Page 35 – ATO RECORDS

Rayland Baxter’s New Album, Wide Awake, is Out Now!

June 13, 2018 – 9:34 am

Rayland Baxter’s new LP ‘Wide Awake’ has arrived with a tremendous splash and is out today on ATO Records. The album that Relix is calling “modern American rock music at its finest” has also had songs spotlighted by theNew York Times, Rolling Stone, NPR Music and GQ, which named lead single “Casanova” one of their “Songs of the Summer 2018.” “Casanova” has also been the #1 most added song at Triple A and Americana radio.

Rayland’s had a busy release week, appearing everywhere from the Howard Stern Wrap-Up Show to live sessions with Paste, Relix, and WFUV. Rayland currently has more than 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify; he taped a Singles Session this week and performed a Fans First show in Brooklyn in May. Latest digital single “79 Shiny Revolvers” has been featured on many Spotify playlists as well, including New Music Friday and Fresh Folk, and also was placed on Apple Music’s Best of the Week playlist.

Watch the animated video for “79 Shiny Revolvers” here

Watch Rayland perform “Casanova” live at Paste Studios in NYC:

Tonight, Rayland hosts an album release show at Bowery Ballroom in NYC to kick off a massive national headlining tour throughout the summer and fall, which also includes back-to-back hometown shows at Nashville’s Basement East July 18-19. He will open several shows on Shakey Graves’ tour August, and will perform alongside Shakey at Red Rocks on August 30. Full dates below.

‘Wide Awake’ is produced by Butch Walker (Weezer, Pink, Pete Yorn) and features Walker himself on bass, Cage the Elephant’s Nick Bockrath on guitar, Dr. Dog’s Eric Slick on drums, and piano wizard Aaron Embry (Elliott Smith, Brian Eno) on keys. Rayland’s father Bucky Baxter contributes pedal steel, as does original Nashville Cat Lloyd Green.

Listen to ‘Wide Awake’ on all platforms here: http://wideawake.raylandbaxter.com/

UPCOMING TOUR DATES
12-Jul- Washington, DC – Union Stage

13-Jul- New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom

14-Jul- Philadelphia, PA – World Café Live

15-Jul- Richmond, VA – Broadberry

18+19-Jul- Nashville, TN – Basement East

20-Jul- Birmingham, AL – Saturn

21-Jul- Atlanta, GA – Terminal West

24-Jul- Toronto, ON – Adelaide Hall

25-Jul- Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern

26-Jul- Detroit, MI – Otus Supply

27-Jul- Grand Rapids, MI – The Stache

28-Jul- Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall

29-Jul- Chicago, IL – Taste of Lincoln Avenue

1-Aug- Indianapolis, IN – Hifi

2-Aug- Davenport, IA – Triple Crown Whiskey Bar

3-Aug- St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall

4-Aug- Lawrence, KS – Bottleneck

5-Aug- Omaha, NE – Slowdown

8-Aug- Boulder, CO – Outdoor Hill Stage

9-Aug- Denver, CO – Bluebird
10-Aug– Crested Butte, CO – Public House

12-Aug- Ft. Collins, CO – Bohemiam Nights at New West Fest

24-Aug- Salt Lake City, UT – Red Butte Garden w/ Shakey Graves

25-Aug- Missoula, MT – Big Sky Amphitheatre w/ Shakey Graves

26-Aug- Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory w/ Shakey Graves

27-Aug- Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory w/ Shakey Graves

28-Aug- Boise, ID – Knitting Factory w/ Shakey Graves

30-Aug- Morrison, CO – Red Rocks w/ Shakey Graves

1-Sep- Nashville, TN – Live on The Green

5-Sep- Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret

6-Sep- Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo

7-Sep- Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern

8-Sep- Eugene, OR – Hifi Music Hall

9-Sep- Portland, OR – Doug Fir

14-Sep- San Diego, CA – Belly Up

15-Sep- Los Angeles, CA – Moroccan Lounge

16-Sep- Templeton, CA – Whale Rock Festival

19-Sep- Sacramento, CA – Harlow’s Night Club

20-Sep- Crystal Bay, NV – Red Room at Crystal Bay

21-Sep- Santa Cruz, CA – Catalyst

22-Sep- San Francisco, CA – August Hall

23-Sep- Sonoma, CA – Harvest Music Festival

28-Sep- Roseland, VA – Devil’s Backbone Hoopla

30-Sep- Asbury Park, NJ – Sea Hear Now Festival

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Rayland Baxter Shares “Strange American Dream”

