Official website: www.myspace.com/thejoepug
The day before his senior year as a playwright student at the University of North Carolina, Joe Pug sat down for a cup of coffee and had the clearest thought of his life: I am profoundly unhappy here. Then came the second clearest.  Pug packed up his belongings and drove the longest route possible to Chicago. Working as a carpenter by day, the 23 year-old Pug spent nights playing the guitar he hadn’t picked up since his teenage years. Using ideas originally slated for a play he was writing called “Austin Fish,” Pug began creating the sublime lyrical masterpiece that would become the Nation of Heat EP.  In May of 2008, Pug played the first headlining slot of his young career to a sold out crowd at Chicago’s storied Schubas Tavern. Two weeks later he released the Nation of Heat EP, which has garnered near-universal critical acclaim and established him as one of the most respected songwriters of his generation. Pug has since played shows with Todd Snider, Susan Tedeschi, Kasey Chambers, and James Hunter. He plans to release his debut full length record in 2009.

Official website: www.method-man.com
METHOD MAN AND REDMAN SET TO RELEASE BLACKOUT 2

LONG AWAITED FOLLOW UP TO CLASSIC 1999 RELEASE, BLACKOUT, FEATURES PRODUCTION BY ROCKWILDA, PETE ROCK AND ERICK SERMON

(Wednesday, March 18, 2009: New York, NY) Def Jam Recordings will release the long awaited and hotly anticipated Method Man and Redman album, Blackout 2, the follow up to their platinum plus collaboration, Blackout!. 

Featuring production from Pete Rock, Rockwilda and Erick Sermon, Blackout 2 will satisfy Method Man and Redman fans who have followed the two from their first verse.  The first singles, “A-Yo” featuring Suakrates produced by Pete Rock, “Miss International” featuring Erick Sermon produced by Buckwild and “City Lights” featuring Bun B produced by Nasty Kutt are Method Man and Redman at their best. 

Already an integral part of the fabric of hip-hop culture Method Man and Redman   took hip-hop by storm when they released Blackout!.  Hailed as one of the best albums of 1999, it featured the game changing singles “Y.O.U., Tear It Off” and “Da Rockwilder.”  Method Man and Redman wrote their names in the history books as some of rap’s best lyricists.

Space Suit was the winner of the Summer Camp On the Road tour date in Bloomington, Indiana.

Home was the winner of the Summer Camp On the Road tour date in Denver, Colorado.

Official website: www.thestationmusic.com
Now in their ninth year, The Station finds themselves reinvigorated and replenished, steadily moving forward with a healthy dose of live performances from throughout the country and ample new song writing.  After already releasing three studio albums-2001’s FUMUNDA, All That Lies Between (2004) and Playground (2005), the band is currently recording their first live album on the road this fall and eyeing their next studio release, set for winter, 2008.  Considering the band was recognized and revered as one of Jambase’s Top Ten Road Dogs of 2006 & 2007 the band hasn’t allowed their tireless road schedule to get too much in the way of their burgeoning live and studio success.  Currently in the midst of an extensive run throughout the Midwest, The Station is gearing up for big things to come in 2008.

Official website: www.underpaidpacky.com
Underpaid Packy has been on the Champaign scene for the past two and a half years. With an upbeat blend of rock, folk, jazz and funk style grooves, this five man band consistently delivers great shows and memorable times. Past achievements for the band include winning best student band at the 2008 WPGU Local Music Awards and the April 4th, 2008, release of their debut album “Tales From a Fifth Street Roof.” Currently, Underpaid Packy is focusing on their second album, a treat to be released in the next few months.

Official website: www.myspace.com/zmickmusic
Zmick’s music encompasses elements of jazz, progressive rock, reggae, electronica, funk, metal, Latin and world music. When asked what they sound like, the members describe their music as “Sexy prog rock with a jazz mentality”. Zmick writes music with the intent of bringing people together and giving them an opportunity to dance, sing, laugh and bond with other music lovers. It’s about building a community where live music appreciators can come together and have a good time.

Official website: www.thinnerteed.com
Thinner Teed is a group that is formed of four friends from high school, that got together to play the best music that they could. At the time they didn’t know exactly what that meant, but over the years developed a sound that they can call their own. They have been playing together for over six years now, and are steadily finding their way along the map of rock & roll.

Official website: www.myspace.com/slippylarue
Mix 2 parts funk with 1 part jazz and 1 part reggae. Add spice of Latin. For a real treat add some trance with a bit of psychedelia. Always serve with soul searing energy. Basically with Slippy LaRue, you get it all.

Official website: www.myspace.com/thecoopmusic
The Coop was formed in 2004 when musical peers from the Chicago suburbs combined forces in a mysterious old shack, putting their wide array of musical experiences to use in an improvisational setting. The group’s initial practice space became a second home for local music fanatics and inspired a name that continues the memory of this meaningful location. Since then, a few lineup changes, countless live performances, two recorded albums, and constant evolution have transformed the band into a multi-styled musical kaleidoscope.

Official website: www.myspace.com/mooseknuckleknucks
Coming together in the fall of 2006, Mooseknuckle has been turning heads around the Midwest. In that time, the band has shared the stage with national acts such as Garaj Mahal, Los Lonely Boys, and Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials. They also played at Des Moines first ever music festival, 80-35 festival, in the summer of 2008. Carrying on the tradition of improvised rock music, the bands sound could be described as very eclectic. One might describe the Mooseknuckle experience as high energy and unpredictable.

Official website: www.myspace.com/krislagerband
Kris Lager Band is a Nebraska born group of musicians who have dedicated their lives to playing heartfelt, original American music. With Jeremiah Weir on the hammond organ and key bass, Andrew Tyler on the drums, and Kris Lager on guitars and lead vocals, these three are forging ahead and breaking new ground in old sounds. With their “Celebrate Life” mantra and working class musicianship, the sound is honest and soulful.

Official website: www.myspace.com/fiveinahand
Five in a Hand is a funk/blues/rock band from Iowa City, Iowa.

Official website: www.myspace.com/hknmusic
Helen Keller Nation is a jam band based out of Washington, Missouri.

Official website: www.dobsonhall.com
Dobson Hall is an established rock/jam band in the Kansas City area. They’ve been playing on the local scene for over three years, and loving every minute of it. They bring a lot of talent to the table, combined with some creative song-writing and fascinating jams made up on the spot.

Official website: www.myspace.com/billythesquirrel
Billy the Squirrel is an acoustic song writing group that explores aspects of rock n’ roll, folk, funk and bluegrass music. Shows will often be a journey of life experiences and stories told through the song writing of Mike Hannah/Billy Wassung and improvisational musical landscapes. The music of Billy the Squirrel blends traditional acoustic music with the attitude of rock n’ roll in an attempt to create a psychedelic acoustic sound. The band recently added a full drum kit and banjo to their evolving sound.

Official website: www.myspace.com/thecorduroy
The Corduroy is a funky grassrock band from Fort Collins, Colorado.

Official website: www.yamnit.com
Yamn is a four piece Progressive-electro-trance-fusion-grass-rock band hailing from Colorado.

Official website: www.shadysideallstars.com
Shadyside Allstars is a progressive, four-piece musical act hailing from Indianapolis, Indiana. This group has a proficiency capturing an audience’s attention with warm guitar & piano tones and tight rhythm grooves. The Allstars employ these abilities through solid structure and vibrant improvisation. Known for well-rehearsed stage performances, the Allstars simultaneously astonish crowds with unpredicted melodies, harmonies and rhythm-based jams.

Official website: www.reverbnation.com/steezburger
Categorization be damned, the Madison-based five piece, Steez, consisting of Matt Williams (keyboards/synthesizers/accordion), Steve Neary (guitar and vocals), Rob Bessert (drums), Chris Sell (bass), and Andrzej Benkowski (saxophone, oboe, and violin) is — in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions —  a funk band, a jamband, a fusion band, a disco-fanged multi-beast, and a basket case.
 
Churning out their self-described Creepfunk, a high energy, danceable variety of funk — one uniquely laced with electronic and improvisational sensibilities – Steez has garnered a loyal following throughout the Midwest, winning contests to perform at both the 2008 Summer Camp and Rothbury Festival and performing to capacity crowds at rapidly growing venues . After receiving repeated acclaim for their live performances, which typically include a seamless weaving of thoughtfully composed originals and crowd pleasing covers spanning from Madonna to clever obscurities like Genialistid (Estonia), Steez is ready to take Creepfunk into the studio for their first full length LP.

