PATIO: Jody Carroll
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVEDJODY CARROLL “Jody Carroll does not play the blues so much as he inhabits them, with a definite Americana tinge. His dark and haunting tales embody roots music to its fullest..” Amos Perrine – No Depression 2021 “You have to wonder if he didn’t strike the same deal as delta shaman Robert Johnson..” The Oregonian, Portland Oregon Jody Carroll is an Acoustic Delta Blues / Slide Guitar and Banjo Master whose influences range from players like Robert Pete Williams, Fred McDowell, King Soloman Hill & Doc Boggs and to the likes of Bert Jansch, Bob Dylan, Buddy Guy, John Fahey and Pete Seegar. His sound is a pure original statement with high relevance to the folk traditions. He is a regular performer at Merlefest and has toured with acts such as Buddy Guy, Johnnie Winter, Honey Boy Edwards and many more. He is a blues & Roots performer and songwriter who effortlessly creates bold interpretations of old Blues and American Folk music, his own songs, stories and improvisational musical journeys. He is a Finger style/slide guitar master and amazingly soulful singer blending flavors of old Blues, Folk, Mountain music, Jazz and Rock all together into a true power packed gumbo. He has toured with or shared the stage with legends such as Buddy Guy, Honey Boy Edwards, Jack Owens, Louisiana Red, R.L Burnside, Johnny Winter, John Mayhall, Roy Rodgers, George Thorogood, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeski, Leo Bud Welch, Robert Cray, Robyn Trower, John McEuen, Charlie Musslewhite, Canned Heat, Robert Earl Keen, Sonny Landreth, Shameka Copeland, Paul Geramia, Sonny Landreth, Roy Bookbinder and even members of Metallica once back in 1987 (strange story). He is also a regular performer at Merlefest.
PATIO: Afton Wolfe
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVEDAFTON WOLFE Afton Wolfe is Mississippi. Born in McComb, and growing up in Meridian, Hattiesburg, and Greenville, Mississippi, the roots of American music are in his DNA. Mississippi is the birthplace of at least three American art forms: country music, blues music, and rock and roll. Meridian is the birthplace of Jimmie Rodgers, while the Mississippi Delta is the birthplace of the blues, and the first rock n’ roll notes ever played according to intelligent music historians, came from Hattiesburg. Additionally, he spent his musically formative years in and around New Orleans, where the humidity of the Mississippi combined with the Cajun seasonings, the jazz, zydeco, creole, and gospel music and his Mississippi roots coalesce to add resonance and depth to his blues/country/rock influences. Afton’s first band experience was back in the late 90s with Hattiesburg post-alternative pop outfit Red Velvet Couch (1998 to 1999) where he developed his stage presence and also was able to release his first album and learn a bit about sound, recording, mixing, and engineering. After a short break, Afton came back strong with the avant-garde, instrumentally diverse Dollar Book Floyd (2001 to 2002), which featured Amy Lott, Tim Keith, and Mike Stokes, and released a very pivotal album, Red and White. During this period Afton began to naturally incorporate country music and delta blues into his musical playbook. After the Dollar Book Floyd project ended, Afton moved to Nashville and formed The Relief Effort, a rock power trio, with whom he recorded two more records: Don’t Panic (2004) and At Your Mercy (2005). After a hiatus from performing and recording, Afton wrote, composed, and sang all of the songs contained in Petronius’ Last Meal. This was recorded in 2008 with the likes of Charlie Rauh, Craig Schenker, and Dan Seymour. Alcohol, academia, the quest for a better mix and a perfect album cover, and a voyage across the country to live in Washington for a few years kept this project on hold for over a decade. Finally, after a dozen or so years, the project was released in the Summer of 2020. Dark, tense, and moody was the flavor of the 2020 summer season, and the EP along with its two singles “Slingshots” and “Interrogations” fit the season too perfectly. Afton used the momentum of Petronius’ Last Meal and the tension of the pandemic and surrounding climate to fuel his creativity again. And his upcoming release Kings for Sale is the product of that. The new record defies genres while still being distinctly Afton. The new record, slated to be released in June of 2021, was produced by Oz Fritz (Bill Laswell, Tom Waits, The Ramones, Bob Marley, Ginger Baker and many others) and featuring an enviable assortment of great musicians, including but not limited to Cary Hudson (Blue Mountain, Taylor Street Grocery Band), Daniel Seymour (David Olney, Tommy Womack), Adam “Ditch” Kurtz (Great Peacock, Carrus and Kurtz), Ben Babylon (SpoBro, Sir Please), Laura Rabell, Kristen Englenz, Blaise Hearn, Rebecca Weiner Tompkins, and several more.
