Robbie Schaefer’s Mom Thinks He’s Really Great—In case you haven’t spoken with her lately, Robbie Schaefer is the guitarist and songwriter for the acclaimed independent folk/rock band Eddie From Ohio.
Although the indie model has become increasingly common in the music industry, Eddie From Ohio actually helped pave the way, building a fan base through relentless touring and grassroots marketing beginning in 1991. Having created a large and loyal following across the U.S. and Canada (the mailing list now tops 25,000 names), the band has also released 9 CDs, selling upwards of 150,000 copies, all on their own Virginia Soul Records.
In recent years Robbie has also turned his musical attention toward solo projects, (releasing In The Flesh, a live solo album, in 2003), composing and recording the theme song for the theatrical production Gulf View Drive (by New York playwright Arlene Hutton), which premiered at the Actor’s Co-Op in Hollywood, CA in 2006, and releasing his first cd for kids and families, Songs For Kids Like Us on Rocket Pop Records also in 2006. The success of Songs For Kids Like Us led to a wealth of opportunities for Robbie, culminating in his arrival as Music Director at KiDS Place LiVE on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
A new solo studio album, “Strange and Lovely World” was released in December 2008 with John Jennings (Mary-Chapin Carpenter, John Gorka, Catie Curtis) producing. Robbie’s Mom is currently clearing space on her cd rack for the multiple copies she plans to buy.
Winners of the Best Young Songwriters award at the 2017 Toronto Independent Music Awards, the Under 18 award in the 2018 Canadian Songwriting Competition, and the Best Young Performer award at the 2017 Canadian Folk Music Awards, Moscow Apartment is driven by a mixture of sweet harmonies and belted refrains, acoustic shimmer and electric crunch, and the clever wordplay of multi-instrumentalists and versatile vocalists Brighid Fry and Pascale Padilla.
The heart of their work is mature and exquisite songcraft, drawing on a source beyond their fifteen and sixteen years, but still linked to the dreams and worries of youth. Woven through with honeyed harmonies, their songs easily slip and shift through folk, pop, and punk to create a distinct kind of indie folk rock that moves your feet even as it catches in your throat.
Following an initial creative explosion in 2017, momentum keeps building for the young duo: they made their Horseshoe Tavern debut as a part of Dan Burke/exclaim! magazine’s Class of 2018 series, and are thrilled to be working under the seasoned management of Jeff Rogers (Handsome Boy Records, Crash Test Dummies, Pursuit of Happiness, Lowest of the Low).
Gregory’s evocative, alternative sound blends “Rufus Wainwright’s opulent musicality and Justin Timberlake’s accessible soulfulness,” (OUT Magazine). His recent spotlight on NPR’s Morning Edition has coined him “one of New England’s best- kept secrets.” Douglass has shared the stage with artists like Regina Spektor, They Might Be Giants, Shawn Colvin, The Weepies, Jason Mraz, and Margaret Cho. According to Pandora’s founder, Tim Westergren, Gregory is one of the top independent artists on Pandora radio today. Gregory has sold 200,000+ songs digitally on his own and his videos have amounted to over one million views on his YouTube channels. His music videos have also charted numerous times on MTV Network’s LOGO TV.
Drawing from 50s and 60s pop, American Songbook standards, and much more, this happy duo channels and fuses these influences through two voices, a guitar, mandolin, and violin to bring you a mixture of original songs and dusted off covers from the past.
The two consist of Brad Bensko on Vocals and Guitar, and Kathleen Parks (of the 2018 Boston Music Award winning Twisted Pine) on Vocals, Violin, and Mandolin.
While busy with performing and writing – they recently recorded, produced, mixed, and released their first LP of original material in March of 2019.
Brad Bensko- Guitar, Rhodes, and Vocals
Kathleen Parks- Violin, Mando and Vocals
Born and raised in rural Massachusetts and currently living in Brooklyn, NY—via Colorado and then Philadelphia—Eliza Edens weaves together disparate influences of people and place into her work to create mesmerizing sonic tapestries with guitar and voice. With a love for tinkering with alternate tunings à la Nick Drake, a curious harmonic ear from years of childhood classical piano lessons, and an ever-expanding affinity for words and stories, Edens’ songs build a kaleidoscopic world that documents the parallels between hope and heartbreak. The resulting sound is a diverse palette of guitar-based, experimental folk-rock centered around Edens gently cradled voice and brimming at the edges with pockets of sonic whimsy.
After cutting her teeth touring the DIY and folk circuits around the Northeast for the past few years—playing everywhere from West Philly basements to folk mainstay Club Passim—Edens is currently putting the finishing touches on a new sophomore album.
Her debut record Time Away From Time (2020) marked a moment of growth in the life of the budding songwriter and was called “… a mesmerizing 29 minutes of delicate finger picking and poetry in motion” by No Depression. She has been a grantee of Club Passim’s Iguana Fund, a finalist in the renowned Kerrville Folk Festival songwriting competition, and has shared stages with The Suitcase Junket, Sunny War, and Sarah Lee Guthrie.
GoldenOak’s music is rooted in the natural landscape- their songs move like a stream, meandering and weaving in an original yet grounding direction. Fronted by siblings Zak and Lena Kendall GoldenOak’s music calmly excites its listeners while nestled in rich folk-influenced sibling harmony. The Maine-based band has built a steady and growing fan base with this kind of energetic intimacy. This is perfectly represented in the group’s latest album “Room to Grow”- A 10-song reflection of the emotional and physical impacts of the climate crisis. The band is rounded out by up-right bassist Mike Knowles and Drummer Jackson Cromwell.
Distinguished by close harmonies, catchy melodies and potent lyricism, the T Sisters have created a refreshing brew of indie-folk/Americana music. Blood sisters Erika, Rachel and Chloe Tietjen flow seamlessly between styles and moods, from roots to pop and sassy to sincere, captivating listeners with their eclectic sound and soaring harmonies.
This past spring, the T’s journeyed to Nashville to create a compelling EP with renowned artist/producer Oliver Wood of The Wood Brothers. While T Sisters’ prior releases delved into personal themes, this project represents a more mature and reflective chapter for the sisters, exploring deeper subjects of societal division, dubious authority, spiritual renewal and activism through music. Adding to the T Sisters’ self-accompaniment and inimitable sibling harmonies, We Are Bound features the distinctive playing of Jano Rix (The Wood Brothers), Chris Wood (The Wood Brothers; Medeski, Martin and Wood) and Oliver himself. Oliver says of the T’s, “Coming from a brother band, I especially appreciate the T Sisters. The soul of the family comes through their combined voices, and they create that sound that only family can get.”
T Sisters have been chosen for American Musicians Abroad, a selective State Department-sponsored program fostering diplomacy through music. The sisters will perform and conduct workshops in the Middle East and North Africa emphasizing girls empowerment and the power of music to create social awareness and change.
