North Mississippi Allstars

A forgotten roll of film inspired a musical accompaniment, the North Mississippi Allstars’ new record Up and Rolling. Shot before the turn of the century, the photographs resonate with the music of four families from the Mississippi hills. The album captures the communal spirit upon which the band was founded.
 
In 1996, a photographer from Texas, Wyatt McSpadden, traveled to North Mississippi looking to photograph local musicians. Brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson had grown up just south of Memphis and cut their teeth playing experimental rock & roll together, as well as the roots repertoire pioneered by their father, Jim Dickinson, a legendary producer (Big Star, the Replacements) and session player (Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan). Their feet were firmly planted in the North Mississippi mud and music scene, and they were excited to show Wyatt around their community, to introduce him to the musical families of Otha Turner, RL Burnside and Junior Kimbrough.
 
Their first stop was Otha Turner’s farm. Then in his late eighties, he was the last living fife and drum musician in the hills -- “and a friend to all,” Luther exclaims. “He looked sharp that day, still in his Sunday best and ready for a good time.” They all sat together on Otha’s fabled front porch, which was something like a classroom for the elder Dickinson brother. The two would sit for hours, the kid playing guitar while the old man made up lyrics on the spot. That’s how “Call That Gone” came into the world, decades before the Allstars recorded it for Up and Rolling.
 
After Otha treated Wyatt to an impromptu concert featuring his family band of drummers, the fife player sent them down to Junior Kimbrough’s nightclub. They crossed the county line to see Junior and his Soul Blues Boys perform electrified, multigenerational cotton patch blues in their own unique style. Later that evening RL Burnside showed up, took the bandstand with beer in hand, and proceeded to tear the house down. “Wyatt was so smooth nobody felt he was taking photos,” Luther recalls. “No one was self-conscious or posing. Wyatt had a cloak of invisibility.”
 
Once the Peavey amps were turned off and the jukebox unplugged, Cody and Luther parted ways with the Texan. Wyatt shared a handful of the images with Otha and the Dickinsons but no one saw the remaining photographs for decades. Wyatt’s images were forgotten. The Dickinsons had other matters demanding their attention -- namely, a new band they envisioned as a loose collective of local musicians who would play the community’s repertoire.
 
A month after Wyatt took those photos, the North Mississippi Allstars made their Memphis debut, incorporating their father’s concept of roots music as a framework for improvisation and blending experimental/psychedelic excursions into Hill Country anthems. As Luther tells it, “after NMA first shook em’ down in Memphis, RL Burnside hired me to tour with him in ’97. A natural momentum began building up that slowly led to Cody and I hitting the road full-time. Our lives changed forever with the release of Shake Hands with Shortyin 2000. The music that rings thru the hills carried us away and became our home away from home as we began touring around the world. In orbit, we lost track of time and of ourselves.”
 
Shake Hands with Shorty made the Allstars one of the most celebrated roots acts around. In 23 years they’ve released ten studio albums, three of which were nominated for Blues Album of the Year Grammys. (Luther has notched another four nominations in various categories on top of that.) More important, they’ve played countless shows in front of avid crowds, touring alongside Robert Plant, Patty Griffin, Mavis Staples, and John Hiatt, among many others. Says Luther, “I’m grateful to work together as a family -- with Cody, the musicians we roll with and the people who support our live shows. Together, we keep this music up and rolling.”
 
All those years of touring took the Dickinson brothers far away from their North Mississippi home and the people who taught them this music. “The elders passed on in our absence -- Junior, Otha, RL, our father,” Luther says. “Every time we returned home, it was less recognizable.” In 2017 Wyatt tracked the brothers down and shared those photographs with them. “The images stopped me in my tracks and blew my mind. The music that changed our lives was captured in these photographs. Cody and I wanted to set the music free and record an album to accompany these photographs illustrating what Mississippi music sounded like in 1996 -- and what it sounds like now. The fantasy of what music could have been on the radio that day in ’96 was the portal for the new original songs we recorded for this soundtrack. ‘Drunk Outdoors’, ‘Up and Rolling’, ‘Bump That Mother’, and ‘Living Free’ sing about life in Mississippi, be it our memory, reality, or dream for the future.”
 
Inspired by Wyatt’s images, the Allstars returned home to their family recording studio, the Zebra Ranch, to make the record they heard in those photographs. "We trimmed back the wisteria, emptied the traps, and swept out the old barn. Firing up the tube amps and the old computers, we began conjuring up modern Mississippi music, ancient and futuristic."
 
Along with originals, they covered some of their favorite songs by these local heroes, with help from Cedric Burnside and Sharde Thomas, Otha’s granddaughter. “She was only a child when she became his apprentice and heir to the bamboo throne of fife and drum music,” says Luther. “Now she’s the Queen of the Hill Country and my favorite singing partner.” In addition to duetting with him on RL’s raunchy “Peaches,” she also sings with Luther on Otha’s “Call That Gone.” “She read over her grandfather’s lyrics and proceeded to nail it in one take. It was like she was singing from the collective soul of her family.”
 
Cedric Burnside, RL’s grandson and two-time Grammy nominee, is featured on two tracks.  "It's an honor to play with Cedric.  "Out on the Road" was a highlight of the RL tour we played together in '97 and he sang his heart out on the new version."
 
“When we make a record,” says Luther, “we invite the people close to us at the time to join us.  Recording with the musicians we are touring with or hanging with help capture a record’s time frame.”  The great Mavis Staples takes them all to church on the old spiritual “What You Gonna Do?”  Jason Isbell joins to record a tune that has been in the Dickinson family for years: “Our father recorded ‘Mean Old World’ with Duane Allman and Eric Clapton during the Layla sessions.  Jason invited me to record an acoustic, slide guitar duo version. Cody came up with the new arrangement and wanted to record an electric version with Jason and Duane Betts, using Mean Old World as a vehicle to lay down an epic statement about modern-day roots rock guitar.”
 
As Cody puts it, “It’s all inclusive. Everyone is invited, the bar is always open, and drinks are on the house. But it’s important to us that we stay true to the vision of Hill Country music. There is incredible talent here in North Mississippi, so I’m always
learning. The best thing about being in this band this long is developing a sound and identity that is unique. That’s truly a blessing, so we do our best to keep the music honest.
 
While inspired by the community and music of that Sunday more than 20 years ago, Up and Rolling is the sound of modern Mississippi. Luther hopes, “the music is rooted, but spreads evasively from the kudzu jungle grown over Junior’s concrete slab and Otha’s porch boards thru the Zebra Ranch’s razor wire chain link fence.  Transcending time and space, music reaches out into the dark of night like the wisteria vine, looking for free-hearted souls to latch onto and wedge into the foundations of hate, slowly tearing down walls a generation at a time.”

Southern Avenue

SOUL-STEEPED YOUNG MEMPHIS QUINTET SOUTHERN AVENUE SPARKS A ROOTS REVOLUTION WITH SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM ON STAX
Southern Avenue is a Memphis street that runs from the easternmost part of the city limits all the way to Soulsville, the original home of Stax Records. Southern Avenue is also the name of a fiery young Memphis quintet that embodies its home city’s soul, blues and gospel traditions, while adding a youthful spirit and dynamic energy all their own. “If Memphis music is a genre, this is it!” proclaims American Blues Scene, and Rock 103FM calls Southern Avenue, “The most-talked-about band in Memphis.” 
Their self-titled debut album is a breath of fresh air with its own unique blend of gospel-tinged R&B vocals, roots/blues-based guitar work and soul-inspired songwriting. And Southern Avenue’s upcoming release on the fabled Stax label is a testament to the young combo’s talent and vision.

Southern Avenue features five young but seasoned musicians who came from diverse musical and personal backgrounds to create music that spans their wide-ranging musical interests, while showcasing the powerful chemistry that the group has honed through stage and studio experience.

Southern Avenue encompasses Memphis-born, church-bred sisters Tierinii and Tikyra Jackson, respectively a soulful, charismatic singer and a subtle, powerful drummer; guitarist Ori Naftaly, an Israeli-born blues disciple who first came to America as an acclaimed solo artist; versatile jazz-inspired bassist Daniel McKee; and the band’s newest addition, keyboardist Jeremy Powell, an early alumnus of Stax’s legendary music academy.

The band members’ diverse skills come together organically on Southern Avenue, scheduled for release on February 24, 2017 via Stax Records, a division of Concord Music Group. Produced by Kevin Houston (North Mississippi Allstars, Lucero, Patty Griffin), the 10-song album features guest appearances from Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars and trumpeter Marc Franklin of the Bo-Keys. But it’s Southern Avenue’s own potent musical chemistry that drives such sublimely soulful originals as “Don’t Give Up,” “What Did I Do,” “It’s Gonna Be Alright,” “Love Me Right” and “Wildflower.”  The band also pays tribute to its roots with an incandescent reading of Ann Peebles’ Memphis soul classic “Slipped, Tripped and Fell in Love.” 
The seeds for Southern Avenue’s birth were planted when Ori Naftaly, who’d grown up in Israel with a deeply rooted passion for American blues and funk, came to Memphis in 2013 to compete in the prestigious International Blues Challenge. That experience led to Naftaly moving permanently to Memphis and successfully touring the United States with his own band. 

Although his talents were embraced by American audiences, Naftaly felt constrained in his own band, feeling the need to include a more expansive, collaborative musical vision.  That opportunity arrived when he met Memphis native Tierinii Jackson, who’d gotten her start singing in church, before performing in a series of cover bands and theatrical projects. 

According to Ori, “When I saw Tierinii perform, I thought, ‘This is why I came to America.’ I met her and we clicked. At our first rehearsal, she told me that her sister was a drummer, and she thought it would be great to have her in the band. We had such a good vibe, and suddenly I didn’t care so much about my solo thing.”

“I initially clicked with Ori really well, but it was his project,” Tierinii remembers. “Then he came to me and said ‘I want this band to be a collaboration, I want this to be our vision and our music.’  So we started writing together, and that’s when I realized that we were really the same, musically.”

“We started over,” Naftaly continues. “We threw out most of the songs I’d been playing in my solo band, and Tierinii and I wrote a whole new set, and we became Southern Avenue. The more we played together, the closer we got, and the more we became a family. We started getting a different kind of crowd, and from there things escalated quickly.”

“Ori said, ‘My band is done, this is y’all’s band,'” Tierinii recalls. “We all quit our other gigs and started focusing on this, working and writing and living together in a way that you don’t experience when you’re playing somebody else’s music. Now we’re playing songs that we wrote ourselves and we’re playing them from our hearts. That is when I realized that we had something special.”

Despite not having a record deal, Southern Avenue quickly found success touring in America and Europe. They won additional attention playing some prestigious festivals and competing in the International Blues Challenge, in which they represented Memphis. Less than a year after the band’s formation, they were signed to the resurgent Stax label. 

“I feel like being on Stax is a responsibility,” says Tierinii. “I grew up in Memphis, seeing the name Stax everywhere. It was a constant presence, and now it’s up to us to live up to that. I feel like this band can be a platform to do a lot of positive things for the city of Memphis. I want to change the world, but Memphis is home.”

Tierinii views Southern Avenue as “a perfect soundtrack to our first year together. We wrote these songs in our first nine months of being a band. We’d all done so many things and come from so many different places, but the music represents all of us.
“It’s been a real crash course,” she continues. “We haven’t been a band for very long, but what we have feels very special, and it’s made us a strong unit. I think that we represent something that people need to see right now.”

“This band has already made our dreams come true,” Ori concludes. “I’ve waited all my life to be in a band like this, and it’s amazing to me that I get to play with these people every night. Our goal is to keep doing this for a long time and leave our mark. We’re trying to build a legacy.”

High-energy, Rowdy, Raucous, Longhair Mississippi Glam Rock.  That's the sound of Easy, The Week's long-awaited followup to their breakthrough album, Dear Bo Jackson. Recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis — a place filled with the ghosts (and gear) of the Replacements, ZZ Top, and Big Star, all of whom traveled to Ardent to create their own landmark albums — Easy finds The Weeks doubling down on a mix of groove, grit, and guitars. It's swaggering and sharply-focused, shining new light on a band of brothers who, although still in their mid-20s, have already logged a decade's worth of sweaty gigs together. 

If Easy bears resemblance to the raw, rowdy attitude of the The Weeks' live show, it's because the album was written at the end of a busy, five-year period that found the group rarely leaving the road. 

"We moved to Nashville in 2010," remembers frontman Cyle Barnes, who formed the band in Jackson, Mississippi, with his three longtime bandmates: drummer (and twin brother) Cain Barnes, guitarist Sam Williams, and bass player Damien Bone. "We spent 2011 to 2015 touring. November 2015 was the first time we ever spent an entire month in Nashville."

Those years on the road were eye-opening for The Weeks, all of whom were just teenagers when they began playing together in 2006. By their early 20s, the guys were touring Europe with Kings of Leon, promoting the newly-released Dear Bo Jackson in front of 20,000 people each night. Back in America, The Weeks continued playing their own club shows, too. The experience taught them how to bridge the gap between arena shows and smaller gigs. In short, it taught them how to be themselves, no matter the audience.

Appropriately, Easy consolidates the band's strengths. While the songs on 2013's Dear Bo Jackson were thick with horn arrangements, strings, and guest appearances, Easy is a leaner, louder beast. The Weeks began working on its 11 tracks after returning home from a long tour and taking some time to rest, reflect, and regroup. Newly energized, they began writing songs at Sam and Damien's home in Nashville, with Cyle and Williams splitting the bulk of the songwriting duties. The whole process relied on collaboration, with the full band fleshing out the newer songs.

"Everyone would come to the house, make food, hang out, and play music 'til four in the morning," Williams remembers. "We wrote 25 songs, then picked our favorites for the final tracklist.

Easy is driving and direct, captured in punchy sound by producer Paul Ebersold. The goal was to clear out any unnecessary clutter, focusing instead on The Weeks' biggest strengths: the elastic power of Cyle's voice, capable of a crooning drawl one minute and a roof-raising howl the next; the range of Sam's guitar playing, from Motown-influenced chord stabs to garage-rock blasts of sound; and the interlocking rhythms of Damien and Cain. They threw some curveballs into the mix, too, riding a lovely, lazy, organ-heavy groove on the southern soul song "Hands on the Radio" and punctuating songs like "Ike" with a small horn section. Along the way, they made good use the studio's vintage gear, finding room on a handful of songs for Elvis Presley's microphone, Big Star's snare drum, the "Green Onions" organ from Booker T. & the M.G.'s.

"We said, 'If we can do this song in five chords, let's do it,'" says Sam. "That way, whenever the curveballs do happen, they mean a lot. We focused on the songs first, and then we added stuff, as long as it didn't harm the energy or the groove. We wanted to pick our moments better."

Inspired by the real-life characters, places, and stories The Weeks encountered on tour, Easy is a record about where the band has been, as well as a sign of where they're going. "I wanted the stories to be real — a little dark, maybe — but I wanted them to be redeeming, too," says Cyle, who began turning the stories into proper songs once the tour ended. He tossed some personal tales into the mix, too, with songs like the autobiographical "Gold Doesn't Rust" focusing on the joy of plugging in, tuning up and rocking out. 

"We just wanted to make a rock record," adds Damien, shrugging his shoulders at the simplicity of it all. The Weeks earned their road warrior credentials years ago, but they've never defined their ambition — or the wide range of their abilities — this clearly before.

And speaking of simple…what's the deal with that album title? 

"We called it Easy because every time I make music with these guys, it's easy," says Cain, who has spent more than a third of his life as a member of The Weeks. "It feels good. But the other side of it is, there's nothing easy about being in a band. There's nothing easy about staying together for 10 years and still wanting to make music. We have the hardest and easiest job on the planet. But it works for us.”

High-energy, Rowdy, Raucous, Longhair Mississippi Glam Rock.  That's the sound of Easy, The Week's long-awaited followup to their breakthrough album, Dear Bo Jackson. Recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis — a place filled with the ghosts (and gear) of the Replacements, ZZ Top, and Big Star, all of whom traveled to Ardent to create their own landmark albums — Easy finds The Weeks doubling down on a mix of groove, grit, and guitars. It's swaggering and sharply-focused, shining new light on a band of brothers who, although still in their mid-20s, have already logged a decade's worth of sweaty gigs together. 

If Easy bears resemblance to the raw, rowdy attitude of the The Weeks' live show, it's because the album was written at the end of a busy, five-year period that found the group rarely leaving the road. 

"We moved to Nashville in 2010," remembers frontman Cyle Barnes, who formed the band in Jackson, Mississippi, with his three longtime bandmates: drummer (and twin brother) Cain Barnes, guitarist Sam Williams, and bass player Damien Bone. "We spent 2011 to 2015 touring. November 2015 was the first time we ever spent an entire month in Nashville."

Those years on the road were eye-opening for The Weeks, all of whom were just teenagers when they began playing together in 2006. By their early 20s, the guys were touring Europe with Kings of Leon, promoting the newly-released Dear Bo Jackson in front of 20,000 people each night. Back in America, The Weeks continued playing their own club shows, too. The experience taught them how to bridge the gap between arena shows and smaller gigs. In short, it taught them how to be themselves, no matter the audience.

Appropriately, Easy consolidates the band's strengths. While the songs on 2013's Dear Bo Jackson were thick with horn arrangements, strings, and guest appearances, Easy is a leaner, louder beast. The Weeks began working on its 11 tracks after returning home from a long tour and taking some time to rest, reflect, and regroup. Newly energized, they began writing songs at Sam and Damien's home in Nashville, with Cyle and Williams splitting the bulk of the songwriting duties. The whole process relied on collaboration, with the full band fleshing out the newer songs.

"Everyone would come to the house, make food, hang out, and play music 'til four in the morning," Williams remembers. "We wrote 25 songs, then picked our favorites for the final tracklist.

Easy is driving and direct, captured in punchy sound by producer Paul Ebersold. The goal was to clear out any unnecessary clutter, focusing instead on The Weeks' biggest strengths: the elastic power of Cyle's voice, capable of a crooning drawl one minute and a roof-raising howl the next; the range of Sam's guitar playing, from Motown-influenced chord stabs to garage-rock blasts of sound; and the interlocking rhythms of Damien and Cain. They threw some curveballs into the mix, too, riding a lovely, lazy, organ-heavy groove on the southern soul song "Hands on the Radio" and punctuating songs like "Ike" with a small horn section. Along the way, they made good use the studio's vintage gear, finding room on a handful of songs for Elvis Presley's microphone, Big Star's snare drum, the "Green Onions" organ from Booker T. & the M.G.'s.

"We said, 'If we can do this song in five chords, let's do it,'" says Sam. "That way, whenever the curveballs do happen, they mean a lot. We focused on the songs first, and then we added stuff, as long as it didn't harm the energy or the groove. We wanted to pick our moments better."

Inspired by the real-life characters, places, and stories The Weeks encountered on tour, Easy is a record about where the band has been, as well as a sign of where they're going. "I wanted the stories to be real — a little dark, maybe — but I wanted them to be redeeming, too," says Cyle, who began turning the stories into proper songs once the tour ended. He tossed some personal tales into the mix, too, with songs like the autobiographical "Gold Doesn't Rust" focusing on the joy of plugging in, tuning up and rocking out. 

"We just wanted to make a rock record," adds Damien, shrugging his shoulders at the simplicity of it all. The Weeks earned their road warrior credentials years ago, but they've never defined their ambition — or the wide range of their abilities — this clearly before.

And speaking of simple…what's the deal with that album title? 

"We called it Easy because every time I make music with these guys, it's easy," says Cain, who has spent more than a third of his life as a member of The Weeks. "It feels good. But the other side of it is, there's nothing easy about being in a band. There's nothing easy about staying together for 10 years and still wanting to make music. We have the hardest and easiest job on the planet. But it works for us.”

Hailing from deep within the bible belt. . . Jackson, Mississippi’s little drummer boy is everything, but what you would expect. In fact, he has made a name for himself by creating an electronic music production project that has put him in his own lane. Through his professional experience as a sound designer and touring drummer, he has cultivated a live set that commands an audience’s attention with the use of totally custom crafted grooving head banging basslines and a live drumming DJ set. At every show you can expect to take an adventure somewhere new, unusual, and probably even a little TVBOO (pronounced Taboo).

The Iceman Special is a 4 piece outfit transplanted from the swamps of Louisiana to New Orleans. They create a sound that resonates with the psych rock community as well as writing songs that explore reggae, funk, melodic pop, prog, and other influences. The bands live shows are notorious for their intensity and their use of innovative and creative visual stimuli while also taking pride in song writing and the delivery of their message. Screeching yet smooth guitars, wandering yet punchy bass lines, synthesizers, driving drum beats, and powerful vocals form a one of kind soundscape.

“They don’t wear their influences on their sleeves, their original songs are too good for that, but the indicators are there. The production is strong and unlike so many bands that are unable to translate their live energy to a record, the Iceman Special gets the job done.” – The Vinyl District

“The band rocks and lays down such fat, solid slabs of rock ‘n’ roll that if they are not careful, the audience can trip on them and fall a long joyous time.” – David Kunian – Curator – New Orleans Jazz Museum and Louisiana State Museum

A 12-year veteran of the Memphis music scene, singer, songwriter, and guitarist John Paul Keith has four critically acclaimed solo albums, including his latest, Heart Shaped Shadow. The album was produced by Austin, Texas guitar legend Will Sexton for Last Chance Records, alongside In The Meantime, the debut full-length from Motel Mirrors, a collaboration between Keith, Sexton, and singer/bassist Amy LaVere, which reached #21 on the Americana Albums chart in 2018.

In addition to his own projects, John Paul recently appeared on the tribute album Red Hot: A Memphis Celebration of Sun Records, with proceeds going to St. Jude. In 2017, John Paul had the honor of performing with ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons at the Memphis Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Roy Orbison. That same year, John Paul also contributed a song to the Don Bryant album from Fat Possum Records, Don’t Give Up on Love, which was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2018 Blues Music Awards.

John Paul Keith just completed his third headlining tour of Europe and continues to tour the US regularly. His fifth studio album is planned for 2020.

 The Captain Midnight Band's diverse appeal has resulted in club, theater, and festival dates with such acts as Dark Star Orchestra, moe, Cypress Hill, Twiddle, Marcus King, Leftover Salmon, Midnight North, Cornmeal, N.R.P.S.,  Karl Denson, TAUK, and many more more.

 Flattering comparisons to genre-defying acts such as P-Funk, Frank Zappa, and Ween are evident in the live show, where a genuine, energetic exchange is crafted and nurtured between band, fans, and whoever is lucky enough to be in the vicinity. 

Born Joseph Foreman, Afroman is a Southern rapper best known for his hit stoner classic "Because I Got High." Citing influences like Too $hort, Big Daddy Kane, and 2 Live Crew, he began his rap career in the eighth grade, when he started making homemade tapes of his own songs and passing them out to his classmates. He got his start as a performer at church, where he played drums and eventually moved on to playing guitar. For a while, he even worked as an airport baggage handler while trying to make an impression with his songs. 

In 1999, while he was still living in East Palmdale, Los Angeles, Afroman released his first album, Sell Your Dope, and played parties, sidewalks, and contests. Not finding L.A. to his liking, he moved to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he teamed up with drummer Jody Stallone and keyboardist/bassist Daryl Havard. In the spring of 2000 he recorded his breakout LP, Because I Got High, with producer Tim Ramenofsky. He distributed it at shows with the help of T-Bones Records in Hattiesburg. As word spread about his live shows, demand for his music increased. At the time, online file-sharing service Napster had just kicked off the MP3 revolution, which turned out to be a boon for Afroman. A fan managed to acquire a copy of his album in digital form and posted the track "Because I Got High" to Napster. Howard Stern also boosted the popularity of the track by playing it on his radio show. "Because I Got High" went on to become a huge worldwide hit by the end of 2001. It was nominated for a Best Rap Grammy in 2002.

Afroman eventually attracted the attention of Universal Records, which signed him to a six-album deal. His first Universal album, The Good Times, was a compilation of his first two LPs and a few new tracks. "Because I Got High" was also included on the soundtrack to Kevin Smith's film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. After parting ways with Universal, Afroman became an independent artist and self-released a string of follow-ups. When he returned, he did so in a big way, releasing a whopping four albums in 2004. He started with the double-disc Afroholic...The Even Better Times, released on April 20th. Free of Universal, he wrote, produced, and recorded Afroholic on his own, marketed it largely online, and toured with a live band. He followed with 4RO:20, the holiday album Jobe Bells, and his fifth studio album, The Hungry Hustlerz: Starvation Is Motivation, which featured rappers like Po Boy, Mr. Mixx, Strainj, and Blaq. Two more albums arrived in 2006: Drunk'n'High and his second holiday album, A Colt .45 Christmas.

In 2008, Afroman released Waiting to Inhale, the Greatest Hitz Live collection, and Frobama: Head of State. After a prolific four-year stretch, Afroman remained relatively quiet until 2013. That year, he released the aptly titled Marijuana Music, which featured his nephew on multiple tracks. The vaguely G-funk album The Frorider was released the following year, before he unveiled a pair of EPs in 2015: the self-aware One Hit Wonder and his socially conscious statement The N-Word. 

Founded in 2010, the Jackson (MS)-based Southern Komfort Brass Band brought together 7 musicians who quickly discovered their niche - New Orleans-style street jazz with a unique Mississippi twist.  Countless thousands have traveled to New Orleans to hear the likes of Dirty Dozen, Rebirth, Soul Rebels, Hot 8 and Lil' Rascals Brass Bands.  

Southern Komfort Brass Band presents a live show that focuses on traditional Brass Band standards, originals by the aforementioned groups, and Southern Komfort originals as well as special arrangements of popular blues, jazz and R&B tunes.  This party band has expanded their line-up to include up to 9 musicians. Their act is fast, fun and never fails to get their audiences singing, dancing and occasionally forming second-lines.  The Southern Komfort Brass Band appeared in the James Brown biopic movie "Get on Up" that was filmed in Mississippi in 2013-2014.

With members hailing from the sister states of Alabama and Mississippi, Hood Baby and the Barnacles are one of the south's hottest up and coming party-funk bands. With a pocket so tight you couldn't fit a flea, Hood Baby boasts bodacious riff-work that would make funk's forefathers proud. This quartet oozes mojo reminiscent of the late greats of the 1970's, all while laying down infectious grooves that are undeniably their own.  HB&B plays funk with a high energy show that will leave you with a beat to your step and a shake to your rump, as they dip in and out of party vibes and soothing soul grooves.

Stoop Kids’ sound is an eclectic mix of soul, surf, hip-hop, doo-wop, rock, and jazz with a psychedelic pop aftertaste. This, combined with their high-energy, theatrical, performances, makes Stoop Kids unique and unpredictable.

• Harris has one of the sharpest pens around... — No Depression

• At a time when much of the country music on the air sounds more like prefab pop with contrived Southern accents and tough-guy bravado, Jason Hawk Harris delivers the ghost of Hank Williams with a sharp edge and a few good stories to tell. — Glide Magazine

• Harris handles dark humor so deftly, you’ll find yourself simultaneously shaking in your boots, shaking with laughter, and shaking your ass. — No Depression

• His soul splattered with punk-rock graffiti, Harris is a colorful writer, highly literate and intelligent, but also unafraid to get his hands dirty or go to places others with less courage might avoid. — Elmore Magazine

• If Jason Hawk Harris isn’t selling out the Ryman within the next year or so, something’s amiss. This is a kind of genius global country music that should be popular with purists and freewheelers alike. — Paste Magazine

• Jason Hawk Harris wears a bolo tie and idolizes Freddie Mercury. He’s studied classical composition, and his songwriting style seems learned from Jason Isbell. He’s just as inspired by punk rock as he is classic country. — Paste Magazine

• Harris’ beleaguered warnings and nasally delivery are reminiscent of Mountain Goats’ John Darnielle, but his message is more about self-preservation than faith. — Rolling Stone

• After years as a classical composer and a stint as guitarist with the Show Ponies, the Houston-born, L.A.-based artist takes a more country turn...his tangy tenor brimming the potential of early Jason Isbell. — Austin Chronicle

• One of the most promising punk rockers-turned-roots songwriters since John Moreland. — The Boot

• Harris has one of the sharpest pens around... — No Depression

• At a time when much of the country music on the air sounds more like prefab pop with contrived Southern accents and tough-guy bravado, Jason Hawk Harris delivers the ghost of Hank Williams with a sharp edge and a few good stories to tell. — Glide Magazine

Jason Hawk Harris hit rock bottom during the writing and recording of his debut full-length Love & the Dark. In the last few years, the Houston-born-and-raised, Los Angeles-based musician endured life-altering hardships—illness, death, familial strife, and addiction—yet from these trials, a luxuriant and confident vision of art country emerged.

With an unlikely background, Harris is a singer/guitarist/songwriter who walks his own line, one that touches on Lyle Lovett’s lyrical frankness, John Moreland’s punk cerebralism and Judee Sill’s mysticism and orchestral sensibility. There’s even the literary and sonic audacity of an early Steve Earle, an outlaw unafraid to embrace harmony.

Jason’s grandfather exposed him to country music at an early age, and his family celebrated holidays with group sing-alongs. In his teens, Harris began listening to punk, indie rock, and, notably, Queen. In some part inspired by the instrumental flair of Freddie Mercury & Co., he later took the educational plunge into classical composition and was eventually wait-listed for the master’s program at UCLA, when things took a turn.

While touring and performing in the indie folk band The Show Ponies, Jason started writing his own songs, intuitively returning to his country roots but incorporating his classical and rock ‘n’ roll performance skills. He released his first solo offering, the Formaldehyde, Tobacco and Tulips EP in 2017 and hit the road.

Meanwhile, his world fell apart: his mother died from complications of alcoholism; his father went bankrupt after being sued by the King of Morocco; his sister was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and gave birth to a premature son with cerebral palsy; and—subsequently—Jason got sidetracked by his own vices.

Love & the Dark is not THAT country narrative, though; that of surviving through pain. But it’s not NOT that either. This is his personal narrative on death, struggle, and addiction, of a life deconstructed and reassembled. From the opener, “The Smoke and the Stars,” it’s apparent this album, produced by Andy Freeman, will take you to compelling new places. An ache, a longing, claws its way out of the speakers, the gradual drone blossoming through without rigid genre designs. You can hear the essence of classical music in a long crescendo; you can feel his Houston upbringing in JHH’s soulful and humid inflection; you can sense his Los Angeles home in the sharp and risky dynamics. You can also hear the joy and exquisite desperation when he swings for the fences, belting “Maybe I was just waiting for you, to get through the grapevine, tear down that door, and let me live in those green eyes of yours.”

On “Cussing at the Light,” the classic “drink-you-off-my-mind” trope has an updated countrypolitan vibe with its precise harmonies courtesy of Natalie Nicoles, and later a raucous teenage urgency rumbles through the punchy “I’m Afraid.” The buoyant roots-pop “Red Room Blues,” featuring vocals by folk/bluegrass maven Rachel Baiman, touches antecedents stretching from Jason Isbell to Nick Lowe.

In the dark balladry of “Phantom Limb” (also sung with Baiman), when he softly describes his mother’s funeral through keenly personal details, “I got this shirt. Smells like the viewing/ Formaldehyde, tobacco and tulips/ I’ve washed it ten times, and it won’t come out,” he takes us to the bottom with him.

While his music acknowledges mortality, pain, and hardship, it’s also Jason Hawk Harris’s way of working through it. Love & The Dark is a hypnotically convincing album; you can feel the unknown, but you need not fear it.

“Cerebral alt. country from an unusually versatile singer.” — Rolling Stone

“William Matheny is quickly becoming one of independent country music’s most exciting emerging artists.” — American Songwriter

“The album allows Matheny to present a story through his lyrics while delivering a sound that is the perfect fusion of alt-country, rock, roots and pop... Using his music as a way to tell stories, Matheny has created an album that is intimate, yet playful and captivating. ” — Paste

It’s fitting that William Matheny has chosen to honor the 15th anniversary of Centro-matic’s tour de force album Love You Just the Same on his new 7-inch: The 2003 full-length from Will Johnson’s four-piece was one of the most acclaimed releases from Misra Records’ first five years, and Matheny has emerged as one of the label’s standard-bearers as it enters closes in on the end of its second decade.

The tribute takes the form of a cover of “Flashes and Cables,” the now-classic from Love You, on the A-side of Matheny’s single. Matheny’s spin is, like so many memorable covers, faithful to the original up to a point—he chose to keep the dramatic shifts in dynamics and picked up the pace only a pinch—but diverges just enough to make it distinct. Gone is Johnson’s martial drumbeat in favor of Matheny’s Spector-informed, lazy swung backbeat. In lieu of Centro-matic’s slow disintegration and off-kilter keys, we get a triumphant guitar solo worthy of J. Mascis as the song winds down. Quality songwriting isn’t threatened by interpretation, and in this new interpretation you’re bound to glimpse aspects of Johnson’s song you overlooked before.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt when the interpreter is a top-notch songwriter as well: Matheny, on the heels of 2017’s Strange Constellations LP and last spring’s EP “Moon Over Kenova,” is a breakout voice in country-rock, and keeps on proving it. The B-side of the new single, “Christian Name,” manages to turn variations on a theme into three or four distinct hooks, any one of which would have been enough for most songsmiths to hang their hat on. Tom Petty is in there somewhere beneath the world-weary country-rock exterior, but so is the dark-tinged bluesy folk of Lucinda Williams.

For some, Matheny’s tribute to Centro-matic will represent a nostalgic trip; for others it may be an entrée into the music of both Misra mainstays. The thing is, either way, it’s a pair of tracks worthy of play on repeat: Two gems with equal parts twang and tremolo, clever riffs and thoughtful words, delivered with deceptive ease. 

Perpetual Groove

Perpetual Groove caught everyone by surprise in 2015 when they returned to the stage after a two-year hiatus. The band performed eight weekends that year, over multi-night runs, to sold-out shows in some of their favorite cities across the country, thus ringing in a new chapter for Perpetual Groove. The band resolved to make a big change by taking the time to craft, and bring to focus, music that stays true to their creative vision.

That change is here on their new self-titled album. The band recruited producers Jason Kingsland and Tim Friesen to help them accomplish the most engaging and sonically-gratifying Perpetual Groove album to date. While recording at The Fidelitorium in Kernersville, NC and Studio MG in Roswell, GA, the band and producers engineered an album that will define Perpetual Groove for years to come. Seven new songs were written by the band specifically for this album representing all that life brings—loss, redemption, and hope.

Perpetual Groove continues to create a cultivated, unique experience for each live show. This new chapter for Perpetual Groove showcases the continuing evolution of their music and performances. This is a band that is fully realized and ready to bring their new sound, storytelling, and live experience to the masses.

Rising out of Savannah, GA in 2001, Perpetual Groove has grown quickly into a formidable international touring organization. Now based in Athens, GA, the band continues to ride an unending wave of momentum buoyed by an enthusiastic fan base and international critical acclaim. Fans of Perpetual Groove (or PGroove, as the fans like to call them) are known to follow the band from state to state, night to night, to experience their euphoric live show that features an ever changing set-list. Perpetual Groove's music has evolved into a genre-bending, highly original sound that touches upon jazz-rock, neo-psychedelia, R&B, trance electronica, progressive rock, and anthemic arena rock. Their large catalog of original music offers something for everyone, but the band is also known for their eclectic range of covers; including everything from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" to Rage Against The Machine's "Bulls On Parade". The addition of an intense, retina burning, intelligent light show creates an atmosphere unlike any other, assuring fans they'll get a highly polished, yet different show each night.

Perpetual Groove released their first album, Sweet Oblivious Antidote, in 2003 on Harmonized Records after their first year of solid touring. Besides being the top seller for The Home Grown Music Network that year (it out-sold releases by Phish, Widespread Panic, and others), it was also voted HGMN Top Fan Pick for 2003. The buzz only got bigger on the 2004 follow-up record, All This Everything, which was produced by Grammy award-winner Robert Hannon. LiveLoveDie, their third record was released in March of 2007 and represents a significant evolutionary departure in style for Perpetual Groove. Teaming up once again with Hannon and Tree Sound Studios, the band set forth to create a darker sonic landscape without sacrificing too much of that "PGroove quality" thanks in part to Butler's warm, soaring vocals. HEAL, released in 2010, firmly established Perpetual Groove as more than a jamband with its focus on well-crafted songs. Honey Cuts, an EP released later in 2010, is the most accurate representation of the band's current sound, especially on the track "Cairo."

Perpetual Groove continues to tour relentlessly throughout the United States and is a staple in the US festival scene with performances at All Good Music Festival, Gathering of the Vibes, Wakarusa, Bonnaroo, Jam Cruise, High Sierra, Jazz Fest, Riverbend and their own annual gathering, Amberland. The band has also made appearances at International events such as Jam in the Dam and Caribbean Holidaze. Perpetual Groove continues to push the envelope in the music industry, touring behind the first ever 5.1 surround sound system and producing the first album to be completely offset by renewable energy credits.

Funk You

HAILING FROM THE EAST SIDE GA TOWN OF AUGUSTA, FUNK YOU IS AN OUTGOING BURST OF ENERGY THAT IS CONTINUALLY CLIMBING THEIR WAY TO THE TOP OF THE MUSIC SCENE. THIS "FUNK" ORIENTED OUTFIT PROJECTS MULTIPLE MUSICAL STYLES FOCUSING MAINLY ON DANCE DRIVEN GROOVES WITH POWERFUL CLEAN VOCALS. INCORPORATING INTRIGUING MUSICAL COMPOSITION, TASTEFUL LYRICS, AND CROWD CAPTIVATING LIVE PERFORMANCES, FUNK YOU IS SURELY TO MAKE AN IMPRINT ON YOUR MUSICAL TASTE.

Hailing from the Canadian prairies, Defunk has made a distinct name for himself in the electronic music scene. Defunk’s unique brew of funk, blues, soul and bass music has proven him to be a true connoisseur of genre blending. His innovative style has created a path for fans of all genres to venture into the bass music scene…and a niche that has left him virtually untouched. He melts the experimental with the familiar, pushing the envelope with each new release.

The versatility Defunk delivers in both his DJ sets and live performances has caught the attention of Pretty Lights, GRiZ and Gramatik. With a constantly changing set and rapidly expanding discography, Defunk consistently constructs a show brimming with allure and absolute magic.

One of the most impressive guitarists to emerge from the rich Bayous of Southern Louisiana in recent years, Tab Benoit’s guitar tone can be recognized before his Otis-Redding-ish voice resonates from the speakers. He doesn’t rely on any effects and his set up is simple. It consists of a guitar, cord, and Category 5 Amplifier. The effects that you hear come from his fingers.

Born on November 17, 1967, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Benoit grew up in the nearby oil and fishing town of Houma, where he still resides today. Musically, he was exposed early on to traditional Cajun waltzes and the country music broadcast on his hometown’s only radio station. Benoit’s father was himself a musician; as such, the family home was filled with various instruments. He began playing drums but switched to guitar because the only gigs to be had in rural Louisiana were held in churches and at church fairs, and organizers would not allow loud drums to be played at these events.

In the late 80’s Tab Benoit began hanging out at the Blues Box, a music club and cultural center in Baton Rouge run by guitarist Tabby Thomas. Playing guitar alongside Thomas, Raful Neal, Henry Gray and other high-profile regulars at the club, Benoit learned the blues first-hand from these living blues legends. He formed a trio in 1987 and began playing clubs in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

In 1992 Benoit released his first recording Nice and Warm on the Justice Label. The title track became a AAA Radio hit and Benoit’s touring career kicked into high gear. Nice and Warm prompted comparisons to blues guitar heavyweights like Albert King, Albert Collins and even Jimi Hendrix. Tab began playing two-hundred and fifty shows a year, a schedule he has kept up for over twenty years.  He recorded four albums for Justice Records before being signed to the Vanguard label, and became Louisiana’s Number One Blues export. Vanguard allowed Tab to produce his own recordings; Tab wanted to record the sound that he was trying to create and in 1999 Vanguard Records released These Blues Are All Mine.

Tab Benoit’s music evolved again after he signed with the Telarc International/Concord Music Group in 2002. He began to strip it down to a three-piece group, where he found more freedom as a guitarist. He was also on a mission in wanting to use his music and his energy to bring attention to Louisiana’s coastal erosion issues. Tab began to spend more time in the Wetlands and it was where he began to write his songs.  Wetlands was the title of his first Telac/Concord International release. The record combined many musical styles that are indigenous to Louisiana, while he began to play accordion lines and washboard on guitar. Wetlands was a mile marker that definitively marked Tab’s further musical progression into his own original sound and style.

Following the release of Wetlands in 2004 Benoit founded the Voice of the Wetlands non-profit organization (www.voiceofthewetlands.org) and began to use music and gather other musicians to use their platforms for getting the message out. He put together an all-star band that featured Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, George Porter Jr, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Johnny Vidacovich, Johnny Sansone, and Waylon Thibodeaux that became The Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars.  The Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars have released two CDs and occasionally tour throughout the country.

The Grateful Dead continue to have one of the most rabid and loyal followings of any band in history, and deservedly so: They wrote great songs, and they were excellent musicians and terrific improvisers who never played a tune the same way twice. The Stolen Faces deftly capture the spirit of the Dead, covering a wide variety of songs from the band’s expansive catalog and delivering them with the sort of energy and spontaneity that might have you thinking you’re standing in the Fillmore West in 1971. Led by bassist Christian Grizzard, the group features guitarist Jack Silverman, drummer Matt Martin, and a rotating cast of some of Nashville’s top session and touring musicians.