Shannon Whitworth & Barrett Smith Release “Bring It On Home”

Shannon Whitworth & Barrett Smith Release “Bring It On Home” TODAY
A Duo Album Featuring:
The Songs of Paul Simon to A.C. Jobim to Sam Cooke

In celebration they are offering a FREE DOWNLOAD
of their version of Sam Cooke’s “Bring it on Home to Me”

Bring it On Home makes the perfect Holiday Gift, attractive to folks across multiple generations. Get it here: http://barrettsmith.com/listenbuy.cfm and also on iTunes

Here is what the press is saying about Bring it on Home:

“From start to finish, Bring it on Home is crafted with love… a timeless collection” —Alli Marshall, Mountain Xpress

“The songs on here definitely hit the mark and bring back many memories. The duo slays the opening cut, and in doing so, reveal a secret in doing a cover – sometimes it’s not about changing a song to reflect your personality, or “making it your own,” it’s simply a case of letting the song  be front and center – which they do rather well here.” —Chuck Dauphin, Music News Nashville

“Smith’s voice is a perfect complement to Whitworth’s, whether he is taking lead, adding harmony background vocals or sharing the lead in a duet as on the album’s sweet midnight version of the jazz standard ‘Moonglow.’” —Jeff Eason, Boone Mountain Times

“Gentle trumpet, uke, fiddle, banjo and saxophone flourishes lend just the right layers to the songs, showcasing strong and deliberate vocals, crisp guitars and pianos, and arrangements without disrupting the smooth track-to-track flow. And the combination of voices here is heavenly, with Strong and Whitworth’s equally intimate, equally weary voices trading lead and harmony in true duo form.”  —Cover Lay Down

“Bring It On Home is that hidden diamond that may be the best recording to cross this desk all year.” ––C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz

Bring it On Home ~ Track Listing

1) Bring It On Home To Me (Sam Cooke)
2) Moonglow (Delange, Mills, Hudson)
3) You Can Close Your Eyes (James Taylor)
4) Duncan (Paul Simon)
5) I Get Ideas (When We Are Dancing)  (Sanders, Cochran)
6) Louise (Paul Siebel)
7) Sway (Molina, Ruiz, Gimbel)
8) Bird On The Wire (Leonard Cohen)
9) Corcovado (Quiet Nights) (A.C. Jobim, Gene Lees)
10) Green Grass (Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan)
11) I’ll Be Your Lover, Too (Van Morrison)
12) You Are My Sunshine (Jimmie Davis)

In this eclectic album, Shannon and Barrett take turns singing lead, backing each other on harmony vocals, and playing various instrumentations with Shannon on ukulele, banjo and Barrett on electric and acoustic guitars, upright bass, and piano. Recorded in Asheville’s Echo Mountain Recording Studio with a team of talented friends and musicians from the Asheville area including Legendary drummer Jeff Sipe (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Leftover Salmon) and master multi-instrumentalist Mike Ashworth fas the core rhythm section. Justin Ray and Jacob Rodriguez took a break from touring with Michael Buble to contribute on trumpet and saxophone. Virtuoso bluegrass fiddlers Nate Leath and Nicky Sanders (Steep Canyon Rangers) adds violins to Melissa Hyman’s cello lines while Michael Libramento, of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, plays keyboards.

In recording Bring it on Home, the Shannon and Barrett looked to songs that inspire them, and hope to pass that inspiration on.

BarrettSmith.com

ShannonWhitworth.net

Read Full Post »

Shannon Whitworth & Barrett Smith Release “Bring It On Home” on Nov 20th

Shannon Whitworth & Barrett Smith’s “Bring It On Home”

A Duo Album Featuring:
The Songs of Paul Simon to A.C. Jobim to Sam Cooke

“Bring It On Home is that hidden diamond that may be the best recording to cross this desk all year.” —C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz

“From start to finish, Bring it on Home is crafted with love… a timeless collection” —Alli Marshall, Mountain Xpress

National Release Date: November 20th, 2012

(Asheville, NC)– Shannon Whitworth and Barrett Smith are thrilled to announce the release of a new duo album, Bring It On Home. Independently recorded, it is set for National release on November 20, 2012.