June 12, 2018 – 9:22 am

“‘Strange American Dream’ captures Rayland’s mindset of the moment; somewhere between a childlike sense of wonder and disbelief at the good and evil he saw as he watched the news cycle unfold around him…a piano driven ear worm of a song that sounds like a distant cousin to The Beatles’ ‘Lady Madonna.’” – NPR Music

Rayland Baxter has unveiled the second song from his forthcoming ‘Wide Awake’. “Strange American Dream” premieres today on NPR Music/World Café. Rayland made this album during a self-imposed isolation quest. He moved into an abandoned rubber band factory turned studio for 3 months, with nothing but a mattress on the floor and a couple of instruments. He wrote for 15 hours a day, the occasional waft of news from a TV down the hall seeping through the door of his room.

Says Rayland, “’Strange American Dream’ is a song about the strange…American…dream. i was Living in the middLe of a cornfieLd in Kentucky when i wrote it…the tv in the kitchen was stuck on the news channeL for three months…i couLdnt heLp but eavesdrop…and take notes.”

‘Wide Awake’ has already earned praise for its first song “Casanova,” which GQ named as one of its Songs of the Summer 2018. It’s also drawn comparisons to the Beatles (Rolling Stone Country) and the Kinks (Nashville Scene), and is currently #24 on the national Triple A radio chart.

Listen to Casanova here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_jbTR-1Sqc

‘Wide Awake’ was produced by Butch Walker (Weezer, Pink, Pete Yorn) and features Walker himself on bass, Cage the Elephant’s Nick Bockrath on guitar, Dr. Dog’s Erick Slick on drums, and piano wizard Aaron Embry (Elliott Smith, Brian Eno) on keys. Rayland’s father Bucky Baxter contributes pedal steel, as does original Nashville Cat Lloyd Green.

On July 12, Rayland heads out on a national headlining tour including an album release show on July 13 at Bowery Ballroom in New York City. He is also opening some of the shows on Shakey Graves’ tour this summer and performing with him at Red Rocks in August (Rayland also co-wrote some of the songs on Shakey’s new record). Full dates below.

Pre-order ‘Wide Awake’ on all platforms here: http://wideawake.raylandbaxter.com/

TOUR DATES:

12-Jul- Washington, DC – Union Stage

13-Jul- New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom

14-Jul- Philadelphia, PA – World Café Live

15-Jul- Richmond, VA – Broadberry

18-Jul- Nashville, TN – Basement East

20-Jul- Birmingham, AL – Saturn

21-Jul- Atlanta, GA – Terminal West

24-Jul- Toronto, ON – Adelaide Hall

25-Jul- Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern

26-Jul- Detroit, MI – Otus Supply

27-Jul- Grand Rapids, MI – The Stache

28-Jul- Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall

1-Aug- Indianapolis, IN – Hifi

2-Aug- Davenport, IA – Triple Crown Whiskey Bar

3-Aug- St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall

4-Aug- Lawrence, KS – Bottleneck

5-Aug- Omaha, NE – Slowdown

9-Aug- Denver, CO – Bluebird

24-Aug- Salt Lake City, UT – Red Butte Garden w/ Shakey Graves

25-Aug- Missoula, MT – Big Sky Amphitheatre w/ Shakey Graves

26-Aug- Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory w/ Shakey Graves

27-Aug- Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory w/ Shakey Graves

28-Aug- Boise, ID – Knitting Factory w/ Shakey Graves

30-Aug- Morrison, CO – Red Rocks w/ Shakey Graves

5-Sep- Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret

6-Sep- Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo

7-Sep- Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern

9-Sep- Portland, OR – Doug Fir

14-Sep- San Diego, CA – Belly Up

15-Sep- Los Angeles, CA – Moroccan Lounge

16-Sep- Templeton, CA – Whale Rock Festival

20-Sep- Crystal Bay, NV – Red Room at Crystal Bay

21-Sep- Santa Cruz, CA – Catalyst

23-Sep- Sonoma, CA – Harvest Music Festival

28-Sep- Roseland, VA – Devil’s Backbone Hoopla

30-Sep- Asbury Park, NJ – Sea Hear Now Festival

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Cordovas Announces ATO Debut with That Santa Fe Channel

