LIVE ALBUM RECORDING: Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters Two Nights at The Grey Eagle Fri-Sat, Nov 2-3

Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters
Two Nights at The Grey Eagle
185 Clingman Ave., Asheville, NC

Amanda Anne Platt and her Honeycutters are excited to be making a
LIVE RECORDING of their upcoming shows at the Grey Eagle
Both nights will be recorded and the best cuts selected from the two sets,
to create an album that will be released in 2019

“We’ve never made a live album and I’m looking forward to putting something out that will capture our on stage energy and the spontaneity of a live show. The Grey Eagle is one of my all time favorite venues, and this is a homecoming show for us, so it makes that this is the weekend we do the recording”
—Amanda Anne Platt

NIGHT ONE: AMANDA ANNE PLATT & THE HONEYCUTTERS (SEATED SHOW)
FRIDAY · NOV 2, 2018
doors: 7:00 pm / show: 8:00 pm; All Ages; $15-$18
Bob Sumner Opens

NIGHT TWO: AMANDA ANNE PLATT & THE HONEYCUTTERS (STANDING ROOM ONLY)
SATURDAY · NOV 3, 2018
doors: 8:00 pm / show: 9:00 pm; All Ages; $15-$18
Oliver Bates Craven Opens

ASHEVILLE, NC —  After a whirlwind of a summer, Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters are excited to return home from overseas and play two nights at The Grey Eagle, Friday and Saturday, November 2 and 3 as a homecoming! Amanda says, “This has been one of the craziest summers of my life… possibly the craziest year. There’s so much going on in the world, and my own small world has seen its share of changes, from babies being born, illness, our tour van burning to a crisp on the side of the Texas highway, getting married…and this tour has been a wonderful way to encapsulate all the madness. It’s an incredible feeling to be so far from home and hear people singing along with every word of one of my songs. We’ve been in so many different places and met so many new people, and where I might have expected to feel lost and scattered, there has been an overwhelming sense of connectedness and camaraderie at every turn.”

Lyrically driven, the songs of Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters blend the band’s old-school country roots attitude with their shared influences of rock and folk. Based in Asheville, North Carolina, Amanda Anne Platt is a storyteller by nature with an incredible band backing her. Performing along Platt, The Honeycutters are Matt Smith on pedal steel and guitar, Rick Cooper on bass, Josh Milligan on drums and harmony vocals, and Evan Martin on keys and guitar.

The band is thrilled to have returned from their overseas tour which will led them back to England and Scotland as well as to Ireland, Spain, and The Netherlands from late August through the end of September! To some wonderful International reviews:

Jump In Hot’s Juan Fitzgerald writes, ““Amanda Platt and her band The Honeycutters from Asheville, North Carolina brought over a warm country glow … and provided top class songs and musicianship throughout the evening… for me her solo spot was another high spot and the song ‘Americas Blues’  about the dreadful state of American politics at this present time again hit the spot.”

Americana UK’s Jim Finnie writes of them, “Great songwriting, an incredibly tight sound with very high-quality musicianship from the whole band and it all gets brought together with Amanda’s glorious voice,” and Rootstime in Belgium says, “Amanda’s singing heartbreakingly beautiful.”

A homegrown entity, the band is critically acclaimed locally, regionally, nationally, as well as overseas. Their most recent album Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters [Organic Records 2017] placed #2 (sandwiched between Jason Isbell and Gregg Allman) in their regional radio station WNCW’s year end listeners poll for 2017! The station’s Music Director Martin Anderson said to No Depression, “Amanda Platt writes songs on par with Lucinda, Isbell, Lauderdale, Hank Sr. In my opinion, anyway.”

Music City Roots’ Craig Havighurst writes, “She’s soothing (even in the hurtin’ songs) and sobering (except for the drinkin’ songs) and nuanced in a way that I think tops even those rather famous ladies of the moment named Margo and Kacey… I’d be hard pressed to find a finer string of recordings from any band working in the classic country/mountain tradition in these last five years.”

Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters are a diamond in the rough, and through their music, travels, the friendships they make along the way, they will continue to bring music straight from the heart to the world.

Watch the official music video for “Birthday Song” → https://youtu.be/K168ib7ltTc

Watch the official music video for “Jukebox” → https://youtu.be/T87FD97QNRU

More information at www.TheHoneycutters.com, www.facebook.com/Honeycutters, and www.twitter.com/thehoneycutters.

