Author Archives: Live and Breathing

Bombadil: 
Laundromat

With a sound all their own and a stage show to match, Bombadil is, if nothing else, one of the freshest bands to emerge in a long time. The band draws on a unique melange of influences to create sound that is unclassifiable. The group was born in Bolivia, and the folk music indigenous to the region incorporates international instruments and styles. That influence, paired with backgrounds in Piedmont blues, psychedelic rock and Stuart Robinson’s background as a classical pianist, stands as the driving force behind the band’s unique sound.

Recorded at the 2011 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Festival.
Checkout Bombadil’s Website.

AgesandAges: 
These Elbows

AgesandAges’ music bursts forth with brightness, handclaps and harmonies that find themselves stuck in your head for days. Their sunny sound—equal parts gospel, soul, country, and rock, so that any genre descriptor other than “pop” doesn’t quite fit—was designed to be infectious and invitational.

Recorded at the 2011 Pickathon Music Festival.
Checkout AgesandAges’s website.

Dawn Landes: 
Young Girl

Raised in the fertile musical fields of Branson, Missouri and Louisville, Kentucky, Dawn came to New York City in 1999 and did a cannonball into the music scene. While holding down several jobs to pay the rent, she abandoned university (NYU) and began to intern at some of the best studios in the city. What started as a job getting coffee for engineers has blossomed into a truly enviable resume. Working late into the night, and often sleeping at the same studios she was interning in, Dawn began producing and recording her own songs after hours. This her take on Tom Petty’s Southern Accents.

Recorded at the 2011 Pickathon Music Festival.
Checkout Dawn’s website.

Westbound Rangers: 
Stonewall

Blending elements of modern jamgrass bands, the burbling sounds of old-timey mountain music and even the drum and electric instrument phases of the Osborne Brothers in the 1950s, the Westbound Rangers have created a highly personal and addictive style that will appeal to many acoustic music and bluegrass fans.

Recorded at the 2011 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Festival.
Checkout The Westbound Rangers Website.

Jim Hurst & Rob Ickes: 
A Minor Infraction

Jim Hurst is the veteran, award-winning guitarist from the Claire Lynch Band and Rob Ickes the award-winning dobro player and current member of the highly acclaimed group Blue Highway. Considered the top bluegrass performers on their respective instruments, they team up here for a unique performance.

Recorded at the 2011 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Festival.
Checkout Jim Hurst’s & Rob Ickes’ Websites.

Sunday Valley: 
I Wonder

There are some who might argue that Sunday Valley’s unique sonic blend and delivery defies genre; they’ve been labeled “bluegrass rock,” “honky tonk,” and even “cowpunk.” John Sturgill Simpson, on guitar and lead vocals, agrees that the band comes from a range of influences, “But I think the thing that grounds our sound more than anything, is as soon as I open my mouth it’s gonna sound country or hillbilly…so there’s always a core root country sound.”

Recorded at the 2011 Pickathon Music Festival.
Checkout Sunday Valley’s Facebook page.

Westbound Rangers: 
Johnny's Song

Blending elements of modern jamgrass bands, the burbling sounds of old-timey mountain music and even the drum and electric instrument phases of the Osborne Brothers in the 1950s, the Westbound Rangers have created a highly personal and addictive style that will appeal to many acoustic music and bluegrass fans.

Recorded at the 2011 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Festival.
Checkout The Westbound Rangers Website.

Old Light: 
Pretty Machete

Led by former San Francisco cabbie and current Portland resident Garth Klippart, Old Light began when Garth (singer and autoharp) bought an old autoharp from an antique instrument guru and recorded it over and over, layering the tracks. The result is like nothing else that has come out of the Pacific Northwest.

Recorded at the 2011 Pickathon Music Festival.
Checkout The Old Light’s Website.

Califone: 
Michigan Girls

In an underground music landscape where lone MP3s propel bands to momentary internet stardom, bands are here today and gone tomorrow. Califone is a band that defies this blueprint. Their albums are full of layers and textures, offering endless depth, entire universes to lose yourself in – and beyond the thick spectrum of sound, they do something even more important: They write great songs.

Girls Guns and Glory: 
Snakeskin Belt

Girls Guns and Glory is a celebration of sweet and tasty, fun lovin’ and hard timin’, honky tonk music that is simultaneously casual and complex. The band combines elements of early rock ‘n’ roll, country, and rhythm & blues to deliver its own brand of American Roots music that satisfies like homemade apple pie.

Recorded at the 2011 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion Festival.
Checkout the Girls, Guns and Glory website.