2024 SUMMER CONCERT SERIES

Friday, May 10, 2024
Steep Canyon Rangers

Opener: Zandi Holup
The Rangers are made up of Graham Sharp on banjo and vocals, Mike Guggino on mandolin/mandola and vocals, Nicky Sanders on fiddle and vocals, Mike Ashworth on drums and vocals, Barrett Smith on bass, guitar, and vocals, and Aaron Burdett on guitar and vocals. Steep Canyon Rangers have been on a journey that is uniquely their own.

​The band started in college at UNC-Chapel Hill, then dove head first into bluegrass in its most traditional form, and over the years have risen to the top of the bluegrass genre headlining top festivals such as Merlefest and Grey Fox Bluegrass. Only to then be discovered by Steve Martin, famous actor and banjo player. Martin has taken the Rangers on over a decade long tour introducing them to hundreds of thousands of new fans and giving them prime time TV exposure. This has helped SCR become the most recognizable modern name in bluegrass music. The band has continued to tour extensively on their own, without Martin, and have expanded their genre into country, jam and Americana. The Rangers are big players in the bluegrass/country and Americana scene today. They are often compared to predecessors The Band, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and the modern Zac Brown Band.
Zandi Holup
Evocative artist-writer Zandi Holup is a wildflower: unique, free as the wind, and blossoming in Music City. Born in Pennsylvania, she drifted from city to city until she found her home in Nashville six years ago. Cut from the same cloth as legendary folk singer-songwriters like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell, Holup's raw brand of original folk country flourishes through unfiltered storytelling reminiscent of Dolly Parton and emphasized by her emotive vocals. A grassroots following placed her on the map as snippets of demos and unreleased songs resonated across social media in increasing numbers. Her first release, “Wait for You,” sat at No.1 on the all-genre Spotify Fresh Finds playlist, amassing over a million streams with no promotion outside of her TikTok following. She has opened for the likes of Steve Earle, Amanda Shires, Ann Wilson of Heart, and more.

Named a 2023 Artist to Watch by The Nashville Briefing, Holup signed a publishing deal with Arthouse Entertainment and TurnTable Music in partnership with Universal Music Publishing, and a record deal with Big Loud Records in 2023. Her first release on the label, “Gas Station Flowers,” is available now.
Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door.
Show starts at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm.
This show is sponsored by Spencer Home Center

SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2024
​STEEP CANYON RANGERS

The Rangers are made up of Graham Sharp on banjo and vocals, Mike Guggino on mandolin/mandola and vocals, Nicky Sanders on fiddle and vocals, Mike Ashworth on drums and vocals, Barrett Smith on bass, guitar, and vocals, and Aaron Burdett on guitar and vocals. Steep Canyon Rangers have been on a journey that is uniquely their own.

​The band started in college at UNC-Chapel Hill, then dove head first into bluegrass in its most traditional form, and over the years have risen to the top of the bluegrass genre headlining top festivals such as Merlefest and Grey Fox Bluegrass. Only to then be discovered by Steve Martin, famous actor and banjo player. Martin has taken the Rangers on over a decade long tour introducing them to hundreds of thousands of new fans and giving them prime time TV exposure. This has helped SCR become the most recognizable modern name in bluegrass music. The band has continued to tour extensively on their own, without Martin, and have expanded their genre into country, jam and Americana. The Rangers are big players in the bluegrass/country and Americana scene today. They are often compared to predecessors The Band, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and the modern Zac Brown Band.
Zandi Holup
Evocative artist-writer Zandi Holup is a wildflower: unique, free as the wind, and blossoming in Music City. Born in Pennsylvania, she drifted from city to city until she found her home in Nashville six years ago. Cut from the same cloth as legendary folk singer-songwriters like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell, Holup's raw brand of original folk country flourishes through unfiltered storytelling reminiscent of Dolly Parton and emphasized by her emotive vocals. A grassroots following placed her on the map as snippets of demos and unreleased songs resonated across social media in increasing numbers. Her first release, “Wait for You,” sat at No.1 on the all-genre Spotify Fresh Finds playlist, amassing over a million streams with no promotion outside of her TikTok following. She has opened for the likes of Steve Earle, Amanda Shires, Ann Wilson of Heart, and more.

Named a 2023 Artist to Watch by The Nashville Briefing, Holup signed a publishing deal with Arthouse Entertainment and TurnTable Music in partnership with Universal Music Publishing, and a record deal with Big Loud Records in 2023. Her first release on the label, “Gas Station Flowers,” is available now.

Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door.
Show starts at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm.

This show is sponsored by Charles W Barger and Son

Saturday, JUNE 1, 2024
​BLUE HIGHWAY

Opener: Chatham Rabbits
In 2023, the highly-esteemed bluegrass band Blue Highway celebrates 29 years of touring, with four of the original members still intact. Its single “On the Roof of the World” was number one on the Bluegrass Today National Airplay chart for 4 weeks from July to August 2022, and was the number one song for the month of September while its follow-up “Lonesome State of Mind” was number one five times on the weekly chart and for the months of February, March and May 2023.

​The band has earned a collective 32 IBMA Awards, 6 SPBGMA Awards, one Dove Award, plus three Grammy nominations. Most recently, the band was nominated for IBMA’s 2022, 2021 and 2020 Vocal Group of the Year and Song of the Year Awards. Blue Highway's #1 album Original Traditional was nominated for a 2017 GRAMMY Award for Best Bluegrass Album.
Chatham Rabbits
When you see Chatham Rabbits on stage, it’s clear why they are one of North Carolina’s most beloved roots bands. Partners in life and music, Austin and Sarah McCombie blend their personal histories and shared life into songs that people from just get. The duo has captured the pure adoration of fans nationwide and praise from American Songwriter, Garden & Gun, and No Depression. Sarah’s brimming voice fills the space with heart. Austin’s steadiness always serves the song. It makes one wonder if their relationship is the same. It’s nice to imagine that art imitates life.

The duo is currently finishing their fourth full length album and enjoying the afterglow of the successful nationwide syndication of their PBS series, “On the Road with Chatham Rabbits.”
Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door.
Show starts at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm.
This show is sponsored by R.L. Faulkner and Son

FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 2024
​THE WOOD BROTHERS

​Opener: The Bygones
​The Wood Brothers have learned to trust their hearts. For the better part of two decades, they’ve cemented their reputation as freethinking songwriters, road warriors, and community builders, creating a catalog of diverse music and a loyal audience who’ve grown alongside them through the years.

That evolution continues with “Heart is the Hero,” the band’s eighth studio album. Recorded analog to 16-track tape, this latest effort finds its three creators embracing the chemistry of their acclaimed live shows by capturing their performances in real-time direct from the studio floor with nary a computer in sight. An acoustic-driven album that electrifies, “Heart is the Hero” is stocked with songs that target not only the heart, but the head and hips, too.
​
“We love records that come from the era of less tracks and more care,” explains co-founder Oliver Wood. “When you use a computer during the tracking process, you have an infinite number of tracks at your disposal, which implies that nothing is permanent, and everything can be fixed. Tape gives you limitations that force you to be creative and intentional. You don’t look at the music on a screen; you listen to it, and you learn to focus on the feeling of the performance.”
The Bygones
It’s human nature to look back, and to try — in whatever haphazard fashion — to make sense of that which has gone by. For Joshua Lee Turner and Allison Young, it’s a question not only of what should be relinquished, but also what might be worth taking with you.

Sonically, the pair are intimately acquainted with the past; their collective background spans extensive knowledge of Jazz and Classical, a twinkling affinity for Golden Age musicals, nostalgia for the big bands of the ’40s, reverence for the politically charged singer-songwriters of the ’60s, and a warmth toward the dewy indie rock of the early 2010s. To the eye, these wildly diverse influences are tough to conceive as a singular musical sensibility. But to the ear, The Bygones have no issue, binding eclectic contexts into luminous indie folk, equal parts emotional poignancy and pop pleasure.
Tickets are $40 in advance or $45 at the door.
Show starts at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm.
This show is sponsored by Cornerstone Bank

FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2024
​49 WINCHESTER

Opener: Colby T. Helms & The Virginia Creepers
With its latest album, “Fortune Favors The Bold,” Russell County, Virginia-based 49 Winchester is ready and roaring to break onto the national scene with its unique brand of tear-in-your-beer alt-country, sticky barroom floor rock-n-roll, and high-octane Appalachian folk.

“As we’ve aged and matured, our sound has gone from a softer place to this grittier, edgier tone that we have now,” says lead singer/guitarist Isaac Gibson. “So, we’re trending more towards being a rock band instead of a country band. But, at the same time, I don’t think anybody’s ever known quite what to call it.”

