Spiritual Rez, the Reggae Horn Funk Party, is a 6 piece band who has tirelessly toured the country promoting positive music and attitude. Having released two independent records and with a third due in early Summer 2010, the band has played with international acts like George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Toots and the Maytals, Jimmy Buffett, Gregory Isaacs as well as have founding Parliament Funkadelic member Bernie Worrell sit in on their live shows.
The Boston-based band has been described by Tampa music venue Skipper’s Smokehouse as having “the ferocious live energy and bombast of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and PFunk to their own blending chill island grooves with raucous urban tribal vibes.” Winners of the 2007 Boston Music Award for Best World Music Act and Alumni of the prestigious Berklee College of Music: the band provides a unique blend of Reggae, Funk, Afrobeat and Rock to give one of the most energetic live shows around.
Independently releasing their self titled debit in 2004 and “Rising in the East” in 2006, the group’s new record “New Roots” is a reworking of Reggae: With each song giving a new inflection on the style by pairing it with the band’s high-energy flare and organic musicianship. Look for “New Roots” early summer of 2010.
Theres no stopping Spiritual Rez! The group tours constantly over the U.S. and World, hitting acclaimed festivals such as L.E.A.F. (NC), Bear Creek (FL), Camp Bisco (NY) leaving a trail of worn-out dancers as Spiritual Rez is now recognized as a band with “a higher consciousness of respect and energy through music” and will continue to grow in the hearts of music fans across the globe.
Imagine the band that occupies the common ground between traditional bluegrass, outlaw country, and pure old time mountain music. A group that harnesses the frantic energy of the modern punk string band, yet still remains respectfully rooted in the tradition of Bill Monroe. Imagine a band with one foot proudly planted in the path of traditional bluegrass, and one foot stepping out into the unknown forefront of American string music.
This is Town Mountain, the exciting new sound from Asheville, NC. Born out of the all night jam sessions and fertile picking scene of Western North Carolina, Town Mountain has emerged as one of the premiere young American bluegrass bands. Great original songwriting, tight vocal harmonies, a charismatic stage presence, and instrumental expertise place this group in the upper tier of contemporary acoustic bands. But, in the end, despite these qualities, it’s always the undeniable, irresistible energy of a live Town Mountain show that truly sets this group apart.
Sol Driven Train is a band in motion. Perpetually piling on and off the bus, the momentum of their hard work and heart-felt music propels the group upward. At shows, the band members bounce to the pulse of the music along with the crowd. Stylistically the band “seamlessly mixes Allmanesque Southern rock, languid world-beat, swampy funk and downright catchy melodies as they swap lead singers and instruments. A punchy horn section adds an extra dimension of sweaty soul to the genre-blurring jam party” (Atlanta Creative Loafing, 11/21/06). All that sweat is paying off for Sol Driven Train. With their honest songwriting and energetic live performances, they are attracting fans devoted to witnessing their musical progression. Since the fall of 2005, the band has been touring the Southeast and beyond, averaging 150 shows per year at festivals, bars, music venues, theatres, summer camps, and children’s museums.
Jeff Bujak generates heavily organized piano progressions, twists and winds them amid constantly evolving poly-rhythmic electronic beats and constructs a sound that is not only unique, but extremely fresh to the underground music scene. Bujak is a solo performer that uses computers, keyboards, effects, samplers and vocals to create a ‘progressive-piano groove.’ He creates a sound that unites keyboard influences of Peter Gabriel, Album Leaf and Bruce Hornsby with the hard driving rhythms of Prodigy and DJ Shadow.
Fueled by original songwriting, award winning musicianship, and exhilarating bluegrass instrumentation, Jackass Flats epitomizes the new generation of acoustic string bands who combine creativity and tradition to produce something all together unique. Since taking home Virginia State Champion Bluegrass Band honors in 2002, the boys have been crowd favorites on the bluegrass, americana, and world music scenes. In 2003 Jackass Flats took their local music scene by storm and were awarded Best Bluegrass/Country Band by internet magazine Richmond.com, who called the band “masters of backwoods symphonies”. In 2004 the band was presented with a Virginia Music Award for The Best Americana Jamband. In the summer of 2005 alone, the band performed at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN and shared billing with groups as diverse as The Wailers, Del McCoury Band, Ani Difranco, Victor Wooten Band, Railroad Earth, Keller Williams, Sam Bush Band, Xavier Rudd, Tony Rice,Drive By Truckers, and J.D Crowe and the New South.
Jackass Flats plays hard hitting original music with gritty rock influences and hitches the whole thing to a fast and furious bluegrass engine. The band grew out of the musical partnership of Stephen Kuester and Travis Rinehart, who began playing and singing together since before they could drive. The two crafted a vocal harmony attack that landed them in the east coast’s premier clubs, music halls, and festival stages. The typical show has Jackass Flats picking their way through original material, fresh arrangements of bluegrass standands, and non-traditional tunes from genres as varied as rock, reggae, and jazz. With the release of their second album “Greetings From Jackass Flats”, the band has fulfilled one of their longtime dreams, to release an album of all original music that reflects their love of bluegrass tradition and their determination to create a sound that is all their own.
The band consists of Sweet Eddie Carlton on bass fiddle, Travis Rinehart on the banjo and guitar, Stephen Kuester on the guitar and pedal steel, Cory Potrafka on keys and harmonica, and Scott Lewis on drums. Live, the band is intense, spontaneous, and always out for a raucous time.
Fresh off the release of their self titled debut album, Velvet Truckstop’s music represents a culmination of the band’s hard earned experiences and travels. What you get are tight vocal harmonies, searing guitars, heavy keyboard driven groove and a tight rhythm section that holds it all together. Velvet Truckstop recently participated in the 2008 Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, and they are currently touring the southeast in clubs and at festivals.
Live performances consist of original compositions and carefully adapted covers. Crowds of all ages rejoice as Velvet Truckstop strives to create fresh compounds of down home and American rock and roll.