PATIO: Beth Snapp

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ALL AGES LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVEBETH SNAPP The pandemic turned the entire musical community upside down, and Northeast Tennessee’s Beth Snapp had a  story no different… for the most part.  2019 saw her participating in various Folk and Americana festivals and songwriting competitions (including Kerrville’s New Folk Competition, LEAF’s New Song Music, Songwriter Serenade Winner, TN Dept of Tourism’s Songwriter’s Week Winner). She had enjoyed a Folk Alliance Chart top 10 spot from her 2018 EP “Don’t Apologize.” Press and accolades were building. Then, cue 2020.     While lucky to cling to a day job as a healthcare worker in Northeast TN, Beth soon found herself working in the throes of her local COVID unit.  This, she reports, took her song away for a while.  Some asked if it gave her songwriting fodder.  Instead, there were no words, or music, for months. Some moments are too much for words.    As the pandemic halt began to fade and music began to return, Beth emerged with a new sense of purpose and re-evaluated goals, highlighting both the messages she wanted to convey, and the human she wanted to be.   Beth is finishing up her full-length project with Barry Bales at the production helm (Alison Krauss and Union Station, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, cowriter with Chris Stapleton, Grammy/IBMA/CMA Song of the Year winner). In the meantime, be on the lookout for upcoming singles and collaborations throughout the year.    You can also hear Beth’s guest vocal spots with bluegrass super group Blue Highway, Grammy and IBMA winner Tim Stafford, Grammy nominated cellist Dave Eggar, and ‘The Voice’ Contestant Carson Peters. 

John Craigie

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ALL AGESSTANDING ROOM ONLYJOHN CRAIGIE Much like community, music nourishes us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It also invites us to come together under the same roof and in a shared moment. In similar fashion, John Craigie rallies a closeness around music anchored by his expressive and stirring songcraft, emotionally charged vocals, lively soundscapes, and uncontainable spirit. The Portland, OR-based singer, songwriter, and producer invites everyone into this space on his 2024 full-length album, Pagan Church. Following tens of millions of streams, sold out shows everywhere, and praise from Rolling Stone and more, he continues to captivate.  “The music is always evolving and devolving with each new record,” he observes. “With my last album Mermaid Salt, I really wanted to explore the sound of isolation and solitude as everyone was heading inside. With this record, I wanted to record the sound of everyone coming back out.” In order to capture that, he didn’t go about it alone…  Instead, he joined forces with some local friends. At the time, TK & The Holy Know-Nothings booked a slew of outdoor gigs in Portland and they invited Craigie to sit in for a handful of shows. The musicians instinctively identified an unspoken, yet seamless chemistry with each other. Joined by three of the five members, Craigie cut “Laurie Rolled Me a J” and kickstarted the process. With the full band in tow, they hunkered down in an old schoolhouse TK & The Holy Know-Nothings had converted into a de facto headquarters and studio, and recorded the eleven tracks on Pagan Church.TAYLOR KINGMAN In a time drenched in escapism, where an unceasing barrage of synthetic shine promises comfort and relief from facing the complexity of our natures, Taylor Kingman’s new album Hollow Sound is an antithetical long night in a solitary cave, with nothing but a small fire and a hard look inward to keep you company. Between his work fronting TK & The Holy Know-Nothings and his 2017 solo debut Wannabe, Kingman is no stranger to the darkness. But here he transcends the desolate rock bottom, as Hollow Sound whispers, then howls us into that place beyond brokenness where breathing begins again. To listen deeply to these songs is to lay down naked on the wet, unforgiving earth, pushing the ground through your fingers; it is to be soothed by the wholeness of who we are, filth and all. Kingman pulls no punches with his writing, and requires us to listen with the same honesty.

