Tomorrowland, the title of Ryan Bingham’s new album, sounds futuristic, but the Oscarwinning singer/songwriter hints, “Maybe it’s not so much about looking ahead as it is about leaving things behind.”

“There are no more rules,” he continues. Recording Tomorrowland for his own Axster Bingham Records felt “totally liberating,” he says, and allowed him the freedom to “do whatever we want and not have someone else’s agenda on it.”

Tomorrowland contains plenty of the pliant acoustic guitar work that has marked Bingham’s previous studio sets, but Tomorrowland expands his musical landscape exponentially: Guitars howl into keyboards and drums stomp against strings, all bolstered by Bingham’s jagged, weather-beaten vocals.

Despite his assertion that “I always try to be hopeful,” Bingham’s songs remain full of dark, often mysterious, places where light struggles to get in. On the bracing, haunting "No Help From God,” he sings in a world-weary rasp, “Some say that angels are all looking down/I only saw vultures circling around.”

Bingham recorded Tomorrowland at a makeshift studio in a friend’s empty house in Malibu, Calif. that turned out to have an interesting heritage: it once belonged to Kris Kristofferson, one of his musical heroes. “I thought, who knows what you’re going to find in these walls’,” Bingham laughs.

Bingham and co-producer Justin Stanley (Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow) brought in a soundboard and microphones and set up the drums right in the middle of the highceiling room. They recruited in a small core of musicians to play on the album as needed.

“That’s what was so nice about the record: we weren’t on a time line or in crunch time,” Bingham says. “ I really tried to distance myself from any of that. I was like ‘I’m in a house, I’m not spending a lot of money. I can take all the time I need and really get it right.’”

And Bingham is the first to admit that after the rush of the last few years, he needed to slow the pace.

The Oscar, Golden Globe, and Grammy wins for his song “The Weary Kind” from 2009’s movie “Crazy Heart” caused a wonderful commotion that was at times humbling and overwhelming to Bingham, who was named the Americana Music Association’s 2010 artist of the year.

Awna kicks off the evening and our Summer season on her first solo tour, which brings together the incredible collection of songs on her album "Where The Darkness Goes." If you saw Po’ Girl when they were here, you know this a show not to miss! It is safe to say there is no one else quite like Awna, with her quirky take on roots music that combines high lonesome ‘hillbilly’ music with folk and probably more than a nod to her Portuguese roots, the only addition that can really explain this unique rootsy amalgamate of beautiful sounds.

"Awna Teixeira is best known as being one quarter of Roots stars Po’ Girl who have toured the World many times in the last 8 years winning fans and accolades at every stop. The band decided to take a break in 2011 with Allison Russell touring and recording with Jeremy Lindsay from JT & the Clouds and Awna Teixeira holing up in a Chicago studio in March and April of this year with a bunch of musicians and Engineer Zach Goheen. The results are astounding and way beyond what anyone could have expected; including the singer herself. I’ll go as far as to say…….. WHERE THE DARKNESS GOES is the album that Nanci Griffith and Dolly Parton have both been trying to produce for several years and Awna Teixeira has taken the first steps on the ladder to emulate their success." - No Depression

 

The Steepwater Band’s latest studio release, “CLAVA” (pronounced CLAY-va) finds the band hitting their most creative and focused point of their careers. The new album was recorded on the South Side of Chicago at the studio of the same name in Spring of 2011. CLAVA was produced and recorded by the trio of Bowers, Massey & Winters along with Colin Sipos, a young, up-and-coming producer/engineer who has worked with the critically acclaimed Iron & Wine and Califone. Sipos also recorded TSB's "The Stars Look Tonight/My Back Pocket (2010)" single and mixed "Live at the Double Door (2010)." The ten new songs feature some of their most blues-infused, heavy and psychedelic tunes to date. Each song takes you on a musical journey, steeped in tradition, while not being overly nostalgic. On “CLAVA” the band honors their heroes and pays them the highest compliment – continuing the Rock n’ Roll lineage while creating paths not yet explored.

