When Nicholas Gunty and Brian Powers put their songs and voices together, there is a delicate magic that commands the room to attention. The duo is known as Frances Luke Accord, and they are what NPR’s Mountain Stage calls “the definition of lean-in music.” Their soft, contemplative vintage of indie-folk gestures toward a timelessness that honors the Simon & Garfunkel comparisons but pushes beyond into the world of Bon Iver, Jose Gonzalez, and progressive folk music.
Both raised in South Bend, IN, Gunty and Powers met and began performing together during their time at the University of Notre Dame. Their first release, Kandote, was a bold intercultural collaboration with the Barefoot Truth Children’s Choir in Uganda, a not-for-profit effort which continues to support the choir to this day. Relocating to Chicago in 2013, the duo honed their songwriting craft while releasing two more self-produced EPs, laying the groundwork for their breakthrough debut full-length, Fluke, in 2016. This immersive, philosophically rich album set them off on their first national tour, which included support dates with Darlingside, Anaïs Mitchell, and The Ballroom Thieves.
A remote band since 2017, the duo’s DIY ethos has remained strong since Fluke. Still self-managing and producing, the duo has released two more EP’s, Silver & Gold (2019) and Sunnyside (2021)–the latter under their new label, Two-Dale Records–as well as a number of singles (most recently, “In My Life,” featuring Darlingside (Sept 2022)). Their long-awaited sophomore LP, Safe In Sound, will be released February 9, 2023, via Two-Dale Records and Tone Tree Music.
House of Hamill owes its existence – almost entirely – to a series of cancelled flights.
Rose Baldino and Brian Buchanan first found themselves onstage together at the 2014 Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City.
Rose’s band Burning Bridget Cleary was scheduled to perform, but inclement weather prevented two of her bandmates from flying. Desperate to salvage the showcase, Rose approached Brian, who she knew fronted Canadian celtic rock band Enter the Haggis. She thrust a guitar into Brian’s hands, pulled him onstage, and the two just clicked.
Four years and hundreds of shows later, the duo was booked to play a closing slot at a Colorado festival, so they hired a bass player and drummer to fill out their sound. By the oddest of coincidences, their hired bandmates’ flights were canceled the day of the show. A frantic Facebook post introduced Brian and Rose to local musician Caroline Browning, who joined them on bass for the weekend. Once again, the chemistry was undeniable, and House of Hamill became a trio.
Today, Pennsylvania-based House of Hamill is a fixture on festival stages across the US, and have shared their music and stories on the country’s premier folk stages. Their version of “Pound a Week Rise” rose to #1 on the US Folk DJ charts, and the video for their all-violin cover of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” amassed over 16 million views on Facebook, where it was shared over 400,000 times. Their latest release, “Folk Hero,” captures perfectly the frenetic energy and eclecticism of their always engaging live show. A lively collection of original instrumentals, reimagined folk ballads, and new songs that showcase the trio’s versatility, “Folk Hero” is the third House of Hamill album to be funded entirely by their fans.
Whether they’re ripping through a set of original jigs and reels, adding lush three-part harmonies into traditional folk ballads, or cracking up an audience with stories from the road, House of Hamill puts on a show that captivates audiences from the very first note.
Songwriter Vienna Teng re-emerges this fall with her mashup song pair We’ve Got You – her first new music in over a decade – but her fans have been here the whole time. They’ve packed concert venues even in years between releases, crowdfunded an ambitious music video in hours, and joined by the hundreds when she launched her “music x climate action” Patreon in 2022.
That kind of devotion has poured forth since 2002’s Waking Hour, which landed her on NPR’s Weekend Edition, The Late Show with David Letterman, and the top of Amazon’s music charts. Across four more studio albums that followed – the chamber folk of Warm Strangers, the jazz-inflected Dreaming Through the Noise, the indie epic Inland Territory, the bright electro-pop in Aims – Vienna has paid homage to her genre-bending heroes like Paul Simon and Tori Amos, while carving a path all her own. Together with her captivating live performances and thoughtful online presence, her work has built a loyal following across generations and continents.
Vienna’s new mini-EP We’ve Got You reflects the complexity of her life over the past decade: climate change work, community building, parenthood. Two songs, each titled “We’ve Got You,” act like fraternal twins: one an indie-pop tribute to inspiring leaders, the other a chamber-folk paean to unsung caregivers. Played simultaneously, they reveal a new intricate whole: a mashup by design, and a love letter to social movements.
Appropriately, Vienna now also hosts climate action workshops on tour and online, which participants have described as “rocket fuel” and “the perfect antidote to despair.” It’s an exciting new chapter in the ever-evolving love story between an artist and her audience.
San Juan Island, WA-based indie folk-rock duo Mandy Fer and Dave McGraw are back at it with a new sound, and a new name: Sway Wild! Their exceptional vocal harmonies, coupled with Fer’s pioneering electric guitar work, have become a vehicle to carry them around the world, sharing stages with the likes of Iron & Wine, Lake Street Dive, and Watchhouse. Sway Wild’s infectious sound explores the corners of rock, pop, funk, worldbeat, and folk, but at its nucleus it is undeniably a music full of joy. It can squeeze the heart in your chest, it can draw tears from your eyes, and it can force you to get up and move your body; over and over, it somehow manages to do all three at once. Mandy Fer also tours as the lead guitarist for Amos Lee and Allison Russell and has recently performed with Brandi Carlile.
Raised musically in a corner of Boston’s DIY music scene, C.J. Red Mouth is a singer-songwriter who makes folk music to tell herself the truths she needs to hear. Her raw, torrential performances are marked by dynamic vocals and blooming instrumental climaxes, inspired by artists like Adrianne Lenker and Mitski.
Sam Weber is a musician known for his distinctive style that blends elements of folk, rock, and Americana. He is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist who has gained recognition for his emotive vocals and intricate guitar playing. Weber’s music often features thoughtful lyrics and a blend of contemporary and traditional musical influences, making him a unique figure in the indie music scene.
His career is marked by a series of album releases, live performances, and collaborations with other artists. Weber’s work has been appreciated for its craftsmanship and the emotional depth of his songwriting. As with many musicians in the indie genre, his music tends to evolve over time, reflecting personal experiences and artistic growth.
Born and raised in rural Maine, Louisa has emerged as a gifted writer with a cinematic eye for richly detailed, emotionally-charged character studies that grapple with the complexities of loneliness and desire, freedom and regret, guilt and forgiveness. A nomadic soul who spent stints living in Alaska, California, New York, and North Carolina before returning home, she grew up learning traditional Bulgarian music from her paternal grandfather’s side of the family and reveled in singing American folk and roots tunes with her friends.
Louisa has toured extensively, playing shows with Izaak Opatz, Indigo de Souza, The Dead Tongues, Darlingside, Micaela Davis, Pokey Lafarge and many more. She will be on tour this winter with Eliza Edens and Molly Parden.
With their ever-expanding instrumentation and dynamically rich live performance, Ryan Meier and Marion Earley make up Gentle Temper, the Indie Folk duo from Boston. Formed in 2016, Meier and Earley dipped their toes into the vast realm of Folk and have molded their own unique sound by constantly pushing the boundaries of what a duo is capable of. They draw inspiration from their surroundings, bringing forth music and lyrics that are steeped in observances of travel, mental health, and love.
Gentle Temper have opened for Ballroom Thieves, The Family Crest, Bombadil, Julie Rhodes, and more. They are set to play at Levitate’s Pop-Up Music Fest in Marshfield, MA in August 2021. GT have played the Common Folk Showcase at Fresh Grass Fest in North Adams, MA (2019). They have been nominated for New Artist of the Year (2018) and Folk Artist of the Year (2019 & 2020) at the Boston Music Awards.
Same Blood EP — out now.
Gabriella Simpkins is an award-winning singer-songwriter, composer, and musician hailing from Cape Cod, MA. Informed by her experiences across genres and performance settings, her music exists at the intersections of folk, classical, jazz, and indie rock. While simultaneously independently managing her career, Simpkins currently attends Salem State University in the BA Music program and focuses specifically on classical composition. She regularly performs her singer-songwriter material in and around Boston and hopes to establish herself as a freelance composer in the coming years.
