The Honeycutters Announce Tour Dates, New Album ‘Me Oh My’ Out April 21 via Organic Records

The Honeycutters. Photo by Sandlin Gaither

Asheville-based American Country Roots Band, The Honeycutters,
Set to Release 3rd Studio Album, Me Oh My, on Tue, April 21, 2015 With Organic Record Company

“… just superb, with a sweet toned and melodious aura… Today’s Smoky Mountain area modern folk thing does have a certain vibe, and these guys are among its finest purveyors.” –Music City Roots’ Craig Havighurst

“Their music embodies a very catchy, accessible, optimistic sort of spirit so frequently lacking in folk circles (where brooding, hyper-analytical music reigns supreme). What’s more, like Carolina Story, they’re a great band replete with tasty harmonies.” –Folk Music About.com’s Kim Ruehl

Announcing Spring and Summer Tour
Throughout the Southeast and Into the Northeast

The Honeycutters, an Asheville, NC-based original country roots band, is set to release their third studio album, Me Oh My, on April 21, 2015 with Organic Records®. Fueled by the powerful songwriting and vocals of founder Amanda Platt, Me Oh My moves her into the spotlight as producer, band leader, and principal creative force behind the band. With songs that are honest and relatable, part chagrin and part hope, Platt’s voice carries a timeless appeal. Pre-sales for the album have launched on iTunes and include four immediate tracks to download off the fourteen track release. They have announced tour dates throughout the southeast and into the northeast this spring and summer; more dates will be announced.

Led by songwriter Amanda Anne Platt, The Honeycutters include Tal Taylor on mandolin, Rick Cooper on bass, Josh Milligan on drums, and Matt Smith rounds out the band on pedal steel, electric guitar, and dobro to create a sound that carries just as well across the bar room as in a church or a theater. Platt’s songs are shaped by a raw honesty that comes straight from the heart and emits a sort of melancholy happiness.

Me Oh My is threaded with themes of love, loss, acceptance and regrowth. It kicks off with an engaging southern swingin’ song, “Jukebox,” that is about taking life one day at a time and not taking yourself too seriously saying “it’s only a song, so for heaven’s sake won’t you sing along?” The title cut is an inspirational anthem about the state of the modern woman, stating, “Some girls marry and some girls wait.” Me Oh My brings more of what fans love about The Honeycutters, honestly written songs sung in Platt’s authentic voice. The up-tempo, beer-raising, danceable “Ain’t It The Truth” is one that will fuel audiences at live shows while melancholy ballads like “Texas ’81” balance the album both in meter and mood. The upbeat “I’ll Be Lovin’ You” as a whole speaks to holding someone up until they are strong enough to stand on their own. Me Oh My delves deeper into the darker realms of love with “Little Bird” which gained Platt notoriety as it was chosen as a finalist at MerleFest’s prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest (2011).

Platt self produced the album along with the help of engineer and assistant producer Jon Ashley. The album was recorded in Echo Mountain Recording Studio and Mixtown Studio in Asheville, NC and it was mixed and mastered just down the road at Crossroads Studios in Arden, NC.

“The new album is the one I’m most proud of to date.” Platt says, “I took much more of a driver’s seat in it’s making, and the process has forced me to do a lot of growing up… I feel like I’ve really found my voice. I’m very excited about the line up of the band, and the songwriting includes some of my very favorites.”

