Nashville country artist George Shingleton and SoCal classic country labelmate Victoria Bailey set to perform at 3rd & Lindsley on October 28th

For Immediate Release

October 1, 2020

 

Nashville country artist George Shingleton and SoCal classic country labelmate Victoria Bailey

set to perform at 3rd & Lindsley on October 28th

 

 

Rock Ridge Music label artists Nashville-based country singer-songwriter George Shingleton and Huntington Beach, CA-based classic country singer-songwriter Victoria Bailey are set to take to the stage at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 for a live, in-person show. Doors are at 6 p.m.; Bailey’s set is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., while Shingleton will perform at 8:15 p.m. 3rd & Lindsley re-opens for live performances today (October 1, 2020), and, in accordance with pandemic guidelines, capacity limits, social distancing, and mask mandates will be in effect at the venue.* The show is free; more information about the show will be available at the 3rd & Lindsley website.

“I’m so excited to be back at 3rd & Lindsley,” says Shingleton. “It’s been way too long, but the band and I are ready to hit the stage at one of our favorite spots in town. Can’t wait to see y’all on October 28th. Yeah, man!”

“I’m so thrilled to be heading back to my favorite town, to be playing live music again, and to definitely get some good BBQ,” says Bailey. “See you soon, Nashville!”

About George Shingleton:

George Shingleton’s latest single, “Have a Good Time,” will be released on October 9, 2020. Produced by Dave Pahanish (who co-wrote #1 songs recorded by Jimmy Wayne, Toby Keith, and Keith Urban), “Have a Good Time” is a rollicking country/Southern rock jam that feels like it would have been as at home on ’70s radio as it will on streaming platforms in 2020. In addition to Shingleton, the song features Shane Sanders on lead guitar, Tom Bukovac on guitar (Hank Williams Jr., Willie Nelson, Keith Urban), Steve Mackey on bass (Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Peter Frampton), Jefferson Crow on keyboards (Gary Allan, Sturgill Simpson, Jamey Johnson), and Bradford Dobbs on drums.

“Have a Good Time” is the third single from Shingleton’s forthcoming album, Out All Nighter, which is due out December 4, 2020. “Have a Good Time” follows on the heels of the second single, “Handful of Hell,” which was released in May, and the first single, “Fire or Flame,” which was released in February. Shingleton’s music, and “Handful of Hell” in particular, earned praise from American Songwriter earlier this year, which called it: “…grittier… There’s a lost honesty in country music like Shingleton’s and that’s on display in his newest song, ‘Handful of Hell’…”  Shingleton also plans to get into the holiday spirit before his album drops with the release of a standalone holiday single, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” on October 23, 2020.

As a teen, he fell in love with the sounds of Hank Williams Jr., Ronnie Van Zant, Gregg Allman, Waylon Jennings, and Merle Haggard, and his music was eventually informed by all of them, toeing the blurry lines between Americana, country, blues, Southern rock, and gospel. The integrity of his stories and sound has earned him the respect of other artists, including Darryl Worley, John Michael Montgomery, Bucky Covington, Montgomery Gentry, Charlie Daniels, Bo Bice, and Keith Anderson, all of whom have invited him to share their stage.

https://www.georgeshingleton.com/

About Victoria Bailey:

Huntington Beach, CA-based classic country singer-songwriter Victoria Bailey released her album, Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline, on September 18, 2020. Grounding Bailey’s timeless country music palette is her crystalline voice; an inviting warm tone with the occasional flutter that transports you back in time to a classic honky tonk, one where Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris were all in heavy rotation.

Produced by Jeremy Long, Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline is a whiskey-smooth concoction of crisp guitars, silky fiddle, and radiant pedal steel that expertly glides beneath Bailey’s magnetic, California sun-kissed soprano. Bailey brings the classic country spirit to the 21st century through relatably raw, non-sugarcoated songwriting, evoking a fiery, no-holds-barred lyrical approach in the vein of Margo Price.

PopMatters.com called her music “…a country romp… a rollicking, narrative-driven sound,” while Cowboys & Indians lauded her “storytelling soul-twang,” and Americana Highways praised her “grit mixed with personality, fluency in her musicality, she’s expressive and imaginative… Sawdust thick, whiskey-smooth…” Saving Country Music said of Victoria: “If you’re looking for a honky tonk sweetheart, then you’ve found one in native Californian Victoria Bailey, who comes sauntering out of the painted desert on a Palomino like a singin’ cowgirl from the days of old, seducing you with… a sweet soprano with the most perfect country warble… a full package of country music goodness… Classic, but cool.”

https://www.victoriabaileymusic.com/

*Additional COVID-19 safety measures at the venue include:
– All 3rd & Lindsley staff will have their temperature taken upon arrival and will be wearing masks as regulated by CDC guidelines.
– All artists and crew will have their temperature taken upon arrival before loading in gear.
– Commonly used surfaces/areas will be sanitized every 30 minutes or more frequently when necessary (doorknobs + bathrooms + handrails).
– Hand sanitizer will be available through the venue for guests use, and backstage for artists’ use.
– Tables are placed 6 feet apart from each other.
– Tables and chairs will be wiped down thoroughly between seatings.
– Food and beverage menus will be available to guests via QR code to scan upon arrival.

Harrow Fair is set to release acoustic single in October | Song is stripped-down version of the title track from their 2020 album, “Sins We Made”

For Immediate Release
September 21, 2020

 

Harrow Fair is set to release acoustic single in October

 

Song is a stripped-down version of the title track from their 2020 album, Sins We Made

 

Toronto, ON-based Americana duo Harrow Fair (Miranda Mulholland and Andrew Penner) is set to release a new acoustic single on October 29, 2020 via Roaring Girl Records. The song is a stripped-down, bare bones version of the title track from their most recent album, Sins We Made, which was released on April 17, 2020.

