Love Canon’s ‘Cover Story’ Out Today On Organic Records – w/ Guests Jerry Douglas, Aoife O’Donovan, Keller Williams

Love Canon’s Cover Story Out Today On Organic Records
With Guest Artists Jerry Douglas, Aoife O’Donovan, Keller Williams,
Michael Cleveland, Eric Krasno, Alex Hargreaves, Mike Barnett, and more!

Available on all outlets at → https://clg.lnk.to/yNLcf

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — LOVE CANON releases Cover Story, their 4th album, TODAY, July 13, 2018, on Organic Records. They are master instrumentalists with a charismatic lead vocalist, and they cleverly bring their acoustic-roots sensibilities to the electronic-tinged pop hits of the 80s and 90s to create a fresh set of classics. A plethora of special guests join in on the album including Dobro master Jerry Douglas, Aoife O’Donovan, Keller Williams, Michael Cleveland, and Eric Krasno, among others.

LOVE CANON pleases audiences of many walks of life, which is testified by early listens in publications running the gamut of genres including Bluegrass Today, JamBase, The Boot, and Cover Me Songs!

Blue Ridge Outdoors writes, “Love Canon is leading an eighties acoustic revival. But make no mistake. Love Canon is most definitely not a tribute band. This is not kitsch or schtick. These guys are bad ass pickers, with as much (if not more) prowess on their instruments as the bluegrass bands out there tackling more traditional Bill Monroe or Stanley Brothers standards. These guys prove their brilliance in their interpretations of these songs and the attention to detail and the work on Cover Story is simply genius.”

The band’s diehard fans are music lovers first and are drawn to the wide-ranging stylings of lead singer and guitarist Jesse Harper matched with banjo master Adam Larrabee, mandolin pickin’ by Andy Thacker, Darrell Muller holding down the low-end on standup bass, and the slick sounds of resonator guitar king Jay Starling on the Beard MA-6. It’s acoustic rock! Acclaimed fiddler Alex Hargreaves [Turtle Island Quartet, Sarah Jarosz] does all of the fiddling on this record with the exception of two tracks, and he occasionally joins them on tour.

LOVE CANON has taken many of the suggestions called out at their high-energy live shows as well as from their guest performers to offer nine invigorating tracks to bring it to the max! From the instrumental album opener, “Prelude (Angry Young Man)” by Billy Joel, to the unforgettable chorus of Howard Jones’ “Things Can Only Get Better” to the 7/4 timing of Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill / Icecaps Of Pentatonia” (with guest vocalist Mark Errelli [Lori McKenna, Paula Cole and Josh Ritter]), they run the gamut of songs from the cassette generation.  

When LOVE CANON was first thinking of putting together a guest artist record Jerry Douglas was at the top of their list. He not only acquiesced, but proposed the great Mr. Mister tune, “Kyrie Eleison.” Mike Barnett [Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Bryan Sutton Band] joins in on fiddle for this track.

Aoife O’Donovan seamlessly blends her beautiful vocal harmonies with Harper on Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” and, with ten International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Fiddle Player of the Year awards under his belt, Michael Cleveland steps in blazing on fiddle.

“Stripped of its slick ’70s country production and replaced with upbeat horns and killer harmonies, ‘Islands in the Stream’ is a perfect laid-back love ballad when performed by Love Canon,” writes The Boot about the band’s take on the Barry Gibb [Bee Gees] classic. It features Lauren Balthrop [Dear Georgiana, Balthrop Alabama, The Bandana Splits], singing the tarnation out of the Dolly Parton part, while Harper takes on Kenny Rogers complete with a saxophone and trumpet section at the end featuring Charlottesville Jazz legends Bobby Read and John D’earth [Bruce Hornsby and The Noisemakers].

Another great example of using bluegrass instrumentation to imitate the ambient electronic processed sounds is the very epic, cinematic version of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy The Silence,” complete with a soaring string arrangement at the end by Trey Pollard of Richmond, Virginia’s Spacebomb Studios.

Guitar hero Eric “Kraz” Krasno does a bang-up job with a fierce guitar solo on Squeeze’s “Tempted,” a song he recommended. Keller Williams brought the closing track, “Driver 8” (R.E.M.), to the band’s attention as a personal favorite; Keller wanted to do an uptempo bluegrass arrangement and LOVE CANON was envisioning a reggae/dub version, so they compromised and added the jaw-dropping classical fiddle work of Mike Barnett.

As seasoned virtuoso string players who have been touring the mid-Atlantic since 2010, LOVE CANON stays true to the approach, arrangements, and keen artistry of these nostalgic hits. Cover Story was engineered by Rob Evans at Dave Matthews Band’s Haunted Hollow Studio in the band’s hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia and mixed by Wayne Pooley, Bruce Hornsby’s Engineer/Producer. Cover Story is a follow up to the band’s previous efforts, Greatest Hits Volumes 1-3.

With this adventurous chapter in their Cover Story, LOVE CANON proves they don’t just know music history but have a vision for where music can go.

 

Love Canon photos credited to Sandlin Gaither

Cover Story Track Listing:
1. Prelude (Angry Young Man)   2:22 [Billy Joel]
2. Things Can Only Get Better   5:01 [Howard Jones]
3. Kyrie Eleison   4:13 [Steven Park, John R Lang, Richard J Page]
4. Graceland   5:56 [Paul Simon]
5. Islands In The Stream   4:04 [Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb]
6. Enjoy The Silence   5:09 [Martin L Gore]
7. Solsbury Hill / Icecaps Of Pentatonia – Medley   5:29 [Peter Gabriel]
8. Tempted   5:21 [Christopher H Difford, Glenn M Tilbrook]
9. Driver 8   6:37 [Peter Buck, Bill Berry]

LOVE CANON is:
Jesse Harper – Guitar, Lead Vocals
Adam Larrabee – Banjo, Vocals
Andy Thacker – Mandolin, Vocals
Darrell Muller – Standup Bass, Vocals
Jay Starling – Resonator Guitar, Vocals

Guest Artists:
Alex Hargreaves – Fiddle – 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8
Sam Wilson – Backing Vocals – 2
Jerry Douglas – Dobro – 3
Mike Barnett – Fiddle – 3, 9
Michael Cleveland – Fiddle – 4
Aoife O’Donovan – Vocals – 4
John D’earth – Trumpet – 5
Bobby Read – Tenor Sax – 5
Lauren Balthrop – Vocals – 5
Trey Pollard – String Arrangement – 6
Colin Killalea – Nylon String Guitar and Backing Vocals – 6
Mark Erelli – Lead Vocals – 7
Erik Krasno – Lead and Backing Vocals and Electric Guitar Solo – 8
Daniel Clarke – Wurlitzer Piano – 7
Keller Williams – Lead Vocals – 9

Available on all outlets at → https://clg.lnk.to/yNLcf

Find out more about LOVE CANON at www.lovecanonmusic.com.

 

Read Full Post »

Innovative and Cinematic, Jon Stickley Trio Continues Onward – Tour Dates Announced

Jon Stickley Trio is a genre-defying and cinematic instrumental trio, which combines Stickley’s innovative flatpicking guitar with the sultry-spacy melodies of Lyndsay Pruett on violin along with classically trained and heavily jazz influenced drummer Hunter Deacon to create textural soundscapes.

“It’s not your father’s acoustic-guitar music—although Stickley’s pop showed him his first chords when he was 12 years old. Instead, Stickley’s Martin churns out a mixture of bluegrass, Chuck Berry, metal, prog, grunge, and assorted other genres—all thoroughly integrated into a personal style,” writes Guitar Player Magazine.

“Stickley is a super-resourceful acoustic guitarist who uses the instrument in many surprising ways and whose timing is just flawless. Fiddler Lyndsay Pruett puts deep thought into her flowing solos, plus she adds little flourishes and sudden stops that elevate the music,” proclaims Nashville’s Music City Roots’ Craig Havighurst.

Watch Jon Stickley Trio Perform “Echolocation” Live on eTown →

Stickley says of Deacon, the newest member of the Trio since January, “we’re really excited to have Hunter’s vibe in the mix, his creativity and willingness to experiment are two things that drew us to him. He has a lot of personality, and sensitivity in his playing which makes our dynamic range even wider. Lyndsay and I are inspired by what he brings to the table.”

“My time with the Jon Stickley Trio has been great so far,” says Deacon. “The two things I love are music and travel. With this group, I get to play music and travel, and as a huge bonus, I get to do it with two people that I really like and respect musically. I am also new to the jamgrass scene and I’ve got to say that it is about the most welcoming group of folks I’ve come across. It’s been an exciting few months and I can’t wait to burn up some more miles and make some more noise.”

Pruett says, “JS3 continues onward! Hunter brings a lightness and intricacy to the table that opens up the musical conversation to something a little deeper than it was before. It was a smooth transition to begin with, but the more we play, the more I realize our potential for improvisation and a continuing creativity.”

