MEET THE ARTISTS
MEET THE ARTISTS
BAND OF HORSES
There might be no other band that was able to channel the generational anxiety in those early millennial years and turn it into such powerful and inclusive art quite like BAND OF HORSES. Band of Horses fashioned gorgeously ragged epics, Ben Bridwell’s high-flying vocals and eccentric enunciation floating like a specter that felt like a prelude to a dream. Full of profundity, truth, and sometimes just homespun advice on how to live, Band of Horses songs have become anthems and touchstones for fans. Emotionally intense, both on a personal and elemental level, the songs for Band of Horses’ sixth album, Things Are Great, finds Bridwell more autobiographical than he’s ever been on record, detailing the nebulous frustrations and quiet indignities of relationship changes and what a person will do to make things right. And what you do when you can’t. Band of Horses is composed of Bridwell, longtime members Ryan Monroe and Creighton Barrett and new members Matt Gentling (of Archers of Loaf) on bass, and guitarist Brett Nash. This fresh chapter finds the band recapturing the raw emotion and unpolished punk-rock spirit of its early days. The songs on Things Are Great document the connections in Bridwell’s life that have shifted, or remained. An epic album, Things Are Great is not an exercise in nostalgia or regret. It’s closer to the classic pattern of the hero’s journey, one where Bridwell doesn’t locate those elusive answers but does find himself in the end, providing hope that all of us can do the same.
MILKY CHANCE
They won’t tell you this, but MILKY CHANCE — the unassuming German duo of childhood friends Clemens Rehbein and Phillipp Dausch — are one of the biggest bands in the world. As they get ready to share the idiosyncratic and inventive pop songs that populate their new album Living In A Haze, they proudly boast over 10 million monthly Spotify listeners, an enviable touring resume, an upcoming schedule of dates that represent their biggest headline shows of their career, and a global audience stretching from the US and Mexico to the EU, Australia, and beyond. Over the course of their decade-plus as a band, they’ve proven themselves to be an elusive entity: the rare organism that has evolved to survive and thrive in an increasingly precarious music industry. While they’re justifiably proud of their studio work following “Stolen Dance” — their 2014 debut Sadnecessary broke them as a global streaming and touring act, while 2017’s Blossom and 2019’s Mind The Moon found them building outwards from an established identity— their recent decision to go independent has given Milky Chance a new lease on life. They’ve been able to experiment with their release approach, sharing two versions of their travel-inspired Trip Tapes, official collections of remixes, demos, and covers that originally featured as part of the soundtrack to their viral Road Tripping Radio series. This sense of freedom is best exemplified by the freewheeling exploratory verve that runs through their newest album Living In A Haze.
HALF MOON RUN
A mythic tone always accompanies the subject of HALF MOON RUN’S genesis. The musical chemistry of Devon Portielje, Conner Molander, and Dylan Phillips is a continued source of wonder, even to the band, and even now - a decorous decade on. Half Moon Run’s collaborative power has remained constant and unsuppressed and their new album Salt sees them revisiting the site of their bond’s first forging, bringing visions to light that’ve been there in waiting since the beginning.
YOLA
YOLA is an award-winning British singer/songwriter whose expansive music spans multiple genres. Born by the name of Yolanda Claire Quartey on July 31, 1983, the self-taught musician started her career as young as 13 when she learned how to play the guitar and began writing her own songs one year later. Her debut EP, 2019's Walk Through Fire, reached No. 1 on UK's Americana Top 40 sales chart, generated three Grammy Award nominations, and earned consideration for Album of the Year at the Americana Music Honors & Awards. The title track, "Walk Through Fire," won the Best American Roots Song award with critical acclaim for its fierce lyrics and raw emotion.
RAYLAND BAXTER
For the making of his fourth album If I Were a Butterfly, singer/songwriter RAYLAND BAXTER holed up for over a year at a former rubber-band factory turned studio in the Kentucky countryside—a seemingly humble environment that proved to be something of a wonderland. The follow-up to 2018’s critically acclaimed Wide Awake, If I Were a Butterfly finds Baxter co-producing alongside Tim O’Sullivan (Grace Potter, The Head and the Heart) and Kai Welch (Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull), slowly piecing together the album’s patchwork of lush psychedelia and Beatlesesque pop.
Caroline Jones
Lauded by Rolling Stone as “an ambitious, entrepreneurial guitar heroine primed to bring back the pop-country glory of the Nineties,” CAROLINE JONES is a multi-genre singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist enriching the country scene with her unique, independent spirit. She officially joined multi-platinum GRAMMY-Award winning Zac Brown Band in 2022 as a full-time band member, making her the first and only female. Her sophomore album, Antipodes (2021), debuted at #4 on the iTunes Country Chart and its lead single, “Come In (But Don’t Make Yourself Comfortable),” is Jones’ first Top 30 country hit that is still climbing the charts thanks to its viral TikTok line dance that has been played over 540 million times.
THE VERVE PIPE
With a reputation for spectacular live performances, the genesis of multi-platinum artist THE VERVE PIPE can be traced back to the early 90s when the principal members of two rival Michigan bands joined forces. After releasing two independent albums, I’ve Suffered A Head Injury and Pop Smear, the group quickly garnered a regional following for its textured rock songs distinguished by innovative arrangements, soul-searching lyrics and layered vocals. The success of both albums attracted the attention of RCA Records, which released their platinum major label debut Villains in 1996. The album featured the radio hit ‘Photograph’ and the #1 single ‘The Freshmen,’ one of the most successful multi-format tracks of 1997 and winner of an ASCAP Pop Award.
HEARTLESS BASTARDS
With a warm patchwork of rock ‘n’ roll, psychedelia, folk, alternative, and blues, HEARTLESS BASTARDS unlock healing and catharsis within their music. Whether in the studio or on stage, the Austin-based band fronted by vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Erika Wennerstrom calm as they captivate. After generating over 100 million total streams and enrapturing audiences at legendary venues, the group continue to connect with listeners everywhere through boundary-breaking sonics and straight-from-the-heart lyrics. At the turn-of-the-century, Erika founded Heartless Bastards in Cincinnati, OH. Inspired by the likes of Joan Jett, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and more, she cut early demos in 2003, performing the bulk of the instruments herself.
Mikaela Davis
Five years since her debut album Delivery, MIKAELA DAVIS has moved away from her hometown of Rochester, shared the stage with the likes of Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Christian McBride, Bon Iver, Lake Street Dive and Circles Around the Sun and entered a new decade. Her new album And Southern Star is a collaborative effort that ruminates on the choices we make, and the people we always come back to. Davis earned her degree in harp performance at the Crane School of Music, and has molded her classical music training to create an original and genre-bending catalog that weaves together 60s pop-soaked melodies, psychedelia and driving folk rock.
REBIRTH BRASS BAND
Hailed by the New York Times as “a New Orleans institution,” the REBIRTH BRASS BAND have been at the forefront of the brass band revival that they helped kick off over 30 years ago. Formed by the Frazier brothers, Phil and Keith, along with Basin Street labelmate Kermit Ruffins in 1983, The Rebirth Brass Band has gone from playing on corners in the French Quarter to selling out concert halls across the world and appearing in David Simon’s HBO hit Treme. While committed to upholding the tradition of brass bands, they’ve also extended themselves into the realms of funk and hip-hop to create their signature sound. “Rebirth can be precise whenever it wants to,” says The New York Times, “but it’s more like a party than a machine. It’s a working model of the New Orleans musical ethos: as long as everybody knows what they’re doing, anyone can cut loose.”
MICHIGANDER
MICHIGANDER, who delivers elevated and eloquent songcraft, uplifting instrumentation, and plainspoken heartland storytelling punctuated by alternative flare, has racked up over 60 million career streams globally and garnered the acclaim of NPR, Paste, Consequence, SPIN, Forbes, BrooklynVegan, Ones To Watch, and more. In 2016, the now Nashville-based singer, songwriter, producer, and guitarist's independent debut single "Nineties" achieved viral success, claiming real estate on multiple major Spotify playlists. Michigander's first two EPs, Midland and Where Do We Go From Here, have become fan favorites, with the latter's standout single "Misery" eclipsing 10 million streams and earning Michigander his first Triple A radio hit.