 

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NPR’s World Cafe Comes to Asheville’s The Grey Eagle Featuring Jon Stickley Trio & The Honeycutters on Tue 2.23

The Grey Eagle Hosts NPR World Cafe’s ‘Sense of Place’
with Jon Stickley Trio & The Honeycutters on Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Tickets are on sale now at → http://bit.ly/WorldCafeAtTheGreyEagle

ASHEVILLE, NC — NPR’s World Cafe, produced by XPN in Philadelphia, is bringing the show to Asheville’s The Grey Eagle on Tuesday, February 23rd for an evening of entertainment with Jon Stickley Trio and The Honeycutters, two Asheville-based bands who have both been making headlines across the country. World Cafe host David Dye will be in the house to interview with them before each band performs. This is a special show with limited seats available, so get tickets early before it sells out. Doors are at 7pm and the shows starts recording at 8pm. Tickets are on sale now at www.TheGreyEagle.com. $15/$18. Come see it LIVE! It will air at a later date, tba!

The New York Times calls Jon Stickley Trio’s sound “respectful and free” and NPR Music featured a track off their new album Lost at Last on their program Heavy Rotation with Folk Alley’s Linda Fahey writing, “Jon Stickley has been playing in bluegrass bands for years, and is known as a progressive and adventurous flatpicker, but his musical roots and influences range widely to include rap, grunge, punk and more… [It’s] a wonderfully unique sound that defies easy categorization.”

Nashville’s Music City Roots’ Craig Havighurst says of The Honeycutters, “Vocalist Amanda 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.” Saving Country Music goes on to write, “…Platt’s songwriting could be placed in the exceptional category, at least from the evidence Me Oh My [2015 Organic Records] presents in her favor. It’s not just the sorrow and sincerity, it’s the insight and the resonance.”

Since launching World Cafe in 1991, David Dye has served as the host of this nationally acclaimed show, now syndicated on more than 250 public radio stations across the United States. Every week, Dye brings out the best in interviews with internationally known artists such as Yo-Yo Ma and Joni Mitchell. He has conducted nearly 4,500 interviews during his years with the program. He introduces a half-million listeners each week to groundbreaking artists like Vampire Weekend, Mumford & Sons, PJ Harvey, Sheryl Crow, Beck, LCD Soundsystem, and Amos Lee.

World Cafe’s Sense of Place is a quarterly series which brings the whole crew, including host David Dye, to various cities around the world. Previous shows have been recorded in Rio de Janeiro, Iceland, Havana, Stockholm (Sweden), Dublin, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Austin, Pittsburg, Nashville, Memphis, Portland, and more. Sense of Place is made possible by a grant from The Wyncote Foundation in hopes to give you an idea of the past and present of various local music scenes and some pointers for musicians or music-lovers planning a visit.

Asheville-area NPR affiliate, WNCW, consistently sings praise for each band; The Honeycutters placed #3 with Music Director and Morning Host Martin Anderson saying, “Amanda Platt writes songs on par with Lucinda, Isbell, Lauderdale, Hank Sr.” Anderson says of Jon Stickley Trio, who placed #13 in the poll, “Asheville has a force to be reckoned with in the tight three-piece perfection of the Jon Stickley Trio. It’s pretty incredible how closely the three play with their unique blend of Appalachian, jazz, maybe even prog-rock styles.” You can tune in to World Cafe on WNCW weekdays between 4am to 6am and 6pm to 8pm.

For more information, please visit www.xpn.org/world-cafe/sense-of-place, www.TheGreyEagle.com, www.jonstickley.com, and www.thehoneycutters.com.
Get Tickets at http://bit.ly/WorldCafeAtTheGreyEagle.

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AMP Music Marketing & Publicity Workshop at The Grey Eagle on Tue, Aug 25th – Free!

Asheville Music Professionals Presents:
Music Marketing and Publicity Workshop
at The Grey Eagle on Tuesday, August 25th
Free Event! 6-8pm
185 Clingman Ave., Asheville, NC 28801
www.TheGreyEagle.com

RSVP on Facebook
Find out more at www.AshevilleMusicProfessionals.com

Join Asheville Music Professionals (AMP) at The Grey Eagle on Tuesday, August 25th for a free workshop on the best practices of marketing for musicians with publicists Crissa Requate and Erin Scholze, author and editor Alli Marshall, as well as non-profit director and events publicist Josh Stack. The workshop goes from 6-8pm and will feature a panel discussion exploring topics ranging from when to hire a publicist, what a publicity campaign consists of, and creative ways to promote your band through social media.

