Acoustic Syndicate Performs in the Southeast This Fall, Announces Thanksgiving Show

Acoustic Syndicate. Photo by Lynne Harty.

Acoustic Syndicate Performs in the Southeast This Fall, Announces Thanksgiving Show

Celebrating the Anniversaries of WNCW & Isothermal Community College in Sept
Shows in Georgia and Florida in Early November
Annual Thanksgiving Homecoming Show Set for Nov 29th at The Grey Eagle in Asheville

With a touring and recording history of more than 20 years, a strong following regionally and beyond, and a history of playing festivals like Bonnaroo and Farm Aid, North Carolina favorites Acoustic Syndicate returned in 2013 with their first record since 2004, Rooftop Garden.

The band is set to perform a select number of shows in the southeast this Fall including two shows on September 27th; a daytime performance at the Isothermal Community College (the home of WNCW radio) in Spindale, NC for the college’s 50 Year Anniversary, and another set later that evening at Pisgah Brewing Company’s outdoor stage in Black Mountain, NC to celebrate WNCW’s 25 Year Anniversary on the airwaves. In early November they return to Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta before heading on to Lucky’s in Valdosta, GA and the Riverhawk Music Festival in Brooksville, FL. Acoustic Syndicate is also happy to announce their annual Asheville Thanksgiving show at the Grey Eagle in Asheville on November 29th.

Having claimed the #6 spot in WNCW’s 2013 year-end Top-100 listener poll with Rooftop Garden, the band is as beloved to the Western North Carolina audience as they’ve ever been. “Acoustic Syndicate has remained one of WNCW listeners’ favorite regional and overall acts ever since they began in the ‘90’s,” says WNCW’s Martin Anderson. “In fact they were one of the Top 10 favorite WNCW artists during our big 20th Anniversary vote in 2009, ranking alongside such A-list acts as the Avett Brothers, the Allman Brothers, and Alison Krauss. When I think of bands that best represent the overall sound of what we do at WNCW – roots music, rock, jamming, harmonizing, songs that tell a good story – it’s hard to think of a better one than Acoustic Syndicate.”

Produced by Grammy Award winner Stewart Lerman (Boardwalk Empire, Patti Smith, The Roches, Antony and the Johnsons, Crash Test Dummies), Rooftop Garden features the band’s distinctive blend of rock and acoustic music, all influenced by the players’ love of a wide range of music, from reggae to American roots. “Their modern take on traditional bluegrass and rock values culminates in a glimmering, driving sound rich with acoustic textures and glowing vocals,” writes Paul Kerr on JamBase.

They have also branched out into new territory with the album as Glide’s Bryan Rodgers notes, “… in 2010, new songs began creeping into set-lists and the band began a new era. The culmination is Rooftop Garden…The passage of time, dedication to other interests (family, farming, and software engineering for instance) and newfound musical freedom helped the band create their most personal album yet, which is remarkable. All of the music… has a distinctly human touch, with topics like sustainability, the frailty of existence, love, and community. Rooftop Garden is somehow more immediate because of where the band now finds themselves musically: with no one to please but themselves and an even broader range of life experiences from which to cull material.”

“The tunes on this album were written with an essentially positive message, one about humanity, earth, responsibility and peace,” said singer/guitarist Steve McMurry. He and his cousin Bryon McMurry (banjo, electric guitar) split the songwriting and lead vocal duties 50/50 on this new album, and are joined by Bryon’s brother Fitz McMurry (drums) for the kind of three part harmony that only close relatives who grew up singing together can conjure up. The band is rounded out by always in-demand bassist Jay Sanders and dobro wizard Billy Cardine; both of whom make use of Moog synthesizers and pedals to craft a unique ensemble sound.

The McMurry family has been in family farming in the same region of Cleveland County, NC since the 1700s. Their love of the land and their serious approach to its stewardship is echoed by the love of the music they make and the care with which they make it. Rooftop Garden conveys important things about the environment we all share, grounded in the life experiences of people who truly love what they do. “Through our music, we have tried to maintain a consistent message, a reminder,” says Steve McMurry, “that this Earth is the only one we will ever have. And though we speak of some lofty ideals in our music, my most fervent hope is that when people listen to us or come to our show, they leave with a laugh and a smile and the satisfaction of having been a part of something positive.”

