Taking listeners to a place where Appalachian music, backwoods blues and rock ‘n’ roll meet in powerful, ever-changing combinations, The Tarbox Ramblers channel the ghosts of Charlie Patton, Bo Diddley and the torch singers of countless long-gone dives and roadhouses. They’re a four-man wrecking crew whose caveman rhythms, hillbilly violin and charismatic barbwire guitar led The Washington Post to call them “a force of nature.”
When they’re not busy tearing down the house the Ramblers can be a surprisingly lyrical band, playing more than a few lushly atmospheric songs. With nuanced lyrics and spiraling instrumental improvisations they’re among The Ramblers’ best work. They also testify to bandleader Michael Tarbox’s growing strength as a writer. His songs reflect a love of not just blues and country but the work of lyricists like Johnny Mercer, whose iconic “One For My Baby (and One More for the Road) ” is a song Tarbox will tell you he wishes he’d written.
Listen to The Tarbox Ramblers and you’ll hear musicians with an abiding sense of all that’s dangerous, dark and fun in American music. Guided by the spirit of Billie Holiday, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Geeshie Wiley and Dock Boggs, to name a few, their work values authentic emotion above all. The band’s rough-hewn sound is the perfect vehicle for getting their message across.
The Tarbox Ramblers are: Michael Tarbox, guitar and vocals; Adam Mujica, drums; Jim Haggerty, bass; Daniel Kellar, violin.
British singer-songwriter Bobby Long emerged from London’s club scene with a reputation for creating memorable songs inhabited by hauntingly poetic lyrics. He relocated to New York in 2009 and has since released four CDs inhabited by powerful original material: A Winter Tale (2011)—an homage to his acoustic roots; Wishbone (2013)—a gritty opus that showcases his sorrow-filled voice and stellar guitar playing; the critically-acclaimed Ode to Thinking (2015, Compass Records), which applies his varied musical influences to a compelling collection of original songs, and the latest, Sultans, arriving on March 1, 2019.
Of him, one writer recently wrote: “Bobby Long is a British-born singer-songwriter who wraps his voice around the truth without judgment, melancholy without tears. His gentle guitar style allows for his plaintive and honest lyrics to crash like thunder. It’s the blues with a solution. There are many comparisons to be made, but toss those aside for a moment won’t you and leave it to the man, his guitar, and you.”
Additionally, Long has published two volumes of poetry—Losing My Brotherhood (2012) and Losing My Misery (2016), both available from Amazon and other retailers.
Vermont based, Massachusetts raised singer-songwriter Joe Sabourin has been releasing music under the moniker My Mother’s Moustache for over three years. Sabourin mixes a dynamic and precise approach to the guitar with emotional, experience-driven lyrics.
Drawing from a well of musical experiences that includes performing Folk, Bluegrass, Americana, and Celtic music, he conjures up a sound that you think you’ve heard, but never experienced quite like this: a fusion of Folk music and any other genre that comes knocking. The band’s new music drives Sabourin’s writing deeper and deeper into his songwriting roots, pushing the delicate balance between instruments and voices to the forefront. Ian Koeller and Chris Tranten round out the troupe, both lending their knack for supporting the song. All three members of the band show that the song is most important, but are also more than competent to step out a little bit when the time is right.
Whether solo, duo, or with a full band the focus is always on the creation of a sonic atmosphere where songs can grow and transform based on the moment, mood, or room, so the music takes on a new edge each time it is performed.
Joe Sabourin / Guitar and Vocals
Chris Tranten / Bass
Ian Koeller / Drums and Percussion
OSOG – Rebellious Acoustic Americana.
OSOG is an exotic musical collective from Tel-Aviv.
These Middle Eastern anti-heroes are taking the classic old-time and country sounds, injecting them with heavy doses of head-banging energy and attitude, while keeping the music authentic and true to the core.
This large outfit brings together punk rockers, metal-heads, jazz and classical players, and each show is a celebration of creativity and love for music. So far, OSOG has released 3 independent studio albums and toured North America and Eastern Europe.
In 2017 the band was invited as official showcasing artists to the Folk Alliance International convention and were praised by many as the best, most groundbreaking show of the festival. OSOG finished their triumphant American trip in a studio in North Carolina, where they recorded a new album, their first recorded on American soil, set to be released later this year.
The Great Molasses Flood is a Boston-based folk/rock band with a love of beautiful three-part harmonies. They play original songs as well as unique covers that resonate with listeners.
Our members are also great solo artists. Please check them out:
Ricardo Barraza
Dan Cloutier
Kim Jennings
The Social No.11 delivers its own brand of New England Americana with a country twang and a bluesy heart. They’re known for haunting lyrics, sweet harmonies, and showing up with a boat-load of instruments.
Here’s what 24-Hour Music producer Tom Bianchi had to say after he heard them play at an open mic at Lizard Lounge in Cambridge and booked them at two legendary Boston-area venues—The Burren in Davis Square, and Toad in Porter Square:
“Like an old timey freight train of fun The Social No.11 is an unstoppable good time. With more than a 1/2 dozen cars in the form of guitars, accordion, mandolin, banjo, percussion and more, Social No.11 barrels down the tracks with their own original material that sounds like songs you’ve loved forever as well as songs you do know and love.”
The band formed around Sunday night jam sessions in Arlington, Massachusetts. As the music got tighter, the harmony sweeter, and original material started finding its way onto set lists, it was time to settle on a name. The original Social No. 11 is a cast-iron wood stove, manufactured by the S.M. Howes Company of Boston in the 19th century. There’s one in the backyard shack (can you say shazeebo?) where the band gathers on winter nights after practice. That stove is warm, comforting, reliable, and a thing of beauty, even after all these years.
“Catie Curtis is an artist whose songs unarm me, move me to put down my defenses and just be with them. She lures me in through her kindness and respect for all beings. I have been listening to her music for years, she is an inspiration to me. She knows the power of gentleness, and the vulnerability in her voice has always undone me.” – Mary Gauthier, award winning singer/songwriter
For over 25 years, Catie toured full-time as a singer/songwriter in the US and Europe, releasing 14 recordings and selling over 250,000 CDs (not to mention streaming and downloads). She has recorded her acoustic folk-rock tunes for major (EMI Guardian) and independent (Rykodisc, Vanguard and Compass) labels, collaborating with some of the finest musicians and producers in the country. Her songs have been featured in several films and multiple tv shows, and she performed several times at the White House during the Obama administration. Her audience knows she’s not afraid to speak up about political issues and to stand up for the LGBTQ community. She’s intensely grateful for those years on the road, and honored to know that her music has been an integral part of so many people’s lives.
In 2017, Catie explored a desire to work locally rather than spending so much time on the road. She got a master’s degree in counseling and is now a psychotherapist in Newburyport, MA. She seeks a balance between her work as a therapist and an artist. “I still need and want to create music. Writing is still how I make sense of my life and the world around me. I still love getting out to play shows and connect with people.” Fortunately, it’s important to her fans, too.
Introducing Taco Butt, the Boston-based electrified folk-duo featuring 2/3 of the members of Lula Wiles. Isa Burke and Mali Obomsawin team up for their own brand of brash riffage, humor, and sweet harmony singing. Expect the unexpected.
Called everything from ‘hillbilly-Pink Floyd’ to ‘folk-pop’ to ‘surreal Americana’, New York’s Slambovian Circus of Dreams “is a riveting, mesmerizing, crazy, amazing machine of music.” – Chronogram Magazine.
A rootsy psychedelica that Maverick Magazine calls “Mightily impressive and hugely original rock from the cool end of Americana,” their melodic avant-folk conjures with an exotic instrumental arsenal and palette of styles ranging from dusty Americana ballads to huge Pink Floydesque cinematic anthems. The Slambovians charm from the first note with “Great songs and a whole lotta heart!” – DJ Meg Griffin, SiriusXM.
Formed in Sleepy Hollow, New York over a decade ago, they pioneered the alt-folk circuit, staying on the fringes of the music industry. Winning support from indie radio and press since their inception, fans fueled their career from the ground up to an international status. Having headlined major music festivals and venues across the US, Canada and UK, this band has a devoted cult following. “Soothing and bewitching as a snake oil tonic, the entire root system of Rock Family Trees is embedded in Longo’s voice.” – The Big Issue, Scotland, UK. Lead singer-songwriter Joziah Longo is joined by Sharkey McEwen (guitar, mandolin), Tink Lloyd (accordion, cello, etc), Bob Torsello (bass), and Felipe Torres (drums, percussion). They create a captivating vibe that feeds the soul.
Singer-songwriter, Giulia (Julia) Millanta, is a native-born Italian from Florence who now calls Austin, Texas home. A creative and prolific artist, she has released six albums touring regionally, nationally throughout the USA and internationally. An accomplished guitarist, Giulia also plays ukulele and sings in four languages. She has been called smart, pensive and cool and credited with psychedelic grooveability whilst “baring her clairvoyant soul” to “deliver musical mojo.”
Giulia began her life in music as a child of eight years when taught to play guitar by her father she began to perform traditional folk songs. She continued to sing and began writing songs and making records. Performing at the Acoustic Guitar Meeting in Sarzana in the spring of 2010 her accomplished guitar style and songs earned her the “New Sounds Of Acoustic Music” award. This led to an endorsement by the renowned guitar makers Eko, choice of the most famous 60’s-80’s era singer-songwriters throughout Italy.
In 2018 Giulia releases “Conversation with a Ghost” produced by herself and Gabriel Rhodes. The record is recorded live with some of the best musicians in Austin like Glenn Fukunaga on bass and Dony Wynn on drums who in the past two years have also become her steady band members. It also features talents like Marc Ribot (Tom Waits) on electric guitar, Joel Guzman (Paul Simon) on accordion, John Mills (David Byrne) on horns, David Pulkingham on guitar and Kimmie Rhodes on background vocals.
