Anya Hinkle and Akira Satake Release New Single “Coming Home” Released July 29
“The song harkens to childhood and summer scenes—baseball, shooting stars, an ‘evening train,’ and the nostalgic scent of mama’s home cooking…” —First Listen at Folk Alley
Hinkle Tours Colorado in August (See the full list of tour date below)
ASHEVILLE, NC — Born in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, Anya Hinkle’s music is steeped in the tones of folk and bluegrass, and seasoned by travels across the world with her vivid storytelling, vibrant musicianship, and arresting honesty.
For her latest single, Hinkle teamed up with Japanese banjoist and composer Akira Satake to release “Coming Home,” a nostalgic and spare song with echoes of a childhood summer in Japan. The single will be out July 29 and is available to presave now.
Folk Alley’s Kim Ruehl calls the song a “beautiful collaboration” and premiered the lyric video for “Coming Home” saying, “Satake’s inimitable banjo rolls paces in the background, supporting and holding aloft Hinkle’s poetic lyricism with pride, like a summer flower in a child’s fist.”
Akira Satake & Anya Hinkle
Anya says, “Akira had written a beautiful instrumental called ‘Coming Home’ and asked me to write lyrics to go with it. When I asked him what the song was about, he shared some memories of his childhood in Osaka, Japan. I tried to capture the details of the sounds, sights, tastes, and smells of Japan in late summer—children playing baseball in the city, the smells of food cooking as you wander through narrow alleys, the sounds of bicycles and trains, the resounding songs of cicadas. It’s a pleasure collaborating again with Akira.”
This is the second release of a Hinkle/Satake collaboration; the first, “Hills of Swannanoa,” which appears on Hinkle’s album Eden and Her Borderlands(Organic Records 2021), won runner-up in the 18th International Acoustic Music Awards song competition in the country/bluegrass category. In 2019, she won the MerleFest Chris Austin song contest and was a finalist in the Hazel Dickens songwriting competition for her song “Ballad of Zona Abston.”
PopMatters calls Hinkle, “A burgeoning force behind the Appalachian roots revival,” and AmericanaUK writes, “Certainly striking, certainly beautiful…everything one could look for in a bluegrass-tinged Americana.”
Anya began her recording career in 2007 for the Virginia Folklife label, The Crooked Road, before moving to Asheville, NC, where she founded bands Dehlia Low (Rebel Records) and Tellico (Organic Records). She released the first full-length album under her own name, Eden and Her Borderlands, in July 2021 to favorable reviews from the genre’s top media outlets including No Depression, Folk Alley, and PopMatters, with features in The Bluegrass Situation, Americana Highways, and more. Several songs placed on Spotify editorial playlists such as Indigo and Grass Roots, and the album was “Bubblin’ Up” on the Americana Radio Chart.
Anya has recorded some 10 albums in various collaborations both in the US and Japan, and in March 2022, she released a single, “Nightingale (соловейко) – Bootleg for Peace,”that raised over $2,000 for Ukrainian relief. Hinkle is currently working on her second studio album under her name, slated for release in 2023.
Just back from her second European tour in May 2022, Anya tours regionally and nationally as well as extensively in Japan. She has played stages at MerleFest, Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival, La Roche Bluegrass Festival (France), Bristol Rhythm & Roots, and has supported/performed with Mipso, John Doyle, Malcolm Holcombe, The Stray Birds, and many others.
Anya will be touring through Colorado this summer, including appearances at Red Rocks Summer on the Plaza Music Series, joined by her cousin, Denver-based bassist Troy Robey [Taarka, Jake Leg].
Anya Hinkle on Tour: 8/4 Thu – The Purple Onion – Saluda, NC w/ Julian Pinelli 8/5 Fri – Jones House – Boone, NC w/ Andrew Finn Magill
Colorado Dates 8/9 Tue – KGNU 88.5 FM & 1390 AM – Boulder, CO 8/9 Tue – Five Points Live! – Denver, CO * 8/10 Wed – A Church – Salida, CO * 8/11 Thu – Wallis House Concert – Carbondale, CO * 8/12 Fri – Healthy Rhythm Listening Room – Montrose * 8/13-14 Sat-Sun – Red Rocks Summer on the Plaza Music Series – Morrison, CO 8/14 Sun – Old Town House Concerts – Colorado Springs, CO * 8/17 Wed – Gold Hill Inn – Boulder, CO 8/18 Thu – Listening At The Legion – Estes Park, CO* 8/19 Fri – The Post – Denver, CO * 8/20 Sat – Woodie Fisher – Denver, CO * *with Troy Robey on Bass
Further shows: 9/11 Sun – Charlotte Folk Society – Charlotte, NC 9/23 Fri – Oskar Blues Brewery – Brevard, NC 10/1 Sat – Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival 2022 – Oriental, NC 10/2 Sun – Schoolkids Records – Raleigh, NC
Watch the Music Video for “The Broken Heart Side of The Road”
Bill Scorzari Releases 2nd Single “The Broken Heart Side of the Road” From Upcoming Album: The Crosswinds of Kansas
“With its melancholy tone, Scorzari lends his gritty vocals to a work of dark Americana roots music. Mandolin, banjo, and fiddle add to the rustic imagery of the lyrics, while a lonesome Dobro and soulful background vocals give the tune a sense of spirituality and depth. The result is a song that carries a stirring energy and a haunting tale.”—Glide Magazine – Song Premiere
“Thirteen tracks at well over an hour provides plenty of evidence that Scorzari’s message is powerful and profound. The raspy, emotive voice and the chanting ruminations throughout are a joy… The Crosswinds of Kansas therefore has many vivid and sometimes dark stories to tell… [It] is an indisputable triumph and presented in a lavish, detailed CD package, which was an utter joy to review.” —Rob Dickens’ Listening Through The Lens
HUNTINGTON, NY — Today, Bill Scorzari is excited to release “The Broken Heart Side of the Road” as the 2nd single (and 2nd music video) from his upcoming album, The Crosswinds of Kansas (independently released Aug 19). In “The Broken Heart Side of the Road,” Scorzari recounts a hard tale of the destruction of a relationship, set to traditional roots music.
He tells Glide Magazine, “I started writing ‘The Broken Heart Side of the Road’ back in 2015 and then it kind of fell off my radar for a while. When I returned to New York after the end of the Now I’m Free tour in 2019, I found that it fit really well with the other songs I was writing at the time, and so I made a few changes to the lyrics and reworked the song structure until it felt right. The lyrics sprouted right out of the chord progression and, at least on some level, are grounded in time I spent in my childhood, learning from my dad how to plant and care for growing things. I especially loved being able to work a lyric into the first chorus, about the risks of planting corn too early in the season. ‘And then a cold rain in the morning corkscrewed my cold-planted corn, and then half my crop took twice the time to grow.’”
Bill recorded the acoustic guitar and vocal tracks for “The Broken Heart Side of the Road” (and much of the 13-track album) in his studio—First Thunder— in New York in late 2020. In mid 2021, after many people had gotten vaccinated and it appeared to be relatively safe to travel again, Bill drove to Skinny Elephant Recording in Nashville, TN (where he previously recorded Now I’m Free 2019) and met with album Co-Producer Neilson Hubbard (drums, percussion), Michael Rinne (upright bass), Fats Kaplin (fiddle), Matt Menefee (banjo), Brent Burke (Dobro), Will Kimbrough (mandolin), and Engineer Dylan Alldredge to record their parts live there together for the song. Later, in September of 2021, Bill returned to Nashville to work with Dylan on the final mixes and they recorded Marie Lewey and Cindy Richardson Walker, a/k/a The Shoals Sisters, singing the backing vocals to “The Broken Heart Side of the Road.” Lewy and Walker recorded backing vocals for a few of the other tracks. For some of the other songs, Rinne also plays electric bass, in addition to his upright, and Kaplin adds his richly melodic and rhythmic sensibilities on pedal steel guitar, and viola, in addition to his fiddle.
