A Place to Bury Strangers
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYA PLACE TO BURY STRANGERSFans all over the globe know: Oliver Ackermann always brings surprises. The singer and guitarist of New York City’s A Place To Bury Strangers has been delighting and astonishing his audience for close to two decades, combining post-punk, noise-rock, shoegaze, psychedelia, and avant-garde music in startling and unexpected ways. As the founder of Death By Audio, creator of signal-scrambling stomp boxes and visionary instrument effects, he’s exported that excitement and invention to other artists who plug into his gear and blow minds. In concert, A Place To Bury Strangers is nothing short of astounding — a shamanistic experience that bathes listeners in glorious sound, crazed left turns, transcendent vibrations, real-time experiments, brilliant breakthroughs.And just as many of his peers in the New York City underground seem to be slowing down and settling in, Ackermann’s creativity is accelerating.He’s launched a label of his own: Dedstrange, dedicated to advancing the work of sonic renegades worldwide. He’s also refreshed the group’slineup, adding bassist John Fedowitz and drummer Sandra Fedowitz, and the band has never sounded more current, or more courageous, or moreaccessibly melodic. The Hologram EP is the first release from the new lineup — and the first on Dedstrange — and it’s no overstatement to saythat the reaction has been ecstatic. Ghettoblaster wrote that the band’s racket outpaced everything to emerge from New York City in the pastdecade. Brooklyn Vegan praised Ackermann’s “terrific, emotive” singing, and lauded the group’s recent commitment to foregrounding its melodiesand lyrics. Pitchfork, Flood, AllMusic: they’ve all lined up to call Hologram an example of the best work of a tireless band with a deep discography and an unquenchable drive to create challenging, unprecedented music. A Place To bury Strangers released their highly anticipated sixth album See Through You February 4, 2022 to on their newly formed label Dedstrange to critical acclaim and have been touring incessantly since then. 2024 brings the release of ‘The Sevens’: four 7”s featuring unreleased tracks from ‘See Through You’ released monthly starting in February with Album #7 due in the fall. YHWH NAILGUN The quartet of Zack Borzone (vox), Jack Tobias (synth), Sam Pickard (drums), and Saguiv Rosenstock (guitar) display an innate ability to translate a primitive spirit into a modern form. Born during the lockdown as an experimental project between Borzone and Pickard in Philadelphia, the group expanded as the two moved to New York, adding Tobias for their debut self-titled EP, which was produced by Rosenstock, who was then integrated into the band. That first collection is one of self-discovery, of finding the tools necessary to make songs within the band’s own ecosystem. They honed in on their own world and their collaborative, close-knit writing process, discovering the essential structures and feelings that make YHWH Nailgun. LUNACY
The Cactus Blossoms
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYTHE CACTUS BLOSSOMS “Hey baby, do you wanna take a trip with me? / I’ve got a feeling there might be a silver lining all around.” So begins One Day, the captivating new album from critically acclaimed Minneapolis duo The Cactus Blossoms. Written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, the record explores the tension between optimism and despair that’s defined much of the past few years of American life, examining the power (or naïveté, depending on your perspective) of positive thinking in the face of chaos and uncertainty. The songs here are tender and timeless, with straightforward arrangements centered around brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum’s airtight harmonies, and the performances are warm and intimate to match, delivered with a soulful, ’70s-inspired palette of playful Wurlitzer, breezy guitars, and muscular percussion. The Cactus Blossoms broke out nationally in 2016 with their JD McPherson-produced debut, You’re Dreaming. Dates with Kacey Musgraves, Jenny Lewis, and Lucius followed, as did raves from the New York Times and NPR, who praised “the brothers’ extraordinary singing.” The band was further catapulted into the spotlight in 2018, when David Lynch tapped them to perform in the return of Twin Peaks, and continued to build on their success with their 2019 sophomore LP, Easy Way, which led Rolling Stone to laud the duo’s “rock-solid, freak of genetics harmonies.” ERIN RAE Three years after the release of her critically acclaimed debut, Putting On Airs, Nashville-raised singer-songwriter Erin Rae shares an intimate, honest, and playful version of herself through her sophomore album Lighten Up. Produced by Jonathan Wilson, and recorded in the musically hallowed grounds of California’s Topanga Canyon, the album represents a sonic and inner shift for Rae. In it, she embraces more of her influences, like baroque-pop, cosmic country, and indie-folk songs while mirroring a more compassionate self-view she calls “accepting my humanness”. Although she grew up in a musically oriented family, Rae’s pursuit of music happened by accident. After being gifted a Martin acoustic guitar on her 18th birthday, Rae decided to drop out of college after just one semester. Her goal at the time had little to do with making music into a career, and everything to do with spending more time and energy with the community of musicians and writers she knew back home. Looking back on those days, she recalls the initial high of playing live at an open mic during winter break and realizing, “this is how I connect with people. I have to pursue this.” Rae has continued to connect with people through her music ever since, performing at mainstays like Newport Folk Festival, Red Rocks Amphitheater, and sharing stages with Father John Misty, Hiss Golden Messenger, Jenny Lewis, Jason Isbell, and Iron & Wine. The success of Putting On Airs also earned her a nomination for Emerging Act of The Year at the 2019 Americana Music Awards alongside other trailblazing artists like Yola, Jade Bird, and J.S. Ondara.
Copperhead
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYCOPPERHEADFormed around the campfire at the French Broad River Festival in 2016, Copperhead began playing gigs in 2019. The band works to take your old favorite songs new places and has an array of accessible original songs to complement their catalog. Copperhead is Michael Thurman on guitar and vocals. Jay Copley on guitar and vocals. Eric Snoddy hangs out in the lowlands on Bass. George Hodges,Jr. adds guitar and sings . Mark Murphy plays piano, Hammond, and also vocals. Jenn Webb holds us all together on the drum kit.
PATIO: Jennifer Niceley
ALL AGESLIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVEJENNIFER NICELEY Tennessee songwriter Jennifer Jane Niceley’s latest collaboration with visionary musical artist/producer Feathered Mason and multi-instrumentalist Jason Goforth marks over two decades of releasing deeply sensitive and strikingly original material. Preternaturally under the radar, she’s stepped in and out of the music world, torn between pursuing success and living a quiet life close to the land. Previous albums include the lush sounds of Luminous in 2008 produced by Joe McMahan (Kevin Gordon, Luella and the Sun), and the bare and eclectic Angels, Demons, Red-Tail Hawks with Eric McConnell (Loretta Lynn, Todd Snider, Sierra Ferrell) in 2017. The expansive, sonic shift of “Built to Last” and “Flight Patterns” is a harbinger of what to expect on her upcoming album, Not Lost (release date July 5, 2024). The third single, “Desert Dreams” drops April 19, 2024, and features a powerful symphonic backdrop by pedal steel player Jason Goforth as well as the impeccable touch of Clint Mullican (Watchhouse) on upright bass.
PATIO: Americana Troubadour Round ft Wyatt Espalin, Caitlin Cannon, Jack McKeon
ALL AGES LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVEWYATT ESPALINIn 2022, Wyatt Espalin shakes things up with his new band the Riverstones and a collection of songs that invites his fans to examine his songwriting through a different lens. After returning to his roots to live at the rustic campground where he was raised by his grandparents in the North Georgia Mountains, he found a setting that would inspire “DIAMONDBACK”, a collection of mysterious songs released in 2020 that gave his audience a bird’s eye view of an artist rediscovering himself. Well, this fiddler/singer and champion clogger has discovered more and before the Year of the Rabbit, all may be revealed. Let the enlightenment begin! After releasing Songwriter/Singer” in 2015, Wyatt went on to win the 1st Annual New Song Songwriting Contest at North Carolina’s popular L.E.A.F. festival. He has also spent the last few years sharing the stage opening for some of his songwriting idols Indigo Girls, Jennifer Knapp, Kevn Kinney, Chely Wright, Michelle Malone, Shawn Mullins, Patty Loveless, to name a few. During his performances, the haunting, intimate songs juxtaposed with the hilarious stories that he sharesin the banter between them create a beautiful tension.CAITLIN CANNON“She’s not a songwriter for the winners. She’s a songwriter for the broken, the downtrodden, the losers, the motherfuckers. She sings about real shit that most other songwriters don’t have the guts to broach. A crack pool player and a hilarious person on stage that could have a second career as a comedian, Caitlin Cannon is one of those country artists that slides so criminally under the radar, it angers the blood”— SAVING COUNTRY MUSIC JACK McKEONA Nashville-based singer-songwriter with an honest, plainspoken vocal, an eclectic-roots sound and a knack for bringing crystalline characters to life, Jack McKeon is a different sort of musician. A student of the greats drawn to the timeless, rather than the trendy, he hails from Chatham, New York and harbors a deep love for the written word. First inspired by literary music icons from Hank Williams and Guy Clark to Tom T. Hall and John Hartford, McKeon arrived in Nashville in 2021 and has since established a reputation for his own message-drive lyricism – a value which shows up in its full sonic serenity on his 2024 album debut, Talking to Strangers.
Odie Leigh: Carrier Pigeon Tour
– ALL AGES – STANDING ROOM ONLYODIE LEIGH Odie Leigh would never have called herself a musician before the depths of the 2020 pandemic, when her rapper roomies made a bet: Whoever records a song that goes viral first, wins. Slightly ticked off that they hadn’t included her in the wager, she decided to hit them with her best shot, and Odie was crowned the victor when a track she wrote blew up on TikTok. “I was like, ‘I’m gonna show y’all. I’m gonna win,’” she recalls, laughing. “Then I woke up to a bunch of comments on TikTok being like, ‘Oh my God, release this. This is amazing!’ Now, I’m a musician.”Four years after posting what she calls “that silly joke song” on TikTok, Odie Leigh has continued to transform and evolve as an artist — from what she calls “acoustic, ethereal folk sad girl music” to a harder-edge tunes that flirt with early Aughts pop-punktivism. That trajectory culminates in her first LP, Carrier Pigeon. “All the music I’ve released up until this point can kind of be thrown into the indie folk acoustic genre,” Odie says. “But I never set out to make Americana music. I never set out to make folk music. I’m just a girl with an acoustic guitar.”The fact that Odie Leigh never set out to make music is key here. Unlike a lot of musicians who grew up picking out tunes on toddler guitars or belting it out in garages, Odie never pictured herself on stage. Born and raised in Louisiana, she sang in the church choir, sure — her grandfather built the building, after all, and her family attended three times per week. But after moving to New Orleans to study English, she fully intended on making her bones in the film industry. That 2020 wager changed things, though, when she realized that she could win hearts in addition to bets. Although she’d taught herself to play guitar as a child, Odie didn’t know that much about music from the get-go, but she was inspired by the likes of ‘50’s singer-songwriter Connie Converse and her out-of-the-box style. Coming from the film world, she found songwriting freeing, unbound from the rigidity of screenplay and discovered that simplicity can be a strength.After her early releases began gaining steam on social media, Odie Leigh started hitting stages hard — an impressive show of hustle for someone who never really dreamed of life on the road. Nevertheless, she toured Europe, North America, and played Newport Folk in 2023; she also has festival gigs like Shaky Knees and Kilby Block Party, among others, later this year. Odie eventually achieved many an indie musician’s dream when she signed with Mom + Pop in 2023, mostly due