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.”
Son Lux will be stopping by Chattanooga May 25th at our city’s newest venue, Revelry Room, plus a few other Southern dates during their 2016 April/May tour in-support of their instant 2015 classic LP “Bones.”
The band has teamed up with Tunespeak to give some lucky fans a chance to win tickets to a show near them PLUS a signed vinyl of “Bones”… the only catch:
A.) You need a Facebook account, and B.) You need to give Tunespeak permission to put a creepy app onto your account that wants to receive information like friends list, public profile, and music activity, just to name a few…
If you’re down with that, enter to win 2 Son Lux tickets and signed vinyl HERE
If not, pick up your tickets for May 25th at the Revelry RoomHERE… and your copy of “Bones”HERE… full tour listing and full stream of Son Lux “Bones” below:
Apr 04
The Shelter
Detroit, MI
Apr 05
Englert Theatre
Iowa City, IA
Apr 05
Contemporary Arts Center
Cincinnati, OH
Apr 06
Gabe’s Oasis
Iowa City, IA
Apr 08
The Hi-Fi
Indianapolis, IN
Apr 09
Andy Warhol Museum
Pittsburgh, PA
Apr 10
Ottobar
Baltimore, MD
Apr 16
Covenant College
Lookout Mountain, GA
May 12
Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever
Los Angeles, CA
May 13
Constellation Room at the Observatory
Santa Ana, CA
Athens, Georgia’s Cicada Rhythm is one of our latest discoveries who have been in high rotation in our headphones… And once digging up some info on the band to write this very article, we were pleasantly suprised to see the band will be playing a Chattanooga gig this Friday, February 19th at The Camp House, opening for HoneyHoney!
Cicada Rhythm are currently touring in-support of their debut self-tilted LP that dropped in October by Athen’s Normaltown Records– See full dates HERE
The record is a smooth and comforting collection of songs from beginning to end with a similar spirit to Deer Tick’s War Elephant. Stream the full LP below in addition to videos of a few keys tracks. Tickets and details for Friday’s show are available HERE!
Pick-up your copy of the new LP at the show or HERE:
Our pals from The Woodshop recently introduced us to the Oxford, Mississippi band Reels, who will be playing at Chattanooga’s newest music series, The Woodshop Presents, on February 19th at 5500 St. Elmo Ave.
Reels are on tour in-support of their debut 3-song EP, which dropped in November for FREE!
Stream and download the EP below… or HERE… and follow both Reels and The Woodshop Presents for details of the February 19th show.
There is no better way to kick off the new year than with new tunes… especially if those tunes are pretty damn good. For the past week we’ve been diggin’ into Kip Bradley’s debut solo full-length, ‘Hunky Diamond,’ which basically has been on repeat since we first dug in.
Kip, who is also the frontman for Chattanooga’s SharkWeek, has taken a break from heavier riffs and howls, showing us a chiller, softer side, switching to an Americana vibed sound with slight nods to his Rock n ‘Roll roots. The first single from ‘Hunky Diamond’ is called ‘Split Wide’ and is about as uptempo and heavy as the album gets.
Stream that track below as well as a video sampler of the LP that features solo live takes as well as recorded tracks from the album with narratives scripted by Clark Williams of Big Kitty. No word yet on when the LP will drop, but till then, these few things below will hold you over. All we know is we hope this record gets pressed on wax, it’s definitely vinyl worthy:
Also, catch Kip live thought-out Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia during his Winter Southeast tour:
1/10 – Smith’s Olde Bar – Atlanta, GA
1/17 – JJ’s Bohemia – Chattanooga, TN
1/21 – The Stone Fox – Nashville, TN
1/24 – The Nick – Birmingham, AL
1/29 – Normaltown Hall – Athens, GA
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.
Son Lux
Athens, Georgia’s 
Our pals from 