PATIO: Laura Lamb w/ Lillie Syracuse
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVEDLAURA LAMB “Laura Lamb’s voice was made for live music” – Mspmag.com Laura Lamb found her voice at a young age while watching her mother’s family gather around a grand piano in Minneapolis, Minnesota singing songs by artists like Carole King, Norah Jones and Etta James. She remembers learning how to harmonize with her grandparents, while developing her smooth & melancholy voice. “It was a strange feeling to sing and bring my parents’ friends to tears. It felt really special to be able to make people feel emotional as a young kid.” She began writing songs after receiving her first guitar at age 12. Fast-forward to college days when Lamb first discovered Nashville, Tennessee. She was quickly swept under the wings of hit Singer-Songwriter and Monument Recording Artist, Cailyn Smith (Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, Meghan Trainor) who gracefully mentored the young artist in her songwriting and performance skills. Before she knew it, she was showcasing her new Nashville co-written songs at coffee houses near her college campus in St. Paul, MN. After selling out her first big show in downtown Minneapolis, she made the brave move cross-country to Music City. Today, she has honed her craft while creating music some of Nashville’s finest songwriters and musician’s. She’s debuted her music at the Bluebird Cafe and has played Girls of Nashville – which showcases up and coming singer-songwriters. The independent artist has been preparing her next record with hit producer, Misa Arriaga (Kacey Musgraves), which will display her unique voice and emotion. The first single, Bluebird recently won top 10 in the NSAI 21st Annual Song Contest out of 3000 submissions.LILLIE SYRACUSE In velvet streams of joy, grief, and love, Lillie Syracuse’s voice and music fill the golden spaces of the in between. It is in these spaces that Lillie explores the stunning complexities and heart-scapes of the human experience. For a decade, Lillie honed her craft in Nashville, TN, where she wrote and released her debut album Coming Up Diamonds in 2020, with producer and Grammy-nominated drummer Mike Marsh (The Avett Brothers, Dashboard Confessional). It was growing up in Pumpkintown, SC, the cradle of Table Rock Mountain, where Lillie’’s heart was woven from the forests’ moss-covered trees, waterfalls, birdsong, and red mountain clay. The Appalachian Mountains have now called Lillie home. She lives in Brevard, NC, with her wife and their three pup-children, where she writes and records new music for release in 2023. Lillie’’s hope in song-craft is to foster shifts towards deeper self-love, acceptance, and magic in the lives of those who hear her music.
Quinn Sullivan / Veronica Lewis
– ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEQUINN SULLIVAN This spring, 22-year-old singer, songwriter, and guitarist Quinn Sullivan is set to release WIDE AWAKE, his new studio album, via Mascot Label Group/Provogue. A rare artist who’s always sounded older than his years, Sullivan has been touring the world since he was 11-years-old, playing storied venues such as Madison Square Garden, the Hollywood Bowl and RFK Stadium in Washington D.C., as well as India’s Mahindra Blues Festival, Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, and three Montreux Jazz Festivals. Quinn has shared the stage with his hero and mentor Buddy Guy, as well as Carlos Santana on several occasions. Quinn’s performance experience includes appearances on leading national television programs such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Conan, and The Oprah Winfrey Show, to name a few. This Massachusetts native has taken the abundant skills of his youth and now, as a young adult, is letting them blossom and steer him into new directions of artistry and creativity. “I want to stay true to where I come from, and go from there,” says Sullivan. “The artists that inspire me to do that are always hungry for the new. They never repeat themselves. They just grow and become more unique — and that’s what I aim to do as an artist.” Having developed genuinely jaw-dropping skills as a guitar player, Sullivan’s more recent learning curve has been with pen and paper. “I’ve always considered myself a songwriter,” he says. “On the last few records, it just wasn’t something I was doing all the time. I was focused on other things, like my guitar playing and developing my vocals, both of which I continue to do.” Since the release of 2017’s MIDNIGHT HIGHWAY, Sullivan has evolved into the singer-songwriter genre while effectively highlighting his guitar mastery.VERONICA LEWIS Veronica Lewis is one of the most exciting, emerging talents in the Indie Roots world. Bending genres from the Bayou to the north country, Lewis combines the true language of the Blues with the energy of early rock ‘n rollers. A teenage prodigy, piano player, singer & prolific songwriter who is ”changing the game and upping the ante”, says American Blues Scene. With the release of her critically acclaimed, Chart-topping, debut album “You Ain’t Unlucky”, 18-year-old Veronica Lewis, is poised to bring new generations back under that big old revival tent that is Blues and Roots rock and roll. A mesmerizing live performer with serious piano chops, soaring vocals, and trailblazing original songs, Veronica gives her audience “every last drop, every single time”. “You Ain’t Unlucky” blasted Veronica Lewis’ career off to a mind-blowing start, debuting at Number #2 on the Billboard Blues charts, #1 on iTunes Blues chart, and landing the title Track ‘You Ain’t Unlucky’ as the Number #1 Blues Song of The Year 2021 (Root Music Report), and snagging two Blues Music Nominations in 2022 for Best Emerging Artist Album & Piano Player of the Year.
