Category: Music News

Boston based bluegrass band Mile Twelve returns with new album

Mile Twelve’s new album Close Enough to Hear will be out February 3, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Mile Twelve, Boston’s modern string band, is back in motion. From the first manic downbeat of their virtuosic new record, Close Enough to Hear, you will discover a band that is ready to explode from a restless pandemic-induced hiatus. You will hear the same warmth and innovation that earned the band IBMA’s 2019 Album of the Year nomination and 2020 New Artist of the Year Award, which has gained them an international reputation as one of the most dynamic bands in contemporary acoustic music. Heard as a whole, Close Enough to Hear displays the vast creative potential of the bluegrass quintet—banjo (BB Bowness), mandolin (Korey Brodsky), fiddle (Ella Jordan), acoustic guitar (Evan Murphy), and upright bass (Nate Sabat)—in the hands of world-class musicians. (Mile Twelve, 2023)

Fans of Mile Twelve will notice the presence of two new members on Close Enough to Hear: fiddler and vocalist Ella Jordan and mandolinist Korey Brodsky. Take note of the new dimension they add to the band and their ability to lock in with founding members Evan Murphy, Catherine Bowness, and Nate Sabat. These are not session players; this album captures the formation of a new coherent unit.

Both of the bands’ previous full-length albums, as well as their guest star-packed EP, were recorded in Nashville but the new challenges of traveling and dodging positive Covid tests kept the band closer to home. They chose Sam Kassirer’s legendary Great North Sounds in the woods of Parsonsfield, Maine, a studio that has played host to a murderer’s row of Americana acts and has become a fixture of the New England recording scene. Leading up to the making of their new album, Mile Twelve—a flourishing act whose output has helped push the envelope of New England’s progressive bluegrass and string-band scene—learned a whole new level of perseverance, patience, and performance.

Fans can watch the music video for “Close Enough to Hear” and pre-order or pre-save Close Enough to Hear ahead of its February 3 release.

This is a band looking forward—simultaneously shoring up their bluegrass foundations (in the transfixing acapella opening of “If Only,” for example) while also pushing their musical boundaries and driving into new territory. You will detect flavors of jazz (“Red Grapes on the Vine”), acoustic pop (“Take Me As I Am”), and trance music (“Light of Angels”). Heard as a whole, Close Enough to Hear displays the vast potential of acoustic string band music in the hands of capable players.

Close Enough to Hear track list:
Romulus
Johnny Oklahoma
Close Enough To Hear
Red Grapes on the Vine
Light of Angels
Hopping Around Telluride
Waiting
Anywhere Town
Take Me As I Am
If Only

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Upcoming album release: This Road – The Runaway Grooms

The Runaway Grooms will release This Road on February 10, 2023. Photo: Google

For many years, Colorado has been the birthplace for a myriad of unique musical gems and The Runaway Grooms are no exception. The Runaway Grooms’ classic sound is a refreshing take on contemporary jam band music as it celebrates the authenticity and wholesomeness of traditional American roots music through tonality, lyricism, and instrumentation. After finishing their 6th national tour, The Runaway Grooms are now creating a buzz in many different musical communities around the country, sharing bills with nationally renowned and Grammy nominated artists like Umphrey’s McGee, Robben Ford, Leftover Salmon, Twiddle, Trombone Shorty, North Mississippi Allstars, and many more. Their newest album, This Road, is a blending of their previous two albums, marking the band’s return to an American roots rock style of songwriting, while simultaneously sending listeners on extended instrumental journeys through rich and colorful sonic landscapes. (The Runaway Grooms, 2023)

On February 10, the Grooms—guitarist and vocalist Adam Tobin, keyboardist Cody Scott, bassist and vocalist Zach Gillam, drummer Justin Bisset, and guitarist and vocalist Zac Cialek—are releasing their third studio album, This Road, into the world and onto stages nationwide. Recorded on the road at Paloma Sound Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, with former Ardent Studio engineer Jeremy Horn, the Grooms’ third LP marks the band’s return to more of an American roots rock songwriting style, all while keeping one foot in the tight-knit jam band circle from which they emerged. Equally inspired by jazz-fusion exploration from the likes of Steely Dan, Atlanta Rhythm Section, and Yes, and the guitar-driven prowess of Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Grateful Dead, This Road dives in and out of grooves and moods, turning on a dime, but always focusing on what the band sees as the most important aspect; the song. In addition to telling stories and gleaning wisdom from life, love, and struggle, This Road captures an array of emotions and moods drawn from the dramatic narrative of living on the road in a touring band.

