That's the sound of Easy, The Week's long-awaited followup to their breakthrough al- bum, 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.
That's the sound of Easy, The Week's long-awaited followup to their breakthrough al- bum, 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.
Robby Peoples began playing harmonica and guitar on his back porch in his college town of Oxford Mississippi when he was 19. Originally From Jackson, his music career began with a guest appearance with the band Shady Deal, where he joined them on a west coast tour that ended with him playing the High Sierra Music Festival in Quincy, California.
Over the past few years, Sweet Crude has managed to take the music and language of Louisiana and produce a completely fresh music that thrusts century-old traditions into the present. The six-piece band consistently delivers exciting shows featuring enough drums for a small marching band, exuberantly bellowed harmonies, and lyrics that jump from English to Louisiana French in a single verse. Boasting surnames like Marceaux and Chachere, Sweet Crude seeks to reconnect with their lineage in a way that draws on their own modern influences, while nodding to the music and language of their ancestors.
Cosmic Shift is a jam band out of Nashville, Tennessee. Some have described their sound as space funk, though it can range wildly through many genres. More integral to the music than any genre or style is the renewing experience that many have at their shows. Cosmic Shift seeks to prove to the audience that each one of them is just as important to the creative collaboration as any person on stage. Deep improvisation is a vehicle that allows each show to have a unique flavor. If you are looking for a great time with good people, come join the party.
Jackson, Mississippi's Young Valley offers points of view from songwriters Zach Lovett, Dylan Lovett, and Spencer Thomas with a trading of styles from traditional country to southern-tinged rock 'n roll. With the addition of Kell Kellum and Ethan Frink, the 5-piece group lays out a catalogue of catchy melodies, harmonies, and plenty of guitar shred all packaged into well-crafted tunes. "We service the song" they said to Mississippi Today in a recent interview. "Wherever the song takes us, we need to go." This mantra has kept them honest in their approach, and just like their hard-to-look-away kind of stage show, you don't quite know what to expect next from Young Valley.
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.
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.
How many artists have been praised a “punk rock provocateur,” “jazz vibraphone visionary,” and “percussion virtuoso” in the same sentence? There’s only one: Mike Dillon. Whether through his affiliation with artists like Les Claypool, Primus, Rickie Lee Jones, and Ani Difranco, or collaborations such as Nolatet, Garage a Trois, The Dead Kenny G's, Critters Buggin or bands he has led, including Mike Dillon Band, Mike Dillon's New Orleans Punk Rock Percussion Consortium, Billy Goat and Hairy Apes BMX, the Texas-native has set his own standard for 25 years now. Over the past decade, Mike Dillon has released a number of acclaimed albums, intertwining a range of influences from Zappa-esque eccentricity to Fishbone punk funk, D.C. Go-Go to Milt Jackson-influenced vibraphone majesty. Never before, however, has he recorded music so personal and committed to a sustained mood as his latest album, Functioning Broke. The recording finds Dillon solo on vibraphone and various percussion, building each track into its own minimalist, but multi-dimensional auditory landscape.
American Singer/Songwriter from Monticello, Arkansas by way of Nashville, Tennessee, Ward Davis has had songs recorded by Trace Adkins, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Wade Hayes, Sammy Kershaw, Bucky Covington, Jimmie Van Zant, Buddy Jewel, Carolina Rain, The Roys, and more. Most recently, Ward Davis co-wrote “I’m Not The Devil” with Cody Jinks, with whom he subsequently toured with nationwide. With over 250 shows per year under his belt as both a headliner and support act, Ward Davis’ already popular live show is growing at exponential rates.
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.
Magic Beans (Scott Hachey, Casey Russell, Chris Duffy and Cody Wales) have steadily built upon their national notoriety in a very short period of time with a passion for music that is as infectious as their songs. Hailing from Denver, their development has been aided by the warm hearth of the Colorado music scene, and quickly setting themselves apart from the pack as one of the state’s premier acts. Their new album, “Casino Cabaret” (available March 16th), is titled in homage to the vintage sign that hangs above Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom located in the Five Points area of Denver. The venue has served as the heart beat of the Denver music scene for decades under different monikers. Its a place where the legends of jazz, soul, and funk found a common stage, and inspired the Magic Beans to craft an album capturing the different styles and genres that can be heard any given night down in Five Points. With “Casino Cabaret”, the band looks to bring the heart, the vibes, and the feelings of those Denver nights coast to coast.
Based in Florence, AL, Winston Ramble describes their music as homegrown folk n’ roll. With members originally hailing from the free state of Winston County, AL, the band aims to interject the raw expression of rock n’ roll into the feel good vibes of acoustic music.
