Young folks focuses on the best, fresh folk, acoustic, singer-songwriter indie folk & alt-country jams. Turn it up Folks!
Michelle Hannan & Jason Hannan
‘Wastelands’ (featuring Howard Parker)
[country/americana]
Press Notes:
Michelle Hannan & One Blue Night, based out of Frederick, MD, is one of Maryland’s top up and coming independent country bands. Riding the momentum of their first single, Tonight I’ll Scrape a Heart Off the Barroom Floor, the band is starting to see critical acclaim roll in. The single was featured by top industry blog, Saving Country Music, as one of the top 25 new country songs in America in June of 2018. The band features the warm, soulful vocals and songwriting of Michelle Hannan, along with her husband; singer, songwriter, and bassist Jason Hannan.
Drea Lake
‘Dreaming Peacefully’
[indie folk/singer-songwriter/alt pop]
Press Notes:
One of the things that have always made Canadian music unique are many artists’ close relationships with the environment. The inherent intertwining of the beauty of the natural world with the creation of unforgettable lyrics and melodies will always shape our culture, and singer/songwriter Drea Lake is directly connected to that tradition.
Splitting her time between Montreal and the rustic town of Elora, Ontario, north of Guelph, Drea is poised to release her third single, “Dreaming Peacefully,” following up her previous offerings, “Bird In Your Window” and “Disappear With Me,” which established her as a dynamic new voice within the Canadian pop/folk music scene over the past two years.
Sonic Løland
‘Lost’
[indie folk/indie pop]
Press Notes:
Sonic Løland is the music project of Norwegian musician Anders Løland. Together with co-producer Hans Olav Settem (Benedikt) he has made the album “And Then The Sun Came Up” which is set for release on Koke Plate September 30th 2022.
After having collecting a large amount of sound experiments and songs in poorly named hard drive folders for many years, 2020 was the year Anders decided to make an album of all the music he had gathered. The result is a creative and mystic collection of melodic indie-folk songs, where 60s chamber pop, nylon string guitar and longing melodies melts together with VHS-samples, electronic drums, ambient music and delicate string arrangements.
Pet Owner
‘Endless Fun’
[indie folk/chamber pop]
Press Notes:
Lea Mathis aka Pet Owner, the songwriter from Lucerne, describes with a velvety voice the world that surrounds her. She programs drum machines from the 80s, adds folky guitar riffs, quirky noises and elapsed synths. And what emerges is a contemporary mélange of folktronica and bubblegum pop. In addition to the colourful essence of the music, so too are the artwork and music videos for the LP created by Pet Owner. Her debut album Natural Behaviour will be released on the Swiss label Red Brick Chapel.
Where’s Beth
‘La Abundancia’
[indie folk/acoustic]
Press Notes:
Where’s Beth is a New York-based indie folk songwriter. Her debut EP, for my mom & other lovers (September 2022), is a sonically lush and idiosyncratic ode to connection in times of isolation. Stubbornly transparent in her lyricism and playful in her performance, it is a through-line vulnerability that makes Where’s Beth’s music relatable, even anthemic.
Kramies
‘You’d be the Fall’
[indie folk/slowcore/acoustic]
Press Notes:
Along with his critically acclaimed EP The Wooden Heart, as well as Of All The Places Been & Everything The End produced by Jason Lytle (Grandaddy), Todd Tobias (Guided by Voices) Jerry Becker (Train), Kramies has worked and performed with known artists such as Grandaddy, Clexico, and Spiritualized and many others. In 2021 Kramies teamed up with Patrick Carney of The Black Keys to produce his first Top 10 radio single “Days Of”. By the beginning of 2022 Kramies had two top ten songs on college radio and is slated for his first highly anticipated LP in September of 2022.
With a career spanning almost fifteen years and a long string of releases that have earned him the title of “the dream-pop troubadour”, Kramies’ knack for eerie and ethereal songwriting has gained the attention of Billboard, Clash, NPR and the BBCamongst others, with his most recent single “Hotel in LA” being praised for its “ethereal quality of a waking dreamscape” by Under The Radar. Much of his success has come from his ability to be himself and stick to his clear artistic vision, and this new LP sees Kramies grow even more comfortable with his own unique way of working.
Pushing his craft as an outsider who has firmly forged his own path, the self-titled release is not just the next step for Kramies on his path as an artist, but an assured new beginning for him as a whole.
Aaron Wylder
‘Mom and Dad’
[indie folk/singer-songwriter]
Press Notes:
Singer-songwriter, Aaron Wylder, is releasing “Mom and Dad,” a light indie folk ode that serves as a reminder of what to be thankful for.
“It’s easy to look at the glass half empty,” he says. “It’s easy to think you’re not good enough. This song is about rooting myself in the love I have and using that energy to push me further to achieve all I can.”
Aaron’s childhood was carefree and without worry. He grew up in the Cayman Islands, adventuring around the unique landscapes of the islands; swamps, marshes, mangroves, and fishing in his kayak.
Everything was good until 2004 when Hurricane Ivan completely decimated his family’s way of life. The family home was destroyed and much of the landscape changed for the worse.
After overcoming adversity, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan, Aaron and his family continued in the Cayman Islands until eventually immigrating to Canada in 2011. Aaron had always played music but really found his voice during the pandemic.
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Parkland
‘Buzz Cut’
[indie folk/indie rock]
Press Notes:
Coming from bands such as Close Talker and Rah Rah – Parkland is a new band that formed its creative process by allowing each musician to write separately without hearing the others’ interpretations. Each performance was recorded in basements and friends’ home-studios in figurative (and at times literal) isolation from one another, yet the album has the feel of a full band in a warm room. Given full freedom to write the parts they envisioned, Jerms Olson (bass), Janelle Moskalyk (guitar/vocals), Ian Cameron (pedal steel), Jeffrey Romanyk (drums), and Steve Schneider (keys/vocals) each added to Quiring’s lyrical and musical exploration, creating what amounts to an intentional album spanning the genres of folk, country, emo, and indie rock, never fully committing to one but giving a respectful nod to them all.
Parkland is a place of contrast and a place of adaptation. The debut self-titled album of Parkland, written and pieced together inside the heads of six musicians across Treaty 6 and Treaty 4 territories in western Canada, negotiates the space between personal discovery and cooperative writing.
The Bare Hambones
‘Drink a Little Whiskey’
[roots rock/americana/country]
Press Notes:
The Bare Hambones is a roots-rock band that has been performing in the Chicagoland area and throughout the Midwest since 2012. Fronted by charismatic piano-playing lead singer Tim Larsen, the band’s live show is a high energy 50/50 mix of covers and originals. Their originals can be found anywhere you stream music (new album being released in Oct 2022). The covers they play range from 50’s Rock and Roll to Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Country to Tom Petty, The Grateful Dead and up to Chris Stapleton’s Blues-based Alt Country of the present day. They cover a wide spectrum of some of the best songs ever released. The energy of their shows begins with the force that is Brad Riverdahl’s drumming and is held together with the foundation of the band, the creative and true bass player Tony Kubicek. Adding to that rhythm and energy is Mike Brown (“Ladies and Gentlemen, Michael Brown!”) who frequently stomps around on stage while strumming his acoustic guitar. And to top off the music, blues and southern rock-influenced Jeff Cali plays a lead guitar that has become the signature sound of the band.
Walker Tex
‘Muscovado’
[“outlaw” country/americana]
Press Notes:
Most outlaws are bad. The best outlaws are rebel heroes of the people. I am Walker Tex Scottish Born Singer Songwriter, Over the last few years I embarked on a journey. A Journey to find my sound, my voice and my passion. Starting out with a few covers and making my way towards a darker country folk style genre. I became a singer/songwriter to get my emotions and experience on paper through storytelling. The art of using music to connect is an old one and you can feel it in you when you play. My influences evolved from an eclectic taste, from the grunge heroes of the 90’s to the southern style rock of the 70s. If you like the darker side of life or quite simply need to listen to someone who has lived in that darkness and feels those emotions and anxieties…you may be in the right place. Currently working on an E.P titled “Walker Tex Presents Wild West Tours” Due out early 2023, the writing is in full swing as well as gigs around the UK. Features on Rogue Country FM, Beyond Radio, Gippsland FM, KFUG and many more. The sound of Walker Tex is travelling and just like an old time rambler… well I ain’t stopping. Check out more or simply follow the journey!
[All Press Notes provided by the artists]
Compiled by: Christos Doukakis