Tyler Ramsey
Tyler Ramsey is an introspective singer-songwriter and unique fingerstyle guitar player who has built a rich catalog rooted in folk and melodic indie rock. Ramsey refined his sound while living in the western mountainous region of North Carolina, where he studied local styles of folk and drew inspiration from country-blues musicians who used to travel through the area. He has released highlights like 2008’s “A Long Dream About Swimming Across the Sea” and 2011’s “The Valley Wind”, all while being the lead guitarist and songwriter of Band of Horses for 10 years. Since striking back out on his own, he put out the rustic-toned “For The Morning” in 2019 and his latest album, “New Lost Ages,” in February 2024, which was captured in Seattle, Washington, by storied producer Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, Father John Misty). The 10-song LP is an ongoing sonic quest — meticulously wandering across the musical landscape, this undulating tone of indie and folk stylings. The new album is about peeling back the layers of oneself, to locate and open up the dusty boxes of your past from the back of the closet of your mind. It’s memories and mistakes, lessons and lifelines bringing the present moment into focus — the future bright with possibility and purpose, so long as you never forget the road to the here and now. Everything Ramsey has absorbed in his travels — onstage and on the road — is continually channeled through the lens of his words, unique tunings and guitar chords. It’s a whirlwind of sound and scope, all radiating from one human being with guitar in-hand, a silent room of curious souls awaiting the next number of beauty and grace conjured by Ramsey with such ease. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | Soundcloud
Liz Longley
Liz Longley is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter celebrated for her stop-you-in-your-tracks voice and deeply emotional music. Known for her distinctive blend of folk, pop, and Americana, Liz has earned accolades from prestigious songwriting competitions, including the BMI John Lennon Songwriting Scholarship Competition. Her self-titled debut album was praised as “stunning” (HuffPost) and marked by “cleverness and wit” (Dallas Morning News). The follow-up, Weightless (2016), was lauded as “a thing of beauty” by Pop Dose. Liz’s sixth album, Funeral For My Past, became a notable success after her fans raised over $150,000 on Kickstarter to fund its independent release, making her the #4 most funded solo female musician in Kickstarter history. The album received widespread acclaim, with Forbes calling it “stunning” and Billboard highlighting its diverse range from Americana to shimmering pop anthems. Becoming a mother in 2022 profoundly impacted Liz’s songwriting, infusing her music with greater depth and perspective. Her upcoming album reflects this new chapter in her life, showcasing both her personal growth and her continued evolution as an artist. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
Lowertown
New York/Atlanta based band Lowertown consists of Olivia O. (Olive Osby) and Avsha (Avshalom Weinberg). First meeting in math class their sophomore year of high school, the two became friends over their shared taste in music. Since Olive and Avsha were both already writing, recording, and releasing songs under their respective solo projects, they decided the summer going into their junior year they were to form a band of just the two of them. That following school year, they released their debut project, which was written, recorded, performed and produced entirely in Avsha’s basement. The two went on to sign to Dirty Hit in their senior year of high school and released three subsequent projects under the label and began touring with bands such as Wet Leg, Beabadoobee, and Porches. It’s hard to pin down Lowertown as one brand or idea, because their sound ranges from delicate and sentimental piano and guitar ballads to dirty and dejected punk tracks. They have retaine their dedicated, longtime fanbase and captivated new listeners through their eccentric and energetic live performances, ever-evolving sound, and aesthetic. Lowertown aims to leave the listener with a refreshing feeling of excitement and connection to their raw emotions and the question of “What’s next?” Instagram | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud
An Evening with The Tannahill Weavers
