Dreamspider Publicity Year in Review

‘Tis the Season and the end of the year! Here’s a rundown of the albums that Dreamspider Publicity publicized in 2018 in order of release date. Please do keep listening to and supporting live and recorded music! THANK YOU to all the artists, writers, DJs, listeners, and concert goers!!

Cheers and have a fantastic Holiday Season!

~Erin Scholze, Dreamspider Publicity
These Things Just Don’t Happen By Themselves… 

Love Canon – Cover Story
Released on Organic Records: July 13
www.lovecanonmusic.com

“Charlottesville, VA’s Love Canon have established themselves as prodigious interpreters of others’ songs. Their latest is chock full of circa 1980’s classics, each imbued with an acoustic charm. In some ways it speaks to the flexibility of the underlying song… In others it speaks the group’s ability to transform the song.” —Twangville, Mayer Danzig

“A guest-filled ride through familiar old favorites, interpreted not as party reboots but as thoughtful reimaginations. Songs from an era known for indulgent electric sheen get broken down and rebuilt with serious bluegrass chops… Throughout the record, the band dips into its deep rolodex of musical friends, tapping quirky troubadour Keller Williams to sing lead on R.E.M.’s ‘Driver 8,’ which features blazing solos and an extended reggae breakdown. Ace fiddler Michael Cleveland and singer Aoife O’Donovan also show up for one of the album’s best tracks, a mountain-hop version of Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland.’ Bluegrass has always been about passing songs down the line and sharing them with friends; Love Canon is toying with that tradition in a good way.” ––Blue Ridge Outdoors, Jedd Ferris

“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. The band’s friend Lauren Balthrop evokes Parton in the high harmonies, and Bobby Read and John D’Earth provide a little bit of funk on the saxophone and trumpet, respectively.” –The Boot, Amy McCarthy

Hot Buttered Rum – Lonesome Panoramic
Independently Released: July 20
www.hotbutteredrum.net

“Tight Tunes and Whispers of Tom Petty: Lurking behind each song is a rhythmic urgency that’s less prog-bluegrass and more rock oriented… Over its 15-plus-year career, the band has proven itself capable of pulling together strands of country, folk, bluegrass, and jam music into an energetic, good-time experience. But with the batch of well-crafted, sharply performed tunes they cooked up on Lonesome Panoramic, Hot Buttered Rum has managed to blend its ragged charms with that of a well-oiled musical machine.” —No Depression, Jim Shahen

“Ultimately, Lonesome Panoramic reflects the work of a talented group of close-knit colleagues who know how to share their skills and play in sync, with no one individual eager to overshadow the others. The band emphasize subtlety over sizzle, finesse as opposed to frenzy, and a confidence and assurance that makes melody the primary focus. It’s a decided skill set to be sure…” —Bluegrass Today, Lee Zimmerman

“Probably best described as a tangling of jam, country, folk, and bluegrass that results in a timeless energy and easily enjoyable spirit, this is a criminally underappreciated outfit and a fantastic album.” —The Daily Vault, Tom Haugen

Chicago Farmer – Quarter Past Tonight  – Live Double Disc Album
Independently Released: August 3
www.chicagofarmer.com

“I’d never heard of transplanted son of the soil Cody Diekhoff and you probably haven’t either. But this tenth-anniversary double-live, 24 songs and eight spoken bits that include a tribute to his heroically supportive wife entitled ‘Benefits’… he’s funny, he’s kind, and he’s preparing an instructional video about ‘how do you get that drawl that you do—it’s kind of a mix between a small-town big-city kind of a northernly southernly easterly westerly stuck-in-the-middle type of a drawl.’”  —Noisey, Robert Christgau

“You don’t hear many albums these days like this two-CD set, which hearkens back to a time when solo folk artists like Tom Paxton and Arlo Guthrie strode onstage offering nothing but their voices, guitars, harmonicas, visions, and wit.”  —The Morton Report, Jeff Burger

“A great example of his songwriting and performing chops is ‘I Need a Hit,’ the first song off disc one. It’s about a road-worn troubadour dreaming about a John Hartford scenario — meaning he’d have a money-maker like ‘Gentle on My Mind’ funding his traveling circus.” —Wide Open Country, Bobby Moore

Chad Elliott & The Redemptions – Rest Heavy: The Sun Studio Sessions
Independently Released: August 10
www.chadelliott.net

“Iowa suggests such names as Greg Brown, Bo Ramsey, and Pieta Brown among others but now singer-songwriter, artist and author, Chad Elliott can join their esteemed company with Rest Heavy. Even if you didn’t know that these tracks were recorded at Sun Studios in Memphis, you’d still sense a bit of that Elvis Presley style in Elliot’s mix of roots-rock, soul, blues and modern gospel… This album just oozes soul, truth, and seems rather timeless as it could have been recorded almost any time in the last fifty-sixty years.” ––Elmore, Jim Hynes

“Rest Heavy… opens with an arpeggiated piano riff and cymbal crash before launching into a leaned-back, eyes-closed, soulful-howl gospel-blues tune of which Sam Cooke would have approved… As he croon-wails his way through tracks that range from hardscrabble stories and ain’t-life-like-that tunes to songs of somber reflection, his constellation of influences is clear, with stylized moments and melodic arrangements that evoke the likes of Tom Waits, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen and Doc Watson.”
—Little Village Magazine, Lucas Benson

“ … there is a timeless feel all along the tracks that tell his talent.. roots rock, gospel, soul, blues in a perfect spirit… I would even say this album is the perfect tribute to the spirit of the Sun Studios. I already listened at least 10 times to it and these songs take me with them…” —ISA Radio, Mike Penard, France

Rudi Ekstein – Carolina Chimes: Rudi Ekstein’s All Original Bluegrass Instrumental Showcase Featuring Stuart Duncan, Jeff Autry, Mark Schatz
Independently Released on Foxfire Recording: October 5
www.carolinachimes.com

“The bulk of [the songs] are flat-out, hold-on-to-your-hat wild rides that he takes you on… The entire album brings back many great memories to me of John Hartford’s many musical excursions through the years, jam sessions with Mike Marshall down in Florida back in the ’70’s and all sorts of good stuff... I would suggest the best way to listen to this CD is on a nice drive through the country or anywhere.” —Elmore, Ken Spooner

“These twelve original numbers flow brilliantly, a set of mandolin-based bluegrass the likes we haven’t experienced in a number of years. I’ve hit ‘repeat’ more than once listening to the set, the minutes passing by much too quickly…. An absolute stunner of a bluegrass album.” –-Fervor Coulee, Donald Teplyske

“This is some serious, hard core bluegrass played with a lot of fire… Good stuff.” —Mandolin Cafe

Edward David Anderson – Chasing Butterflies
Independently Released on Black Dirt Records: October 18
www.edwarddavidanderson.com

“Key tracks are the disturbing epic tale of race and injustice (with majestic, swirling fiddle) in ‘The Ballad of Lemuel Penn’, the brutally honest ‘Bad Tattoos’ (‘The story of my life’s written on my skin’) and the hypnotic ‘Crosses’ with its rousing and extended instrumental section closing out the track… On Chasing Butterflies, Edward David Anderson commands our attention with his accomplished songwriting and sublime presentation. He certainly has mine. It’s a triumph.” —Listening Through The Lens, No Depression, Rob Dickens

“…nothing here is overplayed: the sound is light, mainly acoustic and upbeat… Judging by his self-penned songs, Anderson observes his world and writes what comes to mind. On his second solo release he covers family, misspent youth (tattoos), dogs, inspirational friends, bleak Montana landscapes and injustices… All in all an interesting outing that explains his wide fanbase.” –Americana Music Show, Tony Ives

