(Press Release) Nashville singer-songwriter Jerry Castle is set to release his new album Not So Soft Landing June 24th.  The 10-song set was recorded in East Nashville and Topanga, CA and was produced by the Grammy Award-winning producer Chad Brown (Ryan Adams, Hayes Carll) and mixed by 3-time Grammy-winning engineer and producer Warren Riker (Wyclef Jean, Down, Common).  Rolling Stone Country premiered Castle’s reverent cover of Blind Melon’s “Change” today.  It serves as the album’s closing track and can be heard HERE. 
 
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Castle said “The song was a huge part of my youth, a credo of sorts for fighting depression.  The rest of Not So Soft Landing had already been recorded, but it didn’t feel like we had the right song to end the album.  I remembered Blind Melon’s Letterman performance of the song on the evening that Kurt Cobain was found dead.  I pulled the performance up online to see if it was as good as I had remembered and was floored 22 years later; it felt just as emotional and the song was more poignant to my life than ever.  I knew right then that ‘Change’ was the right way to end the album.’  Magnet Magazine also recently premiered the video for the album’s first single, “Ride.”  The clip was directed by Stacie Huckeba and can be seen HERE.  Castle has also announced the first live dates in support of the record (please see dates below). 

On June 17, the ranch hand turned troubadour Luke Bell will release a self-titled album via Bill Hill Music / Thirty Tigers. Today, he released a new single titled "All Blue."
 
Stream the track here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JWublprxx4&feature=youtu.be
 
The album is now available for pre-order and includes instant downloads of "All Blue" and "Sometimes." Stream the tracks via Spotify.
 
During the recent Stagecoach Festival in Indio, CA, Randy Lewis of the Los Angeles Times called Luke "raw and energetic, rooted in country tradition with a strong dose of the literate facet of the folk tradition." 

CLEVELAND, Ohio (May 12, 2016 PR) – This July, the eyes of the world will be set upon Cleveland, Ohio – with the Republican National Convention taking place there. Those who will experience history being made that week will get to experience the magic of the city with a historic night of fun and entertainment titled Cleveland Rocks 2016! The extravaganza is produced by Blue Star Productions, LLC in conjunction with the Green Beret Foundation, The Folded Flag Foundation, The Guardians of Heroes Foundation, OH Fallen Heroes, and ST9, with those charities receiving proceeds from the event.

On Thursday, July 21, the week will come to an end for those in attendance, but it ends with a bang! For the evening’s festivities, called “Wheels Up,” Kid Rock - one of the most electrifying musicians in the world - will show off his musical virtuosity performing with his incredible Twisted Brown Trucker Band. The singer, a native of Detroit, has sold a staggering twenty six million albums since breaking onto the scene in the 1990s. Other hit albums in the Kid Rock catalog include Cocky (2001), Rock and Roll Jesus (2007), and Born Free (2010). He has had success on the Pop, Country, and R&B charts with a variety of artists, ranging from Sheryl Crow to Martina McBride to R. Kelly. His most recent work is 2015’s "First Kiss."
​

Jeff Slate & Friends bring their rollicking, American roots show to Hill Country Live! In celebration of Bob Dylan’s 75th birthday, on Friday, May 20th, with two sets of music beginning at 9 PM. 

Jeff Slate and his all-star band – featuring musicians who have played with some of the greatest roots rockers of all time – return to Hill Country Live! with an evening of stellar music, including hits and deep cuts from Bob Dylan, his fellow Wilburys, Tom Petty, George Harrison, and Roy Orbison, plus fan favorites from Jeff’s Dylan-inspired catalog of original music. 

In 2012 Jeff debuted his solo album Birds of Paradox to sold out crowds around New York City. Since then he has toured, and released Imposters & Attractions, as well as an all-star version of The Kinks’ “Big Sky” on a tribute album to the late Kinks bass player Pete Quaife, and written extensively about some of music’s biggest names for Esquire, Rolling Stone and elsewhere. In February 2014 and March 2015 Jeff was a featured performer with his Birds of Paradox band at the Fest For Beatles Fans here in New York, where he performed again in April 2016. In May 2014 he made his Hill Country Live! debut with his Dylan Obscura show, playing a set full of songs that Dylan himself has never recorded or even played live, gems he rarely plays in concert and some of his best but least known songs, as well as original music inspired by Dylan, to a packed house. He’s returned regularly with stellar, packed shows. 

Jeff’s new album, Secret Poetry, featuring performances by Earl Slick, Laurence Juber, Steve Holley, Carlos Alomar and many more was released April 22nd. 

