 NEW YORK -- May 18, 2018 (Press Release) -- With her new album North, Chicago songwriter Heather Styka combines folk and pop sensibilities while tackling relatable themes of inclusion, belonging and civic responsibility.North is out today, and is available everywhere.
The Bluegrass Situation premiered the album, which cuts deep into the issues, combining the lyrical intricacy of folk, melodic pop sensibility and the grit of classic country on songs that are both equally smart and disarming. North was recorded at Styka’s family lake house in northern Wisconsin with Danish backing band The Sentimentals, who have made a name for themselves accompanying Americana artists including Jonathan Byrd, Anna Egge, and Slaid Cleaves. In a matter of days, sequestered in a small log cabin on a lake, Styka and the Sentimentals recorded the entirety of North, tracking most of the album live as a full band.
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 Today, Low Cut Connie release Dirty Pictures (Part 2) via Contender Records.
For their fifth and most fully-realized album to date, the band travelled from their home turf of South Philadelphia to the legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis, TN where they cut their critically-acclaimed 2017 release Dirty Pictures (Part 1). Stream Dirty Pictures (Part 2) here: http://smarturl.it/dirtypicturespart2 NPR featured the band on Morning Edition with NPR Music critic Ann Powers claiming "[Adam] Weiner's songs share something in common with Bruce Springsteen's. 'He's looking at characters who are a bit on the edge, but who are also all-American,' she says. 'This is classic stuff, from Steinbeck to today. And he taps into that on this album in really tender, moving ways.'"  Say What You Will … Everything Can Happen and Made To Be Broken reissues are produced by Twin/Tone veteran Peter Jesperson.
Both contain unreleased tracks, unseen photos and memorabilia, and liner notes by Robert Vodicka and Gina Arnold, respectively. MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Soul Asylum first hit the Minneapolis music scene in late 1981. Core members Dave Pirner, Dan Murphy and Karl Mueller met at local punk rock shows. With all the incredible bands they saw in those days, like Hüsker Dü and The Replacements, it was daunting for them to share the same stages but, ultimately, it inspired them to work all that much harder. Soul Asylum stood out immediately because of that work ethic and their smart, punky hard rock sound.They made four records for hometown label Twin/Tone Records before moving on to the majors; first A&M, then Columbia, where they scored two platinum albums and won a Best Rock Song Grammy® for “Runaway Train.” They even played Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration gala. The first two Twin/Tone releases, 1984’s Say What You Will . . . Everything Can Happen and 1986’s Made To Be Broken, both originally produced by Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü, have been remastered and thoughtfully expanded by Omnivore Recordings and are due out July 20, 2018. This reissue of Soul Asylum’s debut, Say What You Will . . . Everything Can Happen,collects the original album, plus rare outtakes and demos from the band’s early years, including an unreleased song and many long-out-of-print tracks. The packaging provides an array of never-before-seen photos, artwork, and hand-written lyrics from Pirner’s collection. It also includes a brilliant historical essay, written by academic Robert Vodicka, that illuminates Soul Asylum’s lasting importance.  Credit: Blair Clark
Fresh off the January release of his EP Worktapes, fiercely independent singer-songwriter Ron Pope returns with the emotionally shattering acoustic ballad, "The Weather." Featuring the perfect triad of Pope's and Phoebe Bridger's breathy vocals, which blend as smooth as your favorite cocktail, and Jeff Malinowski's reserved, impactful guitar work, "The Weather" lays bare the feelings of lovers who, despite potential storms, make headway to try and find their way back to one another.
"I tried to find you on your birthday I called up your mothers house She swore that she hadn't heard from you a And asked why I don't come around Then my sister saw your cousin at a bar on Christmas Eve She said you don't wanna hear from me"
Pope had this to say about the track, "The Weather" is about that crazy "you'll probably ruin my life but I want you anyway" kind of love. I don't know about you, but I've certainly been down that road a time or two. This recording was the last thing we worked on when making the album. I love Phoebe Bridgers' voice and Jeff Malinowski's guitar playing; this is just the three of us with nothing else to distract from the song. I've been saving this for months, waiting for the right moment to share it. Nothing says "Song Of The Summer" like a heartbreaking, acoustic ballad! "
While "The Weather" may not be that traditional bouncy song of the summer people tend think of, it's an undeniable contender for song of the year. Listen to, and share, "The Weather" above. For more information visit: Website/Facebook/Twitter/Purchase  Credit: Tawny Elise
Known in the LA music scene for her smoky voice, memorable melodies, and thought provoking lyrics, Clare Means is prepping the release of her fourth studio album, Sidewalk Astronomy. Due June 8th, the forthcoming album is a cohesive patchwork of musings on life in Los Angeles, love, forgiveness, and the recent loss of her estranged father. Clare notes, "Most of the songs were written over the course of a couple years and were sparked by a variety of moments in my life...the day I found out my father was sick, when I fell in love, when I knew my relationship was doomed, when I got my heart broken, the day my father died, and when I woke up from a strange dream about sheep."