Album & Lyric Book Art & Design: Anna Berman
Other musicians who joined in for the recording of The Crosswinds of Kansas during the Nashville sessions include Danny Mitchell onHammond B3 organ and piano with a masterfully cinematic approach; Juan Solorzano on electric, slide, and baritone guitars with flawless technique and heart wrenching phrasing; Grand Ole Opry staff fiddle player Eamon McLoughlin; accomplished cellist Chelsea McGough; acclaimed banjo player Kyle Tuttle; and gifted vocalist Mia Rose Lynne on harmony vocals.
Much of The Crosswinds of Kansas was inspired by his Now I’m Free Tour in 2019—which had become a journey of self discovery, with Bill ultimately arriving at a new awareness and desire to adapt and continue to create. He made his way from the east coast, toward, and around the west coast and back, traveling under two full moons, visiting waterfalls, hiking, climbing, pondering and processing his life experiences of loss, gain and change, and at times composed haiku as a way to pass the time. The tour came to a sudden early end as Bill learned of the decline in the health of his then 94 year old mother.
The album begins with “I-70 East,” an electric-guitar-driven song that came to him while driving home from the Now I’m Free Tour. Scorzari sings, “Then, came the crosswinds of Kansas unleashed, and it pushed me hard, north and south, all down I-70 east… As I tore home to my mother, before her health, it would fail, at 94, I felt another love leaving me lost, like a nail in a cross.”
Bill says, “When I wrote ‘I-70 East,’ I immediately knew that it was going to be the first track on this new album, even before I wrote the others, and when you cue up this record, it’ll be the first song that you hear when the music begins.” It was also the first single released from the album. Americana Highways premiered the music video for the song and says, “He’s captured such pain. And the beauty of a Rose.”
The 13 original tracks on The Crosswinds of Kansas have many stories to tell including the enlightened “All Behind Me Now,” the life-affirming “1, 2, 3, Jump,” the fast-moving acoustic jam of “A Ghost, My Hat and My Coat,” and the rhythmic, semi-autobiographical, sound-collage“The Measure of a Man.”
Bill says, “I found that a lot of the songs on this record wound up having an upbeat feel, even when the lyrical content wasn’t necessarily upbeat, or at least not primarily or entirely so. It’s a very satisfying thing when that happens, like positivity shining through and prevailing over our struggles with adversity.”
In the rootsy “TheBroken Heart Side of the Road” Scorzari recounts the destruction of a relationship, while the upbeat “Multnomah Falls” weaves a rainy day’s hike into a story of the trials of change and transcendence, and the orchestral “Oceans In Your Eyes” recounts perilous navigation through enchanted waters. The wistful melody and promising lyrics of “Patience and Time” bring a haunting nostalgia which reemerges as the central theme of the hypnotic, plaintive “Try, Try Again,” and prescience triumphs in
uncertain circumstance in the folksy “Not Should’ve Known.”
“Inside My Heart” features a mix of contemporary and Indigenous instruments and opens with the bell chime of a Tibetan singing bowl, a cluster of claw-hammer banjo notes, and a Native American flute flourish, while “Tryin’,Tryin’,Tryin’,Tryin’,” the final track on the album, has an intriguing story behind it which resulted in Bill learning Navajo from the flutemaker for the song, a Navajo man named Ty Allison and his friends.
Photography by Jacob Blickenstaff
Bill Scorzari is a New York native, with a richly raspy voice and a stellar ear for lyrics and composition. At a later age, he transformed his life as a New York Trial Attorney, to a new life as an accomplished, full-time musician. His discography includes four full-length albums: Just the Same (2014), Through These Waves (2017), and Now I’m Free (2019)—-all independently released to critical acclaim. Acoustic Guitar’s Pat Moran wrote, “New York-based singer-songwriter Bill Scorzari transcends titles like songwriter or poet. He catapults past categories into a dark, ruminative, and ultimately life-affirming realm where family folklore, memories, pain, prayer, and incantation meet.” Scorzari dives deeper into these themes with his 4th studio album, The Crosswinds of Kansas, which will be out on August 19.
Bill Scorzari — The Crosswinds of Kansas Track Listing & Credits: 1.) I-70 East (3:16) 2.) Inside My Heart (5:09) 3.) All Behind Me Now (6:01) 4.) Multnomah Falls (4:21) 5.) Oceans In Your Eyes (4:14) 6.) Not Should’ve Known (5:23) 7.) The Broken Heart Side of the Road (4:38) 8.) A Ghost, My Hat and My Coat (4:23) 9.) Patience and Time (6:15) 10.) 1, 2, 3, Jump (6:29) 11.) Try, Try Again (5:17) 12.) The Measure of a Man (4:02) 13.) Tryin’, Tryin’,Tryin’,Tryin’ (11:56)
Final Lineup Announced for the 6th Suwannee Roots Revival October 13-16, 2022 The Spirit of Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, FL
Suwannee Roots Revival Lineup Additions Include: Larry Keel Experience – John Mailander (Artist at Large) AJ Lee & Blue Summit – Blair Crimmins & The Hookers Dread Clampitt – The Krickets – Grandpa’s Cough Medicine The New Cahoots – Free Range Strange
Added to the already stellar lineup: JJ Grey & Mofro – Punch Brothers Peter Rowan’s Bluegrass Band – Donna the Buffalo – Kitchen Dwellers Jon Stickley Trio – Jim Lauderdale – Seth Walker Verlon Thompson – Shawn Camp – Joe Craven
LIVE OAK, FL — The 6th Suwannee Roots Revival takes place Thursday, October 13 – Sunday, October 16 at the renowned Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park (SOSMP) in Live Oak, Florida. We are excited to announce an additional round of artists to this incredible lineup that includes JJ Grey & Mofro, Punch Brothers, Peter Rowan’s Bluegrass Band, Donna the Buffalo, Kitchen Dwellers, Jon Stickley Trio, Jim Lauderdale, and Seth Walker.
Additions include Larry Keel Experience; based in Virginia, Keel has performed a plethora of times at SOSMP and Rolling Stone recently called him, “One of the finest flatpickers around” and described his unparalleled live performance as, “taking songs up a notch with psychedelic hillbilly shredding.”
John Mailander, acclaimed multi-instrumentalist who is well known for his fiddle playing with Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers and appearances with Billy Strings, will be around for the weekend joining in as Artist-At-Large as well as performing with the Rev Jeff Mosier Ensemble. AJ Lee & Blue Summit features singer, songwriter, and mandolinist,AJ Lee who has been performing since the age of 5. In 2011 Mother Jones magazine asked, “Could This Kid Be the Next Alison Krauss?” By the time she was 21 she won the Northern California Bluegrass Society’s (NCBS) Best Female Vocalist award nine times!
Atlanta’s Blair Crimmins & The Hookers will get folks dancing with their supercharged hot ragtime jazz, Dread Clampitt will be performing a 20th anniversary set of their funky bluegrass, The Krickets are a female Americana group from the gulf coast who’s music is what Paste Magazine called a “a truly stunning, one-of-a-kind sound.” Other additions include Florida’s Grandpa’s Cough Medicine, The New Cahoots, and Free Range Strange.