Official website: www.henhouseprowlers.com
With a PBS series soundtrack already to its credit and a sophomore recording in the works, The Henhouse Prowlers have been barnstorming on to the red hot bluegrass scene since 2004. A couple of personnel shifts later, in 2007 the roughly thirty-something quintet made the commitment to go the distance, to be a full-time touring bluegrass band. But not just another bluegrass band. The Henhouse Prowlers are adeptly positioning themselves for nothing less than success. Each member does double duty within the group, holding a business as well as musical post, making it a total collaborative effort.

Official website: www.myspace.com/thismustbetheband
This Must Be The Band is a Talking Heads tribute based in the Chicagoland area. We at the Summer Camp Music Festival saw them for the first time in February of 2009 when they rocked the Canopy Club, recreating the historical Talking Heads film “Stop Making Sense”. All we can say is, this is a band you should check out… whether you have a history of liking Talking Heads or not. Do it now – check it out.

Official website: www.myspace.com/daphnewillismusic
Daphne Willis is the personable and impassioned front woman of the riff driven acoustic rock band, Daphne Willis & Co. Unique and fresh, and still evolving, the band’s magnetic sound is driven by Daphne’s rich, soothing vocals (think Norah Jones meets Jack Johnson but with a rocking band), coupled with a songwriting prowess that features thought provoking lyrics that stray from the typical twenty year old singer/songwriter clichés. Willis is backed by a supporting lineup of all-star musicians from Berklee and Columbia schools of music. The band’s sound is not forced or predictable, but honest, fun and engaging. It is hard to tell who enjoys their live shows more – the audience or the band. Great music begins with a great song, from there, it is interpreted and expressed by great musicians, and sometimes even that isn’t enough; however when you have a true ensemble that introduces the chemistry of a collective passion, dedication and belief, well, it changes the game and you get something real… you get Daphne Willis & Co.

Official website: www.myspace.com/jaikwillis
Jaik is a hardcore troubador somewhere inbetween Steve Earle and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He has wandered around the USA like a modern minstrel, surfing sofas, car camping, and paying dues to sing the blues. It is a high energy solo show featuring Jaik’s horn-like voice darting around a blistering broken-string approach to his acoustic flying V guitar, with original songs that are accessible, and message driven. (Chicago Jams 2005)

Official website: www.panjeamusic.com
Chris Berry’s own winding and unexpected journey took flight at age 18, when Berry and his mentorexpat-African drum master Titos Sompa, with whom Berry had been studying since age 13, boarded a plane for Congo Brazzaville. After a ten-day boat trip up the Congo River, Berry arrived in a remote village and immersed himself in the culture and music. His fascination of Zimbabwean mbira (thumb piano) music eventually lured him to Harare, where he settled and studied under legendary mbira master Monderek Muchena for ten years. During that time, Berry put together his band Panjea, whose pioneering blend of indigenous music, dance hall, and hip-hop earned platinum album sales throughout Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and beyond.

Official website: www.backyardtirefire.com
Backyard Tire Fire latest studio album, The Places We Lived, is the first long-player by the Bloomington, Illinois-based band to be released on independent label Hyena Records. Distinguished by a rare combination of workingman authenticity and indie-rock eccentricity, The Places We Lived is defiantly contemporary in the face of its deep Midwestern roots. It’s an approach that led Daytrotter.com to recently rave: “Backyard Tire Fire are the choice we make when the extremes always sound too extreme, the bright lights feel too foreign, the money’s not important, the beer’s on ice and the clothes we like most are the ones that we’ve had on our bodies for decades and we know what made all of the holes and rough patches in them.”

Official website: www.nmallstars.com
The modern blues band is made for the new generation, and it encompasses contemporary and modern blues.  Formed by Cody Dickinson from the Mississippi All Stars, it features fellow all star Chris Chew, Kirk Smithhart, Ed Cleveland and Daniel Robert Coburn. The band has shared the stage with artists as diverse as Kid Rock, Dave Matthews Band and Mavis Staples.

