Nashville singer/songwriter Will Hoge is primed to release his 7th studio album, NUMBER SEVEN, on Sept. 27 on Ryko.  Throughout his career, Hoge has survived and thrived through endless miles in vans and buses, landing a mainstream record deal early in his career and triumphantly overcoming a life-altering accident two years back.  If, as mentioned in Rolling Stone and elsewhere, Nashville has finally landed on the national rock and roll map, Hoge has been there all along.

Now, Hoge comes forth with NUMBER SEVEN, an album that poignantly captures his penchant for lonesome blues as well as country influences that have always been present in his music.  “Gone” would sound comfortably at home on contemporary country radio, while “No Man’s Land” is a twanging exposition of the gulf between men and women.  At the same time, Hoge’s poetic side is represented by two thought-provoking songs.  “American Dream,” a profile of a homeless man living amidst a devastated economy, gets right to the core of this tragic situation by stating “I’d give it all right back to just be looked at like a man.”  A similar claim to dignity suffuses the epic “Illegal Line,” which humanizes the oft-demagogued issue of immigration.

“People complain that there’s nothing from current musicians that has any sort of weight or political commentary,” says Hoge. “And I think rock and roll is a little lesser for that at this point.  So, I really wanted to go there on this album and talk about some things that aren’t necessarily being talked about by other artists right now.  I’m really proud of this album. Everything I’ve been through in the last couple of years has caused me to slow down and be more thoughtful about what sort of music I’m putting out. The process of creating music has changed too.  For the first time, I feel like this album really encompasses everything about me as an artist.  I’m just ready for everyone to hear it!”

The album’s grand finale, and first single, “When I Get My Wings”, looks to that other musical city in Tennessee for inspiration and lets Hoge uncork on a full-throated Otis Redding-style vocal with a heavenly host of Memphis-inspired horns.

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NUMBER SEVEN track list:

1.    Fools Gonna Fly

2.    Too Old To Die Young

3.    Goddamn California

4.    American Dream

5.    Gone

6.    The Illegal Line

7.    Silver Chain

8.    Nothing To Lose

9.    No Man’s Land

10.  Trying To Be A Man

11.  When I Get My Wings

NUMBER SEVEN follows up Hoge’s 2009 release, THE WRECKAGE, which was hailed as “triumphant” by the BBC; “welcome and worth the wait” by USA Today and described by American Songwriter as follows: the “eleven tightly crafted songs retain the artist’s self-assured, Southern swagger.”  The long-time road warrior is planning a rigorous touring schedule with upcoming headlining dates this fall.  Details and ticket information will be announced in the coming weeks.

Critically acclaimed Nashville singer/songwriter Will Hoge’s seventh studio album, aptly titled NUMBER SEVEN, is set to be released on Sept. 27 on Ryko.  Its eleven songs survey the struggles of the heart that are Hoge’s songwriting stock in trade while revealing enticing range and freshness on the sonic front. Acting as his own producer for the first time, Will says this album feels truer to his personal vision than any he’s made.

“We took a lot of time in making this album,” explains Hoge.  “We started laying down tracks in my living room, then stepped away from it for about six months.  We were able to come back, re-record and scrap some other stuff and I believe we came out with a much better record because of it.  It afforded us the ability to take a long hard look at ourselves and what we were doing musically.”

The lead single, “When I Get My Wings,” is set to impact radio on Mon., Aug. 1 and highlights Hoge’s full-throated Otis Redding-style vocal with a heavenly host of Memphis-inspired horns.

NUMBER SEVEN follows up on Hoge’s 2009 release THE WRECKAGE, which was hailed as “welcome and worth the wait” by USA Today,  “triumphant” by the BBC and American Songwriter noted that the “eleven tightly crafted songs retain the artist’s self-assured, Southern swagger.” The long time road warrior is planning a rigorous touring schedule with upcoming headlining dates this fall. Details and ticket information will be announced in the coming weeks.

For updates and more information, visit www.willhoge.com.