The new single is about the changing environment for men and women post #MeToo and what that means as a duo, as friends, in the workplace, and how to support and create space for all voices. Finding themselves in a creative mood during the pandemic, the pair carved out some time to escape to Mulholland’s boat-in cottage in Muskoka, ON, where they set up some old ribbon microphones in the main room of the cabin and stripped some songs down to their essences. One of the results is the hauntingly beautiful, acoustic version of “Sins We Made.”

Says Mulholland of the song: “With all the production from the album gone, what does the song still say? This was a mirror of what we’ve been forced to reckon with in our lives. If live performance isn’t the same, what are we left with?”

One part stomping songs that echo early country and rock ’n’ roll, the other gritty ballads that sound sweet and haunted, Harrow Fair is a powerhouse of foot-thumping, soul-wrenching, transcendent Americana – integrating their considerable skills to deliver music equaling much more than the sum of its parts. Sins We Made uses the duo’s skilled and acute blending of voices, instruments, and textures to explore the spectrum that lies between light and dark. Called “timeless” (Americana UK), “truly terrific” (Folk Radio UK), “cinematic” (Great Dark Wonder), “remarkable” and “spectacular” (Music Life Magazine), their music was hailed by the Toronto Globe and Mail as “…a brand of mountain music, moonlit and minimalist, heard from a distance.” Their songs delve into the issues of our time – from the current political situation to confronting bullies to claiming one’s power, from modern relationships in the digital era to the stigma surrounding addiction and depression to the importance of community.

“After the first album, Call To Arms, happened organically, we wanted to take time to write about things that matter to us and that we feel are important to talk about,” says Mulholland. “These themes have been fresh on our minds. Getting older is messy. Children, no children, choices, pressure, expectations of others and ourselves.”

No strangers to the music scene, Mulholland (JUNO 2020 nominee, Great Lake Swimmers, Belle Starr) and Penner (Sunparlour Players) began writing music together and quickly discovered they shared a unique vision. With Harrow Fair, these two singular voices merged to create a bold sound: one that combines searing vocals, heavy kick drum, rootsy guitar, and scorching fiddle. Together, they’ve shared stages with The Jayhawks, Stephen Kellogg, Jim Cuddy, Red Wanting Blue, Elliott Brood, The East Pointers, and Donovan Woods, and they’ve graced the stage at a number of festivals including Philadelphia Folk Festival, AmericanaFest, Down The Hatch Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Calgary Folk Festival, Blissfest, and The Rock Boat.

Penner and Mulholland have collectively performed on over 150 albums including records by Donovan Woods, Rose Cousins, Sunparlour Players, Cowboy Junkies, Sarah Slean, and Jimmy Byron, as well as for TV, film, video games, and theatre. Never idle, these artists have continued to build an incredible list of accolades with their solo endeavors. Last fall, Penner was both Music Director and starred in the Crow’s Theatre’s critically acclaimed production of “Ghost Quartet,” for which he won a Toronto Theatre Critics Award and was nominated for a Dora Award. Closing out last year, Mulholland was awarded Runner-Up to Margaret Atwood for Artist of the Year 2019 in Toronto’s Globe and Mail. Mulholland was nominated for a JUNO Award for Traditional Roots Album of The Year in 2020 for her solo record. Penner has a BFA in Theatre from Ryerson University, and Mulholland studied Opera Performance at UWO and McGill University.

HARROW FAIR DISCOGRAPHY
2020 – Sins We Made (acoustic single)
2020 – Sins We Made (Album) – Roaring Girl/Fontana North
2019 – I Just Wanna (Single)
2018 – Maybe This Christmas (Single)
2017 – Fare Thee Well Love (Single)
2017 – When The Levee Breaks (Single)
2017 – Wicked Game (Single)
2016 – Call To Arms (Album) – Roaring Girl/Fontana North

https://www.harrowfair.ca/
https://www.mirandamulholland.ca/
http://www.andrewpenner.ca/

Roger Street Friedman announces two new singles: “Poison in the Cut” (out September 25th) and “Carry Me (acoustic) feat. Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams and Lucy Kaplansky” (out October 9th)

For Immediate Release

September 9, 2020

 

Roger Street Friedman announces two new singles: “Poison in the Cut” (out September 25th) and “Carry Me (acoustic) feat. Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams and Lucy Kaplansky” (out October 9th)

Upcoming livestreams scheduled on September 18th, September 24th, and October 9th

 

Sea Cliff, NY-based Americana singer-songwriter Roger Street Friedman is set to release a new stand-alone single, “Poison in the Cut,” on September 25, 2020, via Nashville-based label Rock Ridge Music. Produced by Friedman himself and recorded in June at his studio, The Playroom, the song was written in response to the murder of George Floyd. “I think that left most of the country feeling disgusted and like we’d had enough,” says Friedman.

He continues: “The song is about the wound of racism that has never healed, even though the narrative we learned in school, in the movies, and on TV was that everything was ‘fixed’ with the end of slavery. You know, Lincoln freed the slaves, and all was well.  That’s the original lie. The song is about how racism has been inculcated into every segment of our society. Even after slavery ended, all the way through reconstruction and the Civil Rights movement, and after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, there have been implicit and explicit biases that have held the African American community down. Ongoing discrimination in education, housing, healthcare, banking, and criminal justice has impeded the ability of entire generations to achieve the dream of true equality. The song, written from the perspective of a white man who is standing with the African American community in this movement, envisions a reckoning with our actual history, not the mythology we were taught, by shining a bright light on this structural racism as a way to finally, at long last, heal the nation.”

Joining Friedman on the track is the rhythm section of his band (Jim Toscano on drums and Matt Schneider on bass), who recorded their parts in their own studios. Jeff Kazee (of the Asbury Jukes), who played piano on the track, also supplied his portion from afar.  The contributions weave together seamlessly, as though the musicians had been side-by-side in the studio. Friedman is currently working on a video to accompany the song.

“Poison in the Cut” is the follow-up to Friedman’s critically lauded April 2020 album, Rise, which was produced by Grammy-winning producer Larry Campbell (a longtime collaborator of Levon Helm). American Songwriter praised the “poise of the arrangements and perfected production,” while Goldmine Magazine called it “sumptuous… [with] affecting musical vignettes… Inspiring and infectious… striking and seductive… It’s the culmination of a career that’s seen his reputation elevated to upper strata of today’s most consistent Americana artists.” American Blues Scene was fond of the “honest, vulnerable songwriting that has won Friedman praise everywhere,” and Americana-UK espoused the “excellent songcraft,” dubbing it “delicate and beautiful.”

On the heels of “Poison in the Cut,” Friedman also plans to release “Carry Me (acoustic) feat. Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams and Lucy Kaplansky” on October 9, 2020. An album track from the aforementioned Rise, “Carry Me” in this acoustic version as a stand-alone single casts a new light upon the song, mixing some of the original parts with some new elements overdubbed, lending a more organic vibe. The album version’s original acoustic guitar part (played by Friedman), upright bass (Matt Schneider), mandolin and pedal steel (Larry Campbell), and background vocals (Teresa Williams and Lucy Kaplansky) are woven with new lead vocals by Friedman, as well as a new, lead acoustic guitar part artfully played by Friedman and showcasing an aspect of his skillful guitar work not present on his past releases. The resulting track is a more gentle, soothing version of an album favorite, of both the fans and Friedman himself. “This song was written when I was down in Nashville,” he recalls. “I was alone one night in the little bungalow I’d rented after a writing session and was really missing my wife and kids. It’s about the dichotomy of wanting to be with them but knowing that my career means I have to be on the road a lot of the time.”

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, being on the road is not possible at the moment; fans eager to see Friedman live can do so via a series of livestreams from his studio in the coming weeks; each performance is scheduled at 7 p.m. eastern time. Friedman will kick things off on his Facebook page on September 18th; he will play a special show sponsored by Isis Music Hall in Asheville, NC on the Mountain Spirit Coffee House Facebook page on September 24th, which will celebrate the release of “Poison in the Cut”; and he will round out the trio of livestreams back on his own Facebook page on October 9th to mark the release of “Carry Me (acoustic)” the same day.

The award-winning singer-songwriter has consistently released honest, vulnerable songs that have won Friedman praise everywhere from USA Today to No Depression – reflective vignettes recalling the singer-songwriter tradition of Marc Cohn and Robbie Robertson, set to a blend of folk-rock, progressive Americana, and soulful R&B. Friedman was bitten by the music bug early, learning to write songs and even developing his studio engineering skills. It was an avocation, however, until a combination of events – the deaths of his father and mother, marriage, and, later, the births of his two children – steered Friedman back to music, leading to the acclaimed 2014 debut, The Waiting Sky, and 2017’s Shoot The Moon, which reached #2 on the Roots Music Report Americana Country Album Chart and spent 25 weeks in the top 20.

Roger Street Friedman Online
https://www.rogerstreetfriedman.com/
https://twitter.com/rsfmusic
http://instagram.com/rogerstreetfriedman
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBlYME_0HfmGs73o2fRWh0g
https://www.facebook.com/rogerstreetfriedman

Alfred Howard Writes: an ambitious collaboration of musicians and family born out of the pandemic

For Immediate Release

September 9, 2020

 
Alfred Howard Writes: an ambitious collaboration of musicians and family born out of the pandemic

 

Alfred Howard, an institution of the San Diego music scene, has launched a new project born out of the coronavirus pandemic called Alfred Howard Writes. Howard, the lyricist and percussionist for more than six different San Diego-based bands, has found a renewed passion for his writing and music through the isolation of the pandemic and the monumental events we have been living through over the last six months. Alfred Howard Writes is a multimedia collaboration taking place virtually with fellow musicians and performers around the world. He plans to release 100 songs (two per week) over the course of a year.

The concept is simple. Al writes all of the lyrics and partners with a vocalist and other artists to record each song, utilizing the magic of technology to share tracks and ideas. All songs are mixed and mastered by Mike Butler. In addition to musical artistic partnerships, Al is also collaborating with his mother, Marian Howard, a watercolor painter for more than five decades; Marian is painting an original piece of art based on her son’s lyrics for each of the songs that emerges from the project. Tapping into the different vibes and genres Al has explored in his past music (everything from soul, psychedelic rock, folk, Americana, spoken word), Alfred Howard Writes explores all of that and more, including jazz, bluegrass, and blues, leading to a very eclectic mix of flavors from song to song within the project. Some of the participating artists include Brad Barr (The Barr Brothers), Nicki Bluhm (Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers), Dani Bell (Dani Bell & the Tarantist), Nathan Moore (ThaMuseMeant, Surprise Me Mr. Davis, The Whole Other), and Goodnight, Texas (featuring Avi Vinocur, backing vocalist for Metallica), among many more.

It all began very organically. “I started posting lyrics that I was writing during the pandemic on Facebook with short videos of myself reading or singing the lyrics and asking others to share their takes on my songs,” says Howard of the genesis of the project. “I’m not a great vocalist so I was hoping to find some better performances than I could present. It was a mixed bag to be honest, but from this experience came the idea for this new site.” On his Facebook page he promised: “When this is over, we’ll have a nice little time capsule of beauty in the midst of a tragedy.”

As things started to take shape and songs were finished, Al launched a new website as the home for the project in June – https://AlfredHowardWrites.com – on which to showcase the collaborative musical pairings, stories, and artwork that go along with each song. The first song released (on June 8, 2020) was “We All Breathe The Same Air,” a track he worked on with Nathan Moore, written in response to George Floyd’s lynching in the street. Featured on the song are Moore on guitar, vocals, clarinets; Jeff Leonard on bass and Tyler Thompson on drums (Fruition); and Brad Barr (The Barr Brothers, The Slip) on guitar.

Each week, two new songs are released, one on Monday and one on Thursday. Al offers anyone the ability to stream, view, and read all of the material for free, however listeners and fans are encouraged to take advantage of the subscription plan to support the artists involved, which allows either monthly ($10 per month) or annual ($100 for the full year) options to gain access to download and own the songs. Individual songs can be purchased for $1. In addition, Al offers short stories and other behind-the-scenes experiences for additional levels of subscription. Finally, each of the original paintings by Marian Howard, as well as some limited-edition prints of the artwork, can be purchased through the site.

All of the money will be split with the musicians on the songs. To date, 27 songs have been released on AlfredHowardWrites.com with a minimum of 73 collaborations to go over the coming months since Al has promised his subscribers 100 songs over the course of a year. Not a surprising undertaking from an artist that KPBS called “one of San Diego’s most prolific musicians.”

With over 21 years of writing music under his belt before the project even began, Al had reached a crossroads pre-pandemic at which he was pondering stepping away from music entirely. “Of all things to resuscitate my creativity, it was a pandemic sweeping across the land,” he recalls. “A month of being holed up at home forced me to put pen to paper with a sense of urgency and figure out how to collaborate from a safe distance. Out of this darkness came a light in the form of songs and collaboration. It’s an extremely special feeling to find one’s niche, and I feel that after two decades of searching, I’ve stumbled into what I was supposed to be doing. AlfredHowardWrites.com is going to be the home of collaborations with artists I’ve known for a long time and always wanted to work with, some familiar folks I’ve worked with for ages, and hopefully some people I meet along the way. Together, we will figure out a way forward in this brave new world.”

As Al recently told the San Diego Reader, “We’re documentarians, and this year seems important. A pandemic, a social justice movement, a heated election, a fractured America — I wanted to capture the year in song and turn things around quickly, with quality, but have the capacity to be reactionary to what’s going on. Making albums sometimes takes away that capacity. At the same time, it’s not going to be all newspaper [headlines]. There are the personal developments of a year which coincide with the external. The goal is just to get it all out there to see and hear and reflect on.”

Singers who have participated in the Alfred Howard Writes project so far (with songs already out or with songs coming out soon) include:
Brad Barr (The Barr Brothers, The Slip)
Nicki Bluhm (Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers)
Nathan Moore (ThaMuseMeant, Surprise Me Mr. Davis, The Whole Other)
Shelbi Bennett (the Midnight Pine, Baby Bushka and the Havnauts)
Annie Ellicott (Jeff Goldblum)
Rebecca Jade (Rebecca Jade and the Cold Fact, Sheila E.)
Dawn Mitschele (Cardinal Moon)
Oh Spirit
Kimmi Bitter
Sara Azriel
Jasmine Bailey
Mara Kaye
Ellis Bryant (The Heavy Guilt)
Erik Canzona
Austin Burns
Jenn Grinels (Siren Songs)
Goodnight, Texas (featuring Avi Vinocur, backing vocalist for Metallica)
John Meeks
Birdy Bardot (the Rosalyns, the New Kinetics)
Rebecca Marie Miller

With many San Diego session musicians rounding out the songs, two of the participating musicians who contributed drum parts are also known in wider music circles. Jake Najor (who plays drums on the songs from Birdy Bardot and Jenn Grinels, and an upcoming Rebecca Jade song) has recorded or played with TV On the Radio, Kelis, Raphael Saadiq, Jason Mraz, Joss Stone, Aloe Blacc, and more. Elizabeth Goodfellow (who plays drums on the song from Oh Spirit) has toured with Iron and Wine, Conor Oberst, Calexico, and Phoebe Bridgers.

About Alfred Howard:
Alfred Howard grew up in Morristown, NJ before heading to Boston, where he attended, then graduated from, Boston College. After college, Al decided to move to San Diego in 1998 and set out on a Kerouac-style trek across the United States. It was on this journey that Al began to hone his craft of writing, and he is a writer through and through. While he mostly writes poetry and lyrics, Al has written two books and countless short stories and musings that can be found across the internet. Al formed his first band in San Diego, Alfred Howard and the K23 Orchestra, a spoken word, jam/funk band which featured Al as the front man. Since the K23 Orchestra days, Al has played a more behind-the-scenes role as lyricist and percussionist. Al writes for more than a dozen songwriters these days and formed the Redwoods Collective, which features a collective of musicians and front men and women who all perform the poetry and lyrics of Al Howard.

https://www.alfredhowardwrites.com/ | https://www.theredwoodsmusic.com/

About Marian Howard:
Marian Howard is a visual watercolor artist with a background in fashion advertising, illustration, and printmaking. She attended school at the Boston Institute of Art, The New School in New York, The Printmaker’s Workshop in New York and San Francisco, and the Art Student League in New York City. She has traveled internationally, and every experience, every vantage point taken in by her eyes seeps out from her brush. Over the years, she has been featured in countless galleries and museums, and has taken home several best in show awards. She has created a vast and brilliant library of art over the past four decades, diverse in its scope and aim.

https://www.marianhowardartist.com/

Nashville country artist George Shingleton to release new single, “Have a Good Time,” on October 9th | Full album coming later in 2020

For Immediate Release

September 8, 2020

 

Nashville country artist George Shingleton to release new single, “Have a Good Time, on October 9th

Full album coming later in 2020

Shingleton continues livestreaming every Tuesday night on Facebook Live

Nashville-based country singer-songwriter George Shingleton is set to release a new single, “Have a Good Time,” on October 9, 2020 via Rock Ridge Music. Produced by Dave Pahanish (who co-wrote #1 songs recorded by Jimmy Wayne, Toby Keith, and Keith Urban), “Have a Good Time” is a rollicking country/Southern rock jam that feels like it would have been as at home on ’70s radio as it will on streaming platforms in 2020.

Says Shingleton about the song: “My producer, Dave Pahanish, wrote ‘Have a Good Time’ with the Whiskey Myers guys a few years back. I’ve always been drawn to the song, and I think it fits me, so I was happy to have the opportunity to record it with Dave at his home studio, Panfish Studio. We definitely had a ‘good time’ recording it. The song is very fun-loving, so it was easy to relax and settle in on it. That makes a difference for me when recording, I think.”

In addition to Shingleton, the song features Shane Sanders on lead guitar, Tom Bukovac on guitar (Hank Williams Jr., Willie Nelson, Keith Urban), Steve Mackey on bass (Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, Peter Frampton), Jefferson Crow on keyboards (Gary Allan, Sturgill Simpson, Jamey Johnson), and Bradford Dobbs on drums.

“Have a Good Time” is the third single from Shingleton’s forthcoming album, Out All Nighter, which is due out December 4, 2020. “Have a Good Time” follows on the heels of the second single, “Handful of Hell,” which was released in May, and the first single, “Fire or Flame,” which was released in February. Shingleton’s music, and “Handful of Hell” in particular, earned praise from American Songwriter earlier this year, which called it: “…grittier… There’s a lost honesty in country music like Shingleton’s and that’s on display in his newest song, ‘Handful of Hell’…”  Shingleton also plans to get into the holiday spirit before his album drops with the release of a standalone holiday single, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” on October 23, 2020.

“I’m looking forward to this new album coming out,” says Shingleton. “I think it shows some growth from the debut album I released last year, and also still connects the two together. The songs on this one mean as much as the songs on the last one, maybe even a little more. Releasing new music can be stressful. You want to make sure people like what you’re putting out, but also make sure it’s what you are and where you’re at. You want to make sure the honesty is there. I feel like we accomplished that this round.”

Like all other touring artists, Shingleton’s planned 2020 tour dates have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fans eager to see Shingleton perform can catch him livestreaming weekly on his Facebook page at 7:30 p.m. central time every Tuesday evening for his “Tuesday Night Tunes” series.

A son of rural West Virginia, Shingleton was raised on traditional gospel music in small country churches. Music was in his paternal line, with many family members playing an amalgam of bluegrass and Appalachian “hill country” music. Choir directors encouraged him from a young age to find his voice and let it fill the space between altars and spires, people and pews. That voice, it turns out, would also fill the hollers of the mountains. He spent more time outside than in, providing the soundtrack to crackling campfires and electrified stages, each performance pushing him closer and closer to realizing his sound.

As a teen, he fell in love with the sounds of Hank Williams Jr., Ronnie Van Zant, Gregg Allman, Waylon Jennings, and Merle Haggard, and his music was eventually informed by all of them, toeing the blurry lines between Americana, country, blues, Southern rock, and gospel. A lot of Shingleton’s music has also been inspired by his wife, with many of his songs influenced by her presence in his life; she was the one who saw the potential in his playing and performing and encouraged him to go for it. “She saw the happiness and the light in me when I played,” Shingleton explains, “and that helped me see the light in myself.”

The integrity of his stories and sound has earned him the respect of other artists, including Darryl Worley, John Michael Montgomery, Bucky Covington, Montgomery Gentry, Charlie Daniels, Bo Bice, and Keith Anderson, all of whom have invited him to share their stage.

George Shingleton is managed by Rock Ridge Music (Nashville, TN) and is booked by Paradigm Talent Agency.

https://www.georgeshingleton.com/

Opelika Songwriters Festival announces cancellation of 2020 festival dates | 2021 festival dates set for March

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 24, 2020 

 

Opelika Songwriters Festival announces cancellation of 2020 festival dates

 

2021 festival dates set for March, with further details to be announced soon

 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the annual Opelika Songwriters Festival has been forced to cancel this year’s festival dates.  The 2020 dates were originally scheduled to take place in Opelika, Alabama on March 27-29, were moved to September 18-20, and are now canceled.  The plan is to shift this year’s festival dates to 2021, and today the event producers are announcing the confirmed 2021 dates: the three-day festival is set to take place March 26-28, 2021, with all details, including performer lineup, participating venues, and ticket on-sale date, to be announced soon.

 

Says event co-producer Rob Slocumb of The Sound Wall: “Out of concern for the safety of our artists, attendees, volunteers, and sponsors, we have decided to postpone the festival to March 2021.  What makes the Opelika Songwriters Festival special are the intimate listening rooms throughout downtown Opelika, and the personal experiences attendees have with the artists. This type of setting is simply not possible at this time during the pandemic. We look forward to seeing everyone in 2021.”

 

About the Opelika Songwriters Festival:

 

The Opelika Songwriters Festival consists of multiple venues in Historic Downtown Opelika that are transformed into listening rooms and host over 40 singer-songwriters, from local artists to Grammy Award-winning performers. Last year, festival goers came from all over Alabama, Georgia, and Florida to listen. A festival pass gets fans access to every venue, giving them the opportunity to experience many different locations and songwriters over the weekend. Rob and Jen Slocumb (a.k.a. Martha’s Trouble, and owners of The Sound Wall) founded the Opelika Songwriters Festival, which debuted Memorial Day Weekend 2019 in downtown Opelika, Alabama.

 

The Opelika Songwriters Festival is produced by The Sound Wall and Russell Carter Artist Management (RCAM). RCAM has co-produced the prestigious 30A Songwriters Festival for the past 11 years on the northwest Florida coast.

 

https://www.opelikasongwritersfestival.com/

Americana singer-songwriter Ashley Riley to release new single, “Close to Me,” on August 28th | Livestreams planned in August to celebrate new single

For Immediate Release
July 14, 2020

 

Americana singer-songwriter Ashley Riley to release new single, “Close to Me,” on August 28th

 

Livestreams planned in August to celebrate the new single

 

Decatur, IL-based Americana singer-songwriter Ashley Riley is set to release her latest single, “Close to Me,” on August 28, 2020. “Close to Me” won the Midwest Music Expo Listening Panel in May 2020, and after many requests from fans that she release it, Riley decided it was high time to officially put the song out into the universe.

“This year, as we all can attest, has been sad and strange and full of challenges,” says Riley. “We’ve all had to adjust and figure out how to keep moving forward, what can take a backseat, and what we can let go of altogether. I really wanted to put out something that feels good and ‘Close to Me’ is that song for me.  It’s got a nice groove to it, although it does make me laugh that I’m releasing a song entitled ‘Close to Me’ when we all are supposed to stay at least six feet apart.”

The vocals on “Close to Me” were from a quick demo take that was recorded the first day in the studio. Says Riley about the recording session: “I remember it well because, right before that, I sang for three hours at a luncheon for the American Heart Association and I got to meet Jennie Garth from ‘Beverly Hills 90210’ who was the speaker at the event.”

Her sound is laced with earthy grit, and at its core, Riley’s music is best described as sophisticated indie/Americana. There’s a dreamy quality to the songs, yet lyrically they capture the essence of the more honest moments of our days: those seemingly ordinary moments that suddenly take your breath away or make you weak in the knees, those moments that prove to us that oftentimes the most extraordinary moments are found in our everyday lives. Riley has been slowly chipping away at her upcoming album, taking a slightly different approach. “Close to Me” is the first single from the album; Riley is still working on it and plans to release the as-yet-unnamed album in early 2021.

After her EP release in 2017 (Can’t Let You Go), half of her band moved away, and Riley returned to her acoustic songwriting roots. “I went back into my own little shell of singer-songwriter-ness, and I started enjoying that space again,” says Riley. “After a while I wanted to capture some of the songs, and I felt like I had an opportunity for it to be a blank slate again.” She reached out to James Treichler at Wave Upon Wave in Champaign, IL and headed into the studio with him in early 2019. Since then, Riley has been working with Treichler and dialing in the sound for the upcoming album. “It’s been an interesting process, really digging in and choosing the palette for each song,” Riley says. “I didn’t realize how heavily I relied on different players in my previous band to help pull out the sound, and it’s been really fun to step into that role more fully myself.”

Riley has been a staple in the music scene of her hometown Long Creek, IL, where she got her start hosting open mics in the Decatur area around 2008, helping to revitalize and nurture the underground singer-songwriter scene in town. After starting as an acoustic-based songwriter on her first record, Riley realized by her second album that her songs begged for a band, and her subsequent albums got the full-band treatment to glowing reviews.

New Noise Magazine
 called her “one of the best obscure female artists I’ve heard in, well, ever,” and In-Forty.com declared her a “female songstress everyone would be wise to spend time with.” Women of Substance Radio noted: “Ashley’s songs have an ethereal and delicate quality… Her reverence for Americana artists like Neil Young and Patty Griffin is unmistakable. She pens lyrics that are unsettling and sometimes even disturbing, as all good lyrics should be.” Illinois Entertainer trumpeted: “Make no mistake, Ashley Riley has an utterly gorgeous voice and a sound all her own.” Seven of the nine songs on her third album, All The Pretty Things, can be heard in rotation on Starbucks in-store airplay.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Riley is unable to tour right now. Fans eager to see her live can catch her celebrating the release of her new single with two livestreams. The first will be on August 21st at 8 p.m. central on TheBoot.com’s Facebook and Instagram pages. The second will be on August 28th (the single’s release date) for SCENES Live Sessions on SCENES’ FacebookInstagramPeriscope/TwitterYouTube, and Twitch simultaneously at 7 p.m. central.
https://ashleyriley.com/home

Pop-country singer-songwriter Jennafer Lynsey explores the relationship spark in new single, “Click” | Song has already logged over 60K streams

For Immediate Release
July 6, 2020

 

Pop-country singer-songwriter Jennafer Lynsey explores the relationship spark in new single, “Click”

Song has already logged over 60K streams

Nashville-based up-and-coming pop-country singer-songwriter Jennafer Lynsey has just released a new single, “Click,” on June 12, 2020. Already the song has been streamed over 60,000 times. Available at all streaming and download portals, “Click” is an ode to that special spark that meeting the right person can ignite. “‘Click’ is about that relationship where you meet someone and instantly connect,” says Lynsey of the catchy country tune. “It’s like when they say you meet someone and feel like your souls were meant to be together. Like you’ve known each other forever. It’s a lighthearted, happy, pop-country song that just makes you feel good. It makes you want to dance and sing along to it.” “Click” was written by Jennafer Lynsey, Clayton Shay, and Christina Carmel, and was produced by Zachary Manno.

Fans of Maren Morris, Taylor Swift, Kelsea Ballerini, Lauren Alaina, Lindsay Ell, and Carly Pearce will no doubt connect with Lynsey’s sound and songs. The Buffalo, NY-born-and-bred artist started performing at the age of 10, where she segued from talent shows to theater programs, piano lessons, and singing lessons. In addition to playing piano, she also taught herself guitar at age 15 and went from open mic to open mic, before graduating to her own gigs performing at local festivals and venues. Lynsey’s passion and drive ended up landing her a deal with an artist development company – helmed by former Sony exec Mike Kraski – down in Nashville at the age of 17, and she traveled back and forth every month from Buffalo to Nashville until high school ended.

As soon as she graduated, Lynsey went on to make Nashville her new home. By the age of 19, she’d signed a label deal with the now-defunct Loud & Proud Records and released two singles (“Face to Face” [2017] and “Lights” [2018]). She shared stages with Aaron Carter and Jeff Timmons and performed at her hometown’s New Year’s Eve Ball Drop in front of 20,000 people. Lynsey recorded tracks with in-demand producers Greg Archilla (Matchbox 20, Collective Soul) and Matt Squire (Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, One Direction, Selena Gomez).

After the label folded, she independently released her Sensitive EP in January 2020. The EP spawned her previous single, “Rebound,” which hit over 147,000 streams, while the EP itself has garnered over 372,000 streams. Holding power in the social media realm with almost 23,000 followers on Instagram, the 23-year-old is working to inspire others to love themselves, to be their best friend when they need it, and to brighten people’s days with her music.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lynsey is unable to tour right now. Fans eager to see her live can catch her livestreaming on her Facebook or Instagram pages weekly.

Listen to “Click” here: Spotify and Apple Music
Watch the “Click” lyric video here: YouTube

https://jennaferlynsey.com/

Americana-folk duo Siren Songs (Merideth Kaye Clark and Jenn Grinels) is set to embark on “digital tour” | A series of acoustic video performances to premiere online at press outlets as “digital tour stops”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2020

Americana-folk duo Siren Songs (Merideth Kaye Clark and Jenn Grinels) is set to embark on “digital tour”

A series of acoustic video performances to premiere online at press outlets as “digital tour stops”

Siren Songs (the musical collaboration between Merideth Kaye Clark and Jenn Grinels) just released its first album, the eponymous Siren Songs, on May 29, 2020. Even though the Americana-folk duo has been livestreaming, the fact that they have been unable to tour or play album release shows in the traditional manner due to the pandemic left them frustrated.

To try to fill that gap, they have planned a “digital tour” beginning July 20th, where a series of five acoustic video performances will premiere at different press outlets as “digital tour stops.” Fans can follow along with the pair as they “travel” from outlet to outlet and premiere exclusive performances of songs from their new album. Clark and Grinels also plan to open up their tour scrapbooks and will share stories, music, and photos on social media from their time on the road together over the years as they travel on their “virtual tour bus” in-between stops on the digital tour.

The schedule for their digital tour is as follows:

July 20th – Tour Stop 1: “Chelsea Morning” premieres at TheBoot.com
July 23rd – Tour Stop 2: “Edelweiss” premieres at Adobe & Teardrops
July 27th – Tour Stop 3: “Goodnight Sun Hello Moon” premieres at Ear to the Ground
July 30th – Tour Stop 4: “100” premieres at Ground Sounds
August 3rd – Tour Stop 5: “Time After Time” premieres at Cowboys & Indians

Says Clark about the digital tour plans: “We miss performing live. We miss traveling and being with people. But it’s our job as artists to process life, make things, and share it with the world. This virus has devastated our industry and made it necessary to be even more creative. And necessity, I hear, is the mother of invention. We are really looking forward to this opportunity to try something new, fun, and personal with our fans!”

Recorded by David Streit at The Hallowed Halls (Portland, OR) and Bryan Daste at Dream Tree Studios NW (Portland, OR), their new album features a mix of both original songs written by Grinels (“Goodnight Sun, Hello Moon,” “100,” and “Gray”) as well as a selection of folk and Americana favorites (“Jolene,” “Edelweiss,” “Chelsea Morning,” “Angel from Montgomery,” “For Good,” “Time After Time”). Powerhouse vocalists, musicians, and national touring artists, the longtime best friends showcase gorgeous harmonies and unique arrangements performed on a variety of stringed instruments (banjo, dulcimer, viola) on Siren Songs.

Their cover of Dolly Parton’s classic “Jolene,” imagined with a kick in the pants and a banjo, received some very high praise when the song was selected by Parton herself and Netflix as a favorite rendition during the #JoleneChallenge. Similarly, their cover of “Edelweiss” (the Rodgers and Hammerstein song from “The Sound of Music”) earned praise from an actual member of the family depicted in the movie when Sofia von Trapp (great-granddaughter of Maria and Georg von Trapp) called it “beautiful,” and declared, “I love how peaceful it is.”

Inspired by artists as varied as Indigo Girls, Simon & Garfunkel, Eva Cassidy, Dolly Parton, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Carly Simon, the duo has been best friends for many years, and both Grinels and Clark call Portland, OR home now.  When they found themselves living in different cities and touring to different places, they kept their friendship alive by meeting each other on the road when their schedules would allow. After performing together for years now, the pair created Siren Songs to make good music as best friends. “From the beginning, it’s been the most effortless musical collaboration,” says Grinels. “And the universe has continued to beat the drum of symbiosis as the project marches on.”

Press praise for the album:

“The album is a roots celebration that uplifts with their stunning harmonies and individualistic instrumental takes… recalls the likes of established acts as Indigo Girls and the Secret Sisters through their effortless chemistry.” – PopMatters.com 

“…an intensely alluring album.” – Americana Highways

“The sparsely used instrumentation—which employs banjo, viola, and dulcimer, bass, and guitar—is effective, but it’s the predominant vocal harmony work that’s the star of the show.” – BlogCritics.org

“…in this time where anxiety is high and comfort difficult to find, this warm musical embrace is just what we need about now.” – Broadway World 

“…sonic riches… Their harmonies rise and entangle, creating a vocal latticework filled with sparkling melodies and wondrous rhythms. For me, this is what good tunes sound like, and I’m going to keep coming back for more.” – Alan Cackett Blog

“…warm harmonies… wonderfully tasteful and very simple instrumentation, which really lets their voices and the songs shine… gorgeous…” – Vents Magazine

“…[a] delightfully perfect album… Siren Songs is already one of my Top 10 albums of 2020!” – Exclusive Magazine

“Siren Songs brings a strong vocal presence to thoughtful song craft where radiant vocal harmonies flow alongside viola, banjo and dulcimer on this folk and Americana record.” – Take Effect Reviews

About Jenn Grinels:
An award-winning songwriter, Grinels has spent the past decade performing her original music on the road, touring with 10,000 Maniacs, Christopher Cross, Marc Cohn, Edwin McCain, and Marc Broussard, and sharing stages with Howie Day, Dar Williams, Berlin, Kevin Bacon & The Bacon Brothers, Rhett Miller, Carbon Leaf, Tony Lucca, Brendan James, The BoDeans, and many more. She has also headlined concerts from coast to coast and abroad. As an independent artist, Grinels has built a large, grassroots following and sold over 20,000 albums. Last year, she was commissioned to compose a musical for B-Side Theatricals in NYC. “Goodnight Sun, Hello Moon” is the first release from the score. Her music can be heard on television and in film.  Grinels dove headfirst into musical theatre and was in rehearsals and shows as early as 5 years old. Later, she found joy in writing music, particularly her own, both in a band setting and as a solo artist. “Performing gave me the greatest sense of fulfillment,” Grinels says. “I’ve always felt like this is who I am, and like this is what I was supposed to do since I was 3 years old.”

About Merideth Kaye Clark:
Clark is a multi-instrumentalist and composer, as well as an accomplished leading lady in theater. She has played definitive roles nationwide, such as Elphaba in the national touring company of “Wicked” for three years, as well as Eva Perón in “Evita,” Nancy in “Oliver!,” Alice in “Bright Star,” Cathy in “The Last Five Years,” and Clara in “Light in the Piazza.” Clark has toured the US and Canada performing her acclaimed concert “Joni Mitchell’s BLUE.” She can be seen on the television show “Portlandia,” as well as IFC’s “Documentary Now! Co-op,” for which she is featured on the Emmy-nominated cast album. She was nominated in 2020 for a Henry Award by the Colorado Theatre Guild in the Best Actress in a Musical category for the role of Alice in “Bright Star.” Clark started playing piano when she was 3 years old and has picked up a new instrument every few years since. She plays anything with strings, most notably viola, guitar, banjo and dulcimer. “I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t making music,” Clark says.

 

Siren Songs promo video:  https://youtu.be/MPjvAWwpiyE

 

Website:  https://www.sirensongsmusic.com/

Victoria Bailey to release second single from her forthcoming album in July; announces album release date for September

For Immediate Release

June 30, 2020

 

Victoria Bailey to release second single from her forthcoming album in July; announces album release date for September

“Skid Row” to be released on July 17th; track will premiere at PopMatters.com on July 16th

Bailey continues livestreams on Facebook and Instagram

Huntington Beach, CA-based classic country singer-songwriter Victoria Bailey is set to release the second single, “Skid Row,” from her forthcoming album on July 17, 2020 via Rock Ridge Music. While continually looking forward with her progressive take on country music, Bailey also looks back to honor the genre’s West Coast roots; “Skid Row” is a rollicking, toe-tapping ode to a beloved LA honky tonk and the Bakersfield sound. The song will premiere on July 16th at PopMatters.com.  “Skid Row” is the follow-up to the first single, “Honky Tonk Woman,” which was released on June 5th.

“I wanted to take listeners down the road of a few of the country legends rooted in California and the music history that blossomed out of Bakersfield,” says Bailey about the song. “There is an inevitable charm that country music has when it comes from the South, but I have found so much inspiration from the music that came out of my own home state of California.  There’s currently a great scene in Los Angeles of an emerging classic country sound as well, and, in the song, I sing about the one and only honky tonk in LA that rests right in the middle of Skid Row.”

Grounding Bailey’s timeless country music palette is her crystalline voice; an inviting warm tone with the occasional flutter that transports you back in time to a classic honky tonk, one where Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris were all in heavy rotation. Bailey is set to release her album – Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline – on September 14, 2020.

Produced by Jeremy Long, Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline is a whiskey-smooth concoction of crisp guitars, silky fiddle, and radiant pedal steel that expertly glides beneath Bailey’s magnetic, California sun-kissed soprano. Bailey’s full-length label debut — a nine-song collection featuring eight originals and one cover — paints stunning vignettes spanning from adrenaline-rushing love at first sight and down-and-out heartache, to treasuring country music’s indelible roots, and the wavering journey of resilience when chasing one’s dreams. Bailey brings the classic country spirit to the 21st century through relatably raw, non-sugarcoated songwriting that may seem unexpected from most contemporary female musicians in the country realm. She shines a relevant light on some of the shadier corners of the genre not typically addressed, such as the hypocrisy that can be found in the outlaw country mindset, all while evoking a fiery, no-holds-barred lyrical approach in the vein of Margo Price.

Raised under the rays of the sun in Huntington Beach, CA, the classic country singer-songwriter was surrounded by music in her household from an early age. From her drumming father’s rock ’n’ roll band practices to her mom playing the narrative-driven songbooks of folk icons like Cat Stevens and James Taylor, Bailey was naturally drawn to music and the art of storytelling. After falling in love with the guitar at the age of 12, she quickly developed an affinity for songwriting in her late teens and garnered the kind of support system every musical child would dream of: her father was so impressed by her talent that he called on his three musically-inclined best friends to join him in becoming his daughter’s backing band, eventually performing shows around town.

It was the at-first daunting yet exhilarating aspect of performing live that made Bailey realize this was life’s path for her. She found a sense of community very early on by playing honky tonks and bars that allowed the opportunity to cut her teeth on the craft of traditional country music. With five or six years of diligently working the Golden State’s music scene under her belt, she was ready to transpose her striking penchant for storytelling from the stage into an impressive full-length label debut.

On Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline, Bailey weaves these honest stories together for a refreshing examination of real-life American trials and tribulations through her heartfelt lens. “I hope that listeners get to know me and my story through this album, and what I love the most in life,” she says. “Just to be brought back into what classic country captures and makes people feel good about, I hope that it resonates in that same way.” Indeed, it’s a welcome reminder of country music’s potency — both sonically and thematically — to ease and comfort today’s listeners through relatable storytelling, and Bailey is a promising torchbearer for the genre’s rich legacy and where it’s heading.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bailey is unable to tour right now. Fans eager to see her live can catch her livestreaming on her Facebook and Instagram pages on July 2 (6 p.m. pacific), July 9th (6 p.m. pacific), July 17th (7 p.m. pacific), and July 23rd (6 p.m. pacific).  Additionally, Bailey is confirmed to livestream as part of TheBoot.com’s Social Distancing Shows Series “Live and Socially Distant” Sessions on July 14th at 6 p.m. pacific on TheBoot.com’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

https://www.victoriabaileymusic.com/