In Bring it on Home, Shannon Whitworth and Barrett Smith offer up a collection of their favorite songs by their favorite songwriters. From Paul Simon to A.C. Jobim to Sam Cooke. All About Jazz writes, “Relaxed and confident, Whitworth and Smith work their way across an almost 100-year landscape of music that is the crowning achievement of the song writer’s craft. They do so with quiet percussion and carefully chosen accompaniment that makes this perfect listening music: appealing to both nostalgia and the appreciation of fine music making.”

In this eclectic album, Shannon and Barrett take turns singing lead, backing each other on harmony vocals, and playing various instrumentations with Shannon on ukulele, banjo and Barrett on electric and acoustic guitars, upright bass, and piano. From the jazzy elegance of “Moonglow”, to the mystic folkiness of Paul Simon’s “Duncan”, to the Latin groove of “Corcovado”; this album pays tribute to the art of great songwriting, with fresh arrangements that make for a truly great listen.

Bring It On Home started as a brainstorming session on a late night, cross-Canadian road trip with the Shannon Whitworth Band, which Shannon had been touring and recording with since her days of leading the The Biscuit Burners and Barrett had later joined in 2010 after swapping places with a member of the acclaimed bluegrass band Town Mountain. In this particular tour, Shannon and Barrett were an opening act for Chris Isaak, and they spent the long slow drive from Winnipeg to Saskatoon trying to compile the perfect mix tape. Somewhere in the late night hours, they realized that this mix-tape was actually a compilation of the cover songs that they had both dreamed of someday recording – their own random dream tribute album.

Two months later, Shannon and Barrett were in Asheville’s Echo Mountain Recording Studio with a team of talented friends and musicians from the area who helped to breathe the album to life. Legendary drummer Jeff Sipe (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Leftover Salmon) and master multi-instrumentalist Mike Ashworth formed the core rhythm section, and Justin Ray and Jacob Rodriguez took a break from touring with Michael Buble to contribute on trumpet and saxophone. Virtuoso bluegrass fiddlers Nate Leath and Nicky Sanders (Steep Canyon Rangers) added violins to Melissa Hyman’s cello lines while Michael Libramento, of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, played keyboards.

In recording Bring it on Home, the Shannon and Barrett looked to songs that inspire them, and hope to pass that inspiration on.

Bring it On Home ~ Track Listing

1) Bring It On Home To Me (Sam Cooke) 3:50 Soulful & Rockin
2) Moonglow (Delange, Mills, Hudson) 3:24 Jazzy & Mellow
3) You Can Close Your Eyes (James Taylor) 3:40 Folky & Mellow
4) Duncan (Paul Simon) 4:13 Folky & Beautiful
5) I Get Ideas (When We Are Dancing)  (Sanders, Cochran) 3:01 Jazzy & Sultry
6) Louise (Paul Siebel) 3:29 Folky & Funky
7) Sway (Molina, Ruiz, Gimbel) 2:52 Saucy & Latin
8) Bird On The Wire (Leonard Cohen) 3:49 Intense & Beautiful
9) Corcovado (Quiet Nights) (A.C. Jobim, Gene Lees) 4:31 Latin & Mellow
10) Green Grass (Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan) 3:47 Ethereal & Jazzy
11) I’ll Be Your Lover, Too (Van Morrison) 4:59 Rockin Ballad
12) You Are My Sunshine (Jimmie Davis) 3:59 Folky & Mellow

 Recorded at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, NC
Engineered by Julian Dreyer
Mixed by Neilson Hubbard
Mastered by Jim DeMain
Produced by Barrett Smith
Released November 20, 2012

BarrettSmith.com
ShannonWhitworth.net

Read Full Post »

Shannon Whitworth & Barrett Smith’s CD Release Party @ The Altamont Theatre on July 26th

Shannon Whitworth & Barrett Smith
Local Release Party for “Bring it on Home”
The Altamont Theatre
Thursday, July 26th

$12/$10adv
7pm door/  8pm show
18 Church St 28801
828-348-5327
myaltamont.com

(Asheville, NC)– Shannon Whitworth and Barrett Smith are thrilled to announce the release of a new all-covers duo album, Bring It On Home. To celebrate, a local release date is set for Thursday, July 26th at the Altamont Theatre in downtown Asheville. They will release the album nationally this fall.You can listen to and purchase the album at BarrettSmith.com.

