Los Acoustic Guys
Being Followed, Dai Cheri, and Stepback Jumper
Ellis Bullard
In the wake of 2024’s Honky Tonk Ain’t Noise Pollution, Ellis Bullard has left no doubt that country music is still yearning for the true-blue honky-tonk experience he brings to the stage and studio. Listen to Bullard, and you’re listening to a life of barnstorming, hard living, and layers of musical influences. “I’m just a person, just a guy out there having a good time and trying to make sure other people are too,” Bullard says. “I give my time to people, and I think that means a lot to them. I’m genuinely trying to forge relationships and have meaningful interactions with all the fans I meet on the road.” After sharing the stage with Texas mainstays like Shinyribs, Reckless Kelly, Randy Rogers and Cody Jinks, Bullard has come into his own, and these days finds himself headlining clubs and dance halls from coast to coast. For his part, Bullard knows he’s on to something, and he’s enjoying the ride.
Official NCFF after party w/ Dance From Above featuring Marley Carroll
Official North Carolina Folk Festival after party with Dance From Above featuring Marley Carroll
TeleVolt w/ Le Smoking
Kieran Kane & Rayna Gellert
Kieran Kane’s seminal work in The O’Kanes and Kane Welch Kaplin, as well as co-founding the independent label Dead Reckoning Records, laid the foundation for the contemporary world of Americana music. A successful solo artist, collaborator, and songwriter (with songs recorded by Alan Jackson, John Prine, Emmylou Harris, and many more), Kieran is a musician’s musician: his playing is always understated, always groove-oriented, and always serving the song.If Rayna Gellert seems a preternaturally gifted songwriter, it’s because she’s seen farther into the old songs than most. Growing up in a musical family, she turned to Appalachian old-time music at a young age, becoming a prodigious fiddler and leading a new revival of American stringband music through her work with the acclaimed roots band Uncle Earl. An in-demand collaborator, she has toured and recorded with artists such as Scott Miller, Abigail Washburn, Joachim Cooder, and Robyn Hitchcock.Kieran and Rayna first met, fittingly, at San Francisco’s celebrated Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, which led to their cowriting songs for Kieran’s solo album Unguarded Moments. They joined forces again for Rayna’s 2017 release, Workin’s Too Hard (StorySound Records), which they also co-produced. Their first duo album, The Ledges, was released in February of 2018 on Dead Reckoning Records, followed up quickly by 2019’s When the Sun Goes Down.
John R. Miller w/ Lou Hazel
As John R. Miller began work on his fifth album, The Great Unknowing, he set out to challenge himself both creatively and geographically. Born in the Washington, DC area and raised in West Virginia, Miller has built a reputation as a thoughtful, boundary-pushing voice in alt-country and Americana, drawing from punk, traditional Appalachian music,and less conventional rock influences. For this record, he left his comfort zone behind and traveled to Tulsa to record at the legendary Church Studio, drawn by the city’s deep musical legacy and its ties to artists like J.J. Cale. Co-produced with longtime collaborator Adam Meisterhans, the album was tracked live with a band of Tulsa-based musicians, including Grammy-nominated John Fullbright, under the steady hand of veteran engineers Gary Laney and Mike Prado. The result is Miller’s most ambitious work to date — aspacious, textured collection that expands on the critically praised Depreciated and Heat Comes Down, blending road-worn storytelling, fuzzy atmospheres, and reflections onmovement, memory, and change. Rooted in his West Virginia past yet shaped by constant travel and new collaborations, The Great Unknowing captures an artist trusting the process, embracing risk, and letting the groove lead the way.
Ajeva
Ajeva (uh-jay-vuh) is multi-genre band from St Petersburg FL rooted in experimental rock, jamtronica, and funk with an emphasis on improvisation. They’ve shared the stage with heavy hitters like Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Spafford, The Motet, Keller Williams, The Disco Biscuits, and The Main Squeeze, while also earning repeat appearances at Suwannee Hulaween and other major festivals across the country.
Tyler Ramsey (full band) w/ Alan Peterson
Tyler Ramsey is a fingerstyle guitarist and a captivating voice in modern indie folk, based outside of Asheville, North Carolina. Ramsey gained recognition as a key member of Band of Horses contributing to their soaring sound across three studio albums. As a songwriter and guitarist, his intricate playing and introspective lyricism became a defining element of the band’s music. With masterful guitar work and a gift for storytelling, Tyler Ramsey continues to carve out his own space in the world of modern folk and indie rock. He has released a series of critically acclaimed albums, including “For the Morning” (2019), which showcased his signature blend of fingerpicked guitar, pedal steel, and atmospheric rock textures, and “New Lost Ages” (2024), produced by Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, The Shins), hailed by Americana UK as “a gentle indie-folk gem”. The project captured Ramsey’s evolution as both a songwriter and musician, balancing moments of quiet introspection with grand, sweeping arrangements. Most recently, Tyler Ramsey and My Morning Jacket guitarist Carl Broemel released their full-length recorded debut “Celestun” in January 2026. A marvel of interwoven musicianship and testament to the duo’s singular camaraderie, the album encapsulates the two veteran guitarist-songwriters’ mutual admiration and effortless compatibility as they swap and share nine new songs of dazzling dexterity and grace recorded almost entirely on acoustic guitars No stranger to wanderlust, singer/songwriter Alan Peterson infuses the weight and wonder of longitudes and latitudes into his lyrics and strings. Sincere words parallel the cadence of original music crafting a sound that doesn’t live in one genre. Whether you experience his music in a full-band or duo or solo setting, every song builds on the foundation of one dynamic voice and accompanying guitar.
Finding Emo
