2024 LINEUP
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“Impassioned singing, riff-based Southern rock, cold blooded swamp funk and sly Memphis soul. Rich, funky blues celebrate life’s most fundamental joys. Grey is a singer-songwriter with unforced talent and deep feeling.”
--The New York Times
”A deeply-rooted blend of southern-fried rock and swamp funk…richly evocative lyrics…plainspoken, blue-collar American music.”
--NPR
”The swami of swamp rock…JJ Grey is a North Florida sage and purveyor of the funkiest swamp rock the world has ever heard…Chicken-scratch guitar and bone-deep” songs.
--Oxford American
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Founded in 2014 by the husband-and-wife duo Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, The War And Treaty has emerged as one of the most electrifying new acts in American music. Recently earning their first ever GRAMMY nominations for Best New Artist and Best American Roots Song for “Blank Page,” they also received this year their first ever Duo of the Year nomination from the Country Music Association, Vocal Duo nomination from the Academy of Country Music, plus recognition by the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Grand Ole Opry, and the Americana Music Association including earning AMA Duo/Group of the Year for the second straight year.
With a lionhearted sonic blend, both roaring with passion and tender to the touch, The Tennessean notes, “they are unlike any other act in music.” The War And Treaty’s major label debut album Lover’s Game (Mercury Nashville), was met with critical praise with Associated Press claiming, “The colossally talented pair continue their commando, no-limits journey to the top of the music world.” Drawing respect across the board, they have gone on to appear as top-flight collaborators including the latest “Hey Driver” with Zach Bryan.
The War And Treaty has captivated audiences across the globe from North America to Europe, Australia and beyond, while headlining their own shows and opening for a diverse group of living legends: Al Green, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, John Legend, Lauren Daigle, and Van Morrison among them.
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Singer, songwriter, and entertainer, Robert Earl Keen, has recorded 19 albums and performed thousands of shows. Keen is also the host and creator of the Americana Podcast: the 51st State (AmericanaPodcast.com). His music ranges from country to bluegrass to rock, and his songs have been recorded by artists including George Strait, Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, Montgomery Gentry, Dixie Chicks, The Highwaymen, Gillian Welch, Todd Snider, and Shawn Colvin. In 2012, he was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame along with his college friend, Lyle Lovett and the late Townes Van Zandt. In March 2015, BMI honored him as the first recipient of the Troubadour Award. Keen’s philanthropic and charity work led him to be presented with the Distinguished Alumni award from Texas A&M University in the fall of 2018. The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame inducted Robert Earl Keen into their 2019 class presenting him with the Spirit of Texas Award. Keen’s signature song is “The Road Goes On Forever.”
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The Rangers are made up of Graham Sharp on banjo and vocals, Mike Guggino on mandolin/mandola and vocals, Nicky Sanders on fiddle and vocals, Mike Ashworth on drums and vocals, Barrett Smith on bass, guitar, and vocals, and Aaron Burdett on guitar and vocals. Steep Canyon Rangers have been on a journey that is uniquely their own. The band started in college at UNC-Chapel Hill, then dove head first into bluegrass in its most traditional form, and over the years have risen to the top of the bluegrass genre headlining top festivals such as Merlefest and Grey Fox Bluegrass. Only to then be discovered by Steve Martin, famous actor and banjo player. Martin has taken the Rangers on over a decade long tour introducing them to hundreds of thousands of new fans and giving them prime time TV exposure. This has helped SCR become the most recognizable modern name in bluegrass music. The band has continued to tour extensively on their own, without Martin, and have expanded their genre into country, jam and Americana. The Rangers are big players in the bluegrass/country and Americana scene today. They are often compared to predecessors The Band, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and the modern Zac Brown Band.
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Sam Grisman Project or “SGP” is an exceptional collective of musicians paying tribute to the musical legacy of mandolinist David “Dawg” Grisman and his dear friend, the Great Jerry Garcia.