With inspiration ranging from from Green Day to Duran Duran to Tony Rice to Nirvana, Grateful Dead, David Grisman and beyond, the Trio is making waves with their unique sound. In the past few years, along with releasing two full length albums (2017’s Maybe Believe and 2015’s Lost At Last, both produced by The Bad Plus’ Dave King at Echo Mountain Studios in the band’s hometown of Asheville, NC) and one EP (2016’s Triangular), the Trio has zig-zagged the nation, playing over 120 dates a year. They are road tested and band geek approved!

 

Jon Stickley Trio. Photo by Heather Hambor

Premier Guitar says, “Stickley’s trio… is not a traditional bluegrass group by any means… they are just nimble and ambitious enough to navigate EDM-style breakbeats as effortlessly as the old timey standard ‘Blackberry Blossom.’”

Stickley says, “The Trio feels fresher and hotter than ever, we’ve hit our stride in terms of creating tunes that are uniquely us and that’s a really exciting place to be musically. Not to mention we are so stoked to get back to many of our favorite festivals and clubs, and even more excited to play some the ones we’ve always dreamed of. 2018 will, without a doubt, be our best year yet!”

They recently appeared on eTown, had several sets at the inaugural Bender Jamboree (where Stickley had a fun jam with Leftover Salmon and were joined by Sam Bush and Billy Strings), performed at WinterWondergrass, Cumberland Caverns, Savannah Stopover Festival, Suwannee Spring Reunion, Old Settler’s Music Festival among others. Others festivals on the tour this year include DelFest, Strangecreek Campout, John Hartford Music Festival, Duck Creek Log Jam, Homegrown Music & Mountain Sports Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, and Northwest String Summit.

Looking further out they are thrilled to play Bluegrass Underground at The Caverns in Pehlam, TN this November with Jeff Austin Band and Larry Keel and also have announced that they will be on Jam Cruise 2019!

 

Jon Stickley Trio On Tour
5/24 – The Clementine – Harrisonburg, VA
5/25-26 Fri-Sat – DelFest – Cumberland, MD
5/27 Sun – Strangecreek Campout – Greenfield, MA
5/31-6/1 Thu-Fri – John Hartford Music Festival – Bean Blossom, IN
6/2 Sat – Barley’s – Knoxville, TN *w/ A1Hundo
6/7 Thu – The Hunt House – Marietta, GA
6/8 Fri – Cold Mountain Festival – Canton, NC
6/15 Fri – Purple Fiddle – Thomas, WV
6/16 Sat – Duck Creek Log Jam – Logan, OH
6/22 Fri – Homegrown Music & Mountain Sports Festival – Fayetteville, AR
7/5-6 – Thu-Fri – High Sierra Music Festival – Quincy, CA
7/7 Sat – Pickin’ On Picknic – St. Clair, MO
7/12 Thu –  Central Penn Festival for the Arts – University Park, PA
7/13 Fri – Stable Studio House Concert – Chambersburg, PA
7/14 Sat – Red Wing Roots – Mount Solon, VA
7/18 Wed – Parilla Grill West Side – Bend, OR *w/ Cascade Crescendo
7/19 Thu – 7 Devils Brewing Co – Coos Bay, OR
7/20-22 Fri-Sun – Northwest String Summit – North Plains, OR
7/24 Tue – Tractor Tavern – Seattle, WA *w/ Front Country
7/25 Wed – The Bartlett – Spokane, WA *w/ Front Country
7/26 Thu – Great Northern Bar and Grill – Whitefish, MT  *w/ Front Country
7/27 Fri – Sawtooth Valley Gathering – Stanley, ID
8/4 Sat – Wild Leap Brewing Co. – LaGrange, GA
8/16 Thu – Woodlands Tavern – Columbus, OH *w/ The Trainjumpers
8/17 Fri – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH *w/ Larry Keel Experience
8/18 Sat – Hoxeyville Music Festival – Wellston, MI
8/19 Sun – The Hideout – Chicago, IL
8/20 Mon – The Cedar Cultural Center – Minneapolis, MN
8/22 Wed – Spread the Tunes Benefit – Spearfish, SD
8/24 Fri – Live From The Divide – Bozeman, MT
8/25 Sat – River City Roots Festival – Missoula, MT
8/28 Tue – Wind River Brewing Co. – Pinedale, WY
8/30 Thu – Globe Hall – Denver, CO
8/31-9/2 Fri-Sun – Four Corners Folk Festival – Pagosa Springs, CO
9/28 Fri – Groovin with the Grove – Philippi, WV
10/19-20 Fri-Sat – Bass & Grass – Fort Valley, GA
11/30 Fri Cave Jam at the Caverns – Pelham, TN *w/ Jeff Austin Band and Larry Keel

2019
1/15-21 Tue-Mon – Jam Cruise – Takes off from Miami

Jon Stickley was recently live with Premier Guitar for a Q&A and to play some tunes;
Check out the video here→ www.premierguitar.com/articles/27074-jon-stickley-live-at-pg

Js3 released a behind-the-scenes video from live shows of “Almost with You” → https://youtu.be/QRlKya9nZi8

For more information and updates from the road, please visit www.jonstickley.com, www.facebook.com/JonStickleyTrio, www.instagram.com/jonstickleytrio, and www.twitter.com/jonstickleytrio

Read Full Post »

Jon Stickley Trio Announces New Drummer, Unleashes Further Tour Dates

 

Jon Stickley Trio. Photo by Heather Hambor

Jon Stickley Trio Announces New Drummer and Further Tour Dates
“Pure Joy Through Music”

 

ASHEVILLE — Jon Stickley Trio is a genre-defying and cinematic instrumental trio, who’s deep grooves, innovative flatpicking, and sultry-spacy violin moves the listener’s head, heart, and feet. “It’s not your father’s acoustic-guitar music—although Stickley’s pop showed him his first chords when he was 12 years old. Instead, Stickley’s Martin churns out a mixture of bluegrass, Chuck Berry, metal, prog, grunge, and assorted other genres—all thoroughly integrated into a personal style,” writes Guitar Player Magazine.

Premier Guitar says, “Stickley’s trio… is not a traditional bluegrass group by any means… they are just nimble and ambitious enough to navigate EDM-style breakbeats as effortlessly as the old timey standard ‘Blackberry Blossom.’”

“Stickley is a super-resourceful acoustic guitarist who uses the instrument in many surprising ways and whose timing is just flawless. Fiddler Lyndsay Pruett puts deep thought into her flowing solos, plus she adds little flourishes and sudden stops that elevate the music,” proclaims Nashville’s Music City Roots’ Craig Havighurst.

Jon Stickley Trio announces a change in lineup beginning in January 2018 with new drummer, Hunter Deacon, who is both classically trained and boasts heavy jazz influences. Hailing from the ever-hip Knoxville, Tennessee, Hunter studied with drummer Keith Brown and received a BM in Studio Music and Jazz from the University of Tennessee. Deacon then went on to complete a six month residency at a jazz club in Hangzhou, China where he performed seven nights a week. Since his return, he’s played with Scott Miller and the Commonwealth, toured the country with Sam Lewis, and performs with guitarist Mike Baggetta.

Stickley says about the seemingly sudden lineup change, “we’re really excited to add Hunter’s vibe to the mix, his creativity and willingness to experiment were two things that drew us to him, and Lyndsay and I were quickly surprised and inspired by what he’ll bring to the table.”

With inspiration ranging from from Green Day to Duran Duran to Tony Rice to Nirvana, Grateful Dead, David Grisman and beyond, the Trio is making waves with their unique sound. Along with releasing two full length albums and one EP in the past few years, the Trio has zig-zagged the nation, playing over 120 dates in 2017 alone. They are road tested and band geek approved!

Dave King (of The Bad Plus) joined forces with Jon Stickley Trio to produce 2017’s Maybe Believe and 2015’s Lost At Last (which The New York Times called “both respectful and free”) in the band’s hometown of Asheville, NC at the esteemed Echo Mountain Recording Studio. The Trio slipped a self-produced 5-track EP, Triangular, into the mix in December of 2016.

“In a time when a lot of instrumental music feels more like math than art, Jon Stickley Trio reminds us of the pure joy that can be created and shared through music,” says Greensky Bluegrass’ Anders Beck.

Stickley says, “The Trio feels fresher and hotter than ever, we’ve hit our stride in terms of creating tunes that are uniquely us and that’s a really exciting place to be musically. Not to mention we are so stoked to get back to many of our favorite festivals and clubs, and even more excited to play some the ones we’ve always dreamed of. 2018 will, without a doubt, be our best year yet!”