to their diverse catalog: Yes, she’s made Americana music in the past, but she’s no one-trick pony. She craved the room to stretch and change and scream. And for Carrier Pigeon, she did just that, teaming up with a producer/musician Derek Ted — and infusing the 10-track suite with a more hard-edged sound, and plenty of fun. “I wanted to call it Carrier Pigeon because as I was writing these songs I just kept on thinking how silly it is that I’m writing all these thoughts and feeling down about someone and for someone who is only going to hear it months if not years after I write it,” she says. “I was like ‘I might as well be putting letters in bottles and throwing them into the ocean or just strapping it to a pigeon and hoping it lands at the right house.’ This album is the carrier pigeon and the songs are the messages.” ANGELA AUTUMN
Jackie Greene
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYJACKIE GREENE Americana and roots singer-songwriter Jackie Greene is a jack-of-all-trades, and an artist who can croon over soulful piano ballads as much as he can shred a bluesy guitar solo (like he did as the lead guitarist for The Black Crowes in 2013). A road warrior and musician’s musician, Greene’s new EP ‘The Modern Lives – Vol 2’ (out October 2018 on Blue Rose Music) finds him at a new chapter in his life: his first months of fatherhood, time off his relentless touring circuit, and a cross-country move from Brooklyn to his birthplace of Northern California. This new collection of six original songs is a thematic extension of ‘The Modern Lives – Vol 1’ EP (released in 2017 on Blue Rose Music), imbued with a Brooklyn basement DIY feel and ethos. He is a student of American music, transfixed upon its progression through time, as well as how regional sounds fit in a contemporary context. Whereas ‘Vol 1’ saw Greene experiment with the Delta blues as a canvas for his examinations of modern society, ‘Vol 2’ sees Greene embrace the sounds of the bluegrass and folk tapes of his youth. Greene partnered with Academy Award-nominated “king of indie animation” Bill Plympton for a series of music videos for ‘The Modern Lives – Vol 1’ that would eventually become an animated short film titled ‘The Modern Lives’. The film is currently making the rounds at film festivals where it has already won the Jury Award at the USA Film Festival in Dallas, TX, and the Grand Remi Award / Best in Show at WorldFest in Houstin, TX. The short is also being exhibited at the 71st Festival de Cannes/Court Metrage, Melbourne International Animation Festival, and ASIFA-East Festival, amongst others. RAINY EYES “I really love “You Just Want What You Can’t Have”…It’s a great song, very well produced and Rainy’s an awesome singer -she really jumps out of the speakers! That track could easily be nominated for Americana record of the year. – DON WAS Norwegian-born, Lafayette, LA-based alt-country artist Rainy Eyes has released her second album, Lonesome Highway, via Royal Potato Family. The 11-track collection was produced by Dirk Powell and features appearances by Sam Grisman, Ric Robertson, Chris Stafford and Eric Adcock among an exceptional cast of accompanying musicians.Rainy Eyes was born and raised in Bergen, Norway. After fleeing a troubled upbringing and moving to Denmark at 18, she met and fell in love with an American free jazz musician. By 19, Rainy had eloped to San Francisco where she immersed herself in the local music community, befriending musicians like Peter Rowan, Sam Grisman and Ric Robertson while launching the West Marin Fiddle Camp.Following the demise of her marriage, Rainy and her son left the Bay area for South Louisiana, drawn by the music and culture of the tradition-rich region. Once there, Rainy forged a collaboration with acclaimed musician and producer Dirk Powell (Rhiannon Giddens, Loretta Lynn) who encouraged her to further develop the songs she’d been working on while in California. Together, they hunkered down in Powell’s bayou studio, determined to fulfill the promise of what she’d begun. It ultimately resulted in her second studio album, Lonesome Highway, a hope-filled and assertive collection of 11 alt-country and Americana-based songs that present Rainy breaking cycles, trusting the universe, and allowing her higher self to lead the way.
OUTPOST: Souljam’s Dead Spread Peaches
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINESouljam’s Dead Spread Peaches: A Tribute to The Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic, & The Allman Brothers Souljam is a powerhouse jam band made up of six musicians from Vero Beach, FL paying homage to The Grateful Dead, Widespread Panic, and The Allman Brothers with their Dead Spread Peaches tribute show. Souljam captures the sound and energy from each band while adding a creative twist to bring each tune new life. Expect to hear familiar songs like “Whipping Post” or “Fire On The Mountain” along with other underground tunes and more. Let Souljam take you along a reminiscent musical journey that will bring you to your feet, and put a smile on your face.
OUTPOST: Joe Medwick For the Love of Levon and Lowell
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINE Born in the North Country of New York State, just minutes from Eastern Ontario Canada, Joe was touched by music at a very early age. His piano playing mom loved the great American song book as much as Joe adored The Beatles, Stones & Sly and The Family Stone and more. Thier home near Thompson Park was filled day and night with music from Ray Charles, Count Basie, Gordon Lightfoot and Bob Dylan, mostly on free formatted Canadian radio stations or on their always occupied turntables in the house. Joe’s first band The Baskerville Hounds were a huge hit in the summer of ’69 on the Gatsby-ish Thousand Islands, Catholic school dance and US Army and Air Force base circuits. Heady stuff for a 14-year-old soul music loving lead singer. Joe started booking bands after in high school and later became the youngest professional booking agent in NYS at age 20 in Ithaca New York, home of Cornell University, Ithaca & Wells colleges. Booking frats and shows all over the Northeast. Later stints in artist management, one stop and retail record sales followed which led him to San Francisco CA to finish school at San Francisco State University and later at the legendary Tower Records at Columbus and Bay in the city, eventually landing him a top exec job at Tower’s Corporate Offices in West Sacramento, with stops in LA, The East Bay and NYC along the way. All the time writing, performing and working for various prestigious record labels like Warner Bros, Vanguard and Rykodisc Records in their respective Creative Services and A&R departments and enthusiastically promoting friends records like Levon Helm, Little Feat, Albert Lee and Lonnie Mack and many more. Joe’s debut album MEMPHIS TO MONTREAL was released to rave reviews in 2017 and features RRHOF legend Garth Hudson from The Band, guitarist Lee and members of Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal’s bands and more. His follow up album ALL MY FRIENDS released in 2023 features long time Lucinda Williams Band guitar man Doug Pettibone and members of The Levon Helm Horns and The Savoy Family Band, legends of South Louisiana Cajun music.. His massive love for his friends Rick, Garth and esp Levon Helm from The Band and for all of his friends in Little Feat (now and then), is unmeasurable and still drives his soul today here in the new live music capital of the world music loving hometown, Asheville NC.
OUTPOST: Farewell Friend
– ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLY- RAIN OR SHINE Farewell Friend:Hailing from the cornfields of Indiana and now residing in Greensboro, North Carolina, front man and singer/songwriter Tom Troyer’s eclectic style traverses folk, rock and blues. Farewell Friend’s music resonates with authenticity, vulnerability, and an unwavering commitment to the power of poetic storytelling. Their sound is a delicate avalanche of sonic texture – a presentation of recognizable and distorted folk and Americana forms. Tom’s exceptional talent shines through in all three albums, which he produced, wrote, recorded, mixed, and mastered. The live band lineup may vary, but Evan Campfield on upright bass has been a consistent presence since 2016, while Zac Covington, Caleb Baer, Alan Barnosky often contribute their skills for live performances and as session musicians on recordings. Wild Roots Rising is an indie folk band based in the Southeast United States. It is led by songwriters, vocalists, and instrumentalists Julia Houghton and Olivia Moore.Their music is described as a classical-folk fusion; unique arrangements and complex harmonies, combined with acoustic instruments and meaningful lyrics. They are known for sharing songs that create a beautiful, uplifting aura for the listener. WRR released their self-titled, debut album in September of 2021 and have been performing at festivals, music venues, and bars throughout the southeast. They are very excited to share their music with the public.Enviornmentalism and social justice activism are deeply important to Olivia and Julia, and these themes present themselves in the music. They create a space on stage to share, think, and talk about current issues. Together they bring strong intentions to create a positive change in the world, and to stay true to themselves in the work.