Add that all in along with Suwannee mainstays Verlon Thompson, Shawn Camp, Joe Craven, Rev Jeff Mosier Ensemble, The Grass Is Dead, Ralph Roddenbery & the HighRoad, Nikki Talley & Jason Sharp, Nicholas Edward Williams, Sloppy Joe, Quartermoon, The Fried Turkeys, Tania & the Magic Moon Traveling Circus and you’ve got a weekend of unforgettable memories, musical favorites, and news discoveries!
Suwannee Roots Revival focuses on showcasing established as well as up-and-coming roots musicians throughout a weekend laced with community based fun, growing friendships, laughing families, and that feel-good feeling you get from hanging out in such a beautiful natural setting.
Suwannee Roots Revival is jam-packed with stellar music and dance on multiple stages throughout the weekend. This family-friendly festival includes four days of music, camping, yoga, music workshops, a Kids Tent, as well as campground pickin’ sessions. Set in the midst of 800 acres of Spanish moss-draped oak and cypress trees along the Suwannee River, the venue is a playground for endless activities such as swimming, canoeing, kayaking, disc golf, and biking.
Placing a strong emphasis on embracing the traditions that have made the park a national treasure, there will be a wide array of arts & crafts as well as culinary delights ranging from healthy to decadent in the Vending Village. Hands-on and performance workshops will be held throughout the weekend with a variety of artists set to perform. The park itself is a place where kids of all ages can remember why they fell in love with the magic mixture of sights, sounds, and sensations that constitutes a weekend of paradise that is the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park.
Tickets are on sale now. Suwannee Roots Revival offers a multi-day Weekend Ticket that includes festival admission for four days of music, as well as primitive camping on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Children 12 and under are free if accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Early Bird 2 Tickets are $175 (includes fees and taxes); Student / Military Early Bird are $160 (with a valid ID). Get your tickets quickly before they rise to the next pricing tier, Advance Weekend, at $200 ($250 at the Gate). Single Day tickets are also available. An additional event car pass is now required to bring a car into the campground. Advance Car Pass: $15 or $20 at the Gate. For complete ticket information and to purchase tickets, visit suwanneerootsrevival.com/tickets/.
SOSMP offers guest comforts including a general store, full service restaurant, free showers, indoor bathrooms, and water stations. Upgraded camping, including RV hook ups and cabin rentals, as well as golf cart rentals are currently on sale. Reservations may be made by calling the Park office at (386) 364-1683. SOSMP is located between Jacksonville, Florida & Tallahassee, Florida about 30 minutes south of the Georgia State line, about 45 minutes north of Gainesville and is host to a variety of events. Please visit the park’s web site at www.musicliveshere.com for further information.
Suwannee Roots Revival 2022 Lineup JJ Grey & Mofro Punch Brothers Peter Rowan’s Bluegrass Band Donna the Buffalo Kitchen Dwellers Larry Keel Experience Jon Stickley Trio Jim Lauderdale Seth Walker Verlon Thompson Shawn Camp Joe Craven Rev Jeff Mosier Ensemble John Mailander – Artist at Large AJ Lee & Blue Summit The Grass Is Dead Blair Crimmins & The Hookers Dread Clampitt The Krickets Ralph Roddenbery & the HighRoad Grandpa’s Cough Medicine The New Cahoots Nikki Talley & Jason Sharp Free Range Strange Nicholas Edward Williams Sloppy Joe Quartermoon The Fried Turkeys Tania & the Magic Moon Traveling Circus
The Musicians: Bill Scorzari, Brent Burke, Cindy Richardson Walker and Marie Lewey a/k/a “The Shoals Sisters,” Chelsea McGough, Danny Mitchell, Eamon McLoughlin, Fats Kaplin,Juan Solorzano,Kyle Tuttle, Matt Menefee, Mia Rose Lynne, Michael Rinne, Neilson Hubbard, Ty Allison, Will Kimbrough
Co-Produced by Scorzari and Hubbard, The Crosswinds of Kansas WasRecorded in Two Locations: First Thunder Recording Studios by Scorzari in Huntington, NY and Skinny Elephant Recording by Engineer Dylan Alldredge in Nashville
HUNTINGTON, NY — “New York-based singer-songwriter Bill Scorzari transcends titles like songwriter or poet. He catapults past categories into a dark, ruminative, and ultimately life-affirming realm where family folklore, memories, pain, prayer, and incantation meet,” says Acoustic Guitar. Scorzari, a prolific songwriter, has taken his craft to new heights and deeper depths with his 4th studio album, The Crosswinds of Kansas which will be independently released on August 19.
Much of The Crosswinds of Kansas was inspired by his three-month-long Now I’m Free Tour in 2019—which had become a journey of self discovery, with Bill ultimately arriving at a new awareness and desire to adapt and continue to create. He had made his way from the east coast, toward, and around the west coast and back, traveling under two full moons, visiting waterfalls, hiking, climbing, pondering and processing his life experiences of loss, gain and change, and at times composed haiku as a way to pass the time on the long drives between performances, until the tour came to an unexpected early end when Bill learned of the sudden decline in the health of his then 94 year old mother back home in NY.
Bill started his four-day drive home back east from California; when he got to Kansas on the second day, the winds were blowing so hard North and South across I-70 East that he had to fight the steering wheel for hours just to keep his car going straight down the highway. He stopped in Hays, KS for the night and woke up the next morning with a sore neck and arms from wrestling those tenacious crosswinds the day before. The following lines came to him while he was driving, “Then, came the crosswinds of Kansas unleashed, and it pushed me hard, north and south, all down I-70 east… As I tore home to my mother, before her health, it would fail, at 94, I felt another love leaving me lost, like a nail in a cross.”
Bill says, “When I wrote ‘I-70 East,’ I immediately knew that it was going to be the first track on this new album, even before I wrote the others, and when you cue up this record, it’ll be the first song that you hear when the music begins.” “I-70 East” is the first single to be released and is available now to stream or purchase → https://billscorzari.hearnow.com/i-70-east. Americana Highways premiered the music video for the song and says, “He’s captured such pain. And the beauty of a Rose.”
After arriving back home in NY and securing 24-hour care for his mom in late 2019, Bill took a deep breath, and began to write. Some of the songs were new creations and some were reworkings of songs from his back catalog which also fit well within the themes and moods of what was becoming the new album. He spent the early days of the Covid lockdown finishing the songs, gathering the right instruments to fit the music, and building out his studio—First Thunder— where he recorded much of the album. All the while, he continued to share time with his mom daily, until she passed at home on Christmas Day 2020 with Bill and family at her bedside, less than seven weeks before her 96th Birthday.
With Scorzari drawing inspiration from a full palette of moods and emotions, the 13 original tracks on The Crosswinds of Kansas have many stories to tell— some confront the darker emotions head-on. Bill says, “I found that a lot of the songs on this record wound up having an upbeat feel, even when the lyrical content wasn’t necessarily upbeat, or at least not primarily or entirely so. It’s a very satisfying thing when that happens, like positivity shining through and prevailing over our struggles with adversity.”
Scorzari recounts a hard tale of the destruction of a relationship in the rootsy “TheBroken Heart Side of the Road,” while “Multnomah Falls” weaves a chronicle of a rainy day’s hike into an account of the trials of change and transcendence set to cascading mandolin lines.The orchestral “Oceans In Your Eyes” recounts a perilous navigation through an enchanted captivation, and a wistfully nostalgic “Patience and Time” haunts with lyrics, “… and I don’t think there’s anything that’s ever been as ‘this much’ on my mind. And with each day that’s passed I’m holding fast to patience and time, ‘cause nothing can outlast patience and time.”
