Labor day weekend… let’s get dirty at the Muddy Roots Music Festival: with garage rock, punk, bluegrass, hellbilly, camping and more!
September 2-4th, in the tiny, yet beautiful, town of Cookeville, TN (at the June Bug Boogie Ranch) there will be underground country and pure rock and roll resounding …along with music fans, vintage cars, vendors, pinups and… of course, campers.
We are looking forward to attending this festival, where long time favorites such as Soledad Brothers and the Melvins will be gracing the field(s).
The lineup is inimitable… below is just a brief illustration of the talent the attendees will be subjected to:
Check out the full lineup and schedule HERE and purchase tickets HERE… see you soon?
R.J. Dollars: He writes lyrics, picks up a guitar, and he sings.
There are musicians who perform because it is “fun,” it’s a hobby… Then there are those select few who have a desire, a passion, to write, sing and entertain… R.J. Dollars, has a passion.
Starting off as a way to amuse college kids through his comical songs, R.J. Dollars’ talent, passion and thirst for music has strengthened and matured over time.
Previously, fronting the band Eight Knives and other projects, Mr. Dollars has developed a stage presence bursting with intensity. His new act General Dollars has a sound and quality that is raw, expressive and stimulating. There is no veiling R.J. Dollars unique writing style. His play on words will have you analyzing every single verse.
Last fall General Dollars laid down a few tracks, which were recently pressed to marbleized vinyl. Fans have the choice of selecting from an array of colors: modern marble, Vince Gill Green, variant colored & Blood Visions Red (SOLD OUT).
“Bottle of Youth,” General Dollars’ debut 7-inch, includes two phenomenal tracks and features Matt Martin on drums (who has performed and recorded with such acts as Jessica Lea Mayfield & Bobby Bare Jr.). Jeremy Ferguson, of Battle Tapes Recording (Nashville, TN), recorded the tracks with a 1973 Studer A80 MKII 16-track 2? recorder.
We will be able to celebrate the release of General Dollars’ “Bottle of Youth” 7-Inch Friday, August 12th at JJ’s Bohemia. Friday’s celebration will feature General Dollars with openers, Rye Baby (Chattanooga, TN) and Slow Parade (Athens/Atlanta GA)… This is going to be one Hell of a show!
Let’s find the Bottle of Youth together this Friday night… and pick up the new single HERE
Polish your ears with this hot track from Okey Dokey… We recently stumbled across this fine Nashville collaboration fronted by Aaron Martin and Johny Fisher (Sol Cat & The Weeks), in addition to a band consisting of ever-changing members of The Weeks, Sol Cat, Desert Noises, Diane Coffee, Wild Child, Turbo Fruits/Bully, Rayland Baxter & more!
The band’s debut single, ‘Wavy Gravy,’ dropped earlier this year and is just a small taste from the band’s first full-length, ‘Love You, Mean It,’ which the band says via their Facebook page, is dropping “this Summer.”
Dig into Okey Dokey, purchase the debut single, ‘Wavy Gravy’ HERE… and keep your eyes pealed for ‘Love You, Mean It!’… Although there is no mention of tour dates or upcoming shows, we look forward to catching these guys very soon!
P.S. Frontman Aaron Martin is not only a musician, but a visual artist as well. He has crafted album art, posters and other means for numerous bands, such as TORRES, Diarrhea Planet, The Kingston Springs, Birdcloud, Blackfoot Gypsies, Hellbender, The Ettes, The Jag, & Alanna Royale. Read more about his “craft” HERE & HERE .
August 5th-6th Birmingham, AL will be coming upon its 6th year of Secret Stages. We have personally attended and enjoyed this 2-day walking music festival in its previous years. With its affordability and excitement of “finding” emerging bands, Secret Stages is a win-win experience.
Why you should attend
The excitement of being able to watch emerging/talented artists in small venues before their “big break”
Each venue, bar and outdoor stage is within walking distance
There will be great food, delicious drinks and good company!
Affordability
SECRET TIER: Weekend Passes for $25 and VIP Passes for $60 Sold Out
RUMOR TIER: On sale now! NOTE: LIMITED NUMBER OF TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THIS PRICE:
Day Passes for $20
Weekend Passes for $35
VIP Passes for $75
WHISTLEBLOWER TIER: Final pricing including day of show. Kicks in when “Rumor” tickets sell out
Single Venue Passes for $15 (available at venues an hour before show time),
Day Passes for $25,
Weekend Passes for $40
VIP Passes for $90
Just a few of the many genres of acts we recommend checking-out: Check out www.secretstages.net for more information regarding the schedule, bands performing and venues.
Lando Chill (Hip Hop) – Tucson, Arizona:
Unpretentious, inspirational and incomparable. Lando Chill has a sound of his own and delivers heroism to hip hop.
Just watch, listen , and enjoy:
This duo provides a musical explosion of structural elements that transition in exuberant shapes and colors. We are smitten with their charm. Frank Zappa would be proud.
A smooth and unique collaboration of folk and alternative country tinged with a hint of rock and roll. These Georgia boys give us an alternative to your regular “chill-out” music.
Skylar Gudasz (Indie rock, folk, jazz) –Durham, NC:
Skylar exposes her angelic voice in a distinctive folk-country, yet rock-n-roll form. Her music bestows joy & despair with a bit of sarcasm and relief. Enjoy!
With an album produced by Bud Carroll, former (phenomenal guitarist) of one of our all time favorites American Minor, you are NOT going to be disappointed by West Virginia’s Ona. Ona embodies an appetite for representing and bringing us back to the original “rock-n-roll”.
