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2016 Blues Music Award Winner Billy Price first attracted national attention during his three-year association with guitarist Roy Buchanan. Price is the vocalist on two of Buchanan's LPs, That's What I'm Here For and Live Stock. Since then, with the Keystone Rhythm Band, the Billy Price Band, and solo projects, Billy Price has recorded and released a total of 16 albums, CDs, and DVDs. In April 2016, he was officially recognized and inducted as a Pittsburgh Rock ’n Roll Legend at an award ceremony. Price’s album This Time for Real, with the late Chicago soul singer Otis Clay, received a 2016 Blues Music Award in the category of Best Soul Blues Album of 2015. His latest album Reckoning, produced by Kid Andersen at Greaseland Studios, was released on June 15, 2018 by Vizztone Label Group. It has been nominated for a 2019 Blues Music Award in the category of Best Soul Blues Album of 2018. His new album Dog Eat Dog, also produced by Andersen, will be released on Gulf Coast Records in August, 2019.

The Pittsburgh-based Billy Price Band consists of Dave Dodd (drums), Tom Valentine (bass), Lenny Smith (guitar), Jim Britton (keyboards), Eric Spaulding (sax), and Joe Herndon (trumpet).

The Billy Price Charm City Rhythm Band, based in Billy’s new hometown of Baltimore, MD, consists of El Torro Gamble (drums), Greg Haughey (bass), Pete Kanaras (guitar), Tam Sullivan (keyboards), Dan Gutwein (sax), and Vince McCool (trumpet).

Shuli Egar can be heard on Howard 100 and Howard 101 on Sirius XM Monday through Friday. He can also be seen touring the country as a headlining comic. You’ve heard him on CBS hit show SWAT as well as Chosen on FX and Brickleberry on Comedy Central.

He’s performed on AXS TV’s Live from Gotham and has performed with some of the worlds biggest names. Amy Schumer, Artie Lange, Jim Norton, Robert Kelly, Dave Attell, Howie Mandel, Judah Friendlander, Lisa Lampaneli and many many more.

Shuli talks a lot about marriage and kids and how those two things ruin everything else. Shuli is one of the best kept secrets in comedy but not for long!

Shuli Egar can be heard on Howard 100 and Howard 101 on Sirius XM Monday through Friday. He can also be seen touring the country as a headlining comic. You’ve heard him on CBS hit show SWAT as well as Chosen on FX and Brickleberry on Comedy Central.

He’s performed on AXS TV’s Live from Gotham and has performed with some of the worlds biggest names. Amy Schumer, Artie Lange, Jim Norton, Robert Kelly, Dave Attell, Howie Mandel, Judah Friendlander, Lisa Lampaneli and many many more.

Shuli talks a lot about marriage and kids and how those two things ruin everything else. Shuli is one of the best kept secrets in comedy but not for long!

Dan LaMorte is a New York City based stand up comedian and comedy writer. He’s a former panelist of FOX's Red Eye, performed on the 2017 season of AXS TV's Gotham Comedy Live and the 2018 season of NextVR’s Live from Gotham Comedy. In 2017 he released his first album Not Enough Pieces through On Tour Records. The album got plenty of love on the iTunes comedy charts, it was met with great reviews and a lengthy stay as the top selling stand up album. Not Enough Pieces remains a popular play on SiriusXM's Raw Dog Channel and has reached over 125,000 streams on Spotify. Dan’s first special “Infect Me Once” is being released with Comedy Dynamics and BroBible this summer. It was filmed at Zanies in Chicago and will lead into Dan’s 2019 “Infect Me Once” Tour in September. Joining Dan on tour will be New York's Michael Terry & Maggie Crane.

Life is a struggle. Even when things go our way, it’s a constant swim against the tide, kicking against the current in the hope we’ll eventually find the shore. That’s the premise behind Dave Hause’s fourth album, Kick. Kicking was the first thing he saw his newborn twins do and it’s something he himself has been doing all his life. His career as a musician has spanned two decades, and his songs have always been a quest for personal survival – about pushing through against the odds – but his perspective shifted dramatically after the November 2016 election.

This installment, out April 12th on Rise/BMG, finds Hause carrying on in the voice and tradition of classic American songwriters by tackling topics of hope, depression, global warming, a crumbling democracy, and growing old. These complex notions weave together with a joyous sing-along cadence that creates a soundtrack for the broken American dream. “The shift in American culture became really acute right as we put out my last album,” Hause explains. “All this great stuff was happening for me personally but with this backdrop of American ideals and American culture seemingly caving in.”

Those conflicting feelings sparked some deep, soul-searching conversations between Hause and his brother, whom he calls his musical soulmate, and Kick came together as the brothers worked more collaboratively than ever before, with Tim in Philadelphia and Dave in Santa Barbara. Over numerous Face Time sessions, voice notes and many, many calls, the pair found the album’s purpose and focus. “If the glaciers are melting, what’s the point?” asked Hause. “When the tide seems to be pulling you towards a black hole, what do you do? And I asked Tim that question and he said ‘You kick against it. I don’t know what else to do.’”

That sense of hope and defiance permeates this record from beginning to end. “Saboteurs” takes issue with the systems in place that value profits over well-being, while “Warpaint” serves as both a tribute to the women in Hause’s life as well as a moody call-to-arms. And on “The Ditch”, the record’s first single, Dave and Tim tackle mental health issues head-on, marking the first time in their respective careers that they’ve openly discussed their own struggles with depression.

One catalyst for doing so was the sudden and tragic loss of friend and musical inspiration Scott Hutchison. The Frightened Rabbit frontman took his own life in 2018, prompting the brothers to write about finding – and coming back to – a sense of meaning and purpose again after going through their own battles. Understandably, that track’s themes of finding the will to stick it out and make the best of where you are, quickly became a major keystone of the album.
“I think those ideas show up in almost every song in some capacity,” Hause says. Beyond the personal lyrics, the concept of ‘If I can’t make it out of this ditch, I better make a home of it’ can be applied globally. “There is comfort in desperation when you know that other people experience it too, and together you can both sing it and sing through it. As I listen back, I hope it offers more comfort than desperation. I hope we got that balance right.”

The brothers credit a busy touring schedule for their ability to write with more understanding and empathy, two qualities that are found in abundance on these 10 songs. Like many Americans, Hause believed the 2016 election divided people to create an “us versus them” mentality, but if you look closer it’s just really people trying to survive. He felt it was important to write about the things that were happening to the people “who have to get up and go to work every day.” That, Hause says, is when he and his brother really dug in. “It was about figuring out how to find the light that comes through the crack in everything,” he says.

This album doesn’t sugarcoat either the personal problems or the global challenges at its center. At the core of this record there remains a vivid humanity and a hope that things can – and will – get better, even if it seems like the odds are stacked against us. After all, when the only alternative is to drown, the first step towards survival is to kick.

MATTEO LANE is a New York-based comedian whose stand-up special can be seen on Netflix’s THE COMEDY LINEUP. He’s also currently developing a half hour pilot at Comedy Central, and the host of the Snapchat series WE GOT ISSUES. He has performed stand up on THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT, LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS, Comedy Central’s ADAM DEVINE’S HOUSE PARTY and THE COMEDY JAM, as well as HBO’s CRASHING. Fluent in five languages and with a singing range of six octaves, Matteo lived in Italy as an oil painter and opera singer before starting his comedy career.

MATTEO LANE is a New York-based comedian whose stand-up special can be seen on Netflix’s THE COMEDY LINEUP. He’s also currently developing a half hour pilot at Comedy Central, and the host of the Snapchat series WE GOT ISSUES. He has performed stand up on THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT, LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS, Comedy Central’s ADAM DEVINE’S HOUSE PARTY and THE COMEDY JAM, as well as HBO’s CRASHING. Fluent in five languages and with a singing range of six octaves, Matteo lived in Italy as an oil painter and opera singer before starting his comedy career.

Hipster Assassins is a collaborative endeavor of virtuosic talent that came together in New York City at the historic Zinc Bar in 2010. Over the next 2 years the band had a weekly Monday night residency at Zinc where it started to develop its own sound playing both originals and covers. Since its inception, the band has played all over the world, including Montreal Jazz Fest, the Jazz Cafe in Costa Rica and plays once a month at NYC’s famous 55 Bar.

Each of the 5 members bring their own unique, original voices to the band. Their vast experience with legends of the industry has allowed the members of Hipster Assassins to bring unique voices and ideas to the band, and has been essential to the development of their unique sound.

Felix Pastorius, Bassist: The son of Jaco Pastorius who has worked with the Yellowjackets, Jeff Coffin’s Mutet, A$AP Rocky, and Onyx Collective, has worked hard and achieved his own voice on the electric bass. This voice is the anchor of the band.

Chris Ward, Saxophonist: Chris has worked/recorded with Michael Stipe and Fischerspooner, Lord Huron, The Family Crest, and various projects from all genres, from video game soundtracks to jazz big bands.

John Bendy, Guitarist: Brought up in the blues, John learned his craft from masters Bill Perry and Popa Chubby. His fierce, virtuosic style comes from a blend of the blues and high energy jazz fusion.

Mike Bendy, Bass: The idea of a second bassist in a band could be strange to some, but Mike’s virtuosic skill and experience give him the tools to complement the other low-end instruments in the band perfectly. Outside of Hipster Assassins Mike has performed with Kenwood Dennard, Alex Foster, Sean Wayland, and metal band Res15.

Kenny Grohowski, Drums: Kenny works regularly with various John Zorn projects as well as the famed fusion group Brand X. He has also worked with Lonnie Plaxico and Andy Milne’s Dapp Theory.

“Rollicking, playful, good-time blues and intimate, reflective balladry…her songs ring with emotional depth” – Rolling Stone

“A welcome ray of sunshine…Ball is a killer pianist, a great singer and songwriter. Potent blues, sweet zydeco, soulful, fast and furious Texas boogie…heartfelt, powerful and righteous” – Billboard

“Fifty years have passed in a flash,” says Texas-born, Louisiana-raised pianist, songwriter and vocalist MARCIA BALL of her long and storied career. Ball, the 2018 Texas State Musician Of The Year, has won worldwide fame and countless fans for her ability to ignite a full-scale roadhouse rhythm and blues party every time she takes the stage. Her rollicking Texas boogies, swampy New Orleans ballads and groove-laden Gulf Coast blues have made her a one-of-a-kind favorite with music lovers all over the world. With each new release, her reputation as a profoundly soulful singer, a boundlessly talented pianist and a courageous, inventive songwriter continues to grow. Her love of the road has led to years of soul-satisfying performances at festivals, concert halls and clubs. The New York Times says, “Marcia Ball plays two-fisted New Orleans barrelhouse piano and sings in a husky, knowing voice about all the trouble men and women can get into on the way to a good time.” The Houston Chronicle says simply, “She’s as perfect as an artist can be.”

With her new album, Shine Bright, Ball set out to, in her words, “Make the best Marcia Ball record I could make.” In doing so, she has put together the most musically substantial, hopeful and uplifting set of songs of her five-decade career. Produced by Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) and recorded in Texas and Louisiana, Shine Bright contains twelve songs (including nine originals), ranging from the title track’s rousing appeal for public and private acts of courage to the upbeat call to action of Pots And Pans, a song inspired by renowned Texas political writer and humorist Molly Ivins. From the humorous advice of Life Of The Party to the poignantly optimistic World Full Of Love, the intensity of Ball’s conviction never wavers while, simultaneously, the fun never stops. Shine Bright is exactly the album Ball set out to make. “It is a ridiculously hopeful, cheerful record,” she says, in light of some of the album’s more serious subject matter. The secret, according to Ball “is to set the political songs to a good dance beat.”

Born in Orange, Texas in 1949 to a family whose female members all played piano, Ball grew up in the small town of Vinton, Louisiana, right across the border from Texas. She began taking piano lessons at age five, playing old Tin Pan Alley and popular music tunes from her grandmother’s collection. But it wasn’t until she was 13 that Marcia discovered the power of soul music. One day in New Orleans in 1962, she sat amazed as Irma Thomas delivered the most spirited and moving performance the young teenager had ever seen. A few years later she attended Louisiana State University, where she played some of her very first gigs with a blues-based rock band called Gum.

In 1970, Ball set out for San Francisco. Her car broke down in Austin, and while waiting for repairs she fell in love with the city and decided to stay. It wasn’t long before she was performing in local clubs with a progressive country band called Freda And The Firedogs, while beginning to sharpen her songwriting skills. It was around this time that she delved deeply into the music of the great New Orleans piano players, especially Professor Longhair. “Once I found out about Professor Longhair,” recalls Ball, “I knew I had found my direction.”

When Freda And The Firedogs broke up in 1974, Ball launched her solo career, playing clubs around Austin, Houston and Louisiana. She signed with Capitol Records in 1978, debuting with the country-rock album Circuit Queen. Creating and honing her own sound, she released six critically acclaimed titles on the Rounder label during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1990, Ball-collaborating with Angela Strehli and Lou Ann Barton-recorded the hugely successful Dreams Come True on the Antone’s label. At the end of 1997, Marcia finished work on a similar “three divas of the blues” project for Rounder, this time in the distinguished company of Tracy Nelson and her longtime inspiration, Irma Thomas. The CD, Sing It!, was released in 1998 and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Marcia Ball has appeared many times on national television over the years, including the PBS special In Performance At The White House along with B.B. King and Della Reese, Austin City Limits and HBO’s Treme. She performed in Piano Blues, the film directed by Clint Eastwood included in Martin Scorsese’s The Blues series which aired on PBS television nationwide in 2003. Marcia also appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman with The New Orleans Social Club, where she not only reached millions of people, but also helped to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. In 2012, she had a role in the independent film Angels Sing starring Harry Connick, Jr., Lyle Lovett and Willie Nelson. In 2017 she performed on NPR’s A Jazz Piano Christmas, live from The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Ball joined Alligator in 2001 with the release of the critically acclaimed Presumed Innocent. The CD won the 2002 Blues Music Award for Blues Album Of The Year. Her follow-up, So Many Rivers, was nominated for a Grammy Award, and won the 2004 Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues Album Of The Year as well as the coveted Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year award. Her next release, Live! Down The Road, released in 2005, also garnered a Grammy nomination, as did 2008’s Peace, Love & BBQ (the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart). 2010’s Grammy-nominated Roadside Attractions and 2014’s The Tattooed Lady And The Alligator Man successfully grew her fan base even further. Altogether she holds ten Blues Music Awards, ten Living Blues Awards, and five Grammy Award nominations. She has been inducted into both the Gulf Coast Music Hall Of Fame and the Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame. The Texas State legislature named her the official 2018 Texas State Musician. As her hometown Austin Chronicle says, “What’s not to like about Marcia Ball?”

Since joining Alligator, Ball has blossomed as a songwriter. Each album has been filled with fresh, original songs, never more so than on Shine Bright. Ball easily draws her listeners deep into her music with instantly memorable melodies and imaginative imagery. Her songs paint vibrant musical pictures richly detailed with recognizable characters, regional flavors, universal themes and colorful scenes, both real and imagined. Living Blues declares, “Her originals sound like timeless classics and southern soul masterpieces that no one else can imitate.”

Now, with Shine Bright, Ball’s new, aggressively hopeful songs are energized by Steve Berlin’s inventive and exciting production, creating electrifying music that is daring, inspired, poignant and timely. The Boston Globe calls Ball “a compelling storyteller” who plays “an irresistible, celebratory blend of rollicking, two-fisted New Orleans piano, Louisiana swamp rock and smoldering Texas blues.”

Of course, Ball will bring the party on the road, playing her new songs and old favorites for fans around the globe. “I still love the feel of the wheels rolling,” she says, “and the energy in a room full of people ready to go wherever it is we take them.” With both her new album and her legendary live performances, Marcia Ball will shine a light into the darkness, making the world a brighter place one song at a time.

Jim Avett of Concord, North Carolina, is the son of a Methodist minister and a classical pianist who grew up in a home full of love and music, a home where he learned the importance of hard work and honest living. He and his wife instilled these same values in their children, tempered with a lot of fun, and of course, music. Jim’s guitar was an ever present instrument, and there was always singing.

As much as he enjoyed writing and performing music, Jim put his family first and spent 35 years running his welding company, building bridges along much of the east coast in order to provide for them. After retiring from welding, he returned to music and recorded Jim Avett and Family, a collection of gospel music, with his children, Bonnie, Scott and Seth in 2008. Soon after, in 2010, he released Tribes, a collection of original tunes ranging from soulful love ballads like the title track to the more lighthearted, "Fight with a Bottle of Booze". In Second Chance, Jim’s latest offering, the influences of classic country and early rock and roll are apparent. Once again, he draws on life experiences to write songs about love ("Pictures in the Attic"), boyhood memories, ("Willard"), and loss ("Holy Ground").

You can find Jim performing in listening rooms and at festivals from the Southeast to New England. His shows are a combination of beloved country tunes, his original ballads, and the stories he tells to introduce them. Once comes away from a Jim Avett performance with the feeling that this is an honest man sharing his life and his love of music. It’s like spending the evening on the front porch singing and talking with a good friend.