Nashville, TN (January 12, 2016 Press Release)- Sam Riggs hails from Austin, Texas, yet his name and reputation as a songwriting scholar having fashioned one of the very best live shows on the circuit is renown.  In this day and age, music travels fast, and Sam’s steady pursuit on the heels of his own widely proceeding reputation is a marathon that he admits leaves him breathless.  And so, his story continues with the release of his brand new album Breathless on February 19th.  The album will be the first release on Sam’s own label (Deep Creek Records) with marketing and distribution support from Thirty Tigers/Sony RED.  One week before the album’s release, Country Weekly Magazine will offer an exclusive stream of the music via their website on February 11th. The first single "The Lucky Ones" is already making its way to the radio waves.

“We got tremendous support on the last album from fans and media.  This incredible buzz started getting ramped up and show attendance started to sky rocket.  People really latched on to it.”  -Sam Riggs

Everybody loves a good “rags-to-riches” story.  Nothing seems to inspire the masses quite as well as the story about the underdog with the larger-than-life dream that finds the path of opportunity and emerges triumphant against the odds.  Sam Riggs has just such a story, and in his version, it was his move from his native Florida to Austin, Texas that was the dream.  It was his innate ability for songwriting and his passion for performance that provided the opportunity.  And it was his first album Outrun The Sun that brought Sam up directly into high music society with stellar national reviews, hit singles, hit music videos, national television music placement, elite invitations to perform at renown events, sold out crowds, 2.2 million total streams on Spotify, 600,000 plus views on YouTube, over 30,000 followers on his social media pages, and, most recently, a spotlight feature in Rolling Stone Country. 

Nashville, TN (Press Release)-- Emerging power trio, Stella // James, has been selected to kick off CMT’s 2016 Artist Discovery program. The video for their new single, “Give It All To Me,” has been added to rotation on the network and fans are encouraged to visit CMT’s artist page for more information. 

Stella // James consists of longtime friends Rachel Bradshaw, Sarah Davidson, and Ty Graham.  Co-penned by all three members of the trio, along with producer Andy Dodd, "Give It All To Me" is a powerful showcase of the tight-knit trio’s wonderfully lush harmonies. Its encouraging lyrics, (when the weight of the world is holding you down/ baby let me set you free/ come on, come on/ you can give it all to me,) coupled with its airy melody, inspired the simple backdrop for the music video. Directed by Jakob Owens and Spencer Ray, the video was taped at Copperline Ranch; one of Nashville’s most stunning music retreats with over 18 acres of pristine country. 

“We are thrilled and honored to kick off 2016 with CMT’s Artist Discovery program.  It is always a dream for an artist to see their work on a national platform.  We can’t thank CMT enough for their support,” says Stella // James. 

Launching on CMT Music, the network’s 24/7 digital all-music channel, the 2016 campaign starts this week (1/11) and will include custom on-air and cross-platform promotion to better connect rising and independent artists with a passionate new fan-base. Created as a way to showcase emerging artists online, the franchise has expanded to take advantage of the network’s broad reach across television, radio and on its social networks. 

“Give It All To Me” can be found on the trio’s debut EP, Acoustic Demos Vol. 1.

With her upcoming album due February 5th, Dori Freeman has already been garnering attention, and accolades, from NPR and Rolling Stone Country. This deluge of adoration underscores how original and emotionally deep Freeman's debut album is. The self-titled, all original release is a window into a modern Appalachian woman's life, caught between the past, present, and future of one of America’s most fertile musical regions. Released on Free Dirt Records, the album is a collection of vulnerable songwriting performed with ability and wisdom beyond her years. 

In advance of the release, Freeman is playing at Rockwood Music Hall this Sunday, January 17th. It's a can't miss opportunity to see this already acclaimed artist in an intimate setting.

Show Details:
Sunday, January 27th
Free Dirt Records APAP showcase
Rockwood Music Hall
196 Allen St, NYC

Oakland, CA (Press Release)-- Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Grateful Dead music today and an accomplished guitarist, singer and songwriter in his own right, David Gans now shares with us his own well-crafted and heartfelt interpretations of some of the Grateful Dead’s best songs on It's a Hand-Me-Down, released on November 27, 2015 on Gans’ Perfectible Recordings label.

Gans approaches Grateful Dead music with a unique range and a rare degree of mastery on multiple levels: as a noted writer (his most recent volume, This Is All a Dream We Dreamed: An Oral History of the Grateful Dead [Nov 2015], co-authored with Blair Jackson, presents the definitive story of the Grateful Dead in their own words), commentator, and radio-show host he has introduced, contextualized, and exposed Grateful Dead music to generations of Deadheads and casual fans. As a musician, singer, and impresario he has brought the music to life in solo and ensemble configurations. As an interviewer and documentor, he has chronicled the Grateful Dead experience from a kaleidoscopic array of perspective, as an insider, an outsider, and a songsmith.

