways Jason and I weren’t doing alone. So, one day after a long day of trying to write, nothing really stuck and we were feeling deflated about the wasted day. Jason said “Sing to him (Skidd) that song you’ve been humming for the past couple weeks.” I sang him the chorus of this little melody that had I written and had been stuck in my head. I sang to him what would later become Addicted and Skidd said “Well, why didn’t you lead with that?” This pivotal moment is when Saving Abel began. Together Weeks and Null, along with Mills developed that riff-heavy hard Southern rock sound that catapulted Saving Abel into the spot light gaining interest from several major labels. “Catching attention from Jason Flom and Kim Stevens felt like a dream. Why wouldn’t we sign to Capital Records? It was the home to so many bands we love.” Null reminisces. Their first single Addicted was released and with its unique sound and catchy hook, “Addicted” quickly climbed the charts, breaking radio barriers, throwing the band into the spotlight. “No-one expected Addicted to do what it did” Weeks says. “We knew we loved it, and it was special. But, you know, you just can’t predict these things.”\N“Addicted” exploded on the charts, peaking at #1 on Mainstream Rock, Active Rock and Modern Rock, which lead to a cross over smash. Saving Abel found their first single peaking at #2 on Top 20 of Billboard Hot 100, cracking Top 40 and guiding their self title debut record straight into the top 50 of The Billboard 200 chart. Their self title record produced two more hits. “18 Days” and “Drowning (Face Down)” which both rose and charted to equally prodigious success.\NSaving Abel spent that entire record cycle touring on the top grossing tours of 2008-2009 which consisted of Nickelback, Papa Roach, Avenged Sevenfold, Hinder, Shinedown and Sevendust just to name a few. With multi-platinum success on their first single and album Saving Abel didn’t waste anytime to get back into the studio. This time with a specific agenda in mind. Weeks spoke on why, “Every show I always had an intro to “18 Days” thanking all our service men and women for their sacrifices and selflessness. We wanted to give something back This record was for them and for our day one fans”. “Yeah, we’d done a handful of USO and military base shows already, but we felt like it wasn’t enough.” Null chimes in. Saving Abel released their highly anticipated sophomore album “Miss America”, in June 2010. “Miss America” debuted top 25 on the Billboard 200. Once again, Saving Abel took over the charts with singles like “Stupid Girl (Only in Hollywood) and “The Sex Is Good” which soared into the Top 20 of Billboard Hot 100 and reaching #1 on several rock charts. With a record dedicated to the military, it provided Saving Abel with a unique opportunity. Weeks recalls, “We did some wild things. Working with the USO was unreal. We travel to Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Japan, Guantanamo Bay. Heck, we even flew on some jets to land on and play USS Carl Vinson.”Similar to the first record cycle Saving Abel became known as one of the hardest touring bands. They spent those next two years hard on the road playing shows and trying to write their 3rd record. In July of 2012, Saving Abel released “Bringing Down The Giant” on their new label eOne.\N“I felt like we had something special. We really grew and pushed ourselves musically.” Weeks mentions. “Bringing Down The Giant” charted well, but wasn’t the commercial success that Saving Abel was use to. “We were pretty burnt out and hadn’t been home really in 5 years.” Null tells. “I think we all were just tired”. Weeks looks back “I loved that record. I still go back to it and think had we played a few cards differently would the next part happen? I mean, man if we just took a break and gathered ourselves.” Saving Abel went right back into touring, but it took its toll.Weeks announced December 2013 that he was going to step back from Saving Abel, take some time off and pursue a solo career. “I felt like I had no choice personally. I need to get back to my family and just be still for a while”. Both Weeks and Null continued on with individual successes. Weeks released a solo EP titled “Brand New Me” that caught great independent release traction and has spent these few years touring with The Nashville Cartel and his solo band, Jared Weeks and The Band Criminals. Null’s Saving Abel with the absence of Weeks released a record on their own and continued to consistently tour. Early 2021 Weeks and Null decided to revisit those first songs they wrote as Shade of Grace. “Our producer Skidd, Jared and myself all started going back to those songs independently of each other. We all felt drawn back to the beginning without even speaking to each other about it initially.” Null says. “So, that’s what we did.” Weeks and Null went back into the studio for the first time since Weeks left the band 7 years ago. Weeks mentions, “You never know how it’s gonna feel. Like, will this be weird? Will we still have that cool thing we had in the beginning? Well, let me just tell you, it's there. I felt like I was back to that young, excited, not jaded guy. There’s just something about the 3 of us (Weeks, Null, Mills) together that is magic.” Null shakes his head with a confirming yes. “If we hadn’t felt pressed to get back to these Shade of Grace songs, who knows what would have happened.” Weeks and Null spent early 2021 recording those twenty year old songs and even writing a new one. Whilst in the middle of the project, Weeks and Null reminisced about how Saving Abel even started. “It was time. Time to come home.” Weeks says. Early August 2021 Weeks announces his return with a gift of new music for their fans. Shade of Grace - Twenty Year Songs is a stroll down a nostalgic road where it beautifully showcases how Shade of Grace became Saving Abel and just how a small duo from Corinth, Mississippi could take their big dreams and turn them into big realities.\NWeeks and Null are back in the studio writing for Saving Abel’s forthcoming album with an Essentials album on its way to the public with 3 previously unreleased songs. With the creative force that brought the chart topping hits and the original voice being back, there is definitely no stopping this revitalized Saving Abel. Weeks concludes, “The sky is the limited for us right now. We already made the mistakes and poor decisions. Now we get to do it our way, with a little more clearheadedness and a lot more guitar solos.” Saving Abel are an RIAA certified multi-platinum band and have received multiple awards from MTV, VH1, Fuse, BMG and Music Choice. “Addicted” won most played song of the year and has hit over 130 million streams on Spotify and over 200 million as a band.\NSaving Abel is currently in the studio recording their forthcoming album with a release of an Essentials early 2022. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:In late 2004 vocalist Jared Weeks and guitarist Jason Null met at a concert in Corinth, MS; the two began writing songs by early 2005 under the name Shade of Grace. The duo attracted attention from well known grammy award winning producer Skidd Mills (12 Stones, 3rd Day and Skillet). Writing and recording the demos for their untitled project lead them down an unexpected path. Weeks tells the story of transitioning to what we came to learn as Saving Abel. “We had written and recorded 18 days, Beautiful Day and Drowning Face Down as Shade of Grace. With Skidd we had this new direction and formula. He was pushing us creatively in ways Jason and I weren’t doing alone. So, one day after a long day of trying to write, nothing really stuck and we were feeling deflated about the wasted day. Jason said “Sing to him (Skidd) that song you’ve been humming for the past couple weeks.” I sang him the chorus of this little melody that had I written and had been stuck in my head. I sang to him what would later become Addicted and Skidd said “Well, why didn’t you lead with that?” This pivotal moment is when Saving Abel began.
Together Weeks and Null, along with Mills developed that riff-heavy hard Southern rock sound that catapulted Saving Abel into the spot light gaining interest from several major labels. “Catching attention from Jason Flom and Kim Stevens felt like a dream. Why wouldn’t we sign to Capital Records? It was the home to so many bands we love.” Null reminisces.
Their first single Addicted was released and with its unique sound and catchy hook, “Addicted” quickly climbed the charts, breaking radio barriers, throwing the band into the spotlight. “No-one expected Addicted to do what it did” Weeks says. “We knew we loved it, and it was special. But, you know, you just can’t predict these things.”
“Addicted” exploded on the charts, peaking at #1 on Mainstream Rock, Active Rock and Modern Rock, which lead to a cross over smash. Saving Abel found their first single peaking at #2 on Top 20 of Billboard Hot 100, cracking Top 40 and guiding their self title debut record straight into the top 50 of The Billboard 200 chart. Their self title record produced two more hits. “18 Days” and “Drowning (Face Down)” which both rose and charted to equally prodigious success.
Saving Abel spent that entire record cycle touring on the top grossing tours of 2008-2009 which consisted of Nickelback, Papa Roach, Avenged Sevenfold, Hinder, Shinedown and Sevendust just to name a few.
With multi-platinum success on their first single and album Saving Abel didn’t waste anytime to get back into the studio. This time with a specific agenda in mind. Weeks spoke on why, “Every show I always had an intro to “18 Days” thanking all our service men and women for their sacrifices and selflessness. We wanted to give something back This record was for them and for our day one fans”. “Yeah, we’d done a handful of USO and military base shows already, but we felt like it wasn’t enough.” Null chimes in. Saving Abel released their highly anticipated sophomore album “Miss America”, in June 2010. “Miss America” debuted top 25 on the Billboard 200. Once again, Saving Abel took over the charts with singles like “Stupid Girl (Only in Hollywood) and “The Sex Is Good” which soared into the Top 20 of Billboard Hot 100 and reaching #1 on several rock charts. With a record dedicated to the military, it provided Saving Abel with a unique opportunity. Weeks recalls, “We did some wild things. Working with the USO was unreal. We travel to Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Japan, Guantanamo Bay. Heck, we even flew on some jets to land on and play USS Carl Vinson.”Similar to the first record cycle Saving Abel became known as one of the hardest touring bands. They spent those next two years hard on the road playing shows and trying to write their 3rd record.
In July of 2012, Saving Abel released “Bringing Down The Giant” on their new label eOne.
“I felt like we had something special. We really grew and pushed ourselves musically.” Weeks mentions. “Bringing Down The Giant” charted well, but wasn’t the commercial success that Saving Abel was use to. “We were pretty burnt out and hadn’t been home really in 5 years.” Null tells. “I think we all were just tired”. Weeks looks back “I loved that record. I still go back to it and think had we played a few cards differently would the next part happen? I mean, man if we just took a break and gathered ourselves.” Saving Abel went right back into touring, but it took its toll.
Weeks announced December 2013 that he was going to step back from Saving Abel, take some time off and pursue a solo career. “I felt like I had no choice personally. I need to get back to my family and just be still for a while”.
Both Weeks and Null continued on with individual successes. Weeks released a solo EP titled “Brand New Me” that caught great independent release traction and has spent these few years touring with The Nashville Cartel and his solo band, Jared Weeks and The Band Criminals. Null’s Saving Abel with the absence of Weeks released a record on their own and continued to consistently tour.
Early 2021 Weeks and Null decided to revisit those first songs they wrote as Shade of Grace. “Our producer Skidd, Jared and myself all started going back to those songs independently of each other. We all felt drawn back to the beginning without even speaking to each other about it initially.” Null says. “So, that’s what we did.” Weeks and Null went back into the studio for the first time since Weeks left the band 7 years ago. Weeks mentions, “You never know how it’s gonna feel. Like, will this be weird? Will we still have that cool thing we had in the beginning? Well, let me just tell you, it's there. I felt like I was back to that young, excited, not jaded guy. There’s just something about the 3 of us (Weeks, Null, Mills) together that is magic.” Null shakes his head with a confirming yes. “If we hadn’t felt pressed to get back to these Shade of Grace songs, who knows what would have happened.” Weeks and Null spent early 2021 recording those twenty year old songs and even writing a new one. Whilst in the middle of the project, Weeks and Null reminisced about how Saving Abel even started. “It was time. Time to come home.” Weeks says.
Early August 2021 Weeks announces his return with a gift of new music for their fans. Shade of Grace - Twenty Year Songs is a stroll down a nostalgic road where it beautifully showcases how Shade of Grace became Saving Abel and just how a small duo from Corinth, Mississippi could take their big dreams and turn them into big realities.
Weeks and Null are back in the studio writing for Saving Abel’s forthcoming album with an Essentials album on its way to the public with 3 previously unreleased songs. With the creative force that brought the chart topping hits and the original voice being back, there is definitely no stopping this revitalized Saving Abel. Weeks concludes, “The sky is the limited for us right now. We already made the mistakes and poor decisions. Now we get to do it our way, with a little more clearheadedness and a lot more guitar solos.”
Saving Abel are an RIAA certified multi-platinum band and have received multiple awards from MTV, VH1, Fuse, BMG and Music Choice. “Addicted” won most played song of the year and has hit over 130 million streams on Spotify and over 200 million as a band.
Saving Abel is currently in the studio recording their forthcoming album with a release of an Essentials early 2022.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221021T225313Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1035 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221202T220000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221202T233000 UID:54FD52A5-071E-4DD3-A0C2-8D0E481900E4 SUMMARY:Drinkurwater DTSTAMP:20221202T193309Z DESCRIPTION:Germany born, Atlanta based Kevin Flum aka DRINKURWATER is an upcoming music producer who started the project in 2017. From producing heavy dubstep, to wet bass music, Kevin has gained the support and likes of greats like Excision, 12th Planet, TVBOO, Liquid Stranger, Blunts & Blondes, and many more. Breaking through with his song “OH F*CK” with Rated R, he has followed up with solid releases and huge bookings nationwide. You can expect a diverse set that will keep you moving and sipping on that good water.\NStay hydrated my friends. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Germany born, Atlanta based Kevin Flum aka DRINKURWATER is an upcoming music producer who started the project in 2017. From producing heavy dubstep, to wet bass music, Kevin has gained the support and likes of greats like Excision, 12th Planet, TVBOO, Liquid Stranger, Blunts & Blondes, and many more. Breaking through with his song “OH F*CK” with Rated R, he has followed up with solid releases and huge bookings nationwide. You can expect a diverse set that will keep you moving and sipping on that good water.
Stay hydrated my friends.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221202T194452Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:207 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221203T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221203T233000 UID:43339B77-95C7-4F33-8193-4FBE9DF31151 SUMMARY:KRCL’s Holiday Soul Party DTSTAMP:20221104T201808Z DESCRIPTION:Celebrate KRCL’s 43rd Anniversary on Saturday, Dec 3 at KRCL’s Holiday Soul Party with live music from Ryan Innes with AM Bump and the Omega Horns. Plus, join a special VIP Pre-party with a Soul Party DJ set with Ebay Hamilton. Mingle with KRCL DJs and friends for a night of soul. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Celebrate KRCL’s 43rd Anniversary on Saturday, Dec 3 at KRCL’s Holiday Soul Party with live music from Ryan Innes with AM Bump and the Omega Horns. Plus, join a special VIP Pre-party with a Soul Party DJ set with Ebay Hamilton. Mingle with KRCL DJs and friends for a night of soul.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221204T010114Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1560 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221205T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221205T210000 UID:357ECF2A-E46B-426F-835E-714C01916B54 SUMMARY:Avi Kaplan DTSTAMP:20220511T225156Z DESCRIPTION:By the time Avi Kaplan launched his solo career in 2017, he'd already built an audience that stretched across the globe, racking up three GRAMMY Awards as a member of the platinum-selling vocal group Pentatonix. Avi knew he needed to return to his own artistic foundation -- to the organic acoustic driven rock and roots music that had provided the soundtrack to his upbringing in rural California.\NThat musical evolution began with 2020's I'll Get By EP and carried through last year's single, "Song For the Thankful." Now comes Floating on a Dream, (Fantasy Records) Avi's debut full-length solo LP, which further broadens his artistry into enthralling new territory. Produced by Shooter Jennings (Brandi Carlile, The White Buffalo), the album is rendered in long shadows and moody high relief, reflecting Avi's Californian roots and fascination with the American West. Through country, blues, soul, folk, tribal drums, and a touch of gospel, Avi explores matters of the heart, truth, morality, and the search for relevance across the album's 11 original tracks. At the core though, there is that voice. From a haunting falsetto to its deepest bass tones, his instrument is unlike anything else in modern music. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:By the time Avi Kaplan launched his solo career in 2017, he'd already built an audience that stretched across the globe, racking up three GRAMMY Awards as a member of the platinum-selling vocal group Pentatonix. Avi knew he needed to return to his own artistic foundation -- to the organic acoustic driven rock and roots music that had provided the soundtrack to his upbringing in rural California.
That musical evolution began with 2020's I'll Get By EP and carried through last year's single, "Song For the Thankful." Now comes Floating on a Dream, (Fantasy Records) Avi's debut full-length solo LP, which further broadens his artistry into enthralling new territory. Produced by Shooter Jennings (Brandi Carlile, The White Buffalo), the album is rendered in long shadows and moody high relief, reflecting Avi's Californian roots and fascination with the American West. Through country, blues, soul, folk, tribal drums, and a touch of gospel, Avi explores matters of the heart, truth, morality, and the search for relevance across the album's 11 original tracks. At the core though, there is that voice. From a haunting falsetto to its deepest bass tones, his instrument is unlike anything else in modern music.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220912T233049Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1640 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221208T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221208T233000 UID:AC35143E-0AB6-4F8E-B51E-1A66A0125360 SUMMARY:DannyLux DTSTAMP:20221026T193853Z DESCRIPTION:Daniel Balderrama Espinoza, better known as Dannylux, was born on March 12, 2004 in Palm Springs California, and at the age of 18 he already has an important musical career. DannyLux is the youngest of three siblings. When he was 7 years old, his mother, Patricia made him sing in the church choir community where he learned to play the guitar. When he was 16 years old, In mid-2020 DannyLux signed a contract with VPS Music. On January 15, 2021, he released his first album Las Dos Caras Del Amor with hits such as: "El Dueño de Tu Amor. DannyLux’s made collaborations with the successful group Eslabon Armado where he wrote and was featured artist for: Jugaste y Sufri. On October 2, DannyLux hit # 1 on the billboard Songwriters & Producers chart and stayed for 3 consecutive weeks. At the end of 2021 DannyLux enters the Warner Music Latina company recording his second album in his career "Perdido En Ti" which debuted at #1 of Apple Music Top 200 Latin Albums.\NFebruary 2022, he sold out The Roxy in LA. In April 2022, DannyLux was the official opener for Coldplay doing 8 dates for in Mexico. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Daniel Balderrama Espinoza, better known as Dannylux, was born on March 12, 2004 in Palm Springs California, and at the age of 18 he already has an important musical career. DannyLux is the youngest of three siblings. When he was 7 years old, his mother, Patricia made him sing in the church choir community where he learned to play the guitar. When he was 16 years old, In mid-2020 DannyLux signed a contract with VPS Music. On January 15, 2021, he released his first album Las Dos Caras Del Amor with hits such as: "El Dueño de Tu Amor. DannyLux’s made collaborations with the successful group Eslabon Armado where he wrote and was featured artist for: Jugaste y Sufri. On October 2, DannyLux hit # 1 on the billboard Songwriters & Producers chart and stayed for 3 consecutive weeks. At the end of 2021 DannyLux enters the Warner Music Latina company recording his second album in his career "Perdido En Ti" which debuted at #1 of Apple Music Top 200 Latin Albums.
February 2022, he sold out The Roxy in LA. In April 2022, DannyLux was the official opener for Coldplay doing 8 dates for in Mexico.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221209T003900Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2452 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221210T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221210T233000 UID:B842B5F1-96DB-4F3A-A6B4-96258E84A0CF SUMMARY:The Mother Hips DTSTAMP:20220819T002045Z DESCRIPTION:Hope. Warmth. Companionship. Few things in this world can conjure up such sensations quite like the sight of a glowing lantern in a darkened window.\N“The glowing lantern is a universal symbol for sanctuary,” says Mother Hips co-founder Tim Bluhm. “That’s what we wanted this album to be: a warm safe place to get in out of the dark cold night.”\NWritten and recorded through the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, Glowing Lantern is indeed a work of great comfort, even as it grapples with the profound anxiety of these troubling and uncertain times. The songs here are weighty, abstract ruminations wrapped in unflagging optimism, bittersweet streams of consciousness delivered with a jaunty confidence in better days to come. Bluhm and fellow co-founder Greg Loiacono produced the album themselves, and the juxtaposition of darkness and light in their stark lyrics and buoyant arrangements reflect a tension familiar to anyone who’s ever struggled to find their footing or make sense of the inexplicable. At the heart of it all, though, is a distinct sense of camaraderie, a feeling of closeness and brotherhood that the band has ironically only come to rediscover as a result of the past year of isolation and lockdowns. Glowing Lantern is as collaborative a record as The Mother Hips have ever made, and it’s impossible not to feel the joy, gratitude, and friendship radiating out of it like a beacon in the night.\N“In some ways, making this record brought us right back to the early days when Tim and I used to live together,” says Loiacono. “It brought us back to the roots of what this band was all about.”\NFounded 30 years ago while Bluhm and Loiacono were still just students at Chico State, The Mother Hips caught their first big break before they’d even graduated from college, when legendary producer and industry icon Rick Rubin signed the band to his American Recordings label. In the decades to come, the group would go on to release ten critically acclaimed studio albums and cement themselves as architects of a new breed of California rock and soul, one equally informed by the breezy harmonies of the Beach Boys, the funky roots of The Band, and the psychedelic Americana of Buffalo Springfield. Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “one of the Bay Area’s most beloved live outfits,” the group’s headline and festival performances became the stuff of legend and helped earn them dates with everyone from Johnny Cash and Wilco to Lucinda Williams and The Black Crowes. Rolling Stone called the band “divinely inspired,” while Pitchfork praised their “rootsy mix of 70’s rock and power pop," and The New Yorker lauded their ability to “sing it sweet and play it dirty.”\NAfter a lengthy hiatus and a variety of side projects and solo pursuits, the band returned to something close to normal following the release of their most recent LP, 2018’s Chorus, which Paste declared “finds them still fully ablaze, the ragged melodies and determined stride still intact.” By that point, the Hips had found a long-term label home in Blue Rose Music, landed on a permanent lineup with the addition of bassist Brian Rashap—who joined Bluhm, Loiacono, and drummer John Hofer on the road—and mapped out extensive tour dates for 2020. Then, the coronavirus hit.\N“Suddenly we weren’t playing any shows, which was pretty unusual for us,” says Bluhm. “At a certain point, we realized that this wasn’t going to be over anytime soon and we’d better start thinking about our next album.”\NWith COVID-19 limiting indoor get-togethers, Bluhm and Loiacono began meeting up outside for regular treks through the California hills. Avid outdoorsman, the pair would hike a few miles, stop somewhere scenic, and then play each other whatever new song ideas they’d captured recently on their phones. If a tune resonated, it advanced to the next round, which found the two sitting down with guitars and working through the nitty gritty details of the music.\N“When we first started the band, we wrote everything together,” says Loiacono, “but as we got older and were on the road more and not living together, it became more of an independent process where we’d kind of add our touches to each other’s songs at the end in the studio. With this album, though, we had so much time together that we were able to get back to really integrating both of our instincts and sensibilities into the architecture of every single track from the start.”\NWhen it came time to cut the album, the band headed to 25th Street Recording in Oakland, where they spent a week laying down raw, loose performances live on the floor. While Bluhm and Loiacono were both seasoned veterans in the studio, the sessions marked their first time helming a Mother Hips record without an outside producer, and the experience was a liberating one.\N“Without a third voice in the mix, we could work harder and faster and more directly,” says Bluhm. “If there’s an idea on this album, it came from one of us.”\N“It reminded me of when Tim had a four track in his dorm room,” adds Loiacono, who spent several subsequent weeks recording vocals and mixing the album with Bluhm at home. “It was all very pure.”\NTake a listen to album opener “Sunset Blues” and you’ll get the idea. Fueled by elastic guitars and a tight groove, it’s an infectious slice of effervescent country funk, but dig a bit beneath the playful surface and you’ll find lyrics that suggest a pervasive unease. “There’s too much to lose,” Bluhm and Loiacono sing in octaves. “Me and you with the sunset blues.”\N“With everyone either trapped together or forced to stay apart, I think the pandemic made relationships in general feel a lot more intense for people,” says Bluhm. “That definitely came through in the music.”\NThough a pair of tracks here pre-date the pandemic (the swaggering “Song In A Can” first came to life back in the late 1990s, and a lush take on David Ruffin’s “I Don’t Want To Drive You Away” marks the first cover featured on a Mother Hips album), the vast majority of the record bears the emotional imprint of the past year in one form or another. The blistering “Clay Mask Clown” channels the towering rock and roll of The Who as it faces down doubt and anxiety head-on, while the cinematic “What Happened To You” wrestles with change and uncertainty, and the Gene Clark-esque “Green Linen” contemplates distance and loneliness. Even more feel-good tracks like the rousing lead single “Looking At Long Days” and earnest “For Staying Here” are laced with melancholy, as is sweeping album closer “I Wish The Wind,” which features Bluhm and Loiacono singing in harmony throughout. Yet Glowing Lantern is by no means a downbeat record; in fact, it’s just the opposite. By embracing the feelings of doubt and apprehension that have defined our world of late and wrapping them in lifted, communal performances, the band has managed to craft a sonic invitation to lay down our burdens, a reminder that even at our lowest, we’re never alone.\N“I think the pandemic made it easier for me to see just how much music really means to people,” reflects Bluhm. “It can be easy to take it for granted, but when it all goes away, you’re reminded how important it is, how comforting it can be in difficult times.”\NAfter all, no matter how dark things may get, if there’s music, there’s hope, there’s warmth, there’s companionship. Just look for the glowing lantern. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Hope. Warmth. Companionship. Few things in this world can conjure up such sensations quite like the sight of a glowing lantern in a darkened window.
“The glowing lantern is a universal symbol for sanctuary,” says Mother Hips co-founder Tim Bluhm. “That’s what we wanted this album to be: a warm safe place to get in out of the dark cold night.”
Written and recorded through the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, Glowing Lantern is indeed a work of great comfort, even as it grapples with the profound anxiety of these troubling and uncertain times. The songs here are weighty, abstract ruminations wrapped in unflagging optimism, bittersweet streams of consciousness delivered with a jaunty confidence in better days to come. Bluhm and fellow co-founder Greg Loiacono produced the album themselves, and the juxtaposition of darkness and light in their stark lyrics and buoyant arrangements reflect a tension familiar to anyone who’s ever struggled to find their footing or make sense of the inexplicable. At the heart of it all, though, is a distinct sense of camaraderie, a feeling of closeness and brotherhood that the band has ironically only come to rediscover as a result of the past year of isolation and lockdowns. Glowing Lantern is as collaborative a record as The Mother Hips have ever made, and it’s impossible not to feel the joy, gratitude, and friendship radiating out of it like a beacon in the night.
“In some ways, making this record brought us right back to the early days when Tim and I used to live together,” says Loiacono. “It brought us back to the roots of what this band was all about.”
Founded 30 years ago while Bluhm and Loiacono were still just students at Chico State, The Mother Hips caught their first big break before they’d even graduated from college, when legendary producer and industry icon Rick Rubin signed the band to his American Recordings label. In the decades to come, the group would go on to release ten critically acclaimed studio albums and cement themselves as architects of a new breed of California rock and soul, one equally informed by the breezy harmonies of the Beach Boys, the funky roots of The Band, and the psychedelic Americana of Buffalo Springfield. Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “one of the Bay Area’s most beloved live outfits,” the group’s headline and festival performances became the stuff of legend and helped earn them dates with everyone from Johnny Cash and Wilco to Lucinda Williams and The Black Crowes. Rolling Stone called the band “divinely inspired,” while Pitchfork praised their “rootsy mix of 70’s rock and power pop," and The New Yorker lauded their ability to “sing it sweet and play it dirty.”
After a lengthy hiatus and a variety of side projects and solo pursuits, the band returned to something close to normal following the release of their most recent LP, 2018’s Chorus, which Paste declared “finds them still fully ablaze, the ragged melodies and determined stride still intact.” By that point, the Hips had found a long-term label home in Blue Rose Music, landed on a permanent lineup with the addition of bassist Brian Rashap—who joined Bluhm, Loiacono, and drummer John Hofer on the road—and mapped out extensive tour dates for 2020. Then, the coronavirus hit.
“Suddenly we weren’t playing any shows, which was pretty unusual for us,” says Bluhm. “At a certain point, we realized that this wasn’t going to be over anytime soon and we’d better start thinking about our next album.”
With COVID-19 limiting indoor get-togethers, Bluhm and Loiacono began meeting up outside for regular treks through the California hills. Avid outdoorsman, the pair would hike a few miles, stop somewhere scenic, and then play each other whatever new song ideas they’d captured recently on their phones. If a tune resonated, it advanced to the next round, which found the two sitting down with guitars and working through the nitty gritty details of the music.
“When we first started the band, we wrote everything together,” says Loiacono, “but as we got older and were on the road more and not living together, it became more of an independent process where we’d kind of add our touches to each other’s songs at the end in the studio. With this album, though, we had so much time together that we were able to get back to really integrating both of our instincts and sensibilities into the architecture of every single track from the start.”
When it came time to cut the album, the band headed to 25th Street Recording in Oakland, where they spent a week laying down raw, loose performances live on the floor. While Bluhm and Loiacono were both seasoned veterans in the studio, the sessions marked their first time helming a Mother Hips record without an outside producer, and the experience was a liberating one.
“Without a third voice in the mix, we could work harder and faster and more directly,” says Bluhm. “If there’s an idea on this album, it came from one of us.”
“It reminded me of when Tim had a four track in his dorm room,” adds Loiacono, who spent several subsequent weeks recording vocals and mixing the album with Bluhm at home. “It was all very pure.”
Take a listen to album opener “Sunset Blues” and you’ll get the idea. Fueled by elastic guitars and a tight groove, it’s an infectious slice of effervescent country funk, but dig a bit beneath the playful surface and you’ll find lyrics that suggest a pervasive unease. “There’s too much to lose,” Bluhm and Loiacono sing in octaves. “Me and you with the sunset blues.”
“With everyone either trapped together or forced to stay apart, I think the pandemic made relationships in general feel a lot more intense for people,” says Bluhm. “That definitely came through in the music.”
Though a pair of tracks here pre-date the pandemic (the swaggering “Song In A Can” first came to life back in the late 1990s, and a lush take on David Ruffin’s “I Don’t Want To Drive You Away” marks the first cover featured on a Mother Hips album), the vast majority of the record bears the emotional imprint of the past year in one form or another. The blistering “Clay Mask Clown” channels the towering rock and roll of The Who as it faces down doubt and anxiety head-on, while the cinematic “What Happened To You” wrestles with change and uncertainty, and the Gene Clark-esque “Green Linen” contemplates distance and loneliness. Even more feel-good tracks like the rousing lead single “Looking At Long Days” and earnest “For Staying Here” are laced with melancholy, as is sweeping album closer “I Wish The Wind,” which features Bluhm and Loiacono singing in harmony throughout. Yet Glowing Lantern is by no means a downbeat record; in fact, it’s just the opposite. By embracing the feelings of doubt and apprehension that have defined our world of late and wrapping them in lifted, communal performances, the band has managed to craft a sonic invitation to lay down our burdens, a reminder that even at our lowest, we’re never alone.
“I think the pandemic made it easier for me to see just how much music really means to people,” reflects Bluhm. “It can be easy to take it for granted, but when it all goes away, you’re reminded how important it is, how comforting it can be in difficult times.”
After all, no matter how dark things may get, if there’s music, there’s hope, there’s warmth, there’s companionship. Just look for the glowing lantern.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221208T195908Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1507 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221217T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221217T233000 UID:342DDB1B-D8D1-4ED6-BA9D-5ACBEB8EF755 SUMMARY:The Story of Christmas Jam DTSTAMP:20221109T214940Z DESCRIPTION:The tradition returns for 2022!\NBring the entire family to this all ages show featuring familiar tunes of the season performed by a collection of Utah's finest musicians and vocalists. Celebrating its return after 2 years away, our show this year will tell the story of Christmas Jam's origin and how it became Utah's new family holiday tradition! Staying true to our mission, proceeds from every performance will continue to benefit local charities.\NChristmas Jam is proud to be supporting The INN Between for 2022! This new and vital service for those experiencing homelessness with medical needs fills a crucial role in our community. Check them out!\NWe are excited to be bringing Christmas Jam back to The Commonwealth Room again this year with all-ages seating, full bar, concessions, ample parking, and a TRAX station (21st South) served by all 4 lines literally at their front door! X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The tradition returns for 2022!
Bring the entire family to this all ages show featuring familiar tunes of the season performed by a collection of Utah's finest musicians and vocalists. Celebrating its return after 2 years away, our show this year will tell the story of Christmas Jam's origin and how it became Utah's new family holiday tradition! Staying true to our mission, proceeds from every performance will continue to benefit local charities.
Christmas Jam is proud to be supporting The INN Between for 2022! This new and vital service for those experiencing homelessness with medical needs fills a crucial role in our community. Check them out!
We are excited to be bringing Christmas Jam back to The Commonwealth Room again this year with all-ages seating, full bar, concessions, ample parking, and a TRAX station (21st South) served by all 4 lines literally at their front door!
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221117T172750Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1910 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221230T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221230T220000 UID:6EF9CF1C-9D33-4078-8C90-D0FC15142955 SUMMARY:Kitchen Dwellers DTSTAMP:20220624T222311Z DESCRIPTION:Among the many natural wonders in Montana, Wise River runs for about 30 miles through the Southwestern region of the state, cutting through the mountains and flowing into the Big Hole River. Beyond being a favorite spot for fly fishermen, it remains etched into the topography of the land itself. Two hours away in Bozeman, Kitchen Dwellers equally embody the spirit and soul of their home with a sonic palette as expansive as Montana’s vistas. The quartet—Shawn Swain [Mandolin], Torrin Daniels [banjo], Joe Funk [upright bass], and Max Davies [acoustic guitar]—twist bluegrass, folk, and rock through a kaleidoscope of homegrown stories, rich mythology, American west wanderlust, and psychedelic hues. After amassing 5 million-plus streams, selling out shows, and receiving acclaim from Huffington Post, Relix, American Songwriter, and more, the group brings audiences back to Big Sky Country on their third full-length album, Wise River, working with Cory Wong of Vulfpeck as producer.\N“Since we weren’t on the road due to COVID-19, the music we wrote was different,” Max reveals. “It was more introspective. There were a lot of ties to Montana.”\N“For the first time, we were all home for 365 days in a row, which hasn’t happened in ten years,” adds Shawn. “We were thinking of the quieter lifestyle encapsulated in the area. That comes through.”\N“In the past, our songs would touch on the physical aspects of the state or reference its history and nature,” says Torrin. “These songs are more introspective, because they come from the perspective of actually being in one place. The vibe is a little more serious—given the weirdness of the past year and the shit everyone has been dealing with. Our little corner of the world has always delt with hard winters, but the whole world felt it in 2020.”\NAt the same time, their music continues to resound beyond that little corner. They’ve captivated audiences at hallowed venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre and performed alongside everyone from Railroad Earth and Twiddle to The Infamous String Dusters in addition to playing festivals such as Northwest String Summit, WinterWonderGrass, and more. They’ve released two critically acclaimed albums—Ghost In The Bottle [2017] and Muir Maid [2019]—and a live record, Live from the Wilma [2021]. They broke up 2020 with an EP of Pink Floyd covers entitled Reheated, Vol. 2. It was heralded by a two-night livestream concert, Live From The Cabin, beamed out to audiences from the Bridger Mountains. Additionally, they appeared at the Live From Out There virtual festival and even took over a drive-in movie theater for an in-person gig in between regular writing sessions together throughout the year.\NIn order to bring the new tunes to life, they recruited Cory behind the board as producer. Holing up at Creation Studios in Minneapolis, they recorded Wise River in just four days.\N“Cory brought a little more orchestration,” Shawn reveals. “He helped us really think differently and evolve the sound as a band.”\NOn the single and title track “Wise River,” banjo brushes up against acoustic guitar as visuals of a “lonely river town where the barfly knows you best,” “the ghosts of miners,” and a place “where the snow can fall like cannonballs and lonesome wind blows bitter.”\N“The town of Wise River is basically a forgotten spot on the map,” Shawn says. “It used to be a thriving place with many prosperous mines, but now it’s practically dried up. There’s a hell of a lot of melancholy. In our mind, it symbolizes the overall feeling of being in slowed-down Montana life.”\NMeanwhile, “Stand At Ease” gallops along on nimbly strummed banjo and bright piano towards a chanting chorus, “I can’t stand to see what you’ve done to be free.”\N“That one is based on the mental health issues in the music industry coming to light over the past couple of years,” Joe reveals. “It’s about losing a lot of our friends and idols.”\N“Paradise Valley” surveys the landscape as the lyrics visit the remnants of underground bunkers once occupied by a doomsday cult in the north. The finale “Their Names Are The Trees” recants another true story of tragedy in the wilderness.\N“A good friend of ours is a wildland firefighter,” Shawn goes on. “He was stationed out in Oregon on the Beachie Creek Fire, which destroyed maybe three towns and killed several people. One night, they were 15 miles back from the fire line. They wondered where the fire had moved in the wind, but it overtook their camp, the entire town they were stationed in, and wiped it out. Several people didn’t make it.”\NIn the end, Kitchen Dwellers share timeless American stories from the heart of one of its greatest treasures.\N“When you listen to Wise River, I hope you hear some of the original qualities that made us who we are, but you also recognize aspects that are new and adventurous,” Max leaves off. “If you go to a studio with a whole new batch of songs, it should never be the same as the last time. I hope you hear what it sounds like when the four of us are at home and have the space to create something together. This album is really how we sound as a band.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Among the many natural wonders in Montana, Wise River runs for about 30 miles through the Southwestern region of the state, cutting through the mountains and flowing into the Big Hole River. Beyond being a favorite spot for fly fishermen, it remains etched into the topography of the land itself. Two hours away in Bozeman, Kitchen Dwellers equally embody the spirit and soul of their home with a sonic palette as expansive as Montana’s vistas. The quartet—Shawn Swain [Mandolin], Torrin Daniels [banjo], Joe Funk [upright bass], and Max Davies [acoustic guitar]—twist bluegrass, folk, and rock through a kaleidoscope of homegrown stories, rich mythology, American west wanderlust, and psychedelic hues. After amassing 5 million-plus streams, selling out shows, and receiving acclaim from Huffington Post, Relix, American Songwriter, and more, the group brings audiences back to Big Sky Country on their third full-length album, Wise River, working with Cory Wong of Vulfpeck as producer.
“Since we weren’t on the road due to COVID-19, the music we wrote was different,” Max reveals. “It was more introspective. There were a lot of ties to Montana.”
“For the first time, we were all home for 365 days in a row, which hasn’t happened in ten years,” adds Shawn. “We were thinking of the quieter lifestyle encapsulated in the area. That comes through.”
“In the past, our songs would touch on the physical aspects of the state or reference its history and nature,” says Torrin. “These songs are more introspective, because they come from the perspective of actually being in one place. The vibe is a little more serious—given the weirdness of the past year and the shit everyone has been dealing with. Our little corner of the world has always delt with hard winters, but the whole world felt it in 2020.”
At the same time, their music continues to resound beyond that little corner. They’ve captivated audiences at hallowed venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre and performed alongside everyone from Railroad Earth and Twiddle to The Infamous String Dusters in addition to playing festivals such as Northwest String Summit, WinterWonderGrass, and more. They’ve released two critically acclaimed albums—Ghost In The Bottle [2017] and Muir Maid [2019]—and a live record, Live from the Wilma [2021]. They broke up 2020 with an EP of Pink Floyd covers entitled Reheated, Vol. 2. It was heralded by a two-night livestream concert, Live From The Cabin, beamed out to audiences from the Bridger Mountains. Additionally, they appeared at the Live From Out There virtual festival and even took over a drive-in movie theater for an in-person gig in between regular writing sessions together throughout the year.
In order to bring the new tunes to life, they recruited Cory behind the board as producer. Holing up at Creation Studios in Minneapolis, they recorded Wise River in just four days.
“Cory brought a little more orchestration,” Shawn reveals. “He helped us really think differently and evolve the sound as a band.”
On the single and title track “Wise River,” banjo brushes up against acoustic guitar as visuals of a “lonely river town where the barfly knows you best,” “the ghosts of miners,” and a place “where the snow can fall like cannonballs and lonesome wind blows bitter.”
“The town of Wise River is basically a forgotten spot on the map,” Shawn says. “It used to be a thriving place with many prosperous mines, but now it’s practically dried up. There’s a hell of a lot of melancholy. In our mind, it symbolizes the overall feeling of being in slowed-down Montana life.”
Meanwhile, “Stand At Ease” gallops along on nimbly strummed banjo and bright piano towards a chanting chorus, “I can’t stand to see what you’ve done to be free.”
“That one is based on the mental health issues in the music industry coming to light over the past couple of years,” Joe reveals. “It’s about losing a lot of our friends and idols.”
“Paradise Valley” surveys the landscape as the lyrics visit the remnants of underground bunkers once occupied by a doomsday cult in the north. The finale “Their Names Are The Trees” recants another true story of tragedy in the wilderness.
“A good friend of ours is a wildland firefighter,” Shawn goes on. “He was stationed out in Oregon on the Beachie Creek Fire, which destroyed maybe three towns and killed several people. One night, they were 15 miles back from the fire line. They wondered where the fire had moved in the wind, but it overtook their camp, the entire town they were stationed in, and wiped it out. Several people didn’t make it.”
In the end, Kitchen Dwellers share timeless American stories from the heart of one of its greatest treasures.
“When you listen to Wise River, I hope you hear some of the original qualities that made us who we are, but you also recognize aspects that are new and adventurous,” Max leaves off. “If you go to a studio with a whole new batch of songs, it should never be the same as the last time. I hope you hear what it sounds like when the four of us are at home and have the space to create something together. This album is really how we sound as a band.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221110T225019Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1591 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20221231T210000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20221231T233000 UID:2B32E362-AC3E-4270-8768-E816A9011206 SUMMARY:Kitchen Dwellers DTSTAMP:20220624T222537Z DESCRIPTION:Among the many natural wonders in Montana, Wise River runs for about 30 miles through the Southwestern region of the state, cutting through the mountains and flowing into the Big Hole River. Beyond being a favorite spot for fly fishermen, it remains etched into the topography of the land itself. Two hours away in Bozeman, Kitchen Dwellers equally embody the spirit and soul of their home with a sonic palette as expansive as Montana’s vistas. The quartet—Shawn Swain [Mandolin], Torrin Daniels [banjo], Joe Funk [upright bass], and Max Davies [acoustic guitar]—twist bluegrass, folk, and rock through a kaleidoscope of homegrown stories, rich mythology, American west wanderlust, and psychedelic hues. After amassing 5 million-plus streams, selling out shows, and receiving acclaim from Huffington Post, Relix, American Songwriter, and more, the group brings audiences back to Big Sky Country on their third full-length album, Wise River, working with Cory Wong of Vulfpeck as producer.\N“Since we weren’t on the road due to COVID-19, the music we wrote was different,” Max reveals. “It was more introspective. There were a lot of ties to Montana.”\N“For the first time, we were all home for 365 days in a row, which hasn’t happened in ten years,” adds Shawn. “We were thinking of the quieter lifestyle encapsulated in the area. That comes through.”\N“In the past, our songs would touch on the physical aspects of the state or reference its history and nature,” says Torrin. “These songs are more introspective, because they come from the perspective of actually being in one place. The vibe is a little more serious—given the weirdness of the past year and the shit everyone has been dealing with. Our little corner of the world has always delt with hard winters, but the whole world felt it in 2020.”\NAt the same time, their music continues to resound beyond that little corner. They’ve captivated audiences at hallowed venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre and performed alongside everyone from Railroad Earth and Twiddle to The Infamous String Dusters in addition to playing festivals such as Northwest String Summit, WinterWonderGrass, and more. They’ve released two critically acclaimed albums—Ghost In The Bottle [2017] and Muir Maid [2019]—and a live record, Live from the Wilma [2021]. They broke up 2020 with an EP of Pink Floyd covers entitled Reheated, Vol. 2. It was heralded by a two-night livestream concert, Live From The Cabin, beamed out to audiences from the Bridger Mountains. Additionally, they appeared at the Live From Out There virtual festival and even took over a drive-in movie theater for an in-person gig in between regular writing sessions together throughout the year.\NIn order to bring the new tunes to life, they recruited Cory behind the board as producer. Holing up at Creation Studios in Minneapolis, they recorded Wise River in just four days.\N“Cory brought a little more orchestration,” Shawn reveals. “He helped us really think differently and evolve the sound as a band.”\NOn the single and title track “Wise River,” banjo brushes up against acoustic guitar as visuals of a “lonely river town where the barfly knows you best,” “the ghosts of miners,” and a place “where the snow can fall like cannonballs and lonesome wind blows bitter.”\N“The town of Wise River is basically a forgotten spot on the map,” Shawn says. “It used to be a thriving place with many prosperous mines, but now it’s practically dried up. There’s a hell of a lot of melancholy. In our mind, it symbolizes the overall feeling of being in slowed-down Montana life.”\NMeanwhile, “Stand At Ease” gallops along on nimbly strummed banjo and bright piano towards a chanting chorus, “I can’t stand to see what you’ve done to be free.”\N“That one is based on the mental health issues in the music industry coming to light over the past couple of years,” Joe reveals. “It’s about losing a lot of our friends and idols.”\N“Paradise Valley” surveys the landscape as the lyrics visit the remnants of underground bunkers once occupied by a doomsday cult in the north. The finale “Their Names Are The Trees” recants another true story of tragedy in the wilderness.\N“A good friend of ours is a wildland firefighter,” Shawn goes on. “He was stationed out in Oregon on the Beachie Creek Fire, which destroyed maybe three towns and killed several people. One night, they were 15 miles back from the fire line. They wondered where the fire had moved in the wind, but it overtook their camp, the entire town they were stationed in, and wiped it out. Several people didn’t make it.”\NIn the end, Kitchen Dwellers share timeless American stories from the heart of one of its greatest treasures.\N“When you listen to Wise River, I hope you hear some of the original qualities that made us who we are, but you also recognize aspects that are new and adventurous,” Max leaves off. “If you go to a studio with a whole new batch of songs, it should never be the same as the last time. I hope you hear what it sounds like when the four of us are at home and have the space to create something together. This album is really how we sound as a band.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Among the many natural wonders in Montana, Wise River runs for about 30 miles through the Southwestern region of the state, cutting through the mountains and flowing into the Big Hole River. Beyond being a favorite spot for fly fishermen, it remains etched into the topography of the land itself. Two hours away in Bozeman, Kitchen Dwellers equally embody the spirit and soul of their home with a sonic palette as expansive as Montana’s vistas. The quartet—Shawn Swain [Mandolin], Torrin Daniels [banjo], Joe Funk [upright bass], and Max Davies [acoustic guitar]—twist bluegrass, folk, and rock through a kaleidoscope of homegrown stories, rich mythology, American west wanderlust, and psychedelic hues. After amassing 5 million-plus streams, selling out shows, and receiving acclaim from Huffington Post, Relix, American Songwriter, and more, the group brings audiences back to Big Sky Country on their third full-length album, Wise River, working with Cory Wong of Vulfpeck as producer.
“Since we weren’t on the road due to COVID-19, the music we wrote was different,” Max reveals. “It was more introspective. There were a lot of ties to Montana.”
“For the first time, we were all home for 365 days in a row, which hasn’t happened in ten years,” adds Shawn. “We were thinking of the quieter lifestyle encapsulated in the area. That comes through.”
“In the past, our songs would touch on the physical aspects of the state or reference its history and nature,” says Torrin. “These songs are more introspective, because they come from the perspective of actually being in one place. The vibe is a little more serious—given the weirdness of the past year and the shit everyone has been dealing with. Our little corner of the world has always delt with hard winters, but the whole world felt it in 2020.”
At the same time, their music continues to resound beyond that little corner. They’ve captivated audiences at hallowed venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre and performed alongside everyone from Railroad Earth and Twiddle to The Infamous String Dusters in addition to playing festivals such as Northwest String Summit, WinterWonderGrass, and more. They’ve released two critically acclaimed albums—Ghost In The Bottle [2017] and Muir Maid [2019]—and a live record, Live from the Wilma [2021]. They broke up 2020 with an EP of Pink Floyd covers entitled Reheated, Vol. 2. It was heralded by a two-night livestream concert, Live From The Cabin, beamed out to audiences from the Bridger Mountains. Additionally, they appeared at the Live From Out There virtual festival and even took over a drive-in movie theater for an in-person gig in between regular writing sessions together throughout the year.
In order to bring the new tunes to life, they recruited Cory behind the board as producer. Holing up at Creation Studios in Minneapolis, they recorded Wise River in just four days.
“Cory brought a little more orchestration,” Shawn reveals. “He helped us really think differently and evolve the sound as a band.”
On the single and title track “Wise River,” banjo brushes up against acoustic guitar as visuals of a “lonely river town where the barfly knows you best,” “the ghosts of miners,” and a place “where the snow can fall like cannonballs and lonesome wind blows bitter.”
“The town of Wise River is basically a forgotten spot on the map,” Shawn says. “It used to be a thriving place with many prosperous mines, but now it’s practically dried up. There’s a hell of a lot of melancholy. In our mind, it symbolizes the overall feeling of being in slowed-down Montana life.”
Meanwhile, “Stand At Ease” gallops along on nimbly strummed banjo and bright piano towards a chanting chorus, “I can’t stand to see what you’ve done to be free.”
“That one is based on the mental health issues in the music industry coming to light over the past couple of years,” Joe reveals. “It’s about losing a lot of our friends and idols.”
“Paradise Valley” surveys the landscape as the lyrics visit the remnants of underground bunkers once occupied by a doomsday cult in the north. The finale “Their Names Are The Trees” recants another true story of tragedy in the wilderness.
“A good friend of ours is a wildland firefighter,” Shawn goes on. “He was stationed out in Oregon on the Beachie Creek Fire, which destroyed maybe three towns and killed several people. One night, they were 15 miles back from the fire line. They wondered where the fire had moved in the wind, but it overtook their camp, the entire town they were stationed in, and wiped it out. Several people didn’t make it.”
In the end, Kitchen Dwellers share timeless American stories from the heart of one of its greatest treasures.
“When you listen to Wise River, I hope you hear some of the original qualities that made us who we are, but you also recognize aspects that are new and adventurous,” Max leaves off. “If you go to a studio with a whole new batch of songs, it should never be the same as the last time. I hope you hear what it sounds like when the four of us are at home and have the space to create something together. This album is really how we sound as a band.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221110T225031Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1467 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230114T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230114T233000 UID:880E9C29-467A-43EF-A6A5-0B45B39AA1E9 SUMMARY:Jazz is Dead DTSTAMP:20220819T203702Z DESCRIPTION:The acclaimed All-Star instrumental ensemble, famous for interpretations of classic Grateful Dead songs with jazz influences, returns in 2023 to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. Co-founder Alphonso Johnson will be joined by Steve Kimock, Pete Lavezzoli & Bobby Lee Rodgers, performing Grateful Dead’s ‘Wake of The Flood’ marking it’s 50th Anniversary, in addition to other beloved selections. Jazz Is Dead XXV ‘reunites’ two greats! Steve Kimock & Alphonso Johnson, who together in heavyweight post-Garcia Grateful Dead offshoot The Other Ones together with Bob Weir, commanded the instrumental prowess of that band.\NFormed in 1998 by bassist Alphonso Johnson (Weather Report, Santana, Bobby & The Midnites, The Other Ones), drummer Billy Cobham (Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Bobby & The Midnites), keyboardist T Lavitz (Dixie Dregs) & guitarist Jimmy Herring (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Widespread Panic), with drummers Rod Morgenstern (Dixie Dregs) & Jeff Sipe (Leftover Salmon) replacing Cobham in 1999, and guitarist Jeff Pevar (CSN, David Crosby CPR, Phil Lesh & Friends) replacing Herring in 2000, recorded 3 acclaimed albums, the second of which ‘Laughing Water’ in 1999 was in fact an instrumental ‘Wake of The Flood’ reinterpretation - so there is precedent. That album also featured Derek Trucks, Donna Jean Godchaux & Vassar Clements. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The acclaimed All-Star instrumental ensemble, famous for interpretations of classic Grateful Dead songs with jazz influences, returns in 2023 to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. Co-founder Alphonso Johnson will be joined by Steve Kimock, Pete Lavezzoli & Bobby Lee Rodgers, performing Grateful Dead’s ‘Wake of The Flood’ marking it’s 50th Anniversary, in addition to other beloved selections. Jazz Is Dead XXV ‘reunites’ two greats! Steve Kimock & Alphonso Johnson, who together in heavyweight post-Garcia Grateful Dead offshoot The Other Ones together with Bob Weir, commanded the instrumental prowess of that band.
Formed in 1998 by bassist Alphonso Johnson (Weather Report, Santana, Bobby & The Midnites, The Other Ones), drummer Billy Cobham (Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Bobby & The Midnites), keyboardist T Lavitz (Dixie Dregs) & guitarist Jimmy Herring (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Widespread Panic), with drummers Rod Morgenstern (Dixie Dregs) & Jeff Sipe (Leftover Salmon) replacing Cobham in 1999, and guitarist Jeff Pevar (CSN, David Crosby CPR, Phil Lesh & Friends) replacing Herring in 2000, recorded 3 acclaimed albums, the second of which ‘Laughing Water’ in 1999 was in fact an instrumental ‘Wake of The Flood’ reinterpretation - so there is precedent. That album also featured Derek Trucks, Donna Jean Godchaux & Vassar Clements.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221208T185306Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:4766 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230127T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230127T223000 UID:0322665B-2536-4BD0-B9F4-106CC7F7B8F6 SUMMARY:Larkin Poe (POSTPONED) DTSTAMP:20221003T230820Z DESCRIPTION:The latest full-length from Larkin Poe, Blood Harmony is a whole-hearted invitation into a world they know intimately, a Southern landscape so precisely conjured you can feel the sticky humidity of the warm summer air. In bringing their homeland to such rich and dazzling life, Georgia-bred multi-instrumentalist sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell fortify their storytelling with a blues-heavy sound that hits right in the heart, at turns stormy and sorrowful and wildly exhilarating. Rooted in the potent musicality the Nashville-based duo has brought to such widely lauded work as 2018’s Venom & Faith (a GRAMMY® Award nominee for Best Contemporary Blues Album), Blood Harmony affirms Larkin Poe as an essential force in shaping the identity of Southern rock-and-roll, breathing new energy into the genre with both forward-thinking perspective and a decidedly feminine strength.\N“We have such fond memories of our upbringing and experiencing the beauty of Southern hospitality in its truest form—it’s a very loving and inclusive energy,” says Rebecca, Larkin Poe’s lead vocalist/lyricist. “There’s an idea that we don’t walk alone, and that there’s safety in keeping your door open to anyone and everyone. What we try to share through our music is the emotional equivalent of opening your door to everyone and inviting them in for sweet tea.”\NIn a departure from the self-contained approach of past albums like 2020’s Self Made Man—a critically acclaimed LP praised by American Songwriter as “pumped up for arena-sized consumption without compromising any of its stripped-down command and intensity”—Larkin Poe co-produced Blood Harmony alongside Texas-bred musician Tyler Bryant (also Rebecca’s husband). “In the past we’ve taken a very intentional tact of self-reliance, but this time it felt right to open up the process while still keeping it a family affair,” says Rebecca. With Megan handling harmony vocals, lap steel, and resonator guitar and Rebecca on guitar and keys, Larkin Poe also enlisted members of their longtime live band, including drummer Kevin McGowan and bassist Tarka Layman. Mainly recorded at Rebecca and Tyler’s home studio, the result is an electrifying body of work that fully harnesses the fiery vitality they’ve shown in touring across the globe. “We spent a lot of time hashing everything out in pre-production, just the two of us, so that by the time we got to recording we’d already worked out all the details,” Megan recalls. “We didn’t want to end up stitching a bunch of takes together—we just wanted to get in there and make it as live and raw as possible.”\NOne of the first songs penned for Blood Harmony, “Southern Comfort” instantly set the tone for Larkin Poe’s finespun reflection on their heritage. With its soul-stirring harmonies and sharply detailed lyrics (“Blue jeans, leaning on a hot car/Broke every string on my old guitar”), the fiercely stomping track channels both gutsy determination and a homesick longing for days gone by. “That song partly came from thinking about our little aunts in Chattanooga,” Rebecca says. “It’s about rolling up as rock-and-roll musicians with tattoos on our arms, and they’d just sit us down and get out the pinto beans and collard greens and cornbread.” Another meditation on the preciousness of family, Blood Harmony’s smoldering title track celebrates a certain unbridled spirit passed down through generations. “‘Blood Harmony’ came together after Megan and our mom and I all read Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being, which is about the ways we perceive the passage of time,” says Rebecca. “There was just something about the sweetness of all three of us reading the same book, and then being able to talk about how it related to our love for each other and our love for music.” And on “Georgia Off My Mind,” the duo deliver a heavy-hearted yet swinging lament for what we leave behind in chasing our dreams. “Like 99 percent of my songs, that song came into being at my kitchen table late in the evening,” says Rebecca. “My husband and I stumbled into that line at the chorus—‘Tennessee keep Georgia off my mind’—and it turned into a love song for the stretch of I-24 that connects Atlanta and Nashville, which is a drive we’ve made thousands of times now.”\NAll throughout Blood Harmony, Larkin Poe imbue their songs with equal parts soulful sensitivity and thrilling ferocity—an element on full display in the feverish guitar work of “Bad Spell.” “Ever since I heard ‘I Put a Spell on You’ by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins for the first time I’ve wanted to write a female response to it,” says Rebecca. “I’d had the title ‘Bad Spell’ in my journal for years, and it was so fun to create a song where the riffs and guitar tones have that singular purpose of nastiness and swagger.” From the bare-bones frenzy of the album-opening “Deep Stays Down” to the euphoric bounce of “Kick the Blues” to the moody enchantment of “Lips As Cold As Diamond,” Blood Harmony reveals a band in complete touch with their formidable intuition. “We’ve always been tenacious about following our gut, and that’s really served us well,” says Megan. “With my playing on this record, I trusted my own process and my own voice more than I ever have before, and when I listen back it sounds so much more like me. There’s a lot of power in that.”\NA glorious testament to staying true to your instincts, Blood Harmony ultimately embodies a joyful empowerment that Larkin Poe hope to extend to their globe-spanning fanbase, including the close-knit community who call themselves Kinsiders. “They’re people who have maybe never met in the flesh but are still able to connect and commune, and they’re all so accepting of one another,” says Rebecca. “We always feel that very loving aura at our live shows, and we feel incredibly fortunate for that. It’s our highest and best purpose to be that connective tissue for others.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The latest full-length from Larkin Poe, Blood Harmony is a whole-hearted invitation into a world they know intimately, a Southern landscape so precisely conjured you can feel the sticky humidity of the warm summer air. In bringing their homeland to such rich and dazzling life, Georgia-bred multi-instrumentalist sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell fortify their storytelling with a blues-heavy sound that hits right in the heart, at turns stormy and sorrowful and wildly exhilarating. Rooted in the potent musicality the Nashville-based duo has brought to such widely lauded work as 2018’s Venom & Faith (a GRAMMY® Award nominee for Best Contemporary Blues Album), Blood Harmony affirms Larkin Poe as an essential force in shaping the identity of Southern rock-and-roll, breathing new energy into the genre with both forward-thinking perspective and a decidedly feminine strength.
“We have such fond memories of our upbringing and experiencing the beauty of Southern hospitality in its truest form—it’s a very loving and inclusive energy,” says Rebecca, Larkin Poe’s lead vocalist/lyricist. “There’s an idea that we don’t walk alone, and that there’s safety in keeping your door open to anyone and everyone. What we try to share through our music is the emotional equivalent of opening your door to everyone and inviting them in for sweet tea.”
In a departure from the self-contained approach of past albums like 2020’s Self Made Man—a critically acclaimed LP praised by American Songwriter as “pumped up for arena-sized consumption without compromising any of its stripped-down command and intensity”—Larkin Poe co-produced Blood Harmony alongside Texas-bred musician Tyler Bryant (also Rebecca’s husband). “In the past we’ve taken a very intentional tact of self-reliance, but this time it felt right to open up the process while still keeping it a family affair,” says Rebecca. With Megan handling harmony vocals, lap steel, and resonator guitar and Rebecca on guitar and keys, Larkin Poe also enlisted members of their longtime live band, including drummer Kevin McGowan and bassist Tarka Layman. Mainly recorded at Rebecca and Tyler’s home studio, the result is an electrifying body of work that fully harnesses the fiery vitality they’ve shown in touring across the globe. “We spent a lot of time hashing everything out in pre-production, just the two of us, so that by the time we got to recording we’d already worked out all the details,” Megan recalls. “We didn’t want to end up stitching a bunch of takes together—we just wanted to get in there and make it as live and raw as possible.”