Today, TDC is honored to premiere the break your heart wide open ballad, "Guts." Led by reverb-drenched guitars, aching strings, and Means' ethereal vocals, delivering lyrics with wrenching honesty, "Guts" hits the emotional bullseye delivering crystal clear realizations about toxic relationships, the need to let go, and a love that ceases to fade despite the circumstances. Means notes, "Guts" is a confused break up/love song about loving someone so much that you love them even when you hate their guts." "I loved you like a lover You were my best friend I'll love you forever But this has got to end 'Cause a love never felt so good And a love never hurt so much I'll always love you baby Even when I hate your guts" Stream, and share, "Guts" above and for more information visit: www.claremeansmusic.com www.facebook.com/claremeans https://www.instagram.com/claremeans/ https://www.periscope.com/claremeans/ https://www.twitter.com/claremeans/ https://www.youtube.com/claremeans/  Tahlequah, OK (May 15, 2018 Press Release)-The 6th Annual MEDICINE STONE music festival heads back to Diamondhead Resort in Tahlequah, Oklahoma September 20th through September 22nd. This unique three-day live music retreat on the beautiful Illinois River stands alone as the premier Red Dirt music experience, a genre that has long been revered worldwide for its diverse sounds and quality of music. This year the event creators have added 30 acres of landscape for more space for camping as well as two additional reserved prime camping areas.
Tickets for the 6th Annual MEDICINE STONE will go on sale through the event’s website on June 1st at 9:00 AM CST. Music fans are encouraged to snag their tickets early as the prime camping and RV spots, onsite lodging and hotel rooms sell out within hours. Single day tickets go on sale August 1st. www.medicinestoneok.com.  Courtesy: Missing Piece Group Listen to “Another Mother’s Son” here
May 16, 2018 (Press Release) Singer/Songwriter Phil Cook is gearing up for the release of PEOPLE ARE MY DRUG, a collection of roots and gospel-infused songs written with a common message of community in each track. PAMD comes out June 1 on Psychic Hotline/Thirty Tigers. Pre-order PEOPLE ARE MY DRUG here. Cook’s newest single is “Another Mother’s Son,” a modern-day civil rights song about police shootings, and a plea for community in a world full of disconnect. Cook enlisted another Durham NC hip hop artist and slam poetry-champion Kane Smego to help write this deeply personal track.  Photo by Jared Roybal. Listen to "Roll Around"
May 15, 2018 (Press Release) -- New York-based Americana/folk singer-songwriter Kate Vargas has announced the release of her forthcoming LP For The Wolfish & Wandering and has shared the lead single at No Depression, who praised the Corrales, N.M. native's latest work in saying "Vargas' sensitivity to the rhythms around her gives her music a pulsing, hypnotic energy. The music sounds familiar, but it will take you down unfamiliar roads." For The Wolfish & Wandering is out July 27th. A reformed wild child, in recent years Kate Vargas has traded the party for meditation, yoga, clean eating and a renewed focus on what she values most—her music. The New Mexico-raised, NYC-based artist is building ever more mindfully on her sound, and the music press is taking notice, Vargas receiving praise from a variety of respected outlets including Impose, The Boot and the Huffington Post, the latter assessing, “There is an unlimited amount of potential in this superstar on the rise.” Vargas has packed houses from Ireland’s Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival to The Troubadour in London, The Mansion on O Street in Washington D.C. to New York’s Bowery Electric. Her upcoming album, For The Wolfish & Wandering (out July 27), features her singular folk-style storytelling. The songs are grounded in a darkly melodic, reverb-washed sonic palette of dreampop, dusty folk and junkyard blues, all carried by Vargas’ rough-hewn vocals and guitar playing. In equal measure, she channels a surprising array of artists, from Tom Waits and 16 Horsepower to Lana Del Rey and K. Flay.  Credit: Joe Navas Watch HERE
New York, NY (May 16, 2018 Press Release) – Jeffrey Foucault will release Blood Brothers on June 22, an album that is adeparture from the darkness of his last outing, setting blues aside to pull together strands of country, R&B, gospel, rock’n’roll and folk in a series of delicate small-canvas portraits. Today, Jeffrey debuts the video for "War on the Radio" with Folk Alley. It's a jangling rocker built on a Stars’n’Bars-style fiddle line carried by pedal steel and electric guitars, using bright major chording as it remarks the complicity at the heart of modern American living. “Foucault’s charming twang wraps around lyrics that dissect how omnipresent the news is in our world these days,” notes Folk Alley's Kim Ruehl. “With the media narrative telling us about darkness and division, the song insists that people in the real world continue to be kind and persistent, even as Foucault does his artist duty of trying to make sense of it all.”  Back Row, L-R: Jed Hilly, Executive Director Americana Music Association; Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale, The Milk Carton Kids; Abi Tapia, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum. Front Row, L-R: Nominees, Brittany Haas, Jerry Pentecost, Daniel Donato and Molly Tuttle Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Americana Music Association® NASHVILLE, Tenn. (May 15, 2018) - The Americana Music Association® announced the nominees for its 17th annual Honors & Awards show this afternoon at an intimate members-only ceremony held at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum. The live-streamed event featured performances by its hosts The Milk Carton Kids - Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan - as well as by Instrumentalist of the Year nominees Daniel Donato, Brittany Haas, Jerry Pentecost, Molly Tuttle and more special guests.
A full list of categories and nominees for the Americana Music Association’s® 17th annual Honors & Awards is below: Album of the Year: “All American Made,” Margo Price, Produced by Jeremy Ivey, Alex Munoz, Margo Price and Matt Ross-Spang “By The Way I Forgive You,” Brandi Carlile, Produced by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings “The Nashville Sound,” Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Produced by Dave Cobb “Rifles & Rosary Beads,” Mary Gauthier, Produced by Neilson Hubbard |
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