“The quality of songwriting here is exemplary. Without exception we are treated to consistently strong melodies with memorable hooky choruses that will live with you after only a few listens. There is a very strong and diverse lyrical theme to these songs while the musicianship on the record is outstanding throughout.” —AmericanaUK, Mark Hegarty

Roy Schneider & Kim Mayfield – Reckless Saints
Independently Released on Shiny Gnu Records: Nov 2
www.RecklessSaints.com

“This husband and wife team runs the gamut from engaging acoustic folk to driving bluesy tunes, with hints of twang sprinkled in… The ringing impression from this offering is the seamless blending of so many forms of roots music, combined with meaningful and often insightful lyrics. It works beautifully.”
—Making A Scene, Jim Hynes

“Reckless Saints is an acoustic duo comprised of Roy Schneider Music on guitar, harmonica, dobro, drums, banjo and bass with wife Kim Mayfield on guitar, baritone ukulele, mandolin and piano. They both sing and they both write. Their self-titled debut only has one cover: “Election Day” by the late Blaze Foley (the subject of Ethan Hawke’s new movie, Blaze.) Bonnie Raitt bassist Freebo is on hand as is the legendary Nashville harmonica player Charlie McCoy and fiddler Keven Aland. It all amounts to an Americana gem that fans of real pure mountain-stream country will love.” —The Aquarian Weekly, Mike Greenblatt

“Enlisting Blaze Foley’s old musical partner Gurf Morlix for help, Schneider and Mayfield cover Foley’s classic ‘Election Day’ with rough passion, but the beautifully rendered ‘If I Die Tomorrow’ and ‘Poison Arrow’ swoon in their arms. All who cry out for salvation from Reckless Saints might experience the same effect.”
—Elmore Magazine, Peter Lindblad

Taylor Martin – Song Dogs
Released on Little King Records: Nov 16
www.taylormartin.org

“Indeed, Martin, an Asheville, NC resident, delivers a stunning work of eight original and three covers all done in a sometimes rock, sometimes blues, sometime ballad and sometimes folk style. His cover of Neil Young’s ‘Music Arcade’ is definitely a Cajun themed sound. Martin’s voice is rather gravelly sounding and is surprisingly easy to listen to for an entire CD… All in all, Song Dogs is an excellent release of music to which almost any listener can relate. Lets face it, maybe some of us can’t relate to love lost or being on the highway. But seriously, who among us can’t claim overuse of a cell phone, at least at some point in time. This is just great music. Highly recommended.” —Audiophile Voice, Paul Wilson

“The piano driven, haunting title song comes last, inspired in part by coyotes howling (per cover art) to find each other at night… It may seem that it stands apart from the others in tone and style, but several listens to Martin will have you hearing an array of styles and influences. That’s what makes it so infectious. Each song stands apart.” —Country Standard Times, Jim Hynes

“The song [‘Little Pictures’] rings instantly familiar and simplifies a complex message in clear lyrical fashion, over catchy, punchy, piano-prominent rhythms.” —Americana Highways, Melissa Clarke

NEW FOR 2019!

Be on the lookout for a new book about Leftover Salmon in February entitled Leftover Salmon: Thirty Years of Festival! Written by Tim Newby

New albums in early 2019:
Amy McCarley
MECO  – (Feb 8, 2019)

Reed Foehl
Lucky Enough – (Feb 1, 2019)

 

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Asheville Bands, The Honeycutters & Town Mountain at AmericanaFest 2016

Two Asheville, North Carolina bands, The Honeycutters and Town Mountain, represent different ends of the Americana spectrum and both will perform at the 2016 AmericanaFest in Nashville.

The Honeycutters Show Their Country Roots
with On The Ropes, Released By Organic Records

The Honeycutters have a voice you can’t ignore; a voice of persistence, of struggle and of hope, a voice that leads the new music movement erupting out of Asheville, NC. They released their 4th studio album On The Ropes May 20, 2016 on Organic Records to much critical acclaim. Nashville’s Music City Roots’ Craig Havighurst says principal songwriter and frontwoman, Amanda Anne Platt “has a voice that’s complex, sweet and aching. Even more potently, she writes songs that folks are citing as up there with the best of the field, such as Mary Gauthier and Lucinda Williams.” On The Ropes was produced by Amanda Anne Platt and Tim Surrett and engineered and mastered by Van Atkins at Crossroads Studios in Arden, NC.

On The Ropes debuted on release day at #39 on iTunes Top 40 Country Chart and #12 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases on Folk. The album spent nineteen weeks on the Americana Radio Chart hitting #10 and remaining in the top twenty for 11 weeks. It also landed in the #1 position on the Roots Music Report Country Chart! The band recently shipped the album overseas and it stands at #11 on September’s EuroAmericana Chart.

Joining Amanda Platt to round out The Honeycutters are Rick Cooper, alternating between upright and electric bass, drummer Josh Milligan, pedal steel player Matt Smith, and Tal Taylor on mandolin.

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“Like all great songwriters, Platt’s characters are alive, with enough nuance to convince the listener that they have entire lives outside the glimpse they get from the songs.” Examiner’s Chris Griffy continues, “This is most evident on the album’s closer ‘Barmaid’s Blues’. One of the rare ballads in On the Ropes’ fourteen songs and one of the most lyrically dense. When Platt’s world weary bartender laments that ‘All the gunslingers, got the rings on their fingers” and later that ‘I got a feeling like I been waiting on the last train home. It’s been a little slow, but it’s coming I know’, there’s a delicate balance of melancholy and hope that takes a deft hand to pull off without sounding cliched. Platt’s hand is that deft.”

The Honeycutters AmericanaFest 2016 Schedule

Thursday 9/22 – 12pm – Taping with The Country Network “Our Land: The Music Highway” TV Show at The Listening Room  – Open to the public with Meet & Greet Post show  – More info TCNCountry.com

Thursday 9/22 – 10pm – The Basement – Official AMA Showcase

Friday 9/23 –  8:40am – KHYI Radio Live Broadcast with Chuck Taylor at Sound Stage Studios – Live Radio Session – listen online at khyi.com

Friday 10/23 – 10am airing of a radio session with The Honeycutters on Sun Radio – Solar-Powered Americana from Austin – listen online at sunradio.com

More information at www.TheHoneycutters.com

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Town Mountain Displays Their Soulful Bluegrass/Country Swagger on Southern Crescent, Produced by Dirk Powell On LoHi Records

Raw, soulful, and with plenty of swagger, Town Mountain released their 5th studio album, Southern Crescent, on April 1, 2016 on LoHi Records. Produced and engineered by GRAMMY winner Dirk Powell, Southern Crescent was recorded in Powell’s studio The Cypress House in south-central Louisiana town of Breaux Bridge. It was mixed by Mixed by Scott Vestal at Digital Underground in Greenbrier, TN. Since it’s release the band debuted on the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium stages bringing their sound to new audiences. The critically acclaimed album debuted at #4 on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart and spent ten weeks on the Americana Radio Chart’s Top 40.

“The first time I heard TM I loved, respected, and enjoyed them. And I do now more than ever,” exclaims Jim Lauderdale. “They have stuck with their deep bluegrass roots but as they have with all of their releases they have grown and expanded. They sound like Carolina, and they carry that sound farther and farther with Southern Crescent, their latest gem.”