David LaMotte
– ALL AGES- FULLY SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLEDAVID LAMOTTEDavid LaMotte is an award-winning songwriter, speaker and writer. He has performed over 3000 concerts and released thirteen full-length CDs of primarily original music, touring in all of the fifty states, as well as five of the seven continents. The Boston Globe writes that his music “pushes the envelope with challenging lyrics and unusual tunings, but he also pays homage to folk tradition,” while BBC Radio Belfast lauds his “charm, stories, humour, insightful songs, sweet voice and dazzling guitar ability.” His most recent album, Still, was at #4 on the Folk Charts as of August, 2022. LaMotte has appeared as a featured performer at the Kerrville Folk Festival, the Doc and Merle Watson Festival, the National Folk Festival of Australia, and the Auckland Folk Festival in New Zealand, among many others. His dense speaking and workshop calendar has included presenting at the PC(USA) Mission to the United Nations, keynoting peace conferences in India, Australia, Germany and at the Scottish Parliament, as well as offering the baccalaureate for 2016 graduates of Columbia Seminary. His TEDx talk on what music can teach us about peacemaking is featured on TED.org LaMotte suspended his eighteen-year music career at its peak in 2008 to pursue his other primary vocation by accepting a Rotary World Peace Fellowship to study International Relations, Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. As part of that study, he also spent time in rural Andhra Pradesh, India working with a Gandhian development organization.As a touring artist with an over thirty-year career, LaMotte has developed a large and loyal following. His music has been honored with numerous awards and artist grants, and has been featured on dozens of artist compilations. Notably, his song Dark and Deep was included on Songs Inspired By Literature, Chapter One, a benefit CD to raise money for adult literacy. Other artists on that CD include Suzanne Vega, Grace Slick, Aimee Mann and Bruce Springsteen. Several independent films feature David’s music, and it has been heard on the Today Show and the Showtime television series This American Life.As a result of his work with schools in Guatemala, he was named a “Madison World Changer” by his undergraduate alma mater, James Madison University, and in 2019, he was awarded an E-chievement Award by the syndicated radio show E-town. David makes his home in Black Mountain, North Carolina, with his wife Deanna and son Mason. He is currently touring again, post-pandemic, hosting a digital community on Patreon.com, writing songs, and writing his next book, tentatively titled, “Harmony: What Music Can Teach Us About Peacemaking In a Troubled Time.”GABE LEENashville-based songwriter Gabe Lee is becoming increasingly known for his ability to detail the intricacies of everyday life, the small distinctions that leave some on the fringe and others in the mainstream, and the particulars that stick around long after a lover leaves.