June 5, 2018 – 10:11 am

Cordovas Make Their ATO Records Debut With That Santa Fe Channel, Produced By Milk Carton Kids Kenneth Pattengale, Out August 10^th

“caught halfway between Duane Allman’s Telecaster twang, the Dead’s hazy harmonies and the stoned swoon of California’s folk-rock heyday, Cordovas wring new life from older influences, hoisting their freak flag high,”

– Rolling Stone

Hear First Single “This Town’s A Drag” Here

Rooted in triple-stacked harmonies, southern storytelling, and cosmic country twang, Cordovas create their own version of American roots-rock with That Santa Fe Channel, out August 10^th on ATO Records. That Santa Fe Channel was produced by the Milk Carton Kids’ Kenneth Pattengale in East Nashville, not far from the home that doubles as the band’s rehearsal space, headquarters, and shared living quarters. The album is timely — and timeless — blurring the lines between rock, country, and amplified folk music. It’s highlighted by unbelievable harmonies, loose-yet-masterful musicianship and undeniable songwriting chops.

NPR Music points out that “everyone in the East Nashville band Cordovas is a lead vocalist. The country-rock group is committed to the sound of brotherhood — a few voices sharing a feeling.”

Years before Cordovas’ formation, bassist and bandleader Joe Firstman traveled the country as a solo musician. Raised in North Carolina, he moved to Hollywood as a determined 20 year-old, signing a major-label deal with Atlantic Record. When a dizzying blur of acclaimed shows — including opening dates for Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson — weren’t enough to satisfy the expectations of a big-budget record label, Firstman lost his contract and took a new job as music director on Last Call with Carson Daly. It was good work, with Firstman performing nightly alongside first-rate musicians like Thundercat and Kamasi Washington.

Cordovas begin a five-week European tour this week – including the first ever Songpickr show in Berlin – then return to the U.S. for a tour that currently runs from July through September. Cordovas are a formidable live act, as Wide Open Country noted about their AmericanaFest set last year, “Cordovas proved classic American rock-and-roll can still fire up a club like it did in its heyday.”

Cordovas – 2018 Summer Tour Dates

Jun 7 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Q-Factory

Jun 8 – Weert, Netherlands – Muziekcentrum De Bosuil

Jun 9 – Drachten, Netherlands – Jun Fan Peije

Jun 12 – Bergen, Norway – Bergen Fest

Jun 13 – Oslo, Norway – Rockefeller (supporting Anderson East)