Jon Stickley Trio On Tour

1/18 Thu – Capital Ale House – Richmond, VA *w/ Town Mountain
1/19 Fri – The Clementine Cafe – Harrisonburg, VA *w/ Town Mountain
1/20 Sat – House Concert – Chambersburg, PA
1/21 Sun – Boathouse Live – Newport News, VA  *w/ Town Mountain
2/3 Sat – Cumberland Caverns Live Volcano Room – McMinnville, TN *w/ Front Country
2/8 Thu – The Mansion at Strathmore – Bethesda, MD 
2/9-10 Fri-Sat – 5 Points Music Sanctuary – Roanoke, VA *w/ Jenni Lyn & TBA
2/14 Wed – Tennessee Shines Radio Show at Boyd’s Jig and Reel – Knoxville, TN
2/15 Thu – The Station Inn – Nashville, TN
2/16 Fri – Atomic Cowboy – St. Louis, MO
2/17 Sat – Mike Kelly’s Westsider – Kansas City, MO
2/20 Tue – eTown – Boulder, CO *w/ Billy Strings
2/22 Thu – Cervantes Other Side – Denver, CO *w/ Old Salt Union & The Deer
2/23-24 Fri-Sat – WinterWondergrass CO – Steamboat Springs, CO
2/25 Sun – Steve’s Guitars – Carbondale, CO
2/28 Wed – Lefty’s Live Music – Des Moines, IA
3/1 Thu – The Famous Mockingbird – Marion, IA
3/2 Fri – Redstone Room at River Music Experience – Davenport, IA
3/3 Sat – Bourbon On Division – Chicago, IL
3/8 Thu – Gottrocks – Greenville, SC
3/9 Fri – Savannah Stopover Festival – Savannah, GA
3/22-25 Thu-Sun Suwannee Spring Reunion – Live Oak, FL
3/29 Thu – Zanzabar – Louisville, KY
3/31 Sat – Music at Murdock’s – Manhattan, KS
4/5-8 Thu-Sun – WinterWonderGrass – Olympic Park – North Lake Tahoe, CO
4/12-13 Thu-Fri – Bender Jamboree – Las Vegas, NV
4/17 Tue – Taos Mesa Brewing – El Prado, NM
4/20 Fri – Magnolia Motor Lounge – Fort Worth, TX
4/21 Sat – Old Settler’s Music Festival – Dale, TX
4/28 Sat – Some Kind Of Jam 13 – Schuylkill Haven, PA
5/25-26 Fri-Sat – DelFest – Cumberland, MD
5/31-6/1 Thu-Fri – John Hartford Music Festival – Bean Blossom, IN
7/20-22 Fri-Sun – Northwest String Summit – North Plains, OR

For more information and updates from the road, please visit www.jonstickley.com, www.facebook.com/JonStickleyTrio, www.instagram.com/jonstickleytrio, and www.twitter.com/jonstickleytrio

###

Read Full Post »

Jon Stickley Trio On Tour With New Album, Maybe Believe – “Clear, Present, and Slightly Dangerous”

Jon Stickley Trio On Tour With New Album, Maybe Believe
Produced by Dave King (The Bad Plus) at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville NC

“Stickley’s Martin churns out a mixture of bluegrass, Chuck Berry, metal, prog, grunge, and assorted other genres – all thoroughly integrated into a personal style.”
— Guitar Player Magazine, Michael Ross

“Clear, Present, and Slightly Dangerous”
—Musoscribe, Bill Kopp

“Stickley and his mates play a guitar-focused instrumental music that blends bluegrass/newgrass with a jazz trio vibe… this is a must-listen.”
—Jambase, Aaron Stein

“A learned, cohesive and stylistically daring acoustic sound all their own”
—Lexington Herald-Leader, Walter Tunis

“A force of musical exploration and innovation”
—Live For Live Music, Rex Thomson

“A compelling soundtrack you never knew you needed”
–The Poke Around, Tom Cunningham

“Thoughtful & energetic” —Bryan Sutton

“a damn genius, a musical mastermind, and one of the most unique, creative,
and inventive guitar players I’ve ever heard…”
—Greensky Bluegrass’ Anders Beck

ASHEVILLE — Jon Stickley Trio is on tour with Maybe Believe, their 3rd independently released full length album [May 12, 2017]. Jon Stickley Trio combines Jon Stickley’s rapid-fire flatpicking guitar with the sultry and wild, yet refined, melodies of Lyndsay Pruett on violin set over the deep groove of Patrick Armitage on drums.

Jon Stickley Trio has been touring the States extensively this year and kicks off September at the Jackpine Jamboree in Wisconsin and then they’ll spend a week at Sisters Folk Fest in Oregon with workshops and performances. Mid-month brings them around to the northeast before playing out the rest of September back in midwest. After a quick break in their hometown of Asheville, NC, they head  west with a stop in Colorado before a handful of shows in California, including the Joshua Tree Music Festival. Then the road brings them up through Utah and Wyoming before a few more Colorado shows. They close out October by joining in on the Halloween fun at String Cheese Incident’s Suwannee Hulaween down in northern Florida at the Spirit of Suwannee Music Park.

In early November the Trio heads into Virginia for a couple of shows before traveling back into Florida for the Riverhawk Fest and more performances throughout the state. The end of the month brings the Trio back up towards their home-state for a scattering of shows and to rest up a bit before heading out in early December to Strings and Sol in Puerto Morelos, a Mexican port town on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula where they join in on Cloud 9’s annual 4-night all-inclusive Tropical Bluegrass Adventure with Yonder Mountain String Band, Greensky Bluegrass, Railroad Earth, Leftover Salmon, The Infamous Stringdusters, Fruition, and Bryan Sutton. To close out the year they have a special New Year’s Eve Celebration in their hometown of Asheville at Isis Music Hall with The Digs!

Stay tuned to Jon Stickley Trio’s website and social networks for more dates to be announced and updates from the road.

Jon Stickley Trio ‘Dream Vision’ Tour
9/2-3 Sat-Sun – Jackpine Jamboree – Birnamwood, WI
9/5-10 Tue-Sun – Sisters Folk Fest – Sisters, OR
9/13 Wed – Gypsy Sally’s – Washington, DC * w/ The Last Revel
9/14 Thu – World Cafe Live – Philadelphia, PA * w/ The Last Revel, Jeremiah Tall
9/15-16 Fri-Sat – Wormtown Music Festival – Greenfield, MA
9/17 Sun – Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY * w/ The Last Revel
9/20 Wed – The Raccoon Motel – Davenport, IA
9/21 Thu – Tonic Room – Chicago, IL
9/22 Fri – The Source Public House – Menasha, WI * w/ Head For The Hills
9/23 Sat – Boats and Bluegrass – Winona, MN
9/24 Sun – Carnahan Hall – Lafayette, IN
10/3 Tue – Dolores River Brewery – Dolores, CO
10/5 Thu – Winston’s – San Diego, CA *w/ The Ghost of Paul Revere
10/6 Fri – Boulevard Music – Culver City, CA *w/ The Ghost of Paul Revere
10/7 Sat – Joshua Tree Music Festival – Joshua Tree, CA
10/10 Tue – Don Quixote’s – Felton, CA
10/12 Thu – Throckmorton Theatre – Mill Valley, CA
10/13 Fri – Old Ironsides – Sacramento, CA
10/14 Sat – Moe’s Original BBQ – Tahoe City, CA * W/ Brad Parsons
10/17 Tue – Piper Down – Salt Lake City, UT
10/18 Wed – Pinedale Fine Arts – Pinedale, WY
10/20 Fri – Wildflower Concert Series – Lyons, CO * Monacle Band Album Release Show
10/21 Sat – Cervantes’ Other Side – Denver, CO
10/22 Sun – 4th and Main Grill – Wray, CO
10/27-28 Fri-Sat – Suwannee Hulaween – Live Oak, FL
11/2 Thu – Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC * w/ Larry Keel
11/3 Fri – 5 Points Music Sanctuary – Roanoke, VA * w/ Larry Keel
11/4 Sat – Bright Box Theater – Winchester, VA
11/11-12 Sat-Sun – Riverhawk Fest – Brooksville, FL
11/14 Tue – Terra Fermata – Stuart, FL * w/ The Nouveaux Honkies
11/16 Thu – Point Ybel Brewing Co. – Fort Myers, FL
11/17 Fri – Wynwood Yard – Miami, FL
11/18 Sat – Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center – Sarasota, FL
11/19 Sun – Iron Oak Post – Melbourne, FL
11/20 Mon – Beaches History Museum – Jacksonville Beach, FL
11/30 Thu – The Grove at Upcountry Provisions – Travelers Rest, SC
12/1 Fri – The Spinning Jenny – Greer, SC
12/2 Sat – House Concert – Walkertown, NC
12/8-12 Fri-Tue – Strings and Sol – Puerto Morelos, Mexico
12/31 Sun – NYE Celebration at Isis Music Hall – Asheville, NC * w/ The Digs

For more information, further tour dates and updates from the road, please visit www.jonstickley.com, www.facebook.com/JonStickleyTrio, www.instagram.com/jonstickleytrio, and www.twitter.com/JonStickleyTrio.

