Young folks focuses on the best, fresh folk, acoustic, singer-songwriter indie folk & alt-country jams. Turn it up Folks!

***guêboʒha shûʒhâ=48 (Muisca numerical system)***

Slade Coulter

‘Hey Mary’

[americana/country]

Press Notes:

Slade Coulter hails from Lubbock, TX—a breeding ground for songwriters and musicians including Buddy Holly, Joe Ely, and Natalie Maines—and possesses the talent, drive, and steadfast devotion to the craft that has him primed to join the pantheon of South Plain’s musical history. With a live show shaped and honed by over 4 years crisscrossing the region, Slade has shared the stage with artists including Wade Bowen and the Dirty River Boys, building a rabid fan base and leading to his own headlining opportunities in 2020 and 2021.

Tania Joy

‘The Drought’

[roots music/retro soul]

Press Notes:

Canadian folk-roots musician Tania Joy has been using this time in isolation to hone her songwriting, finally following up her 2013 EP, I’ll Be Around, with new music due later this year, produced by Hill Kourkoutis (Digging Roots, Leela Gilday, Madison Violet), a multi-talented artist who played with Serena Ryder and was in The Weeknd’s original backing band.

Her stories, so far, have been about relationships, in all of their complicated forms. However, during the pandemic, Tania found herself taking on a more complex narrative as the world around her shifted, bringing increased and global attention to Black Lives Matter. With mentorship from Hillside’s Girl and Guitars program, Tania wrote her first protest song, an acoustic reflection “Planks and Marietta,” which will be released during Black History Month.

Henry Conlon

‘Lucy’

[americana/singer-songwriter]

Press Notes:

Henry Conlon is an Americana singer and a songwriter based out of Nashville, Tennessee. His premier album ‘Home’ recorded was with Eric Lichter at Dirt Floor Records in 2019. In 2020 Conlon re-recorded and released one of his signature tracks, ‘I’m Coming Home’, this time as a stripped, acoustic track. In early 2021, Conlon recorded ‘Lucy’ and upbeat departure from his early, melancholy work. Conlon and his band The Odd Dogs are in the process of planning aa host of shows in 2021, Pandemic permitting. Lucy Presave NOW

The Sarandons

‘Caught In A Dream’

[folk/americana]

Press Notes:

Dripping guitar tones, billowing keyboard melodies, and defiant bass and drums all contribute to the textured sound of Toronto music stalwarts The Sarandons. While loose and lo-fi, their music is succinct and fastidiously arranged with action packed songs topping out at the three-four minute mark.

This past year has been the ultimate test of whether familiarity breeds contempt. When you’re marooned at sea together, all sorts of things start to creep in. More insidious than contempt, the people we’re locked in with start to become another piece of furniture in our lives. Days are on repeat and it’s the struggle against these enemies that The Sarandons capture in their new single, “Caught In A Dream.”

Kyle McKearney

‘Devil Water’

[country]

Press Notes:

Kyle McKearney is a well-accomplished artist & songwriter; ready to take the world on with his unique, modern-vintage, Americana sound.

Born and raised in small-town northern BC (Canada), Kyle grew up surrounded by family and their love of Country & Bluegrass music. After high school, Kyle had the opportunity to move to Nashville, TN, where he spent his days submersed in learning how classic Country and Rockabilly songs were crafted. He eventually made his way back to Canada and settled in Calgary, AB, where him and his brother Shade started a band together. It was then that Kyle really dug in, and started perfecting his skills in: singing, songwriting, all aspects of recording, touring and performing, which have led to being a full time career.

CHILLEMI

‘Friend’

[country/gothic americana]

Press Notes:

Singing with an enigmatic allure, CHILLEMI’s style paints with broad strokes of cinematic themes. His sonic palette is filled with hypnotic pulses of love, lust and dust all wrapped up in a fever dream. The solo project of Brian Chillemi (Rose Cologne) has evolved from touring the US and Europe over the last 10 years. After moving to Los Angeles from his native home of New York City just months before the pandemic, CHILLEMI has set his sights on a more refined sound pulling from influences such as Lee Hazlewood and Nick Cave.

