Rising retro rock outfit Coral Moons have announced the August 6th release of their debut album, Fieldcrest, an evocative 9-story telepathy of liberation and salvation produced by Sam Kissirer (Lake Street Dive, Josh Ritter, The Dustbowl Revival).

Coinciding with the album drop is a series of shows in the Northeast including the official launch at Aeronaut Allston (8/6), a stop at Bug Jar in Rochester (8/19), a return to Bowery Electric in NYC (8/20) and a Sunday slot at the Levitate Music and Arts Festival (8/8). Other confirmed acts for the two-day pop-up fest include Billy Strings, Grace Potter, Trevor Hall, The Elevators, and Ripe.

"Coral Moons is play on words for colorful & textured shapes that make up our music. The name sparked from a backpacking trip I did into the depths of the Grand Canyon where I spent a few days at a place called Mooney Falls, one of the most beautiful waterfalls my eyes will probably ever see. My nickname throughout my life was always Coral, a variation of sorts of my first name, Carly. On my hike out of the Grand Canyon, I just kind of knew that the name had left me inspired and I put two and two together. We make jokes that our fan base is called the Moon Beams,” shares vocalist/guitarist Carly Kraft, the songwriting force fueling the crescent exposition.

If a quarter-life crisis leaves you flummoxed on a desert highway, just know it’s part of the process to get to Osiris.

It began with a flange.

Kraft recollects, "Our story began in a corporate office, actually. I met Manuel Camacho (our bassist) at our day jobs where our boss was looking to incorporate more music in the office and wanted to do some open mics. We started experimenting with 70s rock covers where he would play guitar and I would sing. I always wanted to be in a band growing up but never played any instruments (other than the Oboe in Wind Ensemble and Orchestra) so Manuel taught me some basic chords and soon thereafter I wrote the songs for our first EP.”

Coalescing the Coral solar system are guitarist Justin Bartlett and drummer Kevin O’Connell, both of whom had performed in 2018 indie rock/ambient folk project Hope & Things, releasing one EP, an apt open-hearted precursor the unknown road ahead.

Within three months of the release of their debut single' "Fall In Love" in July 2019, Coral Moons rocketed past 50,000 streams while appearing on over 600 playlists worldwide. Local media took note, with Boston’s NPR affiliate WGBH featuring the upstart quartet alongside other buzzworthy artists like Clairo, Brittany Howard and Allen Stone.

Their debut EP, Quarter Life Crisis, soon followed, heightening the frenzy as they quickly stormed the music scenes of the Northeast bringing large crowds to sold-out rooms in Boston, NYC and Rochester. Selling out Lizard Lounge (in Boston) three times in 2019, while also opening for nationally touring acts such as Motel Radio, AHI, Ripe, and Brother Moses, Coral Moons were lined up for a 2-night hometown stand in mid 2020 before the pan global submersion happened. Taking the time to dive into writing, they ended the year with the framings of a 9-song album while garnering noms for “Video of the Year” (for “Winnebago”) and "Alt/Indie Artist of the Year” for the 2020 Boston Music Awards.

The pause and the periphery, it’s all informed their journey.

Influenced and inspired by Alabama Shakes, Tedeschi Trucks, The Eagles, Maggie Rogers, Amy Winehouse, The Allman Brothers, and Lake Street Dive, the band poured themselves into the vast expanse of Fieldcrest, a raw, vibrant mix of rock, jazz, pop, soul, funk and blues, its lapel rings classic without being nostalgic.

"Fieldcrest is defined as a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past. It's the street I grew up on in Upstate NY and has always held this positive emotional space for me,” shares Kraft."

As a further lineage of “Fieldcrest" (also a Marshall Field’s department store brand from the early 1900s) and a nod to a seminal transformative era in art and music, a 70s era photo of Kraft’s Aunt Melanie adorns the LP’s cover. The resemblance is striking.

Equally arresting is the band’s intuitive chemistry, each member’s personality and influences complementing one another, almost like sonic jenga. "I lean towards female-fronted indie rock bands, like Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers, Samia and Faye Webster. Justin is really into psychedelic + heavier rock and so he loves Thee Oh Sees, Manchester Orchestra + King Gizzard. Kevin loves a lot of folk and soul - like White Denim, Nick Hakim & Sean Triska (of Lula Wiles). Manuel is probably the most surprising - he's a very prog rock kinda guy - very into Haken,” says Kraft.

On paper, it sounds like a mishmash but in practice, it’s a masterclass in the best of us. Waves awash in fields of bloom tell us to run like we used to. Rich in depth, as if spiritually sent, the music is cinematic, the mood embodies every phase of the moon. Waxing, waning, gibbous, glowing, full of life, overflowing. Aural sleuths with many a Moog and no need for auto-tune.

Coveted as a mystical elixir, a spiritual trigger to spatially tune the heart chakra to the megahertz of the universe, coral is a symbol of resolute wisdom, happiness and immortality. Bestowing comfort, optimism and peace of mind, it’s a door to discovery, a flame blazing the loop, a full moon fever cresting towards universal truth.

Lunar couth in full view, Coral Moons illuminating a city near you.

Carly Kraft - Vocals, Guitar
Justin Bartlett - Guitar, Vocals
Manuel Camacho - Bass, Synth
Kevin O’Connell - Drums, Percussion

Tour dates:
Aug 06 - Boston, MA @ Aeronaut Allston (Zone 3) [Record release show]
Aug 08 - Marshfield, MA @ Levitate Music Fest, Marshfield Fairgrounds (1:30-2:30pm)
Aug 11 - Newmarket, NH @ Stone Church (Dead Archer)
Aug 13 - Norwood, MA @ Extended Play Sessions at Fallout Shelter
Aug 14 - Somerville, MA @ House Show
Aug 15 - Marshfield, MA @ Levitate Backyard Cantina
Aug 19 - Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar
Aug 20 - New York, NY @ Bowery Electric
Aug 21 - Wakefield, RI @ Ocean Mist (w/ Ripe)
Sep 11 - West Stockbridge, MA @ The Foundry

Coral Moons
Fieldcrest
1. I Feel Alive
2. Beach Song
3. Winnebago
4. For you
5. Like We Used To
6. Tell Me To Run
7. Other People
8. Under Control
9. Fieldcrest

Modern retro rockers Coral Moons, whom the Boston Herald anointed an ‘Indie Rock Band to Watch,’ and whose debut album (Fieldcrest) landed on The Boston Globe’s ‘Top Albums of 2021,’ have announced a spring/summer tour canvassing the Northeast with two major festival appearances.

Kicking off May 5 in Winooski, VT, the band will play some warm-up shows in preparation for their debut appearance at the 11th Boston Calling festival which takes place over Memorial Day weekend (May 27-29) at the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston, MA. Notable acts for the 3-day fest include Run the Jewels, Japanese Breakfast, Black Pumas, Haim, Goose, Avril Lavigne, Glass Animals, Nine Inch Nails and a closing night set by Metallica. Coral Moons play the Tivoli Audio Orange Stage on Saturday, May 28, at 4:05pm EST.

In June, the group, which features vocalist/guitarist Carly Kraft, guitarist Justin Bartlett and bassist Manuel Camacho, will take   part in 617 day, an annual show that renowned radio station WERS, 88.9FM, hosts each June 17. Presented in conjunction with Citizens and Live Nation, WERS, which has been broadcasting from Emerson College for nearly 75 years, will simulcast the action from Brighton Music Hall, featuring sets from Coral Moons, Mint Green and The Q-Tip Bandits. Tix are available now.

From there, the band makes a return engagement to the Levitate Music & Arts Festival, which they played for the first time last year. Talking place July 8-10 in Marshfield, MA, Coral Moons joins a lineup that includes Jack Johnson, Vulpeck, Stephen Marley, Dirty Heads, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Phil Lesh & Friends. The band then heads out for a trio of shows with Zoe Sparks (August 19-21).

With an acclaimed EP (2019’s Quarter Life Crisis) and 2021’s full-length, Fieldcrest, which Boston’s NPR affiliate WGBH dubbed “soul with a catchy hook, brilliant, unpretentiously poetic lyricism that conjures up poignancy with every listen,” Coral Moons is a play on words for colorful & textured shapes that make up their music.

“The name sparked from a backpacking trip Kraft did into the depths of the Grand Canyon where she spent a few days at a place called Mooney Falls, one of the most beautiful waterfalls she had ever seen. “My nickname throughout my life was always Coral, a variation of sorts of my first name, Carly. On my hike out of the Grand Canyon, I just kind of knew that the name had left me inspired and I put two and two together,” recalls Kraft.

With a string of nominations for the Boston Music Awards the past two years, “Video of the Year” (“Winnebago”) and "Alt/Indie Artist of the Year,” their moon beams are shining bright. Illuminating, beguiling, the airwaves piled high with a lush mix of rock, jazz, pop, soul and blues.

From “I Feel Alive” and “Other People” to “Fall in Love” and “Like We Used To,” Boston’s calling. A field of gold, a feeling to fill your soul. Time to catch the crest of the wave and levitate.

TOUR DATES
May 28 - Allston, MA - Boston Calling (Harvard Athletic Complex) [4:05pm]
June 16 - West Stockbridge, MA - The Foundry
June 17 - Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall (WERS 617 Day)
June 18 - West Hartford, CT - New Park Brewing (w/ The Q-Tip Bandits)
July 09 - Marshfield, MA - Levitate Music & Arts Fest (1:00-1:40pm)
Aug 19 - New York, NY - Rockwood Stage 2 (w/ Zoe Sparks)
Aug 20 - Bridgeport, CT - Park City Music Hall (w/ Zoe Sparks)
Aug 21 - Allston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall (w/ Zoe Sparks)
Aug 27 - Burlington, VT - Nightshade Festival
Aug 28 - Bristol, CT - Acousticool

Genre-smashing southern troubadour Afton Wolfe has announced a 16-city East coast trek in support of his recently released EP, ‘Twenty-Three,’ the follow-up to his critically-acclaimed debut LP, Kings for Sale, (Grandiflora Records) which The Rocking Magpie declared “The real deal in a very shallow world.”

Glide Magazine summed Wolfe up best, "Afton's a singer-songwriter for the people in the most genuine way possible. With a deep bravado that is reminiscent of Nick Cave sharing a mic with Johnny Cash, there is plenty to rest your ears upon when hearing Wolfe deliver a tune. With introspective lyrics and valiant delivery, Wolfe has always made the song and its color presentation a work of singer-songwriter art.”

Twenty-Three is more than an allusion to its calendar date and the year of the nascent millennium. The number 23 has a revered history steeped in mystical properties. In its purest sense, the number 23 is magic personified.

The new collection opens with the soul-baring ballad “Cry,” which open-heartedly navigates the weight of grief and grieving. It packs an emotional wallop with a dash of gospel doo-wop courtesy of vocalists Melanie Dewey and Regina McCrary, of the McCrary Sisters, daughters of Baptist preacher, Reverend Samuel H. McCrary, a founding member of The Fairfield Four.

Wolfe was thrilled the pair was able to add additional weight to the gravity of the sentiment, “Cry is a song that came about while I was trying to find the words to console a friend who had just suffered an unimaginable tragedy, losing his wife and the mother of his three daughters. After trying for days to compose a sentence or two to text him, this song was completely written in a matter of minutes. It's the most emotional song I've ever written.”

Born in McComb, and growing up in Meridian, Hattiesburg, and Greenville, Mississippi, the roots of American music are in his DNA. Mississippi is the birthplace of at least three American art forms: country music, blues music, and rock and roll. Meridian is the birthplace of Jimmie Rodgers, while the Mississippi Delta is the birthplace of the blues, and the first rock n’ roll notes ever played according to intelligent music historians, came from Hattiesburg. Spending his musically formative years in and around New Orleans, where the humidity of the Mississippi combined with the Cajun seasonings, the jazz, zydeco, creole, and gospel music, his Mississippi roots coalesce to add resonance and depth to his blues/country/rock influences.

To promote the release of Twenty-Three, which reunited him with musician extraordinaire Seth Fox and producer Brett Ryan Stewart (of Wirebird Productions), Wolfe is embarking on a 10-state pilgrimage throughout the Eastern U.S. for sixteen shows and  several radio appearances. In addition to the aforementioned multi-instrumentalist Fox, on everything from guitar to flute to sax and clarinet, the Wolfe pack also features drummer Madison George and bassist Eric Mendez.

As a special preamble, Wolfe and his cohorts are hosting an evening at Nashville’s hottest new club, The Eighth Room on 8th Avenue (in the old Douglas Corner location). Sitting in with the band is fast rising teen phenom Grace Bowers (guitar), who was the talk of the town at Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion during SXSW, and an opening set by Mark Bryan of Hootie & the Blowfish acclaim. Tix available via Someday.FM.

Afton Wolfe Tour Dates
3/30 - Nashville, TN - Eighth Room (w/ Grace Bowers) + Mark Bryan
4/11 - Knoxville, TN - Blue Plate Special (WDVX) [12pm]
4/13 - Knoxville, TN - Preservation Pub
4/14 - Axton, VA - Mountain Valley Brewing
4/15 - Baltimore, MD - Edith May's
4/16 - Jersey City, NJ - 902 Brewing
4/17 - New York, NY - Cowgirl (opening for Emily Duff)
4/18 - Woodstock, NY - Radio Woodstock
4/19 - Buffalo, NY - Jack Rabbit
4/20 - Hoosick Falls, NY - Unihog
4/21 - Portsmouth, NH - Button Factory Stage (WSCA)
4/22 - Norwood, MA - Fallout Shelter
4/23 - Keene, NH - Brewbakers Café
4/25 - Charlottesville, VA - WTJU (6-7pm)
4/27 - Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle (Patio)
4/28 - Silver Spring, MD - Silver Strings
4/29 - Charleston, SC - The Dinghy
4/30 - Columbia, SC - Steel Hands Brewing

Revered road warriors Bumpin Uglies have released another live acoustic EP of material recorded at the Sugarshack in Western Florida.

Featuring three songs from their recently released album, Mid-Atlantic Dub (“Wild Girls,” Make It Through The Day,” “You Don’t Gotta Die”), one track each from 2019’s Buzz EP (“Serving”) and 2011’s Free Candy full-length (“Lie to Me”) plus a spirited cover of “Cover Me Up,” the Jason Isbell staple from his Southeastern opus, the band sound loose and confident, focused and ebullient.

Returning to the Sugarshack in Bonita Springs, FL, just north of Naples, the Maryland-based band welcomed the opportunity do another visual EP with some trusted comrades, a follow-on to their well-received collection recorded at the same venue in May 2020.

Bumpin Uglies founder/vocalist Brandon Hardesty explains, “Sugarshack has been a staple in our scene for almost 10 years, and we’ve done a lot of work with them. We ended our fall tour in southern Florida so we really wanted to make a session work to record some of these new songs. It was honestly a pretty low stress situation because the Sugarshack guys are such pros and we’d been playing those songs for months, so we had them tight and ready to go. The caliber of their work is so top notch, we knew if we got a good take they would crush the mix and the video, which they did. I really feel like we captured lightning in a bottle, I’m very proud of it.”

