Sunny Sweeney
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY SUNNY SWEENEY Sunny Sweeney, a genre-bending, songwriting spitfire who has spent equal time in the rich musical traditions of Texas and Tennessee, returns with Married Alone, the celebrated singer-songwriter’s fifth studio album and the follow-up to 2017’s critically acclaimed Trophy. Co-produced by beloved Texas musician and larger-than-life personality Paul Cauthen and the Texas Gentlemen’s multi-hyphenate Beau Bedford, Married Alone is Sweeney’s finest work yet, bringing together confessional songwriting, image-rich narratives and no shortage of sonic surprises for a loosely conceptual album about loss and healing. Married Alone began as most of Sweeney’s projects do: with a visit to her deep vault of unreleased songs. Since debuting with Heartbreaker’s Hall of Fame in 2006, Sweeney has been a prolific writer, writing whatever is on her heart rather than with a particular project in mind. That habit afforded her a rich well of material for Married Alone, some of which is over a decade old. “I have a lot of older songs that still make the cut of like, ‘Am I gonna put this on a record?’ And I always start with those songs, songs that have been important to me for whatever reason. And then I try to build around that. It doesn’t necessarily have to be around a theme, but sometimes it turns out to be that there is one.” CAM PIERCE Cam Pierce was born and bred in the West… way West. Born in a tiny logging town in Oregon and growing up in the deep woods of the Southern part of the state. All his time in the forests watching, listening, and being still shaped his spontaneous approach to songwriting. Occasionally as a young adult he recalls becoming discontented with small town life and yearned for the bright lights and fast pace of the city. Though these few fantastic bouts in babylon would present new experiences and test’s for the compass of a young man’s life and spirit. The woods, and the small town living would always call him home. Moving to the growing metropolis of Nashville was not such a means of escape, but one of sacrifice in the hopes of advancing his career in Music and Songwriting. From booking his first festival 1 year after arriving in Nashville, to playing the “Country Music Hall Of Fame” to opening for Sunny Sweeney on tour in 2024 and 2025, cutting the first record at FAME studios infamous Studio “B” after it’s re-opening in 2021; the opportunities that have come Cam’s way are miraculous for a small town boy from Southern Oregon. He’s played with a string of incredibly talented musicians over the years. Like Anthony “Ziggy” Johnson, keys for “Alan Jackson” and “Whispering Bill Anderson”, Mike Klooster, Keys for “Smashmouth”, Chad Gamble and Jimbo Hart both members of “The 400 Unit”. The list goes on and so does the gratitude to such folks for lending their crafts. “When I came to Nashville it wasn’t with friends. I had no contacts, no connections of any kind. I knew no one, and had nothing. It was sheer drive, trust and stupidity. Like a blind man diving into the ocean”.
Nick Shoulders: Universe of Battle Tour
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY NICK SHOULDERS All Bad, the latest album from Nick Shoulders, released via Gar Hole Records (a label founded and co-owned by Shoulders), ultimately encapsulates everything that makes Shoulders’ inimitable form of country music so vital: a heady balance of dazzling musicianship and punk defiance, coupled with gritty eccentricity and a generational connection to the roots of the genre. With a singing style inherited from his family’s vocal lineage, Nick’s songs achieve the rare feat of imparting difficult truths while inciting a certain joyful abandon, balancing a sound forged by years of hard travel with a heartfelt reverence for the origins of country music. In the spirit of Hazel Dickens and Jimmy Driftwood, the incisive yet wildly jubilant All Bad vocally objects to the reckless destruction of the natural landscape and development run rampant, while still offering plenty of joy and dance-ready rhythms. Spanning a variety of early country styles, the album’s infectious harmonies shine alongside everything from jangling cajun waltzes to surf-rock infused bluesy ballads–all tied together by a voice seemingly out of place in this century, yet ever ready to speak up about its problems. Surrounded by a singing style passed down from a time before microphones, Nick’s childhood of bird call whistles and an over-exposure to southern gospel music eventually steered him toward an adolescence drumming for metal and punk bands, and subsequent years as an active illustrator and member of Arkansas’s heavy music scene. After numerous personal calamities and a growing obsession with the rural musical traditions of his lifelong home, Shoulders left the Ozarks and lived out of his van, singing on the street corners of the west while slowly being drawn to the vibrance of the New Orleans dance and busking world. Following the release of ‘Rather Low’ by the popular YouTube channel Western AF, which catapulted Nick’s songs to a vastly wider audience right as Covid-19 and lockdowns ensued, he’s seen rapid ascension into the world of touring music, playing alongside the likes of Sierra Ferrell and at major festivals such as Stagecoach. With the hard rhythms and heavenly melodies of the newest release, All Bad, Shoulders manages to concoct a body of work that is at turns sublimely freewheeling and profoundly illuminating, yet primed to permanently warp the listener’s perspective to glorious effect. CHRIS ACKER In a genre full of tall tales and marketable lies, Chris Acker crafts candid songs – weaving his wit and woes into a body of work that exposes the stale plight of the American Songster to the honest, and sometimes hilarious, light of day.
Jules!
ALL AGES KIDS UNDER 1 ARE FREE SEATED SHOW JULES! Jules! (they/them) is a GRAMMY-considered children’s artist, songwriter, and educator known for their original, inclusive music that inspires empathy, self-regulation, and self-expression. Their debut album Jamming with Jules! was released in fall 2024 and was featured on the 2025 GRAMMY ballot for Best Children’s Album. Jules! has been featured on Ms. Rachel’s Songs for Littles on Netflix and has built a vibrant community through their YouTube channel, Jamming with Jules!, which has over 4 million views. Joining Jules! is their best friend and musical collaborator, Catho (she/her), a talented multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter. Catho co-produced Jamming with Jules! and brings creativity, heart, and musical sophistication to every performance. Together, Jules! and Catho create joyful, high-energy shows that celebrate imagination, kindness, and connection for kids and grown-ups alike. Their next album, Thanks A Lot: Raffi Reimagined—a tribute to the legendary children’s artist Raffi—will be released in summer 2025. Follow Jules! on all socials @julessingsforlittles to join them on their musical journey.
Tinsley Ellis
ALL AGESSEATED SHOWLIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLETINSLEY ELLIS On Naked Truth (his 21st album), Ellis swaps his blistering, guitar-fueled full band workouts for equally passionate, soul-searching acoustic folk blues. His famed guitar chops and musical creativity are on full display throughout the album’s 12 songs, including nine newly written originals. Naked Truth was produced by Ellis, with the foot-stomping cover of Son House’s Death Letter Blues produced by Atlanta roots musician Eddie 9V. The album was recorded live in the studio using Ellis’ beloved 1969 Martin D-35 (a gift from his father) and his 1937 National Steel O Series guitars. Whether intricately fingerpicking the Martin or playing hair-raising slide on the National Steel, Ellis delivers each song with unvarnished intimacy. The opener, Ellis’ original Devil In The Room, comes from an expression Ellis’ close friend, the late Col. Bruce Hampton, would tell his musicians just before a show was about to begin (“We’re here to put the devil in the room,” he’d say). From the original, Skip James-inspired Windowpane to the Delta-styled Tallahassee Blues, to the humorous Grown Ass Man, Ellis goes deep, singing and playing the blues’ honest truths. The inclusion of four introspective instrumentals (including a transcendent cover of Leo Kottke’s A Soldier’s Grave On The Prairie, a song he’s been playing live for almost 50 years) adds even more depth and substance to an album overflowing with riches. Each song carries the weight, experience and hard-earned wisdom Ellis learned over four decades on the road, infusing Naked Truth with an emotional authenticity that is palpable from start to finish. Tinsley Ellis has been immersed in music his whole life. Born in Atlanta 1957 and raised in southern Florida, he acquired his first guitar at age seven, inspired by seeing The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. He took to guitar instantly, developing and sharpening his skills as he grew up. Like many kids his age, Ellis discovered the blues through the back door of British Invasion bands like The Yardbirds, The Animals, Cream and The Rolling Stones as well as Southern rockers like The Allman Brothers. According to Atlanta-based blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Tinsley Ellis, his new, first-ever solo acoustic album, Naked Truth, is both “a departure and an arrival.” Ellis has been recording and travelling the world for over four decades, delivering his feral, guitar-fueled, original electric blues-rock to ever-growing audiences at concert halls, festivals, and clubs. Naked Truth is steeped in the folk blues traditions of Muddy Waters, Skip James, Son House, Robert Johnson and even Leo Kottke. To the casual fan, this might seem to be a new direction, but for Ellis, it’s an extension of his music, as he taps into the raw essence of the blues. “This is a record I’ve always wanted to make, and one that my longtime fans have been asking for,” he says, noting he’s included an acoustic mini-set in his concert performances for years. In the last 12 months, Ellis has already performed over 100 solo shows, many as co-bills with his Alligator label-mate Marcia Ball. “I’m having so much fun playing these shows,” he says.
The Lone Bellow w/ Caroline Spence
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY VIP MEET & GREET PACKAGES AVAILABLE INCLUDING: One (1) General Admission ticket, Meet & Greet with The Lone Bellow and photo opportunity, Exclusive pre-show trio performance from the band, Limited edition VIP poster, Commemorative VIP laminate and lanyard, Merch shopping before doors open to the public, Early entry into the venue THE LONE BELLOW With their upcoming sixth studio album, The Lone Bellow embarks on a bold new chapter while honoring the deep bonds that have defined their journey. Written collaboratively for the first time with their full touring band—founding members Zach Williams, Brian Elmquist, and Kanene Pipkin joined by drummer Julian Dorio and multi-instrumentalist Tyler James—the album channels the raw, ecstatic energy of the band’s live show into a dynamic collection of songs that pulse with warmth, honesty, and human connection. Recorded live in Muscle Shoals, AL, after a writing retreat in a converted Kentucky firehouse, the album is both a celebration and a reckoning: of friendship, loss, love, and resilience. From the gritty, Stones-tinged opener “After The Rain” to the soul-stirring closer “That Table,” the record captures the joy and vulnerability that have long defined The Lone Bellow’s sound—lush harmonies, heartfelt lyrics, and genre-blurring arrangements steeped in folk, rock, and gospel. The album’s creation was marked by setbacks, including the theft of early recordings, but the outpouring of support from their fanbase reaffirmed what the band has always known: their music is a shared experience. That spirit echoes throughout the album, whether in anthems like “Common Folk” and “I’m Here For You,” or in intimate reflections like “You Were Leaving” and “Night Goes Black.” CAROLINE SPENCE Caroline Spence is a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, TN. Her five solo albums have been featured by publications like Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and NPR. Established artists like Emmylou Harris, Matt Berninger of The National, Sarah Jarosz and Lori McKenna have joined Caroline on her songs as featured vocalists and her body of work has been streamed over 80 million times. Caroline has toured as the opening act for artists such as Tyler Childers, Mary Chapin Carpenter, John Moreland, Madi Diaz, Hayes Carll, and American Aquarium in addition to headlining shows across the US, the UK, and Europe.
Pile
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY PILE Sunshine and Balance Beams, Pile’s ninth album, alchemizes metaphors with its title. The first: finding happiness in nature and oneself. Second: the woozy posture one must strike to stay afloat in commercial society. These concepts seem antithetical—“But they might actually be the same thing,” hints guitarist, songwriter and singer Rick Maguire. On its newest record, Pile weaves a Sisyphean fable concerned with labor and living. “The fulfillment I receive from pursuing art has been a guiding force for me,” says Maguire. “But it can be damaging when that pursuit teases capitalist expectations of where you might be able to go, and then doesn’t square with the reality that follows.” Pile presents this parable with jagged guitars, sputtering drum bombast, eerie synths and aqueous strings, with panoramic production and loud-quiet dynamism matching the emotionality of the band’s thunderous performances. Pile formed in 2007 as Maguire’s solo outlet, soon joined by time-warping drummer Kris Kuss (in 2009) and fuzzed-yet-melodic bassist Matt Connery (in 2010), among other friends; with its explosively intricate take on heavy music, the band found devoted fans amid Boston’s bustling punk scene. Since then, Pile’s released eight acclaimed albums, each showcasing different facets of its members’ talents. Dripping, the post-hardcore 2012 breakthrough, encapsulated the frenetic power of epic basement gigs. 2017’s A Hairshirt of Purpose twisted Pile’s angularities for greater clarity, incorporating strings without losing menace. Connery’s temporary departure after this record brought respected engineer and peer Alex Molini in on bass; the electronic experimentalism of All Fiction (2023) deepened the production relationship between Maguire and Molini, proving the band’s exploratory commitment as lifelong. That doesn’t scratch Pile’s dozen other releases, including B-side compilations, outtake EPs, demo cassettes, and live reworkings. They’ve earned a reputation as workhorses, crafting thought-provoking riffs while maintaining a tour schedule of international headlining, festival slots, and support for legendary and likeminded artists like Jesus Lizard and Cursive. NNAMDÏ Musician / Artist / Performer / Label Owner
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS at Pisgah Brewing Co. (outdoor stage)