One of the first songs penned for Blood Harmony, “Southern Comfort” instantly set the tone for Larkin Poe’s finespun reflection on their heritage. With its soul-stirring harmonies and sharply detailed lyrics (“Blue jeans, leaning on a hot car/Broke every string on my old guitar”), the fiercely stomping track channels both gutsy determination and a homesick longing for days gone by. “That song partly came from thinking about our little aunts in Chattanooga,” Rebecca says. “It’s about rolling up as rock-and-roll musicians with tattoos on our arms, and they’d just sit us down and get out the pinto beans and collard greens and cornbread.” Another meditation on the preciousness of family, Blood Harmony’s smoldering title track celebrates a certain unbridled spirit passed down through generations. “‘Blood Harmony’ came together after Megan and our mom and I all read Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being, which is about the ways we perceive the passage of time,” says Rebecca. “There was just something about the sweetness of all three of us reading the same book, and then being able to talk about how it related to our love for each other and our love for music.” And on “Georgia Off My Mind,” the duo deliver a heavy-hearted yet swinging lament for what we leave behind in chasing our dreams. “Like 99 percent of my songs, that song came into being at my kitchen table late in the evening,” says Rebecca. “My husband and I stumbled into that line at the chorus—‘Tennessee keep Georgia off my mind’—and it turned into a love song for the stretch of I-24 that connects Atlanta and Nashville, which is a drive we’ve made thousands of times now.”
All throughout Blood Harmony, Larkin Poe imbue their songs with equal parts soulful sensitivity and thrilling ferocity—an element on full display in the feverish guitar work of “Bad Spell.” “Ever since I heard ‘I Put a Spell on You’ by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins for the first time I’ve wanted to write a female response to it,” says Rebecca. “I’d had the title ‘Bad Spell’ in my journal for years, and it was so fun to create a song where the riffs and guitar tones have that singular purpose of nastiness and swagger.” From the bare-bones frenzy of the album-opening “Deep Stays Down” to the euphoric bounce of “Kick the Blues” to the moody enchantment of “Lips As Cold As Diamond,” Blood Harmony reveals a band in complete touch with their formidable intuition. “We’ve always been tenacious about following our gut, and that’s really served us well,” says Megan. “With my playing on this record, I trusted my own process and my own voice more than I ever have before, and when I listen back it sounds so much more like me. There’s a lot of power in that.”
A glorious testament to staying true to your instincts, Blood Harmony ultimately embodies a joyful empowerment that Larkin Poe hope to extend to their globe-spanning fanbase, including the close-knit community who call themselves Kinsiders. “They’re people who have maybe never met in the flesh but are still able to connect and commune, and they’re all so accepting of one another,” says Rebecca. “We always feel that very loving aura at our live shows, and we feel incredibly fortunate for that. It’s our highest and best purpose to be that connective tissue for others.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230127T225208Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3090 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230128T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230128T233000 UID:131777A9-C48F-4197-B124-C2721973442A SUMMARY:Hell's Belles DTSTAMP:20221115T094318Z DESCRIPTION:HELL'S BELLES are first and foremost dedicated AC/DC fanatics. This is what we all have in common. We're all part of a huge community of devotees to one of the greatest rock-n-roll bands in the world. This is who we all are, and this is what HELL'S BELLES strives to deliver with mechanical precision and passionate fury. Endorsed by Angus Young himself (Blender Magazine, 2003), HELL'S BELLES are the closest one can get without actually moving to Australia and joining AC/DC's road crew.\NHELL'S BELLES are indeed ALL female, all the way to their rock-n-roll cores, all the time and without exception. Representing for a whole new generation of women that won't be intimidated, HELL'S BELLES actively encourage our legions of lady fans to stand up and be counted, and collaborate with women musicians and causes as a part of the mission towards rock and roll inclusion. Not some down-your-throat feminism, but a proactive support and action spirit towards the continued march towards balancing of the gender scales.\NThe thousands of shows HELL'S BELLES have played around the world, including Jordan, Singapore, Japan, Canada, and the good ol' USA (including Alaska), have become legendary nights of epic proportions. Consistently sexy and sold-out shows - there's not a HELL'S BELLES audience that hasn't been blown away by the raw power, attention to AC/DC details, and undeniable appeal that these bad ass belles deliver with undying devotion. From the Angus stripping “Bad Boy Boogie" to “Dirty Deeds" to "TNT", not to mention AC/DC's landmark hits "Highway to Hell", "Thunderstruck", and "Back in Black". The marathon set lists change to include a fresh variety of classics, but the perfection and passion of the show never dies.\NIt's an all out rock-n-roll assault that leaves you both satisfied and begging for more. And, more you'll get as HELL'S BELLES keep conquering new cities, new states, and new countries. They'll be in your back yard bringing AC/DC in sound and spirit to you with their recording VOL. II, so you can always count on taking a little piece of HELL'S BELLES home with ya.\NHELL'S BELLES - committed, ferocious, meticulous women rock musicians delivering authentic AC/DC to the unbelievably supportive and wicked awesome fans. All day and all night long, all over the world, pitch perfect AC/ DC delivered with a highly charged vigor.\NLet there be rock! X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:HELL'S BELLES are first and foremost dedicated AC/DC fanatics. This is what we all have in common. We're all part of a huge community of devotees to one of the greatest rock-n-roll bands in the world. This is who we all are, and this is what HELL'S BELLES strives to deliver with mechanical precision and passionate fury. Endorsed by Angus Young himself (Blender Magazine, 2003), HELL'S BELLES are the closest one can get without actually moving to Australia and joining AC/DC's road crew.
HELL'S BELLES are indeed ALL female, all the way to their rock-n-roll cores, all the time and without exception. Representing for a whole new generation of women that won't be intimidated, HELL'S BELLES actively encourage our legions of lady fans to stand up and be counted, and collaborate with women musicians and causes as a part of the mission towards rock and roll inclusion. Not some down-your-throat feminism, but a proactive support and action spirit towards the continued march towards balancing of the gender scales.
The thousands of shows HELL'S BELLES have played around the world, including Jordan, Singapore, Japan, Canada, and the good ol' USA (including Alaska), have become legendary nights of epic proportions. Consistently sexy and sold-out shows - there's not a HELL'S BELLES audience that hasn't been blown away by the raw power, attention to AC/DC details, and undeniable appeal that these bad ass belles deliver with undying devotion. From the Angus stripping “Bad Boy Boogie" to “Dirty Deeds" to "TNT", not to mention AC/DC's landmark hits "Highway to Hell", "Thunderstruck", and "Back in Black". The marathon set lists change to include a fresh variety of classics, but the perfection and passion of the show never dies.
It's an all out rock-n-roll assault that leaves you both satisfied and begging for more. And, more you'll get as HELL'S BELLES keep conquering new cities, new states, and new countries. They'll be in your back yard bringing AC/DC in sound and spirit to you with their recording VOL. II, so you can always count on taking a little piece of HELL'S BELLES home with ya.
HELL'S BELLES - committed, ferocious, meticulous women rock musicians delivering authentic AC/DC to the unbelievably supportive and wicked awesome fans. All day and all night long, all over the world, pitch perfect AC/ DC delivered with a highly charged vigor.
Let there be rock!
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221128T204209Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1854 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230205T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230205T233000 UID:1A8324C9-A3F7-4079-A7B2-046EE1B52014 SUMMARY:The Lone Bellow DTSTAMP:20221003T224635Z DESCRIPTION:Throughout their lifespan as a band, The Lone Bellow have cast an indelible spell with their finespun songs of hard truth and unexpected beauty, frequently delivered in hypnotic three-part harmony. In a departure from their past work with elite producers like Aaron Dessner of The National and eight-time Grammy-winner Dave Cobb, the Nashville-based trio struck out on their own for their new album Love Songs for Losers, dreaming up a singular sound encompassing everything from arena-ready rock anthems to the gorgeously sprawling Americana tunes the band refers to as “little redneck symphonies.” Recorded at the possibly haunted former home of the legendary Roy Orbison, the result is an intimate meditation on the pain and joy and ineffable wonder of being human, at turns heartbreaking, irreverent, and sublimely transcendent. “One of the reasons we went with Love Songs for Losers as the album title is that I’ve always seen myself as a loser in love—I’ve never been able to get it completely right, so this is my way of standing on top of the mountain and telling everyone, ‘It’s okay,’” says lead vocalist Zach Williams, whose bandmates include guitarist Brian Elmquist and multi-instrumentalist Kanene Donehey Pipkin. “The songs are looking at bad relationships and wonderful relationships and all the in-between, sometimes with a good deal of levity. It’s us just trying to encapsulate the whole gamut of experience that we all go through as human beings.” The fifth full-length from The Lone Bellow, Love Songs for Losers arrives as the follow-up to 2020’s chart-topping Half Moon Light—a critically acclaimed effort that marked their second outing with Dessner, spawning the Triple A radio hits “Count On Me” and “Dried Up River” (both of which hit #1 on the Americana Singles chart). After sketching the album’s 11 songs in a nearby church, the band holed up for eight weeks at Orbison’s house on Old Hickory Lake, slowly carving out their most expansive and eclectic body of work yet. “I’ve always thought our music was so much bigger than anything we’ve shown on record before, and this time we turned over every stone until we got the songs exactly where they needed to be,” says Elmquist. Co-produced by Elmquist and Jacob Sooter, Love Songs for Losers also finds Pipkin taking the reins as vocal producer, expertly harnessing the rarefied vocal magic they’ve brought to the stage in touring with the likes of Maren Morris and Kacey Musgraves. “Singing together night after night for a decade allows you to understand what your bandmates are capable of, in a way that no one else can,” says Pipkin. “There are so many different qualities to our voices that had never been captured before, and producing this album ourselves was a nice opportunity to finally showcase that.” Recorded with their longtime bassist Jason Pipkin and drummer Julian Dorio, Love Songs for Losers embodies an unvarnished intensity—an element in full effect on its lead single “Gold,” a galvanizing look at the real-life impact of the opioid crisis. “We don’t ever try to write songs with an agenda, so with ‘Gold’ the idea was to tell the story from the perspective of someone in a hard situation—in this case, a guy who’s stuck in the downward spiral of addiction,” says Elmquist. In one of the most exhilarating turns on Love Songs for Losers, the chorus to “Gold” explodes in a wild collision of bright piano tones, potent beats, and massively stacked guitars. “We’ve sung ‘Gold’ as a folk song in the past, but for the album we wanted to really experiment and push our sound as far as it could go,” Elmquist notes. Imbued with equal parts brutal honesty and heart-expanding wisdom, Love Songs for Losers opens on “Honey” and its synth-laced reflection on the more delicate aspects of enduring love. “‘Honey’ came from thinking about how my wife doesn’t like being called ‘honey’ or ‘baby’—she thinks it’s lazy, it always rubs her the wrong way,” says Williams. “It turned into a song about sometimes wanting to go back to when we were first in love, when everything was crazy and exciting and we were right on the verge of ruining each other’s lives at any second.” Later, on “Cost of Living,” Pipkin takes the lead vocal and shares a raw and lovely expression of grief, her voice shifting from fragile to soulful with impossible ease. A quietly shattering piano ballad featuring Elmquist on lead vocals, “Dreaming” channels the ache of lost love with exquisite specificity. “It’s a song about two people catching up with each other, and I love how the lyric goes from ‘How’s your mother?’ to ‘How’s that devil in your heart?’—there’s no middle ground, which feels very true to me,” says Williams. And on “Wherever Your Heart Is,” The Lone Bellow present a beautifully slow-building piece exploring a particularly powerful form of devotion. “I love those moments, even in friendships, when someone surprises you or reveals something you never knew about them before,” says Elmquist. “I think it’s so vital to any relationship to keep on chasing the mystery and maintain that curiosity, instead of just making your mind up about who or what the other person is.” One of the most tender tracks on Love Songs for Losers, “Unicorn” unfolds with a cascade of heavenly melodies as Williams offers up an unabashed outpouring of affection for his wife Stacy (“I was kinda thinkin’ I could tell you my feelings/Sit you down and wreck you with some words that are pretty/I could say ‘I love you’ but I wanna say more/I think God made a unicorn”). “That’s definitely one where the physical location seeped into the song, and Roy Orbison’s ghost maybe led us toward the path we ended up on,” Williams points out. Even in its most lighthearted moments, Love Songs for Losers bears the same heady depth of emotion that’s guided Williams since his earliest days as a songwriter—a period of time that followed a devastating horse-riding accident that left Stacy temporarily paralyzed. As she recovered, Williams learned to play guitar and began setting his journal entries to song, routinely performing at an open-mic night across the street from the hospital. Soon after Stacy regained her ability to walk, the couple moved to Brooklyn, where (after eight years as a solo artist) Williams joined Elmquist and Pipkin in founding The Lone Bellow. In 2013, the band made their auspicious debut with a self-titled, Charlie Peacock-produced album that quickly landed at No. 64 on the Billboard 200, later turning up on best-of-the-year lists from the likes of Paste and Pop Matters. With over 100 million career streams to date, The Lone Bellow’s past output also includes the Dessner-produced Then Came the Morning (a 2015 effort that earned them an Americana Music Award nomination) and Walk Into a Storm (a 2017 release produced by Cobb and hailed by NPR for its “warmly rousing, gospel-inflected Americana”). For The Lone Bellow, the triumph of completing their first self-produced album marks the start of a thrilling new chapter in the band’s journey. “At the outset it was scary to take away the safety net of working with a big-name producer and lean on each other instead,” says Pipkin. “It took an incredible amount of trust, but in the end it was so exciting to see each other rise to new heights.” And with the release of Love Songs for Losers, the trio feel newly emboldened to create without limits. “This album confirmed that we still have beauty to create and put out into the world, and that we’re still having fun doing that after ten years together,” says Elmquist. “It reminded us of our passion for pushing ourselves out onto the limb and letting our minds wander into new places, and it sets me on fire to think of what we might make next.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Throughout their lifespan as a band, The Lone Bellow have cast an indelible spell with their finespun songs of hard truth and unexpected beauty, frequently delivered in hypnotic three-part harmony. In a departure from their past work with elite producers like Aaron Dessner of The National and eight-time Grammy-winner Dave Cobb, the Nashville-based trio struck out on their own for their new album Love Songs for Losers, dreaming up a singular sound encompassing everything from arena-ready rock anthems to the gorgeously sprawling Americana tunes the band refers to as “little redneck symphonies.” Recorded at the possibly haunted former home of the legendary Roy Orbison, the result is an intimate meditation on the pain and joy and ineffable wonder of being human, at turns heartbreaking, irreverent, and sublimely transcendent.
“One of the reasons we went with Love Songs for Losers as the album title is that I’ve always seen myself as a loser in love—I’ve never been able to get it completely right, so this is my way of standing on top of the mountain and telling everyone, ‘It’s okay,’” says lead vocalist Zach Williams, whose bandmates include guitarist Brian Elmquist and multi-instrumentalist Kanene Donehey Pipkin. “The songs are looking at bad relationships and wonderful relationships and all the in-between, sometimes with a good deal of levity. It’s us just trying to encapsulate the whole gamut of experience that we all go through as human beings.”
The fifth full-length from The Lone Bellow, Love Songs for Losers arrives as the follow-up to 2020’s chart-topping Half Moon Light—a critically acclaimed effort that marked their second outing with Dessner, spawning the Triple A radio hits “Count On Me” and “Dried Up River” (both of which hit #1 on the Americana Singles chart). After sketching the album’s 11 songs in a nearby church, the band holed up for eight weeks at Orbison’s house on Old Hickory Lake, slowly carving out their most expansive and eclectic body of work yet. “I’ve always thought our music was so much bigger than anything we’ve shown on record before, and this time we turned over every stone until we got the songs exactly where they needed to be,” says Elmquist. Co-produced by Elmquist and Jacob Sooter, Love Songs for Losers also finds Pipkin taking the reins as vocal producer, expertly harnessing the rarefied vocal magic they’ve brought to the stage in touring with the likes of Maren Morris and Kacey Musgraves. “Singing together night after night for a decade allows you to understand what your bandmates are capable of, in a way that no one else can,” says Pipkin. “There are so many different qualities to our voices that had never been captured before, and producing this album ourselves was a nice opportunity to finally showcase that.”
Recorded with their longtime bassist Jason Pipkin and drummer Julian Dorio, Love Songs for Losers embodies an unvarnished intensity—an element in full effect on its lead single “Gold,” a galvanizing look at the real-life impact of the opioid crisis. “We don’t ever try to write songs with an agenda, so with ‘Gold’ the idea was to tell the story from the perspective of someone in a hard situation—in this case, a guy who’s stuck in the downward spiral of addiction,” says Elmquist. In one of the most exhilarating turns on Love Songs for Losers, the chorus to “Gold” explodes in a wild collision of bright piano tones, potent beats, and massively stacked guitars. “We’ve sung ‘Gold’ as a folk song in the past, but for the album we wanted to really experiment and push our sound as far as it could go,” Elmquist notes.
Imbued with equal parts brutal honesty and heart-expanding wisdom, Love Songs for Losers opens on “Honey” and its synth-laced reflection on the more delicate aspects of enduring love. “‘Honey’ came from thinking about how my wife doesn’t like being called ‘honey’ or ‘baby’—she thinks it’s lazy, it always rubs her the wrong way,” says Williams. “It turned into a song about sometimes wanting to go back to when we were first in love, when everything was crazy and exciting and we were right on the verge of ruining each other’s lives at any second.” Later, on “Cost of Living,” Pipkin takes the lead vocal and shares a raw and lovely expression of grief, her voice shifting from fragile to soulful with impossible ease. A quietly shattering piano ballad featuring Elmquist on lead vocals, “Dreaming” channels the ache of lost love with exquisite specificity. “It’s a song about two people catching up with each other, and I love how the lyric goes from ‘How’s your mother?’ to ‘How’s that devil in your heart?’—there’s no middle ground, which feels very true to me,” says Williams. And on “Wherever Your Heart Is,” The Lone Bellow present a beautifully slow-building piece exploring a particularly powerful form of devotion. “I love those moments, even in friendships, when someone surprises you or reveals something you never knew about them before,” says Elmquist. “I think it’s so vital to any relationship to keep on chasing the mystery and maintain that curiosity, instead of just making your mind up about who or what the other person is.”
One of the most tender tracks on Love Songs for Losers, “Unicorn” unfolds with a cascade of heavenly melodies as Williams offers up an unabashed outpouring of affection for his wife Stacy (“I was kinda thinkin’ I could tell you my feelings/Sit you down and wreck you with some words that are pretty/I could say ‘I love you’ but I wanna say more/I think God made a unicorn”). “That’s definitely one where the physical location seeped into the song, and Roy Orbison’s ghost maybe led us toward the path we ended up on,” Williams points out.
Even in its most lighthearted moments, Love Songs for Losers bears the same heady depth of emotion that’s guided Williams since his earliest days as a songwriter—a period of time that followed a devastating horse-riding accident that left Stacy temporarily paralyzed. As she recovered, Williams learned to play guitar and began setting his journal entries to song, routinely performing at an open-mic night across the street from the hospital. Soon after Stacy regained her ability to walk, the couple moved to Brooklyn, where (after eight years as a solo artist) Williams joined Elmquist and Pipkin in founding The Lone Bellow. In 2013, the band made their auspicious debut with a self-titled, Charlie Peacock-produced album that quickly landed at No. 64 on the Billboard 200, later turning up on best-of-the-year lists from the likes of Paste and Pop Matters. With over 100 million career streams to date, The Lone Bellow’s past output also includes the Dessner-produced Then Came the Morning (a 2015 effort that earned them an Americana Music Award nomination) and Walk Into a Storm (a 2017 release produced by Cobb and hailed by NPR for its “warmly rousing, gospel-inflected Americana”).
For The Lone Bellow, the triumph of completing their first self-produced album marks the start of a thrilling new chapter in the band’s journey. “At the outset it was scary to take away the safety net of working with a big-name producer and lean on each other instead,” says Pipkin. “It took an incredible amount of trust, but in the end it was so exciting to see each other rise to new heights.” And with the release of Love Songs for Losers, the trio feel newly emboldened to create without limits. “This album confirmed that we still have beauty to create and put out into the world, and that we’re still having fun doing that after ten years together,” says Elmquist. “It reminded us of our passion for pushing ourselves out onto the limb and letting our minds wander into new places, and it sets me on fire to think of what we might make next.”
“I’ve been coming a thousand years / you could call me the endless fuck,” goes the memorable opening line of Rubblebucket’s Earth Worship, a groove-forward, joyously layered collection of songs which work to dissolve the imaginary lines between the natural world and its human inhabitants. The prolific group’s newest record, it’s an album with renewed shimmer, showcasing Rubblebucket’s intricately sparkling beats, hushed-yet-hooky vocals, and irresistible melodic complexity—a celebration of togetherness, environmental curiosity, and the pleasure in doing what you love.
Kalmia Traver and Alex Toth, the group’s front persons, co-writers and co-producers, first began a friendship as jazz students at the University of Vermont. Soon after, they formed Rubblebucket, using the project to delve into pop, funk, dance and psychedelia; performances have spanned Bonnaroo to Glastonbury to their self-curated Dream Picnic Festival, and they’ve collaborated with kindred genre-blenders including Arcade Fire and Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears. But before their musical relationship, Traver and Toth initially bonded over another shared passion: the two were part of UVM’s Sustainable Community Development program.
Sustainability is still a part of their lives: Toth communes with nature as part of his morning routine, and Traver is adept at foraging in the band’s adopted home of New York City. Yet songwriting explicitly about environmentalism in Rubblebucket has felt immaterial—besides, the band has shared its beliefs over the years by inviting anti-fracking, reproductive justice, and other organizations to table at their shows. But Traver was interested in writing love songs for and from the natural world, and both were inspired by their parents’ work in ecology and community facilitation, from which they saw a throughline to music’s communal healing. Traver suggested “earth worship” as a lyrical prompt for their sixth record, and with this concept at its core, the duo began writing an album titled after that very theme.
Since their last full length, 2018’s Sun Machine, Rubblebucket’s songwriters have recorded extensively with other projects. Traver, usually a saxophonist, poured dance sensibilities into Kalbells, a rhythmic indie quartet in which she plays keyboards. Toth, who dove into punk catharsis with his band Alexander F, went interior for Tōth, a solo project inspired by Arthur Russell’s serendipitous sparseness. “By doing multiple records on our own and together, you just get better and better at understanding the process,” says Toth. That process includes “song-a-day” workshops, an ecstatic endeavor the band likens to “spiritual upheaval.” Across two week-long sessions in May and November of 2020, the pair wrote 28 new songs, later trading production duties on each others’ compositions. 'Toth introduced a new musical direction for Earth Worship: disco. He felt restored by a series of Italo disco and ‘80s Detroit parties thrown by activists he'd met at summer protests, simultaneously drawing huge influence from Resmaa Menakem's book My Grandmother's Hands. On a parallel plane, Traver was awestruck by NYC DJs Rose Kourtz and Miss Alicia and revisited the whispered delivery of Blondie's Debbie Harry. She also brought a fomented sense of creative confidence after seeing an exhibition of abstract painter Hilma af Klint.
Rubblebucket recorded a significant portion of Earth Worship at their homes, tracking Juno 60, Yamaha DX7, flugelhorn, trumpet and saxophones—all atop an electric bass and percussion-heavy production template Toth devised to evoke his vision of disco. In March 2021, the group moved to the Catskills’ Spillway Sound alongside their live band: bassist Ryan Dugre, trumpeter and keyboardist Sean Smith, and drummer Jeremy Gustin, who incorporated chopsticks into his playing to produce otherworldly beats. They reunited with beloved engineer Eli Crews (Tune-Yards, Deerhoof), whose keen taste for Russian drum machines and unusual microphones brought multidimensionality to overdubs like timpani and cassette-processed horns. After eight days of studio bliss, it felt difficult to return to reality. “We had so much fun and it was super inspiring, but it was Alex and I back in a pressure cooker,” says Traver. The duo realized they had to unlearn old patterns in their working relationship, and over the next 10 months, they developed a new language for mediation and repairing creative boundaries—which helped them round Earth Worship’s final corner. Mix engineer Claudius Mittendorfer (Parquet Courts, Weezer) brought striking finishing touches to the record, much to the band’s delight. “It’s a cool way to let go,” says Toth. “The music’s not done when Kal and I are done.”
Levity is unmistakable on opening track and lead single “Earth Worship,” on which Traver embodies the timeless lust of our planet’s entanglement with humanity over outer space synths and thundering toms. On “Geometry,” Rubblebucket uses no wave guitars and bursts of saxophones to deliver an impressionistic narrative about being trapped in a painting; “Let’s make geometry,” goes the sunny chorus—a cherished sentiment about the resilience of the collaborators’ friendship. “Cherry Blossom,” an addictively catchy blend of warbling keys, soft horns, and sugared piano, sees Rubblebucket’s singers in octave-stretched unison—one of their most unique vocal collaborations yet, as they attempted to copy each others’ inflections across over fifty takes. “You look exactly like a cherry blossom / life is full of paradoxes,” goes one triumphant verse by Toth; “It melds the object and the subject in a way that takes my breath away,” says Traver.
“Back in the day, Rubblebucket was so confusing for me,” explains Toth. “We’re interested in so many things musically. But to have no set bumpers is torturous.” Both artists agree that their extra-Rubblebucket outlets have allowed them to explore their tastes in a way that leaves them rejuvenated, better prepared for the singular beauty of their collaboration with one another. “The process, to me, is what the album is about. The songs are just an artifact,” Traver effuses. Earth Worship uses vibrant sound and glorious harmony to worship our planet and the people who live on it—in Rubblebucket’s world, those two concepts aren’t so different.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230127T223036Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1928 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230213T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230213T233000 UID:836E2D6F-9E88-4DB5-A51B-7FFB34B44F22 SUMMARY:Magic City Hippies DTSTAMP:20220926T163637Z DESCRIPTION:✨ A mosaic of poolside grooves and lingering, sun-kissed melodies ✨\NEst 2015, Miami FL\NMagic City Hippies is: Robby Hunter, Pat Howard, John Coughlin\NShades on and shirts unbuttoned, Magic City Hippies generate the kind of heat that could’ve powered a high seas yacht party in the seventies or shake a Coachella stage next summer. If the trio—Robby Hunter, Pat Howard, and John Coughlin—stepped off the screen from some long-lost Quentin Tarantino flick in slow-motion (instruments in hand), nobody would question it. Embracing everything from AM radio rock and poolside pop to nimble raps and salsa, they lock into an era-less vibe with no shortage of funk or hooks. The three-piece deliver the kind of bangers you can play on the way to the party, during the party, and to smooth over the comedown as the sun comes up.\NAs the guys so eloquently describe it, they “give people a choice to enjoy this on the surface level, feel funky in their bodies, and dance…or go deeper into the music.”\NAs legend has it, the origin of Magic City Hippies can be traced back to Robby’s days of permit-less busking in Miami. Eventually, Pat and John proved to be better accompaniment than his loop pedal, so the trio played regular bar gigs and built an audience locally. They formed as Robby Hunter Band, released the Magic City Hippies album, and adopted the title as their name. That LP gained traction in 2013 with syncs on The CW’s iZombie and Showtime’s Ray Donovan. On its heels, 2015’s Hippie Castle EP catalyzed their breakout as “Limestone” piled up over 20 million Spotify streams followed by “Fanfare” with another 19 million Spotify streams. They toured endlessly and moved crowds at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Hulaween, Okeechobee Fest, Electric Forest, and Austin City Limits, to name a few. Along the way, the band also picked up acclaim from Relix and OnesToWatch as they dropped the fan favorite Modern Animal in 2019. When the world shutdown, the boys settled in different parts of the country (Rob “doing his Johny Mayer thing” in Bozeman, MT, Pat in Los Angeles, CA, and John still in Miami). Remotely, they wrote an album’s worth of new songs. As things opened back up, the musicians put it all together in person, and began teasing out their new bounty to fans. During summer 2021 they released 5 singles, keeping their fans well fed with a slew of new auditory delights.\NArmed with singles such as “Queen,” the falsetto-spiked “High Beams” [feat. Nafets], “Diamond,” and “Water Your Garden” [feat. maye], Magic City Hippies are ready to heat up their next chapter now. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:✨ A mosaic of poolside grooves and lingering, sun-kissed melodies ✨
Est 2015, Miami FL
Magic City Hippies is: Robby Hunter, Pat Howard, John Coughlin
Shades on and shirts unbuttoned, Magic City Hippies generate the kind of heat that could’ve powered a high seas yacht party in the seventies or shake a Coachella stage next summer. If the trio—Robby Hunter, Pat Howard, and John Coughlin—stepped off the screen from some long-lost Quentin Tarantino flick in slow-motion (instruments in hand), nobody would question it. Embracing everything from AM radio rock and poolside pop to nimble raps and salsa, they lock into an era-less vibe with no shortage of funk or hooks. The three-piece deliver the kind of bangers you can play on the way to the party, during the party, and to smooth over the comedown as the sun comes up.
As the guys so eloquently describe it, they “give people a choice to enjoy this on the surface level, feel funky in their bodies, and dance…or go deeper into the music.”
As legend has it, the origin of Magic City Hippies can be traced back to Robby’s days of permit-less busking in Miami. Eventually, Pat and John proved to be better accompaniment than his loop pedal, so the trio played regular bar gigs and built an audience locally. They formed as Robby Hunter Band, released the Magic City Hippies album, and adopted the title as their name. That LP gained traction in 2013 with syncs on The CW’s iZombie and Showtime’s Ray Donovan. On its heels, 2015’s Hippie Castle EP catalyzed their breakout as “Limestone” piled up over 20 million Spotify streams followed by “Fanfare” with another 19 million Spotify streams. They toured endlessly and moved crowds at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Hulaween, Okeechobee Fest, Electric Forest, and Austin City Limits, to name a few. Along the way, the band also picked up acclaim from Relix and OnesToWatch as they dropped the fan favorite Modern Animal in 2019. When the world shutdown, the boys settled in different parts of the country (Rob “doing his Johny Mayer thing” in Bozeman, MT, Pat in Los Angeles, CA, and John still in Miami). Remotely, they wrote an album’s worth of new songs. As things opened back up, the musicians put it all together in person, and began teasing out their new bounty to fans. During summer 2021 they released 5 singles, keeping their fans well fed with a slew of new auditory delights.
Armed with singles such as “Queen,” the falsetto-spiked “High Beams” [feat. Nafets], “Diamond,” and “Water Your Garden” [feat. maye], Magic City Hippies are ready to heat up their next chapter now.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20220930T210105Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1618 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230214T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230214T223000 UID:4110985D-C224-4B7A-A996-795C2A67DC11 SUMMARY:Larkin Poe (RESCHEDULED) DTSTAMP:20230131T172842Z DESCRIPTION:REGARDING THE RESCHEDULE: all tickets for the original Larkin Poe date will be honored on February 14th. If the reschedule conflicts with your schedule, you may request a refund at the point of purchase until February 7th.\NThe latest full-length from Larkin Poe, Blood Harmony is a whole-hearted invitation into a world they know intimately, a Southern landscape so precisely conjured you can feel the sticky humidity of the warm summer air. In bringing their homeland to such rich and dazzling life, Georgia-bred multi-instrumentalist sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell fortify their storytelling with a blues-heavy sound that hits right in the heart, at turns stormy and sorrowful and wildly exhilarating. Rooted in the potent musicality the Nashville-based duo has brought to such widely lauded work as 2018’s Venom & Faith (a GRAMMY® Award nominee for Best Contemporary Blues Album), Blood Harmony affirms Larkin Poe as an essential force in shaping the identity of Southern rock-and-roll, breathing new energy into the genre with both forward-thinking perspective and a decidedly feminine strength.\N“We have such fond memories of our upbringing and experiencing the beauty of Southern hospitality in its truest form—it’s a very loving and inclusive energy,” says Rebecca, Larkin Poe’s lead vocalist/lyricist. “There’s an idea that we don’t walk alone, and that there’s safety in keeping your door open to anyone and everyone. What we try to share through our music is the emotional equivalent of opening your door to everyone and inviting them in for sweet tea.”\NIn a departure from the self-contained approach of past albums like 2020’s Self Made Man—a critically acclaimed LP praised by American Songwriter as “pumped up for arena-sized consumption without compromising any of its stripped-down command and intensity”—Larkin Poe co-produced Blood Harmony alongside Texas-bred musician Tyler Bryant (also Rebecca’s husband). “In the past we’ve taken a very intentional tact of self-reliance, but this time it felt right to open up the process while still keeping it a family affair,” says Rebecca. With Megan handling harmony vocals, lap steel, and resonator guitar and Rebecca on guitar and keys, Larkin Poe also enlisted members of their longtime live band, including drummer Kevin McGowan and bassist Tarka Layman. Mainly recorded at Rebecca and Tyler’s home studio, the result is an electrifying body of work that fully harnesses the fiery vitality they’ve shown in touring across the globe. “We spent a lot of time hashing everything out in pre-production, just the two of us, so that by the time we got to recording we’d already worked out all the details,” Megan recalls. “We didn’t want to end up stitching a bunch of takes together—we just wanted to get in there and make it as live and raw as possible.”\NOne of the first songs penned for Blood Harmony, “Southern Comfort” instantly set the tone for Larkin Poe’s finespun reflection on their heritage. With its soul-stirring harmonies and sharply detailed lyrics (“Blue jeans, leaning on a hot car/Broke every string on my old guitar”), the fiercely stomping track channels both gutsy determination and a homesick longing for days gone by. “That song partly came from thinking about our little aunts in Chattanooga,” Rebecca says. “It’s about rolling up as rock-and-roll musicians with tattoos on our arms, and they’d just sit us down and get out the pinto beans and collard greens and cornbread.” Another meditation on the preciousness of family, Blood Harmony’s smoldering title track celebrates a certain unbridled spirit passed down through generations. “‘Blood Harmony’ came together after Megan and our mom and I all read Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being, which is about the ways we perceive the passage of time,” says Rebecca. “There was just something about the sweetness of all three of us reading the same book, and then being able to talk about how it related to our love for each other and our love for music.” And on “Georgia Off My Mind,” the duo deliver a heavy-hearted yet swinging lament for what we leave behind in chasing our dreams. “Like 99 percent of my songs, that song came into being at my kitchen table late in the evening,” says Rebecca. “My husband and I stumbled into that line at the chorus—‘Tennessee keep Georgia off my mind’—and it turned into a love song for the stretch of I-24 that connects Atlanta and Nashville, which is a drive we’ve made thousands of times now.”\NAll throughout Blood Harmony, Larkin Poe imbue their songs with equal parts soulful sensitivity and thrilling ferocity—an element on full display in the feverish guitar work of “Bad Spell.” “Ever since I heard ‘I Put a Spell on You’ by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins for the first time I’ve wanted to write a female response to it,” says Rebecca. “I’d had the title ‘Bad Spell’ in my journal for years, and it was so fun to create a song where the riffs and guitar tones have that singular purpose of nastiness and swagger.” From the bare-bones frenzy of the album-opening “Deep Stays Down” to the euphoric bounce of “Kick the Blues” to the moody enchantment of “Lips As Cold As Diamond,” Blood Harmony reveals a band in complete touch with their formidable intuition. “We’ve always been tenacious about following our gut, and that’s really served us well,” says Megan. “With my playing on this record, I trusted my own process and my own voice more than I ever have before, and when I listen back it sounds so much more like me. There’s a lot of power in that.”\NA glorious testament to staying true to your instincts, Blood Harmony ultimately embodies a joyful empowerment that Larkin Poe hope to extend to their globe-spanning fanbase, including the close-knit community who call themselves Kinsiders. “They’re people who have maybe never met in the flesh but are still able to connect and commune, and they’re all so accepting of one another,” says Rebecca. “We always feel that very loving aura at our live shows, and we feel incredibly fortunate for that. It’s our highest and best purpose to be that connective tissue for others.”\N X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:REGARDING THE RESCHEDULE: all tickets for the original Larkin Poe date will be honored on February 14th. If the reschedule conflicts with your schedule, you may request a refund at the point of purchase until February 7th.
The latest full-length from Larkin Poe, Blood Harmony is a whole-hearted invitation into a world they know intimately, a Southern landscape so precisely conjured you can feel the sticky humidity of the warm summer air. In bringing their homeland to such rich and dazzling life, Georgia-bred multi-instrumentalist sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell fortify their storytelling with a blues-heavy sound that hits right in the heart, at turns stormy and sorrowful and wildly exhilarating. Rooted in the potent musicality the Nashville-based duo has brought to such widely lauded work as 2018’s Venom & Faith (a GRAMMY® Award nominee for Best Contemporary Blues Album), Blood Harmony affirms Larkin Poe as an essential force in shaping the identity of Southern rock-and-roll, breathing new energy into the genre with both forward-thinking perspective and a decidedly feminine strength.
“We have such fond memories of our upbringing and experiencing the beauty of Southern hospitality in its truest form—it’s a very loving and inclusive energy,” says Rebecca, Larkin Poe’s lead vocalist/lyricist. “There’s an idea that we don’t walk alone, and that there’s safety in keeping your door open to anyone and everyone. What we try to share through our music is the emotional equivalent of opening your door to everyone and inviting them in for sweet tea.”
In a departure from the self-contained approach of past albums like 2020’s Self Made Man—a critically acclaimed LP praised by American Songwriter as “pumped up for arena-sized consumption without compromising any of its stripped-down command and intensity”—Larkin Poe co-produced Blood Harmony alongside Texas-bred musician Tyler Bryant (also Rebecca’s husband). “In the past we’ve taken a very intentional tact of self-reliance, but this time it felt right to open up the process while still keeping it a family affair,” says Rebecca. With Megan handling harmony vocals, lap steel, and resonator guitar and Rebecca on guitar and keys, Larkin Poe also enlisted members of their longtime live band, including drummer Kevin McGowan and bassist Tarka Layman. Mainly recorded at Rebecca and Tyler’s home studio, the result is an electrifying body of work that fully harnesses the fiery vitality they’ve shown in touring across the globe. “We spent a lot of time hashing everything out in pre-production, just the two of us, so that by the time we got to recording we’d already worked out all the details,” Megan recalls. “We didn’t want to end up stitching a bunch of takes together—we just wanted to get in there and make it as live and raw as possible.”
One of the first songs penned for Blood Harmony, “Southern Comfort” instantly set the tone for Larkin Poe’s finespun reflection on their heritage. With its soul-stirring harmonies and sharply detailed lyrics (“Blue jeans, leaning on a hot car/Broke every string on my old guitar”), the fiercely stomping track channels both gutsy determination and a homesick longing for days gone by. “That song partly came from thinking about our little aunts in Chattanooga,” Rebecca says. “It’s about rolling up as rock-and-roll musicians with tattoos on our arms, and they’d just sit us down and get out the pinto beans and collard greens and cornbread.” Another meditation on the preciousness of family, Blood Harmony’s smoldering title track celebrates a certain unbridled spirit passed down through generations. “‘Blood Harmony’ came together after Megan and our mom and I all read Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being, which is about the ways we perceive the passage of time,” says Rebecca. “There was just something about the sweetness of all three of us reading the same book, and then being able to talk about how it related to our love for each other and our love for music.” And on “Georgia Off My Mind,” the duo deliver a heavy-hearted yet swinging lament for what we leave behind in chasing our dreams. “Like 99 percent of my songs, that song came into being at my kitchen table late in the evening,” says Rebecca. “My husband and I stumbled into that line at the chorus—‘Tennessee keep Georgia off my mind’—and it turned into a love song for the stretch of I-24 that connects Atlanta and Nashville, which is a drive we’ve made thousands of times now.”
All throughout Blood Harmony, Larkin Poe imbue their songs with equal parts soulful sensitivity and thrilling ferocity—an element on full display in the feverish guitar work of “Bad Spell.” “Ever since I heard ‘I Put a Spell on You’ by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins for the first time I’ve wanted to write a female response to it,” says Rebecca. “I’d had the title ‘Bad Spell’ in my journal for years, and it was so fun to create a song where the riffs and guitar tones have that singular purpose of nastiness and swagger.” From the bare-bones frenzy of the album-opening “Deep Stays Down” to the euphoric bounce of “Kick the Blues” to the moody enchantment of “Lips As Cold As Diamond,” Blood Harmony reveals a band in complete touch with their formidable intuition. “We’ve always been tenacious about following our gut, and that’s really served us well,” says Megan. “With my playing on this record, I trusted my own process and my own voice more than I ever have before, and when I listen back it sounds so much more like me. There’s a lot of power in that.”
A glorious testament to staying true to your instincts, Blood Harmony ultimately embodies a joyful empowerment that Larkin Poe hope to extend to their globe-spanning fanbase, including the close-knit community who call themselves Kinsiders. “They’re people who have maybe never met in the flesh but are still able to connect and commune, and they’re all so accepting of one another,” says Rebecca. “We always feel that very loving aura at our live shows, and we feel incredibly fortunate for that. It’s our highest and best purpose to be that connective tissue for others.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230202T060856Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:857 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230224T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230224T233000 UID:4FEAEE6C-01B9-4C94-98F7-12C21AF66BE0 SUMMARY:Ingrid Andress DTSTAMP:20221113T022345Z DESCRIPTION:3x GRAMMY nominated singer-songwriter Ingrid Andress digs deeper than ever before to explore the dark and the light within us all on her highly anticipated sophomore album, Good Person, available everywhere now. On each of the 13 tracks, all co-produced and co-written by Andress, she returns to the reflection and confession at the core of her songwriting and plumbs even deeper. Having gone through two years that were transformational in every way and triumphing in the face of some unprecedented career-obstacles, Andress knew that the best way forward was a brave willingness to be even more truthful and real. Along the way, she also found that changes were happening in her personal life and that the songs were actually leading the way, revealing emotions she wasn’t fully aware of yet. She pushed for bold, experimental sounds that blended banjos with vocoders; swung from sweeping orchestration to spare, acoustic-based arrangements; and showcased previously unexplored parts of her vocal range. Good Person follows her triumphant 2020 debut, Lady Like, named “one of the year’s strongest albums” by Associated Press. It became one of Billboard’s Top 10 Best Country Albums of the year and set the record as the highest streaming country female debut album of all time upon release. In addition to the Gold-certified title track, Lady Like also features her multi-platinum No. 1 radio single “More Hearts Than Mine,” which made history as the only debut single from a solo female artist to break the Top 20 on country radio in 2019. The album was up for Best Country Album at the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards in addition to Andress’ nominations for Best Country Song and Best New Artist, making her the only country artist to be nominated in a “Big Four” category. After recently wrapping tour with Keith Urban for his “The Speed of Now World Tour,” Andress reached #1 at country radio with her Platinum-certified current single, “Wishful Drinking (feat. Sam Hunt).” In addition, Andress celebrates the impressive milestone of surpassing one billion total career streams worldwide while gearing up for global headline run beginning February 2023. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:
3x GRAMMY nominated singer-songwriter Ingrid Andress digs deeper than ever before to explore the dark and the light within us all on her highly anticipated sophomore album, Good Person, available everywhere now. On each of the 13 tracks, all co-produced and co-written by Andress, she returns to the reflection and confession at the core of her songwriting and plumbs even deeper. Having gone through two years that were transformational in every way and triumphing in the face of some unprecedented career-obstacles, Andress knew that the best way forward was a brave willingness to be even more truthful and real. Along the way, she also found that changes were happening in her personal life and that the songs were actually leading the way, revealing emotions she wasn’t fully aware of yet. She pushed for bold, experimental sounds that blended banjos with vocoders; swung from sweeping orchestration to spare, acoustic-based arrangements; and showcased previously unexplored parts of her vocal range.
Good Person follows her triumphant 2020 debut, Lady Like, named “one of the year’s strongest albums” by Associated Press. It became one of Billboard’s Top 10 Best Country Albums of the year and set the record as the highest streaming country female debut album of all time upon release. In addition to the Gold-certified title track, Lady Like also features her multi-platinum No. 1 radio single “More Hearts Than Mine,” which made history as the only debut single from a solo female artist to break the Top 20 on country radio in 2019. The album was up for Best Country Album at the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards in addition to Andress’ nominations for Best Country Song and Best New Artist, making her the only country artist to be nominated in a “Big Four” category.
After recently wrapping tour with Keith Urban for his “The Speed of Now World Tour,” Andress reached #1 at country radio with her Platinum-certified current single, “Wishful Drinking (feat. Sam Hunt).” In addition, Andress celebrates the impressive milestone of surpassing one billion total career streams worldwide while gearing up for global headline run beginning February 2023.
For Thee Sacred Souls, the first time is often the charm. The band’s first club dates led to a record deal with the revered Daptone label; their first singles racked up more than ten million streams in a year and garnered attention from Billboard, Rolling Stone, and KCRW; and their first fans included the likes of Gary Clark Jr., The Black Pumas, Princess Nokia, and Timbaland. Now, the breakout San Diego trio is ready to deliver yet another landmark first with the release of their highly anticipated, self-titled debut.
“Every step of the way has just been so organic,” says drummer Alex Garcia. “Things just seem to happen naturally when the three of us get together.”
Indeed, there’s something inevitable about the sound of Thee Sacred Souls, as if these ageless songs of love and loss have somehow always existed, as if Garcia and his bandmates—bassist Sal Samano and singer Josh Lane—have been playing together for a lifetime already. Produced by Bosco Mann (aka Daptone co-founder Gabriel Roth), the record is warm and textured, mixing the easygoing grace of sweet ’60s soul with the grit and groove of early ’70s R&B, and the performances are utterly intoxicating, with Lane’s weightless vocals anchored by the rhythm section’s deep pocket and infectious chemistry. Hints of Chicano, Philly, Chicago, Memphis, and even Panama soul turn up in their music, and while it’s tempting to toss around labels like “retro” and “vintage” with a deliberately analog collection like this, there’s also something distinctly modern about the band that defies easy categorization, a rawness and a sincerity that transcends time and place.
“I think we found the best of both worlds with this band,” says Lane. “We get to be innovative and honest and challenge ourselves as artists, but we also get to dig deep and pay homage to the foundational stuff that helped shape us.”
It was that shared love and respect for the foundations of soul that brought the band together in the first place. Launched in 2019, the group began with Garcia and Samano, who bonded over their similar experiences growing up in southern California and a mutual affinity for record collecting. While Samano didn’t pick up the bass until he’d already graduated from high school, Garcia had spent much of his teenage years obsessing over guitar and drums and teaching himself how to record on an old Tascam tape machine, and the pair’s mix of technical know-how and innate curiosity proved to be an ideal match. All they needed was a singer.
“I remember coming across Josh on Instagram,” says Garcia, “and I thought he could be a good fit even though he was doing something a little different. We invited him to come to a rehearsal with us, and he just came up with these great lyrics and melodies right on the spot. We knew he was the guy after one take.”
Joining a group like Thee Sacred Souls wasn’t an obvious move for Lane, though. A Sacramento native, he’d fallen in love with music through the church and studied classical voice in college, where he sang everything from French arias to Italian opera. When he moved to San Diego in 2017, he planned on becoming a solo artist, and his ambitions skewed more toward dreampop and chillwave than the old school soul sounds Garcia and Samano were cooking up.
“I grew up with a lot of the classic references like Al Green and Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield,” Lane recalls, “but I always just thought I’d sprinkle little bits of that into whatever I ended up doing. When I met these guys, though, they introduced me to deep soul and lowrider stuff like Thee Midniters, and that really opened things up.”
Performing live as a seven-piece (the core trio plus guitar, keys, and two backup vocalists), the band generated a local buzz almost immediately, which put them on Mann’s radar and led them into his Riverside, CA, studio. At the time, Mann was planning to launch a new Daptone imprint named Penrose Records, and Thee Sacred Souls were an obvious fit for the label’s inaugural release.
“They had a sound that caught my ear right away,” says Mann. “The combination of Sal and Alex’s taste and touch in the rhythm section with Josh’s masterful sense of voice and melody was just so fresh. I knew they could make an album that would blow some minds.”
The band more than delivers on that promise with Thee Sacred Souls, which opens with the mesmerizing lead single “Can I Call You Rose?” With lyrics penned on the spot by Lane during his first rehearsal with the group, the track is a silky slice of pure romance and an ideal entry point into the group’s timeless sound. Like much of the album, it’s a bittersweet meditation on matters of the heart and the primacy of love, one fueled by lush horns, velvety vocals, and an impossibly smooth rhythm section. The unhurried “Lady Love” tips its cap to the South Side of Chicago as it reckons with forgiveness and second chances, while the doo-wop tinged “It’s Overflowing” draws on both classic Chicano soul and Jamaican rocksteady music in its pledges of devotion, and the nakedly sensual “Future Lover” flips the band’s lineup on its head as it revels in the highs of infatuation.
“For a lot of songs, Alex writes the instrumental and demos them out at home,” says Samano, “but ‘Future Lover’ actually grew out of an after-practice jam session one day where we all switched instruments. I was on drums, Alex was on guitar, our guitarist was playing bass, and it all just clicked into place as soon as Josh started singing.”
The album’s vocals—both Lane’s beguiling leads and the collection’s airy female backups—serve as the glue that often binds these tracks together, imbuing the hypnotic arrangements with an undeniable sense of emotional urgency. The restless “Weak For Your Love” highlights Lane’s dazzling falsetto; the charming “Easier Said Than Done” complements his laidback delivery with a wordless counter melody; and the lilting “Trade Of Hearts”—a duet with vocalist Jensine Benitez—even brings Garcia and Samano in for call-and-response lines. But perhaps it’s the bittersweet “Sorrow For Tomorrow” that best showcases the breadth of Lane’s range as he shifts effortlessly between mellifluous vocal runs and semi-spoken passages all about loss and healing, growth and forgiveness, longing and regret.
“That song is basically permission to cry,” says Lane. “It’s a reminder that it’s okay to be open to pain and not to feel like your emotions are a burden or make you any less of a man.”
Ultimately, that’s what Thee Sacred Souls is all about: not just accepting our emotions, but embracing them as a beautiful and fundamental piece of the human experience. It can be difficult, no doubt about it, but as with everything else they do, Thee Sacred Souls make it look easy.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230124T000758Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1473 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230303T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230303T233000 UID:A0223B7D-F659-45C2-A322-7458B8851127 SUMMARY:The Motet (Night 1) DTSTAMP:20221115T091810Z DESCRIPTION:Since 1998, The Motet have inspired the world with their unique style of dance music. Over the course of nine full-length albums, they’ve traversed the lines between funk, soul, jazz, and rock and built a diehard audience in the process. They’ve headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre six times and sold out countless legendary venues coast-to-coast. In addition to racking up nearly 20 million total streams and views, they’ve also garnered widespread acclaim from numerous publications including Relix, Glide Magazine, and AXS. The band has also graced the stages of festivals such as Bonnaroo, Bottlerock, Electric Forest, Bumbershoot, Summer Camp, and High Sierra. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:
Since 1998, The Motet have inspired the world with their unique style of dance music. Over the course of nine full-length albums, they’ve traversed the lines between funk, soul, jazz, and rock and built a diehard audience in the process. They’ve headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre six times and sold out countless legendary venues coast-to-coast. In addition to racking up nearly 20 million total streams and views, they’ve also garnered widespread acclaim from numerous publications including Relix, Glide Magazine, and AXS. The band has also graced the stages of festivals such as Bonnaroo, Bottlerock, Electric Forest, Bumbershoot, Summer Camp, and High Sierra.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230104T201033Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2015 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230304T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230304T233000 UID:8AD21400-7257-4385-BA7A-85E10A196D87 SUMMARY:The Motet (Night 2) DTSTAMP:20221115T155621Z DESCRIPTION:Since 1998, The Motet have inspired the world with their unique style of dance music. Over the course of nine full-length albums, they’ve traversed the lines between funk, soul, jazz, and rock and built a diehard audience in the process. They’ve headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre six times and sold out countless legendary venues coast-to-coast. In addition to racking up nearly 20 million total streams and views, they’ve also garnered widespread acclaim from numerous publications including Relix, Glide Magazine, and AXS. The band has also graced the stages of festivals such as Bonnaroo, Bottlerock, Electric Forest, Bumbershoot, Summer Camp, and High Sierra. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Since 1998, The Motet have inspired the world with their unique style of dance music. Over the course of nine full-length albums, they’ve traversed the lines between funk, soul, jazz, and rock and built a diehard audience in the process. They’ve headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre six times and sold out countless legendary venues coast-to-coast. In addition to racking up nearly 20 million total streams and views, they’ve also garnered widespread acclaim from numerous publications including Relix, Glide Magazine, and AXS. The band has also graced the stages of festivals such as Bonnaroo, Bottlerock, Electric Forest, Bumbershoot, Summer Camp, and High Sierra.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230104T201046Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1271 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230308T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230308T233000 UID:0463C28F-E76B-45CC-A2FF-4FA247A2C534 SUMMARY:Twiddle DTSTAMP:20221128T215725Z DESCRIPTION:Every Last Leaf , the fifth full-length studio album from Vermont quartet Twiddle, is a bold exploration of the cyclical nature of life. Propelled by constant evolution in its 18 years touring, the band —Mihali Savoulidis [vocals, guitar], Ryan Dempsey [keys, organ, synth], Brook Jordan [drums], and Zdenek Gubb [bass], welcomes a musical rebirth, leaning heavily on enigmatically stoic songwriting in lieu of the affably saccharine. Longtime listeners can expect an elevated presentation of Twiddle’s trademark sound, delicately orbiting the worlds of funk, jazz, rock, reggae, and bluegrass.\N“Every Last Leaf is a metaphor for life,” Mihali explains. “When a leaf falls to the ground, something will grow from it. Everything is part of this grand circle. In the music, we’re exploring all of life’s sides—from the sad and angry to the proud and happy.”\NKnown for jaw-dropping live performances, the group has repeatedly sold out some of the most legendary venues in the world, including Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Capitol Theatre. Plus, they’ve ignited festivals such as Bonnaroo and Electric Forest in addition to launching and headlining their own annual extravaganza Tumble Down Festival. Along the way, they have built a powerful catalog highlighted by the 2017 double-disc epic Plump (Chapters 1 & 2). Thus far, they’ve also gathered over 100 million streams and counting. Throughout 2021, Twiddle wrote and recorded Every Last Leaf. For the first time, they teamed up with producer Clint Bierman behind-the-board, recording in Sugar Shack, Mihali’s home studio, and Clint’s own spot.\N“It was a blast,” smiles Mihali. “Having a good time was important to all of us. It was more relaxed with a lot less pressure. We’d never worked with a producer before. We tried it out with Clint, vibed with him, and went with it. We expanded the sound and added a lot of layers. There are also three- and four-part vocal harmonies, which we’ve never really done in the past. It was a different process.”\NIn the end, Twiddle have creatively found their way on Every Last Leaf.\N“When you listen to this, I hope you experience the beauty we did,” he leaves off. “If you feel anything at all, mission accomplished. There are a lot of moments on this album that tie up the elements of life. It’s real.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Every Last Leaf , the fifth full-length studio album from Vermont quartet Twiddle, is a bold exploration of the cyclical nature of life. Propelled by constant evolution in its 18 years touring, the band —Mihali Savoulidis [vocals, guitar], Ryan Dempsey [keys, organ, synth], Brook Jordan [drums], and Zdenek Gubb [bass], welcomes a musical rebirth, leaning heavily on enigmatically stoic songwriting in lieu of the affably saccharine. Longtime listeners can expect an elevated presentation of Twiddle’s trademark sound, delicately orbiting the worlds of funk, jazz, rock, reggae, and bluegrass.
“Every Last Leaf is a metaphor for life,” Mihali explains. “When a leaf falls to the ground, something will grow from it. Everything is part of this grand circle. In the music, we’re exploring all of life’s sides—from the sad and angry to the proud and happy.”
Known for jaw-dropping live performances, the group has repeatedly sold out some of the most legendary venues in the world, including Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Capitol Theatre. Plus, they’ve ignited festivals such as Bonnaroo and Electric Forest in addition to launching and headlining their own annual extravaganza Tumble Down Festival. Along the way, they have built a powerful catalog highlighted by the 2017 double-disc epic Plump (Chapters 1 & 2). Thus far, they’ve also gathered over 100 million streams and counting. Throughout 2021, Twiddle wrote and recorded Every Last Leaf. For the first time, they teamed up with producer Clint Bierman behind-the-board, recording in Sugar Shack, Mihali’s home studio, and Clint’s own spot.
“It was a blast,” smiles Mihali. “Having a good time was important to all of us. It was more relaxed with a lot less pressure. We’d never worked with a producer before. We tried it out with Clint, vibed with him, and went with it. We expanded the sound and added a lot of layers. There are also three- and four-part vocal harmonies, which we’ve never really done in the past. It was a different process.”
In the end, Twiddle have creatively found their way on Every Last Leaf.
“When you listen to this, I hope you experience the beauty we did,” he leaves off. “If you feel anything at all, mission accomplished. There are a lot of moments on this album that tie up the elements of life. It’s real.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230307T163812Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1493 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230310T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230310T233000 UID:8FB33AD8-B4D5-4CDA-B272-ADD67D5CBC44 SUMMARY:Jackie Greene DTSTAMP:20230117T182815Z DESCRIPTION:Americana and roots singer-songwriter Jackie Greene is a jack-of-all-trades, and an artist who can croon over soulful piano ballads as much as he can shred a bluesy guitar solo (like he did as the lead guitarist for The Black Crowes in 2013). A road warrior and musician's musician, Greene's new EP 'The Modern Lives - Vol 2' (out October 2018 on Blue Rose Music) finds him at a new chapter in his life: his first months of fatherhood, time off his relentless touring circuit, and a cross-country move from Brooklyn to his birthplace of Northern California.\NThis new collection of six original songs is a thematic extension of 'The Modern Lives - Vol 1' EP (released in 2017 on Blue Rose Music), imbued with a Brooklyn basement DIY feel and ethos. He is a student of American music, transfixed upon its progression through time, as well as how regional sounds fit in a contemporary context. Whereas 'Vol 1' saw Greene experiment with the Delta blues as a canvas for his examinations of modern society, 'Vol 2' sees Greene embrace the sounds of the bluegrass and folk tapes of his youth.\NLead single "Crazy Comes Easy" showcases Greene's dynamic, multi-instrumental range as he plays slide guitar, organ, bass, and percussion, the guitar licks an appreciative nod to his time in The Black Crowes. Meanwhile, "Good Old Bad Times" highlights Greene as the songwriter as he rattles off lines like "How can somebody find a future? / If they ain't got a foothold in the past?" while taking a critical eye to the idea of nostalgia. Piano ballad "Victim Of The Crime" was one of Jackie's oldest demos up until the feel of these sessions gave him the tools to finish a song that, in his words, was written for his wife before she was his wife. While the title possesses a kind of melodrama, the song itself is tender and heartfelt as he details love's trials and tribulations.\NGreene partnered with Academy Award-nominated "king of indie animation" Bill Plympton for a series of music videos for 'The Modern Lives - Vol 1' that would eventually become an animated short film titled 'The Modern Lives'. The film is currently making the rounds at film festivals where it has already won the Jury Award at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, TX, and the Grand Remi Award / Best in Show at WorldFest in Houstin, TX. The short is also being exhibited at the 71st Festival de Cannes/Court Metrage, Melbourne International Animation Festival, and ASIFA-East Festival, amongst others. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Americana and roots singer-songwriter Jackie Greene is a jack-of-all-trades, and an artist who can croon over soulful piano ballads as much as he can shred a bluesy guitar solo (like he did as the lead guitarist for The Black Crowes in 2013). A road warrior and musician's musician, Greene's new EP 'The Modern Lives - Vol 2' (out October 2018 on Blue Rose Music) finds him at a new chapter in his life: his first months of fatherhood, time off his relentless touring circuit, and a cross-country move from Brooklyn to his birthplace of Northern California.
This new collection of six original songs is a thematic extension of 'The Modern Lives - Vol 1' EP (released in 2017 on Blue Rose Music), imbued with a Brooklyn basement DIY feel and ethos. He is a student of American music, transfixed upon its progression through time, as well as how regional sounds fit in a contemporary context. Whereas 'Vol 1' saw Greene experiment with the Delta blues as a canvas for his examinations of modern society, 'Vol 2' sees Greene embrace the sounds of the bluegrass and folk tapes of his youth.
Lead single "Crazy Comes Easy" showcases Greene's dynamic, multi-instrumental range as he plays slide guitar, organ, bass, and percussion, the guitar licks an appreciative nod to his time in The Black Crowes. Meanwhile, "Good Old Bad Times" highlights Greene as the songwriter as he rattles off lines like "How can somebody find a future? / If they ain't got a foothold in the past?" while taking a critical eye to the idea of nostalgia. Piano ballad "Victim Of The Crime" was one of Jackie's oldest demos up until the feel of these sessions gave him the tools to finish a song that, in his words, was written for his wife before she was his wife. While the title possesses a kind of melodrama, the song itself is tender and heartfelt as he details love's trials and tribulations.
