THE AMERICAN SONGSTER DOM FLEMONS TO HOST LEAD BELLY TRIBUTE AT THE KENNEDY CENTER, FEATURING ROBERT PLANT AND ALISON KRAUSS

Dom Flemons – a founding member of the GRAMMY-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops – has been announced as the host of “Lead Belly at 125: A Tribute to an American Songster,” a one-night-only show taking place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on April 25 at 8:00pm.

The show, which is produced by the Kennedy Center and the GRAMMY Museum, features Flemons as master of ceremonies for a star-studded lineup of talented artists, including Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams, and Valerie June.

Huddie Ledbetter, or Lead Belly as he was known, is a folk blues legend who has influenced countless artists from Nirvana to Led Zeppelin. He ranks among other pillars of American folk music such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.

 “Lead Belly showed me there was a strong secular black folk song repertoire, separate from the blues,” Flemons says. He continues, “Lead Belly’s legacy can show us something that is truly human in music. I’m honored to have the opportunity to pay tribute to someone who has had such a strong influence on me.”

Lead Belly has received newfound attention this year with the release of “Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection” box set and documentary film “Legend of Lead Belly,” which has aired on the Smithsonian Channel.

Flemons pulls from traditions of old-time folk music to create new sounds. Having played music professionally since 2005, he received acclaim, including a GRAMMY win and nomination, as part of the African American string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops. His most recent album, “Prospect Hill,” his first since leaving the group, has received praise from The Boston Globe, Paste Magazine, and Living Blues Magazine, and he has been featured on NPR’s “Fresh Air with Terry Gross.”

Event link here.

BONNAROO ALUMS TED DROZDOWSKI'S SCISSORMEN CONFIRM BOLD NEW ALBUM 'LOVE & LIFE,' OUT JULY 31

R.L. BURNSIDE PROTEGE MAKES FORWARD-LOOKING, EFFECTS-LADEN COLLECTION

Psychedelic blues innovators Ted Drozdowski's Scissormen will release their sixth album, 'Love & Life,' on July 31st via the Dolly Sez Woof label. An exhilarating musical experience, 'Love & Life' is a culmination of Drozdowski’s eclectic and adventurous musical career, fusing psych, blues, and garage rock histories in an exceptionally forward-looking, sonically audacious collection. A protégé of R.L. Burnside, Drozdowski sat in with the legendary bluesman multiple times before his passing and expands on his vision here. The album's eleven new tracks find the bandleader at his most electrifying, as scorched, layered guitars drip with distortion underneath his open-throated voice. Legendary soul singer Mighty Sam McClain and GRAMMY-nominated organist/Bobby Rush bandleader Paul Brown make guest appearances on the album alongside the Scissormen, who have expanded from a duo into a lean, blistering trio over years of relentless international touring, including high profile stops at major festivals like Bonnaroo. The album will coincide with the release of a new e-book by Drozdowski, who is also an award-winning music journalist and educator, titled Obsessions of a Music Geek, Vol. 1: Blues Guitar Giants.

Drozdowski has a gift for painting vivid lyrical portraits, with characters ranging from old bluesmen and coal miners to sinister ghosts and the devil himself. On "R.L. Burnside (Sleight Return)," he recounts a visit from his musical mentor, while "Watermelon Kid" pays homage to Watermelon Slim. "Beggin' Jesus" battles with temptation, "The River" takes a spine-chilling journey to the banks of the Tallahatchie River in north Mississippi, and "Black Lung Fever" ruminates on the disease that took the lives of both of Drozdowski's immigrant grandfathers before he was born.

"I wanted every song on this album to tell a story and be deeply rooted in great American music," says Drozdowski. "I also wanted to apply more elaborate production techniques, like multi-tracking my guitars and treating them with multiple effects during and after recording, to create a broader, unpredictable sonic palette, and just plain get weird."

Drozdowski recorded the album at Omega Lab, a "green" digital recording studio located in a tent perched on top of a mountain in the unincorporated hamlet of Pasquo, Tennessee, outside of his adopted hometown of Nashville. Despite the studio's high fidelity capabilities, it runs on less power than the average hair dryer. It was there that Drozdowski experimented with swirling, fuzzed-out tones, reversing parts and layering others sometimes seven guitars deep. The result is an album that blends the past and the future, the Delta and the city, Earth and Hell, into one singular, stirring, utterly riveting sound.

Stay tuned for more info and tour dates.

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)

Brooklyn Folk Festival Poster

THE AMERICAN SONGSTER DOM FLEMONS ANNOUNCES ‘WHAT GOT OVER’ EXCLUSIVE RECORD STORE DAY EP

Dom Flemons – a founding member of the GRAMMY-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops – has announced a 10-inch vinyl EP to be sold in local record stores exclusively for Record Store Day on April 18th.

'What Got Over,' which comes out on Music Maker Relief Foundation, is a collection of songs from the vault—tracks that didn’t make it onto his highly praised 2014 album Prospect Hill along with alternate versions of songs on that album. Here are two teaser videos:




NPR Fresh Air aired a full-length performance/chat on the American Songster last year.

List of stores where “What Got Over” is available.

Esquire called ‘Prospect Hill’ “finger-pickin', good-old-fashioned tin-cup barn-dance fun.”

Paste said of ‘Prospect Hill,’ “Flemons’ harmonica-heavy, foot-tapping folk makes for the perfect hot summer soundtrack.”

Peter Cooper wrote a profile for the Tennessean, writing, “Everything Flemons does as an entertainer is informed by his deep listening and study. But ‘study’ sounds like something academic, and Flemons trades on something more fun than academia. He internalizes his learning, then externalizes it, and then we hear it and tap our feet and smile.”

"No musician in recent memory has tackled so many different idioms with such sincerity and style as Flemons, making him easily the most gifted American songster of his generation." -Living Blues Magazine

"This is interracial hoedown music, irresistibly delivered with a wink and a strut, and it sounds unlike anything else on the market today." -Wondering Sound

‘Dom Flemons, American Songster, Presents: What Got Over’ Track List:

SIDE ONE
1. Big Head Joe's March
2. Milwaukee Blues
3. Clock on the Wall
4. Keep On Truckin'
SIDE TWO
1. Hot Chicken
2. Have I Stayed Away Too Long?
3. Going Backward Up The Mountain
4. Til' The Seas Run Dry
5. What Got Over

Eilen Jewell "Rio Grande"

ROAD WARRIOR EILEN JEWELL CONFIRMS SPRING/SUMMER TOUR IN SUPPORT OF CINEMATIC NEW ALBUM 'SUNDOWN OVER GHOST TOWN,' OUT MAY 26 ON SIGNATURE SOUNDS

Eilen Jewell will hit the road for extensive coast-to-coast tour dates this spring and summer in support of her “evocative” (CMT Edge) new album 'Sundown Over Ghost Town,' due out May 26 on Signature Sounds. A relentless road warrior, Jewell earned her stripes opening for Loretta Lynn and Lucinda Williams in addition to playing countless headlining shows, including sold out dates this winter in NYC, Boston, and DC. The upcoming tour finds Jewell playing 34 US shows, including a return to New York, her Alaskan debut, and appearances at festivals from California to Massachusetts. See below for full dates.

Jewell won't be traveling alone, though. She'll be joined on the road by her crack band, which features guitarist Jerry Miller, whose fretboard fireworks earned him his own record deal with Signature Sounds. Pop Matters called him a "master," CMT Edge praised him as "razor-sharp," and No Depression raved, "What really gives Jewell’s band its signature sound, every bit as much as Jewell herself, is the man on the red-orange Gretsch, Jerry Miller. It’s hard to imagine Jewell without him, and I hope we never have to."

Written north of Boise in the mountains of Idaho, Jewell’s new album sees the songwriter coming into the most emotional writing of a career filled with vivid, metaphorical imagery. USA Today has proclaimed, “Give me more of that voice… Dark and haunting… but alluring just the same.”

EILEN JEWELL TOUR DATES

04/18/15 - Windsor, CT - Northwest Park Nature Center
04/19/15 - Harrisburg, PA - The Abbey Bar
04/21/15 - Worthington, OH - Natalie’s
04/22/15 - Worthington, OH - Natalie’s
04/23/15 - Marietta, OH - Adelphia Music Hall
04/24/15 - Newport, KY - The Southgate House Revival
04/25/15 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom and Tavern
04/26/15 - Brighton (Rochester), NY - Downstairs Cabaret at Winston Place
04/27/15 - Buffalo, NY - Sportsmen’s Tavern
04/30/15 - LaSalle, IL - Uptown Grill
05/01/15 - Chicago, IL - City Winery
05/02/15 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark
05/23/15 - Grass Valley, CA - Strawberry Music Festival
05/28/15 – Winters, CA - The Palms
05/29/15 - Berkeley, CA - Freight and Salvage
05/30/15 - Santa Cruz, CA - Kuumbwa Jazz Center
06/10/15 – Portland, OR – Alberta Rose Theatre
06/11/15 – Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern
06/12/15 – Palmer, AK – Palmer Musk Ox Farm
06/13/15 – Soldotna, AK – Kenai River Festival
07/03/15 - Berwyn, IL - Fitzgerald’s American Music Festival
07/08/15 - Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair
07/09/15 - New Haven, CT - Cafe 9
07/10/15 – Greenfield, MA – Green River Festival
07/11/15 - Hudson, NY - Club Helsinki
07/12/15 - Woodbridge, NJ - Woodbridge Country Sundays
07/14/15 – New York, NY – City Winery
07/17/15 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live
07/18/15 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Café
07/19/15 – Wakeman, OH – Music at Riverdog
08/07/15 – Challis, ID – Braun Brothers Family Reunion
08/22/15 - Liberty, UT - Ogden Valley Roots & Blues Festival
09/03/15 – Collinsville, CT – Bridge Street
09/04/15 – Charlestown, RI – Rhythm & Roots Festival
10/24/15 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Ramblin' Roots Festival
10/25/15 – Haarlem, Netherlands - Patronaat