GRACE ASKEW HITS THE ROAD ON HEELS OF ROLLING STONE Q&A

NEW ALBUM ‘SCAREDY CAT’ RECORDED AT SUN & SET FOR AUGUST 11

TAPINGS WITH BEALE STREET CARAVAN, WOODSONGS, YAHOO! MUSIC SET

Grace Askew – the fast-rising Americana singer – has announced a run of tour dates marking the release of ‘Scaredy Cat’ (August 11). Rolling Stone recently ran a Q&A with Askew, talking about growing up in Memphis, recording at Sun, singing on The Voice (NBC) for Team Blake Shelton, opening up for Americana legends, songwriting, and touring in her pickup truck.

Grace Askew Tour Dates:

July 25 – Memphis, TN (with Jimbo Mathus) - Lounge 1884 at Minglewood Hall –
August 1 – Nashville, TN – Soulshine
August 7 – San Francisco, CA – 50 Mason Social Club
August 9 – Los Angeles, CA – Hotel Café
August 10 – Los Angeles, CA – Silverlake Lounge

Yahoo! Music previous called Askew “smoldering and searing… the girl with the badass beehive, boots made for walkin', and velvet 'n' sandpaper vocals who would've been right at home on Jack White's Third Man Records roster."

Daytrotter raved about "her extraordinary voice," saying, "Mark our words, Memphis' Grace Askew will be the best thing to ever come out of 'The Voice…' Askew has officially taped one of the finest Daytrotter sessions of all-time. Just listen. She makes us believe in the beauty of hurt and the elixir of booze."

HOT ON HEELS OF NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL SET & OPENING SLOT FOR JASON ISBELL, FAST-RISING AMERICANA SONGWRITER JOE FLETCHER TO MAKE MERCURY LOUNGE DEBUT JULY 30

"RAW BEAUTY" – BOSTON PHOENIX

Fast-rising Americana songwriter Joe Fletcher will make his Mercury Lounge debut in NYC on July 30, immediately following his Newport Folk Festival set July 27 and an opening slot in Boston for Jason Isbell July 29.

Fletcher, whose sound swirls deep blues, outlaw country, and Americana influences, made his Newport debut last year. He has also opened for Deer Tick, The Low Anthem, John Doe, Murder By Death, and Lucero and recorded with John McCauley (Deer Tick). Earlier this year, he was featured as an icon of GQ's SXSW Street Style 2013 spread.

The Boston Phoenix called his 2011 album 'White Lighter' "raw beauty," continuing, "The listener can't help but be swept up in each of the 12 tracks. Lyrically, Fletcher bleeds George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash with first-hand accounts of barstool outlaws and the family man blues, while his acoustic skills invite comparisons to Townes Van Zandt."

DigBoston has called him "the most famous man in Rhode Island," praising his "raucous live shows."

No Depression says, "His signature brand of dark and lyrically driven honky tonk is interspersed with a softer side that would make Hagg or Jones proud."

Click here for Fletcher's amazing Daytrotter session.

Click here for Fletcher's music videos.

Click here for press photos of Fletcher (scroll down for high res photos).

Later in the year, he will perform at the Americana Fest and Muddy Roots Festival with exact slots to be announced.

WHO: Joe Fletcher & The Wrong Reasons, with Bobby Bare Jr., Joshua Black Wilkins, Christopher Paul Stelling

WHAT: Mercury Lounge debut

WHEN: Tuesday, July 30, 2013

WHERE: Mercury Lounge, 217 E. Houston St. (between Ludlow & Essex), NYC

TICKETS: $10 in advance, $12 day of show via Mercury Lounge box office

RI'S JOE FLETCHER TO HOST NASHVILLE TO NEWPORT LINEUP AT NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL JULY 27

LINEUP INCLUDES JOHN MCCAULEY, AMANDA SHIRES, PATRICK SWEANY, AND MORE AS WELL AS JOE FLETCHER AND THE WRONG REASONS

Joe Fletcher – the Rhode Island native who has opened for Deer Tick, The Low Anthem, and Lucero – will host, curate, and personally back up Newport Folk Festival's Nashville To Newport. Fletcher, a veteran of the 2012 Newport Folk Festival, is planning a fall release for his new album 'You've Got The Wrong Man.' Set for Saturday, July 27, Nashville To Newport features Amanda Shires, Andrew Combs, Derek Hoke, John McCauley (Deer Tick), Joshua Black Wilkins, Patrick Sweany, Shelly Colvin, Steelism, RayLand Baxter, and Joe Fletcher & the Wrong Reasons. The hard-touring Fletcher says, "In my travels I have spent a good deal of time in Nashville, and I have witnessed some of the greatest musical moments of my life in smoky, little East Nashville bars and Lower Broadway honky tonks."