 

BUY TICKETS NOW - $13 advance/online, $16 day of show

“From the churning emotion of Billie Holiday to Amy Winehouse by way of Etta James!” –Newcastle Evening Chroniclwe (UK), Alan Nichol / Sept 2011

Davina and The Vagabonds are known in The Twin Cities, Minnesota as being the busiest band in town because of their hard-working professionalism, high energy stage performance, and original sound.

DATV average over 300 performance dates a year, trying to share their music with the world.

 

TRADITIONAL BLUES WITH A UNIQUE SOUND. . . As bandleader and composer, Pierre Lacocque’s vision has never wavered since he founded his band in 1991. His mantra is clear and focused. The band has always had an ensemble sound: all musicians are featured and welcome to contribute on stage and on recordings. His music is traditional because it is steeped in Chicago’s golden sounds of the 1950’s, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Rogers, all the great harp players. . . Big and Little Walter, The Sonny Boy Williamsons, Junior Wells, George Smith, and many extraordinary contemporaries such as Kim Wilson, Rod Piazza and Paul deLay. On the other hand, Pierre’s blues is unique because he dislikes to tread on old beaten paths. He always writes new stuff.

She has one of the signature voices of her generation. That natural gift has always guided Tracy Nelson’s soul; indeed allowed her to both write and seek out the deeper songs regardless of niche or genre. A fierce singer of truth, a fountain of the deepest heartache, she is an ultimate communicator and has regularly destroyed audiences across decades of performing. She is one of the few female singers who has had hit records in both blues and country genres, performing with everyone from Muddy Waters to Willie Nelson to Marcia Ball and Irma Thomas, with Grammy® nominations for both her country and blues efforts. John Swenson, writing in Rolling Stone, asserted, “Tracy Nelson proves that the human voice is the most expressive instrument in creation.” With Victim of the Blues (Delta Groove), her 26th album in just over five decades, she has circled fully, back to the original music from South Side Chicago that mesmerized her teenaged mind in the mid-1960s.

EILEN JEWELL: Since her official 2006 debut, Boundary County, Eilen Jewell has surveyed a wide range of traditional musical styles, from the folk and jug band leanings of her early recordings, through an album-length homage to Loretta Lynn and the country gospel of her work with The Sacred Shakers, right up to 2009's Sea of Tears, which bristled with the electricity of '60s UK garage rock and Chicago blues. Queen of the Minor Key draws on everything from classic country (the fiddle-driven "Reckless") to early R&B (the shuffling "Hooked"), with an emphasis on sounds from the seamier side of the tracks. With dirty sax riffs and low-slung guitars, the instrumentals that bookend the album—"Radio City" and "Kalimotxo"—evoke the bump-and-grind exotica of vintage Southern California suburban saloons. Yet on the flipside, Jewell imbues slow, jazzy numbers like "I Remember You" and "Only One" with torch and tenacity that linger long past last call.

Jewell is wary of repeating previous success by following formulae. "But I also don't want to change things just for the sake of changing them," she adds. Never underestimate the public's ability to recognize calculation masquerading as inspiration. "You always want to ride the creative process to new territory, without being overwhelmingly novel."

Eilen Jewell Videos:

• Sea of Tears
• Queen of the Minor Key
• Bang Bang Bang
• Warning Signs

WE SKI COUSINS: The combo features Dave Elmquist on acoustic guitar and vocals; Tony Lucas on acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, dobro, banjo, hammered dulcimer and vocals; and Jim Gold on bass, acoustic guitar and vocals. Eighteen months in the making, their debut CD "First Tracks" contains 12 tracks of folk, Americana and bluegrass-flavored original material. "It's quite a variety," Elmquist says, adding he penned five of the album's songs, Lucas six, and Gold one. "I'm pretty proud of these songs. I think the lyrics are really strong." Elmquist said the album's lyrical content offers both fun and reflective perspectives.

Click here to sample We Ski Cousins' music

Even after more than two decades on the road, 14 boundary bending recordings and collaborations, multiple Blues Music Awards, personal and professional breakthroughs Tommy Castro, a veteran road warrior – and one of the most successful blues musicians in the world – takes nothing for granted.

