BEHIND BEST OF THE YEAR PRAISE, JAKE LA BOTZ’S NEW ALBUM ‘SUNNYSIDE’ SAW BOOST FROM PRODUCER JIMMY SUTTON (JD MCPHERSON, POKEY LAFARAGE)

 

MERCURY LOUNGE, KUNG FU NECKTIE, HIDEOUT CONFIRMED AS PART OF ALBUM RELEASE TOUR

 

SESSION CONFIRMED WITH NPR’S WORLD CAFE

 

“One of the year’s best Americana albums.”

– Sarah Zupko, Pop Matters, May 4, 2017

 

“One of our favorite albums of the year.”

– Robert McCormick, Inked Magazine, May 9, 2017

 

NPR asked JD McPherson about the making of his album ‘Signs & Signifiers’ and JD told them, “When we were making this record, Jimmy, the producer, he walked around with a metronome and he'd mess with the metronome and dance around until he found the most danceable beats per minute and that's what we record at.” He’s applied similar magic behind the dials at his own Hi-Style Studio in Chicago to Jake La Botz’s ‘Sunnyside,’ out last week on Hi-Style Records and the result earning raves as a potential best album of 2017.

 

“How I Wish She Was Mine” embeddable single

 

Jimmy, who also co-produced Pokey LaFarge’s breakthrough ‘Something In The Water,’ confesses that scaling up to those golden early rock & roll grooves on ‘Sunnyside’ took some work, "The biggest challenge for me was figuring how to translate Jake: I always knew him as a stripped down solo act. Discovering how to capture the solitude and emotional depth of Jake's solo artist sound while enriching it with musical accompaniment was a challenge."

 

Jake recalls, "I learned a lot about developing my songs by working with Jimmy. I've always been a kind of loner type – in everything, not just creating – but giving over to collaboration with the arrangements I found a lot of discoveries happening for me. I began to really appreciate Jimmy's sensibilities and looked forward to his input. I even started to write songs with his arrangements in mind as well as the sound of the Hi-Style studio."

 

Sutton, along with Alex Hall, had built the Hi-Style Studio to capture sound with all ribbon, tube, and dynamic microphones passed through tube mixers and preamps onto ¼-inch tape.

 

Demoed years, earlier, the title track’s demo formed the basis of the vulnerability on its final rendition. Jimmy reveals, “I wasn't crazy about the guitar sound. But we added some piano and listened to it and I started to love it. When we came back to the demo a couple of years later we realized we had something great to build around. We added drums, bass, backing vocals and it became, what I think, is one of the best songs on the album."

 

NPR World Café has confirmed a performance/chat.

 

Jake La Botz Tour Dates:

 

May 31 – Music City Roots - Franklin, TN                       

June 3 - Kiki's House of Righteous Music - Madison, WI                          

June 4 - Record Release Show at The Hideout - Chicago, IL                       

June 5 - Raccoon Motel - Davenport, IA                             

June 6 - The Southgate House Revival-The Lounge - Newport, KY           

June 8 - Record Archive - Rochester, NY                            

June 10 - Atwood's Tavern - Cambridge, MA                                 

June 14 - Kung Fu Necktie - Philadelphia, PA                     

June 19 - Mercury Lounge - New York, NY

“DIRTY, RAW” (PURE VOLUME) THE SUITCASE JUNKET EXTENDS TOUR, EARNS PRAISE, AS ‘PILE DRIVER’ OUT NEXT WEEK ON SIGNATURE SOUNDS

ADDS CLEARWATER, FLOYD, RED WING FESTS AS WELL AS NYC MERCURY LOUNGE AND BOSTON SINCLAIR HEADLINING PLAYS

With his full-length label debut ‘Pile Driver’ (Signature Sounds) out this week, The Suitcase Junket is extending his tour to include tastemaker venues like NYC’s Mercury Lounge and Cambridge, MA’s Sinclair as well as several festivals. He has taped a session for Relix, displaying the homemade pieces of his band, including a baby shoe hitting a gas can and a box of silverware and bones.

