June

Camera Obscura

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Camera Obscura formed in Glasgow in 1996, releasing a slew of singles leading up to their debut CD Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi (2001, UK). The band slowly built up a loyal following in their native land, including the likes of legendary BBC DJ John Peel, who championed the band early on. Merge Records released Camera Obscura's U.S. debut, Under Achievers Please Try Harder in the winter of 2004. Indie pop fans across North America quickly became hooked on Camera Obscura's lovely, enchanting melodies and undeniable hooks. The band embarked on their first tour of the States in the Summer of 2004, and new fans were converted across the nation. Merge reissued Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi in the fall of 2004. In the fall of 2005, Camera Obscura traveled to Stockholm to begin work on a new album with acclaimed producer Jari Haapalainen (The Concretes, Ed Harcourt, Nicolai Dunger, International (Noise) Conspiracy). Influenced by a wide variety of heroes - from Jimmy Webb to Lloyd Cole, from Connie Francis to Skeeter Davis, from the Supremes to David Lynch - lead singer/songwriter Traceyanne Campell and crew have assembled a remarkable batch of new songs. Decidely upbeat, optimistic and catchy at times ("If Looks Could Kill", "Lloyd I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken"), while also beautifully romantic, quiet and reflective at others ("Country Mile", "Dory Previn"), the new album - Let's Get Out Of This Country - is the sound of a wonderful young band just hitting their stride. Look for it from Merge Records in June 2006.

Music video for "Honey In The Sun"

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ZOSO - The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience

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In 1995, Zoso was formed to create the most mesmerizing and accurate portrayal of "the biggest band of the 1970’s" - Led Zeppelin (Rolling Stone Magazine). Each member was selected to portray both the appearance and playing styles of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones. Zoso almost immediately developed an outstanding regional reputation and were awarded "Best Tribute Act in California" by Rock City News.

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Secret Agent 23 Skidoo

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Secret Agent 23 Skidoo is on a mission. As a lifetime fan of hip hop and superdad of an awesome daughter, he realized the need for hip hop that spoke straight to the magic mindset of the kids and still kept the parents nodding along on the 5000th listen. If you're a parent, you know what I'm talking about. Alchemetically mixing the classic golden age hip hop drum and sample foundation with a slew of talented musicians, 23 Skidoo created 13 tracks with influence ranging from bluegrass and reggae to blues and funk. Then, to top it off, he balanced equal parts party rhymes for youngsters, reminding them to have fun, stay true to themselves, and get out and enjoy life, with a host of characters and wild stories, from the last dragon left on earth to a retelling of the Aesop "grasshopper and ants" fable in which the grasshopper comes out on top. He asked his daughter to name the album, and thus "Easy" was born. With over a decade of recording, performance, and production under his belt, the music and sound quality of this album is remarkable. And with 6 years of chilling with one of the coolest little girls on earth, the song concepts hit the bullseye for the 3-13 crowd. The song "Luck" enjoyed multiple weeks at1 on the XMkids charts, and kidsmusicthatrocks.com said, "Easy is easily one of the top ten children's albums of 2008." From the back and forth crowd rocking, "Gotta Be Me" to 5 year old Saki's stunning rap debut on "Family Tree", this album will be a sound for sore ears, both young and old.

Music video for "Family Tree"

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Toubab Krewe

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Blending American and West African influences into a sound all its own, Toubab Krewe has set "a new standard for fusions of rock 'n' roll and West African music" (Afropop Worlwide). Since forming in 2005, the magnetic instrumental quintet has won a diverse and devoted following at performances everywhere from Bonnaroo to the legendary Festival of the Desert in Essakane, Mali, known as the most remote festival in the world. They developed their unique sound over the course of numerous extended trips to Mali, Guinea, and Ivory Coast, where they immersed themselves in the local culture and studied and performed with luminaries. But the group has its roots in Asheville, NC, where many of its members were childhood friends and long-term musical collaborators. And it was there, at home in the Appalachians, where the band chose to record their sophomore album, Live at the Orange Peel. The new album captures their outstanding 2008 New Year's run at the Orange Peel in their hometown.

Music video for "Buncombe to Badala"

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Lee Brice

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The rugged feel of steel guitar and fiddle, the images of growing up in a world of fields and farms, of heartbreak and hard work … You can’t miss the fact that Lee Brice is country all the way. It’s in his voice – think of it as honey trickling through lines of melody etched in leather – and in the images it conjures, of “country girls and redneck boys” anticipating the night to come in the sunset glow of a Dairy Queen (“Sumter County”), of growing up “on the edge of a cornfield” (“Picture of Me”). And that makes one detail in his dream seem especially surprising. “Ten years from now,” he says, smiling at the idea, “I’d love to hear my songs on the radio – on the rap stations, not just country.” This sounds absurd, but only until you remember what makes Lee’s debut one of the strongest debuts in any genre over these past several years. That’s when you realize that if anybody can make this happen, it’s this young man from backcountry South Carolina. His voice, his sound, even his wide-open grin are as country as they come – but his view of life is much broader than that.

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Martin Sexton

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A native of Syracuse, New York, Martin Sexton grew up on the timeless sounds of ‘70s radio, from Stevie Wonder to Led Zeppelin (who led him toward blues legends like Howlin Wolf and Willie Dixon). Sexton eventually migrated to Boston, where he began to build his following singing on the streets of Harvard Square and gradually working his way into the club scene. His 1992 collection of self-produced demo recordings, In The Journey, was recorded on a old 8-track in a friend’s attic. He managed to sell 20,000 copies out of his guitar case busking. Sexton recalls, “All those one-dollar bills I saved to make that record was the best eight-hundred bucks I ever spent.” His captivating performances led to a bounty of Boston Music Awards and the National Academy of Songwriters "Artist of the Year" award.

