With her 2016 single, “Drinking With Dolly” cementing her status as one to watch, Rebel Engine recording artist Stephanie Quayle is kicking off the summer in style with her newest single, “Winnebago.” An infectious tune that begs you to get in your Winnie and hit the road, Quayle, in partnership with Kampgrounds Of America (KOA), Winnebago and Polaroid, will live out the lyrics to the song as she crisscrosses the U.S. on her Winnebago Tour: Powered By The RV Loft, performing at KOA locations nationwide, making stops at each of the national cities and landmarks name-checked in the song including Buffalo, the Hoover Dam, Mt. Rushmore, the Golden Gate Bridge, and more. A couple of days after her first-ever NYC show, Quayle called from her Winnebago to talk about the song, tour, and more.
 
We last spoke in 2015, and since then it seems like things have really been taking off for you.
It’s just full steam ahead. Last year was so monumental with “Drinking With Dolly." It's a song that really set the stage for us in a beautiful way and will always be the song I think of as the beginning of everything. I’ve got to play that song all over the country and live tv, and I hope it is a song that becomes a Quayle classic for the rest of my days.

It seems that every step forward we take is more than just another step forward. It’s like hundreds of steps, so now we just want to keep it up and give the fans the best, from the live performance to the record, and more.

Co-written by Phil Barton, Victoria Banks, Lindsay Rimes, and Emily Shackelton, your new single, “Winnebago,” is the perfect song for the summertime. What drew you to it and made you want to record it?
The first time I heard the song it immediately put a smile on my face. Growing up in Montana, every summer my grandparents would put us in the RV and take off to Minnesota; so when I heard this song it took me back to those memories, plus it’s also a song that makes you want to experience America.

What’s wild is while we recorded it and knew it was going to be on the album, it only came to be a single when we saw the reaction of the fans as we performed it over the past year and a half. The first time we played the song we did it acoustic in Charlotte, NC and by the end of the first chorus, everyone was smiling and singing along. It’s so great to be able to sing the song on the road in places like the top of the Empire State Building, which we got to do the other day.

South Carolina-raised, California-based artist Ben Bostick spent years pursuing various endeavors, from working on a ranch to attending film school, before exploring his passion as a songwriter and musician. Finding success busking on the Santa Monica Pier, Bostick teamed with John Would (Warren Zevon, Fiona Apple) for his first full-length album of ‘outsider country’ due July 7th. In advance of the release, Bostick took the time to speak about his incredibly diverse roots, the album, and more.

It seems you had quite a varied and interesting life before settling into place as a singer-songwriter and musician.
My life is sort of complex. I was born in Beaufort [South Carolina] then moved to Minnesota and North Carolina before moving back to South Carolina, where I graduated high school. I really had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, so I went to college at USC and realized that nothing in my life had changed and I needed to get out [of South Carolina]. So, this small-town kid applied to NYU on a whim, got in, went and graduated with an English degree. After that I worked on a ranch in Nevada, really just me and a lot of cows, which was pretty lonesome, so I moved to Seattle where I wrote for The Stranger. Eventually, I moved to L.A., did some film loading and applied to film school in Paris - which was just a disaster. The school wasn’t great, and there was a metro strike at the time, so the city really shut down for two months. However, I met another American student there, and we wrote a feature film, dropped out of school, and came back to New York where I worked in the film industry. Then, I found myself back in the trap of wondering what exactly I’m doing with my life, so I left New York for L.A. and joined my buddy in a band.

Ever since I was twelve, including all the time I was doing those other things, I played and wrote music, so I got back to writing songs, playing guitar, and playing in a band. One day I had my iTunes on random, and the bass player asked 'Who is singing on this track?' and it turned out it was me on an old demo of “Independence Day Eve." I told him I had a bunch of songs like that in a drawer at home and he suggested that we started playing stuff like that and so we began doing country gigs, which was where I started fifteen years before. Until two years ago, I didn’t have any idea I would be making a living as a musician. It all came full circle after a lot of stuff in between. 

On June 24 and 25, the fourth annual Rockland-Bergen Music Festival will take place in Tappan, NY right on the borders of Rockland and Bergen counties. The festival combines two days of music with raising awareness of important causes and organizations that do work in the fields of health and humanity. This year, the Rockland-Bergen Music Festival will feature over 33 artists on two stages as well as 16 non-profit organizations, plenty of food and drink, and a guaranteed good time. In advance of the festival, founder Joe D’Urso took some time to talk about the festival, its history, and more.

What spurred you to start the Rockland-Bergen Music Festival four years ago?
For years, I thought that the Rockland-Bergen area should have a music festival and I got tired of waiting for someone else to do it, so I decided to grab the bull by the horns and do it myself. I am very fortunate that I have friendships with singers and others from all of the different parts of my life and was able to get a bunch of them together and put the festival together.
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In order to do that, you must clearly be a lover of music. Is that your background?
It’s one of my many hats. I spent 1986 to 1996 at Premiere Talent Agency where we booked tours with Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, U2, Bon Jovi, The Who and others. Then, from 1996 to 2006 I toured with my band, put out a few independent records, and played in 25 countries. From 2006 until now I have continued to tour, but I also oversee a Broadway production company, Leftfield Production, with composer Neil Berg who is a childhood friend. I also work with WhyHunger, Light of Day, and the Dan Sullivan Foundation, all of which use music to raise awareness and money for different causes.