In 2012 Castro will weigh in heavily again and turn yet another corner. Stlll inspired by his blues guitar and R & B vocal contemporaries and a strong desire to push the boundaries of today’s roots music Castro has brought together an all new band he calls “The Painkillers” to do exactly that.

Foregoing the horns this time out Castro returns to a more stripped-down lineup that recalls the earlier days of the band and even features original bassist Randy McDonald along with new band mates Byron Cage on drums and James Pace on keyboards. The leaner unit allows Castro’s versatile guitar work to come to the fore and his soulful voice to tell the story in every song.

Take caution, these Painkillers could be habit forming…..

Love and family have always been sources of inspiration for critically acclaimed singer/songwriter/musician Carrie Rodriguez, but never have they featured so prominently than on her brand new release Love & Circumstance, a covers album that includes songs written by her father, and once performed by her great aunt.

Rodriguez' journey from teenage violin student to touring the world with the likes of Chip Taylor (famed songwriter of "Wild Thing), Lucinda Williams and Alejandro Escovedo, has resulted in a prodigious output of recordings - eight albums in as many years - for the young musician; with the new album, Carrie relies on others to handle the songwriting duties, she provides the interpretations.

Praise for Love and Circumstance, released April 13th, 2010

• "...simply an understated triumph. Grade: A " - Glide Magazine (Jun 07, 2010)
• “Carrie Rodriguez proves herself an astute interpreter of other people's material via her latest - and best album to date.” - Lee Zimmerman/BLURT (April 21, 2010)
• “...a case of the right album at … read mothe right time.” - Village Records (04/02/10)
• “...her latest absolutely floored me. It’s a dozen covers so skillfully done that some of the original artists might be tempted to enter the witness protection program. If this isn’t her breakthrough album there’s no justice!” - Phoenix Brown & Lars Vigo/Off-Center Views (May 1, 2010)
• “This is an album that you do not want to miss.” - NoDepression.net (02/04/10)
• “Taken as a whole, the album is a slow burn reminiscent of Emmylou Harris’ Wrecking Ball.... the best showcase of Carrie Rodriguez’s talent to date.” - Juli Thanki/Music & Musicians (May, 2010)

Carrie Rodriguez Videos:

• I Cry For Love
• Absence
• Big Love
• She Ain't Me

Gifted singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and American troubadour, Peter Karp, is a master songsmith with an art for spinning true-to-life emotions, humor, and candor. With an upbringing that was equal parts southern Alabama and the swamps of New Jersey, Karp¹s music is fueled bythe Yankee-Rebel juxtaposition. He first caught national attention with help from Rolling Stone guitarist Mick Taylor who recorded and toured with Karp on his first label release "The Turning Point." Karp further established himself on the national scene as a critically acclaimed songwriter, and accomplished guitarist and pianist with the release of his Blind Pig debut entitled "Shadows and Cracks." On the road across the U.S. and Canada, Karp repeatedly transfixes his live audiences. Critics compare his songwriting to John Hiatt and John Prine, with impressive guitar and slide licks infused by his love of Freddie King and Elmore James. Peter Karp personifies the amorphous Americana sound,seamlessly blending blues and roots music with a high sense of entertainment.

Sue Foley is considered to be one of the finest blues and roots artists working today. Born to a working class family, Sue spent her early childhood moving from Canadian town to town with her mother. At sixteen, she embarked on her professional career. By twenty-one, she was living in Austin TX and recording for the legendary blues label, Antone¹s Records. Her first release, "Young Girl Blues," quickly established her unique talents as a blues guitarist and songwriter. Throughout the 90¹s she took to the road with her paisley Telecaster and honed her craft, working and sharing the stage with such artists as BB King, Buddy Guy, Lucinda Williams and Tom Petty. After moving back to Canada, Sue won the prestigious Juno Award for her critically acclaimed CD "Love Coming Down" as well as seventeen Maple Blues Awards.