Greene partnered with Academy Award-nominated "king of indie animation" Bill Plympton for a series of music videos for 'The Modern Lives - Vol 1' that would eventually become an animated short film titled 'The Modern Lives'. The film is currently making the rounds at film festivals where it has already won the Jury Award at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, TX, and the Grand Remi Award / Best in Show at WorldFest in Houstin, TX. The short is also being exhibited at the 71st Festival de Cannes/Court Metrage, Melbourne International Animation Festival, and ASIFA-East Festival, amongst others.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230307T192120Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1509 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230315T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230315T233000 UID:B1BFB35B-936C-4BE4-A5D4-20937FAAE086 SUMMARY:Morgan Wade DTSTAMP:20220926T170411Z DESCRIPTION:Morgan Wade didn’t write to be a sensation, for critical acclaim or massive concert tours. She wrote to speak her truth, to save her own life – and perhaps throw a rope to others struggling with the weight of a world moving too fast, loves where you fall too hard and nights that, good or bad, seem to go on forever. A Blue Ridge Mountain girl willing to put her whole truth out there as an artist without flinching – and as a performer who gives it all away onstage – Wade has a voice The FADER lauds is “like a jagged blade, sharp enough to draw blood but lustrous under the light” while The New York Times declares “she sounds like she’s singing from the depths of history.” The old soul writer understands chaos, compulsion and letting go in a way most people will never experience; with her songs, she brings listeners inside the rollercoaster ride of euphoria, emptiness and exile with a soft touch and deep truth. With her unabashed debut album Reckless, she landed on various Best Album and Songs of 2021 rankings from TIME, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Stereogum, The FADER, Tennessean, Boston Globe, and more. Produced by Jason Isbell + the 400 Unit guitarist Sadler Vaden and Paul Ebersold, the trio worked to create a song cycle that pulled the lean rock of Tom Petty through a modern take on country -- and achieved a No. 1 on SiriusXM The Highway’s Top 30 Countdown with debut single “Wilder Days.” Having reached radio’s Top 30 with the acoustic guitar-driven track, Reckless (Deluxe Edition), available now, expands the conversation with six additional tracks, including a scalding, heart beating read on Elvis’ Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” and desperate “The Night” – Wade’s first release. Having toured with Lucero last fall, she joins Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Brooks & Dunn, and more on the road throughout 2022. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Morgan Wade didn’t write to be a sensation, for critical acclaim or massive concert tours. She wrote to speak her truth, to save her own life – and perhaps throw a rope to others struggling with the weight of a world moving too fast, loves where you fall too hard and nights that, good or bad, seem to go on forever. A Blue Ridge Mountain girl willing to put her whole truth out there as an artist without flinching – and as a performer who gives it all away onstage – Wade has a voice The FADER lauds is “like a jagged blade, sharp enough to draw blood but lustrous under the light” while The New York Times declares “she sounds like she’s singing from the depths of history.” The old soul writer understands chaos, compulsion and letting go in a way most people will never experience; with her songs, she brings listeners inside the rollercoaster ride of euphoria, emptiness and exile with a soft touch and deep truth. With her unabashed debut album Reckless, she landed on various Best Album and Songs of 2021 rankings from TIME, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Stereogum, The FADER, Tennessean, Boston Globe, and more. Produced by Jason Isbell + the 400 Unit guitarist Sadler Vaden and Paul Ebersold, the trio worked to create a song cycle that pulled the lean rock of Tom Petty through a modern take on country -- and achieved a No. 1 on SiriusXM The Highway’s Top 30 Countdown with debut single “Wilder Days.” Having reached radio’s Top 30 with the acoustic guitar-driven track, Reckless (Deluxe Edition), available now, expands the conversation with six additional tracks, including a scalding, heart beating read on Elvis’ Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” and desperate “The Night” – Wade’s first release. Having toured with Lucero last fall, she joins Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Brooks & Dunn, and more on the road throughout 2022.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221003T192934Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2055 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230316T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230316T233000 UID:1B035CDC-7B9A-40F5-8E89-09368F29BE7D SUMMARY:Paolo Nutini DTSTAMP:20221114T160630Z DESCRIPTION:For the past six years, Paolo Nutini has been learning how to speak his own language. After touring 2014’s Caustic Love, his second UK #1 on the bounce and his biggest chart success to date in the US, Paolo found, in the gap between his late 20s and early 30s, that he’d assembled a musical vocabulary that he hadn’t put into proper use in his own work to that point.\NLast Night In The Bittersweet is an album of reframed experiences and rewired iconography, where the lurid colours of a neon motel sign or a snatch of dialogue from a movie can mean as much as a heartfelt plea or wrenching goodbye. It combines Can-style motorik rock songs with squalling mini-epics and self-contained, hook-driven cuts best described with heavy labels like Motown or Stiff or Sun.\NWitness the Steve Nieve skronk of the organ on Petrified in Love, or the layers and layers of sound that ricochet off Lose It’s propulsive core—driven on by Paolo’s writing utensil of choice, a bass guitar—before it explodes into life with the three minute mark in sight, like Tina Turner taking Jaki Liebezeit’s seamless drumming as an invitation to get all the way out there.\NThen there's sequences such as Through The Echoes, perhaps the most straightforwardly beautiful and affecting song in Paolo’s catalogue: there are flecks of Sam Cooke here, but it’s not some sort of calculated grab at the permanence of those sounds. “I love you, like a song,” he sings during Everywhere, and that’s the truth, as plain as he can say it. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:For the past six years, Paolo Nutini has been learning how to speak his own language. After touring 2014’s Caustic Love, his second UK #1 on the bounce and his biggest chart success to date in the US, Paolo found, in the gap between his late 20s and early 30s, that he’d assembled a musical vocabulary that he hadn’t put into proper use in his own work to that point.
Last Night In The Bittersweet is an album of reframed experiences and rewired iconography, where the lurid colours of a neon motel sign or a snatch of dialogue from a movie can mean as much as a heartfelt plea or wrenching goodbye. It combines Can-style motorik rock songs with squalling mini-epics and self-contained, hook-driven cuts best described with heavy labels like Motown or Stiff or Sun.
Witness the Steve Nieve skronk of the organ on Petrified in Love, or the layers and layers of sound that ricochet off Lose It’s propulsive core—driven on by Paolo’s writing utensil of choice, a bass guitar—before it explodes into life with the three minute mark in sight, like Tina Turner taking Jaki Liebezeit’s seamless drumming as an invitation to get all the way out there.
Then there's sequences such as Through The Echoes, perhaps the most straightforwardly beautiful and affecting song in Paolo’s catalogue: there are flecks of Sam Cooke here, but it’s not some sort of calculated grab at the permanence of those sounds. “I love you, like a song,” he sings during Everywhere, and that’s the truth, as plain as he can say it.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230313T193736Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1841 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230318T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230318T233000 UID:1EA36822-69E9-4184-A113-EC8EB41085BF SUMMARY:The Great Mountain Groove ft. Pixie & The Partygrass Boys, The Sweet Lillies, and Sicard Hollow DTSTAMP:20230110T204839Z DESCRIPTION:CHARLESTON, SC – Since Blues Traveler and Col. Bruce Hampton’s Aquarium Rescue Unit put on the H.O.R.D.E tour in the nineties, jam bands have been drawn towards joining forces to bring their festival energy to their respective fans’ backyards. In the same vein, Tennessee’s Sicard Hollow, Utah’s Pixie & the Partygrass Boys, and Colorado’s Sweet Lillies are packing up the Americana caravan to bring the next generation of progressive bluegrass to 21 stages across the U.S. this winter on The Great Mountain Groove. Americana & progressive bluegrass artists have had a big couple years as the American zeitgeist starts to accept a re-branded version of traditional country music. Acts like Taylor Swift, Margo Price, and Sturgill Simpson have reminded the masses of how powerful stripped-down folk music can be, but the future is in the bands that can do it with infectious energy. This is the concept that The Great Mountain Groove is bringing on the road this winter with these musicians.\NWhile it’s no secret that the post-pandemic music industry has resulted in numerous unforeseen barriers that keep up-and-coming acts from sustaining themselves on the road, Pixie & the Partygrass Boys, The Sweet Lillies, and Sicard Hollow started to discuss among themselves how to navigate these barriers before the answer became obvious— they do it together.\NIn the spirit of H.O.R.D.E and other recent tours that have seen bands teaming up on an even level with their counterparts, these three acts from across the country figured the best way to play to each other's audiences is to play together. This tour does not have your typical “headliner” and “support.” These bands have put ego aside to come together in the spirit of music to help each other thrive in this ever changing landscape. Fans might be surprised when they’re left wondering who plays when - and in many cases, who plays with who! Nashville’s psychedelic punk-grass rockers, Sicard Hollow, grew up sick of any existing institution telling them who and what to be. Now, as they navigate adulthood, they’re equally tired of the music institutions telling them what their music should sound like—so they dunked it in patchouli and a skate-and-destroy ethos that brings an enduring sound into the modern age. Hailed as “the hottest band in the Wasatch,” Pixie and The Partygrass Boys is composed of lifelong professional musicians drawn together by a common love of chickens, bluegrass and skiing (& partying). Featuring powerful and soulful, often harmonic vocals and a tight section of strings and rhythm, this tight-knit crew was born out of the belly of a warm cabin after a long day on the slopes - drinking whiskey and singing into the night. With a high energy sound and a love for silly outfits, they travel the land spreading the gospel of whiskey, chickens, and fun for everyone.\NThe Sweet Lillies' music is hard hitting, dynamic, heartfelt and collaborative. The quartet combines their individual strengths to deliver powerful narratives in song. Drums, guitar, viola, and upright bass give the Sweet Lillies' music an original sound that ranges from old time to hip hop to Rock'n'Roll and everything in between. The Sweet Lillies have incorporated all of their cumulative life-experiences into their music, their song-writing, and their artistry, crafting an uncommonly-beautiful style they refer to as jamgrass americana with a nod to the band’s all encompassing musical tastes and willingness to experiment with genres. As Gussaroff explains, “Some musicians learn from teachers, some learn from family members, and some are self taught. Some musicians are classically trained, some come up through folk, some draw from multiple springs, from hip hop through pop to bebop. In the Lillies' all of these skill sets are valuable, relevant, and appreciated.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:CHARLESTON, SC – Since Blues Traveler and Col. Bruce Hampton’s Aquarium Rescue Unit put on the H.O.R.D.E tour in the nineties, jam bands have been drawn towards joining forces to bring their festival energy to their respective fans’ backyards. In the same vein, Tennessee’s Sicard Hollow, Utah’s Pixie & the Partygrass Boys, and Colorado’s Sweet Lillies are packing up the Americana caravan to bring the next generation of progressive bluegrass to 21 stages across the U.S. this winter on The Great Mountain Groove. Americana & progressive bluegrass artists have had a big couple years as the American zeitgeist starts to accept a re-branded version of traditional country music. Acts like Taylor Swift, Margo Price, and Sturgill Simpson have reminded the masses of how powerful stripped-down folk music can be, but the future is in the bands that can do it with infectious energy. This is the concept that The Great Mountain Groove is bringing on the road this winter with these musicians.
While it’s no secret that the post-pandemic music industry has resulted in numerous unforeseen barriers that keep up-and-coming acts from sustaining themselves on the road, Pixie & the Partygrass Boys, The Sweet Lillies, and Sicard Hollow started to discuss among themselves how to navigate these barriers before the answer became obvious— they do it together.
In the spirit of H.O.R.D.E and other recent tours that have seen bands teaming up on an even level with their counterparts, these three acts from across the country figured the best way to play to each other's audiences is to play together. This tour does not have your typical “headliner” and “support.” These bands have put ego aside to come together in the spirit of music to help each other thrive in this ever changing landscape. Fans might be surprised when they’re left wondering who plays when - and in many cases, who plays with who! Nashville’s psychedelic punk-grass rockers, Sicard Hollow, grew up sick of any existing institution telling them who and what to be. Now, as they navigate adulthood, they’re equally tired of the music institutions telling them what their music should sound like—so they dunked it in patchouli and a skate-and-destroy ethos that brings an enduring sound into the modern age. Hailed as “the hottest band in the Wasatch,” Pixie and The Partygrass Boys is composed of lifelong professional musicians drawn together by a common love of chickens, bluegrass and skiing (& partying). Featuring powerful and soulful, often harmonic vocals and a tight section of strings and rhythm, this tight-knit crew was born out of the belly of a warm cabin after a long day on the slopes - drinking whiskey and singing into the night. With a high energy sound and a love for silly outfits, they travel the land spreading the gospel of whiskey, chickens, and fun for everyone.
The Sweet Lillies' music is hard hitting, dynamic, heartfelt and collaborative. The quartet combines their individual strengths to deliver powerful narratives in song. Drums, guitar, viola, and upright bass give the Sweet Lillies' music an original sound that ranges from old time to hip hop to Rock'n'Roll and everything in between. The Sweet Lillies have incorporated all of their cumulative life-experiences into their music, their song-writing, and their artistry, crafting an uncommonly-beautiful style they refer to as jamgrass americana with a nod to the band’s all encompassing musical tastes and willingness to experiment with genres. As Gussaroff explains, “Some musicians learn from teachers, some learn from family members, and some are self taught. Some musicians are classically trained, some come up through folk, some draw from multiple springs, from hip hop through pop to bebop. In the Lillies' all of these skill sets are valuable, relevant, and appreciated.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230313T193838Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2086 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230321T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230321T233000 UID:584B33FA-01F8-4755-AD4C-0AD44E925694 SUMMARY:Ani DiFranco DTSTAMP:20221129T190944Z DESCRIPTION:Widely considered a feminist icon, Grammy winner Ani DiFranco is the mother of the DIY movement, being one of the first artists to create her own record label in 1990. While she has been known as the “Little Folksinger,” her music has embraced punk, funk, hip hop, jazz, soul, electronica and even more distant sounds. Her collaborators have included everyone from Utah Phillips to legendary R&B saxophonist Maceo Parker to Prince. She has shared stages with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, Kris Kristofferson, Bon Iver, Brand Carlile, Billy Bragg, Michael Franti, Chuck D., and many more. Her most recent albums include 2021’s Revolutionary Love and the July 2022 25th Anniversary Edition reissue of her iconic live album Living In Clip, both onher own label Righteous Babe Records. Her memoir No Walls and the Recurring Dream was released in May 2019 by Viking Books, and was a New York Times Top 10 best seller.\NRejecting the major label system has given her significant creative freedom. She has referenced her staunchly-held independence in song more than once, including in "The Million You Never Made" (Not a Pretty Girl), which discusses the act of turning down a lucrative contract, "The Next Big Thing" (Not So Soft), which describes an imagined meeting with a label head-hunter who evaluates the singer based on her looks, and "Napoleon" (Dilate), which sympathizes sarcastically with an unnamed friend who did sign with a label. After recording with Ani in 1999, Prince described the effects of her independence. "We jammed for four hours and she danced the whole time. We had to quit because she wore us out. After being with her, it dawned on me why she's like that – she's never had a ceiling over her."\NHer lyrics are rhythmic and poetic, often autobiographical, and strongly political. “Trickle Down” discusses racism and gentrification, while “To The Teeth” speaks about the need for gun control, and “In or Out” questions society’s traditional sexuality labels. "Play God" has become a battle cry for reproductive rights while “Revolutionary Love” calls for compassion to be the center of social movements. Rolling Stone said of her in 2012, "The world needs more radicals like Ani DiFranco: wry, sexy, as committed to beauty and joy as revolution."\NOver the years she's performed at countless benefit concerts, donated songs to many charity albums, and given time and energy to many progressive causes. She has learned from and demonstrated beside Gloria Steinem, Jesse Jackson and Dennis Kucinich. In 2004, she marched in the front row of the March for Women's Lives along with Margaret Cho, Janeane Garofalo, Whoopi Goldberg, and many others, later performing on the main stage. She has beaten the drum for voter registration and turnout with "Vote Dammit" tours in multiple presidential election years, including most recently in 2016. She's currently on the board of Roots of Music, an organization that provides at-risk youth with support and musical education in New Orleans, and the creative council of EMILY’s List, which helps elect pro-choice Democratic women to office.\NAs an iconic songwriter and social activist, she has been the inspiration for woman artists and entrepreneurs for over two decades. She has been featured on the covers of SPIN, Ms., Relix, High Times, and many others for her music and activism. She is the idol of empowered women who came of age in the 90s and continues to bring younger fans into her fold. From Alice Walker to Amy Schumer, Ani is respected by wordsmiths across milieux and generations. She blazed the trail for self-directed artist careers and has been cited by musicians from Prince to Bon Iver as an inspiration to release their own art outside of the major label system.\NAni has been the recipient of many honors and awards, including a Grammy for best album package (Evolve), the Woman of Courage Award from the National Organization for Women, the Gay/Lesbian American Music Award for Female Artist of the Year, and the Woody Guthrie Award. At the 2013 Winnipeg Folk Festival she received their prestigious Artistic Achievement Award, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Winnipeg. In 2017, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from A2IM (a nonprofit trade organization that represents independent record labels) and the Outstanding Achievement for Global Activism Award from A Global Friendship. In 2021 she was named a Champion for Justice by the National Center for Lesbian Rights. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Widely considered a feminist icon, Grammy winner Ani DiFranco is the mother of the DIY movement, being one of the first artists to create her own record label in 1990. While she has been known as the “Little Folksinger,” her music has embraced punk, funk, hip hop, jazz, soul, electronica and even more distant sounds. Her collaborators have included everyone from Utah Phillips to legendary R&B saxophonist Maceo Parker to Prince. She has shared stages with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger, Kris Kristofferson, Bon Iver, Brand Carlile, Billy Bragg, Michael Franti, Chuck D., and many more. Her most recent albums include 2021’s Revolutionary Love and the July 2022 25th Anniversary Edition reissue of her iconic live album Living In Clip, both onher own label Righteous Babe Records. Her memoir No Walls and the Recurring Dream was released in May 2019 by Viking Books, and was a New York Times Top 10 best seller.
Rejecting the major label system has given her significant creative freedom. She has referenced her staunchly-held independence in song more than once, including in "The Million You Never Made" (Not a Pretty Girl), which discusses the act of turning down a lucrative contract, "The Next Big Thing" (Not So Soft), which describes an imagined meeting with a label head-hunter who evaluates the singer based on her looks, and "Napoleon" (Dilate), which sympathizes sarcastically with an unnamed friend who did sign with a label. After recording with Ani in 1999, Prince described the effects of her independence. "We jammed for four hours and she danced the whole time. We had to quit because she wore us out. After being with her, it dawned on me why she's like that – she's never had a ceiling over her."
Her lyrics are rhythmic and poetic, often autobiographical, and strongly political. “Trickle Down” discusses racism and gentrification, while “To The Teeth” speaks about the need for gun control, and “In or Out” questions society’s traditional sexuality labels. "Play God" has become a battle cry for reproductive rights while “Revolutionary Love” calls for compassion to be the center of social movements. Rolling Stone said of her in 2012, "The world needs more radicals like Ani DiFranco: wry, sexy, as committed to beauty and joy as revolution."
Over the years she's performed at countless benefit concerts, donated songs to many charity albums, and given time and energy to many progressive causes. She has learned from and demonstrated beside Gloria Steinem, Jesse Jackson and Dennis Kucinich. In 2004, she marched in the front row of the March for Women's Lives along with Margaret Cho, Janeane Garofalo, Whoopi Goldberg, and many others, later performing on the main stage. She has beaten the drum for voter registration and turnout with "Vote Dammit" tours in multiple presidential election years, including most recently in 2016. She's currently on the board of Roots of Music, an organization that provides at-risk youth with support and musical education in New Orleans, and the creative council of EMILY’s List, which helps elect pro-choice Democratic women to office.
As an iconic songwriter and social activist, she has been the inspiration for woman artists and entrepreneurs for over two decades. She has been featured on the covers of SPIN, Ms., Relix, High Times, and many others for her music and activism. She is the idol of empowered women who came of age in the 90s and continues to bring younger fans into her fold. From Alice Walker to Amy Schumer, Ani is respected by wordsmiths across milieux and generations. She blazed the trail for self-directed artist careers and has been cited by musicians from Prince to Bon Iver as an inspiration to release their own art outside of the major label system.
Ani has been the recipient of many honors and awards, including a Grammy for best album package (Evolve), the Woman of Courage Award from the National Organization for Women, the Gay/Lesbian American Music Award for Female Artist of the Year, and the Woody Guthrie Award. At the 2013 Winnipeg Folk Festival she received their prestigious Artistic Achievement Award, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Winnipeg. In 2017, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from A2IM (a nonprofit trade organization that represents independent record labels) and the Outstanding Achievement for Global Activism Award from A Global Friendship. In 2021 she was named a Champion for Justice by the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230120T000306Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2133 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230323T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230323T233000 UID:DF34EA9B-EEAB-4C39-97CC-6AF1F1A6A6CF SUMMARY:Louis Cole Big Band DTSTAMP:20230109T185151Z DESCRIPTION:Louis Cole is a Los Angeles based singer songwriter, Grammy awarded producer, composer and multi-instrumentalists. Celebrated as one of the world's most future-sonic-funk drummers and co-founder of KNOWER, his mission is “to create deep feelings through music.” Cole has proudly been DIY to date, amassing millions of views with his viral videos like ‘Bank Account’, international tours and debut album ‘Time’ released on Brainfeeder.Known for presenting a show that you will never forget, Louis Cole’s powerful stage presence invites you into his broad and deep sound world. As a multi-instrumentalist his writing is a blend of quickfire, hook-laden electro-funk bullets, wistful humor and soft-focus deep balladry. Always performing from the heart of his vastly imaginative emotional portrait, Louis Cole’s songs evolve with his live concerts that feature his 18-piece brass band, to full brass ensembles with WDR Bob Mintzer, solo shows, or with his 4-piece jazz format.At the forefront of redefining what jazz, electronics and cinematics sounds like; Louis Cole long time collaborators also flavour his sonic mix, notably Thundercat, Genevieve Artadi, Dennis Hamm to and acclaimed jazz pianist and experimental composer Brad Mehldau who featured on his album ‘Time’.Known for presenting a show that you will never forget, witness Louis Cole’s summer festival tour stopping in Europe, Canada, USA featuring a blazing line up of special guests. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Louis Cole is a Los Angeles based singer songwriter, Grammy awarded producer, composer and multi-instrumentalists. Celebrated as one of the world's most future-sonic-funk drummers and co-founder of KNOWER, his mission is “to create deep feelings through music.” Cole has proudly been DIY to date, amassing millions of views with his viral videos like ‘Bank Account’, international tours and debut album ‘Time’ released on Brainfeeder.
Known for presenting a show that you will never forget, Louis Cole’s powerful stage presence invites you into his broad and deep sound world. As a multi-instrumentalist his writing is a blend of quickfire, hook-laden electro-funk bullets, wistful humor and soft-focus deep balladry. Always performing from the heart of his vastly imaginative emotional portrait, Louis Cole’s songs evolve with his live concerts that feature his 18-piece brass band, to full brass ensembles with WDR Bob Mintzer, solo shows, or with his 4-piece jazz format.
At the forefront of redefining what jazz, electronics and cinematics sounds like; Louis Cole long time collaborators also flavour his sonic mix, notably Thundercat, Genevieve Artadi, Dennis Hamm to and acclaimed jazz pianist and experimental composer Brad Mehldau who featured on his album ‘Time’.
Known for presenting a show that you will never forget, witness Louis Cole’s summer festival tour stopping in Europe, Canada, USA featuring a blazing line up of special guests.
For the making of his fourth album If I Were a Butterfly, Rayland Baxter holed up for over a year at a former rubber-band factory turned studio in the Kentucky countryside—a seemingly humble environment that proved to be something of a wonderland. “I spent that year living in a barn with the squirrels and the birds, on my own most of the time, and I discovered so much about music and how to create it,” says the Tennessee-bred singer/songwriter. “Instead of going into a studio with a producer for two weeks, I just waited for the record to build itself. I’d get up and go outside, see a butterfly and connect that with some impulsive thought I’d had three months ago, and suddenly a song I’d been working on would make sense. That’s how the whole album came to be.”
The follow-up to 2018’s critically acclaimed Wide Awake, If I Were a Butterfly finds Baxter co-producing alongside Tim O’Sullivan (Grace Potter, The Head and the Heart) and Kai Welch (Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull), slowly piecing together the album’s patchwork of lush psychedelia and Beatlesesque pop. In addition to working at Thunder Sound (the Kentucky studio he called home for months on end), Baxter recorded in California, Texas, Tennessee, and Washington, enlisting a remarkable lineup of musicians: Shakey Graves, Lennon Stella, several members of Cage the Elephant, Zac Cockrell of Alabama Shakes, Morning Teleportation’s Travis Goodwin, and legendary Motown drummer Miss Bobbye Hall, among many others. In an especially meaningful turn, two of the album’s tracks feature the elegant pedal steel work of his father, Bucky Baxter (a musician who performed with Bob Dylan and who passed away in May 2020). Thanks to the extraordinary care and ingenuity behind its creation, If I Were a Butterfly arrives as a work of rarefied magic, capable of stirring up immense feeling while leaving the listener happily wonderstruck.
Baxter’s debut release as a producer, If I Were a Butterfly bears a dazzling unpredictability that has much to do with his limitless imagination as a collector and collagist of sound. “Sometimes the bullfrogs in the pond outside would pulse in a certain tempo and I’d apply that to a song, or I’d hear a bird chirping and it would inspire me to add harmonica in a particular place,” he says. “I could be walking around this massive building in the middle of the night and the air-conditioning would turn on, and it’d give me the idea to include a synth part that holds a similar note. I’d wait for those moments to happen and whenever I tried to force anything, the music usually rejected it.”
A perfect introduction to If I Were a Butterfly’s elaborate sonic world, the album-opening title track begins with a recording of a Baxter singing at age four, then drifts into a delicately sprawling reverie ornamented with so many lovely details (lavish flute and cello melodies, radiant horns, the hypnotic harmonies of Lennon Stella and Baxter’s girlfriend, Sophia Rose). “I liked the idea of the first voice on the record being me as a little kid, not knowing where I’d be today,” notes Baxter, who embedded newly unearthed audio clips of himself and his older sister Brooke all throughout the album. Graced with the combustible guitar work of his bandmate Barney Cortez, “Billy Goat” kicks up a potent tension with its restless grooves and hot-tempered gang vocals. “It’s a breakup song about being with someone who’s on a different life path—one side wants to influence the other, and inevitably you part ways,” says Baxter. From there, the album takes on a feverish momentum with “Rubberband Man,” a delightfully frenzied track channeling a wild and giddy freedom. “There’s rubber bands all over the property at Thunder Sound—in the earth, in the concrete, used as insulation for the studio,” says Baxter. “I took a mishmash of images in my head and it turned into a song about staying flexible, rolling with the punches.”
In its searching reflection on love and loss and striving for transcendence, If I Were a Butterfly reaches a quietly glorious intensity on “Tadpole”: a piano ballad threaded with childhood memories at turns oddly tender (catching frogs and crawfish in a nearby toxic creek) and nightmarish (hearing the gunshot when an across-the-street neighbor took her own life). And on “My Argentina,” If I Were a Butterfly closes out with a piano-driven and painfully raw outpouring, its starkness intermittently broken by soulful strings and gospel-esque harmonies. “One time at the studio I stayed up all night and played that song maybe 100 times; we ended up using the last take, which was recorded at about five in the morning,” says Baxter. “It’s a song that represents the thoughts one might have about a perfect love life, and I love how it ends the album in a big angelic cloud of reverb.”
For Baxter, the act of self-producing such a sonically and emotionally expansive body of work proved both exhilarating and arduous. “It really wore me out to spend all that time alone at the studio, editing the hell out of this record; my heart definitely suffered,” he says. “But I also had the guidance of my dad, who was in my dreams all the time—if I was moving too fast, I’d hear him telling me to slow down.” Another profound influence on the album-making process: the 2018 deaths of Baxter’s close friends Billy Swayze (a musician whose parents owned the rubber band company that became Thunder Sound) and Tiger Merritt (the vocalist/guitarist for Morning Teleportation, who worked with Swayze in constructing the studio). “Billy and Tiger had been going up there since 2015, and finally they turned it into a legit recording studio,” he says. “It’s a very special place to me, so they’re two of the four angels I decided to dedicate this record to.”
Even in its most somber moments, If I Were a Butterfly wholly fulfills Baxter’s mission of imparting a certain purposeful joy. “It’s been a weird few years, but I think the big picture is for us to just exist and find love and be loved, and try to see that all the daily bullshit is simply bugs on the windshield,” says Baxter. “I hope that this album makes people feel the way I do whenever I listen to my favorite records, and that it gives them a platform to dream on.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230324T194546Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1844 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230327T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230327T233000 UID:E946ED88-1FC4-44D7-81A9-E256F29860C6 SUMMARY:Hermanos Gutiérrez DTSTAMP:20221115T082823Z DESCRIPTION:“When Alejandro and I play together, it’s like we are driving a car,” says Estevan Gutiérrez, one half of the guitar duo Hermanos Gutiérrez. “It’s like we are taking a road trip. Sometimes we’re driving through a desert. Sometimes we’re traveling up the coast. But always we are in nature, and we see the most beautiful landscapes, sunrises, sunsets.” The music these two brothers make evokes expansive plains and rough wildernesses, saguaros and surfs, spaghetti westerns and Morricone soundtracks, Lynch and Jarmusch. With their guitars they travel through landscapes haunted by vaqueros, cancioneros, wanderers, fugitives, lovers, family—and whatever ghosts their listeners bring to the music. “Each album is a journey on its own,” says Alejandro Gutiérrez. “We just have to go with the music, trust in ourselves, and see where it takes us.”\NEl Bueno Y El Malo is their most epic journey yet: Working with the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach at his Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville, they’ve crafted ten vivid compositions that highlight their intimate guitar playing, where one brother’s rhythms and the other brother’s melodies twine around each other so that they become inextricable. Together, they generate what Estevan calls a “deeper, darker energy” defined by complex arrangements, sophisticated playing, and most of all their very close relationship. “We have such different personalities and such different approaches,” says Alejandro,” but in the end we have a strong balance. Because we’re brothers and because we love each other, there’s always this connection.”\NThe sons of a Swiss father and an Ecuadorian mother, Hermanos Gutiérrez have only been playing together for a few years, but music has always been a point of connection for them. “I started playing guitar because of my brother,” Alejandro says. “He was always playing, and I loved the sound of it. Then he went to Ecuador for a year, and as an expression of missing him, I started playing the guitar as well. I learned by trying to imitate other songs, but soon realized that I didn’t like playing covers. I wanted to play my own music.”\NIn the mid 2010s Alejandro moved to Zurich, not too far from the small village where his brother lived. One night he invited Estevan over and told him to bring his guitar. Together, they worked out a few melodies that quickly turned into fully realized songs. They didn’t intend to start a band together, but soon decided to record an album. They booked time in a studio and soon emerged with their full-length debut, 8 Años, named for the age difference between them. Their only ambition was to make a keepsake for themselves and their families: “We love collecting old vinyl, so we thought we should make our own,” says Alejandro. “But it was also a moment for us to reconnect. Music helped us to be together in the same moment and create something new. So let’s just do a record for us.”\NTheir success is proof that unique and imaginative music will find its audience. “My brother and I,” says Estevan, “we did everything by ourselves— all the music, even the artwork. But during Covid, our music was streamed all over the world,” especially their 2020 album, Hijos del Sol. Perhaps because people were looking for an escape from their worries or were traveling to new landscapes without leaving their homes, the music of Hermanos Gutiérrez spread by word of mouth, eventually finding its way to Auerbach. After a twenty-minute conversation, they signed with Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Records and started writing songs for their forthcoming album.\N“We didn’t know what it would be like working with someone else,” says Alejandro. “But sometimes those moments can be crucial. They can bring new energy into a project. That can be very inspiring, but still, how is it going to work?”\NTheir misgivings were quelled as soon as they arrived at Easy Eye Sound Studio, and within twenty minutes they were already recording—not that they were even aware that the sessions had started. As Estevan recalls, “We just plugged our guitars in and started playing, just to present the music to the whole team. When we stopped, Dan says, Okay, from the top. We didn’t even realize that he was recording. Alejandro and I looked at each other and said, “he really feels the music. He’s not looking for perfection. He’s looking for feelings. He’s looking for a moment. We’re the same.’” That first song was the title track, with Alejandro’s delicate fretwork like a mirage on the horizon and Estevan’s chords rumbling like thunder in the distance. Together, the brothers evoke a landscape that’s all the more beautiful for being slightly forbidding.\NThat initial take set the tone for the sessions: They worked on the fly, hewing closely to the songs they had brought over from Switzerland while remaining open to any and all new ideas. “We came to Nashville with a clear sense of what we wanted to do,” says Alejandro. “The more structure you have, the more you can improvise. You can feel prepared, but also open to changes. Nobody tried to impose an idea or change our essence. It was all about adding subtle things and enriching the whole—expanding this universe we had created.” El Bueno Y El Malo gently expands their sound, retaining the foundation while adding drums, castanets, strings, and congas. The additions are more than subtle; they’re subliminal. They focus the attention on the two main figures and the intricate, almost telepathic interplay of their instruments.\N“They move so quickly when they’re working in the studio,” says Auerbach. “They have such a vision for what they’re doing and a good sense of what belongs and what doesn’t.” In perhaps the most significant addition to their two-guitar sound, their producer even played on one song. As the brothers struggled with an arrangement, Auerbach suggested an idea for a melody, even plugging in and playing it for them. They loved it so much they invited him to record it for them, even retitling that song “Tres Hermanos.” He settles into the band easily, as they all trade lead back and forth among each other, each guitar with its own tone, its own personality, its own motivation and mission. “I was just hearing something in the song and was flattered that they invited me to play and even renamed it,” he says. “It was definitely an honor to be brought into that very tight circle.”\NThe title of the album is, of course, a reference to Sergio Leone’s legendary 1966 spaghetti western The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and especially its score by Ennio Morricone. But the phrase has a deeper meaning: “We think that everybody has a good side and a bad side,” says Estevan. “It’s every person, every moment, every situation. Everybody has these two faces.” It’s not a cynical idea, but one that celebrates the depths and dualities of humanity, and music—even music that does not include vocals or lyrics—is the perfect vehicle to explore such big ideas. “Instrumental music is so powerful,” says Alejandro. “It’s there, but it’s not there. You can immerse yourself in it, or it can just be in the background. We love the idea of taking up however much space the listener wants. There’s potential for everyone putting a little of themselves into the music.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:“When Alejandro and I play together, it’s like we are driving a car,” says Estevan Gutiérrez, one half of the guitar duo Hermanos Gutiérrez. “It’s like we are taking a road trip. Sometimes we’re driving through a desert. Sometimes we’re traveling up the coast. But always we are in nature, and we see the most beautiful landscapes, sunrises, sunsets.” The music these two brothers make evokes expansive plains and rough wildernesses, saguaros and surfs, spaghetti westerns and Morricone soundtracks, Lynch and Jarmusch. With their guitars they travel through landscapes haunted by vaqueros, cancioneros, wanderers, fugitives, lovers, family—and whatever ghosts their listeners bring to the music. “Each album is a journey on its own,” says Alejandro Gutiérrez. “We just have to go with the music, trust in ourselves, and see where it takes us.”
El Bueno Y El Malo is their most epic journey yet: Working with the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach at his Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville, they’ve crafted ten vivid compositions that highlight their intimate guitar playing, where one brother’s rhythms and the other brother’s melodies twine around each other so that they become inextricable. Together, they generate what Estevan calls a “deeper, darker energy” defined by complex arrangements, sophisticated playing, and most of all their very close relationship. “We have such different personalities and such different approaches,” says Alejandro,” but in the end we have a strong balance. Because we’re brothers and because we love each other, there’s always this connection.”
The sons of a Swiss father and an Ecuadorian mother, Hermanos Gutiérrez have only been playing together for a few years, but music has always been a point of connection for them. “I started playing guitar because of my brother,” Alejandro says. “He was always playing, and I loved the sound of it. Then he went to Ecuador for a year, and as an expression of missing him, I started playing the guitar as well. I learned by trying to imitate other songs, but soon realized that I didn’t like playing covers. I wanted to play my own music.”
In the mid 2010s Alejandro moved to Zurich, not too far from the small village where his brother lived. One night he invited Estevan over and told him to bring his guitar. Together, they worked out a few melodies that quickly turned into fully realized songs. They didn’t intend to start a band together, but soon decided to record an album. They booked time in a studio and soon emerged with their full-length debut, 8 Años, named for the age difference between them. Their only ambition was to make a keepsake for themselves and their families: “We love collecting old vinyl, so we thought we should make our own,” says Alejandro. “But it was also a moment for us to reconnect. Music helped us to be together in the same moment and create something new. So let’s just do a record for us.”
Their success is proof that unique and imaginative music will find its audience. “My brother and I,” says Estevan, “we did everything by ourselves— all the music, even the artwork. But during Covid, our music was streamed all over the world,” especially their 2020 album, Hijos del Sol. Perhaps because people were looking for an escape from their worries or were traveling to new landscapes without leaving their homes, the music of Hermanos Gutiérrez spread by word of mouth, eventually finding its way to Auerbach. After a twenty-minute conversation, they signed with Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Records and started writing songs for their forthcoming album.
“We didn’t know what it would be like working with someone else,” says Alejandro. “But sometimes those moments can be crucial. They can bring new energy into a project. That can be very inspiring, but still, how is it going to work?”
Their misgivings were quelled as soon as they arrived at Easy Eye Sound Studio, and within twenty minutes they were already recording—not that they were even aware that the sessions had started. As Estevan recalls, “We just plugged our guitars in and started playing, just to present the music to the whole team. When we stopped, Dan says, Okay, from the top. We didn’t even realize that he was recording. Alejandro and I looked at each other and said, “he really feels the music. He’s not looking for perfection. He’s looking for feelings. He’s looking for a moment. We’re the same.’” That first song was the title track, with Alejandro’s delicate fretwork like a mirage on the horizon and Estevan’s chords rumbling like thunder in the distance. Together, the brothers evoke a landscape that’s all the more beautiful for being slightly forbidding.
That initial take set the tone for the sessions: They worked on the fly, hewing closely to the songs they had brought over from Switzerland while remaining open to any and all new ideas. “We came to Nashville with a clear sense of what we wanted to do,” says Alejandro. “The more structure you have, the more you can improvise. You can feel prepared, but also open to changes. Nobody tried to impose an idea or change our essence. It was all about adding subtle things and enriching the whole—expanding this universe we had created.” El Bueno Y El Malo gently expands their sound, retaining the foundation while adding drums, castanets, strings, and congas. The additions are more than subtle; they’re subliminal. They focus the attention on the two main figures and the intricate, almost telepathic interplay of their instruments.
“They move so quickly when they’re working in the studio,” says Auerbach. “They have such a vision for what they’re doing and a good sense of what belongs and what doesn’t.” In perhaps the most significant addition to their two-guitar sound, their producer even played on one song. As the brothers struggled with an arrangement, Auerbach suggested an idea for a melody, even plugging in and playing it for them. They loved it so much they invited him to record it for them, even retitling that song “Tres Hermanos.” He settles into the band easily, as they all trade lead back and forth among each other, each guitar with its own tone, its own personality, its own motivation and mission. “I was just hearing something in the song and was flattered that they invited me to play and even renamed it,” he says. “It was definitely an honor to be brought into that very tight circle.”
The title of the album is, of course, a reference to Sergio Leone’s legendary 1966 spaghetti western The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and especially its score by Ennio Morricone. But the phrase has a deeper meaning: “We think that everybody has a good side and a bad side,” says Estevan. “It’s every person, every moment, every situation. Everybody has these two faces.” It’s not a cynical idea, but one that celebrates the depths and dualities of humanity, and music—even music that does not include vocals or lyrics—is the perfect vehicle to explore such big ideas. “Instrumental music is so powerful,” says Alejandro. “It’s there, but it’s not there. You can immerse yourself in it, or it can just be in the background. We love the idea of taking up however much space the listener wants. There’s potential for everyone putting a little of themselves into the music.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230327T192324Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2473 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230328T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230328T233000 UID:95D54F76-849A-455A-8C0D-77DD92FC8D05 SUMMARY:Maggie Lindemann DTSTAMP:20230117T171111Z DESCRIPTION:Building on the sharpened songwriting and singularly honed-in sounds she’d established on PARANOIA, Maggie spent a year building the foundation of her debut studio album, SUCKERPUNCH, a body of work that chronicles a journey of self-discovery and actualization. “It's the journey from being upset to being angry to being hopeful – a hopefulness I want listeners to know exists for them, too,” she says. It’s also the rare narrative record that’s songs also stand as strongly alone as they do in sequenced order. “I was still in the PARANOIA headspace, and I didn’t want to leave it, but as we made these songs, you can hear me growing and going deeper than I ever have before,” Maggie notes. “Even if some of the melodies changed or production elements took new form, a lot of SUCKERPUNCH is as we originally wrote and intended it – songs that showcase the new version of who I’ve always wanted to be.”\NThe album name, she says, came to her soon after. “It’s an unexpected punch, a blow you didn’t see coming,” she says. “When I was making this, I had those blows in my own life; when I listened to the album back from start to finish, I realized the entire thing was a sucker punch – for myself, for my fans – and I knew it had to be the title.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Building on the sharpened songwriting and singularly honed-in sounds she’d established on PARANOIA, Maggie spent a year building the foundation of her debut studio album, SUCKERPUNCH, a body of work that chronicles a journey of self-discovery and actualization. “It's the journey from being upset to being angry to being hopeful – a hopefulness I want listeners to know exists for them, too,” she says. It’s also the rare narrative record that’s songs also stand as strongly alone as they do in sequenced order. “I was still in the PARANOIA headspace, and I didn’t want to leave it, but as we made these songs, you can hear me growing and going deeper than I ever have before,” Maggie notes. “Even if some of the melodies changed or production elements took new form, a lot of SUCKERPUNCH is as we originally wrote and intended it – songs that showcase the new version of who I’ve always wanted to be.”
The album name, she says, came to her soon after. “It’s an unexpected punch, a blow you didn’t see coming,” she says. “When I was making this, I had those blows in my own life; when I listened to the album back from start to finish, I realized the entire thing was a sucker punch – for myself, for my fans – and I knew it had to be the title.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230328T211512Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1157 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230330T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230330T233000 UID:2C01EEB1-9B5B-419D-8B4F-E0C05D4EEC37 SUMMARY:MarchFourth DTSTAMP:20230103T204439Z DESCRIPTION: MarchFourth is a joy-inducing force of entertainment. The colorful explosion of brassy funk, rock, and jazz is all about the groove. This larger-than-life group of musicians and acrobats tours the country year-round, bringing a spirit of celebration wherever they go. MarchFourth is, in a word, FUN!\NWith exceptional musical quality and a visual kaleidoscope of performers, MarchFourth is a spectacle of high-energy compositions, colorful costumes, and irresistible charisma! M4 has been seen on stages from ESPN’s Espy Awards to festivals like Wakarusa, Bumbershoot, and High Sierra Music Fest, to world-class venues like The Kennedy Center and The Fillmore, and even a cultural exchange tour to China, sponsored by the US State Department.\NMarchFourth’s track “Gospel” (from their self-released album Rise Up, 2009) was featured as the closing credits theme song in the Disney/Pixar animated film, Monsters University. Their next album Magnificent Beast was self-released in 2011, produced by fellow Portlander Steve Berlin (Los Lobos).\NFor their most recent album, Magic Number, fifteen MarchFourth musicians traveled from Portland, Oregon to New Orleans, Louisiana to record with Producer Ben Ellman (Galactic) and Engineer/Producer Mikael “Count” Eldridge (DJ Shadow, Tycho, Trombone Shorty). With local talent at the helm, the album is full of the captivating grooves and brassy swagger you’d expect from MarchFourth, plus a healthy dose of New Orleans magic, with guest appearance by Trombone Shorty, Stanton Moore (drums), and Matt Perrine (sousaphone). X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:MarchFourth is a joy-inducing force of entertainment. The colorful explosion of brassy funk, rock, and jazz is all about the groove. This larger-than-life group of musicians and acrobats tours the country year-round, bringing a spirit of celebration wherever they go. MarchFourth is, in a word, FUN!
With exceptional musical quality and a visual kaleidoscope of performers, MarchFourth is a spectacle of high-energy compositions, colorful costumes, and irresistible charisma! M4 has been seen on stages from ESPN’s Espy Awards to festivals like Wakarusa, Bumbershoot, and High Sierra Music Fest, to world-class venues like The Kennedy Center and The Fillmore, and even a cultural exchange tour to China, sponsored by the US State Department.
MarchFourth’s track “Gospel” (from their self-released album Rise Up, 2009) was featured as the closing credits theme song in the Disney/Pixar animated film, Monsters University. Their next album Magnificent Beast was self-released in 2011, produced by fellow Portlander Steve Berlin (Los Lobos).
For their most recent album, Magic Number, fifteen MarchFourth musicians traveled from Portland, Oregon to New Orleans, Louisiana to record with Producer Ben Ellman (Galactic) and Engineer/Producer Mikael “Count” Eldridge (DJ Shadow, Tycho, Trombone Shorty). With local talent at the helm, the album is full of the captivating grooves and brassy swagger you’d expect from MarchFourth, plus a healthy dose of New Orleans magic, with guest appearance by Trombone Shorty, Stanton Moore (drums), and Matt Perrine (sousaphone).
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230317T220205Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1550 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230331T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230331T233000 UID:24157EA9-5124-4454-89A8-4DA9BE9795BF SUMMARY:Mutiny Music Collective Presents Shiverz DTSTAMP:20230126T184318Z DESCRIPTION:The producer and DJ who was once fortunate enough to have his finger on the pulse on the birth of the dubstep/riddim genre from its earliest stages appropriately enough became responsible for the invention of a highly unique DJing style within the genre itself called “chopping;” a style that couples perfectly with his high octane stage presence, resulting in an adrenaline fueled remix or mashup of sorts between two tracks - a technique that many dubstep DJs have since adopted for use during their own live sets. A style that has since earned him the fitting nickname of Shiverz “Da Butcher.”\NAside from his title as the forefather of “chopping,” Shiverz is the founder of the MONSTERS dubstep collective. Following the inception of this collective, Shiverz has since hosted a number of sold out MONSTERS club nights in well known venues throughout the UK, Germany and Belgium & North America securing and solidifying his global reputation as one of the best DJs in the dubstep genre for both his electric stage presence and trailblazing DJing techniques. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The producer and DJ who was once fortunate enough to have his finger on the pulse on the birth of the dubstep/riddim genre from its earliest stages appropriately enough became responsible for the invention of a highly unique DJing style within the genre itself called “chopping;” a style that couples perfectly with his high octane stage presence, resulting in an adrenaline fueled remix or mashup of sorts between two tracks - a technique that many dubstep DJs have since adopted for use during their own live sets. A style that has since earned him the fitting nickname of Shiverz “Da Butcher.”
Aside from his title as the forefather of “chopping,” Shiverz is the founder of the MONSTERS dubstep collective. Following the inception of this collective, Shiverz has since hosted a number of sold out MONSTERS club nights in well known venues throughout the UK, Germany and Belgium & North America securing and solidifying his global reputation as one of the best DJs in the dubstep genre for both his electric stage presence and trailblazing DJing techniques.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230331T215940Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:698 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230401T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230401T233000 UID:974E2AD3-15BB-4359-83A5-62980E541684 SUMMARY:Mutiny Music Collective Presents Tape B DTSTAMP:20230327T201434Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230329T205446Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:500 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230405T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230405T233000 UID:484C279F-6B45-4599-AD08-7CBB6F5CD705 SUMMARY:The War And Treaty DTSTAMP:20230330T225441Z DESCRIPTION: UPDATE: The War And Treaty show on April 5th has been moved to The State Room. We are looking forward to a memorable night of incredible music next week!\N-\NThe War And Treaty have amassed a following as eclectic as their sound itself with "voices that will stop you in your tracks”(Garden and Gun) and their bluesy but joyful fusion of Southern soul, gospel, Country, and rock-and-roll. The husband-and-wife team of Michael Trotter Jr. andTanya Trotter "continue their commando, no-limits journey to the top of the music world"(AssociatedPress)following their latest widely acclaimed release, HEARTS TOWN. Known fora live show nearly revival-like in its intensity, they "build up waves of emotion that crash into a cathartic release of a tour-de-force performance,"(Austin-AmericanStatesman)as the versatile duo has opened for artists such as Al Green, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, John Legend and Lauren Daigle while their multifaceted collaborative efforts include Dierks Bentley, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Leslie Jordan, Mumford & Sons, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Sturgill Simpson.The 2021 International Folk Music Awards “Artist of the Year” an Americana Music Association’s 2019 “Emerging Artist of the Year”continue to reveal new headlining dates and will serve as direct support for Van Morrison (5/7-5/10) ahead of their overseas trek this summer to Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, United Kingdom and Scotland. For more information visit www.thewarandtreaty.com. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:UPDATE: The War And Treaty show on April 5th has been moved to The State Room. We are looking forward to a memorable night of incredible music next week!
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The War And Treaty have amassed a following as eclectic as their sound itself with "voices that will stop you in your tracks”(Garden and Gun) and their bluesy but joyful fusion of Southern soul, gospel, Country, and rock-and-roll. The husband-and-wife team of Michael Trotter Jr. andTanya Trotter "continue their commando, no-limits journey to the top of the music world"(AssociatedPress)following their latest widely acclaimed release, HEARTS TOWN. Known fora live show nearly revival-like in its intensity, they "build up waves of emotion that crash into a cathartic release of a tour-de-force performance,"(Austin-AmericanStatesman)as the versatile duo has opened for artists such as Al Green, Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, John Legend and Lauren Daigle while their multifaceted collaborative efforts include Dierks Bentley, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Leslie Jordan, Mumford & Sons, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Sturgill Simpson.The 2021 International Folk Music Awards “Artist of the Year” an Americana Music Association’s 2019 “Emerging Artist of the Year”continue to reveal new headlining dates and will serve as direct support for Van Morrison (5/7-5/10) ahead of their overseas trek this summer to Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, United Kingdom and Scotland. For more information visit www.thewarandtreaty.com.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230331T011100Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:128 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230407T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230407T210000 UID:78450B6E-F491-4009-A1D9-05C75A20807C SUMMARY:Strangelove - The Depeche Mode Experience DTSTAMP:20221115T081017Z DESCRIPTION:Los Angeles based STRANGELOVE-The Depeche Mode Experience delivers a career spanning, pitch perfect “best of” concert that transports the listener through time and touches on several key points in Depeche Mode’s 40+ year career. Songs from throughout the Depeche canon are lovingly recreated; from favorites on DM’s debut Speak and Spell to the newest fare from ‘Mode’s latest- 2017’s “Spirit”. No detail of STRANGELOVE’s presentation has been overlooked. The visual presentation with stage set pieces and in-show costume changes reflect different eras of Depeche Mode’s story.\NTruly evocative of a Depeche Mode arena/stadium stage show; the scale of STRANGELOVE’s theatrical stage production is unparalleled, save for the real article. Custom-produced multimedia projection visuals delight the concertgoer’s senses and enhance the illusion that they’re witnessing an actual Depeche Mode concert.\NThese accomplished musicians have a reverence and devotion to Depeche Mode’s body of work that's driven them to recreate every possible detail and bring the “Music To The Masses” in a concert setting that transcends a mere tribute production; and feels more like a shared communal fan-club celebration of halcyon days of new wave/emerging electronica. Accuracy and authenticity is a hallmark of the project, with the band employing as many authentic vintage synthesizers and samplers as possible in recreating the classic and widely varied sounds of Depeche Mode’s discography.\NWith over 120 million records sold and a rabid international fan base, Depeche Mode’s status as elder statesmen of electronica was recently cemented with their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame last year. Their enormous fan base encompasses all ages and crosses every demographic. Their last stadium/arena tour in 2018 set world box office records. STRANGELOVE –The Depeche Mode Experience brings a thoroughly enjoyable and staggeringly authentic DM concert to concertgoers, and connects with international audiences, wherever the group performs. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Los Angeles based STRANGELOVE-The Depeche Mode Experience delivers a career spanning, pitch perfect “best of” concert that transports the listener through time and touches on several key points in Depeche Mode’s 40+ year career. Songs from throughout the Depeche canon are lovingly recreated; from favorites on DM’s debut Speak and Spell to the newest fare from ‘Mode’s latest- 2017’s “Spirit”. No detail of STRANGELOVE’s presentation has been overlooked. The visual presentation with stage set pieces and in-show costume changes reflect different eras of Depeche Mode’s story.
Truly evocative of a Depeche Mode arena/stadium stage show; the scale of STRANGELOVE’s theatrical stage production is unparalleled, save for the real article. Custom-produced multimedia projection visuals delight the concertgoer’s senses and enhance the illusion that they’re witnessing an actual Depeche Mode concert.
These accomplished musicians have a reverence and devotion to Depeche Mode’s body of work that's driven them to recreate every possible detail and bring the “Music To The Masses” in a concert setting that transcends a mere tribute production; and feels more like a shared communal fan-club celebration of halcyon days of new wave/emerging electronica. Accuracy and authenticity is a hallmark of the project, with the band employing as many authentic vintage synthesizers and samplers as possible in recreating the classic and widely varied sounds of Depeche Mode’s discography.
With over 120 million records sold and a rabid international fan base, Depeche Mode’s status as elder statesmen of electronica was recently cemented with their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame last year. Their enormous fan base encompasses all ages and crosses every demographic. Their last stadium/arena tour in 2018 set world box office records. STRANGELOVE –The Depeche Mode Experience brings a thoroughly enjoyable and staggeringly authentic DM concert to concertgoers, and connects with international audiences, wherever the group performs.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230406T221951Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2142 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230415T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230415T233000 UID:854410A5-2365-47EE-A914-A5F5B2673477 SUMMARY:Lucero DTSTAMP:20230131T203029Z DESCRIPTION:The search for one’s identity is a lifelong process that every individual must go through. Who someone is today, is not the person they were yesterday nor who they may be tomorrow. Despite those changes, there is a general idea of a defined sense of self. No matter what happens, it is that small yet solid and grounding definition of self that continues to drive us forward in our search for identity and whatever may come with it.\NIt would be difficult to find any artist who understands that better than the band Lucero.\NSince forming in Memphis in the late 90’s, Lucero’s base musical hallmarks have remained similar to the band’s initial sound established with their first record The Attic Tapes. In the history of their expansive discography, Lucero has evolved and embraced everything from southern rock to Stax-inspired Memphis soul, whilst simultaneously maintaining their distinctive sonic foundations. Over 20 years later, dedicated fans of the group still flock to hear the band’s punchy driving rhythms, punk-rooted guitar licks, and lyrics that evoke the whiskey drenched sentimentality of Americana singer-songwriters. As expected of any band built to survive, Lucero has welcomed change over the course of their career, but it has always been on their terms.\NThe band’s twelfth album, Should’ve Learned by Now, began its life as hardly more than some rough demos and lingering guitar parts. These pieces that were left behind from the band’s previous albums, Among the Ghosts (2018) and When You Found Me (2021) were deemed too uptempo and capering for the prior records’ darker themes. “I had a particular sound I was looking for on each record and there was no room for any goofy rock & roll or cute witticisms or even simply upbeat songs,” said primary lyricist and frontman, Ben Nichols. “But now finally, it was time to revisit all of that stuff and get it out in the world. That’s how we got to the appropriately-for-us-titled album Should’ve Learned by Now. The album is basically about how we know we are fuckups and I guess we are ok with that.”\NThe band, comprised of all its original members (which in addition to Ben Nichols, includes Brian Venable on guitar, Roy Berry on drums, John C. Stubblefield on bass, and Rick Steff on keys) teamed up for a third time with producer and Grammy Award-winning engineer and mixer, Matt Ross-Spang. Lucero began the recording process in Sam Phillips Recording Service before transitioning and finishing the record in Ross-Spang’s newly opened Southern Grooves Productions in Memphis, TN. Ross-Spang appears to have settled in with the band’s more trademark sound whilst very much making his touch known to listeners.\N“He knows how to take the sounds we’re making on our own and just kind of polish them up in the right way. Or dirty it up in the right way. Whatever it takes, he just kind of does it,” says Nichols.\NThe first track from the album “One Last F.U.” is a punchy and somewhat combative song which was one of the original remnants of Among the Ghosts. Despite its title, “One Last F.U.” is less about standoffishness and more a self-reflection on the kind of people we are capable of being in difficult situations. According to Nichols “The rest of the song was simply about wanting to be left alone while I drank at the bar. That could be taken in a kind of grumpy/antagonistic way, but I feel ok singing the song because I’ve been both characters in the song at different times. Sometimes I’m the one wanting to be left alone and sometimes I’m the drunk one blabbing all night to someone that just wants to be left alone.” Right off the bat, Nichols’ vocals are awash in rock and roll slap-back reverb. The effect pushes Nichols' naturally upfront vocals wider, so they fill the space in a manner more akin to a live performance. It’s one of a few new production effects that extend throughout the record and add a new level of presence and attitude to the band’s sound.\NThe second track, “Macon if We Make It”, was inspired by the band having to traverse through Georgia during a hurricane. When asked where the next stop on the tour was, the band responded with, “Macon, if we make it.” Continuing to be reminiscent of older works, “Macon if We Make It” has echoes of the band’s 2009 album 1372 Overton Park. The song is really driven by guitarist Brian Venable’s formidable electric guitar. The lyrics seem at first to be mostly preoccupied with a literal storm situation at hand but turn out to be more about a troubled relationship back home. The proverbial dam breaks when the narrator sings “I don’t know if we were in love. I just know it wasn’t enough. Got caught in the storm and the water it’s rising…” The song gives way to a powerful drum lead up by Roy Berry and the listener is carried out, like a raft, on a ripping guitar solo.\NThe pushes and pulls, builds and breakdowns are all over the album’s subsequent tracks, but it isn’t all hard-edged rock and roll all the time. “She Leads Me”, is inspired somewhat by the classic tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, and delves into a softer and more nostalgic sound. With backing vocals supplied by Jesse Davis and Cory Branan, it’s a song that lyrically rests on the concept that we sometimes need to recognize and acknowledge our past for a gentle enough reassurance to move forward.\NThe rest of the album dives right back into its more rock and roll songs with “At the Show” and “Nothing’s Alright”, both of which examine the highs and lows of remembering old loves, reminiscing on the old days, and contented introspection. Aspects which finally come to a head in the album’s title track “Should’ve Learned by Now”, a rough and edgy song that tackles the fact that all the lessons, though clearly recognized, have yet to sink in. Quite poetically, the song is set to a tune that may be the greatest call back to Lucero’s punk upbringing.\NFrom its original Ben Nichols-designed cover art to its credits, the album is a reflection of a band that knows itself. Should’ve Learned by Now bridges the gap musically between “old Lucero” and “new Lucero” in a manner which affixes the band’s position as the perfect intersection of punk initiative with hard-earned artistry. It’s an album that recognizes the past in its sound and content, but leaves the door wide open to the future and for the lessons still in store. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The search for one’s identity is a lifelong process that every individual must go through. Who someone is today, is not the person they were yesterday nor who they may be tomorrow. Despite those changes, there is a general idea of a defined sense of self. No matter what happens, it is that small yet solid and grounding definition of self that continues to drive us forward in our search for identity and whatever may come with it.
It would be difficult to find any artist who understands that better than the band Lucero.
Since forming in Memphis in the late 90’s, Lucero’s base musical hallmarks have remained similar to the band’s initial sound established with their first record The Attic Tapes. In the history of their expansive discography, Lucero has evolved and embraced everything from southern rock to Stax-inspired Memphis soul, whilst simultaneously maintaining their distinctive sonic foundations. Over 20 years later, dedicated fans of the group still flock to hear the band’s punchy driving rhythms, punk-rooted guitar licks, and lyrics that evoke the whiskey drenched sentimentality of Americana singer-songwriters. As expected of any band built to survive, Lucero has welcomed change over the course of their career, but it has always been on their terms.
The band’s twelfth album, Should’ve Learned by Now, began its life as hardly more than some rough demos and lingering guitar parts. These pieces that were left behind from the band’s previous albums, Among the Ghosts (2018) and When You Found Me (2021) were deemed too uptempo and capering for the prior records’ darker themes.
“I had a particular sound I was looking for on each record and there was no room for any goofy rock & roll or cute witticisms or even simply upbeat songs,” said primary lyricist and frontman, Ben Nichols. “But now finally, it was time to revisit all of that stuff and get it out in the world. That’s how we got to the appropriately-for-us-titled album Should’ve Learned by Now. The album is basically about how we know we are fuckups and I guess we are ok with that.”
The band, comprised of all its original members (which in addition to Ben Nichols, includes Brian Venable on guitar, Roy Berry on drums, John C. Stubblefield on bass, and Rick Steff on keys) teamed up for a third time with producer and Grammy Award-winning engineer and mixer, Matt Ross-Spang. Lucero began the recording process in Sam Phillips Recording Service before transitioning and finishing the record in Ross-Spang’s newly opened Southern Grooves Productions in Memphis, TN. Ross-Spang appears to have settled in with the band’s more trademark sound whilst very much making his touch known to listeners.
“He knows how to take the sounds we’re making on our own and just kind of polish them up in the right way. Or dirty it up in the right way. Whatever it takes, he just kind of does it,” says Nichols.
The first track from the album “One Last F.U.” is a punchy and somewhat combative song which was one of the original remnants of Among the Ghosts. Despite its title, “One Last F.U.” is less about standoffishness and more a self-reflection on the kind of people we are capable of being in difficult situations. According to Nichols “The rest of the song was simply about wanting to be left alone while I drank at the bar. That could be taken in a kind of grumpy/antagonistic way, but I feel ok singing the song because I’ve been both characters in the song at different times. Sometimes I’m the one wanting to be left alone and sometimes I’m the drunk one blabbing all night to someone that just wants to be left alone.” Right off the bat, Nichols’ vocals are awash in rock and roll slap-back reverb. The effect pushes Nichols' naturally upfront vocals wider, so they fill the space in a manner more akin to a live performance. It’s one of a few new production effects that extend throughout the record and add a new level of presence and attitude to the band’s sound.
The second track, “Macon if We Make It”, was inspired by the band having to traverse through Georgia during a hurricane. When asked where the next stop on the tour was, the band responded with, “Macon, if we make it.” Continuing to be reminiscent of older works, “Macon if We Make It” has echoes of the band’s 2009 album 1372 Overton Park. The song is really driven by guitarist Brian Venable’s formidable electric guitar. The lyrics seem at first to be mostly preoccupied with a literal storm situation at hand but turn out to be more about a troubled relationship back home. The proverbial dam breaks when the narrator sings “I don’t know if we were in love. I just know it wasn’t enough. Got caught in the storm and the water it’s rising…” The song gives way to a powerful drum lead up by Roy Berry and the listener is carried out, like a raft, on a ripping guitar solo.
The pushes and pulls, builds and breakdowns are all over the album’s subsequent tracks, but it isn’t all hard-edged rock and roll all the time. “She Leads Me”, is inspired somewhat by the classic tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, and delves into a softer and more nostalgic sound. With backing vocals supplied by Jesse Davis and Cory Branan, it’s a song that lyrically rests on the concept that we sometimes need to recognize and acknowledge our past for a gentle enough reassurance to move forward.
The rest of the album dives right back into its more rock and roll songs with “At the Show” and “Nothing’s Alright”, both of which examine the highs and lows of remembering old loves, reminiscing on the old days, and contented introspection. Aspects which finally come to a head in the album’s title track “Should’ve Learned by Now”, a rough and edgy song that tackles the fact that all the lessons, though clearly recognized, have yet to sink in. Quite poetically, the song is set to a tune that may be the greatest call back to Lucero’s punk upbringing.
From its original Ben Nichols-designed cover art to its credits, the album is a reflection of a band that knows itself. Should’ve Learned by Now bridges the gap musically between “old Lucero” and “new Lucero” in a manner which affixes the band’s position as the perfect intersection of punk initiative with hard-earned artistry. It’s an album that recognizes the past in its sound and content, but leaves the door wide open to the future and for the lessons still in store.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230203T172719Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1878 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230420T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230420T233000 UID:F5A0D3FB-1097-427C-92B2-98014869EE9D SUMMARY:Dawes DTSTAMP:20221017T175354Z DESCRIPTION:We wanted a musical drama.An ensemble cast, with linked arms, kicking highly.\NA transcription of a band meeting we haven’t even had yet…\NA spotlight on a spotlight:This one goes out to all the solos BETWEEN the solos.To the Ands of 3… AND 4.\N8 Legs and 8 arms, in a room, stretching deeper than they ever knew they could.The Intros have Outros.The Outros have Bridges.\NDon’t like the Jam? ……. Just wait five minutes.\NLike turtle doves in a snow storm, Fate has brought us together again with Producer and long time collaborator Jonathon Wilson. And for this, we are forever grateful.\Nour 8th studio record to date. Unless you don’t count the first seven, then this would be our DEBUT RECORD!\NWe left quite a mess out there, and if each person reading this picks up just one piece of trash on their way out…\NThen we’ll leave this planet more beautiful than the day we found it\N- Dawes X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:We wanted a musical drama.
An ensemble cast, with linked arms, kicking highly.
A transcription of a band meeting we haven’t even had yet…
A spotlight on a spotlight:
This one goes out to all the solos BETWEEN the solos.
To the Ands of 3… AND 4.
8 Legs and 8 arms, in a room, stretching deeper than they ever knew they could.
The Intros have Outros.
The Outros have Bridges.
Don’t like the Jam? ……. Just wait five minutes.
Like turtle doves in a snow storm, Fate has brought us together again with Producer and long time collaborator Jonathon Wilson. And for this, we are forever grateful.
our 8th studio record to date. Unless you don’t count the first seven, then this would be our DEBUT RECORD!
We left quite a mess out there, and if each person reading this picks up just one piece of trash on their way out…
Then we’ll leave this planet more beautiful than the day we found it
- Dawes
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230316T210923Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1957 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230422T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230422T233000 UID:A7F2CCA7-AEDC-4FD4-A011-02357CC635A7 SUMMARY:Orgōne DTSTAMP:20230202T005248Z DESCRIPTION:With a signature sound signified by lockstep rhythms & a deep grasp of soul and funk, ORGŌNE has built a reputation over the past 2 decades as being one of the tightest, fieriest live bands in the country & a top notch crew in the studio. On their new album “Lost Knights”, ORGŌNE offer up a collection of heavy-duty psychedelic funk-rock anthems created to be played loud and raucously.\N"Orgone make life-affirming music; their irresistible funkiness and ability to transcend genre will force anyone out of their seat and onto the dance floor. Even the band's name - a cosmic amalgamation of the words orgasm and hormone - is a reference to a spirit of creativity and universal life force that they hope will have an inhibition-canceling effect.”- L.A. Weekly X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:With a signature sound signified by lockstep rhythms & a deep grasp of soul and funk, ORGŌNE has built a reputation over the past 2 decades as being one of the tightest, fieriest live bands in the country & a top notch crew in the studio. On their new album “Lost Knights”, ORGŌNE offer up a collection of heavy-duty psychedelic funk-rock anthems created to be played loud and raucously.
"Orgone make life-affirming music; their irresistible funkiness and ability to transcend genre will force anyone out of their seat and onto the dance floor. Even the band's name - a cosmic amalgamation of the words orgasm and hormone - is a reference to a spirit of creativity and universal life force that they hope will have an inhibition-canceling effect.”
- L.A. Weekly
George Michael Reborn, the incredible tribute to the late, great George Michael & WHAM! is a must see! With his live vocals (NO LIP-SYNCING here), Robert Bartko exudes the energy and passion of George in the 80’s and 90’s… getting the crowd on the dance floor for “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and prompting standing ovations for his performance of “Careless Whisper.” ” He even gets the fans involved! Robert’s spot-on looks, vocal range, dance moves, crowd interaction, and charisma will leave you cheering for an encore. Close your eyes and you’ll swear you’re listening to the real deal.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230504T163847Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2421 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230512T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230512T233000 UID:266E452A-FE77-4A78-9D03-7D3A2458E433 SUMMARY:Joseph DTSTAMP:20230123T205802Z DESCRIPTION:For nearly a decade, Oregon-bred indie-pop trio Joseph have performed a certain emotional alchemy with their music, channeling their deepest inner tensions into songs that spark a life-changing shift in perspective. In the making of their third studio album The Sun, Natalie Closner and her sisters, twins Meegan Closner and Allison Closner focused their soul searching songwriting on the quietly damaging forces that keep us from living fully in our truth (e.g., gaslighting, cultural conditioning, unconscious yet painfully limiting self-beliefs). Rooted in a newly emboldened sound that lets their breathtaking three-part harmonies shine more brightly than ever, the result is a body of work that radically expands our sense of possibility, ultimately illuminating a path toward greater peace and self-reliance even in the most chaotic of times.\NThe follow-up to Good Luck, Kid—a 2019 release that reached #4 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart—The Sun builds from its predecessor’s cinematic pop and imbues a thrilling new energy into each elegantly sculpted track. In bringing the album to life, Joseph worked with acclaimed producers like Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, First Aid Kit, Laura Veirs), Christian “Leggy” Langdon (Meg Myers, Amos Lee, BANKS), Jessica Dobson (Deep Sea Diver), and Joey Burns (Calexico), alongside songwriting collaborators including, Tayla Parx and Wynne Bennett, known for their work with artists such as Janelle Monae, Twin Shadow, Haim, Khalid, Normani and Ariana Grande. Collectively shaping an irresistibly vibrant sound encompassing everything from the moody grandeur of the album-opening “Waves Crash” to the pure anthemic glory of tracks like “Kicking Up The Light.” With the band taking a decidedly more hands-on role in the production process, The Sun continually achieves the exquisite feat of spinning incredibly complex concepts into sing-along-ready pop songs, providing a captivating backdrop for Joseph’s fearlessly personal storytelling.\NOne of the first songs recorded for The Sun, the album’s shimmering title track served as something of a sonic breakthrough for Joseph. “We’d already played that song live so many times and sung it in a particular way that was more dramatic and had a kind of gravitas to it, but Leggy took it in a more buoyant and summery direction,” Natalie explains. Inspired by Meegan’s experience in working through the lessons of a past relationship, “The Sun” now centers on a lush arrangement of galvanizing rhythms, radiant piano tones, and gorgeously euphoric harmonies—all of which lend a profoundly triumphant spirit to the song’s statement of self-celebration (“I thought I was the light switch you turned on/But I was the Sun”). As Natalie acknowledges, that shift toward a more joyful and resplendent presentation perfectly mirrors The Sun’s underlying narrative. “The whole album is a sort of thinking through of the story that you tell about yourself, to yourself,” she says. “It’s about looking at whatever is diminishing you or making you believe in these limitations you’ve put on yourself, and then finally asking, ‘What if I’m more than that?’”\N“All of our therapists were a huge influence on this album,” Meegan noted. The Sun endlessly reveals Joseph’s commitment to the clear-eyed self-reflection that’s guided the band since their earliest days. Raised in a musical household (their father was a jazz singer and drummer, their mother was a theater teacher), the three sisters officially formed Joseph in 2014 and got their start playing house shows, quickly landing a deal with ATO Records. After making their widely lauded debut with 2015’s I’m Alone, No You’re Not, which featured their hit song, “White Flag,” the band went on to attract the attention of artists such as Billie Eilish, and tour with the likes of James Bay, Amos Lee and most recently The Shins, in addition to taking the stage at major festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Glastonbury, and more. While Good Luck, Kid marked a bold departure from the dreamlike folk of their first full-length, Joseph felt called to push their musical boundaries even further on The Sun—an endeavor that repeatedly required them to assume a new level of courage and agency in the creative process. “We grew a lot in learning how to say ‘no’ and speak up for ourselves,” Allison points out. “The idea of saying ‘no’ in order to allow for a better ‘yes’ later on—that was a lesson that we had to learn,” Natalie adds. “It could be uncomfortable at times, but making sure that we stayed our course was really powerful for us.”\NOver the course of The Sun’s 10 soul-stirring tracks, each member of Joseph adds new texture and detail to the album’s emotional arc by sharing her own distinct viewpoint on the journey toward self-realization. On the sweetly emphatic lead single “Nervous System,” for instance, Allison opens up about learning to undo the thought patterns that contributed to her longtime struggle with anxiety. “I know it’s not everybody’s experience, but I’ve found a lot of power in understanding my own ability to self-soothe, instead of turning to other people or some kind of distraction to try to feel okay,” she says. Meanwhile, on the wistful yet wildly effervescent “Fireworks,” the band speaks to the self-doubt and frustration that sometimes accompany refusing to compromise your romantic ideals.\NFor Joseph, the act of fiercely protecting their artistic vision closely aligns with the abundance of insights threaded throughout The Sun. “As Closners and as women—or maybe even just as humans—it can be very hard to tell someone that something isn’t working for you,” says Allison. “But this album was a unique experience, because we learned to step up and stand our ground and speak our truth when we needed to.” And with the release of The Sun, Joseph hope that listeners might undergo a similar transformation in their sense of strength and self-assurance. “I want people to feel empowered,” says Meegan. ”I want them to recognize the power with themselves, and to know that they’re good—that they’re more than they think they are.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:For nearly a decade, Oregon-bred indie-pop trio Joseph have performed a certain emotional alchemy with their music, channeling their deepest inner tensions into songs that spark a life-changing shift in perspective. In the making of their third studio album The Sun, Natalie Closner and her sisters, twins Meegan Closner and Allison Closner focused their soul searching songwriting on the quietly damaging forces that keep us from living fully in our truth (e.g., gaslighting, cultural conditioning, unconscious yet painfully limiting self-beliefs). Rooted in a newly emboldened sound that lets their breathtaking three-part harmonies shine more brightly than ever, the result is a body of work that radically expands our sense of possibility, ultimately illuminating a path toward greater peace and self-reliance even in the most chaotic of times.
The follow-up to Good Luck, Kid—a 2019 release that reached #4 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart—The Sun builds from its predecessor’s cinematic pop and imbues a thrilling new energy into each elegantly sculpted track. In bringing the album to life, Joseph worked with acclaimed producers like Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, First Aid Kit, Laura Veirs), Christian “Leggy” Langdon (Meg Myers, Amos Lee, BANKS), Jessica Dobson (Deep Sea Diver), and Joey Burns (Calexico), alongside songwriting collaborators including, Tayla Parx and Wynne Bennett, known for their work with artists such as Janelle Monae, Twin Shadow, Haim, Khalid, Normani and Ariana Grande. Collectively shaping an irresistibly vibrant sound encompassing everything from the moody grandeur of the album-opening “Waves Crash” to the pure anthemic glory of tracks like “Kicking Up The Light.” With the band taking a decidedly more hands-on role in the production process, The Sun continually achieves the exquisite feat of spinning incredibly complex concepts into sing-along-ready pop songs, providing a captivating backdrop for Joseph’s fearlessly personal storytelling.
One of the first songs recorded for The Sun, the album’s shimmering title track served as something of a sonic breakthrough for Joseph. “We’d already played that song live so many times and sung it in a particular way that was more dramatic and had a kind of gravitas to it, but Leggy took it in a more buoyant and summery direction,” Natalie explains. Inspired by Meegan’s experience in working through the lessons of a past relationship, “The Sun” now centers on a lush arrangement of galvanizing rhythms, radiant piano tones, and gorgeously euphoric harmonies—all of which lend a profoundly triumphant spirit to the song’s statement of self-celebration (“I thought I was the light switch you turned on/But I was the Sun”). As Natalie acknowledges, that shift toward a more joyful and resplendent presentation perfectly mirrors The Sun’s underlying narrative. “The whole album is a sort of thinking through of the story that you tell about yourself, to yourself,” she says. “It’s about looking at whatever is diminishing you or making you believe in these limitations you’ve put on yourself, and then finally asking, ‘What if I’m more than that?’”
“All of our therapists were a huge influence on this album,” Meegan noted. The Sun endlessly reveals Joseph’s commitment to the clear-eyed self-reflection that’s guided the band since their earliest days. Raised in a musical household (their father was a jazz singer and drummer, their mother was a theater teacher), the three sisters officially formed Joseph in 2014 and got their start playing house shows, quickly landing a deal with ATO Records. After making their widely lauded debut with 2015’s I’m Alone, No You’re Not, which featured their hit song, “White Flag,” the band went on to attract the attention of artists such as Billie Eilish, and tour with the likes of James Bay, Amos Lee and most recently The Shins, in addition to taking the stage at major festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Glastonbury, and more. While Good Luck, Kid marked a bold departure from the dreamlike folk of their first full-length, Joseph felt called to push their musical boundaries even further on The Sun—an endeavor that repeatedly required them to assume a new level of courage and agency in the creative process. “We grew a lot in learning how to say ‘no’ and speak up for ourselves,” Allison points out. “The idea of saying ‘no’ in order to allow for a better ‘yes’ later on—that was a lesson that we had to learn,” Natalie adds. “It could be uncomfortable at times, but making sure that we stayed our course was really powerful for us.”
Over the course of The Sun’s 10 soul-stirring tracks, each member of Joseph adds new texture and detail to the album’s emotional arc by sharing her own distinct viewpoint on the journey toward self-realization. On the sweetly emphatic lead single “Nervous System,” for instance, Allison opens up about learning to undo the thought patterns that contributed to her longtime struggle with anxiety. “I know it’s not everybody’s experience, but I’ve found a lot of power in understanding my own ability to self-soothe, instead of turning to other people or some kind of distraction to try to feel okay,” she says. Meanwhile, on the wistful yet wildly effervescent “Fireworks,” the band speaks to the self-doubt and frustration that sometimes accompany refusing to compromise your romantic ideals.
For Joseph, the act of fiercely protecting their artistic vision closely aligns with the abundance of insights threaded throughout The Sun. “As Closners and as women—or maybe even just as humans—it can be very hard to tell someone that something isn’t working for you,” says Allison. “But this album was a unique experience, because we learned to step up and stand our ground and speak our truth when we needed to.” And with the release of The Sun, Joseph hope that listeners might undergo a similar transformation in their sense of strength and self-assurance. “I want people to feel empowered,” says Meegan. ”I want them to recognize the power with themselves, and to know that they’re good—that they’re more than they think they are.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230425T224004Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2028 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230513T213000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230513T233000 UID:D8972F55-0F80-474D-9FC0-5819F8D9EC59 SUMMARY:Mutiny's Tri-Quarterly Shareholders Meeting DTSTAMP:20230512T213633Z DESCRIPTION:Surpise Lineup X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Surpise Lineup
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:209 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230518T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230518T233000 UID:955C57C3-4DA1-4CE6-BA1D-E0B516BA9699 SUMMARY:Hot Since 82 DTSTAMP:20230512T192842Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2014 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230520T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230520T233000 UID:46E21C53-BFE3-4EEC-961E-24171DF19D59 SUMMARY:Fruit Bats DTSTAMP:20221115T172751Z DESCRIPTION:Eric D. Johnson, the creative force behind Fruit Bats, doesn’t spend a lot of time looking in the rearview mirror. “Maybe it speaks to some Midwest thing,” he says. “Don’t be overly reflective or navel-gazing. And as a songwriter, you always want to be looking forward, not backward.” But with the 20th anniversary of his first Fruit Bats release (2001’s Echolocation) on his mind, it seemed as good a time as any to take stock of his work—and he’s doing so in the form of Sometimes a Cloud Is Just a Cloud: Slow Growers, Sleeper Hits and Lost Songs (2001–2021), a two-disc collection that tracks the history of Fruit Bats from its earliest days to right now.\NThoughtfully compiled by Johnson himself, this set is split in two distinct halves. Set in reverse chronological order, the first disc cherry-picks from Fruit Bats’ official releases, including fan favorites—“Humbug Mountain Song” from 2016’s Absolute Loser and “The Bottom of It” from his 2019 Merge debut Gold Past Life—alongside some of Johnson’s more personal choices like “Glass in Your Feet” from Echolocation. “I was 25 when I made that record,” Johnson remembers. “I was even younger than that when I wrote that song. I think I hadn’t yet learned to write from the heart. I was trying to create a sound. It wasn’t even so much about the song at that point.”\NTo emphasize both his reticence at dwelling on the past and to showcase how far he has grown as a songwriter, the first disc kicks off with a brand-new track, “Rips Me Up.” Recorded with Josh Kaufman, who helped produce Fruit Bats’ 2021 full-length The Pet Parade, the song is a soulful strutter about, as Johnson says in the liner notes for this set, how love “paralyzes and wounds us.”\NIf the first disc of this set is “the collection that you buy for your friend that’s Fruit Bats-curious,” according to Johnson, the second disc is for longtime fans that want a deeper dive into Fruit Bats lore. To put this half of Sometimes a Cloud Is Just a Cloud together, Johnson dug into several hard drives’ worth of material. “Much of it is horribly unlistenable,” he says with a laugh. “I wouldn’t necessarily say there was a treasure trove. At least to my ears because I might be my own worst critic.”\NConsidering the wonders that Johnson did uncover for this set, there may be a call for a further mining of the archives. Included here are lovely early versions of “Rainbow Sign” and “The Old Black Hole,” recorded to a Tascam 4-track just as Fruit Bats was becoming a reality. There’s also a rambling take on the Steve Miller Band’s classic rock mainstay “The Joker,” and some wonderful never-before-heard original tunes.\NFor Johnson, two of the most exciting tracks are “WACS” and “When the Stars Are Out,” both recorded during the sessions for 2011’s Tripper. The former is a standout for an appearance by Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis who applies a perfect psych-soul solo to the mix. The latter features another special guest, the late, great Richard Swift on piano. “I didn’t even know Richard was on that song until I was approving the masters,” Johnson says. “This was before his production career had really taken off. You could just bring him in for a session and he would just vibe out.”\NEven if Johnson had some internal debates about ruminating heavily on his past work in this way, what putting together Sometimes a Cloud Is Just a Cloud did is reassure him that trusting his musical instincts has served him well for these past two decades and will continue to do so well into the future. “I love how the best-laid plans are never what you think they’re going to be. I love the unpredictability of it. Recording and writing songs is often like, ‘Wow, that is not where I was expecting that to go.’ My whole career has been like that. This was not where I expected to go. But I mean that in a really good way.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Eric D. Johnson, the creative force behind Fruit Bats, doesn’t spend a lot of time looking in the rearview mirror. “Maybe it speaks to some Midwest thing,” he says. “Don’t be overly reflective or navel-gazing. And as a songwriter, you always want to be looking forward, not backward.” But with the 20th anniversary of his first Fruit Bats release (2001’s Echolocation) on his mind, it seemed as good a time as any to take stock of his work—and he’s doing so in the form of Sometimes a Cloud Is Just a Cloud: Slow Growers, Sleeper Hits and Lost Songs (2001–2021), a two-disc collection that tracks the history of Fruit Bats from its earliest days to right now.
Thoughtfully compiled by Johnson himself, this set is split in two distinct halves. Set in reverse chronological order, the first disc cherry-picks from Fruit Bats’ official releases, including fan favorites—“Humbug Mountain Song” from 2016’s Absolute Loser and “The Bottom of It” from his 2019 Merge debut Gold Past Life—alongside some of Johnson’s more personal choices like “Glass in Your Feet” from Echolocation. “I was 25 when I made that record,” Johnson remembers. “I was even younger than that when I wrote that song. I think I hadn’t yet learned to write from the heart. I was trying to create a sound. It wasn’t even so much about the song at that point.”
To emphasize both his reticence at dwelling on the past and to showcase how far he has grown as a songwriter, the first disc kicks off with a brand-new track, “Rips Me Up.” Recorded with Josh Kaufman, who helped produce Fruit Bats’ 2021 full-length The Pet Parade, the song is a soulful strutter about, as Johnson says in the liner notes for this set, how love “paralyzes and wounds us.”
If the first disc of this set is “the collection that you buy for your friend that’s Fruit Bats-curious,” according to Johnson, the second disc is for longtime fans that want a deeper dive into Fruit Bats lore. To put this half of Sometimes a Cloud Is Just a Cloud together, Johnson dug into several hard drives’ worth of material. “Much of it is horribly unlistenable,” he says with a laugh. “I wouldn’t necessarily say there was a treasure trove. At least to my ears because I might be my own worst critic.”
Considering the wonders that Johnson did uncover for this set, there may be a call for a further mining of the archives. Included here are lovely early versions of “Rainbow Sign” and “The Old Black Hole,” recorded to a Tascam 4-track just as Fruit Bats was becoming a reality. There’s also a rambling take on the Steve Miller Band’s classic rock mainstay “The Joker,” and some wonderful never-before-heard original tunes.
For Johnson, two of the most exciting tracks are “WACS” and “When the Stars Are Out,” both recorded during the sessions for 2011’s Tripper. The former is a standout for an appearance by Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis who applies a perfect psych-soul solo to the mix. The latter features another special guest, the late, great Richard Swift on piano. “I didn’t even know Richard was on that song until I was approving the masters,” Johnson says. “This was before his production career had really taken off. You could just bring him in for a session and he would just vibe out.”
Even if Johnson had some internal debates about ruminating heavily on his past work in this way, what putting together Sometimes a Cloud Is Just a Cloud did is reassure him that trusting his musical instincts has served him well for these past two decades and will continue to do so well into the future. “I love how the best-laid plans are never what you think they’re going to be. I love the unpredictability of it. Recording and writing songs is often like, ‘Wow, that is not where I was expecting that to go.’ My whole career has been like that. This was not where I expected to go. But I mean that in a really good way.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230314T223817Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2501 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230530T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230530T233000 UID:A518AB80-019A-40BB-A432-DCC3C9825DA0 SUMMARY:Haken DTSTAMP:20221213T170835Z DESCRIPTION:Haken are a modern progressive rock band hailing from London, England. Since the sextet started jamming together in 2004, they’ve been one of the genre’s most loyal yet simultaneously adventurous forces. Every album they’ve released is distinct from all the rest, but they’re all tied together by their incalculable time signatures, earless songwriting and majestic vocals – and, of course, their critical acclaim.\NHaken’s 2010 debut, Aquarius, gave British prog a sorely needed lifeline. In establishing the band’s balance of mighty hooks, off-kilter riffs and flamboyant keyboard lines, it made them the most exciting and experimental sons of the genre’s homeland since Porcupine Tree emerged almost two decades prior. The next year’s Visions somehow pushed the melodies and scope even further, setting the stage for breakthrough The Mountain: an avant-garde behemoth that united the best traits of Gentle Giant, Metallica and Soft Machine in one swipe. Since then, Haken have gleefully dabbled in ’80s synths on 2016’s Affinity, before the conceptual duo of Vector and Virus aggravated their heavy metal leanings to invigorating levels.\NHow do you honour such an eclectic, unpredictable career? You make Fauna: Haken’s most genre-busting and conceptually fascinating album to date. Haken’s 7th studio album is due for worldwide release on March 3rd 2023. Haken are also scheduled for a co-headline European tour with Between the Buried and Me in early 2023. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Haken are a modern progressive rock band hailing from London, England. Since the sextet started jamming together in 2004, they’ve been one of the genre’s most loyal yet simultaneously adventurous forces. Every album they’ve released is distinct from all the rest, but they’re all tied together by their incalculable time signatures, earless songwriting and majestic vocals – and, of course, their critical acclaim.
Haken’s 2010 debut, Aquarius, gave British prog a sorely needed lifeline. In establishing the band’s balance of mighty hooks, off-kilter riffs and flamboyant keyboard lines, it made them the most exciting and experimental sons of the genre’s homeland since Porcupine Tree emerged almost two decades prior. The next year’s Visions somehow pushed the melodies and scope even further, setting the stage for breakthrough The Mountain: an avant-garde behemoth that united the best traits of Gentle Giant, Metallica and Soft Machine in one swipe. Since then, Haken have gleefully dabbled in ’80s synths on 2016’s Affinity, before the conceptual duo of Vector and Virus aggravated their heavy metal leanings to invigorating levels.
How do you honour such an eclectic, unpredictable career? You make Fauna: Haken’s most genre-busting and conceptually fascinating album to date. Haken’s 7th studio album is due for worldwide release on March 3rd 2023. Haken are also scheduled for a co-headline European tour with Between the Buried and Me in early 2023.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20221216T171809Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2360 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230619T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230619T233000 UID:C6C5FB11-866C-4035-8EC6-766637CE8D26 SUMMARY:Allen Stone DTSTAMP:20230327T191234Z DESCRIPTION:Allen Stone's journey to becoming a successful musician started in the small town of Chewelah, Washington, where he was raised on gospel music and spent much of his childhood as a pastor's son, watching his parents lead their congregation in song. After dropping out of college, he made the move to Seattle to pursue his music career, often driving up and down the West Coast in his '87 Buick to perform at any and all gigs he could find.\NStone quickly gained a reputation for his powerful live performances, and over the years, he has played up to 200 dates per year, building a devoted following along the way. His unique ability to channel sensitivity into his songs while radiating hope and promise has endeared him to audiences worldwide. Stone's ability to blend various genres, including soul-pop, folk-rock, R&B, and funk, is evident in his five full-length albums, from his 2010 self-released debut album "Last To Speak" to 2021's "APART."\NIn addition to his successful touring schedule, Stone has also appeared on national television numerous times, including performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Today Show. He is set to appear on American Idol as a mentor for the second time and will be hitting the road with Chris Stapleton this summer. Except new music from Stone in 2023. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Allen Stone's journey to becoming a successful musician started in the small town of Chewelah, Washington, where he was raised on gospel music and spent much of his childhood as a pastor's son, watching his parents lead their congregation in song. After dropping out of college, he made the move to Seattle to pursue his music career, often driving up and down the West Coast in his '87 Buick to perform at any and all gigs he could find.
Stone quickly gained a reputation for his powerful live performances, and over the years, he has played up to 200 dates per year, building a devoted following along the way. His unique ability to channel sensitivity into his songs while radiating hope and promise has endeared him to audiences worldwide. Stone's ability to blend various genres, including soul-pop, folk-rock, R&B, and funk, is evident in his five full-length albums, from his 2010 self-released debut album "Last To Speak" to 2021's "APART."
In addition to his successful touring schedule, Stone has also appeared on national television numerous times, including performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Today Show. He is set to appear on American Idol as a mentor for the second time and will be hitting the road with Chris Stapleton this summer. Except new music from Stone in 2023.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230616T211757Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1558 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230627T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230627T233000 UID:F2DB2998-4F02-4D13-8C00-5C0EEAD2E461 SUMMARY:moe. DTSTAMP:20230404T213008Z DESCRIPTION:Hailed by American Songwriter for their “mind-bending musicality,” moe. is treasured for their mesmerizing musical synergy, unfettered showmanship, and smart, resonant songcraft. For three decades, the band has corralled myriad musical forms on a truly original journey rich with crafty, clever songwriting and astonishing resourcefulness. Fueled by an impassioned fan base, moe. has spent much of those thirty years on the road, encompassing countless live performances marked by eclectic wit, deep friendship, and exploratory invention. Having built an enduring legacy with hard work and a confirmed commitment to creativity and community, moe. seem as surprised asanyone to find themselves at such a significant landmark.\N“The career just very subtly unfolded,” says co-founding bassist-singer-songwriter Rob Derhak, “without any of us noticing it actually happened.”\NAl Schnier (guitars, vocals), Chuck Garvey (guitars, vocals), and Derhak first came together at the University of Buffalo in 1990, musician-friends uniting to play for the sheer fun of it. The band followed a handful of cassette-only releases with 1992’s FATBOY, recorded in an apartment studio above Buffalo’s Top Shelf Guitars with a bird’s eye view of Mighty Taco.\N“We liked music, we liked to party, and we wanted to put those two things together,” says Derhak. “We wanted to do what seemed like the coolest thing we could possibly do and not have to work a regular job. It didn’t even seem like a decision had to be made. It’s was like, this is what we're doing and it’s happening. The idea that thirty years later I would be a dad, paying a mortgage and earning a living, based on our band, with the same guys no less, that never even crossed my mind.”\NFinding themselves with an increasingly avid local following, moe. ventured forth, now with master rhythmatist Jim Loughlin among their ranks. The more the band traveled, the more they grew creatively, evincing a remarkable willingness to progress as they went along. moe. quickly became part of a burgeoning scene centered around NYC’s Wetlands, a grassroots revolution that embraced freewheeling genre fusion – spanning funk and free jazz, country and classic rock, prog, new wave, calypso, pop and everything else under the sun – fan interaction, and unrestrained improvisation.\N“We adapted,” Derhak says. “Initially we didn’t have quite as much of the same ideal at first. We didn’t jam or have long extended solos. But as we went from being an opening act to being a headliner, we didn’t have enough material to do two long sets. We needed more material so our songs started to stretch themselves out. We became a jam band.”\Nmoe. widened its reach across America, earning new fans and national attention with their ingeniously imaginative interplay and a regularly growing catalogue. The band spent almost as much time in the studio as they did on the road, mastering their delightfully vibrant blend of inventive musicality and genre-blurring reach on now-classic LPs like 1998’s TIN CANS & CAR TIRES, 2004’s WORMWOOD, 2007’s THE CONCH (which reached #1 on Billboard’s “Heatseekers” chart), and 2012’s critically acclaimed WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LA LAS. As if all that weren’t enough, the moe. canon – released largely through their own Fatboy Records, as well as via two label deals, one major, the other independent – further includes a wide range of archival live releases (including 2000’s L), a Christmas album, even a re-recorded collection of greatest hits.\N2020’s THIS IS NOT, WE ARE – the band’s 12th studio album and first since 2014’s NO GUTS, NO GLORY – includes eight new songs, most of which were road tested over the past two years of touring. In addition, the LP features one song making its first appearance anywhere, the Garvey- penned “Undertone.” Self-produced by the band, THIS IS NOT, WE ARE sees moe. once again pushing their music forward while simultaneously rifling through their back pages on songs like Derhak’s nostalgic “Skitchin’ Buffalo” and the Al Schnier composition, “Crushing.”\N“Our musical paths have diverged so many times,” Derhak says. “All of our original influences became part of what we were at the time and then as we played, our sound kind of just grew. It changed with the landscape of the music business and it changed with what we were listening to. For example, some of our albums further down the road reflect a much stronger Americana influence. It’s like, all of the things that we’ve learned in the past thirty years, all the things that we’ve done, have sort of come full circle.”\N“We’re a better band now,” Amico – who came aboard in 1996 and has remained behind the kit ever since – says. “The reality is, you spent thirty years with people doing what you do, you get better. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. Your ears get more trained, your playing gets better and better, your ability to communicate with each other better.”\NThat preternatural interplay was of course honed through night after night, week after week, of on-stage togetherness. moe. is truly a live band, rightly adored by a fervent following for their epic concert performances, each one imaginatively improvisational, rhythmically audacious, and utterly unique. Indeed, the band has spent much of its 30-year career on the road, including innumerable headline tours, international festival sets from Bonnaroo to Japan’s famed Fuji Rock, music-themed cruises, and sold-out shows alongside such like-minded acts as the Allman Brothers Band, Robert Plant, members of the Grateful Dead, Dave Matthews Band, The Who, Gov’t Mule, and Blues Traveler, to name but a few. As if that weren’t enough, moe. has both promoted and headlined at multiple festivals of their own, including snoe.down and moe.down.\N“We built our own career,” Amico says, “where we are able to play places like Radio City or the Fox Theater in Atlanta, playing SPAC (Saratoga Performing Arts Center), my hometown venue where I saw concerts as a kid. We’ve played Red Rocks eight times or nine times or however many times we’ve played it. The fact that we built a career that we’ve played these places and have sustained playing these places, it’s huge.”\NThat illustrious career path has been supported and nourished by the band’s ever-growing legion of devoted fans and followers, known lovingly as moe.rons. With their astonishing prolificacy and awe-inspiring longevity, moe. is among the rare bands that somehow manage to transcend time and trend to be passed down from one generation to the next.\N“We’ve never been the kind of band where you’re one-and-done,” Amico says. “People have gotten married and had kids, now those kids are listening to us.”\N“There are people who have been with us right from the beginning in Buffalo,” Derhak says. “Which is insane. But the thing is, we pick up people along the road. There are people who say, I’ve resisted listening to this band for years and then I finally did – I can’t believe I’ve wasted my time not listening to them for so long. Now they’re like, I need more albums, I need more shows.”\NImpossible to pigeonhole as anything other than simply moe., this one-of-a-kind band has never been easily categorized, their sonic adventurousness and tongue-in-cheek humor distinctly and undeniably their own. Despite current circumstances, moe. is celebrating their milestone anniversary with characteristic self-deprecation and wistful optimism. Here’s to the next thirty.\N“Thirty years is a long run,” Derhak says, “to be with the same guys. I haven’t even been married for thirty years. ”\N“You just don’t think about thirty years down the line when you’re starting out,” Amico says. “I mean, you kind of do because that’s what you want to be doing for the rest of your life. Here we are, thirty years later – I’ve had this job longer than I probably would’ve had any job in the real world.“ X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Hailed by American Songwriter for their “mind-bending musicality,” moe. is treasured for their mesmerizing musical synergy, unfettered showmanship, and smart, resonant songcraft. For three decades, the band has corralled myriad musical forms on a truly original journey rich with crafty, clever songwriting and astonishing resourcefulness. Fueled by an impassioned fan base, moe. has spent much of those thirty years on the road, encompassing countless live performances marked by eclectic wit, deep friendship, and exploratory invention. Having built an enduring legacy with hard work and a confirmed commitment to creativity and community, moe. seem as surprised asanyone to find themselves at such a significant landmark.
“The career just very subtly unfolded,” says co-founding bassist-singer-songwriter Rob Derhak, “without any of us noticing it actually happened.”
Al Schnier (guitars, vocals), Chuck Garvey (guitars, vocals), and Derhak first came together at the University of Buffalo in 1990, musician-friends uniting to play for the sheer fun of it. The band followed a handful of cassette-only releases with 1992’s FATBOY, recorded in an apartment studio above Buffalo’s Top Shelf Guitars with a bird’s eye view of Mighty Taco.
“We liked music, we liked to party, and we wanted to put those two things together,” says Derhak. “We wanted to do what seemed like the coolest thing we could possibly do and not have to work a regular job. It didn’t even seem like a decision had to be made. It’s was like, this is what we're doing and it’s happening. The idea that thirty years later I would be a dad, paying a mortgage and earning a living, based on our band, with the same guys no less, that never even crossed my mind.”
Finding themselves with an increasingly avid local following, moe. ventured forth, now with master rhythmatist Jim Loughlin among their ranks. The more the band traveled, the more they grew creatively, evincing a remarkable willingness to progress as they went along. moe. quickly became part of a burgeoning scene centered around NYC’s Wetlands, a grassroots revolution that embraced freewheeling genre fusion – spanning funk and free jazz, country and classic rock, prog, new wave, calypso, pop and everything else under the sun – fan interaction, and unrestrained improvisation.
“We adapted,” Derhak says. “Initially we didn’t have quite as much of the same ideal at first. We didn’t jam or have long extended solos. But as we went from being an opening act to being a headliner, we didn’t have enough material to do two long sets. We needed more material so our songs started to stretch themselves out. We became a jam band.”
moe. widened its reach across America, earning new fans and national attention with their ingeniously imaginative interplay and a regularly growing catalogue. The band spent almost as much time in the studio as they did on the road, mastering their delightfully vibrant blend of inventive musicality and genre-blurring reach on now-classic LPs like 1998’s TIN CANS & CAR TIRES, 2004’s WORMWOOD, 2007’s THE CONCH (which reached #1 on Billboard’s “Heatseekers” chart), and 2012’s critically acclaimed WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LA LAS. As if all that weren’t enough, the moe. canon – released largely through their own Fatboy Records, as well as via two label deals, one major, the other independent – further includes a wide range of archival live releases (including 2000’s L), a Christmas album, even a re-recorded collection of greatest hits.
2020’s THIS IS NOT, WE ARE – the band’s 12th studio album and first since 2014’s NO GUTS, NO GLORY – includes eight new songs, most of which were road tested over the past two years of touring. In addition, the LP features one song making its first appearance anywhere, the Garvey- penned “Undertone.” Self-produced by the band, THIS IS NOT, WE ARE sees moe. once again pushing their music forward while simultaneously rifling through their back pages on songs like Derhak’s nostalgic “Skitchin’ Buffalo” and the Al Schnier composition, “Crushing.”
“Our musical paths have diverged so many times,” Derhak says. “All of our original influences became part of what we were at the time and then as we played, our sound kind of just grew. It changed with the landscape of the music business and it changed with what we were listening to. For example, some of our albums further down the road reflect a much stronger Americana influence. It’s like, all of the things that we’ve learned in the past thirty years, all the things that we’ve done, have sort of come full circle.”
“We’re a better band now,” Amico – who came aboard in 1996 and has remained behind the kit ever since – says. “The reality is, you spent thirty years with people doing what you do, you get better. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. Your ears get more trained, your playing gets better and better, your ability to communicate with each other better.”
That preternatural interplay was of course honed through night after night, week after week, of on-stage togetherness. moe. is truly a live band, rightly adored by a fervent following for their epic concert performances, each one imaginatively improvisational, rhythmically audacious, and utterly unique. Indeed, the band has spent much of its 30-year career on the road, including innumerable headline tours, international festival sets from Bonnaroo to Japan’s famed Fuji Rock, music-themed cruises, and sold-out shows alongside such like-minded acts as the Allman Brothers Band, Robert Plant, members of the Grateful Dead, Dave Matthews Band, The Who, Gov’t Mule, and Blues Traveler, to name but a few. As if that weren’t enough, moe. has both promoted and headlined at multiple festivals of their own, including snoe.down and moe.down.
“We built our own career,” Amico says, “where we are able to play places like Radio City or the Fox Theater in Atlanta, playing SPAC (Saratoga Performing Arts Center), my hometown venue where I saw concerts as a kid. We’ve played Red Rocks eight times or nine times or however many times we’ve played it. The fact that we built a career that we’ve played these places and have sustained playing these places, it’s huge.”
That illustrious career path has been supported and nourished by the band’s ever-growing legion of devoted fans and followers, known lovingly as moe.rons. With their astonishing prolificacy and awe-inspiring longevity, moe. is among the rare bands that somehow manage to transcend time and trend to be passed down from one generation to the next.
“We’ve never been the kind of band where you’re one-and-done,” Amico says. “People have gotten married and had kids, now those kids are listening to us.”
“There are people who have been with us right from the beginning in Buffalo,” Derhak says. “Which is insane. But the thing is, we pick up people along the road. There are people who say, I’ve resisted listening to this band for years and then I finally did – I can’t believe I’ve wasted my time not listening to them for so long. Now they’re like, I need more albums, I need more shows.”
Impossible to pigeonhole as anything other than simply moe., this one-of-a-kind band has never been easily categorized, their sonic adventurousness and tongue-in-cheek humor distinctly and undeniably their own. Despite current circumstances, moe. is celebrating their milestone anniversary with characteristic self-deprecation and wistful optimism. Here’s to the next thirty.
“Thirty years is a long run,” Derhak says, “to be with the same guys. I haven’t even been married for thirty years. ”
“You just don’t think about thirty years down the line when you’re starting out,” Amico says. “I mean, you kind of do because that’s what you want to be doing for the rest of your life. Here we are, thirty years later – I’ve had this job longer than I probably would’ve had any job in the real world.“
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230530T210418Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1559 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230825T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230825T233000 UID:A0DFBFA5-AFBD-400C-A200-C8BBBB8B6069 SUMMARY:Grid City Fest — Night 1! DTSTAMP:20230718T205958Z DESCRIPTION:It's back for a second year and there is a lot more going on. Thanks to our friends at the South Salt Lake Arts Council, you will get to travel in style all day long on an air-conditioned FUN BUS throughout our Creative Industries Zone. Music will be dispersed throughout "The Zone" on multiple stages Friday night and all day Saturday. Each night will culminate in the ultimate afterparty at the Commonwealth Room for Food, Games, Vendors, and lots of Dancing. This year, our goal is to have you listening to live local bands and musicians, tasting our amazing fare, checking out our amazing outdoor wall murals, and drinking the most fabulous libations. If you aren’t familiar with the amazing businesses that make up “The Zone” there will be no easier way than this year's Fest to get to know them! X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:It's back for a second year and there is a lot more going on. Thanks to our friends at the South Salt Lake Arts Council, you will get to travel in style all day long on an air-conditioned FUN BUS throughout our Creative Industries Zone. Music will be dispersed throughout "The Zone" on multiple stages Friday night and all day Saturday. Each night will culminate in the ultimate afterparty at the Commonwealth Room for Food, Games, Vendors, and lots of Dancing. This year, our goal is to have you listening to live local bands and musicians, tasting our amazing fare, checking out our amazing outdoor wall murals, and drinking the most fabulous libations. If you aren’t familiar with the amazing businesses that make up “The Zone” there will be no easier way than this year's Fest to get to know them!
LAST-MODIFIED:20230804T194236Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1406 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230826T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230826T233000 UID:F523A2B3-5B93-4917-AE62-02493243B0EF SUMMARY:Grid City Fest — Night 2! DTSTAMP:20230718T212538Z DESCRIPTION:It's back for a second year and there is a lot more going on. Thanks to our friends at the South Salt Lake Arts Council you will get to travel in style all day long on an air-conditioned FUN BUS throughout our Creative Industries Zone. Music will be dispersed throughout "The Zone" on multiple stages Friday night and all day Saturday. Each night will culminate in the ultimate afterparty at the Commonwealth Room for Food, Games, Vendors, and lots of Dancing. This year our goal is to have you listening to live local bands and musicians, tasting our amazing fare, checking out our amazing outdoor wall murals, and drinking the most fabulous libations. If you aren’t familiar with the amazing businesses that make up “The Zone” there will be no easier way than this year's Fest to get to know them! X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:It's back for a second year and there is a lot more going on. Thanks to our friends at the South Salt Lake Arts Council you will get to travel in style all day long on an air-conditioned FUN BUS throughout our Creative Industries Zone. Music will be dispersed throughout "The Zone" on multiple stages Friday night and all day Saturday. Each night will culminate in the ultimate afterparty at the Commonwealth Room for Food, Games, Vendors, and lots of Dancing. This year our goal is to have you listening to live local bands and musicians, tasting our amazing fare, checking out our amazing outdoor wall murals, and drinking the most fabulous libations. If you aren’t familiar with the amazing businesses that make up “The Zone” there will be no easier way than this year's Fest to get to know them!
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230804T194220Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:565 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230907T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230907T233000 UID:AFEB17AE-B935-498D-8F30-D0DFA7291F82 SUMMARY:Los Amigos Invisibles DTSTAMP:20230509T144957Z DESCRIPTION:The band´s name comes from the television show “Human Values” by Venezuelan historian Arturo Uslar Pietri, which remained in the air for two decades, where he always dedicated the show to his “Invisible Friends” refering to the audience.\NHis record debut came in 1995 with the release of “A Typical and Autoctonal Venezuelan Dance Band”. Little by little, the band consolidated its local fame by staying on tour until 1996.\NIt is in this year that David Byrne, while shopping at a record store in New York, accidentally finds one of the copies left by Los Amigos on consignment and immediately begins the process of conversations that led to signing them for his record label “Luaka Bop”. After months of conversations, pre-production and production, in 1998 they released their first album for the label of the former Talking Heads, “The New Sound of the Venezuelan Gozadera”, produced by Andrés Levín, which had hits like “Ponerte en Cuatro”, “Sexy” and “Disco Anal”.\NTwo years later the band moves to the city of San Francisco for 2 months to record their next album and it is at this time that the band is considering the possibility of moving permanently to the United States to continue their career.\NAt the end of 2000 they put on sale their third album “Arepa 3000: A Venezuelan Journey Into Space” produced by Phillip Steir which is nominated for a Grammy Award and a Latin Grammy. Of this disc they leave subjects like “Cuchi Cuchi” and “The Neighbor”.\NAfter almost a year of planning, the band decided to move to New York City on January 23, 2001. During their first year in the city, Los Amigos began a friendly and working relationship with the legends of the dance world “Masters At Work” which leads them to enter the studio in early 2002 to record what would be their fourth album.\N“The Venezuelan Zinga Son, Vol. 1” produced by Masters At Work, is published in Venezuela in 2003 and in the United States in 2004 and that same year they are nominated for a Latin Grammy in the category of Best Alternative Latin Album. Being their most mature album according to the criterion of many fans, Los Amigos achieve an impeccable and unique sound and include songs of more than 8 minutes with long instrumental sections, remembering the great recordings that were made in the 70s and 80s.\NIn 2006, Los Amigos Invisibles ended their contract with the Luaka Bop label and independently edited their album “Superpop Venezuela”. This album is a collection of Venezuelan songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s. This album is nominated for a Grammy in the category “Best Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album”. This would be their 2nd nomination to the American Grammys.\NIn 2008 they released their first album and live DVD called “En una noche tan linda como esta” and began the process of recording their 6th studio album.\N“Comercial” (Eng: “Commercial”) goes on sale in 2009 and Los Amigos Invisibles is nominated for its 3rd Latin Grammy. On Thursday, November 5, at a ceremony held in the city of Las Vegas, Los Amigos Invisibles win their first Latin Grammy.\N“Repeat After Me”, their 7th studio album, released in 2013. It earned the band the Latin Grammy nominations for Best Latin / Alternative Rock Album and for Best Packaging Design.\NIn 2015 fans of Los Amigos Invisibles enjoyed a CD/DVD recorded in Mexico City that included versions of their greatest hits in bolero, reggae, bossa nova, cha cha chá and other rhythms. To achieve this concept, the Venezuelan band used new instruments and invited important musicians from the Latin American music scene to participate. Natalia Lafourcade, Alex Syntek, Jay de la Cueva (Moderatto), Venezuelan Mariana Vega, Gil Cerezo (Kinky), a Brazilian percussion group and a string quartet. Los Amigos Invisibles closed 2015 with more than 50 concerts in 10 different countries.\NIn 2016, accompanied by artists of the likes of Carlos Vives, Santiago Cruz, Franco de Vita, Kany Garcia and Ricardo Montaner, Los Amigos Invisibles lead a record production directed by Sony US/Latin to honor one of the greats of music: Yordano Los Amigos Invisibles lead this record material entitled “El Tren de los Regresos”.\NOn October 14, 2016 Los Amigos Invisibles published on all the platforms “Dame El Mambo”, the first single from their most recent album “El Paradise”, which came to light at the beginning of 2017. A cocktail of great international producers with surprising collaborations. Currently Los Amigos Invisibles continue their international tour while promoting “Espérame” feat. Elastic Bond, the third single from “The Paradise”. Earlier in 2018 “El Paradise” was nominated for the Best Latin Rock, Urbano r Alternative Album Grammy. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The band´s name comes from the television show “Human Values” by Venezuelan historian Arturo Uslar Pietri, which remained in the air for two decades, where he always dedicated the show to his “Invisible Friends” refering to the audience.
His record debut came in 1995 with the release of “A Typical and Autoctonal Venezuelan Dance Band”. Little by little, the band consolidated its local fame by staying on tour until 1996.
It is in this year that David Byrne, while shopping at a record store in New York, accidentally finds one of the copies left by Los Amigos on consignment and immediately begins the process of conversations that led to signing them for his record label “Luaka Bop”. After months of conversations, pre-production and production, in 1998 they released their first album for the label of the former Talking Heads, “The New Sound of the Venezuelan Gozadera”, produced by Andrés Levín, which had hits like “Ponerte en Cuatro”, “Sexy” and “Disco Anal”.
Two years later the band moves to the city of San Francisco for 2 months to record their next album and it is at this time that the band is considering the possibility of moving permanently to the United States to continue their career.
At the end of 2000 they put on sale their third album “Arepa 3000: A Venezuelan Journey Into Space” produced by Phillip Steir which is nominated for a Grammy Award and a Latin Grammy. Of this disc they leave subjects like “Cuchi Cuchi” and “The Neighbor”.
After almost a year of planning, the band decided to move to New York City on January 23, 2001. During their first year in the city, Los Amigos began a friendly and working relationship with the legends of the dance world “Masters At Work” which leads them to enter the studio in early 2002 to record what would be their fourth album.
“The Venezuelan Zinga Son, Vol. 1” produced by Masters At Work, is published in Venezuela in 2003 and in the United States in 2004 and that same year they are nominated for a Latin Grammy in the category of Best Alternative Latin Album. Being their most mature album according to the criterion of many fans, Los Amigos achieve an impeccable and unique sound and include songs of more than 8 minutes with long instrumental sections, remembering the great recordings that were made in the 70s and 80s.
In 2006, Los Amigos Invisibles ended their contract with the Luaka Bop label and independently edited their album “Superpop Venezuela”. This album is a collection of Venezuelan songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s. This album is nominated for a Grammy in the category “Best Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album”. This would be their 2nd nomination to the American Grammys.
In 2008 they released their first album and live DVD called “En una noche tan linda como esta” and began the process of recording their 6th studio album.
“Comercial” (Eng: “Commercial”) goes on sale in 2009 and Los Amigos Invisibles is nominated for its 3rd Latin Grammy. On Thursday, November 5, at a ceremony held in the city of Las Vegas, Los Amigos Invisibles win their first Latin Grammy.
“Repeat After Me”, their 7th studio album, released in 2013. It earned the band the Latin Grammy nominations for Best Latin / Alternative Rock Album and for Best Packaging Design.
In 2015 fans of Los Amigos Invisibles enjoyed a CD/DVD recorded in Mexico City that included versions of their greatest hits in bolero, reggae, bossa nova, cha cha chá and other rhythms. To achieve this concept, the Venezuelan band used new instruments and invited important musicians from the Latin American music scene to participate. Natalia Lafourcade, Alex Syntek, Jay de la Cueva (Moderatto), Venezuelan Mariana Vega, Gil Cerezo (Kinky), a Brazilian percussion group and a string quartet. Los Amigos Invisibles closed 2015 with more than 50 concerts in 10 different countries.
In 2016, accompanied by artists of the likes of Carlos Vives, Santiago Cruz, Franco de Vita, Kany Garcia and Ricardo Montaner, Los Amigos Invisibles lead a record production directed by Sony US/Latin to honor one of the greats of music: Yordano Los Amigos Invisibles lead this record material entitled “El Tren de los Regresos”.
On October 14, 2016 Los Amigos Invisibles published on all the platforms “Dame El Mambo”, the first single from their most recent album “El Paradise”, which came to light at the beginning of 2017. A cocktail of great international producers with surprising collaborations. Currently Los Amigos Invisibles continue their international tour while promoting “Espérame” feat. Elastic Bond, the third single from “The Paradise”. Earlier in 2018 “El Paradise” was nominated for the Best Latin Rock, Urbano r Alternative Album Grammy.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230828T204124Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3181 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230908T153000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230908T233000 UID:87883DC0-BF0E-4775-B06D-D54D7AFB410E SUMMARY:Honey Days Festival (Day 1) DTSTAMP:20230714T163632Z DESCRIPTION:Honey Days is a locally founded festival that focuses on showcasing & spotlighting all of the talented musicians in Utah and bringing people together for a magical week of music, art, food, and community building. Please join us Friday & Saturday at the Commonwealth Room for an unforgettable two days of musical performances from Sugar Candy Mountain, Mustard Service, De Lux, Fonteyn, 26fix, Dad Bod, Sunfish, future.exboyfriend, The Plastic Cherries, Over Under, The Mellons, Daytime Lover, Lee Rafugee, Anais Chantal, Harpers, The Lingo, Nicole Cannan, Musor, Tomper, Lapdog, Modern Speed, Guava Tree, The Fervors, & Compass Rose. There will also be a great selection of local artist booths & food trucks to peruse. We hope to see you there. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Honey Days is a locally founded festival that focuses on showcasing & spotlighting all of the talented musicians in Utah and bringing people together for a magical week of music, art, food, and community building. Please join us Friday & Saturday at the Commonwealth Room for an unforgettable two days of musical performances from Sugar Candy Mountain, Mustard Service, De Lux, Fonteyn, 26fix, Dad Bod, Sunfish, future.exboyfriend, The Plastic Cherries, Over Under, The Mellons, Daytime Lover, Lee Rafugee, Anais Chantal, Harpers, The Lingo, Nicole Cannan, Musor, Tomper, Lapdog, Modern Speed, Guava Tree, The Fervors, & Compass Rose. There will also be a great selection of local artist booths & food trucks to peruse. We hope to see you there.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230828T205305Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:831 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230909T143000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230909T233000 UID:D38370A1-678B-497C-B6E6-C357FB32860F SUMMARY:Honey Days Festival (Day 2) DTSTAMP:20230714T174132Z DESCRIPTION:Honey Days is a locally founded festival that focuses on showcasing & spotlighting all of the talented musicians in Utah and bringing people together for a magical week of music, art, food, and community building. Please join us Friday & Saturday at the Commonwealth Room for an unforgettable two days of musical performances from Sugar Candy Mountain, Mustard Service, De Lux, Fonteyn, 26fix, Dad Bod, Sunfish, future.exboyfriend, The Plastic Cherries, Over Under, The Mellons, Daytime Lover, Lee Rafugee, Anais Chantal, Harpers, The Lingo, Nicole Cannan, Musor, Tomper, Lapdog, Modern Speed, Guava Tree, The Fervors, & Compass Rose. There will also be a great selection of local artist booths & food trucks to peruse. We hope to see you there. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Honey Days is a locally founded festival that focuses on showcasing & spotlighting all of the talented musicians in Utah and bringing people together for a magical week of music, art, food, and community building. Please join us Friday & Saturday at the Commonwealth Room for an unforgettable two days of musical performances from Sugar Candy Mountain, Mustard Service, De Lux, Fonteyn, 26fix, Dad Bod, Sunfish, future.exboyfriend, The Plastic Cherries, Over Under, The Mellons, Daytime Lover, Lee Rafugee, Anais Chantal, Harpers, The Lingo, Nicole Cannan, Musor, Tomper, Lapdog, Modern Speed, Guava Tree, The Fervors, & Compass Rose. There will also be a great selection of local artist booths & food trucks to peruse. We hope to see you there.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230905T183244Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:623 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230916T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230916T233000 UID:8E5FA5E8-B85E-466D-8861-75380EA36C5E SUMMARY:The Pancake and Booze Art Show DTSTAMP:20230516T144508Z DESCRIPTION:Picture this: Pancakes sizzlin', beers flowin', and art slappin' the walls like it's the Sistine Chapel. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of wild childs chowing down on unlimited pancakes and losing their minds to live DJs and body painting.\NThis ain't no snoozefest, highfalutin art show for the elite. It's a revolutionary, balls-to-the-wall reimagining of the art experience. A safe space for new artists and musicians to unleash their raw talent in an anything-goes, free-for-all environment.\NJoin the biggest damn pop-up art extravaganza to shake North America in the past decade! We're 14 years deep, serving up piping hot FREE PANCAKES and unleashing the freshest talent this nation has to offer.\NThis LA-born bash exploded onto the scene in 2009 and has since brought the ruckus to 40+ cities across Europe & North America over 500 times. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Picture this: Pancakes sizzlin', beers flowin', and art slappin' the walls like it's the Sistine Chapel. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of wild childs chowing down on unlimited pancakes and losing their minds to live DJs and body painting.
This ain't no snoozefest, highfalutin art show for the elite. It's a revolutionary, balls-to-the-wall reimagining of the art experience. A safe space for new artists and musicians to unleash their raw talent in an anything-goes, free-for-all environment.
Join the biggest damn pop-up art extravaganza to shake North America in the past decade! We're 14 years deep, serving up piping hot FREE PANCAKES and unleashing the freshest talent this nation has to offer.
This LA-born bash exploded onto the scene in 2009 and has since brought the ruckus to 40+ cities across Europe & North America over 500 times.