Jun 15 – Bö, Norway – Festival

Jun 16 – Halden, Norway – Bryggerhuset Syd

Jun 18 – Hultsfred, Sweden – Hotell Hulingen

Jun 20 – Ingolstadt, Germany – Neue Welt

Jun 21 – Groningen, Netherlands – De Oosterpoort

Jun 22 – Vlaardingen, Netherlands – The Kroepoekfabriek

Jun 23 – Nijmegen, Netherlands – Kids ‘n’ Billies Festival

Jun 27 – London, UK – Borderline

Jun 28 – Brighton, UK – The Prince Albert

Jun 29 – Bristol, UK – The Louisiana

Jul 1 – Nottingham, UK – The Maze

Jul 3 – Birmingham, UK – Kitchen Garden Café

Jul 4 – Manchester, UK – Night & Day Café

Jul 5 – Newcastle, UK – Gosforth Civic Theatre

Jul 7 – Woodbridge, UK – Maverick Festival

Jul 12 – Berlin, Germany – Privatclub

Jul 13 – Norderstedt, Germany – Music Star

Jul 14 – Oberhausen, Germany – Static Roots Festival

Jul 18 – Woodbridge, NJ – The Mayor’s Free Concert Series

Jul 19 – Fitchburg, MA – River Styx Brewing

Jul 20 – Boston, MA – Downeast Back Porch

Jul 21 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Café

Jul 26 – Mobile, AL – The Brickyard

Jul 27 – Macon, GA – Bragg Jam Music Fest

Jul 30 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge

Aug 2 – Big Sky, MT – Music in the Mountains Concert Series

Aug 4 – Elkin, NC – Reevestock Music Festival

Aug 11 – Baileys Harbor, WI – Door Country Brewing Music Hall

Aug 14 – Rockford, IL – Anderson Japanese Gardens

Aug 16 – Chicago, IL – Haymarket Americana Concert Series

Aug 23 – Washington, DC – Pearl Street Warehouse

Aug 24 – Harrisonburg, VA – Clementine Café

Aug 25 – Wise, VA – RTE 23 Music Festival

Sept 5 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern

Sept 7 – Chicago, IL – Fitzgerald’s

Sept 8 – Bowling Green, OH – Black Swamp Arts Festival

Sept 9 – St Louis, MO – Off Broadway

Sept 21-23 – Bristol, TN – Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion

Cordovas are: bassist/vocalist Joe Firstman, drummer Graham Spillman, keyboardist Sevans Henderson, guitarist/vocalist Lucca Soria and guitarist/vocalist Toby Weaver.

Pre-order That Santa Fe Channel here.

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Natalie Prass’s new album The Future and the Past is out now!

June 1, 2018 – 10:17 am

“It makes the here and now sound a whole lot groovier.” – NPR Music

MOJO Album of the Month in the latest issue!

“The singer’s righteous political funk and epics are brilliantly executed…” – MOJO

“Modern anthems with a jazz-funk vibe.” – Uncut

Stream or buy The Future and the Past now!

‘The Future And The Past’ is bursting with a myriad of grooves and Natalie’s vocals float on top, light as a feather and tough as nails. “Short Court Style” dials the tempo into 90s R&B territory – punctuated by handclaps, sampled “woos,” and a Dr. Dre-esque whistling synth line. Lyrically she wields a sharp knife as well. The love torn “Lost” begins with: “Turn up the fader, its like a lightning bolt / we can’t be saved, so now I’m listening on my own / Once there was a time when you had me hypnotized / you realized that your finger prints were on my bones.” Funky feminist anthem “Sisters” is an empowering rallying cry: “I want to say it loud / for all the ones held down / we gotta change the plan.”

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Jim James Releases “Throwback” From New Album “Uniform Distortion” Out 6/29

May 31, 2018 – 11:04 am

Jim James has released the new single, “Throwback,” from his soon-to-be-released album, Uniform Distortion, out June 29.

Pre-Order Uniform Distortion Here

“I wrote this song doing pretty much what you are probably doing right at this very second: scrolling thru social media,” says James. “It struck me as SO wild – how, as you scroll back in time through someone’s account, you watch their face grow younger…but as you do this, REAL TIME IS RUNNING OUT!!!! The clock is ticking…instead of doing good work or creating love or taking a walk in nature, I am here STARING AT MY FUCKING PHONE!!!! ha ha ha. Don’t get me wrong – social media is an amazing tool…but I think we should look at it more like a tool, like a hammer you pick up for a little while to do a job, and then you PUT IT DOWN. You don’t sit there and keep hammering away or else pretty soon your entire world would be destroyed and fall apart! And I feel like that is exactly what is happening right before our very eyes to this precious real beautiful human-filled earth. So lets WAKE EACH OTHER UP PEOPLE! Lets stand up against injustice and use this tool of social media to fight for peace and love and equality! Let’s throwback for a minute, but try and live in the NOW for a better future. Thanks for listening.”

LISTEN TO “THROWBACK“

The GRAMMY® Award-nominated frontman of My Morning Jacket’s third solo album, Uniform Distortion is available for pre-order HERE; deluxe bundles featuring limited edition lithographs and clear vinyl are exclusively available for pre-order HERE. All pre-orders are joined by an instant grat download of the project’s first single, “Just A Fool,” also available now for individual purchase at all DSPs and streaming services. “Just A Fool” is joined a new companion visual, directed by Ellis Bahl (The Kills, alt-J) and streaming now HERE. “Just A Fool” received its exclusively premiere via NPR last month.

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Hurray for the Riff Raff Shares New Video “Pa’lante”

May 25, 2018 – 5:13 pm

“ONE OF THE MOST ARTICULATE SONGS OF A GENERATION” – NPR

AN INTIMATE GLIMPSE INTO THE PUERTO RICAN CRISIS, DIRECTED BY KRISTIAN MERCADO FIGUEROA + STARRING MELA MURDER OF “THE FLORIDA PROJECT”

Hurray for the Riff Raff’s “Pa’lante” – the fervent call to arms for working class Latinx that was lauded as one of the year’s best songs by Pitchfork, NPR Music, Entertainment Weekly, Billboard, The Guardian + more – serves as the powerful musical force behind a new short film directed by Kristian Mercado Figueroa (De La Soul, Hannibal Burress). Shot in Puerto Rico earlier this year, alongside Alynda’s hometown in New York, “Pa’lante” offers an intimate, first-hand glimpse of life after Hurricane Maria via the journey of single mother Milagros (played by Mela Murder of the acclaimed film The Florida Project), her ex-partner Manuel (Kareem Savinon), and her family – a living testament not only to the everyday struggle after the storm displaced thousands last year, but also the strength, beauty, and identity of an island that embodies the phrase (“forward”) as its national philosophy.

Shooting on location struck close to home for everyone on set, many of whom are of Puerto Rican descent. Hurray’s own Alynda Segarra is shown alongside images of her father and overlaid with archival footage of civil rights activist group the Young Lords. Member and founder of the Nuyorican Movement, Pedro Pietri, is also shown reciting his poem “Puerto Rican Obituary” – the epic work that would come to serve as inspiration for the song almost 50 years after it was first published.

For the director Kristian, this was a very personal video as his family was displaced by Hurricane Maria and his grandfather passed in its aftermath: “We really wanted to showcase talent of color, stories by people of color – it was important to me to make sure this was a diverse production that had Puerto Ricans working on it. The conditions on the island are still very poor. During the production we could all feel how painful it all was, how it’s been so long without enough help. The island is still strong, the people always positive, but you can’t help but feel the desperation and pain of the colonial condition, the sense of abandonment. Pa’lante is a very Puerto Rican mindset – be it a family struggling to stay together, or recovering from the hurricane, the Puerto Rican people are strong and they will always stand and move forward. And there is a beauty to that.”

For Mela Murder, it was her first time visiting her homeland since Hurricane Maria. “The character Milagros deeply resonated with me being that I am a single mother,” she says. “Our lives are entirely different, but the fuel that keeps women like us going is exactly the same as it has been for generations before us – love. The island is alive with love so strong you can feel it in the breeze coming off the ocean. It made me feel so damn proud of my Boricua roots!”

“Pa’lante” aims to raise funds and awareness for the PRIMA Relief Fund, a collective dedicated to sustaining Puerto Rico’s independent music and artistic community following Hurricane Maria. Learn about ways to support PRIMA Relief at their website: https://www.primafund.org

Hurray for the Riff Raff’s “Pa’lante” was named “Best New Track” by Pitchfork upon its release (“the most hair-raising two minutes of music this year”), and was also hailed by NPR Music as “one of the most articulate songs of a generation.” It serves as the hard-hitting closer for her acclaimed album ‘The Navigator’ (ATO Records), which earned career-best reviews for Segarra.

HURRAY FOR THE RIFF RAFF TOUR DATES

MAY 25 Sasquatch! Music Festival at The Gorge Amphitheatre – George, WA

MAY 26 Festival Lawn at Deer Lake Park with Bon Iver – Vancouver, BC, Canada

JUN 23 Arroyo Seco – Pasadena, CA

JUL 6 Summerfest – Milwaukee, WI

JUL 14 Mad Cool Festival Madrid, Spain

JUL 16 Poble Espanyol with Future Islands – Barcelona, Spain

JUL 17 Teatro Circo Braga, 04, Portugal

JUL 19 Colours of Ostrava Ostrava, Czech Republic

JUL 21 Pori Jazz – Pori, Southwest Finland, Finland

JUL 26 River & Blues at Wagner Park – New York, NY

AUG 17 Maha Music Festival – Omaha, NE

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Watch Jim James Perform “Just A Fool” On The Late Show

May 24, 2018 – 1:41 pm

Uniform Distortion is out June 29th, pre-order now on CD and limited-edition vinyl

Flipping through the pages of The Last Whole Earth Catalogue, a resource that was in 1971 basically the internet before the internet, Jim James stumbled upon a distorted photo of “The Illuminated Man’ by Duane Michals. Immediately moved by the photo, he asked for permission to to use the image as the album cover of Uniform Distortion. The first request to Michals was rejected. In hopes of changing his mind, James wrote a letter to Michals personally and was ultimately allowed to use the image. The letter, which sheds some light on the album and James current state of mind, reads in full below:

“hello duane- your piece “the illuminated man” was used in “the last whole earth catalogue” in 1971. i wasnt even born yet. i was born in 1978…but i found my copy of “the last whole earth catalogue” about 6 months ago in a thrift store and it blew my mind. i have been feeling increasingly overwhelmed by the speed of technology and its place in our lives and here was this beautiful book/catalogue from the past showing me me all these beautiful things and amazing images to help one learn different ways to look at the world… or “get off the grid?” funny they had no idea back then just how crazy “the grid” would get. or did they?

so i am trying to put down my phone… use the computer and social media less… and just focus on real life and the people i love and my art. of course i am not fully “off the grid” because i am sending you this email in hopes of you changing your mind about letting me use your image as it appeared in “the last whole earth catalogue” in 1971 because when i saw it on the page there it spoke to me so deeply of how my head feels like it is exploding with the amount of information we are forced to consume on a daily basis and how that information is so DISTORTED there is almost no longer any tangible truth. the name of my new record is “UNIFORM DISTORTION” because i feel like there is this blanket distortion on society/media and the way we gather our “news” and important information…and more and more of us are feeling lost and looking for new ways out of this distortion and back to the truth…and finding hope in places like the desert where i write this email to you now…finding hope in the land and in the water and in old books offering new ideas and most importantly in each other and love.

i feel like there was a reason i found “the last whole earth catalogue” and there was a reason your art spoke to me… and i really think it would speak to others who would see it exploding out at them illuminating from the record store shelf or the glow of their phone or computer screen and feel its organic mind blowing distortion connect with this new music.

i also like the natural “distortion” that time and the pulp of the paper meeting the ink from “the last whole earth catalogue” add to your original image and that is why i am asking your permission to use this “distorted” version of your original beautiful image.

i hope you are well and thanks for listening-
jim james”

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Okkervil River Release Rare Book Room Live Session, On Tour Now

May 17, 2018 – 9:13 am

Okkervil River kick off their In The Rainbow Rain tour this weekend in Washington, DC, and to preview the thrilling energy you’ll encounter at those shows the band have released a pair of live clips recorded live at the Rare Book Room. The band went into the studio earlier this spring, looking to capture the ITRR songs in a raw, loose setting. Will Sheff says:

“We taped these live performances of the “In the Rainbow Rain” songs a couple months ago at the Rare Book Room, a great studio right down the street from where I used to live when I lived in Brooklyn. I wanted a chance to get a record of this band playing these songs all together in a room, with some of our collaborators and friends. We shot this the day after we returned from SXSW, at which half the band had gotten sick. Everyone was a bit tired and worn thin, but that gave us something, in the moment, to push against.”

