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
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify
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
Dexter and the Moonrocks
Hailing from Abilene, Texas, Dexter and The Moonrocks deliver a unique Southern Alternative fusion lovingly dubbed “Western Space Grunge” by their fans. The band released their first single “Couch” in August of 2021, taking the internet by storm. After massive success with the hit single, the band released their self-titled EP featuring a number of hits like “Where I Steer” or “Behave” and received overwhelmingly positive responses. Lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist James Tuffs, lead guitarist/vocal harmonizer Ryan Anderson, bassist Ty Anderson, and drummer/vocal harmonizer Fox, draw on their favorite elements of bands like Nirvana, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, and Whiskey Myers in order to create the unique sound that can only be described as “Western Space Grunge”.Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | TikTok
Magic City Hippies – Winter Tour
We can all take solace in the simple pleasures awarded us through our senses. Imagine, the memorable clink of ice hitting a rocks glass, the scent of muddled limes and mint, the faint crackle as the tipple is poured, the effervescent fizz of soda about to broach the rim, the straw insertion and swirl, the first sip of vacation…Life would be miserable without these gifts, and life would most certainly suck without the perfect soundtrack to the first cocktail of some much needed time off. Pop the cork on some Magic City Hippies.MCH initially floated onto the scene as Robby Hunter Band, yet once their album titled Magic City Hippies dropped, it became clear they had accidentally found their identity through an album title. Renamed in 2015 as Magic City Hippies, the Miami boys tasked themselves with marrying the funk sweat of a mid- afternoon sail with the syncopated shoulder shimmy of a late night out. They quickly gathered steam and took to gracing stages across the planet, from packed night clubs, to sold out concert halls, to earning performances at Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, and Lollapalooza, Magic City Hippies cater to those simply looking to escape with a welcoming, never-haughty, yet delightfully naughty, thwap.Their Hippie Castle EP (2015) was just the tip of the proverbial ice cube in a cocktail glass of hippie sass. It mixed pool-side melodies and three day weekend grooves with a soulful, upbeat, vacation-heavy inflection of what can only be described as their own brand of musically casual psych-pop. Modern Animal (2019) brought MCH beachside, adding even more sultry swank to an already damp pair of chinos. A few years later, Water Your Garden (2022) brought the world out of a socially isolated pandemic, with a brilliantly shimmering and joyous celebration of dancing on our own, yet now together.While the studio albums have each received both fan and critical acclaim, their engaging and unapologetically energetic live show takes even the most dance-stubborn attendee and persuades a sort of hypnotically voluntary participation. Seeing first timers become lifelong fans is a galdarn tradition when it comes to a live Magic City Hippies experience.Whether this sunshine funk is all up inside your alley, or even if pink neon signs flashing the words SENSUAL AUDIBLE MASSAGE just have you curious, Magic City Hippies deliver a rare blend of musical talent and touring tenacity, with an uniquely cool and pastel fashion sense offering up funky sweaty smiles aplenty.Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Soundcloud
Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy and friends play R.E.M.’s Murmur
Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy are thrilled to announce a February 2024 tour in celebration of R.E.M.’s iconic 1983 debut album, Murmur. Spanning several stops across the US, including shows in Brooklyn, Boston, Philadelphia, Athens, and more, the tour will see Shannon (vocals) and Narducy (guitar)–along with Jon Wurster (drums), Dag Juhlin (guitar), Nick Macri (bass), and Vijay Tellis-Nayak (piano)–playing Murmur in full each night in addition to other early R.E.M. songs.Shannon, an actor/musician known best for his film/series/stage work that will not be named during the Screen Actors Guild strike, and Narducy (Bob Mould Band, Superchunk, Split Single) have been collaborating for the last ten years, playing entire albums by some of their favorite artists such as Neil Young, The Modern Lovers, Bob Dylan, The Smiths, and T. Rex at various Chicago clubs. In July 2023, they performed Murmur at Chicagoʼs Metro to a full house. Initially planned as a one-off performance to honor the albumʼs 40th anniversary, the showʼs success inspired Shannon and Narducy to take it on the road, launching the pairʼs first-ever tour.“I have been a fan of R.E.M. since my cousin played me the ʻDocumentʼ cassette out at my Aunt Normaʼs trailer,” says Shannon. “I spent days and hours stumbling around my hometown of Lexington, KY listening to ʻMurmurʼ on my Walkman, long before the notion of being anything other than completely anonymous was a viable option. Jason and I have done several other albums and shows together but this one means the most to me.”Narducy, who is quick to note there is no union for indie rock and that he is repeatedly screwed over by streaming platforms and his uncleʼs teasing on social media, adds: “Iʼm looking forward to going on the road with Michael and the band. Michael and I have been doing shows for a long time but this is our first proper tour. The energy in the room at our ʻMurmurʼ show at Metro last July was really special. Itʼs fun celebrating a record that is so beloved.”(Itʼs completely possible that even if an indie rock union existed, it could not protect Narducy from his uncleʼs “clever” posts.)40 years aer its release, Murmur remains one of the most celebrated debut albums of all time. In a retrospective review for Pitchfork, Stephen M. Deusner notes, “No bands were combining these particular influences in this particular way, which made this debut sound not only new but even subversive: a sharp reimagining of rock tropes.” Upon release, Rolling Stone praised Murmur as “an intelligent, enigmatic, deeply involving album,” going on to name it the Best Album of 1983 and eventually highlighting it in its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.Website | Instagram | Twitter
Caleb Hearn
We hold on to memories like old photos in a box. They may not be on the mantle, but they’re never too far away. We wait for the right moment to unearth them and relive them. Instead of simply dusting off formative memories, Caleb Hearn alchemizes his reflections into revelatory anthems laced with folk eloquence and amplified with pop appeal. After generating 235M+ streams and attracting a global fanbase with 1.4M+ TikTok followers, the North Carolina-raised and Nashville-based singer-songwriter uses his recollections to grow and evolve on his Birthdays & Funerals EP. Since 2019, Caleb has engaged and enraptured audiences by tuning into raw emotion via his songs. Following the 2020 Reflections EP, the fan favorites, “Always Be 2.0,” “Brown Eyes, Brown Hair,” and “It’s Always Been You,” have tailed 101M+ Spotify streams combined. Building off that momentum, Caleb unveiled his We’re Getting Older EP in 2022. With 22M+ cumulative streams on Spotify, We’re Getting Older EP took listeners through the complex stages of heartbreak–from the moment you realize you’ve lost the person you love to learning how to deal with the pain that follows. In the spring of 2023, Caleb Hearn returned with his 4-track follow-EP 1200 sq ft, that has surpassed 13M+ collective Spotify streams. Known for penning tender tracks at the narrative crossroads of relationships, missed opportunities, and the lessons to be had from young love, Caleb shifted gears and focuses on his family roots while offering unique subtle blend of folk and indie pop. Along the way, Caleb teamed up with the likes of Michal Leah, Jillian Rossi, Haywood, and Mokita for popular collaborations. Additionally, he’s toured with Ron Pope, Lydia Luce, and Rosie Darling. While the 23-year-old ruminates on his past struggles, his Birthdays & Funerals EP is grounded in the present showcasing the man he’s becoming and the man he ultimately wants to be. While the title track speaks directly to the love of his life, other tracks touch upon future parenthood and understanding the choices and chances his own father took on the road of life. This new collection of songs reflects Caleb’s musical journey that continues to take transformative turns every step of the way. Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | Spotify | Soundcloud | TikTok
