Displaying items by tag: roots

Singer-Songwriter Michelle Moonshine's original songs have an upbeat tempo, catchy vocal lines and heartfelt lyrics; but it's her unique voice that truly engages a listener at a performance. Her timbre can be described as incredibly sweet and whimsical, and is yet saturated in feeling that makes you want to stop and listen to every word. During her four years of performing, Michelle has garnered recruitments from NBC's The Voice in 2014 (which she turned down after being accepted); and from America's Got Talent in Fall 2015 which is still ongoing. Within that time she has put a national tour under her belt and honed her craft in producing her own blend of Country-esque Americana. Regularly performs solo as well as with her band as both a three and four piece with new member John Davis on electric guitar, lap steel and backup vocals. In the rhythm section is Goose on the drum kit and Bronk on the upright bass, who both have some classical training which adds to the dynamic. With a fully funded Kickstarter, they completed their first album and plan to tour their new release this Spring.

“To me, music is food and you need a variety to stay healthy and strong,” - Luther Dickinson on his prolific musical output, which, at last count, includes three new, somewhat divergent roots albums planned for 2015.

When Luther Dickinson was growing up in rural Mississippi — just 40 miles south of Memphis, but deep in the hill country — his favorite band was Black Flag, the caustic L.A. punk band that defined the hardcore movement in the 1980s. That may surprise listeners who have been following his career as a folk-blues-rock innovator. With his brother Cody, Luther is a charter member of the North Mississippi Allstars and has recorded with an amazing array of musicians over the years: Beck, Patty Griffin, Mavis
Staples, John Hiatt, Buddy Miller, RL Burnside, Lucero, Jon Spencer, and Robert Plant. He’s also produced albums by Jim Lauderdale, Amy LaVere, and Otha Turner, whose Everybody’s Hollerin’ Goat was named one of the top 10 blues records of the ‘90s by Rolling Stone. 

"He is one of the singular instrumental stylists of American roots music, and to hear his sound once is to have it indelibly etched on one’s musical memory."- Pop Matters

Grammy nominated guitarist, singer and songwriter Bill Kirchen is one of the fortunate few who can step onto any stage, play those trademark licks that drove his seminal Commander Cody classic Hot Rod Lincoln into the Top Ten, and elicit instant recognition for a career that has spanned over 40 years and includes guitar work with Nick Lowe, Emmylou Harris, Doug Sahm, Elvis Costello and many more. Named “A Titan of the Telecaster” by Guitar Player Magazine, he celebrates an American musical tradition where rock 'n' roll and country music draws upon its origins in blues and bluegrass, Western swing from Texas and California honky-tonk. His current CD Word To The Wise on Proper American features duets with many of these artists he's worked with, including Elvis, Nick, Maria Muldaur and Dan Hicks.

The heart of rock and roll is alive and well with Fred Eaglesmith’s 20th album, Tambourine. Fusing together all of Fred’s past influences, the result is pure rock ‘n ‘roll reminiscent of 1966.

Eaglesmith is a veteran of the music industry and at the same time is about as far away from actually participating in today’s music industry as one could be. Never operating within anyone’s boundaries, he continues to set the standard for independent artists everywhere. While blazing his own often colourful path he has avoided most of the traps and pitfalls of his peers, his career reads like a manual on how to succeed in music today without trying to fit into the traditional business models.

The spotlight on Nashville, with its musical values and timeless traditions, is currently bright. And no band embodies what’s right about 21st century Nashville more completely than the quintet known as Humming House, “…a solid Americana band with Irish folk influences and a tight live show.” Consequence Of Sound

It’s the way they weave together threads of Music City’s folk, soul, and bluegrass legacies. It’s in the inspirational and revealing songwriting. It’s in their acoustic instrumentation, presenting mandolin, fiddle, acoustic guitar and bass in fresh roles. It’s in the pleasant tension between rousing energy and nuanced arrangements. And it’s in the voices, with two complimentary stylists up front and backed by the full band’s rapturous harmonies.