Click here for Fletcher's amazing Daytrotter session.

Click here for Fletcher's music videos.

Click here for press photos of Fletcher (scroll down for high res photos).

Amanda Shires

Whether seeing her perform as fiddler for Jason Isbell, Justin Townes Earle, or leading the band through her own gorgeous songs, Amanda Shires is undoubtedly a performer who has been living and breathing her music for a very long time. At age 15, she was playing fiddle in the legendary Texas Playboys and since then her resume has only become more diverse and impressive. I have worn out my copy of her third solo release Carrying Lightning and I couldn’t be more excited to see her back at center stage this year in Newport.

Andrew Combs

Last October, I saw Andrew open for Jason Isbell in a park in Birmingham, AL. I watched Andrew take the stage with only a guitar in front of thousands waiting to see their headlining local hero. By the end of the first song he had this crowd in the palm of his hand with his cool, measured delivery and songs of a life and love gone sour. American Songwriter selected his 2012 release Worried Man as one of the year’s best.

Derek Hoke

Derek has hosted me at the renowned $2 Tuesday at The Five Spot in East Nashville countless times and each time he and his band effortlessly stun the house with their special brand of “quietbilly.” His latest record Waiting All Night features an impressive list of guests and has earned the attention of NPR’s All Things Considered.

John McCauley

I first met John in 2007 when we were both booked to play a mutual friend’s going away party on Smith Hill in Providence, RI. Word was already flowing through the city that this was the man to see, and I was very curious if not a little skeptical to know if he was deserving of the hype. That night, the then 22 year old left me with no doubt that he was already a musician and entertainer of the highest order and that I had a lot to learn from him. Whether fronting Deer Tick, Middle Brother, Diamond Rugs or standing alone with his guitar, you can’t help but know you’ve crossed paths with a man that is truly one of a kind.

Joshua Black Wilkins

My first encounter with Joshua came a few years back when he opened for Justin Townes Earle in Northampton, MA. I was immediately drawn to his jarringly honest songs of heartache and betrayal and his take it or leave it attitude. He is as direct and focused as you will ever find, and his brand new record Fair Weather is only more proof that this man is a master of his trade.

Patrick Sweany

With his band or alone with a guitar and stomp box, Patrick Sweany is a world class party starter. He summons Rev. Gary Davis, Joe Tex, and Little Richard, but never loses sight of telling his own story. He is a true blue rock n’ soul man to the core and one of the finest guitar players alive today. With two Dan Auerbach-produced records under his belt and his new record Close to the Floor coming July 15, there is no better time to board this train.

Shelly Colvin

When you see Shelly take the stage, you may be reminded of one of several of country music’s greatest. Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, and Emmylou Harris all jumped to my mind at last year’s SXSW. Her timelessness and achingly beautiful melodies have attracted collaborators such as Old Crow Medicine Show. Her 2012 record Up the Hickory Down the Pine is the perfect document of this true original.

Steelism

On their debut EP The Intoxicating Sounds of Pedal Steel & Guitar, Spencer Cullum Jr. and Jeremy Fetzer take the pedal steel vs. Telecaster bottle fight to the next level. You'll hear them effortlessly slide from dreamy surf to 50's raunch to blown-out talk box psychedelia. You may have seen one of these gentlemen backing up Jonny Fritz, Caitlin Rose, or Andrew Combs, but on this day they will rightly be at center stage. They floored me this past January at The Basement in Nashville, and I'll be surprised if this blend of classic musicianship and fresh adventures is not one of the most talked about sets at the festival this year.

RayLand Baxter

This past March I wandered into a friend's sock shop in Manhattan just as RayLand was plugging in his amplifier to play a few songs. Before this, I had only met him in passing and had never heard him sing. Within seconds I was drawn in by his undeniably honest manner and songs that sound as though they were delivered in a dream rather than written. His debut record Feathers and Fishhooks is a perfect document of a man who is clearly more interested in the journey and unconcerned with the destination.

Joe Fletcher & the Wrong Reasons

As we put the finishing touches of our third album You’ve Got the Wrong Man (fall 2013), The Wrong Reasons and I are very grateful to be returning for our second straight Newport Folk Festival appearance. It is made all the more special that we will be backing up some of our favorite Nashville musicians as well as collaborating with them on our own material. The possibilities set by this particular collection of artists guarantee a magical atmosphere that is, to me, what the true spirit of the Newport Folk Festival is all about.

