Sarah Potenza Stirs The Pot on NBC’s The Voice Nashville Singer-Songwriter Heats Things Up with Passion and Flare Turning The Heads of All 4 Judges on The Voice

Sarah Potenza Stirs The Pot on NBC’s The Voice

Nashville Singer-Songwriter Heats Things Up with Passion and Flare
Turning The Heads of All 4 Judges on The Voice

“Sarah Potenza, the bawdy rocker babe.” –The Huffington Post

“You [Sarah Potenza] gave this generation something they have never seen before.”
–Pharrell Williams

“Hannah Kirby and Sarah Potenza duel in the season’s most memorable battle”
–Hollywood Reporter

“I first heard Sarah sing at a gig in Chattanooga, and she blew the roof off the place, she reminds me of a modern Americana Janis Joplin…she brings it”
–John Oates

NASHVILLE, TN — Sarah Potenza hails from Rhode Island and currently lives in Nashville, TN. She’s one hard workin’ music lady with a passion for performing, authentic, heart-felt songwriting about real-life and that undeniable voice quickly put Music City on notice. In just over a year in the area, Potenza has earned a spot among East Nashville royalty, performing and and touring with the likes of Todd Snider, Elizabeth Cook, Jim Lauderdale, Kevin Gordon, and Derek Hoke while managing to land several coveted slots such as a feature performance at the historic and world renowned Bluebird Café and the globally broadcast Music City Roots program. MCR’s Executive producer, John Walker says, “From the first word I heard Sarah Potenza sing, I was an instant fan. Her voice is soulful and seasoned, and there is never any doubt that she means what she is singing. No Identity crisis here. Sarah knows who she is… and I’m anxious for the rest of the world to find out.”

And that is exactly what is starting to happen for Potenza. As she’s been touring and writing music for an upcoming release with her husband Ian Crossman, she also decided to audition for NBC’s The Voice. She performed a blind audition of the up-tempo rock classic, The Faces’ “Stay With Me.” By the time she ended, all four judges had turned their chairs, not being able to resist her soulfully rockin’ sounds, they had to see for themselves the person behind it.
You can watch it here →
https://youtu.be/3m0LiIOG-0I

The Tennessean reports, “‘This is weirdest day that I’ve ever had,’ she said as she faced Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams and fellow coaches Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton. She ultimately decided to join Shelton’s ‘Team Blake’ — perhaps a sage choice, considering Shelton coached another Nashville singer (Craig Wayne Boyd) to a first-place finish last year.”

Being on Team Blake led her into a Voice Battle (or rather what Pharrell Williams called a “duel”) with fellow contestant Hannah Kirby duetting on the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter.” Again, all four judges were enthralled and gave them a standing ovation, with Aguilera calling Potenza “a force to be reckoned with.” Blake Shelton calls Potenza as the winner of the battle, saying “That’s probably the best battle I’ve ever been a part of.” Shelton goes on to say he went with Sarah because “there’s something so different about her.”
Watch it and see The Voice’s reaction here →
https://youtu.be/tis3Yo_zCt8

Hear from the woman herself in this fabulous interview about her inspirations and thoughts on participating with The Voice →

For more information and to stay up to date with Sarah on The Voice, please visit www.nbc.com/the-voice/artists/season-8/sarah-potenza

Sarah Potenza is well on her way for more of the world to hear her monster vocals and her honest reflective songwriting. Stay up to date with news and find out more about Sarah Potenza at www.sarahpotenza.net.

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Sturgill Simpson Tours The SouthEast With New Album: High Top Mountain

Sturgill Simpson Tours the Southeast
New Album: High Top Mountain

Sturgill’s hitting some GREAT towns in the SouthEast…
Wed 9/4 – Asheville, NC – The Altamont Theatre
Thu 9/5 – Chattanooga, TN – Scenic City Roots
Fri 9/6 – Louisville, KY – The New Vintagee
Sat 9/7 – Knoxville, TN – Barley’s Knoxville
Sun 9/8 – Atlanta (Decatur), GA – Eddie’s Attic
Mon 9/9 – Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre
Wed 9/11 – Charlotte, NC – The Evening Muse
Thu 9/12 – Raleigh, NC – The Pour House Music Hall
* ***************************************************  *

Nashville sounds like Nashville again on High Top Mountain, the debut release from singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson. From furious honky-tonk and pre-outlaw country-rocking to spellbinding bluegrass pickin’ and emotional balladry, the album serves as a one-stop guide to everything that made real country music such a force to be reckoned with. Pure and uncompromising, devoid of gloss and fakery, High Top Mountain’s dozen instant classics evoke the sound of timeless country in its many guises and brings back the lyrical forthrightness and depth that permeated the music Simpson absorbed during his Kentucky childhood.

“…this is GOOD COUNTRY. You know, the kind cut from the same mold as Waylon, Willie, and Johnny. ..outlaw, gritty, country-rock with a shot of bourbon (no ice.) …We’re glad he gave up the railroad and got back to writin’ songs. There is something here for sure. Something I think any music lover (country or not) can appreciate.” —MOKB Presents

“’The most outlaw thing that I ever done is give a good woman a ring,’ sings Simpson on ‘Life Ain’t Fair And The World Is Mean,’ off his new album, High Top Mountain, which mostly works to subvert the outlaw myth. Not that Simpson disdains outlaw’s forefathers, but High Top Mountain tells his own story. He started recording it in mid 2012, laying down tracks at Hillbilly Central and other studios in Nashville with players like ‘Pig’ Robbins on piano and Robby Turner on pedal steel. Simpson says the record is an effort to ‘capture the music my grandfathers played.’ The album is named after a cemetery where many of Simpson’s family members are buried, near his family’s home in the Appalachia coal town of Jackson, Kentucky. The town is on the Kentucky River in Breathitt County, about 50 miles south of Sandy Hook, where Keith Whitley was born, and also not far from Cordell, where Ricky Skaggs was born. ‘I love it. In my heart it will always be home,’ says Simpson” —Davis Inman, American Songwriter

For more about Sturgill Simpson and further tour dates, please visit: http://sturgillsimpson.com.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Peter Rowan and The Mosier Brothers Present “Roots & Branches” ~ An Eclectic A-Z Musical Journey of Songs & Stories From the Life of Peter Rowan

Peter Rowan and The Mosier Brothers Present “Roots and Branches”
An Eclectic A-Z Musical Journey of Songs & Stories From the Life of Peter Rowan

Wednesday, June 13th   Riverbend Festival  Chattanooga, TN
Thursday, June 14th   Pisgah Brewing   Black Mountain, NC
Friday, June 15th  The Pour House  Charleston, SC
Saturday, June 16th  The Handlebar  Greenville, SC

*****
themosierbrothers.com/roots-branches
peter-rowan.com

We are thrilled to announce Peter Rowan will be joining The Mosier Brothers for a series of select shows! Peter Rowan has played in Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys, with Jerry Garcia and David Grisman in the supergroup Old & In The Way, and with Tony Rice and a host of other acclaimed musicians throughout his storied career. Now, the Grammy winner joins The Mosier Brothers, the Atlanta band that evolved from the psychedelic hick-hop jamgrass band, Blueground Undergrass.

Rowan says, “I am always ready to collaborate with Jeff Mosier and his fine musicians, to explore the musical tree of Americana-bluegrass roots. We might even find some new branches on the old tree! We can harvest new fruit from old roots!”

Jeff Mosier and Peter Rowan met in 1985 on Mosier’s radio show in Atlanta. Since 1998 they have shared the stage together many times including Suwannee Springfest and Magnolia Festival in Live Oak, Florida. Rowan has always been a key figure in The Mosier Brothers career giving them what Mosier calls “the inspiration to fly between the extremes of traditional and progressive bluegrass music styles, even entering into psychedelic jamgrass and rock.”

The Mosier Brothers, originally from Bristol, Tennessee, have always maintained their “brother sound” amid their various configurations. The solid band sound that Rowan had heard from them over the years, along with their collective stage experience, eclectic musical taste, and genre bending tendencies, created the perfect creative soil in which to forge ahead with a project which both Mosier and Rowan had been thinking about for years. Johnny Mosier’s ability to switch-hit between playing bluegrass with flatpick style guitar, to rock, swing, and jazz on electric guitar, along with Jeff’s unique ability to compose “pick and jam” rock songs on the banjo, are the true ingredients of the “Mosier sound.”

Johnny and Jeff Mosier. Photo by Ian Rawn.

Veterans of the jamband and jamgrass scenes, The Mosier Brothers have been entertaining audiences for over 30 years (longer if you consider pickin’ on the front porch with their family), first with the bluegrass band Good Medicine for 23 years. In the late 1980’s, Jeff Mosier got his first experience playing Rock on the cutting edge of the newly developing jamband scene as a founding member of Col. Bruce Hampton’s Aquarium Rescue Unit, the band that gave him the stage name “Rev.” In 1994 he toured with Phish and tutored them in the ways of bluegrass. The Phish Companion writes “Perhaps no guest artist has had as great an influence on the band’s music as the Rev. Jeff Mosier…”. The brothers re-joined in 1998 in Jeff Mosier’s first nationally known brainchild, Blueground Undergrass, one of the earliest bands to merge bluegrass instruments and traditional tunes with the magnetic energy of Rock n Roll. Then, in 2010, they formed The Mosier Brothers which more finely blends the traditional bluegrass sound of Good Medicine and the jamming of Blueground Undergrass into a more song-driven Americana roots rock unit, all while remaining an eclectic endeavor.

For these “Roots and Branches” shows, Peter Rowan and The Mosier Brothers will be performing an A-Z retrospective of Rowan’s musical career.

Peter Rowan. Photo by Ronald Rietman.

The band will take the audience on a musical journey that builds throughout the evening, starting with the traditional bluegrass of Rowan’s days with Bill Monroe in the 1960’s, then leading into the progressive bluegrass years of Old and In The Way, Crucial Country, and The Free Mexican Air Force. The result: a night of life-affirming songs with rich melodies and harmonies, all led by the compelling stories of Peter Rowan that will serve as the backdrop for each musical number. Of that, Mosier says, “I think people really want and need to hear ‘songs’ now more than ever, and more importantly, the stories that inspired them.”

Mosier continues, “We can go anywhere Peter wants to go musically with this show, because his career helped mold our own musical taste. He’s been such a major influence on us. He’s like our Bill Monroe and Beatles all in one. The Monroe generation of players spawned the Rowan generation, and the Rowan generation spawned the Mosier generation, no doubt.”

Johnny Mosier adds, “After years of enjoying Rowan’s music from the audience, to actually perform with him on stage is a true joy and career high for me.”

Peter Rowan and The Mosier Brothers will be both acoustic and electric for each performance, as will their band of Kris Dale on bass, Edward Hunter on fiddle, and Will Groth on drums. The Rowan/Mosier recipe will give the songs a new spin while keeping the original flavor, in what promises to be one of the tastiest of musical collaborations.

themosierbrothers.com/roots-branches
peter-rowan.com

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Freight Train Boogie’s video interview with Tara Nevins at Americana Fest

Freight Train Boogie‘s interview with Tara Nevins, (Donna The Buffalo), recorded at the Americana Music Conference in Nashville, TN. Oct, 14th, 2011. She talks about her latest album, Wood & Stone.

Here’s Donna the Buffalo’s Tara Nevins performing “Snowbird” from the lobby of The Sheraton Hotel in Nashville during the Americana Music Assoc. conference. Recorded by Bill Frater (Freight Train Boogie) with an iPhone 4, pardon

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

Stephaniesid Fall Tour Dates

www.stephaniesid.com

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

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

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

Here is what the press is saying about the album!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Americana Bluegrass Band, Dehlia Low, tours around New release this weekend in New Orleans, Mississippi, and Nashville!

Dehlia Low pushes bluegrass music squarely into the emerging Americana genre, combining their gripping, rustic-flavored vocal style with extraordinary instrumental prowess in original songs that feel at once both old and new. The band’s Rebel Records debut Ravens & Crows is the eagerly-anticipated follow up to their acclaimed 2009 independent studio release, Tellico. Produced by Travis Book of Grammy-nominated and IBMA Emerging Artist winners The Infamous Stringdusters, Ravens & Crows will help firmly establish Dehlia Low as one of the most compelling and distinctive young groups on the acoustic music scene today. With their tasteful, sometimes moody blending of different styles, the group has created a unique sound that already seems fully mature and established.

The band will be touring around the new album throughout the Summer and Fall with stops this weekend in New Orleans, Mississippi, and Nashville!

Thurs, July 14th ~ Ogden After Hours ~ New Orleans, LA

Fri, July 15th ~ Hal & Mal’s ~ Jackson, MS 39201

Sat, July 16th ~ Blue Canoe ~ Tupelo, MS

Sun, July 17th ~  Bluebird Café‘s Sunday Spotlight (Free show!) ~  Nashville, TN

For more tour dates visit: http:www.dehlialow.com

“Dehlia Low is rapidly becoming a musical force to watch for.” ~ Bluegrass Unlimited

“The heartfelt mountain sounds of this new band recall the Carter Family and the Stanley Brothers.” ~ Diane Amov, Bluegrass Spotlight on MerleFest

“One of those kinds of bands that I just really fall in love with” ~ Iaan Hughes, No Depression

Dehlia Low formed in late 2007 as part of Asheville, North Carolina’s roots music renaissance. Singers Anya Hinkle (from Blacksburg, VA on fiddle) and Stacy Claude (from Atlanta, GA on guitar) pulled together a group of talented pickers from the region: Aaron Ballance on Dobro (Winston-Salem, NC), Bryan Clendenin on mandolin (Hurricane, WV) and Greg Stiglets on bass (Jackson, MS). The group’s sound is focused on original music rooted in bluegrass but with a distinctive country/folk feel true to their southern Appalachian roots.

Dehlia low on the web:
www.dehlialow.com
twitter.com/dehlialow
www.reverbnation.com/dehlialow
www.facebook.com/pages/Dehlia-Low

Videos:
Live at Merlefest
Live at the Mockingbird

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Archive: DtB in Chattanooga: No One’s Buffalo is Named Donna

Check out this writeup about Donna the Buffalo in Chattanooga. It was for their show at Rhythm and Brews on May 6th.

Also here is a link to Matt Dunmore Photography who took some great photos that night: http://mattdunmorephotography.com/www/05-2010/photography/donna-the-buffalo-rhythm-brews/

Photo by Matt Dunmore Photography

No One’s Buffalo is Named Donna

Written by Tara Morris,  Chattanooga Pulse
May 5, 2010 – 1:01 pm

…

Donna The Buffalo is a five-person ensemble consisting of Tara Nevins, Jeb Puryear, Dave McCracken, Jay Sanders, and Vic Stafford. For 21 years, this roots group has toured and spread their love of feel-good music that connects poetry, spirituality, and socially conscious ideals. Their 2008 release Silverlined on Sugar Hill Records hit number 8 on the Americana Music Chart.

To those not in the know, Donna The Buffalo might seem an “interesting” name. Countless scenarios of why someone would name their buffalo Donna engage the mind—but I have come to find out that it was purely a mistake. During their first show, an “under the influence” MC slurred their name from “Dawn of the Buffalo” to “Donna The Buffalo”—and they never went back.

A sweet story, just like the sweetness found in Tara Nevins’s vocals and the bounce in their sound. Words of peace and justice, love, life, and death flow from the speakers…Jeb and Tara have sung more than 140 songs together with DTB. This band has graced the stages of Bonnaroo, Camp Bisco, Rothbury, and Austin City Limits, to name a few. They’ve worked with such artists as Bela Fleck, Jim Lauderdale, Preston and Keith Frank, and with Nevins touring with the drummer of the Grateful Dead, Bill Kreutzmann’s band BK3, this band is no joke.

After more than 20 years of bringing musical love to the masses, it’s no surprise this band has an extensive fan base calling themselves “The Herd”. This unique and supportive community follows the band with zeal and is an extension of the band’s dedication to community and roots music. The music of DTB transcends age, and prides itself on expressing a celebration of life with every stroke of the fiddle and squeeze of the accordion.

This Thursday night, DTB will be joined by Nashville’s own Infamous Stringdusters, a Chattanooga favorite whose fusion of acoustic bluegrass is sure to impress. When these boys came together, they were hardly new to the scene, with ties to artists such as Dolly Parton, Charlie Daniels, and Vanessa Carlton. After the 2007 release of Fork in the Road, they toured extensively. The band starred in a documentary made about their touring experience, and signed a deal with Lions Gate Films, which will license their music for commercials and other media.

Despite all the name-dropping, these bands have worked their way up and will surely give you a chance to relax, engage, and get down. Dougher told me how long he has been trying to get Donna The Buffalo and shared his excitement. Once again it is a big week in the Valley for music, and with the many choices, we must all quit our jobs, panhandle for ticket money and give it all to every show we can. If this is a bit too much, then make a date and go see why Donna The Buffalo has been able to perform for so long.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://chattanoogapulse.com/music/music-feature/no-ones-buffalo-is-named-donna/

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