Chicago Farmer Joins Forces With The Band Of Heathens On ‘Flyover Country’ – 1st Single Out Now

Putting the Poetry in Motion,
Chicago Farmer
Joins Forces with The Band of Heathens

Flyover Country  – Due Out Feb 7, 2020
Recorded at The Finishing School in Austin, Texas

First Single “Indiana Line” Out Now →  https://chicagofarmer.hearnow.com

BLOOMINGTON, IL — For recording artists, albums can be like children — it’s hard to go on record choosing one as a favorite. But Cody “Chicago Farmer” Diekhoff doesn’t hesitate to designate his forthcoming release, Flyover Country, as his “golden child.”

“I think it’s my best work so far and definitely the one that I put the most into,” Diekhoff said of the 10-song album, due out Feb. 7, 2020.

Americana Highways premiered the lead single, “Indiana Line,” which is out now, saying, “With an ominous western intro, ‘Indiana Line’ builds up to a foot stompin,’  thumpin’ instant singalong. This bodes very well for Chicago Farmer’s Flyover Country. The harmonies with The Band of Heathens are irresistible, and the style is absolute contagion.” Listen HERE. 

Flyover Country, his sixth full-length studio album, comes on the heels of his double-disc live release, Quarter Past Tonight, and the new one signals a turning point for Diekhoff. Quarter Past Tonight was a sort of valedictory statement for Chicago Farmer as a solo tale-spinning troubadour. He felt it was time for a change.

 

Chicago Farmer – Photo by Bradley J Scott

I knew as I was writing these songs that they called for another direction — and a band. A band that was tight, had soul, and knew how to make records,” Diekhoff said. “I’ll always be a folksinger, but you can’t just keep doing the same thing over and over. I decided it’s time to throw some fuel on this fire and get it going. For me, it’s all about the poetry and playing with a band is about putting the poetry in motion a little differently.”

 

As he was contemplating how to make his next record, he had some dates opening for The Band of Heathens. Talking backstage with Gordy Quist of the Heathens, Diekhoff discovered that the Heathens had their own studio (The Finishing School) back home in Austin, Texas, and had a strong track record of working on recording projects with other musicians, including Margo Price and Reed Foehl. On top of that, the five guys in The Band of Heathens are all versatile, world-class musicians with soul and they know how to make records.

“It seemed like it was meant to be, a calling from the Americana rock ‘n’ roll gods,” Diekhoff said.

The Heathens thought as highly of Chicago Farmer as Diekhoff thought of them. “Cody writes and sings in a truly authentic voice about the people that inhabit the spaces that America’s hopes and dreams have been built upon. Always the underdog, sometimes overlooked, but never to be forgotten,” said Ed Jurdi of the Heathens.

With Quist and Jurdi serving as co-producers with Diekhoff, the Heathens and Diekhoff hit the studio with the blueprints for the next Chicago Farmer album. While there were some overdubs, Chicago Farmer’s voice was recorded completely live with The Heathens to drive his words even deeper. 

Diekhoff said. “I’ve never been put to the test like that before. It really made me kick it up a notch.”

“Cody came in with a stellar batch of songs and really had a good vision for what he wanted the album to be,” Jurdi added.

Diekhoff’s longtime collaborator Chris Harden served as recording engineer (and mixed the album), on top of adding harmonies on two songs, and Heather Horton added harmony vocals on three tunes.

Fans of Chicago Farmer will already know at least a couple of the songs on Flyover Country if they’ve seen a show in the past couple years. In fact, Diekhoff’s talking-blues tribute to hardworking, unsung, everyday heroes, “Dirtiest Uniform,” and his country-folk singalong anthem extolling the virtues of intimate live music shows and cheap beer over corporate arena concerts, “$13 Beers,” are among the highlights on Quarter Past Tonight.

Diekhoff and the Heathens cover a lot of musical territory on Flyover Country. “Indiana Line” is a country-tinged rootsy raveup, a tale of a desperate drive down the road to redemption with great, growling slide guitar work. The title track is a languid waltz with a shuffling beat and jangly guitar, an ode to the people of the rural heartland, his people, putting Diekhoff’s high vibrato to great use. A brisker waltz beat propels “Collars,” another tribute to small-town folks, this one inspired by a young soldier who didn’t come home from Iraq.

Harmonica and baritone guitar drive “Deer in the Sky,” an uptempo folk-rock number about the benefits of flying over driving (you can drink beer on a plane and you’ll never hit a deer). Things get downright raucous on a couple songs, with Diekhoff’s grunge-rock roots coming out on “Mother Nature’s Daughter,” an environmental protest song, while the guitars go to town on “All in One Place,” a humorous look at the sad truth about making money in the music business.

Diekhoff pays tribute to Hank Williams with the album’s sole cover, Williams’ “Ramblin’ Man,” while also honoring Kenny Forbes, a friend’s father who introduced a young Diekhoff to the music of Hank Williams, setting him off on his musical quest as a folksinger. “Ramblin’ Man” starts with a stripped-down presentation but by the final verse it explodes with intensity.

The album ends with “The Village Revisited,” a sprawling, gospel-tinged song about the importance of community that recalls Creedence Clearwater Revival’s take on “Midnight Special” at times and at the end sounds like a party has broken out in the studio.

Through all the songs on Flyover Country — and most Chicago Farmer songs, for that matter —runs a common thread, a love and respect for regular folks, those who might be overlooked and underappreciated.

