Young folks focuses on the best, fresh folk, acoustic, singer-songwriter indie folk & alt-country jams. Turn it up Folks!
***guêboʒha boʒha=42 (Muisca numerical system)***
Cass & Crossland
‘The Death of Maggie Simon’
[folk rock]
Press Notes:
Cass & Crossland are a Indie-Folk-Rock duo from Phoenix, Arizona. We like harmonizing, long walks on the beach, and are very upset that Taco Bell™️ took potatoes off their menu. Our MISSION STATEMENT: Drink LaCroix, wear your heart and your songs on your sleeve, and give a damn.
Hola La Poyana
‘Like a modern Jesus Christ’
[indie folk/psychedelic rock]
Press Notes:
Hola la Poyana is the solo project of Sardinian musician Raffaele Badas.
This sort of one-man band, initially developed through the use of a few essential instruments (acoustic guitar, voice and stomp box), took its first steps in 2012 with the self-produced folk-blues EP Lazy music for dry skins. The album was well-received and was later promoted with dozens of gigs throughout Italy. This adventure continued with the more sophisticated, full-lenght record A tiny collection of songs about problems relating to the opposite sex (2014), released by the Sardinian label Hopetone Records and followed by two years of relentless shows.
In 2018 Raffaele started the production of his new album. It has been recorded at different moments in time and in different places, between old houses scattered around in the Sardinian countryside and real recording studios. This new work took its time to grow up and fully mature.
Despite Hola la Poyana having started out as a solo project, the experience gained by Raffaele and his need not to repeat himself, lead him to a change of direction towards a greater diversity of his music, with the significant involvement, within the 5 tracks, of a bunch of musicians/friends from various Italian bands such as: Rigolò, Lilies on mars, Was, Diverting duo (now Memory of Sho) and Don Leone.
The EP is titled A long cold summer and was released in October 2020 by several Italian record labels.
Midnight Canyon
‘On My Radio’
[americana]
Press Notes:
Midnight Canyon emerged from an experimental, no expectations, strictly for fun quarantine collaboration between three well respected Chicago artists. With everyone’s schedules wiped clean, Danny Chaimson (whose credits range from O.A.R., Jem, Mike Doughty and Orgone, to Tyga, Solange Knowles, and Mike Posner) called good friends Packy Lundholm (I Fight Dragons, May Erlewine, Woody Goss) and acclaimed singer-songwriter Pat McKillen and scheduled a bunch of sessions to get together and jam.
A direction built on reverence for warm and woody 70’s artists like Jackson Browne and Fleetwood Mac, and robust songwriting paying homage to artists like Dire Straits and Bruce Springsteen quickly emerged.
As the jamming led to songs, the tracks were recorded live, with the help of drummer Jordan Kozer (The Redwalls) and then carefully crafted in Chaimson’s home studio. The result was just too good to keep to themselves, and the band chose 5 favorites to make up their debut EP. The album is an effort marked by expertly fashioned arrangements, genuinely tasteful playing, and contemplative heartfelt lyrics. And it only exists due to Chaimson, Lundholm and McKillen’s mutually sincere love of playing and writing music (and an international pandemic).
Caravan 222
‘Red Velvet’
[country/rock]
Press Notes:
Caravan 222 is an eccentric super troupe comprised of a handful of talented writers and musicians from all around the US. The inception began with a trip to Valparaiso, Chile in 2017 for the Parallel Inverted Universe Art Residency where they toured throughout the country gathering collective experiences and unknown sounds. This odyssey led them to seek out similar tours and writing retreats, including France, Spain, Portugal and the Continental US. With them, they brought back a unique noise; rock and roll meets cosmic country meets psych, creating a limitless experience built on lighthearted and rowdy times. The band currently takes up residency in the Bay Area where their magnetic sound has become known as Oakland Country.
This Frontier Needs Heroes
‘Dumb it Down’
[folk/cosmic country]
Press Notes:
Originally from Brooklyn, NY, but with stints in Nashville and Jacksonville, FL Brad is known for his DIY tenacity and extremely entertaining intimate live shows. Whether it is a house concert, a listening room, or a streaming concert. Over the last few years he has traversed North America and Europe including Canada and Scandinavia and even played concerts in Colombia and Tunisia. One night with Brad will run the gamut of all human emotions from humour, hedonism, activism and heartbreaking sadness. From folk-rock anthems, to indie folk, flares of cosmic americana, psychedelic, alt-country, to straight up storytelling sometimes you get it all in one song. Influenced by classic songwriters like JJ Cale, John Prine, Billy Bragg, Kris Kristofferson, and Townes Van Zandt his timeless songs mix love, humor, and protest seamlessly to get you through the tough times.
Slim Hanson and the Poor Choices
‘Thank You Sir (For Taking Her Away from Me)’
[country/honky tonk]
Press Notes:
Slim Hanson and the Poor Choices is a Country and Western band from Kansas City, Missouri performing quintessential honky-tonk classics and original songs about love, loss and life. The band is composed of renowned musicians from a wide range of genres such as Cuban Salsa, Flamenco and Rock. This project was born out of their shared love of classic country music.
John Hollywood
‘River’
[folk/americana]
Press Notes:
John Hollywood writes folk songs in the tradition of John Prine and Guy Clark with a fresh, millennial perspective. Originally from Houston, John has spent the last twelve years kicking around California and getting kicked back. His direct, unflinching lyrics give voice to the collective dread and disillusionment of a generation taking up society’s dystopian mantle.
Frontier Station
‘Earshot’
[folk/alternative rock]
Press Notes:
Frontier Station are a London-based rock band with an old-time twist. Blending the lavish lyricism of Bruce Springsteen, the multiple vocals of Fleetwood Mac, and the cinematic soundscape of The Cure, they’ve a rousing sound with a hard storyteller’s edge. Their music drenched in harmonies, with guitars that cascade like distant foghorns and drums that pound like locomotive pistons. They spin tales of miners, gargoyles, immortals and steeple jacks, in the shell of a Victorian steelworks by the glow of a flickering gaslamp.
Formed in 2018 by guitarist Ben Leich and vocalist Matt George Lovett, they’ve been gigging around London since then with the twin powers of intricate songwriting and theatrical live shows. Drummer Kat Miles, vocalist Esther Shelley, and bassist Liam Garrett complete the line up.
Jonathan Bone
‘Happy New Year (Fires Near Me)’
[indie folk/singer-songwriter]
Press Notes:
Jonathan Bone is a natural songsmith. His vulnerable vocals and creative guitarplay fuse indie and folk music with a heart of protest. Originally from the Welsh valleys he is now at home in the Blue Mountains of Australia, writing, producing and performing his own work. His songs explore themes of love, hurt, redemption and compassion.
N. Kerbin
‘Open Concept’
[folk/singer-songwriter]
Press Notes:
N. Kerbin is Poughkeepsie-born, Virginia-bred, Brooklyn-burnt, LA-based songwriter Nathaniel Wesley Fenton House Kerbin (who obviously spent a lot of time coming up with a name).
Formerly of the post-hardcore outfit Arrow to the Sun, N. Kerbin explores a quieter, more restrained approach. While all songwriters aim for honesty in their music, few achieve a spirit as warm, soothing, and touching as N. Kerbin. Atmospheric instrumental textures pair with tender and poetic vocals to create a blanket of dreamy melancholy that is at once cozy and heart-wrenching. With a deeply personal and intimate approach to songwriting, Kerbin’s sound is at once familiar and surprising.
Compiled by: Christos Doukakis