Here’s the early word on ‘Pile Driver’ from press and other artists alike:

"Honest, original, and energetic in its blending of garage rock and Americana... The atmosphere of this album maintains a thread of focus, but delivers twelve tracks that each demonstrate his unique capacity to mix a sense of a folk foundation with lo-fi guitar sounds and a found-object feel."
- Magdalene Taylor, Brooklyn Vegan, April 20, 2017

"I peg him as a weird hybrid of Mississippi-born one-man band Doctor Ross and Americana rocker Langhorne Slim. The Suitcase Junket’s 2017 track 'Evangeline' also sounds a bit like something from Tom Waits’ workbook, which isn’t a bad thing. His forthcoming album, Pile Driver, promises to go places even Doctor Ross couldn’t navigate." – Edd Hurt, Nashville Scene, March 30, 2017

"Lorenz's songs are carefully constructed pieces of rock and American... The found percussion increases Lorenz’s idiosyncracy, and enhances that atmosphere... Lorenz’s songs carry themselves, aside from backstory or unique sounds, relying on his storytelling and melodies. The fact that he’s sonically inventive is just a bonus."
- Justin Cober-Lake, Dusted Magazine, April 28, 2017

"Completely original show, songs from the heart, melodies you'll sing for days. Definitely go check out a show." – Chris Vos, The Record Company

"a thoroughly entertaining record... The Suitcase Junket is well worth listening to... This junkyard set up would be the most interesting thing about Lorenz if he didn’t have songwriting chops. Fortunately, Lorenz’s skills are considerable and the list of weird equipment operates mostly as an effective hook to bring in the curious."
-Chris Conaton, Pop Matters, April 27, 2017

"The Suitcase Junket crafts beautiful music out of items found in
trash." Jim Farber, Real Clear Life, May 9, 2017

"Vast talents... dirty, raw." - Pure Volume, March 6, 2017

"Lorenz isn’t your traditional Americana musician, not by a long shot... Would fit in nicely on a playlist alongside artists such as Shovels & Rope and the Drive-By Truckers." - Amy McCarthy, The Boot, March 16, 2017

"This guy's a maniac -- a one-man band, dumpster-guitar-playing maniac. Strumming a salvaged guitar, banging on a box of cutlery, and releasing a dynamite voice, The Suitcase Junket is the real deal -- and one of the most electric souls we've ever seen on stage. 'Sounds like Jack White,' you're thinking. You ain't wrong."
- Fresh Grass Festival (Sept 16-17)

“Matt Lorenz is, as Suitcase Junket, one of the most startlingly original and inventive solo artists I've ever heard.” – Chris Smither

"I couldn't tell you exactly why I find The [Suitcase] Junket so intriguing but I do. Creativity...Musicianship, for sure. Songwriting. Every time I sit through Pile Driver I wonder. Every time, though, I move." 

- Frank Gutch, Jr., No Depression, May 14, 2017

“The Suitcase Junket is one of the natural wonders of the world. Incandescent creativity, in every direction. I have never seen anything like him before, and I expect I never will again. Sui generis. Holy good goddamn, people.” – Peter Mulvey

"Pursuing your musical career as a one-man band takes a high level of charisma and stamina if you want to keep your audience entertained. Luckily, Matt Lorenz possesses both of those things and he puts them to use as the Suitcase Junket. The New England musician is also talented as a craftsman and as a lyricist... Using his makeshift instruments, Lorenz creates electric music that walks the line between rock and roll and Americana." - Glide Mag, February 13, 2017

"Now this is the shit I'm talking about, Jack. The Suitcase Junket is a lo-fi, low-tuned, low-down blast of end-times folk blues. It's crude; it's magnificent. With a stage set-up that resembles a junkyard foley stage or Fred Sanford's living room, The Suitcase Junket — one man band leader Matt Lorenz — incants and intones like a cross between Hound Dog Taylor and a Tuvan throat singer who has swallowed a bird. Take the singer-songwriter idiom, give it a low grade fever and a guitar and this is what you get. Captivating, mesmerizing, and gone ... real gone." – Frank De Blase, Rochester (NY) City Newspaper, January 13, 2016

"Amazing, unique."
- Rege Behe, Pittsburgh Tribune Review, January 11, 2017

“Jaw-dropping... He does it all so well. It’s the biggest sound i’ve ever heard come from a solo performer. Matt is definitely his own thing and it is something. The live experience is pretty, darn unforgettable.”
- Kevin Cubbins, Beale Street Caravan, May 10, 2017

The Suitcase Junket Tour Dates

April 18 – Avalon Theater – Easton, MD

April 19 – Gypsy Sally’s – Washington, D.C.

April 20 – Basin & Main – Honesdale, MD

April 21 – The Shea Theater – Turner Falls, MA

April 27 – Abilene – Rochester, NY

April 28 – The Linda – Albany, NY

April 29 – The Narrows – Fall River, MA

May 3 – Shitty Barn – Spring Green, WI

May 5 – Hi-Fi – Indianapolis, IN

May 8 - The Musical Instrument Museum - Phoenix, AZ (w/ Tift Merritt)

May 10 - Bootleg Front Room - Los Angeles, CA (w/ Tift Merritt)

May 11 - Swedish American Hall - San Francisco, CA (w/ Tift Merritt)

May 12 – Vintage Wine Bar – Redding, CA

May 13 - Mississippi Studios - Portland, OR (w/ Tift Merritt)

May 14 - The Triple Door - Seattle, WA (w/ Tift Merritt)

May 16 - The Soiled Dove - Denver, CO (w/ Tift Merritt)

May 18 – The Turf Club – St. Paul, MN

May 19 – House Concert – Des Moines, IA

May 21 – Elk Creek – Milheim, PA

May 24 – The Purple Fiddle – Thomas, WV

May 25 – The McNemar House – Buckhannon, WV

May 26 - Jewel City Jamboree - Huntington, WV

May 28 – Virginia Arts Festival FRINGE – Norfolk, VA

May 31 – The Sinclair – Cambridge, MA

June 1 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY

June 3 – Club Helsinki – Hudson, NY

June 10 – Roots on the River – Bellows Falls, VT

June 14 – Café Nine – New Haven, CT

June 16 - Stone Mountain Arts Center - Brownfield, ME               

June 17 - Clearwater Festival  - Croton-On-Hudson, NY

July 2 - Great Blue Heron Music Festival - Sherman, NY  

July 7-9 - Winnipeg Folk Festival – Winnipeg, Canada

July 14 - Red Wing Roots Music Festival  - Mount Solon, VA

July 27-28 – FloydFest – Floyd, VA

September 16-17 – FreshGrass Festival – North Adams, MA

“FOLK-ROCK AWESOMENESS” (POP MATTERS) LELAND SUNDRIES WRAPS TOUR WITH MERCURY LOUNGE HEADLINING SHOW, IMPOSE MAG “AWESOME” VIDEO PREMIERE, GREEN RIVER FEST SET

Following the release of its debut full-length ‘music for outcasts’ (L’Echiquier / Décor / Weiner) and the wrapping up of a national tour that saw the band play everything from a DIY July 4 party in a parking garage to a record store, a church to an outdoor bar stage, Leland Sundries has premiered its new video for “Studebaker” at Impose Mag.

 

The band will perform tomorrow at Green River Festival in western Massachusetts, the same day as Dawes, Shovels & Rope, and Shakey Graves. Mercury Lounge will host a headlining show on Monday on a bill with Ron Gallo.

 

Pop Matters is streaming the entire album, comparing it to Pavement and calling it “folk-rock awesomeness… memorable."

 

Spotlights have also run in American Songwriter, Paste, Flavorpill, Pure Volume, UNCUT, MOJO, and spins at WFUV, KCRW, and KEXP. In a Q&A, CMJ praised its “fine character building.”

 

Cincinnati.com called Leland Sundries “folk rock from a weird, loose-limbed, garage-rock point of view.”

 

The Memphis Commercial Appeal called ‘music for outcasts’ “literate, tuneful character sketches, songs rooted not just in his own hard-living lifestyle but also in the people he met on the road... establishing the band as worthy successors to such durable acts as Son Volt, Clem Snide and Deer Tick.”

NPR “NEXT” BAND KINGSLEY FLOOD RELEASES NEW EP, 'INSPIRED' (PASTE) ELLIE GOULDING COVER, THIS WEEK

NPR “NEXT” BAND KINGSLEY FLOOD RELEASES NEW EP, 'INSPIRED' (PASTE) ELLIE GOULDING COVER, THIS WEEK

KF SET TO PLAY NYC AND BOSTON IN JANUARY

Kingsley Flood’s ‘To The Fire’ EP is out this week and signals the kickoff of “the year of the Flood” (Boston Herald). Produced by Paul Kolderie (Radiohead, Speedy Ortiz, The Pixies), the EP is only the first of three planned recordings for 2015. NPR World Café named the indie rock act one of its “Next” artists last month: http://www.npr.org/blogs/world-cafe/2014/12/22/371919093/world-cafe-next-kingsley-flood

Kingsley Flood played sold out shows in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, PA last weekend and has its song “Waiting on the River To Rise” featured in a new History Channel national ad campaign.

Check out an embeddable version of the band’s “inspired” (Paste Magazine) cover of Ellie Goulding’s “Anything Could Happen” here.

Kingsley Flood will perform at Mercury Lounge in NYC this Friday and at the Sinclair in Cambridge, MA on January 30.

“[‘Set Me Off’ is] an up-tempo jam with a propulsive beat and a punk-rock attitude.” – Wall Street Journal

“Poised to take on 2015 with some serious momentum.” –Pop Matters

“Back at full energy.” – Washington City Paper

“Raucous folk-rock wrapped in a swanky indie shell, stadium rock for the small-room set, the return of one of America’s next great bands.” – Chunky Glasses

"You gotta see these guys live" - Boston Globe

"One of the greatest live acts going." - Boston Herald

"The lively rock ‘n’ roll of ‘Set Me Off’ is a powerful opening salvo" – The Swollen Fox

“The group succeeds in spinning influences of folk, punk, Americana and rock music into catchy, thoughtful songs you can both dance to and sing along with.” – Glide

Upcoming Tour Dates:

January 16: Mercury Lounge, New York, NY, tickets
January 17: Stone Church, Newmarket, NH, tickets
January 30: The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA, tickets
To The Fire Track List
1.     Set Me Off
2.     All In All
3.     Thick Of It
4.     Anything Could Happen
5.     Cavalry

JAMBASE HOSTS EXCLUSIVELY PREMIERES NICK MOSS BAND'S SCORCHING NEW ALBUM 'TIME AIN'T FREE' ALBUM AS 27-DATE NATIONAL TOUR LAUNCHES

TAVIS SMILEY WELCOMES NICK AND MICHAEL LEDBETTER TO PUBLIC RADIO INT'L

Jambase is exclusively streaming the entire new Nick Moss Band album 'Time Ain't Free' (Blue Bella Records / March 18), calling it "a high-water mark for the Chicago-based band," continuing, "The album's 14 tracks will have you tapping your feet along and dropping your jaw at Moss's many blistering guitar solos." Meanwhile, the Nick Moss Band is launching a 27-date national tour, starting in its hometown of Chicago, IL.

Tavis Smiley recently had Moss and Michael Ledbetter on his Public Radio International show, calling the band "top tier."

The Band can rip searing solos, but they are more than guitar heroes. Moss leads a band that's rooted in rock & roll tradition. In listening to 'Time Ain't Free,' you'll find a New Orleans rhythm and blues syncopation here, a gospel piano part there, a stab of Cream-esque guitar here, an R&B-influenced chord change there, a train beat here, a greasy Isaac Hayes groove there, and a stinging West Side Chicago blues lick here.

The Nick Moss Band also made its national television debut last month on WGN.

The Nick Moss Band Spring Tour:

3/7 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
3/8 - Chicago, IL - Rosa's Lounge
3/12 - Lincoln, NE - Zoo Bar
3/13 - Kansas City, MO - Knucklehead's Saloon
3/14 - St. Louis, MO - Cicero's
3/15 - Milwaukee, WI - Linneman's Riverwest Inn
3/18 - Kankakee, IL - Moose Lodge
3/20 - Chicago, IL - Uptown Lounge
3/21 - St. Paul, MN - Wilebski's Blues Saloon
3/23 - Lake Geneva, WI - Studio Winery
3/27 - Bethesda, MD - Bethesda Jazz & Blues
3/28 - Bethlehem, PA - 2nd Story Blues
3/29 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
3/30 - Collinsville, CT - Bridge Street Live
4/2 - Rochester, NY - Dinosaur BBQ
4/3 - Syracuse, NY - Dinosaur BBQ
4/4 - London, ON - London Music Hall
4/5 - Barrie, ON - Violet's
4/8 - St. Georges, DE - Country Store
4/11-12 - Roanoke, VA - Blue 5
5/17 - Excelsior Springs, MO - Wabash BBQ
5/30 - Ventura, CA - Yolie's
5/31 - Arcadia, CA - Arcadia Blues Club
6/5 - San Francisco, CA - Biscuits & Blues
6/7 - Point Arena, CA - Arena Theater
6/13 - Seattle, WA - Highway 99 Blues Club
6/14 - Yakima, WA - Yakima Blues Festival
8/17 - Thornton, NH - White Mountain Boogie N' Blues Festival

NICK MOSS BAND TO MAKE MERCURY LOUNGE DEBUT MARCH 29

MOSS BAND MADE NAT'L TV DEBUT THIS WEEK ON WGN MIDDAY MUSIC LOUNGE AS 'TIME AIN'T FREE' OUT MARCH 18

The Nick Moss Band – whose new album 'Time Ain't Free' (March 18 / Blue Bella Records) is "nothing less than a powerful gumbo of Chicago soul, funk, blues, jam music and rock and roll" (Guitar World – will make its Mercury Lounge debut March 29. "Moss reaches deeper into soul, funk, and rock ‘n’ roll," says Billboard. The Nick Moss Band will make its national television debut today on WGN. The Nick Moss Band will also appear on national syndicated radio show Elwood's Bluesmobile on March 22 and 23; on Tavis Smiley (PRI); and will tape a segment for the syndicated program Beale Street Caravan.

Click here to watch the Nick Moss Band on WGN-TV.

Click here for a video album preview of 'Time Ain't Free' at Elmore Magazine. Elmore called 'Time Ain't Free' "southern-fried rock…a vintage, boogie-filled slice of rock & roll featuring Moss’ scintillating guitar playing."

WHO: The Nick Moss Band
WHAT: Mercury Lounge Debut Concert
WHEN: 10:30pm, March 29, 2014
WHERE: Mercury Lounge, 217 E Houston St., NYC
TICKETS: $10 advance / $12 day of show

Moss apprenticed in the bands of blues greats Jimmy Rogers, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, and Jimmy Dawkins, among others. Second lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Michael Ledbetter is a former opera singer and relative of the great Lead Belly. The rest of the band is made up of top-shelf Chicago players, steeped in roots rock, blues, soul, funk, and jam band music.

Nick Loss-Eaton Media at CMJ Music Marathon 2013

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15

11:30pm Tuesday – Joe Fletcher – Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St, Manhattan (at E Houston)

Fast-rising Americana songwriter Joe Fletcher has played Newport Folk Festival and Americana Festival. Fletcher, whose sound swirls blues, outlaw country, and gritty Americana influences, made his Newport debut last year. He has also opened for Jason Isbell, Deer Tick, The Low Anthem, John Doe, and Lucero and recorded with John McCauley (Deer Tick). Vanity Fair recently ran a Q&A with Fletcher and McCauley: http://vimeo.com/35865561

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17

7pm – John Murry – Windish Showcase - Mercury Lounge, 217 E. Houston Street, Manhattan (at Essex)

John Murry -- the Bay Area-based second cousin of William Faulkner's who makes incredible Southern indie-noir music – is touring in October opening for Shuggie Otis. It cements his status as a national act in 2013: NPR "World Café Next" artist and a "breakout" (NPR Here & Now); sold out UK shows; 5-star reviews in the Guardian and MOJO; playing festivals in the UK and California; a Weir Here taping curated by Bob Weir; raves from MTV Hive, Black Book, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, Daytrotter, American Songwriter, San Jose Mercury, and Baeble Music; and signing with Windish Agency. He will also tape NPR's Beale Street Caravan performance show during a headlining performance in his former hometown of Memphis, TN, October 5. It'll be his third NPR taping of the year: https://vimeo.com/62649246

10pm – John Murry – Official Showcase - Littlefield, 622 Degraw St, Brooklyn (between 3^rd and 4^th Aves)

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18

4:40pm – Kingsley Flood - BuzzChips/My Free Concert Showcase - the Living Room, 154 Ludlow St, Manhattan (at Stanton)

Kingsley Flood – the band whose Newport set grabbed the attention of NPR Music, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Paste – are having a breakout year. Drawing comparisons to The Replacements, Deer Tick, Lucero, Wilco, and the Clash, the band's six members tore up the stage in a misting rain, with lead singer Naseem Khuri ripping at his guitar while Jenée Morgan Force alternated between violin and saxophone, forming an impromptu horn section with keyboardist Chris Barrett picking up the trumpet. NPR Music streamed the set: http://www.npr.org/event/music/203664120/kingsley-flood-live-in-concert-newport-folk-2013

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19

3pm – Kingsley Flood - RSL Outlaw Roadshow - Bowery Electric, 327 Bowery, Manhattan (between E 2^nd and E 3^rd Sts)

3pm – John Murry - Listen Dammit Blog / Nick Loss-Eaton Media / Highline Records CMJ Day Party at Skinny Dennis, 152 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn (at Berry). RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/648420281849904/?ref=br_tf

3:45pm – Wry Climate - Listen Dammit Blog / Nick Loss-Eaton Media / Highline Records CMJ Day Party at Skinny Dennis, 152 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn (at Berry)

NY indie rock/shoegave band Wry Climate has been compared to Sonic Youth, Lotus Plaza, Pavement, MBV, Dirty Projectors, Real Estate, and Deerhunter, combining jangly electric guitars with amp feedback and digital delay noise effects. Based in Brooklyn and Purchase, NY, Wry Climate is the project of Dan Nelson and friends: http://wryclimate.bandcamp.com/

5:15pm – Kingsley Flood - Listen Dammit Blog / Nick Loss-Eaton Media / Highline Records CMJ Day Party at Skinny Dennis, 152 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn (at Berry)

9pm – Kingsley Flood – Baeble Music CMJ Party - 186 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn (at N 7^th)

For more information on Joe Fletcher, Kingsley Flood, John Murry, and Wry Climate, please contact Nick Loss-Eaton at nick.losseaton@gmail.com or 718.541.1130.

http://nicklosseaton.blogspot

HOT OFF NEWPORT FOLK FEST MAIN STAGE SET, BREAKOUT BAND KINGSLEY FLOOD ANNOUNCES HEADLINING SHOW AT MERCURY LOUNGE SEPT 12

NEWPORT ACCLAIM FROM NPR MUSIC, BILLBOARD, ROLLING STONE, PASTE

Kingsley Flood – the breakout band whose Newport set grabbed the attention of NPR Music, Billboard, Rolling Stone, Paste – has announced a headlining set at Mercury Lounge September 12. The band also taped a Paste Magazine session on-site and will open for Josh Ritter in August.

Drawing comparisons to The Replacements, Deer Tick, Lucero, Wilco, and the Clash, the band's six members tore up the stage in a misting rain, with lead singer Naseem Khuri ripping at his guitar while Jenée Morgan Force alternated between violin and saxophone, forming an impromptu horn section with keyboardist Chris Barrett picking up the trumpet. NPR Music streamed the set.

Rolling Stone's James Joiner said, "Kingsley Flood kicked off the main stage, shirking the rain with puddle-splashing, foot-stomping folk rock and their signature high energy."

Billboard's Devon Maloney wrote, "Special props ought to be given to a pre-rain, fest-opening set by energetic Boston mainstays Kingsley Flood."

WHO: Breakout band Kingsley Flood

WHAT: Headlining show featuring songs from 'Battles'

WHEN: 9:30pm, Thursday, September 12, 2013

WHERE: Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston St., NYC

TICKETS: $10 advance / $12 day of show

Paste Magazine's Dacey Orr named them one of ten bands to catch at Newport, saying, "This hardworking band is rapidly making an impression nationally. Their recent album 'Battles' holds several tracks that translate into rowdy on-stage anthems."

American Songwriter's Sean Maloney testified, "We had never heard these guys before but we were gobsmacked – GOBSMACKED – by the Boston band’s soulful, folk rockin’ shimmy on the Fort Stage. We heard echoes of X’s sun-scorched punk, moments of Muscle Shoals groove and some gnarly fuzz bass, which was the last thing we thought we would hear at a folk festival. It was great way to kick off our fest and their new album Battles made a great soundtrack for the ride home."

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

THRIFT STORE GOSPEL ACETATE ADDS NEW SONG TO SPIRIT FAMILY REUNION REPERTOIRE

Spirit Family Reunion drummer Peter Pezzimenti and friend Brian Belott formed a partnership to collect an archive of found recordings when the latter found what would become a staple of the band's set. A thrift store in Colorado unveiled an acetate of a song called "Give Me Wings" by the mysteriously named Cunningham. "It's an aluminum disc sprayed with acetate, a ten inch," recalls Pezzimenti. "He was one of the most powerful singers we'd found and we named him King Cunningham. He was a preacher."

"We collect reel-to-reels, wire recordings, answering machine tapes, and such, personal recordings made by amateurs, all one of a kind," says the drummer, who is also an abstract painter. He and Belott hosted WPS1's Lost and Found Sound show, affiliated with the Museum of Modern Art.

"I played it for the band without saying who it was one night." Spirit Family Reunion picked up their instruments and the arrangement came together immediately.

The band took the song, sped it up, and added their infectious harmonies and propulsive percussion, and recorded it for their debut album 'No Separation,' out June 15.

The acetate also had a b-side, with Cunningham and his daughter dueting on the song.

Brooklyn Vegan recently previewed 'No Separation.'

Paste Magazine is streaming 'No Separation' in its entirety.

Among other tour dates, Spirit Family Reunion will perform June 15 at Mercury Lounge, July 28 at Newport Folk Festival, and August 4 at Celebrate Brooklyn. Additional tour dates: http://www.spiritfamilyreunion.com/#shows

Spirit Family Reunion is Maggie Carson (banjo and vocals), Mat Davidson (fiddle and vocals), Nick Panken (guitar and vocals), Pezzimenti (drums and vocals), Stephen Weinheimer (washboard, drums, and vocals), and Ken Woodward (upright bass and vocals).

SPIRIT FAMILY REUNION ANNOUNCES 7" RECORD OF "I WANT TO BE RELIEVED" AND "GREEN ROCKY ROAD" JUNE 15 ALONGSIDE DEBUT ALBUM 'NO SEPARATION'

BROOKLYN VEGAN POSTS "I WANT TO BE RELIEVED"

MERCURY LOUNGE HEADLINING SHOW CONFIRMED FOR JUNE 15 AS NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL, CELEBRATE BROOKLYN APPROACH

Spirit Family Reunion – the ready-to-break Brooklyn band that's already been booked at Newport Folk Festival and opened for Levon Helm – has confirmed the release of a 7" vinyl record June 15, alongside the release of its debut 'No Separation.' The 7" will consist of the rollicking original "I Want To Be Relieved" and "Green Rocky Road," from the repertoire of Karen Dalton.

Brooklyn Vegan recently posted "I Want To Be Relieved" and compared the band's "rowdiness" to that of Deer Tick and The Felice Brothers.

Postable mp3 of "I Want To Be Relieved" here.

NYC's Mercury Lounge will host the CD and 7" release show June 15. May 15, they packed the room with dancing, chanting fans in an opening slot. Spirit Family Reunion will then play at Newport Folk Festival July 28 and Celebrate Brooklyn August 4.

SPIRIT FAMILY REUNION TAKES CHURCH REVIVAL ENERGY AND IDEAS TO UNIVERSAL LEVEL WITH ORIGINAL AMERICAN MUSIC

BAND SELLS ITS OWN SONGBOOKS, INTENDING TO SPARK COMMUNITY

NEW YORKERS: SFR CONFIRMS ALBUM RELEASE SHOW JUNE 15 AT MERCURY LOUNGE

BAEBLE MUSIC: "WE COULDN’T BE MORE EXCITED"

Spirit Family Reunion – the ready-to-break Brooklyn band that's already been booked at Newport Folk Festival and opened for Levon Helm – sells something curious alongside its CDs: band songbooks with lyrics and chords. Guitarist/vocalist Nick Panken says, "We write simple songs that anyone could pick up on. There's a simplicity and universality."

Reminiscent of Woody Guthrie, The Anthology of American Folk Music, and The Band, the songs are intended to be sung by a wide audience, both at Spirit Family Reunion concerts and beyond. Bassist/vocalist Ken Woodward explains, "In performance, we try to break through the invisible shell that keeps people separated, which is why people say we're a joyful band." Panken adds, "Our audience doesn't just stand there. It's participatory."

The songwriting grew from the band's year-long residency at Lovin' Cup Café. Panken recalls, "We started playing these old church songs. We thought that we'd take the feeling and make it more universal."

From the debut album 'No Separation,' the Spirit Family Reunion songbook includes "I Want To Be Relieved," "I'll Find a Way," "No Separation," and "To All My Friends and Relations."

Blogs are starting to pick up on what bookers at Newport Folk Festival and Celebrate Brooklyn already know. Brooklyn Vegan posted "I Want To Be Relieved" and hailed the band's "rowdiness."

My Old Kentucky Blog posted "I Am Following the Sound," calling 'No Separation' "the fervor of a tent revival with the wallop of a bare-knuckle brawler… hoothollerstampandshout."

Baeble Music said, "We couldn't be more excited."

Spirit Family Reunion has confirmed an album release show at NYC's Mercury Lounge June 15.

More info, video, mp3, photos.

Tour dates.