blues

Stacy Mitchhart’s Live My Life stakes out bold new territory for the veteran entertainer. The 12-song album mixes down-home blues with a splash of soul to serve as a springboard for his canny storytelling and meanly elegant guitar. Live My Life is a departure from his mostly soul-blues flavored catalog, reflecting Mitchhart’s deepening connection with the genre’s primal Mississippi roots.

Powered by strong, original songwriting and surprises like raw-boned cigar box guitar, Live My Life opens with the grinding blues howler “I Drink Whiskey,” showcasing his dirty licks ‘n’ tricks. The title track, which is also the album’s first video, shines a beacon on the rollicking artist’s newly stripped down approach. The song is among the three tracks that showcase Mitchhart’s cigar boxes, while another side of his playing fuels the instrumental “Soul Stoll,” which teams an elegant, funky soul-blues groove with flashes of jazz and a sinuous melody. The disc’s biggest surprise, besides its unfiltered hard-core blues sound, is Mitchhart’s interpretation of the Beatles’ “Come Together,” which he reinvents as a killer Delta blues.

Live My Life was co-producer by Mitchhart and Scott McEwen at Nashville’s all-analog Fry Pharmacy studio and features the touring band that accompanies Mitchhart for an impressive 275 shows a year, including his famed ongoing residency at Nashville’s Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar.

http://www.stacymitchhart.com/

rock | blues

A belting lead vocal, sensational sax, screaming lead guitar, thumping bass, and a powerhouse drummer join together to deliver Rock ‘N Soul!

http://sabrinaandthehowlers.com/

jazz

Steve also developed an interest in playing piano. He learned to play by ear and at the age of thirteen, he became the musician for the Youth Choir at his church. He is currently the Minister of Music for all choirs at his church. Throughout the years, Steve has continued to play the guitar, and has played with B.B. King, Percy Sledge, Solomon Burke, Johnny Jones and many others. His band has opened up and played for famous jazz and blues artists like Najee, B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Phil Perry, The Manhattans, Nick Colionne and other numerous bands that have come through Nashville to perform. He is consistently included in the line up for Nashville’s annual Jazz Blues and Heritage Festival, where he and his band provided the music for Lori Jenaire, Jackiem Joyner, Joey Somerfield, Andre Ward, Alex Bugnon The Drifters, Glenn Jones, Alexander O’Neal, Howard Hewitt, Kindred The Family, Jessica Reedy, Pamela Williams, After 7, Paula Atherton, Freddie Jackson, Rashaad Patterson, Mike Farris, Vivian Green and Marion Meadows. He was the band leader and music director for the Steven Roper and the B.B. King Allstars at the B.B. King Club in Nashville for over three years. Steve’s first love is jazz and blues, this is the genre he’s famous for in the Nashville area; however, his talent is not limited to jazz and blues, he is equally talented in R&B and even country. That is the reason he still enjoys playing classics like, Betcha By Golly Wow, Fantasy, That’s The Way of the World, and The World Is A Ghetto and music from his CD’s, Colors of my Journey and Colors.

http://muscleshoalstheriverthatsings.com/steve-roper.html

rock

Jazz rocker (SFWeekly) singer/songwriter/instrumentalist, Ben Graves, represents an eclectic history of musical experience; in high school in rural Tennessee he was a neo-folk/classical guitarist, a jazz saxophonist, and the lead singer in a band that would become the platinum-selling hard rock outfit Fuel. He attended Wesleyan University and Berklee College of Music (where he was awarded scholarships for both saxophone and voice) studying with avante-garde maverick Anthony Braxton, Ghanaian master-drummer Abraham Adzinyah and pop icon Billy Joel. After Berklee, Ben won an assistantship at Washington State University, where he earned a master’s degree in music and was recognized as an outstanding alto saxophonist at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. After grad school, Graves found his way to San Francisco. From 1996 to 2003, he honed his craft, recording 2 original Cds and performing his original music in many of the Bay Area’s hippest venues: the Fillmore, Great American Music Hall, Cafe du Nord, the Hotel Utah, Freight and Salvage, Sweetwater, and many others. In 2003, he moved to Nashville, where he worked as a sideman with country artists Rebecca Lynn Howard, James Otto, Amy Dalley, and others. He spent most of 2005 doing administrative work for the New York Philharmonic in Manhattan and taking part in the New York scene before returning to Nashville, where he remains active as a session musician, performing songwriter, sideman, and educator.

