June

Railroad Earth

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Over the past three years Railroad Earth has carved a path wide and deep throughout the American roots music scene. Right from their first gigs in May 2001, to their most recent shows for their legion of loyal fans, Railroad Earth has been an undeniable force whose superb songwriting, singing and performances from the stage have made them one of the most talked about bands to arrive in years.

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Cross Canadian Ragweed

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Whenever Cross Canadian Ragweed gets asked if they’re a country band or a rock band, they just laugh and offer up a resounding “Yes!” Lead singer Cody Canada, rhythm guitarist Grady Cross, drummer Randy Ragsdale and bassist Jeremy Plato figured out a long time ago that their job was to make great music and let everybody else figure out what to call it. These lifelong friends spent years developing their sound in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and then with a relentless tour schedule they became kings of the Red Dirt and Texas music scenes. They grew their audience the old fashioned way—one fan at a time. Like many of their fans, the guys in CCR grew up listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd, AC/DC and Merle Haggard. That’s how they seamlessly blend the energy, sex appeal and theater of rock n’ roll with the emotionally direct honesty and working class themes of country music. And more than anything it’s the band’s commitment to honesty that’s helped CCR grow to the point they sell CDs by the hundreds of thousands (2004’s Soul Gravy which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard country album chart) and do more than $2.5 million in hard ticket sales in a single year.

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Matt Costa

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When Matt Costa sat down to write what would become Unfamiliar Faces, the follow-up to his 2005 debut full-length Songs We Sing, the singer/songwriter took his most treasured belongings and put them on a shelf — then stared at them and just let the memories flow. “That way I could see everything that I loved,” he explains (the collection included his favorite books, a giant wooden pipe, and a box of old 45-speed records from the late 1950s). “I let my imagination wander. Regular life isn’t as exciting as an imaginary life.” He may thrive on imagination, but Costa’s real life has never been dull. He grew up next door to a pet cemetery, played trumpet and piano, gave his first impromptu performance on a houseboat, and focused more on skateboarding than school in his hometown of Huntington Beach, California. He was drawn to the freedom and improvisation of skating, and also says, “I discovered a lot of music through skating — B-sides that nobody else had heard that made me want to find more music.” A few years later, just before he was ready to turn pro, a life-changing leg break led him to turn his attention to songwriting while he healed from painful surgeries. He wrote some songs on guitar, befriended No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont via the vibrant SoCal arts scene, and recorded Songs We Sing with Dumont as his guide. “One of the first things he told me was ‘stop practicing so hard and let the feeling come out,’” Costa says. “It stuck with me because that’s the key to music. The light went on in my head.”

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RED

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Anybody who's banged their head to their debut LP "End of Silence" knows how RED rolls: the ambitious young Nashville quintet’s creative blend of industrial, classical and hard rock offers a beacon of hope for an ever-growing army of fans. The band has already scored their first Grammy nomination, reached the top 10 on R&R’s active rock charts for national airplay, and they’ve amassed an enormous following - none of which means they’ll be resting on their laurels anytime soon. Although their no-holds-barred live show has yielded numerous injuries, (guitarist Anthony Armstrong has a bad habit of accidentally tomahawking Barnes) the guys simply shake them off and forge ahead delivering their message of overcoming adversity no matter the cost. "There are things that people are struggling with that they have the power to overcome," says Barnes. "Halfway through "Let Go", there's the lyric, You can't have me anymore, you can't have me anymore, let go. A girl on MySpace said she was dealing with bulimia and just hearing that song really helped her. It can’t consume her anymore; it can’t have her anymore. "It was really empowering."

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Rilo Kiley

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Like their West Coast contemporaries Death Cab for Cutie, Rilo Kiley steadily gained traction in indie pop circles throughout the late '90s and early 2000s before the record industry (and public at large) officially took note. Led by former child actors Jenny Lewis (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Blake Sennett (guitar, vocals), the L.A.-based quartet held its first practices in 1998. Bassist Pierre de Reeder and drummer Dave Brock (later replaced by ex-Foundation Lassie member Jason Boesel) completed the lineup, and a weekly residency at the Spaceland nightclub in Silverlake allowed Rilo Kiley to hone its mix of classic pop, country, torch song, and folk.

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The Breeders

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One of alternative rock's most promising bands, the Breeders were conceived initially as a way for bassist Kim Deal and Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donelly to let out some suppressed creative energy and to take a break from being the second bananas in each of their main bands. Deal and Donelly both played guitar, leaving bass for Josephine Wiggs of Perfect Disaster. Pod, their critically acclaimed debut album, was released in 1990. Two years later, the group delivered Safari, a four-song EP that found the band getting more muscular and melodic. Soon after its recording, Donelly left the Breeders to form her own group, Belly. Kim Deal brought in her sister Kelley as her replacement. By this time, their permanent drummer was Jim MacPherson.

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Robert Randolph's Revival

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Marc Broussard

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The son of Louisiana Hall of Fame guitarist Ted Broussard (of the legendary blue-eyed soul combo, the Boogie Kings), Marc grew up surrounded by the diverse musical panorama for which his homestate is world-renowned. Music informed his life from the get-go, whether it was joining his dad onstage at various clubs or singing in the Catholic University church choir. As he hit his teens, Broussard was already an accomplished artist, the veteran of a string of local bands and solo acoustic performances, known for tearing up the stage with the raw-throated gusto and worldly emotive power of a man three times his age. Broussard made his recorded debut in 2002 with the remarkably mature independent release, "Momentary Setback." He drew coast-to-coast acclaim in 2004 with his major-label debut, "Carencro," a full-blooded take on the blues, soul, Cajun music, rock, and swamp-pop of his native Louisiana, distilled through the talented young tunesmith's flair for smart contemporary songwriting. With his emotive, dynamic voice and undeniable presence, Broussard quickly won over a legion of devoted fans via nearly non-stop roadwork, including countless headline shows; showstopping sets at festivals like South By Southwest, Bonnaroo, and of course, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival; and tours alongside such like-minded musicians as Dave Matthews Band, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Gavin DeGraw, O.A.R., and Maroon 5.

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Tickets on sale
Friday, May 16th at 12 noon !

Lizz Wright

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Lizz Wright's first two Verve releases, Salt and Dreaming Wide Awake, established her as one of the jazz world's most celebrated rising stars, both an accomplished songwriter and a versatile, deeply expressive singer. On her third album The Orchard, the Georgia-bred, New York-based artist takes a substantial leap forward, transcending genre distinctions to deliver a vibrant, intensely creative milestone. The largely self-penned The Orchard finds Wright mining her own experience to create an unmistakably personal musical statement. The warmth and resonance of Wright's gospel-trained contralto is matched by the intimacy and authority of such original compositions as "Coming Home," "My Heart," "Another Angel" and "When I Fall." Wright's interpretive skills are equally impressive on revelatory readings of the Ike and Tina Turner classic "I Idolize You," Sweet Honey in the Rock's "Hey Mann," the Led Zeppelin ballad "Thank You" and Patsy Cline’s haunting "Strange."

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Eric Church

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Eric Church's songs are as straightforward as he is. His is music that looks its listener in the eye and speaks plainly about the human condition. It is a line that passes through Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings to John Prine and Steve Earle, and is finding a handful of torchbearers in this new century. "Honesty is my number one responsibility," Church says. "If you listen to this, you'll find out who I am." Church grew up in Granite Falls, North Carolina, in an area known as one of the world's furniture capitals. He recalls being four years old, standing on a table at a local restaurant, singing "Elvira" to a waitress and a handful of patrons who would reward him with change.

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