Nostalgia is revisited in the hypnotic “Try, Try Again” and “Not Should’ve Known” presents a combination of uncertainty and prescience with its lyrics, “I’m just waitin’ for the courage to accept what I can’t change. Still, I can’t help but worry ‘bout how sometimes things turn strange and how with every situation that confronts me to my core, there comes a realization that I seem to have had before… what if I knew, and not should’ve known?”
With the electric-guitar-driven opening track ”I-70 East,” the transcendent “All Behind Me Now,” the uplifting “1, 2, 3, Jump,” the fast-moving acoustic jam of “A Ghost, My Hat and My Coat,” and the rhythmic, semi-autobiographical, sound-collage that is “The Measure of a Man,” Scorzari achieves a beautiful balance in this new collections of songs.
Bringing a mix of contemporary and Indigenous instruments, “Inside My Heart” opens with the bell chime of a Tibetan singing bowl, a cluster of claw-hammer banjo notes and a Native American flute flourish, while the intriguing backstory of the making of the album finds Bill learning his lyrics in Navajo from a Navajo flutemaker named Ty Allison and his friends, and recording those lyrics, and the two flutes made by Ty, onto the final track, “Tryin’, Tryin’, Tryin’, Tryin’.”
Bill says of learning Navajo, “It was an incredible honor for me. Beyond words. I’m also going to very candidly say that it was, however, no small task, and something that I would not have been able to do without the patient teaching, support and encouragement by, and friendship of Ty, Caleb and David. It is a connection that I will always cherish.”
The album was recorded in two locations—beginning in 2020 at First Thunder Recording Studios in Huntington, NY, by Scorzari during the Covid outbreak and through the continued lockdown into 2021, and continuing at Skinny Elephant Recording in Nashville, TN, by Engineer Dylan Alldredge in 2021 and again in 2022.
Acclaimed record producer, film director, film producer, singer-songwriter, and photographer, Neilson Hubbard joined Bill as Co-Producer during the Nashville sessions, and also played drums and/or percussion on all of the tracks. Bill says, “Neilson has, among many other things, produced records for Mary Gauthier, Sam Baker, Kim Richey, and others, and his musical and production sense is spot on, and it appears to be effortlessly so. The man has a gift, and I am so very grateful for his friendship and for his many great talents which he has shared with me over the past several years.”
The musicians who joined in for the recording of The Crosswinds of Kansas include the following folks who, along with Scorzari and Hubbard, make up the band’s core: Michael Rinne [Willie Nelson, Rodney Crowel, Jack White, Miranda Lambert] brings his impeccable musical sense and technique on upright and electric bass as the perfect foundation for these new songs; Danny Mitchell [Miranda Lambert] played Hammond B3 Organ and Piano on this record with a masterfully cinematic approach; Fats Kaplin [John Prine, Jack White, Nancy Griffith] added his richly melodic and rhythmic sensibilities playing pedal steel guitar, fiddle, and viola; and Juan Solorzano plays electric, slide, and baritone guitars with flawless technique and heart wrenching phrasing.
Bill Scorzari. Photography by Jacob Blickenstaff
Additional players joining in on several tracks during the summer 2021 Nashville sessions include Matt Menefee [Bela Fleck, Dan Auerbach, Ricky Skaggs] AKA “Matt, TheBanjoPlayer” on banjo; world class Dobro player Brent Burke [Rhonda Vincent and The Rage]; the multi-talented Will Kimbrough on mandolin; accomplished cellist Chelsea McGough; acclaimed banjo player Kyle Tuttle; and gifted vocalist Mia Rose Lynne on harmony vocals.
Later, in September of 2021, Bill returned to Nashville to work with Dylan on the final mixes. But before doing so, he brought in a few other stellar musicians to wrap up the final recordings including Eamon McLoughlin [Staff Fiddle Player at The Grand Ole Opry, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell] who played violin on 2 songs, and the incomparable Marie Lewey and Cindy Richardson Walker [AKA The Shoals Sisters] who sang backing vocals on 4 songs.
In early 2022, Bill recorded some backing vocal and harmony vocal tracks for the song, “Tryin’, Tryin’, Tryin’, Tryin’” at his studio in New York. For the final piece to complete the record, he asked Ty to send him a short cell phone recording of himself singing a Navajo chant, which Bill edited to make it sound like a historically older recording before adding it in at the end of the song. It’s also the very last sound on the album. Bill says, “When I was done and listened back to it, the song (and the album) felt complete, and the history it has gathered is abundant and beautiful.”
Bill says, “For me, the journey that had begun in 2019 (and in many respects, much earlier), became a journey into the depths of my soul, not just in a nebulous aspirational or conceptual sense, but in its fruition, and this album is a record of many of the ways in which it has all unfolded for me so far. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have occupied my time with this effort and for the opportunity to continue to participate in the dance that is life, through this pandemic and beyond.”
He continues, “It has been an arduous and relentless trek to the ultimate discovery that we are here simply to dwell in the experience of being human and to come to know that wherever that experience may take us, and to whatever heights or depths we may rise or fall in it, it is all nothing less than an unspeakably generous and miraculous gift of life and great love.”
More about Bill Scorzari:
Bill Scorzari is a New York native, with a richly raspy voice and a stellar ear for lyrics and composition. At a later age, he transformed his life as a New York Trial Lawyer, to a new life as an accomplished, full-time musician. To date, his discography includes four full-length albums: Just the Same (2014), Through These Waves (2017), and Now I’m Free (2019)—-all independently released to critical acclaim.
Through These Waves landed on many Top-Ten-Albums-of-2017 lists including Folk Alley and Elmore Magazine, with Elmore saying, “…this is a must hear for singer-songwriter aficionados.” More recently, Now I’m Freewas premiered by Billboard, with an exclusive interview by Gary Graff who described the album as “delicately nuanced” with “detailed arrangements” and Glide Magazine’s Jim Hynes wrote, “Like them [Dylan, Waits, Kristofferson, and Sam Baker] too, Scorzari’s facility with words and poetic flair, instills a calming wisdom and creaks of hope among the dark.”
ASHEVILLE, NC — Anya Hinkle is bringing some holiday cheer with “Why Women Need Wine (At Christmas).” It is a fun and festive take of her original song “Why Women Need Wine,” from her album Eden and Her Borderlands (Organic Records July 16, 2021) and will be independently released on Friday, Dec 17.
Pop Matters calls “Why Women Need Wine” “a musical eye roll that takes on the patriarchy” and Folk Alley says the accompanying video is, “Full of tinkling effervescence, wry nods and winks, and capacious laughter… With a bright canniness, Hinkle points out many of the expectations women face in our society.”
Anya says, “‘Why Women Need Wine’ has always been about honoring women’s work and women’s journeys into trusting themselves while celebrating their own unique ways of doing things… even when it feels like we are getting it all wrong. A wonderful friend of mine suggested that a holiday-themed rewrite of the song could be a fun thing to do for the holidays this year, and she was right—writing a Christmas version of the song has been just what I needed to jump in with two feet. With this version I want to celebrate all the incredible work women do to make the holidays special, and laugh a little while we work. Happy Holidays and Cheers!”
Taking to social media for some suggestions she cooked up new lyrics and recorded it solo in her home studio in Asheville, laughing all the way, ho ho ho… She says, “Y’all, it’s been fun! I’ve been laughing out loud, really. Bellyfulls of laughter. Levity I’ve really needed recently.”
