“Nothing in the World to Do,” Jesse Smathers’ debut single as a solo artist, recently made its first appearance on the Bluegrass Today weekly charts. Hot on its heels, Smathers announces the release of a second single, “Yesterday’s Blues.”

A native of Eden, North Carolina, Smathers now resides in Floyd, Virginia. He’s a full-time member of seminal Southwest Virginia group Lonesome River Band, and a music instructor at the Handmade Music School - where he met fellow instructor and songwriter Andrew Small.

Join us for The Dead of Summer Music Festival 3 at scenic Magic Mountain Ski Area in Londonderry Vermont happening July 9th, 2022. Gates open at 11am music starts at noon. Five great bands, one low price. This is a rain or shine event.

You don’t often hear about an artist reinventing their sound twenty albums into a celebrated career. But for Todd Snider, his latest release, First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder (2021), isn’t so much a sudden change in direction as an arrival after years of searching.

Aftershock--the West Coast’s Biggest Rock Festival--returns to Discovery Park in Sacramento, CA on October 6-9, 2022 bigger than ever, expanding to four full days (after a half 4th day in 2021), adding a 4th music stage and featuring over 90 bands. The latest edition aims to top 2021’s record-setting, sold-out attendance of 145,000, which marked five consecutive sold out events for Aftershock.

Frank Sinatra walks into a bar...

Well, Frank called it a “bistro,” and Jilly’s on 52nd Street even had matchbooks that when opened read, “My favorite bistro — Frank Sinatra.” Jilly’s also featured Frank’s “favorite saloon singer,” Bobby Cole, who held court there for many years. His other gigs around New York landed him a recording contract with Columbia, but the 1960 release from the Bobby Cole Trio, while well reviewed, failed to gain traction. It featured no original material from Cole, and was essentially a recorded version of his Jilly’s act — one hard to capture on LP.

Not many bands can claim genuine legend status. The Wailers comfortably claim their place in essential music history. Their music was, and is, culture-defining: rebel hearts with brave souls embodying the spirit of 70s era-defining reggae.

Today, Ethan Miller's Silver Current Records releases Chris Robinson and Howlin Rain's studio-recorded debut together in the form of a special limited edition 7-inch of two rip-roaring Mott the Hoople covers: "Sucker" and "Death May Be Your Santa Claus."

Some artists out there could play in all the different spaces—stadiums, old theatres, jazz clubs, dive bars—and sound good in them all. Neal Francis, pop soul singer and keyboardist extraordinaire, and his three-member band are such an entity.  Their delivery of deep pocket, cohesive grooving over some pretty brilliant song material ensures they would sound awesome anywhere.

Papadosio, the Jamtronica squad originally from Athens, Ohio, delivered a scorcher last Saturday for a full house at the Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, NY. Their music incorporated a high energy blend of psychedelic rock, jazz, funk and electronica. Five LED display panels sat behind the band members and were synchronized with the lights to elevate the visual elements of the show.

Critically Acclaimed Pittsburgh folk-Americana sextet Buffalo Rose wins top honors in the 18th Annual IAMA (International Acoustic Music Awards). They also won Best Group Award as well.