By Tyler Prondzinski
As a Nashville-based folk and Americana artist management company, here's what we think about great folk-americana artists! We are curating a special event at Folk Aliance this Friday night with House of Pancakes. Here is a synopsis of all the great music that will be played!
Stacy Antonel
An idiosyncratic artist with a background in classical piano, Stacy Antonel makes jazzy, country-leaning, clever Americana that feels both vintage and hyper-modern at the same time. Her latest release, Always the Outsider feels like an elegant relic from a bygone era, other times it’s a glimpse into the distant, mystical future of country music.
Stephanie Sammons
Stephanie Sammons is a Folk-leaning, Americana singer-songwriter who splits her time between Dallas and Nashville music scenes. Stephanie has studied extensively under Grammy-nominated singer-songwriters Mary Gauthier, Emily Saliers (Grammy winner), Beth Nielsen Chapman, Gretchen Peters, Jonatha Brooke (critically acclaimed), Verlon Thompson, and Suzy Bogguss. Her first full-length album, produced by Mary Bragg at Sound Emporium Studio B in Nashville, is set for release in May of 2024.
Evan Boyer
Up-and-coming Americana artist Evan Boyer is not a polished, perfect singer-songwriter plucked from the glossy pages of a music magazine: He’s the genuine article, making real and relatable music from the rough fodder of personal experience. Approaching songwriting with a healthy dose of humanity, he draws inspiration from the raw edges of his own, admittedly flawed existence, offering the world a unique brand of country-leaning Americana that is down-to-earth, authentic, and emotionally compelling. This month he dropped the single “Home to You” from his forthcoming album, The Devil in Me, which is due to be released May 3.
Mary Bragg
Praised by the World Café for her “refined, sumptuously melancholy take on Southern storytelling,” Bragg’s been exploring love and its complications for much of her career now, wrestling with longing, desire, heartbreak, and insecurity across a string of widely lauded albums. NPR dubbed her breakout 2017 release, Lucky Strike, one of the year’s best, while her 2019 follow-up, Violets as Camouflage, earned similar raves, with the Nashville Scene calling it “magnificent” and Rolling Stone hailing its mix of “classic country twang and “gentle chamber-pop.” Her latest album came out in 2022 to more critical acclaim.
Remi Goode
Remi Goode is a trained classical guitarist and choral singer turned alternative folk/pop singer-songwriter. When she first decided to put her voice and guitar together and write original music, she quickly developed a style that highlights her careful classical sensibilities, pure vocal quality, and the distinctive sound of a nylon-string guitar. She writes with blunt honesty and introspection, searching for the root of the dynamics within a relationship or a deeper understanding of her own self-conception. Although Remi’s analysis of herself and others is often unforgiving, her songs always contain a qualifying aspect of emotional ambiguity—an expression of both grief and acceptance at having to navigate a world that isn’t black or white.
Helena Hallberg
Helena Hallberg is a Swiss/Swedish performer, songwriter and actor based in Nashville, TN. A passionate polyglot, multi-instrumentalist and producer, she often brings her four native languages into her work."No matter whether it's musical theatre, folk, pop or jazz, Helena Hallberg is like a Swiss Army Knife made in Sweden: Versatile and flawless" (Ticketcorner Magazine). In March 2024, Hallberg will release her debut album EPITHET. Recorded at the iconic Power Station at BerkleeNYC in New York City and recorded by an all-female production team comprising of Hallberg, Mary Bragg, and Gloria Kaba, EPITHET promises to be a musical journey like no other.
Paula Boggs
Hailing from Seattle, Paula Boggs blends jazz and Americana, touring and releasing a steady stream of music since 2010.“Boggs makes...urban, jazzy music...within the structures of...folk, bluegrass, and...blues...[s]he calls... “soulgrass,” and reminds me a little of Gil Scott-Heron, if only for the razor-intensity of her words...in a croony-rich street voice...evocative and easy to like” (Dave Good, San Diego Reader).
Nathan K
Hailing from Michigan, his songs are sad, but not without hope. They are hopeful, but not overly optimistic. They are specific, but strangely relatable. Honest, but not abrasive. He is shy, but long winded – the stories behind the songs are often longer than the songs themselves. “A curious mix of sadness and joy, haunting in the sense that it lingers but not completely morose or scary. A nostalgic and poignant amalgamation of fondness and love and regret, something crushing yet life affirming” (Wake The Deaf).
Emma Butterworth
Chicago songwriter Emma Butterworth is carving a niche for herself in the American indie scene with her uniquely soulful brand of indie-leaning folk rock. A keen storyteller and careful lyricist, she cuts straight to the heart of life’s big questions, examining moments of love, loss, growth, and self-acceptance with characteristic wit and wisdom. Her cheeky stage presence reveals a curious mind and a penchant for deeply melancholic songs, while her lush vocals have been compared to iconic acts like Brandi Carlile and The Head and the Heart. There’s a casual power when Butterworth sings that feels both practiced and raw: agile, occasionally vulnerable, but always sure—hers is a voice you’d follow in an emergency. The root of that strength lies in her own, joyful sense of self, which infuses even her most somber ballads with a buoyant, silver-lined charm. Or, as explained in the eponymous track from her recently released album, Fool’s Gold: “People say I’m lost without sweet words from a man, / but I never had trouble knowing just who I am.”
Jay Gavin
Jay writes and sings songs for fans of real county music and is making a name for his catchy hooks, foot-stomping, autobiographical, everyman songs and good timin’ live shows. The Nashville Songwriters Ass. Intl. named Jay Gavin a writer that’s “One to Watch” in June 2023. At home in Canada, Jay loves hosting regular song circles bringing together the local and touring songwriting community.
Toria Richings
Toria is an Americana singer-songwriter, having spent the last few years recording and releasing music, fine-tuning her own sound, her songs have a soulful and modern edge with a strong country influence. Toria writes from the heart and promises to take your soul on an emotional journey with love laughter and tears!!
Alright Alright
Husband and wife Seth and China Kent of Alright Alright create orchestral folk for the open-minded and poetry for the broken-hearted. Though their songs often bear a deep sense of tradition, Alright Alright aren’t afraid to experiment with boundaries, testing the limits of genre and expectations for content. From southern industrial towns to street signs to abandoned cars on I-70, there is a sense of rootedness that lends depth and dimension to their songwriting. These songs are as real as your kitchen table. Yet there’s also a striking vulnerability present, an openness and willingness to connect that draws fans from around the world to reach out and feel held by their music.
Robby Hecht
Robby Hecht has been captivating audiences as a touring singer-songwriter for over two decades, combining quietly impactful songwriting reminiscent of Tom Waits or Jim Croce with the graceful vocal resonance of James Taylor. With a remarkable blend of insightful lyricism, memorable melodies, and a voice that carries both strength and tenderness, his music resonates with audiences from all walks of life.