Anya Hinkle at Home No one was injured while decorating…
Just as the original relates stories of situations and attitudes that women deal with day to day and reminding them with a little humor, a lot of friendship — and maybe an eye roll — they can shake it off and move on with their lives, the Christmas version sums it up for the holiday season.
“When I woke up this morning I tested all of the Christmas lights… (Tell-me) Why when one burns out the rest go out on down the line”and “Santa, Do you hear what I hear? Let me get this through my mind… You’re just gonna let everybody thank you for all the stuff I go out and find.”
The phrase “Why Women Need Wine” came to Hinkle when she was feeling down and reached out to a friend who said “Come over, I’ve got a great bottle of wine, let’s talk.” “I spilled it all out, just said every ridiculous thing and we laughed, I cried, and on my way home I just felt so much better,” says Hinkle. “Everything seemed possible again, I got a grip, and this line popped into my head: This is why women need wine.”
Anya is hosting a special holiday livestream program, Holidaze At Home, on Sunday Dec 19 and will perform “Why Women Need Wine (At Christmas)” along with some tunes from Eden and Her Borderlands, and you can see her tree!
We hope you will enjoy listening and sharing the song as you gather with your friends and family over the Holidays. Most importantly, enjoy this beautiful time of year. The light is so beautiful and poignant.
“Why Women Need Wine (At Christmas)” is available as a free download with any purchase from her online store before Dec 31 at www.anyahinkle.com/store and it will hit the digital streams on Dec 17.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Born in the soul-basted countryside of Alabama, then brought to the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains to marinade and mature, Red Clay Revival delivers an experience that continues to reshape the parameters of roots music with skillful, heart-driven compositions. Bandleader and songsmith extraordinaire, Doug McElvy, lays a solid foundation at the epicenter of Red Clay’s musical magnitude. The band’s high energy shows are filled with slam-grass/bluegrass breaks, with a rock feel; it’s an entertaining performance sure to get the crowd moving regardless of musical taste.
“I love this band! These musicians carve an irresistible groove that always gets the party started. Doug Mcelvy is an authentic, soulful powerhouse of a vocalist and songwriter, not to mention a world class fly fisherman! Fishin and pickin— what could be better?!” says flatpicking legend Larry Keel and bassist Jenny Keel, “Doug McElvy and his Red Clay Revival render a rootsy blend of folk rock foundation and inventive yet catchy lyrics. It’s earthy and fun music with dark overtones too.”
Red Clay Revival is excited to release a new song: “Gold.” McElvy calls it, “A song to remind us to connect with the natural world to let go of the everyday stress that life brings our way; it’s an expression of my happy place where I go to find peace and clarity.”
Filled with jubilance and written and sung by McElvy, he leads “Gold” on guitar and is backed by Zebulon Bowles on fiddle, Jacob Baumann on drums, and Daniel Ianuccie on bass and harmony vocals. The track was recorded by Matt Williams and The Eagle Room in Asheville, NC.
Leftover Salmon’s Andy Thorn says, “Red Clay Revival’s new track ‘Gold’ takes you straight to the fly fishing streams of western North Carolina. Singer-songwriter Doug McElvy (who’s also a fly-fishing guide) is as natural on his guitar as with his fly rod. With festival-scene veteran Zeb Bowles on the fiddle, this is roots rock at its finest!”
Red Clay Revival’s powerful songs and live performances harness an energy that electrifies any space, leaving audiences with an embedded musical experience. “Red Clay Revival always brings the most fun and energetic crowd to Salvage Station and never fails to impress everyone with their spontaneous jams, high energy performances, and musical talent,” says the Asheville venue. “You know you have a great band on the stage when the entire crowd refuses to let a summer downpour stop the fun!”
“Gold” has been a long time coming and a new studio album is in the works. Previous recordings include Barefoot, McElvy’s 2012 LP in which he teamed with resophonic guitar master, Billy Cardine, as creative consultant and co-producer, as well as collaborating with decorated pros, such as Keller Williams, Larry and Jenny Keel, as well as Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth. In 2014 he released an EP, Chilly, once again pairing with Cardine in production, and recruiting the talents of world class violinist, Casey Driessen, and beat master Jeff Sipe for backing elements.
Produced by Professor Dan Boner at ETSU Recording Lab in Johnson City, TN
The Album Features Todd Phillips, Wyatt Rice, Ned Luberecki, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Thomas Cassell, Daniel Salyer, and the Becky Buller Band!
LIVESTREAM TODAY (Fri 6/12) at 6pm CT/ 7pm ET Nate Lee with Professor Dan Hear the new tunes and more about the process of making the album! A special guest or two may join in… Tune in via their facebook pages
“This is bluegrass as free-ranging and masterful as any you’d be hearing at our currently silent festivals… Lee has a gift for themes, the strong melodic hooks that give a tune its architecture and its roadmap for improvisation.” —WMOT, Craig Havighurst
“All of the cuts are stellar. Nate really brings his vocals to a level impossible to imagine… A gorgeous tune on the album is ‘Serenity.’” —Steve Martin’s Unreal Bluegrass Tune in Sunday 6/14 to Steve Martin’s Unreal Bluegrass for an interview with Nate Lee 7-10pm ET on WSDL 90.7FM Delmarva Public Radio www.unrealbluegrass.com
“Even while bluegrasser and multi-instrumentalist Nate Lee puts the main focus on the powerhouse instrumentalists… the lyrics and masterful chordal harmonies of ‘Love Medicine’ — a song about addiction and tough situations — shine through.” –The Bluegrass Situation
“The album showcases a brilliant collection of players… A singer of nuance and an exceptional instrumentalist, this is a worthy testament to Lee stepping further into the spotlight, providing an unreserved lift to the spirit in these troublesome days.” —Listening Through The Lens (Australia), Rob Dickens
“The qualities which make Hold On [Sam Bush and David Grisman’s 2003 duo album] such a compelling listen — deep musicality, honking groove, smart pacing, a balance of melody and flash — are indeed found throughout Jetliner” —Mandolin Cafe, Michael Eck
“…an outstanding picker and songwriter of considerable worth. He wrote the five instrumental tracks on the record and knows a good song prospect when he sees one… he’s set to be one of tomorrow’s masters” —Flying Shoes Review (UK), Maurice Hope
“[‘Comealong Brown Dog’] is one of the catchiest tunes on the album. Built on a simple melody, it could be mistaken for a classic old time tune. A beginning mandolin player might pick up the melodic line easily and then spend years mastering Nate’s nuances.” —Music City Music Magazine, Nancy Posey
“Fingers were clearly flying when mandolinist Nate Lee—who additionally plays fiddle and banjo on a few of the tracks—made this upbeat album of traditional- and modern-sounding bluegrass.” —The Morton Report, Blog Critics, Americana Highways, Jeff Burger
“Beautiful, clean bluegrass, played with world class musicians (Wyatt Rice and Todd Phillips join Lee). Nate Lee plays crisp mandolin and has a pleasing voice. There are songs that remind me of David Grisman’s ‘dawg music’… Excellent sound production on this album.”
—Americana Music Show, Bill Rutsch
“Nate’s voice simply warms your heart (like James Taylor) with the gentle folk ballad ‘Somewhere Far Away,’ before quickening the pace with the exciting bluegrass strumming of ‘All Along.’” —JP’s Music Blog, Jim Pasinski
“This is an excellent, quite musical recording by a very talented player and singer, with great songs and solid instrumentals, all of them beautifully arranged.” —Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association, Peach Hampton
“Overall, this album is an ample example of Lee’s range and what he can do… Indeed, Lee works hard to put his tuneful trademark on every note he plays. The surprises are welcome and even the expected inclusions do not disappoint.” —HVY.com, Will Phoenix
“The disc features a combination of covers and original instrumental tunes… Bluegrass music for me has always seemed to have an inherent power to raise our spirits and push away the darker elements of reality, and we could all use some of that right now.” —Michael’s Music Log, Michael Doherty
“Uplifting at the right time!” —MisterG, greenarrowradio (Madison, WI)
NASHVILLE, TN —Nate Lee is an International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) award-winning instrumentalist and renowned teacher of private lessons and music camps. The overlapping landscapes of folk, bluegrass, old-time, and new acoustic music offer a wide field to hoe and singer/mandolinist Nate ably covers every bit of that ground. Tuneful lopes, the muscular bounce of ‘grass, the sparkling charm of Grisman-Rice inspired dawg music, and more are all in his comfort zone and he moves between them with uncommon ease. Nate is known as the kind of musician who is able to put his own stamp on whatever he plays and his forthcoming album, Wings of a Jetliner,brings that home and out on June 12, 2020 on his own Adverb Records.
Nate is known as a member of award-winning bluegrass group, the Becky Buller Band, which he joined in 2017. For this project Nate assembled an inspired collection of iconic players, modern masters, and rising stars—including bandmates from Becky Buller Band: Becky Buller herself, banjoist Ned Luberecki, bassist Daniel Hardin, and the album’s producer and engineerDan Boner. Also joining in on guitar is original member of the Tony Rice Unit and flatpicking legend, Wyatt Rice, icon of acoustic music and sideman to the stars, living-legend bassist Todd Phillips, andrising star Bronwyn Keith-Hynes (Mile Twelve) on fiddle. Bluegrass singer and songwriter Daniel Salyer joins in on harmony vocals on a few songs and Thomas Cassell (Circus No. 9) serves as Nate’s duet partner on the Grisman-inspired two-mandolin instrumental “Serenity.”
Renaissance man, Professor Dan Boner, came on board early as producer and engineer and primarily tracked the album at the ETSU Recording Lab. Professor Dan says, “Wings of a Jetliner mirrors all that I have observed in Nate’s persona. He is an objective seeker, lifelong learner, patient teacher, and a quick-witted responder to happenstances.”
Nate composed all five instrumental numbers on Wings of a Jetliner:The lead-off track and bluegrass ripper, “Wonderbat,” the light-hearted jazzy “Quick Select,” the lovely and spare “Comealong Brown Dog,” and the spiraling “Rook Roller.”
Listeners will find equally satisfying variety in the carefully chosen vocal numbers, penned by an eclectic assortment of accomplished songwriters, on Wings of a Jetliner. All here to delight are hard-driving bluegrass songs (“Tobacco” – Daniel Salyer), western swing (“The More I Pour” – Tim Stafford & Mark Bumgarner), nuanced tales (“Miner’s Grave” – Ashleigh Caudill, “Somewhere Far Away” – Bradford Lee Folk & Nicholas Ian Woods ), the waltzy “Sweet Allis Chalmers” (Bill Caswell) and the new-grassy sounds of “Love Medicine” (Chris Sanders), as well as a cover of 90’s rock icons The Offspring’s “All Along” (Bryan Holland).
Nate Lee’s Wings of a Jetliner is an album of significant range and each track breathes with life. This release is a new high-water mark for Nate. Ned Luberecki says, “Wings of a Jetliner is your first class window seat on an exciting musical journey with Captain Nate Lee at the helm. So put on your noise cancelling headphones, recline the seat and enjoy your flight!”
Nate Lee: Wings of a Jetliner Track Listing and Credits
THE 4TH ANNUAL SUWANNEE SPRING REUNION MARCH 19-22, 2020 THE SPIRIT OF SUWANNEE MUSIC PARK IN LIVE OAK, FLORIDA FEATURING Greensky Bluegrass, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, Peter Rowan Free Mexican Airforce featuring Los Texmaniacs, Donna The Buffalo, Sierra Hull, Ghost Light, Darrell Scott, Jim Lauderdale Band, Verlon Thompson, The Duhks, Jon Stickley Trio, Shawn Camp Band, Chatham County Line, Fireside Collective, Tony Furtado with Luke Price and Matt Flinner and more!
LIVE OAK, FL ––Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park (SOSMP) is thrilled to host The 4th Annual Suwannee Spring Reunion Thursday through Sunday, March 19-22 at SOSMP in Live Oak, FL. Folks of all ages will make plans to gather during the forefront of spring at this gorgeous park and its mossy live oak laden grounds for this beloved festival tradition that features a range of music genres rooted in original music – Americana: Bluegrass, Newgrass, Folk, Singer/Songwriter, Blues, and more. Literally something for everyone!
The lineup features Greensky Bluegrass, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, Peter Rowan Free Mexican Airforce featuring Los Texmaniacs, Donna The Buffalo, Sierra Hull, Ghost Light, Darrell Scott, Jim Lauderdale Band, Verlon Thompson, The Duhks, Jon Stickley Trio, Shawn Camp Band, Chatham County Line, Fireside Collective, Tony Furtado with Luke Price and Matt Flinner,and more! See the full schedule of music at → https://suwanneespringreunion.com/schedule/.
For four days and nights this family-friendly festival is home to early morning sing-a-longs and night time musical pyrotechnics from the park’s stellar cast of alumni and new favorites. There will be music on four stages and Suwannee Spring Reunion attendees will also enjoy music in the campground with jamming at Slopryland and the Bill Monroe Shrine as well ascamp pickin’ parties.
Thursday night is going to be a blast with Blueground Undergrass hitting the main Amphitheatre Stage at 8:30pm just after a set by Verlon Thompson on the Porch Stage. Jon Stickley Trio follows Blueground alternating back to the Porch and then The Grass Is Dead closes out the Amphitheater Stage for the night. Music begins for the day kicking off with Quartermoon at 3pm and also includes performances by Roy Book Binder, Nikki Talley & Jason Sharp, and Brett Bass & Melted Plectrum.
Greensky Bluegrass headlines Friday night, bookended by sets with Peter Rowan and Free Mexican Airforce and Jon Stickley Trio on the Amphitheater Stage. The Duhks play just before Greensky on the Porch Stage and Donna the Buffalo closes out the Porch following Greensky’s set. Other Friday performances include Ghost Light, Chatham County Line, Fireside Collective, Verlon Thomspon, The Tania Elizabeth Experience, and more. The Music Hall Indoor Stage also kicks off on Friday and includes sets by Applebutter Express, Nation of Two, and a special Banjo workshop with Leonard Podolak, Rev Jeff Mosier, and Tony Furtado.
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones are the Saturday night headliners, bookended by Donna the Buffalo and a special all-star Suwanee Reunion Jam on the Amphitheatre Stage. Sierra Hull plays the Porch just before The Flecktones and Fireside Collective closes out The Porch Stage for the night. Other Saturday sets include performances by Darrell Scott, Jim Lauderdale, Shawn Camp Band, Songs From The Road Band, Tony Furtado Trio, The Grass Is Dead, Adventures of Annabelle Lyn, Two Foot Level, Nicholas Edward Williams, Ukelyptus, Habanero Honeys, and more.