Acoustic Syndicate Fall Shows 2014
9/27 Sat – Isothermal CC 50th Anniv. on the Campus Green- Spindale, NC
9/27 Sat – WNCW’s 25th Anniv. Party at Pisgah Brewing Co – Black Mountain, NC*
11/6 Thu – Smith’s Olde Bar – Atlanta, GA
11/7 Fri – Lucky’s – Valdosta, GA
11/8 Sat – Riverhawk Music Festival – Brooksville, FL
11/29 Sat- The Grey Eagle – Annual Thanksgiving show – Asheville, NC
* w/ Shane Pruitt Band & Phuncle Sam

For more information and other news, please visit www.acousticsyndicate.com, facebook.com/AcousticSyndicate and twitter.com/asyndicate.

 

 

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John Driskell Hopkins & Balsam Range Release DAYLIGHT on Jan 22, 2013

John Driskell Hopkins & Balsam Range Release DAYLIGHT Jan 22, 2013

Founding Member of the Zac Brown Band, John Driskell Hopkins, teams up with Mountain Home Recording Artists, Balsam Range,
to Independently Release Daylight on January 22, 2013

John Driskell Hopkins has walked the musical path for the last 20 years. As a bass player, guitar player, singer and songwriter for several bands of the rock variety, Hopkins rooted himself in the Atlanta, GA music scene in 1995, producing records and touring with his band Brighter Shade and later becoming a founding member of the Zac Brown Band to this day. Now he has teamed up with North Carolina bluegrass band, Balsam Range, to record a new album, Daylight, which debuted at the Southern Ground Music and Food Festival in Charleston, SC in October 2012. Daylight was independently produced and is set for national release on January 22, 2013 and features an array of special guests.

A lifelong fan of bluegrass and gospel music, John became an instant fan of Balsam Range, an award-winning and unstoppable 5-piece hailing from Haywood County, North Carolina. As John’s plans for a solo record took shape, he realized that BR’s authentic style and approach could bring his songs new life, and a vision for his record became clear.

Over the course of a year, the collective made use of their sparse days off the road and arranged to pow-wow and track basics at John’s home studio in Atlanta, GA or at Crossroads Studio in Arden, NC, eventually bringing the songs to form. John utilized the Zac Brown Band’s amazing new Southern Ground Studios in Nashville, TN for the final engineering and mixing, and in the middle of September 2012, the album was completed.

John is thrilled to have included several special guests on the album, including Zac Brown on “I Will Lay Me Down,” a sweet and sacred song; Levi Lowrey on “How Could I?” a song co-written by the two, and the heavenly Joey Feek of Joey + Rory on the autobiographical “Bye Baby Goodbye.” And of the musicians featured on Daylight, John could not have done better: the unmatched Jerry Douglas opens the record with dobro on “Runaway Train,” and Tony Trischka brings his banjo mastery to the title-track, “Daylight,” a longtime song in Hopkins’ repertoire about breaking through life’s troubles into brighter times.

Of singing on stage with BR, John says “Being on stage with Balsam Range is like body-surfing in warm butter-cream icing with hillbilly cherubs. Smooth…..” Balsam Range is Buddy Melton (fiddle, vocals), Darren Nicholson (Mandolin, vocals), Marc Pruett (Banjo, Vocals), Caleb Smith (guitar, vocals), and Tim Surrett (bass, dobro, vocals).

If you’re a Zac Brown Band fan, you’ll hear a couple familiar songs, though most tracks are newly penned with BR’s talent and magic in mind, and a couple songs are some of John’s oldest tunes, written with his band of many years, Brighter Shade, and beautifully reworked for this special new project.

Hopkins met Zac Brown in 1998 at an open mic hosted by Hopkins. Over the next several years, they remained friends and with Hopkins lending a production hand, they released the first Zac Brown record, “Home Grown,” in 2004.