Joining Hardesty were band members Dave “Wolfie” Wolf (bass, vocals), T.J. Haslett (drums), Ethan Lichtenberger (keys) and Will Lopez (tenor saxophone) and regular collaborators, Nick Reider (trumpet) and Ben Bays (conga/percussion). Also partaking were special guests Joey Harkum (harmony vocals on “Lie to Me”) and violinist Liz McBryde, who’s worked with The Who, Sting, and Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys), on an intimate, yet spirited, take on a love song written for Amanda Shires by the former Drive-By Trucker.

“Cover Me Up has been a favorite of mine since I first heard it, but it really became special to me when I sobered up a few years ago. Making a life in music is extremely challenging. Making one while not drinking is even more challenging, while also being a bit easier, if that makes sense. The temptation is everywhere, but the clarity that comes with it helps me cut through the bullshit. I know Jason was newly sober when he wrote it, and to me, it feels like it’s a song about redemption. It’s a very special song to me and it makes me feel very deeply. I love to sing it,” said Hardesty.

Parlaying the gritty, but hi-def vibe of the Sugarshack session, a full acoustic record is in the works for fall, with Brandon recording live, in studio, doing solo acoustic versions of previously recorded songs as well several unreleased songs that draw inspiration from Isbell, John Prine and others.

For more than a decade, the Maryland-based band, who blend rock, hip hop, dub, reggae and punk into a refreshing blast of spacetime funk, has toured constantly, starting with local open mics and backyard parties to ever-expanding audiences, festival slots and sold-out shows coast to coast. Whether live at the Sugarshack or at marquee venues from Brooklyn to Tahoe, from Austin to Albany to their very own ‘Weekend at Wolfies,’ the thinking man’s party band continues to bump, and grind, from ocean city to sector nine.

Bumpin Uglies Tour Dates:

4/19 - Tulsa, OK - The Shrine

4/20 - Dallas, TX - Deep Ellum Art Company

4/21 - Austin, TX - Empire Control Room

4/22 - Corpus Christi, TX - House of Rock

4/23 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar

5/04 - Washington DC - 9:30 Club w/ Joey Harkum & Higher Education

5/05 - Asbury Park, NJ - House Of Independents w/ Joey Harkum

5/06 - Pawtucket, RI - The Met w/ Crooked Coast

5/07 - Syracuse, NY - Funk 'n Waffles w/ Crooked Coast

5/11 - Raleigh, NC - Bowstring Pizza & Brewyard w/ Joint Operation

5/12 - Isle of Palms, SC - The Windjammer w/ Doze & the Drift

5/13 - Charlotte, NC - Music Yard w/ Joint Operation

6/8-11 - Bedford, PA - Weekend At Wolfies

6/14 - New York, NY - Brooklyn Made w/ Mike Pinto

6/15 - Hampton, NH - Bernie's Beach Bar w/ Mike Pinto

6/16 - Albany, NY - Lark Hall w/ Mike Pinto

6/17 - Fairfield, CT - The Lot @ FTC w/ Mike Pinto

7/05 - Ocean City, MD - Seacrets Nightclub w/ The Grilled Lincolns

7/14 - Youngstown, OH - Westside Bowl w/ C Level & Joint Operation

7/22 - Olympic Valley, CA - Lake Tahoe Reggae Festival

7/29 - Portland, ME - Bayside Bowl

8/3-5 - Thornville, OH - Everwild Music Fest w/ Pepper, Tropidelic, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

8/10 - Virginia Beach, VA - New Realm Brewing Co.

8/11 - Kill Devil Hills, NC - Outer Banks Brewing Station

8/12 - Roanoke, VA - Black Dog Salvage w/ Lazy Man Dub Band

8/13 - Myrtle Beach, SC - Boathouse

8/25 - Bethlehem, PA - Levitt SteelStacks

9/08 - Lolo Hot Springs, MT - Montana Hempfest

10/8 - Las Vegas, NV - Reggae Rise Up Vegas

Bumpin Uglies

Live at Sugarshack Sessions Vol. 2

1. Wild Girls - https://youtu.be/t8wLxKJREwY

2. Lie to Me (ft. Joey Harkum) - https://youtu.be/oLFNU3A6DHM

3. Serving - https://youtu.be/3hfV86boDHg

4. Make It Through The Day - https://youtu.be/41Iz3Vmk6ok

5. You Don’t Gotta Die - https://youtu.be/BuzmhRTucIg

6. Cover Me Up (Jason Isbell cover) - https://youtu.be/W-VjmN3O1YE

Fresh off the success of their recent album Mid-Atlantic Dub, rising Reggae Rock outfit Bumpin Uglies have announced the release of 'Underdog: The Acoustic Sessions,' a visceral 16-track collection arriving September 8 via Controlled Substance Sound Labs/The Orchard (Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution, Pepper).

While the new project boasts searing stripped-raw takes of classics from fan favorite releases Buzz (“Locust Avenue”, “Self-Loathing”, “This Is Ours”), Keep It Together (“Load In / Load Out”, “Keep Moving”) Beast from the East (“City by the Bay”), Keep your suitcase packed. (“Shades of Gray”, “Suburbia”), and 2022’s Mid-Atlantic Dub (“Wild Girls”), seven new songs join the fray to supercharge the day.

Acoustic can be urgent. It’s because of the words. Lyrics are the marvels that move you. The message is what resonates long after the beats dissipate.

On the band’s first ever career-spanning milepost, band co-founder/vocalist Brandon Hardesty revisits some of the band’s most solemn streets, from Suburbia and Locust Avenue to Self-loathing and City by the Bay, it’s shades of gray, it’s spinning plates, it’s catch & release and keep moving. It’s vitality, the pure essence of Bumpin Uglies. Full of passion and integrity, these are the anthems of a thinking man’s society. The land of the free. The home of the brave, these are the days we commemorate when the fire in the belly inflames, when you demand change. This is Ours. Don’t count out the Underdog.

“This is an anthem for authenticity. It’s for all the artists that choose to embrace their passion as a form of art, rather than a transactional medium. A celebration of the imperfections that make us beautiful,” offered Hardesty.

From the emotional umbrage of lead single “Underdog” (releasing June 16), to the lilting blue-collar confessional “The Work,” the bouncy ebullient self-awareness of “Spinning Plates,” and the tension-filled, fed-up verve of “Loneliness in Ab,” to the pandemic-fueled melancholy of “Livestreams & Vaccines” and album closer, “Jerry’s Song,” a heartbreakingly moving tribute Brandon wrote in remembrance of his father who passed away in 2021, the new tunes find Hardesty digging even further into his core, rescuing himself from another crossroads while providing guidance for those still in the throes.

The upcoming full-length expands upon the band’s two ‘Live at Sugarshack Sessions’ acoustic EPs, the latest of which featured a sparse passionate rendition of Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up,” to which the former Drive-By Trucker championed with the social media comment “Lovely job!” Americana Highways seconded that sentiment by professing, “Vocals that are youthful and disarming and sound a bit like indie folksters like Passenger.”

A lovely ride it’s been. For more than a decade, the Maryland-based band, whose members include Dave “Wolfie” Wolf (bass, vocals), T.J. Haslett (drums), Ethan Lichtenberger (keys) and Will Lopez (tenor saxophone), blend rock, hip hop, dub, reggae and punk into a refreshing blast of spacetime funk. The revered road warriors have toured constantly, starting with local open mics and backyard parties to ever-expanding audiences, festival slots and sold-out shows coast to coast.

