NPR ALL THINGS CONSIDERED PERFORMANCE/CHAT, KCRW & OKAYPLAYER HAIL ECLECTIC MUSICIAN KRYSTLE WARREN’S FIRST ALBUM IN FIVE YEARS ‘THREE THE HARD WAY’ (AUGUST 18 / PARLOUR DOOR MUSIC)

2012’S ‘LOVE SONGS,” ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE YEAR” (GUARDIAN) TO BE REISSUED FOR ITS FIFTH ANNIVERSARY

 

“ONE OF THE GREATEST LIVING SINGERS,” SAYS COLLABORATOR RUFUS WAINWRIGHT

 

Krystle Warren – the singer, songwriter, bandleader, and Rufus Wainwright collaborator  – will release her first album in five years ‘Three The Hard Way’ on August 18 on Parlour Door Music. NPR All Things Considered spoke with her about the announcement, calling her music “evocative storytelling."

 

Link to first single “Thanks and Praise” (OK to share).

 

Recorded, mixed, and co-produced by Ben Kane (D’Angelo, Emily King, PJ Morton), it’s also earned early spins on KCRW. okayplayer hailed its announcement, calling her "a light in dark times," continuing, "If you're a fan of uncut soul and spirited r&b, Krystle Warren should not escape your gaze or rotation.” A potent mix of styles, ‘Three The Hard Way’ swirls with R&B, folk music, jazz, hip hop, blues, gospel strains and yet is entirely original in its sound and scope, which ranges from spirituality and love to the effects of social media on our lives and gentrification. One of the album’s most poignant moments is “Red Clay,” about the Tulsa, OK African-American community of Greenwood that was destroyed by the Klu Klux Klan in a riot in 1921, not far from where Warren’s grandmother lived.

 

She will also reissue her 2012 album ‘Love Songs,’ hailed as “one of the best albums of the year” by the Guardian, on July 30, also on Parlour Door Music.

 

Warren has earned effusive and widespread praise in the press and among her peers:

 

"Formidable… one of the greatest living singers at the moment." -Rufus Wainwright

 

“Established talent” – T Magazine

 

"Krystle Warren: you should really give her a listen. You won't believe what you're hearing; she's amazing." - KD Lang

 

“****… remarkable… gloriously original.” – The Guardian

 

“Explosive… smoky voiced” – LA Times

 

“Impressive.” –Consequence of Sound

 

"Warren's voice is an extraordinary instrument, murmuring with tenderness at times, growling with intensity at others. It vividly recalls Nina Simone in its depth and smokiness, as well as John Martyn and [Jeff] Buckley in terms of virtuosic variety."  -The Guardian

 

Already in her career, she was handpicked by Joe Boyd to tour as part of Way To Blue, a stage tribute to Nick Drake. Born and raised in Kansas City, MO, she now lives with her partner in Paris, France; her time in Paris is tackled in “If Memory Serves Me Well.”

 

MARY EPWORTH “HAS EMERGED AS A FASCINATING PRESENCE” (MOJO), SLAYS UK CRITICS AHEAD OF AMERICAN DEBUT

EPWORTH ADDS NYC/LA SHOWS TO EXTENSIVE TOUR WITH WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE

British indie/psych voice Mary Epworth has earned a wealth of critical raves in the UK for her otherworldly voice and arresting debut, 'Dream Life,' which is slated for release in the US on May 19 on Highline Records. The album has already playlisted three BBC 6 Music singles and earned the coveted title of Hottest Record in the World from BBC Radio 1.

She has just added several NYC and LA dates following her 36-date US tour with the chart-topping Welcome To Night Vale podcast's live show, including May 24 at Cake Shop at 11pm and May 25 at the Living Room at 7pm in NYC; and May 29 at Hotel Café at 7pm in LA.

Here’s the embeddable track "Black Doe":




"Gutsy….powerful." – The Guardian

"Psych pop splendour." - Q

"A warm, yearning musical love letter… [Epworth] has emerged as a fascinating presence." – Mojo

"Woodsy, psychedelic-demonic folk rock." – The Sunday Times

“Psych pop ‘Dream Life is a powerfully evocative album... Epworth’s mesmerising songs embody the timelessness of a fabled shanty, albeit one played through a folk-gaze fuzzbox.” – The Independent

"A distinctive new voice." – Rock and Reel

"Slow-burning harmonies, epic instrumentation, and soaring vocals." – Diva Mag

“9/10… Spell-binding and beautiful... Simply wonderful.” -Clash

MARY EPWORTH TOUR DATES

APRIL 15. TUCSON, AZ - RIALTO THEATRE
APRIL 16. MESA, AZ - MESA ARTS CENTER
APRIL 17. LAS VEGAS, NV - HORN THEATER AT COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA
APRIL 18. LOS ANGELES, CA - THE ORPHEUM
APRIL 20. SAN PEDRO, CA - WARNER GRAND
APRIL 21. OAKLAND, CA - FOX THEATER
APRIL 23. PORTLAND, OR - REVOLUTION HALL
APRIL 24. PORTLAND, OR - REVOLUTION HALL
APRIL 25. SEATTLE, WA - THE NEPTUNE
APRIL 25. SEATTLE, WA - THE NEPTUNE
APRIL 27. SPOKANE, WA - BING CROSBY THEATRE
APRIL 28. MISSOULA, MT - WILMA THEATRE
APRIL 30. FARGO, ND - FARGO THEATRE
MAY 1. MINNEAPOLIS, MN - PANTAGES THEATRE
MAY 2. MINNEAPOLIS, MN - PANTAGES THEATRE
MAY 3. IOWA CITY, IA - ENGLERT THEATRE
MAY 4. LAWRENCE, KS - LIBERTY HALL
MAY 5. ST LOUIS, MO - SHELDON CONCERT HALL
MAY 8. CHICAGO, IL -COPERNICUS CENTER
MAY 9. BLOOMINGTON, IN - BUSKIRK CHUMLEY THEATRE
MAY 10. DETROIT, MI - THE FILLMORE
MAY 12. LOUISVILLE, KY - BOMHARD THEATRE
MAY 13. CINCINNATI, OH - TAFT THEATRE
MAY 14. CLEVELAND, OH, HANNA THEATRE
MAY 15. PITTSBURGH, PA - CARNEGIE OF HOMESTEAD
MAY 17. BUFFALO, NY - ASBURY HALL
MAY 18. ALBANY, NY - THE EGG, HART THEATRE
MAY 19. NORTHAMPTON, MA - ACADEMY OF MUSIC
MAY 20. BOSTON, MA - BERKLEE PERFORMANCE CENTER
MAY 21. BOSTON, MA - BERKLEE PERFORMANCE CENTER
MAY 24. NEW YORK, NY – CAKE SHOP (WITHOUT NIGHT VALE)
MAY 25. BROOKLYN, NY – LIVING ROOM (WITHOUT NIGHT VALE)
MAY 29. LOS ANGELES, CA – HOTEL CAFÉ (WITHOUT NIGHT VALE)

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

ON OCCASION OF HISTORIC FIRST IRISH STATE VISIT TO THE UNITED KINGDOM, THE GLOAMING CONFIRMED TO PLAY ROYAL ALBERT HALL APRIL 10

The Gloaming – the world-renowned ensemble which the Guardian said have much " in common with post-rock" – have been confirmed to perform at Royal Albert Hall April to commemorate Irish President Michael D. Higgins official state visit to the UK April 10, 2014. This is the first such visit by an Irish head of state since 1921 and marks an historic occasion.

In the presence of the President of Ireland, some of Ireland's finest musicians, singers, actors, authors and poets will feature in this unique evening, sharing and celebrating the strength and range of collaboration and creativity between Ireland and the United Kingdom and the contribution of the Irish community in Britain, including Paul Brady and Glen Hansard. Also participating will be the renowned actress Fiona Shaw as well as journalists/broadcasters Dermot O'Leary, Olivia O'Leary and author Joseph O'Connor. This special concert will also feature some surprise guests on the night.

The event will be open to the public but is already sold out.

"In short, this is the rare album that might well transform the syntax of a whole style… sheer beauty."
- Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR Music

"They caused my jaw to drop... It's a strange, haunting music, full of unexpected chord sequences, its' melancholy matched by a sense of creeping dread.. this is Irish music reimagined... It's simply wonderful... You really should treat yourself..."
- Michael Hann, The Guardian

"I already have to save room on my top ten list for 2014 for this next record… it is really terrific… There is something haunted and twilit about this album, very beautiful…"
- John Schaefer, WNYC New Sounds

"*****… Brilliant… a thrillingly original magic."
- Colin Irwin, MOJO

"*****… The Gloaming are a five-piece ensemble eliding Irish folk music with the contemporary New York art-music scene. The upshot is a rather ECM-ish well of open space irrigated by a flow of motifs, textures, tempos and, more abstractly, romantic yearnings."
– Simmy Richman, The Independent (UK)

THE SOUNDTRACK OF ST. PATRICK'S DAY, 2014

MOJO, NPR MUSIC, THE INDEPENDENT, THE GUARDIAN, WNYC, BOSTON GLOBE, & Q MAG ALL HAIL RELEASE OF THE GLOAMING, OUT FEB 25 ON CD ON BRASSLAND

The Gloaming – a new group compromised of Martin Hayes (violin, fiddle), Thomas Bartlett aka Doveman (piano), Iarla O'Lionaird (vocals), Dennis Cahill (guitar) and Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh (hardanger fiddle) – has earned incredible notices with its debut, self-titled album, out now via digital download and February 25 on CD from Brassland. It debuted at #1 on the iTunes World Music chart and at #2 on Billboard's World Music chart and promises to be the soundtrack of St. Patrick's Day, 2014. Here's what we're reading:

"In short, this is the rare album that might well transform the syntax of a whole style… sheer beauty."
- Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR Music

"I already have to save room on my top ten list for 2014 for this next record… it is really terrific… There is something haunted and twilit about this album, very beautiful…"
- John Schaefer, WNYC New Sounds

"*****… Brilliant… a thrillingly original magic."
- Colin Irwin, MOJO

"*****… The Gloaming are a five-piece ensemble eliding Irish folk music with the contemporary New York art-music scene. The upshot is a rather ECM-ish well of open space irrigated by a flow of motifs, textures, tempos and, more abstractly, romantic yearnings." – Simmy Richman, The Independent (UK)

"Exquisite… Bravely contemporary… [They] have created a distinctive style of their own."  - Robin Denselow, The Guardian (UK)

"The Gloaming is a wonderful mix of soulful and passionate talents who have created their own genre."
- Peter Gabriel

"Enormously rewarding."
- Andy Fyfe, Q Magazine

"*****… Brilliantly innovative and executed with masterly conviction… An astonishing marriage of the old and the new in music as modern as it is ancient, as epic as it is intimate."
-Michael Quinn, Songlines

"*****…Exceptional… Remarkable [and] unique… [Paints on] a wider, more expansive canvas."
– Peter Quinn, The Arts Desk

"Masterful."
– Michael Andor Brodeur, The Boston Globe

"A milestone… This debut album lives up to the loftiest of expectations. The wonderfully virtuosic music is rooted in an ancient Irish tradition, no doubt about that, but there's an experimental flavour to the compositions that makes the album such an intriguing, arresting listen."
- John Meagher, Irish Independent

"*****… This is contemporary music making at its very best: unself-conscious, freewheeling and yet deeply thoughtful, revealing layer upon layer with each listening…  The Gloaming revel in wide open vistas and endless space. It’s as if each member has hankered after the company of players, all coming from distinctly different places, their knapsacks brimful of salty ideas, colourful whims and a fearless appetite for mining seams previously unexplored. With almost 60 minutes of free-flowing music to draw from, the listener is privy to a wide palette, defined more by shape and mood than tethered by genre."
-Sibhan Long, Irish Times

"Certain to become a landmark album."
- Colm O Hare, Hot Press

The Gloaming reviews

THE GUARDIAN (UK), "KNOCKED SIDEWAYS BY JOHN MURRY," NAMES 'THE GRACELESS AGE' ONE OF 2013'S BEST

The Guardian (UK) has named John Murry's 'The Graceless Age' (Evangeline Recording Co.) one of 2013's best, with critic Michael Hann writing, "I was knocked sideways by John Murry's 'The Graceless Age.'

Murry will perform July 20 at Dilettante Studios in Los Angeles and August 4 at the Art & Soul Festival in Oakland and shortly, he will announce details of a national tour opening for Shuggie Otis.

"ALLURING, EMOTIONAL, AND INFECTIOUS" (NPR) JOHN MURRY TO PERFORM AT DILETTANTE STUDIOS JULY 20

"I DON’T EXPECT TO HEAR A BETTER ALBUM THIS YEAR… 5 STARS." – THE GUARDIAN

John Murry -- the Bay Area-based second cousin of William Faulkner's who makes incredible Southern indie-noir music -- will perform at Dilettante Studios in Los Angeles on July 20. Roger Manning, Jr (Beck), Joe Goldring (Hope Sandoval, Sun Kil Moon), Michael Mullen, and David Baerwald (Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson) will perform with Murry. Andrew Stockdale (Wolfmother) and Carlos Forster (M. Ward) will open the show with their own sets.

US and UK outlets are raving. Most recently, MOJO gave 'The Graceless Age' 5 stars and called it "unique [and] formidable." The Guardian also gave it 5 stars, writing, "I don't expect to hear a better album this year."

NPR World Café called 'The Graceless Age' "alluring, emotional, and infectious" while the Wall Street Journal called it "arresting." Black Book said, "With an arresting sense of honesty and human insight, Murry is man that you should certainly get to know." MTV Hive said, "The guy's got gravitas [with] widescreen imagery and a soulful moan."

WHO: John Murry

WHAT: First Los Angeles Concert

WHEN: July 20, 2013, 8pm

WHERE: Dilletante Studios, 120 N Santa Fe Ave., Los Angeles, CA

TICKETS: $5, here

Now based in Oakland, CA, John Murry has lived many lives. He grew up in Elvis' hometown of Tupelo, MS and there's a photo of Elvis in concert that shows his mother reaching out to touch his hand. He was a junkie after he left Memphis to go to that den of iniquity, California. He wrote for the Village Voice for a time. He is William Faulkner's second cousin and friends have described him as lost in the worlds of southern literature. He has seen death in an alley and managed to stumble back from it. These identities come together in 'The Graceless Age.'

JOHN MURRY TO PERFORM ON STAGEIT CONCERT JULY 7 AND BOB WEIR'S "WEIR HERE" JULY 10 AS KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN FOR SOPHOMORE ALBUM NEARS $10,000

LA CONCERT PLANNED AT DILETTANTE STUDIOS JULY 20

"5 STARS… FORMIDABLE" – MOJO ON 'THE GRACELESS AGE'

"I DON'T EXPECT TO HEAR A BETTER ALBUM THIS YEAR." – THE GUARDIAN

John Murry -- the Bay Area-based second cousin of William Faulkner's -- will perform on two webcasts in the next week, one for StageIt July 7 and another for Weir Here, streaming live from Bob Weir's TRI Studios July 20.

StageIt is a live show that can be viewed anywhere. The "audience" can chat with other fans and even interact with the performer via the chat window on the show page.

Murry will join a bill with Mark Karan and Tea Leaf Green at the Weir Here session:

He will also perform at Dilettante Studios in Los Angeles on July 20 (120 N Santa Fe Ave.), for which Andrew Stockdale (Wolfmother) will open.

Meanwhile, his Kickstarter campaign to record a second album in Dublin is nearing $10,000 and the link includes exclusive video shot in the UK.

The buzz from the UK on Murry is becoming a roar. In addition to past raves from the London Times, BBC, and UNCUT, MOJO's Andy Fyfe gave it 5 stars out of 5, calling it "formidable." In a MOJO Rising profile by Fyfe, he calls 'The Graceless Age' (Evangeline Recording Co. in the US) "a Southern gothic Americana symphony that twists beautiful, maudlin melodies around the dramatically brutal story of Murry's personal fall," continuing, "Compellingly honest... It is a product of the way Murry writes about the grit and drama and desperation of those days that makes 'The Graceless Age' unique."

The Guardian gave the debut 5 stars, calling it "extraordinary, a profound and moving meditation – the kind of album that answers questions you didn't realise you were asking... expertly done... brutal, frank and beautiful... I don't expect to hear a better album this year." Most tellingly, Michael Hann writes, "John Murry's would be a compelling story had he never made a record – grandson of William Faulkner, an addict who lost his wife and child and home, and almost his life."

In the US, NPR World Café called 'The Graceless Age' "alluring, emotional, and infectious" while the Wall Street Journal called it "arresting."

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

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

The Windish Agency has signed John Murry

I'm excited to announce The Windish Agency has signed John Murry!

Bay Area (by way of Tupelo, Mississippi) songwriter and noisemaker John Murry released his debut record entitled "The Graceless Age" on Evangeline Records in May 2013 to wisespread critical acclaim. The record contains startlingly beautiful contemplations on his troubled, drug-riddled past and familial redemption, melding sonic influences as disparate as Neil Young and Spacemen 3.

The Guardian's four star review claims "The Graceless Age is extraordinary, a profound and moving meditation – the kind of album that answers questions you didn't realise you were asking. Musically, it's hardly unfamiliar – weeping Americana, backed with fuzzes of electric guitar and organ that slide in and out of focus, discomfiting and discombobulating – but expertly done. Lyrically, though, it's remarkable: brutal, frank and beautiful." NPR called his music "alluring, emotional, and infectious."

Live, Murry sets an emotive mood through his baritone vocals, fuzzed out Telecasters, and exposed lyrical subjects. This is an artist who puts his entire being into a live set, physically and emotionally spent at its conclusion; so too are the hushed crowds.

Stream John's new album here.

"Southern Sky" music video.