Up for the 2016 Emerging Artist Award with the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and the 2013 winners of IBMA Momentum Awards for Performance Band and Vocalist of the Year (Robert Greer), Town Mountain has earned raves for their hard-driving sound, their in-house songwriting and the honky-tonk edge that permeates their exhilarating live performances. With an insatiable musical hunger, the members of Town Mountain are Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, Jack Devereux on fiddle, and Adam Chaffins on bass. Please note Bobby Britt (fiddle) and Nick DiSebastian (bass) perform on the album.

No Depression’s Amos Perrine names Town Mountain as, “the most exciting bluegrass band to come along in a long time,” which is echoed by Music City Roots’ Craig Havighurst sentiments, “I’d put Town Mountain on my list of Five Bluegrass Bands You Must Know in 2016, because while the genre has forked and morphed in wonderful ways, these guys from Asheville have more Flatt & Scruggs and more Jimmy Martin in their sound than any young band I can think of. And when they do nod to other influences, they tend to be from parallels to the early bluegrass era, like Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins for example.”

Town Mountain AmericanaFest 2016 Schedule

Tuesday 9/20 11pm The Basement – Official AMA Showcase

Wednesday 9/21 – 9:30am airing of a radio session with Town Mountain on Sun Radio – Solar-Powered Americana from Austin – listen online at sunradio.com

More information at www.TownMountain.net

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The Craft of Songwriting & Songwriters-In-The Round Mon 6/22 at The Altamont Theatre, Presented by AVL Music Professions, The Recording Academy, and The Bluebird Cafe

Asheville Music Professionals, The Recording Academy®, and The Bluebird Cafe Present: The Craft of Songwriting Panel & Songwriters-In-The-Round on Monday, June 22, 2015 at The Altamont Theatre in Downtown Asheville

ASHEVILLE, NC — Asheville Music Professionals, The Recording Academy®, and The Bluebird Cafe Present The Craft of Songwriting Panel and Songwriters-In-The-Round on Monday, June 22, 2015 at The Altamont Theatre in downtown Asheville at 18 Church St. Doors are at 5:30 p.m. with the panel starting at 6 p.m., followed by a Songwriters-In-The-Round performance from the panelists.

For the panel, a group of accomplished songwriters have been assembled to discuss the different processes each use and how they work to perfect their craft. Panelists include multiple GRAMMY and Americana Music Association Award-winning artist/musician, Jim Lauderdale, GRAMMY and Americana Music Association nominee Tift Merritt, and Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame inductee and GRAMMY & Golden Globe nominee Gretchen Peters, as well as ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year, Dave Berg. The panel will be moderated by producer, composer, engineer, and three-time GRAMMY Award winner, Steven Heller. 

The evening is capped off with the songwriters performing their favorite songs as part of a Songwriter-In-The-Round performance.

Special guest for the evening is Erika Wollam Nichols, COO/GM of The Bluebird Cafe.

Songwriter Panel includes Q&A with audience – Doors 5:30pm, Start 6pm
Songwriters-In-The-Round – Doors 8pm, Start 8:30pm
The Altamont Theatre – 18 Church St. | Asheville, NC 28801
http://thealtamont.com

FREE FOR RECORDING ACADEMY MEMBERS.
RSVP REQUIRED for members: RSVP_NASHVILLE@GRAMMY.COM
NON-MEMBERS (No RSVP needed for nonmembers): Panel–$10 | Songwriters In-The-Round–$15
Ticket Purchase Required: http://thealtamont.com/amp/

PARTICIPANTS INCLUDE:

Jim Lauderdale
Jim Lauderdale is a multiple GRAMMY and Americana Music Association Award-winning musician and one of the most respected artists working the Americana, Bluegrass and Country music communities today. His record Buddy and Jim [2013], which he wrote and recorded with longtime friend and collaborator Buddy Miller, was nominated this year for a GRAMMY in the Best Americana Album category and several Americana Music Awards, a show which he has hosted since 2002.

Lauderdale has always stayed true to his North Carolina roots but is influenced from the experience of his travels. He first immersed himself in the early country music scenes of both New York City and Los Angeles before breaking through in Nashville as a songwriter. He has helped pave the way of the current Americana Movement recording records and writing songs that cross genres from country, pop, roots, rock, folk and bluegrass.

Lauderdale, a master songwriter, has had his work recorded by artists such as Patty Loveless, Shelby Lynne, Solomon Burke, The Dixie Chicks and George Strait, who has had numerous hits with Jim’s songs. Lauderdale’s music has been featured regularly on the ABC hit show Nashville, and he has several tracks on the soundtrack of the successful film Pure Country.

Lauderdale is often called upon as a player and has toured with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rhonda Vincent and Elvis Costello. He also co-hosts a weekly radio show on SiriusXM with Buddy Miller called “The Buddy & Jim Show,” which NPR’s Fresh Air described as “…highly entertaining…” Lauderdale is also the host of the popular Music City Roots each week from The Factory at Franklin, near Nashville, TN.

He frequently collaborates with legends like Ralph Stanley, Elvis Costello and Robert Hunter and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist with dozens of studio releases, including his latest I’m A Song which is  Lauderdale’s latest country endeavor, his 26th album to date.

Tift Merritt
“I’ve always had a taste for traveling alone,” Tift Merritt sings in the title track of her fifth album. This time around, she got to prove it, “calling the shots myself and letting myself go wherever I needed to go” at a point in time when she was a free agent without label or manager. But the song does also conclude that “everybody here is traveling alone,” a realization that places as much value on community as iconoclasm. And Merritt put together her “dream cast” of fellow travelers to play on Traveling Alone, which found its happy home at her new label, Yep Roc. The road less taken doesn’t preclude good company.

The New Yorker has called Merritt “the bearer of a proud tradition of distaff country soul that reaches back to artists like Dusty Springfield and Bobbie Gentry,” a standard upholding that got underway in earnest with Bramble Rose, the 2002 solo debut that put her on the Americana map forever. As her sophomore album, Tambourine, was followed by Another Country and See You on the Moon, Merritt found acclaim coming not just from critics and awards orgs but her own heroes, like Emmylou Harris, who marveled that Merritt “stood out like a diamond in a coal patch.” Now a leading lady in her own right, Merritt is hardly one to hog the spotlight. She engages in dialogue with fellow artists of all disciplines on her public radio broadcast and podcast “The Spark With Tift Merritt,” bringing in fellow sojourners ranging from Patty Griffin and Rosanne Cash to Rick Moody and Nick Hornby (who devoted a chapter to Merritt in his 31 Songs book).

Merritt has released five studio albums to date and was nominated for a GRAMMY for “Country Album of the Year” for 2004’s Tambourine, which was also nominated for Americana Music Association awards “Album of the Year” in 2005. That same year she was also nominated for AMA’s “Artist of the Year.”  Two songs have also been nominated as AMA’s “Song of the Year”: 2005’s “Good Hearted Man” and 2008’s “Broken.” Merritt was born in Houston but her family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina soon after where he grew up and attending the nearby university of Chapel Hill.

Gretchen Peters
Gretchen Peters was twice nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Country Song and also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song. Gretchen Peters has long been one of Nashville’s most beloved and respected artists, known never to shy away from darkness and struggle in her writing. “If Peters never delivers another tune as achingly beautiful as ‘On A Bus To St. Cloud,'” People Magazine wrote, “she has already earned herself a spot among country’s upper echelon of contemporary composers.”

The latest accolade for the Nashville-based singer-songwriter was her induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in October 2014. She joined the 192 existing inductees including Johnny Cash, Rodney Crowell, Don & Phil Everly, Woody Guthrie, Merle Haggard, Tom T. Hall, Harlan Howard, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Jimmy Webb and Hank Williams. At the induction ceremony in Nashville before a capacity audience, Rodney Crowell spoke on behalf of Peters, calling her “both a songwriter and a poet (who) sings as beautifully as she writes,” and said her song “The Matador”, “moved me so greatly, I cried from the soles of my feet.”

Peters has risen to the top of her craft by writing and recording songs that explore the deep corners of life with empathy and integrity. She has accumulated accolades as a songwriter for artists as diverse as Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, The Neville Brothers, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Bryan Adams and Faith Hill. Of her own recordings, the Associated Press said, “this is not jukebox music – the stuff that exists to fill in the pauses in conversation. This IS the conversation.”

Her latest album, Blackbirds, follows Peters’ 2012 album Hello Cruel World, which NPR called “the album of her career” and Uncut said “establishes her as the natural successor to Lucinda Williams.” If anything, though,  Blackbirds truly establishes Peters as a one-of-a-kind singer and songwriter, one in possession of a fearless and endlessly creative voice.

Dave Berg
Dave Berg is a singer/songwriter originally from Portland OR, now making his home in Nashville TN. His songs have been recorded by a wide variety of artists including Keith Urban, Bake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Jimmy Buffet, Kenny Chesney, Jewel, Jimmy Buffett, Darius Rucker, Reba McEntire, Rodney Atkins and Meatloaf to name a few. He’s hit the top of the charts 5 times including the most played country song of 2008, “If You’re Going Through Hell” recorded by Rodney Atkins. Other hits include “Stupid Boy” by Keith Urban as well as the number 1’s “Somebody” by Reba McEntire, “These Are My People” by Rodney Atkins and “Moments” by Emerson Drive. In 2008 Berg was named Billboard’s Country Songwriter of the Year, as well as ASCAP’s (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) Country Songwriter of the Year. Berg has also released three independent singer/songwriter records of his own; “Three Perfect Days,” “Surface,” and “Not Quite So Alone”

Moderated by Steven Heller
Producer, composer, and engineer, Steven Heller,  has earned three GRAMMY Awards, five GRAMMY nominations, as well as a number of national awards for his music and recordings. His work encompasses music for artists, film, television, other media. Steven has secured options for feature film scripts as editor and producer. His produced and written story projects have garnered several GRAMMY nominations.

Heller’s clients include MTV, 20th Century Fox, Miramax, Rhythm and Hues, National Public Radio (NPR), Public Radio International (PRI), and many others. He has served as music supervisor and producer for the Miramax film, “The Journey of August King,” and composed and produced music for the film. He has also composed, orchestrated, and adapted the music package for the Animal Planet Network, a division of Discovery Network, Inc., as well as scored numerous award-winning films, including features, documentaries, and children’s films garnering numerous Telly and Addy Awards for television and radio commercial music compositions.

Heller has also been honored with Golden CASE Awards, three American Library Association Notable Recording Awards, several NAIRD (National Association of Independent Record Distributors) Awards, Parent’s Choice Gold Awards, National Association of Parents’ Publications Awards. Heller is based in Asheville, NC.

Erika Wollom Nichols
President/COO of The Bluebird Cafe, Erika Wollom Nichols oversees all operations including marketing, sponsorship and brand development of The Bluebird Cafe name. She is also co-director of the Tin Pan South Songwriters festival. Past experience: Director of Development for NSAI, handling fundraising, marketing and community relations and VP of Marketing & Community Outreach at The Country Music Hall of Fame. She served on the Board of Leadership Music (2007-2010), and currently serves on the board of the ACLU of Tennessee and Folk Alliance International. She received her BA in philosophy from Belmont University and her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

This Event is Presented by:

Asheville Music Professionals:
Asheville Music Professionals (AMP) aims to set the standard for good music business practices while acting as a common voice for the Asheville music industry. Together we can inform the community about the intrinsic worth and economic impact of music in our region. One of AMP’s main beliefs as an organization is that music is worth paying for. AMP also offers membership educational workshops, fun events and socials all targeted at advancing local music business.

With a focus that extends from touring bands to recording studios, venues to festivals, and gear manufacturers to instrument repair shops, this hard working group of volunteers intends to make a positive impact on the lives of musicians and music lovers like you. The Mission is to provide education, advocacy, connection and collaboration for the people who work and thrive in music in Buncombe County.

The Recording Academy:
Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards — the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. For more information about The Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @TheGRAMMYs on Twitter, like “The GRAMMYs” on Facebook, and join The GRAMMYs’ social communities on YouTube, Tumblr, Foursquare, GetGlue, and Instagram.

The Bluebird Cafe
The Bluebird Cafe is one of the world’s preeminent listening rooms and the venue has gained worldwide recognition as a songwriter’s performance space where the “heroes behind the hits” perform their own songs; songs that have been recorded by chart-topping artists in all genres of music. Located in a small strip mall outside of downtown Nashville, the 90 seat venue is unassuming in appearance but some of the most significant songwriters and artists have performed on their stage. Their reputation as a listening room is based on the acoustic music that is their signature style. Their patrons repeatedly say that they are captivated by hearing songs performed by the creators themselves.

In 2008, original owner and founder Amy Kurland sold the legendary venue to the Nashville Songwriters Association International, (NSAI) a 40+ year old, not-for-profit organization devoted to the service of songwriters and the craft of songwriting. More of a donation than a corporate sale, Kurland saw NSAI’s mission to “educate, elevate and celebrate songwriters” as a way to continue the Bluebird’s relationship to songwriters and to the community. In 2012 The Bluebird Cafe made its primetime debut on the ABC drama Nashville, where it plays a key factor in the show’s plotline which deals with both the music industry in Nashville, the political climate in Nashville and the key players in both these “worlds,” which often collide.

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Chris Jones and The Night Drivers’ Release ‘Lonely Comes Easy’ Aug 27th Through Rebel Records

Chris Jones and The Night Drivers’ Release ‘Lonely Comes Easy’
Aug 27th Through Rebel Records
Now Available on iTunes–> http://bit.ly/1aM4W2R

Featuring Guest Musicians Claire Lynch, Sierra Hull, Jeremy Garrett & more

“A haunting, silky-smooth CD by some of the best players in bluegrass! Chris Jones’ voice is there with the great masters, and the Night Drivers should no longer be driving at night, but playing music 24/7.”
–Steve Martin

“When I first heard Chris Jones over 25 years ago he became one of my favorite singers, and he continues to have one of the most distinctive and best voices in music, period. It’s like fine wine for the ears.”
— Jim Lauderdale

When Chris Jones and the Night Drivers woke up at the beginning of 2013, they were startled to learn that their recording of “Final Farewell” had topped Bluegrass Today’s first-ever annual bluegrass radio airplay chart.  To others, though, it came as no surprise.  Though the quartet’s “low lonesome”-singing front man founded the group back in the mid-1990s, it’s more recent years that have earned them a growing reputation for their signature sound, distinctive stage presence and deep connection to every corner of the bluegrass world.  And now, with the release of Lonely Comes Easy, the first all-new collection since 2009’s Cloud Of Dust and the first for Rebel Records in over a decade, Chris Jones and the Night Drivers are poised to cross into the ranks of the music’s most respected artists.

With two award-winning songwriters in the group—Jones and co-writer John Pennell scored the IBMA’s Song of the Year award in 2007 for “Fork In The Road,” while bassist Jon Weisberger earned the organization’s first Songwriter of the Year trophy in 2012—it’s only natural that Lonely Comes Easy is filled with the group’s own material.  Two songs, including the title track, comes from Jones’ pen, while he and Weisberger collaborated on two songs and brought in Chris Stuart, yet another Song of the Year winner, for a story of love that transcends family differences (“You’re My Family Now”). And, in a move that’s increasingly rare in the bluegrass world, the band tackles not one, but two original instrumentals—mandolin player Mark Stoffel’s “Swine Flu In Union County,” and banjo whiz Ned Luberecki’s “Don’t Blink.”

Other co-writers are a small but select group, including the legendary Tom T. and Dixie Hall (“Where I Am,” written with Chris) and popular contemporary bluegrass and country singer/songwriter Lisa Shaffer, whose “Barn Burner,” written with Weisberger, provided the inspiration for the album’s cover photo. Homages to Doc Watson (“Wake Up, Little Maggie”), Jones favorite Charley Pride (“Too Late To Say I’m Sorry”) and Ralph Stanley (“A Few More Years,” lifted from an earlier, out-of-print Jones album) round out the song list, together with the Night Drivers’ most recent #1 hit, a ‘grassy remake of country trucker classic “Wolf Creek Pass.”

Similarly, only a few guest musicians appear on the project: resonator guitarist Ivan Rosenberg, former bandmember Jeremy Garrett (Infamous Stringdusters) and IBMA Momentum Award Vocalist of the Year Emily Bankester (The Bankesters) turn up on two songs apiece, while harmonica maestro Buddy Greene supplies some mournful harmonica on “Wake Up Little Maggie” and Sierra Hull and two-time IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year Claire Lynch cheerfully tackle the role of female chorus on “Wolf Creek Pass.”

Though it’s thoroughly contemporary, Lonely Comes Easy stays squarely in the bluegrass groove, reflecting the quartet’s appreciation for the ability of earlier masters to bring their own, unique voices—and creative twists—to the style while honoring its traditions.  And while there’s plenty of room for the classic themes of lost love and hard times, Chris and the rest of the band serve up plenty of the deft, subtle—and, occasionally, not so subtle—humor that has brought them growing acclaim as live performers.

Thanks to Chris and Ned’s roles as on-air talent for SiriusXM’s Bluegrass Junction continent-wide satellite radio channel, the Night Drivers have enjoyed a broad and growing audience that knows—and appreciates them—as personalities and, to use the classic bluegrass phrase, radio friends.  Now, with the release of Lonely Comes Easy, Chris Jones and the Night Drivers have served notice that they’re among the strongest contemporary artists that the music has to offer as well.

Track Listing ~ Lonely Comes Easy:
1} If That Was Love 2:55
2} Lonely Comes Easy 3:39 (with Emily Bankester)
3} You’re My Family Now 2:52 (with Ivan Rosenberg)
4} Wake Up Little Maggie 2:42 (with Buddy Greene)
5} Don’t Blink 3:16 (with Jeremy Garrett)
6} One Who’s Coming After Me 2:33
7} Where I Am 2:36
8} Too Hard to Say I’m Sorry 2:56
9} Barn Burner 2:54
10} Then I Close My Eyes 3:28 (with Darrin Vincent, Ivan Rosenberg & Emily Bankester)
11} Swine Flu in Union County 4:05
12} A Few More Years* 3:15 (with Sally Jones, Irl Hees, Ron Block & Dan Tyminski)
13} Wolf Creek Pass (with Claire Lynch & Sierra Hull on vocals and Jeremy Garrett) 6:15
*BONUS TRACK

Lonely Comes Easy was produced by Chris Jones and Recorded and mixed by Ben Surratt at The Rec Room Studio, Nashville, TN. “A Few More Years” recorded by Tom T. Hall at Top Dog Studios, Franklin, TN; Mixed by Rich Adler. Additional overdub recording by Mark Stoffel and Ivan Rosenberg Mastered by Yes Master, Nashville, TN.

Chris Jones & The Night Drivers Perform This Fall:
8/31-9/01 Mammoth Lakes, CA – Mammoth Bluegrass Festival
9/11 Nashville, TN – The Station Inn
9/14 Glenmont, OH – Mohican Bluegrass Festival
9/21 Breinigsville, PA – Micro Bluegrass and Brews Festival
10/11 Norris, TN – Tennessee Fall Homecoming
10/12-10/13 Roseland, VA – The Festy Experience
10/18 Carterville, IL – O’Neil Auditorium

For more information, please visit: www.chrisjonesgrass.com/chris-jones-the-night-drivers/

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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

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Town Mountain Pre-CD Release Show at The Grey Eagle On Sat, July 7th w/ Special Guest Steve “Big Daddy” McMurry

Asheville’s Town Mountain is performing at The Grey Eagle for a special Pre-CD Release show and the kick off event for their “Leave the Bottle” tour surrounding their upcoming new release on Saturday, July 7th. They will have special guest Steve “Big Daddy” McMurry (frontman and founding member of Acoustic Syndicate from NC’s Cleveland County) performing solo before their set as well as jumping in on a few tunes! Doors are at 8pm and the show starts at 9pm. Tickets are $10 adv/$12 door.

Town Mountain and Steve McMurry. Photo by Jason Beverly

Town Mountain is excited to announce the release of their fourth album, Leave the Bottle, September 4th, 2012. The band finds themselves becoming one of the preeminent torchbearers of their craft, facing a promising future. “Centered around strong, soulful vocals, and poised to stay put,” says Woody Platt of the Steep Canyon Rangers, “Town Mountain are true to bluegrass in all the right ways and this new project keeps them firmly connected to the traditions of the genre, while also allowing them to reach out into the broad horizon of string band music. Leave the Bottle comes highly recommended.” Always contributing to the evolution of the bluegrass form, they toss influences as varied as surf-rock, gospel, and honky-tonk country into their field of play.

Mike Bub eloquently noted that Town Mountain is “not reinventing the wheel, but taking the wheel in their hands and driving the music down both familiar roads and out to new territory.” Jim Lauderdale was driven to exclaim, “There’s a new mountain in town – Town Mountain – and they get down with heart, grit, soul, and dive! They’ll get you moving!” They’ve done just that, winning the prestigious Rockygrass competition in 2005 before moving on to wow audiences from North Carolina’s Merlefest to Oregon’s String Summit to 2013’s February’s inaugural Mountain Song at Sea and all points between.

Banding together in 2005, Town Mountain is Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, Robert Greer on lead vocals and guitar guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, and newest member Jon Stickley rounds them out with his steady bass and rock-solid guitar and vocals. They share the kind of easy-going friendly bond that relays itself through their music. One listen to their instantly memorable songs, and it’s plain to see why Grammy-winner Mike Bub would align with the group to produce Leave the Bottle as well as 2011’s Steady Operator. Banjo player extraordinaire and longtime member of the Sam Bush Band, Scott Vestal, also joined the team by engineering the new album, which was recorded at Digital Underground Studio in Nashville, TN.

Their undeniable charm and winning way with words recently won Town Mountain a spot on Putumayo’s recent Bluegrass release, showcasing the song “Diggin’ on the Mountainside” alongside tracks from Alison Krauss, David Grisman, Sam Bush, Railroad Earth, The Seldom Scene, and more. Town Mountain has collaborated and/ or performed along with Doc Watson, Jim Lauderdale, Steep Canyon Rangers, Acoustic Syndicate, Keller Williams, Larry Keel, David Grisman, and The Infamous Stringdusters. They’ve been branching out as a band and as teachers, making their first overseas jaunt to Finland in the spring of 2012 and holding court at workshops in Canada, St. Louis, amongst other cities. The prestigious International Bluegrass Music Association has twice selected Barker for their songwriting showcase (2010 and 2011), and the band was part of the official showcase in 2011.