This fall, they’ll join reggae-rock icons The Expendables, as support on select dates, from September 13 - November 12, while also making appearances at a number of festivals including Lake Tahoe Reggae Fest (July 22), Everwild Music Fest (Aug 3), Montana Hempfest (Sept 8) and Reggae Rise Up Vegas (Oct 8).

Whether live at the Sugarshack, on beachfronts, in ballrooms or fancy microbrews, anchoring main stages or their very own ‘Weekend at Wolfies,’ in rural Pennsylvania, the thinking man’s party band continues to bump, and grind, from ocean city to sector nine.

Bumpin Uglies Tour Dates:
6/8-11 - Bedford, PA - Weekend At Wolfies
6/14 - New York, NY - Brooklyn Made w/ Mike Pinto
6/15 - Hampton, NH - Bernie's Beach Bar w/ Mike Pinto
6/16 - Albany, NY - Lark Hall w/ Mike Pinto
6/17 - Fairfield, CT - The Lot @ FTC w/ Mike Pinto
7/05 - Ocean City, MD - Seacrets Nightclub w/ The Grilled Lincolns
7/14 - Youngstown, OH - Westside Bowl w/ C Level & Joint Operation
7/15 - Covington, KY - Paradise Music & Beer Festival
7/22 - Olympic Valley, CA - Lake Tahoe Reggae Festival
7/28 - Matunuck, RI - Ocean Mist w/ Van Gordon Martin  7/29 - Portland, ME - Bayside Bowl
7/30 - Pembroke, MA - Soundcheck Studios
8/3-5 - Thornville, OH - Everwild Fest w/ Pepper, Tropidelic, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
8/10 - Virginia Beach, VA - New Realm Brewing Co.
8/11 - Kill Devil Hills, NC - Outer Banks Brewing Station
8/12 - Roanoke, VA - Black Dog Salvage w/ Lazy Man Dub Band
8/13 - Myrtle Beach, SC - Boathouse
8/25 - Bethlehem, PA - Levitt SteelStacks
9/07 - Billings, MT - The Pub Station w/ Jon Wayne & the Pain Trio
9/08 - Lolo Hot Springs, MT - Montana Hempfest
9/09 - Spokane, WA - Lucky You Lounge w/ Jon Wayne & the Pain
9/12 - Bend, OR - Volcanic Theatre Pub
9/13 - Arcata, CA - Humboldt Brews (supporting The Expendables)
9/14 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom (supporting The Expendables)
9/15 - Tacoma, WA - The Spanish Ballroom (supporting The Expendables)
9/16 - Bellingham, WA - Wild Buffalo House of Music (supporting The Expendables)
9/18 - Talent, OR - Talent Club
9/20 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory (supporting The Expendables)
9/21 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex (supporting The Expendables)
9/22 - Reno, NV - Virginia Street Brewhouse (supporting The Expendables)
9/23 - Chico, CA - Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (supporting The Expendables)
10/8 - Las Vegas, NV - Reggae Rise Up Vegas
10/16 - Tulsa, OK - The Vanguard (supporting The Expendables)
10/23 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues (Parish) [supporting The Expendables]
10/24 - Pensacola, FL - Vinyl Music Hall
10/28 - Fort Meyers, FL - The Ranch Concert Hall (supporting The Expendables)
11/08 - Chicago, IL - Martyrs' (supporting The Expendables)
11/09 - Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room Lounge (supporting The Expendables)
11/10 - Fort Collins, CO - Aggie Theatre (supporting The Expendables)
11/11 - Denver, CO - Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom (supporting The Expendables)
11/12 - Grand Junction, CO - Mesa Theater (supporting The Expendables)
11/14 - Kansas City, MO - recordBar w/ The Bastard Sons
11/15 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St Entry w/ The Bastard Sons
11/16 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon w/ The Bastard Sons
11/17 - Peoria, IL - Kenny's Westside Pub w/ The Bastard Sons
11/18 - Indianapolis, IN - HI FI Indy w/ The Bastard Sons

Bumpin Uglies
Underdog: The Acoustic Sessions

1. Locust Avenue (from Buzz)
2. City By The Bay (from Beast From The East)
3. Underdog
4. Wild Girls (from Mid-Atlantic Dub)
5. Load In / Load Out (from Keep It Together)
6. Catch & Release
7. Livestreams & Vaccines
8. Spinning Plates
9. Self-Loathing (from Buzz)
10. The Work
11. Shades of Gray (from Keep your suitcase packed.)
12. Suburbia (from Keep your suitcase packed.)
13. Keep Moving (from Keep It Together)
14. Loneliness in Ab
15. This Is Ours (from Buzz)
16. Jerry’s Song

Pre-save “Underdog” single: https://cssl.fanlink.to/bumpin-uglies-underdog
Pre-save ‘Underdog: The Acoustic Sessions’ album https://cssl.fanlink.to/bumpin-uglies-UTAS

Fresh off the success of lead single “Underdog,” the band’s quickest single to 100,000 streams (six days), rising Reggae Rock outfit Bumpin Uglies have announced the release of “Spinning Plates,” the bluesy groove-driven second single from ‘Underdog: The Acoustic Sessions,’ a visceral 16-track collection arriving September 8 via Controlled Substance Sound Labs/The Orchard (Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution, Pepper).

Characterizing the unflinchingly honest new single (“Spinning Plates”), hitting digital services August 4, band co-founder/vocalist Brandon Hardesty offers, “Spinning Plates is a song about not being ok in your own skin so to compensate you try and stay busy so there’s no time to think about it. I was playing a lot of blues guitar when I wrote it so it’s made up with a bit of a of blues tonality over top of an acoustic reggae groove."

While the new project boasts searing stripped-raw takes of classics from fan favorite releases Buzz (“Locust Avenue”, “Self-Loathing”, “This Is Ours”), Keep It Together (“Load In / Load Out”, “Keep Moving”) Beast from the East (“City by the Bay”), Keep your suitcase packed. (“Shades of Gray”, “Suburbia”), and 2022’s Mid-Atlantic Dub (“Wild Girls”), seven new songs join the fray to supercharge the day.

On the band’s first ever career-spanning milepost, the group revisits the treasured corners of their canon, from Suburbia and Locust Avenue to Self-loathing and City by the Bay, it’s shades of gray, it’s spinning plates, it’s catch & release and keep moving. Its vitality, the pure essence of Bumpin Uglies. Full of passion and integrity, these are the anthems of a thinking man’s paradigm. The land of the free. The home of the brave, these are the days we commemorate when the fire in the belly inflames, when you demand change. This is Ours. Don’t count out the Underdog.

“This album is an anthem for authenticity. It’s for all the artists that choose to embrace their passion as a form of art, rather than a transactional medium. A celebration of the imperfections that make us beautiful,” offered Hardesty.

From the emotional umbrage of lead single “Underdog” (its official video a collage of searing live performances), to the lilting blue-collar confessional “The Work” contrasted by the tension-filled, fed-up verve of “Loneliness in Ab,” to the pandemic-fueled melancholy of “Livestreams & Vaccines” and album closer, “Jerry’s Song,” a heartbreakingly moving tribute Brandon wrote in remembrance of his father who passed away in 2021, the new tunes find Hardesty digging even further into his core, rescuing himself from another crossroads while providing guidance for those still in the throes.

The upcoming full-length expands upon the band’s two ‘Live at Sugarshack Sessions’ acoustic EPs, the latest of which featured a sparse passionate rendition of Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up,” to which the former Drive-By Trucker championed with the social media comment “Lovely job!” Americana Highways seconded that sentiment by professing, “Vocals that are youthful and disarming and sound a bit like indie folksters like Passenger.”