Mark Vennis & Different Place

‘As the Crow Flies’

[americana/country]

Press Notes:

Fighting On All Fronts’ is the third album – following the acclaimed ‘Uncharted Water’ and ‘A Beautiful Lie Or The Ugly Truth’ – this too features an eclectic mix of different types of music influenced by the DIY ethos of punk rock. The album’s influences, lyrically and musically, are broad and take in films, books and indeed the current state of the world. Bedded in the band’s sound is their unique take on rock n roll and reggae. These songs, all written by Vennis, are about the underdogs, the oppressed, the forgotten, the downtrodden and down at heel, These are the people you don’t read about: the loved, the lost, the sinking, the drowning, the burning. ‘Fighting On All Fronts’ is an album about the insecurity of modern life, tales from the end of the world, and that age-old battle with yourself. There is light and shade and there are good times and bad. As Vennis himself says, “We are just trying to make sense of it all the only way we know how – through our songs.” The musicians on the album are: Mark Vennis, Dave Sweetenham, Duncan LeFeuvre, Brian Gee and ‘Fighting On All Fronts’ was produced and recorded by Duncan LeFeuvre at Gravel Track Studios. ‘Fighting On All Fronts’ is a compelling and forthright piece of work; this music will quicken your pulse, raise your spirits and make you think.

Mark Vennis & Different Place have performed many gigs and festivals. including at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Jacob Vanko

‘Standing Down’

[americana/rock]

Press Notes:

Jacob Vanko was born and raised in the Anthracite Coal Region of the Northeast. The blue-collar, hard working town he calls home sits nestled in a valley amid Pennsylvania’s slice of the Appalachian Mountains. Being brought up in an environment where both sides of his family were artistic and musical, the young, impressionable boy was constantly surrounded by an eclectic, creative energy. Jacob would frequently sneak out of bed and peak in on his old man’s blues jams in the basement of his childhood home. His father, a songwriter in his own right, introduced iconic songwriters like John Prine, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits and Bob Dylan to his burgeoning, songwriter son. Vanko’s musical lineage also includes figures like his grandfather on his mother’s side, who was a local jazz drummer and his aunt on his father’s side, who was a nationally prominent classical pianist.

As a teen growing up in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, the raw and rebellious artist gravitated towards the furious, dark and heavy sounds of groups like Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Tool. The melodic and unique sounds of grunge in all its glory with the gritty guitar tones, aggressive vocals and well crafted songs were major contributing factors to the evolution and development of Vanko’s writing and live performance energy.

Jacob found himself coming into his own as a songwriter in his 20’s. Migrating from Pennsylvania to land in Southeast Virginia, his life experiences to this point painted a curious picture of the world. Social observations, the ugliness of inner struggle, searching and questioning brought an intense quality to his writing. The early seeds of traditional blues, folk, country and bluegrass have collided with the bold sounds of grunge and rock influences forging a poetic, americana songwriter with a furious live stage presence.

Quote the Raven

‘Home Is Worth The Blues’

[folk/country]

Press Notes:

An impromptu trip to Nashville set the wheels in motion for the sophomore record from Americana Folk duo, Quote the Raven. The sounds filling the Nashville airways reinvigorated the Newfoundland duo’s inspiration and they found a new home in the Americana genre. Their new record titled Can’t Hold the Light is a summation of the journeys that the pair have experienced over the past two years.

Collaboration has always been at the forefront of everything Quote the Raven has done. Similar to their first record Golden Hour, Can’t Hold the Light features an A-list of collaborators including Chris Kirby, Charlie A’Court, Blake Reid, Andrew Waite, Jessica Pearson, Andrew Sneddon, Nick Earle, and so many more.

Chloe Levaillant

‘Where the wild people go’

[freak folk]

Press Notes:

Chloe Levaillant is a French-British singer-songwriter, musician, and performer. Born in London, she spent the early part of her childhood in England before moving to France, where she is currently based. Chloe has been writing music for eight years and has developped her own unique, eclectic folk fused sound. She has written and produced two albums and will be releasing her third self produced album later this year. Chloe’s journey as a songwriter and performer has been greatly informed by her journey with street performance and the different cities she has performed in. Her songs are lyrically raw and honest, intended for the listener to be able to relate and immerse themselves in the story each song has to tell.

Alongside songwriting she also enjoys composing music for documentary and film as well as Gregorian chant inspired choral music.

Compiled by: Christos Doukakis