Thanks to their relatable, unforgettable lyrics along with their arresting stage presence and swagger, Town Mountain manages to rise above the seemingly bottomless canyon of bluegrass bands touring today and, inevitably, they will be traveling close to you sometime soon. Come on out and enjoy music filled with contagious energy and creative original scores!

Town Mountain. Photo by Jason Beverly.

Town Mountain’s “Leave the Bottle” Tour

Sat, July 7th – Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle with Steve “Big Daddy” McMurry
Sun, July 8th – Aberdeen, NC – The Rooster’s Wife House Concert Series
Thur, July 19th –  Raleigh, NC – The Pour House Music Hall
Fri, July 20th – Staunton, VA – Mockingbird Roots Music Hall
Sat, July 21st – Ashland, VA -Ashland Coffee and Tea
Sun, July 22nd – Brooklyn, NY – Jalopy
Tue, July 24th – Cambridge, MA – The Cantab Lounge
June 25th – Grey, ME – Caswells Farm presents Bluegrass in the Barn
Fri & Sat, July 27-28th – Hiram, ME – Ossipee Valley Music Festival
Mon- Wed, July 30th – Aug 1st – St. Louis, MO – The Folk School of St. Louis – Workshop Residency
Fri, Aug 3rd – Fort Collins, CO – Acoustic Bridge Musical Potluck
Sat, Aug 4th – Keystone, CO – The Keystone Bluegrass and Beer Festival
Sun, Aug 5th – Casper, WY – Bear Trap Summer Festival
Wed, Aug 8th – Winter Park, CO -Ullrs Tavern
Fri, Aug 10th – Gold Hill, CO – The Gold Hill Inn
Sat, Aug 11th – Longmont, CO -The Dickens Opera House w/ Spring Creek
Aug 13-19th – Saskatoon, SK, Canada- Town Mountain will be teaching and playing at the camp this week. Northern Lights Bluegrass and Old Tyme Camp & Fest
Thur, Aug 23rd – Knoxville, TN – Barley’s Taproom
Sat, Aug 25, 2012 – Norfolk, VA – The Virginia Zoo Concert Series
Fri, Sept 7th – Portland, OR – Mississippi Pizza Pub
Sun, Sept 6th – Seattle, WA – “The Spotlight” House Concert
Sat & Sun, Sept 8-9th – Sisters, OR – Sisters Folk Festival
Tue, Sept 11th – Seattle, WA -The Tractor Tavern
Sat, Sept 15th – Asheville, NC– Brewgrass Festival w/ The Traveling McCoury’sMore tour dates on: townmountain.net/blog/tour/

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Songsmith Gathering Features Sarah Siskind, Moses Atwood, Jill Andrews & Chris Rosser at the Porter Center in Brevard on Sat, May 19th

 

Songsmith Gathering at the Porter Center in Brevard on Sat, May 19th

Features Sarah Siskind, Moses Atwood, Jill Andrews & Chris Rosser

Fundraiser for SAFE: a non-profit offering programs and services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Transylvania County

Beer/Wine for sale

There will also be a Raffle and Silent Auction for SAFE!

Doors 6pm for a Happy Hour; Show 7:30pm

828-243-3496

One Brevard College Drive, Brevard, NC 28712

Brevard.edu

Purchase Tickets online

theportercenter.org

Mountain Song Productions in association with SAFE, Inc, announces the 3rd Annual Songsmith Gathering: An Evening of Song on May 19, 2012 at the Porter Center for Performing Arts on the campus of Brevard College. Doors open at 6pm for a Happy Hour and Raffle* and the show starts at 7:30pm.

2012’s Songsmith Gathering features dynamic and prolific songwriters Sarah Siskind, Moses Atwood, Jill Andrews and Chris Rosser and helps provide funding for SAFE, Inc, a non-profit offering programs and services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. SAFE has served Transylvania County’s victims of domestic and sexual violence for over 25 years, averaging over 350 clients a year with programs that provide support and education for victims and their families as well as a Domestic Violence Intervention Program.

Event host and producer, John Felty of Looking Glass Entertainment said, “Out of all the events that I produce, this is one of my favorites. Hosting the show and doing live interviews and dialog on stage with the artist adds spontaneity and allows the audience a more in depth appreciation for the artists, who they are as people and where the songs come from. It gives me the chance to introduce some great artists to the community in a venue that is superb for songwriters.” Felty is also the producer of Mountain Song Festival, 2013’s inaugural Mountain Song at Sea Bluegrass Cruise in February, The White Squirrel Festival and co-producer of Music on the Mountaintop.

Songsmith Gathering raffle tickets can be purchased in advance and you need not be present to win. More details about the raffle are below and tickets are available at SAFE’s Attic and Attic Interiors stores. Tickets for Songsmith Gathering are $20-$25 plus service fees and can be purchased online or at Rockin Robin Records in the college plaza. For more information call 828-243-3496 or visit theportercenter.org. Local sponsors include Comporium, Transylvania Regional Hospital, Everett Farms, UPS and Elements Spa.

About the Performers:

Sarah Siskind has been called “the best female singer/songwriter in America today” by Steve Binder, legendary TV director/producer and Nashville’s “Best New Voice” by Southern Living. She has toured with Bon Iver who also famously covered her “Lovin’s For Fools” and The Swell Season. She has written songs for Randy Travis and Alison Krauss including Grammy nominated “Simple Love.” Sarah has performed live on NPR’s Tiny Desk, World Cafe with David Dye and her music has been featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered and NPR’s Song Of The Day. Her previous album “Say It Louder,” was called “a masterpiece” by Bonnie Raitt. Americana Songwriter says, “Her music is an unlikely but riveting amalgam of folk-rock and jazz fusion; her spectacular voice reveals Appalachian, Celtic and gospel influences”

Siskind’s most recent album “Novel” was released in 2011 and features her powerful voice while utilizing traditional instruments, including her beloved Gibson, as well as salt canisters, dry rice, and oatmeal boxes as a percussion section. She made a snare out of a storage box with sheets of paper taped to the top. Swept away by the muse, Sarah would continue to record the rest of the songs this way, finishing it with just one microphone, several guitars (including her beloved Gibson, Larry), and “found sounds” from her home back in Nashville. Sarah engineered, tracked and produced “Novel” with no boundaries, no one else in the room, on her own.

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Moses Atwood set sail with sophomore album “One Bright Boat” on March 30, 2012. The album was produced at Waking Studio, the new digs of Bill Moriarty (Dr. Dog) in Philadelphia. Running like a current through the record is Atwood’s talent for telling a story in fleeting images and washes of sound. These aren’t ballads but modern song-sketches of places longed for and passed through, people met and parted with, time passing. His music has been compared to Van Morrison and Randy Newman.

Atwood’s sound is rootsy with a hint of blues, but with a melodic sense that is more contemporary. Atwood studied classical guitar at the San Francisco Conservatory and has been called gregarious and open with a powerful voice contrasted yet complimented by his instrument of choice, guitar, resonator guitar or piano. Rare is it that we find an artist who can deliver this type of emotionality. His writing and his persona seem to come from a soul that is old; making it so when you look at this talented young artist, it makes you wonder if he hasn’t experienced a previous life. Atwood is a Damariscotta, Maine native who migrated south to explore the music that inspired him. He now resides in Asheville, NC and finds the area supportive and inspirational for him as a songwriter.