An exhilarating ride it’s been. For more than a decade, the Maryland-based band, whose members include Hardesty (vocals, guitar), Dave “Wolfie” Wolf (bass, vocals), T.J. Haslett (drums), Ethan Lichtenberger (keys) and Will Lopez (tenor saxophone), blend rock, hip hop, dub, reggae and punk into a refreshing blast of spacetime funk. The hardworking road warriors have toured constantly, starting with local open mics and backyard parties to ever-expanding audiences, festival slots and sold-out shows coast to coast.

This fall, they’ll join reggae-rock icons The Expendables, as support on select dates, from September 14 - November 12, while also making appearances at a number of festivals including Everwild Music Fest (Aug 3), Montana Hempfest (Sept 8), OctoberQuest (Oct 7) and Reggae Rise Up Vegas (Oct 8) which sees them share the main stage with Sublime With Rome, Dirty Heads, Action Bronson and Lettuce.

After their nationwide trek, the sextet will host a trio of Holiday shows including their climactic Ugly Sweater bash at Baltimore Soundstage in Baltimore on December 2. For tickets/VIP upgrades, please visit https://www.bumpinugliesmusic.com/tour

Bumpin Uglies Tour Dates:

8/03 - Thornville, OH - Everwild Fest w/ Pepper, Tropidelic, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

8/10 - Virginia Beach, VA - New Realm Brewing Co.

8/11 - Kill Devil Hills, NC - Outer Banks Brewing Station

8/12 - Roanoke, VA - Black Dog Salvage w/ Lazy Man Dub Band

8/13 - Myrtle Beach, SC - Boathouse

8/25 - Bethlehem, PA - Levitt SteelStacks

8/26 - Grasonville, MD - Red Eyes

8/31 - Essex, MD - Crazy Tuna

9/01 - Solomons, MD - Tiki Bar

9/07 - Billings, MT - The Pub Station w/ Jon Wayne & the Pain Trio

9/08 - Lolo Hot Springs, MT - Montana Hempfest

9/09 - Spokane, WA - Lucky You Lounge w/ Jon Wayne & the Pain

9/12 - Bend, OR - Volcanic Theatre Pub

9/14 - Portland, OR - Star Theater (supporting The Expendables)

9/15 - Tacoma, WA - The Spanish Ballroom (supporting The Expendables)

9/16 - Bellingham, WA - Wild Buffalo House of Music (supporting The Expendables)

9/18 - Talent, OR - Talent Club

9/20 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory (supporting The Expendables)

9/21 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex (supporting The Expendables)

9/22 - Reno, NV - Virginia Street Brewhouse (supporting The Expendables)

9/23 - Chico, CA - Sierra Nevada Big Room (supporting The Expendables)

10/7 - Garrettsville, OH - OctoberQuest at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park

10/8 - Las Vegas, NV - Reggae Rise Up Vegas

10/16 - Tulsa, OK - The Vanguard (supporting The Expendables)

10/18 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater (supporting The Expendables)

10/19 - San Antonio, TX - The Rock Box (supporting The Expendables)

10/20 - Corpus Christi, TX - House of Rock (supporting The Expendables)

10/21 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar (supporting The Expendables)

10/23 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues (Parish) [supporting The Expendables]

10/24 - Pensacola, FL - Vinyl Music Hall

10/25 - Jacksonville, FL - Underbelly (supporting The Expendables)

10/26 - DeLand, FL - Cafe Da Vinci (supporting The Expendables)

10/27 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room (supporting The Expendables)

10/28 - Fort Meyers, FL - The Ranch Concert Hall (supporting The Expendables)

10/29 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade - Hell (supporting The Expendables)

10/31 - Charleston, SC - Charleston Pour House (supporting The Expendables)

11/02 - Raleigh, NC - Lincoln Theatre (supporting The Expendables)

11/04 - Ardmore, PA - Ardmore Music Hall (supporting The Expendables)

11/08 - Chicago, IL - Martyrs' (supporting The Expendables)

11/09 - Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room Lounge (supporting The Expendables)

11/10 - Fort Collins, CO - Aggie Theatre (supporting The Expendables)

11/11 - Denver, CO - Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom (supporting The Expendables)

11/12 - Grand Junction, CO - Mesa Theater (supporting The Expendables)

11/14 - Kansas City, MO - recordBar w/ The Bastard Sons

11/15 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St Entry w/ The Bastard Sons

11/16 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon w/ The Bastard Sons

11/17 - Peoria, IL - Kenny's Westside Pub w/ The Bastard Sons

11/18 - Indianapolis, IN - HI FI Indy w/ The Bastard Sons
11/30 - Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Music Hall

12/01 - Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Iron Works

12/02 - Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage (Ugly Sweater Show)

Bumpin Uglies

Underdog: The Acoustic Sessions

1. Locust Avenue (from Buzz)

2. City By The Bay (from Beast From The East)

3. Underdog

4. Wild Girls (from Mid-Atlantic Dub)

5. Load In / Load Out (from Keep It Together)

6. Catch & Release

7. Livestreams & Vaccines

8. Spinning Plates

9. Self-Loathing (from Buzz)

10. The Work

11. Shades of Gray (from Keep your suitcase packed.)

12. Suburbia (from Keep your suitcase packed.)

13. Keep Moving (from Keep It Together)

14. Loneliness in Ab

15. This Is Ours (from Buzz)

16. Jerry’s Song

Listen “Underdog” single: https://cssl.fanlink.to/bumpin-uglies-underdog

Pre-save “Spinning Plates” single: https://cssl.fanlink.to/BU-SPINNING-PLATES

Pre-save ‘Underdog: The Acoustic Sessions’ album https://cssl.fanlink.to/bumpin-uglies-UTAS

Armed with a wave of momentum and ‘Underdog,’ their critically-acclaimed acoustic collection, out now via Controlled Substance Sound Labs/The Orchard (Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution, Pepper), Maryland reggae-rock outfit Bumpin Uglies are set to descend upon Sin City for an appearance at the massive Reggae Rise Up Vegas festival, happening October 6-8 at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center (200 S 3rd St, Vegas).

RRU Vegas is one of four Rise Up events staged throughout the year, the others taking place in St. Petersburg, FL, Salt Lake City, UT, and Baltimore, Maryland. Alternating between two main stages (Rise Up & Vibe) other acts on this year’s Vegas throwdown include Sublime With Rome, Dirty Heads, Slightly Stoopid, Cypress Hill, Rebelution, Soja, Dilated Peoples, Matisyahu, Iration, and Citizen Cope.

Bumpin Uglies command the Rise Up Stage on Sunday, October 8 at 3:10pm though it won’t be Pacific Standard Time, it’ll be Island Time when vocalist Brandon Hardesty and crew arrive.

Dropping September 8, ‘Underdog: The Acoustic Sessions’ presented a stripped-down, yet raw and visceral, reimagination of Bumpin Uglies classics including “Locust Avenue,” “City by the Bay,” “Shades of Gray” and “Wild Girls” from the band’s most recent studio album, last fall’s Mid-Atlantic Dub.

Also in September, Hardesty was featured on Nathan Aurora’s various artists comp, ‘Pop Punk Goes Reggae Vol. 1, with his spirited take on Dashboard Confessional’s iconic emo anthem, “Hands Down while also appearing on Chris DeMakes A Podcast, discussing fan-favorite, “Island Time,” with the venerable guitarist of Less Than Jake.

For more than a decade, it’s been heads down and sleeves rolled up for the Maryland-based band whose members include Hardesty (vocals, guitar), Dave “Wolfie” Wolf (bass, vocals), T.J. Haslett (drums), Ethan Lichtenberger (keys) and Will Lopez (tenor saxophone). Blending rock, hip hop, dub, reggae and punk into a refreshing blast of spacetime funk, the hardworking road warriors have toured constantly, starting with local open mics and backyard parties to ever-expanding audiences, prime-time festival slots and sold-out shows coast to coast.

After their show-stopping performance at RRU VEGAS, they’ll re-join reggae-rock icons The Expendables for more cross-country shows through November 12.

To close out the year, the sextet will host a trio of East coast Holiday shows including their bustling Ugly Sweater bash at Baltimore Soundstage in Baltimore on December 2nd before heading back into the studio to finish the next project.

For tickets/VIP upgrades, including the newly announced February 2024 shows, please visit https://www.bumpinugliesmusic.com/tour

Bumpin Uglies Tour Dates:

10/7 - Garrettsville, OH - OctoberQuest at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park

10/8 - Las Vegas, NV - Reggae Rise Up Vegas

10/16 - Tulsa, OK - The Vanguard (supporting The Expendables)

10/18 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater (supporting The Expendables)

10/19 - San Antonio, TX - The Rock Box (supporting The Expendables)

10/20 - Corpus Christi, TX - House of Rock (supporting The Expendables)

10/21 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar (supporting The Expendables)

10/23 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues (Parish) [supporting The Expendables]

10/24 - Pensacola, FL - Vinyl Music Hall

10/25 - Jacksonville, FL - Underbelly (supporting The Expendables)

10/26 - DeLand, FL - Cafe Da Vinci (supporting The Expendables)

10/27 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Culture Room (supporting The Expendables)

10/28 - Fort Meyers, FL - The Ranch Concert Hall (supporting The Expendables)

10/29 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade - Hell (supporting The Expendables)

10/31 - Charleston, SC - Charleston Pour House (supporting The Expendables)

11/02 - Raleigh, NC - Lincoln Theatre (supporting The Expendables)

11/03 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa (supporting The Expendables)

11/04 - Ardmore, PA - Ardmore Music Hall (supporting The Expendables)

11/06 - Columbus, OH - Woodlands Tavern (supporting The Expendables)

11/08 - Chicago, IL - Martyrs' (supporting The Expendables)

11/09 - Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room Lounge (supporting The Expendables)

11/10 - Fort Collins, CO - Aggie Theatre (supporting The Expendables)

11/11 - Denver, CO - Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom (supporting The Expendables)

11/12 - Grand Junction, CO - Mesa Theater (supporting The Expendables)

11/14 - Kansas City, MO - recordBar w/ The Bastard Sons

11/15 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St Entry w/ The Bastard Sons

11/16 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon w/ The Bastard Sons

11/17 - Peoria, IL - Kenny's Westside Pub w/ The Bastard Sons

11/18 - Indianapolis, IN - HI-FI Indy w/ The Bastard Sons

11/30 - Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird Music Hall (w/ Joe Samba & Howi Spangler)

12/01 - Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Iron Works

12/02 - Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage (w/ Joe Samba & Howi Spangler)

2/01 - Morgantown, WV - 123 Pleasant St

2/02 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom

2/03 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom

2/08 - Ithaca, NY - Deep Dive

2/09 - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground

2/10 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club

Reggae Rise Up Vegas

Downtown Las Vegas Events Center

Friday, October 6

Rise Up Stage

12:40pm - Audic Empire

1:30pm - The Wide Eyed Kids

2:20pm - Kash’d Out

3:10pm - Tropidelic

4:40pm - Landon McNamara

6:10pm - Common Kings

7:55pm - Iration

10:10pm - Slightly Stoopid

Vibe Stage

12:15pm - Sons of Paradise

1:05pm - Tomorrows Bad Seeds

1:55pm - Kyle Smith

2:45pm - Artikal Sound System

3:55pm - Little Stranger

5:25pm - Denim

7:10pm - Fortunate Youth

9:10pm - Cypress Hill

Saturday October 7

Rise Up Stage

12:40pm - Mike Pinto

1:30pm - Pacific Dub

2:20pm - Cas Haley

3:10pm - Nattali Rize

4:40pm - Skizzy Mars

6:10pm - Citizen Cope

7:55pm - Soja

10:10pm - Rebelution

Vibe Stage

12:15pm - Skyler Lutes

1:05pm - Claire Wright

1:55pm - Bikini Trill

2:45pm - Arise Roots

3:55pm - Shwayze

5:25pm - Badfish

7:10pm - Dilated Peoples

9:10pm - Matisyahu

Sunday October 8

Rise Up Stage

12:40pm - The Irie

1:30pm -Sensi Trails

2:20pm - Joe Samba

3:10pm - Bumpin Uglies

4:40pm - Bryce Vine

6:10pm - Lettuce

7:55pm - Dirty Heads

10:10pm - Sublime With Rome

Vibe Stage

12:15pm - Sober Down

1:05pm - Aaron Wolf

1:55pm - The Kaleidoscope Kid

2:45pm - Tunnel Vision

3:55pm - Lila Iké

5:25pm - Eddie Zuko

7:10pm - Iya Terra

9:10pm - Action Bronson

Bumpin Uglies

Underdog: The Acoustic Sessions

1. Locust Avenue (from Buzz)

2. City By The Bay (from Beast From The East)

3. Underdog

4. Wild Girls (from Mid-Atlantic Dub)

5. Load In / Load Out (from Keep It Together)

6. Catch & Release

7. Livestreams & Vaccines

8. Spinning Plates

9. Self-Loathing (from Buzz)

10. The Work

11. Shades of Gray (from Keep your suitcase packed.)

12. Suburbia (from Keep your suitcase packed.)

13. Keep Moving (from Keep It Together)

14. Loneliness in Ab

15. This Is Ours (from Buzz)

16. Jerry’s Song

Listen: “Underdog” single: https://cssl.fanlink.to/bumpin-uglies-underdog

Listen: “Spinning Plates”: https://cssl.fanlink.to/BU-SPINNING-PLATES
Listen: ‘Underdog: The Acoustic Sessions’ LP https://cssl.fanlink.to/bumpin-uglies-UTAS

Rising virtuoso Jacob Johnson has announced the June 21 release of his soul-affirming, spiritually-uplifting version of “Jessica,” the iconic, transcendent Allman Brothers classic.

Penned by late ABB guitarist Dickey Betts, along with contributions from guitarist Les Dudek, the original composition was named after Betts’ 1-year old daughter who crawled into the room while the song was being workshopped. Released in August 1973 as a part of the album, Brothers and Sisters, the 7-1/2 minute instrumental debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 a few months later and then in 1996, a live recording included on 'An Evening with the Allman Brothers Band: 2nd Set’ won a Grammy for ‘Best Rock Instrumental Performance’ at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards.

With Betts recent passing, Johnson sees the rendition as a tribute to the great composer and musician but also in honor of his wife who, like many other young girls in the era, was named because of it. This confluence of circumstances added to the gravity and magnitude of presenting the song respectfully while also adhering to a Southern tradition of courtship.

“It’s an unwritten rule for musicians that if your darlin' (that's how we say "significant other" or "partner" in the south) is named after a famous song, you must learn the song, and you must use it to serenade them. My wife was named after a 7-minute Allman Brothers jam so I put together a solo/acoustic version that I later played as she danced with her dad at our wedding reception on May 31, 2019. It's been knocking around in my head since then, and earlier this year I decided it was time to flesh out the arrangement with some collaborators,” said Johnson.

“Of course, this entire project was created with lots of love and respect for its composer, the great Dickey Betts, who we lost not long after production was completed. If you know southern music, you know he was one of the greats. Though I never had the opportunity to meet the man, I hope that my arrangement and attention to the details of this composition can honor his legacy in some small way.”

