Young folks focuses on the best, fresh folk, acoustic, singer-songwriter indie folk & alt-country jams. Turn it up Folks!
***guêmica ata=61 (Muisca numerical system)***
Jacques Labouchere
‘Lebanon’
[americana/singer-songwriter]
Press Notes:
Swedish-American, forever travelling troubadour, Jacques Labouchere is gearing up to launch the release of his upcoming 4th album, “CONNECTING FLIGHTS”, on Friday June 25th, 2021! This flight was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, but while weathering that storm was supported with 4 single releases in advance of it’s release. They are as follows in order of their release dates “Lost Goals”, “Baggage”, “Like California”, & “? In D”. Jacques Labouchere has opened for acts such as Arlo Guthrie, Quilt (members of Woods & Olden Yolk), The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Daniel Norgren, Den Stora Vilan and shared the stage with Ken Stringfellow (The Posies/Big Star), This Frontier Needs Heroes, and José Gonzalez (Junip). He has toured extensively playing 100’s of gigs and festivals in Sweden, Norway, Denmark the UK , Holland, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and Italy. Germany has taken to him and since January 2016 Labouchere has toured the country five times and will tour support this album release with another tour of Europe as soon as it is possible to make those connecting flights again!
Tattoo Billy
‘Frisky Whiskey’
[country/americana]
Press Notes:
Tattoo Billy is multi genre intity was founded in 1990s and still going Strong. three members have died leaving Ed Begley Last founding member.
Way2Radiant
‘Let go’
[folk/pop]
Press Notes:
Way2Radiant- This is Rafaela and Alex from Cologne, Germany. In 2017 they founded the acoustic duo “Way2Radiant” and have been booked for various events all over Germany (and beyond) playing cover music. When working on their debut album “November Nights” (a compilation of evening songs and rock/pop ballads) in 2020, they wrote their first song as a duo, also titled “November Nights”.
Originally recorded as an acoustic version, “November Nights (Radio Version)” was released as a full band version soon after that and found favor with their audience as it met the pulse of the time.
Due to this success the musicians decided to concentrate more on writing their own songs and providing more space to their creativity.
Thus, they created 12 new songs in English, which can generally be assigned to the genre “pop music”, but other influences, such as country, rock etc. can be found.
In cooperation with Studio 39 all songs are being released this year as singles. They are all full band versions and go way beyond the original acoustic duo. What remains is their own style; it is Rafaela’s emotional voice, at times fragile, at others strong and dynamic and Alex’s guitar playing perfectly going in line with that as well as their harmonic voices precisely fitting into their arrangements, which characterize the sound of Way2Radiant.
Mark J. Lee
‘Vagabond Blood’
[country/americana]
Press Notes:
Mark J. Lee is a Devon born songwriter and performing musician steeped in traditional country and old time sensibilities. Resonant, raw tenor vocals over sparse, cinematic arrangements are the formula for his charmingly bleak 21st century frontier ballads.
Influenced as much by writers like Kurt Vonnegut and Ernest Hemingway as he is by Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams and George Jones, Mark meshes traditional country forms with stark, outsider poetry into what he describes as ‘Honky Tonk music for the end of the world’.
Before the Brave
‘Honey Honey’
[indie folk/lo-fi rock]
Press Notes:
Before the Brave emerged from the San Francisco music scene in 2012 with unexpected acclaim behind their first release, a 5 song EP entitled ‘Great Spirit’. After a series of local headliners, Noise Pop festival appearances, and west coast tours, the band garnered a consistent local fan base and comparisons to classics like Fleetwood Mac as well as contemporaries The Head and the Heart and The Alabama Shakes. The band, composed of original members vocalist/guitarist Jason Stevens, drummer Kyle Teese, and vocalist/keyboardist Beth Garber, was joined by Ryan Devisser on guitar and Miguel Castuera on bass, which elevated and expanded Before the Brave’s sound and landed 2014’s single ‘Free’ in national television placements and widespread circulation on indie music blogs. The following year marked a new season, as the band entered Tiny Telephone Studios with producer-engineer Andy Freeman (Eisley), who paved the way for their first full-length release, ‘Better Country’. The album was followed by multiple appearances at SXSW 2017, a licensing deal with Alcon Media Group, in-game song placements with the San Francisco Giants, and an expanded U.S. tour. In 2018, Before the Brave was rewarded with a month-long residency at Zoo Labs in Oakland, CA, where creativity, mentorship, and collaboration brought new life. Their forthcoming release “Can’t Go Back”, will be available everywhere in 2021.
Penelope Antena
‘Back to Stay’
[folk/singer-songwriter]
Press Notes:
Belgian and French singer/songwriter Penelope Antena is carving out her own genre melding path that has garnered praise from the likes of Rolling Stone, Marie Claire and France Inter. Her mother is renowned singer Isabelle Antena (a pioneer of Electro Samba) and her grandfather is jazz pianist Marc Moulin (the reason Blue Note opened its EU headquarters, and who was sampled by the likes of Jay Dilla).
Bess Atwell
‘Nobody’
[indie folk]
Press Notes:
There is comfort in the familiar. Yet it is precisely when we are most comfortable that we begin to ask questions. Artist Bess Atwell is full of questions: on life, death, love, loss… and how things that at first seem mundane become profound when looked at in a different light. “Co-op” is an exquisite work that unfurls like one of those first precious blooms of spring; luscious ripples of guitar surround Atwell’s crystalline vocals (that will undoubtedly draw favourable comparisons to the likes of Marika Hackman and Julia Jacklin). Her lyrics switch between the past and present tense, offering polaroid snapshots of a time where refuge and routine took precedent. It’s a charming vignette of Atwell’s life with her partner; a relationship that provided “some sort of permission to recuperate from family trauma”. It lays the groundwork for the ensuing exploration of what drives us to seek comfort, and what drives us away from it. This is perhaps most evident in her referencing Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway in the line, “It’s the laughter, it’s the plunge”. That scene – where the title character looks out at a peaceful view and is suddenly overwhelmed by dread that something terrible is about to happen – encapsulates what Atwell is trying to understand through her music.
Them Coulee Boys
‘Just Friends’
[folk/americana/bluegrass]
Press Notes:
Them Coulee Boys craft a brand of Americana that blends folk, punk, bluegrass, and rock & roll. The Eau Claire, WI natives sing their conversational songs in 4 part harmony, often with a banjo stomp and rhythm section punch that drives the audience onto the dance floor and into community.
The Sun Harmonic
‘All to Myself’
[folk rock]
Press Notes:
The Sun Harmonic is a Canadian folk-rock band led by small town songwriter Kaleb Hikele, a prolific recording artist based in Toronto’s east end. His fifth studio album, Coast to Coast, drops on streaming services in October 2021.
Phoebe Silva
‘Simply Happy Kind’
[americana/jazz]
Press Notes:
Born and bred in Southern California, indie artist Phoebe Silva blends classic American folk songwriting influences with a post-modern pop sensibility. A classically trained violinist from the age of three, she grew up playing in orchestras and bluegrass fiddle competitions, and performing in musical theater. Her roots in classical music and jazz and her love of storytelling imbue her music with a sense of timelessness. She has evoked comparisons to artists including Linda Ronstadt, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Fiona Apple, Ingrid Michaelson, Haley Reinhart, Lily Allen and Gwen Stefani. Over the last five years, Phoebe has established herself as a reputable violinist and singer-songwriter on the LA indie scene, formerly performing as a member of indie Americana rock band The Sound of Ghosts, and with countless other artists around town. She has recorded violin with more than 50 artists, and played stages around LA from the Troubadour, the Peppermint Club, the Satellite, the Hotel Cafe, the Hi Hat, the Whisky a Go Go and more.
Compiled by: Christos Doukakis