The Honeycutters on Tour
4/2 Thu – Robert Ferst Theatre Amphitheatre – Atlanta, GA
4/3 Fri – Mars Theatre – Springfield, GA
4/17 Fri – Isis Music Hall – Asheville, NC
4/18 Sat – Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival – Silk Hope, NC
4/22 Wed – Music City Roots – Nashville, TN
4/24 Fri – MerleFest – Wilkesboro, NC
5/2 Sat – Sylvia Theater – York, SC
5/3 Sun – Eddie’s Attic – Decatur, GA
5/8 Fri – The Willow Tree – Johnson City, TN
5/9 Sat – Barley’s – Knoxville TN
5/14 Thu – The Double Door Inn – Charlotte, NC
5/15 Fri – Bourgie Nights – Wilmington, NC >
6/4 Thu – The ArtsCenter – Carrboro, NC
6/5 Fri – Sails Music Series – Hickory, NC
6/17 Sun – 10th Ave Burrito Co. – Belmar, NJ
6/18 – Thu – Rockwood Music Hall 2 – New York, NY *
6/20 Sat – Rochester International Jazz Festival – Rochester, NY
6/21 Sun – Mechanic Street House – Cleveland, OH
8/21 Fri – Summer Tracks Rogers Park Amphitheater – Tryon, NC
8/22 Sat- Cataloochee Ranch – Maggie Valley, NC

> w/ Massive Grass
* w/ The Hillbenders

For more information about The Honeycutters and further tour dates, please visit: www.thehoneycutters.com. For news from the road, please visit www.facebook.com/Honeycutters and twitter.com/thehoneycutters.

 

 

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Sarah Potenza Stirs The Pot on NBC’s The Voice Nashville Singer-Songwriter Heats Things Up with Passion and Flare Turning The Heads of All 4 Judges on The Voice

Sarah Potenza Stirs The Pot on NBC’s The Voice

Nashville Singer-Songwriter Heats Things Up with Passion and Flare
Turning The Heads of All 4 Judges on The Voice

“Sarah Potenza, the bawdy rocker babe.” –The Huffington Post

“You [Sarah Potenza] gave this generation something they have never seen before.”
–Pharrell Williams

“Hannah Kirby and Sarah Potenza duel in the season’s most memorable battle”
–Hollywood Reporter

“I first heard Sarah sing at a gig in Chattanooga, and she blew the roof off the place, she reminds me of a modern Americana Janis Joplin…she brings it”
–John Oates

NASHVILLE, TN — Sarah Potenza hails from Rhode Island and currently lives in Nashville, TN. She’s one hard workin’ music lady with a passion for performing, authentic, heart-felt songwriting about real-life and that undeniable voice quickly put Music City on notice. In just over a year in the area, Potenza has earned a spot among East Nashville royalty, performing and and touring with the likes of Todd Snider, Elizabeth Cook, Jim Lauderdale, Kevin Gordon, and Derek Hoke while managing to land several coveted slots such as a feature performance at the historic and world renowned Bluebird Café and the globally broadcast Music City Roots program. MCR’s Executive producer, John Walker says, “From the first word I heard Sarah Potenza sing, I was an instant fan. Her voice is soulful and seasoned, and there is never any doubt that she means what she is singing. No Identity crisis here. Sarah knows who she is… and I’m anxious for the rest of the world to find out.”

And that is exactly what is starting to happen for Potenza. As she’s been touring and writing music for an upcoming release with her husband Ian Crossman, she also decided to audition for NBC’s The Voice. She performed a blind audition of the up-tempo rock classic, The Faces’ “Stay With Me.” By the time she ended, all four judges had turned their chairs, not being able to resist her soulfully rockin’ sounds, they had to see for themselves the person behind it.
You can watch it here →
https://youtu.be/3m0LiIOG-0I

The Tennessean reports, “‘This is weirdest day that I’ve ever had,’ she said as she faced Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams and fellow coaches Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton. She ultimately decided to join Shelton’s ‘Team Blake’ — perhaps a sage choice, considering Shelton coached another Nashville singer (Craig Wayne Boyd) to a first-place finish last year.”