Read Full Post »

Jon Stickley Trio Tours With New Album Produced By Dave King (The Bad Plus) – ‘Maybe Believe’ Out 5/12

Jon Stickley Trio. Photo By Heather Hambor

 

Jon Stickley Trio Releases Maybe Believe on May 12, 2017
Produced by Dave King (The Bad Plus) at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville NC

“Thoughtful & energetic” —Bryan Sutton

Watch a behind-the-scenes video from the recording session → www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccQB75r3Vww

ASHEVILLE —  Riding the wave of their critically acclaimed 2015 album, Lost at Last, Jon Stickley Trio independently releases their 3rd full length album, Maybe Believe, on May 12, 2017. Jon Stickley Trio combines Jon Stickley’s rapid-fire flatpicking guitar with the sultry and wild, yet refined, melodies of Lyndsay Pruett on violin set over the deep groove of Patrick Armitage on drums.

“The latest record from the Jon Stickley Trio flexes new and strong muscles, utilizing more progressive structures and deeper pockets than ever before,” says Producer Dave King (Of The Bad Plus). “All the while, the group retains its place as a modern-thinking acoustic ensemble with one foot in tradition and the other in a bluegrass honored future that allows for the avant garde, punk, and be bop to mix in freely and tastefully.”

Greensky Bluegrass’ Anders Beck says of Jon, “Sure, comparisons to previous musicians are a good way to explain a new artist to the masses, but to do so is to cheat Stickley of what he really is: a damn genius, a musical mastermind, and one of the most unique, creative, and inventive guitar players I’ve ever heard…  Stickley’s guitar playing shares as much in common with the flow of the greatest rappers of all time as it does with his flatpicking heroes…”

The album title, Maybe Believe, is a continuation of the theme from Lost at Last. With Lost at Last, the band was stepping away from their collective musical past, into new territory that was somewhat uncomfortable, but also inspiring and free. With Maybe Believe, they have become more comfortable in their own skin yet retain an element of vulnerability while continuing to move into uncharted territory. This album marks the next step in the band’s evolution, and takes the listener to original and unexpected new places that still embody the familiarity of the Jon Stickley Trio’s signature style.

 

Dave says, “I was honored to be a part of this evolution and I think we made a very compelling album for music fans and musicians of all kinds.” This is his second time joining forces with the Trio at Echo Mountain Recording Studio in the band’s hometown of Asheville, NC, once again working with Engineer Julian Dryer. Both were also on board for Lost at Last which garnered praise from The New York Times, NPR’s Heavy Rotation, NPR’s World Cafe, Folk Alley, Premier Guitar Magazine, Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Performer Magazine, and many others.

Stickley says, “We had just gotten to know Dave last time and had such a good time. Bringing him in again takes the whole thing up a notch. It was a completely different experience, after traveling all over the place touring [in 2016 the Trio drove over 50,000 miles], over time we’ve developed a cohesion as a band where we intimately know each other and can feel where each other is wanting to go and respond. It’s developed into a tight musical relationship.”

The album’s opening track, “Jewels,” is a short, mellow, piece which serves as the album’s prologue, setting the tone of the record, quieting the mind of the listener. It’s a cleansing of the palette before the full course, and features the delicate harmonics of Jon and Lyndsay along with and Patrick’s textural brushwork.

Then they go full throttle with “Playpeople,” an eclectic piece that draws inspiration from Green Day, Duran Duran, Grateful Dead, and David Grisman Quintet, but in the end, is ultimately pure Jon Stickley Trio. This track’s title is a gender-neutral term for someone who likes to have a good time, and does so despite all external obstacles and displays the Trio’s fun-loving energy and virtuosity, as well as their controlled intensity.

“Almost With You” and “Mt. Sandia Swing” highlight the Jon Stickley Trio’s ability and inclination to play with polyrhythms and layer different grooves on top of each other. Dave King described “Sandia” as “The Violent Femmes… playing Jazz.”

Jon Stickley’s music brings forth mental imagery from the soundscapes the band has created in songs like “Slow Burn,” which is a like simmering pot of stew that occasionally boils over, while “Microbruise” embraces the fun-loving nature of Asheville’s beer brewers and drinkers, and “Cecil” is the Trio’s heaviest song yet featuring seamless interplay between guitar and violin with a sludgy, old school, John Bonham style drumbeat.

The aforementioned songs were all penned by Stickley, while Lyndsay Pruett’s hand brings forth a couple of jazzier numbers. A highlight of the record, “The Price of Being Nice” has a quirky, infectious theme that is explored throughout the song with a somewhat deconstructed treatment that allows the Trio to shine. Pruett also wrote “Lady Time,” a short solo song that closes out the album that features her distinctive pizzicato playing and improvisations.

The album contains three covers, “Jerusalem Ridge” (a Bill Monroe tune with a twist that has become a staple at live shows), “Avril 14th’ (a piece by Richard James a.k.a. Aphex Twin), and “Birdland Breakdown” (a tune by mandolinist John Reischman which also appeared on Tony Rice’s jazz-grass album Still Inside).

Jon Stickley Trio On Tour
3/10 Fri – The Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC
3/15 Wed – The Station Inn – Nashville, TN *w/ The Dustbowl Revival
3/16 Thu – The Earl – Atlanta, GA w/ The Dustbowl Revival
3/17-18 Fri-Sat – Anastasia Music Festival @ St. Augustine Amphitheater – St. Augustine, FL
3/21 Tue – Taos Mesa Brewing – El Prado, NM
3/22 Wed – House Concert – Albuquerque, NM
3/23 Thu – Last Exit Live – Phoenix, AZ
3/24 Fri – Coconino Center For The Arts – Flagstaff, AZ
3/25 Sat – Seven Grand – San Diego, CA
3/29 Wed – Throckmorton Theatre – Mill Valley, CA
3/30 Thu – Neck of the Woods – San Francisco, CA
3/31-4/1 Fri-Sat – WinterWonderGrass – North Lake Tahoe, CA
4/6 Thu – The Stage at KDHX – St. Louis, MO
4/7 Fri – Rhythm and Blooms Festival – Knoxville, TN
4/8 Sat – Albino Skunk Festival – Greer, SC
4/12 Wed – Willie’s Locally Known – Lexington, KY
4/13 Thu – The Fire Pit’s Side Bar – Milwaukee, WI
4/14 Fri – Mid West Music Festival – LaCrosse, WI
4/15 Sat – Two Brothers Roundhouse – Aurora, IL
4/29 Sat – WV Craft Brew Fest – Lewisburg, WV
5/12-13 – Fri-Sat – LEAF – Black Mountain, NC
5/19 Fri – Lower Town Arts & Music Festival – Paducah, KY
5/20 Sat – Moonshiner’s Ball – Berea, KY
5/26 Fri – Rooster Walk – Martinsville, VA
6/8 Thu – Founders Brewing – Grand Rapids, MI
6/9 Fri – Parliament Room at Otus Supply – Ferndale, MI
6/10-11 Sat-Sun – NorEastr Festival @ County Fairgrounds – Mio, MI
7/15 Sat – Red Wing Roots Music Festival – Mount Solon, VA
7/29-30 Sat-Sun – FloydFest – Floyd, VA
More dates TBA!

Maybe Believe Track Listing*

1. Jewels 2:03
2. Playpeople 4:36
3.  Almost With You 3:39
4.  Slow Burn 4:47
5. Jerusalem Ridge (Bill Monroe) 5:36
6.  Avril 14th (Richard James a.k.a. Aphex Twin) 1:59
7. Cecil 4:36
8.  Microbruise 3:19
9. The Price of Being Nice (Lyndsay Pruett) 3:39
10.  Mt. Sandia Swing 4:23
11.  Birdland Breakdown (John Reischman) 3:54
12. Lady Time (Lyndsay Pruett) 3:44

* All songs written by Jon Stickley unless otherwise noted

For more information and updates from the road, please visit www.jonstickley.com, www.facebook.com/JonStickleyTrio, www.instagram.com/jonstickleytrio, and www.twitter.com/StickleyMusic.

Read Full Post »

The Boot Premieres Balsam Range’s Music Video of “Eldorado Blue” – Mountain Voodoo Tour

Balsam Range. Photo By David Simchock

Balsam Range Is Casting Acoustic Spells with Mountain Voodoo,
Their Most Recent Release on Mountain Home Music Company

The Boot Premieres a Music Video of “Eldorado Blue”

“Filmed at Crossroads Studios near Asheville, N.C., the music video for ‘Eldorado Blue’ provides an intimate glimpse into Balsam Range’s process of laying down tracks in the studio; those clips are juxtaposed with shots of Small Town USA.”

Watch “Eldorado Blue” at The Boot→    
www.theboot.com/balsam-range-eldorado-blue-music-video/

Asheville, NC — Balsam Range is currently touring in support of Mountain Voodoo, their sixth studio album, on Mountain Home Music Company. With it, they are offering something that is sure to continue to mesmerize fans of bluegrass and beyond with elements of jazz, country, gospel, swing, and old-time music that are all infused into the fresh sound of this unique Southern band. It’s five distinct personalities creating one remarkable musical experience.

Mountain Voodoo [Released 11/11/17] is like the book of life “Chapter Six” for Balsam Range; 13-tracks filled with songs of journey, home, sense of place, hardcore drive, and longing. There are fiery instrumental parts alternating with heavy, deep ballads overlaid by the vocal harmonies the group has become known for.

Balsam Range is Buddy Melton (Fiddle, Lead and Tenor Vocals), Darren Nicholson (Mandolin, Octave Mandolin, Lead Vocals, Baritone and Low Tenor Vocals), Dr. Marc Pruett (Banjo), Tim Surrett (Bass, Dobro, Baritone and Lead Vocals), and Caleb Smith (Guitar, Lead & Baritone Vocals). The five original members, who are celebrating their 10th year together this March, are all acoustic musicians and singers from North Carolina. They thoughtfully and respectfully adopted the name of a majestic range of mountains that surrounds part of their home county of Haywood, NC where the Smokies meet the Blue Ridge, the Balsam Range.

What Folks Are Saying:

“Fans who grew up in a small town will find plenty to relate to in ‘Eldorado Blue,’ a song that explores the dilemma of whether or not you even want to spread your wings and leave home. Balsam Range describe the song as ‘a story of finding oneself and recognizing contentment in life is something we can all stand to do.’”
—Amy McCarthy for The Boot’s World Premiere of the Music Video for “Eldorado Blue”

“So consistently impressive that we no longer expect their albums to be ‘better than their last,’ in less than a decade Balsam Range has hit the plateau of excellence few groups achieve. Like The Del McCoury Band, Blue Highway, and Alison Krauss & Union Station before them, a new release from Balsam Range is measured against their individual legacy. Mountain Voodoo lacks nothing.”
—Country Standard Time, Donald Teplyske’s Favorite Bluegrass Albums of 2016

“Already accomplished musicians, in a decade they’ve won ten IBMA awards (International Bluegrass Music Association) released five albums, toured nationally, made multiple Grand Ole Opry stops and, in general, have become icons in the world of professional bluegrass. The fellas can both sing and pick.”
—Asheville Citizen Times, Carol Rifkin

“Its theme – pride of place and trying to make it in a small town – is visited throughout Mountain Voodoo. The material comes mostly from top bluegrass songwriters, especially band friend Milan Miller, who contributed the swinging honky tonker ‘Hello Heartache.’”
—Stream WMOT Roots Radio’s 90 Second Spin with Craig Havighurst

“These guys just keep getting better. How good is this one? There’s a potential song of the year here… the laurels go to Aaron Bibelhauser’s ‘Blue Collar Dreams’, an anthem for working stiffs everywhere that’s been dominating the charts. The song has quite a pedigree.”
—Bluegrass Today, David Morris’ Top Albums of the 2016

“The men of the Range continue to make some of the best music in the industry. This is a fitting follow up to Five, which is a LARGE statement. I expect some of the CD to do well through the first qtr/half of 2017.”
—Flashpoint Bluegrass Radio, Jeff Miller’s 2016 Bluegrass CDs to Remember

“Stepping over boundaries seems to be a part of Balsam Range’s DNA.”
—News & Record/ Greensboro.com, Grant Britt

“They’re groovy. Balsam Range reminds us that bluegrass can be dancing music, hip-swinging music, backbeat music, as rhythmically hypnotic as all the plugged-in genres that formed in its wake. ‘It’s hillbilly soul!’ says mandolin player Darren Nicholson.’”
—The Bluegrass Situation, Joseph Terrell

“They kick the album off with a bang. Pure (what they at one time called) Newgrass, the kind of stuff on which Tony Rice and Ricky Skaggs based their reputations. Acoustic guitar (mostly picked), bass, mandolin, fiddle and banjo, and voices. The voices are crucial. You can jig and reel and you can breakdown without vocals but you cannot have the best of what bluegrass offers without voices. Think Seldom Scene and Doyle Lawson. Think harmonies sung by angels. Think harmonies stacked to the ceiling. There isn’t anything like it, or as some of my friends would say, ‘There ain’t nothin’ lak it.’”
—No Depression, Frank Gutch Jr.

“Some of the best vocal harmonies I can recall in quite some time… Bluegrass aficionado or not, you absolutely need to hear Balsam Range.”
—Elmore Magazine, Jim Hynes

Balsam Range On Tour
2/23-24 Thu- Fri – Wintergrass – Bellvue, WA
3/4  Sat – Balsam Range 10th Anniversary Concert @ Colonial Theatre – Canton, NC
3/11 Sat – Sheldon Theatre of Performing Arts – Red Wing, MN
3/25 Sat – Sertoma Youth Ranch Spring Bluegrass Festival – Brooksville, FL
4/1 Sat – Lions Club Brighter Visions Fundraiser – Lake Junaluska, NC
4/7 Fri – Sumter Opera House – Sumter, NC
4/8 Sat – Pamlico Musical Society Concert @ The Red Rooster – Oriental, NC
4/15 Sat – Parrish Auditorium – Hamilton, OH
4/21 Fri – Cary Arts Center – Cary, NC
4/22 Sat – Apple Country Cider Jam – Hendersonville, NC
5/5 Fri – Boxcar Pinion Bluegrass Festival – Chattanooga, NC
5/11 Thu – Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver Bluegrass Festival – Denton, NC
5/13 Sat – Rotary Club Fundraiser @ Carteret Community Theatre – Morehead City, NC
5/20 Sat – Buhl, Germany
5/21 Sun – Waldkraiburg, Germany
5/23 Tue – Prague, Czech Republic
5/27 Sat – Willisau, Switzerland
6/1 Thu – Ciener Botanical gardens – Kernersville, NC
6/2 Fri – Dollywood – Pigeon Forge, TN
6/3 Sat – Cold Mountain Music at Lake Logan – Canton, NC
6/16-17 Fri-Sat – Wenatchee River Bluegrass Festival – Cashmere, WA
6/24 Sat – Rudy Fest – Grayson, KY
7/2 Sun – Lake Junaluska Conference Center – Lake Junaluska, NC
7/8 Sat – Stecoah Valley Center – Robbinsville, NC
7/13 Thu – Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival – Oak Hill, NY
7/22 Sat – Bluegrass On The Square – Corydon, IN
8/4 Fri – Mandolin farms Bluegrass Festival – Flemingsburg, KY
8/5 Sat – Dillard Bluegrass & BBQ Festival – Dillard, GA
8/26 Sat – Ocean Lakes Bluegrass Weekend – Myrtle Beach, SC

For more information, tour dates, and more, please visit www.balsamrange.com. Stay up to date with current news on www.facebook.com/balsamrange, www.twitter.com/BalsamRange, and www.instagram.com/balsamrange.

Read Full Post »

Danny Barnes Releases All Acoustic Homage to Don Stover, STOVE UP, on March 3

Danny Barnes Releases All Acoustic Homage to Don Stover, Stove Up, on March 3, 2017
Featuring Danny Barnes along with Jason Carter, Chris Henry, Mike Bub, and Nick Forster

Danny Barnes is already known as an iconic American musician, a banjo playing innovator who’s earned high praise from everybody from Bill Frisell and Dave Matthews to Steve Martin, who presented Danny with the Prize for Excellence in Banjo in 2015. From the days with his groundbreaking Austin band, the Bad Livers, to his two decade solo career experimenting with electronic music, jazz, old time string band music and more, he’s a genre bending, rule breaking original who prefers to color outside the lines.

Now, with Stove Up, out March 3, 2017, he’s showing us that it was always a choice, that he’s always had the chops to play straight ahead bluegrass banjo with the best of them. With a top-flight band backing him up, Danny turns in an amazing set of tunes that demonstrate his respect for tradition and his commitment to his own musical voice.

“Happily, with Stove Up, our five-string hero steps out of the lab and into the sunlight where his pre-war Gibson can really shine,” says Tim O’Brien. “Producer and guitarist Nick Forster wisely loosens the reins and lets his pack of thoroughbreds set a fast pace around the bluegrass track. Mandolinist Chris Henry, with his bone-dry tone and expanded traditional approach, is a particularly inspired foil to Barnes. Along with Forster, much decorated fiddler Jason Carter, and everyone’s favorite bassist, Mike Bub, they cut through some beautiful territory, including two Don Stover’s compositions—”Black Diamond” and “Rockwood Deer Chase.” Three vocal tracks peek through the instrumentals and give new listeners a look into the quirky mind of Barnes… These are live and lively performances where you can almost hear the musicians smile.”