Although it’s 49 Winchester’s fourth studio album, “Fortune Favors The Bold” marks its debut for Nashville’s New West Records — one of the premier labels for Americana, indie and rock acts on the cutting edge of sound, scope and spectacle.
​
Formed eight years ago on Winchester Street in the small mountain town of Castlewood, Virginia (population: 2,045), the band started as a ragtag bunch of neighborhood teenagers who just wanted to get together for the sake of playing together.
Colby T. Helms & The Virginia Creepers
At the bottom of the Southwest Virginia foothills half-a-mile from the nearest neighbor, 21-year-old Colby T. Helms resides in an “underground house” built by his late father on land his family has owned for generations. Colby first dreamed of making music his life at age 12, when a group of Blue Ridge Mountain old-time and bluegrass players performed songs like The Ozark Mountain Daredevils’ “Standing On The Rock” and the gospel classic “A Beautiful Life” at his father’s funeral in Boones Mill, VA. To make his dream a reality, he taught himself guitar, banjo, and mandolin by watching local performers and YouTube videos. On the day he turned 16, he bought his first car, a stick-shift Jeep Wrangler, and hit the road to play anywhere people would have him. A veteran performer in the Blue Ridge/Appalachian Mountains region by age 18, Colby wrote the songs that would become his upcoming semi-autobiographical concept album, ‘Tales of Misfortune’, as a senior in high school.

Tickets are $40 in advance or $45 at the door.
Show starts at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm.

This show is sponsored by Lexington Real Estate Connection

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2024
​49 WINCHESTER

Opener: Colby T. Helms & The Virginia Creepers
With its latest album, “Fortune Favors The Bold,” Russell County, Virginia-based 49 Winchester is ready and roaring to break onto the national scene with its unique brand of tear-in-your-beer alt-country, sticky barroom floor rock-n-roll, and high-octane Appalachian folk.

“As we’ve aged and matured, our sound has gone from a softer place to this grittier, edgier tone that we have now,” says lead singer/guitarist Isaac Gibson. “So, we’re trending more towards being a rock band instead of a country band. But, at the same time, I don’t think anybody’s ever known quite what to call it.”

Although it’s 49 Winchester’s fourth studio album, “Fortune Favors The Bold” marks its debut for Nashville’s New West Records — one of the premier labels for Americana, indie and rock acts on the cutting edge of sound, scope and spectacle.
​
Formed eight years ago on Winchester Street in the small mountain town of Castlewood, Virginia (population: 2,045), the band started as a ragtag bunch of neighborhood teenagers who just wanted to get together for the sake of playing together.
Colby T. Helms & The Virginia Creepers
At the bottom of the Southwest Virginia foothills half-a-mile from the nearest neighbor, 21-year-old Colby T. Helms resides in an “underground house” built by his late father on land his family has owned for generations. Colby first dreamed of making music his life at age 12, when a group of Blue Ridge Mountain old-time and bluegrass players performed songs like The Ozark Mountain Daredevils’ “Standing On The Rock” and the gospel classic “A Beautiful Life” at his father’s funeral in Boones Mill, VA. To make his dream a reality, he taught himself guitar, banjo, and mandolin by watching local performers and YouTube videos. On the day he turned 16, he bought his first car, a stick-shift Jeep Wrangler, and hit the road to play anywhere people would have him. A veteran performer in the Blue Ridge/Appalachian Mountains region by age 18, Colby wrote the songs that would become his upcoming semi-autobiographical concept album, ‘Tales of Misfortune’, as a senior in high school.
Tickets are $40 in advance or $45 at the door.
Show starts at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm.
This show is sponsored by UTS Systems

FRIDAY, JUly 12, 2024
​AOIFE O'DONOVAN & HAWKTAIL

All My Friends Tour

aoife o'donovan

Aoife O’Donovan is a Grammy-award winning singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music radiates with a timeless charm and contemporary allure beyond genre. Born in Newton, Massachusetts, Aoife (pronounced EE-fa) began her musical journey at a young age, eventually blossoming into a celebrated artist known for her captivating vocals and heartfelt compositions. With a diverse range of iinfluences, including folk, bluegrass, and indie rock, O’Donovan’s distinctive sound weaves together intricate melodies and introspective lyrics. She gained widespread recognition as a founding member of the progressive folk band Crooked Still and the folk trio I’m With Her (with bandmates Sara Watkins and Sarah Jarosz).