Being stationed in Greenville, SC, home to breakout act The Marcus King Band, Johnson was able to enlist MKB’s rhythm section, Jack Ryan on drums and Stephen Campbell on bass to join the proceedings with the legendary Mickey Raphael of Willie Nelson & Family on harmonica elevating the mood with an undeniable groove. Overall, the rendition faithfully memorializes parts of the original but adds a distinctive cosmic Grateful Dead flair as the arrangement floats higher and higher into the ether.

Johnson fondly recalls the session. “Jack and Stephen had some down time back in February between tours, so we got together and laid down the rhythm tracks at Jack's home studio. I had the parts worked out on solo guitar, but it's not a simple song! It took us some serious time and sweat to take it apart and put it back together with the band, but it was important to all of us to get it right. That's the tricky balance with arranging. I want to make it my own, but all of the compositional elements need to be there in some form or I don't feel like I've done the song justice. Once we had the rhythm tracks, we talked about a few possible guest artists for the solo section, but Mickey was my first pick. I sent him a rough mix, and he was into it. Mickey's played on some of my all-time favorite records, so it really feels special to have some of that magic on the track”.

Magic is a path in which he has reckoned. Beginning with his now out-of-print 2007 debut 'Est 1986,’ his 2013 Holiday album, ‘Wild and Sweet: A Christmas Album’ and 2014’s ‘One-Take Jake’ to last year’s EP, ‘The Sketchiest Motel in Fayetteville,” Johnson has woven his predilection for skilled arrangements and mind-bending musicianship with his love of history and pop culture.

Fans and critics both applaud his interstellar circle around the sun on "Chim Chim Cheree,” an interpolation of the 1965 Oscar winner for ‘Best Original Song,’ a minor-key waltz for the Walt Disney movie, Mary Poppins. Written by Richard and Robert Sherman (The Sherman Brothers) who researched British folklore related to chimney sweeps, the original ditty is brought to life by Dick Van Dyke (“Bert”), and Julie Andrews (“Mary”) as well as Karen Dotrice (“Jane”) and Matthew Garber (“Michael”).

Other repertoire standouts in Johnson’s catalog include the dexterity masterpiece, “8 O’Clock Jive” and the free-flowing levity of the rock-leaning, “F. Scott Fitzgerald,” named after the heralded author who wrote The Great Gatsby. It’s a song about being on the road with someone you love, in a car old enough to have an ashtray, listening to Jerry Reed and Kris Kristofferson through a cassette adapter. Old souls who know.

Beyond his guitar prowess, Johnson has proven himself as a talented songwriter, garnering recognition as the Don Gibson Songwriter Award Grand Prize Winner, Nashville Connection ‘Songwriter of the Year,’ and a Finalist for the Freshgrass No Depression Songwriter Award. His ability to craft captivating and heartfelt songs has earned him performances at prestigious music festivals such as the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in New York, the Walnut Valley Festival in Kansas, the Wildflower Music Festival in Texas, and countless others.

Since dropping out of college in 2007, Johnson has journeyed across the country in six minivans (so far), captivating audiences with his highly caffeinated brand of acoustic guitar playing which The Florence Morning News in Florence, SC describes as “Norman Rockwell paintings and the open road” with No Depression adding, “The guitar is not just an instrument – it’s his soul-mate.”

Crystalline pyrotechnics.

This metaphysical connection elicits kinetic performances which have been recognized by Tommy Emmanuel (“Jacob rocks!”), Phil Keaggy (“You are a remarkable performer”), and John Popper of Blues Traveler (“Brilliantly done!! Wow!”). During his nearly 20 year touring career, he’s had the privilege of sharing the stage with Grammy winners like Emmanuel, Paula Cole, Zac Brown Band, and Victor Wooten, as well as esteemed musicians Frank Vignola, Edwin McCain, David Wilcox, Tim Reynolds, Darryl Worley, and many more.

This summer he’ll play shows throughout the Southeast with a special engagement at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society (CAAS) convention in Nashville (July 10-13), which sees 1000 Atkins fans from around the globe gather to celebrate one of the all-time greats while also participating in community building through workshops and jam sessions.

In addition to his busy touring schedule, Johnson’s an adjunct guitar faculty member at North Greenville University, the college he dropped out of. In this ol' wide world, there's no 'appier bloke.

Tour Dates

6/26 – Cleveland, TN – Pokey’s Music Hall

6/27 – Crossville, TN – Palace Theatre

6/28 – Huntsville, AL – Tangled String Studios

6/29 – Hayesville, NC – Peacock Performing Arts Center

6/30 – Spartanburg, SC – Upward Star Center "Freedom Fest"

7/10-13 – Nashville, TN – Chet Atkins Appreciation Society 2024

___________

Jessica (4:54)

Written by Richard Forrest Betts

Guitars: Jacob Johnson

Harmonica: Mickey Raphael

Drums: Jack Ryan

Bass: Stephen Campbell

Keyboards: Aaron Bowen

Produced  by Jacob Johnson

Recorded by Shane Nelson at Asaph Studios & Mike McCarthy in Jack Ryan’s Garage

Mixed by Shane Nelson at Asaph Studios (Greenville, SC)

Mastered by Anna Frick at Airshow Mastering

Artwork: Zach and Emily Landrum

Outlaw UK folk singer Beans on Toast and American roots rocker Jeshua Marshall have announced a 4-week coast-to-coast co-headlining trek that sees them on the road from September 26 to October 20. Building on a successful handful of U.S. shows last fall, the like-minded cohorts will play twenty shows in total, canvassing every time zone.

It’s a camaraderie that developed quickly. An instant connection as if rediscovering an eons-old friend. Beginning at revered haunt Dante’s in Portland, the pair will traverse the Western U.S. for several weeks before jaunting through the Southeast on their way up the Eastern seaboard with a final two-night stand at Faces in Boston. Alternating headline slots depending on the market, Marshall will tour as a duo with Miguel Mendoza on Trumpet while also playing upright bass with Beans on Toast who will also be joined by piano virtuoso Matt Millership.

Essex-born folk songwriter Beans on Toast is a truly unique performer. He twists an age-old genre with a DIY approach and contemporary concerns, earning him the title of a cult figure who tells it like it is. A festival favorite (he’s played Glastonbury every year since 2005) and a prolific writer and performer, he has written and recorded 16 albums and played at every bar, club, venue, pub, festival, party, and honky-tonk you can think of.

He’s a hippy, a punk, a poet, a drunk, a die-hard romantic, and an eternal optimist, singing simple songs that tackle big issues. His repertoire includes political protest songs for the modern day, as well as honest and open love songs. His songs will make you laugh, but they’ll also make you think, delivered with no-holds-barred honesty and quick wit.

Beans is constantly writing, recording, and releasing music, putting out a new album every year on December 1st - his birthday. Each album is recorded with different producers and musicians. Over the years, he has worked with the likes of Ben Lovett (Mumford & Sons), Blaine Harrison (Mystery Jets), Frank Turner, and Kitty and Lewis Durham (Kitty, Daisy & Lewis).

In addition to making music, Beans has released two highly acclaimed books: Drunk Folk Stories (2018) and Foolhardy Folk Tales (2021), both collections of tour stories, festival high jinks, and insights into the life of a musician. Most recently, Beans has released 10 children’s books, each accompanying a track from his 15th album, The Fascinating Adventures of Little Bee. Earlier this year, he released an acoustic rendition of “Send me a Bird,” the heart and soul of his 2023 LP, The Toothpaste and the Tube. He often directs his own music videos, and along with his wife and muse, Lizzy Bee, they run Beans' own record label, carving his path as a one-man band of the modern age.