Being on Team Blake led her into a Voice Battle (or rather what Pharrell Williams called a “duel”) with fellow contestant Hannah Kirby duetting on the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.” Again, all four judges were enthralled and gave them a standing ovation, with Aguilera calling Potenza “a force to be reckoned with.” Blake Shelton calls Potenza as the winner of the battle, saying “That’s probably the best battle I’ve ever been a part of.” Shelton goes on to say he went with Sarah because “there’s something so different about her.”
Watch it and see The Voice’s reaction here →
https://youtu.be/tis3Yo_zCt8

Hear from the woman herself in this fabulous interview about her inspirations and thoughts on participating with The Voice →

For more information and to stay up to date with Sarah on The Voice, please visit www.nbc.com/the-voice/artists/season-8/sarah-potenza

Sarah Potenza is well on her way for more of the world to hear her monster vocals and her honest reflective songwriting. Stay up to date with news and find out more about Sarah Potenza at www.sarahpotenza.net.

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Joseph LeMay On Tour This April with Sean Watkins – Supporting Debut Album ‘Seventeen Acres’

Joseph LeMay. Photo by Juan Solorzano.

Joseph LeMay On Tour This April with Sean Watkins

Joseph LeMay Is On Tour Supporting Debut Album ‘Seventeen Acres’
Crafted in an Abandoned Singlewide Trailer on Seventeen Acres in Tennessee
Telling Stories of Desolation and Commitment

Listen to “Seventeen Acres” →  http://bit.ly/JosephLeMay_17Acres_Soundcloud

Joseph LeMay has been receiving many accolades since the independent release of his debut album Seventeen Acres in the spring of 2014. Rolling Stone Country’s Steve Betts wrote, “LeMay has crafted one of the best Americana albums of the year.” Elmore ’s Jim Hynes goes on to say, “If you didn’t know better, you’d think this might be a Paul Simon or Band of Horses album in terms of sound…”

LeMay will be touring solo with Seventeen Acres this April, opening for Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek, who also has a new album, All I Do Is Lie. The tour kicks off in Texas with shows in Houston, Austin, and Dallas. They stop in Oklahoma City before a couple of performances in Missouri in Kansas City and St Louis and then head into the midwest to Indianapolis, IN, and Evanston, Il. The tour closes in Denver, Colorado at Daniels Hall @ Swallow Hill.

Although a newcomer to the scene, LeMay has been developing his voice as a songwriter and producer for several years, observing and working with his longtime mentor and veteran producer, Charlie Peacock (The Civil Wars, Brett Dennen, Switchfoot, The Lone Bellow). LeMay’s ability to tastefully wear the hats of both artist and producer is what makes his Seventeen Acres stand out as an album of note.

PopDose’s Keith Creighton says of Seventeen Acres, “Rarely has an album by a complete unknown hit me like a ton of bricks the way Joseph LeMay’s stunning debut has… an insanely promising artist…Seventeen Acres’ appeal extends way beyond the boundaries of the current Americana boom. Fans of Crowded House, Tom Petty, Iron & Wine, Paul Simon and countless others will welcome the tales of this gifted storyteller.”

“Music fulfills a need,” says LeMay. “It’s communicating across mediums. We don’t just want words. It’s the color and the canvas. The cadence and the lyric.” It’s with a balanced grasp of bare truth and pursuit of grace that LeMay channels this primal need in the desolation of his Seventeen Acres.

Joseph LeMay On Tour Opening For Sean Watkins This April
4/14 Tue – Mucky Duck – Houston, TX
4/16 Thu – Cactus Cafe – Austin, TX
4/17 Fri – Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse – Dallas, TX
4/18 Sat – Blue Door – Oklahoma City, OK
4/19 Sun – Knuckleheads Saloon – Kansas City, MO
4/21 Tue – Stage at KDHX – St Louis, MO
4/23 Thu – The Hi-Fi – Indianapolis, IN
4/24 Fri – SPACE – Evanston, IL
4/26 Sun – Daniels Hall @ Swallow Hill – Denver, CO

For more about Joseph LeMay and tour dates, please visit www.JosephLeMayMusic.com. Also, keep up-to-date with news at facebook.com/JosephLeMaymusic  and twitter.com/JosephLeMay. You can also watch videos for a few of the tracks off the new album at youtube.com/user/josephlemay1.

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