X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1463 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230928T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230928T233000 UID:19754189-7FF2-4B0E-8624-3BDF7828C115 SUMMARY:Samantha Fish DTSTAMP:20230619T174932Z DESCRIPTION:The first-ever collaborative album from Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton, Death Wish Blues is a body of work born from a shared passion for pushing the limits of blues music. As one of the most dynamic forces in the blues world today, Fish has made her name as a multi-award-winning festival headliner who captivates crowds with her explosive yet elegant guitar work, delivering an unbridled form of blues-rock that defies all genre boundaries. Dayton, meanwhile, boasts an extraordinary background that includes recording with the likes of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, touring as a guitarist for seminal punk band X, working with Rob Zombie on the soundtracks for his iconic horror films, and releasing a series of acclaimed solo albums. Produced by the legendary Jon Spencer of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Death Wish Blues ultimately melds their eclectic sensibilities into a batch of songs both emotionally potent and wildly combustible.\NAs Fish reveals, the making of Death Wish Blues marked the culmination of a musical connection forged in her hometown of Kansas City over a decade ago. “It was always a big deal when Jesse came through town to a play a show—we first met when I was 20, and I kept up with him through the years,” Fish says of the Beaumont, Texas-bred musician. “I’d been wanting to do a collaborative project for a while and went to see Jesse perform in New Orleans, and right away I knew he was the guy. We got together and had this vision of making something of an alt-blues record, but it turned out to be so much more exciting and layered than I ever imagined.”\NThe follow-up to Fish and Dayton’s 2022 EP Stardust Sessions—a three-song effort featuring covers of classic tracks like Townes Van Zandt’s “I’ll Be Here In The Morning”—Death Wish Blues took shape at Applehead Recording & Production in Woodstock, a studio situated on a 17-acre farm once home to The Band’s Rick Danko. Over the course of 10 frenetic days, the two musicians joined forces with bassist Kendall Wind, keyboardist Mickey Finn, and drummer Aaron Johnston, cutting most of the album live and unleashing a bold collision of blues, soul, punk, funk, and fantastically greasy rock-and-roll. With Fish and Dayton sharing vocal and guitar duties, the sonic power of each track is exponentially magnified by Spencer’s production work, endlessly tapping into the rule-breaking ingenuity that’s made him a cult hero. “Jon’s indie-rock royalty and he’s always been ahead of the game as far as moving the blues forward,” says Dayton. “For this album we wanted to keep everything blues-based, with a lot of inspiration from people like Albert King and Magic Sam on the lead-guitar parts, but we also wanted to have fun with that and take it somewhere new and different and way outside our wheelhouse.”\NOne of the first songs that Fish and Dayton wrote together, the album-opening “Death Wish” immediately established the free-flowing nature of their collaboration. “Samantha sent me that melody and I went into my writing room and started coming up with some lyrics inspired by all these true-crime documentaries I’d been watching,” Dayton recalls. “It turned into a song about men taking advantage of women, and I knew that Samantha could really chew on those lyrics and sing them with a lot of attitude.” Anchored by a hot-tempered vocal performance from Fish, the result is a prime introduction to Death Wish Blues’ incendiary sound, at turns gritty, exhilarating, and indelibly hypnotic. Later, on “Riders,” Fish and Dayton offer up a ferociously groove-heavy track built on their fiery vocal back-and-forth, reaching a majestic frenzy in the song’s final moments. “‘Riders’ is about being musicians and troubadours and having one-night stands with whatever city you happen to be in,” says Fish. “Every city is personified as a love interest or partner, and in the end you just move on to whatever adventure is coming up next.”\NAlthough Death Wish Blues serves up plenty of swagger and bravado, much of the album embodies a powerfully raw sensitivity. “As we were writing some of the love songs you hear on the record, I really had to open up my heart to Samantha to get to the core of what we wanted to express,” says Dayton. “It was good for me to allow myself to be that vulnerable, and I don’t know if it’s something I would’ve been able to do when I was younger.” On “Trauma,” Fish and Dayton spin a strangely thrilling portrait of heartbreak, taking on a furious momentum as Dayton lays his pain and frustration exquisitely bare. Building a heady tension between its slow-burning verses and hard-hitting chorus, “Settle for Less” unfolds as an achingly moving meditation on self-worth. “The sentiment of that song is that if you settle for anything short of what you deserve, that’s exactly what you’re going to get,” says Fish, who co-wrote the track with her frequent collaborator Jim McCormick (Tim McGraw, Trisha Yearwood). And on “No Apology,” Death Wish Blues slips into a moment of heavy-hearted outpouring, with Fish’s graceful yet gut-punching vocals riding the line between tender longing and unapologetic self-possession. “‘No Apology’ is about fighting with the one you love and wanting to push through and make everything okay again,” says Fish. “It’s a love song but sort of twisted, because that’s the only kind of love song I write.”\NAnother irresistibly soulful track, “You Know My Heart” closes out Death Wish Blues with a spellbinding duet illuminating the pure magic of their musical chemistry. “That’s the first song that Jesse and I finished together,” Fish points out. “He sent it to me to one morning and told me he’d woken up the night before with that melody in his head, and we started singing it together and fleshing out the verses. It turned into a song about being far from your loved one and maybe things aren’t going the way you want, but you know they’ll love you through your worst and see your better intentions through it all. I thought that was a really beautiful way to end the record.”\NThroughout Death Wish Blues, Fish and Dayton let their more lighthearted side shine on tracks like “Supadupabad,” a gloriously carefree piece of blues-funk complete with references to sipping Courvoisier from crystal cups. “That song was way out of my comfort zone, but it felt good to get sort of silly and just have fun with it,” says Fish. “It’s like a two-minute party, and I don’t think I could’ve ever come up with something like that on my own.” Thanks in part to Spencer’s direction, the recording sessions for Death Wish Blues also included such unexpected moments as building the off-kilter beat of “Dangerous People” by banging on beer cans gathered from the backyard. “What I loved about working with Jon is that we brought in a bunch of songs that we’d demoed on acoustic guitar, and he’d go in and find a way to add all these unique parts that I never would’ve envisioned,” says Fish. “Sometimes it was jarring at first, but everything ended up fitting so perfectly.” Looking back on the album-making process, Fish also notes that Spencer helped to uncover certain facets of her voice that she’d never explored before. “Jon records vocals with character; it’s about attitude rather than perfection,” she says. “I learned a lot about taking on the character of the song, and about singing with different inflections to really get the emotion across.”\NFor both Fish and Dayton, the making of Death Wish Blues helped fulfill their longtime mission of opening up the blues genre to entirely new audiences. “I’ve played all kinds of music in my life, punk and country and Americana and so much else, and for me this was another wonderful rabbit hole to fall down,” says Dayton. “I love that it’s coming at a moment when we’re starting to see the resurgence of rock guitar for the first time in a long time, and I think it’s going to turn a lot of people on to a kind of music they’ve never experienced before.” Fish adds: “The main reason why I make music has always been the connection it creates with others. It’s a way to communicate with the world around me, to tell stories that people can then take and apply to their own lives and maybe feel more understood. We had such a fun time making this album, and I hope that it leaves everyone with the same feeling of joy that we all felt in the studio.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The first-ever collaborative album from Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton, Death Wish Blues is a body of work born from a shared passion for pushing the limits of blues music. As one of the most dynamic forces in the blues world today, Fish has made her name as a multi-award-winning festival headliner who captivates crowds with her explosive yet elegant guitar work, delivering an unbridled form of blues-rock that defies all genre boundaries. Dayton, meanwhile, boasts an extraordinary background that includes recording with the likes of Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, touring as a guitarist for seminal punk band X, working with Rob Zombie on the soundtracks for his iconic horror films, and releasing a series of acclaimed solo albums. Produced by the legendary Jon Spencer of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Death Wish Blues ultimately melds their eclectic sensibilities into a batch of songs both emotionally potent and wildly combustible.
As Fish reveals, the making of Death Wish Blues marked the culmination of a musical connection forged in her hometown of Kansas City over a decade ago. “It was always a big deal when Jesse came through town to a play a show—we first met when I was 20, and I kept up with him through the years,” Fish says of the Beaumont, Texas-bred musician. “I’d been wanting to do a collaborative project for a while and went to see Jesse perform in New Orleans, and right away I knew he was the guy. We got together and had this vision of making something of an alt-blues record, but it turned out to be so much more exciting and layered than I ever imagined.”
The follow-up to Fish and Dayton’s 2022 EP Stardust Sessions—a three-song effort featuring covers of classic tracks like Townes Van Zandt’s “I’ll Be Here In The Morning”—Death Wish Blues took shape at Applehead Recording & Production in Woodstock, a studio situated on a 17-acre farm once home to The Band’s Rick Danko. Over the course of 10 frenetic days, the two musicians joined forces with bassist Kendall Wind, keyboardist Mickey Finn, and drummer Aaron Johnston, cutting most of the album live and unleashing a bold collision of blues, soul, punk, funk, and fantastically greasy rock-and-roll. With Fish and Dayton sharing vocal and guitar duties, the sonic power of each track is exponentially magnified by Spencer’s production work, endlessly tapping into the rule-breaking ingenuity that’s made him a cult hero. “Jon’s indie-rock royalty and he’s always been ahead of the game as far as moving the blues forward,” says Dayton. “For this album we wanted to keep everything blues-based, with a lot of inspiration from people like Albert King and Magic Sam on the lead-guitar parts, but we also wanted to have fun with that and take it somewhere new and different and way outside our wheelhouse.”
One of the first songs that Fish and Dayton wrote together, the album-opening “Death Wish” immediately established the free-flowing nature of their collaboration. “Samantha sent me that melody and I went into my writing room and started coming up with some lyrics inspired by all these true-crime documentaries I’d been watching,” Dayton recalls. “It turned into a song about men taking advantage of women, and I knew that Samantha could really chew on those lyrics and sing them with a lot of attitude.” Anchored by a hot-tempered vocal performance from Fish, the result is a prime introduction to Death Wish Blues’ incendiary sound, at turns gritty, exhilarating, and indelibly hypnotic. Later, on “Riders,” Fish and Dayton offer up a ferociously groove-heavy track built on their fiery vocal back-and-forth, reaching a majestic frenzy in the song’s final moments. “‘Riders’ is about being musicians and troubadours and having one-night stands with whatever city you happen to be in,” says Fish. “Every city is personified as a love interest or partner, and in the end you just move on to whatever adventure is coming up next.”
Although Death Wish Blues serves up plenty of swagger and bravado, much of the album embodies a powerfully raw sensitivity. “As we were writing some of the love songs you hear on the record, I really had to open up my heart to Samantha to get to the core of what we wanted to express,” says Dayton. “It was good for me to allow myself to be that vulnerable, and I don’t know if it’s something I would’ve been able to do when I was younger.” On “Trauma,” Fish and Dayton spin a strangely thrilling portrait of heartbreak, taking on a furious momentum as Dayton lays his pain and frustration exquisitely bare. Building a heady tension between its slow-burning verses and hard-hitting chorus, “Settle for Less” unfolds as an achingly moving meditation on self-worth. “The sentiment of that song is that if you settle for anything short of what you deserve, that’s exactly what you’re going to get,” says Fish, who co-wrote the track with her frequent collaborator Jim McCormick (Tim McGraw, Trisha Yearwood). And on “No Apology,” Death Wish Blues slips into a moment of heavy-hearted outpouring, with Fish’s graceful yet gut-punching vocals riding the line between tender longing and unapologetic self-possession. “‘No Apology’ is about fighting with the one you love and wanting to push through and make everything okay again,” says Fish. “It’s a love song but sort of twisted, because that’s the only kind of love song I write.”
Another irresistibly soulful track, “You Know My Heart” closes out Death Wish Blues with a spellbinding duet illuminating the pure magic of their musical chemistry. “That’s the first song that Jesse and I finished together,” Fish points out. “He sent it to me to one morning and told me he’d woken up the night before with that melody in his head, and we started singing it together and fleshing out the verses. It turned into a song about being far from your loved one and maybe things aren’t going the way you want, but you know they’ll love you through your worst and see your better intentions through it all. I thought that was a really beautiful way to end the record.”
Throughout Death Wish Blues, Fish and Dayton let their more lighthearted side shine on tracks like “Supadupabad,” a gloriously carefree piece of blues-funk complete with references to sipping Courvoisier from crystal cups. “That song was way out of my comfort zone, but it felt good to get sort of silly and just have fun with it,” says Fish. “It’s like a two-minute party, and I don’t think I could’ve ever come up with something like that on my own.” Thanks in part to Spencer’s direction, the recording sessions for Death Wish Blues also included such unexpected moments as building the off-kilter beat of “Dangerous People” by banging on beer cans gathered from the backyard. “What I loved about working with Jon is that we brought in a bunch of songs that we’d demoed on acoustic guitar, and he’d go in and find a way to add all these unique parts that I never would’ve envisioned,” says Fish. “Sometimes it was jarring at first, but everything ended up fitting so perfectly.” Looking back on the album-making process, Fish also notes that Spencer helped to uncover certain facets of her voice that she’d never explored before. “Jon records vocals with character; it’s about attitude rather than perfection,” she says. “I learned a lot about taking on the character of the song, and about singing with different inflections to really get the emotion across.”
For both Fish and Dayton, the making of Death Wish Blues helped fulfill their longtime mission of opening up the blues genre to entirely new audiences. “I’ve played all kinds of music in my life, punk and country and Americana and so much else, and for me this was another wonderful rabbit hole to fall down,” says Dayton. “I love that it’s coming at a moment when we’re starting to see the resurgence of rock guitar for the first time in a long time, and I think it’s going to turn a lot of people on to a kind of music they’ve never experienced before.” Fish adds: “The main reason why I make music has always been the connection it creates with others. It’s a way to communicate with the world around me, to tell stories that people can then take and apply to their own lives and maybe feel more understood. We had such a fun time making this album, and I hope that it leaves everyone with the same feeling of joy that we all felt in the studio.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230630T175319Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1708 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230930T220000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230930T223000 UID:12778D85-15AC-427F-9211-622D7C69EBF7 SUMMARY:Sarkodie DTSTAMP:20230731T171315Z DESCRIPTION:SLC, prepare for an Afrobeat extravaganza! The legendary Sarkodie is set to ignite your night. This isn't just a concert, it's THE Sarkodie spectacle! Don't wait - secure your tickets NOW! Tickets Prices Go UP significantly on event day. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:SLC, prepare for an Afrobeat extravaganza! The legendary Sarkodie is set to ignite your night. This isn't just a concert, it's THE Sarkodie spectacle! Don't wait - secure your tickets NOW! Tickets Prices Go UP significantly on event day.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230731T171419Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:686 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231003T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231003T233000 UID:8DC1221F-335B-4F7E-9C17-DFCD407CD974 SUMMARY:Nothing, Nowhere (ALL AGES) DTSTAMP:20230929T230125Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231002T193732Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:285 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231004T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231004T233000 UID:1BF340D1-863C-497B-B3B8-64723BC5A88F SUMMARY:Moon Hooch DTSTAMP:20230606T193549Z DESCRIPTION:“I‘m realizing more and more every day that you can make anything happen for yourself if you really want to,” says Moon Hooch horn player Mike Wilbur. “You can change your existence by just going out and doing it, by taking simple actions every day.”\NIf any band is a poster child for turning the power of positive thoughts and intentions into reality, it’s the explosive horn-and-percussion trio Moon Hooch. The group, currently currently made up by members Michael Wilbur, Wenzl Mcgowen, and Cyzon Griffin, have gone from playing on New York City subway platforms to touring with the likes of Beats Antique, They Might Be Giants, and Lotus, as well as selling out their own headline shows in major venues around the country.\NThough the band—whose members initially met as students at the New School—turned heads in the music industry as relative unknowns with a charismatic, unconventional sound (they play with unique tonguing techniques and utilize found objects like traffic cones attached to the bells of their horns to manipulate tone, for instance), they were already a familiar and beloved sight to strangers in New York, who would react with such joy and fervor to their impromptu subway platform sets that the NYPD had to ban them from locations that couldn’t handle the crowds. NY Mag once referred to their sound as “Jay Gatsby on ecstasy,” while the NY Post fell for their “catchy melodic hooks and funky rhythms,” saying they had “the power to make you secretly wish that the short [subway] wait becomes an indefinite delay.”\NWhile the band’s busking days are behind them now, the lessons they learned from all those platform parties helped guide their approach to recording ‘Life on Other Planets.’\N“What we discovered playing in the subway,” McGowen explains, “is that the more focus and the more energy you put into the music, and the more you listen to everything around you and integrate everything around you into your expression, the more the music becomes this captivating force for people.”\NThe band followed up 'Red Sky' by releasing the 'Light It Up' EP in 2018. Recorded in bucolic Williston, Vermont and co-produced by Tonio Sagan (grandson of famed astronomer Carl Sagan), this collection of three songs was a foray into a more electronic and studio-produced sound. Full of horn textures, big drops, and throbbing bass lines, these tracks extend the possibilities of their subway instrumentation. Between 'Red Sky' and the 'Light It Up' EP, the band uses an evolving arsenal of electroacoustic techniques to utterly demolish any and every possible barrier that could stand between your ass and the dance floor.\N“When we were playing in the subways, we were playing entirely acoustic,” explains Wilbur. “It was just two saxes and a drum set. Then Wenzl acquired a baritone sax and we all started getting into music production and incorporating electronic music into our live shows.” At their performances, the band now plays through what they call a Reverse DJ setup, in which the live sound from their horns runs through Ableton software on their laptops to process recorded effects onto the output. In addition, to flesh out their sound on the road, the band began utilizing Moog synthesizers, an EWI (an electronic wind instrument that responds to breath in addition to touch), and other exotic woodwinds like the contrabass clarinet and bass saxophone. Wilbur has even added vocals to his repertoire on some tracks (something the subway never allowed him to do).\NThe band members all speak reverently of meditation and consciousness and the role it plays in their music (McGowen believes his introduction to it, spurred on in part by Wilbur and former member James Muschler, saved his life), but equally close to their hearts are the environmental causes they champion. Moon Hooch tries to live up to their green ideals while traveling as much as possible, playing benefit shows, organizing action days to support local farmers and co-ops, participating in river cleanups, planting trees, filming informative videos for their fans, and more.\NFor the members of Moon Hooch, commitments to consciousness, environmentalism, veganism, philosophy, and peace aren’t separate from their commitment to music, but actually integral parts of it. It’s all tied into that same core approach that led to their discovery on the subway platform: try, even if it’s just a little bit every day, even if it’s just with the power of your mind, to make the world less like it is and more like you wish it could be.\N“I’d say all of our songs express the essence of that kind of energy,” concludes McGowen, “because before you can even think any thoughts, there exists the energy that drives those thoughts, and that energy is intention. I feel like we’re putting the intention of positive change constantly into our music. While we’re playing, I often see the future emerging: skyscrapers getting covered in plants, frowns turning into smiles, fistfights into hugs. I can see the energy of love and collaboration and trust replace the energy of fear, hatred and violence.” It’s an ambitious vision, to be sure, but considering the band’s track record at turning their thoughts and dreams into action and reality, perhaps it’s only a matter of time. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:“I‘m realizing more and more every day that you can make anything happen for yourself if you really want to,” says Moon Hooch horn player Mike Wilbur. “You can change your existence by just going out and doing it, by taking simple actions every day.”
If any band is a poster child for turning the power of positive thoughts and intentions into reality, it’s the explosive horn-and-percussion trio Moon Hooch. The group, currently currently made up by members Michael Wilbur, Wenzl Mcgowen, and Cyzon Griffin, have gone from playing on New York City subway platforms to touring with the likes of Beats Antique, They Might Be Giants, and Lotus, as well as selling out their own headline shows in major venues around the country.
Though the band—whose members initially met as students at the New School—turned heads in the music industry as relative unknowns with a charismatic, unconventional sound (they play with unique tonguing techniques and utilize found objects like traffic cones attached to the bells of their horns to manipulate tone, for instance), they were already a familiar and beloved sight to strangers in New York, who would react with such joy and fervor to their impromptu subway platform sets that the NYPD had to ban them from locations that couldn’t handle the crowds. NY Mag once referred to their sound as “Jay Gatsby on ecstasy,” while the NY Post fell for their “catchy melodic hooks and funky rhythms,” saying they had “the power to make you secretly wish that the short [subway] wait becomes an indefinite delay.”
While the band’s busking days are behind them now, the lessons they learned from all those platform parties helped guide their approach to recording ‘Life on Other Planets.’
“What we discovered playing in the subway,” McGowen explains, “is that the more focus and the more energy you put into the music, and the more you listen to everything around you and integrate everything around you into your expression, the more the music becomes this captivating force for people.”
The band followed up 'Red Sky' by releasing the 'Light It Up' EP in 2018. Recorded in bucolic Williston, Vermont and co-produced by Tonio Sagan (grandson of famed astronomer Carl Sagan), this collection of three songs was a foray into a more electronic and studio-produced sound. Full of horn textures, big drops, and throbbing bass lines, these tracks extend the possibilities of their subway instrumentation. Between 'Red Sky' and the 'Light It Up' EP, the band uses an evolving arsenal of electroacoustic techniques to utterly demolish any and every possible barrier that could stand between your ass and the dance floor.
“When we were playing in the subways, we were playing entirely acoustic,” explains Wilbur. “It was just two saxes and a drum set. Then Wenzl acquired a baritone sax and we all started getting into music production and incorporating electronic music into our live shows.” At their performances, the band now plays through what they call a Reverse DJ setup, in which the live sound from their horns runs through Ableton software on their laptops to process recorded effects onto the output. In addition, to flesh out their sound on the road, the band began utilizing Moog synthesizers, an EWI (an electronic wind instrument that responds to breath in addition to touch), and other exotic woodwinds like the contrabass clarinet and bass saxophone. Wilbur has even added vocals to his repertoire on some tracks (something the subway never allowed him to do).
The band members all speak reverently of meditation and consciousness and the role it plays in their music (McGowen believes his introduction to it, spurred on in part by Wilbur and former member James Muschler, saved his life), but equally close to their hearts are the environmental causes they champion. Moon Hooch tries to live up to their green ideals while traveling as much as possible, playing benefit shows, organizing action days to support local farmers and co-ops, participating in river cleanups, planting trees, filming informative videos for their fans, and more.
For the members of Moon Hooch, commitments to consciousness, environmentalism, veganism, philosophy, and peace aren’t separate from their commitment to music, but actually integral parts of it. It’s all tied into that same core approach that led to their discovery on the subway platform: try, even if it’s just a little bit every day, even if it’s just with the power of your mind, to make the world less like it is and more like you wish it could be.
“I’d say all of our songs express the essence of that kind of energy,” concludes McGowen, “because before you can even think any thoughts, there exists the energy that drives those thoughts, and that energy is intention. I feel like we’re putting the intention of positive change constantly into our music. While we’re playing, I often see the future emerging: skyscrapers getting covered in plants, frowns turning into smiles, fistfights into hugs. I can see the energy of love and collaboration and trust replace the energy of fear, hatred and violence.” It’s an ambitious vision, to be sure, but considering the band’s track record at turning their thoughts and dreams into action and reality, perhaps it’s only a matter of time.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230612T200043Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2741 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231005T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231005T233000 UID:D439C08C-50A9-42B7-BB81-B09F3D3F7A64 SUMMARY:Bahamas DTSTAMP:20230717T224508Z DESCRIPTION:As the studio follow-up to 2020’s Sad Hunk—an album beloved by the Juno Awards and Ted Lasso music supervisors alike—Bahamas’ sixth full-length, BOOTCUT, sees Afie Jurvanen emerge from the pandemic fog to fully embrace the joys of IRL interaction and the ability to travel freely once again. Produced by Grammy-Nominated Robbie Lackritz (Feist, Jack Johnson, Peach Pit) and Dan Knobler (Allison Russell, Rodney Crowell); BOOTCUT was recorded in Nashville’s Sound Emporium. It features Jurvanen backed by a veritable Murderer’s Row of Music City pros, including guitar legend (and current Eagle) Vince Gill, pedal-steel maestro Russ Pahl (Kenny Rogers, Don Williams, Kacey Musgraves), bassist Dave Roe (Sturgill Simpson, Dwight Yoakam, Johnny Cash), harmonica player Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson), bluegrass legend Sam Bush. So yes, you could call this Bahamas’ “country” album, full of songs rooted in familiar Nashville topics like love, death, and automotive vehicles, and topped with extra dollops of teary twang, mandolin-pluckin’, and saloon-door-swinging rhythm. But BOOTCUT isn’t simply a Bahamas interpretation of country music, it’s a country-music interpretation of Bahamas that puts a sepia-toned spin on Jurvanen’s signature moves using a genre-less blend of Americana, Bluegrass, and all that Bahamas has been know to embody: the funky finesse, the bizarro guitar solos that sound like they’re beaming in from Mars, and the ever-so-sly storytelling that filters timeless themes through a distinctly modern lens. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:As the studio follow-up to 2020’s Sad Hunk—an album beloved by the Juno Awards and Ted Lasso music supervisors alike—Bahamas’ sixth full-length, BOOTCUT, sees Afie Jurvanen emerge from the pandemic fog to fully embrace the joys of IRL interaction and the ability to travel freely once again. Produced by Grammy-Nominated Robbie Lackritz (Feist, Jack Johnson, Peach Pit) and Dan Knobler (Allison Russell, Rodney Crowell); BOOTCUT was recorded in Nashville’s Sound Emporium. It features Jurvanen backed by a veritable Murderer’s Row of Music City pros, including guitar legend (and current Eagle) Vince Gill, pedal-steel maestro Russ Pahl (Kenny Rogers, Don Williams, Kacey Musgraves), bassist Dave Roe (Sturgill Simpson, Dwight Yoakam, Johnny Cash), harmonica player Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson), bluegrass legend Sam Bush. So yes, you could call this Bahamas’ “country” album, full of songs rooted in familiar Nashville topics like love, death, and automotive vehicles, and topped with extra dollops of teary twang, mandolin-pluckin’, and saloon-door-swinging rhythm. But BOOTCUT isn’t simply a Bahamas interpretation of country music, it’s a country-music interpretation of Bahamas that puts a sepia-toned spin on Jurvanen’s signature moves using a genre-less blend of Americana, Bluegrass, and all that Bahamas has been know to embody: the funky finesse, the bizarro guitar solos that sound like they’re beaming in from Mars, and the ever-so-sly storytelling that filters timeless themes through a distinctly modern lens.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230721T160222Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2124 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231010T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231010T233000 UID:86159781-38B6-4BDE-AB47-AC78289F07FD SUMMARY:Get The Led Out DTSTAMP:20230707T220450Z DESCRIPTION:From the bombastic and epic, to the folky and mystical, Get The Led Out (GTLO) have captured the essence of the recorded music of Led Zeppelin and brought it to the concert stage. The Philadelphia-based group consists of six veteran musicians intent on delivering Led Zeppelin live, like you’ve never heard before. Utilizing the multi-instrumentalists at their disposal, GTLO re-create the songs in all their depth and glory with the studio overdubs that Zeppelin themselves never performed. When you hear three guitars on the album…GTLO delivers three guitarists on stage. No wigs or fake English accents, GTLO brings what the audience wants…a high energy Zeppelin concert with an honest, heart-thumping intensity.\NDubbed by the media as "The American Led Zeppelin," Get The Led Out offers a strong focus on the early years. They also touch on the deeper cuts that were seldom, if ever heard in concert. GTLO also include a special “acoustic set” with Zep favorites such as “Tangerine” and "Hey Hey What Can I Do."\NGTLO has amassed a strong national touring history, having performed at major club and PAC venues across the country. GTLO’s approach to their performance of this hallowed catalog is not unlike a classical performance. "Led Zeppelin are sort of the classical composers of the rock era," says lead vocalist Paul Sinclair. "I believe 100 years from now they will be looked at as the Bach or Beethoven of our time. As cliché as it sounds, their music is timeless."\NA GTLO concert mimics the “light and shade” that are the embodiment of "The Mighty Zep." Whether it's the passion and fury with which they deliver the blues-soaked, groove-driven rock anthems, it's their attention to detail and nuance that makes a Get The Led Out performance a truly awe-inspiring event! X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:From the bombastic and epic, to the folky and mystical, Get The Led Out (GTLO) have captured the essence of the recorded music of Led Zeppelin and brought it to the concert stage. The Philadelphia-based group consists of six veteran musicians intent on delivering Led Zeppelin live, like you’ve never heard before. Utilizing the multi-instrumentalists at their disposal, GTLO re-create the songs in all their depth and glory with the studio overdubs that Zeppelin themselves never performed. When you hear three guitars on the album…GTLO delivers three guitarists on stage. No wigs or fake English accents, GTLO brings what the audience wants…a high energy Zeppelin concert with an honest, heart-thumping intensity.
Dubbed by the media as "The American Led Zeppelin," Get The Led Out offers a strong focus on the early years. They also touch on the deeper cuts that were seldom, if ever heard in concert. GTLO also include a special “acoustic set” with Zep favorites such as “Tangerine” and "Hey Hey What Can I Do."
GTLO has amassed a strong national touring history, having performed at major club and PAC venues across the country. GTLO’s approach to their performance of this hallowed catalog is not unlike a classical performance. "Led Zeppelin are sort of the classical composers of the rock era," says lead vocalist Paul Sinclair. "I believe 100 years from now they will be looked at as the Bach or Beethoven of our time. As cliché as it sounds, their music is timeless."
A GTLO concert mimics the “light and shade” that are the embodiment of "The Mighty Zep." Whether it's the passion and fury with which they deliver the blues-soaked, groove-driven rock anthems, it's their attention to detail and nuance that makes a Get The Led Out performance a truly awe-inspiring event!
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230907T025713Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1744 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231012T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231012T233000 UID:7FCA48CD-7CBD-4A02-A88C-9B60F3021D4C SUMMARY:Mason Jennings DTSTAMP:20230807T235751Z DESCRIPTION:When Mason Jennings started writing songs for his new record, Songs From When We Met, he was in a setting he had never written in before. "I was living out at a farm for a month and walking through some old woods on the property every day. There was a river. And each day an owl would come find me, and then perch above me, day or night. I saw lots of snakes. Songs just came to me there. They were coming in so fast they just about took my head off. It was unlike anything I’ve experienced before,” recalls Jennings. In Native American animal medicine snakes symbolize rebirth, owls symbolize seeing what others cannot and turning darkness into light. Both are themes throughout the album and the music has a clear hopeful feeling.Songs From When We Met pulls you in from the start, with Jennings telling the listener, "Get into my car now...let's leave the city". “Cursive Prayers is the first song I wrote for the album. I hadn’t written anything in a long time and any time I tried writing things I wrote were very dark. This song is so hopeful and full of love it surprised me. I think it was the beginning of things getting better in my life, like a message from another dimension." "The last record was made in a real dark time for me. I was battling a lot of dark energy. Since then I’ve healed a lot and a lot of changes have taken place. I got divorced. I’ve been healing from agoraphobia. It’s been a rough patch but thankfully this record is about healing and hope. I fell in love and got married so it is mostly about love." A great ambassador for the album is the slow grooving "I Know You". "The lyrics at the end of this song sum up the love tone of this album: “Most people don’t make sense to me, I don’t know much in this world you see, but I know you.”The story of Songs From When We Met comes to an end with the track "Magic Is Real". "The rain on this track is real. We opened the doors of the studio and put mics up and that’s the sound of rain on the trees in Wisconsin. Rain is healing."At the time in his career where a lot of musicians burn out, Mason has new energy and drive. "I’m just happy to have found true love and to be healing from that dark time. I was struggling to find hope and it found me. Music just burst out of me this year. It’s always been a life line but this is the most open I’ve felt."Key Players:The album features Mason on guitar, piano, bass and drums. He is accompanied by one of his favorite bands The Pines. "They are magic. They got inside these songs and really brought them to life. I produced an EP for them last year and it reminded me how good we worked together. It is always a pleasure working with them. They are Great humans". The album was recorded with Grammy winning engineer Brian Joseph (Paul Simon, Bon Iver). "His studio has tons of windows. It is an old renovated barn in Eau Claire Wisconsin. He’s got tons of amazing wasp nests, bones, books, hanging lights. The walls are covered in ropes. It’s so beautiful. He’s got bees out back. The studio sits on beautiful land and lots of natural light. Very helpful". Then the recordings went off to Los Angeles to be mixed by another Grammy winner, producer Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, The War On Drugs.) "He’s an amazing person and sound engineer who has mixed three of my albums. He’s another magic being. He brings out the essence of a recording and makes it hit so hard. He’s a rare guy. I’m happy for him that he’s winning Grammys now. He deserves it". The Mason Jennings history:Mason Jennings was born on the Island of Hawaii, but at an early age his family moved to the opposite of tropical, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At 13, he started playing guitar and writing songs. Mason later dropped out of high school and decided to move to Minneapolis to pursue his musical career. Jennings made this decision after a friend of his father’s sent him cassette tapes of the Replacements, Jayhawks, and Prince. After non-stop listening he felt like it would be a great home for his music. Jennings produced his self-titled debut album in 1997 on a Tascam analog four-track in the living room of a rented home, playing all instruments himself. In October 1998, he began a weekly gig at Minneapolis' 400 Bar. The two-week gig ended up lasting four months. Birds Flying Away, Mason's second record, revealed his penchant for singing first-person narratives of imaginary rustic characters. In 2002, Jennings released a studio album, Century Spring, and a "fans only" collection of acoustic songs, Simple Life. Mason released all three albums (and re-released his earlier albums) on his own record label, Architect Records.In 2004, Mason released Use Your Voice, which included the songs "Keepin' It Real," ostensibly written at the request of Shrek 2 producers (but not used in the film), and "The Ballad of Paul and Sheila," an acoustic dirge for late Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone. Later that year came a DVD entitled Use Your Van, which chronicled the recording of Use Your Voice and the promotional tour that followed. Andy Grund filmed the DVD.In June of 2005, Jennings signed with Glacial Pace, a subsidiary of Sony's Epic Records headed by Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock. Minnesota's Star Tribune credited Brock with convincing Mason to sign after he opened for several Modest Mouse shows in 2004. Jennings had long avoided the major labels, citing desires to maintain creative control and dodge big-label politics.Mason recorded his sixth album, Boneclouds, at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, MN with producer Noah Georgeson. Jennings recorded two Bob Dylan songs "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" which Christian Bale lip-synched in the film “I'm Not There”.In early 2008, Mason signed with Jack Johnson's record label, Brushfire Records. Jennings released In the Ever in May 2008. The title was inspired by his son referring to where he was before he was born as, "In the ever". Blood of Man soon followed and received a coveted 4-Star review in Rolling Stone, who also cited, “What makes Mason Jennings one of the best singer songwriters you’ve never heard of is his ragged intimate voice and his simple ruminations on God, war, hope and gratitude.”In 2010, Live at First Ave., his first live album, was released. Later that same year, Jennings released The Flood, an album made up of songs he had recorded in the 1990s on a cassette tape he had lost. A friend sent a copy of the tape to Mason and after rediscovering the songs, he decided to re-record them in a stripped down fashion to stay true to their intent. In 2011, he released Minnesota, his first new album of original songs since 2009's Blood of Man. The single from the record "Raindrops on the Kitchen Floor” Jennings explains is "one of those songs that kind of wrote itself, I felt the only thing it needed was a secret weapon in the chorus. So I asked my friend, Jason Schwartzman from Coconut Records to help me out."On November 12, 2013, he released Always Been. The first single from the album was "Lonely Street", was followed by "Wilderness". He released Wild Dark Metal in 2016. He got divorced and after taking some time off to focus on painting, to recover from depression and to heal from agoraphobia, he began touring again. He remarried in 2018 and released an album of love songs inspired by his new relationship, Songs From When We Met, available now. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:When Mason Jennings started writing songs for his new record, Songs From When We Met, he was in a setting he had never written in before. "I was living out at a farm for a month and walking through some old woods on the property every day. There was a river. And each day an owl would come find me, and then perch above me, day or night. I saw lots of snakes. Songs just came to me there. They were coming in so fast they just about took my head off. It was unlike anything I’ve experienced before,” recalls Jennings. In Native American animal medicine snakes symbolize rebirth, owls symbolize seeing what others cannot and turning darkness into light. Both are themes throughout the album and the music has a clear hopeful feeling.Songs From When We Met pulls you in from the start, with Jennings telling the listener, "Get into my car now...let's leave the city". “Cursive Prayers is the first song I wrote for the album. I hadn’t written anything in a long time and any time I tried writing things I wrote were very dark. This song is so hopeful and full of love it surprised me. I think it was the beginning of things getting better in my life, like a message from another dimension." "The last record was made in a real dark time for me. I was battling a lot of dark energy. Since then I’ve healed a lot and a lot of changes have taken place. I got divorced. I’ve been healing from agoraphobia. It’s been a rough patch but thankfully this record is about healing and hope. I fell in love and got married so it is mostly about love." A great ambassador for the album is the slow grooving "I Know You". "The lyrics at the end of this song sum up the love tone of this album: “Most people don’t make sense to me, I don’t know much in this world you see, but I know you.”The story of Songs From When We Met comes to an end with the track "Magic Is Real". "The rain on this track is real. We opened the doors of the studio and put mics up and that’s the sound of rain on the trees in Wisconsin. Rain is healing."At the time in his career where a lot of musicians burn out, Mason has new energy and drive. "I’m just happy to have found true love and to be healing from that dark time. I was struggling to find hope and it found me. Music just burst out of me this year. It’s always been a life line but this is the most open I’ve felt."Key Players:The album features Mason on guitar, piano, bass and drums. He is accompanied by one of his favorite bands The Pines. "They are magic. They got inside these songs and really brought them to life. I produced an EP for them last year and it reminded me how good we worked together. It is always a pleasure working with them. They are Great humans". The album was recorded with Grammy winning engineer Brian Joseph (Paul Simon, Bon Iver). "His studio has tons of windows. It is an old renovated barn in Eau Claire Wisconsin. He’s got tons of amazing wasp nests, bones, books, hanging lights. The walls are covered in ropes. It’s so beautiful. He’s got bees out back. The studio sits on beautiful land and lots of natural light. Very helpful". Then the recordings went off to Los Angeles to be mixed by another Grammy winner, producer Shawn Everett (Alabama Shakes, The War On Drugs.) "He’s an amazing person and sound engineer who has mixed three of my albums. He’s another magic being. He brings out the essence of a recording and makes it hit so hard. He’s a rare guy. I’m happy for him that he’s winning Grammys now. He deserves it". The Mason Jennings history:Mason Jennings was born on the Island of Hawaii, but at an early age his family moved to the opposite of tropical, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At 13, he started playing guitar and writing songs. Mason later dropped out of high school and decided to move to Minneapolis to pursue his musical career. Jennings made this decision after a friend of his father’s sent him cassette tapes of the Replacements, Jayhawks, and Prince. After non-stop listening he felt like it would be a great home for his music. Jennings produced his self-titled debut album in 1997 on a Tascam analog four-track in the living room of a rented home, playing all instruments himself. In October 1998, he began a weekly gig at Minneapolis' 400 Bar. The two-week gig ended up lasting four months. Birds Flying Away, Mason's second record, revealed his penchant for singing first-person narratives of imaginary rustic characters. In 2002, Jennings released a studio album, Century Spring, and a "fans only" collection of acoustic songs, Simple Life. Mason released all three albums (and re-released his earlier albums) on his own record label, Architect Records.In 2004, Mason released Use Your Voice, which included the songs "Keepin' It Real," ostensibly written at the request of Shrek 2 producers (but not used in the film), and "The Ballad of Paul and Sheila," an acoustic dirge for late Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone. Later that year came a DVD entitled Use Your Van, which chronicled the recording of Use Your Voice and the promotional tour that followed. Andy Grund filmed the DVD.In June of 2005, Jennings signed with Glacial Pace, a subsidiary of Sony's Epic Records headed by Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock. Minnesota's Star Tribune credited Brock with convincing Mason to sign after he opened for several Modest Mouse shows in 2004. Jennings had long avoided the major labels, citing desires to maintain creative control and dodge big-label politics.Mason recorded his sixth album, Boneclouds, at Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, MN with producer Noah Georgeson. Jennings recorded two Bob Dylan songs "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" which Christian Bale lip-synched in the film “I'm Not There”.In early 2008, Mason signed with Jack Johnson's record label, Brushfire Records. Jennings released In the Ever in May 2008. The title was inspired by his son referring to where he was before he was born as, "In the ever". Blood of Man soon followed and received a coveted 4-Star review in Rolling Stone, who also cited, “What makes Mason Jennings one of the best singer songwriters you’ve never heard of is his ragged intimate voice and his simple ruminations on God, war, hope and gratitude.”In 2010, Live at First Ave., his first live album, was released. Later that same year, Jennings released The Flood, an album made up of songs he had recorded in the 1990s on a cassette tape he had lost. A friend sent a copy of the tape to Mason and after rediscovering the songs, he decided to re-record them in a stripped down fashion to stay true to their intent. In 2011, he released Minnesota, his first new album of original songs since 2009's Blood of Man. The single from the record "Raindrops on the Kitchen Floor” Jennings explains is "one of those songs that kind of wrote itself, I felt the only thing it needed was a secret weapon in the chorus. So I asked my friend, Jason Schwartzman from Coconut Records to help me out."On November 12, 2013, he released Always Been. The first single from the album was "Lonely Street", was followed by "Wilderness". He released Wild Dark Metal in 2016. He got divorced and after taking some time off to focus on painting, to recover from depression and to heal from agoraphobia, he began touring again. He remarried in 2018 and released an album of love songs inspired by his new relationship, Songs From When We Met, available now.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230906T215051Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1798 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231019T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231019T233000 UID:FE563B44-6A5D-496A-92BB-0E52557B6C67 SUMMARY:Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway DTSTAMP:20230719T194315Z DESCRIPTION:“San Joaquin,” the latest song from GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician Molly Tuttle and her band, Golden Highway, is debuting today. Listen to the song HERE and watch a live performance video, filmed at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studios, HERE.\NTuttle says of the song, “I’ve always loved singing songs about trains and this one takes place in my home state of California. Ketch and I had the idea for writing ‘San Joaquin’ while looking at a map of different train lines that run through the state. Ketch loves writing geographical songs and I have many fond memories of road trips taken through the Central Valley when I was a kid, so we dreamed up this story of a wild ride down the San Joaquin railway.”\NThe track is the third unveiled from Tuttle’s new album, City of Gold, which will be released July 21 via Nonesuch Records (pre-order/pre-save here). Ahead of the release, new songs “Next Rodeo” and “El Dorado,” recently debuted, of which Billboard calls “a vibrant blend of bluegrass with flashes of Old West, anchored by Tuttle’s earthy-yet-angelic vocal and the entire group’s ace musicianship.” Additionally, American Songwriter praises, “Tuttle, one of the world’s best guitar players, soars on this country song.”\NThe new album follows Tuttle’s acclaimed 2022 record, Crooked Tree, which won Best Bluegrass Album at the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards and also led to a Best New Artist nomination. Produced by Tuttle and Jerry Douglas and recorded at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studios, City of Gold was inspired by Tuttle’s constant touring with Golden Highway these past few years, during which they have grown together as musicians and performers, cohering as a band. These 13 tracks—mostly written by Tuttle and Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show)—capture the electric energy of band’s live shows by highlighting each members’ musical strengths.\NIn celebration of the new music, the band will tour through this summer including dates supporting Dave Matthews, Tommy Emmanuel, Greensky Bluegrass, Charley Crockett and Marcus King, as well as festival appearances at Under the Big Sky Music & Arts Festival, Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Rebels and Renegades Music Festival and more. See below for complete tour itinerary.\NReflecting on the project, Tuttle shares, “When I was a kid, we took a field trip to Coloma, CA to learn about the gold rush. I’ll never forget the dusty hills and the grizzled old miner who showed us the nugget around his neck. Just like gold fever, music has always captivated me, captured my heart, and driven me to great lengths to explore its depths. On my new album I dug deep as a songwriter (with Ketch Secor) and co-producer (with Jerry Douglas) and surfaced with a record that celebrates the music of my heart, my life, the land where I grew up, and the stories I heard along the way. I made this record with my band Golden Highway after playing over 100 shows across the country last year. On the road and in the studio, we are inspired by artists such as John Hartford, Gillian Welch and Peter Rowan to name a few, whose records are like family albums to us. Just like them, on this album we chart some new territory along some old familiar ground. The songs span from breakdowns to ballads, fairytales and fiddle tunes, from Yosemite up to the Gold Country and out beyond the mountains. That visit to Coloma, site of California’s first gold strike is where I first heard about El Dorado, the city of gold. Playing music can take you to a place that is just as precious. I hope you like this record!”\NIn addition to Tuttle (vocals, acoustic guitar), Douglas (dobro) and Golden Highway—Bronwyn Keith-Hynes (fiddle, harmony vocals), Dominick Leslie (mandolin), Shelby Means (bass, harmony vocals) and Kyle Tuttle (banjo, harmony vocals)—City of Gold also features special guest Dave Matthews on “Yosemite.”\NRaised in Northern California, Tuttle moved to Nashville in 2015. In the years since, she’s been nominated for Best New Artist at the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards, won Album of the Year at the 2023 International Folk Music Awards, Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2022 International Bluegrass Music Awards, Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2018 Americana Music Awards and Guitar Player of the Year at the IBMAs in both 2017 and 2018, the first woman to receive the honor. Tuttle has performed around the world, including shows with Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, Hiss Golden Messenger, Jason Isbell, Old Crow Medicine Show and Dwight Yoakam as well as at several major festivals including Newport Folk Festival and Pilgrimage. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:“San Joaquin,” the latest song from GRAMMY Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician Molly Tuttle and her band, Golden Highway, is debuting today. Listen to the song HERE and watch a live performance video, filmed at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studios, HERE.
Tuttle says of the song, “I’ve always loved singing songs about trains and this one takes place in my home state of California. Ketch and I had the idea for writing ‘San Joaquin’ while looking at a map of different train lines that run through the state. Ketch loves writing geographical songs and I have many fond memories of road trips taken through the Central Valley when I was a kid, so we dreamed up this story of a wild ride down the San Joaquin railway.”
The track is the third unveiled from Tuttle’s new album, City of Gold, which will be released July 21 via Nonesuch Records (pre-order/pre-save here). Ahead of the release, new songs “Next Rodeo” and “El Dorado,” recently debuted, of which Billboard calls “a vibrant blend of bluegrass with flashes of Old West, anchored by Tuttle’s earthy-yet-angelic vocal and the entire group’s ace musicianship.” Additionally, American Songwriter praises, “Tuttle, one of the world’s best guitar players, soars on this country song.”
The new album follows Tuttle’s acclaimed 2022 record, Crooked Tree, which won Best Bluegrass Album at the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards and also led to a Best New Artist nomination. Produced by Tuttle and Jerry Douglas and recorded at Nashville’s Sound Emporium Studios, City of Gold was inspired by Tuttle’s constant touring with Golden Highway these past few years, during which they have grown together as musicians and performers, cohering as a band. These 13 tracks—mostly written by Tuttle and Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show)—capture the electric energy of band’s live shows by highlighting each members’ musical strengths.
In celebration of the new music, the band will tour through this summer including dates supporting Dave Matthews, Tommy Emmanuel, Greensky Bluegrass, Charley Crockett and Marcus King, as well as festival appearances at Under the Big Sky Music & Arts Festival, Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Rebels and Renegades Music Festival and more. See below for complete tour itinerary.
Reflecting on the project, Tuttle shares, “When I was a kid, we took a field trip to Coloma, CA to learn about the gold rush. I’ll never forget the dusty hills and the grizzled old miner who showed us the nugget around his neck. Just like gold fever, music has always captivated me, captured my heart, and driven me to great lengths to explore its depths. On my new album I dug deep as a songwriter (with Ketch Secor) and co-producer (with Jerry Douglas) and surfaced with a record that celebrates the music of my heart, my life, the land where I grew up, and the stories I heard along the way. I made this record with my band Golden Highway after playing over 100 shows across the country last year. On the road and in the studio, we are inspired by artists such as John Hartford, Gillian Welch and Peter Rowan to name a few, whose records are like family albums to us. Just like them, on this album we chart some new territory along some old familiar ground. The songs span from breakdowns to ballads, fairytales and fiddle tunes, from Yosemite up to the Gold Country and out beyond the mountains. That visit to Coloma, site of California’s first gold strike is where I first heard about El Dorado, the city of gold. Playing music can take you to a place that is just as precious. I hope you like this record!”
In addition to Tuttle (vocals, acoustic guitar), Douglas (dobro) and Golden Highway—Bronwyn Keith-Hynes (fiddle, harmony vocals), Dominick Leslie (mandolin), Shelby Means (bass, harmony vocals) and Kyle Tuttle (banjo, harmony vocals)—City of Gold also features special guest Dave Matthews on “Yosemite.”
Raised in Northern California, Tuttle moved to Nashville in 2015. In the years since, she’s been nominated for Best New Artist at the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards, won Album of the Year at the 2023 International Folk Music Awards, Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2022 International Bluegrass Music Awards, Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2018 Americana Music Awards and Guitar Player of the Year at the IBMAs in both 2017 and 2018, the first woman to receive the honor. Tuttle has performed around the world, including shows with Sam Bush, Béla Fleck, Hiss Golden Messenger, Jason Isbell, Old Crow Medicine Show and Dwight Yoakam as well as at several major festivals including Newport Folk Festival and Pilgrimage.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230824T205738Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:3305 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231020T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231020T223000 UID:B24D9E88-1C9C-4F0F-8271-DDE22D5CBD2A SUMMARY:Polyrhythmics DTSTAMP:20230725T153454Z DESCRIPTION:Polyrhythmics sound originated in Seattle’s underground deep funk scene combining impossibly tight grooves with bold brass and hypnotic percussion that showcased elements of R&B, progressive jazz, and Afrobeat which defined the instrumental group’s early era sound. \NNow on their thirteenth year as a recording project and touring ensemble, the band’s sound continues to evolve following six full length albums, several EPs and live releases. The virtuosic musicianship and musical conversation built on a relentless touring schedule of the previous decade has led them to a brand of psych-funk that fills a room with an impending mood where anything could happen - sometimes evoking their brighter and cinematic Fela-influences, but also a more sinister and darker turn toward a more progressive sonic palette. \N Polyrhythmics are:\NBen Bloom: Guitars, Grant Schroff: Drums, Nathan Spicer: Keyboards, Jason Gray: Bass, Scott Morning: Trumpet, Elijah Clark: Trombone, Art Brown: Sax and Flute X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Polyrhythmics sound originated in Seattle’s underground deep funk scene combining impossibly tight grooves with bold brass and hypnotic percussion that showcased elements of R&B, progressive jazz, and Afrobeat which defined the instrumental group’s early era sound.
Now on their thirteenth year as a recording project and touring ensemble, the band’s sound continues to evolve following six full length albums, several EPs and live releases. The virtuosic musicianship and musical conversation built on a relentless touring schedule of the previous decade has led them to a brand of psych-funk that fills a room with an impending mood where anything could happen - sometimes evoking their brighter and cinematic Fela-influences, but also a more sinister and darker turn toward a more progressive sonic palette.
Polyrhythmics are:
Ben Bloom: Guitars, Grant Schroff: Drums, Nathan Spicer: Keyboards, Jason Gray: Bass, Scott Morning: Trumpet, Elijah Clark: Trombone, Art Brown: Sax and Flute
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231020T223946Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1313 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231021T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231021T233000 UID:3E2C1F43-4811-4412-89ED-37C6C5C38713 SUMMARY:Tom Odell DTSTAMP:20230501T150156Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230821T185525Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1420 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231022T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231022T233000 UID:2B5B916A-4FD0-42AD-A023-1664C3448121 SUMMARY:Dear Hunter DTSTAMP:20230612T165319Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230615T191807Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:872 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231028T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231028T233000 UID:8C8A4BA3-58C9-4B08-BCBA-BF8F0278C451 SUMMARY:Beer, Booze & Blues DTSTAMP:20231010T171749Z DESCRIPTION:SLC friends: Don’t miss the second annual Beer, Booze and Blues event, featuring a new generation of blues slingers that honor the history and heritage of traditional blues while weaving in their own fresh sensibilities. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:SLC friends: Don’t miss the second annual Beer, Booze and Blues event, featuring a new generation of blues slingers that honor the history and heritage of traditional blues while weaving in their own fresh sensibilities.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1252 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231031T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231031T233000 UID:D29A3687-735F-4EF2-A04A-234AFD106BBE SUMMARY:TAUK DTSTAMP:20231031T235342Z DESCRIPTION:TAUK may be an instrumental band, but even without words, the group’s extraordinary new album, Chaos Companion, manages to speak volumes about the ups and downs of a year that challenged—and transformed—us all.\N“Everyone’s got a chaos companion, something that keeps you grounded in the midst of all the madness,” says bassist Charlie Dolan. “Maybe it’s your spouse, maybe it’s your kids, maybe it’s your dog. For us, it was the music.”\NRecorded at the band’s newly completed studio on their native Long Island, Chaos Companion is indeed a work of profound comfort and catharsis, but more than that, it’s a testament to the kind of growth and evolution that can emerge in the face of struggle and uncertainty. Forced off the road for the first time in years by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dolan and his bandmates—guitarist Matt Jalbert, drummer Isaac Teel, and keyboardist Alric Carter—used the rare break from touring to stretch themselves as writers and instrumentalists, leaning into the sense of liberation and possibility that came with an empty calendar and letting it guide them toward uncharted musical territory. The resulting songs push TAUK’s sound to bold new heights, fearlessly fusing elements of progressive rock, funk, soul, EDM, and hip-hop into a richly melodic, groove-driven blend, one that’s complemented perfectly here by the equally adventurous production work of longtime collaborator Robert Carranza. Add it all up and you’ve got an evocative, cinematic collection that hints at everything from 70’s film scores and 80’s videogame soundtracks to 90’s R&B and modern dance music, an immersive, transportive record that blurs the lines between the analog and the electronic as it balances old school grit and futuristic sheen in equal measure.\N“Being in an instrumental band already comes with a lot of freedom,” says Carter, “but having all that time away from the road really allowed each of us to experiment and explore in our own ways. It opened up whole new palettes for us to paint with.” TAUK has been painting with sound for nearly a decade now, pushing boundaries and reinventing themselves every chance they get. Founded by Dolan, Jalbert, and Carter, who began playing together as middle schoolers on Long Island, the band landed on its present incarnation in 2012, when college pal Teel joined full time. Since then, the quartet has gone on to tour with the likes of Umphrey’s McGee, Widespread Panic, and Lettuce, landed festival slots everywhere from Bonnaroo to Electric Forest, racked up millions of streams across platforms, and garnered extensive critical praise with a series of widely lauded studio and live albums. The Washington Post hailed the band’s music as “a hard-charging, often melodic fusion that—thanks to a penchant for improv—offers limitless possibilities,” while Keyboard Magazine declared that their sound “doesn’t adhere to a single genre but, instead, creates its own,” and Relix dubbed them “an incredibly impressive ensemble of talent.” Thrilling as it was, TAUK’s breakout success and relentless tour schedule left the band with little opportunity to catch their breath. That all changed in 2020, though, when the coronavirus pandemic brought the entire live music industry to a grinding halt. “More than anything, being forced to take a break allowed us to reset and refocus,” says Teel. “It was a chance get back to basics and put 100% of our energy into writing, a chance for each of us to dig deeper into our own personal influences.” When the band finally reunited in late 2020, they found themselves with such a glut of new ideas that they could afford to be more intentional than ever before, taking their time to craft a deliberate sonic and emotional arc with the material. “Being able to work in our own studio every day and just live with the songs was a game changer, too” says Jalbert. “When you don’t have a tour coming up, you have the freedom to move more slowly and experiment in ways that can wind up pushing the music in whole new directions.” In addition to having more time on their hands, TAUK was also able to hit the ground running in the studio thanks to the most fully realized set of demos they’d ever created. “With the four of us all writing and working on ideas independently during the pandemic, we started exploring more of the possibilities that come with recording software like Logic and Ableton,” says Carter. “For me as a keyboard player, it was like adding another four arms to my body in terms of what I could play.” “Writing on Ableton actually changed my whole approach,” adds Jalbert. “Working with sampled drums and then recording bass and keys on top made it so that I could really flesh everything out, and a lot of those sounds from early in the writing process ended up making it onto the final record.” Using those more fleshed out demos as a jumping off point, TAUK cut much of what would become Chaos Companion live in the studio, embracing the energy of the moment and their undeniable chemistry as a quartet to deliver vibrant, arresting performances that ranged from the hypnotic to the explosive and back again, sometimes within the very same track. Meditative album opener “Chandara” sets the stage, with a spacious, dreamy soundscape that evokes the break of day on some serene and distant planet. Like much of the album, there’s an air of science fiction to the track, a sense that the song itself may be an invitation to some alternate dimension where all of our earthly fears and anxieties are nothing more than a memory. The mesmerizing “Moon Dub” soars and swaggers its way through the stars, while the driving “Make Your Move” brims with the rousing confidence and determination of an action movie montage, and “The Let Out” offers an impossibly smooth blend of sensual R&B and heavy guitars that lands somewhere between Erykah Badu and Tom Morello. Elsewhere on the album, special guests—like The Shady Horns, who add some extra punch to the urgent “Dormammu,” and celebrated film composer Tyler Bates (John Wick, Guardians of the Galaxy), who contributes additional production to the epic “Lonely Robot”—help the band break down even more sonic barriers. “In the past, we’ve been pretty conscious about having our live show sound consistent with our albums,” says Carter, “ but this time around we wanted to ditch all the limitations and rethink what our live show could be. I think people are going to be blown away by what we’re doing when we hit the road again.” In the end, that’s what Chaos Companion is all about: defying expectations, transcending reality, reimagining what’s possible. It’s a dose of the familiar in the midst of the foreign, a wordless album that’ll leave you speechless. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:TAUK may be an instrumental band, but even without words, the group’s extraordinary new album, Chaos Companion, manages to speak volumes about the ups and downs of a year that challenged—and transformed—us all.
“Everyone’s got a chaos companion, something that keeps you grounded in the midst of all the madness,” says bassist Charlie Dolan. “Maybe it’s your spouse, maybe it’s your kids, maybe it’s your dog. For us, it was the music.”
Recorded at the band’s newly completed studio on their native Long Island, Chaos Companion is indeed a work of profound comfort and catharsis, but more than that, it’s a testament to the kind of growth and evolution that can emerge in the face of struggle and uncertainty. Forced off the road for the first time in years by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dolan and his bandmates—guitarist Matt Jalbert, drummer Isaac Teel, and keyboardist Alric Carter—used the rare break from touring to stretch themselves as writers and instrumentalists, leaning into the sense of liberation and possibility that came with an empty calendar and letting it guide them toward uncharted musical territory. The resulting songs push TAUK’s sound to bold new heights, fearlessly fusing elements of progressive rock, funk, soul, EDM, and hip-hop into a richly melodic, groove-driven blend, one that’s complemented perfectly here by the equally adventurous production work of longtime collaborator Robert Carranza. Add it all up and you’ve got an evocative, cinematic collection that hints at everything from 70’s film scores and 80’s videogame soundtracks to 90’s R&B and modern dance music, an immersive, transportive record that blurs the lines between the analog and the electronic as it balances old school grit and futuristic sheen in equal measure.