It's a Hand-Me-Down sets some of the Dead tunes Gans most enjoys performing in a “solo electric” context closely modeled on his performance style, making extensive use of looping and electronics to bring the sort of shimmery elastic feel required to do this material justice.

“The idea was to make a record that sounds like my performances: guitar and vocal, with some additional layers of guitar made possible by the Boss RC-30 Loop Station which allows me to record the chord changes of a song so I can play a guitar solo on top of them. It also makes it possible to create multi-layered performances of composed and improvised music.”

“Lazy River Road” and “Attics of My Life” are the simplest: one guitar, one voice. “Ship of Fools,” “Loser,” “Stagger Lee,” “Black Peter,” and “Brokedown Palace” feature guitar fills and solos over the chord changes, exactly as presented in his live show with the help of the looper (but for this project recorded in separate passes, to take advantage of the editing and mixing capabilities of multitrack recording). “Deal” is “realistic” until the end, when a third guitar joins in to spice up the coda. Some sections were edited to eliminate repetitive stretches of loop development. In “Wharf Rat,” this leads to a moment in which four guitars appear simultaneously, in four takes, initially expecting to use just one, but liking the intersection of all four.

(Press Release) As young as she may look, Laura Jean Anderson is filled with the spirit of wisdom, amassed through years of traveling, busking, hitchhiking, touring and old time religion--just the kind of learning a prolific songwriter would need. 

You can hear it in her voice and lyrics on her latest EP, Righteous Girl in which she evokes the ghosts of Janis Joplin and modern influences of Lucius, St. Vincent and Alabama Shakes, “I feel like these songs reflect that feeling you get when you get one glimmer of hope, of sunshine in the midst of a deep depression. I would go on long walks barefoot with my guitar in the neighborhoods of LA--I felt super out of place doing that but for some reason, it put things into perspective,” Anderson says wistful. 

“Take Me In” opens up the EP and Anderson gently pulls the listener into her world, her soothing voice (reminiscent of June Carter) ebbs and flows along with the electric piano rolls. However, the title track “Righteous Girl,” is a whole ‘nother beast. Crashing distorted drums clue us to a shift in tone but Anderson’s voice and guitar are there to ground the whole affair: Her haunting voice swells then dips back into a lullaby then before we know it, she belts out another howl--she's always in control, it seems to say.

Anderson’s unique sound is a direct creation of the combination of growing up in a conservative environment with years of church singing and roots music education contradicting the grunge and punk elements of growing up in liberal Washington. You can hear this in her music, soulful vocals and well crafted storylines with elements of chaotic rock n' roll and garage rock at its best. 

Anderson’s credits her time at Calarts as a major influence on her music. It was two years of wild art school experiences, meeting amazing people, and being a barefoot hippie in the mountains writing songs, she recalls. 

Then a stint in the mountain town of Huaraz, Peru where, with all her money stolen, she spent hours a day busking in the plaza until she made enough money to get a ticket home. “It was then and there that I realized I was put on this earth to make music,” Anderson says. “Alone in Peru, I was able to make it out just through music . . . I knew I had to come back to the States and pursue music full-heartedly.” 

So she did. She went back to LA to finish school and record “Righteous Girl.” The EP was produced by Anderson and Theo Karon and recorded mostly at Kingsize Soundlabs in Eagle Rock. (Karon has recently worked with Mavis Staples, Angel Olsen, Foxygen, and Pillars & Tongues.) 

“(The EP) directly reflects things I have experienced and feel,” she reflects. “Freedom and honesty is so important but I feel like too many things are written where the writer doesn’t REALLY mean them. I mean everything I write, and If I can’t look at myself in the mirror and speak those words, I will scrap the lyric.” As Anderson further explains, it’s a record about hardship, heartbreak and religion.  

Righteous Girl will come out on March 4.

Watch "Feels Right" here & "Take Me In" here.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Latium/RCA Nashville recording artist, Sammy Arriaga, has been selected for CMT’s “Artist Discovery” campaign. The network exclusively premiered the official video for his current single “Cold In Miami,” today, Monday, January 11 across all CMT platforms, including the 24/7 digital music channel CMT Music, CMT.com and the CMT Artists app, which can be viewed here.

The rising Cuban-American Country artist returned to his roots of Miami, Florida to film the highly anticipated music video, directed by David Rousseau, also a Miami native, known for his work with artists such as Pitbull, Marc Anthony, Lil Wayne, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias and Nicki Minaj. In the reminiscent song of lost love, Arriaga uses his infectious and uniquely chilling sound to bring “Cold In Miami” alive.