Peter Karp & Sue Foley Videos:

• Treat Me Right
• Scared
• Analyzin' Blues
• Absolution
  
  

If Keith Richards, Joan Jett and Ray Charles could somehow spawn a love child, it'd be Romi Mayes (suitably pronounced RAW-ME). Hailing from Winnipeg, Canada, and renowned as one of the hardest working independent musicians touring the globe today, Mayes has chipped away at the rock and roll stone over the past couple of decades, and now, this Juno nominated, CFMA nominated, four time WCMA award winner, has done it again. Her latest and fifth full length album, 'Lucky Tonight' stamps one more victory in this bad ass guitar playin lady's discography. Featuring guitar demon Jay Nowicki of the well known rockin blues band 'The Perpetrators', Mayes chose to record a rare electric duo album. Not unique enough for ya? Inspired by what another Winnipeg raised artist, Neil Young, did with his 1973 release 'Time Fades Away', Mayes and Nowicki recorded an album of all unreleased and unrecorded brand new songs live and in one take at a sold out concert in Winnipeg in the middle of winter.
All brand new tunes.
All live.
And in one take. "Romi and Jay are an absolute force of an electric blues duo. The end result is an album that's carefully balanced between grinding, grooving roadhouse rhythms, heartfelt guitar solos, and Romi's aching, yearning voice and lyrics.," says Uptown Magazine's John Kendle.

"If Mayes isn’t already included in the realm of badass rock n’ roll songstresses, she should be after this album. This is really how rock should be." -Grey Owl Point

""This is the sort of sound you’d want to hear pouring out of roadhouses as you drive up expecting to get drunk and maybe fall in love."
- David Cowling, Lead Writer, Americana UK Magazine

Romi Mayes Videos:

• Lucky Tonight
• Easy on You
• If The Lord Don't Love You

Paul Thorn took an unexpected detour on the road to recording a follow-up to his most successful release, 2010's Pimps and Preachers. After writing many discs of semi-autobiographical tunes that have drawn comparisons to John Hiatt and John Prine, the critically acclaimed singer/songwriter - hailed as the "Mark Twain of Americana" - decided to do an album of covers. "I wanted to take a break from myself," he reveals, "do something different, and just have fun."

Watch these videos:

• I Don't Like Half the Folks I Love
• I Have a Good Day
• You Might Be Wrong
• Pimps and Preachers
• It's a Great Day to Whup Somebody's Ass

The collection, entitled What The Hell Is Goin' On? (Perpetual Obscurity / Thirty Tigers) finds Thorn putting his own gritty rock stamp on some of his favorite songs. There are some names familiar to Americana fans (Buddy Miller, Ray Wylie Hubbard), some lesser-known (Foy Vance, Wild Bill Emerson) and some surprises. The Buckingham/Nicks tune Don't Let Me Down Again originated on that duo's debut, not during the Fleetwood Mac era, while the Paul Rogers/Free song that Thorn chose to cover is an obscure one, Walk In My Shadow.

Watch these videos:

• Lonesome, On'ry and Mean - Steve Young
• Seven Bridges Road - Steve Young & Jubal Lee Young

Jubal opens the concert with high-energy, fresh sounds of earthy tunes. Then, Steve anchors the show with his no-holds-barred baritone and lightning-fast, finger-style guitar, taking the audience into the musical soul of America. His vibrant repertoire draws from Roots, Appalachian, Blues, Alt- Country, Americana, Southern Gospel, Celtic and Tejano.

“Once you've heard Steve Young, he's impossible to forget.” – David Freedlander, American Songwriter

You'll hear Steve's own version of popular songs he's written like "Seven Bridges Road," "Lonesome On'ry and Mean" (Waylong and "Montgomery in the Rain." Plus Steve and Jubal, father and son, partner on songs, trading guitar licks and artfully blending their voices in close harmonies only blood bonds can achieve. Together, they are living proof of the force of true roots music.