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The 4th Annual Americana Burlesque & Sideshow Festival

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Join international stars of runway & midway, Michelle L'Amour & Paolo Garbanzo, along with artists from around the nation for three days of performance, parties, workshops, vending & networking. The jewel of the festival takes place at The Orange Peel Saturday night.

The ABSfest Spectacular & afterparty explodes at Asheville's most glamorous venue. An incredible show starring the delicious Miss Exotic World Michelle L'Amour, the Official Jester of England Paolo Garbanzo, and artists from all over the world. This evening also offers a Bizarre Bazaar and a live music afterparty.

ABSfest Website

Deal or No Deal Tour
Wiz Khalifa

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After bursting onto the national Hip Hop scene in 2006, Wiz Khalifa has continued his ascent to the top of the Hip Hop ranks. His debut street album “Show and Prove” was labeled by Okayplayer.com as “arguably the best hip hop release of the year." Khalifa’s first video, “Pittsburgh Sound,” debuted in the spring of 2007 on FUSE and was selected by fans as an "Oven Fresh Keeper.” Later that summer Khalifa released his second mixtape, “Grow Season,” with DJ Green Lantern. He went on to perform on the DUB tour, and released his second music video, “Youngin On His Grind.” Rolling Stone magazine honored Wiz in 2007 as a “New Artist To Watch” and his "Pittsburgh Sound" video was selected for the Editor’s Hot List a few months later. XXL’s March 2007 issue featured Wiz in their coveted “Show and Prove” section. Mass Appeal named Wiz as the lead artist for 2007’s “Next of Kin.” He was praised by VIBE magazine as “an East Coast star in the waiting,” while also being featured in their October 2007 issue as a “Next” artist. Major magazines overseas also took notice of the then 19-year old prodigy’s talent, with features in UK’s Hip-Hop Connection and France’s RAP US.

Music video for "This Plane"

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Mason Jennings

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It all kinda started at Christmas when my sons and I were hanging ornaments on the tree. We have an ornament that is a little electric guitar and my six-year-old son was looking at it and asked, “What’s this Dad?” I said, “What??? It’s an electric guitar.” To which he replied, “What’s that?”

Well, I was kinda horrified so I ran downstairs and pulled out an old hollowbody electric (that is my wife’s), an amp and I came upstairs, plugged it in and ripped into “My Generation” by The Who. Well, my one son actually climbed me in point 2 seconds and leaped off my shoulders while the other one looked like I had plugged the lights on the tree into him. They flew around the room dancing for two straight wonderful hours. I got the point. I grew up playing only electric and it was like remembering how to be free. For many reasons, it was so needed. So I got free.

The next week I headed into my studio and recorded “City Of Ghosts” and away I went. I wrote about the war and being a parent in “The Field”, two topics close to my heart. I wrote about being a teenager and how heavy that time can feel and how it can shape the path you take. So, gratitude is in there somewhere. I wrote about doubts and fear, about God and Spirit, and about hope and possibility and things that are elusive and hard to name. I wrote mostly about them, and they came into the room like angels and beasts.

Music video for "Fighter Girl"

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The Breakfast Club

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Formed in December 1993, The Breakfast Club was the very first tribute band of its kind in the country. Created by Jerry Finley, who has worked with such 80's music legends as The Romantics and The Hooters, the band continues to be the most requested and widely marketable 80's tribute band in the Eastern United States. The Breakfast Club guys have performed for movie stars, rock legends, some of the world's top corporations, and more than three million of the most amazing fans a band of any kind could ever hope for. While many member changes have occurred over the years, the current lineup has proven to be the most musically accurate and consistently entertaining to date.

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Dar Williams & Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek)

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"With every album, I’m trying to figure out what I don’t have to say, while still giving each song its due," Dar Williams says. Of her new album, Promised Land, Williams commented, "On this one, I was paring the stories down to their core. I wanted the songs to sound simple and down to what they were meant to be, which is hard to do. It takes a lot of knowledge to get to the point where you can say what you need to say — no more, no less." To peel her insightful, melodic story-songs down to their essence, as well as inject them with the energy and momentum they clearly called for, Williams enlisted Brad Wood, a Grammy-nominated producer and musician known for his work with rock singer-songwriters Liz Phair, Pete Yorn, and Ben Lee. "Dar was looking to try something different and get out of her comfort zone," Wood says. "She had made a number of records and it seemed like a good time, career-wise, for her to make a change. I was flattered that she thought to ask me to help. Her voice is so great that you can do just about anything behind her and it’s going to sound cool!"

You could say that Sara Watkins’ solo debut has been a lifetime in the making. The 27-year-old singer-songwriter and fiddle player spent nearly two decades—all of her teenage and young adult life—as one-third of Nickel Creek, the Grammy Award–winning acoustic trio that used contemporary bluegrass as a starting point for its no-genre-barred sound. Along the way, she’s hinted at her desire to do a project of her own and even organized some exploratory sessions in Los Angeles about six years ago. Now, with Nickel Creek on indefinite hiatus, she is releasing her self-titled solo disc, recorded in Los Angeles and Nashville and produced by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. It features an impressively wide range of backing players and old friends, including itinerant alt-country duo Gillian Welch and Dave Rawling, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas; fellow travelers from the bluegrass world like Tim O’Brien, Chris Eldridge, Ronnie McCoury and Rayna Gellert; and her Nickel Creek bandmates.

Dar Williams WebsiteSara Watkins Website