Author: skye

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March 21, 2013

CALLAGHAN TO TOUR FROM COAST TO COAST VIA 25 HOUSE SHOWS IN MAY

“Callaghan Across America” Tour will visit living rooms in 22 towns in a month

British born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Callaghan is planning a special coast-to-coast tour called “Callaghan Across America,” which will see her perform house concerts each night as she makes her way from Boston on May 3rd to Berkeley, CA by June 2nd.  The tour, which will visit 22 towns in a month (see full schedule below), highlights the growing importance of house concerts in the changing touring landscape and music industry.

Callaghan is no stranger to more traditional touring. She has performed across the country in clubs and theaters, and over the past year has shared stages with Shawn Mullins, Griffin House, Matthew Sweet, Steve Forbert, Michelle Malone, Matthew Perryman Jones, Michael McDermott and more, and also performed on the Cayamo Cruise in January.

Alongside that traditional touring model, like many emerging artists she has embraced house concerts as an innovative and effective way for people to connect with her music. For listeners, house shows offer a relaxed and intimate way to hear live music in the company of friends. For independent artists like Callaghan, they offer a means to form a strong connection with new fans, make new friends, and stay on the road making music.

“House concerts have helped me establish myself in the USA and kept me on the road doing what I love,” says Callaghan.  “Since moving to the States, I have done more and more of them. I really enjoy getting a chance to perform in the intimate setting of someone’s living room. Those living rooms become listening rooms, and the interaction between the audience and artist at these events creates a strong bond. The vibe is laid back and relaxed, so you feel like you’re performing to a room of friends.”

The UK-born performer moved to the USA in summer 2010 to collaborate with Grammy nominee Shawn Mullins. Mullins produced her debut album Life In Full Colour which was released on May 1st 2012. Playing guitar and keyboard, Callaghan delivers a stunning vocal, and a sound which combines shades of folk, rock and pop into a fusion of feeling and melody.  The first single from her album, “Best Year,” received airplay on Triple A stations across the country, as well as on the nationally-syndicated show Acoustic Café.  Billboard.com called the album “a 12-track set infused with…immediate hooks.”  New Jersey’s Aquarian Weekly said:  “Life In Full Colour by Callaghan proves that this Brit has been listening to her Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt and Sheryl Crow records.  …Girl can write.  Girl can sing.  Girl can play piano.  Girl has captured my heart.  Callaghan, oh Callaghan, sing me back home.”

A long-time Mullins fan, Callaghan reached out to the singer-songwriter in 2009 through MySpace. After Mullins agreed to a rare collaboration, Callaghan left her London digs and boarded a plane headed for the American South. Now in May 2013, 25 house shows will take Callaghan Across America.

**If you are interested in a story about the house concert trend:  in addition to Callaghan, we have several house concert hosts and the founder of ConcertsInYourHome.com available for interviews.**

CALLAGHAN ACROSS AMERICA HOUSE CONCERT TOUR DATES:

5/3 – Boston, MA

5/4 – Philadelphia, PA

5/5 – Wilmington, DE

5/7 – Pittsburgh, PA

5/8 – Cleveland, OH

5/9 – Belleville, MI

5/10 – Chicago, IL

5/11 – Chicago, IL

5/14 – Porter, IN

5/15 – Louisville, KY

5/16 – Nashville, TN

5/18 – Lawrence, KS

5/19 – Manhattan, KS

5/22 – Bentonville, AR

5/23 – Dallas, TX

5/24 – Austin, TX

5/25 – Houston, TX

5/28 – Tucson, AZ

5/29 – Phoenix, AZ

5/30 – Las Vegas, NV

5/31 – Los Angeles, CA

6/1 – San Jose, CA

6/2 – Berkeley, CA

**more dates will be added**

OTHER UPCOMING CALLAGHAN TOUR DATES:

3/21 – Athens, GA / The Melting Point (w/Michelle Malone)

3/22 – Asheville, NC / The Altamont Theater (w/Michelle Malone)

3/24 – Raleigh, NC / Burning Coal Theatre

4/27 – Dahlonega, GA / Crimson Moon Café

6/29 – Duluth, GA / Eddie Owen Presents @ The Red Clay Theatre

7/12 – Evanston, IL / SPACE

7/13 – Spring Lake, MI / Pin Drop Concert Series

7/27 – Annapolis, MD / Ram’s Head On Stage (w/Eric Brace & Peter Cooper)

7/28 – Vienna, VA / Jammin’ Java (w/Eric Brace & Peter Cooper)

www.callaghansongs.com

www.facebook.com/callaghanmusic

www.youtube.com/callaghansongs

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March 20, 2013

THE DREAM SYNDICATE TO PERFORM FIRST NORTH AMERICAN SHOW IN 25 YEARS AT WILCO’S SOLID SOUND FESTIVAL

Fresh off of last September’s successful reunion tour of Spain, the Dream Syndicate will play its  first North American show since 1988 at Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival at Mass MoCa in North Adams, Massachusetts on June 22, 2013,  just a few weeks after the band wraps up a nine-city tour of Europe the month before.

The band’s Spanish shows last fall were named Best Live Show of the Year by the influential Ruta 66 magazine, finishing ahead of gigs by (in order) Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and The Stooges.  (Click here for a video clip of “The Days of Wine and Roses” from El Sol in Madrid, Spain, September 2012.)

“I went into the Spanish shows with a little bit of caution,” says singer/guitarist Steve Wynn.  “I’m really proud of what we did the first time around and wouldn’t want to do anything to tarnish or diminish our reputation.  But I was so excited to see that the new shows not only replicated our sound and style but actually picked up on the dangerous, random, unhinged edge that was what I loved about being in the band in the first place.”

The band’s current lineup features singer/guitarist Wynn and drummer Dennis Duck, the two members who spanned the group’s entire seven-year career as well as bassist Mark Walton, who was in the band for its final two records and nearly all of their US and world tours.  Guitarist Jason Victor who has played with Wynn in the Miracle 3 since 2001 will round out the 21st Century lineup.

The Dream Syndicate made its splash in 1982 with the debut album “The Days of Wine and Roses,” which is often cited among the top records in rock history and has been named as a major influence by such bands as Nirvana, Yo La Tengo, the Japandroids, and the Black Crowes, among many others.  The appearance at the Solid Sound Festival is the only US appearance booked for 2013.

THE DREAM SYNDICATE – TOUR SCHEDULE:

MAY 23          HET DEPOT / LEUVEN, BELGIUM

MAY 24          DINGWALL’S / LONDON, ENGLAND

MAY 25          ROCKEFELLER’S / OSLO, NORWAY

MAY 26          STADTGARDEN / COLOGNE, GERMANY

MAY 28          BEACHES BREW FEST / RAVENNA, ITALY

MAY 29          BLOOM / MEZZAGO (MILAN), ITALY

MAY 30          MYLOS / THESSALONIKI, GREECE

MAY 31          STAGE / LARISSA, GREECE

JUNE 1           GAGARIN / ATHENS, GREECE

JUNE 22         SOLID SOUND FESTIVAL / NORTH ADAMS, MA

www.thedreamsyndicate.com

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March 5, 2013

PSYCHOSTICK Announce More Dates For ‘Our Tour Can Beat Up Your Tour’; New Video ‘Dogs Like Socks’

 

The originators of humorcore, Psychostick who’s latest single and music video ‘Dogs Like Socks’ has  hundreds of thousands of views within weeks of posting, are proud to announce additional dates for ‘Our Tour Can Beat Up Your Tour’, which includes various dates with Polkadot Cadaver and Downtown Brown.

Promo Video for the tour – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtKIq4K75P0

 

http://www.twitter.com/psychostick

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February 28, 2013

 

JESSICA CAMPBELL TO RELEASE ALBUM IN APRIL

 

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jessica Campbell is set to release her second album, The Anchor & The Sail, on April 30, 2013.  The album traces romantic relationships from balmy beginnings to painfully complex ends with bold emotionality. “The album title represents life,” says Campbell.  “There are things that hold us back and weigh us down, anchors…and things that let us move forward, sails. The music on this album represents a reflection on past relationships in light of my recent marriage.”

Produced by longtime creative collaborator Cason Cooley (Katie Herzig, Mat Kearney, Matthew Perryman Jones, Sixpence None The Richer, Andrew Peterson)—Cooley also worked with Campbell on her 2009 debut EP and the follow-up Great Escape LP—the album was recorded over six weeks in Nashville, with the two meticulously tailoring each song’s production aesthetic.  The Anchor & The Sail was carefully culled from a pool of songs birthed from a flood of creativity. The album refines the whimsical pop of her previous album but also adds elegantly essential acoustic songs reflective of her intimate live shows. Special guest, singer-songwriter Dave Barnes (Grammy-nominated for “God Gave Me You”), is featured on the song “Mississippi.”

In the midst of writing for the new album, in April 2012 Campbell signed a worldwide co-publishing agreement with Franklin-based The MWS Group, the publishing company owned by acclaimed artist Michael W. Smith.  Campbell previously won “Best Song” in the esteemed USA Songwriting Competition. She’s had a self-penned song cut by Gordon Mote, the two-time Academy of Country Music Awards’ Piano Player of the Year. She has had songs placed in ABC’s Ugly Betty, CW’s Hart of Dixie, CBC’s (Canada) Heartland, CMT’s Melissa & Tye, and VH-1’s Tough Love New Orleans. Her 2011 album Great Escape climbed to the #5 spot on the iTunes singer-songwriter chart. She’s been profiled in American Songwriter magazine, Nashville Scene, and Oklahoma Gazette. Brite Revolution says: “Campbell has the ability to turn the sentence of your day from ellipsis to exclamation point.”

Campbell was born and raised in the one-stoplight town of Catawba, North Carolina, where she grew up singing gospel, country, show tunes, and singing in competitions. She attended college and graduate school at Middle Tennessee State University outside of Nashville, while continuing her musical journey—writing songs, recording, performing at Dollywood (Dolly Parton’s theme park), singing song demos, leading music at church, and touring.

 

www.jessicacampbellmusic.com

www.facebook.com/jessicacampbellmusic

www.twitter.com/jcampbellmusic

www.youtube.com/JessicaCampbellMusic

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February 13, 2013

Tin Cup Serenade To Release Its Second Album, Tragic Songs Of Hope, On April 23, 2013

Band Explores The Brighter Side of Melancholy With a Blend of Swing, Jazz, Calypso, Mariachi, Blues, Pop and Country Music
San Francisco-based band Tin Cup Serenade is set to release its second album, Tragic Songs of Hope, on April 23, 2013, via Tin Cup Serenade Productions.  The album will be available in digital and vinyl formats.  Tragic Songs of Hope lives up to its name, with ten songs brimming over with exuberant melancholy, bringing to mind an eternal noir rendezvous, where the band never stops, and the crowd is too drunk on the music to care. The songs evoke a Tin Pan Alley melange of New Orleans Jazz, Calypso, Swing, Mariachi, ragtime, early Country, and traditional Cuban Music. The band will be touring widely to support the album’s release.

“Every song on the album has a bit of pathos and a bit of sunshine,” singer and bandleader Rolf Wilkinson explains. “There’s no sadness without happiness, no comedy without tragedy. I like the complexity that results from conflicting emotions, and that’s often a source for my music.”

Tin Cup Serenade blends Wilkinson’s subtly percussive archtop guitar style, elegant arrangements that mix voice, horn, and inspired synergistic improvisation, and a rhythm section featuring Eric Garland’s minimalist drumming and the propulsive upright bass of Safa Shokrai (Rupa and the April Fishes, The Glasses, The Drift). Wilkinson’s relaxed croon is equal parts maudlin and elegant, seemingly drawn from a melange of Cab Calloway, Chet Baker, and Dan Hicks.  Larry Leight on trombone (Lavay Smith, Brass Menažeri) and Pete Cornell on saxophones (Mazacote) are both well known Bay Area horn men who are magnificent on this recording.

Their extensive repertoire combines obscurities from the American songbook with Wilkinson originals that are indistinguishable from the classics, which is no mean feat. On the new album, Wilkinson wrote lyrics for two Duke Ellington tunes—“Limbo Jazz” and “Lament for Javanette”—and the results settle in quite naturally.

The album also features two cover songs from singer-songwriter, Connie Converse (who mysteriously disappeared), whose early home recordings were recently brought to light after having languishing for over five decades.

Except for the two tunes by Converse, Wilkinson produced and wrote or co-wrote everything on Tragic Songs of Hope.  His original tunes combine modernity with timelessness, moody compositions with unexpected bursts of light. “Fragments of You” is a minor key tango with a cha-cha beat, the story of a broken romance lightened by Wilkinson’s sly vocal delivery. “Sunny Oakland Day” is the album’s most optimistic song, a love letter to the East Bay City crooned by Wilkinson over a laid-back swing arrangement that brings Count Basie to mind.  Live, “YaYa Blues” gives the band a chance to stretch out and get loud. On this recording, its slow, swing blues builds momentum with extended solos by Cornell on sax and Leight’s muted trombone. Tin Cup is a small combo, but they aim for, and achieve, the sound of an old-time big band with brilliant originals featuring inventive horn charts and the intricate rhythmic interplay of bassist Shokrai and drummer Garland.

After starting on guitar, Wilkinson shifted to drums and spent years playing jazz in Canada, then moved on to The Molestics, a band that mixed Dixieland, calypso and Hawaiian songs, as well as the touring band of the late Ray Condo, a legendary Canadian western swing and rockabilly artist. He still plays drums in a number of Bay Area jazz and Latin groups.

In 2002, Wilkinson went back to the guitar and started teaching himself old jazz tunes. “I started singing as a kind of self-prescribed musical therapy after going through some rough times,” he says. Singing his jazz tunes and classic saloon songs, Wilkinson got some gigs with Shokrai on bass and various horn players they knew. The band became Tin Cup Serenade as a salute to their humble beginnings in a small San Francisco club where their only compensation came from walking around the room with a tin cup asking patrons to support the music.  Wilkinson produced their 2008 debut, Tin Cup Serenade, released on their self-named label, Tin Cup Serenade Productions.

While the core band is featured on the album, Tin Cup live is a community of San Francisco and Oakland musicians who rotate through the lineup depending on when and where they’re playing. The core band is Wilkinson – vocals, guitar, songwriter; Leight – trombone; Cornell – saxophones; Shokrai – bass; and Garland – drums. But on any given night, you might also find Ara Anderson or Darren Johnston on trumpet, Brandon Essex, Ari Munkres, or Sam Bevan on bass, Jan Jackson on drums, and a variety of other Bay Area singers and instrumentalists joining the band as surprise guests. Live, the band has an approach to improvising that goes back to the Basie big band of the 1930s—wherein horn players improvise behind the soloist—although with Tin Cup, it’s voice and horns creating spontaneous harmonies on the fly.

www.tincupserenade.com

For more information, please contact:

Krista Mettler, Skye Media

krista.mettler@skyemediaonline.com

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January 29, 2013

PATRICK KRIEF CONFIRMS SXSW PERFORMANCE SLOT

 

U.S. Tour To Visit 17 Cities

 

New Album, “Hundred Thousand Pieces,” Out March 19^th

Montreal-based artist Patrick Krief (longtime guitarist for The Dears) is set to tour the United States, with stops planned already in 17 cities, including an official SXSW showcase (3/15 @ TenOak).  (See below for tour schedule.)  Rock Ridge Music will be releasing his album, Hundred Thousand Pieces, on March 19, 2013, in the U.S. (with distribution via ADA).

On the self-produced, self-mixed album, Krief played nearly all the instruments himself (with help from former Black Diamond Bay member Roberto Piccioni), and he also composed the complex, melodically independent string, brass and choir arrangements.  Hundred Thousand Pieces, Krief says, is full of touches he obsessed over; he was committed to creating music that was strongly evocative, inspired by his work scoring films. The 10 songs on the album deal with his anxieties about growing older and continuing down the financially precarious road of a professional musician.  Hundred Thousand Pieces follows Krief’s work with The Dears, his first solo release, 2007’s Take It Or Leave EP, and 2009’s Calm Awaits as part of the band Black Diamond Bay.

While most of Hundred Thousand Pieces was recorded at his Cote-des-Neiges apartment, bits and pieces of it were recorded on his laptop while touring with Black Diamond Bay, the drums were laid down at Mixart studios in the N.D.G. neighborhood of Montreal, and even a few old demo tracks he simply couldn’t re-create made the final mix.

Completing Hundred Thousand Pieces has given Krief the resolve to continue on the unpredictable artistic path he’s been leading these past eight years, and to not fear telling his stories, his way. “Songs like ‘Simple Lives’ and ‘Forever Goodnight’ deal with those questions, about packing it all in and making music as a hobby on the side,” Krief says. Toro Magazine called “Hundred Thousand Pieces” “one of the year’s finest records.”

Prior to his solo outings and around the time NME hailed them as “the best new band in the world,” Krief joined The Dears, an indie rock band from Montreal known for their orchestral, dark pop and dramatic live shows.  Krief’s impassioned guitars graced the band’s music live and on record from 2003 to 2008, and he reconnected with the band in 2010 and remains a member now.  The Dears toured extensively across Canada, U.S., UK, Europe, Japan and Australia, including opening slots for Sloan, The Tragically Hip, Keane, The Secret Machines, and Morrissey.  While on break from The Dears, Krief recorded with Black Diamond Bay, which also featured former drummer of The Dears, George Donoso III.

PATRICK KRIEF U.S. TOUR:

3/1 – PJ’s Lager House, Detroit, MI
3/2 – Township, Chicago, IL
3/3 – Cause Spirits and Soundbar, Minneapolis, MN
3/4 – Gas Lamp, Des Moines, IA
3/5 – Record Bar, Kansas City, MO
3/6 – Merchant’s High Saloon, Denver, CO
3/8 – Starry Plough, Berkeley, CA
3/9 – Hotel Cafe, Los Angeles, CA
3/11 – Eleven, San Diego, CA
3/13 – Lost Leaf, Phoenix, AZ
3/15 – Green Room Music Source SXSW Official Showcase @ TenOak, Austin, TX
3/17 – Circle Bar, New Orleans
3/18 – Atlanta Room, Atlanta, GA
3/19 – Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC
3/21 – Rock Shop, Brooklyn, NY
3/22 – M Room, Philadelphia, PA

3/23 – O’Brien’s Pub, Allston, MA

http://www.krief.ca/

http://www.facebook.com/kriefmusic

http://www.twitter.com/patrickkrief

For more information, please contact:

Krista Mettler, Skye Media/Rock Ridge Music

publicity@rockridgemusic.com

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January 28, 2013

RILEY ETHERIDGE JR. SHINES ON CAYAMO CRUISE

NYC-based Americana singer-songwriter Riley Etheridge Jr. has just returned from his debut appearance on the annual Cayamo Cruise (www.cayamo.com), where he joined a roster of performers that included Lyle Lovett, Richard Thompson, Brandi Carlile, Buddy Miller, and many others.  On the boat, Etheridge performed three solo sets, as well as participating in the Levon Helm Tribute set (with Buddy Miller, Shawn Mullins, Dawes, Shawn Colvin, Jim Lauderdale and Richard Thompson).  A clip of his performance of “Ophelia” (with Roddie Romero and the Hub City All Stars) can be seen here:  http://youtu.be/5NS19LWFq-s.  Romero and band also joined Etheridge on stage during his last set on the boat.

Etheridge continues to tour in support of his 2012 release, The Arrogance Of Youth, and the song “Grace Will Wash My Sins Away” is being worked at Triple A and Americana radio formats.  Music fans can enjoy a free download of a Riley Etheridge music sampler (including several tracks from the latest album) here:  http://noisetrade.com/rileyetheridgejr.

The Arrogance Of Youth features a broad palette of authentic and finely crafted Americana—late-night blues, hard-luck folk, buoyant Bayou soul, barn-burning country.  Etheridge’s third album eloquently and emotionally looks deeply into the highly relatable quandary of “if I knew then what I know now.”  The McKeesport, PA Daily News called the album “rollicking,” and dubbed “Grace Will Wash My Sins Away” Etheridge’s “best song to date.”  PopcultureZ.com praised the album as well, saying:  “Riley Etheridge Jr’s sound shows that you don’t need a whole load of gimmicks and studio wizardry to make fantastic music. With his superb singer / songwriting skills, a great delivery and some superb backing musicians behind him, Etheridge’s ‘The Arrogance Of Youth’ impresses…”

Etheridge was born in South Carolina but spent 20 creatively transformative years in Louisiana, soaking up the region’s unique and rich musical heritage. MusicFog.com succinctly says: “Riley lives in New York now, but you can still track the south in his music.” Etheridge has been favorably compared to Radney Foster, Billy Joe Shaver, and Uncle Tupelo, among others.  His moving lyrics are often singled out in reviews. Innocent Words praised his writing, saying, “Nothing grabs your attention more than Etheridge’s clever word play and finesse with the language of love, lust, and loss.” The bible of hip, modern Americana, No Depression, named him an artist to watch.   Over the years, Etheridge has shared stages with a broad array of respected artists such as Ricky Skaggs, Sister Hazel, Tony Lucca, Honor By August, Todd Carey, and Matt Duke, among many others.

www.rileyetheridge.com

www.facebook.com/rileyetheridgemusic

www.twitter.com/rileyetheridge

For more information, please contact:  

Krista Mettler – Skye Media / Director of Publicity, Rock Ridge Music  

publicity@rockridgemusic.com

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December 7, 2012

SINGER-SONGWRITER AMY LENNARD SIGNS WITH ROCK RIDGE MUSIC

New Album Coming In Spring 2013

New York City-based singer-songwriter Amy Lennard has signed to Newark, NJ-based Rock Ridge Music; she will be releasing her sophomore album, If You Say Yes, via the company’s label arm in Spring 2013.

Says Lennard of the relationship with her new label:  “I am looking forward to and am very excited about releasing my record with Rock Ridge Music.  They care about their artists, have a great roster, and have an amazing track record!”

Says Rock Ridge Music president Jason Spiewak of working with Lennard:  “We are so excited to be Amy Lennard’s label partner for her new album.  If You Say Yes is a wonderful collection of thoughtfully recorded songs, and is a strong reflection of Amy’s talent as a writer and vocalist.”

Produced by Lennard and Andy Stack and engineered by Ken Rich at Grand Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the forthcoming album features 10 tracks, she called upon friends old and new to join her in the studio for If You Say Yes.  Included among the performers she worked with are drummer Jerry Marotta (Elvis Costello, Indigo Girls, Suzanne Vega), drummer Dan Vonnegut, bassist Tony Tino, acoustic guitarist Jon Gordon, and pianist Keith Cotton (Joan Osborne), who contributed a solo on the track, “Take A Chance.”  Producer Stack, who is also her music director and touring partner, contributed performances on multiple instruments and backing vocals to the album.

If You Say Yes is Lennard’s most optimistic work to date.  “I am at a turning point in my life,” says Lennard.  “My music is still as honest as its always been, but now it has a different bent.  My debut album had a longing for something just out of grasp, but this is about coming upon something.  I write songs about peace, love, longing and understanding.”  The record’s filigree of mesmerizing vocal harmonies, delicate and graceful full-band interaction, and unflinching positivity was born from peace within.

Lennard built a considerable profile with transcendently soulful vocals and thematic lyrics rich with evocative nature metaphors, an all-welcoming spirituality, and a bold vulnerability. The Daily Vault says: “Lennard nails the essence of everyday emotions – the inner conflicts, the flashes of joy and sorrow and regret and desire, the fundamental uncertainty of anything in life but the moment you’re inhabiting.” Cashbox.com gushes “Lennard is in the league with some of the best songwriters and storytellers of our time.”

www.amylennard.com

www.facebook.com/amylennardmusic

www.twitter.com/amylennard

For more information, please contact:

Krista Mettler, Skye Media & Rock Ridge Music

publicity@rockridgemusic.com

http://mattduke.tumblr.com/

For more information, please contact:

Krista Mettler / Skye Media & Rock Ridge Music

publicity@rockridgemusic.com