Dubbed by The Miami Herald as "the next artist to emerge on the Country music scene from Miami since The Mavericks," Arriaga is continuing to work on new music under LA-based manager Charles Chavez, CEO of Latium Entertainment. His highly anticipated new single, "Cold In Miami," was premiered on Sirius XM The Highway's On the Horizon and was released to Spotify and iTunes, where it was named one of Apple Music's "Hot Tracks"alongside Blake Shelton and George Strait. The single can be purchased HERE.

The esteemed singer-songwriter has been captivating audiences across the country with his infectious style, performing alongside popular chart-topping acts such as the ACM-nominated duo Love and Theft, The Voice winner Cassadee Pope and Country music staple Trace Adkins. Integrating his Latin heritage into his music, Arriaga incorporates various rhythmic elements that put a unique spin on today’s Country sound, blazing new trails and filling a niche that Country music has not yet experienced.  

For more information on Sammy Arriaga click here.

(NASHVILLE, Tenn. Press Release) – Country singer/songwriter Eric Durrance didn’t mean to be political when he wrote and recorded “Jesus & Guns.” However, as a result of President Obama's recent executive action on gun control, he decided to speak out, by releasing the song to radio stations. The single first appeared on his Tobacco Rd Band's 2012 album “Where the Girls Are,” but was never released to radio, until now.
 
“This song wasn’t meant to be political when I wrote it; it’s just about the values I was raised with, along with millions of other Americans,” Durrance said. “It says to protect your family because there’s always going to be a wolf at the door. When my dad gave me his shotgun, he had that talk with me. I think we’re getting into a situation where everybody needs to have that talk.”
 
https://soundcloud.com/eric-durrance/jesus-guns/s-Aog9J
 
Durrance, former lead singer of the acclaimed Christian rock band Big Dismal, has been focusing on country music in recent years. He previously toured as a solo opening act with Jason Aldean and Lady Antebellum, and later co-wrote Jake Owen’s hit single “Eight Second Ride.” In 2013, he released the single “That’s Country” featuring Colt Ford. His song “I Wanna Dance With You” was also featured in the soundtrack of “The Dance,” a short film produced by ABC Entertainment as part of the network’s “Home for the Holidays” digital series in 2013.
 
“’Jesus & Guns’ has always been a fan-favorite, everywhere we play,” Durrance said. “I realize the title might seem provocative, but all I’m saying is that the Bible is your spiritual gun against evil.”
 
The music of Tobacco Rd Band is available on iTunes, Amazon and other digital outlets. For information is available at www.TobaccoRdBand.com.

In March of 2015, the Nashville-via-West Texas songwriter Ryan Culwell returned with Flatlands, his first album of new material in more than 8 years. The album was released on the lauded label Lightning Rod Records (Jason Isbell, Amanda Shires, Joe Pug) and was met great praise.
 
Rolling Stone Country said Culwell "is following the through-line between Bruce Springsteen and Jason Isbell... Flatlands is like a bleaker Nebraska meets Southeastern full of dusty laments about growing up in the Texas panhandle" while NPR Music said "His songs themselves wring grace from plain and often dark details, expressing the realities of class and region in ways that many other writers barely touch."

On Friday, January 8th, Flatlands was finally released in the UK and was once again met with rave reviews:
 
"Rough-hewn prairie blues and back porch meditations on solid debut from rising poet of the Texas plains." - Daily Mirror

"...a Springsteen-ish, country/folk Americana set that mixes lonesome acoustic ballads such as 'Amarillo' with mean, stomp-box blues ('I Think I'll Be Their God), and freight-train lamets ('Piss Down In My Bones')." - Metro
 
"…a charismatic Texan singer-songwriter whose writing is rugged, masculine, but not afraid to express vulnerability… he is a true poet." - Times of London

"...quietly magnificent debut album." - Sunday Express
 
"...Flatlands heralds a gritty, poetic new American voice." - Mail On Sunday
 
Tour Dates:
3/3: London, UK - St. Pancras Church %
3/7: Hamburg, DE - Kukuun %
 % - with Will Hoge

Find Ryan Culwell on the web:
 www.ryanculwell.com
www.twitter.com/ryanculwell
www.facebook.com/RyanCulwell
www.instagram.com/ryanculwell

Jessie James Decker, who will be performing a sold out show at The Gramercy Theatre in NYC on March 11th, was recently named eos brand ambassador. Decker joins Hilary Duff and Britney Spears in promoting the balms which are 100% natural and 95% organic. In her IG post (to the left), Decker is using the sweet mint balm which can be personalized with customizable stickers (pretty fun!). For more information on eos (evolution of smooth) products visit their official website by clicking the link.  

On January 8th, Zane Williams announced the release of his newest album, Snapshots. The project is a collection of Williams' favorite songs so far and pulls from all five of his releases including 2015's acclaimed Texas Like That. The album will be available January 22nd and can be pre-ordered here: http://smarturl.it/ZWSnapshots