February 2023

Some artists are deliberate in what they do, while others eagerly accept the mystery of it all. Jason Stutts, who goes by Rust Dust on record, belongs to the latter group, allowing songs to take shape in mere minutes or over the course of years, serving them the best he can with whatever sounds, words, energy, and emotions manifest. “I don’t typically sit down to write a song.  Sometimes I’m lucky enough to recognize them when they appear,” he says.

After a major label deal-gone-bad threatened to choke off his career, Covid complications left him with a life-long medical condition, and the Trump era sought to eviscerate the notion that America might still be that shining city on a hill, honey-voiced Texan songwriter Jarrod Dickenson would have certainly been forgiven for retreating to his Nashville home to lick his wounds and maybe write a collection of introspective self-pity anthems.

Last night, genre-defying musical collective Snarky Puppy’s new album Empire Central won the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, marking the fifth Grammy win in the band’s illustrious career. The album is available to purchase/stream on the band’s own GroundUP Music label HERE.

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Kyle Hollingsworth and Joel Cummins have been trying to do collaborative shows for years and it's finally happening this month. The two keyboardists took turns taking fan requests to play the other's songs from the SCI and UM catalogs.

Catch them on a few select nights in Colorado next week!

Texas blues/rock guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Ally Venable is pleased to announce that she will release Real Gone!, her latest solo effort, on March 24th via Ruf Records.

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Ranky Tanky - the Charleston, South Carolina-based global ambassadors for Gullah music - have won the 2023 GRAMMY Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album, their second GRAMMY win in a four year span. Celebrating the music of their West African-rooted Gullah community, Ranky Tanky were honored in 2023 for their first-ever live album - which was captured during their debut at the iconic New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival last year.

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