Check out “The Dream and the Light” and “Famous Tracheotomies” below:

Tour Dates

May 20 – Washington, DC @ The Black Cat

May 21 – Carboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle

May 22 – Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5

May 24 – Dallas, TX @ The Kessler Theater

May 25 – Houston, TX @ The Heights Theater

May 26 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk (Hot Luck Festival)

May 29 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom

May 31 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teregram Ballroom

June 1 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room

June 2 – San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s 365 Club

June 4 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos

June 5 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom

June 7 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room

June 8 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater

June 9 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room

June 11 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club

June 12 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall

June 13 – Detroit, MI @ El Club

June 14 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern

June 15 – Woodstock, NY @ Colony

June 16 – Boston, MA @ Royale

Sept 13 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Sept 14 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes

Sept 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts

Sept 21 – Hamburg, Germany @ Reeperbahn Festival

Sept 22 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega Small Hall

Sept 23 – Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller Music Hall

Sept 24 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Debaser

Sept 26 – Berlin, Germany @ Lido

Sept 27 – Koln, Germany @ Gebaude 9

Sept 28 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Sugar Factory

Sept 29 – Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Rotown

Sept 30 – Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique

Oct 1 – Paris, France @ Le Point Ephemere

Oct 3 – Birmingham, UK @ Glee Club

Oct 4 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla

Oct 5 – Leeds, UK @ Brudendell Social Club

Oct 6 – Glasgow, Scotland @ Stereo

Oct 7 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla

Oct 9 – Brighton, UK @ The Haunt

Oct 10 – London, UK @ Koko

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Rayland Baxter Announces Forthcoming Album Wide Awake, Shares New Single “Casanova”

May 8, 2018 – 8:47 am

LISTEN TO “CASANOVA” HERE

Pre-order Wide Awake

Rayland Baxter’s new album is a dream realized. Since he first started writing music, this roving rock ‘n’ roll philosopher dreamed of a space where he could devote every waking hour to creating. The hard-touring musician finally found it in the form of an abandoned rubber band factory in Franklin, KY, where he covered the windows, threw a mattress on the floor, and with guitar and piano in tow, spent three straight months writing. At night he would sit and listen to the sounds around him: coyotes, the howling wind, the faint prattle of the nightly TV news. The result of this isolation quest is ‘Wide Awake’ (July 13/ATO Records), a ten-song collection that celebrates the best aspects of humanity and grasps at understanding the worst.

“This is an album about decision making,” Baxter explains. “It’s about being a human at the crossroads. Do I do good or do I do evil? Do I lie or do I tell the truth? Am I going to be happy or am I going to be sad? All of these questions and emotions are things I see in myself, and they’re the same things I see in everyone else no matter where I go.”

‘Wide Awake’ was produced by Butch Walker (Weezer, Pink, Pete Yorn) and features Walker himself on bass, Cage the Elephant’s Nick Bockrath on guitar, Dr. Dog’s Erick Slick on drums, and piano wizard Aaron Embry (Elliott Smith, Brian Eno) on keys. Rayland’s father Bucky Baxter contributes pedal steel, as does original Nashville Cat Lloyd Green.

‘Wide Awake’ runs the gamut from intensely personal to cutting social satire. On lead single “Casanova,” Rayland imagines student debt as a greedy girlfriend, admitting, “I got a real bad feeling ima let her down / got a hole in my pocket and I’m running around.” Album opener “Strange American Dream” was written around the time of the 2016 election and takes a hard look at the country’s values, while “79 Shiny Revolvers” skewers our national fixation with guns.

Rayland has toured with Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell, The Lumineers and more, and has multiple songs with over 10 million plays on Spotify. He wrote and performed on Shakey Graves’ new album, is opening some of the shows on his upcoming tour, and will perform with him at Red Rocks in August. He has also played festivals like Bonnaroo and Newport Folk. Stereogum praised his 2015 album ‘Imaginary Man’ as “an impeccable breakout” while NPR hailed its lead single as “close to perfect.”

TOUR DATES:

2-Jun – Wellston, MI – Camp Greensky
12-Jul – Washington, DC – Union Stage
13-Jul – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
14-Jul – Philadelphia, PA – World Café Live
15-Jul – Richmond, VA – Broadberry
18-Jul – Nashville, TN – Basement East
20-Jul – Birmingham, AL – Saturn
21-Jul – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West
24-Jul – Toronto, ON – Adelaide Hall
25-Jul – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
26-Jul – Detroit, MI – Otus Supply
27-Jul – Grand Rapids, MI – The Stache
28-Jul – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
1-Aug – Indianapolis, IN – Hifi
2-Aug – Davenport, IA – Triple Crown Whiskey Bar
3-Aug – St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall
4-Aug -Lawrence, KS – Bottleneck
5-Aug – Omaha, NE – Slowdown
9-Aug – Denver, CO – Bluebird
24-Aug – Salt Lake City, UT – Red Butte Garden*
25-Aug – Missoula, MT – Big Sky Amphitheatre*
26-27-Aug – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory*
28-Aug – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory*
30-Aug – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks (performing w/Shakey Graves)
5-Sep – Vancouver, BC – Biltmore Cabaret
6-Sep – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo
7-Sep – Seattle, WA -Tractor Tavern
9-Sep – Portland, OR – Doug Fir
14-Sep – San Diego, CA – Belly Up
15-Sep – Los Angeles, CA – Moroccan Lounge
20-Sep – Crystal Bay, NV – Red Room at Crystal Bay
21-Sep – Santa Cruz, CA – Catalyst
23-Sep – Sonoma, CA – Harvest Music Festival
28-Sep – Roseland, VA – Devil’s Backbone Hoopla
30-Sep – Asbury Park, NJ – Sea Hear Now Festival

*opening for Shakey Graves

By atony | Posted in news, featured | Tagged rayland baxter | Comments Off

Natalie Prass Shares New Ballad “Lost”

May 1, 2018 – 9:00 am

The third song to be released from Natalie Prass’ album ‘The Future and The Past’ (June 1/ATO Records) finds her in a position not yet seen from her new project: vulnerability. “Lost” soars, a big sweeping ballad that laments the growing and heartbreaking realization that sometimes, love isn’t enough to make a relationship worth it.

“’Lost’ is about putting your foot down in a relationship when enough is enough,” Says Natalie, “It’s the journey of getting engulfed in another person’s energy, good and bad, and ultimately understanding the other person is out to hurt you and not there to love you back.”

“Lost” is the third single from “The Future and The Past,’ with the last single “Sisters” hailed as a “modern feminist anthem” by Consequence of Sound. Natalie performed the first single, “Short Court Style,” on CONAN and for NPR Music; recorded an episode of the popular podcast Song Exploder exploring the track; and earned praise from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Vulture, The Fader, and more.

Today Natalie has also announced her fall headlining “The Future and The Past Tour.” It begins September 18 in Columbus and ends November 8 in London, hitting cities including Chicago, San Francisco, and LA in between. Full dates below.

‘The Future and The Past’ is a stunning snapshot of a musician in a state of personal rediscovery and surging femininity. The celebratory and defiant album finds Natalie tapping into deep, dancey grooves that glisten with ‘80s pop and ‘90s R&B, nestled alongside quivering, lushly orchestrated ballads.

Natalie recently completed a run of shows with Fleet Foxes and several performances at SXSW where Rolling Stone deemed her one of the best acts of the week and said her show was “the sound of a musician hitting her stride.” Last week, The Guardian raved that Natalie “counters oppression with optimism…it feels as if Prass, confronting wrong with charm and sterling musicianship, is on the verge of something bigger.”

Preorder ‘The Future and The Past’ on all platforms: http://smarturl.it/natalieprasslost

TOUR DATES:

May 26 – Nashville, TN – Centennial Park

June 1 – New York, NY – Rough Trade

June 2 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s

June 3 – Richmond, VA – Broadberry

Aug 19 – Marietta, OH – Mountain Stage

Sept 18 – Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups

Sept 19 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall

Sept 20 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon

Sept 21 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club

Sept 24 – Seattle, WA – Chop Suey

Sept 25 – Vancouver, BC – Fox Cabaret

Sept 26 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios

Sept 28 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s

Sept 29 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour

Sept 30 – San Diego, CA – Casbah

Oct 2 – Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar

Oct 7 – Tulsa, OK – The Vanguard

Oct 8 – Kansas City, MO – Record Bar

Oct 10 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge

Oct 14 – New Orleans, LA – Gasa Gasa

Oct 16 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl

Oct 17 – Asheville, NC – The Mothlight

Oct 18 – Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge

Oct 19 – Raleigh, NC – Kings

Nov 8 – London, UK – Electric Brixton

By atony | Posted in news, featured | Tagged Natalie Prass | Comments Off

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