Radio and Press
Jared Ingersol provides a radio and press distribution and promotion service for folk, bluegrass, acoustic and Americana artists. If you are an artist seeking to get your music heard, see the Services page. Here are the releases that he has pushed:
The Carrborators
The Carrborators are an acoustic quartet that delivers a rich blend of folk, rock, and jazz influences in true Americana style. They are based in the sister cities of Carrboro and Chapel Hill, deep in the heart of the North Carolina Piedmont. Their music features layered vocal harmonies intertwined with a mix of flatpicking and finger-styled guitars, mandolin, dobro, harmonica, and bass. They perform original tunes that span the spectrum from love to war to caffeine. Their influences are as diverse as Gram Parsons, Donald Fagen, Gillian Welch, John Lennon, Tim and Mollie O’Brien, and John and Michelle Phillips.
The eclectic mix of songs that comprises Caffeinated Heart is rooted in the contemporary singer-songwriter tradition, but fortified with a healthy dose of rock-and-roll and tempered with a sweet dusting of bluegrass. In this, their debut album, the Carrborators ponder the challenges of the twenty-first century, with thoughtful lyrics that are intensified by the carefully-crafted harmonic structure of the music. The result is pure acoustic Americana, served with a shot of caffeine (the original fuel additive).
Caffeinated Heart also includes guest appearances by fiddler Bobby Britt (Town Mountain, Big Fat Gap), banjoist Chandler Holt (Chatham County Line), guitarist Will McFarlane (Bonnie Raitt, The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section), drummer Mitch Easter (Sneakers, Let’s Active), and percussionist Colin Cannell (Skylark, the Donnybrook Lads). The album was recorded in Chapel Hill by Chris Stamey (the dBs, the Chris Stamey Band).
The Barefoot Movement
The Barefoot Movement is a trio of immensely talented musicians from North Carolina and Tennessee whose music successfully melds Americana influences with the invigoration of acoustic modern rock and jazz. Their sound simultaneously captures the rustic beauty of old Southern front porch Bluegrass improvisation while being immediately accessible to the modern era.
The group was initially formed when Noah Wall, singer and fiddler, and Tommy Norris, mandolin player, attended high school together in their home county of Granville, NC and began setting Noah’s lyrics to Tommy’s chords. Though the band was threatened when the two members left to attend colleges in different states, it was while Noah was a student of the Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Program at Eastern Tennessee State University that she met Quentin Acres, when both were chosen to perform for the Old-Time Pride Band. The three soon united to form The Barefoot Movement. The name evolved from Noah’s tendency to remove her shoes during shows, a testament to the relaxed atmosphere and down-home stylings of the group.
This evolution of sound can be heard in their latest record “Footwork,” a polished opus showcasing the group’s maturation and talent. Noah’s voice is subtly piercing while displaying a remarkable range, from the toe-tapping, barn-raising Calico Jack to the melodic, nostalgic Tobacco Road. Barefoot Movement’s newest album is nothing short of addictive. Embedded in each track are compelling visual evocations, complex tonal twists, and a downright good time.
#7 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO – OCTOBER 2011
Moody Bluegrass Two…Much Love
Legendary Nashville songwriter Roger Miller once wrote about what happens “When Two Worlds Collide,” but even though, at first glance, the progressive British rock of the Moody Blues and the all-star bluegrass lineup paying tribute to that music may seem worlds apart, the harmonious results, Moody Bluegrass Two…Much Love, prove they’re really parallel universes.
Following 2004’s critically and commercially acclaimed tribute to the legendary Moody Blues, the GRAMMY nominated Moody Bluegrass, along with the highly successful Moody Bluegrass Live, Nashville’s finest have come together again to honor the Moody Blues. Producer David Harvey returns for this second volume, which perfectly blends the brilliant songwriting of the Moody Blues with the bluegrass sounds of mandolins, banjos and even clogging. The record spans the entire Moody Blues catalogue, and includes fan favorites such as “Tuesday Afternoon” and “I Know You’re Out There.” Moody Bluegrass Two…Much Love translates the Moody Blues’ original songs seamlessly, and much like the first bluegrass tribute, the beauty of the original Moody Blues music shines. There are stellar performances from Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Carl Jackson, Tim O’Brien, Peter Rowan, Sam Bush, Larry Cordle, Jon Randall, the late Harley Allen, and more. They are surrounded by the best-of-the-best musicians, engineers and vocalists.
For the first time in over 30 years, all five Moody Blues members perform on the same album; Justin Hayward, John Lodge and Graeme Edge are joined by retired members Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder. With Moody Bluegrass Two…Much Love, the worlds of bluegrass and progressive rock don’t collide, they combine, finding common ground in perfect harmony.
Gene & Gayla Mills
Gene and Gayla Mills play acoustic Americana–folk tinged with bluegrass, country, and more. “One of the best (and also one of the best-kept secrets) in the central Virginia music scene,” the duo features “impressive lead guitar, solid bass fiddle, and smooth harmonies.” Gene’s songs tell rich, concrete stories of memorable characters, from miners and farmers to lovers and soldiers.
In their new release, “If Stones Could Talk”, Gene portrays recent events, from a vet’s account of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in Forgetting to the pain a woman faces in the recession after two years of unemployment in Twelve Days. Their acoustic Americana sound varies from a folk feel on Great Divide and Talking to a Stone, to a bluegrass treatment on Milk and Honey and River, Railway, Road and a traditional country sound on Thriving and Everyday Things. Two instrumentals, flat-picked Bright Blue Eyes and finger-picked Dying Fire with spare bass accompaniment, add further depth. Talking to a Stone has already won two first place songwriting awards, and Gene’s first CD, “Waiting for Rain”, garnered national airplay and more than a dozen songwriting awards.
The duo are joined on various tracks by Bill Evans (banjo), Ivan Rosenberg (dobro), Barry Lawson (mandolin), and Jim Skelding (fiddle). Add a professional sound by famed engineer Bill McElroy, and Gene and Gayla have an alt country Americana sound both contemporary and timeless.
#11 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO – AUGUST 2011
#9 SONG AT FOLK RADIO – AUGUST 2011
Downtown Ramblers
Meet the Downtown Ramblers. They call themselves a “nordic urban bluegrass” band, a mixed expression that indicates the music they play, where they’re from and what they love. Their music is based on traditional bluegrass with influences from all kinds of music, including Swedish folk music, pop, and jazz. It all started in 2005, when lead singer Emelie Junsten asked Pär Öjerot if he wanted to play some country music with her. Within a few weeks Martin Blomberg and Oskar Reuter were invited to join the band. After a few lineup changes, bass player Kalle Annerhult joined and the Downtown Ramblers took the form that remains the same to this very day.
In the early days of the Downtown Ramblers, they played covers, but their focus gradually changed and they decided to dedicate the band to bluegrass only. By that time, Oskar, the mandolin player, also started to write songs for the band. In the fall of 2007, the Downtown Ramblers won the Swedish Bluegrass Championships, and the following summer they performed at almost every major country and bluegrass festival in Sweden. They released their first CD in late 2008.
Their follow-up CD, “On the Other Side of the City”, has just been released, featuring thoughtful lyrics, beautiful harmonies and tasty licks. Grammy award winner Tim O’Brien sings and plays fiddle on “Be My Baby Still”, and Crooked Still fiddler Brittany Haas joins in on three tracks. This is a band on the rise, worldwide. Just consider: in 2009, they were voted the #1 European Bluegrass Band at the European World of Bluegrass Festival. This gave the band the opportunity to present their music to an American audience for the first, but certainly not last time at the IBMA’s World of Bluegrass in 2010 (Nashville, TN).
#4 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO – AUGUST 2011
#1 SONG AT FOLK RADIO – AUGUST 2011
#7 ARTIST AT FOLK RADIO – AUGUST 2011
ellen cherry
ellen cherry is a singer, songwriter, musician, designer, artist, producer, recording engineer, and human. Once a character in a novel, ellen cherry sprung from the pages of a book in 1997, and began her life as a living, breathing, dynamic performer. Mixing equal parts of pathos and humor throughout her songs, ellen cherry is mysterious and powerful on stage. She seamlessly fuses her love of History, Poetry, and Literature with the Usual Suspects of Love, Loss, and Despair, with a powerful, commanding voice and a command of Power Chords on her guitar.
An artist incapable of stopping the process of creation, ellen cherry has recorded and released original music continuously since 1997. In 2010, ellen decided to re-visit her well received 2005 EP “Years” and recorded new arrangements of the 6 tracks. She also added 6 new tracks to create the new full length work, aptly titled “(New) Years.” Each song’s title contains a reference to a specific year. Many tracks explore specific moments in women’s History, as well as ellen’s own personal journey and experience.
Although the past year has included the excitement over an Emmy nomination and a prestigious Puppetry award, ellen has no plans to sit back and relax. She’s already hard at work on the next batch of songs, as well as taking several forays into the world of producing works of other artists such as The Ernie Fowler Trio (ellen Executive Produced and Co-Produced their 2010 EP “Life’s Lessons Learned”).
Ari & Mia
Ari & Mia are a soulful and spirited acoustic accompanied duo exploring the traditions of Southern Appalachia, Northeastern fiddle music, and the realm where their own compositions cross paths with older traditions.
Their hearts also lie with early American swing, jazz, and bluegrass music. Combine this with their bold approach to song and tune-writing and their interpretations of traditional music and the result will open hearts and dance floors. Ari & Mia’s “intricate arrangements, soaring harmonies, infectious grooves and intuitive improvisations combine an old-time sensibility with a truly adventurous spirit,” says Hankus Netsky of New England Conservatory.
Featured guests on their brand new album, “Unruly Heart,” include grammy-nominated Sarah Jarosz, fiddler extraordinaire Eden MacAdam-Somer of the band Notorious, Rebecca Wudarski and Owen Marshall on guitar, Ben Krakauer on banjo, and Ari and Mia’s sister, Shoshana Friedman.
Their music is all at once driving, uplifting and moving. They’re artists on the rise – stay tuned, because you’ll definitely be hearing more of them.
#2 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO – FEBRUARY 2011
#5 SONG AT FOLK RADIO – FEBRUARY 2011
J Wagner
A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico and one time park ranger of the Joshua Tree National Park, J. Wagner weaves stories filled with red rocks, creosotes, and sagebrush of the American Southwest into tangible and intimate songs.
He is well known for writing songs that other performers cover. His music has been covered and recorded by a variety of notable musicians such as Gregory Alan Isakov, Brandi Carlile, Victoria Williams, 3 Penny Acre and many countless others. Along with being a regional finalist in the Kerrville Songwriting Competition, his song “If I Go, I’m Goin” was in season four of Showtime’s television series “Californication”. He now resides in central Texas where the Austin American Statesman refers to him as “The number one best bet” for acoustic music in Austin and the Dallas Morning News labels him as “A Texas Folk Music Staple”. He performs often throughout the Southwest and is currently touring to support his new album “Disappear” .
J. Wagner’s fourth album “Disappear” is a collection of eleven songs that takes you down the desert highway, pass the sage brush and the fields of grain, and then lets you whisk like smoke and speed off with the hills behind you. Wagner has a keen interest in the human condition and his lyrics take a curious glance at both the individual who loves, who feels alone, and the culture we all inhabit. “Disappear” is a lyrical-based album that moves like desert wind, so much so, you can practically smell the cacti and creosote on the rain.
#12 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO – FEBRUARY 2011
#14 ARTIST AT FOLK RADIO – FEBRUARY 2011
Shaun Cromwell
A singer/writer of eclectic roots-inspired songs, Shaun Cromwell uses his guitar, banjo, and voice to weave tales of intrigue and epics of sorrow. Drawing heavily from the pantheon of American roots traditions, he infuses the music with contemporary influences such as Bill Frisell, Lowell George & Tom Waits.
He was chosen as a finalist at the 2009 Mountain Stage contest, among other competitions, and was a mainstage performer at the Tucson Folk Festival. In addition, he was selected for an official showcase in both 2008 and 2009 at the Folk Alliance conference in Memphis, Tennessee.
Folk-Worn Prose is Shaun’s second release. Unlike his first record, it’s not a concept album, but rather a collection of twelve original tracks (ten songs, two instrumentals) that he felt represented his best work over a two year period.
“Shaun Cromwell’s soul is based in the roots of the blues and the dawn of Americana. His masterful guitar playing demonstrates his ability and his original music confirms his devotion to the medium. I love this guy.”
– Betsi Meissner (Amazing Grace): ‘Acoustic Alternative’ KXCI 91.3 FM, Tucson
#7 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO – JANUARY 2011
#3 SONG AT FOLK RADIO – JANUARY 2011
#4 ARTIST AT FOLK RADIO – JANUARY 2011
Caleb Stine
Emerging from the widely divergent Baltimore music scene is singer/songwriter Caleb Stine who is the soul of that scene, and the best representation of a city he calls, “vibrant, troubled, and passionate.” His straightforward, honest, music is what Baltimore is at its core – hardworking, genuine, and unafraid to tell it like it is. Armed with a storyteller’s eye and a restless independent spirit, Stine delivers his latest album, ‘I Wasn’t Built for a Life Like This’.
His deeply personal music has been described by Honest Tune Magazine as, “somewhere between the renegade cowboy-poetry of Townes Van Zandt and the sweet rough and tumble sound of Neil Young’s Harvest. The power in his music comes not from overwhelming volume or violent guitars, but from simple strums and carefully measured words that together carry an army of unmatched strength.”
‘I Wasn’t Built for a Life Like This’, Stine’s 5th full-length album, is a collection of ten-unflinchingly direct songs in which Stine continues to tell the story of his exploration in what he calls, “an evolving and eroding America. “ The New Yorker calls this direct approach, “appropriately train-like, steady and powerful.” His timeless style of songwriting evokes images of a classic generation of outlaw- Country songwriters like Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle, and Willie Nelson. Each song is glimpse into the heart and soul of America.
#15 AT FOLK RADIO – JANUARY 2011
#7 SONG AT FOLK RADIO – JANUARY 2011
#31 ARTIST AT FOLK RADIO – JANUARY 2011
Red June
Paths finally converged in 2008 as veteran musicians Will Straughan, John Cloyd Miller and Natalya Weinstein officially formed the acoustic Americana band, Red June. The three had been collaborating since 2005 as well as working in other acclaimed groups, namely the Emma Gibbs Band, Lo-Fi Breakdown and Polecat Creek, respectively. But, when the stars aligned and time opened up for a new musical endeavor, Red June was enthusiastically christened.
The Red June sound is as versatile and original as the musicians themselves; they touch on bluegrass, roots rock, and traditional country music with powerful harmonies, innovative songwriting and expert musicianship. Collectively these three musicians have shared the stage with countless bluegrass and Americana greats such as James Taylor, Jim Lauderdale, Del McCoury, Sam Bush, Joe Craven, Alice Gerrard, Jim Shumate and B.B King, and have performed at festivals across the country such as RockyGrass, Grey Fox, Merlefest, Grand Targhee, Magnolia Fest and Shakori Hills.
Their highly anticipated debut album, Remember Me Well, leads listeners through a raw, emotional journey, highlighted by Will and John’s soulful, unique vocals and songwriting and Natalya’s tasteful fiddling and elegant harmonies. With eight original tracks and three covers, including two blazing instrumentals, Red June is poised to firmly establish themselves on the Americana scene with this new recording. In an additional nod of support, Remember Me Well was funded, in part, by a Regional Artist Project Grant from the North Carolina Arts Council and the Asheville Area Arts Council.
#4 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO – NOVEMBER 2010
#5 ARTIST AT FOLK RADIO – NOVEMBER 2010
#4 SONG AT FOLK RADIO – NOVEMBER 2010
The Honey Dewdrops
Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish are The Honey Dewdrops: an award winning, nationally touring husband and wife folk duet who perform fresh, original songs focusing on vocal harmonies and tight instrumentation. Influenced by traditional Appalachian music as well as contemporary singer-songwriters, The Honey Dewdrops blend old styles with new, creating music that is powerful and heartfelt.
“If the Sun Will Shine,” their debut record, was released in 2009 to critical acclaim and was #2 for two consecutive months on Folk DJ Radio in 2010.
Their second album, “These Old Roots,” has just been released. Like their debut, it is a tribute to the way music was recorded before overdubs and tracking. “We wanted that sound and feeling to come through in each of the songs here. For this session, the microphones were set up, we gathered around them and played each song, and then we picked the take that sounded the best. We’ve tried as much as possible to leave it at that,” says the duo from Charlottesville, Virginia. “The songs in this collection encompass so much of what we love about traditional southern mountain music- the earthy singing, the haunting guitar melody, the message the song delivers. We’re drawn in. We hope that you are drawn too.”
#1 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO – OCTOBER 2010, NOVEMBER 2010
#1 ARTIST AT FOLK RADIO – OCTOBER 2010
#1 SONG AT FOLK RADIO – OCTOBER 2010
#6 MOST PLAYED ARTIST AT FOLK RADIO IN 2010, #10 SONG, TWO ALBUMS IN TOP 30
REMAINS ON FOLK RADIO CHART AS OF JAN. 2011 – #3 ALBUM, #6 SONG, #3 ARTIST
Carpenter & May
Carpenter & May perform a combination of genres, all rooted in the acoustic music tradition. They are fine vocalists, published songwriters, and have contributed their instrumental skills to Grammy nominated projects. Their repertoire features elements of bluegrass, swing, rock, blues, jazz, Celtic, and original material.
“Fred Carpenter and Tim May play roots music at its best. Their versatile new trio with bassist Charlie Chadwick is a solid equilateral triangle of tone, taste, and timing. Using guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass, and vocals, they can mow down backyard bluegrass, tug the Celtic heartstrings, or even croon a jazz standard. “
– TIM O’BRIEN
“Carpenter & May are everything you could ask for in an acoustic act. They are the cream of the crop, both as solo players and side men, and together they make a beautiful musical statement: fiddle and guitar with heart and soul and a whole lotta fun! We have a high standard for live music here at Stone Mountain Arts Center, and Fred and Tim had no trouble living up to it.
– CAROL NOONAN
Singer, songwriter and owner of the Stone Mountain Arts Center
#1 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO – SEPTEMBER 2010
#1 ARTIST AT FOLK RADIO – SEPTEMBER 2010
#3 SONG AT FOLK RADIO – SEPTEMBER 2010
Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand
Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand have been bringing their brand of high-energy contemporary acoustic music to concert halls, festival stages and dance floors across North America for several years. Both boys are accomplished singers, songwriters, and multi-instrumentalists, focusing on twin fiddles, acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin and banjo.
Their original music is a finely crafted blend of old-time Country and Bluegrass, Celtic and Contra, Swing and Jazz, alternative folk rock and various world music influences, with equal emphasis on both daring improvisation and intricate arrangements.
All The Good Summers is the brothers’ third release as a duo. With this album, they sought to expand their sound with broader instrumentation and a strong focus on the three-part vocal blend they developed with Noah’s wife, Kailyn Wright. The duo finds its niche somewhere between Nickel Creek, Iron & Wine, The Tin Hat Trio and Lunasa; their deep understanding of traditional folk music is easily recognized even as their creative original material continues to explore new musical horizons.
#7 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO – SEPTEMBER 2010
#16 ARTIST AT FOLK RADIO – SEPTEMBER 2010
STILL ON CHART AS OF JANUARY 2011
Hey Mavis
Legendary producer Don Dixon (REM, Red Clay Ramblers, Smithereens) “discovered” Hey Mavis after they were featured on a 2009 Christmas compilation. Four months later, Dixon produced their debut CD, Red Wine.
Hey Mavis crosses the genres of Americana, Texas Two-step, Bluegrass, Folk, and Art Rock, with a unique blend of sweet vocal harmonies, banjo, upright bass, and over-the-top fiddle and viola solos. In their songwriting, the trio finds the fine threads within stories of all types–from the fantastic to everyday–and weaves them into musical journeys.
Hey Mavis is Laurie Michelle Caner (lead songwriter, vocals, and banjo), Sarah Benn (songwriter, vocals, and bass), and Eddie Caner (viola profunda, fiddle and vocals). Laurie and Sarah both have extensive experience as members of the all-women vocal harmony group The Rhondas. Ed has toured and performed all over the globe as sideman and soloist with over 25 major artists, including Smokey Robinson, Page and Plant, Luciano Pavarotti, Natalie Cole, and more.
#5 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO – SEPTEMBER 2010
#5 SONG AT FOLK RADIO – SEPTEMBER 2010
#8 ARTIST AT FOLK RADIO – SEPTEMBER 2010
3 Penny Acre
3 Penny Acre is a musical collaboration between three up and coming songwriters: Bayard Blain, Bernice Hembree, and Bryan Hembree. Fans and critics have quickly identified their unique, Ozark-inspired sound as distinct, yet universally appealing. Listeners in all corners have begun to appreciate their attention to lyrics, harmony, and carefully crafted acoustic arrangements steeped in roots music traditions but with a focus on fresh, new songs.
Shortly after forming as a band, 3 Penny Acre won the 2008 Walnut Valley Festival (Winfield, Kansas) NewSongs competition. The exposure the win brought 3 Penny Acre helped to solidify their path as emerging artists. In the 18 months that followed, they toured extensively throughout the nation, were invited as an official showcase artist to the 2009 and 2010 International Folk Alliance Conference, and released a debut album that was selected as one of the Top 40 albums of 2009 by Norm Mast and Al Kniola of The Back Porch 88.1 WVPE (Indiana) and won “Album of the Year” at the Northwest Arkansas Music Awards.
Their sophomore effort “Highway 71” is an album of 10 songs documenting the people and places of middle America. 3 Penny Acre, whose name comes from the cost of the Louisiana Purchase, is a fitting name for a band whose members were all raised inside its borders. The album paints a portrait of their homeland two-hundred years on. The songs are beautiful and longing, yet at times anti-nostalgic, resisting the temptation to “gold wash” the tough history of the people and places they portray.
#3 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO AT FOLK RADIO – JULY AND AUGUST 2010
#1 SONG AT FOLK RADIO – JULY AND AUGUST 2010
#3 ARTIST AT FOLK RADIO – JULY 2010; #6 in AUGUST 2010
#10 SONG, #36 ALBUM OF 2010 AT FOLK RADIO ON 2010 YEAR END CHART
STILL ON CHART AS OF JANUARY 2011
Lainie Marsh
Lainie Marsh studied music at Boston’s Berklee College and subsequently plied the singing and songwriting trades in Los Angeles before coming to Nashville in 1989. With her band, The Cool Miners, she has performed on The Mountain Stage and as a featured artist at both the Nashville Entertainment Extravaganza and Tin Pan South music showcases.
Her songs have been recorded by Emmylou Harris and Cerys Matthews, as well as featured on National Public Radio. Her 2009 CD recording, The Hills Will Cradle Thee, on the independent Bait & Tackle Records label, features a stellar cast of musicians, including Ketch Secor of The Old Crow Medicine Show, pedal steel virtuoso Bucky Baxter, and Kent Goodson, longtime keyboard player with George Jones.
This is brave record, down home and exotic at once, from an Appalachian artist not worried about getting the Appalachian thing right. The Hills Will Cradle Thee surpasses hackneyed narratives of the coal mining experience to achieve a unique chronicle of one mountaineer’s odyssey through what lies yonder, delivered up with a maverick vocal style.
#15 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO – MARCH 2010
#5 SONG AT FOLK RADIO – MARCH 2010
The Honey Dewdrops
Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish are The Honey Dewdrops: a nationally touring and award winning husband and wife duet who perform fresh, original songs focusing on vocal harmonies and tight instrumentation. If the Sun Will Shine, their debut record, was recorded live and mixed in a 1920’s barn. The record is meant to pay homage to their live performances – full of the same energy and emotion The Honey Dewdrops bring to the stage.
The album is a collection of songs that The Honey Dewdrops have written over the past two years and it features material that comes straight from the heart. There are eleven original tunes – some of which are award winners, and a few of the songs got Laura and Kagey plane tickets to St. Paul, Minnesota where they won first place on A Prairie Home Companion’s “People in their Twenties Talent Show” in March 2008.
They just opened for Eddie from Ohio in January 2010 at a sold-out show at The Birchmere; in February, they will open for the David Wax Museum at Club Passim. Additionally, the Dewdrops were selected as finalists in the 2009 Mountain Stage NewSong competition and recently took 2nd place in the Eddie’s Attic Open-Mic Shootout Finals in Decatur, Georgia.
This is a record capturing “something haunting, melancholic and all-together charming” (Jeff Royer, Fly Magazine).
#2 ALBUM AT FOLK RADIO – FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2010
#1 SONG AT FOLK RADIO – FEBRUARY 2010; #2 SONG IN MARCH 2010
#3 ARTIST AT FOLK RADIO – FEBRUARY 2010; #4 ARTIST IN MARCH 2010
Al Stewart
With the release of Uncorked, Al Stewart (“Year of the Cat” and “Time Passages”) and musical partner Dave Nachmanoff take a trip through Stewart’s musical back pages, both in terms of the musical catalogue (they did have nearly 20 albums’ worth of songs to pick from), and in terms of performance style. After all, Al made his bones in the massively fertile folk scene that was London in the late ’60s, and he numbers among his contemporaries the likes of guitar wizards Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, singer-songwriters Roy (“Hats Off To”) Harper and Richard Thompson, and a former flatmate named Paul Simon, who went on to some celebrity upon returning to America.
Recorded live during a springtime East Coast swing, Uncorked is the first live acoustic disc Al’s done since 1992′s Rhymes In Rooms, and both he and Nachmanoff made a conscious decision not to replicate any of the tracks from that disc, even if it meant leaving off such standards as “On the Border” and the two aforementioned Top 40 hits. As a consequence, it sounds like the duo isn’t merely playing well (fact is, Al’s guitar work is actually even better now than it was back in the day, thanks to the acoustic touring configuration that brings his musical contributions more to the fore), it sounds like they’re having fun.