Their appeal was recently proven when The Sheepdogs, via 1.5 million public votes, were declared the winners of a contest that found them as the first unsigned band to grace the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine and, subsequently, landed them a deal with Atlantic Records. To the many that first caught wind of this decade-defying musical force surrounding that swirl of media attention, they may seem like something of an overnight success, though in reality, The [...] Read more »

Formed in the early ’90s by singer-songwriter John Darnielle, The Mountain Goats have evolved into a more polished studio band in recent years consisting of multi-instrumentalist Peter Hughes and drummer Jon Wurster. the band just relased their 14th studio album, Transcendental Youth, which is based on a loose cast of social outcasts from the Pacific Northwest.  Learn more about The Mountain Goats at their Official Website, “Like” them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.  Check out a the video to “Cry For Judas” [...] Read more »

  If you haven’t already, take note of Gary Clark, Jr. Sometimes we hear an artist that shows proficiency and passion while evoking emotion and appreciation. It is rare that my head is turned by the sounds coming from my speakers, but Gary Clark, Jr. had made that impression on me. Gary is a guitarist from Austin who has given his guitar the right to be the leading lady. I witnessed Gary Clark, Jr. this summer [...] Read more »

Delta Rae formed in Durham, North Carolina and consists of three siblings, Ian Hölljes (vocals and guitar), Eric Hölljes (vocals, guitar, piano and keys) and Brittany Hölljes (vocals), Elizabeth Hopkins (vocals), Mike McKee (percussion) and Grant Emerson (bass guitar).  Their name was created by the Hölljeses’ mother who was going to write about a Southern girl named Delta Rae summoning the Greek gods to earth. The debut album, ‘Carry The Fire’, is available now and has given [...] Read more »

Negotiations, the fifth full-length album written, recorded, and produced by The Helio Sequence, would sound different had it not been for a flood. In 2009, while touring in support of Keep Your Eyes Ahead, singer-guitarist Brandon Summers got an unexpected phone call in the middle of the night. Back home in Portland, OR, the band’s studio/practice space was under nearly a foot of water. Heavy rains had caused the building’s plumbing to overflow like a geyser. [...] Read more »

Shovels & Rope is a Charleston, South Carolina-based duo consisting of Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent. They perform as an energetic two-piece band, stirring up a righteous racket with two old guitars, a handful of harmonicas, the occasional keyboard, and a junkyard drum kit harvested from an actual garbage heap adorned with tambourines, flowers and kitchen rags. Download “Hail Hail”  from their new album “O’ Be Joyful”,  now available. I cannot get enough of [...] Read more »

Emerging from the pubs and clubs of their hometown Leeds, England in 2009, The Dunwells are brothers Joseph Dunwell (vocals, guitar) and David Dunwell (guitar, piano, banjo) along with cousins Jonny Lamb (vocals, drums) and Rob Clayton (bass) and longtime best mate Dave Hanson (guitar, pedal steel). Their debut album Blind Sighted Faith drops on August 28th. Download the lead track off the first album, “I Could Be A King,”. Read more »

Fortuitous events led 26-year-old Jason Aaron Coons to the release of his incredible debut album, THE NUMBERS. In 2010, after spending years honing his performance and songcraft in small venues and house parties in his hometown of Indianapolis, the Birmingham-born singer decided to make an album. Or, decided he wanted to. Jason had written a batch of intimate, authentic songs cut straight from his heart. But he wasn’t interested in beginning the recording process until [...] Read more »

In 2007, after generating over one million global album sales and a U.S. gold single, performing on top shows like Conan, Kimmel and Leno, logging over twenty TV syncs, and selling out venues like NYC’s Terminal 5 and LA’s Orpheum, singer/songwriter from Australia, Missy Higgins quietly backed away from music.  ”I guess I had a bit of an existential crisis,” she says.  “I thought, how do I become happy? If this doesn’t give me fulfillment, what [...] Read more »