Hopkins became a founding member of the Zac Brown Band in 2005 and has enjoyed engineering and songwriting credits on hit songs such as “Toes,” “It’s Not OK,” and “Sic Em On A Chicken,” from the multi-platinum selling record “The Foundation,” as well as “Nothing,” “I Play The Road,” and “Settle Me Down,” from the platinum selling record, “You Get What You Give.”

As the ZBB continues to garner critical and public success through Grammy, CMA, and ACM Awards, Hopkins continues to share the spotlight on stage with his band of fellow songwriters and friends and is excited to share his collaboration with Balsam Range with the world.

For more about John Driskell Hopkins and Daylight, visit www.JohnDriskellHopkins.com.

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Help Raise Funds for Billy Constable to Offset Medical Expenses at Larry Keel and Natural Bridge Shows This December

The following concerts are in conjunction with a benefit Larry Keel and Natural Bridge is hosting for an entire weekend for our good friend Billy Constable. Billy has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and has just had brain surgery and does not have insurance. LKNB will be accepting donations on his behalf, donating their merchandise sales and hosting a 50/50 raffle to raise money for Billy to offset his medical expenses.  
Visit www.billyconstable.com for more info.

Melting Point in Athens, GA 12/8
Legal Grounds in Rutherfordton, NC 12/9
Pour House in Charleston, SC 12/10

Billy has been diagnosed with a lump on the lower portion of his brain which has been causing increasingly frequent seizures. He is currently seeing medical specialists and gathering evaluations. The expense is certain to be high, and Billy is without medical insurance. We are coming together, as friends and fellow musicians, to help offset those costs.

Billy Constable grew up in a very musical family in Avery County, and he has been playing music for most of his life. Billy is part of Avery County’s Wiseman family, which includes a number of professional musicians including Scotty Wiseman, Lawrence Wiseman, David Wiseman, Fiddling Jimmy Wiseman, banjo picker Kent Wiseman, and Billy’s mother, Lois.

Billy began playing guitar professionally as a youngster with bluegrass great Charlie Moore, who had married Billy’s mother. He also played in Douglas Dillard’s newly formed “post Dillards” bluegrass band The Doug Dillard Band from Hollywood, which also featured Byron Berline and occasional guests like Vassar Clements and Sam Bush.

Billy’s approach to the banjo is firmly rooted in Appalachian string music, but it can be deceptively eclectic. His influences begin at home and with his family, but Billy’s repertoire is vast, and he is comfortable in most musical situations. In addition to banjo, Billy is also an accomplished musician on the guitar, mandolin and violin.

Travers Chandler writes in Bluegrass Today, “I was well aware of what a musical giant Billy Constable was. He had spent time with The Doug Dillard Band, toured with Kenny Baker and Josh Graves, and later worked with envelope-pushers like Larry Keel, Leftover Salmon, and String Cheese Incident on both banjo and guitar.  It wasn’t until I had moved to Asheville in 2010, though, that I became aware of what a rare human being he was – both as a friend, and a brother in the order of acoustic music. We had spoken a time or two during my research on Charlie, and I knew of his prowess and ability to play all kinds of acoustic music: jamband, gypsy, rock and roll… The guy is a genius.”

“He was a mentor to all of us,” Jon Jon Davis said [in an interview in the Boone Mountain Times with Frank Ruggiero],“and he’s played with everybody.”

LKNB’s Mark Schimick says in the same interview, “Billy Constable was the main bluegrass teacher for Jon Jon and myself,” he said. “When he first heard us play, he heard a bunch of green musicians, as far as bluegrass is concerned, but he heard how we knew to play the rhythm to it,” Schimick said.

During the next couple years, Constable became their bluegrass mentor, teaching them how to play solos, sing the parts and behave on the road. “In a lot of ways, he helped us all get started on how to become professional musicians,” Schimick said. “Playing with him is like playing with family,” Schimick said. “He’s just as down to earth playing on stage as he is hanging out.”

For more information about Billy Constable and for updates on his medical situation, please visit:  www.billyconstable.com.