JamBase premiered the first track from This Road, the piano-driven rocker “Jenny.” Written by Tobin as a letter from his late grandmother to his mother, “Jenny” is a story about love, life, family, and the passing of time. Recorded live in the studio to capture the organic energy found in The Runaway Grooms’ live show, “Jenny” winds higher and higher, punctuated by Cialek’s piercing lap steel guitar and Scott’s change from rhythmic piano to swirling B3 organ. The up and down dynamics of the song’s instrumentation flows beautifully with its lyrical content, exactly as the band intended, and is capped off by an all-engulfing slide guitar solo before the song effortlessly fades into the album’s next track. Westword included the track in their new music column this week, calling it “six minutes of classic-rock bliss that’s equal parts The Band and the Allman Brothers.”

Fans of the aforementioned bands and more modern contemporaries like Goose or Billy Strings should check out “Jenny” today and stay up to date on all things ahead of their February 10 release. 

This Road track list:
Jenny
Mister Ford
Here I Come Again
This Road
Heartwork

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New album release: 8th Wonder – The National Parks

The National Park’s new album 8th Wonder will be out March 3, 2023. Photo: Amazon

Utah-based indie-pop group The National Parks wants their music to spark memories of listeners’ own outdoor adventures. Brady Parks (vocals, guitar), Sydney Macfarlane (vocals, keys), Cam Brannelly (drums), and Megan Parks (violin)—breathe in inspiration from the world around them and exhale cinematic indie folk-pop powered by soaring harmonies, organic orchestration, and luminous electronics. “I’m spiritually connected when I’m in nature and when I’m listening to music,” says the band’s violinist Megan Parks. “We hope you hear the connection between nature and music, too.” On March 3, The National Parks will expand their vision yet again on their fifth full-length album, 8th Wonder. (The National Parks, 2023)

Bonus Points: The National Parks snuck all of the Natural Wonders of the World into the lyrics of “8th Wonder.” Can you pick out all seven of them? Fans can hear “8th Wonder” now and pre-order or pre-save 8th Wonder ahead of its March 3 release.

In addition to the album announcement, The National Parks have also announced the Spring leg of their 2023 8th Wonder Tour. Stops include The Troubador in Los Angeles and Antone’s in Austin. A full list of tour dates can be found below or online.

At the top of 2022, The National Parks hopped on Zoom for a “New Year’s Resolutions meeting,” which galvanized their next step and the vision for the album became completely clear. The band discussed their ambitions for the year ahead and ultimately decided they wanted to focus more on their core identity for the next LP. That connection with the natural world became the thematic center of the writing process. “We’ve stepped into what The National Parks is,” Sydney elaborates. “We basically said, ‘This is who we are and who we have always been.’ We decided to show who we are without trying to prove anything. I think it’s our best work.”

“Angels,” the album’s first single and opening track, sets the tone for what is to come. The layered, evocative song centers on breaking free of expectation and searching for adventure on the open road—a sentiment that threads through the rest of the album.

In the end, The National Parks welcome everyone into a much bigger and more wonderful musical world. “When you hear this, we hope you feel like you stepped outside,” Brady Parks leaves off. “We hope you discover the spirit of the unknown and the adventure of life with all its ups and downs. This album is about embracing it all and living life to the fullest.”

8th Wonder Tour Spring 2023 Dates:
Friday, March 17 – Salt Lake City, UT – Union Events Center
Friday, April 21 – Rexburg, ID – Romance Theater
Saturday, April 22 – Boise, ID – Treefort Music Hall
Tuesday, April 25 – Portland, OR – Mission Theater
Wednesday, April 26 – Seattle, WA The Crocodile’s Madame Lou’s
Friday, April 28 – Berkeley, CA Cornerstone
Saturday, April 29 – Santa Cruz, CA The Atrium
Thursday, May 4 – San Diego, CA Voodoo
Friday, May 5 – Los Angles, CA Troubadour
Tuesday, May 9 – Houston, TX The Bronze Peacock at House of Blues – Houston
Wednesday, May 10 – Austin, TX – Antone’s
Thursday, May 11 – Dallas, TX – Kessler
Friday, May 12 – Oklahoma City, OK – 89th Street OKC
Saturday, May 13 – Denver, CO – Bluebird

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Doug Paisley announces honest and adventurous new album Say What You Like