He tours constantly, gigging and playing festivals all over the world. The Beans on Toast live show is an unpredictable and memorable experience. A singer, songwriter, and storyteller, his self-deprecating quality is rare, breaking down the barrier between musician and audience and creating a sense of equality “Brimming with energy and infectious charm" [Clash Magazine] while Louder than War crowns him a “Cult legend and all-round hero.”

For Oregon-born Marshall, Jeshua lives the music that he sings. From the time he was nine, when he was first inspired by a visit from Jimi Hendrix in a dream and subsequently gifted his first guitar, through to the formation of his band Larry and His Flask and now, some 20 years later, music has been mainstay of his life, the thing that’s inspired him, driven him and now, brought him to the precipice of the recognition he so decidedly deserves.

He’s worked tirelessly to get to this point. He and his band toured relentlessly, performing in all 50 states in the U.S., every providence in Canada, no less than 15 European countries, and in parts of the Middle East. A multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter, he conveys both passion and purpose in equal measure, a culmination of the hopes and aspirations that first fueled him as child in a family that split their time between the upper realms of the States and the sprawling southern environs of British Columbia.

The road has been equal parts consult and equal parts home. Beginning at age 16, he and his older brother Jamin formed the raucous and rebellious folk punk/speed bluegrass band Larry And His Flask, a high-energy large ensemble that left audiences spellbound. The undecet, with its 11 band members, eventually gained fame for its fusion of reckless abandon and indie folk finesse, touring relentlessly until calling it quits in 2019. In the aftermath of its dissolution and the world-changing events to come, Marshall took the break to channel his energies into a style that seemed better suited to the more measured and reflective songs that were quickly becoming part and parcel of his newfound particles, ones powered by cosmic phenomena.

Over the course of two critically-lauded solo albums, 2021’s Shoot the Moon and last year’s more groove-oriented reggae-infused opus, The Flood, Marshall is truly finding his rhythm in only the way that decades make. The Texan Chronicles describes him by saying, “Marshall is in a songwriting sphere all his own. His brilliant command of lyric structure is both off-kilter and genius” with Americana Highways adding, “Marshall’s music is a twisting mixture of flavors served up in a deliciously edible cone, making this a complete sonic treat worth a front-to-back finish.” The Source Weekly concurred, declaring, "Marshall bares a lot on the record and dives deep into life—leaving us with thought-provoking lyrics to dwell on after they play by.”

Fans will soon have some indelible memories to dwell on as the magic of Marshall music and the wry wit of Beans on Toast take center stage for an unforgettable evening of storytelling, spitballing, improv and thought-provoking revelry. It’s sure to fill your plate, your platelets and your palette.

Beans on Toast & Jeshua Marshall on Tour
9/26 – Portland, OR – Dante’s
9/27 – Seattle, WA – Blue Moon Tavern
9/28 – Bend, OR – Silver Moon Brewing
9/29 – Grants Pass, OR – The Haul
9/30 – Reno, NV – 40 Miles Saloon
10/1 – Santa Cruz, CA – Moe’s Alley
10/2 – San Diego, CA – Patrick’s Gaslamp Pub
10/3 – Los Angeles, CA – Redwood Bar & Grill
10/4 – Crestline, CA – Stockade
10/5 – Tempe, AZ – Yucca Taproom
10/7 – Pueblo, CO – Walter’s Brewery
10/8 – Fort Collins, CO – Surfside 7
10/9 – Denver, CO – EastFax Tap
10/11 – Nashville, TN – The Cobra
10/12 – Atlanta, GA – Smith’s Olde Bar
10/13 – Richmond, VA – The Camel
10/17 – Philadelphia, PA – Do It Now T-Shirts
10/18 – New York, NY – DROM NYC
10/19 – Boston, MA – Faces Brewing Co.
10/20 – Boston, MA – Faces Brewing Co.

Beans on Toast
Listen: https://beansontoast.bandcamp.com
Watch: “Send me a Bird (live)” https://youtu.be/giybYTUbYUM

Award-winning singer-songwriter Jeremy Dion released his fourth full-length studio album, ‘Bend In the Middle,’ on October 18th with the title track/lead single arrived August 30th.

The 11-song project, recorded at Cinder Sound Studios in Longmont, CO with engineer Kyle Donovan, sees Dion embracing the collaborative nature of making music utilizing some of Colorado’s finest musicians including Kyle Donovan (guitars), John McVey (guitars), Taylor Sims (guitars), Greg Schochet (guitars), Eric Moon (keyboards), Daniel Herman (piano), Christian Teele (percussion), Bradley Morse (bass), Peter Sharpe (mandolin), Enion Pelta-Tiller (fiddle), Beth Wilberger (fiddle) and cellist Courtlyn Carpenter from the band Sturtz.

“Bend In the Middle” marks the first new music since last year’s single, “Joe Neguse” about the respected Congressman from Colorado’s 2nd district, and his first album since 2021’s collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Peter Sharpe (The Railsplitters) on ‘Sharpe & Dion.’

Of the buoyant album and its title track, Dion offers, “The theme song to my life as a therapist. This song embodies so much of what I talk to clients about on a regular basis - learning how to love the parts of us that don’t seem to fit the mold, that we tried to hide or cut-off in our upbringing. Healing and integration are one and the same, and getting our eyes off of what others are doing and what they think about what we are doing is vital.”

Additional singles include the duet “All I See Is You, a breezy, top-of-the-mountain love song that features fellow Denver native Kate Farmer and “Lovin’ Our Friends,” with its omnipresent feel of late 60s Neil Diamond during his “Solitary Man” era.

“It’s often so much easier to love our friends than to love ourselves. These three verses evolve from the replaying of a particular relationship, to the broader ways our minds play with regret, to the forward looking plans for what’s yet to come. Lovin’ Our Friends is my favorite song on the album, the chorus pops, I really dig the bridge, and it's the most enjoyable song to perform live,” says Dion.

A licensed therapist by day and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, Dion grew up on John Denver, James Taylor, and Paul Simon as the foundation for developing his own unique mix of bluegrass, folk, poetry and rock ’n’ roll. With a present voice, open heart, and versatile guitar skills and a couple psychology degrees, a BA in Psychology from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology and Music Therapy from Naropa University (founded by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa and named after the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa), it all leads to a wealth of experience and education to draw from as he continues his journey as a welcoming force and a formidable storyteller with a simple but engaging mission, to provide music therapy for late bloomers.

According to his mother, Jeremy came into the world singing. He started with the piano at age seven, and began writing songs after his father gifted him a guitar for his 18th birthday. Educated in the hippie hotbed of progressive idealism at UC Berkeley in the Bay Area, he fell in love with the music of Jerry Garcia while teaching himself guitar and pursuing his degree.

Fast forward a generation and now Dion’s bending in the middle so audiences can sizzle. With soaring harmonies and technical riffs reminiscent of Noah Kahan, Benson Boone or John Mayer, Dion has brought his musical dynamism to stages ranging from the Boulder Theater to Edinburgh’s famed Fringe Festival.

So whether you’re feeling up, down or just want a night on the town, Dion’s soul-nourishing words will leave you feeling connected, hopeful, and content — no medication required, just an open-heart.

Jeremy Dion

Bend in the Middle

Tracklist

    All I See Is You (feat. Kate Farmer)
    Bend In the Middle
    Lovin’ Our Friends
    Second Hand
    Sweet June
    It Happened So Fast
    Avery
    Constant
    Better You Know My Name
    You & I
    The Haunting