Eddie Fest 2023

Secret Monkey Weekend Rachel Hirsh Nikki Meets The HibachiMy hopes for a Valley Missing Receipts Oort PatrolZone Jamm tha Nubian iannie

This show is seated.Similar backgrounds yet different paths. Paul Thorn and Steve Poltz have a 20+ year friendship and are taking it on the road and in the ring together this Spring for a multi-city tour, surely to bring love, laughter and mischief along with them. Equal parts humor, poignant stories, and expert musicianship, these two storytellers with contagious smiles will put on a show that will make you laugh one minute and cry the next.Paul Thorn: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTubeSteve Poltz: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud

Mitch Rowland

Even as a little kid, singer-songwriter Mitch Rowland was obsessed with guitar music. He will never forget how it initially hit him, sitting in front of the first jukebox he ever saw, letting the sound wash over him. He was four years old, growing up with his family on the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio. “My dad had a friend who was single but owned a house,” he says. “And instead of normal furniture in his living room, he had a pool table and this vintage jukebox in the corner. You’d stick the quarter in and it would fall out the bottom and you could just keep putting on songs.” Rowland was instantly fascinated with bands like The Black Crowes and Aerosmith, and would listen to their singles over and over again. The beautiful, introspective folk music on Rowland’s debut album, Come June, can be traced back to that jukebox, which inspired a lifelong exploration of why he loves certain sounds, and how to make them himself. Although Rowland already has impressive songwriting credits to his name, as one of Harry Styles’ collaborators on major hits like “Watermelon Sugar” and “Golden,” Come June is truly the beginning of the most important chapter yet in Rowland’s artistic evolution. By the time he was five and his older brother got a drum kit, Rowland already had the urge to play. “My brother would kick my ass if I tried to sit behind his kit while he was home,” he says, “so I had to get my time in when he was out with friends. From there I was self-taught, just by playing along to records.” He started with Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and then added some of those Aerosmith and Crowes tunes to his repertoire on drums, and then began teaching himself guitar, alone in his bedroom. By college, he had started experimenting with writing his own songs, but still yearned for a sense of direction. Cut to 2008, and Rowland is at an arts festival in Columbus, playing a game where you spin a wheel to win tickets to different upcoming concerts. “Out of all these shows, it landed on the Black Crowes, and I won two tickets,” he says. “So I asked my dad if he wanted to go with me. I hadn’t listened to the Black Crowes since I was a kid, so it seemed like something fun to do. But then it turned into a show that really grabbed me, where I had to go listen to everything they’d ever done. And I got really into wondering, ‘Why do I like the sound of Rich Robinson’s guitar so much?’ And that was how I discovered the world of open tunings. Because sometimes Rich is coming from Keith Richards’ world of playing open G, but then if you read enough interviews with him, he cites Nick Drake as his gateway into open tunings. And so that became my gateway into Nick Drake and other artists like that, as well. And I think all of that goes back to the jukebox.”Rowland started putting songs together after that Black Crowes show, spending countless hours in his bedroom, playing and playing and playing, figuring out his own sound. Then, in 2013, Rowland decided to move out to Los Angeles, following a friend who was heading out there to be an engineer. “If you would have asked me back then, I don’t know what I would have said I was planning to do,” he admits. “The goal was to play music, but I was kind of in the slow lane.” He looked for work as a dishwasher, applying everywhere in LA, “but I had no dishwashing experience,” he says, “so I couldn’t get hired.”Website | Instagram | Spotify | YouTube

Dyke Night: Haunted House

Brace yourself for Dyke Night: Haunted House, a queer horror show hosted by King Shade and Lady Dyke. Featuring drag from Asmodeous, Kali Fuchis, and Poison, as well as the original music of Found Family and the Hyphenellas. Bring your friends, your nail polish remover, and DRESS OUT!!!

Sarah Jarosz

Four-time GRAMMY winner Sarah Jarosz has announced her new album, Polaroid Lovers. The record is set for release on January 26th, 2024 via Rounder Records. To mark the occasion she has shared the album opener, “Jealous Moon,” and its companion video. The song finds Jarosz backed by a decidedly more electric band, with her Texas lilt as clear and evocative as ever. Polaroid Lovers is available for pre-order today digitally and on vinyl with gray, lavender, orange and green splatter variants. Indie retailers will also have a special blue and green splatter vinyl. For more information visit https://store.sarahjarosz.com/Sarah Jarosz on “Jealous Moon” I wrote this song with Daniel Tashian in Monteagle, TN on a screened in porch with birds chirping all around. It was a warm summer afternoon. It started as a quiet melody on ukulele and nylon string guitar, but when we got to the studio it became something much more powerful. It’s a song about the times when the parts of ourselves that we try to keep hidden rise to the surface and we have no choice but to ride the wave. Sometimes that means doing your own thing to figure it out so you can emerge stronger on the other side. It’s not about the end of a relationship, but rather a moment of self reflection and a promise to keep showing up even when things get tough. Once Daniel played the opening riff on piano I knew it had to open the album. I’m always seeking to push myself into new sonic territory, and this song gave me permission to not hold back.The seventh album from Sarah Jarosz finds the highly decorated songwriter at the apex of change. A Texas native, she’s spent most of her adult life living in New York City, but shortly before writing the album Jarosz left her adopted home to join her soon-to-be husband in Nashville, TN. The geographic shake-up led to a sonic one as well for Polaroid Lovers. For the first time in her career she opened herself up to collaborators, leading to writing sessions with Daniel Tashian, Ruston Kelly and Natalie Hemby. The creative reorganization of her writing process evolved to include a much richer and more electric sound in the studio and being in Nashville meant access to a world of hot shot players. She tapped guitarist Rob McNelley (Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood), Tom Bukovac (Tom Petty, Vince Gill) on guitar and organ, her husband- bassist Jeff Picker (Nickel Creek), and drummer Fred Eltringham (Sheryl Crow, Lucinda Williams) for the album recording. Tashian took the helm as producer and the whole album was laid down at the legendary Sound Emporium.As it goes with all change, Jarosz’s major life events had her feeling contemplative. While sitting on the precipice of adulthood, Polaroid Lovers finds her reflecting on past loves, childhood dreams, the places she lived in and all the versions of herself that she’s been. Although the listener experiences the sonic shift forward, the album’s subject matter is a photo album of the past. Jarosz has never sounded more assured. Polaroid Lovers is filled with the kind of confidence that comes from hard won life experiences and the conviction of someone who truly knows herself.Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok

The Gone Ghosts & Old Heavy Hands

The Gone Ghosts is an Alt-Country Americana/Rock band from Carrboro NC, formed by singer/guitarist and songwriter Dave Hedeman and bassist Dillon Partin from The Vagabond Union. Joined by singer/guitarist Justin Bowlin and drummer Scott Jones. Dave started his music career fronting East Coast college favorite, Puddleduck from 1993 to 2000 before vanishing from the music scene for almost a decade. In 2008, while moving to Carrboro, Dave had a chance encounter with Jason Isbell, who he credits as his inspiration to re-engage with creating music. “I was moving from South Florida to Carrboro and stopped in Charleston to catch one of his shows at the Pour House,” he recalls. “After the show, I walked up to him and struck up a conversation. At one point I said, ‘I used to be a musician.’ He looked me in the eyes and said, ‘You still are.’” It was a pivotal moment. Dave found his spirit renewed. And another decade later, he’s bringing to life the lyrics that have haunted his subconscious. Dave hasn’t spent the intervening ten years laying low. Shortly after his move, he formed The Vagabond Union, based in Charleston, SC, with his long time friend John Kenney. They’ve released two albums with the band. Still, Dave felt he needed to give voice to deeply personal lyrics that didn’t seem right for The Vagabond Union’s mostly rock sound. So in the Spring of 2018, Dave formed The Gone Ghosts to lean more toward Americana and alt country sound that he holds dear. The Gone Ghosts set out to create their version of American rock music with songs fueled by love, loss and heartache. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTubeOld Heavy Hands is a Southern Rock band from Greensboro, NC. The band name pays tribute to their roots and conception. Many of their songs started on acoustics at Legacy Irons Tattoo in downtown Greensboro where three of the members earn their living. They blend together nostalgia from the golden era of Muscle Shoals and their adolescent years of punk rock influence to create a unique brand of Rock music for the modern age. The upcoming record “Small Fires” was tracked at The Fidelitorium and Earthtones Recording studio.Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

Chatham Rabbits

This is a partially seated show. There is something warm and instantly familiar about the beloved roots duo, Chatham Rabbits. Partners in music and life, Chatham Rabbits’ Austin and Sarah McCombie blend their personal histories through deft songwriting and a history that comes from building a life together. Leaning into each other’s strengths, their songs present a congenial, collaborative spirit that has captured the pure adoration of fans along the way and earned them praise from Garden & Gun Magazine, American Songwriter, and No Depression. Their artistry hinges on a fervent desire to connect with others through the music that first brought the pair together. Steeped in the regional traditions of their North Carolina home, Chatham Rabbits’ musical pursuits represent a new age of roots music. Chatham Rabbits recorded and released their beloved debut album, All I Want From You in 2019. This set the standard for their sophomore release The Yoke is Easy, The Burden is Full—the centerpiece song “Oxen” was named “Top Folk Song of 2020” by Paste Magazine. Nurtured by central North Carolina’s fertile, influential music scene, Chatham Rabbits’ sound continues to evolve in their expansive third album, If You See Me Riding By (2022), which was simultaneously released with a television series, On the Road with Chatham Rabbits, on PBS-NC. The McCombies ingenuity during the Covid-19 crisis led to the creation of their mobile concert experience, The Stay at Home Tour, which took the duo to 194 neighborhoods in 2020-21. The pair is currently recording their fourth album of poignant original songs and continuing to foster their tight-knit fan community across the US. Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Carbon Leaf

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Schooner, No One Mind, Sissy Remains

Schooner is disheveled-pop-indie-psych-soul from Durham, NC started by Reid Johnson & now features Joshua Carpenter (Floating Action), Maria Albani (Organos), + a rotating cast of characters. “Schooner’s delightfully experimental pop-rock earns the intimidating e-word not by going off on wild tangents but by augmenting perfectly intuitive song structures with unexpected, though balanced textures.” -INDY Week “gauzy, blown-out, beautiful pop” -Pop Matters Website No One Mind, the songwriting moniker of Durham, NC-based multi-instrumentalist Ellis Anderson, began as a direct response to the ending of a past musical collaboration, and a close friendship. Working alongside former band members Missy Thangs and Noah Dehmer, No One Mind recorded and debuted their Self-titled album, along with the single Born Again / Baron Gain in 2016 on Third Uncle Records. The music grappled with feelings of betrayal and confusion through songs ranging from biting post punk, to dissonant psych experimentation, to melancholy art pop and folk balladry, leading North Carolina’s Indy Week to name the record one of the ten best local albums of 2016, and Bandcamp Daily to claim “rarely has there been a record as focused and barbed in its execution.Website Sissy Remains New solo project from Casey Cook – first show!

William Tyler & The Impossible Truth

William Tyler Goes West on new studio album due January 25, shares “Fail Safe” On January 25, William Tyler returns with Goes West, his follow-up to 2016’s Modern Country. Listen to first single “Fail Safe” now, and pre-order Goes West on CD, LP, and limited-edition translucent green Peak Vinyl, the latter of which includes a 24” × 36” full-color foldout poster of the Robert Beatty cover art. All pre-orders will receive Dispatches from Echo Magic, an 8-song bonus CD available only in the Merge store or with the purchase of Goes West at your local independent record store, while supplies last. Recorded with Scott Hirsch at Echo Magic West in Ojai, CA, the CD features early versions of five songs from Goes West plus three other tracks from the session that are only available here. Listen to & share William Tyler’s “Fail Safe” now An excerpt from the M.C. Taylor-penned bio: William and I bonded early in our relationship over Barry Hannah, a hellraising writer from Mississippi who practically reinvented the way that words could be assembled on a page. Like Hannah, William Tyler knows the South—as a crucible of American histories and cultures, an entity capable of expansive beauty and incomprehensible violence, often in the same beat—as his native place, the place that holds him and that he runs from. In the music of William Tyler, the South is not apart from America; the South is America condensed. And like Hannah—and this part is important—William moved to California, where Goes West was written. We don’t know how long William will stay—Hannah lasted just a couple of years, writing in the employ of director Robert Altman—but the change of scenery seems to suit him. Goes West marks a sort of narrowing of focus for William’s music; it sounds as though he found a way to point himself directly towards the rich and bittersweet emotional center of his music without being distracted by side trips. Perhaps this is down to the fact that William only plays acoustic guitar on the album, a clear and conscious decision considering that he is one of Nashville’s great electric guitarists. The band that performs Goes West alongside William—including guitarists Meg Duffy and Bill Frisell, bassist and producer Brad Cook, keyboardist James Wallace, drummer Griffin Goldsmith, and engineer Tucker Martine—is the best and most sympathetic group of players that William could have assembled to play these songs. William Tyler is currently performing solo sets on tour with Ty Segall. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

Genre: Miscellaneous