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americana

The Golden Boys

On “Plainsman’s Lament,” above an organ that stands tall like a support group and guitars that wobble loose like weak knees, Austin, Texas’ The Golden Boys howl, “We’ll drink until we’ve had our fill/ No one who knows us can stop us/ And no one will.” And while they might be singing (again) about drinking, the most noteworthy thing here—aside from a hook that you’ll never forget—is the sense of irrepressible joy and abandon that The Golden Boys bring.

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Rodney Crowell

Rodney J. Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is a American country music singer/songwriter who is considered to be part of both the alternative country and the mainstream country music camps. For three years he was part of Emmylou Harris' "Hot Band"; later he gained mainstream popularity as a solo performer with a series of critcally-claimed albums released during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Crowell was born in Houston, Texas to James Walter Crowell and Addie Cauzette Willoughby.

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Motel Motel

Motel Motel is a history of rock youth in a blender. They croon in the spirit of an old country ballad, but one careening through the tunnels and avenues of their home base, New York City. Formed there in the fall of 2006, they honed their music in garages, kitchens, and basements until the February of the next year found them playing their first shows across the city and surrounding states. Received with open arms both by claustrophobic bars in the Lower East Side and the skyline-painted barns of Richmond VA, they find peace in their dualities.

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Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

Will Oldham (born 24 December 1970, Louisville, Kentucky) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and musician. His music is often (perhaps inappropriately) placed under the genre of "alt-country". Oldham has recorded under many names, including Palace, Palace Music, Palace Brothers, and Bonnie Billy. He often plays and records with other musicians, including Dave Pajo and his brothers Ned and Paul Oldham, but is generally the chief creator of the music.

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The Stairwell Sisters

Producer Lloyd Maines recalls hearing The Stairwell Sisters for the first time: “I happened upon this tribe of women musicians, playing old-time string music, with the power and excitement of a great rock band.” Tribe of women indeed. Evie Ladin explains what holds sway with the sisters, themes similarly found in one of their early influences, Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard: “not exactly the sweet and tender ladies, but the stand up for yourself and face the world kind of women.”

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The Groanbox Boys

Groanbox, the North American trio of Michael Ward-Bergeman, Cory Seznec and Paul Clifford, are a musical hybrid of ideas and ideals. They are at first glance a roots band, soaked in the traditions of American music, with all the guts of rock and roll and all the soul of the wandering troubadour. But somewhere along the way, that troubadour turned off the road and, from the melting pot of New Orleans, began a new journey that would take the Groanbox sound to new and unexplored places...

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Danni Nicholls

Brighton’s hardest working sweetheart of the rodeo has been writing and recording original music for nine years. She moved to the city three years ago from Bedfordshire and has been wooing audiences with her original Americana/alt-country ever since. Pulling on musical references from Johnny, Elvis, Chuck & Dolly to Gillian Welch; Carole King to Chatham County Line, Danni has been invited to support acts as diverse as Angus & Julia Stone, Sinead & The Dawnbreakers, Paul Curreri, Kate Walsh and most recently Otis Gibbs, Eileen Rose, Nell Bryden & Diana Jones.

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Barnstormers

Barnstormers is the long-time collaboration between singer/songwriter Ronald Moore with multi-instrumentalist Chris Wilson featuring a revolving cast of musicians and producers. Based out of the suburbs of North Alabama, Barnstormers was started in 2002 as the brainchild of singer/songwriter and then actor Ronald Moore to explore new styles of folk music through a long-time solo project. During that time he met Chris Wilson who was a music student at the same community college. In 2007, the band released their first independent release entitled "Switchblade Serenades"

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