Seyrn performs that evening at 9pm, just after the workshop. Expect a dynamic show featuring layered textures of guitars, ukulele, accordion, bass, violin, banjo and various percussion. The Dallas Observer raves the band displays “beautiful arrangements (both in instrumentation and in vocal harmonies) and an epic “big sky” sound that, at times, seems more fitting washing over dilapidated wooden pews in an old church than the usual torn-up couches, vinyl booths and barstools of area venues.” As a special for AMP attendees, The Grey Eagle is offering a discounted $8 ticket price to the show (reg price $10 ADV / $12 DOS).

Topics covered in the AMP Music Marketing and Publicity Workshop include:

• How to work with media, when to send a press release and what it should entail, best ways to ensure coverage and what NOT to do
• Assembling a music team: What are the first steps and each person’s role? How the team ties in to the whole process of growing a band (ie. management, booking agents, publicists, radio promoters and their relationships to venues promoters, journalists, radio programmers, photographers, etc.)
• When is the right time to hire a publicist?
• What does a publicist do?
• What your publicist needs from you
• What are the press materials band needs for promotion? (ie. professionally written and current bio, high resolution press shots, music videos, tour posters, etc.)
• The cycle of working a record
• The importance of radio promotion
• Cross promoting: when and when not to join forces with another band/nonprofit/business to increase media exposure and draw
• The importance of social media

More about each panelist:

Crissa Requate is CEO and Founder of Mason Jar Media. Based in Asheville, NC, Mason Jar Media provides creative publicity and radio promotions campaigns for festivals, artists, events, and brands. Requate has over 10 years experience as a music publicist and moved to Asheville in 2007 from Brooklyn, NY. Her current client roster includes Bonnaroo, Forecastle, Shaky Knees And Shaky Boots, Brewgrass, Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa Festival in Mexico and the WayHome Festival in Toronto. Artists on the Mason Jar Media roster include ALO, Perpetual Groove, TAUK, Earphunk, Rising Appalachia, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, and The Hip Abduction. www.masonjarmedia.com

Erin Scholze is Founder and Sole-Proprietor of Dreamspider Publicity. She offers services to musicians which include album promotion and national publicity for touring bands as well as festival and event marketing, social networking and consultations about the basics of self-promotion. Her current clients include Donna the Buffalo, Everyone Orchestra, The Duhks, Town Mountain, The Honeycutters, Tellico, Jon Stickley Trio, Suwannee Springfest, Magnolia Fest, and Songlines Americana and AAA Radio Promotion. She’s represented a variety of other acts throughout the years, including many from Asheville. Erin headed up LAAFF as Stage Entertainment and Marketing Director from 2002-2010 and also has planned, promoted, and/ or consulted on a plethora of other music events during her career. www.dreamspider.net

Alli Marshall is the Arts Section Editor at Mountain Xpress. She’s been on staff with the local publication since 2003. Alli grew up in Western New York and moved to North Carolina to attend Warren Wilson College. She’s been published in music and lifestyle magazines such as Our State, Metro Pop, Shuffle and Blurt!; her debut novel is How to Talk to Rockstars. www.alli-marshall.com

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Josh Stack is Founder and Executive Director of local nonprofit FATE – Funding America Through Entertainment, which media campaigns to publicize corporate philanthropic activity in conjunction with high profile entertainment events. Stack has worked professionally as a musician, and enjoyed PR success in the corporate, nonprofit, and entertainment industries. Clients that he works with include Widespread Panic, Gov’t Mule, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Bruce Hornsby, Jim James, amongst others. www.supportfate.org

Asheville Music Professionals aims to set the standard for good music business practices while acting as a common voice for the Asheville music industry. AMP 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.