Deemed “a vocalist of unerring instinct” by the New York Times, O’Donovan has released three critically-acclaimed and boundary-blurring solo albums: Fossils, In the Magic Hour and 2022’s boldly orchestrated and literarily crafted Age Of Apathy. The album received 3 Grammy nominations (including Best Folk Album) and includes the song “B61” - awarded Folk Alliance International’s Song Of The Year. 2024 brings the release of her 4th studio album All My Friends. Inspired by the letters and speeches of suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt (who founded the League of Women’s Voters), the album questions how much has really changed for American women a century after gaining the right to vote. Amidst a lush soundscape of brass, orchestra, girls’ choir and her own compelling vocals, she explores the nation’s evolution through her compassionate songwriting and voice.

O’Donovan continues to enchant audiences worldwide with her soul-stirring music and unwavering passion for storytelling through song. She is the featured vocalist on The Goat Rodeo Sessions (the group with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile), performed with over a dozen symphonies including the National Symphony Orchestra, written for Alison Krauss and spent a decade as a regular contributor to the radio variety shows “Live From Here” and “A Prairie Home Companion”.

HAWKTAIL

​Hawktail is the acoustic instrumental trio of fiddler Brittany Haas, bassist Paul Kowert, and guitarist Jordan Tice. Though at first glance it looks like an acoustic super-picker side-project, their all-original music is cohesive and unique, distinguishing them as an ensemble with a sound built from the ground up. Flush with orchestral sweeps and sparse vigils, with strains of the American South and the North Atlantic, this cosmopolitan sound is not what you'd expect from a
string band.

Each member of Hawktail brings a strong individuality to the project. Haas, whose 2004 self-titled release instantly became the touchstone for a generation of old-time fiddlers, has since
lent her sound to Crooked Still, Live From Here, Steve Martin, and David Rawlings, where she played alongside Kowert, well known as the Grammy-winning Punch Brothers' virtuosic bass player. Tice is a rare guitar player whose music showcases his unique identity and a particular knack for song and tune-writing. However, despite each of their ability to contribute to many musical situations, something special happens when they unite as Hawktail. Together, they have fostered a reputation as a rare ensemble of composers and instrumentalists able to take the listener on a journey, without the use of words.
Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door.
Show starts at 8:00pm. Doors open at 6:30pm.

SATURDAY, JULY 20, 2024
​EAST NASH GRASS

Opener: The Country Cousins
“Nashville’s newest bluegrass ambassadors,” East Nash Grass comes as a refreshing break -- a balance of undeniably hard-driving bluegrass alongside surprisingly introspective songwriting and earnest narration. Featuring a who’s-who of Nashville’s hottest young pickers, the joy and passion these musicians feel towards the genre is infused in every note they play and every word they sing. Their second full-length album Last Chance To Win was released in 2023.

​East Nash Grass is James Kee (guitar & vocals), Grand Master Fiddle champion, Maddie Denton, Gaven Largent (dobro), “Presidential Scholar for the Arts in Jazz”, Jeff Picker (bass), and TWO (2) IBMA Momentum Award-winners for Best Instrumentalist, Cory Walker (banjo) and Harry Clark (mandolin).
The Country Cousins
As Nashville natives, the Country Cousins were born and raised in music. Both Timbo and Luke Munday enjoy success as performing artists in their own right, regularly working the Nashville honky-tonk circuit and dancehalls across the nation. When these boys take the stage together, it’s clear how their closeness and depth of experience as a duo elevate their individual talents to bring the world some of the sweetest country sounds on the market today.
Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door.
Show starts at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm.
This show is sponsored by Carilion

SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 2024
​TIM O'BRIEN band

Born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1954, Grammy winning singer songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien grew up singing in church and in school. After seeing Doc Watson on TV, he became a lifelong devotee of old time and bluegrass music. Tim started touring nationally in 1978 with Colorado bluegrass band Hot Rize. His songs “Walk the Way the Wind Blows” and “Untold Stories” were bluegrass hits for Hot Rize, and country hits for Kathy Mattea. Soon more artists like Nickel Creek, Garth Brooks, and The Dixie Chicks covered his songs. Over the years, Tim has collaborated with his sister Mollie O’Brien, songwriter Darrell Scott, and noted old-time musician Dirk Powell, as well as with Steve Earle, Mark Knopfler, Dan Auerbach and Sturgill Simpson.
​
Living in Nashville since 1996, O’Brien’s skills on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo make him an in-demand session player. He tours throughout the US and abroad, most often with his wife Jan Fabricius on mandolin and vocals. A voracious reader who loves to cook, he has two sons, Jackson (born 1982) and Joel (born 1990). The International Bluegrass Music Association awarded him song of the year in 2006 and named him best male vocalist in 1993 and 2006. He was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2013 and into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2022.

