Recorded live to tape in Pawtucket, RI, "Salt For Salt..." is the first album by Brown Bird to capture the intense energy of the duo's live show, surging in waves that often swell into high-spirited, foot-stomping madness. David Lamb's lyrics are as well-written as they are emotionally intelligent, thankfully avoiding the pitfalls of the wish-wash known as "modern-folk" or "singer-songwriting". Lamb and his partner MorganEve Swain write simply, and the record is eerily sparse at times - a tambourine, a bass drum and the cello often the sole accompaniement to Lamb's (what a name) cracked, wood-smoke voice.

Brown Bird are also not afraid to write experimentally - "Ebb and Flow" and "Shiloh" (the latter a longer, entirely instrumental track) each boast melodies worthy of a dervish, the melodic structure reminiscent more of Turkish or Greek rebetika than old-time or bluegrass. Lamb and Swain work beautifully together, with his banjo providing a backbone to a fiddle break, her harmonies a lonesome echo of the melody. But Brown Bird also know too much to be pure romantics; Lamb's continual reference to ships clearly come from his years spent working at the shipyard in Warren, RI, just as their arrangements well only from a deep knowledge of the American folk tradition.

Paring down from five musicians on their last album to the duo of Lamb and Swain on "Salt For Salt" resulted in some necessary instrument changes - Swain, a lifelong violinist, spends most of the album on cello and double bass, instruments she picked up in the past two years. Lamb has a kick drum and woodblock/tambourine rigged to a second pedal in front of him, using his whole body and voice to carry the rhythm and melody simultaneously. This new configuration propels each song forward with a blur of hands, feet and voices.

A cantankerous and drafty two-man ship stationed in Providence, RI, Brown Bird plays original, traditional American music in the best sense possible. It is music that comes from a context but is not afraid of the context: a living root with a view towards the leaves.

- Professor Charles Booth, July 4th, 2011

At the cutting edge of acoustic and traditional music, Annalivia fuses old and new world sounds to create an authentic new sound, both steeped in tradition and alive with new energy, innovation and originality.

The members of Annalivia– Liz Simmons, Flynn Cohen, Emerald Rae, and Mariel Vandersteel– are all virtuosic on their instruments and have long histories with traditional music, ranging from bluegrass to Irish, Scottish, Norwegian and Old Time. These styles play a large role in the interpretations of their material, which include inventive, quirky fiddle tunes and lushly arranged songs. Their unique style, dubbed "Old Time Impressionism" by Pete Kennedy, has a distinctly American flavor, yet with the detail, precision and energy of their bluegrass and Celtic backgrounds. The members of Annalivia are all seasoned musicians, and have toured with the likes of Cathie Ryan, John Whelan, Ruth Moody, and Adrienne Young.

The Same Way Down features special guests Aoife O'Donovan and Corey DiMario.

Session Americana is a Boston-based band consistently referred to in articles by variants of “a folk-rock supergroup,” a “who’s who” or “all-star” band featuring members Sean Staples (mandolin, guitar, vocals, mandocello, fiddle), Billy Beard (drums/vocals), Jon Bistline (bass/vocals), Ry Cavanaugh (guitar, mandocello, vocals), Jim Fitting (harmonica/vocals) and Dinty Child (mandocello, fiddle, banjo, guitar, accordion, keyboards, vocals).
 
This six member group of experienced musicians came together in 2004, for a series of informal shows at Toad (a Pub in Cambridge) on Sunday nights. Session Americana had a Sunday-night residency at Toad for two years, moving to the larger Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA when their popularity outgrew Toad’s small capacity. Their shows continue to involve the band facing each other around a table, passing instruments around as needed, harmonizing on old blues tunes, classic Americana songs, and original numbers written by the group members and their guests.
It's easy to leave a live Session Americana show and think "I wish I had a recording of that night", but most often live recordings are pale representations of experiences better left in the mind. Its just not the same without the energy of the room, the buzz of your companions, and other buzzes. Count the live albums worth listening to, and you'll find very few: Duke Ellington at Newport; Aretha at the Filmore; The Band's Rock of Ages, to name just a few.  

A great live album should make you feel like you missed a really good party, like Listening to Dr Feelgood on Live at the Filmore. What Session Americana hopes to accomplish with this recording is exemplify the fun and energy of those unforgettable nights at the Lizard Lounge over the past few years. The songs may not sound exactly like you remembered them if you were there, and they don't sound technically as good as they would sound in a studio session, but the vibe is there, along with the energy, the fun, and a little magic, too. What more could one ask for?

Session Americana Live was recorded at the Lizard Lounge, Cambridge, MA on May 14, 2009, August 6 2010, December 21, 2010, January 11, 2011, and February 8, 2011. 

Irreverent songwriters, expert instrumentalists, former street-performers, and consummate showmen, The Two Man Gentlemen Band has been barnstorming from coast to coast for half a decade, developing a reputation as a must-see live act on the roots and retro music circuits. A tenor guitar and string bass duo in the tradition of the great Slim & Slam, The Gents have obvious affection for pre-war American Jazz and Western Swing. But they’re no period piece. The decidedly contemporary feel of their lyrics and the hilarious, often ridiculous, improvised banter that peppers their live shows combine with the music for a thoroughly modern ruckus. “It’s as if,” one reviewer commented, “The Smothers Brothers were young today, wore better suits, and wrote hot jazz songs about drinking.” To The Gentlemen, that sounds about right. 