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Jill Andrews has been singing her whole life: as a little girl in Johnson City, Tenn., as a camp counselor plucking out three chords on an acoustic guitar under swaying pine trees, as one-half of The Everybodyfields—and, since 2009, as an increasingly formidable singer/songwriter making her way on her own. A smart, subtle tunesmith and a gently wise songwriter, the now Nashville-based Andrews crafts beguiling, startlingly intimate songs that merge her voice with her effortless, classic-pop sensibility and keen eye for human drama.

It starts with the her voice. Before you notice the words, before you detect the gently curling melodies tugging them along, this is what hits you first: It’s warm and rich and touched with a soft Southern twang, as likely to swing down into its earthy lower register as arch upwards into a hopeful trill; it’s steady and sure but flecked with a certain weary sadness that stops you dead, draws you near. It’s beautiful. It knows something.

~~~~~~~~~~

Chris Rosser is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, composer and producer. As a solo singer-songwriter and as a member of the world-jazz instrumental trio Free Planet Radio, he plays a variety of instruments, including the Indian dotar, Turkish cumbus oud, guitars, melodica and piano. As a producer, he has produced about forty recordings for various artists in his Asheville, NC based studio Hollow Reed Studio including Beth Wood’s “Marigolds” which he also performed on many of the tracks.

He has won songwriting contests at the Rocky Mountain Folks and Merle Watson festivals, been selected as a New Folk Finalist. With the help of a 1999 WNC Regional Artists grant, he continued his studies of Hindustani classical music and the sarod (a 25-string fretless Indian lute) with world famous Indian musician Ali Akbar Khan in San Rafael, CA. He was awarded a 2003 Songwriter/Composer fellowship from the NC Arts Council.

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*

*More about the TLC Raffle:

As part of Songsmith, SAFE will be hosting The TLC Raffle (Travel, Love and Comfort). Three themed packages, each valued at close to or over $1000, will be up for grabs! You do not have to be present to win and raffle tickets are available at SAFE’s Attic and Attic Interiors stores.

The Travel package includes a week vacation with Wyndham Resorts, with travel accessories from Highland Books, Moosetracks and Main Street Limited.  A camera donated by Transylvania Regional Hospital to help document the trip!

The Love package includes a couple’s massage from Elements Spa, dinner for two at Falls Landing, a night at The Inn on Main, flowers from Floressence and his and her gifts from Stones and Lowes. Top it off with wine from Toxaway Wine & Cheese in a picnic tote and movie tickets to the Co-Ed!

The Comforts of Home package is headlined by a $400 Kaelee Denise photo sitting for the family, catered dinner for 8 with Will Ecker of TRH, interior and exterior design consultation by Camarilla Design and Fry Nursery, a full house cleaning from Edna Hensley and more outdoor goodies from Whistlin’ Dixie.  Raffle tickets for these amazing packages will be available for sale during the Songsmith Gathering as well as prior to the event during the happy hour.

For more information about Songsmith Gathering call 828-243-3496 or visit theportercenter.org.

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Dreamspider Bands at Merlefest 2012: Donna the Buffalo, Red June, The Honeycutters, Johnson’s Crossroad & Jonathan Scales Fourchestra

Dreamspider Publicity is so excited about MerleFest 2012! Dreamspider is working with 5 acts that will be performing this weekend including Donna the Buffalo, Red June, The Honeycutters, Johnson’s Crossroad, and Jonathan Scales Fourchestra. Both Red June and The Honeycutters have albums due out soon!  Please click on the images for links to their websites.

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Donna the Buffalo’s feel-good, groove-oriented, danceable and often socially conscious music all began over twenty years ago with roots in old time fiddle music that evolved into a soulful electric Americana mix infused with elements of cajun/ zydeco, rock, folk, reggae, and country. Donna the Buffalo is known for touring the country remaining fiercely independent as one of the industry’s most diverse roots-music bands and has “earned a reputation as one of the most respected, eclectic and hardest-working acts today,” praises Encore. The dynamic songwriting tandem of vocalists Jeb Puryear and Tara Nevins have penned over 180 songs in their collaboration with DTB and have many more in the making.

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Donna the Buffalo MerleFest Schedule:

Thursday, April 26, 2012:
Outreach:  1:30 PM- 2:30PM (DtB performance at Wilkes Middle School)
Media Tent: 4:30-5PM
Watson Stage: 6:45-7:45PM (Donna The Buffalo with Jim Lauderdale)
Autograph Signing: 8:15-8:45PM

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Friday, April 27, 2012
Traditional Tent: 2:30-3:30PM (Tara Nevins and Friends)
Hillside Stage: 6:15-7PM (DtB)
Dance Tent: 10:30-11:59PM (DtB)

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Saturday, April 28, 2012
Creekside Stage: 2-3:30PM Tara will sit in for a song with Peter Wernick’s Flexigrass

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Sunday, April 29, 2012    
Traditional Tent: 11:30AM-12:30PM Tara will take part in the “Women Who Sing Traditional Music” workshop

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Red June is an acoustic trio based in Asheville, NC who creates and performs beautifully distilled Americana music. They are making waves with their dynamic, yet refined sound that features striking 3-part harmonies, tasteful instrumental work and honest, soulful songwriting that seamlessly blends old-time, bluegrass, roots rock and traditional country music. Poised to release their second full-length album, Beauty Will Come, on June 5th, 2012, listeners can expect an album to fall in love with. “The record is a brilliant integration of old-time, bluegrass, and beyond, and feels like a holding of hands… the blend is beautiful,” says singer/songwriter Kari Sickenberger of Polecat Creek.  Red June is made up of Will Straughan on resonator guitar, vocals and guitar, John Cloyd Miller on mandolin, vocals and guitar, and Natalya Weinstein on fiddle and vocals.

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Red June MerleFest Schedule:

Friday, April 27, 2012
Dance Tent: 12:45-1:45 PM “Learn to Clog with Carol Rifkin and Red June”
Dance Tent: 8:30PM Natalya will be a guest performers at the Square Dance
*
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Americana Stage: 11:00-11:45AM
Autograph Signing: 12:15-12:45PM
Traditional Tent: 1:30-2:15PM
Traditional Tent: 3:30-4:15PM Natalya will be part of the Fiddle Workshop
Dance Tent: 4:15-5:45PM

*

Sunday, April 29, 2012
Media Tent: 11:00-11:30 AM
Cabin Stage 12:20-12:45PM
Autograph Signing  1:15-1:45PM

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The Honeycutters are excited to introduce their second full length studio release, When Bitter Met Sweet this spring. Like their first release, Irene, When Bitter Met Sweet features singer/songwriter Amanda Anne Platt, who has been hailed as “one of the best songwriters coming out of WNC these days” by WNCW programming director Martin Anderson. Peter James accompanies her on lead and rhythm guitar as well as harmony vocals. The Real Southern Say, “I can see a day when her name is mentioned alongside Lucinda Williams, Mary Gauthier and Gillian Welch. She’s just that good.”

 *

The Honeycutters MerleFest Schedule:

Friday, April 27, 2012
Americana Stage: 9:45-10:30AM
Creekside: 1:15-2PM
Austin Alumni Hall: 2-3:30PM Amanda is a guest judge @ Chris Austin Songwriting Contest
Austin Alumni Hall: 8:55-9:10PM Amanda will be performing a solo songwriter session
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Saturday, April 28, 2012
Media Tent: 1:30-2PM
Cabin stage: 3:05-3:30PM
Autograph signing:  4-4:30PM