O’Brien’s newest, “Cup of Sugar”, is a feel-good summertime release with humor on top and deeper meaning just below the surface, it includes 13 new originals about a bear, a fish, lambs, horses, and some people too - a grave digger, a neighbor, and even Walter Cronkite. Backed by his loyal bandmates Mike Bub (bass), Shad Cobb (fiddle), his wife Jan Fabricius (mandolin and vocals) and Cory Walker (banjo) and other ace sidemen, “Cup of Sugar” features a special guest spot from old friend Del McCoury.
Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door.
Show starts at 8:00pm. Doors open at 6:30pm.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2024
​ZACH TOP

Opener: Matt Koziol
When contemporary influences expand country music’s parameters, you’ll hear “Country Music ain’t like it used to be” as a common refrain. But 24-year-old Zach Top is reviving the spirit of 90’s traditionalists like George Strait, Keith Whitley, and Randy Travis with classic vibes that evoke the dance halls of Texas, the roar of the rodeo, and jukebox ballads with a cold beer in hand.

Zach Top was born and raised on a farm in eastern Washington, growing up with dreams of being the next George Strait. He has been singing since he could talk and began playing the guitar before the age of five.
Matt Koziol
New Jersey native Matt Koziol is reminiscent of a barrel-aged bourbon. From the first sip, Koziol’s voice cuts through with a palpable heat. His songs have been distilled and drip with tradition, authenticity, and a raw quality that could only come from a man that has seen more than 10 years on the road as a hired gun.

His 2023 was spent on the road with artists like Whiskey Myers, 49 Winchester, Shane Smith & The Saints, Jon Pardi, and Hailey Whitters to mention a few — with festival appearances like Bonnaroo, AMERICANAFEST, and more along the way. Koziol’s debut album ‘Wildhorse’ features highlights like “Work All Day” (as heard in Netflix’s ‘Mo’) and garnered praise from Red Barn Radio, Brooklyn Vegan, WMOT, and others. The most recent releases “Follow Me Home” and “You Better Run, Son” are a small taste of what’s to come on his upcoming project due early 2024.
Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door.
Show starts at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm.
This show is sponsored by R.L. Faulkner and Son

SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 2024
​ZACH TOP

Opener: Matt Koziol
When contemporary influences expand country music’s parameters, you’ll hear “Country Music ain’t like it used to be” as a common refrain. But 24-year-old Zach Top is reviving the spirit of 90’s traditionalists like George Strait, Keith Whitley, and Randy Travis with classic vibes that evoke the dance halls of Texas, the roar of the rodeo, and jukebox ballads with a cold beer in hand.

Zach Top was born and raised on a farm in eastern Washington, growing up with dreams of being the next George Strait. He has been singing since he could talk and began playing the guitar before the age of five.
Matt Koziol
New Jersey native Matt Koziol is reminiscent of a barrel-aged bourbon. From the first sip, Koziol’s voice cuts through with a palpable heat. His songs have been distilled and drip with tradition, authenticity, and a raw quality that could only come from a man that has seen more than 10 years on the road as a hired gun.

His 2023 was spent on the road with artists like Whiskey Myers, 49 Winchester, Shane Smith & The Saints, Jon Pardi, and Hailey Whitters to mention a few — with festival appearances like Bonnaroo, AMERICANAFEST, and more along the way. Koziol’s debut album ‘Wildhorse’ features highlights like “Work All Day” (as heard in Netflix’s ‘Mo’) and garnered praise from Red Barn Radio, Brooklyn Vegan, WMOT, and others. The most recent releases “Follow Me Home” and “You Better Run, Son” are a small taste of what’s to come on his upcoming project due early 2024.

Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door.
Show starts at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm.

This show is sponsored by Modine

SATURDAY, AUGUST 31, 2024
VIV & RILEY, ALEXA ROSE, DORI FREEMAN

viv & riley

Viv & Riley’s sound is old-soul roots music to its core, elegantly combining a traditional backbone with the fresh iconic melodies of future-leaning indie-folk, and the tightly wound vocal harmonies of the old-time and classic country music they came from. Although they grew up on opposite sides of the country, Riley in Seattle, Washington, and Vivian in Lexington, Virginia, the two had an instant musical connection upon meeting in 2018. The pair has been collaborating since then, honing their sound playing hundreds of shows across the US, UK, and Canada. Since 2018, they’ve recorded and released multiple albums to critical acclaim from the likes of NPR Music, Rolling Stone, and No Depression, and have garnered nearly six million streams on Spotify. 

