Dec 12, 2017 (Press Release) -- Los Angeles-based communal folk/Americana group Moonsville Collective have officially released their fourth & final EP of 2017, Moonsville IV. In advance of the release, the band was featured at The Boot, Alternate Root, Magnet Magazine & Substream Magazine, the latter of which referred to the band as "A steadfast reminder of how great real Americana-style country music can still be." The day before the release, Moonsville IV streamed in it's entirety at PopMatters.

Moonsville is a Southern California band that writes songs about the terrain of their own stories and lives. During an age of short attention spans and speedy business, the band draws their inspiration from a simple well and holds firm to the truth that good songs can carry people through hard times and can increase the light when life lands you on the sunny side of the street.

As young ramblers from the suburbs of Los Angeles, they began their musical fostering by allowing themselves to be adopted into the Central California scene, sitting-in on jug band and old-time music circles where an infectious and pure spirit of “music for music’s sake” lived.  Injecting that same spirit into their songs and their lives became their quest. Moonsville, like a train station, always had players and characters stopping in from time to time to play, drink, chat and record. They’ve recently landed on a concrete five-person roster but often times still have friends sit in on certain shows. Although recent recognition has ushered them onto bigger stages, the bands roots will always find harvest in low-lit bars, drunken alleys and the hobo lullabies. ​

(Press Release) GRAMMY-winning singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin has announced the upcoming release of the Amazon Original, The Starlighter, a new album of songs adapted from the children's music book "Lullabies and Night Songs." The record will be released on February 23rd via Amazon Music. Today, Colvin has shared a new video for the song "The Starlighter," which is currently streaming via Rolling Stone who stated, "The LP's title track is accompanied by a dazzling music video crafted by Jordan Stone and Martin Hughes in Victorian pantomime-inspired animation, while at the same time echoing the spirit of the original Sendak illustrations."
 
Watch Shawn Colvin's "The Starlighter" HERE.
 
The Starlighter will be released exclusively for purchase on Amazon Music and streaming through Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime Music. Pre-order for the album is now available at www.amazon.com/thestarlighter, and fans will immediately be able to stream and download the title track from the album, “The Starlighter.”
 
"The Starlighter" video is based on Victorian paper theatres and the illustration style of children’s books from the same era, and was created by the Manchester, UK/Los Angeles-based motion design studio WeFail. Each scene contains over one hundred layered illustrations, and every element in the video was drawn using a digital tablet before being animated by hand. Shawn Colvin’s character in the video consists of 30 individual hand-drawn pieces, each digitally painted before motion design was applied to create the complete figure. 

Amado Gonzalez is an old soul who reached the end of his rope sooner than expected. In the span of a few years, he left town, ended faulty relationships, and got fired from a job promising more than it could deliver. Feeling too young to be wise, yet too old to be reckless, he opted for travel which took him over 33,000 miles - and those miles culminated with a suitcase of stories to share.

Now calling San Marcos, Texas home, Amado’s music stands on the shoulders of the Texas hill country, blending Americana textures with the “take it or leave it” attitude of punk rock. His upcoming album, Despite the Distance, is the journey to discover whether the gap that grows over time - between family, Creator, surroundings, and dreams - should be filled, forgotten, or reframed in a new light. Despite the Distance recalls life in your twenties, a time which leaves you strangely hopeful, even if simply for the fact that you’re lucky to still be alive.

​Today, TDC is pleased to premiere one of the album's tunes, "Tennessee." Penned by Gonzalez and led by churning guitars, a firm percussive beat, and his gravelly vocals (assured and resolute), the country rocker speaks of change and doubt, experiences that people in their twenties, or any age, will most certainly identify with.

"And I won't bite my tongue
And let you off easy for the things you've done
The train is coming fast
Maybe it's about time we get off the tracks"

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Press Release) - In a live announcement made from the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, Cheyenne Frontier Days™ (CFD) announced all but two of the names for the 2018 Frontier Nights®entertainment series. In addition to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) Rodeo, the Championship Bull Riding (CBR) World Finals will return to the arena in 2018.
Tickets will go on sale Saturday, December 16 at 9 a.m. MTSat www.cfdrodeo.com, through the Cheyenne Frontier Days™ Ticket Office, and by calling (307) 778-7222.

Florida Georgia Line, Cole Swindell, Charlie Daniels Band with special guest Tracy Lawrence, Eric Church, and Dierks Bentley were announced live, from Las Vegas and live-streamed on the Wrangler Network.
“We are excited about the lineup for 2018,” Contract Acts chairman Scott Fleming said. “We are working on securing the remaining performances and will have a follow-up announcement at that time.”

Championship Bull Riding returns to Cheyenne Frontier Days to crown the 2018 CBR World Champion bull rider with a $100,000 check. Bull riding icon Tuff Hedeman presides over the action matching the best riders to the industry’s best bucking bulls. Six-time World Champion Sage Kimzey broke all CBR records in 2017 when he won an unprecedented third CBR World title.

Craig Gerdes gets you in the holiday spirit with his new single "Christmas Eve At Our House." The upbeat, boot-tappin' country Christmas number finds Gerdes weaving some dysfunction - whiskey, cigarettes, and fightin', - into an autobiographical tale of a holiday family gathering. Led by pedal steel, bouncy bass, and plenty of guitar licks, "Christmas At Our House" is a humorous holiday keeper.