Vassar Sunday is always a special day for Suwannee Spring Reunion and as tradition holds, Donna the Buffalo will close out the festival and bring out a ton of special guest performers that have played throughout the weekend! Jim Lauderdale, Sierra Hull, Peter Rowan, Rev Jeff Mosier, Verlon Thomspon, and Nikki Talley all perform again as well.
The Old Florida Stage will also feature Contra Dance music and instruction Thursday – Saturday with The Dunehoppers and The Hungry Monks with Andy Kane doing the calling.
A variety of performers will be hosting special hands-on workshops on Music Farmers Stage Friday and Saturday including a Banjo Workshop with Rev Jeff Mosier, Fiddle Instruction with Scott Walker & Holly Riley, Songs and Stories with Nikki Talley & Jason Sharp, Hambone Workshop with Leonard Podolak, Mandolin with Matt Flinner, Flat Pick Guitar Workshop with Brett Bass, Roy Book Binder Hands on Blues Guitar Workshop, Songwriting with Lee Hunter, Joey Kerr, & Annie Wenz, and more.
Placing a strong emphasis on embracing the traditions that have made the park a national treasure, there will be a wide array of arts & crafts as well as an array of culinary delights ranging from healthy to decadent in the Vending Village. The park itself is a place where kids of all ages can remember why they fell in love with the magic mixture of sights, sounds, and sensations that constitutes a weekend of paradise that is the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park.
SOSMP is located between Jacksonville, Florida & Tallahassee, Florida about 30 minutes south of the Georgia State line, about 45 minutes north of Gainesville and is host to a variety of events.
Suwannee Spring Reunion 2020 Lineup Greensky Bluegrass Béla Fleck & The Flecktones Peter Rowan Free Mexican Airforce featuring Los Texmaniacs Donna The Buffalo Sierra Hull Ghost Light Darrell Scott Jim Lauderdale Band Verlon Thompson The Duhks Jon Stickley Trio Shawn Camp Band Chatham County Line Fireside Collective Tony Furtado Trio Roy Book Binder Rev. Jeff Mosier Blueground Undergrass The Grass Is Dead Songs From The Road Band Nation of Two The Tania Elizabeth Experiment Nikki Talley & Jason Sharp Ukelyptus Brett Bass & Melted Plectrum The Adventures of Annabelle Lyn Two Foot Level Nicholas Edward Williams Applebutter Express Firewater Tent Revival Quartermoon Sloppy Joe Habanero Honeys The Hungry Monks The Walker Brothers The Dunehoppers Tania & The Magic Moon Traveling Circus
BLOOMINGTON, IL — Illinois-based Cody “Chicago Farmer” Diekhof paired up with Texas’ The Band of Heathens for Flyover Country, independently released February 7.With DJs across the country spinning many of the songs from the album, it is climbing up the Americana and Folk radio charts in an increasingly competitive landscape. In the past few weeks the album shot up to #18 after debuting at #33 on the Americana Radio Albums Chart and is currently at #9 on the NACC Folk Radio Chart.
The current single, “All In One Place,” is a humorous look at the sad truth about making money in the music business is on the rise and currently at #33 on the Americana Singles Chart. American Songwriter Magazine says, “This tale of high hopes and low returns [is] an outlaw country number that resounds with heart and humor.”
Chicago Farmer is known for his clever and heartfelt songwriting and unique voice. Through all the songs on Flyover Country — and most Chicago Farmer songs, for that matter —runs a common thread, a love and respect for regular folks, those who might be overlooked and underappreciated. He is a champion of the Midwest and the working class. “A lot of my friends are just getting by day-to-day,” Diekhoff said. “We keep at it, we keep working hard. Hopefully, eventually, things will turn around.”
Kind Words about Chicago Farmer & Flyover Country
“a continuation of what the Delavan, Illinois, native does best — clever and heartfelt songwriting that looks at the fabric of the Midwest.”
—Chicago Sun Times, Mary Houlihan
“… with Flyover Country, his sixth solo effort to date, he opts to make a bigger noise, thanks to an album that finds this midwest native teaming with the formidable Texas ensemble, Band of Heathens. The music still retains its intimacy and introspection, but given the Heathens’ backing there’s also an added sense of grit and determination… Consequently, the possibility of wider recognition becomes a more likely possibility with Flyover Country, a set of freewheeling songs clearly spawned from a populist perspective.” —Goldmine, Lee Zimmerman
“His trademark appeal is his ability to sing about the regular person, the working person, in a relatable way… No doubt, Chicago Farmer has a serious outlook, but he wants listeners to have fun listening to these tales, spike with humor in places and this time around, bolstered by a terrific band.” —Elmore Magazine, Jim Hynes “Chicago Farmer has spent the last two decades writing and performing as a solo artist, but in The Band of Heathens… Diehkoff found natural collaborators.” —American Songwriter, Matt Wallock
“This album shows both Diekhoff’s ability to spin a tale and to write songs that get people to sing along. It also shows how well he is able to evoke emotions – whether it’s a song that makes you laugh or a song that hits you right in the heart. Beyond all that, you realize that his is a style that will endure in a world where music has seemingly become disposable.” ––Americana Highways, Gary Schwind
Putting his solo troubadour days behind him (after a run of solo dates opening for Todd Snider in January), at least for a while, with Flyover Country’s release, Diekhoff is on the road with a band, performing as Chicago Farmer and The Fieldnotes which includes Jaik Willis, Cody Jensen, & Cosmic Charlie Harris.
Chicago Farmer Tour Dates
All Shows with The Full Band, The Fieldnotes, Unless Otherwise Noted: 2/27 Thu – Natalie’s Coal Fired Pizza – Worthington, OH 2/28 Fri – Southgate House – Newport, KY 2/29 Sat – Duke’s Indy – Indianapolis, IN 3/6 Fri – Redstone Room @ River Music Experience – Davenport, IA 3/7 Sat – Vaudeville Mews – Des Moines, IA 3/8 Sun – World Theater – Kearney, NE 3/12 Thu – Magic Rat – Fort Collins, CO 3/13 Fri – The Walnut Room – Denver, CO 3/14 Sat – Western Jubilee – Colorado Springs, CO 3/27 Fri – Inside Out – Gilman, IL *solo show 4/2 Thu – Music Box Supper Club – Cleveland, OH 4/3 Fri – Sportsmens Tavern – Buffalo, NY 4/4 Sat – Moondogs Pittsburgh, PA 4/6 Mon – Woodsongs Radio Hour – Lexington, KY 4/10 Fri – Founders Brewing Co – Grand Rapids, MI 4/11 Sat – The Livery – Harbor, MI 4/16 Thu – Rose Music Hall – Columbia, MO 4/17 Fri – Kenny’s Westside Pub – Peoria, IL 4/18 Sat – The Venue – Aurora, IL 4/23 Thu – Crossroads Music Fest Seymour, IN 4/24-25 Fri-Sat – Rose Bowl Tavern – Urbana, IL 5/21 Thu – The Ark – Ann Arbor, MI 5/22-5/24 Fri-Sun – Summer Camp Music Festival – Chillicothe, IL 6/5 Fri – Knuckleheads – Kansas City, MO 6/6 Sat – Brew Skies Music Festival – Hannibal, MO 5/28-29 Thu-Fri – John Hartford Memorial Fest – Bean Blossom, IN 6/19 Fri – Moccasin Creek Festival – Effingham, IL 6/27 Sat – Private Event – Wilmington, IL 8/7 Fri – Rock the Farm @ Mackinaw Valley Winery – Mackinaw, IL 8/8 Sat – People Fest – Hillsboro, WI
Bill Scorzari Releases His 3rd Studio Album, Now I’m Free, September 20, 2019 Produced by Neilson Hubbard at Skinny Elephant Recording,With Performances by Erin Rae, Will Kimbrough, Eamon McLoughlin, Michael Rinne
Huntington, NY — With a raw and gritty sound, along with a stellar ear for lyrics and composition, New York native Bill Scorzari independently releases his third full-length album of all original music, Now I’m Free, on September 20. Produced by Neilson Hubbard (Orphan Brigade), Now I’m Free was recorded and mixed by engineer Dylan Alldredge at Skinny Elephant Recording in Inglewood, TN and mastered by Jim DeMain at Yes Master Studios. Hubbard says, “Bill tears himself open on these 15 songs and leaves it all out there in plain sight. He is an open book delivering a record of astonishing intimacy… and the gravel and whispers in his voice carry a true knockout punch.”