London-born rapper Tinie Tempah, already a double BRIT Award-winning U.K. superstar with 2010's top-selling debut album by a British artist, goes global with the U.S. release of his album Disc-Overy on May 17.

The charismatic 22-year-old artist is already a phenomenon in the U.K., where Disc-Overy debuted at number one and produced four Top Five singles, including two number ones, and is currently closing in on double platinum sales status. He's now experiencing a major breakthrough in America, where his infectious, message-driven single "Written in the Stars" was recently hailed by Entertainment Weekly as one of the "next big hits of 2011." The song is currently number 13 and climbing on Billboard's Hot 100, and is already certified gold and climbing to platinum status, making it clear that Tinie Tempah is on his way to becoming the first British rapper to achieve major stardom in the U.S.

Disc-Overy will reach American listeners with the addition of three all-new tracks recorded in the U.S. earlier this year with producers Stargate (Wiz Khalifa, Beyonce, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Ne-Yo) and Boi 1Da (Eminem, Drake). One of the new songs, "Till I'm Gone," featuring Wiz Khalifa and produced by Stargate, will be Disc-Overy's next U.S. single. Stargate also produced "Love Suicide," featuring special guest Esther Dean. The third new track, "So Addicted," was produced by Boi 1Da and features Bei Maejor.

Tinie Tempah is currently receiving a massive amount of acclaim and exposure in America, where Rolling Stone recently featured him in their influential "Hot List" issue. Having made his U.S. television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live in February, Tinie will return to the airwaves with appearances on Late Show with David Letterman on May 17 and on Conan on May 26. Also on May 17, he'll be featured in a Live on Letterman interactive webcast concert. Tinie will also be a guest on The View's highly rated Memorial Day show on May 30.

Tinie Tempah recently made his U.S. festival debut with a rapturously received performance at Coachella earlier this month. He's currently in the midst of his first American tour, which began with a high-profile set opening for Lupe Fiasco at New York's Roseland Ballroom, and continues with arena shows with Usher, Kid Cudi, Wiz Khalifa, Curfew, Nas and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley.

Tinie will perform an intimate concert sponsored by New York radio station Z100 on May 16 at Manhattan's P.C. Richard Theater. Z100 will give away passes to listeners on-air, live on Z100 and online at Z100.com, iheartradio.com and PCRichardTheater.com. And on August 5^th, he will make an appearance at the prestigious Lollapalooza festival at Grant Park in Chicago.

Click here to see Tinie Tempah's Live performance of his first U.S. Gold Single "Written In The Stars" on MTV's The Seven earlier this week.

"Blue Moon of Kentucky," the opening track on Brian Setzer's 'Setzer Goes Instru-MENTAL!" (out April 19 on Surfdog Records), has withstood over 65 years of remakes and covers, but it's never been put to the test quite like it is by Setzer.

Setzer goes jazzy, muscled and completely instrumental on the bluegrass standard -- enshrined in 1989 as the official bluegrass song of Kentucky – turning what Bill Monroe wrote as a "country waltz" into a western swing anthem that finds the rockabilly legend picking his way through a series of lightning quick riffs.

Originally written in 1946 for Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the Bluegrass Boys, "Blue Moon of Kentucky" has been covered countless times by a number of esteemed artists. Setzer joins a list that includes John Fogerty, Patsy Cline, Ronnie Hawkins, LeAnn Rhimes, Paul McCartney, Ray Charles, Jerry Reed, Jimmy Martin, and Elvis Presley.

Read more about this release on Brian's website.

In case you missed this news, we have released a Free download sampler from Phish's Summer Tour 2010 Leg 1 called "Live Bait" which is the first in a series of free downloads that will be offered from livephish.com.  This volume of Live Bait will feature 10 tracks gleaned from the tour’s first leg, including older songs from the band's vast catalog (“Alumni Blues,” “Letter to Jimmy Page”) as well fan favorites (“Tweezer,” “Backwards Down the Number Line”) and a new track, “Show of Life,” which debuted this summer. It includes a widget through which fans can post to their favorite networking sites and share with friends. Live Bait is available now here.

Check out lots of summer Phish coverage on Grateful Web:

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