“Being in an instrumental band already comes with a lot of freedom,” says Carter, “but having all that time away from the road really allowed each of us to experiment and explore in our own ways. It opened up whole new palettes for us to paint with.” TAUK has been painting with sound for nearly a decade now, pushing boundaries and reinventing themselves every chance they get. Founded by Dolan, Jalbert, and Carter, who began playing together as middle schoolers on Long Island, the band landed on its present incarnation in 2012, when college pal Teel joined full time. Since then, the quartet has gone on to tour with the likes of Umphrey’s McGee, Widespread Panic, and Lettuce, landed festival slots everywhere from Bonnaroo to Electric Forest, racked up millions of streams across platforms, and garnered extensive critical praise with a series of widely lauded studio and live albums. The Washington Post hailed the band’s music as “a hard-charging, often melodic fusion that—thanks to a penchant for improv—offers limitless possibilities,” while Keyboard Magazine declared that their sound “doesn’t adhere to a single genre but, instead, creates its own,” and Relix dubbed them “an incredibly impressive ensemble of talent.” Thrilling as it was, TAUK’s breakout success and relentless tour schedule left the band with little opportunity to catch their breath. That all changed in 2020, though, when the coronavirus pandemic brought the entire live music industry to a grinding halt. “More than anything, being forced to take a break allowed us to reset and refocus,” says Teel. “It was a chance get back to basics and put 100% of our energy into writing, a chance for each of us to dig deeper into our own personal influences.” When the band finally reunited in late 2020, they found themselves with such a glut of new ideas that they could afford to be more intentional than ever before, taking their time to craft a deliberate sonic and emotional arc with the material. “Being able to work in our own studio every day and just live with the songs was a game changer, too” says Jalbert. “When you don’t have a tour coming up, you have the freedom to move more slowly and experiment in ways that can wind up pushing the music in whole new directions.” In addition to having more time on their hands, TAUK was also able to hit the ground running in the studio thanks to the most fully realized set of demos they’d ever created. “With the four of us all writing and working on ideas independently during the pandemic, we started exploring more of the possibilities that come with recording software like Logic and Ableton,” says Carter. “For me as a keyboard player, it was like adding another four arms to my body in terms of what I could play.” “Writing on Ableton actually changed my whole approach,” adds Jalbert. “Working with sampled drums and then recording bass and keys on top made it so that I could really flesh everything out, and a lot of those sounds from early in the writing process ended up making it onto the final record.” Using those more fleshed out demos as a jumping off point, TAUK cut much of what would become Chaos Companion live in the studio, embracing the energy of the moment and their undeniable chemistry as a quartet to deliver vibrant, arresting performances that ranged from the hypnotic to the explosive and back again, sometimes within the very same track. Meditative album opener “Chandara” sets the stage, with a spacious, dreamy soundscape that evokes the break of day on some serene and distant planet. Like much of the album, there’s an air of science fiction to the track, a sense that the song itself may be an invitation to some alternate dimension where all of our earthly fears and anxieties are nothing more than a memory. The mesmerizing “Moon Dub” soars and swaggers its way through the stars, while the driving “Make Your Move” brims with the rousing confidence and determination of an action movie montage, and “The Let Out” offers an impossibly smooth blend of sensual R&B and heavy guitars that lands somewhere between Erykah Badu and Tom Morello. Elsewhere on the album, special guests—like The Shady Horns, who add some extra punch to the urgent “Dormammu,” and celebrated film composer Tyler Bates (John Wick, Guardians of the Galaxy), who contributes additional production to the epic “Lonely Robot”—help the band break down even more sonic barriers. “In the past, we’ve been pretty conscious about having our live show sound consistent with our albums,” says Carter, “ but this time around we wanted to ditch all the limitations and rethink what our live show could be. I think people are going to be blown away by what we’re doing when we hit the road again.” In the end, that’s what Chaos Companion is all about: defying expectations, transcending reality, reimagining what’s possible. It’s a dose of the familiar in the midst of the foreign, a wordless album that’ll leave you speechless.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231031T235652Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:50 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231103T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231103T233000 UID:939C97DE-9452-4AC0-B293-FB3CC495F0D2 SUMMARY:Deer Tick DTSTAMP:20230516T174657Z DESCRIPTION:Emotional Contracts, the latest full-length album from Deer Tick, catalogs all the existential casualties that accompany the passing of time, instilling each song with the irresistibly reckless spirit that’s defined the band for nearly two decades. Before heading into the studio with producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Spoon, Sleater-Kinney), the Providence-bred four-piece spent months working on demos in a perpetually flooded warehouse space in their hometown, enduring the busted heating system and massive holes in the roof as they carved out the album’s 10 raggedly eloquent tracks. Emotional Contracts fully echoes the unruly energy of its creation, ultimately making for a heavy-hearted yet wildly life-affirming portrait of growing older without losing heart.\NDeer Tick’s first new body of work since 2017’s simultaneously released Deer Tick Vol. 1 and Deer Tick Vol. 2, Emotional Contracts is their most collaborative to date, and sees all four members operating at their peak songcraft powers. The album came to life over an unusually lengthy period of time for the band, with each track based in playing around together and connected in the almost telepathic way that’s only possible after nearly 20 years. Well-rehearsed and overly prepared, Deer Tick embraced a decidedly more free-and-easy approach to the recording process at Fridmann’s Tarbox Road Studios in Western New York. “We’ve had a habit of trying to maintain a strict control over everything in the studio, but this time we wanted to see what it would feel like to let go a bit,” says singer/guitarist John McCauley, whose bandmates include guitarist Ian O’Neil, drummer Dennis Ryan, and bassist Christopher Ryan. “We figured that the songs were strong enough to stand on their own two feet, so whatever we put them through would just make them stronger and take us in some new directions.” Dennis adds, “The fact that we’d spent so much time with these songs allowed us to be really free once we got into the studio. No one was overthinking anything, and because of that the album sounds like us in a way that we’d never captured to this extent before.” Featuring guest musicians like Steve Berlin of Los Lobos–and background vocals from singer/songwriters like Courtney Marie Andrews, Vanessa Carlton (who is also McCauley’s wife), Kam Franklin, Angela Miller, and Sheree Smith–Deer Tick’s ATO Records debut adds an even greater vitality to their feverish collection of timeless rock-and-roll.\NMostly recorded live–and honed down from nearly 20 songs to a concise, thoughtfully curated ten–Emotional Contracts brings its combustible but sharply crafted sound to an often-pensive look inward. “A lot of these songs are about standing at a certain point in your life and reflecting on what’s transpired so far, reckoning with the past but looking ahead with a pragmatic hope for the future,” says Chris. Opening on a blistering burst of guitar, Emotional Contracts begins that reflection with “If I Try To Leave”–the first-ever co-write between McCauley and O’Neil. “Most of us have families now, and that song came from imagining how lost and aimless I’d feel if I just walked away from everything,” says McCauley. “It’s about how much I need that grounding force of family in my life.” “If I Try To Leave,” partly inspired by the warmth and grit of Keith Richards’s solo records, builds a sublimely bombastic backdrop to the song’s lucid self-revelation (“Some animals survive/But I only play dead/If I were to leave/From my own beloved”), and illuminates Deer Tick’s undeniable gift for twisting melancholy into something glorious.\NNext, on “Forgiving Ties,” O’Neil takes the lead for an anguished yet exuberant track that finds McCauley chiming in to play the part of his jittery inner voice–lending another layer of lived-in pathos to the song’s punchy introspection (“All of my confidence/It had a warrant/Knocked on the door/And split open my mind”). “As you get older, you end up having to come to terms with traumas from your past while also dealing with the weight of certain responsibilities that you maybe didn’t have when you were younger,” says O’Neil. “That’s especially true of raising a family, but it also applies to how this band has become more and more precious to us the longer it goes on.” Featuring the spirited trumpet work of Fridmann’s son Jon (who also played flute, French horn, glockenspiel, marimba, and trombone across various songs), “Forgiving Ties” bounces along on a brightly frenetic cascade of rhythms achieved through a mid-session free-for-all. “We had a little party where we all went crazy with a bunch of different percussion items, like cowbell and a whole other litany of things,” O’Neil recalls. “It’s a dance song that’s completely authentic to who we are as a band,” adds Dennis.\NAs revealed throughout Emotional Contracts, that unbridled authenticity stems from Deer Tick’s staying faithful to their instincts while tapping into the ineffable power of their easy camaraderie. On “Once In A Lifetime,” the band shares a gorgeously sprawling and soul-soothing track born from a spontaneously composed accordion part brought in by McCauley. “I recorded a voice memo of me fooling around with this accordion the very first day I bought it years ago, combined that with another riff, and then we all made a jam out of it,” he says. “It turned into a song about how when you see an opportunity you need to take it, because time is always running out.” Meanwhile, on “Running From Love,” Deer Tick deliver a sweetly confessional, ’70s-R&B-inspired slow-burner that first came to Dennis in a dream. “I dreamed that the band was performing at Roger Williams Park in Providence and we were all singing this song a cappella, with the whole crowd singing along,” he says. “I woke up and sang it into my phone while I was rocking the baby, and then brought it to the band later on. It’s funny because at first I didn’t really take the song seriously, but with the help of my friends we ended up bringing it to life.”\NAfter the one-two punch of “My Ship” (a lovely reverie co-written by McCauley and The Rugburns’ Steve Poltz) and “A Light Can Go Out In The Heart” (a particularly wistful track from O’Neil), Emotional Contracts closes out with the all-enveloping catharsis of “The Real Thing.” Another product of their deliberately free-flowing process, the nine-minute-long epic emerged from a jam at their rain-battered rehearsal space. “At first I had an idea for a song called ‘The Last Book on the Shelf,’ which I ended up using as a title for a song about all the creepy book-banning happening lately,” McCauley notes. “‘The Real Thing’ became about living with depression, which has been part of my existence since I was a kid, and how it takes even more work to keep your head above water as you get older.” As the song drifts from brooding urgency to dreamlike grandeur, Deer Tick intensify its captivating impact with an ever-shifting tapestry of sonic details (moody strings, reverbed snare, lush flute melodies, intermittently muted vocals). “Dave had me go through that song about five times and create different types of feedback for an hour straight,” O’Neil points out. “It’s a good example of how great he is at piecing together different elements and keeping even a very long song like that exciting all the way through. When I look back on our other records I can remember some incredibly frustrating moments where you’re working on a solo for six hours or something, but there really was nothing frustrating about making this album.”\NFounded by McCauley in 2004, with the lineup solidified in 2009, Deer Tick partly attribute their unfaltering chemistry to a shared sense of humor. To that end, the album takes its title from an inside joke regarding potential aliases for the band. “We were saying that if we had to play a secret show under a fake name, we could be The Hitmen and dress in pinstripe suits like Prohibition-era gangsters. Then we decided, ‘Let’s just release an album as The Hitmen—we’ll call it Emotional Contracts, like contract-killing on an emotional level,” says McCauley. “But the title connects here with each song somehow–every song is about a deal you’ve made with yourself at some level.” But as a phenomenally rowdy live act who once averaged 250 shows a year, Deer Tick mainly credit their deep-rooted connection to a mutual love for the unpredictability of the musical impulse. “I feel very lucky that we all ran into each other at some point pretty early on in our lives,” says McCauley. “From the start, I just wanted to find other musicians that would somehow all stick together, which definitely isn’t easy. But we all have a real fascination with music, and that desire to never limit ourselves or repeat ourselves is something that we all very much continue to share.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Emotional Contracts, the latest full-length album from Deer Tick, catalogs all the existential casualties that accompany the passing of time, instilling each song with the irresistibly reckless spirit that’s defined the band for nearly two decades. Before heading into the studio with producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Spoon, Sleater-Kinney), the Providence-bred four-piece spent months working on demos in a perpetually flooded warehouse space in their hometown, enduring the busted heating system and massive holes in the roof as they carved out the album’s 10 raggedly eloquent tracks. Emotional Contracts fully echoes the unruly energy of its creation, ultimately making for a heavy-hearted yet wildly life-affirming portrait of growing older without losing heart.
Deer Tick’s first new body of work since 2017’s simultaneously released Deer Tick Vol. 1 and Deer Tick Vol. 2, Emotional Contracts is their most collaborative to date, and sees all four members operating at their peak songcraft powers. The album came to life over an unusually lengthy period of time for the band, with each track based in playing around together and connected in the almost telepathic way that’s only possible after nearly 20 years. Well-rehearsed and overly prepared, Deer Tick embraced a decidedly more free-and-easy approach to the recording process at Fridmann’s Tarbox Road Studios in Western New York. “We’ve had a habit of trying to maintain a strict control over everything in the studio, but this time we wanted to see what it would feel like to let go a bit,” says singer/guitarist John McCauley, whose bandmates include guitarist Ian O’Neil, drummer Dennis Ryan, and bassist Christopher Ryan. “We figured that the songs were strong enough to stand on their own two feet, so whatever we put them through would just make them stronger and take us in some new directions.” Dennis adds, “The fact that we’d spent so much time with these songs allowed us to be really free once we got into the studio. No one was overthinking anything, and because of that the album sounds like us in a way that we’d never captured to this extent before.” Featuring guest musicians like Steve Berlin of Los Lobos–and background vocals from singer/songwriters like Courtney Marie Andrews, Vanessa Carlton (who is also McCauley’s wife), Kam Franklin, Angela Miller, and Sheree Smith–Deer Tick’s ATO Records debut adds an even greater vitality to their feverish collection of timeless rock-and-roll.
Mostly recorded live–and honed down from nearly 20 songs to a concise, thoughtfully curated ten–Emotional Contracts brings its combustible but sharply crafted sound to an often-pensive look inward. “A lot of these songs are about standing at a certain point in your life and reflecting on what’s transpired so far, reckoning with the past but looking ahead with a pragmatic hope for the future,” says Chris. Opening on a blistering burst of guitar, Emotional Contracts begins that reflection with “If I Try To Leave”–the first-ever co-write between McCauley and O’Neil. “Most of us have families now, and that song came from imagining how lost and aimless I’d feel if I just walked away from everything,” says McCauley. “It’s about how much I need that grounding force of family in my life.” “If I Try To Leave,” partly inspired by the warmth and grit of Keith Richards’s solo records, builds a sublimely bombastic backdrop to the song’s lucid self-revelation (“Some animals survive/But I only play dead/If I were to leave/From my own beloved”), and illuminates Deer Tick’s undeniable gift for twisting melancholy into something glorious.
Next, on “Forgiving Ties,” O’Neil takes the lead for an anguished yet exuberant track that finds McCauley chiming in to play the part of his jittery inner voice–lending another layer of lived-in pathos to the song’s punchy introspection (“All of my confidence/It had a warrant/Knocked on the door/And split open my mind”). “As you get older, you end up having to come to terms with traumas from your past while also dealing with the weight of certain responsibilities that you maybe didn’t have when you were younger,” says O’Neil. “That’s especially true of raising a family, but it also applies to how this band has become more and more precious to us the longer it goes on.” Featuring the spirited trumpet work of Fridmann’s son Jon (who also played flute, French horn, glockenspiel, marimba, and trombone across various songs), “Forgiving Ties” bounces along on a brightly frenetic cascade of rhythms achieved through a mid-session free-for-all. “We had a little party where we all went crazy with a bunch of different percussion items, like cowbell and a whole other litany of things,” O’Neil recalls. “It’s a dance song that’s completely authentic to who we are as a band,” adds Dennis.
As revealed throughout Emotional Contracts, that unbridled authenticity stems from Deer Tick’s staying faithful to their instincts while tapping into the ineffable power of their easy camaraderie. On “Once In A Lifetime,” the band shares a gorgeously sprawling and soul-soothing track born from a spontaneously composed accordion part brought in by McCauley. “I recorded a voice memo of me fooling around with this accordion the very first day I bought it years ago, combined that with another riff, and then we all made a jam out of it,” he says. “It turned into a song about how when you see an opportunity you need to take it, because time is always running out.” Meanwhile, on “Running From Love,” Deer Tick deliver a sweetly confessional, ’70s-R&B-inspired slow-burner that first came to Dennis in a dream. “I dreamed that the band was performing at Roger Williams Park in Providence and we were all singing this song a cappella, with the whole crowd singing along,” he says. “I woke up and sang it into my phone while I was rocking the baby, and then brought it to the band later on. It’s funny because at first I didn’t really take the song seriously, but with the help of my friends we ended up bringing it to life.”
After the one-two punch of “My Ship” (a lovely reverie co-written by McCauley and The Rugburns’ Steve Poltz) and “A Light Can Go Out In The Heart” (a particularly wistful track from O’Neil), Emotional Contracts closes out with the all-enveloping catharsis of “The Real Thing.” Another product of their deliberately free-flowing process, the nine-minute-long epic emerged from a jam at their rain-battered rehearsal space. “At first I had an idea for a song called ‘The Last Book on the Shelf,’ which I ended up using as a title for a song about all the creepy book-banning happening lately,” McCauley notes. “‘The Real Thing’ became about living with depression, which has been part of my existence since I was a kid, and how it takes even more work to keep your head above water as you get older.” As the song drifts from brooding urgency to dreamlike grandeur, Deer Tick intensify its captivating impact with an ever-shifting tapestry of sonic details (moody strings, reverbed snare, lush flute melodies, intermittently muted vocals). “Dave had me go through that song about five times and create different types of feedback for an hour straight,” O’Neil points out. “It’s a good example of how great he is at piecing together different elements and keeping even a very long song like that exciting all the way through. When I look back on our other records I can remember some incredibly frustrating moments where you’re working on a solo for six hours or something, but there really was nothing frustrating about making this album.”
Founded by McCauley in 2004, with the lineup solidified in 2009, Deer Tick partly attribute their unfaltering chemistry to a shared sense of humor. To that end, the album takes its title from an inside joke regarding potential aliases for the band. “We were saying that if we had to play a secret show under a fake name, we could be The Hitmen and dress in pinstripe suits like Prohibition-era gangsters. Then we decided, ‘Let’s just release an album as The Hitmen—we’ll call it Emotional Contracts, like contract-killing on an emotional level,” says McCauley. “But the title connects here with each song somehow–every song is about a deal you’ve made with yourself at some level.” But as a phenomenally rowdy live act who once averaged 250 shows a year, Deer Tick mainly credit their deep-rooted connection to a mutual love for the unpredictability of the musical impulse. “I feel very lucky that we all ran into each other at some point pretty early on in our lives,” says McCauley. “From the start, I just wanted to find other musicians that would somehow all stick together, which definitely isn’t easy. But we all have a real fascination with music, and that desire to never limit ourselves or repeat ourselves is something that we all very much continue to share.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230615T174821Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2877 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231104T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231104T233000 UID:59186817-A7C6-499D-8D59-E6C7FFD3F350 SUMMARY:ALO DTSTAMP:20230515T191420Z DESCRIPTION:ALO is a lot of things. Put simply, it’s a rock band, a family, an artistic outlet, a community, a business. But that only scratches the surface of this 3O-year musical vision-quest. ALO is an adventure, it’s a Spring break road trip to Colorado, it’s an all-night drive from Salt Lake City to San Jose. It’s the comfort of hanging out with life-long friends, of relaxing on a couch and finding treasures hidden in its cushions. It’s a coffee table full of amazing books on art, philosophy and music. It feels old and new, fresh and classic. It holds tension and dreams and possibility in its folds. It hopes to unveil something magical, something unheard of, something the world needs. It smells of super burritos and vans full of lemons, old bongs and epic hikes. It’s a sound of growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s a sound of northern California, with sprinkles of Santa Barbara and Augusta, Georgia. It was born of childhood friendships, of shared destinies, of inside jokes and of a desire to make people happy. It’s not for everyone, although it tries to be. It wants you to love and share in its vision. It’s long and meandering, then suddenly sharp, abrupt! It’s feral and clever, and it means you no harm. It’s love and freedom, collected and catalogued, then released back into the wilds from whence it came, over and over again. It’s an orchestrated liberation of our animal soul. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:ALO is a lot of things. Put simply, it’s a rock band, a family, an artistic outlet, a community, a business. But that only scratches the surface of this 3O-year musical vision-quest. ALO is an adventure, it’s a Spring break road trip to Colorado, it’s an all-night drive from Salt Lake City to San Jose. It’s the comfort of hanging out with life-long friends, of relaxing on a couch and finding treasures hidden in its cushions. It’s a coffee table full of amazing books on art, philosophy and music. It feels old and new, fresh and classic. It holds tension and dreams and possibility in its folds. It hopes to unveil something magical, something unheard of, something the world needs. It smells of super burritos and vans full of lemons, old bongs and epic hikes. It’s a sound of growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s a sound of northern California, with sprinkles of Santa Barbara and Augusta, Georgia. It was born of childhood friendships, of shared destinies, of inside jokes and of a desire to make people happy. It’s not for everyone, although it tries to be. It wants you to love and share in its vision. It’s long and meandering, then suddenly sharp, abrupt! It’s feral and clever, and it means you no harm. It’s love and freedom, collected and catalogued, then released back into the wilds from whence it came, over and over again. It’s an orchestrated liberation of our animal soul.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231023T220441Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1975 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231105T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231105T233000 UID:09BE18FE-0040-470C-96C8-4C2E34DC04B1 SUMMARY:Pigeons Playing Ping Pong DTSTAMP:20230612T194012Z DESCRIPTION:Change grants clarity. As our circumstances shift, we recognize and realize what truly matters and appreciate it a little bit more. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong translates the joy of such realizations into the buoyant psychedelic funk odyssey of their sixth independent full-length album, the aptly titled Perspective. The Maryland quartet—Greg Ormont [vocals, guitar], Jeremy Schon [guitar, vocals], Ben Carrey [bass, vocals], and Alex “Gator” Petropulos [drums, vocals]—delivers a musically thrilling and emotionally endearing body of work propelled by sonic fireworks and chantable hooks. After piling up millions of streams and selling out countless shows, the musicians project their vision widescreen across the most expansive vista yet.\N“When touring shut down in 2020, we gained immense perspective,” admits Greg. “The album title speaks to the perspective of the pandemic as well as our growth over the years. During this turbulent time, everyone in the world has been forced to look in the mirror and ask what’s truly important. If there’s anything we’ve all gained from this, it’s perspective, and a recurring theme from our band is to not waste time. Now more than ever, we recognize that you only get one life, so you might as well live it to the fullest and lift people up in the process.”\NBy doing so, the band has morphed into a cult-like phenomenon beloved by their rabid and ever-expanding fanbase, affectionately known as “The Flock.” Lighting up hallowed venues, they’ve ignited Red Rocks Amphitheatre, played halftime during a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, and packed theaters and arenas across the country, capturing the minds, hearts, and imaginations of audiences in the process. Not to mention, they’ve annually headlined their self-produced music and camping festival Domefest—now in its eleventh iteration. Beyond praise from Rolling Stone, Glide, Relix, Jambase and more, they delivered a standout performance on Adult Swim’s FishCenter Live and stole the show at countless music festivals including Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, Jam Cruise, and many others.\NOnce the world slipped into quarantine, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong dove headfirst into their next creative chapter.\N“Our first thought was, ‘Even though we can’t play live, we have to keep the music alive, even if just for our own sanity’,” Greg goes on. “Music is our lifeforce and we have to keep the fire burning. So instead of watching the world go by, we quickly decided to pour all of our creative energy into the studio setting and rejoice in the healing power of music.”\NWorking safely out of Wright Way Studios in their hometown of Baltimore, the band brought Perspective to life. Teeming with vibrancy, the first single “Elephante” struts along on a thick bass line wrapped in swaggering riffs punctuated by the boisterous and bold horn section of energetic funk band Here Come The Mummies. It all culminates on a sky-splitting solo by lead guitarist Jeremy Schon.\N“As soon as I heard the Elephante demo, I was overwhelmed with excitement and just let it rip vocally,” smiles Greg. “Musically, it knocks you off your chair. Lyrically, it’s about living life to the fullest. There’s no time to waste, you have to let your freak flag fly and embrace your true self. It’s about being unapologetically you, which for me is wild, unashamed and energetic.”\NPropelled by percussion from Jason Hann of The String Cheese Incident, the funkified guitar of “Move Like That” underscores a moment of dance floor seduction, on a natural high, urging you to seize the day.\N“It’s about two people seeing each other from across the room and catching fire” he elaborates. “The seduction grabs hold and never lets go. There’s nothing left to do but let the sparks fly.”\NThen, there’s “Sir Real.” Originally written live on stage in a moment of divine improvisation where the song writes itself, the track’s flowing groove catapults into a psychedelic crescendo energized by artful six-string transmissions.\N“Life’s about going with the flow, giving in to the moment, and releasing your inhibitions, even if just for one night,” he reveals. “When you let go, sure you’re vulnerable, but if you surround yourself with the right people, they’ll pick you up when you have fallen down and you just might achieve something you couldn’t have if you didn’t take the leap. So in that sense, the song’s about taking chances and having the right community to back you up, which we see reflected in The Flock at every show.”\NElsewhere, Greg picks up the mic and drops a “chill rap” on “Lost In Line,” while strings add a newfound texture to the feel-good anthem “Su Casa.” Meanwhile, Zach Gill of Animal Liberation Orchestra breathes new life into the decade-old album closer “Indiglo” with lustrous keys. \N“Since the entire music industry had shut down, we were granted a rare opportunity to collaborate with some seriously awesome musicians who would’ve otherwise been busy touring” adds Greg. “That added a new dimension to this album, it’s really all over the map. There are in-your-face funk songs, chill groovy tracks, driving instrumentals, all spanning different phases of our band’s history, but they really came together in one cohesive record. I hope this album is reminiscent of the peaks and valleys of our live shows.”\NWhich there will be many more of on the horizon…\NOn stage and on tape, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong ultimately provides a feeling we could all use right now.\N“We hope you listen to Perspective and are reminded that life is fleeting yet amazing,” he leaves off. “There’s no time like the present, so let’s make the absolute most of it. Remember the good times, be excited about the future, but most of all, dance your heart out every step of the way.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Change grants clarity. As our circumstances shift, we recognize and realize what truly matters and appreciate it a little bit more. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong translates the joy of such realizations into the buoyant psychedelic funk odyssey of their sixth independent full-length album, the aptly titled Perspective. The Maryland quartet—Greg Ormont [vocals, guitar], Jeremy Schon [guitar, vocals], Ben Carrey [bass, vocals], and Alex “Gator” Petropulos [drums, vocals]—delivers a musically thrilling and emotionally endearing body of work propelled by sonic fireworks and chantable hooks. After piling up millions of streams and selling out countless shows, the musicians project their vision widescreen across the most expansive vista yet.
“When touring shut down in 2020, we gained immense perspective,” admits Greg. “The album title speaks to the perspective of the pandemic as well as our growth over the years. During this turbulent time, everyone in the world has been forced to look in the mirror and ask what’s truly important. If there’s anything we’ve all gained from this, it’s perspective, and a recurring theme from our band is to not waste time. Now more than ever, we recognize that you only get one life, so you might as well live it to the fullest and lift people up in the process.”
By doing so, the band has morphed into a cult-like phenomenon beloved by their rabid and ever-expanding fanbase, affectionately known as “The Flock.” Lighting up hallowed venues, they’ve ignited Red Rocks Amphitheatre, played halftime during a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, and packed theaters and arenas across the country, capturing the minds, hearts, and imaginations of audiences in the process. Not to mention, they’ve annually headlined their self-produced music and camping festival Domefest—now in its eleventh iteration. Beyond praise from Rolling Stone, Glide, Relix, Jambase and more, they delivered a standout performance on Adult Swim’s FishCenter Live and stole the show at countless music festivals including Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, Jam Cruise, and many others.
Once the world slipped into quarantine, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong dove headfirst into their next creative chapter.
“Our first thought was, ‘Even though we can’t play live, we have to keep the music alive, even if just for our own sanity’,” Greg goes on. “Music is our lifeforce and we have to keep the fire burning. So instead of watching the world go by, we quickly decided to pour all of our creative energy into the studio setting and rejoice in the healing power of music.”
Working safely out of Wright Way Studios in their hometown of Baltimore, the band brought Perspective to life. Teeming with vibrancy, the first single “Elephante” struts along on a thick bass line wrapped in swaggering riffs punctuated by the boisterous and bold horn section of energetic funk band Here Come The Mummies. It all culminates on a sky-splitting solo by lead guitarist Jeremy Schon.
“As soon as I heard the Elephante demo, I was overwhelmed with excitement and just let it rip vocally,” smiles Greg. “Musically, it knocks you off your chair. Lyrically, it’s about living life to the fullest. There’s no time to waste, you have to let your freak flag fly and embrace your true self. It’s about being unapologetically you, which for me is wild, unashamed and energetic.”
Propelled by percussion from Jason Hann of The String Cheese Incident, the funkified guitar of “Move Like That” underscores a moment of dance floor seduction, on a natural high, urging you to seize the day.
“It’s about two people seeing each other from across the room and catching fire” he elaborates. “The seduction grabs hold and never lets go. There’s nothing left to do but let the sparks fly.”
Then, there’s “Sir Real.” Originally written live on stage in a moment of divine improvisation where the song writes itself, the track’s flowing groove catapults into a psychedelic crescendo energized by artful six-string transmissions.
“Life’s about going with the flow, giving in to the moment, and releasing your inhibitions, even if just for one night,” he reveals. “When you let go, sure you’re vulnerable, but if you surround yourself with the right people, they’ll pick you up when you have fallen down and you just might achieve something you couldn’t have if you didn’t take the leap. So in that sense, the song’s about taking chances and having the right community to back you up, which we see reflected in The Flock at every show.”
Elsewhere, Greg picks up the mic and drops a “chill rap” on “Lost In Line,” while strings add a newfound texture to the feel-good anthem “Su Casa.” Meanwhile, Zach Gill of Animal Liberation Orchestra breathes new life into the decade-old album closer “Indiglo” with lustrous keys.
“Since the entire music industry had shut down, we were granted a rare opportunity to collaborate with some seriously awesome musicians who would’ve otherwise been busy touring” adds Greg. “That added a new dimension to this album, it’s really all over the map. There are in-your-face funk songs, chill groovy tracks, driving instrumentals, all spanning different phases of our band’s history, but they really came together in one cohesive record. I hope this album is reminiscent of the peaks and valleys of our live shows.”
Which there will be many more of on the horizon…
On stage and on tape, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong ultimately provides a feeling we could all use right now.
“We hope you listen to Perspective and are reminded that life is fleeting yet amazing,” he leaves off. “There’s no time like the present, so let’s make the absolute most of it. Remember the good times, be excited about the future, but most of all, dance your heart out every step of the way.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231021T173854Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1487 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231111T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231111T233000 UID:2C4A017C-6807-4E4C-82FA-534AB70320E2 SUMMARY:Brothers Comatose DTSTAMP:20230725T154140Z DESCRIPTION:Whether traveling to gigs on horseback or by tour bus, Americana mavens The Brothers Comatose forge their own path with raucous West Coast renderings of traditional bluegrass, country and rock ‘n’ roll music. The five-piece string band is anything but a traditional acoustic outfit with their fierce musicianship and rowdy, rock concert-like shows.\NThe Brothers Comatose is comprised of brothers Ben Morrison (guitar, vocals) and Alex Morrison (banjo, vocals), Steve Height (bass, vocals), Philip Brezina (violin), and Greg Fleischut (mandolin). When they’re not headlining The Fillmore for a sold-out show or appearing at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, the band is out on the road performing across America, Canada, Australia, and hosting their very own music festival, Comatopia, in the Sierra foothills. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Whether traveling to gigs on horseback or by tour bus, Americana mavens The Brothers Comatose forge their own path with raucous West Coast renderings of traditional bluegrass, country and rock ‘n’ roll music. The five-piece string band is anything but a traditional acoustic outfit with their fierce musicianship and rowdy, rock concert-like shows.
The Brothers Comatose is comprised of brothers Ben Morrison (guitar, vocals) and Alex Morrison (banjo, vocals), Steve Height (bass, vocals), Philip Brezina (violin), and Greg Fleischut (mandolin). When they’re not headlining The Fillmore for a sold-out show or appearing at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, the band is out on the road performing across America, Canada, Australia, and hosting their very own music festival, Comatopia, in the Sierra foothills.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230802T201732Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1776 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231117T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231117T233000 UID:3FAE9CB2-0DCC-45DF-A02E-F1F2EA64C5DD SUMMARY:Strangelove: The Depeche Mode Experience DTSTAMP:20230907T025601Z DESCRIPTION:Los Angeles based STRANGELOVE-The Depeche Mode Experience delivers a career spanning, pitch perfect “best of” concert that transports the listener through time and touches on several key points in Depeche Mode’s 40+ year career. Songs from throughout the Depeche canon are lovingly recreated; from favorites on DM’s debut Speak and Spell to the newest fare from ‘Mode’s latest- 2017’s “Spirit”. No detail of STRANGELOVE’s presentation has been overlooked. The visual presentation with stage set pieces and in-show costume changes reflect different eras of Depeche Mode’s story.\NTruly evocative of a Depeche Mode arena/stadium stage show; the scale of STRANGELOVE’s theatrical stage production is unparalleled, save for the real article. Custom-produced multimedia projection visuals delight the concertgoer’s senses and enhance the illusion that they’re witnessing an actual Depeche Mode concert.\NThese accomplished musicians have a reverence and devotion to Depeche Mode’s body of work that's driven them to recreate every possible detail and bring the “Music To The Masses” in a concert setting that transcends a mere tribute production; and feels more like a shared communal fan-club celebration of halcyon days of new wave/emerging electronica. Accuracy and authenticity is a hallmark of the project, with the band employing as many authentic vintage synthesizers and samplers as possible in recreating the classic and widely varied sounds of Depeche Mode’s discography.\NWith over 120 million records sold and a rabid international fan base, Depeche Mode’s status as elder statesmen of electronica was recently cemented with their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame last year. Their enormous fan base encompasses all ages and crosses every demographic. Their last stadium/arena tour in 2018 set world box office records. STRANGELOVE –The Depeche Mode Experience brings a thoroughly enjoyable and staggeringly authentic DM concert to concertgoers, and connects with international audiences, wherever the group performs. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Los Angeles based STRANGELOVE-The Depeche Mode Experience delivers a career spanning, pitch perfect “best of” concert that transports the listener through time and touches on several key points in Depeche Mode’s 40+ year career. Songs from throughout the Depeche canon are lovingly recreated; from favorites on DM’s debut Speak and Spell to the newest fare from ‘Mode’s latest- 2017’s “Spirit”. No detail of STRANGELOVE’s presentation has been overlooked. The visual presentation with stage set pieces and in-show costume changes reflect different eras of Depeche Mode’s story.
Truly evocative of a Depeche Mode arena/stadium stage show; the scale of STRANGELOVE’s theatrical stage production is unparalleled, save for the real article. Custom-produced multimedia projection visuals delight the concertgoer’s senses and enhance the illusion that they’re witnessing an actual Depeche Mode concert.
These accomplished musicians have a reverence and devotion to Depeche Mode’s body of work that's driven them to recreate every possible detail and bring the “Music To The Masses” in a concert setting that transcends a mere tribute production; and feels more like a shared communal fan-club celebration of halcyon days of new wave/emerging electronica. Accuracy and authenticity is a hallmark of the project, with the band employing as many authentic vintage synthesizers and samplers as possible in recreating the classic and widely varied sounds of Depeche Mode’s discography.
With over 120 million records sold and a rabid international fan base, Depeche Mode’s status as elder statesmen of electronica was recently cemented with their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame last year. Their enormous fan base encompasses all ages and crosses every demographic. Their last stadium/arena tour in 2018 set world box office records. STRANGELOVE –The Depeche Mode Experience brings a thoroughly enjoyable and staggeringly authentic DM concert to concertgoers, and connects with international audiences, wherever the group performs.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230908T183020Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1016 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231118T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231118T233000 UID:2493A5EE-BCE4-412E-8878-B17669FFF53C SUMMARY:The New Pornographers DTSTAMP:20230331T214806Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231115T185209Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2400 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231122T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231122T233000 UID:199C40B5-C7D5-405C-9E5E-2629C79A775E SUMMARY:Katatonia DTSTAMP:20230828T191844Z DESCRIPTION:Do not go gentle into that good night…\NWe are all, as Oscar Wilde once so famously remarked, in the gutter. However, some of us are looking at the stars. On their latest journey Sky Void of Stars, Swedish grand seigneurs of gloom Katatonia solemnly set the stage for a nocturne both crushing and exhilarating; for it is only in the absence of stars that we can truly shine.\N Carving their way from their nineties gothic-tinged doom metal to the ethereal post-metal entity they are today, the band led by founding members Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström have always been and will forevermore be one thing—a vessel of deep emotion; shrouded in Scandinavian despair and a universal longing for salvation.\NOver the course of an unbelievable thirty years and eleven studio albums, Katatonia have never shied away from evolution. They have embraced the concept of growing through rejuvenation to soothe their blackened hearts and scarred souls—coming back stronger and more unified than ever after their hiatus with City Burials in April 2020. Yet at the very core of this entity, there still lingers the essence of their remarkable passage through time and space. Their music is pure and heartfelt from the northern wilderness; cast in mournful dirges for a world that needs renaissance. \NTheir long way out of the darkness and into our hearts has taken up many shapes ever since their first two genre-bending milestones: Dance of December Souls (1993) and the unforgettable, the immortal, the rightfully revered and oft-copied classic Brave Murder Day (1996). Whatever you might call their artful and soul-searching tunes ever since these records, they have always remained true to the very principles on which this band was based in the dawn of the nineties. Musicality over scene, progression over deadlock, collective over ego—Katatonia is their whole lives and will always be.\NWhat’s more, their ever-expanding fanbase has evolved with them. While the nineties would never have allowed such a high level of tolerance nor forgiveness towards erstwhile death/doom trailblazers, today each new Katatonia offering is greeted with veneration and gratitude. Here are musicians who truly speak from the soul to the soul—a dialogue seldom as intense, as emotionally challenging and as visceral as the gloomy and irresistible preciousness that is Sky Void of Stars. Jonas Renkse (vocals), Anders Nyström (guitar), Roger Öjersson (guitar), Niklas Sandin (bass) and Daniel Moilanen (drums) have outdone themselves yet again, which is no easy feat with a vita like theirs.\NThe Stockholm-based architects of existential dread have long since ceased to represent a band that merely makes music and have instead cultivated a living, breathing pilgrimage that mirrors humanity’s longings and shortcomings; its dreams and horrors. Clad in their dynamic trademark range of darkest metal, soaring post-rock and elaborate prog wanderlust, Katatonia wear midnight on Sky Void of Stars, delivering their very own raven-black gospel of urban dystopia, elemental longing and the universal wish for catharsis. \NWith a sonic range broader than ever, the Swedes manage to wed their gloom and doom roots on ‘Impermanence’ with the stormcloud that is ‘Austerity’ which is their most urgent material yet, and also the surprisingly crushing ‘Birds’ with the artfully moody ‘Drab Moon’. Bathing in an atmosphere that is exclusively their own and graced by a sublime yet ethereally forlorn production, Katatonia transcend boundaries in the blink of an eye. They deliver a vivid, energetic and, in the best sense of the word, touching piece of musical narrative, pregnant with some of the most noble poetry these Swedish masters have ever delivered. Written and composed by vocalist Jonas Renske, Sky Void of Stars is a stirring ode to the ones who are lost and astray; shipwrecked in the ocean, navigating the rough seas of life without a compass.\NAs autumnal in their melodies as ever with radiant vocal lines, woeful hooks and a broader-than-ever approach to their musical palette, Katatonia sink their talons deeper than ever into our hearts, forcing us to feel what we prefer to push into the very last corner of ourselves. Only through confronting the deepest demons that we hold prisoner within the fabric of our souls can we rightfully deliver ourselves from them. The power of music in its truest, rawest and most carnal force will forever be this: a means to a new beginning and a dim light at the end of a long, long tunnel; its own dark materials shapeshifting, awe-inspiring, guiding.\NProduced, mixed and mastered by Danish icon Jacob Hansen, Sky Void of Stars is music for the fools who still dream in the dead of night; a manifesto for the hopelessly-hoping amongst us. Here’s to the hearts that ache, here’s to the mess we make. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Do not go gentle into that good night…
We are all, as Oscar Wilde once so famously remarked, in the gutter. However, some of us are looking at the stars. On their latest journey Sky Void of Stars, Swedish grand seigneurs of gloom Katatonia solemnly set the stage for a nocturne both crushing and exhilarating; for it is only in the absence of stars that we can truly shine.
Carving their way from their nineties gothic-tinged doom metal to the ethereal post-metal entity they are today, the band led by founding members Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström have always been and will forevermore be one thing—a vessel of deep emotion; shrouded in Scandinavian despair and a universal longing for salvation.
Over the course of an unbelievable thirty years and eleven studio albums, Katatonia have never shied away from evolution. They have embraced the concept of growing through rejuvenation to soothe their blackened hearts and scarred souls—coming back stronger and more unified than ever after their hiatus with City Burials in April 2020. Yet at the very core of this entity, there still lingers the essence of their remarkable passage through time and space. Their music is pure and heartfelt from the northern wilderness; cast in mournful dirges for a world that needs renaissance.
Their long way out of the darkness and into our hearts has taken up many shapes ever since their first two genre-bending milestones: Dance of December Souls (1993) and the unforgettable, the immortal, the rightfully revered and oft-copied classic Brave Murder Day (1996). Whatever you might call their artful and soul-searching tunes ever since these records, they have always remained true to the very principles on which this band was based in the dawn of the nineties. Musicality over scene, progression over deadlock, collective over ego—Katatonia is their whole lives and will always be.
What’s more, their ever-expanding fanbase has evolved with them. While the nineties would never have allowed such a high level of tolerance nor forgiveness towards erstwhile death/doom trailblazers, today each new Katatonia offering is greeted with veneration and gratitude. Here are musicians who truly speak from the soul to the soul—a dialogue seldom as intense, as emotionally challenging and as visceral as the gloomy and irresistible preciousness that is Sky Void of Stars. Jonas Renkse (vocals), Anders Nyström (guitar), Roger Öjersson (guitar), Niklas Sandin (bass) and Daniel Moilanen (drums) have outdone themselves yet again, which is no easy feat with a vita like theirs.
The Stockholm-based architects of existential dread have long since ceased to represent a band that merely makes music and have instead cultivated a living, breathing pilgrimage that mirrors humanity’s longings and shortcomings; its dreams and horrors. Clad in their dynamic trademark range of darkest metal, soaring post-rock and elaborate prog wanderlust, Katatonia wear midnight on Sky Void of Stars, delivering their very own raven-black gospel of urban dystopia, elemental longing and the universal wish for catharsis.
With a sonic range broader than ever, the Swedes manage to wed their gloom and doom roots on ‘Impermanence’ with the stormcloud that is ‘Austerity’ which is their most urgent material yet, and also the surprisingly crushing ‘Birds’ with the artfully moody ‘Drab Moon’. Bathing in an atmosphere that is exclusively their own and graced by a sublime yet ethereally forlorn production, Katatonia transcend boundaries in the blink of an eye. They deliver a vivid, energetic and, in the best sense of the word, touching piece of musical narrative, pregnant with some of the most noble poetry these Swedish masters have ever delivered. Written and composed by vocalist Jonas Renske, Sky Void of Stars is a stirring ode to the ones who are lost and astray; shipwrecked in the ocean, navigating the rough seas of life without a compass.
As autumnal in their melodies as ever with radiant vocal lines, woeful hooks and a broader-than-ever approach to their musical palette, Katatonia sink their talons deeper than ever into our hearts, forcing us to feel what we prefer to push into the very last corner of ourselves. Only through confronting the deepest demons that we hold prisoner within the fabric of our souls can we rightfully deliver ourselves from them. The power of music in its truest, rawest and most carnal force will forever be this: a means to a new beginning and a dim light at the end of a long, long tunnel; its own dark materials shapeshifting, awe-inspiring, guiding.
Produced, mixed and mastered by Danish icon Jacob Hansen, Sky Void of Stars is music for the fools who still dream in the dead of night; a manifesto for the hopelessly-hoping amongst us. Here’s to the hearts that ache, here’s to the mess we make.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231120T181237Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1071 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231201T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231201T233000 UID:7611C703-1CBE-438C-BA3C-2E2C3C5F39F7 SUMMARY:Tierra and Richard Bean of Malo DTSTAMP:20231003T180944Z DESCRIPTION:Tierra, a pioneering Chicano band founded in 1972 by Rudy and Steve Salas, achieved national fame in 1981 with their hit song "Together," reaching #14 on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100. Rudy and Steve's tragic passing due to Covid in 2020 and 2022, respectively, has left a void in the music industry, but the Salas family has made the decision to keep their music alive through “Tierra Legacy.”\NTierra has had a remarkable career spanning generations and includes chart-topping hits. The band was named "Best R&B Vocal Group" by four leading magazines, including Billboard, in the early 1980s. They began their career in East Los Angeles with a unique blend of rock, pop, jazz, R&B, and salsa, creating an infectious Latin/R&B rhythm that produced classics such as "Together," "Gonna Find Her” and "Memories," Tierra was also the first Latino/American band to have four songs on national charts and two simultaneously in the Top 100.\NTierra's legacy lives on through the band's new iteration, “Tierra Legacy”, wholly owned by the Salas family. The band includes David Salas (Rudy's son), Richard Salas (Rudy and Steve's brother), original and longtime members who created the hit songs for Tierra, and two fresh and exciting new lead singers. Tierra Legacy continues to captivate fans with a strong social media presence, extraordinary live shows and new music, keeping the dynamic and unforgettable band alive. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Tierra, a pioneering Chicano band founded in 1972 by Rudy and Steve Salas, achieved national fame in 1981 with their hit song "Together," reaching #14 on Billboard Magazine's Hot 100. Rudy and Steve's tragic passing due to Covid in 2020 and 2022, respectively, has left a void in the music industry, but the Salas family has made the decision to keep their music alive through “Tierra Legacy.”
Tierra has had a remarkable career spanning generations and includes chart-topping hits. The band was named "Best R&B Vocal Group" by four leading magazines, including Billboard, in the early 1980s. They began their career in East Los Angeles with a unique blend of rock, pop, jazz, R&B, and salsa, creating an infectious Latin/R&B rhythm that produced classics such as "Together," "Gonna Find Her” and "Memories," Tierra was also the first Latino/American band to have four songs on national charts and two simultaneously in the Top 100.
Tierra's legacy lives on through the band's new iteration, “Tierra Legacy”, wholly owned by the Salas family. The band includes David Salas (Rudy's son), Richard Salas (Rudy and Steve's brother), original and longtime members who created the hit songs for Tierra, and two fresh and exciting new lead singers. Tierra Legacy continues to captivate fans with a strong social media presence, extraordinary live shows and new music, keeping the dynamic and unforgettable band alive.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231115T000310Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1578 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231202T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231202T233000 UID:4CAA470B-77A2-4D4F-8F17-458B82ABFBBD SUMMARY:SLAMROCKS! Benefit Concert DTSTAMP:20231017T205324Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231017T211238Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2758 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231204T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231204T233000 UID:EBC2A0C4-C110-4953-A451-A3F27F4B3282 SUMMARY:Hiss Golden Messenger DTSTAMP:20230530T204953Z DESCRIPTION:It’s spring of 2023 in the North Carolina Piedmont, and songwriter and singer M.C. Taylor—leader of the band Hiss Golden Messenger—is feeling alive. Joyful. Eternal, he might say. For the Grammy-nominated musician, whose albums have traced an internal path through adulthood, fatherhood, spirituality, and depression for well over a decade, this is something new. “The tunes on Jump for Joy were composed in free moments throughout 2022, a year during which Hiss was on the road more or less constantly,” explains Taylor. “And perhaps because the post-pandemic energy out in the world felt so chaotic and uncertain, I found myself thinking a lot about the role that music has played in my life and how exactly I ended up in the rarefied position of leading a band and crew all over the globe through dingy graffiti-scrawled green rooms, venerated music halls, dust-blown roadside motels. Sometimes playing in front of 5,000; sometimes 200. Sleeping sitting up. Laughing until my stomach hurts. Not being able to fall asleep at 3 a.m. in some anonymous bed because my mind is spinning with anxiety or depression or adrenaline, or because my ears are still ringing. Robbing Peter to pay Paul, then robbing Paul to pay Peter back. Over and over again. It’s an outlaw life but one, I’m coming to realize, that makes me happy.”\NThe songs that make up Jump for Joy—the sharpest and most autobiographical that Taylor has written under the Hiss name—read as a sort of epistolary, postcards between the present-day songwriter and his alias Michael Crow, a teenaged dreamer very much like Taylor himself, who trips his way through the 14 tunes that make up the record. In this way, Jump for Joy is a meditation on a life lived with art, and the ways that our hopes and dreams and decisions bump up against—and, with a little bit of luck, occasionally merge with—real life. “Creating this character became the way that I could explore these vulnerable, tender moments that were so decisive in my life, even if I didn’t know it at the time,” explains Taylor. He continues:\NThrough Michael Crow, I was able to get inside these places that exist so deep in my sense memory: Me at 16, knowing intuitively that there had to be something out there for me, something mysterious and divine that wasn’t full of fucked-up, confusing pain; me with my hardcore band, age 18, wandering the vast expanses of Texas beneath a big, fat tangerine moon, scrounging change to fill the gas tank, trying to make a soundcheck for a show that never happened. There’s me at 30, having kids, writing songs as though they were gravestone epitaphs, not yet understanding that nothing is so permanent and serious and that I needed to be gentler with my spirit. There’s me at 35, still chasing the thing because I’ve touched it once or twice and I know it’s the only way for me to feel whole and real and useful, but in the rear-view mirror, I can see everyone who gave up in search of something easier and not so heartbreaking.\NProduced by Taylor and engineered by longtime Hiss compatriot Scott Hirsch over two weeks in the late fall of 2022 at the fabled Sonic Ranch studio in Tornillo, TX, just a short walk from the Mexican border, Jump for Joy dances with joyful, spontaneous energy that feels like a fresh chapter in the Hiss Golden Messenger oeuvre. Taylor is accompanied throughout the album by his crack live band: guitarist Chris Boerner, bassist Alex Bingham, keyboardist Sam Fribush, and drummer Nick Falk, a collection of musicians that have helped make Hiss Golden Messenger’s live performances legendary affairs.\NConsider opening track “20 Years and Nickel,” a thematic preamble that finds Taylor reckoning with the 25 years (or, “20 years and a nickel”) spent trying to write some kind of masterpiece over a rolling second-line groove that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Meters record. Three songs later, “Shinbone” contemplates the span—geographically, temporally, and emotionally—from Taylor’s childhood fence-hopping days, the smells of sage and eucalyptus in the air, down the winding road to the present. “You ever had a storm talking to you?” he asks, the rhythm locked in a four-on-the-floor groove over a slippery synth line before hitting the mantra-like refrain: If you lose it all, can you love what’s left?\NThe band finds a righteous stepping rhythm on the anthemic “Nu-Grape”—named after a saccharine grape soda available throughout the Southeast—as Taylor, speaking through the metaphor of a gravestone cutter, considers the futility of working towards permanence: “Cutting stone ain’t easy,” he sings, “but it’s how I earn my way. Some want doves and marigolds; give me a stone that says, ‘Don’t cry, it’s only a joke.’ Does that feel true enough for you?” Friends Aoife O’Donovan and Amy Helm (daughter of drummer Levon) join in on the Mary Oliver–channeling chorus:\NI was fire. You said I couldn’t live without water. You were water. Water to put out the fire. I’m just a nail in the house of the universe, drinking Nu-Grape with a five-dollar bill.\N“The Wondering” is classic Hiss Golden Messenger, an emotional meditation on art and memory (and housebreaking) set to a heart-rending riff, over which Taylor recalls, “Back in the day I was Michael Crow; I’d go creeping through the houses. Oh, the things I’d see through those country windows were enough to make you cry out” before being joined by O’Donovan and longtime friend (and Fruit Bats leader) Eric D. Johnson. “I’m still here—just can’t quit wondering,” the trio harmonizes. “I’m still here with my back to the wondering.”\NJump for Joy, perhaps more than any other Hiss record heretofore, is an elegant and nuanced melding of everything that makes Taylor and company’s work unique and beloved, colored with an outward-facing elation and sense of openness that elevates the album into something truly timeless and special. “I knew that I needed this record to be full of joy because if we’re standing at some kind of finish line of human civilization—and I’m not saying that we are, but some days it sure feels that way—then I want to go out dancing,” laughs the songwriter. “That’s what I wanted Jump for Joy to feel like: Dancing at the end times.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:It’s spring of 2023 in the North Carolina Piedmont, and songwriter and singer M.C. Taylor—leader of the band Hiss Golden Messenger—is feeling alive. Joyful. Eternal, he might say. For the Grammy-nominated musician, whose albums have traced an internal path through adulthood, fatherhood, spirituality, and depression for well over a decade, this is something new. “The tunes on Jump for Joy were composed in free moments throughout 2022, a year during which Hiss was on the road more or less constantly,” explains Taylor. “And perhaps because the post-pandemic energy out in the world felt so chaotic and uncertain, I found myself thinking a lot about the role that music has played in my life and how exactly I ended up in the rarefied position of leading a band and crew all over the globe through dingy graffiti-scrawled green rooms, venerated music halls, dust-blown roadside motels. Sometimes playing in front of 5,000; sometimes 200. Sleeping sitting up. Laughing until my stomach hurts. Not being able to fall asleep at 3 a.m. in some anonymous bed because my mind is spinning with anxiety or depression or adrenaline, or because my ears are still ringing. Robbing Peter to pay Paul, then robbing Paul to pay Peter back. Over and over again. It’s an outlaw life but one, I’m coming to realize, that makes me happy.”
The songs that make up Jump for Joy—the sharpest and most autobiographical that Taylor has written under the Hiss name—read as a sort of epistolary, postcards between the present-day songwriter and his alias Michael Crow, a teenaged dreamer very much like Taylor himself, who trips his way through the 14 tunes that make up the record. In this way, Jump for Joy is a meditation on a life lived with art, and the ways that our hopes and dreams and decisions bump up against—and, with a little bit of luck, occasionally merge with—real life. “Creating this character became the way that I could explore these vulnerable, tender moments that were so decisive in my life, even if I didn’t know it at the time,” explains Taylor. He continues:
Through Michael Crow, I was able to get inside these places that exist so deep in my sense memory: Me at 16, knowing intuitively that there had to be something out there for me, something mysterious and divine that wasn’t full of fucked-up, confusing pain; me with my hardcore band, age 18, wandering the vast expanses of Texas beneath a big, fat tangerine moon, scrounging change to fill the gas tank, trying to make a soundcheck for a show that never happened. There’s me at 30, having kids, writing songs as though they were gravestone epitaphs, not yet understanding that nothing is so permanent and serious and that I needed to be gentler with my spirit. There’s me at 35, still chasing the thing because I’ve touched it once or twice and I know it’s the only way for me to feel whole and real and useful, but in the rear-view mirror, I can see everyone who gave up in search of something easier and not so heartbreaking.
Produced by Taylor and engineered by longtime Hiss compatriot Scott Hirsch over two weeks in the late fall of 2022 at the fabled Sonic Ranch studio in Tornillo, TX, just a short walk from the Mexican border, Jump for Joy dances with joyful, spontaneous energy that feels like a fresh chapter in the Hiss Golden Messenger oeuvre. Taylor is accompanied throughout the album by his crack live band: guitarist Chris Boerner, bassist Alex Bingham, keyboardist Sam Fribush, and drummer Nick Falk, a collection of musicians that have helped make Hiss Golden Messenger’s live performances legendary affairs.
Consider opening track “20 Years and Nickel,” a thematic preamble that finds Taylor reckoning with the 25 years (or, “20 years and a nickel”) spent trying to write some kind of masterpiece over a rolling second-line groove that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Meters record. Three songs later, “Shinbone” contemplates the span—geographically, temporally, and emotionally—from Taylor’s childhood fence-hopping days, the smells of sage and eucalyptus in the air, down the winding road to the present. “You ever had a storm talking to you?” he asks, the rhythm locked in a four-on-the-floor groove over a slippery synth line before hitting the mantra-like refrain: If you lose it all, can you love what’s left?
The band finds a righteous stepping rhythm on the anthemic “Nu-Grape”—named after a saccharine grape soda available throughout the Southeast—as Taylor, speaking through the metaphor of a gravestone cutter, considers the futility of working towards permanence: “Cutting stone ain’t easy,” he sings, “but it’s how I earn my way. Some want doves and marigolds; give me a stone that says, ‘Don’t cry, it’s only a joke.’ Does that feel true enough for you?” Friends Aoife O’Donovan and Amy Helm (daughter of drummer Levon) join in on the Mary Oliver–channeling chorus:
I was fire. You said I couldn’t live without water. You were water. Water to put out the fire. I’m just a nail in the house of the universe, drinking Nu-Grape with a five-dollar bill.
“The Wondering” is classic Hiss Golden Messenger, an emotional meditation on art and memory (and housebreaking) set to a heart-rending riff, over which Taylor recalls, “Back in the day I was Michael Crow; I’d go creeping through the houses. Oh, the things I’d see through those country windows were enough to make you cry out” before being joined by O’Donovan and longtime friend (and Fruit Bats leader) Eric D. Johnson. “I’m still here—just can’t quit wondering,” the trio harmonizes. “I’m still here with my back to the wondering.”
Jump for Joy, perhaps more than any other Hiss record heretofore, is an elegant and nuanced melding of everything that makes Taylor and company’s work unique and beloved, colored with an outward-facing elation and sense of openness that elevates the album into something truly timeless and special. “I knew that I needed this record to be full of joy because if we’re standing at some kind of finish line of human civilization—and I’m not saying that we are, but some days it sure feels that way—then I want to go out dancing,” laughs the songwriter. “That’s what I wanted Jump for Joy to feel like: Dancing at the end times.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230612T200605Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:4178 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231205T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231205T233000 UID:F9B492ED-2210-4D6E-AD10-8680F9392637 SUMMARY:Highly Suspect DTSTAMP:20230502T145125Z DESCRIPTION: X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231205T221322Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1377 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231208T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231208T233000 UID:0163A325-4719-4ACB-96B6-94006A9F2C6B SUMMARY:Macy Gray DTSTAMP:20230821T233911Z DESCRIPTION:Forever full of ear-tugging/eye-popping surprises, ever-eclectic singer/songwriter and actress Macy Gray returns in top form with an inspired new 11-song Moonslice Records album – The Reset – and within a fresh new presentation – fronting her own band, The California Jet Club. Produced by Tommy Parker, The Reset reveals 360 degrees of Macy Gray at her lyrically introspective and vocally exuberant best. The songs move from Macy’s signature vulnerable intimacy on the lead single, “Thinking of You,” the epic orchestral ballad “You Got Away” and the festive, sexy circus of “Bottom to the Top” to the resoundingly rebounding singalong uplift of “Every Night” featuring special guest, rapper Maino. Making this album a separate piece from the previous 10 studio projects in the 5x-Grammy-nominated (with one win) artist’s exquisite catalog is the full involvement of road band members drummer Tamir Barzilay, keyboardist Billy Wes and bassist Alex Kyhn. While all three specialize in specific instruments, they are all multi-instrumentalists, co-writers and sing background. On the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” broadcast from June 2021, Tamir is seen playing guitar and drums simultaneously. The trio wraps its sound around Macy like a glove. And she, in turn, provides them full license to shine as bright as front of stage spotlights.\NMemphis-born Billy Wes is the son of a Pentecostal minister whose music life began in church on organ and piano. He went on to study classical piano at the University of Memphis, adding Jazz and R&B. A move to Los Angeles resulted in writing with artists such as Chrisette Michele and Ciara as well as touring with Rock legend Chris Cornell and his Symphonic Soul mentor Isaac Hayes.\NTamir Barzilay is a drummer/percussionist/producer who dug out a dusty guitar from his mom’s closet at 10 years-old and went on to be profoundly influenced by the trifecta of The Police, Led Zeppelin and Bjork. His credits include, Jason Mraz and Adam Lambert. He sees the California Jet Club as “a genuine thumbprint of racial/cultural blend defined by sound and music.”\NAlex Kyhn is the son of two musicians who started out studying piano and trombone as a child then switched to bass in middle school. Alex spent his teenage years writing music and forming bands ranging from gritty punk rock to free jazz to country. Now living in L.A., he views California Jet Club and their debut project The Reset as truly representing the convergence of styles that denote his career.\N“This was my first time writing with them and I was really pleasantly surprised,” Macy shares. “Everyone would plug in and we’d just start playing. If I heard something I could put a melody to, we’d try it. We were really open to listening to each other’s ideas…and they had some great ideas. This was one of my best collaborations ever.” On the band’s name, Macy continues, “We had been talking for years about my touring band becoming their own group. One day we were all on a group text throwing out names. Every one that I would say, they blocked like, ‘Absolutely not!’ Then my production manager Drew Hurt came up with California Jet Club…I don’t know how. Everybody liked it so we went with that.”\NConsidering the subtle shift from solo artist to lead singer of a band, Macy reflects, “That’s where I come from. I remember Janis Joplin started out leading the band, Big Brother and The Holding Company. And when I was coming up, I was in a band. I thought we were all going to be signed when I got my first recording contract…but they only wanted a solo singer.”\NWhat the company and, indeed, the world received upon the release of Macy’s debut album, On How Life Is (Clean Slate/Epic – 1999), was one of the most unique and universally appealing voices in modern pop that bent ears to the left, hearts to the right and spirits to a delicious, cream-filled center. That rich tradition continues with hers and the trio’s phenomenal The Reset, which they began recording in June 2020– smack in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.\N“It was a little crazy,” Macy admits. “Usually when you’re in the studio, you call all your friends and people come hang out. But the studios had rules like you couldn’t have more than 4 people, all guests had to be o.k.’d, they had to take your temperature… People wearing masks while we were recording was quite odd. And in one studio, they sprayed Lysol on your feet as you were walking in because the owner heard that you could catch COVID thru your shoes.” When queried why she didn’t have everyone record from home like so many other artists did, Macy stresses, “I can’t work like that. The way that we write and record, we would never get anything done. I have to be in the studio to get into that creative mode.”\NThe album is titled The Reset because Macy, like so many of us, feels like that’s what this awkward, often painful period is like to live through. “God is telling us to rethink the things that we are doing… How we’re livin’. Like Pandora’s Box, a lot of things have sprung out that people had stopped paying attention to. The world is having a reset. Whether it’s a good one or a bad one, we’ll find out. I use to believe everything happens for a reason. Now…I just don’t know.”\NAmong the most striking of the new songs is “America,” a song like all of Macy’s lyrics, that came to her while she was on the mic, spontaneously inspired by music from her band. “I just remember feeling really let down by my country. I don’t know if I’d ever felt that before… like, walking around telling everybody. ‘I live in the greatest country in the world’ then being hit with the thought, ‘Maybe I don’t.’\NHaving a president that was really negative and very divisive, and that being o.k. with so many people. Your neighbors revealing where they’re really coming from. I know America has flaws and we have a long way to go. But I don’t remember ever feeling this disappointed. Putting all of that into words didn’t come to me until I was on the mic and my drummer started playing that beat. I started singing then Billy and Alex started working on it. That song was written pretty fast.” \NFor a cover tune, the band landed on the minefield “Cop Killer,” a controversial heavy metal song remembered from that time when rap star Ice-T decided he wanted to front a band – the Black Rock septet Body Count. Macy was there. That was 1992. Thanks to the need for a Black Lives Matter movement today, it’s still hella relevant 30 years later. “Wildly enough, my first manager had me on the road with Body Count way before I got discovered,” Macy confesses. “He took me on tour with them, so, I heard that song all the time. What everybody misses about that song is that it is beautifully written. Ice (Tracy Marrow) covered so many perspectives regarding people’s relationships with cops. He was so good at exposing the range of emotions beneath the surface. It’s eloquent in the weirdest way. I love our version better simply because I’m not a huge thrash metal fan. I hope ours introduces the lyrics to a wider audience.”\NEscapism as a theme shows up in two key songs on The Reset. The moodier one is “Alien” which poses the intergalactic inquiry, “Where can you go where you can just live?” Macy muses, “Sometimes I feel like we all got bamboozled into working our whole lives – struggling past 60 to pay your dues! I just wonder, ‘Was that really the master plan?’ If so, why can’t I just ride off into the sunset without all that?”\NFor those that don’t have Jeff Bezo bucks for space travel, the next best place to land is at da club - offered up retro style by The California Jet Club via “Disco Song.” Macy brightens, “2 Chainz posted a clip on Instagram of a girl playing classical piano while twerking. It was Jhonni Blaze (from the “Love and Hip Hop” TV show). I reposted it, tagged her and she DM’d me like, ‘Oh, My God, I would love it if we could just meet one day!’ I was so down to meet her, too, so she came to Cali from Atlanta. I had this song ‘Disco’ that I liked the track but thought my lyrics were awful! I asked her, ‘Do you hear anything for this?’ She totally saved me from sounding like an old person on my own song! Tommy came up with the vamp hook (‘All I need is / A little bit of bump and grind / Do me `til I’m satisfied / F’ around and do a line’). I wrote the verse and chorus.” \NAnother song with a colorful twist is the second single, “Undone,” a celestial pop-blues ballad of Shirley Bassey proportions penned for Macy by producer Tommy Parker (a.k.a. Thomas Lumpkins) and his niece, Nakiesha Marie Pick. “He had never produced a live band, so it was a situation that we could all learn from,” Macy states. “Tommy’s mainstream vibe (Ariana Grande) mixed with what we do came out really nice. He already had the song tricked out at his house. I went in and did the vocals on my own. I felt like it needed strings but it was too late (11pm) to call in any players. So, I called my friends Maiya Sykes and Whitey to see if they could sound like strings. They did the big opera backgrounds.”\NThe cherry on top of “Undone” is the video (premiered at trendy Soho House in West Hollywood) starring drag performer Frankie J. Grande. “The video came about by default,” Macy explains. “I was scheduled to be in Australia to do ‘The Masked Singer.’ I had been following Frankie on Instagram. During the pandemic, he was doing this series where he would be in his bathroom, get out of his tub and sing songs. He’d have on makeup and be topless – some very strange theater. I thought, ‘What about Frankie in a bathroom, taking his clothes off (chuckles) and singing?’ The director, Guido, brought the choreography and lighting. And we got this amazing editor I went to USC with – T. David Binns. The edit is incredible and what really makes the video work.”\NAll in All, Macy Gray & The California Jet Club’s The Reset just might be the world’s antidote for all that is worrisome, hopeless and mundane. One giant step for Macy…one ginormous step for all. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Forever full of ear-tugging/eye-popping surprises, ever-eclectic singer/songwriter and actress Macy Gray returns in top form with an inspired new 11-song Moonslice Records album – The Reset – and within a fresh new presentation – fronting her own band, The California Jet Club. Produced by Tommy Parker, The Reset reveals 360 degrees of Macy Gray at her lyrically introspective and vocally exuberant best. The songs move from Macy’s signature vulnerable intimacy on the lead single, “Thinking of You,” the epic orchestral ballad “You Got Away” and the festive, sexy circus of “Bottom to the Top” to the resoundingly rebounding singalong uplift of “Every Night” featuring special guest, rapper Maino. Making this album a separate piece from the previous 10 studio projects in the 5x-Grammy-nominated (with one win) artist’s exquisite catalog is the full involvement of road band members drummer Tamir Barzilay, keyboardist Billy Wes and bassist Alex Kyhn. While all three specialize in specific instruments, they are all multi-instrumentalists, co-writers and sing background. On the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” broadcast from June 2021, Tamir is seen playing guitar and drums simultaneously. The trio wraps its sound around Macy like a glove. And she, in turn, provides them full license to shine as bright as front of stage spotlights.
Memphis-born Billy Wes is the son of a Pentecostal minister whose music life began in church on organ and piano. He went on to study classical piano at the University of Memphis, adding Jazz and R&B. A move to Los Angeles resulted in writing with artists such as Chrisette Michele and Ciara as well as touring with Rock legend Chris Cornell and his Symphonic Soul mentor Isaac Hayes.
Tamir Barzilay is a drummer/percussionist/producer who dug out a dusty guitar from his mom’s closet at 10 years-old and went on to be profoundly influenced by the trifecta of The Police, Led Zeppelin and Bjork. His credits include, Jason Mraz and Adam Lambert. He sees the California Jet Club as “a genuine thumbprint of racial/cultural blend defined by sound and music.”
Alex Kyhn is the son of two musicians who started out studying piano and trombone as a child then switched to bass in middle school. Alex spent his teenage years writing music and forming bands ranging from gritty punk rock to free jazz to country. Now living in L.A., he views California Jet Club and their debut project The Reset as truly representing the convergence of styles that denote his career.
“This was my first time writing with them and I was really pleasantly surprised,” Macy shares. “Everyone would plug in and we’d just start playing. If I heard something I could put a melody to, we’d try it. We were really open to listening to each other’s ideas…and they had some great ideas. This was one of my best collaborations ever.” On the band’s name, Macy continues, “We had been talking for years about my touring band becoming their own group. One day we were all on a group text throwing out names. Every one that I would say, they blocked like, ‘Absolutely not!’ Then my production manager Drew Hurt came up with California Jet Club…I don’t know how. Everybody liked it so we went with that.”
Considering the subtle shift from solo artist to lead singer of a band, Macy reflects, “That’s where I come from. I remember Janis Joplin started out leading the band, Big Brother and The Holding Company. And when I was coming up, I was in a band. I thought we were all going to be signed when I got my first recording contract…but they only wanted a solo singer.”
What the company and, indeed, the world received upon the release of Macy’s debut album, On How Life Is (Clean Slate/Epic – 1999), was one of the most unique and universally appealing voices in modern pop that bent ears to the left, hearts to the right and spirits to a delicious, cream-filled center. That rich tradition continues with hers and the trio’s phenomenal The Reset, which they began recording in June 2020– smack in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was a little crazy,” Macy admits. “Usually when you’re in the studio, you call all your friends and people come hang out. But the studios had rules like you couldn’t have more than 4 people, all guests had to be o.k.’d, they had to take your temperature… People wearing masks while we were recording was quite odd. And in one studio, they sprayed Lysol on your feet as you were walking in because the owner heard that you could catch COVID thru your shoes.” When queried why she didn’t have everyone record from home like so many other artists did, Macy stresses, “I can’t work like that. The way that we write and record, we would never get anything done. I have to be in the studio to get into that creative mode.”
The album is titled The Reset because Macy, like so many of us, feels like that’s what this awkward, often painful period is like to live through. “God is telling us to rethink the things that we are doing… How we’re livin’. Like Pandora’s Box, a lot of things have sprung out that people had stopped paying attention to. The world is having a reset. Whether it’s a good one or a bad one, we’ll find out. I use to believe everything happens for a reason. Now…I just don’t know.”
Among the most striking of the new songs is “America,” a song like all of Macy’s lyrics, that came to her while she was on the mic, spontaneously inspired by music from her band. “I just remember feeling really let down by my country. I don’t know if I’d ever felt that before… like, walking around telling everybody. ‘I live in the greatest country in the world’ then being hit with the thought, ‘Maybe I don’t.’
Having a president that was really negative and very divisive, and that being o.k. with so many people. Your neighbors revealing where they’re really coming from. I know America has flaws and we have a long way to go. But I don’t remember ever feeling this disappointed. Putting all of that into words didn’t come to me until I was on the mic and my drummer started playing that beat. I started singing then Billy and Alex started working on it. That song was written pretty fast.”
For a cover tune, the band landed on the minefield “Cop Killer,” a controversial heavy metal song remembered from that time when rap star Ice-T decided he wanted to front a band – the Black Rock septet Body Count. Macy was there. That was 1992. Thanks to the need for a Black Lives Matter movement today, it’s still hella relevant 30 years later. “Wildly enough, my first manager had me on the road with Body Count way before I got discovered,” Macy confesses. “He took me on tour with them, so, I heard that song all the time. What everybody misses about that song is that it is beautifully written. Ice (Tracy Marrow) covered so many perspectives regarding people’s relationships with cops. He was so good at exposing the range of emotions beneath the surface. It’s eloquent in the weirdest way. I love our version better simply because I’m not a huge thrash metal fan. I hope ours introduces the lyrics to a wider audience.”
Escapism as a theme shows up in two key songs on The Reset. The moodier one is “Alien” which poses the intergalactic inquiry, “Where can you go where you can just live?” Macy muses, “Sometimes I feel like we all got bamboozled into working our whole lives – struggling past 60 to pay your dues! I just wonder, ‘Was that really the master plan?’ If so, why can’t I just ride off into the sunset without all that?”
For those that don’t have Jeff Bezo bucks for space travel, the next best place to land is at da club - offered up retro style by The California Jet Club via “Disco Song.” Macy brightens, “2 Chainz posted a clip on Instagram of a girl playing classical piano while twerking. It was Jhonni Blaze (from the “Love and Hip Hop” TV show). I reposted it, tagged her and she DM’d me like, ‘Oh, My God, I would love it if we could just meet one day!’ I was so down to meet her, too, so she came to Cali from Atlanta. I had this song ‘Disco’ that I liked the track but thought my lyrics were awful! I asked her, ‘Do you hear anything for this?’ She totally saved me from sounding like an old person on my own song! Tommy came up with the vamp hook (‘All I need is / A little bit of bump and grind / Do me `til I’m satisfied / F’ around and do a line’). I wrote the verse and chorus.”
Another song with a colorful twist is the second single, “Undone,” a celestial pop-blues ballad of Shirley Bassey proportions penned for Macy by producer Tommy Parker (a.k.a. Thomas Lumpkins) and his niece, Nakiesha Marie Pick. “He had never produced a live band, so it was a situation that we could all learn from,” Macy states. “Tommy’s mainstream vibe (Ariana Grande) mixed with what we do came out really nice. He already had the song tricked out at his house. I went in and did the vocals on my own. I felt like it needed strings but it was too late (11pm) to call in any players. So, I called my friends Maiya Sykes and Whitey to see if they could sound like strings. They did the big opera backgrounds.”
The cherry on top of “Undone” is the video (premiered at trendy Soho House in West Hollywood) starring drag performer Frankie J. Grande. “The video came about by default,” Macy explains. “I was scheduled to be in Australia to do ‘The Masked Singer.’ I had been following Frankie on Instagram. During the pandemic, he was doing this series where he would be in his bathroom, get out of his tub and sing songs. He’d have on makeup and be topless – some very strange theater. I thought, ‘What about Frankie in a bathroom, taking his clothes off (chuckles) and singing?’ The director, Guido, brought the choreography and lighting. And we got this amazing editor I went to USC with – T. David Binns. The edit is incredible and what really makes the video work.”
All in All, Macy Gray & The California Jet Club’s The Reset just might be the world’s antidote for all that is worrisome, hopeless and mundane. One giant step for Macy…one ginormous step for all.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231121T203626Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2187 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231209T183000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231209T233000 UID:08DD7632-4695-4A2E-ABD4-25DA08734304 SUMMARY:KRCL's Holiday Soul Party DTSTAMP:20231107T000001Z DESCRIPTION:KRCL's second annual Holiday Soul Party is Saturday, December 9 at The Commonwealth Room in Salt Lake City.\NFeaturing live music from Soultown Revivalists, Joslyn, and an all-vinyl soul set with DJ Robin Banks. Plus a special pre-party VIP Set with KRCL's own Ebay Hamilton.\NCelebrate 44 years of KRCL with KRCL DJs, a photo booth, food trucks, cocktails and a night full of feel good soul! X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:KRCL's second annual Holiday Soul Party is Saturday, December 9 at The Commonwealth Room in Salt Lake City.
Featuring live music from Soultown Revivalists, Joslyn, and an all-vinyl soul set with DJ Robin Banks. Plus a special pre-party VIP Set with KRCL's own Ebay Hamilton.
Celebrate 44 years of KRCL with KRCL DJs, a photo booth, food trucks, cocktails and a night full of feel good soul!
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231206T191802Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:954 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231215T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231215T233000 UID:41F47275-7528-4F93-A0AC-2FCF0E42232C SUMMARY:Steely Dead DTSTAMP:20231103T171840Z DESCRIPTION:Hailing from the vibrant music scene of Denver, Colorado, Steely Dead is a national touring band that has satisfied the curiosity of music lovers with their unique blend of Grateful Dead and Steely Dan. Comprised of four exceptionally talented musicians – Dave Abear on guitar, Matt Abear on bass, Chris Sheldon on drums, and Dylan Teifer on keys – Steely Dead has gained a dedicated following with their electrifying performances and soulful interpretations of classic tunes.\NSteely Dead’s repertoire is a carefully crafted fusion of Grateful Dead and Steely Dan songs, between the arrangement and precision studio recordings of rock legends Steely Dan, cross-pollinated with the Grateful Dead’s free-flowing, melodic improvisation and masterful song segues. Steely Dead merges these major concepts together infusing the influence into each band, all the while creating an original jam element with the song segues. Steely Dead’s performances are a musical journey that takes audiences on a nostalgic trip through the golden era of rock and roll.\NAs a national touring band, Steely Dead has built a loyal fan base that eagerly anticipates their shows and follows them from city to city. Their performances are not just concerts, but communal gatherings where fans come together to celebrate the music they love, dance, and create lasting memories.\NSteely Dead’s performances are a testament to the power of live music, bringing people together and creating an unforgettable experience that resonates long after the last note fades.Steely Dead is not just a band; it’s a musical experience that captures the hearts and souls of music lovers everywhere. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Hailing from the vibrant music scene of Denver, Colorado, Steely Dead is a national touring band that has satisfied the curiosity of music lovers with their unique blend of Grateful Dead and Steely Dan. Comprised of four exceptionally talented musicians – Dave Abear on guitar, Matt Abear on bass, Chris Sheldon on drums, and Dylan Teifer on keys – Steely Dead has gained a dedicated following with their electrifying performances and soulful interpretations of classic tunes.
Steely Dead’s repertoire is a carefully crafted fusion of Grateful Dead and Steely Dan songs, between the arrangement and precision studio recordings of rock legends Steely Dan, cross-pollinated with the Grateful Dead’s free-flowing, melodic improvisation and masterful song segues. Steely Dead merges these major concepts together infusing the influence into each band, all the while creating an original jam element with the song segues. Steely Dead’s performances are a musical journey that takes audiences on a nostalgic trip through the golden era of rock and roll.
As a national touring band, Steely Dead has built a loyal fan base that eagerly anticipates their shows and follows them from city to city. Their performances are not just concerts, but communal gatherings where fans come together to celebrate the music they love, dance, and create lasting memories.
Steely Dead’s performances are a testament to the power of live music, bringing people together and creating an unforgettable experience that resonates long after the last note fades.Steely Dead is not just a band; it’s a musical experience that captures the hearts and souls of music lovers everywhere.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231213T170356Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2071 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231216T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231216T233000 UID:08BAB60B-CB25-4155-A6AA-E04C2F3C30D9 SUMMARY:Christmas Jam DTSTAMP:20231102T223537Z DESCRIPTION:Save the date and plan on being a part of Utah's most rockin' Holiday celebration!\NLast year we brought you the story behind Christmas Jam and its origin. This year, join us to discover how Christmas Jam nearly met an untimely end...\NChristmas Jam began in 2010 as an all ages, holiday themed rock concert meant to bring the local music scene in the Salt Lake City, Utah area together to celebrate the season and serve the less fortunate through the gift of music. What happened that first year was nothing short of miraculous and we have enjoyed overwhelming growth in both attendance and participation with each passing season.We are excited about continuing to support community resources serving those experiencing homelessness. Proceeds from this year will once again be donated to our new friends at The INN Between! X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Save the date and plan on being a part of Utah's most rockin' Holiday celebration!
Last year we brought you the story behind Christmas Jam and its origin. This year, join us to discover how Christmas Jam nearly met an untimely end...
Christmas Jam began in 2010 as an all ages, holiday themed rock concert meant to bring the local music scene in the Salt Lake City, Utah area together to celebrate the season and serve the less fortunate through the gift of music. What happened that first year was nothing short of miraculous and we have enjoyed overwhelming growth in both attendance and participation with each passing season.We are excited about continuing to support community resources serving those experiencing homelessness. Proceeds from this year will once again be donated to our new friends at The INN Between!
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231110T224342Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:920 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231229T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231229T233000 UID:CCBDD72C-3E12-47B4-8A09-E9C8D56D2787 SUMMARY:Boombox DTSTAMP:20230822T004730Z DESCRIPTION:Electronic rock duo BoomBox, consisting of brothers Zion Rock Godchaux and Kinsman MacKay bring heavy organic grooves and soulful beats that penetrate through the dancefloor, and on to all facets of the human experience.\NFounded in Muscle Shoals, AL in 2004 by singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Zion Rock Godchaux, BoomBox has grown and evolved alongside loyal fans across the globe. At the same time, the San Francisco Bay Area native stays true to the vibrations that have been moving bodies on the dancefloor since the beginning.\NBoomBox has a signature type of groove rooted in a back-beat driven style, wrapped around smooth vocals and original lyrics. BoomBox songs also pull from a wide range of genres to cultivate a fusion of music that appeals to a broad audience. “The sound is about pulling from anything that you’d hear coming out of a boombox, and distilling into a distinctive style,” explains Godchaux. It’s this formula that gives BoomBox the unique ability to connect with any crowd regardless of age or origin.\N“There’s a special kind of chemistry between two brothers playing music together,” says Godchaux. BoomBox shows are characterized by a mixture of drum machines and live-mixed computer beats laid down by Mackay, which create the foundation for Godchaux’s electric guitar riffs and soulful vocals to layer on top of.\NIn addition to touring with their live sets, the duo can also be found dropping down and dirty DJ sets at special club and festival appearances. Regardless of which form of BoomBox you may encounter, be prepared to be getting down like there’s no tomorrow. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Electronic rock duo BoomBox, consisting of brothers Zion Rock Godchaux and Kinsman MacKay bring heavy organic grooves and soulful beats that penetrate through the dancefloor, and on to all facets of the human experience.
Founded in Muscle Shoals, AL in 2004 by singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Zion Rock Godchaux, BoomBox has grown and evolved alongside loyal fans across the globe. At the same time, the San Francisco Bay Area native stays true to the vibrations that have been moving bodies on the dancefloor since the beginning.
BoomBox has a signature type of groove rooted in a back-beat driven style, wrapped around smooth vocals and original lyrics. BoomBox songs also pull from a wide range of genres to cultivate a fusion of music that appeals to a broad audience. “The sound is about pulling from anything that you’d hear coming out of a boombox, and distilling into a distinctive style,” explains Godchaux. It’s this formula that gives BoomBox the unique ability to connect with any crowd regardless of age or origin.
“There’s a special kind of chemistry between two brothers playing music together,” says Godchaux. BoomBox shows are characterized by a mixture of drum machines and live-mixed computer beats laid down by Mackay, which create the foundation for Godchaux’s electric guitar riffs and soulful vocals to layer on top of.
In addition to touring with their live sets, the duo can also be found dropping down and dirty DJ sets at special club and festival appearances. Regardless of which form of BoomBox you may encounter, be prepared to be getting down like there’s no tomorrow.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231220T191407Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1437 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20231231T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20231231T233000 UID:FCFD867F-3F6F-4A12-85C8-FB2390CF36D1 SUMMARY:Pixie & The Partygrass Boys DTSTAMP:20230925T164546Z DESCRIPTION:Hailed as “the hottest band in the Wasatch” by the Intermountain Acoustic Music Association, Pixie and The Partygrass Boys is composed of lifelong professional musicians drawn together by a common love of bluegrass and skiing in the Wasatch. Featuring soulful, often harmonic vocals and solid strings and rhythm, this tight-knit crew was born out of the belly of a warm cabin after a long day on the slopes- drinking whiskey and singing into the night. With a high energy sound and a love for silly outfits, they travel the land spreading the gospel of whiskey, chickens, and fun for everyone. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Hailed as “the hottest band in the Wasatch” by the Intermountain Acoustic Music Association, Pixie and The Partygrass Boys is composed of lifelong professional musicians drawn together by a common love of bluegrass and skiing in the Wasatch. Featuring soulful, often harmonic vocals and solid strings and rhythm, this tight-knit crew was born out of the belly of a warm cabin after a long day on the slopes- drinking whiskey and singing into the night. With a high energy sound and a love for silly outfits, they travel the land spreading the gospel of whiskey, chickens, and fun for everyone.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231231T181208Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2412 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240126T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240126T233000 UID:821452BE-86B5-40E3-95FD-D5FACA08EB9D SUMMARY:Keller Williams DTSTAMP:20230822T005656Z DESCRIPTION:Virginian, Keller Williams, released his first album in 1994, FREEK, and has since given each of his albums a single syllable title: BUZZ, SPUN, BREATHE, LOOP, LAUGH, HOME, DANCE, STAGE, GRASS, DREAM, TWELVE, LIVE, ODD, THIEF, KIDS, BASS, PICK, FUNK, VAPE, SYNC, RAW, SANS, ADD, SPEED and CELL. Each title serves as a concise summation of the concept guiding each project. Keller’s albums reflect his pursuit to create music that sounds like nothing else. Un-beholden to conventionalism, he seamlessly crosses genre boundaries. The end product is music that encompasses rock, jazz, funk and bluegrass, and always keeps the audience on their feet. Keller built his reputation initially on his engaging live performances, no two of which are ever alike. For most of his career he has performed solo. His stage shows are rooted around Keller singing his compositions and choice cover songs, while accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, bass, guitar synthesizer and drum samples; a technique called live phrase sampling or “looping”. The end result often leans toward a hybrid of alternative folk and groovy electronica, a genre Keller jokingly calls “acoustic dance music” or ADM.” Keller's constant evolution has led to numerous band projects as well; Keller & The Keels, Grateful Grass, KWahtro, Keller and the Travelin’ McCourys, Grateful Gospel and More Than A Little to name a few. Keller can be found playing clubs and festivals around the U.S. with these projects throughout the year. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Virginian, Keller Williams, released his first album in 1994, FREEK, and has since given each of his albums a single syllable title: BUZZ, SPUN, BREATHE, LOOP, LAUGH, HOME, DANCE, STAGE, GRASS, DREAM, TWELVE, LIVE, ODD, THIEF, KIDS, BASS, PICK, FUNK, VAPE, SYNC, RAW, SANS, ADD, SPEED and CELL. Each title serves as a concise summation of the concept guiding each project. Keller’s albums reflect his pursuit to create music that sounds like nothing else. Un-beholden to conventionalism, he seamlessly crosses genre boundaries. The end product is music that encompasses rock, jazz, funk and bluegrass, and always keeps the audience on their feet. Keller built his reputation initially on his engaging live performances, no two of which are ever alike. For most of his career he has performed solo. His stage shows are rooted around Keller singing his compositions and choice cover songs, while accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, bass, guitar synthesizer and drum samples; a technique called live phrase sampling or “looping”. The end result often leans toward a hybrid of alternative folk and groovy electronica, a genre Keller jokingly calls “acoustic dance music” or ADM.” Keller's constant evolution has led to numerous band projects as well; Keller & The Keels, Grateful Grass, KWahtro, Keller and the Travelin’ McCourys, Grateful Gospel and More Than A Little to name a few. Keller can be found playing clubs and festivals around the U.S. with these projects throughout the year.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20230919T180837Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1811 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240131T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240131T233000 UID:C8351DE4-0C2D-4E03-8344-630781579094 SUMMARY:The Infamous Stringdusters (Night 1!) DTSTAMP:20230929T213028Z DESCRIPTION:After finally being in the same room for the first time in six months, the Infamous Stringdusters seized the moment for their revealing new album, Toward the Fray. Inspired by self-reflection and a strong sense of solidarity, the project documents the Grammy Award-winning group's remarkable growth as instrumentalists as well as songwriters. Released on their own label, Americana Vibes, the collection also firmly establishes the band's stature on the modern acoustic music landscape, where they've built a solid and enduring fan base among traditional and progressive audiences alike.\NThe five band members — Travis Book (bass), Andy Falco (guitar), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), Andy Hall (Dobro), and Chris Pandolfi (banjo) — wrote the songs on Toward the Fray separately, sending simple phone demos to each other during lockdown. Fueled by friendship and a mastery of their instruments, the 13-track collection feels live, but not necessarily loose, due to a synergy that's developed over the last 16 years of playing sheds, clubs, and festival stages across the country.\N"With all of our records, we always go into the studio to capture the live energy of our band, so I feel like we were all comfortable just plugging right in and getting started," Pandolfi says. "All five of us have arrived at this point in our careers where we all produce — we produce our own music and some of us produce for others. We knew we could get it done with all that collective intel and know-how. One of the awesome things about being in this band is that everybody is always working on their instrumental game. When we show up for a new tour or a new album, we all get a chance to dig even a little deeper — and you can hear that part of it. That's always been part of our mantra."\NToward the Fray begins with a somber perspective in songs like "Hard Line" and "I'm Not Alone," even as the arrangements tap into the ambitious, enthusiastic musicianship the band is known for. The point of view in "I Didn't Know" feels especially personal for Garrett.\N"For me, it was a heavy time, with the pandemic slowing everything down, but what affected me the most was the death of George Floyd," he says. "I can't say what an impact that had on me personally, being an average American white guy going along through life, not necessarily fully understanding what the other side of the fence was. I took a deep look at myself because of that story. I got inside of my head and wanted to write about it. Several songs on this record come from that vantage point, trying to put more thought into, how can we bridge this gap that has happened? 'I Didn't Know' is about that. I didn't know we had to pay attention to these things. It was a wake-up call for me."\NContinuing the conversation, Book adds, "All five of us took that opportunity for our consciousness to evolve, and we took the responsibility seriously. That's what I hear when I listen to this record. The songs are very honest and real, but what other option do we have? There's a responsibility as citizens of this country and as citizens of earth, for all the reasons — ecological and cultural — to lean in and to turn toward the battle. Everybody brought a lot of conviction with their tunes. Everybody came with a clear idea of what their statement was going to be. I think because of the situation we were all in, a harmonious and collective sound came out of that."\NThe title track of Toward the Fray finds the narrator making a decision to get involved, rather than just comment on the sidelines. It's a powerful image — and one that required an attention-grabbing visual. Of the cover art depicting a young girl standing firm among the wreckage, Hall says, "When we decided on the album title, I imagined the fray being a city that was on fire or in turmoil. And in juxtaposition of all that destruction happening, there's a child. That's what was happening in the world at the time. There were little kids seeing these protests and all this strife. No one is safe from what's going on, as far as experiencing some level of it. One thing that I like about the artwork is that the child has a strength to her, especially the way she's looking right into the camera. She's got to wear a gas mask and she looks ready to enter into the fray, like, 'All right, I've got to face this.'"\NToward the Fray is also the first Infamous Stringdusters album with drums, with the band deciding that the songs were calling out for it. The band explores other creative directions, too, ranging from the persistent march of "Revolution," to the comforts of home in "Pearl of Carolina." Meanwhile, "Spirits Wild" will be relatable to those who can't help but answer the call of the road. "When Will I Ride Again," a sequel to "Tragic Life" from their first album, is cinematic but also emblematic of their own questions about picking up where they left off. "How Do You Know" and "Through the Floor" are among the band's most vulnerable compositions in a catalog of exceptional material.\N"To me, the theme of Toward the Fray is about dealing with your problems head on, rather than running away from them," Falco says. "One of the things that I'm really proud of is that this record is true to all of us. It's a genuine record because it really is about everything that we were all going through. We're talking about the pandemic and all of the chaos, but we're talking about love and other things, too. We were able to reflect and dive deep and look inward during all of this. I hope people who hear these songs will feel like they're not alone. That's what we always hope that people can relate to in our songs — that we're all in it together." X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:After finally being in the same room for the first time in six months, the Infamous Stringdusters seized the moment for their revealing new album, Toward the Fray. Inspired by self-reflection and a strong sense of solidarity, the project documents the Grammy Award-winning group's remarkable growth as instrumentalists as well as songwriters. Released on their own label, Americana Vibes, the collection also firmly establishes the band's stature on the modern acoustic music landscape, where they've built a solid and enduring fan base among traditional and progressive audiences alike.
The five band members — Travis Book (bass), Andy Falco (guitar), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), Andy Hall (Dobro), and Chris Pandolfi (banjo) — wrote the songs on Toward the Fray separately, sending simple phone demos to each other during lockdown. Fueled by friendship and a mastery of their instruments, the 13-track collection feels live, but not necessarily loose, due to a synergy that's developed over the last 16 years of playing sheds, clubs, and festival stages across the country.
"With all of our records, we always go into the studio to capture the live energy of our band, so I feel like we were all comfortable just plugging right in and getting started," Pandolfi says. "All five of us have arrived at this point in our careers where we all produce — we produce our own music and some of us produce for others. We knew we could get it done with all that collective intel and know-how. One of the awesome things about being in this band is that everybody is always working on their instrumental game. When we show up for a new tour or a new album, we all get a chance to dig even a little deeper — and you can hear that part of it. That's always been part of our mantra."
Toward the Fray begins with a somber perspective in songs like "Hard Line" and "I'm Not Alone," even as the arrangements tap into the ambitious, enthusiastic musicianship the band is known for. The point of view in "I Didn't Know" feels especially personal for Garrett.
"For me, it was a heavy time, with the pandemic slowing everything down, but what affected me the most was the death of George Floyd," he says. "I can't say what an impact that had on me personally, being an average American white guy going along through life, not necessarily fully understanding what the other side of the fence was. I took a deep look at myself because of that story. I got inside of my head and wanted to write about it. Several songs on this record come from that vantage point, trying to put more thought into, how can we bridge this gap that has happened? 'I Didn't Know' is about that. I didn't know we had to pay attention to these things. It was a wake-up call for me."
Continuing the conversation, Book adds, "All five of us took that opportunity for our consciousness to evolve, and we took the responsibility seriously. That's what I hear when I listen to this record. The songs are very honest and real, but what other option do we have? There's a responsibility as citizens of this country and as citizens of earth, for all the reasons — ecological and cultural — to lean in and to turn toward the battle. Everybody brought a lot of conviction with their tunes. Everybody came with a clear idea of what their statement was going to be. I think because of the situation we were all in, a harmonious and collective sound came out of that."
The title track of Toward the Fray finds the narrator making a decision to get involved, rather than just comment on the sidelines. It's a powerful image — and one that required an attention-grabbing visual. Of the cover art depicting a young girl standing firm among the wreckage, Hall says, "When we decided on the album title, I imagined the fray being a city that was on fire or in turmoil. And in juxtaposition of all that destruction happening, there's a child. That's what was happening in the world at the time. There were little kids seeing these protests and all this strife. No one is safe from what's going on, as far as experiencing some level of it. One thing that I like about the artwork is that the child has a strength to her, especially the way she's looking right into the camera. She's got to wear a gas mask and she looks ready to enter into the fray, like, 'All right, I've got to face this.'"
Toward the Fray is also the first Infamous Stringdusters album with drums, with the band deciding that the songs were calling out for it. The band explores other creative directions, too, ranging from the persistent march of "Revolution," to the comforts of home in "Pearl of Carolina." Meanwhile, "Spirits Wild" will be relatable to those who can't help but answer the call of the road. "When Will I Ride Again," a sequel to "Tragic Life" from their first album, is cinematic but also emblematic of their own questions about picking up where they left off. "How Do You Know" and "Through the Floor" are among the band's most vulnerable compositions in a catalog of exceptional material.
"To me, the theme of Toward the Fray is about dealing with your problems head on, rather than running away from them," Falco says. "One of the things that I'm really proud of is that this record is true to all of us. It's a genuine record because it really is about everything that we were all going through. We're talking about the pandemic and all of the chaos, but we're talking about love and other things, too. We were able to reflect and dive deep and look inward during all of this. I hope people who hear these songs will feel like they're not alone. That's what we always hope that people can relate to in our songs — that we're all in it together."
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240123T222842Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1576 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240201T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240201T233000 UID:A1EE2181-0000-414D-99D7-7853C6C29E9E SUMMARY:The Infamous Stringdusters (Night 2!) DTSTAMP:20230929T214155Z DESCRIPTION:After finally being in the same room for the first time in six months, the Infamous Stringdusters seized the moment for their revealing new album, Toward the Fray. Inspired by self-reflection and a strong sense of solidarity, the project documents the Grammy Award-winning group's remarkable growth as instrumentalists as well as songwriters. Released on their own label, Americana Vibes, the collection also firmly establishes the band's stature on the modern acoustic music landscape, where they've built a solid and enduring fan base among traditional and progressive audiences alike.\NThe five band members — Travis Book (bass), Andy Falco (guitar), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), Andy Hall (Dobro), and Chris Pandolfi (banjo) — wrote the songs on Toward the Fray separately, sending simple phone demos to each other during lockdown. Fueled by friendship and a mastery of their instruments, the 13-track collection feels live, but not necessarily loose, due to a synergy that's developed over the last 16 years of playing sheds, clubs, and festival stages across the country.\N"With all of our records, we always go into the studio to capture the live energy of our band, so I feel like we were all comfortable just plugging right in and getting started," Pandolfi says. "All five of us have arrived at this point in our careers where we all produce — we produce our own music and some of us produce for others. We knew we could get it done with all that collective intel and know-how. One of the awesome things about being in this band is that everybody is always working on their instrumental game. When we show up for a new tour or a new album, we all get a chance to dig even a little deeper — and you can hear that part of it. That's always been part of our mantra."\NToward the Fray begins with a somber perspective in songs like "Hard Line" and "I'm Not Alone," even as the arrangements tap into the ambitious, enthusiastic musicianship the band is known for. The point of view in "I Didn't Know" feels especially personal for Garrett.\N"For me, it was a heavy time, with the pandemic slowing everything down, but what affected me the most was the death of George Floyd," he says. "I can't say what an impact that had on me personally, being an average American white guy going along through life, not necessarily fully understanding what the other side of the fence was. I took a deep look at myself because of that story. I got inside of my head and wanted to write about it. Several songs on this record come from that vantage point, trying to put more thought into, how can we bridge this gap that has happened? 'I Didn't Know' is about that. I didn't know we had to pay attention to these things. It was a wake-up call for me."\NContinuing the conversation, Book adds, "All five of us took that opportunity for our consciousness to evolve, and we took the responsibility seriously. That's what I hear when I listen to this record. The songs are very honest and real, but what other option do we have? There's a responsibility as citizens of this country and as citizens of earth, for all the reasons — ecological and cultural — to lean in and to turn toward the battle. Everybody brought a lot of conviction with their tunes. Everybody came with a clear idea of what their statement was going to be. I think because of the situation we were all in, a harmonious and collective sound came out of that."\NThe title track of Toward the Fray finds the narrator making a decision to get involved, rather than just comment on the sidelines. It's a powerful image — and one that required an attention-grabbing visual. Of the cover art depicting a young girl standing firm among the wreckage, Hall says, "When we decided on the album title, I imagined the fray being a city that was on fire or in turmoil. And in juxtaposition of all that destruction happening, there's a child. That's what was happening in the world at the time. There were little kids seeing these protests and all this strife. No one is safe from what's going on, as far as experiencing some level of it. One thing that I like about the artwork is that the child has a strength to her, especially the way she's looking right into the camera. She's got to wear a gas mask and she looks ready to enter into the fray, like, 'All right, I've got to face this.'"\NToward the Fray is also the first Infamous Stringdusters album with drums, with the band deciding that the songs were calling out for it. The band explores other creative directions, too, ranging from the persistent march of "Revolution," to the comforts of home in "Pearl of Carolina." Meanwhile, "Spirits Wild" will be relatable to those who can't help but answer the call of the road. "When Will I Ride Again," a sequel to "Tragic Life" from their first album, is cinematic but also emblematic of their own questions about picking up where they left off. "How Do You Know" and "Through the Floor" are among the band's most vulnerable compositions in a catalog of exceptional material.\N"To me, the theme of Toward the Fray is about dealing with your problems head on, rather than running away from them," Falco says. "One of the things that I'm really proud of is that this record is true to all of us. It's a genuine record because it really is about everything that we were all going through. We're talking about the pandemic and all of the chaos, but we're talking about love and other things, too. We were able to reflect and dive deep and look inward during all of this. I hope people who hear these songs will feel like they're not alone. That's what we always hope that people can relate to in our songs — that we're all in it together." X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:After finally being in the same room for the first time in six months, the Infamous Stringdusters seized the moment for their revealing new album, Toward the Fray. Inspired by self-reflection and a strong sense of solidarity, the project documents the Grammy Award-winning group's remarkable growth as instrumentalists as well as songwriters. Released on their own label, Americana Vibes, the collection also firmly establishes the band's stature on the modern acoustic music landscape, where they've built a solid and enduring fan base among traditional and progressive audiences alike.
The five band members — Travis Book (bass), Andy Falco (guitar), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), Andy Hall (Dobro), and Chris Pandolfi (banjo) — wrote the songs on Toward the Fray separately, sending simple phone demos to each other during lockdown. Fueled by friendship and a mastery of their instruments, the 13-track collection feels live, but not necessarily loose, due to a synergy that's developed over the last 16 years of playing sheds, clubs, and festival stages across the country.
"With all of our records, we always go into the studio to capture the live energy of our band, so I feel like we were all comfortable just plugging right in and getting started," Pandolfi says. "All five of us have arrived at this point in our careers where we all produce — we produce our own music and some of us produce for others. We knew we could get it done with all that collective intel and know-how. One of the awesome things about being in this band is that everybody is always working on their instrumental game. When we show up for a new tour or a new album, we all get a chance to dig even a little deeper — and you can hear that part of it. That's always been part of our mantra."
Toward the Fray begins with a somber perspective in songs like "Hard Line" and "I'm Not Alone," even as the arrangements tap into the ambitious, enthusiastic musicianship the band is known for. The point of view in "I Didn't Know" feels especially personal for Garrett.
"For me, it was a heavy time, with the pandemic slowing everything down, but what affected me the most was the death of George Floyd," he says. "I can't say what an impact that had on me personally, being an average American white guy going along through life, not necessarily fully understanding what the other side of the fence was. I took a deep look at myself because of that story. I got inside of my head and wanted to write about it. Several songs on this record come from that vantage point, trying to put more thought into, how can we bridge this gap that has happened? 'I Didn't Know' is about that. I didn't know we had to pay attention to these things. It was a wake-up call for me."
Continuing the conversation, Book adds, "All five of us took that opportunity for our consciousness to evolve, and we took the responsibility seriously. That's what I hear when I listen to this record. The songs are very honest and real, but what other option do we have? There's a responsibility as citizens of this country and as citizens of earth, for all the reasons — ecological and cultural — to lean in and to turn toward the battle. Everybody brought a lot of conviction with their tunes. Everybody came with a clear idea of what their statement was going to be. I think because of the situation we were all in, a harmonious and collective sound came out of that."
The title track of Toward the Fray finds the narrator making a decision to get involved, rather than just comment on the sidelines. It's a powerful image — and one that required an attention-grabbing visual. Of the cover art depicting a young girl standing firm among the wreckage, Hall says, "When we decided on the album title, I imagined the fray being a city that was on fire or in turmoil. And in juxtaposition of all that destruction happening, there's a child. That's what was happening in the world at the time. There were little kids seeing these protests and all this strife. No one is safe from what's going on, as far as experiencing some level of it. One thing that I like about the artwork is that the child has a strength to her, especially the way she's looking right into the camera. She's got to wear a gas mask and she looks ready to enter into the fray, like, 'All right, I've got to face this.'"
Toward the Fray is also the first Infamous Stringdusters album with drums, with the band deciding that the songs were calling out for it. The band explores other creative directions, too, ranging from the persistent march of "Revolution," to the comforts of home in "Pearl of Carolina." Meanwhile, "Spirits Wild" will be relatable to those who can't help but answer the call of the road. "When Will I Ride Again," a sequel to "Tragic Life" from their first album, is cinematic but also emblematic of their own questions about picking up where they left off. "How Do You Know" and "Through the Floor" are among the band's most vulnerable compositions in a catalog of exceptional material.
"To me, the theme of Toward the Fray is about dealing with your problems head on, rather than running away from them," Falco says. "One of the things that I'm really proud of is that this record is true to all of us. It's a genuine record because it really is about everything that we were all going through. We're talking about the pandemic and all of the chaos, but we're talking about love and other things, too. We were able to reflect and dive deep and look inward during all of this. I hope people who hear these songs will feel like they're not alone. That's what we always hope that people can relate to in our songs — that we're all in it together."
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240201T160928Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1160 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240206T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240206T210000 UID:1C531929-D2A3-4E13-B0A4-3AE466B0B234 SUMMARY:Futurebirds x The Nude Party DTSTAMP:20231106T224929Z DESCRIPTION:Futurebirds\NRock juggernaut Futurebirds’ newest EP, Bloomin’ Too, is a benchmark that not only celebrates 13 years together, it’s also a testament to the sheer iron will of a group of musicians hungry for the fruits of its labor.\N“Futurebirds is the best it’s been right now, far and away,” says singer/guitarist Carter King. “We’ve been unintentionally carving out our own space since the beginning, since we never exactly fit in anywhere else musically. We were always too indie rock for the jam festival, too country for the indie scene, a little too psych-rock to feel like we were Americana. The music over the years just kind of created its own weird little ecosystem — it's thriving and it feels great.”\NThe Athens, Georgia-based group once again tapped storied My Morning Jacket guitarist/producer Carl Broemel in the latest chapter of this seamless, bountiful partnership that initially came to fruition with the 2021 EP, Bloomin’.\N“Carl is extremely perceptive and an all-around smart dude. He’s really in tune with what the band is and what it strives to be. He’s engaged and understands our vision,” King says. “He’s a longtime hero of ours, and now is a friend and collaborator. It’s wild. And it’s great to be able to defer to someone you respect so much with creative decisions in the studio — we don’t just give that trust to just anybody.”\NCaptured this past spring at the legendary Ronnie’s Place in Nashville, Tennessee, the seven-song Bloomin’ Too is a vortex of sonic textures. The album ricochets from cosmic space, rock to rough around the edges, alt-country dreamscapes, sandy beach bum odes to kick in your step pop ballads — all signature tones and musical avenues at the core of the Birds' wide musical palette.\N“This is probably the quickest turnaround we’ve ever had for a record — we felt confident right when we got into the studio and just cranked it out,” says singer/guitarist Daniel Womack. “All of our frequencies are aligned as a band, where we’ve got this free-flow of ideas happening. We’re all on the same page right now and we have a lot of momentum going.”\NFor Broemel, he finds a sincere kinship and solidarity with Futurebirds. Witnessing first-hand the band’s blue-collar work ethic in the studio, Broemel was impressed and inspired by the ‘Birds’ democratic ways and means in how music is created and cultivated in the studio.\N“Futurebirds have this unique vibe with three singer-songwriters in the band, where everyone is constantly shifting their function depending on the song,” Broemel says. “Everyone just kind of falls into place and finds something to contribute. Someone will lead the charge on one song, then fall back and let another take charge on the next — it’s something rare to see and behold in rock music, where normally there’s just one songwriter and one leader.”\NThat camaraderie between founding members King, Womack, singer/guitarist Thomas Johnson and bassist Brannen Miles began when they were college students at the University of Georgia. In recent years, the quartet has added pedal steel player Kiffy Myers, keyboardist Spencer Thomas and drummer Tom Myers.\N“It’s the best feeling in the world to be up there onstage, to look across and see these other super talented dudes all stoked to be there,” King says. “We’re brothers and family and all that, but what's truly most impressive is that we’ve remained good friends on top of that. At the end of the day, for us, it’s always been about having a good time. That's what keeps this thing moving.”\NFrom there, it’s been endless miles on that old lost highway. It’s this rollercoaster of emotions, thoughts and actions — gig after gig, year after year — where now the band will be making its debut at Red Rocks Amphitheatre for a highly-anticipated two-night run (Oct. 3-4) alongside indie-rock darlings Caamp.\N“It was pure elation when we were offered Red Rocks,” Womack says. “Everything we’ve been working towards has always included being able to play Red Rocks someday — it’s a big win for us and such a gratifying feeling.”\NAnd though Futurebirds have offered up another instant classic release with Bloomin’ Too, the foundation of the group’s ethos, attitude, and rabid fan base remains its live shows — these undulating waves of sound, energy and passion spilling out onto the audience in this two-way street of respect and admiration.\N“The line between the stage and the audience has always been blurred, and we’ve definitely carried ourselves that way since the beginning,” Womack says. “The early days of rock-n-roll were about the mysticism surrounding musicians and bands. That’s never been us. We want to embrace our fans, to actually hang out and get to know them — they’re all part of the BirdFam.’”\NReflecting on the last 13 years, King can only shake his head in awe of what has transpired over that time period for Futurebirds, personally and professionally. From playing empty dive bars to selling out theaters coast to coast, from college kids to now husbands and fathers — the sacred flame of music, creativity and performance continually cradling and nurturing deeply-held dreams.\N“You start out doing this solely because it’s fun and you have no preconceived notion of what’s going to happen or what it should be. And then, you get a taste of this possibly being your actual life,” King says. “Maybe you get too serious about it, or too wrapped up in how you are being received, or the industry watermarks of success. But, life’s just a perception game. It’s about having fun and aligning yourself with the right people. The community that’s built up around us has made it real easy to peel back all that brush and noise and see this thing for what it really is." X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Rock juggernaut Futurebirds’ newest EP, Bloomin’ Too, is a benchmark that not only celebrates 13 years together, it’s also a testament to the sheer iron will of a group of musicians hungry for the fruits of its labor.
“Futurebirds is the best it’s been right now, far and away,” says singer/guitarist Carter King. “We’ve been unintentionally carving out our own space since the beginning, since we never exactly fit in anywhere else musically. We were always too indie rock for the jam festival, too country for the indie scene, a little too psych-rock to feel like we were Americana. The music over the years just kind of created its own weird little ecosystem — it's thriving and it feels great.”
The Athens, Georgia-based group once again tapped storied My Morning Jacket guitarist/producer Carl Broemel in the latest chapter of this seamless, bountiful partnership that initially came to fruition with the 2021 EP, Bloomin’.
“Carl is extremely perceptive and an all-around smart dude. He’s really in tune with what the band is and what it strives to be. He’s engaged and understands our vision,” King says. “He’s a longtime hero of ours, and now is a friend and collaborator. It’s wild. And it’s great to be able to defer to someone you respect so much with creative decisions in the studio — we don’t just give that trust to just anybody.”
Captured this past spring at the legendary Ronnie’s Place in Nashville, Tennessee, the seven-song Bloomin’ Too is a vortex of sonic textures. The album ricochets from cosmic space, rock to rough around the edges, alt-country dreamscapes, sandy beach bum odes to kick in your step pop ballads — all signature tones and musical avenues at the core of the Birds' wide musical palette.
“This is probably the quickest turnaround we’ve ever had for a record — we felt confident right when we got into the studio and just cranked it out,” says singer/guitarist Daniel Womack. “All of our frequencies are aligned as a band, where we’ve got this free-flow of ideas happening. We’re all on the same page right now and we have a lot of momentum going.”
For Broemel, he finds a sincere kinship and solidarity with Futurebirds. Witnessing first-hand the band’s blue-collar work ethic in the studio, Broemel was impressed and inspired by the ‘Birds’ democratic ways and means in how music is created and cultivated in the studio.
“Futurebirds have this unique vibe with three singer-songwriters in the band, where everyone is constantly shifting their function depending on the song,” Broemel says. “Everyone just kind of falls into place and finds something to contribute. Someone will lead the charge on one song, then fall back and let another take charge on the next — it’s something rare to see and behold in rock music, where normally there’s just one songwriter and one leader.”
That camaraderie between founding members King, Womack, singer/guitarist Thomas Johnson and bassist Brannen Miles began when they were college students at the University of Georgia. In recent years, the quartet has added pedal steel player Kiffy Myers, keyboardist Spencer Thomas and drummer Tom Myers.
“It’s the best feeling in the world to be up there onstage, to look across and see these other super talented dudes all stoked to be there,” King says. “We’re brothers and family and all that, but what's truly most impressive is that we’ve remained good friends on top of that. At the end of the day, for us, it’s always been about having a good time. That's what keeps this thing moving.”
From there, it’s been endless miles on that old lost highway. It’s this rollercoaster of emotions, thoughts and actions — gig after gig, year after year — where now the band will be making its debut at Red Rocks Amphitheatre for a highly-anticipated two-night run (Oct. 3-4) alongside indie-rock darlings Caamp.
“It was pure elation when we were offered Red Rocks,” Womack says. “Everything we’ve been working towards has always included being able to play Red Rocks someday — it’s a big win for us and such a gratifying feeling.”
And though Futurebirds have offered up another instant classic release with Bloomin’ Too, the foundation of the group’s ethos, attitude, and rabid fan base remains its live shows — these undulating waves of sound, energy and passion spilling out onto the audience in this two-way street of respect and admiration.
“The line between the stage and the audience has always been blurred, and we’ve definitely carried ourselves that way since the beginning,” Womack says. “The early days of rock-n-roll were about the mysticism surrounding musicians and bands. That’s never been us. We want to embrace our fans, to actually hang out and get to know them — they’re all part of the BirdFam.’”
Reflecting on the last 13 years, King can only shake his head in awe of what has transpired over that time period for Futurebirds, personally and professionally. From playing empty dive bars to selling out theaters coast to coast, from college kids to now husbands and fathers — the sacred flame of music, creativity and performance continually cradling and nurturing deeply-held dreams.
“You start out doing this solely because it’s fun and you have no preconceived notion of what’s going to happen or what it should be. And then, you get a taste of this possibly being your actual life,” King says. “Maybe you get too serious about it, or too wrapped up in how you are being received, or the industry watermarks of success. But, life’s just a perception game. It’s about having fun and aligning yourself with the right people. The community that’s built up around us has made it real easy to peel back all that brush and noise and see this thing for what it really is."
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231214T200408Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1891 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240208T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240208T210000 UID:E0EFAD4A-66EE-4E46-A81B-FA989AA7831B SUMMARY:Cosmic Hootenanny DTSTAMP:20240109T170149Z DESCRIPTION:Presented by the Trash Moon Collective, the Cosmic Hootenanny is a celebration of our local acoustic music community and a chance to help a friend in need through the power of music and a rowdy good time. Four staple bands of the SLC scene—David Burchfield and the Fire Guild, Hot House West, Pompe ’n Honey, and Pixie and the Partygrass Boys—will be donating their performing time so almost all ticket sales will go to our dear friend and fiddler extraordinaire, Megan Nay, who is experiencing financial hardship due to medical complications.\NFrom 8-11pm you will enjoy four raging musical acts, speckled with tantalizing Reverse Burlesque performances by local dancers. We will have items TBD up for silent auction and a donation booth, with all proceeds donated to Megan. There will be gifts for donors throughout the evening, the greatest of which will be a SANTA CRUZ GUITAR contributed by Acoustic Music.\NThe Trash Moon Collective is an organization devoted to growing and supporting Utah’s acoustic music community. We believe that acoustic music—from bluegrass to old time, and swing—brings people together and creates opportunities for connectedness, learning, and joy. We host a weekly jam at Woodbine Food Hall, a monthly square dance and honky tonk at Fisher Brewing, curate a Bluegrass Night at Gracie’s, and help to promote local shows and unique events within our community. Our website is currently under construction but go to trashmooncollective.com to sign up for our weekly newsletter and follow us on Instagram @trashmooncollective for more information. The Trash Moon Collective is a program of Hot House West nonprofit, a swing orchestra and collection of local musicians dedicated to building and fostering a healthy music scene in Utah.\NStay tuned for more detailed info about the Cosmic Hootenanny! What are you waiting for? Grab your cowboy hat, your boots, and find your inner Space Cowgirl. \N \NBand Bios \NDavid Burchfield and the Fire Guild - David Burchfield writes Americana that swaggers wildly through raw emotion within a meticulously written and arranged package. With connections to his indie folk, classic country, and bluegrass roots, Burchfield carves a unique path in the folk rock world with his powerful 5-piece, the Fire Guild. Burchfield’s literate lyrics meet emotive grace in nods to Jason Isbell, Watchhouse (Mandolin Orange), and David Ramirez. There is a powerful candor in Burchfield’s writing – raw, emotive, and rich with details that bring the listener right into the scene of his passion. Solo, Burchfield performs with a surprising ferocity and conviction that has silenced even the rowdiest of rooms. Critics have called his 5-piece band, David Burchfield & the Fire Guild, akin to “the Band meets the Stray Birds” – equal parts all out roots rock party and sensitively arranged balladry. Burchfield has opened for Nicki Bluhm, Anders Osborne, Noah Gundersen, David Ramirez, and Joe Pug.\NPompe ’n Honey - Pompe ’n Honey is a tightly knit acoustic swing band out of Salt Lake City that came together over a love of obscure, early 20th-century swing and folk music. Breaking down the wall between high-brow sophistication and raw artistic expression, they pull from the eclectic likes of Hot Club of Cowtown, the Woody Pines, Madeleine Peyroux, Sierra Ferrell, Django Reinhardt, Bob Wills, and Elton Britt. Specializing in classic country swing and gypsy jazz, Pompe n’ Honey play a healthy dose of original tunes, American Songbook standards, and sultry covers to make a dynamic and positively toe-tapping good time. Be ready for banjos, guitars, dobros, fiddles, basses, salty solos, luscious harmonies, and an irresistible urge to groove.\NHot House West - Hot House West is a versatile and spirited swing band, deeply inspired by the legendary Django Reinhardt and the infectious rhythms of gypsy jazz. Formed out of a shared passion for swing and the joy of playing together, band members bring their individual flair to create a unique sound that captivates audiences of all ages. Their repertoire spans classic Django tunes, beloved jazz standards, and original compositions, all infused with their signature energy and style.\NPixie and the Partygrass Boys - Pixie and the Partygrass Boys may be far from their humble beginnings, but they still don’t take themselves too seriously. What began as a group of ski bums playing house parties in the Cottonwoods has evolved into a nationally touring band that always aims to have the most fun possible. Along with the skill and expertise that comes from nearly a decade of performing together, they bring the energy of closing weekend at your favorite ski resort to the stage. They have captivated audiences across the nation with their unique blend of heartfelt songwriting, high velocity instrumental excellence, silly outfits, and sing-along anthems and have become a five year fixture at Winter Wondergass as well as gracing the stages of High Sierra Music Festival, Gem and Jam, Delfest, Jam Cruise, Hangtown, Sawtooth Valley Gathering, Bourbon and Beyond, and countless venues across the USA. They have supported such prestigious acts as Billy Strings, the Infamous Stringdusters, the Brothers Comatose, and Lake Street Dive. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Presented by the Trash Moon Collective, the Cosmic Hootenanny is a celebration of our local acoustic music community and a chance to help a friend in need through the power of music and a rowdy good time. Four staple bands of the SLC scene—David Burchfield and the Fire Guild, Hot House West, Pompe ’n Honey, and Pixie and the Partygrass Boys—will be donating their performing time so almost all ticket sales will go to our dear friend and fiddler extraordinaire, Megan Nay, who is experiencing financial hardship due to medical complications.
From 8-11pm you will enjoy four raging musical acts, speckled with tantalizing Reverse Burlesque performances by local dancers. We will have items TBD up for silent auction and a donation booth, with all proceeds donated to Megan. There will be gifts for donors throughout the evening, the greatest of which will be a SANTA CRUZ GUITAR contributed by Acoustic Music.
The Trash Moon Collective is an organization devoted to growing and supporting Utah’s acoustic music community. We believe that acoustic music—from bluegrass to old time, and swing—brings people together and creates opportunities for connectedness, learning, and joy. We host a weekly jam at Woodbine Food Hall, a monthly square dance and honky tonk at Fisher Brewing, curate a Bluegrass Night at Gracie’s, and help to promote local shows and unique events within our community. Our website is currently under construction but go to trashmooncollective.com to sign up for our weekly newsletter and follow us on Instagram @trashmooncollective for more information. The Trash Moon Collective is a program of Hot House West nonprofit, a swing orchestra and collection of local musicians dedicated to building and fostering a healthy music scene in Utah.
Stay tuned for more detailed info about the Cosmic Hootenanny! What are you waiting for? Grab your cowboy hat, your boots, and find your inner Space Cowgirl.
David Burchfield and the Fire Guild - David Burchfield writes Americana that swaggers wildly through raw emotion within a meticulously written and arranged package. With connections to his indie folk, classic country, and bluegrass roots, Burchfield carves a unique path in the folk rock world with his powerful 5-piece, the Fire Guild. Burchfield’s literate lyrics meet emotive grace in nods to Jason Isbell, Watchhouse (Mandolin Orange), and David Ramirez. There is a powerful candor in Burchfield’s writing – raw, emotive, and rich with details that bring the listener right into the scene of his passion. Solo, Burchfield performs with a surprising ferocity and conviction that has silenced even the rowdiest of rooms. Critics have called his 5-piece band, David Burchfield & the Fire Guild, akin to “the Band meets the Stray Birds” – equal parts all out roots rock party and sensitively arranged balladry. Burchfield has opened for Nicki Bluhm, Anders Osborne, Noah Gundersen, David Ramirez, and Joe Pug.
Pompe ’n Honey - Pompe ’n Honey is a tightly knit acoustic swing band out of Salt Lake City that came together over a love of obscure, early 20th-century swing and folk music. Breaking down the wall between high-brow sophistication and raw artistic expression, they pull from the eclectic likes of Hot Club of Cowtown, the Woody Pines, Madeleine Peyroux, Sierra Ferrell, Django Reinhardt, Bob Wills, and Elton Britt. Specializing in classic country swing and gypsy jazz, Pompe n’ Honey play a healthy dose of original tunes, American Songbook standards, and sultry covers to make a dynamic and positively toe-tapping good time. Be ready for banjos, guitars, dobros, fiddles, basses, salty solos, luscious harmonies, and an irresistible urge to groove.
Hot House West - Hot House West is a versatile and spirited swing band, deeply inspired by the legendary Django Reinhardt and the infectious rhythms of gypsy jazz. Formed out of a shared passion for swing and the joy of playing together, band members bring their individual flair to create a unique sound that captivates audiences of all ages. Their repertoire spans classic Django tunes, beloved jazz standards, and original compositions, all infused with their signature energy and style.
Pixie and the Partygrass Boys - Pixie and the Partygrass Boys may be far from their humble beginnings, but they still don’t take themselves too seriously. What began as a group of ski bums playing house parties in the Cottonwoods has evolved into a nationally touring band that always aims to have the most fun possible. Along with the skill and expertise that comes from nearly a decade of performing together, they bring the energy of closing weekend at your favorite ski resort to the stage. They have captivated audiences across the nation with their unique blend of heartfelt songwriting, high velocity instrumental excellence, silly outfits, and sing-along anthems and have become a five year fixture at Winter Wondergass as well as gracing the stages of High Sierra Music Festival, Gem and Jam, Delfest, Jam Cruise, Hangtown, Sawtooth Valley Gathering, Bourbon and Beyond, and countless venues across the USA. They have supported such prestigious acts as Billy Strings, the Infamous Stringdusters, the Brothers Comatose, and Lake Street Dive.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240117T171558Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:2382 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240210T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240210T233000 UID:41B7931E-B7D5-4785-81A3-7D7030009C40 SUMMARY:Big Richard DTSTAMP:20230919T033022Z DESCRIPTION:What began as an all-female festival collab quickly morphed into a serious passion project driven by sisterhood, harmony and humor...…along with the shared desire to rage fiddle tunes and smash the patriarchy. \N Big Richard is a neo-acoustic super group made up of four well established Colorado musicians: Bonnie Sims on mandolin (Bonnie & Taylor Sims/Everybody Loves An Outlaw/Bonnie & the Clydes), Joy Adams on cello (Nathaniel Rateliff/Darol Anger/Half Pelican), Emma Rose on bass + guitar (Sound of Honey/Daniel Rodriguez/Whippoorwill) and Eve Panning on fiddle (Lonesome Days). \NFormed in late 2021, the band gained immediate notoriety for their charismatic stage presence and their vocal/instrumental prowess. After selling out all of their club shows Big Richard quickly started confirming festival appearances across America. 2023 is sure to be a big year!! X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:What began as an all-female festival collab quickly morphed into a serious passion project driven by sisterhood, harmony and humor...…along with the shared desire to rage fiddle tunes and smash the patriarchy.
Big Richard is a neo-acoustic super group made up of four well established Colorado musicians: Bonnie Sims on mandolin (Bonnie & Taylor Sims/Everybody Loves An Outlaw/Bonnie & the Clydes), Joy Adams on cello (Nathaniel Rateliff/Darol Anger/Half Pelican), Emma Rose on bass + guitar (Sound of Honey/Daniel Rodriguez/Whippoorwill) and Eve Panning on fiddle (Lonesome Days).
Formed in late 2021, the band gained immediate notoriety for their charismatic stage presence and their vocal/instrumental prowess. After selling out all of their club shows Big Richard quickly started confirming festival appearances across America. 2023 is sure to be a big year!!
