Julie Christensen’s new band Stone Cupid, a kindred spirit to her post-punk powerhouse Divine Horsemen, was invited to be one of the final acts at East Nashville landmark The Family Wash before its relocation in February. The honor was eagerly accepted; it was at the Wash that the band first played together less than a year before, and felt something truly special.

“This lineup fell together almost fatefully, and the songs seemed to play themselves,” says Christensen. “It was so natural, so simpatico, like some concurrent extra-spiritual thing.” Stone Cupid headed to the studio with producer Jeff Turmes in spring of 2015 to capture that vibe in an album to be released January 22nd, 2016.

Christensen, who’s authored five independent albums and sung with everyone from Leonard Cohen to Lou Reed, has surrounded herself with a team of team players. In guitarists Sergio Webb and Chris Tench, the “absence of ego” Christensen lauds, is on full display. As Tench creates the ideal sonic landscape, Webb populates it with one stunning surprise after another. Propelling the enterprise are drummer Steve Latanation and bassist Bones Hillman, who combine taste and telepathy into something so unified they seem a single entity.

The crew’s résumés feature stage or studio credits for a wide swath of top-shelf acts, including Midnight Oil, Sheryl Crow, Agent Orange, David Olney, Amelia White, Matthew Ryan, Gail Davies and Pinto Bennett.

See more at: www.stonecupid.com

Natalie D-Napoleon

Raised on Croatian folk songs and American standards like “Blue Bayou” upon a farm clinging to a working class town near Perth, the singer-songwriter (family legend has it that she’s related to THE Bonaparte) makes her mark on the roots music scene with original lyrics, impassioned delivery and her lamenting reflection on the human condition.

nataliednapoleon.bandcamp.com

The Alvin brothers, who founded seminal early LA punk roots band The Blasters in 1979, have shared a fascination with Big Bill Broonzy since childhood. After an illness nearly took Phil’s life in 2012, they resolved to return to the studio and pay tribute to the blues legend.

Tim Flannery is one of the enduring hard men of professional sports, logging 34 years with professional baseball and including four trips to the World Series. Impressive credits for any man, but baseball is only a part of Flannery’s story. This prolific and talented songwriter is also an award-nominated musician who regularly packs venues across the globe. He is a seasoned fingerstyle legend of Americana music with a gift for crafting potent, resonant songs and delivering energetic, emotional live shows.

Angela Easterling is a three-time Kerrville New Folk Finalist, a Telluride Troubadour Finalist and a two-time Wildflower Performing Songwriter Finalist. Roger McGuinn, of the Byrds, called her “a bright shining star on the horizon!”

Colin Hay, familiar to millions as front-man, songwriter, and vocalist of pop sensation Men at Work, has released a new solo album entitled Next Year People. Over the past 15 years Hay has reinvented himself as a solo artist, regularly selling out theaters and listening rooms across the US and around the world and introducing himself to a new generation of fans in the process. Raised in the northeast on a healthy diet of Jimmy Webb and Rolling Stones, and drawn by the warm California sun, Kip Boardman began messing with the piano when he was five or so, and much to everyone’s chagrin and disappointment, never really let it go.

Two decades on, The Kennedys are hitting a songwriting high point. Audiences will note Buddy Holly style roots, the tuneful cadences of the Everly Brothers, and the ringing 12-string jangle of the early Byrds, interspersed with darker moments that recall British folk rock a la Fairport Convention.

A gifted songwriter whose lyrics paint witty, poignant portraits of characters often unaware of how their lives have gone wrong, Freedy Johnston appeared out of nowhere in the early ’90s and quickly established himself as one of the most acclaimed new singer/songwriters of the day.
Wisconsin-born percussionist Wally Ingram is the rock world’s version of Kevin Bacon & there aren’t too many degrees of separation between him and just about every star on stage over the past decade or so. If ever there were a drummer in demand enough to be cloned, it would be Wally! He’s been a favorite of everyone from Sheryl and Eric Burdon to Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, David Lindley and more.

CALICO stands for California Country – it’s about timeless roots music; it’s about voices singing in harmony. CALICO the band is three: Kirsten Proffit, Manda Mosher, and Aubrey Richmond– each a great and dedicated musician with accomplished and celebrated solo careers under way.

Self-described as a “consummate bar band in the ’70s Pub Rock tradition,” Patrolled By Radar has shared the stage with an eclectic array of artists such as Los Lonely Boys, Taj Mahal, The Jayhawks and more.