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Johnson’s Crossroad has been described by friends and fans as everything from Appalachian Soul” to “Hillbilly Metal.” The band blends blues, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, and Appalachian Old Time for a sound that The Daily Times’ Steve Wildsmith calls “both mournful and jubilant, breezy and graveyard serious.” He goes on to comment that frontman Paul Johnson’s voice “barely rises above a growl, but he stretches that sound to encompass the experience of a train-hopping hobo and the wisdom of an old man recalling loves lost and wars fought from the porch of a backwoods cabin.”  Watching his back is mandolin player Keith Minguez, a strong friendship at the core of the group… ironically enough the band originated on Keith’s first visit to MerleFest watching John Hartford perform.
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Johnson’s Crossroad MerleFest Schedule:

 Friday, April 27, 2012
Walker Center: 1:15-2:00PM
Creekside Stage: 3:45PM-4:30PM
Autograph Signing: 5-5:30PM
Austin Stage in Alumni Hall: 10:05-10:20PM Songwriter Coffeehouse with Paul Johnson
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Saturday, April 28, 2012
Media Tent: 10-10:30AM
Cabin Stage: 11:15-11:45AM
Autograph Signing: 12:30-1pm
Americana Stage: 1:30-2:15PM
Plaza Stage:  5:45PM- 6:30PM
Autograph signing: 7-7:30PM

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Classically trained composer turned steel pan maestro and front man of the Fourchestra, Jonathan Scales is heavily influenced by the complexity of banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck to the hustle of Jay-Z and is known for his unique presentation of the Steel Pan that brings the instrument into new realms of musical influence and has been called, “… a rising star of the steel drums” by Traps Magazine and “The Real Deal [with] a Thelonius Monk-like attitude with a Mozart creativity that works” by Pan on the Net. Fusion-chops bassist, Cody Wright provides the harmonic support for Scales’ sound, while jazz/hip-hop drummer, Phill Bronson, drives the time-shifting, modern grooves.  Premier Steel Pan Magazine When Steel Talks says, “At the end of the day, Scales is going to be a major play in rewriting the books on steelpan music outside of the box.”

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Jonathan Scales Fourchestra MerleFest Schedule:

Friday, April 27, 2012
Media Tent: 10:30-11AM
Watson Stage: 11:45AM-12:45PM
Autograph signing: 1-1:30PM
Hillside Stage: 2:15-3PM
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Saturday, April 28, 2012
Walker Center: 9:15-10:15AM Intimate performance for ticketed guests @ Patron Breakfast
Walker Center: 11:15PM-12AM Midnight Jam Opening Act
Mayes Pit-Cohn Auditorium: 2:45 PM 3:30PM Steel Drum Workshop

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Big Brown Bag Songwriting Competition Finals Hosted by Jenny “Juice” Greer at MoDaddy’s Friday, Dec 11th

Asheville’s own cosmic Willy Wonka of music and more, multi media wonder, Jenny “Juice” Greer has brewed up The Big Brown Bag Songwriters Competition to keep up warm at MoDaddy’s on Monday nights this fall. The series takes place at MoDaddy’s on Biltmore Ave in Ashevillle and began on October 5th and the last weekly round is Monday Dec 7th with the Finals on Friday December 11th. Also, big Thanks to the Wedge Brewery for sponsoring the beer for judges and musicians! Also sponsoring are Henco Reprographics for event printing needs, local music ambassador Rhoni Sampson with Gorilla Marketing, and Dreamspider Publicity.

The rules to enter each week: Each act is limited to three people on stage, no amplifiers, and two songs per act. Each week there is a rotating cast of celebrity judges consisting of local seasoned musicians and music industry professionals. This is in the spirit of fostering relationships amongst the different sectors in the music industry here in Asheville. The four judging criteria are lyrics (words, poetry, content), vocal performance, musical composition/ instrument playing, and stage presence (which includes crowd response).

For the Big Brown Bag Series Finals on Friday, December 11th, each weeks winners will be showcased. Three finalists will be chosen to perform a second round that evening from which the Big Brown Bag winner will be chosen by the celebrity judges: international touring musician David Wilcox, Rebecca Sulock (A&E Editor at the Mountain Xpress), Bad Ash (Radio host at 105.9 the Mountain and 98.1 the River), Brian Landrum booking for the Grey Eagle and producer Robert George.

The audience will also be voting on the winner of the Audience Choice Award.

Live Video Streaming on the internet of this Big Brown Bag Series Final is provided by David Conner Jones at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/big-brown-bag-songwriting-competition-finals.

What do the finalists win ? Other than the Brown Bag, past winners of the final have played at LAAFF 2007 and the Mountain Sports Fest 2008. This year, Jenny Juice has been collaborating with local restaurant/ bar Jack of the Wood to book some of the weekly winners in the pub throughout the winter and spring. The three finalists of the shootout that come back to play one song each. These three performers will go on WNCW’s Local Color with Laura Blackley within in the next month so be on the lookout. Hillcreek Studios will host  a party featuring BIG brown bag final winner the as well as the runners up.

Weekly Winners So Far (and who you should expect to see at the Finals):
Valorie Miller
Ten Cent Poetry FINALS WINNER!
Lyric Jones
Taylor Martin
Shane Connerty FINALS RUNNER UP!
Dulci Ellenberger
Kate McNally AUDIENCE CHOICE WINNER!
Lyndsy Wojcik
Mike Willis SECOND RUNNER UP!
Julian from Baby Cowboy

You can also read more about The Brown Bag Series in the recent Mountain Xpress Article.

The idea for hosting the Big Brown Bag Series here in Asheville came to Jenny Juice about three years ago. It stemmed from similar songwriting competitions that take place at Eddies Attic (which one of Asheville finals just recently won the Finals!) in Atlanta and the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. The idea of the Brown Bag is that everyone who performs puts a few dollars into the bag upon entry. This brown bag is also passed around the audience to throw in a bit of cash and it is then awarded to the winner at the end. For the Finals, the brown bag will be filled by only the people that come and partake in the crowd and not the performers. Then, at the end of the night, the one lucky winner keeps the brown bag with the cash.

Jenny is quick to point out that this is not about the money, though. This series is here to support original songs and songwriters through a listening room experience and to provide a network for the musicians to get to know one another. People are asked to keep their talking to a minimum during each performance so that everyone can really hear each person songs. 2009 Performers thus far have included many longtime Ashevillians, newcomers to the area, and everything in between across multiple genres of music and style.

Prizes for the winner include: $500, hand-made trophies by Dreamspider Publicity, one free 1/4 ad in Mountain Xpress, treasured spot on Laura Blackley’s Local Color wncw.org, poster printing from Henco, and Gorilla Marketing from Rhoni Sampson via Orange Peel and Anythings Possible Productions.

If you’d like to support the lucky winner with a prize please email jen@jenandthejuice.com

If any of you witnessed this event in the past, you can testify, it was a beautiful thing. Last time it was held at the Root Bar the finals looked like a Walmart parking lot on black Friday! 😉  Everyone that comes out should hope to hear some cool songs, be inspired, and support the the Asheville music scene.

Details at a Glance:
Big Brown Bag Songwriting Competition Finals
MoDaddy’s
Friday, December 11th
Brown Bag cash prize for winner!

Tix $6

Jenny “Juice” Greer
www.jenandthejuice.com

77-B Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC 828-258-1550
www.myspace.com/modaddysbar

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