Find out more about Asheville Music Professionals and how to get involved at www.AshevilleMusicProfessionals.com

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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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Town Mountain, Foghorn Stringband & Brad Folk Perform at The Grey Eagle on Fri 3/29

The Grey Eagle is hosting a special evening of string music on Friday, March 29th with Town Mountain, Foghorn Stringband, and Bradford Lee Folk & the Bluegrass Playboys. Doors are at 8pm and the show starts at 9. CLICK FOR MORE INFO

Town Mountain: TownMountain.net
Asheville, NC bluegrass band Town Mountain is touring with their fourth album, Leave the Bottle, which was released September 4th, 2012 on Pinecastle Records and was produced by Grammy award-winner Mike Bub (Del McCoury Band) and engineered by banjoist extraordinaire Scott Vestal (Sam Bush Band) at his own Digital Underground Studio in Nashville, TN. After debuting at #4 on the Bluegrass Today Radio Chart on release week, Leave the Bottle has been generating rave reviews and serious airtime from bluegrass fans across the country. The album went on to be listed as #6 Best Bluegrass Album of 2012 by Pop Matters (who called it ”An absolute triumph of a record”), and WNCW listener voted it #19 in the Top 100 albums of 2012 and #7 in regional bands for the WNC area. Town Mountain is Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, and Jake Hopping on upright bass.

Foghorn Stringband: foghornstringband.com
The sound of the Portland, Oregon’s Foghorn Stringband could have come barreling through the grille-cloth of those big console radios in the living rooms of the 1950’s, when the traditional sounds of rural America were still on the minds of young musicians transferring the old-time music to a distinctively modern age. Their tight instrumental work and line-up – fiddle, banjo, mandolin, bass and guitar – is reminiscent of early bluegrass, but their powerful approach is wholeheartedly old-time, centered largely by the fiddle. Devoted to the interpretation and performance of American stringband music, their style encompasses early country music, the fiddle repertoire of the Southern Appalachians and the Midwest, and the stringband sounds of the Piedmont region.

They are highly regarded by traditional music lovers, and have recently been tapped by one of the country’s most renowned musicians of the genre, Dirk Powell, to perform as the Dirk Powell Band. While they are committed to playing authentic old-time music, the members of Foghorn Stringband are not strict recreationists in costume; yet neither are they experimentalists of the digital age. Whether it’s on stage in a rock venue, a bluegrass festival, or at a dance in the Grange Hall, they further this great tradition through a profound belief that old-time music, played in a traditional way, is still relevant and very much alive in the 21st century.

Bradford Lee Folk & The Bluegrass Playboys: bradfordleefolk.com
Bradford Lee Folk discovered a deep personal love for music at an early age. Raised in a musical family, he had his first professional performances before the age of fifteen when he got his first guitar. Born in Louisiana and raised in Missouri, Bradford’s love for traditional country and blues music has guided him through a lifelong pursuit of music. “Few people inhabit the old sound like Brad Folk. When I hear his songs I feel as if a very important part of our tradition is again proving itself not only relevant but essential,” says Yonder Mountain Stringband’s Dave Johnston.

His first major effort came in the form of  “The Open Road Bluegrass Band” (1996-2006), a band which he named and started, who went on to record 3 Rounder Records “Cold Wind”,  “In the Life”, and “Lucky Drive”. Those award-winning records launched a career that took him all over the world and declared him one of bluegrass music’s top young performers. Now, Bradford is on the brink of re-emerging better than ever with some great musical friends in Nashville “The Bluegrass Playboys”, Matt Combs (fiddle), David Long (Mandolin), Robert Trapp (Banjo), John Fabke (Bass). Bradford, truly a seasoned songwriter, “can spin a lyric indeed and when he sings, he pours those lyrics right into your heart,” says Jeremy Garret of the Infamous Stringdusters.

Details at a Glance:
Town Mountain with Foghorn Stringband
and Bradford Lee Folk & the Bluegrass Playboys
The Grey Eagle Friday, March 29th
Doors open at 8pm; Show starts at 9pm
Tickets are $12 adv/ $15 at door
185 Clingman Ave. 28801
828-232-5800
www.thegreyeagle.com
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/592250634125568/

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Tara Nevins Announces Shows in Atlanta 12/5 and Asheville 12/7

Tara Nevins Performs in the Southeast this Winter
Performing Songs from Her Latest Solo Release ‘Wood & Stone’

NEW DATES: Tara Nevins and Friends on Tour:
Wed 12/5  Atlanta, GA  Smith’s Olde Bar
Thur 12/6  Charlotte, NC  The Double Door Inn
Fri 12/7  Asheville, NC  The Grey Eagle
Sat 12/8  Huntsville, AL Kaffeeklatsch

Click here for updated information and a cast of performers!

American roots traditionalist Tara Nevins will be touring this winter in the southeast for select shows, in between her other gigs with Donna the Buffalo. She will be performing songs from her latest solo release on Sugar Hills Records which hit in the Top 20 on the Americana Music Chart in 2011. Wood and Stone is an exploration of her own heritage, musical and otherwise and was produced by Larry Campbell at the Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY. It showcases Nevins’ ever-evolving repertoire as she journeys both back to her own “roots” and head-long into new territory. Featured guests on the album include Levon Helm, Jim Lauderdale, Allison Moorer, Teresa Williams, The Heartbeats, along with the core band of Larry Campbell, Justin Guip, and Byron Isaacs.

Fans of Nevins from her 22-year tenure with Donna the Buffalo are familiar with her versatile talents; she shares the vocal and songwriting responsibilities for the band and is a stellar musician on fiddle, guitar, and accordion. (She plays a mean scrubboard too.) Prior to DTB, Nevins was a founding member of the all-female, old time/Cajun band The Heartbeats. (They join her on two tracks here as well.) Wood and Stone delivers the musical expertise fans have come to expect and surprises with new perspectives.

WATCH- Stars Fell on Alabama Official Music Video
WATCH – Tennessee River performance and interview

Performers for the shows

Tara Nevins– vocals, fiddle, guitar
Mike Compton – Mandolin
Mark Raudabaugh – Drums
Riley Baugus– Banjo
Todd Phillips – bass
Tommy Hannum – pedal steel & electric guitar
Amber Dawn Rische– harmony vocals and 2nd fiddle
Tba – Acoustic Guitar

What the Press says about Tara Nevins’ “Wood & Stone”

“A tour de force from start to finish” – Kay Cordtz, Elmore

“With the wonderful fiddle groove and vividly written lyrics, Nevins gives a glimpse into her roots. Stepping out for a rare solo record (beyond her beloved band, Donna the Buffalo), she meshes her Cajun influences, unique voice, drums and steel guitars for an intriguing look at her heritage.” —CMT

“If heroes and heroines of rock ‘n’ roll are defined by their uniqueness, they definitely broke the mold when they made Tara Nevins.” —Wildman Steve, The Corner News

“The centerpiece of the album, in my opinion, is the sweeping “The Wrong Side,” which features Allison Moorer and Teresa Williams. It’s a track sounds like it was from the O’Brother Where Art Thou? sessions, but the same could be said of the haunting “Stars Fell On Alabama,” where once again Nevins shows her prowess on the fiddle. This is an exceptional piece of music, one that I think needs to be heard—to prove that people are still cutting “Country Music” these days!” —Chuck Dauphin, Music News Nashville

“a wide-ranging affair encompassing all manner of rootsy Americana, spiced with Nevins’s voice and multi-instrumentalist skills, served up in a package that is polished but never slick. Nevins, in other words, is the real deal.” —David Maine, Pop Matters

“The sound is both loose and tight at the same time; the band knows how to walk that line and let Nevins be herself. To put it simply, it just plain works.”  —Brian Robbins, Jambands.com

“…….and a version of “Stars Fell on Alabama” that is now among my favorites. She has rearranged the tune magnificently and rekindled the spirit of the song.” —Cat Johnson, No Depression

“Wood And Stone adds another powerful and engaging chapter to Nevins’ musical achievements”. —Steven Stone, Vintage Guitar

Visit Tara Nevins website www.TaraNevins.com for more information about the album, a gallery of images, videos, music, and lyrics.

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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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The Honeycutters Release New Album “When Bitter Met Sweet” CD Release Show at The Grey Eagle on May 5th

The Honeycutters Release NEW Album “When Bitter Met Sweet”

The Grey Eagle

Saturday, May 5th

Moses Atwood Opens

Doors 7pm, Show starts at 8pm

$8 adv/ $10 at door

185 Clingman Ave. 28801

828-232-5800

www.thegreyeagle.com

www.thehoneycutters.com

In a world that is becoming increasingly digitalized and impersonal, the Honeycutters are building a reputation based on live performance and songs that tend to stick with you. Fitting into Americana realm, Mountain Xpress’s Alli Marshall calls The Honeycutters’ sound, “Old school country in the truest sense… free of twang and ten-gallon hats but full of real emotion, family history, quick wit and strong liquor.”

In an interview with the Folk to Folk Blog, Amanda says that part of the Honeycutters appeal is that their sound harkens back to simpler, more honest times. “In times like these, people want something real,” she said. “They’re just really craving something that’s just going to connect them to that basic human pool of emotion.”

The Honeycutters are excited to introduce their second full length studio release, When Bitter Met Sweet on June 5th, 2012. They are hosting their Asheville CD release show at the Grey Eagle on Saturday, May 5th. Copies of the album will be available at the show. Moses Atwood opens the show, which starts at 8pm sharp. The Honeycutters will also be making an appearance on WNCW’s Studio B during the 11 o’clock AM hour on Thursday, May 3rd… tune in at http://wncw.org.

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. They are backed up by Tal Taylor’s signature mandolin playing, Ian Harrod on bass, and Jon Ashley on drums creating an original brand of Americana that has proved equally appealing to both the musician and the music lover, the country and the city, and the old and the young.

Platt’s songs are shaped by a raw honesty that comes straight from the heart and emits a sort of melancholy happiness. The album features 11 tracks that touch upon childhood and loss of innocence, finding a sense of belonging and one’s voice, truth, love and patience, traveling and embarking on new life-journeys (and the fears that go along with these), and the understanding that comes about when life’s circumstances come full circle.

The title track, “When Bitter Met Sweet” is a song about the end of love looking back at the beginning.  Platt says, “I think it’s important not to lose sight of what was good about something even if it is ending.” “For Eleanora,” was inspired after reading a biography of Billie Holiday and reflects on a similar thought of polarities that, “It seems like so often the partners of extreme talent and specialness are self-destruction and doubt.”

The song “90 Miles (The Tennessee Song)” is featured on Blue Ridge Outdoors Trailmix for 2012 Merlefest Artists. It was written after her first trip to International Folk Alliance in 2010, an event that can be quite overwhelming at first. An admitted introvert, Amanda was faced with the challenges of how to be heard amongst all of the activity of events such as these. And make herself heard is exactly what she went on to do; becoming a finalist at 2011 Merlefest’s Chris Austin songwriting contest for her song song “Little Bird” (unrecorded). She was asked to return as a guest judge for the contest, along with Jim Lauderdale, for the 2012 Merlefest (Where The Honeycutters will also be performing a few sets this year). The same song won first place in the Great Lakes Song Contest in February 2012.

“All I Got, ” is a song Amanda calls, “a love song I wrote a long, long time ago, before I had actually ever been in love” and was selected for WNCW’s 2010 Crowd Around the Mic Vol. 14.

“Fancy Car” features Platt’s father on harmonica. He also sits in on “Not Over Yet”  which she says that when she sings it she imagines a child leaving home for the first time, wanting freedom but scared of what it might cost.

When Bitter Met Sweet was co-produced by Amanda and Peter with the assistance of Aaron Price, and was recorded at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, NC after securing funding through a successful Kickstarter campaign. Along with the full band, many special guests make appearances on the album including Matt Smith (pedal steel and dobro), Nicky Sanders (fiddle), Mark Platt (harmonica), Je Widenhouse (coronet), and on drums Mike Rhodes and Richard Foulk and for various songs. The album was engineered (and partially mixed) by Jon Ashley with the assistance of Julian Dreyer, mixed by John Keane and mastered by Dave Harris at Studio B Mastering in Charlotte, NC.

Their first full length studio release Irene, released in May 2009, has landed them in Ian Hughes’ NoDepression Podcast’s Top 20 of 2009, Fret Knot Radio Hour’s “Nine you need to know from ’09”, and #32 in WNCW’s listener voted Top 100 of 2009.

Since putting out Irene the Honeycutters have shared the stage with such Americana favorites as Tony Rice, The Greencards, Jill Andrews, The Steep Canyon Rangers, Donna the Buffalo, and The Seldom Scene.  They have been voted Western North Carolina’s favorite local Americana act (2011 Mountain Xpress reader’s poll) and delighted audiences from upstate New York to Seattle, Washington. They are currently touring around the release of When Bitter Met Sweet.

Stay tuned to thehoneycutters.com for more news about the album and their tour.