Jon McLaughlin: Coast to Coast Tour

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ALL AGES SEATED SHOWLIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEJON McLAUGHLIN Everything in Jon McLaughlin’s life makes its way into his music, whether he’s conscious of it or not. The artist, raised in Indiana and based in Nashville, brings all of his experiences and beliefs into each song he creates, something that is especially true now that he’s the father of two young girls. Jon released his debut album, Indiana, in 2007 on Island Def Jam, attracting fans with his heartfelt, hook-laden songwriting and impassioned delivery. He’s released six full-lengths in the years since and revealed a true evolution in both his piano playing and singing. He’s played shows with Billy Joel, Kelly Clarkson and Adele, collaborated with longtime friend Sara Bareilles, co-written with Demi Lovato and even performed at the Academy Awards in 2008.  Jon’s album, Like Us, dropped in October of 2015 via Razor & Tie, and he spent the past few years touring extensively before heading back into his Nashville studio to work on new music. Jon released a Christmas EP in 2017 titled Red & Green with two originals and his take on a few holiday classics. In November of 2018 Jon released his album Angst & Grace which features “Still My Girl” written for his youngest daughter. In the fall of 2022 Jon hit the road with his band in celebration of the 15 year anniversary of his Indiana album which will be remastered and re released on vinyl spotlighting a new acapella version of the title track “Indiana” featuring Straight No Chaser as well as never-before-released b-sides. As with everything he does, Jon’s goal is to create connections. He wants to translate his experiences and ideas into music that reaches fans everywhere. His passion for music and playing is evident in each note he plays. LEO SAWIKINLeo Sawikin is a NYC-born and bred singer/songwriter, who debuted as a solo recording artist with his 2021 album, Row Me Away. While Leo often records from his home studio in New York’s Little Italy, over the last year he traveled to Seattle to work with the legendary Phil Ek, who produced breakthrough albums by Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, The Shins, and Fleet Foxes.

An Evening With Chris Smither

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ALL AGESSEATED SHOWLIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLECHRIS SMITHERThe sound and imagery of the 20th release by Chris Smither, All About the Bones, (release date: May 3, 2024 on Signature Sounds/Mighty Albert, distributed by Redeye) is as elemental as the inky black shadows cast by a shockingly bright moon. The listener is welcomed into some gothic mansion on an imaginary New Orleans street, and there in the lamplit parlor confronts the band, a minimalist skeleton crew: Smither’s inimitable propulsive guitar and rumbling baritone are joined seamlessly to producer David Goodrich’s carpetbag of instruments, Zak Trojano’s rock-steady, primal drumming, BettySoo’s diaphanous harmony vocals, and the flat, mournful flood of Jazz legend Chris Cheek’s saxophone. Recorded at Sonelab Studios in Easthampton MA by Justin Pizzoferrato (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., the Hold Steady) All About the Bones has a feel that is somehow baroque and austere at once. Smither and his longtime producer David Goodrich have been refining their musical conversation for decades, both in the studio and onstage, and by now, their bond verges on the telepathic. Goodrich plays on nearly every track. His sound is by now so translucent that it seems to function as a swath of silence, allowing the songs to burn like ciphers in the crackling air. And oh, the songs on All About the Bones. Chris Smither, after six decades of sharpening his knife as a songwriter, can at this point open damn near anything with a flick of his wrist. God and the Devil are opened here. Mortality is too. Politics, consciousness, renewal, family, vulnerability, surrender… Smither has sat with these topics like so many Zen koans, for so long, that every line is a pearl. The title track, “All About the Bones,” kicks the record off with “Consider your high station/ think about your fame. All of your creation depended on your frame.” Irony, wit, the double meaning of “depended”… each verse is a master class in songwriting. Yet the stark, elemental sage always has a twinkle in his eye, a light touch at your elbow as he guides you along. From the wickedly funny defense of the Adversary in “If Not for the Devil” to the unsentimental open-heartedness of “Still Believe in You,” he is as human as we all long to be. The disjointed imagery of “In the Bardo” and the dystopian mirror of “Close the Deal” find Smither unflinchingly staring down the mortality of both individuals and republics, and yet he is at peace, among loved ones in his cover of Eliza Gilkyson’s “Calm Before the Storm,” and turning his gaze to the future in “Completion”. He sends us on our merry way, startled, dazzled, unsettled and then comforted, with Tom Petty’s “Time to Move On.”

An Evening With Jonathan Coulton

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– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEJONATHAN COULTONJonathan Coulton is known for his eclectic catalog of masterful songwriting on subjects from zombies and mad scientists to sad parents and dissatisfied software engineers. He’s written songs for The Good Fight and Braindead TV series, as well as the Portal video games, and Spongebob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical. He was the house musician for the NPR show Ask Me Another and is the host and namesake of an annual floating nerd convention called JoCo Cruise. 

Kim Smith

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– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLE KIM SMITH Kim Smith is a singer-songwriter/collaborator based out of Asheville, North Carolina.  “Songwriting is not just a passion it’s the expression of my soul in the most vulnerable and strongest times.”  Kim continues to record and release songs produced by Asheville-based Chris Rosser as well as Nashville-based Dean Miller.  Her first album “Thorns and Whiskey” was released Spring of 2023.  Kim continues to record her music in the studio and travels around sharing her message in her music.  

An Evening With Robyn Hitchcock

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– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEROBYN HITCHCOCK Robyn Hitchcock is one of England’s most enduring contemporary singer/songwriters and live performers. A surrealist poet, talented guitarist, cult artist and musician’s musician, Hitchcock is among alternative rock’s father figures and is the closest thing the genre has to a Bob Dylan (not coincidentally his biggest musical inspiration). Since founding the art-rock band The Soft Boys in 1976, Robyn has recorded more than 20 albums as well as starred in ‘Storefront Hitchcock’ an in concert film recorded in New York and directed by Jonathan Demme. Blending folk and psychedelia with a wry British nihilism, Robyn describes his songs as ‘paintings you can listen to’. His most recent album is self-titled and marks his 21st release as a solo artist. Out on April 21 2017, the album is produced by Brendan Benson (The Raconteurs). Hitchcock describes it as a “ecstatic work of negativity with nary a dreary groove.” It has received rave reviews from UNCUT, Rolling Stone, Paste, Tidal and more. “A gifted melodist, Hitchcock nests engaging lyrics in some of the most bracing, rainbow-hued pop this side of Revolver. He wrests inspiration not from ordinary life but from extraordinary imaginings…” – Rolling Stone “These 10 gems slither, rock, roll, glide and shapeshift, coalescing around Hitchcock’s typically anxious, strained but striking and immediately identifiable vocals.” – American Songwriter “Beloved of everyone from Led Zeppelin to REM, Hitchcock has only enhanced his status with this wonderful outing.” – Hot Press “Witty, moving and seriously catchy, Robyn Hitchcock is a glorious return for a man who wasn’t really gone in the first place.” – Paste Magazine

Evan Dando (of The Lemonheads) solo

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– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEEVAN DANDO (OF THE LEMONHEADS) SOLOEvan Dando is currently at work in São Paulo, Brazil on the first album of original songs from The Lemonheads since 2006. After playing anniversary tours for It’s A Shame About Ray and Come On Feel The Lemonheads, Evan is embarking on a US solo tour in Spring 2024 to play shows with an eclectic mix of Lemonheads classics, new material, and covers. A new single from The Lemonheads, “Fear Of Living”, which was co-written by the late Dan Lardner (of QTY) and Evan, was just released digitally on November 14th, 2023 via Fire Records, and will be available for sale on 7” vinyl at the upcoming February and March shows.“For most writers, it’s extraordinarily difficult to catch and hold feelings of pathos, idleness, hunger, a kind of hazy but manageable melancholy. Dando’s songs are short (many are under or around two minutes), with choruses and hooks so easygoing, so suffused with nonchalance, that it feels as though they must have arrived fully formed and without struggle.” – The New YorkerWILLY MASON

Darren Kiely

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ALL AGES- STANDING ROOM ONLYDARREN KIELY Hailing from a quaint town in Co. Cork, Ireland, Darren Kiely’s folk-infused pop sound originates from his inherited love of traditional Irish music, intertwined with modern influences such as The Lumineers and Noah Kahan. At just five years old, Darren learned the tin whistle, and at eight years old he picked up the fiddle, eventually teaching himself to play guitar as well. Darren began singing in 2019, quickly garnering attention for his raw and fervent vocals and emotive delivery. After winning numerous honors at a national level in Irish traditional music, Darren found his way to New York in 2022 to continue developing his own music and sound. Since then, he has entered Ireland’s top 50 viral charts on three separate occasions: with his debut single “How Could You Love Me,” second single “Ella” and his most recent release “Time To Leave.” The singer-songwriter has accumulated 3 million total global streams independently and has sold out headlining shows at Rockwood Music Hall and Mercury Lounge in New York. Darren’s next adventure lies in the songwriting hub of Nashville, Tennessee, where he’s currently living and creating new music set to arrive this year.   KYNDAL INSKEEP Rising Nashville pop artist and songwriter, Kyndal Inskeep, has been writing and performing since childhood. Her passion for music began in Indianapolis where she was raised. Her challenging upbringing often left her isolated and music quickly became her first love. Inskeep came to Nashville briefly in 2015 where she studied at Belmont University. After a semester she moved to Los Angeles to experience the industry “more closely”. She returned to Nashville in 2018 and signed a global-joint publishing and artist development deal with Cornman and Warner Chappell publishing in 2021. Inskeep’s artist career has taken off after releasing her debut viral single “Honest” with Song House. It quickly accumulated millions of streams and inspired masses. Her second single, “Parachute” initiated the same response. According to Spotify, Kyndal’s 14 daily streams multiplied to 96,000 streams per day, landing her an opening slot on a national tour. Currently, Inskeep remains an independent artist with the desire to make music that inspires others to feel something again.

David Wilcox Annual Thanksgiving Homecoming Concert

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– ALL AGES- FULLY SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEDAVID WILCOX David Wilcox is a penetrating storyteller. The revered folk musician has an effortless talent for spinning lyrics that quietly cut deep, and crafting melodies that seamlessly ride the plot twists and turns. Wilcox handily exemplifies the power of lyrical and musical catharsisPick any song from Wilcox’s new acoustic album, My Good Friends, and you will find yourself instantly immersed. Sometimes you’ll see yourself in the lyrics, other times you’ll marvel at the four-minute mini-movie. My Good Friends is a stripped-down, acoustic collection of ten songs, a fan-requested creative respite for Wilcox as he also continues to work on a full band album coming in 2024.Of special note on the new recording is “Jolt,” with its jittery rhythm playing perfect backdrop to lyrics about today’s obsession with online fear mongering and internet disinformation. The title track is a folk-blues number about living a life filled with close calls and surviving them all. Then there’s a trio of story songs – “Dead Man’s Phone,” “This Is How It Ends,” and “Lost Man” – that are as cinematic as they are charismatic. Wilcox says those last three songs “create a whole movie in my imagination.”In fact, the way Wilcox feels about every tune on My Good Friends proves this is indeed a fan-requested labor of love. “I am grateful for the community that sustains me – my good friends,” he says. “These are the kind of friends that get you through difficult times. The kind of friends that you go to for a fresh perspective when the future looks grim. These songs grew out of conversations with friends, and they hold ideas that I like to have around.”Such dedication to honoring personal and heartfelt music has been the backbone of David Wilcox’s entire career. The Ohio native with the warm baritone found his artistic muse in North Carolina during the mid-1980s. In 1987, he released his debut album, The Nightshift Watchman, which led to winning the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival in 1988. That translated to a four-album stint with A&M Records starting with 1989’s How Did You Find Me Here, which sold 100,000 copies by word of mouth. Thirty-plus years and twenty-plus albums later, Wilcox won top honors in the 23rd annual USA Songwriting Competition in 2018 for his effervescent “We Make the Way by Walking” from his last album release, The View From the Edge. Wilcox has deservedly earned praise over the years in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, and Rolling Stone, to name a few. He also has a dedicated and vocal core of fans who regularly write to thank him for his work and the impact his songs have had on their lives.Today, Wilcox is still earning his admirers with storytelling that cuts deep into the soul and observes the human condition from both the nerve center and the outside looking in. That kind of storytelling is certain to become a good friend.