Young folks focuses on the best, fresh folk, acoustic, singer-songwriter indie folk & alt-country jams. Turn it up Folks!
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Saddlemen
‘Talking in the Night’
[americana/roots rock]
Press Notes:
Saddlemen is a Brooklyn-based roots-rock band fronted by Paul Hinkes and Armando & Austin Gutierrez. The band formed in 2017 after a series of bi-weekly jams at New York’s famous The Bitter End, where the trio discovered a shared affinity for Tom Petty, Linda Ronstadt, and The Band — and Dawes, Delta Spirit, and Glorietta, the modern flag-bearers of the Americana tradition.
Julian Taylor
‘The Ridge’
[folk/singer-songwriter]
Press Notes:
Julian Taylor doesn’t fit in a box. He never has—and more power to him. A Toronto music scene staple and a musical chameleon, Julian Taylor is used to shaking it up over the course of 10 albums in the last two decades. Of West Indian and Mohawk descent, Taylor first made his name as frontman of Staggered Crossing, a Canadian rock radio staple in the early 2000s. These days, however, the soulful singer/guitarist might be on stage one night playing with his eponymous band, spilling out electrified rhythm and blues glory, and the next he’ll be performing at a folk festival delivering a captivating solo singer-songwriter set. His songs have been placed in shows like Kim’s Convenience, Haven, Private Eyes and Elementary. He’s been invited to perform at two Olympic Games. The soulful blues, rhythmic soul, rootsy rock riffs and troubadour-esque folk songs that comprise his music are worth putting your busy life on hold for. In everything he does, Taylor has carved his own path, creating genre-free music with a generosity of spirit and a strong belief in the healing powers of song. Off stage, Taylor recently ventured into radio; when the Indigenous radio station ELMNT FM opened in Toronto in 2018, Taylor became the station’s afternoon-drive host.
Tommy Alexander
‘End of the World’
[alt country]
Press Notes:
Tommy & co. have been fortunate to share the stage with bad-ass artists including: Mac Demarco, Michael McDonald, Big Thief, Willy Tea Taylor, Susto, Spirit Family Reunion, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Twain, People Under The Stairs, Whiskerman & Taylor Kingman
Half Stack
‘Wings of Love’
[indie/country]
Press Notes:
Formed by university friends Pete Kegler and Digger Barret, the band is an extension of long standing friendships dating back to their days as undergrads in the beach town of Santa Cruz. Filled out by Oliver Pinnel, Callum Beal, and Jones, the band sports three guitar players, and lately they’ve been prone to adding a sixth on lap steel. Contrary to the East Bay’s penchant for loud post-punk and dark, serious music, the band’s only real peers include beer-soaked country balladeer Dick Stusso.
Operating in their own lane has been to their benefit, earning them opening slots for The Courtneys, Chastity Belt, and art rock outfit The Garden, not to mention praise from FADER, NPR, and SF Weekly. It’s helped that they’ve been blessed to work with immense talents behind the mixing board, teaming up with long time friend Melina Duterte of Jay Som for their 2018 debut, Quitting Time, and working with Joe Santarpia on their 2019 EP Aw Hell, whose credits include engineering and mixing Mac DeMarco’s Here Comes the Cowboy.
Johnson Crook
‘Grass Sure Ain’t Greener’
[americana]
Press Notes:
Johnson Crook is a four‐piece roots rock/country band based in Toronto, ON with rich, four‐part vocal harmonies, fiery guitar‐driven songs and performances reminiscent of The Eagles and The Band.
What started as song writing sessions between Noel Johnson (solo artist) and Dalton Crook (Nathan and Trevor’s group at the time) naturally evolved into much more.
When Jared Craig entered the picture, the quartet morphed into what is now Johnson Crook. The band’s stated mission is to create memorable, well‐crafted music with a genuine and timeless appeal, complemented by energetic and engaging live performances.
Their self‐titled debut album produced by Bill Bell (Jason Mraz, Tom Cochrane, Justin Nozuka, Danko Jones), to be released in Fall 2016, traverses themes of love, heartache and wanderlust.
Josh Fudge
‘Meet Me in Seattle’
[indie folk/indie pop]
Press Notes:
This song is my first acoustic release. All of the instrumentation and vocals in this track were done by me, and recorded at a local studio in Oklahoma City. This song serves as a love letter to someone who is no longer in your life.
Sebastien Lacombe
‘Gold In Your Soul’
[indie folk]
Press Notes:
Sebastien Lacombe has received glowing reviews from around the world and has toured throughout Quebec, France, Switzerland and Africa (for the Sommet de la Francophonie (2012). Lacombe’s songs received frequent airplay on French CBC as well as in various European radio stations. He was nominated as Critic’s choice by Montreal newspapers La Presse and Le Devoir for his performance at 2013’s Francofolies de Montréal.
Neev
‘Black Over Grey’
[folk/singer-songwriter]
Press Notes:
Singer-songwriter Neev has a voice that stays with you. Warm and husky, whilst also curious and delicate. Combined, this creates an intimate sound somewhere between Rachel Sermanni and Lianne La Havas.
While her lyrics set out on broad themes – relationships, existential angst, quarter-life-crises – Neev has a remarkable knack for discovering beauty in the small details.
Her first single ‘Burning To Dust’ was released in 2019 as a vocally focused acoustic arrangement with violin.
Originally from Glasgow, Neev is the latest Scottish songwriter charming crowds in London – a place where nobody can pronounce her real name, Niamh. Hence, ‘Neev’ was born.
Dan Croll
‘Grand Plan’
[folk]
Press Notes:
Since the release of critically-acclaimed debut album, Sweet Disarray in 2014, Liverpool-based Dan Croll has purposely proved impossible to pin down. A sonic explorer who approaches every song as a new adventure and uses instruments as inspiration and samples as signposts, he doesn’t so much sidestep genres as conquer several at the same time.
The range of bands that have sought out Dan as a support act – from Imagine Dragons, Bastille and Bombay Bicycle Club to Haim, London Grammar and Chvrches – attests to the ambitious scope of his songs. The same can be said for the breadth of brands that synched every song on his debut album among them Grand Theft Auto, FIFA, Citroen, Clairol, Burberry, Paul Smith and Apple’s iPhone 6, which was launched across the world with his hit ‘From Nowhere’.
Raye Zaragoza
‘Fight Like A Girl’
[folk/singer-songwriter]
Press Notes:
Raye Zaragoza (pronounced ray zay-rah-GO-zah) is an award-winning singer-songwriter who carries an acoustic guitar and a message. Her quiet yet powerful song “In the River,” written in response to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota, garnered half a million video views, national media coverage, and a Global Music Award and Honesty Oscar. Her forthcoming sophomore LP recorded with Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, First Aid Kit) will be released in 2020.
Compiled by: Christos Doukakis