Official website: www.loslobos.org
At this stage in their illustrious career, a new album by the East Los Angeles rock band Los Lobos is a highly anticipated event. Since they began as Los Lobos Del Este Los Angeles in 1973, they have evolved into a respected artistic entity searching for themes and topics that are an interpretive pulse of our times.  Using musical molds built on the blues, rockabilly, jazz, Latin and their own Mexican-American heritage; Los Lobos have never beat their fans over the head with politics or agendas. Instead, they subtly challenge them with conscience-raising songs and thought-provoking lyrics.

Official website: www.easystar.com

Official website: www.secretchiefs3.net

Official website: www.myspace.com/eotomusic
Jason Hann and Michael Travis (percussionist and drummer from the band The String Cheese Incident) make up this 100% improvised live Breakbeat/ House/ Drum n Bass/ Trip Hop project. Drawing from the ethos of some of the great DJ’s and computer artists of the world, they use cutting edge technology to create truly original and melodic dance music in the moment, with the undeniable power of live drums. The music is all created on the spot, recorded, then mixed and remixed LIVE to create an ever evolving musical experience. Since the project is 100% improvised, every night promises to be a unique dance experience. Hann and Travis play different roles in this band than in SCI. Jason plays the drum kit, percussion and sampler, while Travis is in charge of the tonal elements, playing bass, guitar, keyboards, as well as hand percussion and live mixing.

Official website: www.assemblyofdust.com
Hearing Assembly of Dust has the flush of meeting a stranger who will inform your life in profound & happy ways, someone whose wise council might help you see the world in a fresh light. They possess the same tuneful philosophizing as storytellers like The Band, Paul Simon and Crosby, Stills & Nash, giving the listener good songs playing on a daydream radio.

Official website: www.that1guy.com
For Berkeley, CA-based Mike Silverman, better known by his alter ego That 1 Guy, when it comes to making music, necessity is the mother of invention.  A classically trained upright bassist who won several jazz scholarships and competitions, Mike became one of the most original and in-demand upright bass players in the 90’s progressive jazz scene. At the peak of his powers, Mike was developing and utilizing techniques that were previously thought impossible on the upright bass. Often getting hired as a one-man-rhythm-section, he would function as a bassist, drummer, and entire mini orchestra simultaneously.

Official website: www.bassnectar.net
A freeform project that merges music, art, new media, social involvement, and community values; dedicated to a constantly-evolving ethos of collaborative creation, self-reinvention, and boundary-pushing experimentation.  While existing as a mutating collaborative effort, Bassnectar is traditionally the amorphous music project of Lorin Ashton, a San Francisco based Musician / Producer / DJ, (“probably the largest cult following of any DJ in San Francisco” – SF Weekly) highlighted by massive basslines, thick mob scene beats, freakshow energy, emotive melodics, traditional acoustic instrumentation, and fearless mashing of genres, styles, sounds, moods, and approaches. Fusing elements of midtempo breakbeats, big beat, old school hip hop and dub, DnB, glitch, IDM, electronica, death metal, grindcore, punk rock, alternative, folk, swing, and jazz; and sampling anything from the human history of sound and music, Bassnectar might be most accurately described as “omni-tempo maximalism.”

Official website: www.chicagofarmer.com
Every folk-singer has to migrate to the city, in a way it seems to be hidden in definition of a folk singer anymore.  Cody Diekhoff, aka Chicago Farmer, has come to remind Chicago that it is in Illinois.  And to remind the rest of the world that when Louis Armstrong redefined, some say invented the art of Jazz in the 1920’s he brought his Hot Fives to Chicago to do it.  When Robert Johnson wanted to put his Mississippi Mud on wax, his hellhound chased him to Chicago to do it.  And same like, Cody has come to Chicago to deliver what it needs, when it isn’t even sure itself.  He is currently recording a collection of songs from his vast back-catalog and performing across the heartland.

Official website: www.willienelson.com
As a songwriter and a performer, Willie Nelson played a vital role in post-rock & roll country music. Although he didn’t become a star until the mid-’70s, Nelson spent the ’60s writing songs that became hits for stars like Ray Price (”Night Life”), Patsy Cline (”Crazy”), Faron Young(”Hello Walls”), and Billy Walker (”Funny How Time Slips Away”) as well as releasing a series of records on Liberty and RCA that earned him a small, but devoted, cult following. During the early ’70s, Willie aligned himself with Waylon Jennings and the burgeoning outlaw country movement that made him into a star in 1975. Following the crossover success of that year’s The Red Headed Stranger and “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” Nelson was a genuine star, as recognizable in pop circles as he was to the country audience; in addition to recording, he also launched an acting career in the early ’80s. Even when he was a star, Willie never played it safe musically. Instead, he borrowed from a wide variety of styles, including traditional pop, Western swing, jazz, traditional country, cowboy songs, honky tonk, rock & roll, folk, and the blues, creating a distinctive, elastic hybrid.

Official website: www.charleyorlando.com
Charley Orlando has been writing music for over 25 years and has been touring North America for 19. In this time he has released 11 Albums with various lineups and on his own. His last 3 releases made it to the 48th and 50th Annual GRAMMY Nomination Ballot in a total of 10 categories. Currently Charley is working solo and with his band “Charley Orlando Band”. He is continuing to tour North America and is going into the studio in November of 2008 with the latest line up of his band.

Official website: www.myspace.com/alabasterbrown
Alabaster Brown has dubbed their own style of music as “Mississippi Mud Stomp”. The band brings a high level of energy to every show that they play and though the live performance is highly improvisational the band honors the song as the most important vehicle for improvisation. In other words, Alabaster Brown writes some great songs and although they stretch them out in the live environment, they approach the actual song as the most important aspect of their playing and they tend to avoid long, meandering jamming..

Official website: thestretchmusic.com
The Stretch is a Chicago based band with a sound described as “orchestrated mayhem.” The group features Brett Baxter on drums, Kevin Greene on keys, Dugan O’ Keene on bass, and Mike Rizman on guitar. In May of 2008, Relix Magazine stated: “The Stretch certainly has the jamband blueprint down straight….full of ripping guitar solos, calculated compositions, and tight multi-part harmonies…like Phish, Moe. or Umphrey’s McGee before them, these guys simply rip.”

Official website: www.greenskybluegrass.com
Formed in the fall of 2000 by Michael Arlen Bont (banjo), Dave Bruzza (guitar), and Paul Hoffman (mandolin), Greensky has undergone a musical evolution as unique as the music it has produced. As newcomers to the bluegrass scene, the three sought to define themselves within the framework of their bluegrass favorites while establishing a voice of their own, drawing upon an array of influences and varied musical backgrounds. In the summer of 2006 the band released their second studio album, Tuesday Letter. This album, produced by Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth, has proven a milestone in the quartet’s growth as musicians and increasing exposure to a thriving national community.

Official website: www.toubabkrewe.com
Blending American and West African influences into a sound all its own, Toubab Krewe has set “a new standard for fusions of rock ‘n’ roll and West African music” (Afropop Worlwide).

Since forming in 2005, the magnetic instrumental quintet has won a diverse and devoted following at performances everywhere from Bonnaroo to the legendary Festival of the Desert in Essakane, Mali, known as the most remote festival in the world. They developed their unique sound over the course of numerous extended trips to Mali, Guinea, and Ivory Coast, where they immersed themselves in the local culture and studied and performed with luminaries.

Official website: publicprop.com
Iowa’s Public Property jumps back in the ring with Movement (Public Property). Tight band arrangements with soaring Hammond B-3, bass and drum, intricate intertwined guitars weaving through sweet harmonies from backing vocalists Margaret Larson and Mareva Minerbi, tasty percussion and even a dash of ukulele, the group has a sound that is full-tilt reggae even though they don’t try to sing in fake patois and write original material that actually sounds original. Lots of syncopated rhythm breaks, bursts of pure groove and passionate musical interludes flesh out songs written by various band members including “Everyone is Africa”, “Lay Low”, “Footprints” and (explain this one) “Kangaroo Loveshack”.

Official website: thebridgemusic.com
A unique rock band that combines various elements of blues, folk, funk and bluegrass throughout their entire repertoire. From their gritty and grand live performances, as well as through their poignantly hand crafted albums, THE BRIDGE has become one of the most popular bands to hail from the Mid-Atlantic region.

Featuring guitar, mandolin, saxophone, bass, drums and vocal percussion, THE BRIDGE offers up a sophisticated yet approachable musical experience, one that is sure to move your feet, as well as your soul.