ROLLING STONE SPOTLIGHTS MEMPHIS’ IMPALA, FEATURING MEMBERS OF THE BO-KEYS AND AFGHAN WHIGS

Memphis’ Impala – and instrumental band that draws from surf, spaghetti western, noir, blues, and soul and features members of the Afghan Whigs and The Bo-Keys – has released ‘In The Late Hours’ on Electraphonic Recordings and it’s earned notice from Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, Memphis Flyer, Elmore, and Glide. Here’s what we’re reading:

“A truly unique sound, one that’s retro without lapsing into mimicry.”
- Robert Crawford, Rolling Stone, August 24, 2018: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/10-best-country-and-americana-songs-of-the-week-eric-church-jillian-jacqueline-715173/

“4 stars out of 5… mighty… compelling.”
- Hal Horowitz, American Songwriter, August 21, 2018

“Intoxicating.”
- Neil Ferguson, Glide Magazine, August 9, 2018

WINTERPILLS STRETCH THE CANVAS IN MOST EXPANSIVE SOUNDING ALBUM TO DATE ‘LOVE SONGS’ (MARCH 18 / SIGNATURE SOUNDS), CO-PRODUCED WITH JUSTIN PIZZOFERRATO (DINOSAUR JR, THE PIXIES, SPEEDY ORTIZ)

“I don’t know why Winterpills aren’t one of the most cherished pop bands in the world.”
- Jonathan Lethem, Rolling Stone

“****… The songs are mists and pastels, dense with instruments and Philip Price and Flora Reed's harmonies, yet at the same time serene… as evocative as dreams.   -MOJO

From slurry, fuzzy guitar to strings, Winterpills signature melodies see their most expansive sounds to date on ‘Love Songs,’ out March 18 on Signature Sounds. Reminiscent of the best of the Elephant 6’s works, ‘Love Songs came together in collaboration with co-producer Justin Pizzoferrato, who has manned the dials for Dinosaur Jr., The Pixies, Lou Barlow, Speedy Ortiz, Parquet Courts, Lou Barlow, and And the Kids. From strings to trumpets; large-scale harmonies to harmonica, Winterpills has never sounded this big before, masterfully building from a whisper to a torrent.

Winterpills explores love of the idea of love, love of unrealized love, love of the dead, love of family secrets, love of the concept of eternal return, love of ideas, and love of celebrity. "At first the thought of calling it Love Songs was intended as a whimsical nod to the other million albums of the same title," principle songwriter Philip Price says, "but then casting that light on the existing songs made them jump into stark relief: they were all love songs after all, though arriving at that place through strange portals and unused back roads." “A New England Deluge” builds to a feverish pitch before abruptly stopping. “Wanderer White” kicks off as a low-fi dirge before moving into ‘90s indie rock territory. “Celia Johnson” is inspired by David Lean’s “Brief Encounter,” positing a middle class British housewife’s story of stepping out of her comfort zone. “He Grew a Wall” identifies with a local musician following his suicide, using a modded Casiotone as an orchestra.

Recorded during the band’s 10th anniversary, ‘Love Songs’ is also an appropriate title for a band led by musical soulmates and husband/wife Philip Price and Flora Reed. Based in and inspired by western Massachusetts’ fertile scene, Reed and Price’s voices are always the core of Winterpills’ music and provide incredible chemistry and lift in tandem. Over the past decade and half-dozen stellar albums, Winterpills has established a reputation for smart indie pop, prompting comparisons to Elliott Smith, Low, and Big Star.

In addition, Winterpills’ self-titled debut will be reissued this spring on vinyl for the first time. Tour dates will also be announced shortly.

KINGSLEY FLOOD ANNOUNCES LARGEST HEADLINING SHOWS TO DATE, NOVEMBER 20 EP ‘THE GOOD FIGHT’

Following a packed and sweaty set at Americana Fest, Kingsley Flood is capping off its ambitious and productive year with its largest capacity NYC and DC shows to date and a third EP release with ‘The Good Fight’ out November 20. The three EPs total thirteen songs released in 2015 and the band is also preparing for a 2016 full-length release.

Bandleader Naseem Khuri continues to explore themes of individual and societal change in our cities, and his own tendencies to talk a big game and take little action; ‘The Good Fight’ deepens that exploration, narrowing the focus on the band’s hometowns of Boston and Washington, DC and pushing the band to some of its most epic music to date.” Driven by tremolo’d guitar, the title track examines Khuri’s reluctant acceptance of an evolving city and its gentrification. “We ought to get mad, we ought to save our souls, but the new guy’s got what I need.”  He doesn’t let up on “On My Mind,” crying outrage at injustice while shouting “I can write a check from this couch and yet I can’t reach my pen.” The spaghetti western guitar line of “Change You” introduces sharply observed stories from a Boston bar Khuri visited all too often, where the regulars talk about their big plans and leave it at that. The store owner at the center of the anthemic, alt.country “Good Old Wind” rejects the “new wind blowing” into the town where Khuri grew up near Boston.

Kingsley Flood has earned widespread praise:

“Foot-stomping folk rock and their signature high energy.” – Rolling Stone

“Kingsley Flood is the kind of hard-rocking folk-punk band that makes you want to dance with the person standing next to you and then punch them in the face. In a totally good way.” - Esquire

"Great live show." – NPR

Kingsley Flood Fall Tour Dates

November 20 – Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
November 21 – Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade
December 3 – New Haven, CT - Café Nine
December 4 – Washington, D.C. – U Street Music Hall
December 5 – Philadelphia, PA – Boot & Saddle
December 17 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl (with Bombadil)
December 18 – Charlotte, NC – Evening Muse (with Bombadil)
December 19 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle (with Bombadil)

‘The Good Fight’ EP Track List

1. Good Old Wind
2. Change You
3. On My Mind
4. The Good Fight

"JUKE-JOINT PROFESSOR EMERITUS" (ROLLING STONE) KEVIN GORDON BRIDGES SWAMPY ELECTRIC AND POETIC ACOUSTIC SOUNDS ON NEW ALBUM 'LONG GONE TIME' (OUT SEPT 4)

LUCINDA WILLIAMS: “HE’S WRITING SONGS THAT ARE LIKE SHORT STORIES”

Hailed by The New York Times as "part Muddy Waters and part Carl Perkins," erudite, swampy southern songwriter Kevin Gordon will release his new album 'Long Gone Time' on September 4. His first release since 2012's critically acclaimed 'Gloryland,' 'Long Gone Time' is half-acoustic and half-electric, bridging Gordon's introspective, detailed Southern poetry (he has an MFA from the prestigious University of Iowa Writer's Workshop) with his biting, boozy, honky-tonk shuffle and swagger. Produced by multi-instrumentalist and Dove Award-winner Joe McMahan (Mike Farris, Freedy Johnston, Allison Moorer), it's an intoxicating blend of the intellectual and visceral delivered with sticky-sweet guitars and barroom piano.

The album opens with "All In The Mystery," a loping come-on loaded with sexual innuendo like Elvis Costello on a road trip south of the Mason-Dixon. Rich with visual detail, "GTO" tells the story of his father's stolen car, while "Letter to Shreveport" is a haunting stream of consciousness punctuated with ominous slide guitar, and "Walking on the Levee" evokes the magic and the loneliness of an early-morning trek along the edge of a memory-filled town still "sleeping off what they drank at the bar." On "Goodnight Brownie Ford," Gordon poignantly pays tribute to the rodeo-riding country singer, and the bittersweet "Shotgun by the Door" paints vivid portrait of lingering racial tension. Later in the album, Gordon and his crack band morph into rollicking roadhouse rockers with "Church on Time" before closing out the record with the subdued, vivid character studies of "Cajun with a K."

Praised by NPR, The NY Times, USA Today, and more, 'Gloryland,' marked the end of a six-year hiatus for Gordon, whose work has been covered by everyone from Keith Richards and Levon Helm to Ronnie Hawkins and Todd Snider. In his illustrious two-and-a-half decade career, Gordon has shared stages with Snider, John Prine, Leon Russell, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, and the Blind Boys of Alabama among others, played the storied New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and earned the respect and admiration of his peers and a slew of musical icons. Lucinda Williams raved that "he’s writing songs that are like short stories," while Buddy Miller said "it reminds me why I love music," and renowned author and biographer Peter Guralnick described the music as, "John Lee Hooker tied to the hard, imagistic poetry of William Carlos Williams."

Stay tuned for more information and tour dates to be announced.

'Long Gone Time' Track List (Note That LP Track List Different):

1. All In The Mystery
2. GTO
3. Letter to Shreveport
4. Walking on the Levee
5. Shotgun Behind the Door
6. Crowville
7. Goodnight Brownie Ford
8. Immigrant
9. Church on Time
10. Cajun with a K
11. Following a Sign (CD- and LP-only bonus track)

NY TIMES, ROLLING STONE, USA TODAY SPOTLIGHT GREEN RIVER FESTIVAL JULY 10-12 IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS

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DETAILED SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED INCLUDING SIGNATURE SOUNDS 20^TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

The Green River Festival has earned early buzz from the New York Times, Rolling Stone, and USA Today ahead of its July 10-12 dates in Greenfield, MA.

NY Times said, “The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Annual Festival may have pool parties and palm trees, and South by Southwest may offer an on-site tattoo artist for V.I.P. denizens, but only Green River Festival delivers hot-air balloons. The jazz, folk and country-heavy event, which celebrates its 29th season this year, evolved from an annual balloon festival on the same grounds, and it still launches several in tribute each year. This summer’s roster veers toward folk and experimental-rock direction with sets by Tune-Yards, Punch Brothers, and J Mascis, as well as a heavy roots and jazz contingent in Steve Earle and the Dukes, Valerie June and Marco Benevento.”

Rolling Stone said, “Bring a blanket,” calling the fest “relaxed.”

Green River Festival 2015 teaser video.

Here’s a Spotify playlist of artists performing at the 2015 Green River Festival.

Elmore Magazine called it “one of the summer’s most exciting festivals.”

The previously announced lineup includes Steve Earle & The Dukes, Punch Brothers, tUnE-yArDs, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Milk Carton Kids, J. Mascis, Booker T. Jones, Langhorne Slim, and more. A detailed schedule is here.

KINGSLEY FLOOD SET TO UNLEASH 2015 DOWNPOUR OF NEW MUSIC: EP ‘TO THE FIRE’ OUT JANUARY 13, FOLLOWED BY SUMMER EP, FALL LP, VIDEOS, TOURING, ETC.

NPR WORLD CAFÉ TO FEATURE BAND AS “NEXT” ARTISTS WEEK OF DECEMBER 22

NEWPORT FOLK FEST MAIN STAGE ’13 SET LAUNCHED BAND TO NAT’L RECOGNITION

Kingsley Flood will be unleashing a deluge of music throughout 2015, including the January 13th EP ‘To The Fire,’ a summer EP, a fall full-length album, multiple music videos, and a rigorous touring schedule. The ambitious volume of output from the Boston and DC-based six-piece recognizes that the music business has changed and moved on from the era of the traditional album cycle. It also represents a shift in leader Naseem Khuri’s songwriting, channeling his personal journey as the son of Palestinian immigrants struggling to make change.

Since their breakout set opening the Newport Folk Festival in 2013, Kingsley Flood has opened tour dates for Lucius and Josh Ritter; earned raves from AV Club, Paste, Rolling Stone, Billboard, NY Times; played a session for Esquire; and premiered a video with NPR Music.

For ‘To The Fire,’ the fast-rising band partnered with producer Paul Kolderie (Radiohead, The Pixies, Speedy Ortiz) and crystallized the musical traits that help it stand out: the horn/violin combination that alternates between epic orchestral sweep and lush, low-key ambience, electric guitars that move from melodic arpeggios to howling feedback, an ever-expanding palette of keyboard textures and a versatile rhythm section, all topped off by Khuri’s raspy, desperate lead vocals.

On To The Fire, Khuri turns the focus inward, shifting from the chronicles of failed American dreams depicted on previous release (and Boston Music Awards Album of the Year) Battles, to his own struggle as a wanna-be do-gooder struggling to change the world around him.  Shaped by his Palestinian-American heritage and his hard-working immigrant parents, he spent his twenties working for organizations focused on conflict and inequality, in the Middle East and in his own backyard. The songs showcase both biting ambition and a reckoning that change is hard to come by.

To The Fire begins to explore that evolution.  “All In All” sets a danceable beat to the voice of political leaders in Khuri’s adopted home of Washington who leave their own behind on the way up.

“Set Me Off” may be the hardest-rocking Kingsley Flood song to date and one of its catchiest. The leftfield Ellie Goulding cover “Anything Could Happen” is reinvented as an indie rock song with hints of desperation. The Beatles-influenced “Thick of It” reality-checks that burning desire to change the world. The piano-based “Cavalry” fights complacency with the need to feel alive with Randy Newman-esque detail.

But like everything from Kingsley Flood, it’s the energy, dynamics, and musicianship that give life to Khuri’s reflections. From intricate arrangements and inspired lyricism to flashes of punk, the band behind To The Fire still delivers an experience that Paste Magazine said “is rapidly making an impression nationally [with its] rowdy on-stage anthems."