ALEXA ROSE

Headwaters are the source of a river. The furthest point from where water merges with something else. They are not mighty. Just a network of small tributaries, like a creek, not necessarily picturesque, but they’re the most important part of the river. Water is fluid and inconsistent and sacred and indifferent. You can be miles down a river, but you’re still at the origin. And in that way, water feels like it has transcended time. That’s how these songs found me — the way memories find you, in that slivering, elusive water. As quickly as you come across them, you bend in another direction.

Headwaters is the sophomore album from Virginian indie folk singer Alexa Rose. A series of minutely-observed vignettes that feel intimate and expansive at the same time. It captures the sweetness of life without avoiding any of the pain, with songs about time and its constraints, peppered with precise details pulled from Rose’s own life that make universal themes seem personal, inviting the listener to make each song their own. 

DORI FREEMAN

Dori Freeman has sharpened her vision of Appalachian Americana over five studio albums. From the country traditionalism of her self-titled debut to the amplified folk of Ten Thousand Roses, it’s a sound that nods to her mountain-town roots even as it reaches beyond them. Freeman continues creating her own musical geography with Do You Recall, the songwriter's most eclectic — and electric — record yet.

Like a counterpart to Ten Thousand Roses — the 2021 release that found Freeman trading the acoustic textures of her earlier work for a more expansive, electrified version of American roots music — Do You Recall nods to the full range of Freeman's influences and abilities. She still sings with the unforced vibrato of a classic folksinger, but she's more of a modern trailblazer than a throwback traditionalist, funneling her Blue Ridge roots into a contemporary sound that's both broad and bold.
Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door.
Show starts at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm.
This show is sponsored by Bank of the James

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2024
​JAMES MCMURTRY

Opener: BettySoo
In James McMurtry’s new effort, The Horses and the Hounds, the acclaimed songwriter backs personal narratives with effortless elegance (“Canola Fields”) and endless energy (“If It Don’t Bleed”). This first collection in seven years, due August 20 on New West Records, spotlights a seasoned tunesmith in peak form as he turns toward reflection (“Vaquero”) and revelation (closer “Blackberry Winter”). Familiar foundations guide the journey. “There’s a definite Los Angeles vibe to this record,” McMurtry says. “The ghost of Warren Zevon seems to be stomping around among the guitar tracks. Don’t know how he got in there. He never signed on for work for hire.”

The Horses and the Hounds is a reunion of sorts. McMurtry recorded the new album with legendary producer Ross Hogarth (Ozzy Osbourne, John Fogerty, Van Halen, Keb’ Mo’) at Jackson Browne’s Groovemaster’s in Santa Monica, California, a world class studio that has housed such legends as Bob Dylan (2012’s Tempest) and David Crosby (2016’s Lighthouse) as well as Browne himself for I’m Alive (1993) and New Found Glory, Coming Home (2006). McMurtry and Hogarth first worked together 30 years ago, when Hogarth was a recording engineer in the employ of John Mellencamp at Mellencamp’s own Belmont Studios near Bloomington, Indiana. Hogarth recorded McMurtry’s first two albums, Too Long in the Wasteland and Candyland, for Columbia Records and later mixed McMurtry’s first self-produced album, Saint Mary of the Woods, for Sugar Hill Records. Another veteran of those three releases, guitarist David Grissom (Joe Ely, John Mellencamp, Dixie Chicks), returns with some of his finest work.
BettySoo
“BettySoo may well have the most gorgeous voice in Texas …if not in all contemporary folk – its purity and strength can be downright devastating.” – ACOUSTIC GUITAR

BettySoo’s vocal prowess is a thing of wonder.  A world-class instrument of deft phrasing and purity, a voice that knows when to hold back and when to dive in. At her own live shows, taking a verse onstage with friends or singing harmonies in sessions with Austin’s finest, BettySoo sings with consummate loveliness and self-assurance. A voice that knows the roots of American music inside and out; coming from a most unexpected place – a diminutive Korean-American with a deceptively girl-next-door demeanor. ​

Touring the unforgiving circuit of listening rooms, clubs and festivals, BettySoo has mastered the art of performance. A funny anecdote sets up a song of heartbreak and need; a witty rejoinder belies the dark truths that underpin much of her work.
Tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door.
Show starts at 7:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm.
This show is sponsored by Kendal at Lexington

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