Doug Paisley new album Say What You Like will be released March 17, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Since the release of his self-titled debut fifteen years ago, Doug Paisley has earned compliments for his self-reflective songs delivered with simplicity and beauty. Though Paisley has always collaborated with Canadian musicians including celebrities like Garth Hudson, Leslie Feist, and Mary Margaret O’Hara, his records have drawn nostalgia from moments when the listener hears Paisley as he most often hears himself: unadorned and alone with his guitar. Canadian songwriter Doug Paisley’s new album Say What You Like is a snapshot of an artist functioning at his best and highest level—honest, exposed, searching, and yet comforting in his ability to communicate the universal in the struggles of the individual. Due out on March 17, 2023, it is his first release since 2018’s Starter Home which landed on The New Yorker’s Ten Best Albums of the Year and a step in a brand new direction as the first release with Paisley’s new record label Outside Music, a welcoming, Canada-based home for a Canadian artist who has long been signed to U.S.-based labels. (Doug Paisley, 2023)

With the help of producer Afie Jervanen—perhaps best known as recording artist BAHAMAS—the album manages to be groovy too. One gets the sense from these songs that Paisley simply must write. “As a songwriter these days,” he reflected, “there’s very little to gain and very little to lose so I am working only from the heart, there’s no other motive” and on Say What You Like, it shows.

Paisley shared the music video for Say What You Like’s titular opening track with fans. “Say What You Like” finds Paisley wrestling with past friends’ or lovers’ opinions of him, all backed up by a lightly funky rhythm with a slightly country tinge not seen since the early days of J.J. Cale’s lo-fi productions. “When something important disappears from your life, your imagination is sometimes called upon to fill the gaps,” Paisley says. “You could fill another universe with all the things people imagine other people are saying or thinking about them.” Featuring Jurvanen and Christine Bougie on guitars, Don Kerr on drums, Felicity Williams on harmonies, and Darcy Yates on Bass, “Say What You Like” is a welcome introduction to what the future holds for Paisley, his songs, and his sound.

“Say What You Like” can now be streamed or purchased and the full album can be pre-saved or pre-ordered ahead of its March 17 release. 

Say What You Like track list:
Say What You Like
Sometimes It’s So Easy
Wide Open Plain
Rewrite History
Almost
If I Wanted To
I Wanted It Too Much
Make It A Double
You Turn My Life Around
Holy Roller
Old Hometown

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New album release: Darkest Hour – The Gibson Brothers

The Gibson Brothers announce upcoming album Darkest Hour, due out January 27, 2023. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

The Gibson Brothers are the real deal. They can pick. They can sing. And they can write a damn good country song. Country Music Hall of Famer Tom T. Hall was always an early supporter, encouraging their writing, and predicting success. They have won about every bluegrass award you can name and released albums on almost every premier Americana label you can think of including Sugar Hill and Rounder. Their songs have been recorded by bluegrass legends no less than Del McCoury. It is a resume almost anybody in country music would be proud to have. Despite all of this, The Gibson Brothers are not yet household names. Their latest album, Darkest Hour, produced by dobro master Jerry Douglas, might just change that. It is due out January 27, 2023. (The Gibson Brothers, 2022)

Kicking off with a flurry of traditional bluegrass excellence, The Gibson Brothers’ new single Dust is more than a just statement of musicianship. It is the whole package; world-class picking, clear and refined vocals, and rock-solid songwriting. An ode to leaning into down-and-out—“Left in the dust” by ex-lover— Dust puts a clever, positive spin on being left behind. “Me and dust, we do fine.” Dust is the first track The Gibson Brothers have shared from their upcoming album Darkest Hour. Produced by dobro king Jerry Douglas, Darkest Hour represents the purest form of Leigh, Eric, and the band’s stage show, with a room full of exceptional musicians.

Darkest Hour spans from trad-grass to country-soul and back again, utilizing classically bluegrass instruments as well as electric guitars and drums to craft a sound fit for the songs it surrounds. While The Gibson Brothers have achieved a level of success doing things their way, and that is not going to change, those who know—their peers that voted them to two Entertainers of the Year Awards, and their famed crop of producers—know just how talented these guys are and just how much they deserve for Darkest Hour to take The Gibson Brothers to a whole new level.

Fans can purchase or stream Dust today at and pre-order or pre-save Darkest Hour ahead of its January release.

Darkest Hour track list:
1. What A Difference A Day Makes
2. Heart’s Desire
3. So Long Mama
4. I Feel The Same Way As You
5. Shut Up and Dance
6. I Go Driving
7. My Darkest Hour
8. Who’s Gonna Want A Heart Like Mine
9. One Minute Of You (Song For Annie Gray)
10. Your Eyes Say His Name
11. Dust
12. This Good Day

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New album release: itzl2thec’s L C

itzel2thec is a freestyle music artist. His new album L C is available now. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

For fans of freestyle music and hip hop, there is itzl2thec and he has a new album out. 