If people would prefer to mail a donation, please mail to:
Dave Ruch
155 St James Place
Buffalo NY 14222
dave@daveruch.com
716-884-6855

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Atlanta’s Holiday Hootenanny at the Variety Playhouse on Sunday, December 18, 2011

Atlanta’s Holiday Hootenanny at the Variety Playhouse on Sunday, December 18, 2011

TDawg Presents & Big IV Productions, with the support of Tree Leaf Music, proudly bring you the first installment of what promises to be an annual tradition of spontaneous jams amongst friends celebrating the holiday season the only way it should be done. Featuring recording artists from original legendary Capricorn Records bands Wet Willie and Cowboy, as well as members of The Derek Trucks Band, The Tedeschi Trucks Band, Blackberry Smoke, Col. Bruce Hampton & The Aquarium Rescue Unit, Blueground Undergrass, The Mosier Brothers Band, Capt. Soularcat, Copious Jones, and many more, Atlanta’s Holiday Hootenanny is sure to whet your appetite for next year’s edition!

The roster of musicians is a list of who’s who on the Atlanta music scene, as well as well-known regional and national acts: Jimmy Hall, Tommy Talton, Col. Bruce Hampton, Ret., Charlie Starr, Rev. Jeff Mosier, Ike Stubblefield, Grant Green Jr., Jeff Sipe, Count M’Butu, Caroline Aiken, Yonrico Scott, Johnny Mosier, Diane Durrett, David Blackmon, Ralph Roddenbery, Donna Hopkins, Wildman Steve, Benji Shanks, Ted Pecchio, Gaurav Malhotra, Copious Jones plus more surprise guests! The performance will have three distinct sets that feature unique combinations of artists, bringing out the best in each jam and leaving plenty of room within a little bit of structure for a lot of spontaneity.

Atlanta’s Holiday Hootenanny is proud to have additional support from Hittin’ the Note Magazine, Wildman Steve Radio, and Shimon Presents.

TDawg Presents has been in the Atlanta area since 1998, starting as TDawg’s Productions, and is the founder of the nationally known Blue Ridge HarvestFest, a 3-day camping festival that ended its run in 2005, as well as the current run of TDawg’s Back Porch Hootenanny series at Cherokee Farms in northwest Georgia since 2006. Over the last 13 years, TDawg has remained a true cultivator of American and international roots music stretching from bluegrass and Americana to funk, jazz, blues and jam bands and is excited to collaborate with festival producers Big IV Productions (Bear Creek Music Festival, Suwannee SpringFest) and organic label Tree Leaf Music, a subsidiary of 100% sustainable Tree Sound Studios, to create this fine gathering of old friends and magnificent musicians, all tied into one package for Atlanta’s Holiday Hootenanny.

Showtime: Sunday, December 18, 2011 7:30PM, doors @ 6:30PM

Tickets: Available Friday, November 11 @ 10AM through Ticketmaster and the Variety Playhouse box
office. All ages.

The Variety Playhouse
1099 Euclid Ave NE
Atlanta, GA 30307
404-524-7354
www.variety-playhouse.com

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Stephaniesid Tours in Support of New Album “Starfruit” with stops in TN, KY, OH, NC, SC & GA

Stephaniesid Fall Tour Dates

www.stephaniesid.com

Fri 11/11/11 – Preservation Pub- Knoxville, TN
Sat 11/12/11 – Uncle Slayton’s – Louisville, KY
Sun 11/13/11 – MOTR Pub – Cincinnati, OH
Mon 11/14/11 – Kentucky Coffeetree Cafe – Frankfort, KY
Thu 11/17/11 – The Blind Tiger – Greensboro, NC
Fri 11/18/11 – The Evening Muse – Charlotte, NC
Tue 11/22/11 – New Brookland Tavern – Columbia, SC
Sat 12/3/11 – Eighty-Five – Columbus, GA

If you are near on of these cities, call your local radio station and request to hear a song from “‘Starfruit”!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is what the press is saying about the album!