In 2010 Barrett joined The Shannon Whitworth Band after swapping places with a member of the acclaimed bluegrass band Town Mountain. Shannon had been touring and recording successfully with this solo project since her days of leading the The Biscuit Burners. Barrett’s contributions quickly developed into a full time touring and recording job, and he and Shannon have been making music  with one another ever since, whether in the band or just for fun… which is how this duo project came into being.

In Bring it on Home, they have taken a departure from their original music to offer up a collection of their favorite songs by their favorite songwriters. From Paul Simon to A.C. Jobim to Sam Cooke, the album features beautiful arrangements of great tunes which are all performed by an all-star cast of musicians from Asheville, NC.

Bring It On Home started as a brainstorming session on a late night, cross-Canadian road trip.  Shannon and Barrett were on tour as an opening act for Chris Isaak, and they spent the long slow drive from Winnipeg to Saskatoon trying to compile the perfect mix tape. Somewhere in the late night hours, they realized that this mix-tape was actually a compilation of the cover songs that they had both dreamed of someday recording – their own random dream tribute album.

Two months later, Shannon and Barrett were in Asheville’s Echo Mountain Recording Studio with a team of great friends and musicians, bringing the album to life. Legendary drummer Jeff Sipe and multi-instrumentalist Mike Ashworth formed the core rhythm section. (Sipe and Ashworth will also be performing at the album release show amongst other special guests.) Justin Ray and Jacob Rodriguez took a break from touring with Michael Buble to contribute to the album on trumpet and saxophone. Virtuoso violinists Nicky Sanders and Nate Leath added string parts to Melissa Hyman’s cello lines. Michael Libramento, of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, stopped in to add keyboard parts.

The result is an eclectic collection of great arrangements. Shannon and Barrett take turns on the lead vocals, backing each other up with harmony vocals and instrumental support. The performances are superb. From the jazzy elegance of Moonglow, to the mystic folkiness of Paul Simon’s ‘Duncan’, to the latin groove of ‘Corcovado’, this album pays tribute to the art of great songwriting, with fresh arrangements that make for a truly great listen. Enjoy!

Bring it On Home ~ Track Listing
1) Bring It On Home To Me (Sam Cooke)
2) Moonglow (Delange, Mills, Hudson)
3) You Can Close Your Eyes (James Taylor)
4) Duncan (Paul Simon)
5) I Get Ideas (When We Are Dancing)  (Sanders, Cochran)
6) Louise (Paul Siebel)
7) Sway (Molina, Ruiz, Gimbel)
8) Bird On The Wire (Leonard Cohen)
9) Corcovado (Quiet Nights) (A.C. Jobim, Gene Lees)
10)Green Grass (Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan)
11) I’ll Be Your Lover, Too (Van Morrison)
12) You Are My Sunshine (Jimmie Davis)

Recorded at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, NC
Engineered by Julian Dreyer
Mixed by Neilson Hubbard
Mastered by Jim DeMain
Produced by Barrett Smith

BarrettSmith.com
ShannonWhitworth.net

Read Full Post »

Kellin Watson Celebrates the Release of New Album “Halo Of Blue” At Pisgah Brewing on July 2nd

Kellin Watson
CD RELEASE PARTY
Pisgah Brewing
Saturday, July 2, 2011

ADV: $10/d.o.s.: $12

Doors: 7PM/ Show:8PM

(828) 669-0190
150 Eastside Drive
Black Mountain, NC 28711
http://pisgahbrewing.com

Kellin Watson is a internationally-touring singer-songwriter, whose award-winning sound blends elements of blues, pop, folk, and soul. Hailing from Asheville, NC, Kellin draws on herAppalachian roots to bring both power and rawness to her music. “There are a lot of common talents in the world, but there are very few rare talents. I feel that Kellin is a rare, uncommon talent. Her songs have the ability to take someone gently by the wrist and tell them a story…”  states Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins. Courtney Devores with The Charlotte Observer describes her, “Jazzy soul and swinging pop comparable to Fiona Apple or a less folksy Ani DiFranco, Watson has an endearing stage demeanor and a killer voice, not to mention soulful songs that don’t fit in any particular box.”