Internationally acclaimed Foghorn Stringband has been at the vanguard of a revival in American old-time music for over a decade now. They've traveled the globe, been signed to a major label, and inspired a new generation of old-time musicians, all without compromising their love of traditional American music. Their unique sound still comes from the fiery, intertwining melodies of Stephen "Sammy" Lind's fiddle and Caleb Klauder's mandolin, but now they're supported by the bedrock-solid rhythm foundation of Reeb Willms' guitar and Nadine Landry's bass. And when it comes to vocals, they deliver; four powerful and exceptional voices resulting in countless combinations of harmonies. Outshine the Sun is 21 tracks of straight up ass kicking old time music, classic country and early bluegrass.

The Fundies is an all girl super group featuring Rachael Price and Bridget Kearney of Lake Street Dive, Margaret Glaspy, and Brittany Haas (Crooked Still). This debut was recorded by Jake Silver and was funded by Club Passim's "Iguana Music Fund". It showcases sublime three part harmonies and infectious fun.

Fiddle/Vocal: Brittany Haas
Vocal: Rachael Price
Lead Vocal/Guitar: Margaret Glaspy
Bass/Vocal: Bridget Kearney

The Sun Parade, at its core, is built on the musical partnership between frontmen Chris Jennings & Jefferson Lewis. The two often play as a full band with Jacob Rosazza on bass and Doni McAulay on drums, but sometimes grace stages as an acoustic duo. The Sun Parade has never failed to captivate an audience, whether there are five people or fifty, and whether they come as a full rock outfit or two friends singing their hearts out.

Yossis is their first full-length EP. Chris Jennings has been described as “what Elliott Smith would have sounded like with the right medication.”

Barnstar! is a quasi-imaginary bluegrass band featuring Mark Erelli, Zack Hickman (upright bass), Charlie Rose (banjo), Jake Amerding (fiddle) and his father Taylor Amerding (mandolin).  Everyone in the band is so busy that they only do two or three gigs per year, usually in noisy bars, where they say they "can't really judge if we sound good enough to have as much fun as do."  Despite the infrequency of appearances, Barnstar! was awarded an Iguana Fund Grant from Club Passim (Cambridge MA) to document what had been, until now, merely  a series of fleeting, ephemeral music moments in local bars.  

Barnstar! convened for three three days just before the fourth of July at Dimension Sound in Jamaica Plain, MA and recorded 13 songs live in the studio.  From the start, it was apparent that this infrequent, almost accidental band had something going on, and things kept steamrolling as we got more excited. Everyone in the band sings and are all multi-instrumentalists, but in Barnstar! they all stick to their main instruments and as a result, captured take after take very quickly. 

It is with great pride that we announce "C'mon!," the debut record from Barnstar!  The harvest is in, the fruit is ready to be picked and it is sweet and juicy.  Sure, the elements are familiar, mandolins, banjos, and soaring four or five-part harmonies, but this ain't your daddy's bluegrass (though I guess in the case of Jake Armerding it is...his dad is in the band).  But this record owes as much to the spirit of The Traveling Wilburys as it does to The Louvin Brothers.  Featuring songs by Neil Young ("Cowgirl In The Sand"), Paul Simon ("Boy In The Bubble"), and Dawes ("When My Time Comes") alongside re-worked tunes of mine ("Troubadour Blues," "Take My Ashes To The River"), as well as a never-before-recorded original ("Charlottesville"), "C'mon!" is a bold and energetic snapshot of a scrappy, vibrant bluegrass band.

The Bee Eaters trace their roots back to musical traditions as diverse as bluegrass, Celtic, jazz, and old-time.  This new release showcases their ensemble work as it has taken on mature, textured and nuanced tones, and their compositions have become more thoughtful and intricate.

It's hard to look back on three years and sum up what they felt like. But if it were possible to do, a collection of songs might be the way to do it. This particular collection came together slowly, as most things in this band do; some were around when we recorded our last record, others were coming together still as the tape was rolling in the studio. Each one, for us, is a trip back to the times and places and people these tunes grew out of: Petersburg Interlude will always conjure that harbor in Alaska, where we stayed in among the fishing boats, looking out through the fog and rain towards the mountain across the water. Gyrosmoke is so Darol, all swirling poly-rhythms and twisty melodies. He sent us the sheet music years ago, and it took us all of those years to figure out how to play it. The Way It Is came much later; Tashina's serendipitous encounter with a live recording of Bruce Hornsby and his piano led to us listening to the song while we sat around the kitchen discussing the future of the band and ourselves. Something about the phrase "the way it is" struck a chord with us… don't you believe them. Oddfellows Road is another tune that incubated for years, unnamed and unyielding to our efforts to arrange and play it. It gets it's name from the street Simon grew up on, a short shot from the old port, running through the pines and madrones of Bainbridge Island. And Ran Aground… we all wanted this on the record, but hadn't been able to spend much time with it beforehand. It was the last thing we recorded, and it is the last track on the record... Finishing with an unfinished thought. 

Well, dear listener, thanks for lending us the attention of your eyes, as well as your ears… which, I suppose, makes you a reader as well as a listener. But you were that anyways, and many other things besides.