For two decades, Gretchen Peters has been one of Nashville’s most beloved and respected artists. “If Peters never delivers another tune as achingly beautiful as ‘On A Bus To St. Cloud,'” People Magazine wrote, “she has already earned herself a spot among country’s upper echelon of contemporary composers.”
Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in October 2014 by singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell, who called her “both a songwriter and a poet (who) sings as beautifully as she writes,” and said her song “The Matador”, “moved me so greatly, I cried from the soles of my feet”, Peters has accumulated accolades as a songwriter for artists as diverse as Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, The Neville Brothers, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Bryan Adams and Faith Hill. Her 2015 album, ‘Blackbirds’, debuted at #1 on the UK Country chart and in the top 40 UK pop chart, and was awarded International Album of the Year and Song of the Year. In 2015, The Telegraph named her one of the greatest 60 female singer-songwriters of all time. Her latest album, Dancing With The Beast, was released on May 18, 2018.
Nora Jane Struthers has written “some of the most quietly powerful narratives within the new wave of Americana artists,” says Ann Powers of NPR Music. The songs that last decades and weave themselves into the fabric of listeners’ lives are usually the ones in which an artist lays her soul bare for the world to hear. Struthers has built her career on these kinds of songs.
There’s an honesty and energy to Nora Jane’s stage presence; a vulnerability that is part and parcel of great artistry. In one moment, she joyfully leads the audience in a dance party… in the next, she lays her soul bare for the world to hear. A performance by Nora Jane and her band is full to the brim with stellar musicianship, unexpected arrangements that blur the lines between folk, roots, and rock, and an audible sense that everyone in the room is having a damn good time.
Juliet Simmons Dinallo and Michael Dinallo are following in the rich tradition of Nashville husband/wife musical duos – Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, Susanna and Guy Clark among others. They are currently touring together supporting Juliet’s new album Dream Girl.
Singer-songwriter Juliet Simmons Dinallo – Boston Roots and Cowgirl Boots. All the way from Nashville to Memphis, and beyond, Dream Girl is the evolution of Juliet Simmons Dinallo’s singing, songwriting, and journey that began with 2013’s No Regrets on Tree-O-Records. Born in North Carolina, Juliet grew up in Maine and came of age as a musician in Boston. Juliet studied music at the Berklee College of Music, where she landed a spot on the world-renowned Berklee Gospel Choir. She recently moved to Nashville, and these experiences have influenced her songwriting, singing and performance style, giving everything she does a unique expression.
julietsimmonsdinallo.com
Producer-guitarist-songwriter Michael Dinallo grew up in Ohio then moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music. As bandleader for The Radio Kings, who made two records for Icehouse Records in Memphis (including Live at B.B.King’s), and The Mercy Brothers, he has traveled the world. Turning to producing artists in the early 2000’s, Michael has produced Norwegian singer-songwriter William Hut’s gold and platinum awarded album Nightfall along with two number one singles for Universal Music Group. He continued his affiliation with Memphis by producing Eddie Floyd’s return to Stax Records Eddie Loves You So and Feel Like Going Home: The Songs of Charlie Rich for the Phillips Family and Memphis International Records. His most recent project is Juliet Simmons Dinallo’s Dream Girl on BFD/Sony RED. Since relocating to Nashville, Michael has started the popular musical revue Crooked Road Songs (based on the idea of his 2017 EP Crooked Road Songs on Black Rose Records) and received Best of 2018 honors in The Nashville Scene.
michaeldinallo1.bandcamp.com
A broken-down van ranks pretty high on the list of worst-case scenarios for touring musicians. When it happened to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia band Mink’s Miracle Medicine, though, it ended up being an important turning point for how they approach making music.
Comprising Melissa Wright and Daniel Zezeski, Mink’s Miracle Medicine are preparing to release Pyramid Theories, a new album the two began writing after their van broke down in Pittsburgh and they found themselves stranded for several days. That unintentional break gave Wright and Zezeski time to contemplate their shared musical philosophy, and they ultimately realized that they needed to make music for themselves, rather than trying to appease anyone else. When they got home, Wright immediately began writing what would become Pyramid Theories.
Pyramid Theories follows the duo’s 2017 debut album House of Candles. House of Candles was released to critical acclaim, premiering alongside a rave review on Noisey, which called the LP “a solid record that really establishes Wright and Zezeski not just as talented and articulate, but smart enough to be willingly vulnerable in a genre that doesn’t tend to reward legitimate emotions.”
Happy Again isn’t exactly happy. But the delightfully deadpan new album from roots mainstays Bill and the Belles is full of life, humor, and tongue-in-cheek explorations of love and loss. Out May 21, 2021 on Ditty Boom Records (distribution and promotion by Free Dirt Service Co.), Happy Again marks a new chapter for the group by featuring eleven all-original songs penned by founding member Kris Truelsen.
There’s no dancing around it: this album is about his divorce. But the group has a knack for saying sad things with a bit of an ironic smirk, pairing painful topics with a sense of release and relief. Anyone who’s been to one of their shows can attest that you leave feeling lighter and refreshed. The band often jokes that their setlists appear mournful and angry, but if you don’t listen to the words, you wouldn’t know it. “One of the darkest times of my life turned out to be one of the most creative,” says Truelsen. “I realized, ‘My life is chaos. I need to write about this shit.’” This personal loss turned out to be a creative boon for the band. Many of the songs were cranked out in just a few months, two were even written the night before they were recorded. This raw songcraft, along with the deft production touch of Teddy Thompson, son of Linda and Richard Thompson, who encouraged using only first or second takes, gives Happy Again an emotional punch that deepens with each listen.
If you are going to a Beth Nielsen Chapman concert get ready to laugh and cry and, well, just fasten your seat belt. One thing you can count on is one great song after another and some fascinating stories woven between them.
Twice Grammy-nominated Nashville based, Beth Nielsen Chapman has released thirteen solo albums and written seven #1 hits and songs recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Bette Midler, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Michael McDonald, Keb Mo’, Roberta Flack, Waylon Jennings, Indigo Girls, & Faith Hill’s Mega-hit This Kiss, ASCAP’S 1999 Song Of The Year. Her songs have been featured in film and TV and as an artist Beth’s work has been diverse, from singing in nine different languages on Prism (2007) to The Mighty Sky (2012) Grammy-nominated astronomy CD for kids of all ages in addition to her deeply moving body of work as a singer-songwriter throughout her other releases. 2014’s UnCovered in which she reclaims her hits, features legendary guests from Vince Gill to Duane Eddy. Sand & Water (1997), written in the wake of her husband’s death, was performed by Elton John to honor the memory of Princess Diana. In the fall of 2016, Beth, along with Olivia Newton-John & Amy Sky created and toured behind an inspiring project called Liv On – A New Album to Aid & Comfort Those Experiencing Grief & Loss While Using the Power of Music To Heal.
Recently inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, Beth is also a breast cancer survivor and environmentalist and considers herself a creativity midwife, passionate about inspiring others to fully blossom into their creative life.
September of 2022 will bring the release of Beth’s 15th solo album, “CrazyTown” on Cooking Vinyl. Working with legendary producer Ray Kennedy (Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle) this one is going to be epic!
In Morgan Hill, California in the early 70’s, records like “The Band” by The Band and “Honky Chateau” by Elton John prompted Don Henry to begin writing his own lyrics to Jim Croce melodies. Then he learned to play guitar with a Paul Simon songbook. After that it was an education in The Beatles, Cat Stevens, Harry Nilsson, Carole King, Cat Stevens, and Joni Mitchell.
Then Randy Newman’s ‘Good Old Boys’ and ‘Old Number One’ by Guy Clark changed his life. In April of 1979, at 19, Don made his way to Nashville.
After spending 4 years as the tape copy/librarian for Tree Publishing Company, cataloging some of the best songs by some of the best songwriters in Nashville (Sonny Throckmorton, Bobby Braddock, Harlan Howard, and Curly Putman), Don’s own songs started getting recorded and he was moved to full-time staff songwriter. Ray Charles, Conway Twitty, the Oak Ridge Boys, T.G. Sheppard, John Conlee and Kathy Mattea are just a few who recorded Don’s songs during this period.
In 1990, Don and Jon Vezner received song of the year awards for co-writing Mattea’s critically acclaimed hit, “Where’ve You Been”. Awards from the Grammys, as well as from the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association, and the Nashville Songwriters Association International culminated it “Where’ve You Been” becoming the first song ever to be so honored by all four organizations.
In 1991 “Wild In The Backyard” was released on Sony/Epic Records. Billboard’s Ken Schlager chose the debut album as one of 1991’s Top Ten records, as did Larry McClain of BAM magazine. Rolling Stone liked it enough to profile Don in their “New Faces” column.
Grammy award-winning songwriter, Nashville-based Jon Vezner is a tunesmith of rare sensitivity and dry wit. His catalogue of recorded songs, topped by the poignant “Where’ve You Been,” reflects his straight-to-the-heart sensibility and emotional awareness. Vezner weaves the particulars of his own feelings with the lives of people he has known into universal themes that deeply touch listeners’ emotions.
Vezner was honored with a Grammy for “Best Country Song” and the Nashville Songwriters Association “Song of the Year” in 1990, for “Where’ve You Been” — the true story of Vezner’s grandparents — co-written with Don Henry, and recorded by Kathy Mattea. “Where’ve You Been” was also honored as “Song of the Year” by the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). Jon was also voted “Songwriter of the Year” by the Nashville Songwriters Association International.
Born in Minnesota, Jon Vezner began his musical career as lead singer and bassist for various groups in high school, going on to earn a B.A. degree in music education and music theory at Minnesota Southwest State University in the mid ′70s.
Jon’s catalogue of songs reads like a songbook itself, interpreted and recorded by some of the greats in the business such as Martina McBride, Reba McEntire, Faith Hill, Steve Wariner, The Wiggins, Clay Walker, Diamond Rio, BJ Thomas, Janis Ian, John Mellencamp, Nancy Griffith, Judy Collins, and Native American recording artist, Bill Miller, to name a few.
Jon’s production credits include artists such as Danny O’Keefe, Victoria Shaw, and singing legend Patti Page.
In the town where country music was born (Bristol, TN), where two states come together on one street (State Street), a spark lit and a duo was ignited. Shelby and Joel met at the crossroads of country and rock and roll
The Nashville based duo, Sally and George, consists of Joel Timmons on guitar, percussion and vocals and GRAMMY nominated Shelby Means playing upright bass and singing. Drawing from their love for the classic duet styles of Johnny Cash and June Carter, as well as contemporary artists, The White Stripes and Shovels & Rope, Sally and George breathe life and love into the ever widening world of Americana. Merging Joel’s freeform live performances (Sol Driven Train) and Shelby’s energetic structure and bluegrass pedigree (formerly of Della Mae), the pair bring new material with stripped down instrumentation, emphasizing song craft and hypnotic vocals, to stages across the country. Their debut album was released in the fall of 2016.
Making transitions is never easy, and the way Juliet Simmons Dinallo expresses the ups and downs of the human process of moving, changing and growing older is the joy of listening to Dream Girl.
There’s tension here, and unresolved matters of the heart and soul: “I don’t have all the answers,” goes one song, and another finds the narrator driving from Nashville to Memphis, accompanied by a groove that evokes the sweet-and-sour styles of both cities. Juliet Simmons Dinallo and Michael Dinallo, who collaborated on three of the songs here (Juliet wrote the rest) sound as though they’re in love with the music of the South, but they’re also in love with the possibilities of transition that soul music has always laid out so eloquently. The terse, direct music supports Juliet’s songs, which acknowledge the blues but make room for the pleasure of the everyday, the quotidian. Some of the pleasures of Dream Girl lie in the interplay of elegantly restrained string arrangements, just-right, gritty guitar solos, and Juliet’s soulfully gliding vocals.
Producers Michael Dinallo and Ducky Carlisle bring the bite of soul music to the enterprise, and Dream Girl glides over rough terrain with sure feet. It’s a record that both digs deeply into the dream world of change and the real world that never stays the same.