Helmed by Dawg’s son, bassist Sam Grisman, accompanied by an assorted assembly of stand-out players and friends, deliver classics from the Grisman/Garcia archive, original music, and, in Sam’s own words, “our interpretations of songs that we love of all different kinds from the great American songbook, many of which we learned from my dad and Jerry.”
A NOTE FROM SAM: The music that my father David Grisman and his close friend, Jerry Garcia , made in the early 90s (in the house that I grew up in) is not only some of the most timeless acoustic music ever recorded, it also triggers my oldest and fondest musical memories. What I find most inspiring about this material is the way their camaraderie and their love and joy for the music, simply oozes out of each recording. It is also impressive how deeply they get beneath their favorite songs—whether they are originals, covers or traditional/old time tunes—and how expertly that material was curated. My goal in starting Sam Grisman Project is to build a platform for my friends and me to showcase our genuine passion and appreciation for the legacy of Dawg and Jerry’s music. By playing some of their beloved repertoire and sharing the original music that our own collective has to offer, we will also show the impact that this music has had on our own individual musical voices. Ultimately, there is nothing that makes me happier than playing great songs with my best friends and my hope is to share that happiness with audiences all over!”
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Emily Nenni has a confession: she didn’t always plan on being a performing artist. “I thought I was just going to be a songwriter,” she admits. Clearly, life had something else in store.
The singer and guitarist has emerged as one of the freshest and most electrifying voices in Nashville, with a sound rooted in classic honky-tonk and spiked with serious country, soul and rock ‘n’ roll fire, and sweet-and-sassy lyrics that chronicle hard living, hot nights, heartbreak and other universal truths about the human condition.
Over the past several years she’s enraptured audiences across Music City with sizzling sets in smoky bars and clubs, honing her command of the stage, perfecting her skills as a band leader and sharpening an already astute world view, all of which are on full display on her newest studio album, Drive & Cry. The record is a marked departure from her previous full-length, 2022’s celebrated On the Ranch. Whereas that effort saw Nenni uproot herself to lend a hand – and write – while assisting at a ranch in southern Colorado, Drive & Cry drops the listener smack in the middle of her boisterous and bustling Nashville world.
Nenni will have plenty of opportunities for that in the near future, as she plans to take Drive & Cry on tour, far and wide. Nenni laughs. “So I maybe never thought I’d be a performer, but I sure am glad that I am.”
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“Wyatt has the fluidity, feel, timing, and “ancient tones” that make seasoned pros scratch their head in wonder.”
BLUEGRASS TODAY
“Ellis has quickly cemented himself as a sterling newcomer in the bluegrass scene.”
BILLBOARD
“This is truly a player who is on the rise.”
FRETBOARD JOURNAL
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Van Plating, self-styled “Orange Blossom Country Queen,” is an artist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter & all-around creative instigator from palm tree + alligator country. She’s been making waves in roots music ever since her self titled debut back in 2019–with her most recent work, an 11 song love letter to the Sunshine State called “Orange Blossom Child,” (Sept ‘23) garnering critical acclaim across the US & Europe—drawing comparisons from Tom Petty to Gram Parsons to Dolly Parton & Lucinda Williams. The album, written & produced by Plating, features fellow Floridian Elizabeth Cook, red dirt heavy hitters Reckless Kelly and a whole slew of distinguished guests and collaborators—32 to be exact! A polymath who can't sit still, she’s already hard at work on a 4th solo album due out next year.
“A distinctive mix of Southern Americana sinew, old-school bluegrass, and vintage folk-rock, Orange Blossom Child is a nod to the songwriting and musical essence of Gram Parsons, Tom Petty, and Elizabeth Cook” -Popmatters
“The Hard Way,” Van Plating featuring Reckless Kelly: I know Dolly has a rock album coming, but the vibes of this are actually what I would have wanted from a Dolly-goes-Rock project. - MM (Marissa Moss, author Her Country, Rolling Stone)