Itzl2thec is a freestyle music artist from Austell, Georgia who has been recording since he was 14 years old. His music library is available on several platforms including YouTube, SoundCloud, TikTok, and ArtistRack. His new album is titled L C. (itzl2thec, 2022)

L C track list:
Careful (feat. Mfast)
I Pace I Go
Coated
Knew You Would Feel Me (feat. Mfast)
Silver Foxx

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New album release: Killahronh’s All Out

All Out by Kallahronh. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Killahronh is an 80s baby familiar with the Golden Era of Hip Hop, yet on the cusp of Millennialism. He started as a drummer in a few indie rock, and Hip Hop bands, to Podcasting, and ultimately becoming the CEO for the Drodian™️ brand; trademarking and defining its motto as: POSITIVITY, ENLIGHTENMENT, TALENT, ACTION & QUALITY. His style of song creation has been defined as multi-faceted, thought provoking, and smooth. He represents the collective known as the DRODIANS. A group of unique individuals who use their talents and their brands to help make the DRODIAN™️ brand a household name. (Killahronh, 2022)

All Out by Killahronh is streaming exclusively on Tidal and on iTunes.

All Out track list:
All out Intro
Urgency (feat. URG7)
All out Bleach Survivor
Somethin’ ain’t Right (feat. Pause)
All out M&M Cookie Predator
Hit the Ac
All out Airport Predator
Perspective (feat. Dios Negasi)
All out Before Man Walked
Honda Civic (feat. Kinewa)
All out Crazy Trauma
Flashback
Buy the Ticket Take the Ride
All Outro

14 Songs, 57 minutes

Available on Apple Music and Tidal.

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New album release: Killahronh’s All Around The World

Killahronh’s All Around The World is available for streaming. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Killahronh is an 80s baby familiar with the Golden Era of Hip Hop, yet on the cusp of Millennialism. He started as a drummer in a few indie rock, and Hip Hop bands, to Podcasting, and ultimately becoming the CEO for the Drodian™️ brand; trademarking and defining its motto as: POSITIVITY, ENLIGHTENMENT, TALENT, ACTION & QUALITY. His style of song creation has been defined as multi-faceted, thought provoking, and smooth. He represents the collective known as the DRODIANS. A group of unique individuals who use their talents and their brands to help make the DRODIAN™️ brand a household name.

All Around the World by Killahronh is a body of work with catchy songs. It is available on Tidal, Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, iTunes, and more. 

All Around the World track list:
Around the World
Better Than Me
Never Enough (feat. Mayaya)
Legendary Moves (feat. Coulter)
Drodian Universe President 1
The Glow Up
Earthquakes Like Tyler and Drake (feat. Jiz Jones)
Blacklisted (feat. Dios Negasi)
Golden Ticket
Drodian Universe President 2
Oblivious (feat. Jiz Jones)
Scared of Success (feat. Tony Tig)
Playing My Song (feat. Emily Coy)

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Jaimee Harris announces new album Boomerang Town

Boomerang Town will be released February 17, 2023. ‘Missing Someone’ is the first single. Photo: Google

Songwriter and musician Jaimee Harris started writing “Missing Someone” as a silly little love song to her long-distance partner. “Instead of sending each other postcards or letters, we wrote each other love songs and sent voice memos to each other,” she recalls. The deeper she got into the writing process, the more the song morphed with her life experiences and her strengthening relationship with her partner, venerable folk songwriter Mary Gauthier. “Missing Someone” is the first single from Harris’ upcoming sophomore effort, Boomerang Town—out February 17 via Thirty Tigers. Boomerang Town marks a bold step forward for this country-folk-leaning singer-songwriter. It is an arresting, ambitious song-cycle that explores the generational arc of family, the stranglehold of addiction, and the fragile ties that bind us together as Americans. (Jaimee Harris, 2022)

Folk Alley premiered “Missing Someone,” writing, “Jaimee Harris has been making waves with her emotive, stirringly honest songwriting that walks the often thin line between folk and country. Whatever you want to call it, it rides on the smooth instrument of Harris’ vocals and her courageous storytelling lyricism.” The song’s accompanying video is part of a series of music videos for the entire Boomerang Town album—all made by fellow musicians. Neilson Hubbard and Joshua Britt directed the “Missing Someone” video. It features a lively cast of characters including the aforementioned Gauthier as an aerobic instructor and Harris sporting red, heart-shaped shades that fit the mood just right.

Fans can have their first taste of Boomerang Town by streaming or purchasing “Missing Someone” at this link, watch the music video here, and pre-order or pre-save Boomerang Town ahead of its February 17 release right here.

It was from the intersection of social, personal, and political currents that the new album was born. While much of the material on Boomerang Town was inspired by personal experience, the songs on this collection are far from autobiographical xeroxed copies. More than anything, they come from a place of emotional truth.

Catch Jaimee Harris on tour:
January 5 – Winter Haven, FL – Gram Parsons Derry Down*
January 6 – Sarasota, FL – Fogartyville Community Media Arts Center*
January 7 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Broward Center for the Performing Arts*
January 8 – Gainesville, FL – Heartwood Soundstage*
January 10 – St. Augustine, FL – Cafe Eleven*
January 11 – Tallahassee, FL – Purple House Concerts*
January 13-15 – Seaside, FL – 30A Songwriters Festival
January 18 – Mobile, AL – The People’s Room
January 20 – LaGrange, GA – Pure Life House of Music
January 26 – Little Rock, AR – White Water Tavern^
January 27 – Tulsa, OK – Mercury Lounge
January2 8 – McAlester, OK – Spaceship Earth Coffee
February 1-3 – Kansas City, MO – Folk Alliance International
February 19 – Santa Monica, CA – McCabe’s
February 23 – San Francisco, CA – KC Turner’s House Concert

* Supporting Mary Gauthier
^ With Bonnie Montgomery

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Rising Appalachia’s new release: Live From New Orleans at Preservation Hall

Rising Appalachia taps into the spirit of their former hometown of New Orleans with new release out now. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

As world travelers for nearly two decades, Rising Appalachia has merged multiple global music influences with their own southern roots to create their inviting latest album, Leylines. Remarkably, the band built its legion of listeners independently—a self-made success story that has led to major festival appearances and sold-out shows at venues across the country. Leah and Chloe Smith are sisters who grew up in urban Atlanta, yet spent most weekends traveling to Appalachian fiddle camps with their parents. Their brand new release, Live From New Orleans at Preservation Hall, is available for download or streaming now. Fans take note: 10% of all streaming profits from this record will be donated to the Preservation Hall Foundation which exists to create greater awareness and appreciation for traditional New Orleans Jazz and the communities that support it. (Rising Appalachia, 2022)

Arriving in the Big Easy in 2007 to a city still reeling from Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, Leah and Chloe were not only struck by the music; the resolve of New Orleanians shone brightly on the pair. “We lived there for seven years, soaking in the jazz and brass, the spirit of its people,” remembers Chloe. “Naturally, those sounds seeped into our music, as well as into our identity as Southerners.”

During the development of Rising Appalachia as we know it today, Leah and Chloe cut their teeth busking in New Orleans’ French Quarter, just a few short blocks from the iconic Preservation Hall, a 19th-century Creole townhouse later transformed into a non-profit performance art space in 1961. Preservation Hall brought musical traditions under the same roof before they were legally allowed to perform together. Hosting intimate acoustic concerts 350 nights per year for over half a century, Preservation Hall is a quintessential pilgrimage in the birthplace of Black American music.

So in January 2021, with the pandemic in full swing and neither Rising Appalachia nor Preservation Hall staging events with live audiences, the band was invited to collaborate with the distinguished institution and produce a live-stream concert to bring Rising Appalachia’s signature sound and the spirit of New Orleans into people’s homes around the globe. The electric performance, brimming with full band dynamics and exploring the deeper annals of Rising Appalachia’s NOLA-centric songbook with the help of Aurora Nealand (clarinet, accordion) and Preservation Hall Jazz Band’s Branden Lewis (trumpet), was captured for all to enjoy in the form of Live From New Orleans at Preservation Hall.

Fans can download or stream Live From New Orleans at Preservation Hall today at this link, and be sure to stay tuned for more exclusive videos from Rising Appalachia’s 2021 performance.

A full list of tour dates can be found online. Throughout the past year, Rising Appalachia has also been dropping standalone singles for their rabid fanbase. Check out “Thank You Very Much” (which PopMatters dubbed “a meditation on the road traveled thus far”) and a haunting cover of James Blake’s “I Need A Forest Fire.”

Live From New Orleans at Preservation Hall track list:
Just a Closer Walk With Thee – Live
Indigo Dance – Live
Stand Like An Oak – Live
Catalyst – Live
Shed Your Grace – Live
Long Haul – Live
Find Your Way -Live
Silver – Live
River Mouth – Live
Downtown – Live
St. James Infirmary – Live
Resilient – Live