This is a seated show. In the late 18th and early 19th century Scotland was in a turmoil of change. Highlanders were being driven from their lands and into the burgeoning Lowland factory systems. This brought two quite distinct cultures together, the mystic Celtic culture of the North and the old Anglo/Scots culture of the Lowlands. They were married by the double barreled shotgun of necessity and the Industrial Revolution. But this forced union brought forth a cultural heritage which, thanks to people like Robert Burns and Robert Tannahill, outlasted the worst of the Industrial Revolution. It married the mystic beauty of the Celtic music to the coarse, brawling, but vitally human music, poetry and ballads of the Lowlands. It is precisely this strangely moving yet lustily stirring quality that the Tannahill Weavers have captured in their arrangements of the traditional music and songs of Scotland. All of their material is traditional, but as good musicians should, they have transformed it and brought it into the modern world, vitally alive and kicking. HT, Stringbark and Greenhide, Newcastle, Australia The Tannahill Weavers are one of Scotland’s premier traditional bands. Their diverse repertoire spans the centuries with fire-driven instrumentals, topical songs, and original ballads and lullabies. Their music demonstrates to old and young alike the rich and varied musical heritage of the Celtic people. These versatile musicians have received worldwide accolades consistently over the years for their exuberant performances and outstanding recording efforts that seemingly can’t get better…yet continue to do just that. The Tannahills have turned their acoustic excitement loose on audiences with an electrifying effect. They have that unique combination of traditional melodies, driving rhythmic accompaniment, and rich vocals that make their performances unforgettable. As the Winnipeg Free Press noted, “The Tannahill Weavers – properly harnessed – could probably power an entire city for a year on the strength of last night’s concert alone. The music may be old time Celtic, but the drive and enthusiasm are akin to straight ahead rock and roll.” Born of a session in Paisley, Scotland and named for the town’s historic weaving industry and local poet laureate Robert Tannahill, the group has made an international name for its special brand of Scottish music, blending the beauty of traditional melodies with the power of modern rhythms. The Tannahill Weavers began to attract attention when founding members Roy Gullane and Phil Smillie added the full-sized highland bagpipes to the on-stage presentations, the first professional Scottish folk group to successfully do so. The combination of the powerful pipe solos, Roy’s driving guitar backing and lead vocals, and Phil’s ethereal flute playing breathed new life into Scotland’s vast repertoire of traditional melodies and songs. Three years and a dozen countries later, the Tannahills were the toast of Europe, having won the Scotstar Award for Folk Record of the Year with their third album, The Tannahill Weavers. Canada came the next summer, with thousands at the national festivals in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Toronto screaming an approval that echoed throughout the Canadian media. The Regina Leader-Post wrote, “The Tannahill Weavers personify Celtic music, and if you are given to superlatives, you have to call their talent ‘awesome’.” Website | Bandcamp | Facebook
Fantastic Negrito
3x GRAMMY® Award-winner Fantastic Negrito releases his highly anticipated new album, Son of a Broken Man, on October 18 2024 via his own Storefront Records. The new album sees Fantastic Negrito encapsulating his inimitable style, from hard-hitting guitar riffs to expressive ballads, with the unexpected twists that have become his trademark. It stands as one of his most personal works to date, exploring family, deception, and the human desire to hide the true self as he dives deep into the struggle between father and son. Born Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, Fantastic Negrito’s story is a testament to resilience and the transformative power of music. By now much has been made of Negrito’s unique story – growing up in an orthodox Muslim household, a doomed major label deal, the near-fatal car crash that permanently damaged his guitar playing hand—as well as the remarkable redemption arc that began in 2015, when he won the first-ever NPR Tiny Desk Contest. He has since earned three GRAMMY® Awards for “Best Contemporary Blues Album,” and shared stages with everyone from Sturgill Simpson to Chris Cornell to Bruce Springsteen. He’s collaborated in the studio with the likes of Sting, E-40, and Tank and The Bangas, performed on countless headline world tours and at festivals such as Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Newport Folk, and WOMAD, and founded the Revolution Plantation, an urban farm aimed at youth education and empowerment. Website
Forever Since Heedfest
Cul de Sac Kids Robert Pollard-obsessed Gary Smith met Neighbor Steve Casker in 2017 after moving into the same cul-de-sac within days of each other. They soon bonded over a common love of beer and music. In 2020, Guided By Voices released Surrender Your Poppy Field containing the track Cul-de-Sac Kids. Shortly after, the idea of a GBV cover band of the same name was realized with Gary (Bob vox) Steve (guitar), and brothers Barry & Perry Mayer forming the rhythm section. Garage gigs led to proper gigs, and they added Textbook Committee veteran Andy Cline on guitar to form the current lineup. Fresh off their Heedfest debut in Dayton, OH last August, CdSK continue adding Pollard-penned tunes to their growing covers catalog and love bringing their garage rock energy to any GBV tribute event that comes calling. Guided By ChoicesYes, the band name sounds eerily similar to another very well known band, and it should! Guided By Choices is the passion project of Speedfossil founder, Garret Vandermolen, and is fronted by Fireking head honcho and Magnetic Fields member, Anthony Kaczynski. Garret and Anthony both LOVE Guided By Voices, and when Garret wanted to put together a group to play all GBV material, a group in which he could also indulge his passion for playing bass, he and Anthony were kindred spirits. They also needed a drummer and two guitarists, and fortunately the other members of Speedfossil were way into the idea of playing Guided by Voices songs (with Michael Scotti taking on a role reversal, playing guitar instead of bass) and, VOILA!, Guided by Choices was born. Bright Paper WerewolvesEchoing like a siren with endurance like the Liberty Bell, Bright Paper Werewolves are a Philadelphia-area tribute to the continuing greatness that is Guided By Voices. Consisting of lead singer Mikey Wilcox, guitarists Matt Bilik and Scott Sonneborn, bassist John Douglas Smith, and drummer Rick Hass, they bring the hits (both popular and obscure) to the insatiable fans of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band of our time. Instagram | Facebook DumbchargerFrom the rolling hills of Tennessee, Dumbcharger is a Guided by Voices cover band bringing raucous, lo-fi indie rock to life. With The Sphinx on guitar, Smash Panda on drums, and Max Banger on bass and vocals, the group channels the spirit and sound of GBV with unfiltered passion. Their performances are a raw, high-energy homage to one of indie rock’s most beloved acts, turning every show into a joyful, beer-fueled singalong. Dumbcharger is a must-see for fans looking to relive or discover the magic of Guided By Voices.
School of Rock Chapel Hill’s End of Season Showcase
Free Show / $10 Suggested Donation 11:00 – Doors 11:30 – The Cure vs. The Smiths 12:30 – Elvis Presley vs. Elvis Costello 1:30 – Best of Cream 2:30 – Best of Queens of the Stone Age 3:30 – Buffer Time 3:45 – Epic Albums: Jimi Hendrix Experience’s “Are You Experienced” 4:45 – Best of Paramore 5:45 – Best of Smashing Pumpkins 6:45 – End of Show Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Event
Low Cut Connie
“This record is all kink and no shame,” says Adam Weiner of ART DEALERS, the tough, sexy and tender new album coming from Low Cut Connie. “With Low Cut Connie, I try to create a safe space for you to just absolutely get your freak on.” For years now, Low Cut Connie has built its grassroots coalition of oddballs, underdogs, and fun-loving weirdos with songs that celebrate life on the fringes of polite society. The band’s infamously wild, passionate live shows provide a total release – of stress, of inhibition, of shame – working up a primordial rock n roll sweat for fans to get blissfully soaked in. The new album, and its full-length companion film, sizzle with that same cathartic sweat, reminding us that it’s time to get dirty again, and to feel alive. ART DEALERS sits at the intersection of sleazy and soulful – a collection of risky, romantic, life-affirming anthems, all dedicated to you. “I think rock n roll exists to be a red-blooded, countercultural medium,” says Weiner, who has performed under the Low Cut Connie moniker for over a decade, “You’re supposed to get your hair messed-up.” That imperative comes through in the adults-only tone of songs like the opening “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know,” a sinuous, lurid rocker that sounds like walking through depraved Times Square in 1978 – neon-lit and nasty with a snapping beat. The speedy, fuzzed-up garage-rocker “Whips and Chains” calls out Trump and the current wave of neo-fascism, without ever losing its boogie rhythm section. But there’s also tenderness behind the curtain here, as on the yearning first single “Are You Gonna Run?” and “Call Out My Name”, which evoke the sweet sad love that punky boys like the New York Dolls and the Ramones used to have for tough girls like the Ronettes and the Shangri-La’s. The sounds throughout the record comprise a grimy modern urban landscape, a soulful but broken place that Weiner and his band (including rock n roll guitar hero, Will Donnelly, in his 9th year in Low Cut Connie) have been gravitating towards throughout the band’s history. Weiner grew up amid the lawns and strip malls of suburban New Jersey, and his own teen dreams were lit up by the beacon of the big city, where he could shed his skin like so many artists before. “If you think about it, so many great artists who we associate with the city were actually bridge and tunnel people,” Adam said. “Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Springsteen. Debbie Harry, Robert Mapplethorpe. People who came from the burbs had this vision of what they could achieve in the city, what attracted them to this art life, who they could turn into and what impressions they could make – if they could just get there.” ART DEALERS is in many ways a tribute to that feeling at the pumping heart of the city – that enlightened buzz that can come in a packed hothouse of creativity and free expression. Songs like the Grace Jones styled “Take Me to the Place” and the penetrating title song point to all the people who cross those bridges, who choose the art life, who find their liberation on the edges of propriety. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
Dirtwire Pyrochrome Tour
Dirtwire stands poised between ancient Mother Earth and modern technology, a blend of ethnomusicology and the psychedelic trance state, gut-bucket delta blues and what the band variously dubs “back-porch space cowboy blues, swamptronica, and electro-twang.” It’s a sound informed by Dirtwire’s travels and performances around the globe, where East meets West and North joins South. From the favelas in Brazil, Femi Kuti’s Shrine in Lagos, Tokyo’s bluegrass clubs, Ayahuasca ceremonies in Central America, Gamelan performances in Bali, desert festivals in the Australian Outback, and the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s modernized new capital Astana, the band spreads its message by building bridges across musical cultures in their own unique way. Dirtwire plays an array of instruments both ancient and modern, including West African kamale ngonis, jaw harps, space fiddles, whamola basses, Rickenbacher electric 12 string guitars, bowed Banjos and mouth harps from around the globe, all interwoven into modern laptop beat creation. Hailing from the underground west coast electronic bass music scene Dirtwire finds itself at the forefront of experimental electronic music production mixing in their wide array of world instruments with sampled beats and 808’s. Dirtwire’s live shows are a communal psychedelic journey, ranging from down home boot stomping get downs, to bass and blues electronic mashups, to ethereal cinematic beat driven soundscapes. Woven into each is the exploration of where live instruments meet computer production, and where tradition meets experimentation. Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
The Wldlfe
The Wldlfe, comprised of Jansen Hogan, Carson Hogan, & Jack Crane, entered the scene in 2016 with their smash EP New, 2016 and have continued to grow a steadfast fanbase through their evergreen discography. An electrifying live act, The Wldlfe has toured sold-out shows across North America in 2023 while cultivating an audience hungry for more. Frontman Jansen Hogan’s magnetic stage presence and infectious charisma, paired with the skillful instrumentation of Carson Hogan and Jack Crane, usher fans into an unforgettable night of music and connection. With over 70 million global streams to date, The Wldlfe’s debut LP Heaven is a place, 2024 is out this August, marking the band’s new era, promising an unmistakable blend of pop melodies, powerful guitar riffs, and euphoric production. Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok
