​Drive-By Truckers - Drive-By Truckers have always been outspoken, telling a distinctly American story via craft, character, and concept, all backed by sonic ambition and social conscience. Founded in 1996 by singer/songwriter/guitarists Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood, the band have long held a progressive fire in their belly but with AMERICAN BAND, they have made the most explicitly political album in their extraordinary canon. A powerful and legitimately provocative work, hard edged and finely honed, the album is the sound of a truly American Band – a Southern American band – speaking on matters that matter. DBT made the choice to direct the Way We Live Now head on, employing realism rather than subtext or symbolism to purge its makers’ own anger, discontent, and frustration with societal disintegration and the urban/rural divide that has partitioned the country for close to a half-century. Master songwriters both, Hood and Cooley wisely avoid overt polemics to explore such pressing issues as race, income inequality, the NRA, deregulation, police brutality, Islamophobia, and the plague of suicides and opioid abuse. As a result, songs like "What It Means" and the tub-thumping "Kinky Hypocrites" are intensely human music from a rock ‘n’ roll band yearning for community and collective action. Fueled by a just spirit of moral indignation and righteous rage, AMERICAN BAND is protest music fit for the stadiums, designed to raise issues and ire as the nation careens towards its most momentous election in a generation.

Paul Kelly - Paul Kelly has recorded over 21 studio albums as well as several film soundtracks (Lantana and the Cannes 2006 highlight, Jindabyne) and two live albums, in an influential career spanning more than thirty years. He was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1997. Songs From The South, a selection of his popular songs first assembled in 1997 and expanded to a double album in 2008, contains many of his songs now lodged deep in the Australian psyche. He continues to cross musical boundaries. The triple j tribute album Before Too Long, released in 2010, featuring John Butler, Missy Higgins, Megan Washington, Paul Dempsey, Ozi Batla and many others is evidence of his influence on generations of musicians. His first work of prose How To Make Gravy, a self described ‘mongrel memoir’, was published in 2010 with Penguin and is accompanied by a CD box set of live recordings and an audio book with readings from Paul and some of Australia’s finest actors Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Judy Davis and Ben Mendelsohn. The book, the audio book and the A-Z recordings now make up a unique app. An app which in Paul’s words is “the closest thing to how I imagined the book to be – something that sings and talks and plays.” In August 2012, ‘Paul Kelly – Stories Of Me’, a feature-length documentary premiered in Melbourne. Distributed by Madman Films, the documentary is an intimate portrait of the very private man behind the music. For the first time on film, Kelly speaks candidly about the people who have helped shape his life and music. Featuring rare archival footage, ‘Paul Kelly – Stories Of Me’ also unveils newly recorded live performances, as well as interviews with family members, former and current band members, music contemporaries and music media. Also in 2012, he released a solo album entitled ‘Spring And Fall’, a song cycle which tells a love story from multiple points of view. In 2014, Paul took an innovative direction and released ‘Paul Kelly Presents The Merri Soul Sessions’ – a soul revue record featuring Clairy Browne, Vika and Linda Bull, Dan Sultan, Kira Puru and himself. On 23 April, 2016 – the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death – Paul released ‘Seven Sonnets & A Song’. The record features Paul singing lead vocals on 6 of Shakespeare’s sonnets and a song from Twelfth Night. The only non-Shakespearian piece is ‘My True Love Hath My Heart’, written by his contemporary Sir Philip Sidney and sung by Vika Bull. ‘Death’s Dateless Night’ by Paul and Charlie Owen is out in October. The album features songs that Paul and Charlie have performed at funerals.

Daniel Norgren - Touring outside of Europe for the first time this Fall, Daniel Norgren & band prepare for stateside introduction. Although his name may be unfamiliar in North America, Daniel Norgren has built a notable career over the past 10 years in his home country and across much of Europe. The combination of a deep catalog and a live show that cuts to the core have been the fuel for a steadily-growing audience where fans are currently lucky to catch him at a venue smaller than 1,000 capacity. A multi-instrumentalist whose live performance includes guitar, piano, harmonica, and accordion. Included also as part of this live band is longtime music companion Anders Grahn on bass and drummer Erik Berntsson. Norgren's sound is distinctly homegrown and authentic, and his songs are incredibly powerful with a knack for catchy melodies and vocal harmonies. This is a rare, first opportunity to see Europe's best kept secret and undoubtedly most captivating live performer - don't miss it. 

Jessica Lea Mayfield - Sorry Is Gone, the highly anticipated new full-length album from Jessica Lea Mayfield, will be released September 29 on ATO Records and is now available for pre-order. In advance of the release, the official music video for the album’s title track is premiering today at NPR Music. Of the song, NPR Music’s Bob Boilen praises, “Jessica Lea Mayfield is taking back her life. ‘Sorry Is Gone,’ the title track to her next album, is a song of empowerment that finds the singer moving past a difficult period in her life…Despite the weight of that, the song feels breezy, flowing and freeing.” Watch/share the video HERE. The 11-track record was recorded at Water Music and Electric Lady studios with producer John Agnello (Kurt Vile, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Phosphorescent). In addition to Mayfield, the album features a variety of world-renowned musicians including Seth Avett on backing vocals and keys, drummer Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth, Sun Kill Moon), bassist Emil Amos (Grails, Holy Sons) and guitarist Cameron Deyell (Sia, Streets of Laredo.) with additional production from Patrick Damphier (The Mynabirds). Of the record, Mayfield comments, “The whole record is about me taking my life back, without really realizing it. I realized I’m the only person that is going to look out for me. I have to be my main person. No one else.” She continues, “I have to sing about things and write about things that have happened to me as therapy. That’s what connects me to other music I listen to. I want music to make me feel things. This is my inner dialogue, and my chance to get the last word.” In support of the release, Mayfield will embark on an extensive tour this fall including shows at NYC’s Baby’s All Right, DC’s Songbyrd, Nashville’s The Basement East and Chicago’s The Empty Bottle among many others. All tickets go on-sale this Friday, July 28. See below for complete details. Sorry Is Gone is Mayfield’s first solo album since 2014’s Make My Head Sing…, which was released to widespread acclaim. Of the album, Rolling Stone asserted, “…Mayfield’s echo-laden bluegrass vocals mesh with scorching electric guitar lines to render remarkable results,” while Pitchfork praised, “There’s something certainly compelling about this raw, minimalist sound” and NPR’s Fresh Air proclaimed, “The music is heavy, but it soars.” Additionally Interview Magazine declared, “Mayfield sounds like she’s finally arrived” and USA Today affirmed, “Her evolution as an artist has been fascinating to hear.” Most recently, in 2015, Mayfield collaborated with Seth Avett on Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith.

​James Maddock - The best singer-songwriters serve the song. The songwriter’s songwriter, James Maddock, who has earned the respect of masterful writers such as Bruce Springsteen and Willie Nile, has built his acclaimed legacy on humbly honoring purity of expression. Many albums in his beloved catalog are elegantly spare, conveying his songs and sentiments in the most direct possible way. But for his latest album, The Green, the songs guided him into recording the most eclectic, exhilaratingly soulful, and imaginatively produced album in his career. “This is my best album. It’s an upbeat record with really strong songs and a lot of surprises,” the British transplant reveals. “It all happened really naturally. I just listened to where the songs where going and allowed myself the time to give each one a proper sonic home.” Since 1999, James Maddock’s boldly vulnerable songwriting, honeyed rasp, and distinct folk and Americana aesthetic have garnered acclaim from icons, peers, and tastemaking outlets like NPR, American Songwriter, Relix Magazine, and CMT Edge. Relix notes: “James Maddock possesses the kind of lived-in, craggy voice that would sound authoritative if he were singing the sports pages. Fortunately, he doesn’t need to do that because his compositional skills are a match for his delivery.” His consistency as a recording artist and a captivating live performer have attracted a devoted fanbase engaged and generous enough to fan fund the last two entries in his six-album oeuvre. He's performed with Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nile, Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors) and David Immergluck (Counting Crows), sang on an album with Susan McKeown, and has built a respected international profile through tireless touring from the Northeast US to Europe to Australia. Previous to his solo career, James was the frontman for the Columbia Records band Wood. It was in this context that he was first introduced to a mainstream audience when songs from the group’s debut, Songs From Stamford Hill, were prominently featured in Dawson’s Creek. In 2003, Maddock relocated from England to New York, and, soon after, launched his solo career. His 2009 solo album Sunrise On Avenue C won a New York Music Award for “Best Americana Album,” while its follow-up, Wake Up And Dream, ranked among the top albums of 2011 in WFUV's (NYC) Listener Poll. The Green truly captures NPR’s accolade that “his timeless songwriting style, which seems to draw from great songwriters of every era, conveys quiet confidence and lovely intimacy.” The album is bookended by “Once There Was A Boy Part 1” and “Once There Was A Boy Part 2.” Version one has a gospel-folk gait recalling Van Morrison and the more pastoral moments of The Pogues, and version two is a fresh rendition with stately strings and dreamy vocals. The track “Speaking For The Man” recalls the silken soul of Jimmy Ruffin (“What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”).  The title track finds James revisiting the political commentary songwriting style of his formative days. And the sleek and euphoric “Driving Around With the Win” and the simmering sensuality of “Let’s Get Out Of Here” are revelations in James’s catalog, showcasing the gorgeous patina of James’s vocals within an ultra modern sophisticated pop context. The Green was produced by Iestyn Polson (David Gray, Patti Smith, and David Bowie) and boasts a more lush production aesthetic and more ambitious arrangements than any previous James Maddock records. The album features rich gospel-tinged backups courtesy of Cindy Mizelle (Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Duran Duran), tasteful drum loops, elegant string arrangements courtesy of Alan Grubner, and contributions from Aaron Comess (The Spin Doctors), Tony Shanahan (Beck, Patti Smith, Suzanne Vega), and Brian Mitchell (Bob Dylan, Al Green, B.B. King). This summer Maddock will be taking entries from The Green, as well as fan favorites from his back catalog, on the road. Live, Maddock imaginatively reinterprets his oeuvre to keep it fresh for him and his audience. “I love how songs reveal themselves differently in the live setting,” James says. “I’m grateful I have such a large body of work and an audience to share a creative dialogue with. It’s all a luxury and just a really beautiful thing—I feel very lucky.”​