Live and Breathing

Pokey LaFarge & The South City Three: If You Can’t Make Money

Live and Breathing — Tue, 15 May 2012 02:35:48 +0000

Of the many roots musicians traveling the world and spreading the early American music tradition, Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three are the next in line to make a significant impact on music enthusiasts everywhere. From St. Louis, Missouri, their creative mix of early jazz, string ragtime, country blues and western swing rings true and fine, making them among the most innovative of all the purists performing American roots music today.

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

Vetiver: Be Kind To Me

Live and Breathing — Tue, 15 May 2012 02:34:29 +0000

Tight Knit is the fourth full-length album from Vetiver—singer/songwriter Andy Cabic’s ever-evolving musical home base. It represents a summation of the different styles and directions heard on past Vetiver releases, while it introduces some unexpected twists. Some songs are so stripped down, Cabic played almost all the instruments himself; others work to capture the sound of Vetiver performing live. Vetiver’s songs have been described as “dreamy, gentle songs that George Harrison would have written in some sunny country garden.” Happily, that element is alive and well on songs from this latest album.

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

Charlie Parr: Moonshiner

Live and Breathing — Tue, 15 May 2012 02:27:18 +0000

A shy individual, Charlie Parr plays original and traditional folk and Piedmont-style blues, accompanying himself on National resonator guitars, 12-string guitar and sometimes a banjo. He was raised in Austin, Minnesota, in a household that prized traditional American folk music. His style bears the influence of hours spent listening to country blues records and Smithsonian/Folkways field recordings; often in the garage.

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

Girls, Guns and Glory: Root Cellar

Live and Breathing — Tue, 15 May 2012 02:17:52 +0000

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.

Josh Oliver: Get Along Little Yearlings

Live and Breathing — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:23:02 +0000

East TN native Josh Oliver has spent the past five years as a side man, touring all over the United States, singing harmony, playing lead guitar and piano with the likes of the everybodyfields, Sam Quinn + Japan 10, and Jill Andrews. And now, with his debut album, Troubles, he’s taking a stab at being out front.

Recorded at the 2012 Rhythm N’ Blooms Fest.
Checkout Josh Oliver’s Website.

Katie Powderly & Sam Quinn: Yet To Come

Live and Breathing — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:16:40 +0000

Katie Powderly’s music permeates the boundaries of genre, inhabiting a space somewhere between alt-country and folk. It transcends the confines of linear chronology, as well; it is vintage and current, nostalgic and prophetic. Respectful of tradition while remaining relevant, Powderly presents a promising musical hybrid in her painstakingly hand-hewn tunes.

Recorded at the 2012 Rhythm N’ Blooms Fest.
Checkout Katie Powderly’s Website.

Joy Kills Sorrow: The New Man

Live and Breathing — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:58:19 +0000

Joy Kills Sorrow brings together an eclectic mix of musicians who each have classical and/or jazz conservatory training, though collectively, they ambitiously utilize their years of study to hone a new acoustic territory yet discovered by many of today’s top artists. It’s an amalgamation of lamenting music of the heartland, singular stories of heartache and laughter, beautiful string arrangements, and five musicians who grew up listening to indie-rock, jazz, and pop music that churn out impressive tunes with an incredibly contemporary sensibility.

Recorded at the 2011 Pickathon Music Festival.
Checkout Joy Kills Sorrow’s website.

The Builders and the Butchers: Black Dresses

Live and Breathing — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:54:41 +0000

The Builders And The Butchers’ musical output is something of a Pentecostal throw-down—the musical underpinnings are reminiscent of bluegrass, but the performances are raw and unschooled, with Sollee in particular throwing off a maniacally ecclesiastical sort of energy…dark, sparkling, Leadbelly-like terrain covered by death-fixated epics.

Recorded at the 2011 Pickathon Music Festival.
Checkout The Builders and the Butchers website.

Charlie Parr: I Dreamed I Saw Jesse James Last Night

Live and Breathing — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:44:46 +0000

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

Jubal’s Kin: Boy Blue

Live and Breathing — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:12:02 +0000

The distinctively spare sound is grounded in a love for what can only be called the pure and real, at once embracing both a strong roots tradition and fresh indie folk – “Appalachia-infused Cosmic Americana.” At live shows or in the studio, a seemingly new subgenre is created, their songs displaying raw emotion vulnerable and unassuming with handcrafted spins that creak and stomp like a wooden dance floor…

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