Rod Abernethy is a unique blend of an authentic southern folk troubadour, master acoustic guitarist and award winning composer for film, TV and video games. Rod is the 2021 Overall Grand Prize Winner of the International Acoustic Music Awards and the 2019 Winner of American Songwriter’s Bob Dylan Song Contest. His latest album “Normal Isn’t Normal Anymore” produced by Grammy nominated producer Neilson Hubbard (Mary Gauthier, Kim Richey, Glen Phillips) includes songs and instrumentals that revolve around family, friends and places across the Deep South.
Rod has scored and produced music for over 80 video games including Electronic Art’s blockbuster hit Dead Space which won a BAFTA Award in 2009 and Tolkien’s The Hobbit for Vivendi Universal winning Video Game Soundtrack of the Year in 2003. Rod is also an adjunct professor of music composition at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem, NC.
Lindsay Foote has always been a lover of words. She spent her childhood years pouring through the inner sleeves of her favorite CDs, memorizing every lyric. She was often scolded by her teachers for “daydreaming.” It’s a habit she never managed to kick, that has proved quite useful as a songwriter.
Whether she’s working on an album, collaborating with an artist, or writing music for TV, Lindsay brings her signature artistic spark to every she creates. This is “music of the heart” steeped in candor, insight, and kindness. Combining folk traditions, pop, and an Americana edge, her sound is at once familiar and fresh. The 2nd place winner of the Songwriter Serenade Competition is often featured on CBS’s The Young and The Restless and has been recognized in several national songwriting competitions.
After many years of honing her craft in Toronto, Lindsay is now making a name for herself in the vibrant Boston folk scene.
This year, Mayer released an album of original nigunim and new melodies for traditional Hebrew texts. Entitled Modeh Ani, the album features Mayer’s singing and saxophone playing joined by some of today’s most accomplished Jewish musicians, including Frank London, Michael Alpert, Deborah Strauss and Richie Barshay. Mayer says, “Modeh Ani is music meant for singing together with others. I want to share these melodies with many different communities, and even if it’s only temporary, create at least a miniature moment of peace.”
In addition to his work as a Jewish musician, he has also performed with Bobby McFerrin, John Zorn, Questlove, Jamie Cullum, Big Boi (OutKast) and Cyro Baptista. He was also in a viral YouTube video with nearly nine million views called “Subway Sax Battle.” Mayer plays baritone saxophone internationally with Zion80, a 10-piece Jewish Afrobeat band, and his folk sextet, Night Tree has toured in Europe and has released two albums produced by Seamus Egan of SOLAS. He has been on the faculty at the Brandeis Institute of Music and Art and Laguardia Arts High School in Manhattan, and teaches every summer at the KlezKanada Jewish music festival. He is the musical director of Kahal B’raira, Boston’s humanistic Jewish congregation, and leads interactive concerts of the music from Modeh Ani, singing with communities around the country. Mayer received a masters degree from the New England Conservatory in Contemporary Improvisation, and resides in Boston, Massachusetts.
Hayley Jane’s performance is layered with raw intensity + linguistic prowess. She has a deeply emotive + highly magnetizing presence that’s generating a buzz in the industry.
Hayley pulls inspiration from a variety of styles, including 60s + 70s rock + pop, musical theater, folk, blues, soul, psychedelic, funk + bluegrass. Just as varied, are the many ways she can captivate an audience. Whether the concentrated potency of her solo acoustic performance, the explosive energy + movement of her full band shows, or one of her theatrical performances, she always brings the charisma, humor + passion to move an audience.
Her music has been praised by a wide range of musicians, producers + music lovers alike, for successfully combining a diverse sound with clever, over-the-top lyrics + Vaudevillian-style storytelling. Hayley reawakens her audiences to the wild parts of themselves, great medicine for these modern times.
A gambler of wit, Rob Baird spins lyrical luck in his fourth record, After All to find out what happens when you go looking for yourself in someone else. In the 2019 follow-up to his third 2015 record, Wrong Side of the River, Memphis-bred Baird smashes right into heartache, chasing losses just to end up winning back the love he never knew he was looking for.
Recorded straight to tape, at Battletapes, an East Nashville studio under the direction of Jeremy Ferguson (Cage The Elephant, Andrew Combs, Lucie Silvas) — After All combines the known with the unknown applying new processes with familiar relationships. Produced by long time friend and collaborator, Rick Brantley who did time on Music Row as well as in the trenches with the likes of John Hiatt and Brandi Clark; Texas-based musicians’ Austin ‘Woodrow’ Morgan and Z Lynch, After All brings together a depth of sound only musicians playing together for a decade can make. According to Woodrow: “We’ve gone from hating each other to living together to playing together so much that we hated each other all over again. Somewhere along the way we figured out how to grow up and now after so much time spent talking about it, we have finally made a record together.”
Drawing inspiration from Lucinda Williams’ tender melodies to the raw chords of James McMurtry, Rob surrounded himself with the sounds and souls that have known him best to make his latest album. Shaped serendipitously and with the help of friends Burleson Smith, David Beck and Brian Douglas Phillips, the songs were crafted over a couple years at a kitchen table in Austin.
New York City-based mammifères recomposes ancient music from across the world into postmodern folk by disarranging structure and finding inspiration in ethnic chaos. At times both irreverent and deeply respectful of tradition, this band tangles roots music with contemporary musical languages.
Nashville’s Jess Kerber first picked up a guitar at the age of 12, and her precocious drive to experiment with different tunings and picking styles – influenced by kindred spirits like Joni Mitchell and Susan Tedeschi – led to the development of a unique sonic palette and authentic, personal approach to songwriting. Inspired equally by her upbringing in Louisiana and her studies at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, her compositions highlight the dynamism and depth of her gorgeous voice and thoughtful, humanistic lyrics, as well as the refined intricacy of her guitar playing.
While performing in and around Boston and Cambridge, Kerber encountered fellow songwriter Will Orchard, who quickly became a partner and collaborator. Working together on debut album From Way Down Here, Orchard’s production prowess, intuition, and multi-instrumental talents helped push Kerber’s beautiful compositions to a new level of fullness, while retaining the disarming purity of the core elements. Kerber’s rich, emotive tenor and accomplished writing radiate a profound warmth, while varying arrangements of pedal steel, Wurlitzer, drums, and ambient guitar create the surrounding sparkle. The influence of her musician parents – along with a certain nostalgia for what she lovingly calls the “way apart from the rest of the world feeling” of the Deep South – shines through in the honest, straightforward, and timeless qualities of her composition.
Born in Nurmes, Finland and based in NYC, Soikkeli was introduced to the music of great Django Reinhardt and Gypsy Jazz, which has been his primary focus since. Olli played in jazz clubs and festivals across Finland, and toured Europe with Sinti Guitarist Paulus Schäfer. While still young, he’s already played with notable artists such as Bucky Pizzarelli, Stochelo Rosenberg, Tommy Emmanuel, Andreas Öberg, Cyrille Aimee, Antti Sarpila and Marian Petrescu.
After move to New York City in 2014. Olli has played legendary venues such as Town Hall, Herbst Theatre, Birdland Jazz Club, Blue Note, Iridium and the Lincoln Center.
Olli recorded his first album “Trois Générations” (2011) with Hot Club de Finlande and Vitali Imereli and recorded his second album “Kouvola Junction” (2012) with Paulus Schäfer and Arnoud van den Berg.
Rhythm Future Quartet – co-led by Olli with violinist Jason Anick – released its debut album (2014) followed by ‘Travels’ (2016), receiving rave reviews including Best Albums of 2016 by Huffington Post and All About Jazz magazines.The Fall of 2018 marked the release of their newest album, “Rhythm Future Quartet and Friends”, which features the critically acclaimed singer Cyrille Aimée, brazil’s top bandolimist Hamilton de Holanda, and guitarist Stochelo Rosenberg.
Last few years Olli has been exploring musically. 2017 toured and recorded album ‘Rise and Grind’ together with virtuoso accordionist Julien Labro. 2018 Olli started a duo project with New York based Brasilian 7-string guitarist Cesar Garabini playing mostly Brasilian Choro music. Early 2019 Olli recorded with Grammy award winning pianist Marian Petrescu.
Song crafter, blues explorer, mystery muser Paul Nelson brings the music home with his new album, Over Under Through due in January 2019 via CDBaby. Traveling through a landscape of blues, roots, and folk, Paul delivers a musical experience that captures and inspires with songs like “Ghost in the Basement”, “Color It Blue”, “Go Down Ezekiel” and the title song.
With the release of his album Over Under Through, listeners will discover that Paul’s music does not easily settle into any one musical format, but is a masterful blend of American roots and blues, gospel, folk, rock and jazz.
Recorded outside Boston in Newburyport MA and produced by Tom Eaton, the new album is a showcase for the writing and playing that comes after many years of pursuits outside of music. Nelson has assembled a stellar band of New England folk and blues icons to bring these songs to life, including guitarist Kevin Barry, drummer John Sands, bassists Richard Gates and Paul Kochansky, and vocalist Kristin Cifelli. The recordings were made at Universal Noise Storage and completed in October of 2018 with guest contributions from Nelson’s mentor Ellis Paul and Bay area horn player Jeff Oster.
Drawing inspiration and direction from genre-bending artists like Amos Lee, Ray Lamontagne, and Lyle Lovett, Paul’s heartfelt, rootsy songwriting and passionate live performances are sure to delight and charm fans across a wide range of musical tastes and backgrounds, and with the release of Over Under Through should resonate in listening rooms, house concerts, open mics, and churches throughout New England and beyond.
Rod Picott is a former construction worker turned award-winning singer-songwriter who has released eleven albums since 2000. Picott has written two poetry collections God In His Slippers and Murmuration (Mezcalita Press). His book of short stories titled Out Past The Wires is published by Working Title Farm. Rod Picott was born in New Hampshire, raised in Maine and has lived in Nashville Tennessee for twenty-five years. He is currently touring on his latest album – Tell The Truth & Shame The Devil. Picott types with two fingers as he failed typing class – though excelled in English and Literature.