“A lot of my friends are just getting by day-to-day,” Diekhoff said. “We keep at it, we keep working hard. Hopefully, eventually, things will turn around.”

When Flyover Country comes out in February, Diekhoff will put his solo troubadour days behind him, at least for a while. He’ll hit the road with a band, performing as Chicago Farmer and the Fieldnotes, something he’s really looking forward to after seeing how much fun The Band of Heathens have onstage.

This is Chicago Farmer’s first studio album in four years and it will be available on CD and vinyl, as well as digital & streaming services. Pre-order Flyover Country now through Kickstarter → http://kck.st/2KbMnLX.

Chicago Farmer Flyover Country Tour Dates
All Shows Feature Chicago Farmer & The Fieldnotes:
Chicago Farmer, Jaik Willis, Cody Jensen, & Cosmic Charlie Harris 

2019
12/26 Thu – Monarch Music Hall – Peoria, IL
12/27 Fri – Rosebowl Tavern – Urbana, IL
12/28 Sat – Hey Nonny – Arlington Heights, IL

2020
2/7 Fri – The Bootleg – St. Louis, MO
2/8 Sat –  The Eagle’s Theater – Olney, IL
2/9 Sun – Stellar Cellar – Effingham, IL
2/14 Fri – Castle Theatre – Bloomington, IL
2/15 Sat – Fitzgerald’s Nightclub – Berwyn, IL
2/16 Sun- Anodyne Coffee – Milwaukee, WI
2/21 Fri – The Turf Club –  St Paul, MN
2/22 Sat – The Outer Edge – Appleton, WI
2/28 Fri – Southgate House – Newport, KY
2/29 Sat – Duke’s INDY – Indianapolis, IN
3/6 Fri – Redstone Room – Davenport, IA
3/7 Sat – Vaudeville Mews – Des Moines, IA

Flyover Country Track Listing and Credits

1. Indiana Line 3:51
2. Flyover Country 4:59
3. Mother Nature’s Daughter 3:01
4. $13 Beers 3:17
5. Collars 5:23
6. All In One Place 2:51
7. Deer In The Sky 3:23
8. Ramblin’ Man 4:44
9. Dirtiest Uniforms 4:43
10. The Village Revisited 6:56

Chicago Farmer – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar 

The Band of Heathens:
Ed Jurdi – Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Harmonica
Gordy Quist – Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitars
Trevor Nealon – All Things Keys
Richard Millsap – Drums, Percussion
Jesse Wilson – Bass

With Special Guests:
Heather Horton – Vocals (3, 5, 10)
Chris Harden – Vocals (8, 10)

Recorded February 2019 at The Finishing School in Austin, TX
Produced by Ed Jurdi, Gordy Quist, & Chicago Farmer
Engineered & Mixed by Chris Harden

All tracks written by Cody Diekhoff with the exception of Hank Williams’ “Ramblin’ Man” 

Further information and tour dates can be found at www.chicagofarmer.com, www.facebook.com/chicagofarmer, and twitter.com/chicagofarmer.

 

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Innovative and Cinematic, Jon Stickley Trio Continues Onward – Tour Dates Announced

Jon Stickley Trio is a genre-defying and cinematic instrumental trio, which combines Stickley’s innovative flatpicking guitar with the sultry-spacy melodies of Lyndsay Pruett on violin along with classically trained and heavily jazz influenced drummer Hunter Deacon to create textural soundscapes.

“It’s not your father’s acoustic-guitar music—although Stickley’s pop showed him his first chords when he was 12 years old. Instead, Stickley’s Martin churns out a mixture of bluegrass, Chuck Berry, metal, prog, grunge, and assorted other genres—all thoroughly integrated into a personal style,” writes Guitar Player Magazine.

“Stickley is a super-resourceful acoustic guitarist who uses the instrument in many surprising ways and whose timing is just flawless. Fiddler Lyndsay Pruett puts deep thought into her flowing solos, plus she adds little flourishes and sudden stops that elevate the music,” proclaims Nashville’s Music City Roots’ Craig Havighurst.

Watch Jon Stickley Trio Perform “Echolocation” Live on eTown →

Stickley says of Deacon, the newest member of the Trio since January, “we’re really excited to have Hunter’s vibe in the mix, his creativity and willingness to experiment are two things that drew us to him. He has a lot of personality, and sensitivity in his playing which makes our dynamic range even wider. Lyndsay and I are inspired by what he brings to the table.”

“My time with the Jon Stickley Trio has been great so far,” says Deacon. “The two things I love are music and travel. With this group, I get to play music and travel, and as a huge bonus, I get to do it with two people that I really like and respect musically. I am also new to the jamgrass scene and I’ve got to say that it is about the most welcoming group of folks I’ve come across. It’s been an exciting few months and I can’t wait to burn up some more miles and make some more noise.”

Pruett says, “JS3 continues onward! Hunter brings a lightness and intricacy to the table that opens up the musical conversation to something a little deeper than it was before. It was a smooth transition to begin with, but the more we play, the more I realize our potential for improvisation and a continuing creativity.”

