Brian Revels
Performing May 15, 2019 at Canoe
7:00 — 10:00PM
Brian Revels is probably most recognized as the brazen voice behind Atlanta, Georgia’s City Mouse, a bourbon-barreled version of a folk band with an ear for clever turns of phrase. If you’re a City Mouse fan, you would be forgiven for calling him a banjo player. But, long before the birth of this rowdy roots trio, he has been scribbling lyrics on scrap paper – restaurant order pads, receipts, check stubs – and picking a well-loved 6-string confidante.
At 16, Revels dusted off a neglected Silvertone Stratocaster that was begged off of his single mother and chopped his way through Johnny Cash’s rendition of the Nine Inch Nails song, “Hurt”. The effect was immediate and it anchored deep. A summer’s worth of work later earned him the Takamine that now has a hole in the front that would make Willie Nelson do a double-take.
As a budding musician, Revels gravitated to the agsty art of the era – Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, and, most influentially, Bright Eyes but soon after found his way to more timeless heroes in The Band, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt and Woody Guthrie coaxed by his friends’ southern-born fathers. Growing up a few minutes away from the intimate music mecca that is Athens, Ga, live music became an increasingly prevalent part of life. He was soon immersed in the music local legends like Drive-By Truckers or Ponderosa. His music now boasts a compelling mix of such influences, taking mournful but witty stabs at reality in a tone reminiscent of Conor Oberst’s work or journeying through an outlaw’s murder ballad in a way the Patterson Hood might appreciate.
As a performer, he tends to reimagine his songs constantly. Not like the Dead, completely reforming or endlessly improvising, but delivering the words with an earnestness that is completely true in the moment and therefore never a re-enactment of something tirelessly rehearsed – whether or not it is.
“I swear it comes from somewhere else. I definitely catch myself forcing parts of it, but some of the inspiration I just can’t claim. As far as the show goes, it’s like trying to keep a bird in a cage that won’t latch. I try to stick to melodies, try to be still but it never seems come out as tame as I’d like. I guess that became part of the charm to some folks. I’ve learned to appreciate it.” Says Brian.
Greenwood Rye
Performing May 22, 2019 at Canoe
7:00 — 10:00PM
After fronting the band Seven Handle Circus for several years, being featured on Conan, People, Paste & GuitarWorld, climbing the Americana Radio Charts, and supporting bands Mumford and Sons, Better than Ezra, and Zack Brown Band, Shawn Spencer ventures into alternative rock, with his new project.
“7HC was a beautiful thing that just kind of happened… we were a bunch of guys who started jamming and ended up with what was quickly becoming a very successful touring career. But in the end it was more than some had bargained for and they wanted to settle down. Me… I’m just not prepared to settle”.
The first move was hitting the studio and making a record with producer Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum selling producer Billy Hume (Ludacris, Ying-Yang Twins, Infamous Stringdusters).
With Spencer’s knack for big choruses with powerful lyrics and Hume’s history of hard-hitting mixes, the album, entitled Empty Seas, comes out edgy but with that sing-ability that pop music craves.
Jailhouse Gypsies
Performing May 29, 2019 at Canoe
7:00 — 10:00PM
Bluegrass Flash Mob
Performing June 5, 2019 at Canoe
7:00 — 10:00PM
Bluegrass Flashmob is the brainchild of Trey Gibbs, Mandolin & Vocals of Smokey’s Farmland Band, and he is joined by the top bluegrass talent available. Not your Grandpappy’s bluegrass, but a darker-haired variety with way more fashion sense. Plenty of harmony and musicianship that you might expect, but with a crowd that knows a little somethin’ and has better dance moves. We’re gonna have fun dammit!
Battlefield Collective
Performing June 19, 2019 at Canoe
7:00 — 10:00PM
Battlefield Collective is the combined musical talents and efforts of Stephanie Caron and Evan Hart. A unique blend of bluegrass, Americana, roots, and rockabilly give the group an unmistakable and unique sound that is as full of energy as it is passion.
Touring the East Coast, Battlefield Collective performs original material as well as their own arrangements of cover songs selected from top hits from the past sixty years. Energy, creativity, flexibility and versatility set Battlefield Collective apart from other bands.
Stephanie and Evan often perform as a duo, but also frequently hire local musicians to create a fuller sound to match the needs for any venue or private event, thusly: Battlefield Collective.
Battlefield Collective
Performing June 19, 2019 at Canoe
7:00 — 10:00PM
Battlefield Collective is the combined musical talents and efforts of Stephanie Caron and Evan Hart. A unique blend of bluegrass, Americana, roots, and rockabilly give the group an unmistakable and unique sound that is as full of energy as it is passion.
Touring the East Coast, Battlefield Collective performs original material as well as their own arrangements of cover songs selected from top hits from the past sixty years. Energy, creativity, flexibility and versatility set Battlefield Collective apart from other bands.
Stephanie and Evan often perform as a duo, but also frequently hire local musicians to create a fuller sound to match the needs for any venue or private event, thusly: Battlefield Collective.
