Meet the BIG RED Nominees: Favorite Roots/Americana Act
Haunt the House – Haunt the House comes from a quiet place. With members from all over the small state of Rhode Island, Haunt the House has already made a big impact on the local and regional music scene. Based in the woods of Charlestown, Rhode Island, songwriter Will Houlihan first caught the attention of the Rhode Island music scene in 2013 with the release of his solo EP, “Rural Introspection Study Group”. Shortly after this release, Will conceived the idea for his first full-length release – a love triangle between two people, one of whom has a split personality. His idea would grow into the 2014 release, “Jack Rabbit Jones.” http://hauntthehouse.bandcamp.com/
The Whiskey Boys – The Whiskey Boys are a Boston based modern Bluegrass and Americana band led by Berklee graduate, David Delaney. With additions of banjo, bass, acoustic guitar, and mandolin, the boys always put on an entertaining and fiery show on stage. With complex arrangements that liken them to The Punch Brothers and catchy hooks they have something for everyone. http://www.whiskeyboys.com/
Spotted Tiger – Led by violist Laurence Scudder and Erik White on guitar, Spotted Tiger is rounded out by a malleable all-star combination of Boston area musicians. Playing an inspiring variety of original music and hand-picked covers from an array of genres, this band is on the move.
Spotted Tiger – sometimes acoustic, always eclectic. http://spottedtigermusic.com/
The Mark Whitaker Band – Mark Whitaker is a banjo-wielding singer/songwriter from Boston, MA. Shaped by years of narrowly escaping threats from hostile banjo naysayers, Mark’s innovative playing style is sure not to offend, and likely to be enjoyed. His music draws from a range of influences including folk, blues, pop, and bluegrass. With rich vocals and thoughtful lyrics, Mark’s songs offer a fresh and introspective take on everyday emotions, as well as heavier subjects like crisis, heartbreak, heartburn, and heart repair. http://www.markwhitakermusic.com/
Session Americana – Session Americana (Boston) is a rock band in a tea cup, or possibly a folk band in a whiskey bottle. This band/collective of talented musicians craft an musical experience unlike any other. On stage is a collapsible bar table wired with microphones, a vintage suitcase recast as a kick drum, an old Estey field organ, a pre-war parlor guitar, a mandocello and all of its smaller siblings, a harmonica case fire damaged when Jack’s bar went up in flames and graffitied by Depeche Mode roadies, and an assortment of other instruments that get passed around in this freewheeling modern hootenanny. The anything-could-happen feel of a Session show depends on craft that’s not accidental or easilywon; they bring a kind of ease and genuineness to this timeless music, sometimes presenting the latest batch of original songs, sometimes reaching back into depths of the American “song bag”.
http://www.sessionamericana.com/
The Suitcase Junket – Matt Lorenz – a Vermont born tinkerer, visionary and thief – started The Suitcase Junket with the 2009 release of Sever and Lift. “The band” was built around a resurrected dumpster-diamond guitar, an old oversized suitcase, a hi-hat, a washboard and a gas-can baby-shoe foot-drum. Later on a cookpot-soupcan-tambourine foot-drum, a circular-saw-blade bell and a box of bones and silverware (that operate much like a hi-hat) joined the outfit.* On top of the rough and rootsy rhythms he pounds out with his feet and the twang-and-buzz guitar that growls through a couple of old tube amps, he adds an ethereal edge with his self-taught throat-singing. This sound is the most disarming aspect of his music, especially in a live setting. You can watch people tilt their heads and whisper to their neighbors about how “He’s got something in his mouth” or “That’s some pedal or effect, I bet.” However, once he explains what he’s doing and how it’s done the sound is no less magical. “He [sings] in a gnarled, bluesy drawl” (-Portland Press Herald) that can rise to a lonely tenor or growl down to stone. http://www.thesuitcasejunket.com/
The Low Anthem – Founded by duo Ben Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky, The Low Anthem recorded and self-released two studio albums, The Low Anthem (2006) and What The Crow Brings (2007), before the arrival of vocalist and clarinettist Jocie Adams in 2007. In 2008, the band released its third studio album, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, and increased its fanbase significantly with the album’s re-release on Nonesuch Records and Bella Union. The band consists of Ben Knox Miller (vocals, guitar), Jeff Prystowsky (drums, vocals, double bass), Mike Irwin (bass, trumpet, guitar), Bryan Minto and Florence Wallis (vocals, violin).
http://www.lowanthem.com/site/
Girls, Guns and Glory – For the past eight years, Boston’s rising stars Girls Guns and Glory have been making a name for themselves through relentless touring (about 200 gigs a year worldwide), the release of four critically acclaimed records, a slew of local awards, including being the Boston Music Awards first act of its genre to win Act of the Year, and international awards (Independent Artist of the Year at the French Country Music Awards). The foursome (Ward Hayden on vocals/guitar, Paul Dilley on electric and upright bass/piano, Josh Kiggans on drums/percussion, and Chris Hersch on lead guitar/banjo) found inspiration for this record from early ’50s rock ‘n’ roll icons such as Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, and Buddy Holly, as well as country greats like Hank Williams and Johnny Cash.