Joe Fletcher clips

Refinery 29 SXSW style round-up

Daytrotter Oct 12, 2012

GQ SXSW 2013 Street Style

Billy Reid, August 22, 2013

Country Weekly feature, October 13, 2014

Entertainment Weekly album stream, October 3, 2014

Rolling Stone Americana Fest preview, September 15, 2014

Paste song premiere, September 18, 2014

Wondering Sound song premiere, September 15, 2014

Esquire song premiere, August 28, 2014

KINGSLEY FLOOD'S "AWESOME" (NY TIMES) VIDEO "SUN GONNA LEMME SHINE" BREAKS 10,000 VIEWS AS NEWPORT FOLK FEST DAY ANNOUNCED & DAYTROTTER SESSION POSTS

The "awesome" (New York Times) music video for breakout band Kingsley Flood's "Sun Gonna Lemme Shine," inspired in part by a NY Times Magazine cover story, has passed 10,000 views as Newport Folk Festival confirmed that the band would play Friday, July 26.

Meanwhile, Huffington Post asked KF's singer Naseem Khuri for an essay about the video entitled "Why We Made a Video About a Boy in a Dress." Khuri writes, "While most of our recent album, Battles, does not focus on boys wearing dresses per se, it does look at choice. Through the eyes of people who have done all the right things and still fall behind, it questions what choices they have to stay above water. Do they have to sell out? Throw elbows?":

The band's Daytrotter session posted last month.

The Boston Globe said of a recent sold out show, "Triumphant... magnetic... Singer Naseem Khuri didn't just play acoustic guitar; he beat it into submission. He rendered two acoustic guitars unusable by the time the band hit its encore run... Yet even within the torrent of energy Kingsley Flood puts out live, the band distinguishes itself with richly textured songs."

JOHN MURRY'S 'THE GRACELESS AGE' OUT TODAY ON EVANGELINE RECORDING CO.

NPR HERE & NOW SEGMENT, WALL STREET JOURNAL FEATURE RUN ON "MASTERFUL" (DAYTROTTER) & FASCINATING FAULKNER-RELATED ARTIST

NPR: "ONE OF THE BREAKOUT STARS OF THIS YEAR'S SXSW FESTIVAL"

John Murry – the Mississippi-born, UK breakout artist – will see his debut album 'The Graceless Age' released today on Evangeline Recording Co. to across-the-board raves. A fascinating, two-part conversation with NPR's Robin Young aired on Here & Now yesterday as the pair discussed his Mississippi roots, connections to southern literature, working with co-producer Tim Mooney (Sun Kil Moon, American Music Club), Murry's heroin overdose in his adopted hometown of San Francisco, and the role honesty played in both the album and in his recovery from addiction.

Full album stream:

More US raves for John Murry's 'The Graceless Age':

"Alluring, emotional, and infectious."

– NPR World Café, February 22, 2013

"Great songs."

– Andy Langer, Esquire, March 9, 2013

"Arresting."

– John Jurgensen, Wall Street Journal, March 29, 2013

"The real deal."

- Robin Young, NPR Here & Now, April 2, 2013

"With an arresting sense of honesty and human insight, Murry is man that you should certainly get to know."

– Hillary Weston, Black Book, March 13, 2013

"The guy's got gravitas [with] widescreen imagery and a soulful moan."

- Jim Allen, MTV Hive, February 5, 2013

"Masterful."

– Sean Moeller, Daytrotter, April 1, 2013

"There are standouts everwhere [from this] artist of major stature."

– 4.5 stars out of 5, Jim Beviglia, American Songwriter, March 1, 2013

"Masterful."

– Dorit Finkel, Baeble Music, January 23, 2013

"Raw, powerful lyrics and Springsteen-like cinematic sweep."

- Michael Mayer, San Jose Mercury News, March 22, 2013

INDIE POP EXPAT PINEY GIR RETURNS TO STATES TO RAVES FOR 'GERONIMO!,' TAPES NPR & DAYTROTTER, PLAYS CMJ

Piney Gir came back to her native US from her home in the UK and has been busy, playing CMJ, taping a Daytrotter session, and taping an interview with NPR Weekend Edition, which will air in November. She's also wrapping up a national tour with three west coast dates:

November 1st - The Bootleg, LA

November 2nd - The Make Out Room, San Francisco, with Red Pony Clock

November 3^rd - LA's Original Farmer's Market, LA

Baeble Music recently praised 'Geronimo's' "sun-faded retro pop [and] all out go go boots affair," continuing, "After all, if Piney Gir's buzzing electric guitars and relentlessly charming vocals were enough to brighten up the UK, we gotta think they'll be enough to make us Americans cheery."

Here's a bit of what we've read in response to her album 'Geronimo!,' out last week in the States on Highline Records.

"Pop gems." – Philadelphia Inquirer

"Her album sounds a bit Shangri-Las, a bit Vivian Girls, and a bit Jenny Lewis." – Blurt Magazine

"Sounds like Rilo Kiley." – Spinner

"I like this." - DA Wallach (Spotify), DA's Wild Ride Tumblr

UK reviews:

"Sweet 60's pop from Kansas Chameleon" – UNCUT, ****

"Undeniably charming" - The Sun

"A delight" - The Guardian

"ALT-ROCKERS [WHO MAKE] BARB-WIRE HOOKS WITH GREAT HARMONY WORK" (BAEBLE MUSIC) SONS OF FATHERS COMPLETE MASTERPIECE SECOND ALBUM 'BIG DIAMOND WALTZ,' MIXED BY VANCE POWELL (JACK WHITE), OUT AUGUST 15 ON BLANCO RIVER MUSIC

OPENING DATES PLANNED WITH ALISON KRAUSS AND DWIGHT YOAKAM

"ONE OF 12 TO WATCH IN 2012… TERRIFIC… BARN-BURNING" – EMUSIC

"HOT TRACKS… IMPRESSIVE" - RELIX

Following heavy touring and intensive songwriting sessions, "breakout" (Austin Chronicle) "alt-rockers" (Baeble Music) Sons of Fathers fulfills the promise of last year's self-titled debut with a profound, terse masterpiece of a second album 'Big Diamond Waltz' (August 15 / Blanco River Music). Vance Powell, who mixed Jack White's 'Blunderbuss' and albums by Dead Weather and The Raconteurs, approached the band at an in-store at Grimey's in Nashville, TN and offered to mix 'Big Diamond Waltz.' Baeble Music raved about the "barb wire hooks" of the new material, which was self-produced by band principles David Beck and Paul Cauthen, continuing, "Sons of Fathers make their case for why they should be included in your current crush on southern rock leaning bands."

Powell said, "The Sons are blazing a trail out of Austin with great songs and a cool sound unique unto themselves. I loved working on the album."

Embeddable MP3 of"Burning Days."

Downloadable, postable MP3 of"Burning Days"

Behind-the-scenes footage of Sonsof Fathers producing and recording 'Big Diamond Waltz'

Sons of Fathers were named one of "12 to watch in 2012" by eMusic, which called the self-titled debut album "terrific" and "barn-burning," continuing, "nothing can take away the songwriting duo's brotherly harmonies [and] their band's ruckus-raising live shows." Relix Magazine called the self-titled debut album "hot tracks," continuing, "Sons of Fathers puts on an impressive live show but the album is even better." Dates are planned opening for Alison Krauss and Dwight Yoakam.

While 'Sons of Fathers' earned comparisons to The Avett Brothers (by CMT.com and AOL Music), Dawes (Baeble Music), and Ray LaMontagne, the new album adds new elements to their sound on 'Big Diamond Waltz' and in their ferocious live shows: circus-inspired waltzes and reprises with swirling horns and slide guitar, dark blues, and spine-tingling folk, all with Sons of Fathers' harmonies which are "nothing short of moving" (WXPN). Much like the Byrds redefined the boundaries of Country and The Band did so with rock, Sons of Fathers merge the two seamlessly and bridge the generations with a new original sound like no other.

Highlights include "Big Diamond Waltz," a searching song with an unmatched intensity; the unrequited lovelorn "To Whom Do You Belong?," the ballad "Lay Me Down"; the scorching "Burning Days"; and the dark character study of "You're Gonna Hurt Someone."

The vocal and songwriting chemistry between Cauthen, grandson of a Texas preacher who taught him to sing and play, and Beck, son of a prominent Texas upright bassist, has deepened. They are rooted in Texas music but steeped in the indie-folk scene.

The band has also completed a Daytrotter session.

Sons of Fathers are Beck (bass and vocals), Cauthen (acoustic guitar and vocals), Dees Stribling (drums), Regan Schmidt (guitar, slide guitar), Bryan Mammel (keyboards), and Tony Browne (guitar).

SONS OF FATHERS CEMENT "BREAKOUT" (AUSTIN CHRONICLE) STATUS WITH WORLD CAFÉ NEXT AIRING, DAYTROTTER TAPING, & EMUSIC ONE OF "12 TO WATCH IN 2012"

Sons of Fathers – the band whose harmonies have earned them comparisons to Mumford & Sons and Crosby, Still & Nash with an infusion of Texas grease – are cementing their "breakout" (Austin Chronicle) status with a Next segment on the January 30 airing of NPR's World Café and a February 6 Daytrotter session taping.

They were also named one of "12 to watch in 2012" by eMusic, which called the self-titled debut album "terrific" and "barn-burning," continuing, "nothing can take away the songwriting duo's brotherly harmonies, their band's ruckus-raising live shows, and finely-honed, geographically-inspired tunes."

Aspen, CO's KSPN radio said, "You guys are like Mumford & Sons but with half the members and twice the sound."

The band has been barnstorming radio. KPFT (Houston, TX) has spun seven songs while their hometown KUT has played six. Here are clips live from KPFT and KSPN: