Nestled away in the Manistee National Forest in the northern part of the mitten lie the beautiful grounds that Hoxeyville Music Festival calls home. The ninth installment of the festival proved to be one of the most exciting and eclectic lineups to date.

Albums of guitar duets are rare. Albums of guitar duets featuring one American and one Englishman, synthesizing their particular geographically specific approaches in a collection of new compositions, are even more rare. Not since Stefan Grossman and John Renbourn's partnerships of the 1970s has there been such a happy reconciliation of Merrie Old England and the good old USA, in which baroque meets the blues, music-hall steps out to ragtime, and Benjamin Britten sits down with Blind Blake.

James Elkington moved from London to Chicago around the turn of the millennium and has since released a string of albums as leader of The Zincs for Thrill Jockey Records.  After dissolving the band in 2008, Elkington has concentrated on acoustic, folk-tinged music with his band The Horse's Ha (that he shares with Freakwater's Janet Bean), culminating in the release of their debut album, Of The Cathmawr Yards in 2009. He is also the owner/operator of a clunky solo career, and moonlights convincingly as the guitar player in Jon Langford's (of The Mekons) Skull Orchard.

Nathan Salsburg is best known as an archivist and producer for the Alan Lomax Archive, curator of the Twos & Fews vernacular-music imprint on Drag City Records, and host of the "Root Hog Or Die" program on East Village Radio. But after a 2007 move from New York City back to his childhood home of Louisville, Kentucky - and the inclusion of a track on Tompkins Square's "Imaginational Anthem, Volume 3" compilation - he discovered adequate time, space, and energy to devote to guitar playing.

Elkington suggested a leap of faith into a collaboration, despite the fact that the two had never previously played guitar together. Avos, then, hither and thither over several seasons, between a porch in Louisville and a kitchen in Chicago, slowly took shape. Aptly, the name comes from the Russian word for the confident approach to new situations, and the faith that nothing tragic will occur once in them.

James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg play their record release show on Sunday, October 9th at The Hideout in Chicago. More shows will be scheduled in the coming weeks.

Slightly Stoopid is pleased to announce their live debut at Grateful Dead/Furthur founding member Bob Weir’s TRI Studios on Tuesday, September 13, 2011. The band will perform two sets (acoustic & electric) and the performance will feature guests Karl Denson (Greyboy Allstars, Tiny Universe), Ian Neville (Dumpstaphunk, Funky Meters), and Don Carlos (Black Uhuru), with plenty of surprises in store. In between sets, fans can partake in the first-ever live Stoopid Q&A from TRI Studios, communicating with the band via onscreen Facebook and Twitter feeds.

TRI Studios is a state-of-the-art performance studio, broadcasting live HD video and audio streams via the Internet. The show will air live at www.tristudios.com at 6:00pm PDT, and will also be offered on re-played at 9:00pm PDT. Each Streaming costs $10.00 for access. Tickets are on sale now for both showings and can be purchased by visiting www.tristudios.com or clicking the banner at www.SlightlyStoopid.com. Band members will also be featured speakers at the SFMusicTech Summit on Monday, September 12, 2011, in support of this high profile, groundbreaking broadcast.

Slightly Stoopid is currently on their Seedless Summer 2011 Tour making 25 stops in all, including some of the country’s best outdoor venues, such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO, The Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA, and Cricket Amphitheater in their hometown of San Diego, CA. As The San Diego Union-Tribune recently reported, “Headlining Cricket for the third year in a row is a coup for the Ocean Beach-based group -- a feat unmatched by blink-182, Jason Mraz, Jewel, P.O.D. or any other nationally prominent San Diego act, past or present.” The complete list of Slightly Stoopid’s Seedless Summer 2011 Tour dates is included below.

Formed in 1995 in San Diego, CA’s Ocean Beach by childhood friends Miles Doughty (guitar, bass, vocals) and Kyle McDonald (guitar, bass, vocals), Slightly Stoopid has become one of the most influential and progressive improvisational musical outfits on the tour circuit. As Amped Up Magazine points out, it’s for good reason. “Slightly Stoopid have perfected one of the rarest and most valuable skills a band can develop: the art of the stealth groove.” Always a festival favorite, Slightly Stoopid has performed at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Outside Lands, Milwaukee Summerfest, Wakarusa, and many others. With their two most recent albums both debuting on Billboard and iTunes charts, the band has sold over 750,000 albums and now releases all material on Doughty and McDonald’s own record label, Stoopid Records.

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SLIGHTLY STOOPID SEEDLESS SUMMER TOUR DATES:

8/25 Raleigh, NC - Raleigh Amphitheatre
8/26 Columbus, OH - LC Pavilion
8/27 Chicago, IL - Charter One Pavilion
9/03 Mohawk, NY - Moe Down at Gelston Castle Estate
9/10 Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Beach
9/13 San Rafael, CA - TRI Studios (webcast performance)
9/16 Mesa, AZ - Mesa Amphitheatre
9/17 Irvine, CA - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
9/24 Page, AZ - Powellapalooza on Lake Powell
9/29 Tampa, FL - Rombello Cruise
9/30 Tampa, FL - Rombello Cruise
10/1 Tampa, FL - Rombello Cruise
10/2 Tampa, FL - Rombello Cruise
10/3 Tampa, FL - Rombello Cruise
10/8 Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl

San Diego based, award-winning reggae band Tribal Seeds announced today the dates for their upcoming fall 2011 tour.  The shows will span over 25 dates in two months, kicking off in Tucson, Arizona at The Rock on October 12, 2011.  Tribal Seeds have become known for their spiritually driven, refreshing rock vibe, that they have intertwined with the roots style of reggae music.

Of the tour, the band shares, “We look forward to bringing a new show with songs from our latest EP ‘Soundwaves’ and new twists to some of our older fan favorite songs. Fans might get sneak peak of some brand new unreleased stuff as well! Have to come out and see for yourself!”

On July 19, 2011, Tribal Seeds gave listeners a brand new EP entitled “Soundwaves,” which peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Reggae Charts. Their previous efforts,  their debut, self titled album, “Tribal Seeds” was released in 2008, and their second album “The Harvest” was released in June of 2009. iTunes named both albums the “Best Of” in the Reggae genre, for their respected years. Their debut album helped garner them the “Best World Music” title at the San Diego Music Awards in 2008, and “The Harvest,” which contained fourteen new and original songs, debuted at the number 5 spot on the Billboard Reggae Charts.

Tribal Seeds have toured throughout the United States, and have also performed in Mexico, Guam, Aruba, and Hawaii. They have shared the stage with artists such as Matisyahu, MGMT, Cee Lo Green, Jason Mraz, Sublime with Rome, Taking Back Sunday, O.A.R., Pretty Lights, Pepper, Collie Buddz, The Wailers, Stephen Marley, Gregory Isaacs, SOJA, Rebelution, and many more.

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Kristy Lee will be opening for Dickey Betts, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, for ALL 3 of his performances at City Winery on Sunday, August 23rd thru Tuesday, August 30th.

Kristy Lee is a soul singer/songwriter from Alabama whose raw music
is connecting with hearts around the country. She is a songwriter for ASCAP  Nashville,
one of the many music artists on The Agency Group’s roster,
and has caught the ears of the recording industry’s heavyweights and executives
as well as Grammy Award winning artists Zac Brown & John Hopkins of the Zac Brown Band.

Currently, Kristy Lee and The Dirt Road Band are in pre-production with
Zac Brown & John Hopkins who will be producing several new songs for her new album.

On August 15th, Kristy Lee hit the road with a multi-city tour that will bring her powerful fan-base out to party while captivating new fans with a voice that is taking the music industry by storm.

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Tour Dates:

8/28-8/30 8pm City Winery w/ Dickey Betts- New York, NY

8/31 8pm Club Helsinki - Hudson, NY