Two Birds is an American Pop Rock band from Pittsburgh, PA formed in 2015.
Paul Menotiades: Vocals/Guitar
Dan Garrighan: Guitar/Vocals
Mikey O'Toole: Bass/Vocals
Pat Dee: Drums
Old Salt Union is known for playing music by their own set of rules. While the men who make up the group are not complete rebels, they are certainly focused on exposing people to a purer, more exciting, and more original form of music. Drawing influence from Bill Monroe, Sam Bush and Del McCoury, to jazz great Bill Evans and Composer Danny Elfman, its obvious the group has a unique and broad genetic make-up. What makes Old Salt Union special is their ability to further explore the jazz and blues roots of bluegrass in a mature and refreshing manner. With in-depth musical compositions, a catchy hook, and a high- energy metaphorical punch to the gut, they are truly front runners in the new generation of string music.
Established in 2012, Old Salt Union recorded their debut album Western Skies just a few months after inception. With the album independently released in March of 2013, and a tour schedule consisting of nearly 200 shows in the coming calendar year, it was clear the boys were on the move. Old Salt Union stretched from coast to coast, exposing both traditional and progressive grass fans to a new, complex, high-energy, St. Louis style string music.
Traveling consistently in 2014-15 shined light on new inspiration and new subject matter for OSU. The long months on the road provided a new perspective on writing that showed its weary eyes on their second full length release entitled Bridge. Released in August of 2014, Bridge acted as both a figurative and literal path home. The album revealed Old Salt Union morphing into the band they were always meant to be. Dramatic chord progressions, thoughtful arrangements, and the constant longing of a familiar bed and a warm home resonated with people all across the nation. Winning both Best Bluegrass Band and Best Country Band in the Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis edition, proved they were still peddling in the right direction. This year of expansion found the boys on grand stages near and far. From appearing at the Bluegrass Underground, Music City Roots, John Hartford Memorial Festival, ROMP, Stagecoach, Freshgrass, and Yonder Mountain String Bands Harvest Festival, to sharing the stage with Del McCoury, Sam Bush, Leftover Salmon, Greensky Bluegrass, Travelin McCourys, Jeff Austin Band, and Ricky Skaggs, Old Salt Union still felt they had much more to prove.
Their new EP entitled Cut & Run was released in March of 2016. A brief, 6-song, glimpse into the new, polished, and well-executed style of Old Salt Union. Finally finding their bearings and learning to weave the genre crossing compositions and heartache infused songwriting in a complete and wrapped package, they are ready to expose the people to what Old Salt Union was always meant to sound and feel like. With 30+ songs on the backburner, a new single produced by Alison Brown, and a full length to be recorded in the winter of 2016, the men of OSU will be touring full time until they settle down to record. The ever-evolving sound of Old Salt Union has always been based on the idea of forward progression. Individually, and as a unit, the music must continue to inspire and move them to a new destination. With the release of the new EP, they have 30+ dates on the calendar and intend on continuing to unveil their sound and energy to any and everyone who will listen. Always confident in their live performances, you certainly mustnt miss an opportunity to see them live.
Jonathan Byrd is a preacher's son, a Gulf War veteran, and an award-winning songwriter from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, known for literary, outsider songs that have become campfire favorites. The Chicago Tribune called Byrd "one of the top 50 songwriters of the past 50 years."
Multi-instrumentalist Johnny Waken cut his teeth on electric guitar in Pittsburgh with rock legend Norm Nardini, opening for The Blues Brothers Band on their Red, Hot & Blue tour in 1992. On stage and after hours, he jammed with members of Bon Jovi and the legendary Steve Cropper. At the age of 24, Waken left music to pursue primitive skills and through-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2000 with an eleven-pound pack. Returning to music years later Johnny joined theatre troupe Paperhand Puppet Intervention, contributing to scores for nine shows and winning 4 Indy Awards for best original music.
Jonathan Byrd and The Pickup Cowboy are musical gunslingers, vaudevillian hucksters, and old-fashioned tent revivalists. Between heartbreaking ballads and hell-raising sing-alongs, the Cowboys entertain and get audiences involved in the show.
After spending 10 years touring and performing heavily as a duo, Action Camp's Maura Jacob and Bengt Alexsander
dramatically shift the band's core with the addition of seasoned multi-instrumentalist Joe T (Park Plan, St. Dude) on drums. This EP marks his first official output under the Action Camp banner and a notable shift for the trio toward a minimal post punk sound at the root of their "doom and harmony" approach.
The Tillers got their start in August 2007 when they started thumping around with some banjos and guitars and a big wooden bass. Their earliest gigs were for coins and burritos on the city's famous Ludlow Street in the district of Clifton. The songs they picked were mostly older than their grandparents. Some came from Woody Guthrie, some were southern blues laments, and many were anonymous relics of Appalachian woods, churches, riverboats, railroads, prairies, and coal mines.
Their look didn't fit the stereotype. They were clearly recovering punk rockers with roots in city's west side punk rock and hardcore scene. The punk influence gave their sound a distinctive bite, setting them apart from most other folk acts- a hard-driving percussive strum and stomp that brought new pulse and vinegar to some very old songs. But their musical range soon proved itself as they floated from hard-tackle thumping to tender graceful melody, all the while topped by Oberst and Geil's clear tenor harmonies.
They began picking up weekly gigs around the city's bar scene. It didn't take long before their signature treatment of classic folk songs became the preferred versions of Cincinnati locals. Their audiences swelled, growing into an assortment of grey-haired mechanics, neo-hippies, farmers, punkers, professors, and random strays all stomping, clapping, singing, and belting outbursts of John Henry! Darlin' Corey! Ever since, the band has come to each show with the same energy. They are magnetic showmen, mature musicians, and colorful storytellers.
The Tillers have since won over Cincinnati's bar and festival scene, and launching tours with tireless momentum. They were awarded CityBeat Magazine's Cincinnati Entertainment Award for best Folk and Americana act in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 & 2015. Their relentless gigging has taken them throughout the East coast, the Midwest and West, the Appalachian south and to the UK and Ireland opening for the St.Louis crooner, Pokey LaFarge. In the summer of 2009, veteran NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw featured the Tillers on a documentary about US Route 50. Brokaw showcased the group's song There is Road (Route 50) as a testimony to the highway's role as a connective tissue of the nation.
Musically, the band wears many hats. Their sound has proven to be an appropriate fit with a wide range of musical styles- traditional folk, bluegrass, jazz, punk rock and anything else they might run into. They have shared the stage with a broad swath of national touring acts, ranging from renowned folk legends such as Doc Watson, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Guy Clark, Country Joe McDonald, Jerry Douglas, Iris Dement, Pokey LaFarge and The Carolina Chocolate Drops to rambunctious rock daredevils like the Legendary Shack Shakers.
Always moving, the Tillers continue to enter new territory. Their musical growth can be heard through the scape of their many releases, 2008's debut record Ludlow Street Rag, 2010's By The Signs, 2011's Wild Hog in the Woods, 2012's Live from the Historic Southgate House, 2013's Hand On The Plow and many more bootleg releases. The band's lineup has also taken new shape. In February 2010, long-time bassist Jason Soudrette fondly parted ways with the group, being replaced by Aaron Geil, brother of guitarist Sean.
In 2015 the band added fiddler Joe Macheret (Joe's Truck Stop/Urban Pioneers) to the ranks.
Recalibrating has not slowed their pace.
They continue to plot their travels around the map, electrifying new places and making new friends wherever they go. From place to place, they carry with them more instruments, new songs, and funnier stories. They are Cincinnati's traveling minstrels. Expect to hear from them soon.
"Whether entranced in a ballad or clawing out some frenzied rock and roll, Whiskerman is seeking the heart of the matter. Lush instrumentation combined with front man Graham Patzner's profound lyricism and unflinching delivery culminate in a sound that is soulful, mythical, and raw. Patzners voice, both smokey and soaring, leads a passionate live show as the bands classic rock sound seamlessly cascades through realms of bluesy devotion, psychedelic melancholy, and twangy celebration. Whiskerman's shows tend to set spells, either sweeping the audience up in revelation, or dropping them into knee-slapping frenzy. Joining Patzner (vocals, guitar, violin and piano), is Will Lawrence (bass and mandolin), and Charles Lloyd (guitar and sitar), Dan Schwartz (drums), and Trevor Bahnson (guitar).
"When they're revved up, Whiskerman sounds like a gospel and soul band that can make you feel like raising your hands in the air in praise of its talent. In their quieter songs, there's a storytelling vibe with intricate melodies." (SF Chronicle)
Their latest release is Champions, a sprawling double-album masterpiece that takes the listener on a heros journey through barroom rock n roll, blue eyed soul, pastoral folk, workingmans blues, and rainy day ragas.
On Champions Whiskerman present ecstatic psychedelia, sturdily constructed pop-rock, pick-and-grin folk all together as a single picture. (Flood Magazine)"
Imagine the feeling you get the moment you put on your favorite band and all your problems seem to drift away. That feeling is spreading across the U.S. thanks to Pasadena.
Formed in 2000 by lead singer Joey Harkum in his hometown of Pasadena, Maryland, the bands popularity has grown as they have gone from playing in small bars in Pasadena to signing with management from One Koast Entertainament and performing for sold out crowds all over the U.S.
Over the past few years Pasadena has provided smooth bass lines, emotional lyrics, intricate rhythms, and beautiful harmonies that have helped create an unbreakable bond with their fans.
Pasadena believes in freedom of expression and by composing and performing their original music they liberate themselves from any struggle or conflicts they may face. Thanks to the heart and soul poured into each and every song, Pasadenas music has inspired an ever-growing fan base.
You can anticipate great things from Pasadena in the future, and dont be surprised when you hear their influential music in your town soon.
Pasadena is a singer/songwriter driven rock, reggae and ska band.
They have toured nationally for the last three years including over
700 shows in that time period in 37 states. over the last two years
Pasadena has 15 showcases in Austin during music week. In the last year Pasadena has performed on Rombello 2 with Michael Franti, G-Love, Donovan Frankereiter, Rebelution and many more. The band has opened for other notable national acts such as Cake, Citizen Cope, Sublime w/ Rome, Floggin Mollys, Clutch, Pennywise, Julian Marley, The Supervillians, The Expendables, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad and many more great acts. In 2014 they had the pleasure to tour with some of their personal idols Flogging Molly and the Mighty Stef.
Nathan Angelo
In the ever-changing landscape of modern pop, Nathan Angelo shines as a refreshing alternative, embracing the classic elements of popular music and celebrating the backbeat of American tradition. As the revival of music in the 60's and 70's brought together the heritage of the Great American songbook, the flair of jazz and heartache of the Delta blues, Angelo integrates these forms into his own music with great ease and delight. For the past decade, Angelo has captivated audiences across the country with his high-spirited live show and captured the imagination of a loyal following through prolific songwriting, independently selling over 40,000 albums along the way.
Angelo's latest full-length album A Matter of Time (Aug 2017) reflects his journey through the life-altering experiences of becoming a father and facing his daughters rare, life-threatening metabolic disease. His daughter received a liver transplant in Fall 2016, and Angelos latest release A Matter of Time wrestles with the aches of adversity and ultimately celebrates the beauty of life and the hope he has for his daughter. A Matter of Time embraces the soul, classic r&b and piano-pop of some of Angelos more prominent influences -- Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Elton John -- while fearlessly venturing into new sonic territory to compete with pop contemporaries like Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake. Alongside his finest songwriting to date, Angelos voice resounds as an irrefutable force as he carries listeners to new places unfamiliar to the likes of modern pop music.
Matt Simons
Even though he grew up in Palo Alto, California, the technological center of the universe, singer songwriter Matt Simons isn't necessarily a tech expert. Still, it's somewhat ironic that a slew of Internet ads he posted on Facebook when he was promoting his first album, Pieces, is what led to his biggest success so far.
"I'd just made a record, and as an independent artist, I had no idea how to market it," he said. "So, I turned to the Internet and it ended up working really well overseas." Soon, the 27 year-old musician had a small, dedicated fan base, in of all places, The Netherlands, where he traveled and played a few small shows.
In the audience at one of those shows was a writer for one of the biggest shows on Dutch television, Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden. She heard him sing an impassioned version of his song, "With You."
It was then that he learned what the words, "overnight sensation," truly meant. Though he's been studying classical and jazz since his childhood-taking the requisite piano lessons before switching to the saxophone ("the saxophone is just cooler," he cracked), and he'd been gigging in his now hometown of New York to small crowds, he found himself something of a minor celebrity in the Netherlands.
"They don't have to ask your permission to use your song. I didn't even know it was happening," he said. "I just woke up one day and it was a top 10 song in the iTunes charts."
In a flash, Simons went from obscurity to "famous in Europe."
"It's almost like the "I'm big in Europe" cliche," he said. "It's the classic line," he said. "Who would have thought? It's a fun story to tell."
He went from being an independent artist to an artist with major label muscle behind him, Sony Music, who picked him up on the strength of "With You." He appeared as a guest judge on the Dutch version of the X-Factor. His song was a top seller on iTunes, finishing 29th on the top selling songs of 2013 in the Netherlands. "It out-sold The Lumineers' Ho Hey; it beat Katy Perrys Roar," he said.
The result is a weird dual existence, one where he sells out 1000-seat venues overseas but comes home to New York "and play crowded bars for people" who have no idea who he is, gigging several days a week in New York, playing in cover bands, and performing his own solo music to small audiences.
With his next album 'Catch and Release' out Fall 2014, he hopes to change that. He wrote the bulk of it in three weeks with co-writers in LA and worked with six different producers in Nashville, L.A and The Netherlands."It was this crazy period of creativity after about a year and a half of writer's block."
Music is in Simons blood-his grandparents were both opera singers in Los Angeles, and he spent his life studying jazz and classical, learning to play on piano, switching to clarinet, guitar, and saxophone, eventually settling back on piano. When his peers were listening to rock and roll, he was listening to jazz. In the current pop landscape when so many stars don't write their own music, Simons extensive musical background gives him a leg up. "I think you take the tools that you have acquired and try to make something meaningful out of it - that's always been my philosophy," he said. "The greater goal is just trying to be able to express yourself."
His style recalls the classic song structures of his musical heroes, the Beatles, with hooked-filled harmonies, and plaintive lyrics that evoke a sort of insightful melancholy. "We can tell each other secrets, and remember how to love," he sings on the title track, "Catch and Release."
"I try to be autobiographical, but not necessarily so it's super-obvious. I like to just draw on common themes that everyone relates to in their daily lives-feelings of unrest, feelings of movement - of new beginnings, wanting to start over," he said.
Then, perhaps, Americans will know what the Dutch have already known about Matt Simons: that he makes beautiful, sometimes sad songs.
"My favorite kind of songs to listen to are the ones that, the lyrics might sound depressing, but at the end of the day, there's some truth in it, and that makes you feel good."
Beauty Slap with Special Guests Friends at the Falls and Northern Whale. Tickets only $10.
Jennifer Knapp has experienced enough chaos and turmoil in her life that she could write about it on every album. Instead, she made Love Comes Back Around, a collection of songs that focus on what really matters.
Produced by Viktor Krauss, Knapp's latest features 10 compelling new tunes exploring love - but not the easy kind. These are love songs for grown-ups who have come a few miles. "It's not just sex, it's not just physical relationships," Knapp says. "It's hard work. It's loss, it's forgiveness, it's a lot of things wrapped up in one."
Love Comes Back Around pairs her fearless songwriting and strong, expressive voice with rootsy arrangements: there's growling guitar and a snakey beat on opener "Straight Road," subtle horns layered into the background on "Perfect Pardon" and the mournful interplay of piano and acoustic guitar on "Roll Over Me." Knapp's vocals are the centerpiece of the title track, which she says is "a look at the mundane things in our lives, between who makes the bed and who doesn't, and what
makes you miss your partner when she's gone." In other words, the real stuff.
Knapp knows plenty about that. Love Comes Back Around is her sixth album in a music career with two distinct sections. After releasing three contemporary Christian albums in the late '90s and early 2000s, she took a long break from music and moved to Australia before resuming her career in 2009. The following year, she came out as gay and released Letting Go, her first mainstream album. Set Me Free followed in 2014, in conjunction with a memoir, Facing the Music: My Story on Howard Books/Simon & Schuster.
"At this point in my life, I've been in a relationship for well over a decade, I've had a public controversy and had to weather the storm over my sexual orientation in public, I've had to deal with what my faith does or doesn't mean to my music," Knapp says. After all that, she was ready to focus on something else. "I started thinking about a universal approach to what love is, and not just the sappy part."
Knapp's return to music included moving back to Nashville, where she was based earlier in her career. "I've experienced Nashville in two ways," she says. "At the heart of my stardom, so to speak, when things were really busy and I toured a lot, the irony was that even though I made my home here and worked professionally here, I wasn't home enough to enjoy the camaraderie."
This time around, she's home enough to have become part of a creative community. That's how she connected with Krauss: friends of Knapp's who knew the producer's work recommended him. After Knapp listened, she invited Krauss out for ice cream and asked him to work with her on Love Comes Back Around.
"If you don't deliver music that creates the emotional space to dive into the lyrics, a lot of the subtlety is lost, and Viktor really understands that," Knapp says. "He's seen everything and played with everybody and has all these phone numbers, but he's actually really humble and sincere, and that allows an artist like me to have confidence in my own work."
When she's not occupied with music, or doing advocacy work on behalf of LGBTQ people of faith through her Inside Out Faith organization, Knapp is working on a master's degree in theological studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School. It's not what she thought she'd be doing now when she was a young singer first starting out, but life has a way of carving its own unexpected path - and so does love.
"There's something beautiful in all of that," Knapp says. "That's why we call it love. And if it weren't hard sometimes, we wouldn't appreciate the beauty. And if it weren't beautiful, we wouldn't be willing to keep going through the hard parts."