“lush pop, layered vocals, rich horn parts and a certain velvety darkness” — Alli Marshall, Mountain Xpress

“Starfruit… brims with lush, sophisticated pop” — San Antonio News (TX)

“”The lyrics on the new recording derive from cinema, art and literature…intricate musical arrangements with witty and literate lyrics.” — Staunton News Leader (VA)

“This is our favorite album we’ve heard all year, hands down.” –Asheville Disclaimer‎

“[stephaniesid’s] cover of “Life in a Northern Town” brings a joyful bounce to the proceedings, adding in xylophones, horns, and whimsy aplenty.” — CoverMeSongs.com

“Their recent appearance in WNCW’s Studio-B debuted some of the danceable delights from ‘Starfruit’ and shows Stephaniesid is a forward moving force in music today.” — Dennis Jones, WNCW

“’Starfruit’ is a heck of a lot of fun and finds Stephaniesid covering both the Dream Academy’s “Life in a Northern Town” and the theme song to “Laverne & Shirley.” Seriously. Along the way are standout originals “Closer,” “I Like It,” “Starf***er,” “I Like It Too” and “So Low/A Hope.” The aforementioned Dream Academy cover is every bit as powerful as the original.” —  Jeffrey Sisk, Daily News (PA)

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Innovative Steel Pannist Jonathan Scales on tour this April in Pensacola; New Orleans; Austin; Starksville, MS; Atlanta; and Hot Springs, NC!

Artwork by Gregory Keyzer

I am excited to announce Asheville’s Steel-Pannist Jonathan Scales Fourchestra is touring around their CD release with a stops in Pensacola; New Orleans; Austin; Starksville, MS; Atlanta; and Hot Springs, NC! The new album is called “Character Farm & Other Short Stories” and features guest appearances by Jeff Coffin (of Dave Matthews Band/Bela Fleck & the Flecktones), Yonrico Scott & Kofi Burbridge (of Derek Trucks Band), and fiddle virtuoso Casey Driessen.

Scales’ created a wonderful  Music Video for the song “Muddy Vishnu” from the album, which is posted below. The album is also available to purchase on www.jonscales.com along with fun new merch including a glossy 19 x 13 poster depicting above with the custom designed comic book graphics illustrating each song with artwork by Gregory Keyzer.

Jonathan Scales Fourchestra April Tour Dates

Friday, April 22
Vinyl Music Hall
Opening for Soul Rebels Brass Band and Honey Island Swamp Band
Pensacola, FL

Saturday, April 23rd
12 Bar
New Orleans, LA

Sunday and Monday, April 24th & 25th
McCallum Theater (at McCallum High School)
Austin, TX

Tuesday, April 26th
Dave’s Dark Horse Tavern
Starkville, MS

Thursday, April 28
The Five Spot
w/ Jonathan Lloyd’s Rocksteady Review opening the show
Atlanta, GA

Saturday, April 30
French Broad River Festival
Hot Springs, NC

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Great interview with Jenny Keel! Larry Keel & Natural Bridge shows this week in Atlanta, Savannah and Greenville, SC!

LKNB Photo by Vikas Nambiar

Larry Keel and Natural Bridge have a fun weekend in store with shows in Atlanta, Savannah and Greenville, SC! They start off on Thursday, March 3rd in Atlanta at the Red Light Cafe. Friday’s show is at the Live Wire Music Hall in Savannah, GA and they head n over to Greenville, SC for a show at Gottrocks on Saturday, March 5th!

Jenny Keel will be doing a LIVE radio interview TONIGHT (Wed, March 2nd) on Radio Free Georgia WRFG 89.3 FM at 8:45pm EST. Listen in online at www.wrfg.org

The Savannah Current writes,

Keel is one of the pre-eminent flat-picking acoustic guitarists in the entire world. Anywhere. He holds his own with the likes of (his good buddy) Tony Rice. And it’s not basic bluegrass, the way Bill Monroe played it – Keel and the band (which includes his wife Jenny on standup bass) also play a jaw-dropping amalgam of gypsy folk and Appalachian instrumental music. This is acoustic music, pure and performed with intensity and flying-finger verisimilitude.