Ben is a true multi-instrumentalist; he’s jammed on guitar and harmonica with Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith, played electric bass with Kid Rock and at the Grand Ole Opry, and has blown saxophone with Modern Jazz Quartet bassist Percy Heath, Late Show drummer Anton Fig, and tons of people you’ve never heard of. Ben embraces the jazz ethic of keeping the performance loose enough so that almost anything can happen, and nothing sounds stale. Solo, or in the company of other fine musicians, Ben Graves weaves his unique harmony and soulful voice into a truly original tapestry that is at once innovative, informed, and inspired.

http://www.bengraves.com/

pop | r&b

progressive pop

#1 Songwriter... Besides recording for RCA Records, 2 years as an artist and performing with Shania Twain, George Jones, Barbara Mandrell, Lorrie Morgan, Randy Owen (Alabama) in concert and on major television shows such as ‘the Late Show with David Letterman’(2 performances), ‘Billboard, ‘Blockbuster’ and ‘American Music Awards’; VH-1, Comedy Central & the Grand Ole Opry, Dan performs originals and covers from jazz, pop to ‘oldies’.

http://www.danschafer.com/

blues | pop

Born on the Arkansas Delta, Garland is drawing comparisons to a swath of well-known musicians as wide as the meandering Mississippi river. After graduating from Arkansas State University in 2004 with a Bachelors of Arts
degree in Music, he formed his own band that quickly generated a buzz in northeast Arkansas, as well as Memphis, TN. After captivating audiences throughout the Mid-South, Garland moved to Las Vegas in the summer of 2010 to headline at the B.B. King’s Blues Club on the world famous strip.

Grant’s ability to emulate and embellish upon the diverse musical influences of musical legends that range from Stevie Wonder to Stevie Ray Vaughan, electrifies audiences both young and old. His pure talent not only crosses genre lines, but is generating genuine excitement from Las Vegas audiences. A talented piano and guitar player, he is also very versatile on brass instruments such as trumpet and flugel horn.

Grant Garland has performed with and opened for artists such as B.B. King, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Steve Cropper, Margo Rey, Jimmy Hall, Mike Farris Jimbo Mathus, Charlie Wood, Jon Faddis, Bob Mintzer, Carl Saunders, Corey Osborn, Chris Vadala, Exile, Preston Shannon, and Jason D. Williams. His self-titled debut album was released in April of 2009. His second album is currently in production.

http://grantgarlandmusic.com/

pop | soft rock

Tiffany Johnson’s powerful vocals soared from the inside of a house studio in Nashville. She was live recording her rendition of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” – a song she’s been singing for the past 30 years. Two of these performances were especially memorable. The first was when she sang her little heart out at a community festival in grade school. The second is etched into her mind forever. It’s what she pictured when she closed her eyes in that house studio. It was when she stood atop a roof in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, against the night sky, and sang for a group of humanitarian aid volunteers.

She recorded that song live for her most recent project, Five Minutes More. It is a culmination of Tiffany’s complete singing career. She first traveled with The Bandits when she was eight years old. She’d stand up in front of crowds at country bars in the Southeast and do what she loved most. During her teens and twenties, she toured the country with a gospel group called TRUTH. Her solo career included opening dates for Bob Carlisle, NewSong and Ashley Cleveland. Currently, she can be found singing backup for Nashville’s critically acclaimed Etta Britt, performing in Nashville at various events, including benefits for charities such as Songs For Sound and Soles4Souls and singing regularly at Hopepark Church.

The record includes odes to ex-boyfriends, love songs and even a worship song. But the title track is different. It expresses her desire to have just five more minutes with her late father – a sentiment many can identify with.

tiffanyjohnson.net

blues | rock | pop

Known for her ability to draw you in with her sweet melodies, heartfelt lyrics, and soulful presence, Jaclyn Monroe music reflects her evolution of years of self training, songwriting and recording. Like her striking red hair, Jaclyn’s songs jump out, grab your attention and demand your focus. They are stories drawn from her own bittersweet experiences of loss, hope, passion and heartbreak. Her music soars between blues, rock, soul, and pop with influences from Etta and Aretha to Janis and Bonnie Raitt. Adept at both piano and guitar, Jaclyn’s instrumental abilities solidly underscore her desire to share her stories. Jaclyn’s music is infectious with hypnotic melodies surrounded by lyrical depth that strikes straight to the heart. A true artist, her songs aren’t just crafted to the fad of industry. Jaclyn Monroe is due to break out this year, so keep an eye out for this amazing talent.

http://www.jaclynmonroe.com/

soul | r&b | dance