Austin via Ohio singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lazarus has been writing and playing music for over two decades. While his musical path has veered in various directions including Folk, Punk, Rock, and Country, they all converged on his debut release, Rock N Roll Heart, which embodies the Americana sound. Recorded at King Electric Studios in Austin with producer Kris Brown and guests that included, Warren Hood, Denis Ludiker, Libby Koch, and others, the album features songs like the country-tinged, “Makin’ Good Time”, those with a folk lean “Rise” and “Come Again in Glory”, and still others, "Gonna Be Okay," with a welcome slice of New Orleans flair. In advance of a busy summer schedule, Lazarus took some time to speak about his roots, the album, and more.

Originally you called Ohio home. What spurred you to pick up and move to Austin?
About three or four years ago, Ohio was having some crazy winters. We had these arctic blasts from Canada to the point where they were telling old people not to leave the house and kids not to go to school. I had started playing music again and I couldn’t take the cold anymore. I told my wife, who is a teacher, that I was going to book tours in the South all winter and I would see her on Mother’s Day. She wasn’t having that, so she started sending resumes out to schools in states with the same licensure for teachers. We were on a family vacation when she got a phone call from the Bastrop district which offered her a job starting August 1st. We made the decision to move while on vacation, told the kids on the drive home, and in two to three weeks found a house and moved to Austin.
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Wow, so it was luck or fate that you landed in such a music-centric city.
I knew Austin was a musical city, but I wasn’t that tuned in to how it gelled with Americana, the amount of state pride people have, how proud they are of their musical heritage and how they support it. Plus, there is the Texas Music Office which is a well-run, government funded organization that’s an asset to all levels of musician and venues. 

That said, I have been a member of Folk Alliance International and I have met a few people out of Texas, like Chuck Hawthorne, Libby Koch, and Ken Gaines, at their annual gathering. So when we moved, it was a soft landing into a very welcoming musical community. I spent all of 2016 touring with Libby whose last album, Just Move On was Grammy nominated, backing her on guitar, banjo, or keyboard and after I finished the tour, I made my own record - and here we are now.

Recently named one of Rolling Stone Country’s Artists You Need To Know, Rebel Engine artist Lucas Hoge rose to fame as a star of Animal Planet's Last Chance Highway, but Hoge is also a songwriter who has a penned songs for television and movies all while moving forward with his own recording career. Despite a busy calendar, Hoge makes a point of giving back. A passionate supporter of the U.S. military, he has traveled the globe extensively performing for the troops visiting numerous countries throughout the Middle East and beyond for the past eight years as part of the Wrangler National Patriot Tour. Hoge’s most recent trip was this past May and upon his return, Hoge took the time to talk about his humbling trip and the importance of giving back, as well as his new single, and more.

You recently spent time overseas for Military May. Before we jump into the trip, tell me, how did you get involved with the Wrangler National Patriot Tour?
2009 was my first trip overseas. My band and I spent about twenty-five days on a private sector tour in the Middle East, Iraq, Kuwait, and Kosovo and I fell in love with the whole concept of entertaining our troops and hanging out and talking to them. We flew back from that trip the day before CMA Fest where I was doing an event called the Celebrity Outdoor Challenge. The guy announcing the contest was Robbie Lawler, who just returned from the American 300 Tour. He asked me if I wanted to join them next year, but told me it wasn’t a big stage and light tour, it was more of a “strap your guitar on your back and frog hop in a Black Hawk tour’ to get to the people who do not get to see the bigger shows. Immediately, I said, 'Absolutely, let me know what I need to do' and the next year, I joined the Wrangler National Patriot Tour.
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Why is the military important to you? Do you come from a military family?
Yes, I do. My Dad was in the Air Force, my uncle was in the Army, and I have cousins in the Marines and other branches as well. When I graduated high school, Dad sat me down with all the branches of the military and I knew in my heart I was not wired for it, but I still wanted to give back to our country. So, when the tour came up I knew it was the perfect way to do that for me. It’s an honor to play for the men and women who do so much for us.

-Tara

Known for his rousing live shows and energetic stage presence, Pat Green is a three-time Grammy nominee who has sold over two million records, had a string of top ten singles, and appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Letterman and Austin City Limits. His last album, Home, saw his duet with Lyle Lovett, “Girls From Texas,” spend a massive 10 weeks at #1 on the Texas Music Chart and his new single, a perfect song for the summer, “Drinkin’ Days,” might just find the troubadour atop the charts once again. Written by Jaron Boyer, Ben Burges, and Phil Barton and recorded at Arlyn Studios, “Drinkin’ Days” is a nostalgic look back at a younger time when perhaps an adult beverage or two made the best of times just a little bit greater. In advance of a busy Summer, Green took a few moments to talk about the single, its recent video, and more.

