Rob Baird/ ‘After All’/ Hard Luck Recording Co

Drawing from Lucinda Williams’ tender melodies and the raw chords of James McMurtry, the Memphis-bred artist chronicles the seven stages of grief concerning a breakup and what lies between the black and white lines of love. Recorded straight to tape at Battle Tapes studio in East Nashville under the direction of Jeremy Ferguson (Cage The Elephant, Andrew Combs, Lucie Silvas), the new album combines Austin songwriting with Nashville-fueled collaboration; the album includes a duet with Lucie Silvas on "Burning Blue."

Contact: Jaclyn D. Carter

Alejandro Escovedo

Alejandro Escovedo – City Winery (NYC)

The Mexican-American punk veteran hits the road again with his touring band, Don Antonio, for a 2019 US trek. Escovedo stops in many American cities for the first time since the release of The Crossing (Yep Roc), which NPR praised as “possibly the finest recorded work” of his five-decade career.

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Guster/ ‘Look Alive’/ Nettwerk/Ocho Mule

The band’s first album in four years – recorded in a vintage keyboard museum in Calgary – is the most layered, moody and brilliantly unpredictable collection of songs in their storied career. The group captures the “cold sounds” of the record beautifully in the stark and haunting title track, which NPR Music calls “one of Guster’s most musically sparkling pop songs.”

Contact: Grace Fleisher

Neyla Pekarek/ ‘Rattlesnake’/ S-Curve

The classically trained Denver songwriter and cellist, formerly of The Lumineers, releases her solo debut LP, a concept album about the pioneering unsung Western heroine Kate Slaughterback, better known as Rattlesnake Kate. This “Folk Opera,” produced by Matt Ward, shines a light on incredible tales from Kate’s life, including her triumph over a pack of rampaging rattlesnakes and a 40-year love letter correspondence she maintained with a man she never actually met.

Contact: Grace Fleisher

Alejandro Escovedo

Alejandro Escovedo – City Winery (NYC)

The Mexican-American punk veteran hits the road again with his touring band, Don Antonio, for a 2019 US trek. Escovedo stops in many American cities for the first time since the release of The Crossing (Yep Roc), which NPR praised as “possibly the finest recorded work” of his five-decade career.

ticket and show info

Alejandro Escovedo

Alejandro Escovedo – City Winery (NYC)

The Mexican-American punk veteran hits the road again with his touring band, Don Antonio, for a 2019 US trek. Escovedo stops in many American cities for the first time since the release of The Crossing (Yep Roc), which NPR praised as “possibly the finest recorded work” of his five-decade career.

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Addi McDaniel/ ‘After The News’/ Sylvan Songs

The “dynamo with a brass-plated voice” (LA Times) breathes life into these original songs from collaborator Tom Siering, whose material she deftly forms into a broader tale of mortality, acceptance, grief and forgiveness. These original songs include covers like Andrew Bird’s “Are You Serious,” which Parade calls a “slinky, vintage-tinged song with a self-assured croon accompanied by chill organ, tasty guitar and a retro vibe.”

Contact: Mikaela Duhs

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Lula Wiles/ ‘What Will We Do’/ Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

For their Folkways debut, Isa Burke, Ellie Buckland and Mali Obomsawin challenge the hallowed traditions of folk music with country/folk songs that shine a light on a nation's crimes, love songs about being alone and murder ballads challenging the standards of morality.

Contact: Andrea Evenson

Júníus Meyvant/ ‘Across The Borders’/ Record Records

The “soul-stirring” (NPR) Icelandic “Newcomer of the Year” (Icelandic Music Awards) brings his eccentric and lush music to the US with his new album. Rich strings and soulful melodies heighten Meyvant’s unmistakable voice, creating a warm wall of bliss that marries glee with paranoia.

Contact: Amy Bailey

Leyla McCalla/ ‘The Capitalist Blues’/ PIAS

On her third album and her first with a producer, the New Orleans singer and songwriter and former Carolina Chocolate Drops member processes the current political environment with gnashing teeth and a raised fist. These protest songs weave through McCalla’s Haitian heritage, the various jazz and folk sounds of her adopted city and her belief in music’s power to effect change. Highlights include a Sam Cooke-like soul take on lead poisoning in the water (“Heavy As Lead”); the 1% (“Money Is King”); and finding love after the newlywed sheen dulls (“Me And My Baby”).

Contact: Natalie Maher

Lindi Ortega/ ‘Liberty: Piano Songbook’/ Shadowbox Music

Following her widely acclaimed 2018 album Liberty, Ortega returns with an entirely instrumental version of the 12-track “cinematic journey" (NPR Weekend Edition). These fresh versions move away from the spaghetti-Western production while maintaining a cinematic tone that musically complements its lyrical themes. “I didn’t feel like I was quite done with Liberty,” Ortega says. “I didn’t want to write a full sequel, but it needed something else. This seemed like a logical next step to take.”

Contact: Jaclyn D. Carter

Tedeschi Trucks Band

Tedeschi Trucks Band – Ryman Auditorium (Nashville)

Guitarist Derek Trucks and vocalist/guitarist Susan Tedeschi, “two of the best roots rock musicians of their generation” (NPR), kick off 2019 with a winter tour ahead of their fourth studio LP, which is slated for release early this year. Unrivaled in their blend of American soul, blues, rock and country, the GRAMMY-winning 12-member band will play multiple nights in some of America’s biggest cities.

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