With inspiration ranging from from Green Day to Duran Duran to Tony Rice to Nirvana, Grateful Dead, David Grisman and beyond, the Trio is making waves with their unique sound. In the past few years, along with releasing two full length albums (2017’s Maybe Believe and 2015’s Lost At Last, both produced by The Bad Plus’ Dave King at Echo Mountain Studios in the band’s hometown of Asheville, NC) and one EP (2016’s Triangular), the Trio has zig-zagged the nation, playing over 120 dates a year. They are road tested and band geek approved!

 

Jon Stickley Trio. Photo by Heather Hambor

Premier Guitar says, “Stickley’s trio… is not a traditional bluegrass group by any means… they are just nimble and ambitious enough to navigate EDM-style breakbeats as effortlessly as the old timey standard ‘Blackberry Blossom.’”

Stickley says, “The Trio feels fresher and hotter than ever, we’ve hit our stride in terms of creating tunes that are uniquely us and that’s a really exciting place to be musically. Not to mention we are so stoked to get back to many of our favorite festivals and clubs, and even more excited to play some the ones we’ve always dreamed of. 2018 will, without a doubt, be our best year yet!”

They recently appeared on eTown, had several sets at the inaugural Bender Jamboree (where Stickley had a fun jam with Leftover Salmon and were joined by Sam Bush and Billy Strings), performed at WinterWondergrass, Cumberland Caverns, Savannah Stopover Festival, Suwannee Spring Reunion, Old Settler’s Music Festival among others. Others festivals on the tour this year include DelFest, Strangecreek Campout, John Hartford Music Festival, Duck Creek Log Jam, Homegrown Music & Mountain Sports Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, and Northwest String Summit.

Looking further out they are thrilled to play Bluegrass Underground at The Caverns in Pehlam, TN this November with Jeff Austin Band and Larry Keel and also have announced that they will be on Jam Cruise 2019!

 

Jon Stickley Trio On Tour
5/24 – The Clementine – Harrisonburg, VA
5/25-26 Fri-Sat – DelFest – Cumberland, MD
5/27 Sun – Strangecreek Campout – Greenfield, MA
5/31-6/1 Thu-Fri – John Hartford Music Festival – Bean Blossom, IN
6/2 Sat – Barley’s – Knoxville, TN *w/ A1Hundo
6/7 Thu – The Hunt House – Marietta, GA
6/8 Fri – Cold Mountain Festival – Canton, NC
6/15 Fri – Purple Fiddle – Thomas, WV
6/16 Sat – Duck Creek Log Jam – Logan, OH
6/22 Fri – Homegrown Music & Mountain Sports Festival – Fayetteville, AR
7/5-6 – Thu-Fri – High Sierra Music Festival – Quincy, CA
7/7 Sat – Pickin’ On Picknic – St. Clair, MO
7/12 Thu –  Central Penn Festival for the Arts – University Park, PA
7/13 Fri – Stable Studio House Concert – Chambersburg, PA
7/14 Sat – Red Wing Roots – Mount Solon, VA
7/18 Wed – Parilla Grill West Side – Bend, OR *w/ Cascade Crescendo
7/19 Thu – 7 Devils Brewing Co – Coos Bay, OR
7/20-22 Fri-Sun – Northwest String Summit – North Plains, OR
7/24 Tue – Tractor Tavern – Seattle, WA *w/ Front Country
7/25 Wed – The Bartlett – Spokane, WA *w/ Front Country
7/26 Thu – Great Northern Bar and Grill – Whitefish, MT  *w/ Front Country
7/27 Fri – Sawtooth Valley Gathering – Stanley, ID
8/4 Sat – Wild Leap Brewing Co. – LaGrange, GA
8/16 Thu – Woodlands Tavern – Columbus, OH *w/ The Trainjumpers
8/17 Fri – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH *w/ Larry Keel Experience
8/18 Sat – Hoxeyville Music Festival – Wellston, MI
8/19 Sun – The Hideout – Chicago, IL
8/20 Mon – The Cedar Cultural Center – Minneapolis, MN
8/22 Wed – Spread the Tunes Benefit – Spearfish, SD
8/24 Fri – Live From The Divide – Bozeman, MT
8/25 Sat – River City Roots Festival – Missoula, MT
8/28 Tue – Wind River Brewing Co. – Pinedale, WY
8/30 Thu – Globe Hall – Denver, CO
8/31-9/2 Fri-Sun – Four Corners Folk Festival – Pagosa Springs, CO
9/28 Fri – Groovin with the Grove – Philippi, WV
10/19-20 Fri-Sat – Bass & Grass – Fort Valley, GA
11/30 Fri Cave Jam at the Caverns – Pelham, TN *w/ Jeff Austin Band and Larry Keel

2019
1/15-21 Tue-Mon – Jam Cruise – Takes off from Miami

Jon Stickley was recently live with Premier Guitar for a Q&A and to play some tunes;
Check out the video here→ www.premierguitar.com/articles/27074-jon-stickley-live-at-pg

Js3 released a behind-the-scenes video from live shows of “Almost with You” → https://youtu.be/QRlKya9nZi8

For more information and updates from the road, please visit www.jonstickley.com, www.facebook.com/JonStickleyTrio, www.instagram.com/jonstickleytrio, and www.twitter.com/jonstickleytrio

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Jon Stickley Trio’s New EP ‘Triangular’ Out Now! “Pure Joy Through Music”

Jon Stickley Trio’s New EP, Triangular, Out Now!
“Pure Joy Through Music”

Get Triangular now on iTunes, Amazon, and CDbaby

Js3 Announces Plans to Record Next Full Length Album, Produced by Dave King (The Bad Plus) at Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville NC after Successful Kickstarter Campaign

ASHEVILLE — On the tail of their critically acclaimed 2015 album, Lost at Last, Jon Stickley Trio independently releases a brand new 5-song EP, Triangular, on December 2,2016. With roots in gypsy jazz, bluegrass, and hip-hop in an “exhilarating all-acoustic swirl” (Acoustic Guitar Magazine), Jon Stickley Trio combines Jon Stickley’s rapid-fire flatpicking guitar with the sultry and wild, yet refined, melodies of Lyndsay Pruett on violin set over the deep groove of Patrick Armitage on drums.