“Drinkin’ Days” is a carefree, nostalgic track. What drew you to the song and made you want to record it?
Oh man, that song is just so me - there has never been a song written that’s more me! On an expressive level it captures me, on an emotional level it makes me happy, and it has that nostalgia, which I’m a sucker for.

I was going to start recording an EP and I didn’t really think I needed any more material, but when the song was played for me it was such a fit that I knew we had to take the chance and record it. It turned out so great we not only put it on the EP, but it was the next thing we had out to the public.

Did the song change any from the demo to the recording?
I don’t think we ever thought about putting a horn section or du-wop back-up singers on it, I think it always sat with the band as more of an acoustic track – that sounded like a bunch of drunk idiots around a campfire having fun (laughing).

It sure sounds like there’s a lot of fun going on in the background there.
I knew we were recording the song that day and so I had five or six couples come to the studio. I  had it catered with some food, and a bottle of wine or two might have been popped open…but who knows, nobody had a camera out, so I don’t have any proof (laughing). When we got together I told them I had an ulterior motive so they better drink their Chardonnay and sing along with me for a minute. It was a good time and a good memory for sure.

The Dustbowl Revival return, reinvigorated, on their self-titled album releasing June 16th. The eight-piece - Zach Lupetin (lead vocals/guitar), Liz Beebe (lead vocals),  Josh Heffernan  (percussion),  James Klopfleisch (double bass)  ,  Matt Rubin (trumpet)  ,  Ulf Bjorlin (trombone)    ,    Daniel Mark(mandolin)  and Connor Vance (fiddle) - ignite  a dynamic sound that blends  Blues, Funk,  and Soul with  storytelling that is nuanced, detailed, heart-wrenching, and sassy. In advance of the release, founder Lupetin took some time to talk about the album, joining forces with producer Ted Hutt, and more. 


This is your first album in about five years. Did you approach it any differently than your previous records?
We released a live record two years ago, but this is the first time we were in the studio in a long time. This album is a whole new project for us because whereas previously we were left to our own devices, this time we brought in a producer, Ted Hutt, who helped us shape the album and its sound.

Ted has worked with artists as varied as Old Crow Medicine Show, Lucero, and The Gaslight Anthem. Why did you want to work with him?
Almost two years ago, Connor and I were driving to a show and thinking about who we could have produce the next record. I love Old Crow Medicine Show’s Remedy [for which Hutt won a Grammy] and the way Ted got this fat, dirty sound out of a string band. So, I looked him up, found out that he lived in LA and emailed his manager. In a couple of days, we met and he agreed to do it.
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With eight people drawing from so many genres, making a record can be a challenge, but Ted really helped us create a cohesive story within the album. He took the time, came to rehearsals, and went out of his way to help us gather our thoughts.  Before, the band was more like my project with everyone contributing here and there and now, we're a collaborative band and cohesive unit. This time everyone is invested and Ted was the perfect fit for that. 

With her previous album, The Muscle Shoals Sessions, Amy Black began exploring her Southern roots which eventually led her to her true musical voice. For her new record, Memphis, out June 2nd on her own Reuben Records, Black traveled to Soulsville to a make an album steeped in bluesy grooves, brassy grit, and soulful emotion that culminated with ten songs that embody all the facets of Memphis from the danceable exuberance to the slow sexiness to Sunday morning gospel. In advance of the album’s release, Black graciously too the time to talk in depth about the album from its thoughtful covers, to the project’s players, and more.
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Originally, you’re from Boston and now you reside in Nashville, but you traveled to Memphis to record the new album. How did that come about and why did you want to record there?
In 2014, prior to moving to Nashville, I recorded my second studio album there at Studio A. I enjoyed that experience, but my interest, taste, and what I wanted to do artistically and musically had really been morphing. So after I recorded that one, I was heading to Muscle Shoals to record this song I wrote for my grandfather called “Alabama.” We ended up nailing the song in Nashville and I didn’t want to rerecord it, so I decided to do an EP of classic Muscle Shoals' music instead. I dug into the Muscle Shoals catalog and found four songs, which turned into this little EP I released for free to my fans – and that started something for me. I began doing a Muscle Shoals review show and it changed my world. I found that I was able to sing a lot of music I never thought I could sing and in doing so, I honestly found my voice.  
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So when it came time to do this album, I knew what I wanted, which was music with more of  a gut punch. I am drawn to a gritty sound with groove; I like to dance and move and feel the energy of the music, so Memphis seemed like the obvious choice for me. I love history and understanding where things come from and even though I’m a huge Mavis Staples fan and love Stax, I had never dug fully into Memphis music and so this project was incredibly eye opening. I found artists I should have known about like Ann Peebles, Ruby Johnson, and Bobby "Blue Bland" who is now my male counterpart to Mavis.

I contacted Scott Bomar, whom I met years earlier, spent a week with him in Memphis  going  to nightly shows, visiting studios, and meeting players - and it all came together from there. Making this album has been a great pleasure and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.