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN MOVED TO PISGAH BREWING COMPANY’s OUTDOOR STAGE LOCATED AT 2948 HWY 70 IN BLACK MOUNTAIN, NC. TICKETS PURCHASED FOR ORIGINAL LOCATION (HATCH AMPHITHEATER) WILL BE HONORED. ALL AGES STANDING ROOM ONLY AN EVENING WITH…. THE MOUNTAIN GOATS Jenny from Thebes began its life as many albums by the Mountain Goats do, with John Darnielle playing the piano until a lyric emerged. That lyric, “Jenny was a warrior / Jenny was a thief / Jenny hit the corner clinic begging for relief,” became “Jenny III,” a song which laid down a challenge he’d never taken up before: writing a sequel to one of his most beloved albums. The Mountain Goats’ catalog is thick with recurring characters—Jenny, who originally appears in the All Hail West Texas track bearing her name, as well as in “Straight Six” from Jam Eater Blues and Transcendental Youth side two jam “Night Light,” is one of these, someone who enters a song unexpectedly, pricking up the ears of fans who are keen on continuing the various narrative threads running through the Mountain Goats’ discography before vanishing into the mist. In these songs, Jenny is largely defined by her absence, and she is given that definition by other characters. She is running from something. These features are beguiling, both to the characters who’ve told her story so far and to the listener. They invite certain questions: Who is Jenny, really? What is she running from? Well, she’s a warrior and a thief, and, this being an album by the Mountain Goats, it’s a safe bet whatever she’s fleeing is something bad. Something catastrophically bad. Jenny from Thebes is the story of Jenny, her southwestern ranch style house, the people for whom that house is a place of safety, and the west Texas town that is uncomfortable with its existence. It is a story about the individual and society, about safety and shelter and those who choose to provide care when nobody else will. This is what a follow-up to All Hail West Texas entails. But if you think about the Mountain Goats as they were in 2001, when Darnielle wrote and recorded that album on his own, mostly into his Panasonic RX-FT500 boombox, and how they are now as the recording and touring outfit of Darnielle, Peter Hughes, Matt Douglas, and Jon Wurster, you may find yourself asking how. Lifted by Matt Douglas’ horn and string arrangements, the dreamy guitar of Bully leader (and Bleed Out producer) Alicia Bognanno, and backing vocals from Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s (“Only One Way,” “Same as Cash,” “Going to Dallas”) and Matt Nathanson (“Fresh Tattoo”), Jenny from Thebes is a widescreen musical in scope, a melodrama of richly detailed characters and sweeping emotions. The west Texas the Mountain Goats conjure for Jenny is huge and already crumbling to the ground when we meet her in lead single “Clean Slate,” where a new arrival to the safehouse finds it nearly full, his host beyond exhaustion. Her burdens are heavy, and the measures they cause her to take have consequences that scale well beyond anything she could have anticipated when she decided to open her home to others. Such gestures are noble and doomed.
PATIO: Sugar Lime Blue Duo
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE SUGAR LIME BLUE DUO The Duo of Ashley and Dave Beth are the heart and soul behind Sugar Lime Blue, a band long known for its genre-defying blend of Americana, blues, folk, and jam-infused rock. Now touring as a duo, the couple has distilled over a decade of musical chemistry, road-tested experience, and deep artistic connection into a raw, intimate performance style that feels both timeless and deeply personal. With Ashley’s powerhouse vocals—earthy, ethereal, and steeped in soul—and Dave’s masterful guitar work and songwriting, the pair has become a living, breathing embodiment of what they call the Cosmic Cowgirl sound: a free-spirited, rootsy fusion of classic storytelling and cosmic grooves.
PATIO: Sullivan Sisters
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE SULLIVAN SISTERS The Sullivan Sisters have dazzled audiences since childhood with their unique blend of fast bluegrass picking and captivating sibling harmonies, with music ranging from lyrical originals to timeless folk classics to blazing instrumentals. Inspired by the bluegrass community in North Carolina where they were born, Soraya and Luciya Sullivan began taking guitar and banjo lessons at ages 8 and 6. Now teens living in the Chicago area, The Sullivan Sisters have toured the country as featured performers at Merlefest, the Bluegrass Hall of Fame & Museum’s Romptober Festival, IBMA’s Bluegrass Live Festival, the Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour, and the Evanston Folk Festival. Their instrumental talents have garnered them national distinction, including First Prize in Banjo and Third Prize in Guitar at Rockygrass 2023, and Second Prize in the 2024 Galax Old Fiddlers Convention Bluegrass Banjo contest. The sisters have recently formed a five-piece band by joining forces with three phenomenal teen pickers and longtime friends: Oscar Caudell on mandolin, Finn McGuinness on fiddle, and Sammy Mougin on bass. The new band launched its debut to a sold-out, standing room audience at Evanston SPACE in January 2025, and will be featured as Showcase Artists at the 2025 International Bluegrass Music Association conference.
Brotherhood: Doobie Brothers Tribute
ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLY BROTHERHOOD: A DOOBIE BROTHERS TRIBUTE BAND Brotherhood – A Doobie Brothers Tribute Band, is Atlanta’s powerhouse 7-piece tribute to the legendary Doobie Brothers, igniting stages with high-energy performances and spot-on harmonies. With decades of classic hits in their arsenal, they don’t just play the music—they deliver the full-throttle Doobie Brothers concert experience that fans know and love. Get ready for a ride through 50 years of rock ‘n’ roll magic!