Two brothers decide to form a band, adapting the blues, folk and other roots‐music sounds they loved as kids into their own evocative sound and twining their voices in the sort of high‐lonesome harmony blend for which sibling singers are often renowned.

Saturday 1:30pm

"Rootsy, southern-fried blues doesn't come much more boggy than Swamp Cabbage." Jon Sobel - BlogCritics.org

The dynamic bluegrass quintet from Springfield, MO with their high-octane shows, tight harmonies and stunning instrumental prowess, have been winning fans and making waves at every festival they have been invited, and consequently re-invited to since their formation in 2008. Recently signed to Nashville-based roots music company the Compass Records Group, the HillBenders will release their new album Can You Hear Me? on September 25th, presenting an intensely charismatic album imbued with the spirit and energy of their live shows. "Our music appeals to anyone that can enjoy a fun performance. We share a passion for the music, a passion to perform," says guitarist Jim Rea, "It's evident we have fun on stage. People come up to us and say sarcastically, 'liven up!'"

Thus the challenge in recording Can You Hear Me?" was clear — the band had to capture their undeniable live appeal on the twelve tracks, eight of which are originals. Lead singer and mandolinist Nolan Lawrence with Jim Rea and his cousin Gary Rea on guitar and bass respectively, banjoist Mark Cassidy and Dobroist Chad "Gravy Boat" Graves channeled the rawness and intensity of bands like Newgrass Revival into the carefully executed arrangements. They worked closely with roots music engineer and producer Bil VornDick for an album that aligned their diverse tastes and styles while showcasing the collective talent of each band member, including a grassified cover of the Romantics' "Talking in Your Sleep" and Hal Ketchum's country hit, "Past the Point of Rescue," which includes a samba-grass breakdown after the second chorus.

The album-opening "Train Whistle," is a rambling train song, a staple to the bluegrass band, though the band hesitates the genre distinction. "Bluegrass is where we found our voice as performers, so we feel like we owe a lot to it. We have one foot in bluegrass all the time while the other is reaching out and exploring our interests in rock and roll, jazz, funk and Americana," says Chad. By winning the Telluride Bluegrass Band Competition in 2009 and the National Single Microphone Championship the following year, the band became favorites on the bluegrass festival scene with their own brand of acoustic fusion. "A lot of people, even at the more traditional festivals, tell us 'You guys are so fun to listen to!' This comes from the die-hard traditionalists. They are saying that it is really refreshing to see something new. At the same time we're not afraid to be looked down upon – all of that formality melts away when we just be ourselves."

The HillBenders recognize their ability to bridge the gap between the common music consumer and the bluegrass genre, selecting material for the album that defies any hillbilly stigmas. Nolan comments, "With our widely varied influences, we're all trying to bring in songs that unify. We wanted to pair bluegrass with the other American music we grew up with —rock and roll!" Their festival appearances also reflect the crossover; the band recently played the very traditional Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival and the esteemed Philadelphia Folk Festival on back to bay days on the same weekend.

Still, the heart of the new album draws from the band's live performances. Nolan adds, "If the music isn't played with intensity, you can tell. You have to play the music with that passion or it just isn't going to sound right." Can You Hear Me? is an album that showcases a young band with ambition and talent at a volume that comes across loud and clear.

"Canada's premier neo-tradsters romp from world-beat to blues, urban-pop to old-timey, with wild-eyed invention, haunting traditionalism, and spine-rattling groove." (Scott Alarik, The Boston Globe) GRAMMY nominees and JUNO award winners, seeing The Duhks live is nothing short of a spiritual experience. A syncopated bluesy banjo number seamlessly follows a Brazilian samba; an old-time jaunt nestles comfortably next to a gospel performance. One of the most musically adventurous bands to come from the roots scene in the past decade, The Duhks return to the stage is definitely a cause for celebration.