Steve Young is the American Troubadour – a pioneer of alt-country and Americana music and writer-composer of songs consideredmasterpieces, recorded by The Eagles, Dolly Parton, Joan Baez, Waylon Jennings, Dierks Bentley, Travis Tritt, Shooter Jennings and dozens more. Keith Urban sings Steve's “7 Bridges Road” as the first songin his concerts. And Steve's "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean" became Waylon's signature tune

Steve counts 14 critically acclaimed recordings on his discography. His newest CD is Stories 'Round the Horseshoe Bend, a live concert recording. Rolling Stone awarded 4 stars to two of Steve's CDs – Renegade Picker and No Place to Fall. Billboard selected his Primal Young a “Critic's Choice,” remarking that "Steve is a singer of major status."

Bound by their collective roots in Central Washington and Washington State University, Cody Beebe & The Crooks began performing together in February of 2009 in Seattle, WA. The band spent the following subsequent three years exploring music together and discovering what CBC was to become. The band calls it Roots Rock; some radio gurus have dubbed it Progressive Americana, and others have said “Steve Earle meets Pink Floyd.” Musically, strong elements of gritty blues, classic rock, country, and funk are obvious. More subtle are the splashes of jazz, R&B, and metal. Sometimes soaring above, sometimes smoothly crooning, sometimes twanging, and always deeply emotionally invested, their melodies and lyrics soulfully unite the sound. If their genre can’t be easily named, that says nothing of its approachability and timelessness.

Cody Beebe and the Crooks Videos:

• Nine to Chain
• Waiting on You
• I'll Get Mine

Phil Lee writes intelligent songs full of wit, humor and grace that blend sizzling Dylan-esque rock and roll, country and western, mid-sixties British Invasion and medicine show sounds that end up being utterly unique and sung in a voice that can shoot straight through to your heart.

Spend an Intimate Evening with the Mighty King of Love -- Phil Lee -- one man, one guitar and a bag of great songs about love and death, misplaced faith, discarded spaceships, hard times and the funny side of all that. Guaranteed to please!

Phil Lee "combines the social consciousness of Woody Guthrie with the twisted fury of Jerry Lee Lewis." -- Associated Press

"Phil spills out song after brilliant song . . . his voice a reedy twin to Dylan, his storylines etching the best and worst of people living five days ahead of flat broke. He's the most clever lyricist to ever come out of Nashville." Keth Harrelson, Moonlight on the Mountain -- Birmingham, AL

"The Don Rickles of disenfranchised nashtwang strikes again...Lee presents himself as a lovable, if formerly dangerous, rapscallion. Skirting genre boundaries between rock, soul and country with his music and writing lyrics that knock right through walls of taste, decency and political correctness without ever landing him in a punk-rockish, spittin' for show camp." -- Peter Copper, Nashville Tenessean

Phil Lee Videos:

• The Mighty King Of Love
• A Night In The Box
• 25 Mexicans

The Deadstring Brothers' heart beats with pure rock and roll. Simple and shor 'nuff. Built on a the unshakable foundations of blues, rock country and soul, DSB manages to create something at once totally fresh but totally recognizable. It's all ragtops and cold beer, seeds and stems, gatefold LPs and foxy girlfriends with tight, flared jeans. You can imagine them walking as a gang down Carnaby street in London in the late 60's, or tearing up the stage at Cobo Hall in De-troit Rock City or sweating buckets at a Muscle Shoals recording session in the 70's. Read more....

Read a great interview with Kurt "Deadstring Brother" Marschke, where he mentions his past Rootboy shows in Great Falls!

Acclaimed singer, songwriter and bandleader Fred Eaglesmith is a genuine iconoclast and true original. It’s the natural result of following the cue of his musical career and now 19 albums with the January 2012 release of 6 Volts. The result is one of the most fascinating and musically rewarding careers in contemporary music.

As he has doggedly gone his own way as an independent musical artist, Eaglesmith has also enjoyed such high profile rewards in recent years as having his songs covered by country superstars Toby Keith, Alan Jackson and Miranda Lambert, among many other accomplishments.

Kelly Richey has been described as “Stevie Ray Vaughan trapped in a woman’s body with Janis Joplin screaming to get out.” That’s an apt appraisal of the Lexington, Kentucky native who’s been based in Cincinnati for many years. Richey has often been compared to such greats as Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan because of her ability to capture and entertain an audience with ripping guitar leads that both sing and astonish.