“In a time when a lot of instrumental music feels more like math than art, Jon Stickley Trio’s Triangular reminds us of the pure joy that can be created and shared through music,” says Greensky Bluegrass’ Anders Beck.

Jon Stickley Trio is on tour this winter with shows in the southeast this December in Knoxville, Kingsport and Charlotte. Jon also has a couple of shows booked with Andy Thorn (Leftover Salmon) and Travis Book (The Infamous Stringdusters) in North Carolina mid-month. On December 30th, the Trio pops up north to Richmond, Virginia to open for The Infamous Stringdusters before heading home to Asheville for a special New Year’s Eve Celebration with The Honeycutters on Dec 31st. In early January, Jon Stickley travels to Denver to play two nights as a part of the Bluegrass Generals featuring members of The Infamous Stringdusters, Greensky Bluegrass, and more. The Trio joins up again in Wray, Colorado on the 21st with some surprise mystery dates out west TBA. There’s a scattering of other dates announced including WinterWonderGrass in California in the spring and FloydFest in the summer in Virginia. More to come!

The EP, Triangular, was recorded at Blue Sprocket Sound in Harrisonburg, VA this summer and was sent early to anyone that donated $10 or more to their recent successful Kickstarter Campaign to help them head back into Echo Mountain Recording Studio this winter with Producer Dave King (Of The Bad Plus) to record a yet un-named new full length album due out in 2017. The band surpassed their goal and reached $29,120 and is currently in studio recording..

“I like to think of music as a two way street, a reciprocal experience between musician and audience,” says Lyndsay Pruett. “The Kickstarter campaign really affirms my view on that. And it truly becomes about more than the money. Money is the thing we all know we need to make the world go around, but this process allows people to have an extra level of personal involvement. We have conversations with people we’ve met at shows from all over the country, and they become involved in the next record. Then when we go back to those places to play the music for them the experience is more substantial, and more fun, of course.”

Triangular features five songs leading out with with “Blackburn Brothers”, of which Beck says, “While the opening notes remind the listener of Tony Rice’s Manzanita (one of the greatest acoustic guitar albums of all time), one is suddenly catapulted into Jackson 5 territory a few minutes later in the same song. Sure, comparisons to previous musicians are a good way to explain a new artist to the masses, but to do so is to cheat Stickley of what he really is: a damn genius, a musical mastermind, and one of the most unique, creative, and inventive guitar players I’ve ever heard.”

“Plain Sight” was penned by Jon after the mass shooting at a concert in Paris. ”It’s as much an angry response to the perpetrators as it is a mournful tribute to the victims,” says Stickley. The music features Lyndsay’s delicate pizzicato violin plucking, Patrick’s breakbeat drum vibes, and Stickley’s signature high speed shredding. The third phase of the tune breaks down to a gentle trading of melodic lines by Jon and Lyndsay.

“Palm Tree” is a tropically themed dance tune has become a staple of the band’s live shows. It changes time signatures between 5/4 and 6/8, but remains danceable and accessible. The purpose of “Palm Tree” is to jam out and have fun, and that’s what the Trio does on this track. You can hear Jon and Lyndsay pushing each other while Patrick “cooks” underneath, heating up the skillet till its HOT.

“Echolocation”’ is a tribute to whales and the beautiful songs they sing underwater. The most evocative of the songs on the record, it features the cello-like longbows of Lyndsay’s violin that mimic the whales’ songs. Patrick’s epic drum solo over Lyndsay and Jon’s unison arpeggios is a climactic moment that is one of the band’s most dazzling recorded moments to date.

“Manzanita” is a classic composition by Jon’s hero, guitarist Tony Rice, is arguably one of the most important pieces of music in Newgrass history. The Trio recorded this song as a tribute to those who came before and took musical risks that changes the history of music.

“Since bluegrass players started delving into jazz, they’ve been composing progressive acoustic music, but so much of it has lacked the comfort in its own skin that Stickley’s songs possess.” Anders Beck says of Stickley’s style,“I could go on and on about how amazing it is that his twisty and turny songs don’t feel forced, and always bob and weave at the right time; or how Stickley’s guitar playing shares as much in common with the flow of the greatest rappers of all time as it does with his flatpicking heroes... I think you get my point. Stop reading this and go listen to his new EP.”

With the success of Lost At Last making it into rotation on radio stations both nationally and internationally, the Trio has traveled over 50,000 miles, performing at over 100 festivals and venues across the country in 2016 (Including the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC), attracted attention of thousands of new fans, and teamed up with a national booking agency. Jon Stickley Trio heads into the studio in early December to record the yet unnamed full length album with Dave King, who also produced Lost At Last which garnered praise from The New York Times, NPR’s Heavy Rotation, NPR’s World Cafe, Premier Guitar Magazine, Acoustic Guitar Magazine, and many others.

Jon Stickley Trio has evolved into a fully formed, musical identity that was just beginning to take shape on the first record. Stickley realizes, “Our musicality has matured individually, and collectively to the extent that we can read each other, and respond to each other in a completely intuitive and natural way. We can’t wait to take our matured sound back into Echo Mountain with our mentor and producer, Dave King.”

All of this interlocks, and is propelling the band into the future. Music City Roots’ Craig Havighurst says “A new generation of bluegrass-reared instrumental explorers is coming into its own, and the Stickley Trio is in the vanguard.” While the group does their thing in the studio, they are happy to share Triangular with the world now!

Jon Stickley On Tour
12/7 Wed – Knoxville, TN – WDVX Tennessee Shines @ Boyd’s Jig & Reel
12/8 Thu – Kingsport, TN – Sleepy Owl Brewery
12/10 Sat – Charlotte, NC – The Rabbit Hole *co-Bill with Billy Strings
12/15-16 Thu-Fri – Asheville, NC – Isis Music Hall *Stickley / Thorn / Book support for Travelin’ McCourys
12/17 Sat – Morganton, NC – Winter Music Fest *Stickley / Thorn / Book
12/30 Fri – Richmond, VA – The National  *support for The Infamous Stringdusters12/31/16 Sat – Asheville, NC – Isis Music Hall *w/ The Honeycutters

1/6-7/17 Fri-Sat – Denver, CO – Cervantes *Jon Stickley as a part of the Bluegrass Generals feat. members of The Infamous Stringdusters, Greensky Bluegrass, etc.
1/20 Fri – Abilene, KS – Great Plains Theatre
1/21 Sat – Wray, CO – 4th and Main Grille
3/30 Thu – San Francisco, CA – Neck of the Woods
3/31 Fri – Squaw Valley, CA – WinterWonderGrass
7/26-30 – Floyd, VA – FloydFest

* All dates are Jon Stickley Trio unless otherwise noted.

WATCH Jon Stickley Trio Perform ‘Echolocation’ on Music City Roots →

Head on over to Live For Live Music to listen to the World Premiere of “Blackburn Brothers.” →  http://bit.ly/JS3_L4LM_BlackburnBrothersPremiere.

For more information, updates from the road, and more, please visit www.jonstickley.com, www.facebook.com/JonStickleyTrio, www.instagram.com/jonstickleytrio, and www.twitter.com/StickleyMusic.

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Town Mountain’s ‘Southern Crescent’ OUT TODAY on LoHi Records – Soulful with Swagger

Town Mountain’s ‘Southern Crescent’ OUT TODAY on LoHi Records

Available April 1, 2016 on iTunes → http://apple.co/1QW52ZJ
Limited edition signed CD bundles directly from the web store → www.townmountain.net/shop

ASHEVILLE, NC — Raw, soulful, and with plenty of swagger, Town Mountain, based in Asheville, NC, releases their 5th studio album Southern Crescent on April 1, 2016 through LoHi Records. Produced and engineered by GRAMMY winner Dirk Powell, the album was recorded in Powell’s studio The Cypress House in Breaux Bridge, LA. It was mixed by Mixed by Scott Vestal at Digital Underground in Greenbrier, TN.

Town Mountain. Photo by Sandlin Gaither.

With an insatiable musical hunger, the members of Town Mountain (Robert Greer on vocals and guitar, Jesse Langlais on banjo and vocals, Bobby Britt on fiddle, Phil Barker on mandolin and vocals, and Nick DiSebastian on bass) made their way to the little south-central Louisiana town of Breaux Bridge, where they recorded their most cohesive, most satisfying album to date. Adam Chaffins* plays bass in the touring outfit.

Southern Crescent was recorded in a decidedly old-school way, live, with minimal fixes and overdubs, with all the musicians in the same room and no noise-reducing baffling between them. Each of Town Mountain’s members contributed songs to Southern Crescent, with Barker, Langlais and Greer the chief writers in the band.

From the boogie-woogie piano of Jerry Lee Lewis that inspired the delightful (and danceable) “Coming Back to You,” to Greer’s cleverly penned and fast-paced “Tick on a Dog,” which offers a taste of another major bluegrass influence, Jimmy Martin, Southern Crescent is tailor-made to keep live audiences on their feet, but it’ll also keep those who think they can easily peg Town Mountain on their toes.

That variety is indeed part of what drives Southern Crescent, which opens with Britt’s delightfully dizzying fiddle work on “St. Augustine,” and showcases Greer’s hard-country vocals on “House With No Windows” and on the freewheeling composition “Ain’t Gonna Worry Me,” (penned by Barker). The group members’ palpable chemistry (and individual artistry) are displayed throughout such instantly memorable tracks as “Wildbird,” (Barker) and “I Miss the Night,” which Langlais penned (with Mark Bumgarner) after experiencing 22 hours of daylight during Alaska’s summer solstice.

The new album is being released on LoHi Records. Based in Greensboro, N.C., the label is a partnership formed by entrepreneur and marketing veteran Jim Brooks with singer/songwriter and record producer Todd Snider, record producer Tim Carbone (who also plays fiddle in newgrass band Railroad Earth) and Chad Staehly from Gold Mountain Entertainment in Nashville.

Go Behind The Scenes with Town Mountain In “The Making of Southern Crescent” → https://youtu.be/VZD7avVtI4U

Listen to the world premier of “Comin’ Back to You” at The Bluegrass Situation → www.thebluegrasssituation.com/read/listen-town-mountain-comin-back-you

What Folks Are Saying about Town Mountain and Southern Crescent:

“Produced by Dirk Powell, Southern Crescent is hard-charging, grits-and-gravy authentic, the kind of emotions on the strings of Bill Monroe and Flatts and Scruggs pioneered more than 60 years ago. But Town Mountain is no copy band. With Songs written by each band member, and instrumental and vocal originality, Town Mountain honors the Ancients while bringing a collective and generational identity to their art.” —Raleigh News & Observer, Jack Bernhardt

“Southern Crescent reflects the band’s loose, dance-able music, more reflective of their festival and club sets that a staid performing arts center straight-bluegrass set. I’m not sure if the Southern Crescent still runs from Atlanta to Boston like my relatives talked about taking to go ‘visit culture’ in the Northeast, but I’m fairly sure it still runs down to New Orleans, where a more exhilarating culture has endured — an apt analogy for this album.” –Listen to this podcast interview with Town Mountain about Southern Crescent on Country Fried Rock with Sloane Spencer → http://countryfriedrock.org/town-mountain-1606/#.Vv09AnBKhaU

“On Southern Crescent, there’s little fuss and pretension, as each track has a lived-in and live feel, with the band members coalescing around the song in an almost preordained way. There is as much outlaw country and Western swing to these songs as bluegrass, despite the instrumentation. As traditional and even-keeled as Town Mountain is, no other band sounds quite the same.” —Mountain Xpress, Kyle Petersen

“I have seen this band many times, and while there are a couple of bigger names out there, this Asheville group is the most exciting bluegrass band to come along in a long time” –-No Depression, Amos Perrine

“Southern Crescent is a near-perfect balance of tradition and young, raw energy… They’ll hear a hundred years of southern musical culture bubbling up and finding a common point where North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana meet as old friends. Town Mountain’s style and sonic footprint comes from a foundation of rhythm and groove that comes not from just loving the music (that’s too easy) but from living the music.” —Stream to the Premier of the song “Wildbird” at Bluegrass Today, Brian Swenk

“The record features an expected dose of fast string picking, including the opening fiddle workout ‘St. Augustine,’ but as it unfolds it becomes a well-rounded effort full of front-porch song craft that touches on various shades of roots music. ‘Leroy’s Reel’ has a distinctly Cajun flavor, while ‘Comin’ Back to You’ is a rockabilly dance tune propelled by some boogie-woogie piano.”  —Blue Ridge Outdoors, Jedd Ferris

“By the time they arrive at ‘Whiskey With Tears,’ one is ready to recommend them to country radio not because they sound like they belong there, but because you wish radio sounded like Town Mountain.”–Fervor Coulee, Donald Teplyske

“From the fiddle filled, energetic instrumental opener, ‘St. Augustine’ to the carefree ‘Ain’t Gonna Worry Me’ bluegrass sensibilities merge with roots, rock and country in melodies that will not only make you sit up and listen – they’ll have you getting up and moving as well.” —The Daily Country, Tara Joan

“There are a lot of bluegrass and country bands out there but only a few really have the ability to pull off what Ricky Skaggs and Tony Rice pulled off… Town Mountain, a band out of Asheville NC, does though and they prove it song after song. A bit more country here and a bit more bluegrass there makes the music as roots as you can get.” –-Frank Gutch Jr., Bob Segarini Blog

Town Mountain’s Southern Crescent Tour 2016:
4/1 Fri – The Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC
4/2 Sat – Newgrass Brewing Company – Shelby, NC
4/5 Tue – Hampton Taphouse – Hampton, VA
4/6 Wed – Gypsy Sally’s – Washington, DC
4/7 Thu – Lizard Lounge – Cambridge, MA
4/8 Fri – Hill Country BBQ – New York, NY
4/9 Sat – The Hobo Stage – Fredon, NJ
4/10 Sun – Tin Angel – Philadelphia, PA
4/12 Tue – Haymarket Whiskey Bar – Louisville, KY
4/13 Wed – Cosmic Charlie’s – Lexington, KY
4/14 Thu – The Station Inn – Nashville, TN
4/15 Fri – Barley’s – Knoxville, TN
4/16 Sat – Waverly “Old 280” Boogie – Waverly, AL
4/17 Sun – Zydeco – Birmingham, AL
4/28 Thu – Independent Ale House – Greenville, SC
4/30 Sat – UNC – Chapel Hill, NC
5/13 Fri – KSUT Concert Series @ Henry Strater Theatre – Durango, CO
5/14 Sat – Denver Beer Co.’s Sundrenched Music Festival – Denver, CO
5/14 Sat – Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox – Denver, CO (After party with Hot Buttered Run)
5/21 Sat – The Pour House – Charleston, SC (with Peter Rowan)
5/22 Sun – Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh, NC (supporting Hard Working Americans)
5/24 Tue – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC (supporting Hard Working Americans)
5/25 Wed – Minglewood Hall – Memphis, TN (supporting Hard Working Americans)
5/27 Fri – White Squirrel Festival – Brevard, NC
5/28 Sat – Rooster Walk – Martinsville, VA
6/1 Wed – Music City Roots – Nashville, TN
6/3 Fri – Bailey Park – Winston-Salem, NC
6/5 Sun – Nelsonville Music Festival
6/11 Sat – Festival of the Bluegrass – Lexington, KY
6/16 Thu – Back Porch Music Series – Durham, NC
6/23 Thu – Rudyfest 16 – Grayson, KY
6/24 Fri – ROMP Fest – Owensboro, KY
7/23 Sat – Homegrown Music Festival – Ozark, AR
8/5 Sat – Pickathon – Happy Valley, OR

For more information, please visit TownMountain.net, facebook.com/TownMountain, twitter.com/TownMountain, and instagram.com/townmountainbluegrass.

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Donna the Buffalo Announce Winter 2016 Tour Dates

Donna the Buffalo Announce Winter 2016 Tour Dates
Distinctive, groove-heavy, and danceable,
Donna the Buffalo is a band for the people

One of the most dynamic and determined bands continuously touring America for since 1989, Donna the Buffalo has created a community environment at their shows through their distinctive, groove-heavy, and danceable music.

Donna the Buffalo is happy to announce their new year’s and winter tour for 2016! They travel into Florida leading up to the  New Year with a show in Ponte Vedra Beach on the 30th of December and they ring in the new year on NYE at Skipper’s in Tampa. They continue on in early January through Stuart, Boca Raton, Key West, and Orlando before heading back up north for stops in Saxapahaw, NC as well as Charlottesville, and Richmond, Virginia before a short break.

The tour picks back up again at The Hamilton in Washington, DC on January, 22nd as they travel south to play Asheville’s Orange Peel the following day. The following Thursday they meet up with Ben Cohen (Co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s) for another Stampede show – this one Free – in Plymouth, NH on the 28th. That weekend they roam the northeast with shows in Jim Thorpe, Buffalo, and Infinity Hall in Norfolk. In early February they hit the Brooklyn Bowl, Club Helsinki Hudson, the Narrow center for the Arts in Fall River and the Bull Run Concert Series near Boston, MA. Inventive New York City-based band, City of the Sun will open along select winter shows.

Donna the Buffalo is the host band for the Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival of Music, Art & Dance in Miami and they’ll be performing throughout the weekend from Thursday-Sunday, February 18-21. Stay tuned for more dates to be announced for late winter and early spring!

Donna the Buffalo is Jeb Puryear (vocals, electric guitar) and Tara Nevins (vocals, guitar, fiddle, accordion, scrubboard) joined by David McCracken (Hammond organ, Hohner Clavinet & piano), Kyle Spark (bass) and Mark Raudabaugh (drums). “It’s been really fun with this lineup,” Puryear says. “You get to the point where you’re playing on a really high level, things are clicking and it’s like turning on the key to a really good car. It just goes.”

Donna the Buffalo is a band for the people that is accessible, positive, and memorable. With roots in old time fiddle music that evolved into a soulful electric American mix infused with elements of cajun/ zydeco, rock, folk, reggae, and country. I

“For the dizzying array of styles and genres with which they work, Donna The Buffalo maintain a surprising level of consistency… over the course of their 25-year career, they retain a sharp focus that has helped them create some truly lasting music…” writes Elmore. “Few groups are this comfortable as performers, and even fewer would take as many risks.”

Donna the Buffalo Winter Tour 2016
12/30 Wed – Ponte Vedra Concert Hall – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
12/31/15 Thu – Skipper’s Smokehouse – Tampa, FL
1/1/16 Fri – Terra Fermata – Stuart, FL
1/2 Sat – The Funky Biscuit – Boca Raton, FL
1/5-6 Tue-Wed – Green Parrot – Key West, FL
1/7 Thu – Plaza Live – Orlando, FL
1/8 Fri – Haw River Ballroom – Saxapahaw, NC
1/9 Sat – The Jefferson Theater – Charlottesville, VA*
1/10 Sun – Capital Ale House – Richmond, VA
1/22 Fri -The Hamilton – Washington, DC*
1/23 Sat – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC*
1/28 Thu – Flying Monkey Performance Center – Plymouth, NH#
1/29 Fri – Mauch Chunk Opera House – Jim Thorpe, PA*
1/30 Sat – Buffalo Iron Works – Buffalo, NY*
1/31 Sun – Infinity Hall – Norfolk, CT*
2/3 Wed – Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY
2/4 Thu – Club Helsinki Hudson – Hudson, NY
2/5 Fri – Narrows Center For the Arts – Fall River, MA
2/6 Sat – The Bull Run Concert Series – Shirley, MA
2/18-21 Thu-Sun – Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival of Music, Art & Dance – Miami, FL

* w/ City of The Sun opening
# Stampede show with Ben Cohen (Co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s) Free!

For more information and complete tour dates, please visit www.donnathebuffalo.com
facebook.com/donnathebuffalo and twitter.com/donnathebuffalo

More about the music →
Jeb talks of his inspiration “rolling off all the great protest songs and the socially conscious music like Bob Marley and The Beatles and Bob Dylan – all of that stuff. So that, to me, is sort of like a tradition to write from that angle as a way of reflecting on what you feel about the world and how you feel it could be better and getting to a different place as a society. There’s also the strength that comes from music and gives you the feeling like you can change those things and make some progress, and then express some of the particulars about what you’d like to change.”

“If there’s a common thread, it’s an up-tempo beat that gets audiences dancing, moving and smiling, even for the more topical songs. That’s part of the point: Sending energy and spreading joy can be political acts… When the band recently went out to the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, Puryear read a pamphlet that said ‘it’s about the vibration,’ and he agrees.

‘The vibe is going to be the big change, out of a passion for living,”Jeb says said to the Rochester Messenger Post. “Just that kind of energy, something we kind of feel in ourselves.” It’s certainly kept the band rejuvenated, he noted: It’s “having an absolute chemistry that’s creative and can still be exciting over 20-something years.’”

Donna the Buffalo was on tour in the fall of 2015 with The Stampede: A tour to raise awareness to the inappropriate use of corporate money in politics, which garnered press in USA Today and SALON, as well as the support of Occupy Wall Street and Headcount, amongst many others. They joined forces with Ben Cohen, Co-Founder of Ben & Jerry’s, who has started stamping slogans on currency in protest (stampstampede.org). American roots music troubadour Peter Rowan joined in on the tour as well; he says “At last, it comes around again; making music with Donna the Buffalo, one of my favorites.”

“As a band, we have made a long term commitment to join this burgeoning movement,” says Jeb Puryear. “It is clear to us that we will never get significant government action on issues like healthcare, student debt, wall street banks, the environment, and corporate tax evasion until we outlaw legalized corporate bribery of our politicians.”

For more information and complete tour dates, please visit www.donnathebuffalo.com.

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Jeff Austin Adds Dates To Summer Tour

Jeff Austin Adds Dates To Summer Tour

Mandolinist, vocalist and songwriter Jeff Austin is on tour this summer with various friends while not on the road with Yonder Mountain String Band. This weekend Jeff Austin & Friends (Allie Kral, Danny Barnes and Eric Thorin) play Friday August 23rd in Jackson Hole, WY and Sunday, August 25th at NedFest in Colorado.

As Jeff heads towards the eastern part of the country, he will join forces with The Here and Now, featuring banjoist Danny Barnes and Larry & Jenny Keel on guitar and bass. This special late summer tour starts in the midwest near Chicago and loops through The Midwest before heading heading south and then over to over to Oklahoma.

More details have emerged for Jeff Austin & The Here and Now’s sets at the Mumford and Sons Gentlemen of the Road Troy Stopover Downtown Street Festival in Ohio with a daytime set on the Market Street Stage and late-night set at Elks Lodge on Friday, August 30th and a late-night set on Saturday, August 31st at the Market Street Stage. For more about the GOTD

Jeff Austin on Tour:

Jeff Austin & Friends
Featuring Allie Kral, Danny Barnes and Eric Thorin
8/23 Fri – Jackson Hole Live – Jackson Hole, WY*
8/25 Sun – NedFest – Nederland, Co*

Jeff Austin and The Here & Now
The Here & Now Features Danny Barnes and Larry and Jenny Keel
8/28 Wed – Durty Nellie’s – Palatine, IL
8/29 Thu – The Bluebird – Bloomington, IN
8/30 Fri – Mumford and Sons Gentlemen of the Road Troy Stopover Downtown Street Festival – Troy, OH
4:30pm-5:30pm @ Market Street Stage & 11:45pm-2:00am @ Elks Lodge
8/31 Sat – Mumford and Sons Gentlemen of the Road Troy Stopover Downtown Street Festival – Troy, OH
12:00am-1:00am @ Market Street Stage
9/1 Sun – Diamonds in Upper Highlands- Louisville, KY
9/2 Mon – Avondale Brewing Co. – Birmingham, AL
9/4 Wed – Old Rock House – St. Louis, MO
9/5 Thu – The Shrine – Tulsa, OK *Austin & Barnes duo show
9/6 Fri – Cottonwood Flats – Mumford and Sons Gentlemen of the Road – Guthrie, OK
9/7 Sat – Cottonwood Flats – Mumford and Sons Gentlemen of the Road – Guthrie, OK

Take a look at JeffAustin.com for further information and to download a free EP of Jeff Austin & The Here and Now.

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Town Mountain’s Fall “Leave the Bottle” Tour Announced

Asheville NC’s Hard-Drivin’ Appalachian Bluegrass band Town Mountain kicks off a Fall Tour surrounding the release of their fourth album, “Leave the Bottle.”  The album is officially released on September 4th, 2012 through Pinecastle Records.

“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.

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. 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.

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.

Town Mountain’s “Leave the Bottle” Fall Tour

Thu, Sept 6th – Seattle, WA – “The Spotlight” House Concert
Fri, Sept 7th – Portland, OR – Mississippi Pizza Pub
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’s
Sun, Sept 16th – Chimney Rock State Park, NC – Music on the Mountain series
Fri, Sept 21st – Lexington, NC – High Rock Outfitters
Sat, Sept 22th  McMinnville, TN – Bluegrass Underground
Mon, Sept 24th  Knoxville, TN – Tennessee Shines
Fri, Oct 5th – Awendaw, SC – Awendaw Green
Wed, Oct 24th – Lexington, KY – Red Barn Radio Hour
Wed, Oct 24th – Lexington, KY – Willie’s Locally Known
Thur, Oct 25th – Evansville, IN – Doc’s
Sat, Oct 27th – Chicago, IL – Old Town School of Folk Music
Sun, Oct 28th – Barnhart, MO -Oak Tree Concerts

More information at http://townmountain.net/blog/tour/

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