What the Press is saying about The Honeycutters:

“I can see a day when her name is mentioned alongside Lucinda Williams, Mary Gauthier and Gillian Welch.  She’s just that good.” —The Real Southern

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“They’ve got a sound as classic as grits… I thought of those country songs that play on those diner jukeboxes you see in movies.” –Charlotte’s Creative Loafing

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“Amanda Platt’s striking, timeless vocals form the cornerstone of her often heart-wrenching songs, while producer Pete James’ understated guitar and gentle harmonies round out the duo’s saccharine-sweet mix.” –Dane Smith, Mountain Xpress

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“Amanda’s lyrics are both sardonic and sweet, which adds a contemporary element to their country twanged Americana sound [which] is more influenced by the harmonic tendencies of country singers like Johnny Cash and June Carter” —Folk to Folk Blog.

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“I recommend the Honeycutters not only because they’re some of the best my hometown of Asheville, NC, has to offer. Their music embodies a very catchy, accessible, optimistic sort of spirit so frequently lacking in folk circles (where brooding, hyper-analytical music reigns supreme). What’s more, like Carolina Story, they’re a great band replete with tasty harmonies.” –Kim Ruehl, Folk Music About.com

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“If anyone can make this old metalhead want to whip out the cowboy boots and hat, order a couple of Budweisers and spin my woman around the dance floor, the Honeycutters can.” –Brent Fleury, Bold Life Magazine

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“Amanda’s voice sings like Carolina farmlands after a rainstorm” –Harvey Robinson, Monkeywhale productions

www.thehoneycutters.com

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Town Mountain Signs with Pinecastle Records

Columbus, NC – February 21, 2011 – Pinecastle Records is proud to announce that it has signed Town Mountain to its roster. The band brings a unique energy to the label with their mix of mostly original material that creates a hard-driving, no nonsense, foot stomping bluegrass sound mixed with slow country crooning and a honkytonk edge. Town Mountain safely brings it all together in a way that has wowed not only their local Asheville, NC music scene but also crowds across the country since their first national tour in 2005, which they capped off by winning the prestigious Rockygrass Band Competition. Town Mountain features Phil Barker (mandolin, vocals), Robert Greer (guitar, vocals), Jesse Langlais (banjo, vocals), Bobby Britt (fiddle), and Jon Stickley (bass, vocals).

Musical influence, fine-tuned vocals, precision crafted instrumentalists, and charming stage presence are all ingredients in what makes a sound…unique. One more ingredient that is essential in producing this sound: new songs. Town Mountain has the capacity to bring fresh and exciting material to their high quality music. With topics ranging from love lost and heartache to the weariness of a midnight drive across America’s heartland to politically charged topics that most steer clear of. You will find that Town Mountain’s songwriting is heartfelt, sincere and honest. Their upcoming album, Steady Operator, has an official street date of  May 10th and the band is planning a CD release party at The Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC on March 19th.

“This album is a culmination of thousands of miles traveled across America, playing for audiences as diverse as the traditional bluegrass crowd to the hippie jam band contingent in big cities and festivals to pubs and house concerts. Diverse audiences that have one thing in common, a love for inspired, original, well played music, performed with a spirit that appeals to fans of all types and ages.” -Mike Bub, Steady Operator Producer and Grammy winner with The Del McCoury Band

www.townmountain.net

http://pinecastlemusic.com/pressrelease/2011/townmountain.html

Booking:
Rob Miller
Pickin’ Productions
pickinproductions@gmail.com
www.pickinproductions.com

About Pinecastle Records:
Pinecastle Records has been a key player in the transmission of bluegrass music to the masses for the last 20 years. Orlando, Florida business man Tom Riggs started the label in 1989 as a favor to a friend who was looking for an outlet for their newly recorded CD. Pinecastle has long developed young artists including Kristin Scott Benson, Terry Eldredge, and Josh Williams and has also been the home to bluegrass legends such as the Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, and Charlie Waller & the Country Gentlemen. In all, it has released nearly 250 projects.

Today, Pinecastle is situated in the mountains of southwestern North Carolina owned by businessman and medical doctor, Lonnie Lassiter. After taking ownership on August 1, 2010, Dr. Lassiter brought two of the company’s former executives on board to head up the new venture. Ethan Burkhardt was named the company’s Vice President of Operations and Matt Hood its Vice President of Public Relations.

2881 NC 108 HWY E.
Columbus, NC  28722
828-376-0065
info@pinecastlemusic.com
www.pinecastlemusic.com

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