Passionate and electrifying, Kelly Richey is a master guitarist. She has been compared to such greats as Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Mayer, Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt. A professional touring musician for over 30 years, Kelly enjoys playing traditional blues, blues-based rock, indie folk and ambient blues. Infusing the music with her own inimitable style, Kelly is unique and stands among the best guitarists known today. A powerful singer and songwriter as well, Kelly will astonish you with her scorching leads, powerful vocals, and solid, well-honed musical sensibility.

"If Mayes isn’t already included in the realm of badass rock n’ roll songstresses, she should be after this album. This is really how rock should be." -Grey Owl Point

""This is the sort of sound you’d want to hear pouring out of roadhouses as you drive up expecting to get drunk and maybe fall in love."
- David Cowling, Lead Writer, Americana UK Magazine

Studebaker John Grimaldi was born in an Italian-American section of Chicago and started playing harmonica at age 7. Under the spell of music he heard on Maxwell Street, Chicago’s famed blues melting pot, Grimaldi began performing as Studebaker John and the Hawks in the ‘70s. The band name referenced the Studebaker Hawk, a car Grimaldi still owns today, and was also intended as a tribute to his friend, J.B. Hutto and the Hawks. John began playing guitar after a life-changing experience of seeing Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers perform. “…Hound Dog started playing, hitting notes that sent chills up and down my spine. He was versatile and powerful and would play rhythm as well as leads. I left there knowing what I wanted to do. I had to play slide guitar.”

Listening to Too Slim and The Taildraggers is, as one reviewer put it, "... like taking a journey through the history of American music." Although his focus at first may have been blues, today Tim "Too Slim" Langford's style encompass everything from down home blues, to funky blues rock, Americana, southern swamp rock and more. "Rootsy-americana-blues-rock" as Too Slim Tim, himself, describes it.

 

"Star Anna is an American original. I am a huge fan of her music and especially her voice. She sings from a place of beauty and pain that translates to my soul and takes me to a higher place. Wherever Star and the Laughing Dogs play, I go when I am in town. Her Cds rarely leave my player. In the vein of Neko Case and Lucinda Williams, Star is on her way, I hope to great musical heights." - Mike McCready, Pearl Jam

"Some stars burn brief and dim, Star Anna burns like S Doradus gone nova. She and the Dogs deliver passion, grit and rock’n’roll and right now there really isn’t anyone out there to touch them." - Jeremy Searle, Americana UK

"She is the real deal. She will be a talent that we can all say that we saw her when . . . Guaranteed." - Duff McKagan, Guns 'n' Roses, Velvet Revolver, Loaded

"We rarely talk about country music as being "soulful" or having "soul", but thank god Zoe Muth is here to change this...the gentle truth of her songwriting and the softness of her voice lend a weight to the music that gives Starlight Hotel, a true feeling of soulfulness... an astonishingly good songwriter." - No Depression

"Muth has gifted the world with a collection of music that is straight no chaser . . . Just when you start to believe that they just don't make 'em the way they used to, Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers come along to restore your faith." - Country Standard Time

"LaFave is nothing if not a red–dirt romantic. Viewing the world from an open road and an open heart, with one eye on the girl and the other on the mythological lure of the highway. First it was Woody Guthrie and then Jack Kerouac, now it’s LaFave and his brand of dirty–boots folk–rock... Jimmy has the most expressive voice this side of Belfast... it’s the music of Jimmy LaFave that really defines this part of the land.” –– Oklahoma City Gazette

"If Mayes isn’t already included in the realm of badass rock n’ roll songstresses, she should be after this album. This is really how rock should be." -Grey Owl Point

""This is the sort of sound you’d want to hear pouring out of roadhouses as you drive up expecting to get drunk and maybe fall in love."
- David Cowling, Lead Writer, Americana UK Magazine

What do Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Jay McShann, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, John Hammond, the late Jimmy Witherspoon, Dr. John, Maria Muldaur, Roomful of Blues, and the Canadian band The Rockin’ Highliners all have in common?

