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Chris Knight

Residence: Slaughters, Kentucky
Genres: Americana, Singer/Songwriter, Country, Rock
Website: www.chrisknight.net

In the summer of 1996 inside a sweltering singlewide trailer outside a small Kentucky mining town, an unknown singer-songwriter named Chris Knight recorded an ‘unofficial’ batch of tracks prior to the release of his major label debut album. Over the next decade, through a combination of leaks, bootlegs and legend, those sessions would become something much more. “People have been talking about these tapes ever since I recorded them,” Chris Knight says. “To me, they were rough and stark and I never thought they’d see the light of day.” Ten years and four acclaimed albums later, The Trailer Tapes remain a remarkable moment in time less captured than cornered, a portrait of the artist as a ferociously talented young man. And for the artist The New York Times would soon call “the last of a dying breed … a hard-nosed iconoclast with an acoustic guitar and a college degree”, The Trailer Tapes have now arrived as the long-missing first chapter of one of the most uncompromising careers in music today.

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Michael Hearne & South by Southwest
Hometown: Taos, NM
Genre: Folk / Americana
Website: http://www.michaelhearne.com

Over the past several years, Michael Hearne and South by Southwest have created a new and unique kind of music. “Southwestern Americana” as Michael calls it “Songs about the southwest with an acoustic feel”. Michael Hearne’s incredibly smooth voice and amazing acoustic guitar style combined with Carmen Acciaioli’s musical mastery of the steel guitar, fiddle, mandolin, dobro, and hammered dulcimer, with the extremely talented Zeke Severenson on stand up and electric bass and you have what people all over the Southwest and beyond call their favorite band.

Michael Hearne and South by Southwest always play to a packed house of faithful dancers when playing on their home turf in Taos or Santa Fe. Their Sunday night performances at the prestigious Paramount in Santa Fe, NM , have immortalized them as the best “Southwestern Swing dance” band to ever hit the stage. “When people hear our music they are transported to another place and time,” says Hearne. “We can play a house concert, corporate party, wedding, or a full fledged dance, and everyone has a smile on their face at the end of the night. We love what we do.”

Michael Hearne’s song writing credits are impressive, penning songs for Jerry Jeff Walker and Gary P. Nunn (Lesson to be Learned from Love) and his New Mexico anthem, “New Mexico Rain” recorded by his uncle and aunt, Bill and Bonnie Hearne, and country music legend, Johnny Rodriguez. His critically acclaimed cd “Sight and Sound”, 11 songs written about 11 different works of art, won seven awards at The New Mexico Music Awards, making him the biggest winner in their history. This cd includes the song, “The Songwriter” co-written with grammy winners Mentor Williams and Andy Byrd. Michael Hearne has also written songs with his good friends Shake Russell, Keith Sykes, and many others.

 

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Roger Alan Wade
Chattanooga, TN
Alt-Country, Outlaw, Americana
http://www.myspace.com/rogeralanwade

Roger Alan Wade is an American singer-songwriter known for writing humorous novelty songs in the country music medium.

Wade has written songs for country legends such as Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, George Jones and Hank Williams Jr. He embarked on a solo career with the promotional assistance of his cousin, actor Johnny Knoxville, who occasionally featured Wade’s music on his TV show Jackass. During a 2003 appearance on the Howard Stern radio show, Knoxville promoted his cousin’s songs, which were favorably received by Stern and his audience and given frequent airplay thereafter. In 2005, Wade released his first album All Likkered Up on Knoxville’s record label.

Wade’s lyrics satirically deal with topics and stereotypes relating to redneck and honky tonk culture. His songs feature folky arrangements, featuring little or no accompaniment beyond acoustic guitar. His best known compositions include “BB Gun,” “Butt Ugly Slut,” “D-R-U-N-K,” “Poontang,” and “If You’re Gonna Be Dumb.”