Via http://www.secretstages.net/about/ : “Secret Stages is a two-day walking music festival that takes place in downtown Birmingham, AL on the first weekend of August. For two nights a diverse group of music enthusiasts are treated to around 60 bands performing on the stages of neighborhood establishments. These acts were drawn from the nation, the region, and our own back yard, and all are up-and-coming or buzz-worthy acts on the cusp of making a big splash. All Secret Stages venues are within a two-block radius, so our patrons can come to the city center, park, and have walking access to dozens of bands, a variety of venues, and delectable restaurants.”
Back in December, we had the pleasure of ending our year in Nashville with Nikki Lane at her very last show of 2015… And there is nothing we like more than going to a show of one of our favorite artists and walking away a fan of the opening act!
In this case, it was Dallas, Texas’ Jonathan Tyler who kicked off the evening at City Winery with high energy and crafty songwriting! He was even joined by Nikki Lane with the song “To Love Is To Fly,” a single from his latest LP, “Holy Smokes.”
The record is Tyler’s second full-length, but first via Thirty Tigers, and first without his and his band’s original name “Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights,” which they had to change for legal reasons.
Catch this road warrior in just about every damn city in the U.S. in 2016 – See full tour dates HERE – and stream a few tracks from “Holy Smokes” below including a mini documentary of the the band on the road below.
“Holy Smokes” is available NOW… Pick up your copyHERE
About a week ago, Third Man Records released the A-side of the label’s most recent addition to their roster, Nashville’s Sun Seeker.
Not only is this a first-taste to one heck of single, but it’s the band’s debut physical release as well! Which is pretty dang impressive in our books – The band had a Bandcamp page which had some additional tracks from a digital EP, but those have since been removed.
Dig into the A-side “Georgia Dust” below and and pre-order “Georgia Dust” HERE
UPDATE: Feb. 10, 2016:
In addition to replacing the cover photo to a more recent shot of the band (shot by Angelina Castillo), here’s a little update on this Friday’s show here in Chattanooga:
Show starts at 9pm and features Sun Seeker, Ornament, and Free Pizza (the band, not free food)… Door/$5, BYOB… For details CLICK HERE:
The Môme – 1017 Oak St, Chattanooga, TN 37403
Also, since this first post, Third Man Records released the official video for “Georgia Dust.” Check that out below along with Sun Seeker live at Grimey’s in Nashville on 2/6/2016 – See y’all Friday at The Môme!
– TSR
Sun Seeker will be on tour this February. Catch them at the dates below (including a Chattanooga date) get a vibe of how Sun Seeker are live via a session that was recorded at Battle Tapes Recording last year.
2/6 – Nashville, TN – Grimey’s New & Preloved Music
2/12 – Chattanooga, TN – The M?me
2/13 – Atlanta, GA – The Cleaners
2/15 – Athens, GA – Go Bar
2/16 – Durham – Duke Coffee House
2/18 – Gainesville, FL -Boca Fiesta the backyard
2/19 – St. Petersburg, FL – The Bends
2/20 -Sarasota, FL – New College
2/22 – Asheville, NC – The Auditorium
2/23 – Knoxville, TN – The 1400
At the same time as we publish this post on a late Friday evening here in Chattanooga, Those Darlins hit the stage in our sister city, Nashville, at The Basement East… Sadly, this will be their very last show.
If you’ve been a long-time follower of The South Rail, then you know how we’ve loved us some Those Darlins since their very beginning… And if you haven’t heard by now, the band has been touring this January… performing their final shows on their “Farewell” tour – The tour that is ending this evening.
Experiencing the “end” of one of our favorite bands, during their last Chattanooga date at JJ’s Bohemia, well… that grabbed our music-loving soul. We know each member will be continuing with separate music and/or art projects in the near future, and we wish them all the best of luck. We can’t wait to see what 2016 has to offer… but knowing that “the band” is leaving on “indefinite hiatus”… “the band” that grew up at the same time as this blog… well, it made us hungry to do this “thing”… To bring The South Rail back once again!
We know, we know… This blog has slowly died out since 2014, and has been very off & on near it’s “end”… But a band who’s music inspired us to “South Rail” to begin with, well… they have inspired us yet again…
Established in 2009, we are ready to give this another shot. Slowed down by a major hack that destroyed our website (luckily had a back-up of every artical). Now, with a minor refresh to support mobile content, we are back.
Best of luck again to Those Darlins! I’m sure you’re killing it right now at tonight’s sold out show! We can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeves in 2016 and the future! Thank you for years of great times and tunes!
Here’s a round-up of all our favorite Those Darlins tracks… Dig in and enjoy – TSR
Last October, we were pumped to hear Adia Victoria at JJ’s Bohemia for her debut Chattanooga show, but due to the 2 weeks that JJ’s was shut-down in the Fall, we were disappointed to miss her from the cancelled show… Well, today Adia is bringing it to JJ’s for real this time… and we can’t wait!
Her debut LP hasn’t dropped yet, but with the first little taste of material, like her first single ‘Stuck In The South’ – produced by Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo, Those Darlins) – and the buzz we’ve been hearing from the Nashville scene, we’ve been pretty dang eager to finally catch her and the band live… A band that also consists of Ruby Rogers (The Black Belles) on bass and Tiffany Minton (Heavy Cream) on drums.
Add one of our new favorite locals Mad Libre along with Swoon and Cutlass Cult, plus free admission to all Aquarius signs ($7 for all non-aquarians), then we’re all in-store for a great time tonight! RSVP HERE via Facebook (and for details).
Check out Adia Victoria’s ‘Stuck In The South’ below and follow Adia HERE for the latest news:
Labor day weekend… let’s get dirty at the Muddy Roots Music Festival: with garage rock, punk, bluegrass, hellbilly, camping and more!
R.J. Dollars: He writes lyrics, picks up a guitar, and he sings.