Upcoming Tour Dates:

January 9: Rock and Roll Hotel, Washington, DC
January 10: Boot and Saddle, Philadelphia, PA
January 16: Mercury Lounge, New York, NY
January 17: Stone Church, Newmarket, NH
January 30: The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA

‘To The Fire’ Track List
1.     Set Me Off
2.     All In All
3.     Thick Of It
4.     Anything Could Happen
5.     Cavalry

Of the band’s Newport Folk set, Rolling Stone said, "Kingsley Flood kicked off the main stage, shirking the rain with puddle-splashing, foot-stomping folk rock and their signature high energy."

FAST-RISING JOE FLETCHER NEW ALBUM ‘YOU’VE GOT THE WRONG MAN’ DEBUTS ON HEATSEEKERS CHART

SOLO ALBUM HERALDED BY ROLLING STONE, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, ESQUIRE AND BEYOND

SPOTIFY FEATURES “I NEVER (REPRISE)” ON THE PULSE OF AMERICANA PLAYLIST

For Joe Fletcher, 2014 has seen a rapid ascent into the top ranks of the Americana music world, with a debut at 69 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart today; packed sets at Americana Fest and Way Over Yonder (presented by Newport Folk); upcoming opening slots for The Devil Makes Three; and raves for his new solo album ‘You’ve Got The Wrong Man.’ Spotify has featured “I Never (Reprise),” which premiered at Paste Magazine, on its Pulse of Americana playlist.

“Must-see… [His] songs… wind and roll with steep changes, always ending with a birds-eye view that suddenly organizes it all into one delicate vision. The Rhode Islander-turned-Nashvillian's words flow more like folk poetry than verse-chorus status quo, picking on a honky-tonk spirit with a Tom Waits heart.”
- Marissa Moss, Rolling Stone, September 17, 2014

"Gritty... a bracing breath of fresh air.”
- Miles Raymer, Entertainment Weekly, October 3, 2014, full album stream

"Joe Fletcher is a natural storyteller... It's the lyrics that get you, the complexities of which are sometimes hidden by the musical styling. They paint the sort of deep portraits of American life many songwriters allude to but which few accomplish. There's darkness down there, but with it humor and, absolutely, a damn good time."
- James Joiner, Esquire, August 28, 2014

“Wildly imaginative… charmingly raw”
– Jon Freeman, Country Weekly, October 13, 2014

“A diamond in the rough.”
- Hal Horowitz, American Songwriter, October 7, 2014

“This band’s namesake gave up his day job as an English teacher to make music, and he goes to the head of the class with his latest release.”
- June Wulff, The Boston Globe, September 1, 2014

“Sounds a bit like pre-electric Dylan.”
- Bob Strauss, LA Daily News, September 22, 2014

“Awesome… [his] best yet.”
- Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, September 22, 2014

“Such a special record… Fletcher’s storytelling skills have never been better, and the characters in his songs are thoroughly developed and oh so dark.”
- Maeri Ferguson, Glide Magazine, September 25, 2014

Tour dates are here.

VISIT TO HANK WILLIAMS MUSEUM IN MONTGOMERY CHANGES JOE FLETCHER’S LIFE, INSPIRES NEW SONG “HAINT BLUE CADILLAC”

HANK I’S “RAMBLIN’ MAN” PROVIDES CREED FOR NEW ALBUM ‘YOU’VE GOT THE WRONG MAN’ (OCTOBER 7) AS ROLLING STONE RUNS PREVIEW

On Joe Fletcher’s first tour through Alabama, he stopped at the Hank Williams Museum in Montgomery. “I was stopped in my tracks by the pale blue Cadillac just a few feet in front of me. This, of course, is the car that Hank passed away in somewhere between Bristol, VA and Oak Hill, WV in the first few hours of the first day of 1953,” he says. He examined the car, the stitching on the suits, the photographs and handwritten lyrics. “Not one other patron entered the museum over the next hour or so,” he remembers.

Fletcher goes on, “As I circled back through towards the entrance, I stood and stared a little longer at Thee Cadillac. Suddenly ‘Ramblin' Man’ came on over the speakers. I had long identified with this song as a declaration of his devotion to a risky way of life, a way of life that baffles and alienates those with more traditional values. Hank explains here that he doesn't have a choice in this calling and that it's not important that anyone else give their blessing. He asks only for understanding from those that matter to him. I could never describe the experience I had over those few minutes, but I can tell you it changed my life forever.”

“Haint Blue Cadillac,” recorded solo electric, was written a year later, portraying the ghost of Hank accompanying Joe for a drink at a local tavern. Fletcher says, “The only tribute I could possibly pay that morning was try to capture the essence of it in a song. This tale is not what happened, nor its it what I saw that day. Something was still nagging at me to put a frame around that very special morning.”

Last week, Rolling Stone previewed ‘You’ve Got the Wrong Man,’ out October 7 on Wrong Reasons Records, saying, “With a narrative writing style that eschews traditional structure in favor of twist-and-turn tales, Joe Fletcher's songs are like the musical version of Lombard Street: they wind and roll with steep changes, always ending with a birds-eye view that suddenly organizes it all into one delicate vision. The Rhode Islander-turned-Nashvillian's words flow more like folk poetry than verse-chorus status quo, picking on a honky-tonk spirit with a Tom Waits heart.”

Tour dates are here.

JOE FLETCHER JOINS BILL WITH LUCINDA WILLIAMS, THE LONE BELLOW, LINDA PERHACS, JACKSON BROWNE, MANY MORE FOR NEWPORT FOLK FEST’S WAY OVER YONDER SEPTEMBER 26

ROLLING STONE PREVIEWS FLETCHER’S “DELICATE VISION [AND] FOLK POETRY” OF ‘YOU’VE GOT THE WRONG MAN,’ OUT OCT 7

Joe Fletcher will perform Friday at Way Over Yonder, presented by Newport Folk Festival, on the Carousel Stage at Santa Monica Pier at 6:40pm. He joins an all-star bill featuring Lucinda Williams, The Lone Bellow, Linda Perhacs, Jackson Browne, and many others at the two-day festival.

Last week, Rolling Stone previewed his new album ‘You’ve Got the Wrong Man’ (October 7) and set at Americana Music Fest, saying, “With a narrative writing style that eschews traditional structure in favor of twist-and-turn tales, Joe Fletcher's songs are like the musical version of Lombard Street: they wind and roll with steep changes, always ending with a birds-eye view that suddenly organizes it all into one delicate vision. The Rhode Islander-turned-Nashvillian's words flow more like folk poetry than verse-chorus status quo, picking on a honky-tonk spirit with a Tom Waits heart.”

Meanwhile, Paste Magazine premiered “I Never (Reprise),” which features a chorus of his Nashville-based friends including John McCauley of Deer Tick.

“ASTOUNDINGLY DEFIANT” (SPIN) GRACE ASKEW CEMENTS HERSELF AS FAST-RISING AMERICANA ARTIST BEHIND RAVES FROM ROLLING STONE, SPIN, NASHVILLE SCENE, LA MAGAZINE, ETC.

Fast-rising Americana artist Grace Askew’s ‘Scaredy Cat’ came out earlier this month to across-the-board raves. Her killer video and interview session for Yahoo! Music just posted Friday.

Here’s what we’re reading:

“Sultry… The perfect place to listen to this album is a dark dive bar with a tallboy in my hand.”
- Jim Casey, Rolling Stone, June 9, 2014

“Beautifully haunting… astoundingly defiant.”
- SPIN, August 6, 2014

"I've been spinning this record all week... She's got a gnarly, sultry voice and a guitar style that is gritty and real.”
- Sean L. Maloney, Nashville Scene, August 1, 2014

“Killer slide guitar player with a sultry swagger.”
- Julia St. Pierre, LA Mag.com, July 31, 2014

“Fabulous… badass.”
-Lyndsey Park, Yahoo! Music, August 21, 2014

“For fans of Lana Del Rey, Cat Power… Once you hear Grace’s voice, you can’t unhear it… simultaneously sultry, twangy, and growly.”
- Teen Vogue, August 2, 2014

“Fierce… She’s progressing forward, and in some particularly gutsy ways.”
- Brice Ezell, Pop Matters, August 8, 2014

“Raw, rootsy, and uniformly arresting… Her sultry drawl is both seductive and soulful"
- Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer, August 24, 2014

“Cool Memphis style.”
- Will Minter, American Songwriter, July 30, 2014

"Askew is relentlessly creative."
- Joe Boone, Memphis Flyer, July 24, 2014

“Devastating.”
- Cameron Matthews, Bluegrass Situation, July 23, 2014

“Like a confident love child of Blind Willie McTell and Bobbie Gentry; her gritty slide playing and slurred, come-thither alto make a potent combo.”
- Bliss Bowen, Pasadena Weekly, August 7, 2014

“4 stars… riverting…genuine… Her voice warbles, trembles, swings and flips.”
- Chuck Campbell, Knoxville News-Sentinel, August 12, 2014

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."

6TH GENERATION MEMPHIAN GRACE ASKEW CAPTURES HOMETOWN SOUND IN NEWLY RESTORED SUN STUDIOS TO TAPE ON VINTAGE EQUIPMENT

ASKEW TAPES PBS SUN STUDIO SESSIONS

As a sixth generation Memphian, Grace Askew decided to steep her new album ‘Scaredy Cat’ (August 11) in the sounds of one of most renowned, hit-producing studios of all time, Sun Studios. “The room, the photographs on the wall, the gear, the worn down corners on the table, the cracks in the ceiling: my heroes made that room the way it is. The energy of that history made our takes a lot more effortless. This is who I am,” she says.

Check out Rolling Stone’s Q&A with Askew: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/grace-askew-opens-her-wild-heart-20140609

Recording at Sun Studios presents specific challenges. She says, “I’m a fan of the first take and wanted to get that raw energy.” Askew played and sang live with a band, recording in the small Sun live room straight to tape, so one mistake would mean scratching an entire take. Askew completed recording all but one song in one day, with a second day set aside largely for mixing. “It is mentally and physically exhausting. You put every ounce of yourself into those four hours. It’s a very focused energy,” she adds.

The Memphis Flyer recently did a profile on Matt Ross-Spang, Sun’s engineer who has brought the equipment in the studio to Sam Phillips’ specification. Ross-Spang told the Flyer, "It's becoming exactly like it was in 1956."

Ross-Spang continues, “Everyone has to pay attention to each other instead of themselves. It's a team effort, including me. It's not very forgiving. But I think one of the reasons people come here to do that is because it makes them a better musician… There's so much more on the line. But that makes you play better too.”

The magic continued on camera as Askew returned to Sun last week to tape a forthcoming episode of Sun Studio Sessions for PBS.

Grace Askew Tour Dates.

Grace Askew clips

Rolling Stone Q&A, mp3 premiere (June 9, 2014)

Birthplace Session (April 25, 2014)

The Bluegrass Situation (July 23, 2014)

Memphis Commercial Appeal feature (July 23, 2014)

Memphis Flyer Q&A (July 24, 2014)

"BADASS" (ROLLING STONE) GRACE ASKEW TO RELEASE SUN STUDIO-CUT NOIR ALBUM ‘SCAREDY CAT’ AUGUST 11

FIRST ALBUM SINCE HER NBC THE VOICE PERFORMANCES ON TEAM BLAKE

Sixth generation Memphian and serial rambler Grace Askew stakes her claim with ‘Scaredy Cat,’ the new album recorded at Sun Studios, due out August 11. It’s her first album since her highly-touted and much beloved series of performances on NBC’s The Voice, for Team Blake, which vastly expanded the national fanbase that she earned from years behind the wheel of a pickup truck headlining shows; opening for Marty Stuart, Hayes Carll, Jesse Winchester, and Ray Wylie Hubbard; and touring with James McMurtry and Lisa Marie Presley.

‘Scaredy Cat’ highlights her smoky vocals with spare arrangements inspired by the grit and muddy Delta roots of her hometown, captured in single takes to tape. The songwriting feels as if she is letting you in on a secret world. Rolling Stone Country premiered the first single alongside a Q&A.

Askew has already earned considerable acclaim, most recently for her 2013 EP and single, both entitled “Empty Rooms,” written in New Mexico.

Huffington Post said, “Smoky with atmospheric blues and Resonator-guitar toned country licks, the EP's tunes creep under your skin and grab hold.”

Yahoo! Music called her "smoldering and searing," continuing, "Grace Askew was the fabulous 'bluntry' (blues + country) singer from 'The Voice' Season 4, 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."

Here's her performance of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" live on The Voice.

Previously, Sing Out! Magazine said, "If Tom Waits had a singer/writer daughter in Memphis, it would be Askew with her gallery of lost souls on the graveyard shift. Gutsy, bluesy, and a bit boozy, she quietly sings with jagged languor and a skewed spirituality. Discreet percussion, guitar and, on occasion, wistful lap steel notes sagely frame her rough-hewn sophistication."

NAUTILUS PRESS CONFIRMS SEPT 15 RELEASE OF “WE ARE THE MUSIC MAKERS” HARDCOVER BOOK WITH PHOTOGRAPHS AND STORIES BY TIMOTHY AND DENISE DUFFY

ROLLING STONE AND ERIC CLAPTON HIGHLIGHT SOUTHERN MUSICAL CULTURE NON-PROFIT’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY: http://rol.st/1k0MQ0k

Nautilus Press has confirmed a September 15 release date for the book “We Are The Music Makers: Preserving The Soul Of America’s Music.” Written by Timothy and Denise Duffy, the book features over 65 photographs taken by Tim Duffy over twenty years along with the stories and songs. Tim Duffy's previous book “Portraits and Songs from the Roots of America” was released in 2002 and sold 15,000 copies.

In related news, Rolling Stone recently highlighted the Foundation’s twentieth anniversary by posting an acoustic blues song by Duffy with Eric Clapton. Clapton said, "Music Maker is a fabulous project, real evidence that the music I have always loved is alive and well."

Of the book, B.B. King said, “We are the Music Makers highlights an essential part of our culture, providing us a glimpse into the lives of the amazing, and often little known, musicians of the American South. Tim Duffy has taken every opportunity to sustain a dimension of Blues culture that could easily be lost forever, and nowhere is that more apparent than in his new book.”

Bonnie Raitt added, “The photographs in this book are not only beautiful, but reflect the deep love and dedication The Duffys have for both preserving traditional Blues culture and providing real support and opportunity for these wonderful musicians who might otherwise be forgotten.”

Character sketches and black and white photographs of great American musicians Etta Baker, John Dee Holeman, Jerry ‘Boogie’ McCain, Taj Mahal, Willie King, Othar Turner, Little Freddie King, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Ironing Board Sam, and the original guiding light for the Foundation’s formation Guitar Gabriel are shared in the book. The book also highlights other artists nestled deep in southern culture and telling a hidden story of American music. The book also highlights the musician’s place in the southern community, a vital role that serves the laborers.

Photos from the book are here.

 In the introduction, Denise writes, “Tim acknowledges a deep obligation to these artists, ‘It is no small thing to ask a musician for their song and their story. The only way we can hope to make an equal exchange is if the documentarian and the artist have a genuine relationship; they must share more than just the moment the photo is taken or the song is captured…’

Days spent sharing songs, food, laughter and far too many miles in vans and airplanes have built the bridges of trust that allow these artists to give their wisdom and art so generously. These artists share their life lessons with us because we are dedicated to presenting their music to the world with reverence and to be partners in their struggle for a better life…

We concluded that our nations musical traditions were suffering from starvation and underemployment… We get gigs for those that want to perform, guitars for those who want to play, and feed the hungry. Our initial grassroots effort to meet the needs of a handful of blues musicians in Winston-Salem, NC, has grown to assist hundreds through the generosity and passion of our supporters, employees and volunteers.”

“We Are the Music Makers” runs 144 pages and will be for sale at bookstores nationwide and on Amazon.com. List price is $38. It can be pre-ordered here or here.

AMERICAN SONGSTER DOM FLEMONS HEADS OUT FROM GRAMMY-WINNING CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS FOR DYNAMIC NEW SOLO ALBUM 'PROSPECT HILL,' OUT JULY 22 ON MUSIC MAKER RELIEF FOUNDATION

Dom Flemons – founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and American Songster – will release his third solo album 'Prospect Hill' on July 22 on Music Maker Relief Foundation. 'Prospect Hill' finds Flemons digging deeply into ragtime, Piedmont blues, spirituals, southern folk music, string band music, jug band music, fife and drum music, and ballads idioms with showmanship and humor, reinterpreting the music to suite 21st century audiences.

Following a series of tour dates with a new generation of American roots musicians like Pokey LaFarge, Flemons will perform April 18 as part of the Brooklyn Folk Festival at the Bell House. He performed and spoke on WNYC Soundcheck in March to talk about his Oxford American essay on Gus Cannon.

Flemons has mastered a variety of instruments such as banjo, guitar, harmonica, fife, bones, bass drum, snare drum and quills. After a stint in New York City, Flemons has returned to his musical home of North Carolina.

Solo and with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Flemons has played live for over one million people within the past three years. As part of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, which he co-founded with Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson in 2005, he has played at a variety of festivals Newport Folk Festival, Bonnaroo, and the Grand Ole Opry.

Of his set at Sydney Festival, The Daily Telegraph (Australia) said this year, "Dom Flemons knocks 'em dead… a showstopper."

The New York Times called the Carolina Chocolate Drops "an end-to-end display of excellence," continuing, "They dip into styles of southern black music from the 1920s and ’30s—string- band music, jug-band music, fife and drum, early jazz—and beam their curiosity outward. They make short work of their instructive mission and spend their energy on things that require it: flatfoot dancing, jug playing, shouting."

Rolling Stone observed, "The Carolina Chocolate Drops are...revisiting, with a joyful vengeance, black string-band and jug-band music of the Twenties and Thirties—the dirt-floor dance electricity of the Mississippi Sheiks and Cannon’s Jug Stompers."

The Guardian said, "An appealing grab-bag of antique country, blues, jug band hits and gospel hollers, all given an agreeably downhome production. The Carolina Chocolate Drops are still the most electrifying acoustic act around."

'Dom Flemons, American Songster, Presents: Prospect Hill' Track List

1. Til' the Seas Run Dry
2. Polly Put the Kettle On
3. But They Got it Fixed Right On
4. Have I Stayed Away Too Long?
5. Georgia Drumbeat
6. I Can't Do it Anymore
7. Sonoran Church Two-Step
8. Too Long I've Been Gone
9. Marching Up to Prospect Hill
10. It's a Good Thing
11. Grotto Beat
12. Hot Chicken
13. San Francisco Baby
14. My Money Never Runs Out

FOR YEAR-END CONSIDERATION: KINGSLEY FLOOD'S 'BATTLES'

KINGSLEY FLOOD CAPS BREAKOUT YEAR WITH OPENING SLOT FOR LUCIUS THIS WEEK

With coverage in the NY Times, Esquire, and NPR, Kingsley Flood has had a breakout year and their album 'Battles' ranks among the year's best:

"Best new music." - Metro New York

"...2013 ought to be the Year of The Flood" - Boston.com

"...best albums of 2013? ['Battles'] will be at the top of our list." - HearYa

Here's a recap of a remarkable 2013 for Kingsley Flood:

+ Main stage set at Newport Folk Festival streamed by NPR Music.

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."

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.

+ NPR Music premiere of "Sigh a While" music video.

+ NY Times calls "Sun Gonna Lemme Shine" video "awesome."

+ Esquire posts session.

+ Paste posts session.

+ Opening slots for Josh Ritter.

+ A slot on the Hot Stove Cool Music show in Boston January 11 alongside Joan Osborne, The Baseball Project, members of Buffalo Tom and Belly, and baseball industry greats Peter Gammons and Theo Epstein.

+ Current tour supporting Lucius:

Dec 03, 2013 - Pearl Street Ballroom - Northampton, MA
Dec 04, 2013 - Port City Music Hall - Portland, ME
Dec 06, 2013 - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA
Dec 07, 2013 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY

KINGSLEY FLOOD STEPS ONTO NATIONAL STAGE AT NEWPORT FOLK FEST

"WE WERE GOBSMACKED" – AMERICAN SONGWRITER

"SPECIAL PROPS" - BILLBOARD

Kingsley Flood kicked off the Newport Folk Festival on the Fort Stage (the fest's largest) in a set captured by NPR Music.

Paste Magazine's Dacey Orr had 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."

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."

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."

Stream 'Battles' here.

Pigeons & Planes blog called the set "a great live show," continuing that they "did not disappoint… At turns riotous folk rock, at others pastoral stillness, the overarching theme is their infinitely palpable passion."

Their hometown press echoed these sentiments. The Boston Globe offered, "Kingsley Flood played a triumphant set on the Fort Stage Friday afternoon, alternating between heart-on-sleeve ballads and all-out rockers."

DigBoston said, "For KF I saw more enthusiasm than I saw at a bunch of the much bigger acts… when they left the stage I immediately missed them."

The Boston Herald said that Kingsley Flood "absolutely killed it, thrilling a huge crowd."

NPR Music premiered the "Sigh a While" video on July 17.

Kingsley Flood Tour Dates

August 17, 2013 - Lowell Summer Music Series - Lowell, MA (w/ Josh Ritter)

September 13, 2013 - Johnny Brenda's - Philadelphia, PA (w/ Toy Soldiers)

September 20, 2013 - Black Cat - Washington, DC           

October 12, 2013 - Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA

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

FOR BREAKOUT ALBUM 'BATTLES,' KINGSLEY FLOOD TAPS PRODUCER SAM KASSIRER, WHO "HAS SHAPED SOME OF THE FINEST RECORDS IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICANA MUSIC" (BOSTON GLOBE)

Sam Kassirer – the producer who has helmed three albums by Josh Ritter as well as projects by David Wax Museum and Langhorne Slim – speaks highly of his experience working with band Kingsley Flood on their breakout album 'Battles' (out now). He says, "What excited me about working with Kingsley Flood was their ability to write songs that one can sink their teeth into but also just bob their head to in the car. 'Battles' dips in and out of those musical depths in a really rewarding way for me."

The producer was recently the subject of a Boston Globe feature, which goes into depth about the Great North Sound Society, Kassirer's farmhouse/studio in southern Maine. Of the Kingsley sessions, he recalls, "The whole band spending two weeks in a farmhouse in rural Maine really brought everyone together creatively to make the most powerful statement possible and I think this comes across on 'Battles.'

Kingsley Flood will make its Newport Folk Festival debut this summer and has seen tracks debut at Rolling Stone and MTV.com.