Briscoe - Jess Nolan - Viv & Riley
Rising Americana-folk-rock band Briscoe is set to release their debut album 'West Of It All' on 15th September via ATO Records. Produced by Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats), the album features a collection of folksy hooks and bold songwriting that bridges the gap between classic American roots music and its modern-day incarnation.
The band started on the University of Texas/Austin campus, with free backyard performances which quickly led to sold-out gigs at Antone's Nightclub and The Continental Club Gallery. Comprised of bandmates Truett Heintzelman and Philip Lupton, they built their fanbase the old-school way, by constant touring and authentic engagement with the audience. The Texas natives wrote 'West Of It Al'l as graduation loomed in the distance, funnelling the stories of their college experience — from heartbreak to hard-won lessons to weekend trips into the rural countryside — into a raw, rugged blend of classic and contemporary influences.
As Briscoe continued to perform and grow their fanbase, a wider audience began to take notice. They soon opened shows for Noah Kahan and Ruston Kelly and were selected for dates with Zach Bryan and Caamp. And after recently graduating from UT, Briscoe has a packed touring summer, filled with festivals alongside some of music’s biggest names on Bonnaroo, Winnetka Music Festival, Fairwell Festival, Catbird Music Festival, Iron Blossum Music Festival and more. A career highlight happens for Briscoe when they take the stage before The Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge on 1st September. The band will headline a tour this Autumn as well. A full list of tour dates is below and on their website HERE.
To record the album with Cook in North Carolina, Heintzelman and Lupton added drummer Matt McCaughan (Bon Iver) and multi-instrumentalist Phil Cook (Megafaun, Hiss Golden Messenger). Cook plays bass on the sessions as well and encouraged Briscoe to explore their sound. "Brad was very adamant about highlighting the parts of our sound that are different from everything else out there," Lupton remembers. "He's very forward-thinking. Truett and I would come into the studio and track something, and we'd think it sounded like a blend of several bands we love, and Brad would say, 'No, boys, it sounds like Briscoe'".
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Jess Nolan - Emergency Landing.
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jess Nolan has released a new single “Emergency Landing” “Taking days off and spending time alone helps me show up more fully for thepeople around me. Instead of viewing it as selfish, I now see it as a sacred step in community care. My hope is that we can all give ourselves a high level of compassion for our own needs so that we can better serve others,” she added. “Take a breath! We don’t need permission to care for ourselves.”
“Emergency Landing” is Nolan’s first release since signing with Righteous Babe Records; the label was founded by fiercely independent icon Ani DiFranco, who describes it as “a people-friendly, sub-corporate, woman-informed, queer-happy small business that puts music before rock stardom and ideology before profit.” "I love Jess's voice, her melodies, they lift me,” DiFranco says. “So happy to welcome her into the RBR family.
Poet and psychoanalyst Clarissa Pinkola Estés said, “Do your art. Generally, a thing cannot freeze if it is moving. So, move. Keep moving.” These were words artist Jess Nolan has lived by over the course of the last three years. As everything in the world came to a halt, she kept her creative mind in motion -writing, drawing, singing, and painting her way through the unknown, pursuits Nolan has always relied on to help alchemize her surroundings
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A bittersweet nostalgia lies at the heart of Imaginary People, the new album from Viv & Riley, coming September 15, 2023 on Free Dirt Records. Over ten tracks, the pair applies an indie roots sheen to newly composed pop gems. Rooted originally in the folk tradition, the pair reframe the production into experimental territory, crafting songs that speak to finding a path forward into adulthood in an uncertain world.
Gifted songwriters and multi-instrumentalists, Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno’s first album under the name Viv & Riley is a subtle masterpiece of thought and reflection. The album brings a reflectiveness to summertime jams that speak of uninhibited joy and creative camaraderie. Coming on the heels of their acclaimed earlier albums that showed preternaturally talented songwriting from such young artists, now the songs have caught up with their lives. Now in their mid-20s, the two are building a life together, creating a supportive community, and looking back on everything they’ve been through.
Based out of Durham, North Carolina, they’ve tapped into the area’s eclectic and collaborative music scene, recruiting Alex Bingham of Hiss Golden Messenger to produce the album. Bingham brings a sunny, lush sound to Viv & Riley’s music, moving beyond their earlier country roots and toward a layered sound and sonic experimentation. The songwriting has evolved as well, from the world-weary, stripped-down country songs they’re known for to indie songwriting at turns sweetly sad and gently sardonic.
Ultimately, Imaginary People is about carrying and honoring our pasts, about letting that inform our new steps forward. No matter how much we might cling to where we are, sometimes we need to uproot and take a leap of faith, to open ourselves up to new experiences and ideas in order to grow and blossom. (CLICK ON VIDEO AND WATCH DIRECTLY ON YOUTUBE)
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