Ronnie And The Redwoods and Clay Johnson and The Hard Promises
Ronnie and The Redwoods is a West Texas Americana/Rock band that has broughtdeep and emotional lyrics together with music rooted in the blues, folk, and countryof the high plains. Honest and earthy, with influences from The White Stripes, Tyler Childers, John Prine, and the Red Dirt scenethat surrounds them, they’ve formed their own interpretation of what happens when you combine Folk, Country, Rock n Roll and Grunge. A little bit of country, a little bit of folk; a little bit of Americana, a little bit of rock; a little bit of all good things southern, but a whole lot heart all around. Much can be said about the over all collage of sounds and influences that Clay Johnson & the Hard Promises have meshed together, but at the end of the day it’s just earnest songs about life, love, and the experiences of growing up and living in Upstate Carolina. The kind of music you put on while cruising the back roads, windows down at golden hour, taking in the sights and sounds of rolling hills and the Piedmont landscape; all wrapped up with their uniquely southern flavor.
Tommy Scifres + Tim Easton
After touring with North Carolina artists Caleb Caudle, House of Fools and Roseland, Tommy Scifres moved to Nashville in 2014. He got his feet wet in the Nashville music scene spending countless hours on the honkytonk stages of lower Broadway. Tommy has toured and recorded with the likes of Aaron Lee Tasjan, Tim Easton and Brian Wright. In 2021 Scifres completed and released his first solo album “Last Legs”. Since 2022 he has been touring, full-time with recent Grammy winner, Lainey Wilson and has appeared on several late night talk shows, award shows and hit series Yellowstone.Raised in Akron, OH, singer/songwriter Tim Easton was influenced by a combination of pop icons (Beatles, Stones) and bluegrass/folk legends (Doc Watson, John Prine). After college, Easton found himself busking in the streets of Paris, London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Madrid, and Prague, on and off for seven years, at one time alongside Anti-Folk hero Beck Hansen. His folk-based songwriting brought an earthy sound to the Haynes Boys (an existing rock band that recruited Easton in the mid-’90s) and they recorded one album, Guardian Angel, for New York-based Slab Records. Easton pursued his solo career, recording his first solo album, Special 20, with friends and session musicians in Nashville. He signed with EMI Publishing in 1999, relocated to Los Angeles, performed at songwriter hubs like Largo, and signed a recording contract with New West Records. His first release for the label was 2001’s The Truth About Us, featuring members of WILCO as the backing band. 2003 brought his solid follow-up for the label, Break Your Mother’s Heart, which received 4 stars in the print version of Rolling Stone, heralding his songwriting as having a “novelist’s sense of humanity.” This was followed by “Ammunition” in 2006. Support slot tours with mentors Lucinda Williams and John Hiatt crossed North America and Europe. A concert set, “Live at Water Canyon,” appeared in 2008, followed by “Porcupine” in 2009 and a pair of self-released albums, “Beat the Band” and “Since 1966, Volume 1,” both in 2011. After moving to Nashville and starting his own label, CAMPFIRE PROPAGANDA, Easton teamed with THIRTY TIGERS to release roots & blues-based “Not Cool,” which was included in the Top 50 Albums of American Songwriter’s year end list for 2013. “American Fork” came out with LAST CHANCE RECORDS in 2015, rising to #11 on the Americana Radio charts, and the solo acoustic, direct to lacquer recording, “PACO & THE MELODIC POLAROIDS” was released on Campfire Propaganda in 2018, followed by tours of North America, Japan, Alaska, and Europe. Easton also toured the entirety of Russia in 2019, representing American folk music, as part of the Forum For Cultural Exchange. His experiences were documented in a weekly column for No Depression Magazine. Easton performs annually at SALMONFEST in Ninilchik, Alaska and WOODYFEST in Okemah, Oklahoma. June of 2019 brought the “EXPOSITION” LP, a field recording partly recorded at the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, Texas where Robert Johnson cut his tracks, and partly in Okemah, Oklahoma. Up next for worldwide release will be “YOU DON’T REALLY KNOW ME,” a return to the full backing band sound, produced by Brad Jones & Robin Eaton in Nashville, to be released on BLACK MESA RECORDS in August of 2021.
Taylor Hunnicutt w/ Ben Sutton
Taylor Hunnicutt makes old-school southern music for the modern world. She’s a proud daughter of Alabama, writing songs that nod to the state’s tradition of country storytelling, rock ‘n’ roll rebellion, and guitar-driven grit. Sharpened by a touring schedule that’s kept her on the road for roughly 200 days a year, she makes her full-length debut with Alabama Sound — an album that unfolds like a love letter to the American South, written by a road warrior who’s spent most of the decade far away from home. “It’s a little country, a little singer/songwriter, a little Americana, and a lot of soulful southern rock,” says Hunnicutt, an opera-trained vocalist who began writing songs after dropping out of music school, landing a waitressing job at a blues juke joint, and sitting in with the bands that came through town. She’s no longer the guest artist, though — she’s the main act, and Alabama Sound showcases her high-energy, hellraising brand of southern stomp, country-rock twang, and amplified attitude.
An Evening With Caleb Caudle (full band)
Forsythia, the latest studio LP offering from Caleb Caudle out 10/7/22 via Soundly Music, is a portrait of his truest self, of the artist at his most solitary and reflective. Thematically, it meets anticipation for the unknown future with nostalgia for the past, and reconciles both with meditation in the present. The album was recorded at the legendary Cash Cabin during the pandemic, and inspired by the solitude and symbols Caudle found in nature during that time. It’s produced by John Carter Cash, and features veteran session players Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Dennis Crouch and Fred Eltringham, and the vocal talents of Carlene Carter, Elizabeth Cook and Sarah Peasall McGuffey. Simplistic arrangements– in which Caudle was the only guitarist– built a framework for space that is filled intentionally so that the songs themselves can be heard and appreciated without an overcrowding of instrumentation. On this record, outsider influences come into play nearly as much as his foundational knowledge of traditional Appalachian folk and other music history. This collection of 10 songs serves as a manifesto of Caudle’s beliefs and simplest desires. Forsythia sees Caudle as a master of his craft as a songwriter and musician.
The Mallett Brothers Band
The Mallett Brothers Band is an independent rock and roll / Americana / country band from Maine. Their busy tour schedule since forming in 2009 has helped them to build a dedicated fanbase across the U.S. and beyond while still calling the state of Maine their home. With a style that ranges from alt-country to Americana, country, jam and roots rock, theirs is a musical melting pot that’s influenced equally by the singer/songwriter tradition as by harder rock, classic country and psychedelic sounds.
Ashes And Arrows
From the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina to the peaks of Arrowtown, New Zealand, Ashes & Arrows captivate audiences around the country with their strong vocals, thoughtful lyrics, and on-stage charisma.While stuck at individual musical crossroads, Ciaran, Jonathan, and Ben met at an open mic in downtown Asheville in 2021 and immediately regained their joy and inspiration to write and perform music now as a band.Their debut EP ‘Forward’ was produced by world-renowned record producer Greg Haver and released on October 7, 2022, and one of the lead singles, ‘Gold in the Mountain’ was featured on BBC2 radio late last year.Drawing inspiration from the likes of NEEDTODBREATH, Jason Isbell, and Patrick Droney, Ashes & Arrows write their songs in an authentically original form, whilst bringing a mesmerizing flare with strong 3-part harmonies.
The Copper Children
The Copper Children are a unique blend of styles and influences that span from the choral sounds of American gospel music to the psychedelic acid jam fueled sounds of the 60s. Live they take you into your heart space, conjuring the spirit of unity, freedom, silliness, and love, with harmonies and rhythms that remind us of our shared humanity. The Copper Children have shared the stage with notable artists such as Jerry Garcia Band, The Flobots, Devotchka, Mike Love, Everyone Orchestra, Elephant Revival, Dustbowl Revival, Handmade Moments, and many more. Over the years the band has performed for audiences at Summer Camp, Northwest String Summit, Arise Music Festival, and on national tours of the U.S. Like a roller coaster, their “Psychedelic Gospel” experience leaves audiences feeling transported to the rail-yards of freedom.
Tan And Sober Gentlemen
Born and raised in North Carolina, the Tan and Sober Gentlemen began taking the songs, stories, and tunes that make up their beloved state’s musical tradition before they could talk. The music of the Carolinas, (and Appalachia in general) stems from the marriage of the Irish fiddle and the African banjo, which first met in the American South before the Revolution. The Tan and Sober Gentlemen aim to bring these traditions full circle. They play Irish tunes, ballads, and pub songs right next to the Appalachian fiddle tunes of their youth, melding the two into what they call “Irish-American hillbilly music.” Meanwhile, they have earned a reputation as one of the South’s hardest-hitting live acts, playing at blazing tempos, and putting every last bit of energy they possess into the show. The result is a raucous celebration of the Carolinas’ Irish heritage, with drinking, dancing, and merriment galore.Since their formation in 2017, the six-piece band has toured the US and Ireland, headlining legendary Irish clubs such as Whelan’s and the Roisin Dubh. Stateside, their resume includes festivals such as Bristol Rhythm and Roots, Appaloosa Festival, Tartan Day South, and Shakori Hills. In January of 2023, in their home of Alamance County, they sold 683 tickets to their show at the Haw River Ballroom. They released their sophomore record, Regressive Folk Music, in June 2022, and their debut record, Veracity, was named by Shite’n’Onions as one of the five best Celtic punk records of 2019 and 2020.
Tommy Prine (full band) with Maggie Antone
Tommy Prine’s debut album This Far South coming June 23, 2023 is not only a long awaited introduction but a testimony to Prine’s 20’s and the loss, love, and growth that has defined them. Co-produced by close friend and kindred musical spirit, Ruston Kelly, and beloved Nashville engineer and producer, Gena Johnson, the album is rich and dynamic from cathartic jams to nostalgic storytelling. “I feel like I’ve learned more about myself in the last year and a half than I ever have in my life,” Prine says. “And I think that speaks a lot to doing something that I’m passionate about. I love and respect the craft. Just hitting the road and doing what so many people before me have done and will continue to do, it’s really resonated with me. I think it’s transformed me into the person that I am meant to be.”
Jeffrey Martin X The Turkey Buzzards
As a babe Jeffrey Martin sought out solitude as often as he could find it. One night he stayed up under the covers with a flashlight and a DiscMan, listening to Reba McEntire’s ‘That’s the Night that the Lights Went Out in Georgia’ on repeat until the DiscMan ran out of batteries. That night he became a songwriter, although he didn’t actually write a song until years later. Eventually he found his way to a writing degree, and then a teaching degree. His students were fierce and unstoppable forces, and for all that they took from him in sleep and sense, they gave him a hundred times back in sparks and humility. Alas, music, the tour life, was a constant raccoon scratching at the back door. Jeffrey spent nights on end staring off into the dark, wondering if he could bear to leave teaching to go on tour full time. Eventually his brain caught up with what his guts had known for months. Jeffrey Martin tours full time these days. He prefers to drive if he can help it. Flying feels like the microwave of transportation. Driving is a slow cook over a wood fire. Martin currently lives in Portland, OR where most of his home time is spent wandering the neighborhoods with his good dog Jones, eavesdropping for song content. He finished recording a NEW ALBUM in January 2023, due out in the fall of this year. “Much like the duo themselves, the songs range near and far. From the sticky humidity of North Carolina to the dusty cellars of the West, The Turkey Buzzards tell simplistic stories that unravel through gritty vocals and thoughtful harmonies. The carefully crafted guitar riffs set against a solid bone bass stretch out across an American landscape with enough depth to sink well beneath the skin.”