Answer: Duke Robillard

Guitarist. Bandleader. Songwriter. Singer. Producer. Session musician. And a one-man cheering section for the blues, in all its forms and permutations. And every one of those names has shared recording studio space or stage time with a man who is a legend in the blues community.

James McMurtry has become known as one of America's great songwriters.

Stories — the art of telling them, anyway — have never been lost on McMurtry. The son of acclaimed novelist Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove), the Fort-Worth born and Virginia-raised James picked up the art at a young age, trading in his father’s medium (the pen) for his own (a guitar, which he first owned at age seven). Turns out, it stuck. In 11 studio albums since his 1989 debut, McMurtry has become a staple in his native of Austin (and far beyond), acclaimed in his own right for his gritty lyrical style, airtight songwriting, and honest portrayals of American life in line with the finest traditions of the strong folk-rock scenes from which he’s risen.

Stephen King has said that McMurtry, "may be the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation," and his songs, including best-known numbers "Choctaw Bingo," "Levelland" and "We Can't Make It Here Anymore," bear that out.

You won’t want to miss this one—join us for an unforgettable evening.

John Németh continues to reinvigorate vintage rhythm and blues with his ability to skillfully blend retro and modern Blues and soul into compelling music that is simultaneously old and new. He was announced as the winner of the 2010 Living Blues Award for "Most Outstanding Blues Singer."

Nashville singer-songwriter Phil Lee, described by one writer as a cross between Mark Twain and Merle Haggard, writes intelligent songs full of wit, humor and grace that blend sizzling Dylan-esque rock and roll, country, soul, and blues that end up being utterly unique and sung in a voice that can shoot straight through to your heart. His latest album is called So Long, It’s Been Good To Know You and he calls it his “first posthumous release.“ There’s nothing wrong with putting out a record posthumously except that it raises certain logistical problems when it comes to touring. And there’s also the teeny tiniest little glitch in the truth in advertising area…

Don’t miss Phil in his first appearance in Montana—another stop on his “I Saw Him Before He Died Tour.”

The Juno Award-winning, singer-songwriter is touring in support of her new album Fall For Beauty with Keith Glass from the legendary Canadian country band Prairie Oyster. Amazing vocals, gut-wrenching lyrics.

"Having reviewed albums for some three decades, in any one year only a handful of albums truly deserve the maximum accolade of five stars. If everything were fair in this flawed human existence, FALL FOR BEAUTY would (at least) be a six." – Maverick Magazine (UK)

“Lynn Miles is one of the most acclaimed songwriters to cross the border since Joni Mitchell.” - Dallas Morning News

“Lynn’s music often draws on her love of literature and poetry, but her magic as a songwriter is also in her ability to take life experiences and interpret them in a way that people relate to.” - The Tennessean

Critics acclaim Nero as a "show stealer with his amazing R&B voice and off-hand stage commentary." (Festivalpreview.com - Kate Wolf 2010 review) As a singer, he's "a superb crooner and an equally powerful soul singer, able to belt out a lyric or etch it with the delicacy of Venetian glass, whilst evoking Curtis Mayfield one moment and Sly Stone the next." (All Music Guide)

JT is appearing with Allison Russell who, along with her band Po’ Girl, graced our stage last November. Her amazing voice and captivating stage presence is truly something to behold.

We were fortunate to catch this band touring behind their new album National Bohemian which was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer and Los Lobos multi-instrumentalist, Steve Berlin.

The Bridge, is one part earthy rock 'n' roll, one part funky New Orleans syncopation, and yet another part southern country soul. Its deep-rooted, timeless songwriting and steady-rolling rhythms resonate with Americana imagery.

"Star Anna is an American original. I am a huge fan of her music and especially her voice. She sings from a place of beauty and pain that translates to my soul and takes me to a higher place. Wherever Star and the Laughing Dogs play, I go when I am in town. Her Cds rarely leave my player. In the vein of Neko Case and Lucinda Williams, Star is on her way, I hope to great musical heights." - Mike McCready, Pearl Jam

"Some stars burn brief and dim, Star Anna burns like S Doradus gone nova. She and the Dogs deliver passion, grit and rock’n’roll and right now there really isn’t anyone out there to touch them." - Jeremy Searle, Americana UK

"She is the real deal. She will be a talent that we can all say that we saw her when . . . Guaranteed." - Duff McKagan, Guns 'n' Roses, Velvet Revolver, Loaded

Yukoners Sarah Macdougall & Gordie Tentrees are hurting the highways around the world March 25-June 18 (60 Concerts/8 Countries) that features a rare double bill night of north country music. Joining them is renowned string bender Ken Hermanson. They will be performing concerts in Canada, US, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland and Sweden.

Sarah Macdougall has been a touring internationally for years with her dynamite songs, blistering guitar chops and astounding voice earning rave reviews and topping major music writers top ten album of the year lists as a songwriter, all the while producing and engineering her own albums. 24 hrs Vancouver called her ‘one of the most promising exports out of Sweden since Abba’ and her album Across the Atlantic (2009) got four star reviews in such notable publications as Q magazine, the Irish Times, No Depression, and many more. She has performed with Mary Gauthier, Todd Snider, and Po’Girl among others. Sarah is currently working on her new album, which is scheduled for release in the summer of 2011.

Gordie Tentrees has released 3 albums internationally to rave reviews. The most recent " Mercy or Sin" produced by Juno Winner Bob Hamilton, was nominated for a 2010 Western Canadian Music Award for 'Roots Solo Album of the Year". The title track was also a finalist out of 15 000 entries in the 2010 International Songwriting Competition. Judges included Tom Waits, Loretta Lynn and Ray Wylie Hubbard. He performed at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver for the New Songs New Voices concert selected as the best of Canada’s songwriters to perform during the games. He was also selected by CBC Radio's 2009 Song Quest as one of Canada’s top songwriters and hosted the prestigous SOCAN songwriters circle at the 2009 WCMA's. He has toured extensively with Fred Eaglesmith & Kelly Joe Phelps, and has recently begun recording his 4th album.

Arguably the pioneer of the genre known as "Country Rock", Chris Hillman has carved a permanent niche in the history of contemporary American music. Through his work with such notable bands as The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas and the Desert Rose Band, he has firmly established himself as an innovative songwriter and performer. Throughout his four-decades in music, Hillman has collaborated with several artists including Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Gram Parsons, Vern Gosdin, Connie Smith, Herb Pedersen and John Jorgenson. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a four time Grammy nominee plus the recipient of numerous CMA and ACM awards. His songs have been recorded by many notable artists including Dwight Yoakum, Emmy-Lou Harris, The Oak Ridge Boys, Tom Petty, Dan Fogelberg, and Beck.

Colin Linden is a singer and songwriter of great skill, a prolific record producer ( Bruce Cockburn, Tom Wilson, Colin James), a sideman to the stars as guitarist for the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Emmylou Harris, and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, and, for the past decade, a member of the highly successful trio, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings. Linden has a well-deserved reputation as a slide guitar virtuoso of real originality, and he has also worked along side Keb’ Mo’, Lucinda Williams, and Merle Haggard. At last count, the total number of albums on which he has played stood at over 300, while at least 70 albums bear the ‘Produced by Colin Linden’ credit. Colin’s songs have been covered by The Band, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Keb’ Mo’, and Colin James, and his well-stocked trophy case includes seven Juno, multiple Maple Blues Awards, and a Toronto Arts Award. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for the star-studded A Tribute To Howlin’ Wolf CD, and was involved in the ground-breaking O Brother Where Art Thou phenomenon.

Hang on for dear life, people, as we present the self-proclaimed "Dirty Old One Man Band." Biram successfully, and sometimes violently, lashes together blues, hillbilly and country…

"He has a true stage presence that could be fairly compared to that of Clint Eastwood on film. The dude's more dude than most other dudes you will ever meet." —Austinist

"Carrying his guitar and harmonica into hell's mouth, he's going it alone in more ways than one, calling out to God but not terribly sure he's going to get an answer." —Chicago Reader