AmericanaFest: Keeping the Fun Going!

by Ty Ellenbogen

We had such a blast kicking off AmericanaFest last night at the Eighth Room! We got to hear so many of our talented artists, and the energy was incredible. It’s always a special experience when so many incredible songwriters share the same stage— truly a reminder of how moving and powerful music can be.


Coming up this Saturday (9/23), we have our day party at Humphrey’s Street, featuring a brand new lineup of exciting artists! The fun begins at 12pm and you’ll get to hear from: 

Helena Hallberg

Charlie Argo

Rachel McIntyre Smith

Katie Callahan

Katie Boeck

Carli Brill

Remi Goode

Alright Alright

We’ve even compiled a playlist of all the artists’ music for you to stream while you wait. Check it out here:

And here’s the best news: the event is FREE and open to the public! Don’t miss out this opportunity to see these artists live. 

See you there!

Ruthie Collins is Touring the UK!

by Ivan Grimblat

Ruthie Collins recently announced her return to the UK with her 2023 “Cross The Pond” UK tour, and it’s going to be a good one!

Having released her latest album, Cold Comfort + last year, Ruthie played shows sporadically throughout the year. Her 2023 was off to a great start as she started uploading weekly demos of her songs to her Patreon channel for fans to hear some of her songs while in the early stages of production.

Her co-headlining “Cross The Pond” tour is set to bring fans even more unforgettable interactions with her as she and Matt Hodges visit over 10 cities all throughout October.

The tour starts on October 9 in Leicester and will finish in Wakefield on October 27, passing through cities like Manchester, London, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Get your tickets here!

Mary Gauthier Does it Again

by Jacob Welsch

For decades, Mary Gauthier has enticed audiences from all over the world and continues to sell out venues across America on each leg of her tour. Coming off of the True Heart Troubadour Tour alongside Tim O’Brien, Jan Fabricius, and Jaimee Harris, Mary has just announced even MORE tour dates for the summer of 2023 - ‘An Evening with Mary Gauthier: A Career Retrospective Show.’

 

Since coming off the True Heart Troubadour Tour with sold out shows in Corrales, NM and Phoenix, AZ, Mary is diving head first into her next leg of touring before her Career Retrospective shows that will be taking place in the months of June, July, and September.

But before that, Mary will still be hitting cities such as Nashville, Seattle, Portland, Santa Monica, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Houston, and more rounding out her Dark Enough to See the Stars tour.

Mary currently has sold out shows within the next month in Nashville, TN, Bellingham, WA, and her first night in Santa Monica, CA. Don’t wait to buy your tickets to experience Mary live in a city near you!

Below, we have attached a few dates we are looking forward to as she takes on the West Coast and the Midwest this next month!

 

Seattle, WA - Triple Door - March 28th @ 7pm - Tickets

Portland, OR - Polaris Hall - March 29th @ 7pm - Tickets

Berkeley, CA - Freight & Salvage Coffehouse - March 31st @ 7pm - Tickets

Santa Monica, CA - McCabe’s Guitar Shop Night 2 - April 2nd @ 8pm - Tickets

Pittsburgh, PA - Club Cafe - April 14th @ 7pm - Tickets

Columbus, OH - Six Strings Concerts - April 15th @ 8pm - Tickets

Ann Arbor, MI - The Ark - April 16th @ 7pm - Tickets

 
 

Listen to Mary before seeing her on tour!

Mary loves to share stories and cannot wait to share some of her book with you while she is on tour. Buy it here!

“Think Anne Lamott meets Julia Cameron meets Patti Smith—Gauthier also shares all the gory details of her recovery from addiction, plus quotations from the artists and writers who influenced her own development. Anyone who can still write from the heart about writing from the heart after being in the music business as long as Gauthier has is the real deal. Her book invites seasoned artists to deeper authenticity, new artists to deeper craft and all readers to deeper self-reflection.”

Rethinking Routine

by Mackenzie Fey

If you’ve been following along in the last couple of blog posts, you might’ve seen me fish out some tips for working at home and making yourself a pro at this. These tips included starting your days with intentionality, spacing things out mentally and physically, and the importance of taking breaks. All of these things emphasize keeping things as normally as possible within the confines of an abnormal time. There’s nothing wrong with this! For people like me, I need to maintain that mindset to continue being productive and get the responsibilities I have taken care of. But this came to a realization that during these abnormal times, it’s okay to have things be just that. Abnormal.

Don’t get me wrong! There is so much value in routine! Right now, however, times are evolving and changing. Nothing is how it was a year ago. I mean, not even a month ago! What’s the harm in evolving your own routine? Doing things a little differently and reminding yourself it’s okay to be imperfect and skip out on getting into normal people clothes on Tuesday morning and just staying in your pajamas. It’s actually kinda fun! This can even look like finally picking up that brush and paints you got forever ago and never actually used it. It could be listening to an artist or genre you haven’t taken the time to listen to during your work hours (see below!). Go ahead and eat cereal and a donut for dinner. Try a new tv show on a Monday night at 11pm. Now’s the time!

Having a hard time deciding what your new non-routine could look like? I can help with that:

Today, Ruthie Collins released her sophomore album Cold Comfort featuring singles like “Dang Dallas” and “Bad Woman”. It has everything you’d want in an album: truth, heartbreak, enchanting melodies, storytelling, incredible production, and a song that can relate to any one of us. Check it out at this link here and give it a listen! Try it out, you won’t regret it.

To further break up the “normal”, tune in tonight at 7pm central to hear the new album live from Ruthie’s couch in New York! Join us on her YouTube channel tonight at YouTube.com/RuthieCollinsMusic.

Ruthie Collins_Cold Comfort_Cover.jpg

Supporting Artists During Social Distancing

I believe we all can agree that this is a really strange time in the world and people are leaning on each other now more than ever (6 feet apart though, please!). As we enter further into unprecedented events, our musicians, music industry professionals, and many other industries are getting hit pretty hard right now. There’s no time like the present to support our favorite artists and those who help make it all happen right from your own couch in quarantine! Keep reading to see how you can help.

Watch Online Concerts

Whenever I go on social media there is always an artist doing an Instagram, Facebook or YouTube live. This is such a great way to see the show you might have missed. It’s not the same experience, but it’s still a great way for us to interact with artists and enjoy live acoustic/full band concerts from your couch! Take our very own artists for example!

Jill Andrews

This week, Jill has decided to play four shows each night. She’s covering her entire catalog! It’s been so long since we’ve heard some of these and couldn’t be more thrilled. Each show is leading up to this Friday, the release day of her album “Thirties” where she’ll be performing the new trackless online! She is asking for a suggested donation of $15 for each of these shows ( PayPal & Venmo details will be up on show days), but pay only what you can give! This is a time to protect the simpler moments in life. Tune in with us via her YouTube channel!

Screen Shot 2020-03-26 at 11.08.10 AM.png
Screen Shot 2020-03-26 at 10.34.37 AM.png

Smooth Hound Smith

This Monday, March 30th at 5pm CST, Smooth Hound Smith is going live on their Facebook page only. They’ll be playing just as they used to: as a duo! They’ll be cranking some new songs, old, and many some covers. Check it out for a great evening in the comfort of your own home and from a safe (social) distance away. This show will be a “pay what you can’ via their Venmo and PayPal made available on the day of the show if you would like to help support them financially. Will we see you there?

Derek Webb

Join Derek online for his “End of the World Online Tour” this April 7, 10, 14, 19 & 21.⁣ 5 shows, $10 tickets, 20 tickets per show.⁣ Thank goodness, honestly. Grab the family and gather around any device for an unforgettable performance all in HD. If you can’t make any of these dates, don’t worry! They’ll be around for awhile for you to watch at your leisure. Grab your tix here!

Listen to some playlists, or make your own!

Help boost their streams by making playlists with your favorite artists’ music and share them on social media. This is a perfect time to discover new artists or revisit your old faves. Here are a few links to my personal favorites right now!

Snag some merch

Have you ever really wanted that new band t-shirt they had on tour, but didn’t want to wait in the line to get one? Well what if I told you that I know somewhere where there were no lines and it would be delivered to your front door? Well, yeah you’ll have to get up off the couch, but hey, it’s worth it. Go and head over to your favorite band’s website and order that t-shirt you’ve always wanted, or maybe gift a friend who could use a little pick-me up and order them a CD or vinyl of your favorite album! Who doesn’t love that new merch feeling? Head over to our main webpage to click on any of our artists and take a look at everything they’re selling.

Send them a message!

Let them know that you are still there for them and that you enjoy listening to their music! Artists love interacting with their fans online and connecting with them so drop a kind comment on their post.

Get Creative (we’ve got the time)

Make art out lyrics or interpretation of album covers, come up with a new dance to one of your favorite artists’ songs on TikTok, cover their songs on Instagram, the list could go on and on! Keep supporting creators and each other during this crazy time and have some fun with it! I can guarantee all your followers will appreciate it.