Recorded in eTown Studios in Colorado, Stove Up was produced by Nick Forster and engineered by James Tuttle. The mixing and editing were done by the great banjo player Scott Vestal and it was mastered by David Glasser at Airshow.

Danny Barnes. Photo by Monica Frisell

Danny says, “After 45 years of practicing, this is the first acoustic bluegrass record I’ve ever made. Nick, Mike, Jason, and Chris are bluegrass royalty! It was a sure enough honor to be able to make Stove Up, a loving homage to the great Don Stover.”

One of his banjo heroes, Don Stover, was the inspiration for this project simply because Don knew how to play bluegrass banjo in a way that fit the style, showed respect for Earl Scruggs and others, but it still sounded like him, had his own voice. Danny delivers on all fronts here, from scorching banjo fiddle duets with Jason Carter (“Paddy on the Turnpike,” “John Hardy,” and “Bill Cheatum”) to faithful versions of Scruggs (“Flint Hill Special” and “Fireball”), or a Grandpa Jones tune (“Eight More Miles To Louisville”) to a reinterpreted Rolling Stones song (“Factory Girl”) or his own originals (“Isotope 709,” “Charlie,” and “Get It While You Can”). This generous set of music sounds like what it is – great musicians having fun playing music in real time.

Danny says, “All these tunes on here (except the ones I made up), I’ve been playing and working on since I was a young boy. I’m STILL working on this stuff. My plan = never give up.”

If you’re looking for an antidote to the world’s problems, go find Stove Up, this new Danny Barnes record, and turn it up loud. It’s a thing of joy and beauty!

Kind words about Danny and Stove Up

“My friend Danny. The truth. This is the thing that struck me most strongly when I first heard Danny Barnes and is something that continues to grow stronger and clearer. What we hear from Danny is true. It can be coming from no one else. His story. Whether it’s the songs he writes himself or those he chooses to play. He has lived it. He’s not playing ‘at’ it. He ‘is’ it… Danny’s love of, connection to, and history with this music is long and deep. What a joy now to listen to these songs transformed through his lifetime of experience. It is a wonderful thing… Thank you Danny. Sincerely.” —Bill Frisell

“Danny Barnes represents all that is good about heartfelt music. He has deep passion, exemplary technique, great abilities as a songwriter, richly burnished vocals, and the fearsome desire to break through boundaries while still staying solidly rooted in tradition. He’s as fine as they come.”  —Tony Trischka

“For years I’ve said Danny Barnes is the world’s greatest banjo player. It’s the truth, but now with fake news and all the puffery, words have lost their meaning. But that’s okay because the truth is in the music. Listen to DB’s banjo if you wanna hear the truth.” —Robert Earl Keen

“Like Superman squeezing a lump of coal, Danny Barnes can transform crumbling musical remnants into cutting edge innovations, but avid fans have long known that Barnyard Electronics’ chief engineer has some serious traditional banjo chops.” —Tim O’Brien

Danny Barnes on Tour 2017*
2/16 Thu – The Big Easy – Petaluma, CA
2/17 Fri – The Crepe Place – Santa Cruz, CA
2/18 Sat – The Back Room – Berkeley, CA
2/19 Sun – Moe’s Original BBQ – Tahoe City, CA
2/22 Wed – Applegate Lodge – Applegate, OR
2/23 Thu – HiFi Lounge – Eugene, OR
3/9 Thu – Cervante’s Other Side – Denver, CO %
3/10 Fri – Barkley Ballroom – Frisco, CO %
3/12 Sun – The Stanley Hotel – Estes Park, CO %
3/16 Thu – White Eagle Saloon – Portland, OR
3/17 Fri – Rock Creek Tavern – Hillsboro, OR
3/18 Sat – McMennamins Grand Lodge – Forest Grove, OR
4/19 Thu – Club Passim – Cambridge, MA ^
4/20 Thu – Caffe Lena – Saratoga Springs, NY ^
4/21-22 Fri-Sat – Durango Bluegrass Meltdown – Durango, CO ^
4/25 Tue – Cabaret at Germano’s – Baltimore, MD ^
4/26 Wed – C-ville Coffee – Charlottesville, VA ^
4/27 Thu – Hill Country Live – Washington, DC ^
4/28 Fri – Milkboy – Philadelphia, PA ^
4/29 Sat – Hill Country Live – New York, NY ^
4/30  Sun – Elk Creek Cafe – Millheim, PA ^
5/4-6 Thu-Sat – Adrift Hotel – Long Beach, WA
5/7-13 Sun-Sat – Al’s Den at Crystal Hotel – Portland, OR
7/13-16 Thu-Sun – Northwest String Summit – North Plains, OR

* All Dates are Danny Barnes solo unless otherwise noted
% Danny with Jeremy Garrett and Andy Falco
^ Danny with Grant Gordy and Joe K Walsh
More dates TBA!

Stay up-to-date with news from Danny Barnes at www.dannybarnes.com, twitter.com/Wildknees, and Facebook.com/DannyBarnesBanjo.  

Read Full Post »

Jon Stickley Trio’s New EP ‘Triangular’ Out Now! “Pure Joy Through Music”

Jon Stickley Trio’s New EP, Triangular, Out Now!
“Pure Joy Through Music”

Get Triangular now on iTunes, Amazon, and CDbaby

Js3 Announces Plans to Record Next Full Length Album, Produced by Dave King (The Bad Plus) at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville NC after Successful Kickstarter Campaign

ASHEVILLE — On the tail of their critically acclaimed 2015 album, Lost at Last, Jon Stickley Trio independently releases a brand new 5-song EP, Triangular, on December 2,2016. With roots in gypsy jazz, bluegrass, and hip-hop in an “exhilarating all-acoustic swirl” (Acoustic Guitar Magazine), Jon Stickley Trio combines Jon Stickley’s rapid-fire flatpicking guitar with the sultry and wild, yet refined, melodies of Lyndsay Pruett on violin set over the deep groove of Patrick Armitage on drums.

“In a time when a lot of instrumental music feels more like math than art, Jon Stickley Trio’s Triangular reminds us of the pure joy that can be created and shared through music,” says Greensky Bluegrass’ Anders Beck.

Jon Stickley Trio is on tour this winter with shows in the southeast this December in Knoxville, Kingsport and Charlotte. Jon also has a couple of shows booked with Andy Thorn (Leftover Salmon) and Travis Book (The Infamous Stringdusters) in North Carolina mid-month. On December 30th, the Trio pops up north to Richmond, Virginia to open for The Infamous Stringdusters before heading home to Asheville for a special New Year’s Eve Celebration with The Honeycutters on Dec 31st. In early January, Jon Stickley travels to Denver to play two nights as a part of the Bluegrass Generals featuring members of The Infamous Stringdusters, Greensky Bluegrass, and more. The Trio joins up again in Wray, Colorado on the 21st with some surprise mystery dates out west TBA. There’s a scattering of other dates announced including WinterWonderGrass in California in the spring and FloydFest in the summer in Virginia. More to come!

The EP, Triangular, was recorded at Blue Sprocket Sound in Harrisonburg, VA this summer and was sent early to anyone that donated $10 or more to their recent successful Kickstarter Campaign to help them head back into Echo Mountain Recording Studio this winter with Producer Dave King (Of The Bad Plus) to record a yet un-named new full length album due out in 2017. The band surpassed their goal and reached $29,120 and is currently in studio recording..

“I like to think of music as a two way street, a reciprocal experience between musician and audience,” says Lyndsay Pruett. “The Kickstarter campaign really affirms my view on that. And it truly becomes about more than the money. Money is the thing we all know we need to make the world go around, but this process allows people to have an extra level of personal involvement. We have conversations with people we’ve met at shows from all over the country, and they become involved in the next record. Then when we go back to those places to play the music for them the experience is more substantial, and more fun, of course.”

Triangular features five songs leading out with with “Blackburn Brothers”, of which Beck says, “While the opening notes remind the listener of Tony Rice’s Manzanita (one of the greatest acoustic guitar albums of all time), one is suddenly catapulted into Jackson 5 territory a few minutes later in the same song. Sure, comparisons to previous musicians are a good way to explain a new artist to the masses, but to do so is to cheat Stickley of what he really is: a damn genius, a musical mastermind, and one of the most unique, creative, and inventive guitar players I’ve ever heard.”

“Plain Sight” was penned by Jon after the mass shooting at a concert in Paris. ”It’s as much an angry response to the perpetrators as it is a mournful tribute to the victims,” says Stickley. The music features Lyndsay’s delicate pizzicato violin plucking, Patrick’s breakbeat drum vibes, and Stickley’s signature high speed shredding. The third phase of the tune breaks down to a gentle trading of melodic lines by Jon and Lyndsay.

“Palm Tree” is a tropically themed dance tune has become a staple of the band’s live shows. It changes time signatures between 5/4 and 6/8, but remains danceable and accessible. The purpose of “Palm Tree” is to jam out and have fun, and that’s what the Trio does on this track. You can hear Jon and Lyndsay pushing each other while Patrick “cooks” underneath, heating up the skillet till its HOT.

“Echolocation”’ is a tribute to whales and the beautiful songs they sing underwater. The most evocative of the songs on the record, it features the cello-like longbows of Lyndsay’s violin that mimic the whales’ songs. Patrick’s epic drum solo over Lyndsay and Jon’s unison arpeggios is a climactic moment that is one of the band’s most dazzling recorded moments to date.

“Manzanita” is a classic composition by Jon’s hero, guitarist Tony Rice, is arguably one of the most important pieces of music in Newgrass history. The Trio recorded this song as a tribute to those who came before and took musical risks that changes the history of music.

“Since bluegrass players started delving into jazz, they’ve been composing progressive acoustic music, but so much of it has lacked the comfort in its own skin that Stickley’s songs possess.” Anders Beck says of Stickley’s style,“I could go on and on about how amazing it is that his twisty and turny songs don’t feel forced, and always bob and weave at the right time; or how Stickley’s guitar playing shares as much in common with the flow of the greatest rappers of all time as it does with his flatpicking heroes... I think you get my point. Stop reading this and go listen to his new EP.”

With the success of Lost At Last making it into rotation on radio stations both nationally and internationally, the Trio has traveled over 50,000 miles, performing at over 100 festivals and venues across the country in 2016 (Including the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC), attracted attention of thousands of new fans, and teamed up with a national booking agency. Jon Stickley Trio heads into the studio in early December to record the yet unnamed full length album with Dave King, who also produced Lost At Last which garnered praise from The New York Times, NPR’s Heavy Rotation, NPR’s World Cafe, Premier Guitar Magazine, Acoustic Guitar Magazine, and many others.

Jon Stickley Trio has evolved into a fully formed, musical identity that was just beginning to take shape on the first record. Stickley realizes, “Our musicality has matured individually, and collectively to the extent that we can read each other, and respond to each other in a completely intuitive and natural way. We can’t wait to take our matured sound back into Echo Mountain with our mentor and producer, Dave King.”

All of this interlocks, and is propelling the band into the future. Music City Roots’ Craig Havighurst says “A new generation of bluegrass-reared instrumental explorers is coming into its own, and the Stickley Trio is in the vanguard.” While the group does their thing in the studio, they are happy to share Triangular with the world now!

Jon Stickley On Tour
12/7 Wed – Knoxville, TN – WDVX Tennessee Shines @ Boyd’s Jig & Reel
12/8 Thu – Kingsport, TN – Sleepy Owl Brewery
12/10 Sat – Charlotte, NC – The Rabbit Hole *co-Bill with Billy Strings
12/15-16 Thu-Fri – Asheville, NC – Isis Music Hall *Stickley / Thorn / Book support for Travelin’ McCourys
12/17 Sat – Morganton, NC – Winter Music Fest *Stickley / Thorn / Book
12/30 Fri – Richmond, VA – The National  *support for The Infamous Stringdusters12/31/16 Sat – Asheville, NC – Isis Music Hall *w/ The Honeycutters

1/6-7/17 Fri-Sat – Denver, CO – Cervantes *Jon Stickley as a part of the Bluegrass Generals feat. members of The Infamous Stringdusters, Greensky Bluegrass, etc.
1/20 Fri – Abilene, KS – Great Plains Theatre
1/21 Sat – Wray, CO – 4th and Main Grille
3/30 Thu – San Francisco, CA – Neck of the Woods
3/31 Fri – Squaw Valley, CA – WinterWonderGrass
7/26-30 – Floyd, VA – FloydFest

* All dates are Jon Stickley Trio unless otherwise noted.

WATCH Jon Stickley Trio Perform ‘Echolocation’ on Music City Roots →

Head on over to Live For Live Music to listen to the World Premiere of “Blackburn Brothers.” →  http://bit.ly/JS3_L4LM_BlackburnBrothersPremiere.

For more information, updates from the road, and more, please visit www.jonstickley.com, www.facebook.com/JonStickleyTrio, www.instagram.com/jonstickleytrio, and www.twitter.com/StickleyMusic.

Read Full Post »

Tour Dates: Jon Stickley Trio Captivates Crowds w/ Rapid-Fire Guitar, Sultry Violin & Drums

Tour Dates: Jon Stickley Trio Captivates Crowds
w/ Rapid-Fire Guitar, Sultry Violin & Drums

Jon Stickley Trio is excited to embark on tour for a plethora of shows this festival season! They have stops throughout the country including the White Squirrel Festival in North Carolina and Rooster Walk in Martinsville, Virginia this May. They kick off June in Nashville on their way St. Louis and then Colorado’s Front Range. Mid-June brings them back to the Southeast and they finish up the month at ROMP in Owensboro, Kentucky. In July, the Trio simmers in the Carolinas before making appearances at Red Wing Roots in Virginia and North West String Summit in Oregon. Mid-July sees their return to Colorado to the Dolores River Brewery and they close out the month in New Mexico and Texas before making their way back East in August with a notable show at Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington, DC. See the full list of dates below and stay tuned for more to be announced.

Jon Stickley Trio is making waves with the independent and fan-funded release of their 2nd album, Lost at Last [October 2015], which was produced by Dave King of The Bad Plus. The originality and sheer energy of this genre-bending ensemble serves as a welcome wake up call for those who experience it. With roots in gypsy jazz, bluegrass, and hip-hop in an “exhilarating all-acoustic swirl” (Acoustic Guitar Magazine), Jon Stickley Trio combines Jon Stickley’s rapid-fire flatpicking guitar with the sultry and wild, yet refined, melodies of Lyndsay Pruett on violin set over the deep groove of Patrick Armitage on drums.

The New York Times’ Nate Chinen writes “… there’s hardy cohesion among the players — no less on the Gypsy standard ‘Valse de Wasso’ than on ‘Darth Radar’ a turbocharged original with a ska upbeat and a shredding melody.” Premier Guitar Magazine took note of “Darth Radar,” calling it, “a rapid-fire take that moves from a serious ska beat to burning surf-style runs that would make Dick Dale proud.” They caught the attention of NPR’s Heavy Rotation, made an appearance on Nashville’s Music City Roots (where they performed three songs and received three standing ovations from packed audience), as well as recording with NPR’s World Cafe in the Trio’s hometown of Asheville, NC with live studio audience in a sold out show. It has been a whirlwind and the Trio is up for more with a new album they will record this winter.

Jon Stickley Trio On Tour 2016
5/27 Fri – White Squirrel Fest – Brevard, NC
5/28 Sat – Roosterwalk – Martinsville, VA
6/1 Wed – The Basement – Nashville, TN
6/2 Thu – The Bootleg at Atomic Cowboy’s LouGrass Thursday’s – St. Louis, MO
6/4 Sat – Pagosa Folk ‘N Bluegrass – Pagosa, CO
6/8 Wed – Hodi’s Half Note – Ft. Collins, CO (with Front Country)
6/9 Thu – Cervantes – Denver, CO
6/10 Fri – Lazy Dog – Boulder, CO
6/16 Thu – Pickin’ in the Plaza – Raleigh, NC
6/18 Sat – The Getdown in Pumpkin Town – Marietta, SC
6/24 Fri – ROMP (late night set) – Owensboro, KY
7/6 Wed – Nantahala Brewing Co. – Bryson City, NC
7/7 Thu – Visulite Theatre – Charlotte, NC
7/9 Sat – Red Wing Roots – Mt. Solon, VA
7/12 Tue – NWSS Pre-Party- Nectar’s- Seattle, WA
7/14-16 Thu-Sat – NorthWest String Summit – North Plains, OR
7/20 Wed – Dolores River Brewery – Dolores River, CO
7/21 Thu – Crash Music – Aztec, NM
7/22 Fri – Taos Mesa Brewing – El Prado, NM
7/23 Sat – Private House Concert – Albuquerque, NM
7/28 Thu – Dosey Doe Music Cafe – Conroe, TX
7/29 Fri – Lamberts Downtown – Austin, TX
8/5 Fri – Secret Stages – Birmingham, AL
8/6 Sat – Boyd’s Jig & Reel – Knoxville, TN
8/11 Thu – American Tobacco – Durham, NC
8/12 Fri – Jimmy’s at Red Dogs – Wrightsville Beach, NC
8/13 Sat – Calico Room – Wilmington, NC
8/18 Thu – Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center – Washington, DC
8/21 Sun – The Rowayton Summer Music Festival – Rowayton, CT
8/24 Wed – Empire State Plaza Concert Series – Albany, NY
8/25 Thu – Joe’s Pub – New York, NY
9/24 Sat – Boats & Bluegrass – Winona, MN
9/29 Thu – Private House Concert – Traverse City, MI
9/30 Sat – Crooked Tree Arts – Petosky, MI
10/13-16 Thu-Sun Suwannee Roots Revival – Live Oak, FL

The Trio has produced two “official” music videos. “Point to Point“recently was awarded three prizes at the 2016 Music Video Asheville including Judges Choice, People’s Choice, and Best Soundtrack. Folk Alley premiered the video for “Rice Dream,” writing “Jon Stickley’s guitar harmonics and Lyndsay Pruett’s violin harmonics twine seamlessly together, creating an almost otherworldly atmosphere and the end result is a bit unnerving in its intensity.”

Jon Stickley Trio returned to the setting of where Lost at Last was recorded, Echo Mountain Recording Studios in Asheville, and performed for almost two hours for a live webcast on IAMAVL.com’s “Echo Sessions.” Watch the full show here →  http://bit.ly/Js3_Nov2015_IAMAVLEchoSessions_FullShow.

For forthcoming new about his next release, updates from the road, and tour dates, please visit www.facebook.com/JonStickleyTrio, www.instagram.com/jonstickleytrio, and www.twitter.com/StickleyMusic.

Read Full Post »

Jon Stickley Trio To Release ‘Lost at Last’ on Oct 6 – Flatpicking Guitar, Violin & Drums – Announcing Tour

Jon Stickley Trio Independently Releases Lost at Last on October 6, 2015

Rapid-fire Flatpicking Guitar
Combined with Melodious, Sultry and Wild Violin
And Deep Groove Drums

“At the unlikely intersection of Bluegrass, Jazz and Punk lies the Jon Stickley Trio. A true fusion of American music, this virtuosic trio exploded onto the landscape, leaving listeners scratching their heads, wondering what exactly it was they were hearing, and desperate for the next song to begin. For their second record, Lost at Last, JS3 has, like an open-wheel, open cockpit-race car, abandoned anything frivolous or unnecessary, and this stripped-down, streamlined JS3 is built for speed, dangerous as hell, and irresistible.”
––Travis Book, The Infamous Stringdusters

Jon Stickley Trio is set to independently release a 2nd album, Lost at Last, on October 6, 2015. The originality and sheer energy of this genre-bending ensemble serves as a welcome wake up call for those who experience it. With roots in gypsy jazz, bluegrass, and hip-hop, Jon Stickley Trio combines Jon Stickley’s rapid-fire flatpicking guitar with the sultry and wild, yet refined, melodies of Lyndsay Pruett (Futureman) on violin set over the deep groove of Patrick Armitage (Atmosphere) on drums. The three have fused their collective styles into a repertoire of exciting and innovative original music along with some captivating covers.

Lost at Last was recorded in the band’s hometown of Asheville, NC at the iconic Echo Mountain Studios under the watchful eye of producer Dave King (The Bad Plus). While recording the album, King referred to the band’s imaginative sound as “this whole other thing.” King’s creative energy and inspired musical approach led the band deeper and deeper into the heart of their musical consciousness, which led to the solidification of their musical identity.

“Working with our producer Dave King was a life changing experience for us all,” says Stickley. “He is an intense, master musician, but also a hilarious, life-loving, positive, HEAVY, ‘unimpeachable’, inspiring dude! He helped us find ourselves, and his mark on the album is undeniable.” Jon goes on to say, “We succeeded in capturing a lot of spontaneous energy.”

Jon Stickley Trio. Photo by Heather Hambor.

Fan-funded through Kickstarter, Lost at Last features eleven tracks including six original tunes. It opens with ”Point-to-Point,” a song that could sum up the Trio’s personality, ranging from delicate syncopated pizzicato interplay to a powerful electo-rock climax featuring Jon’s distinctive flat-picking style. “Darth Radar” is already a crowd favorite at the Trio’s live shows; it was originally inspired by the modern dubstep artists, Skrillex and deadmau5, but over time has settled into an upbeat groove, with elements of ska and the fleet single string tremolo one might hear from Dick Dale, and other surf guitar gods. “Rice Dream,” is Jon’s subtle prayer for Tony Rice, who is one of his biggest musical influences. The song highlights Jon’s nimble picking style and soft harmonic chimes as well as the haunting beauty of Lyndsay’s violin.

Other tracks include the hypnotically enchanting “Goa,” penned by Pruett on the shores of the Indian Ocean, the cinematic and neoclassical “Octapickin,” in which Pruett’s beautiful string arrangements and improvisations take the listener through an emotional dreamscape, and the relaxing and poetic “Pamlico Sound.”

Lost at Last features a handful of covers including The Bad Plus’ “Never Stop”, Tim O’Brien’s “The High Road,” set to a grooving half time feel and break beat reprise, held down by Patrick Armitage on the drums. Lost at Last also features a  ‘Stickley” version of Strength in Numbers’ “Slopes” (written by Bela Fleck, Mark O’Connor). The record also includes a traditional gypsy jazz waltz, “Valse de Wasso,”and ends with “Flight of the Durban,” penned by Stickley’s longtime friend Leftover Salmon’s banjo ripper Andy Thorn.

In their short time together, Jon Stickley Trio has shared the stage with Greensky Bluegrass, The Infamous Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon, Larry Keel, and Leon Russell, amongst others. They have thrilled audiences at some of the nation’s top festivals including MerleFest, Floydfest, and Four Corners Folk Fest. Billy Nershi (String Cheese Incident) says, “I’ve had the pleasure of playing with Jon onstage and off. He always plays something I didn’t think was possible.”

This virtuosic band’s experimental compositions are not easily confined, yet remain true to the players’ musical roots lending to an accessible and danceable sound. “The inspiration of blending the rhythmic, fast-paced techniques of bluegrass with songs from the other end of the musical spectrum led to the formation of Stickley’s eponymous trio,” writes Alli Marshall with Asheville’s Mountain Xpress. Through the recording of Lost at Last, the band has honed their fiery, yet sensitive sound to create something that is uniquely the Jon Stickley Trio.

Lost at Last Track Listing
1. Point to Point – original – Stickley
2. The High Road – written by Tim O’Brien
3. Rice Dream – original – Stickley
4. Never Stop – The Bad Plus song – written by Reid Anderson
5. Darth Radar – original – Stickley
6. Octopickin – original – Stickley
7. Slopes – Strength in Numbers – written by Bela Fleck, Mark O’Connor
8. Goa – original – Pruett
9. Valse de Wasso – gypsy jazz song
10. Pamlico Sound – original – Stickley
11. Flight of the Durban – written by Andy Thorn (of Leftover Salmon)

For more information, updates from the road, and tour dates, please visit www.jonstickley.com, www.facebook.com/JonStickleyTrio, and www.twitter.com/StickleyMusic.

Watch the teaser video for Jon Stickley Trio’s music video for “Point to Point” from the new album Lost at Last –>

Jon Stickley Trio on Tour
8/25 Tue – Jammin’ Java – Washington DC (w/ Della Mae)
8/26 Wed – Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC. (w/ Della Mae)
8/27 Thu – Double Door Inn – Charlotte, NC (w/ Old Salt Union)
8/28 Fri – Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC (w/ Della Mae)
8/29 Sat – Private Party – Nebo, NC (w/ Della Mae)
9/03 Thu – Cervantes’ Other Side – Denver, CO (Pre Phish Party)
9/05 Sat – Four Corners Folk Festival – Pagosa Springs, CO
9/07 Mon – Lazy Dog Pub Labor Day Party – Boulder CO (w/ Benny Gallaway)
9/26 -Sat – Snowshoe Mountain – Snowshoe, WV (w/ Shakey Graves and more)
9/29-10/2 Tue-Fri – IBMA Performances TBA – Raleigh, NC
10/3 Sat – House Concert – Selma, NC
10/10 Sat – Isis Music Hall Hometown CD Release Show – Asheville, NC
10/15 Thu – NC State Fair – Raleigh, NC
10/21 Wed – Awendaw Green (4-6pm) – Charleston, SC
10/21 Wed – The Southern (9pm) – Charleston, SC
10/22 Thu – Palmetto Brewing Co – Charleston, SC
10/23 Fri – The Lyric Stage – Tallahassee, FL
10/24 Sat – The Funky Buddha – Boca Raton, FL
10/27 Tue – Terra Fermata – Stuart, FL
10/28 Wed – Guana Banas – Jupiter, FL
10/30-11/1 Fri-Sat – Suwannee Hulaween – Live Oak, FL
11/14 Sat – Red Light Cafe – Atlanta, GA
11/21 Sat – House Concert – Concord, NC
12/2 Wed – Martin’s – Roanoke, VA
12/5 Sat – Cat’s Cradle Back Room – Carrboro, NC
12/11 Fri – Boyd’s Jig and Reel – Knoxville, TN
12/12 Sat – The Basement East – Nashville, TN
12/13 Sun – The Post’s Bluegrass Brunch – Nashville, TN
12/13 Sun – House Concert – Knoxville, TN

More Dates TBA
www.jonstickley.com/tour

Read Full Post »