Gerdes' forthcoming record, Smokin', Drinkin' & Gamblin'  is out February 16 and features production work and contributions from Jim Vest (Johnny Paycheck, Willie Nelson, David Allan Coe), as well as pedal steel from Robby Turner (Waylon Jennings, Chris Stapleton). Smokin' Drinkin' & Gamblin' is full of outlaw-country rug cutters and ballads about strong heads and weak hearts. Fueled by nostalgia, Gerdes' songwriting talent turns old habits into dependable crutches, nursing the phantom pain of distant love. The nine-track album is full old-school four-to-the-floor honky tonk that calls to mind country legends like George Strait, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson. For more information, visit HERE.

12-City Think About the Link Tour Sponsored by Prevent Cancer Foundation Begins January 13 in Austin, TX
 
Tour Features A Man Under The Influence  Performed In Its Entirety
 
Yep Roc Records proudly announces the signing of acclaimed Texas singer/songwriter Alejandro Escovedo. Currently working on material for his Yep Roc debut anticipated for 2018, Escovedo will headline the Think About the Link 12-city tour beginning January 13, in Austin, TX. A full list of dates is below.
 
In partnership with Prevent Cancer Foundation®, the Think About the Link® tour will raise awareness of the Foundation’s educational campaign about the connection between certain viruses and cancer, www.thinkaboutthelink.org of which Escovedo is a spokesperson. As a hepatitis C survivor, Escovedo hopes to raise awareness about the link between hepatitis C and liver cancer. Each night he will perform his A Man Under the Influence album in its entirety with most of the original musicians featured on the album and a string section.
 
“I had a great time performing at Yep Roc Records 20th anniversary show,” says Escovedo, “connecting with friends old and new, I look forward to joining Yep Roc’s esteemed roster.”

Nashville, Tenn. December 7, 2018 (Press Release)—Blackbird Presents and Charlie Daniels are proud to announce “Volunteer Jam XX: A Tribute To Charlie,” an all-star concert event at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday, March 7, 2018 at 7 PM CT.  Since its inception in 1974, Charlie Daniels’ Volunteer Jam has brought together some of music’s greatest legends. Now, 43 years later, friends, fans, and an extraordinary lineup of musicians will come together for a very special Volunteer Jam honoring the southern rock pioneer Charlie Daniels – the man who started it all.
 
This unforgettable concert event will feature performances by Charlie Daniels and The Charlie Daniels Band, Alison Krauss, Billy F Gibbons of ZZ Top, Blackberry Smoke, Bobby Bare, Chris Janson, Chuck Leavell, Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry, Jamey Johnson, Justin Moore, The Oak Ridge Boys, and Ricky Skaggs with many more special guests to be announced in the coming weeks. Storme Warren will be returning as host. For the first time ever, rock great Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top will honor Daniels at the Jam. Country music legend Eddie Montgomery will make a heroic return to the stage after the tragic passing of his partner, Troy Gentry.  ​

Watch HERE

Veteran singer/songwriter Matthew Mayfield has released the lyric video for his song “Warfare on Repeat” from his latest LP RECOIL. The namesake for his recent fifteen-city tour is one of the more upbeat tunes from the project but is one of the hardest hitting lyrically highlighting the subject of addiction and the struggle that accompanies it. “Can’t recall an evening that I didn’t end up drowning at the bar. Yeah…loneliness is crippling and memory is frankly just too hard. Do I fear that I will change if I empty all the booze down the drain,” sings Mayfield to cheerful melody. 

“Addiction is a hell of a thing as we all know. It could be anything: drugs, booze, sex, gambling, cutting, food...the list goes on forever. I never intended to write this song - it wrote itself," says Matthew. "I have had so many fans tell me how this song and other songs in my catalog have helped them gain some perspective on those issues and for some, they’ve told me it saved their life. There’s no higher honor than that. THAT will bring you to tears. It’s why I do this in the first place...to make a difference." 

RECOIL is a sonic and lyrical departure from Mayfield’s previous release, Wild Eyes. Wild Eyes was a collection of songs created over time that reflected different periods in Matthew’s life. RECOIL, by contrast, was born quickly and violently, the fruit of an intense effort by Mayfield to depict the good, the bad, and the ugly in the present world he inhabits. According to Mayfield, “making RECOIL was extremely hard—I had to drag the songs out of me and stick with them until they said exactly what I needed them to say.” 

(Nashville, Tennessee...Press Release) - December 8, 2017 -- The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) has announced April 3-7, 2018 as the dates for the 26th Annual Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival. The popular event features hit songwriters from all genres of music performing at some of Nashville's hottest music venues. Regions Bank returns for the 11th year as the presenting sponsor of the event.
 
Tin Pan South reigns as the world's largest all-songwriter festival, and thousands of music fans attend the event annually to hear songwriters tell stories behind hit songs they have written and perform the songs as they were originally composed. The 2017 festival featured over 400 talented songwriters performing 100 shows during the five-day event.
 
For the 11th consecutive year, NSAI invited a select group of students at the Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film to present artwork concepts to be used on all marketing materials for the upcoming Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival. Students are given full creative license on how to best capture the sense of community, diversity and energy the festival embodies. Of the 13 participating students, the chosen design was created by María Sol Mancini. Currently an Illustration major at Watkins, Mancini was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, raised in Sunrise, Florida and studied at the Dillard Center for the Arts. 

Stay tuned to tinpansouth.com in the coming months for information about venues, lineups, the popular Fast Access Passes and more.