One more thing: The Virginia-bred Keel devotes half of his official website to fishing news and tips (that’s his other passion). He ain’t a sweet-singing vocalist like Ricky Skaggs or Vince Gill – he’s got a gravelly, weathered voice that lets you know, right from the get-go, that between that and the fishing, the flatpicking and the mountain-man beard, he’s the real deal.

~ written by Bill DeYoung

The Hartford Examiner states, “Flatpicking Guitar master Larry Keel is a dedicated force in preserving and creating American Mountain Music. Delivering powerful and honest performances, Keel and his four-piece bluegrass band Natural Bridge are a breath of fresh air in the traditional bluegrass market of today.”

Also check out the writeups in Connect Savannah and GoUpstate.com!

Jenny Keel did a wonderful interview with Sarah Morgan, the Atlanta Jamband Examiner. Here are some excerpts:

Pickin’ and grinnin’ doesn’t get more descriptive than with Larry Keel & Natural Bridge. Larry Keel may be a guitar master but his “backup” band isn’t subpar. The Natural Bridge includes Mark Schimick tearing up the mandolin, Will Lee going to town on a 5 string banjo, and Jenny Keel beating down the bass. The bluegrass maestros are playing this Thursday night at Red Light Café. A trip to Atlanta is a trip home for Jenny Keel.

Growing up in Atlanta, Keel says she listened to more classic rock, southern rock and jazz than bluegrass. It wouldn’t be until she moved to Virginia to attend college that she was fully exposed to the genre.

“When I got up here, with the snap of your fingers you could sit in or check out any old time jam, Keel says.”You could take walks and there’s always something going on. That’s how I met Larry. I went to see one of my buddies picking. Low and behold there’s Larry on stage with him, and I was “who are you – in my town? Why don’t I know you?” Yeah I stalked him right from there.”

. . .   . . .    . . .

Larry and Jenny Keel. Photo by Bright Life Photography.

While Keel says being able to play together helps with the grind of the road, she had to learn how to play first.

“It solves the problem of homesickness and yearning to be back home with the family unit,” Keel says. “We’re our own family unit, together 24/7, and we wanted it that way from the beginning, when we met and fell in love.

. . .   . . .    . . .

Larry put her to the test during her lessons.

“He said ‘OK, you’ve been messing around with the bass and everything, it’s time to jump into the fire.’ And that’s what happened. We knew we wanted to be together, that was absolutely the goal however it was going to happen. And turns out, I was able to play in the band with him.”

Those quickly learned bass skills can be easily distinguished on their 2009 album Backwoods. Keel says she would like to learn the banjo and guitar more, but like most people she has to battle time.

“I’m so busy with the touring, and when we do come home it’s just a big circus juggling act of management, business, paperwork, report, not to mention household stuff,” she explains. “I have a home, a cat, have to do laundry, have to get vehicles ready to get back on the road…the old cliché, if I just had more time in the day. Sounds so Western Civilization. The Chinese, that’s not part of their culture, they think they have all the time in the world – and their right. I’m not stressed by it, but yeah, it seems to leave me short for things I want to do.”

One thing that there is always time for is music. Keel says performing is a chance to connect to other people.

“The goal every time is to connect, share the music and be a team…to create the best music possible, the best vibe, and have a great time,” she says. “Be it 2000 strangers in an auditorium or music hall, our goal is to get everyone on the same page through the music, and be comfortable, and fired up… or just transported.  Whatever the emotion of the song calls for, if it’s scary or just wide open, joyous…anywhere, anytime that’s what we’re going for. “

. . .    . . .    . . .

Are you going? Tell me Sarah on Twitter @djsarahspin. Keep up to date on all the latest jam band happenings in Atlanta by hitting the “subscribe” button.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE on Examiner.com: Larry Keel & Natural Bridge At Red Light Cafe – Atlanta jam bands | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/jam-bands-in-atlanta/larry-keel-natural-bridge-at-red-light-cafe#ixzz1FSuY0Mgx

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