Scorzari’s songs transition through a multitude of emotions centered on the experiences of the human condition and are, at times, downright sad. Of his music, some say it’s spoken word, and others, an amalgam of the voice of Tom Waits, the delivery of Sam Baker, and the soul of Kris Kristofferson. In his lyrics, there is a poetic grace, a calming and resigned wisdom of acceptance that shines through the wistful melancholy of hope, and breaks free.
Bill says of the record, “During the past three years and beyond, I found myself in a place that demanded prolonged introspection and profound healing to be able to navigate through and journey past. This record is a journal of some of the lessons and discoveries that I’ve encountered along the way.”
Kind Words About Now I’m Free:
“delicately nuanced” with “detailed arrangements” —Billboard, Gary Graff, Exclusive Interview and Full Album Stream “There are poets, there are songwriters, there are painters of fine art, and there’s Bill Scorzari. The new album, Now I’m Free is a bold and delicate balance of each. To say it is a thing of beauty is an understatement… To compare Now I’m Free to the other albums released at this time would be unfair to the industry. Perhaps Dylan or Townes could go toe to toe, but my money’s on Scorzari. He makes me want to be a better writer. His writing is vivid and succinct.” —Making A Scene!, Viola Krouse
“There may be a handful of songwriters as good as Scorzari but no one else could deliver these stunning songs. It’s even deeper and every bit as good as his last one. Bigger names will get more recognition but Scorzari’s getting there. He did play the Newport Folk Festival this year. He has my vote for Americana Album of the Year.” —Glide, Jim Hynes This new album simply blows me away… you might want to think about Tom Waits a little, but better… The thing that impresses me is, of course, is the fact that [Bill’s] voice is very distinctive, there is no question about the fact, that if someone hears this, hears this music, hears your new album, they are gonna know: this is Bill Scorzari, because there’s not many people that have this voice and evoke this kind of emotion. —Mostly Folk, WIOX Catskills Cafe, Artie Martello Bill says “I could feel some of the old 1970s ‘country rock’ (Marshall Tucker Band, Charlie Daniels Band…) influences from my youth welling up and flowing out and that made writing this song a whole lot of fun.” —The Bluegrass Situation premiered the uptempo “Treat Me Kind” “A stunning work. Bill’s poetic lyrics are a frozen rope to the heart.” —Podcast interview on The Marinade with Jason Earle “With a somber musical style and a hushed, gritty vocal that rises like the morning mist to mingle with Erin Rae’s grounded tones, ‘It All Matters’ is just outright pretty. Now I’m Free should be nominated for awards this year with its depth of grace and innovative tones; Scorzari taps into a nexus between the familiar and the uncanny.”
—Americana Highways Song Premiere of “It All Matters,”Melissa Clarke
“Like the songs on his last CD… the ones here are all original, deeply personal and affecting; and Scorzari’s earthy vocals, which are just a bit less sandpapery than Dave Van Ronk’s, drive them home. With any luck, this guy is going places, and chances are, you’ll want to follow along for the ride.” —The Morton Report, Americana Highways, Jeff Burger “Like singer-songwriters, Kris Kristofferson, Leonard Cohen, and Tom Waits, Bill’s raspy baritone snarls, hisses, and whispers through his heartfelt lyrics. Sometimes leaving the melody and just speaking the words, he comes off like a modern-day Rod McKuen, sweeping us up in his narratives and wringing out their plaintive content.
—WTCA 106.1 FM & 1050 AM, South Bend Tribune, Kathy Bottorf
“Fans of BobDylan, LeonardCohen, NeilYoung and anyone who likes quality song writing will dig this” —Live Music News and Review, Phil Simon
“A superb singer/songwriter with an outlaw rasp and a heavy-hearted soul” —The Ripple Effect
“Wonderfully gruff and oozing with emotion and raw honesty.” —Listening Through The Lens, Rob Dickens
“Singer-songwriter Bill Scorzari skates in the ether with a sort of Ry Cooder ambient dream. But his voice is absolutely of the earth with its whiskey-borne rasp. Scorzari sings in the folk tradition of those who aren’t afraid to jerk a few tears but doesn’t mask his intentions or pull any punches. Sometimes the man gets mean.”
—Rochester City Newspaper, Frank De Blase
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More about Bill Scorzari and Now I’m Free:
Bill Scorzari. Photo by Jim Marchese
The album was performed live in the studio by Scorzari and a long list of critically acclaimed and otherwise notable musicians including, Hubbard on drums/percussion and piano, multi-instrumentalist Will Kimbrough, vocalist Erin Rae (Americana Music Association nominee for Best Emerging Artist of 2019), fiddler/strings Eamon McGloughlin (AMA nominee for Best Instrumentalist of 2019), upright and electric bass player Michael Rinne (AMA nominee for Best Instrumentalist of 2019), Brent Burke on Dobro, Juan Solorzano onelectric guitar and lap steel, lap steel player and vocalist Megan McCormick, Greg Krockta on harmonica, and vocalist Mia Rose Lynne.
Throughout the entire album, Bill’s authenticity as a songwriter moves you through his music breath by breath. Profound and poetic, Scorzari’s emotionally charged and introspective compositions are sung with a knowing tenderness of heart.
Bill transformed his life at a later age from being a New York trial lawyer turned full-time musician. In 2008, he stumbled upon a Live-at-Paste recording of Justin Townes Earle performing “Mama’s Eyes.” The song resonated within his soul and sparked the kind of life-altering moment that you hear a person speak of, that singular moment when everything changed. Although he picked up his first guitar at just 8 years old, it wasn’t until 2011 that he was able to give his artistry the attention it deserves.
The passing of Bill’s father and role-model, whose footsteps he had followed into the practice of law, marked a time of profound change and opened a new chapter – one that required a giant leap towards pursuing a passion that had long been tucked away in Bill’s heart. Bill put out his first album, Just the Same, in 2014, followed by Through These Waves (produced by Jonah Tolchin) in 2017. The three albums (and their titles) that he created thereafter, represent the narrative and catharsis of his journey: past, present and future.
The success of his first two records allowed Bill to share stages with Sarah Jarosz, Sam Outlaw, The Dustbowl Revival, Tall Tall Trees, Seldom Scene, Billy Strings, Frank Fairfield, Tom Marion, Zak Sokolow, Jonah Tolchin, Jenni Lyn Gardner (Della Mae), Jeff Scroggins and Colorado, Twisted Pine, Whiskey Myers, Big Country, and others. In July of 2019, Bill became “One of the folk,” with his inaugural performance at the Newport Folk Festival.
Mandolinist/Singer Nate Lee Releases Wings of a Jetliner
NASHVILLE, TN —
Nate composed all five instrumental numbers on Wings of a Jetliner
The current single
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