When: Friday 05/20
Where: Hill Country Live!
Show: 9:00PM
No Cover
Make your FREE “club level” reservations at 212-255-4544 early as Jeff’s recent Hill Country shows have been SRO!

(Press Release) May 12, 2016 -- Country artist Tim Montana has teamed up with Gibson Brands/Gibson Foundation to create a one-of-a-kind guitar in memory of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (portrayed in the film, “American Sniper”), which will be auctioned online as part of the third annual Chris Kyle Memorial Benefit being held Saturday, May 14 at River Ranch Stockyards in Ft. Worth, TX. It is expected to be the centerpiece of all the items up for auction, with 100% of all proceeds being donated to the Spirit Of A Hero Foundation.  The band will perform at the event.
 
For those not in attendance at the event, bids will be taken at www.charitybuzz.com/ChrisKyleGuitar starting Thursday, May 12 at 3:00PM ET. Bidding will close Monday, June 6 at 3:00PM ET.
 
The one-of-a-kind guitar features handcrafted artwork created and built on the Historic Reissue Les Paul Platform (a 1950’s Reissue Les Paul, which is Gibson Custom’s primary product). A hand-carved skull and cross-hairs is on the guitar’s maple top, and the top paint is masked and hand-painted in the same camouflage colors that were on Chris Kyle’s Navy SEAL uniform.  The back features a hand-painted portrait of Chris Kyle and a Navy SEAL Trident similar to those pounded into Chris’s casket as his funeral service. A hand-engraved quote, “It’s our duty to serve those that serve us,” is engraved on the guitar’s bridge pickup, which was digitized from Chris’s handwriting.  A 7.62mm bullet shell from one of his missions is embedded in the guitar’s headstock. The shell--only three of which are known to exist--was retrieved by a member of his team during an active firefight.  The neck pick-up is engraved with “Chris Kyle 2016 Memorial Benefit.”

Scott Stevens, one of country music’s fast-rising singer/songwriters, is quickly making his presence known in the Nashville community. He just released his official music video for his upcoming single, Don’t Fight Fair.

The video, which was shot at Catch This Music recording studio on Music Row in Nashville, was shot by Dustin Hensley and produced by Stevens himself. “I shot all this on my iPhone the day we wrote the song,” says Stevens. “I thought the concept of a making-of/behind-the-scenes type would be really cool to show my fans.  And the rest is history!

​(Press Release) Robert Ellis is set to return with his eponymous fourth album on June 3rd via New West Records.  The 11-song, self-titled set is his most personal statement yet and a summation of his career thus far.  NPR Music described the new album as "brilliant," and stated, "Musically varied, impeccably structured, Robert Ellis recalls the 'confessional' songwriters who set the bar in the 1970s, as well as recent Americana landmarks like Jason Isbell's Southeastern.  There are traces of Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon on this cohesive work, and the laconic insight that James Taylor offers at his best.  Robert Ellis is not always a light listen - the narrator bluntly claims his sins throughout - but the musical adventurousness that's in Ellis' blood makes it an irresistible one."  The record was self-produced by Ellis at Sugar Hill Studios in his hometown of Houston, TX with engineer Steve Christensen (Steve Earle) and mixed by John Agnello (Kurt Vile, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr.)  Robert Ellis will be available on LP, CD, and Digital Download and available for pre-order via Pledge Music. 
 
The video for first single “How I Love You” premieres via Consequence Of Sound today and can be seen HERE.  It was directed by Cullen Kelly and was shot in Ellis’ hometown of Houston, TX.  The video co-stars the fashion model Alyssa Miller and features a completely desolate Houston entirely free of other people.  Speaking to Consequence of Sound, Ellis stated “Cullen came to me with the concept of shooting a video in a major metropolitan area and making it feel completely empty.  I think the city is the third character in this video.  The idea is that falling in love has the power to bring a whole world into existence that wasn’t there before.”  

AUSTIN, Texas – Sitting down to discuss music with Michael Fracasso is a challenge. But it’s not because he’s a tough read or reluctant to talk. It’s because conversation with a man whose website identifies him as “Musician. Chef. Austinite.” can veer off in so many wonderful directions, it’s sometimes hard to stick to the subject at hand.
Musically, Fracasso also tends to veer off in wonderful directions. His new album, Here Come the Savages(releasing nationally June 10, 2016 on Blue Door Records), finds him in a favorite spot — straddling that imaginary divide history somehow erected betweenGerde’s Folk City and CBGB (though let’s not forget that, pre-punk, those letters stood for “country, bluegrass and blues” — all elements of the Americana camp where Fracasso pitches his musical tent).
That is not to say Fracasso rests in a comfort zone; somebody once characterized him as incapable of repeating himself musically, and he agrees that’s true. ​