Kellin will be releasing her new album, “Halo of Blue” of July 2, 2011 at Pisgah Brewing in Black Mountain, NC. There will be activities going on as soon as doors open at 7pm and possibly a surprise guest opener, so people are encouraged to come early. Also door prizes will be given away! Admission is $10 in advance and $12 the day of the show. Anyone who brings a functioning musical instrument to donate to Operation Happy Note and Operation Music Aid will receive half off their admission price! The requirements for instruments are “new or gently used guitars,violins, mandolins, banjos, keyboards, horns of any kind harmonicas and we even get requests for bagpipes.”

“Halo Of Blue” was created with musician/producer Michael Bellar [Art Garfunkle, and Amos Lee] out of Manhattan, NY and was recorded in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Asheville. Kellin and Michael worked non-stop this past year to put out a simple, honest and stripped down recording with echoes of some of her strongest influences: Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and Nina Simone. The album has 14 tracks and features cameo’s from some of the greatest musicians and vocalist in North America, including Sarah and Christian Dugas (The Duhks), and Oliver Wood (The Wood Brothers).

Part of the album was recorded in Asheville’s Echo Mountain Studios. “The thing I love about recording at Echo Mountain is the fact that they are prepared for anything you might need,” Watson says in an interview with Jon Elliston in Our State Magazine.  “All the engineers and staff make you feel at home and comfortable, which helps you focus on what you’re really there to do: create. Not to mention that it’s a world-class studio in my own backyard — to be able to work in a studio of that quality, right here in Asheville, is amazing.”

Elliston goes on to write, “On the new album’s title track, Watson’s band recorded lilting pedal steel guitar parts in one of the studio’s smaller rooms; the guitar offers a delicate complement to Watson’s forceful vocals. The two songs recorded in the “church” studio — the gospel-tinged “Rise” and a smoky, brooding cover of “Sitting on Top of the World” — showcase Watson’s range and confidence. She sounds every bit the singer in her comfort zone, content with recording close to home.

Kellin has toured nationally and internationally playing some of the most renowned venues, festivals, events, colleges and universities in the US and Canada, and continues to do so. Playing music and writing songs for the past 16 years, Kellin has released 4 solo independent albums. Her performance stands out as well; Stan of LiveLimeLight.com wrote in a live show review “I was immediately intrigued by her playing style, with percussive hits, finger picking and then strumming, she knows how to use her guitar to its fullest… she filled the room with just the sound of her guitar and voice.”

Here is a nice video of her performing a songs off the new album:

Kellin has also been a featured performer on CMT’s Big Break with award winning host and artists Sara Evans stating, “Kellin is a singing beauty, with an amazing voice. There is nothing fake or contrived about her when she performs, she’s just really, really talented, and sings with soul. I love everything about her…” In addition to her CMT appearance, two of Kellin’s songs, “Ship” and “When Is Enough Enough”, touched millions after being aired on two separate episodes of the hugely popular Canadian teen drama, Dregrassi: The Next Generation. This past march, she was asked to play a supporting role in Sag film “Trinity Goodheart” and the director loved one of the tunes on Kellin’s new album and decided to use the song in the film. Here’s a link to the imdb page for it: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1849899/.

Kellin has worked with and/ or opened for a wide range of notable artists such as Amos Lee, Little Feat, Susan Tedeschi, The Duhks, Crash Test Dummies, Jessica Simpson, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Sara Evans, Walter Wolfman Washington, Gordie Sampson, members of Band of Horses, and several others.  In the words of NPR’s David Dye, Kellin is  “a great new artist to keep an ear out for.”  Filmmaker Richard O’Sullivan (The Lost Colony) goes on to state, “There’s such beauty and intelligence in her work that you rarely find from someone that young. She’s the type of artist that in twenty years people will be talking about in the same way they talk about the Bob Dylans and the Joni Mitchells now.”

Find Kellin on the web:

Homepage: www.kellinwatson.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/kellinwatson
Reverbnation: www.reverbnation.com/kellinwatson
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/jrPd7A
Myspace: www.myspace.com/kellinwatson
Youtube: http://bit.ly/igkEnC
Evolution Licensing Company Catalog: http://bit.ly/iCFtX9
Itunes: http://bit.ly/m7JQCt
CDbaby: http://cdbaby.com/all/kellin

“Her husky voice flows up and down the staff, accompanied by catchy beats, and the result sounds quite eclectic. ” – VERVE Magazine

Read Full Post »