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231221T165934Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1308 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240214T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240214T233000 UID:CEF6AB8D-DC0D-4FE9-9672-ED275C102765 SUMMARY:Kitchen Dwellers DTSTAMP:20231023T200419Z DESCRIPTION:Among the many natural wonders in Montana, Wise River runs for about 30 miles through the Southwestern region of the state, cutting through the mountains and flowing into the Big Hole River. Beyond being a favorite spot for fly fishermen, it remains etched into the topography of the land itself. Two hours away in Bozeman, Kitchen Dwellers equally embody the spirit and soul of their home with a sonic palette as expansive as Montana’s vistas. The quartet—Shawn Swain [Mandolin], Torrin Daniels [banjo], Joe Funk [upright bass], and Max Davies [acoustic guitar]—twist bluegrass, folk, and rock through a kaleidoscope of homegrown stories, rich mythology, American west wanderlust, and psychedelic hues. After amassing 5 million-plus streams, selling out shows, and receiving acclaim from Huffington Post, Relix, American Songwriter, and more, the group brings audiences back to Big Sky Country on their third full-length album, Wise River, working with Cory Wong of Vulfpeck as producer.\N“Since we weren’t on the road due to COVID-19, the music we wrote was different,” Max reveals. “It was more introspective. There were a lot of ties to Montana.”\N“For the first time, we were all home for 365 days in a row, which hasn’t happened in ten years,” adds Shawn. “We were thinking of the quieter lifestyle encapsulated in the area. That comes through.”\N“In the past, our songs would touch on the physical aspects of the state or reference its history and nature,” says Torrin. “These songs are more introspective, because they come from the perspective of actually being in one place. The vibe is a little more serious—given the weirdness of the past year and the shit everyone has been dealing with. Our little corner of the world has always delt with hard winters, but the whole world felt it in 2020.”\NAt the same time, their music continues to resound beyond that little corner. They’ve captivated audiences at hallowed venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre and performed alongside everyone from Railroad Earth and Twiddle to The Infamous String Dusters in addition to playing festivals such as Northwest String Summit, WinterWonderGrass, and more. They’ve released two critically acclaimed albums—Ghost In The Bottle [2017] and Muir Maid [2019]—and a live record, Live from the Wilma [2021]. They broke up 2020 with an EP of Pink Floyd covers entitled Reheated, Vol. 2. It was heralded by a two-night livestream concert, Live From The Cabin, beamed out to audiences from the Bridger Mountains. Additionally, they appeared at the Live From Out There virtual festival and even took over a drive-in movie theater for an in-person gig in between regular writing sessions together throughout the year.\NIn order to bring the new tunes to life, they recruited Cory behind the board as producer. Holing up at Creation Studios in Minneapolis, they recorded Wise River in just four days.\N“Cory brought a little more orchestration,” Shawn reveals. “He helped us really think differently and evolve the sound as a band.”\NOn the single and title track “Wise River,” banjo brushes up against acoustic guitar as visuals of a “lonely river town where the barfly knows you best,” “the ghosts of miners,” and a place “where the snow can fall like cannonballs and lonesome wind blows bitter.” \N“The town of Wise River is basically a forgotten spot on the map,” Shawn says. “It used to be a thriving place with many prosperous mines, but now it’s practically dried up. There’s a hell of a lot of melancholy. In our mind, it symbolizes the overall feeling of being in slowed-down Montana life.”\NMeanwhile, “Stand At Ease” gallops along on nimbly strummed banjo and bright piano towards a chanting chorus, “I can’t stand to see what you’ve done to be free.”\N“That one is based on the mental health issues in the music industry coming to light over the past couple of years,” Joe reveals. “It’s about losing a lot of our friends and idols.”\N“Paradise Valley” surveys the landscape as the lyrics visit the remnants of underground bunkers once occupied by a doomsday cult in the north. The finale “Their Names Are The Trees” recants another true story of tragedy in the wilderness.\N“A good friend of ours is a wildland firefighter,” Shawn goes on. “He was stationed out in Oregon on the Beachie Creek Fire, which destroyed maybe three towns and killed several people. One night, they were 15 miles back from the fire line. They wondered where the fire had moved in the wind, but it overtook their camp, the entire town they were stationed in, and wiped it out. Several people didn’t make it.”\NIn the end, Kitchen Dwellers share timeless American stories from the heart of one of its greatest treasures.\N“When you listen to Wise River, I hope you hear some of the original qualities that made us who we are, but you also recognize aspects that are new and adventurous,” Max leaves off. “If you go to a studio with a whole new batch of songs, it should never be the same as the last time. I hope you hear what it sounds like when the four of us are at home and have the space to create something together. This album is really how we sound as a band.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Among the many natural wonders in Montana, Wise River runs for about 30 miles through the Southwestern region of the state, cutting through the mountains and flowing into the Big Hole River. Beyond being a favorite spot for fly fishermen, it remains etched into the topography of the land itself. Two hours away in Bozeman, Kitchen Dwellers equally embody the spirit and soul of their home with a sonic palette as expansive as Montana’s vistas. The quartet—Shawn Swain [Mandolin], Torrin Daniels [banjo], Joe Funk [upright bass], and Max Davies [acoustic guitar]—twist bluegrass, folk, and rock through a kaleidoscope of homegrown stories, rich mythology, American west wanderlust, and psychedelic hues. After amassing 5 million-plus streams, selling out shows, and receiving acclaim from Huffington Post, Relix, American Songwriter, and more, the group brings audiences back to Big Sky Country on their third full-length album, Wise River, working with Cory Wong of Vulfpeck as producer.
“Since we weren’t on the road due to COVID-19, the music we wrote was different,” Max reveals. “It was more introspective. There were a lot of ties to Montana.”
“For the first time, we were all home for 365 days in a row, which hasn’t happened in ten years,” adds Shawn. “We were thinking of the quieter lifestyle encapsulated in the area. That comes through.”
“In the past, our songs would touch on the physical aspects of the state or reference its history and nature,” says Torrin. “These songs are more introspective, because they come from the perspective of actually being in one place. The vibe is a little more serious—given the weirdness of the past year and the shit everyone has been dealing with. Our little corner of the world has always delt with hard winters, but the whole world felt it in 2020.”
At the same time, their music continues to resound beyond that little corner. They’ve captivated audiences at hallowed venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre and performed alongside everyone from Railroad Earth and Twiddle to The Infamous String Dusters in addition to playing festivals such as Northwest String Summit, WinterWonderGrass, and more. They’ve released two critically acclaimed albums—Ghost In The Bottle [2017] and Muir Maid [2019]—and a live record, Live from the Wilma [2021]. They broke up 2020 with an EP of Pink Floyd covers entitled Reheated, Vol. 2. It was heralded by a two-night livestream concert, Live From The Cabin, beamed out to audiences from the Bridger Mountains. Additionally, they appeared at the Live From Out There virtual festival and even took over a drive-in movie theater for an in-person gig in between regular writing sessions together throughout the year.
In order to bring the new tunes to life, they recruited Cory behind the board as producer. Holing up at Creation Studios in Minneapolis, they recorded Wise River in just four days.
“Cory brought a little more orchestration,” Shawn reveals. “He helped us really think differently and evolve the sound as a band.”
On the single and title track “Wise River,” banjo brushes up against acoustic guitar as visuals of a “lonely river town where the barfly knows you best,” “the ghosts of miners,” and a place “where the snow can fall like cannonballs and lonesome wind blows bitter.”
“The town of Wise River is basically a forgotten spot on the map,” Shawn says. “It used to be a thriving place with many prosperous mines, but now it’s practically dried up. There’s a hell of a lot of melancholy. In our mind, it symbolizes the overall feeling of being in slowed-down Montana life.”
Meanwhile, “Stand At Ease” gallops along on nimbly strummed banjo and bright piano towards a chanting chorus, “I can’t stand to see what you’ve done to be free.”
“That one is based on the mental health issues in the music industry coming to light over the past couple of years,” Joe reveals. “It’s about losing a lot of our friends and idols.”
“Paradise Valley” surveys the landscape as the lyrics visit the remnants of underground bunkers once occupied by a doomsday cult in the north. The finale “Their Names Are The Trees” recants another true story of tragedy in the wilderness.
“A good friend of ours is a wildland firefighter,” Shawn goes on. “He was stationed out in Oregon on the Beachie Creek Fire, which destroyed maybe three towns and killed several people. One night, they were 15 miles back from the fire line. They wondered where the fire had moved in the wind, but it overtook their camp, the entire town they were stationed in, and wiped it out. Several people didn’t make it.”
In the end, Kitchen Dwellers share timeless American stories from the heart of one of its greatest treasures.
“When you listen to Wise River, I hope you hear some of the original qualities that made us who we are, but you also recognize aspects that are new and adventurous,” Max leaves off. “If you go to a studio with a whole new batch of songs, it should never be the same as the last time. I hope you hear what it sounds like when the four of us are at home and have the space to create something together. This album is really how we sound as a band.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240213T180053Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1466 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240215T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240215T233000 UID:877A4397-7FFD-49AC-B113-AFB324B145AA SUMMARY:MarchFourth DTSTAMP:20231106T185817Z DESCRIPTION:MarchFourth is a kaleidoscope of musical and visual energy that inspires unabashed dancing and an atmosphere of celebration. With costumes inspired by band camp meets circus, the band consists of electric bass, guitar, 4-piece percussion corps, a 7-part brass section, dancers, acrobatics, stilt-walkers and a very diverse musical repertoire. Far from a "marching band" in any traditional sense, they have been known to swagger down Main Street playing a few tunes before taking the stage.\NMarchFourth travels in one big tour bus, bringing their unique brand of party wherever they go. Their show is a sonic journey with worldwide influences, echoing the deepest grooves of American funk, rock, and jazz then boiling it all together in cinematic fashion, with showmanship, flare, and most of all: heart. This genre-busting, joy-inducing, in-your-face experience is not to be missed! X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:MarchFourth is a kaleidoscope of musical and visual energy that inspires unabashed dancing and an atmosphere of celebration. With costumes inspired by band camp meets circus, the band consists of electric bass, guitar, 4-piece percussion corps, a 7-part brass section, dancers, acrobatics, stilt-walkers and a very diverse musical repertoire. Far from a "marching band" in any traditional sense, they have been known to swagger down Main Street playing a few tunes before taking the stage.
MarchFourth travels in one big tour bus, bringing their unique brand of party wherever they go. Their show is a sonic journey with worldwide influences, echoing the deepest grooves of American funk, rock, and jazz then boiling it all together in cinematic fashion, with showmanship, flare, and most of all: heart. This genre-busting, joy-inducing, in-your-face experience is not to be missed!
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240119T172716Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1230 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240223T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240223T210000 UID:822D6CFF-B668-4148-AE9D-25E05CBB8A48 SUMMARY:The Motet DTSTAMP:20231113T221854Z DESCRIPTION:Formed over two decades ago, the funk six-piece The Motet have learned to work as an interlocking unit, with each member bolstering one another towards the best creative output. This symbiosis has led to a unique style and cohesive musical chemistry, as seen in the band's immaculate live performances and seamless blend of funk, soul, jazz, and rock. With a fervent fanbase in tow, The Motet have sold out shows across the nation, performed six headlining slots at Red Rocks and sets at festivals such as Bonnaroo, Bottlerock, Electric Forest, Bumbershoot, Summer Camp, and High Sierra.\NBut even after their 20+ years of accolades and recognition, the legendary outfit -composed of Dave Watts (drums), Joey Porter (keys), Garrett Sayers (bass), Drew Sayers (keys and saxophone), Ryan Jalbert (guitar), and new singer Sarah Clarke-are still exploring new sonic ideas and finding new ways to showcase each other’s skill sets. \NThe band released their 10th studio album, All Day, in January 2023-an eclectic instrumental voyage threaded by the infectious grooves and immaculate, layered arrangements that The Motet have become known for.\NNow with vocal powerhouse Sarah Clarkein tow, the band continues their journey with their new song “Natural Light” and the promise of more to come. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Formed over two decades ago, the funk six-piece The Motet have learned to work as an interlocking unit, with each member bolstering one another towards the best creative output. This symbiosis has led to a unique style and cohesive musical chemistry, as seen in the band's immaculate live performances and seamless blend of funk, soul, jazz, and rock. With a fervent fanbase in tow, The Motet have sold out shows across the nation, performed six headlining slots at Red Rocks and sets at festivals such as Bonnaroo, Bottlerock, Electric Forest, Bumbershoot, Summer Camp, and High Sierra.
But even after their 20+ years of accolades and recognition, the legendary outfit -composed of Dave Watts (drums), Joey Porter (keys), Garrett Sayers (bass), Drew Sayers (keys and saxophone), Ryan Jalbert (guitar), and new singer Sarah Clarke-are still exploring new sonic ideas and finding new ways to showcase each other’s skill sets.
The band released their 10th studio album, All Day, in January 2023-an eclectic instrumental voyage threaded by the infectious grooves and immaculate, layered arrangements that The Motet have become known for.
Now with vocal powerhouse Sarah Clarkein tow, the band continues their journey with their new song “Natural Light” and the promise of more to come.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240129T230217Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1001 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240227T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240227T233000 UID:242462D4-5629-46FA-8AD2-A41BD559EF4E SUMMARY:Em Beihold DTSTAMP:20231009T152743Z DESCRIPTION:Em Beihold’s music converses and connects much like your closest friend would. She isn’t afraid to be blunt, disclose her insecurities, or laugh unexpectedly, and exudes nothing but love. It’s why she’s emerged as an unmistakable and inimitable platinum-certified pop songstress with north of 4 billion streams and widespread critical acclaim. She’s the girl on the red carpet with the $10 coat (who will proudly tell anyone who asks!) and who sends her hair stylist a picture of Jessica Rabbit as inspo for a late-night TV appearance. The Los Angeles native climbed into the pop culture conversation with the 2022 platinum smash “Numb Little Bug,” generating over 2 billion global streams in addition to cracking the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Billboard Emerging Artists Chart, #5 at Pop radio and holding the #1 spot at Hot AC for three weeks. She only accelerated her rise with the Egg In The Backseat EP, making her late-night television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She incited the applause of The New York Times, Stereogum, Teen Vogue, V Magazine, and Variety who hailed, “Beihold is very much part of the new guard.” She lent her voice to a duet version of Stephen Sanchez’s “Until I Found You,” which has eclipsed 1 billion streams. Moreover, they lit up The Late Late Show with James Corden together with their energetic and honest performance. She opens up even more on a series of 2023 singles for Moon Projects/Republic Records including her upcoming single “Pedestal,” Oct 12th, which she’s been performing live the past year and has quickly become a fan favorite begging for a proper release. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Em Beihold’s music converses and connects much like your closest friend would. She isn’t afraid to be blunt, disclose her insecurities, or laugh unexpectedly, and exudes nothing but love. It’s why she’s emerged as an unmistakable and inimitable platinum-certified pop songstress with north of 4 billion streams and widespread critical acclaim. She’s the girl on the red carpet with the $10 coat (who will proudly tell anyone who asks!) and who sends her hair stylist a picture of Jessica Rabbit as inspo for a late-night TV appearance. The Los Angeles native climbed into the pop culture conversation with the 2022 platinum smash “Numb Little Bug,” generating over 2 billion global streams in addition to cracking the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Billboard Emerging Artists Chart, #5 at Pop radio and holding the #1 spot at Hot AC for three weeks. She only accelerated her rise with the Egg In The Backseat EP, making her late-night television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She incited the applause of The New York Times, Stereogum, Teen Vogue, V Magazine, and Variety who hailed, “Beihold is very much part of the new guard.” She lent her voice to a duet version of Stephen Sanchez’s “Until I Found You,” which has eclipsed 1 billion streams. Moreover, they lit up The Late Late Show with James Corden together with their energetic and honest performance. She opens up even more on a series of 2023 singles for Moon Projects/Republic Records including her upcoming single “Pedestal,” Oct 12th, which she’s been performing live the past year and has quickly become a fan favorite begging for a proper release.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240210T190623Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:962 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240304T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240304T210000 UID:159266D8-ADB2-4098-A402-E67AE77B58CD SUMMARY:Voivod x Prong DTSTAMP:20231213T213015Z DESCRIPTION:Very few bands survive for four decades. Even fewer are those that continue to reach new creative heights, long after legendary status has been achieved. Voïvod were never like other bands: even as the thrash metal scene exploded in the early ‘80s, the Jonquière, Québec crew stood apart, both as unique visionaries and as proud subverters of the metallic norm. From early prog-thrash classics like Killing Technology and Dimension Hatröss through to the psychedelic explorations of The Outer Limits, Voïvod have been standard bearers for individuality and creative freedom for nearly 40 years.\NAlways defiantly out of step with prevailing trends but widely respected as true mavericks, Voïvod even weathered the untimely death of talismanic guitarist and songwriter Denis ‘Piggy’ D’Amour in 2005. Buoyed by the support of their huge global following, surviving original members Denis “Snake” Bélanger (vocals), Michel “Away” Langevin (drums) and Jean-Yves “Blacky” Thériault embarked on a new and challenging chapter in the Voïvod story, releasing the much-hailed Target Earth in 2013, with guitarist Daniel “Chewy” Mongrain proving himself to be a smart and dextrous successor to D’Amour.\NBy 2014, bassist Dominic “Rocky” Laroche had replaced Thériault, and a new incarnation of this indestructible band crossed their compositional beams to forge yet more mind-bending, psychedelic post-thrash wizardry. Released in 2018, The Wake was almost universally hailed as the finest Voïvod album since the band’s late ‘80s heyday. One of the band’s most successful albums yet, The Wake scored chart entries in Germany (#26), Switzerland (#51), Belgium (Wallonia) (#94) and the USA (New Artist: #8/Overall: #148): confirmation that the band’s return to peak form had struck a chord with fans old and new. Not surprisingly, Voïvod hit the road to reaffirm their status as one of metal’s most unique and powerful live acts. \N“At first we went on tour for almost two years, pretty intensively, with great bands and line-ups,” recalls Chewy. “We went all over the globe, to Australia, Japan and Europe many times, and twice across North America. It was great! We had also a few surprising invitations, like playing the Montreal Jazz Fest. We also won a Juno award for ‘Metal/Hard Music Album’ of 2019. We came back home in late December 2019, and then everything stopped for obvious reasons.”\NConfined to their quarters for those long months of lockdown, Canada’s finest simply did what they do best: create. The result is Synchro Anarchy, Voïvod’s 15th studio album and, as fans have come to expect, yet another unparalleled eruption of wildly imaginative heaviness. Shaped by the weirdest of circumstances, the new songs were born from an intense period of collaboration.\N“It was a challenge, because we couldn’t jam together very much, but we all welcomed the circumstances as a new creative element,” says Chewy. “Lots of demos and files were shared and it was all worked to the point where it really sounded like the four of us playing in the same room. We could get together and try the ideas out just before the recording process to make all the small adjustments. In the end, it was almost like a race against the clock. It was pretty intense, but we welcomed the challenge!”\NDespite the pressures of working amid a global pandemic, Synchro Anarchy sounds like the work of truly liberated artists. Following the career peak of The Wake was always going to be tricky, but the Canadians have smashed the follow-up out of the park, delivering one of the most idiosyncratic and adventurous expressions of their unique, genre-bending sound yet. Fans old and new can expect something truly mind-blowing this time around.\N“I think it’s pure Voïvod!” says Chewy. “I think it's a dark record with glimpses of light. It’s intricate, and deep. There’s complexity. There are new explorations on many levels. Of course, there are many references to space, to the advance of technology versus our fragile planet, to mental illness, anxiety, rebellion, fatality, time and space mysteries. Synchronicity and chaos! Lots of food for thought, I suppose. And the tones are fantastic. Francis (Perron, producer) worked his magic at RadicArt Studio. He has been part of the Voïvod sound since our Post Society EP.” \NStill one of the most fervently creative bands on the planet, Voïvod have created another kaleidoscopic sonic monster. The perfect antidote to just about everything, Synchro Anarchy will light up 2022 with crazed, lysergic glee. Meanwhile, its creators are planning their next around-the-world campaign, armed with some of the finest music they have ever written. \N“We can’t wait to put out the album and go on tour, as soon as it’s possible and safe!” concludes Chewy. “Many things are on the way for Voïvod, we have a documentary and a book, and we may do some more online performances… we’ll see! But there are a lot of options. We all miss the touring and meeting our friends and fans around the world. That’s what it’s all about: creating, travelling, connecting with people.” X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Very few bands survive for four decades. Even fewer are those that continue to reach new creative heights, long after legendary status has been achieved. Voïvod were never like other bands: even as the thrash metal scene exploded in the early ‘80s, the Jonquière, Québec crew stood apart, both as unique visionaries and as proud subverters of the metallic norm. From early prog-thrash classics like Killing Technology and Dimension Hatröss through to the psychedelic explorations of The Outer Limits, Voïvod have been standard bearers for individuality and creative freedom for nearly 40 years.
Always defiantly out of step with prevailing trends but widely respected as true mavericks, Voïvod even weathered the untimely death of talismanic guitarist and songwriter Denis ‘Piggy’ D’Amour in 2005. Buoyed by the support of their huge global following, surviving original members Denis “Snake” Bélanger (vocals), Michel “Away” Langevin (drums) and Jean-Yves “Blacky” Thériault embarked on a new and challenging chapter in the Voïvod story, releasing the much-hailed Target Earth in 2013, with guitarist Daniel “Chewy” Mongrain proving himself to be a smart and dextrous successor to D’Amour.
By 2014, bassist Dominic “Rocky” Laroche had replaced Thériault, and a new incarnation of this indestructible band crossed their compositional beams to forge yet more mind-bending, psychedelic post-thrash wizardry. Released in 2018, The Wake was almost universally hailed as the finest Voïvod album since the band’s late ‘80s heyday. One of the band’s most successful albums yet, The Wake scored chart entries in Germany (#26), Switzerland (#51), Belgium (Wallonia) (#94) and the USA (New Artist: #8/Overall: #148): confirmation that the band’s return to peak form had struck a chord with fans old and new. Not surprisingly, Voïvod hit the road to reaffirm their status as one of metal’s most unique and powerful live acts.
“At first we went on tour for almost two years, pretty intensively, with great bands and line-ups,” recalls Chewy. “We went all over the globe, to Australia, Japan and Europe many times, and twice across North America. It was great! We had also a few surprising invitations, like playing the Montreal Jazz Fest. We also won a Juno award for ‘Metal/Hard Music Album’ of 2019. We came back home in late December 2019, and then everything stopped for obvious reasons.”
Confined to their quarters for those long months of lockdown, Canada’s finest simply did what they do best: create. The result is Synchro Anarchy, Voïvod’s 15th studio album and, as fans have come to expect, yet another unparalleled eruption of wildly imaginative heaviness. Shaped by the weirdest of circumstances, the new songs were born from an intense period of collaboration.
“It was a challenge, because we couldn’t jam together very much, but we all welcomed the circumstances as a new creative element,” says Chewy. “Lots of demos and files were shared and it was all worked to the point where it really sounded like the four of us playing in the same room. We could get together and try the ideas out just before the recording process to make all the small adjustments. In the end, it was almost like a race against the clock. It was pretty intense, but we welcomed the challenge!”
Despite the pressures of working amid a global pandemic, Synchro Anarchy sounds like the work of truly liberated artists. Following the career peak of The Wake was always going to be tricky, but the Canadians have smashed the follow-up out of the park, delivering one of the most idiosyncratic and adventurous expressions of their unique, genre-bending sound yet. Fans old and new can expect something truly mind-blowing this time around.
“I think it’s pure Voïvod!” says Chewy. “I think it's a dark record with glimpses of light. It’s intricate, and deep. There’s complexity. There are new explorations on many levels. Of course, there are many references to space, to the advance of technology versus our fragile planet, to mental illness, anxiety, rebellion, fatality, time and space mysteries. Synchronicity and chaos! Lots of food for thought, I suppose. And the tones are fantastic. Francis (Perron, producer) worked his magic at RadicArt Studio. He has been part of the Voïvod sound since our Post Society EP.”
Still one of the most fervently creative bands on the planet, Voïvod have created another kaleidoscopic sonic monster. The perfect antidote to just about everything, Synchro Anarchy will light up 2022 with crazed, lysergic glee. Meanwhile, its creators are planning their next around-the-world campaign, armed with some of the finest music they have ever written.
“We can’t wait to put out the album and go on tour, as soon as it’s possible and safe!” concludes Chewy. “Many things are on the way for Voïvod, we have a documentary and a book, and we may do some more online performances… we’ll see! But there are a lot of options. We all miss the touring and meeting our friends and fans around the world. That’s what it’s all about: creating, travelling, connecting with people.”
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231215T193714Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:713 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240319T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240319T210000 UID:FC392F1A-251D-4F33-B168-FEF02820D85C SUMMARY:Dawes & Lucius DTSTAMP:20231212T230352Z DESCRIPTION:Through a tapestry of warm vocals and sun-soaked guitar hooks, Dawes have made a name for themselves for replicating the feel of the Laurel Canyon sound of the ’70s. But far from being a copy, the quartet are something retro-inspired, but with a chilled vibe straight out of the present.\NAfter changing their name from Simon Dawes and swapping post-punk for a more mellow folk-rock sound, Dawes first rose to prominence in 2010 with an appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, the LA-based foursome have gone on to work with some of their heroes including playing with Jackson Browne at an Occupy Wall Street event in 2012. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Through a tapestry of warm vocals and sun-soaked guitar hooks, Dawes have made a name for themselves for replicating the feel of the Laurel Canyon sound of the ’70s. But far from being a copy, the quartet are something retro-inspired, but with a chilled vibe straight out of the present.
After changing their name from Simon Dawes and swapping post-punk for a more mellow folk-rock sound, Dawes first rose to prominence in 2010 with an appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, the LA-based foursome have gone on to work with some of their heroes including playing with Jackson Browne at an Occupy Wall Street event in 2012.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240210T190655Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1140 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240329T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240329T233000 UID:282FE90B-1B42-4E53-B91C-93C5429DE6C5 SUMMARY:Fleetwood Mask DTSTAMP:20231003T223201Z DESCRIPTION:The legend lives on with the world’s most authentic tribute to Fleetwood Mac graciously endorsed by Fleetwood Mac founding member Mick Fleetwood. Audiences of all ages escape with the 'five fireflies' of Fleetwood Mask back in time to multiple eras of Fleetwood Mac's incredible history for a truly immersive musical and visual experience. Fleetwood Mask 2-Set performances offer Fleetwood Mac fans a concert of their favorite songs and fan favorite deep cuts mixed between one of three iconic Fleetwood Mac tours (Set 1) followed with a set of Fleetwood Mac's most historic hits and more (Set 2). X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:The legend lives on with the world’s most authentic tribute to Fleetwood Mac graciously endorsed by Fleetwood Mac founding member Mick Fleetwood. Audiences of all ages escape with the 'five fireflies' of Fleetwood Mask back in time to multiple eras of Fleetwood Mac's incredible history for a truly immersive musical and visual experience. Fleetwood Mask 2-Set performances offer Fleetwood Mac fans a concert of their favorite songs and fan favorite deep cuts mixed between one of three iconic Fleetwood Mac tours (Set 1) followed with a set of Fleetwood Mac's most historic hits and more (Set 2).
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231228T185541Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:1464 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240406T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240406T210000 UID:2CB41AB5-9B4C-46EB-BBB5-DD261D46666E SUMMARY:Charlie Parr DTSTAMP:20240108T183621Z DESCRIPTION:In the music of Charlie Parr, there is a sincere conviction and earnest drive to create. The Minnesota-born guitarist, songwriter, and interpreter of traditional music has released 19 albums over two decades and has been known to perform up to 275 shows a year. Parr is a folk troubadour in the truest sense: taking to the road between shows, writing and rewriting songs as he plays, fueled by a belief that music is eternal and cannot be claimed or adequately explained. The bluesman poet pulls closely from the sights and sounds around him, his lyrical craftsmanship built by his influences. The sounds from his working-class upbringing—including Folkways legends such as Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie—imbue Parr’s music with stylistic echoes of blues and folk icons of decades past. Parr sees himself merely as a continuer of a folk tradition: “I feel like I stand on a lot of big shoulders,” he said in an interview. “I hope that I’ve brought a little bit of myself to the music.” \NWith a discography simultaneously transcendental in nature and grounded in roots music, Charlie Parr is the humble master of the 21st century folk tradition. Parr started recording in Duluth in 2002, where he lives today. Life in the port town on Lake Superior has a way of bleeding into his work the same way his childhood in Austin, Minnesota does. Parr self-released his debut album, Criminals and Sinners, and did the same for his sophomore album 1922 (2002). With growing popularity abroad, Parr signed with Red House Records in 2015, where he recorded break-out albums Stumpjumper (2015) and Dog (2017). Parr’s music has an overwhelming sense of being present and mindful, and his sound is timeless.\NParr’s mastery of his craft is only more apparent when contextualized within the history of folk tradition of which Parr has dedicated his practice The land and lives around and intersecting with Parr have always influenced him, from the hills and valleys of Hollandale, Minnesota to the Depression-era stories from his father. Parr strives to listen to everything: “I don’t see that I’d ever be capable of creating anything if it weren’t for these inspirations and influences, books and music as well as the weather and random interactions with strangers and animals. So, the well never runs dry as long as my eyes and ears are open,” Parr said in a 2020 interview. Before he was even 10 years old Parr was rummaging through his father’s record collection—sometimes drawing dinosaurs on the vinyl sleeves—and listening to country, folk, and blues legends, many of whom are staples in the Folkways catalog. When Parr sings and plays his resonator or 12-string, you can hear influences like Mance Lipscomb, Charley Patton, Spinder John Koerner, Rev. Gary Davis, and Dock Boggs. This is especially true in his playing, when, after a diagnosis of focal dystonia, Parr turned to greats like Davis, Doc Watson, and Booker White for two-finger picking inspiration. Gifted a 1965 Gibson B-45 12-string by his father, Parr has never had a formal lesson and learned by to listening records and watching musicians he admired. \NParr’s first album with Smithsonian Folkways, Last of Better Days Head (2021), foregrounded his lyrical craftsmanship and sophisticated bluesman confidence, with spare production highlighting Parr’s mastery of guitar and elevating his poetry. Last of Better Days Ahead is a portrait of how Parr saw the world in that moment, reflecting on time and memories that have past while holding an enduring desire to be present. In his 2024 release, Little Sun, Parr weaves together stories celebrating music, community, and communing with nature. Putting forth an ambitious and raw album that exemplifies the best of Parr's sound: a blend of the blues and folk traditions he continues to carry with him and the steadfast originality of a poet. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:In the music of Charlie Parr, there is a sincere conviction and earnest drive to create. The Minnesota-born guitarist, songwriter, and interpreter of traditional music has released 19 albums over two decades and has been known to perform up to 275 shows a year. Parr is a folk troubadour in the truest sense: taking to the road between shows, writing and rewriting songs as he plays, fueled by a belief that music is eternal and cannot be claimed or adequately explained. The bluesman poet pulls closely from the sights and sounds around him, his lyrical craftsmanship built by his influences. The sounds from his working-class upbringing—including Folkways legends such as Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie—imbue Parr’s music with stylistic echoes of blues and folk icons of decades past. Parr sees himself merely as a continuer of a folk tradition: “I feel like I stand on a lot of big shoulders,” he said in an interview. “I hope that I’ve brought a little bit of myself to the music.”
With a discography simultaneously transcendental in nature and grounded in roots music, Charlie Parr is the humble master of the 21st century folk tradition. Parr started recording in Duluth in 2002, where he lives today. Life in the port town on Lake Superior has a way of bleeding into his work the same way his childhood in Austin, Minnesota does. Parr self-released his debut album, Criminals and Sinners, and did the same for his sophomore album 1922 (2002). With growing popularity abroad, Parr signed with Red House Records in 2015, where he recorded break-out albums Stumpjumper (2015) and Dog (2017). Parr’s music has an overwhelming sense of being present and mindful, and his sound is timeless.
Parr’s mastery of his craft is only more apparent when contextualized within the history of folk tradition of which Parr has dedicated his practice The land and lives around and intersecting with Parr have always influenced him, from the hills and valleys of Hollandale, Minnesota to the Depression-era stories from his father. Parr strives to listen to everything: “I don’t see that I’d ever be capable of creating anything if it weren’t for these inspirations and influences, books and music as well as the weather and random interactions with strangers and animals. So, the well never runs dry as long as my eyes and ears are open,” Parr said in a 2020 interview. Before he was even 10 years old Parr was rummaging through his father’s record collection—sometimes drawing dinosaurs on the vinyl sleeves—and listening to country, folk, and blues legends, many of whom are staples in the Folkways catalog. When Parr sings and plays his resonator or 12-string, you can hear influences like Mance Lipscomb, Charley Patton, Spinder John Koerner, Rev. Gary Davis, and Dock Boggs. This is especially true in his playing, when, after a diagnosis of focal dystonia, Parr turned to greats like Davis, Doc Watson, and Booker White for two-finger picking inspiration. Gifted a 1965 Gibson B-45 12-string by his father, Parr has never had a formal lesson and learned by to listening records and watching musicians he admired.
Parr’s first album with Smithsonian Folkways, Last of Better Days Head (2021), foregrounded his lyrical craftsmanship and sophisticated bluesman confidence, with spare production highlighting Parr’s mastery of guitar and elevating his poetry. Last of Better Days Ahead is a portrait of how Parr saw the world in that moment, reflecting on time and memories that have past while holding an enduring desire to be present. In his 2024 release, Little Sun, Parr weaves together stories celebrating music, community, and communing with nature. Putting forth an ambitious and raw album that exemplifies the best of Parr's sound: a blend of the blues and folk traditions he continues to carry with him and the steadfast originality of a poet.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240212T172249Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:351 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240412T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240412T210000 UID:1EB59B0C-035A-41BB-BD66-63663A9D6F80 SUMMARY:Sierra Hull DTSTAMP:20240126T231929Z DESCRIPTION:Sierra Hull is widely regarded to be a as a master of her instrument; A two-time Grammy Nominated artist and songwriter, recognized for both her most recent projects, 25 Trips (2020) and Weighted Mind (2016), she is also the 4x recipient of IBMA's Mandolin Player of the Year, the first woman to ever receive this distinction. A pioneer for acoustic music throughout her already impressive multi-decade career, she has graced the country's most iconic stages, including Carnegie Hall, the Grand Ole Opry, and the White House. Her virtuosic abilities have garnered respect from genre-defining trailblazers, friends, and collaborators such as Alison Krauss, Sturgill Simpson, Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Bela Fleck, Bobby McFerrin, and Brandi Carlile. Originally hailing from Byrdstown, Tennessee, her unique sound is rooted in bluegrass, and she is widely considered one of acoustic music's most inventive artists. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Sierra Hull is widely regarded to be a as a master of her instrument; A two-time Grammy Nominated artist and songwriter, recognized for both her most recent projects, 25 Trips (2020) and Weighted Mind (2016), she is also the 4x recipient of IBMA's Mandolin Player of the Year, the first woman to ever receive this distinction. A pioneer for acoustic music throughout her already impressive multi-decade career, she has graced the country's most iconic stages, including Carnegie Hall, the Grand Ole Opry, and the White House. Her virtuosic abilities have garnered respect from genre-defining trailblazers, friends, and collaborators such as Alison Krauss, Sturgill Simpson, Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Bela Fleck, Bobby McFerrin, and Brandi Carlile. Originally hailing from Byrdstown, Tennessee, her unique sound is rooted in bluegrass, and she is widely considered one of acoustic music's most inventive artists.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240202T170101Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:395 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240413T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240413T210000 UID:7B42712A-8911-4966-B2C6-E53E7451A045 SUMMARY:Andy Frasco & The U.N. DTSTAMP:20231113T184733Z DESCRIPTION:Andy Frasco & The U.N. have long been the high-flying DIY renegades of the touring scene known and loved for their kaleidoscopic musical fusion and one-of-a-kind onstage audacity. Now celebrating their longevity, the band is shaking things up with L’Optimist (Fun Machine Records/Soundly), as its title suggests, Frasco’s most hopeful and enthusiastic collection thus far. A testament to Frasco’s wide-ranging influences and boundless energy, his band’s sixth released studio album sees the magnetic frontman continuing to chart his path of self-exploration and personal discovery through increasingly introspective lyricism and musical adventure. Songs like “Everything Bagel (Feat. Artikal Sound System)” and the deeply moving “Iowa Moon” touch on matters of the heart and mental health, emotional struggle and the sheer vulnerability of the human experience, all relayed through a wildly eclectic approach navigating funk, jazz, surf rock, blues, swing, gospel, reggae, exotica, and more with horn-blasted positivity and soulful power. \N“I fight depression every single day,” Frasco says, “and the only way to fight depression is through optimism. I try to write optimistic songs because optimism keeps me going. As humans, I don't think we're all that much different. Everyone needs a little optimism to keep going.”\NHaving spent the first part of his career making his bones as a fun-loving frontman with a self-proclaimed “gift of gab,” Frasco pushed his songwriting in more personal directions with 2020's Keep On Keepin’ On and 2022’s Wash, Rinse, Repeat. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Andy Frasco & The U.N. have long been the high-flying DIY renegades of the touring scene known and loved for their kaleidoscopic musical fusion and one-of-a-kind onstage audacity. Now celebrating their longevity, the band is shaking things up with L’Optimist (Fun Machine Records/Soundly), as its title suggests, Frasco’s most hopeful and enthusiastic collection thus far. A testament to Frasco’s wide-ranging influences and boundless energy, his band’s sixth released studio album sees the magnetic frontman continuing to chart his path of self-exploration and personal discovery through increasingly introspective lyricism and musical adventure. Songs like “Everything Bagel (Feat. Artikal Sound System)” and the deeply moving “Iowa Moon” touch on matters of the heart and mental health, emotional struggle and the sheer vulnerability of the human experience, all relayed through a wildly eclectic approach navigating funk, jazz, surf rock, blues, swing, gospel, reggae, exotica, and more with horn-blasted positivity and soulful power.
“I fight depression every single day,” Frasco says, “and the only way to fight depression is through optimism. I try to write optimistic songs because optimism keeps me going. As humans, I don't think we're all that much different. Everyone needs a little optimism to keep going.”
Having spent the first part of his career making his bones as a fun-loving frontman with a self-proclaimed “gift of gab,” Frasco pushed his songwriting in more personal directions with 2020's Keep On Keepin’ On and 2022’s Wash, Rinse, Repeat.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240111T213940Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:556 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240416T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240416T210000 UID:DA15CCD7-AA58-4FB8-AF1F-C9DFF097F0BE SUMMARY:The California Honeydrops DTSTAMP:20240116T232601Z DESCRIPTION:“The California Honeydrops...evoke the greasy rumble of Booker T and channel the spiritual ecstasy of Sly and the Family Stone.” -Rolling Stone\NFormed in the subway systems of Oakland, retro-soul outfit The California Honeydrops are an electrifying group that defy convention at every turn. They’ve become a mainstay at festivals including Byron Bay Bluesfest (Australia), Outside Lands, Monterey Jazz, Lightning In A Bottle, and touring with B.B. King, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, and Allen Toussaint. Led by the enigmatic and energetic frontman, Lech Wierzynski, and drummer Benjamin Malament, each member of the band is a virtuoso in their own rite — Yanos “Johnny Bones” Lustig on saxophone, Lorenzo Loera on keyboards/guitar, Beaumont Beaullieu on bass, and regularly accompanied by Scott Messersmith on percussion, Oliver Tuttle on trombone, Leon Cotter on saxophone/clarinet, and Miles Lyonson trombone/sousaphone — navigating through a vast repertoire of original songs and timeless classics every night. But what truly sets them apart is their unwavering commitment to the art of improvisation - a skill so finely honed that they have completely abandoned the use of set lists and no two shows are ever the same. Off stage, their music has been streamed more than 200 million times, and placed in a variety of TV and films, including “Dead To Me,” “Alaska Daily,” “Black-ish” and more. They are currently touring North America in support of their new deluxe album, 'Soft Spot'. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:“The California Honeydrops...evoke the greasy rumble of Booker T and channel the spiritual ecstasy of Sly and the Family Stone.” -Rolling Stone
Formed in the subway systems of Oakland, retro-soul outfit The California Honeydrops are an electrifying group that defy convention at every turn. They’ve become a mainstay at festivals including Byron Bay Bluesfest (Australia), Outside Lands, Monterey Jazz, Lightning In A Bottle, and touring with B.B. King, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, and Allen Toussaint. Led by the enigmatic and energetic frontman, Lech Wierzynski, and drummer Benjamin Malament, each member of the band is a virtuoso in their own rite — Yanos “Johnny Bones” Lustig on saxophone, Lorenzo Loera on keyboards/guitar, Beaumont Beaullieu on bass, and regularly accompanied by Scott Messersmith on percussion, Oliver Tuttle on trombone, Leon Cotter on saxophone/clarinet, and Miles Lyonson trombone/sousaphone — navigating through a vast repertoire of original songs and timeless classics every night. But what truly sets them apart is their unwavering commitment to the art of improvisation - a skill so finely honed that they have completely abandoned the use of set lists and no two shows are ever the same. Off stage, their music has been streamed more than 200 million times, and placed in a variety of TV and films, including “Dead To Me,” “Alaska Daily,” “Black-ish” and more. They are currently touring North America in support of their new deluxe album, 'Soft Spot'.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240119T201413Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:556 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240420T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240420T210000 UID:63B46A87-92E3-4E54-BA3D-EC6A479B360C SUMMARY:The Bones of J.R. Jones x Parker Millsap DTSTAMP:20240206T173134Z DESCRIPTION:Parker Millsap quickly made a name for himself with his captivating live performances, soulful sound, and character-driven narratives. He’s had a string of successes including an appearance on CONAN, a performance with Elton John at the Apple Music Festival, an Austin City Limits taping & an Americana Music Association nomination for Album of the Year. He's shared the stage with folks like Jason Isbell, Shovels & Rope, Patty Griffin, Houndmouth, and many others.\NParker’s early releases showcased a mastery of acoustic folk rock, with their flourish for revelation and fiery dynamics. Be Here Instead, Millsap’s 2021 release produced by John Agnello, hinted at the wildness to come while exploring newer, more personal songwriting styles. Parker's newest album, Wilderness Within You, is a natural step in Parker's evolution which interweaves threads of his musical past and newer influences to gorgeous effect. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Parker Millsap quickly made a name for himself with his captivating live performances, soulful sound, and character-driven narratives. He’s had a string of successes including an appearance on CONAN, a performance with Elton John at the Apple Music Festival, an Austin City Limits taping & an Americana Music Association nomination for Album of the Year. He's shared the stage with folks like Jason Isbell, Shovels & Rope, Patty Griffin, Houndmouth, and many others.
Parker’s early releases showcased a mastery of acoustic folk rock, with their flourish for revelation and fiery dynamics. Be Here Instead, Millsap’s 2021 release produced by John Agnello, hinted at the wildness to come while exploring newer, more personal songwriting styles. Parker's newest album, Wilderness Within You, is a natural step in Parker's evolution which interweaves threads of his musical past and newer influences to gorgeous effect.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240209T170323Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:298 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240504T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240504T233000 UID:77E11602-121C-406D-811C-1B6E80E7425D SUMMARY:Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors DTSTAMP:20230828T193857Z DESCRIPTION:There are no strangers at a Drew Holcomb show. For the better part of two decades, the award-winningsongwriter has brought his audience together night after night, turning his shows into celebrations ofcommunity, collaboration, and contemporary Americanroots music.Strangers No More,theninthalbumfrom Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, celebrates that sense of togetherness. Produced by Cason Cooley,it expands the band's mix of timeless songwriting, modern-day Laurel Canyon folk, amplified Americana,and heartland rock & roll. "All The Money in the World," with its deep-pocketed groove that showcasesThe Neighbors’ musicality, is punctuated by blasts of brass, marking the band’s first song to featurehorns. "That's On You, That's On Me" makes room for barrelhouse piano, slide guitar, and the greasy gritof a juke joint rock band. "On a Roll" and "Possibility" are Springsteen-sized rock & roll melodramas thatwail and exalt, their cinematic arrangements built for the large rooms that Holcomb regularly plays thesedays. "Fly" is a reflective, finger-plucked folksong. Finally, there's "Dance With Everybody,” a livelytribute to the live show that brims with a joyful optimism—a feeling that was often missing during theband’s earlier years, when their shows weren’t nearly as packed. Song by song,Strangers No Moreoffersan all-encompassing view not only of the places Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors have been, but wherethey're headed next, too. It's an invitation into the band's world. Strangers no more, indeed. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:There are no strangers at a Drew Holcomb show. For the better part of two decades, the award-winningsongwriter has brought his audience together night after night, turning his shows into celebrations ofcommunity, collaboration, and contemporary Americanroots music.Strangers No More,theninthalbumfrom Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, celebrates that sense of togetherness. Produced by Cason Cooley,it expands the band's mix of timeless songwriting, modern-day Laurel Canyon folk, amplified Americana,and heartland rock & roll. "All The Money in the World," with its deep-pocketed groove that showcasesThe Neighbors’ musicality, is punctuated by blasts of brass, marking the band’s first song to featurehorns. "That's On You, That's On Me" makes room for barrelhouse piano, slide guitar, and the greasy gritof a juke joint rock band. "On a Roll" and "Possibility" are Springsteen-sized rock & roll melodramas thatwail and exalt, their cinematic arrangements built for the large rooms that Holcomb regularly plays thesedays. "Fly" is a reflective, finger-plucked folksong. Finally, there's "Dance With Everybody,” a livelytribute to the live show that brims with a joyful optimism—a feeling that was often missing during theband’s earlier years, when their shows weren’t nearly as packed. Song by song,Strangers No Moreoffersan all-encompassing view not only of the places Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors have been, but wherethey're headed next, too. It's an invitation into the band's world. Strangers no more, indeed.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20231004T194636Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:750 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240512T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240512T203000 UID:8DB3995A-D747-4A72-B706-C7E7A6610C44 SUMMARY:Dustin Kensrue DTSTAMP:20240206T173735Z DESCRIPTION:Dustin Kensrue was still a teenager when he formed Thrice, the dynamic and multifaceted rock band who have been bending and blending genres for the past quarter century. Before the group's touring schedule took him around the world, he spent his childhood in Southern California, regularly heading into the desert to visit his paternal grandparents in Palm Springs. While there, he would wander for hours through the rocky hills and sandy washes near their home, and the landscape, colors, and stories of that sun-baked wilderness left a lasting impression.\NDecades later, Kensrue summons the spirit of the American southwest with his third original studio solo album, the evocative and eclectic Desert Dreaming. It's a transportive album that blurs the lines between genre and geography, balancing the influence of old-school country western icons like Marty Robbins and Gene Autry with the sharp songwriting of a modern musician who's spent 25 years on the road, onstage, and in the writing room. Kensrue approaches these songs like a western novelist, filling them with details of the desert—the sound of coyotes howling in the distance, the smell of sage and lilac in the dry wind, the lure of hidden treasure in the hills—and punctuating the recordings with pedal steel guitar, train beats, and the strongest melodies of his career.\N"The setting really is the main character of the record," says Kensrue. "I grew up in the southwest, and over time, you can get so used to a certain kind of beauty that you stop seeing it. I used to think, 'It's just so brown here.' When I moved back to the southwest after living in the Pacific Northwest for a little bit, I gained a totally new appreciation for the landscape. I fell in love with the desert all over again."\NThat sense of rediscovery—of finally seeing something that's been right in front of you all along—runs throughout the self-produced record. On "Lift Your Eyes," Kensrue's booming voice floats above a backdrop of tremolo guitar and shuffling percussion like it's echoing off the canyon walls, adding gravitas to the song's message. "It's about trying to genuinely experience the expansive world that's laid out in front you, and not getting trapped in some shrunken and abstracted version of it," he says. "We all have ways of imposing our own narratives and structures onto the world. These can be useful, but they aren’t the thing itself. Sometimes we need to step back and really look at what’s there instead of what we expect to see, both literally and metaphorically.”\NA similar theme anchors songs like "Treasure in the West" — a campfire tune about someone too blinded by goldlust to see the riches all around them — and "Heart of Sedona." In the latter song, a man leaves the Verde Valley to join the seminary, only to lose his way, tangled up in “councils and creeds.” His wandering eventually leads him home again, now an old man, and the final verse finds him again back amongst the sandstone buttes of Sedona, preaching a different kind of gospel. "That holy cross is truly something," he sings, "but Cathedral Rock's the only church I need."\N"So many of these songs are tied into the way I personally re-experienced the desert," explains Kensrue, who wrote Desert Dreaming on his acoustic guitar and recorded most of the album at home, joined by collaborators like upright bassist Seth Richardson, pedal steel guitarist Ave Levy, and drummer James McAlister. "I no longer look outside and say, 'There's that brown space.' I can actually see it now. There are layers and layers of beauty everywhere you look. Desert Dreaming is both a love letter to the southwest and a personal travel journal of my own experiences in learning to open my eyes to the world in front of me.”\NAs a SoCal teenager who cut his teeth on punk-rock, Kensrue grew up avoiding the country music that would eventually inspire Desert Dreaming. Johnny Cash became his gateway drug, followed by classic crooners like Patsy Cline, cult heroes like Townes Van Zandt, and alt-country pioneers like Whiskeytown, Drive-By Truckers, and Wilco. "That music was a portal into a different time and a different way of telling stories," he remembers. "It became something that pulled on me, and it became inevitable that I'd write a record like this. I think there's something to be said for creating art that you have to make, even if it might disappoint or confuse someone else. There's a real depth to just doing what you have to do."\NIt's been years since Kensrue made his earliest trips into the Sonoran Desert to visit his grandparents, gaining an appreciation for the southwestern landscape along the way. But this record itself reaches even further back, leaning heavily into the ethos and aesthetics of the country and western music of the 50’s and 60’s. And following another thread into the mid-century he opens Desert Dreaming with "Death Valley Honeymoon," a song about his mother’s parent’s own honeymoon in the Mojave Desert. It's a personal moment of an album that mixes biography, history, and fiction, and it's one of the many songs that make this Desert bloom. Everything that follows—the deep growl of Kensrue's baritone guitar, the spring reverb that drifts skyward like woodsmoke, the trail-riding twang of songs like "Leaving Tonight For Santa Fe"—shows just how expansive Kensrue's music can really be. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Dustin Kensrue was still a teenager when he formed Thrice, the dynamic and multifaceted rock band who have been bending and blending genres for the past quarter century. Before the group's touring schedule took him around the world, he spent his childhood in Southern California, regularly heading into the desert to visit his paternal grandparents in Palm Springs. While there, he would wander for hours through the rocky hills and sandy washes near their home, and the landscape, colors, and stories of that sun-baked wilderness left a lasting impression.
Decades later, Kensrue summons the spirit of the American southwest with his third original studio solo album, the evocative and eclectic Desert Dreaming. It's a transportive album that blurs the lines between genre and geography, balancing the influence of old-school country western icons like Marty Robbins and Gene Autry with the sharp songwriting of a modern musician who's spent 25 years on the road, onstage, and in the writing room. Kensrue approaches these songs like a western novelist, filling them with details of the desert—the sound of coyotes howling in the distance, the smell of sage and lilac in the dry wind, the lure of hidden treasure in the hills—and punctuating the recordings with pedal steel guitar, train beats, and the strongest melodies of his career.
"The setting really is the main character of the record," says Kensrue. "I grew up in the southwest, and over time, you can get so used to a certain kind of beauty that you stop seeing it. I used to think, 'It's just so brown here.' When I moved back to the southwest after living in the Pacific Northwest for a little bit, I gained a totally new appreciation for the landscape. I fell in love with the desert all over again."
That sense of rediscovery—of finally seeing something that's been right in front of you all along—runs throughout the self-produced record. On "Lift Your Eyes," Kensrue's booming voice floats above a backdrop of tremolo guitar and shuffling percussion like it's echoing off the canyon walls, adding gravitas to the song's message. "It's about trying to genuinely experience the expansive world that's laid out in front you, and not getting trapped in some shrunken and abstracted version of it," he says. "We all have ways of imposing our own narratives and structures onto the world. These can be useful, but they aren’t the thing itself. Sometimes we need to step back and really look at what’s there instead of what we expect to see, both literally and metaphorically.”
A similar theme anchors songs like "Treasure in the West" — a campfire tune about someone too blinded by goldlust to see the riches all around them — and "Heart of Sedona." In the latter song, a man leaves the Verde Valley to join the seminary, only to lose his way, tangled up in “councils and creeds.” His wandering eventually leads him home again, now an old man, and the final verse finds him again back amongst the sandstone buttes of Sedona, preaching a different kind of gospel. "That holy cross is truly something," he sings, "but Cathedral Rock's the only church I need."
"So many of these songs are tied into the way I personally re-experienced the desert," explains Kensrue, who wrote Desert Dreaming on his acoustic guitar and recorded most of the album at home, joined by collaborators like upright bassist Seth Richardson, pedal steel guitarist Ave Levy, and drummer James McAlister. "I no longer look outside and say, 'There's that brown space.' I can actually see it now. There are layers and layers of beauty everywhere you look. Desert Dreaming is both a love letter to the southwest and a personal travel journal of my own experiences in learning to open my eyes to the world in front of me.”
As a SoCal teenager who cut his teeth on punk-rock, Kensrue grew up avoiding the country music that would eventually inspire Desert Dreaming. Johnny Cash became his gateway drug, followed by classic crooners like Patsy Cline, cult heroes like Townes Van Zandt, and alt-country pioneers like Whiskeytown, Drive-By Truckers, and Wilco. "That music was a portal into a different time and a different way of telling stories," he remembers. "It became something that pulled on me, and it became inevitable that I'd write a record like this. I think there's something to be said for creating art that you have to make, even if it might disappoint or confuse someone else. There's a real depth to just doing what you have to do."
It's been years since Kensrue made his earliest trips into the Sonoran Desert to visit his grandparents, gaining an appreciation for the southwestern landscape along the way. But this record itself reaches even further back, leaning heavily into the ethos and aesthetics of the country and western music of the 50’s and 60’s. And following another thread into the mid-century he opens Desert Dreaming with "Death Valley Honeymoon," a song about his mother’s parent’s own honeymoon in the Mojave Desert. It's a personal moment of an album that mixes biography, history, and fiction, and it's one of the many songs that make this Desert bloom. Everything that follows—the deep growl of Kensrue's baritone guitar, the spring reverb that drifts skyward like woodsmoke, the trail-riding twang of songs like "Leaving Tonight For Santa Fe"—shows just how expansive Kensrue's music can really be.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240209T170336Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:178 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240519T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240519T210000 UID:3422DE6B-10AC-4C63-B184-7FD40B2FF669 SUMMARY:Terrapin Flyer DTSTAMP:20240131T173824Z DESCRIPTION:For the past 25 years Terrapin Flyer has been touring with the finest in the Grateful Dead community of musicians and has become a fixture of the national music scene, playing regularly at venues around the country and appearing at music festivals. The band has a dedicated following among fans of the Grateful Dead and other jam bands, and is known for their authentic interpretations of rare and classic Dead songs. Over the years, Terrapin Flyer has toured with many notable musicians, including Melvin Seals from the Jerry Garcia Band, Vince Welnick, Tom Constanten from the Grateful Dead and many other Dead-related musicians. Overall, Terrapin Flyer is a talented and highly regarded band that has made a significant impact on the national music scene.\NIt started in 1999 at the Boulevard Cafe in Chicago as a Grateful Dead jam night and soon became a touring Grateful Dead band featuring legends in the Grateful Dead. In 2001 TF began touring with final keyboardist of the Grateful Dead Vince Welnick. In 2004 touring with Melvin Seals who played Hammond organ in the Jerry Garcia Band. And then in 2006 with another of the Grateful Dead keyboardists Tom Constanten. Some of these tours included several first ever lineups with the combination of Melvin Seals, Tom Constanten and Mark Karan from Ratdog. These were not passing associations but long term bonds with these legends. For 15 years TF toured with Melvin Seals and kept a busy schedule with him as a side gig to his band Melvin Seals & the JGB. With Constanten they were mentioned in the Rolling Stone's "Guide to the Grateful Dead" for the many years of touring with him.\NTerrapin Flyer has been an evolution of band members over the past quarter of a century and currently features musicians that share the gravitas of having toured many years with members of the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band. At it's core Terrapin Flyer is a band of deadheads who are committed to attempting to recapture the spirit and essence of the Grateful Dead by incorporating the roots music of jazz, blues and bluegrass into jams and bringing the music to new and similar places. Josh Olken is the lead guitarist, Wavy Dave on the bass, Jon Reed is the drummer, keyboardist is Michael Cole and rhythm guitarist Doug Hagman. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:For the past 25 years Terrapin Flyer has been touring with the finest in the Grateful Dead community of musicians and has become a fixture of the national music scene, playing regularly at venues around the country and appearing at music festivals. The band has a dedicated following among fans of the Grateful Dead and other jam bands, and is known for their authentic interpretations of rare and classic Dead songs. Over the years, Terrapin Flyer has toured with many notable musicians, including Melvin Seals from the Jerry Garcia Band, Vince Welnick, Tom Constanten from the Grateful Dead and many other Dead-related musicians. Overall, Terrapin Flyer is a talented and highly regarded band that has made a significant impact on the national music scene.
It started in 1999 at the Boulevard Cafe in Chicago as a Grateful Dead jam night and soon became a touring Grateful Dead band featuring legends in the Grateful Dead. In 2001 TF began touring with final keyboardist of the Grateful Dead Vince Welnick. In 2004 touring with Melvin Seals who played Hammond organ in the Jerry Garcia Band. And then in 2006 with another of the Grateful Dead keyboardists Tom Constanten. Some of these tours included several first ever lineups with the combination of Melvin Seals, Tom Constanten and Mark Karan from Ratdog. These were not passing associations but long term bonds with these legends. For 15 years TF toured with Melvin Seals and kept a busy schedule with him as a side gig to his band Melvin Seals & the JGB. With Constanten they were mentioned in the Rolling Stone's "Guide to the Grateful Dead" for the many years of touring with him.
Terrapin Flyer has been an evolution of band members over the past quarter of a century and currently features musicians that share the gravitas of having toured many years with members of the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band. At it's core Terrapin Flyer is a band of deadheads who are committed to attempting to recapture the spirit and essence of the Grateful Dead by incorporating the roots music of jazz, blues and bluegrass into jams and bringing the music to new and similar places. Josh Olken is the lead guitarist, Wavy Dave on the bass, Jon Reed is the drummer, keyboardist is Michael Cole and rhythm guitarist Doug Hagman.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240202T170055Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:248 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20240628T200000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20240628T210000 UID:AE9C61EF-E841-465E-B8E9-6FF66124D101 SUMMARY:Murder By Death DTSTAMP:20240216T170104Z DESCRIPTION:As trailblazers of the early 2000s indie-Americana style, the Louisville, KY-based quintet finds a way of taking tried & true rock-and-roll and knocking it slightly off axis, into tottering revolutions of something eerie, emotional, immediate, lush, and uniquely theirs. \NOn the surface, Murder By Death is a Louisville, KY sextet with a wry, ominous name. But behind the geography and moniker is a band of meticulous and literary songwriters matched by a specific brand of brooding, anthem-riding balladry and orchestral indie rock.\NMurder By Death's path began in the early 2000s as most Midwestern college-town groups do, by playing to small crowds at ratty venues and frenzied house parties. While many of their formative-year scene-mates failed to make it much further than campustown's borders, Murder By Death translated their anonymous beginnings into a 20+ year career founded on a bedrock of eight full-length albums, tireless D.I.Y. touring and performing ethics, and, most importantly, a dedicated, cult-like fanbase. X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:As trailblazers of the early 2000s indie-Americana style, the Louisville, KY-based quintet finds a way of taking tried & true rock-and-roll and knocking it slightly off axis, into tottering revolutions of something eerie, emotional, immediate, lush, and uniquely theirs.
On the surface, Murder By Death is a Louisville, KY sextet with a wry, ominous name. But behind the geography and moniker is a band of meticulous and literary songwriters matched by a specific brand of brooding, anthem-riding balladry and orchestral indie rock.
Murder By Death's path began in the early 2000s as most Midwestern college-town groups do, by playing to small crowds at ratty venues and frenzied house parties. While many of their formative-year scene-mates failed to make it much further than campustown's borders, Murder By Death translated their anonymous beginnings into a 20+ year career founded on a bedrock of eight full-length albums, tireless D.I.Y. touring and performing ethics, and, most importantly, a dedicated, cult-like fanbase.
LOCATION:195 W 2100 S\, South Salt Lake\, Utah 84190\, USA GEO:40.72535200;-111.89425067 LAST-MODIFIED:20240216T170353Z X-ACCESS:1 X-HITS:63 X-URL: X-COLOR:981f2a X-SHOW-END-TIME:0 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR