Born in Eugene, Oregon and raised on an island outside of Seattle, Droge rocketed to early acclaim on the strength of his 1994 debut, Necktie Second, which prompted the Los Angeles Times’ Robert Hilburn to compare his songwriting to Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Breakout single “If You Don’t Love Me (I’ll Kill Myself)” became a multi-format radio hit and landed a prominent spot in the iconic Farrelly Brothers comedy Dumb & Dumber, and within a year, Droge was on the road supporting Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. In the decades to come, he would go on to release a series of similarly well-received solo albums, appear in Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous (performing alongside his wife and longtime collaborator, Elaine Summers); team up with Matthew Sweet and Shawn Mullins to form the Americana supergroup The Thorns; co-produce records for Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard and Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America; record three collections with his wife as The Droge and Summers Blend; and compose a variety of works for film and television, including feature scores and commercial spots for brands like Toyota, T-Mobile, and State Farm.
This summer he releases his new album, Fade Away Blue. Recorded with Grammy-winning producer Paul Bryan (Aimee Mann), the collection is largely autobiographical, offering up a series of dreamy, cinematic snapshots from throughout Droge’s life as he reflects on the existential forces that mold and shape us.
Artist Category: Folk Rock
Celia Woodsmith
Celia Woodsmith is a GRAMMY Nominated performer, vocalist, percussionist, and songwriter. With a style that can be described as “one of a kind: gritty, muscular, folksy and intimate sometimes all at once” (Bluegrass Situation) she has been a fixture of the New England Roots Music scene since 2005.
For the last 12 years, Woodsmith has predominantly performed with the Americana string band, Della Mae. In 2014 Della Mae was nominated for a Best Bluegrass Album GRAMMY for their record “This World Oft Can Be”. Their 2020 album “Headlight” has been described as “…powerful writing, soaring vocals, and moving musical unity — challenge us, energize us, and touch us as they light the way. This is an album on which you can feel the emotions of the group in each song as they evoke anger, sadness, hopelessness, and joy”. (No Depression)
The all-female Della Mae has performed in 20 countries with the US Department of State’s cultural diplomacy program “American Music Abroad”. Woodsmith spoke about her experiences with travel and music at TEDx Piscataqua River in Portsmouth, NH in a talk called “A Soft Drink and a Song in the Hills of Pakistan”.
In 2016 Woodsmith took a hiatus from touring to write, listen, and reflect about her years on the road. During that time she bicycled 2,000 miles from Geneva, Switzerland to Vlorë, Albania. Post hiatus, she released her solo record “Cast Iron Shoes”. The all original album combines raw, roots-rock with heart-searing songs like “Sicily” which paint a solemn picture of the global refugee crisis. When not on the road with Della Mae, Woodsmith performs with roots-rock band Say Darling and has released two albums of original music with them.
She currently lives in Kittery, ME with her husband and dog. Amidst touring full-time with Della Mae, she teaches songwriting, singing, stage craft and guitar.
Peter Case
As a founding member of the early punk era trio The Nerves, in 1977 Case toured the nation sharing bills with the Ramones, Mink DeVille, Pere Ubu, and Devo. The Nerves single “Hanging on the Telephone,” was covered by Blondie. In 1979, Case formed the Plimsouls, a record-breaking live act in California, recording albums for Planet/Elektra and Geffen. Their independent single, “A Million Miles Away,” entered the Billboard charts and remains a garage rock standard, performed by bands around the world. The band performed in the cult classic film Valley Girl and the Nerves and Plimsouls timeless teenage rock ‘n’ roll continues to appeal to fans of each new generation. After the Plimsouls, Case rediscovered his musical roots on his self-titled solo debut, produced by T Bone Burnett. The New York Times declared Peter Case the best album of 1986. It earned a five-star Rolling Stone review and a Grammy nomination. As one of the first songwriters of his generation to turn from rock music toward an acoustic sound, Case also helped usher in what became known as Americana music.
Last year he released his 16th solo album Doctor Moan. Case brings his considerable songwriting ability to this 11-song collection, largely performed on piano, including his first solo recorded instrumental.
Freedy Johnston
Freedy Johnston is a singer-songwriter originally from Kinsley, Kansas. A town 1,561 miles from both New York and San Francisco. He moved to New York in the 1980’s and worked as an office temp for a few years before landing a deal with Bar None Records in Hoboken. His second record for them was his breakthrough album, 1992’s Can You Fly. He then signed to Elektra Records and in 1994 worked with producer Butch Vig on his biggest record, This Perfect World, which featured the radio hit “Bad Reputation”, and earned him Rolling Stone’s Songwriter of the Year award for 1994. His songs were featured in the movies Kingpin, Kicking and Screaming and Heavy.
He currently lives in Joshua Tree, California.
Jessye DeSilva
Jessye DeSilva seamlessly blends theatrical pop elements with traditional folk and roots music to form her piano-driven alt-americana sound. She infuses hope into songs about religious alienation, mental health struggles, and societal injustice to create a uniquely queer and unholy ruckus. Jessye’s latest album Renovations (July 2023) follows her ‘70s-rock-influenced 2022 release Landscapes, which earned them a nomination for Americana Artist of the Year at the 2022 Boston Music Awards. No Depression says “Comparisons to Elton John and Brandi Carlile are easy — DeSilva clearly takes a page from these idols, anchoring [her] songs in pop melody juggernauts, gauzy textures, and vocal bravado.” American Songwriter has said Jessye’s “catalog doesn’t skimp on razor-sharp lyrics, paired frequently with an almost ethereal vocal,” and Nashville Scene named her a 2023 Artist To Watch, saying “DeSilva could inject new life into a genre that could definitely use a little more pretzel logic.”
Love Crumbs
Love Crumbs is a folk-rock, indie, and Americana group based in Massachusetts. Known for blending poignant lyrics with smashing female vocals, their nostalgic, timeless, heart-on-sleeve sound harkens to a bygone era.
“There are great singers, and then there are great voices. Voices that grab you from the jump and make you go ‘Who is this?’ Ali from Love Crumbs falls into the latter category,” writes Postcard Elba. Their first two single releases, ‘Cavalcades’ and ‘Ellipses’ garnered the group attention from celebrated outlets like American Songwriter, a place on Hype Machine’s popular chart, and multiple Spotify Editorial Playlists like Fresh Finds.
“[T]here are some artists so fizzing with potential that their success seems predestined,” Keep Walking Music writes of Love Crumbs.
Leslie Mendelson
With her enchanted voice and evocative songwriting, Leslie Mendelson has won the hearts and minds of both an adoring fanbase and fellow artists alike. No less than Jackson Browne has declared, “Leslie’s melodies are timeless. They reach me way back in my youth somewhere. I hear traces of Burt Bacharach and Carole King, and hooks and passages that remind me of the pop songs I grew up hearing on the radio,” while The Wallflowers frontman Jakob Dylan shares: “Voices like Leslie’s can get away with almost anything. Along with being a great songwriter, this leaves her with few if any peers.”
A Grammy Award-nominated artist, Mendelson returns this summer with her fourth studio album, After The Party. For this latest effort, she collaborates with not one, but three producers: the legendary Peter Asher (James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt), the young, in-demand Tyler Chester (Madison Cunningham, Sara Bareilles, Sara Watkins) and her longtime songwriting partner, three-time Grammy Award-winner, Steve McEwan. Recorded at Jackson Browne’s studio Grove Masters in Santa Monica, CA, she was joined by an ace band featuring guitarists Waddy Wachtel and John Jorgenson, bassists Leland Sklar and Derrick Anderson, and drummers Jim Keltner and Abe Rounds.
The Clements Brothers
The Clements Brothers are George and Charles Clements, identical twins from New England. They’ve been playing and writing music together for as long as they can remember and ‘The Clements Brothers’ marks their first project together since playing in the internationally touring grass-roots band, ‘The Lonely Heartstring Band’ with whom they put out two albums on Rounder Records. With roots, rock, bluegrass, jazz, and classical influences, George (on guitar) and Charles (on bass) aim to capture their singer-songwriter sensibilities in a unique blended voice, at once enthralling and intimate, groovy and serene. They are joined by drummer Mike Harmon, who joined the band after an impromptu late night set at the Ossipee Music festival, and adds his unique roots-conscious musicality to the group’s evolving sound. The trio is a fusion of each member’s unique musical journey, and the result is music all its own, filled with vocal harmonies, instrumental virtuosity, and a genuine love of song.
Gadan
Gadan is the new project created by four experienced and well-known musicians in Irish trad and European folk/rock scene, with years of touring in the major European and US festivals of traditional and contaminated folk music.
An impactful repertoire with a powerful live appeal and a sound comparable to new-trad acts such as Talisk, WeBanjo3, The East Pointers or Rura, but with a unique identity thanks to years of experience in several folk scenes, from Appalachian & Old Time to Scottish and English folk and traditional music.
Two banjos – tenor & clawhammer – fiddle, mandolin, bouzouki and guitar for a “strings-only” sound with a hint of electronics and driven by a powerful rhythmic pulse. A loop of building energy, taking audience to ecstasy with the wide spectrum of refreshing yet traditional tones. The Gadan power leaves no one unmoved. Who said you need drums to groove?
Kimon Kirk
Kimon Kirk is a bassist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has three solo albums to his credit: 2021’s Altitude, 2011’s Songs For Society and 2009’s EP, Eye On You.
As a bassist he has toured and recorded with Gaby Moreno, Aimee Mann, Alejandro Escovedo, Session Americana, Grant-Lee Phillips, Amy Correia, Sarah Borges, Jennifer Kimball, Kris Delmhorst, Ramona Silver, Chandler Travis, Will Dailey, Melissa Ferrick, and others, and produced albums for Dennis Brennan, Lyle Brewer, David Champagne, Steve Shook, Tom McBride, Kerry Schneider, and Ben Keyes. His productions have been mixed and recorded by Grammy winning engineers Paul Q. Kolderie, Ryan Freeland, and Darrell Thorp.
Kimon has penned multiple songs with Grammy winners Aimee Mann and Lori McKenna, and has co-written songs with David Champagne, Jim Fitting, Jennifer Kimball, Sarah Borges, Amy Correia, and Laura Cortese. He has been a guest lecturer in songwriting and music performance at Berklee College of Music, Georgetown University, Boston University, Boston College, and Suffolk University.
Kimon produced Boston rock and roller Dennis Brennan’s album Into This World in 2016 and joined Latin Grammy-winner Gaby Moreno’s band the same year. He now calls Los Angeles home and has been performing with former X-guitarist Tony Gilkyson, his instrumental trio the Blue Grifters, and with Amy Correia.