An Evening With Ron Sexsmith
– ALL AGES- FULLY SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLERON SEXSMITHRon Sexsmith is a three time, Juno award winning singer songwriter from St Catharines Ontario. Born in 1964, Ron was drawn to music from an early age by the melodic songs of the era, which he heard on the radio and by his Mom’s record collection. His earliest musical heroes were Buddy Holly and Elton John. He always loved to sing, but didn’t start playing guitar until age 14 when he formed his first band “Paper Moon” (named after the film of the same name). Although he tried to write songs throughout his teens, it wasn’t until he was 21 and living in Quebec with his partner and first child, that he truly became a songwriter.Ron eventually moved his young family to Toronto in 1987 to further pursue a career in music. He worked as a courier by day, while performing in the clubs by night. He formed the band ‘Ron Sexsmith and The Uncool’ and started gaining attention from music label executives, though all passed on signing him. In 1991 he released his first full length album on cassette called “Grand Opera Lane” produced by Bob Wiseman. The album was rejected by the Canadian music industry, although it found its way to Los Angeles where Ron ultimately signed his first music publishing deal with Interscope Records followed by a recording contract.With producer Mitchell Froom, Sexsmith released his self-titled label debut album in 1995. The melancholic tone and sparse acoustic arrangements of the album were met with disapproval from Interscope. However an enthusiastic endorsement from Elvis Costello drew media attention and the album was declared a critical success. In his Sept 7, 1995 review for Rolling Stone, Bud Scoppa wrote: “He just may be the most fluent balladeer to come along since Tim Hardin or Harry Nilsson.”Sexsmith’s songwriting style evolved into a unique and timeless blend of classic pop, contemporary folk, and roots-rock idioms. He has built a steadfast reputation with critics and with some of his own songwriting hero’s (Elton John, Ray Davies, John Prine, Gordon Lightfoot, Leonard Cohen and Paul McCartney) for his characteristically honest, sensitive, and enduring approach to the songwriting craft. Ron has released albums on a consistent basis since 1995 and has recorded with noted producers Mitchell Froom, Daniel Lanois, Steve Earle, Jim Scott, Don Kerr, Brad Jones, Bob Rock, and Martin Terefe.His extensive song and album catalog has garnered Sexsmith a substantive cult following and an international touring career. His early years of touring included opening for established artists such as, John Hiatt, Elvis Costello, Sarah McLaughlin, Tori Amos, Squeeze, Aimee Mann, Coldplay, Nick Lowe, John Prine, Lucinda Williams and many others. His songs as well, have been covered by the likes of Rod Stewart, Nick Lowe, Emmy Lou Harris, Feist, and Michael Buble to name a few. In the past few decades as a headlining artist, Ron has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the world, such as Massey Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and Carnegie Hall. In 2017, Ron penned his first novel ‘Deer Life, A Fairy Tale’ published worldwide by Dundurn Press Limited. Ron completed work on a brand new album which is scheduled to be released in early 2023 and is in keeping with his reputation for catchy but graceful melodies, drawing on love, and the trials of everyday life. He currently lives in Stratford, Ontario and continues to be inspired to write, record and perform live worldwide.
Lee DeWyze
– ALL AGES- FULLY SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF VIP MEET & GREET TICKETS AVAILABLE- VIP TIX INCLUDE: A Ticket to the show, early entry into the venue, a 2 song acoustic performance by Lee, a polaroid photo with Lee (VIP takes place 45 minutes before doors open)LEE DEWYZEWith an earnest ability to create a delicate balance of harmony, melody, deep emotion and subtlety, Lee DeWyze’s depth as a songwriter call to mind some of his earliest influences like Simon and Garfunkel, Yusef Islam (Cat Stevens) and Johnny Cash. His last 4 releases Victims Of The Night (April 2020), and the EP Castles (Oct 2019), have garnered over 1M streams, while his latest 2 singles, Weeds (Oct 2020) is currently highlighted on the largest folk playlist Chill Folk, streaming 3500x per day, and Horizon (Apr 2021) was featured in the motion picture The Secret: Dare To Dream starring Katie Holmes and Josh Lucas.Over the last 10 years, Lee has released five albums, including his critically lauded Frames (Vanguard Records, 2013), which included the top 40 Billboard Hot AC hit “Fight.” In 2014, his song “Blackbird Song” (20M streams + ) was placed in the show “The Walking Dead.” After signing with Shanachie Records in 2016, Lee released the album Oil and Water, which hit Number One on the iTunes folk and singer/songwriter chart, followed by Paranoia (2018), which hit Number One on the Alternative chart.As the winner of American Idol Season 9 in 2010, he made his major label debut with Live It Up (RCA).Lee’s songs have appeared in over 70 movies, TV shows, and commercials. His latest synch was for his song Castles, which highlighted the season finale of Station 19 (#1 show on ABC). His video for Castles won 11 awards world-wide (Los Angeles, NY, and London) for best animated video with TIFF (The International Film Festival). FRANK VIELE Up until now, Frank Viele has been something of a regional secret throughout New England. His quadruple-threat reputation as a singer, guitarist, songwriter and performer is unrivaled there, as recognized by the New England Music Awards for Album of the Year, Male Performer of the Year, and Live Act of The Year he has stashed somewhere in his Connecticut home. Of course, musically tuned-in folks throughout the world have been hearing reports of Viele’s prowess for several years. No Depression might have piqued their curiosity with its praise for his “vivid storytelling.” Or maybe they read about his singing in The Alternate Root, which observed that his “street growl” could rivet passersby. Howl Magazine even called his shows “transcendent” and predicted that his music “will rattle your bones and penetrate to the core.” Truth be told, audiences around the country have begun taking notice as Viele plays in further-flung venues. Since his first album, Fall Your Way, dropped in 2015, he’s been called to open for Will Hoge, Blues Traveler, Lee DeWyze, Zach Myers of Shinedown, The Marshall Tucker Band, and in his somewhat wonderstruck words, “artists who have been on my personal playlists for years.” So all the pieces are in place to establish Frank Viele as a musical phenomenon far beyond his home base. All that’s needed is a spark to launch this rocket.
Chris Pureka
– w/ JOHN-ALLISON WEISS- ALL AGES- SEATED SHOW- LIMITED NUMBER OF PREMIUM SEATING TICKETS AVAILABLECHRIS PUREKA It’s rare for an artist to bridge the divide between critical acclaim and dedicated fan engagement. Chris Pureka is a Portland-based singer-songwriter whose body of work has resonated deeply with these seemingly disparate milieus. Her music has straddled the folk, americana and indie rock genres over the course of her 20 year career, and over that time, her bold vulnerability in processing the intimacies of life in song has struck a chord with those listeners who crave authenticity and depth. Chris’s elegant emotionality as a vocalist and her flair as a lyricist have garnered her favorable comparisons to Chan Marshall, Bruce Springsteen, and Patty Griffin. Over many years of touring on both sides of the Atlantic, she has shared the stage with such diverse and esteemed artists as The Lumineers, Gregory Alan Isakov, The Cowboy Junkies, Haley Heynderickx, and Ani DiFranco. She has had her songs featured on such television shows as Brothers and Sisters, Covert Affairs and Shameless and well as a song featured in the Sundance featured indie film, The Royal Road. Along the way, Chris has remained truly independent, selling nearly 50,000 albums through her own label, Sad Rabbit Records.JOHN-ALLISON WEISSKnown for their gritty, melodic indie pop songwriting, John-Allison Weiss emerged at the end of the 2000s as an early crowd-funding hero with a strong D.I.Y. ethos that has defined them throughout their career. After establishing themselves among the punk underground, they became a staple of the Warped Tour and released highly rated albums like 2013’s Say What You Mean and 2015’s New Love. Touring with everyone from Lou Reed to Letters to Cleo, Weiss has also collaborated as a songwriter with artists including Tegan Quin and Kevin Devine. Following a live album and 2021’s Death Valley Demos EP, they signed with Get Better Records and issued the singles “Different Now” and “Feels Like Hell” from their upcoming album ‘The Long Way’ out February 17th.
PATIO SHOW: Ashley Chambliss & Friends
– ALL AGES- PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVEDASHLEY CHAMBLISS Originally from Merritt Island, FL, Ashley Chambliss has been part of Asheville’s music scene since 1996, with ebbs and flows as life happens, including some time at ‘Berklee College of Music’. She’s performed at Bele Chere, LEAF, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, and ‘The Grey Eagle Music Hall’ where she’s opened for acts including Ben Taylor, Duncan Sheik, and Ari Hest. Regionally, she’s made musical moments happen at ‘Eddie’s Attic’ (shootout top 3),and Charlotte’s ‘The Evening Muse’. Her songs have an audience on Spotify, YouTube, and other streaming services and have been placed in popular TV shows such as ‘Skins’ UK series, ‘The Hills’ ‘One Life to Live’, and ‘So You Think You Can Dance/Canada’, among others. Chambliss plays solo and as a group with River Guerguerian, Chris Rosser, and Jake Wolf. She describes her current work as 70’s inspired keyboard grooves, intimate vocals with blue notes.
PATIO SHOW: Taylor Knighton
– ALL AGES- LIMITED PATIO SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVEDTAYLOR KNIGHTONRaised on the Alabama Gulf Coast, Taylor has been singing since before she could talk, so when she picked up a guitar for the first time, it felt like the last piece of the puzzle falling into place. Since then, she’s found a true musical companion in the ukulele, after being given one as a surprise from a gracious group of friends and musicians that had come together for the open mic she ran for years in her hometown of Mobile. That little uke has now seen the world with her, and delighted listeners from Istanbul to Medellín. These travels are reflected in her music, as Taylor, an amateur linguist, frequently sings in languages other than her own.These days, she calls Western NC home, and loves to implement elements of the special Appalachian sound within her musical stylings. Her originals blend jazz, pop and folk, and her covers are thoughtfully selected and often quite nostalgic. She loves to play with unique compositions that really let her voice shine, especially after a fight with thyroid cancer in 2021 nearly robbed her of her ability to sing forever. Thankfully it did not, and the joy she feels in having it back is obvious and radiant whenever she performs.
