Caroline Watkins Awarded 2017-18 Miranda Lambert ‘Women Creators’ Scholarship
Nashville native and a sophomore in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, Caroline Watkins, was recently selected as the second recipient of the ‘Women Creators’ scholarship, established in 2015 by reigning Academy of Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year Miranda Lambert. The scholarship was created to honor a female Belmont student who is majoring in music business, songwriting or entertainment industry studies and is actively working towards pursuing her dream of working in the music industry. The scholarship will provide Watkins with more than $40,000 in scholarship funds for the 2017-18 academic year.
ZONA MAN RELEASES NEW VIDEO FOR “CRUMBS” TODAY
Freebandz affiliate,Zona Man releases his highly motivating new video “Crumbs” today. Watch here: https://youtu.be/5MfrCxfjA-Y
The video showcases howZona will not settle for what he currently has and will continue to chase greatness. “Crumbs was inspired by this time in my life when I was on super hustle mode, tryna make something outta nothing,” said Zona. “Tryna turn these crumbs into mills.”
Liverpool Indie Quartet Motherhood Release Anthemic EP Cut ‘Hey You’
Liverpool indie outfit Motherhood kick off 2018 with Hey You, the latest anthemic cut taken from their forthcoming debut EP out later this year. Following on from previous single Save Me, Hey You features an array of choppy samples, processed drums and gnarly guitar tones that work to perfection.
Sting & Shaggy: New Single “Don’t Make Me Wait” To Be Released January 25
Sting and Shaggy were initially introduced by Martin Kierszenbaum, who is Sting’s manager and Shaggy’s former A&R executive. After Sting heard a new track that Shaggy was working on, they decided to go into the studio together. Initially, the plan was to only record “Don’t Make Me Wait,” but the rhythms, lyrics and melodies flowed readily between these two accomplished musicians and, as a result, more new songs emerged.
Sting and Shaggy wrote and jammed together for a few weeks in New York City, creating music that seamlessly blends Caribbean rhythms—in traditional and modern styles—with pop craftsmanship and rock energy.
Pitchfork ‘Rising’ Artist Camp Cope Release New Single “How To Socialise & Make Friends,”
Recorded live at Holes and Corners in South Melbourne, Australia in just three takes, “How to Socialise & Make Friends” is an upbeat anthem of independence about resilience and being yourself in the face of life’s challenges. Highlighting singer/guitarist Georgia Maq’s incisive lyricism, the song tells a perfectly observant yet sarcastically blistering tale of expectations abed crunching guitars, clashing drums, and melodic bass hooks.
Grammy Award Winner Ashley Cleveland Releases ONE MORE SONG February 2
Multiple GRAMMY Award-winning singer/songwriter Ashley Cleveland will release her tenth career album, One More Song, February 2. As the first woman to ever be nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Rock Gospel Album category and the only woman to ever win the award three times, Cleveland continues to break barriers with her music. Produced by her producer/guitarist/renowned session musician husband Kenny Greenberg, One More Song is steeped in the soulful sounds of the Blues and lyrical richness of Americana that highlight the powerful, far ranging emotion-filled vocals Cleveland is so well-known for all over the world.
The Garden Announce New Album ‘Mirror Might Steal Your Charm” + New Video “No Destination”
Once again leaving genre boundaries in the dust, The Garden twins return with Mirror Might Steal Your Charm out March 30 on Epitaph. Taking the audience away into a still unfathomed sound world and bringing back some of the scuzzier elements of their earlier work, the duo’s more guitar focused third album is another sublime slice of post-modern pop. Welcome back to a land that’s familiar, slightly out of sync, and a little bit unnerving.
Sammy Bananas drops new video for “Gitcha Gitcha” via Fool’s Gold
Sammy Bananas’ “Gitcha Gitcha” gets an appropriately hazy, fuzzed-out visual featuring his friends and collaborators BOSCO and LaDonnis. From day to night, studio to club, the “Gitcha” vid is a feel-good snapshot of the city where Sammy brings his music to life. Stay tuned for more from Mr. Bananas in 2018!
The Weight Band Debuts Original Studio LP World Gone Mad
On February 23, Woodstock-based artists The Weight Band will release their first full-length studio album World Gone Mad featuring original tracks, guest vocals and slide guitar from Jackie Greene on a cover of a Jerry Garcia-Robert Hunter song, and writing contributions from the late Levon Helm on previously unreleased songs.
“Common Man” is the first single off of the forthcoming full length album, and it will be available on Friday, January 26 on all digital streaming platforms.
Laurence Juber From Wings Releases Debut Album Standard Time January 26th
Grammy®-winning acoustic guitarist Laurence Juber will release digital debut of his first album, Standard Time on Friday, January 26th, with distribution by A-Train Entertainment. Standard Time was produced in 1979 when Paul McCartney asked his Wings guitarist to record songs from the former Beatles’ own music publishing catalog.
This instrumental collection includes two tracks written by Juber. One of these songs, the first of many fingerstyle originals, composed sitting on the steps of a cottage in the rustic Scottish farm environment being “Maisie”. “Maisie” was recorded during the sessions for Wings’ final album Back To The Egg, and features McCartney on bass, Denny Laine on harmonica, and Steve Holley on drums. It was also debuted on “Breakfast With the Beatles” on Q104 with New York’s Ken Dashow, and on Los Angeles’ KLOS with Chris Carter.
The Night Game Announce North American Headline Tour for Spring 2018
Today, Interscope/Vertigo Records act The Night Game announced a North American headlining tour, scheduled to kick off at Seattle’s Barboza on March 17 and winding all the way east. The tour routes through most major cities, including Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas, Nashville, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C.
I Hate You Just Kidding Premiere – “Fallen” via Earbuddy
Jeremy and Jessi Brock are the husband & wife songwriting duo known as I Hate You Just Kidding. They started making music together shortly after meeting and formally formed the project in 2009.
Their music has been featured in film/television and commercials, and they have gone on several national tours, leaving two EPs and one full-length album in their wake.
Danish Alt-Pop Trio Announce New EP A Violence Of Innocence
Sebastian Zieler, Jacob Koefoed, and Jens Skovgaard have a knack for making emotive, inventive, and detail-oriented music. A Violence of Innocence is a four-track EP that revels in the band’s love for creating sublime moments from disparate angles. It’s a postmodern mesh of genres with songs that warp and mutate from start to finish.
Thematically, the four tracks deal with disappointment, hope, love, curiosity, and sex. But the red thread is a deep-rooted wish to uplift, no matter the subject matter.
“For a while now, we’ve thought about positivity in music being a bit of a holy grail. We failed on this EP, really – life got in the way, and a break-up and stress has had to be dealt with in song form. But we’ve tried not to off-load feelings on the listener, and instead to let them go full circle – to have each song provide a solution to the problem it presents” says frontman Sebastian Zieler.
THE ACES ANNOUNCE DEBUT ALBUM WHEN MY HEART FELT VOLCANIC
Utah quartet The Aces are excited to announce the release of their much anticipated debut album, When My Heart Felt Volcanic. Serving as a follow up to 2017’s critically acclaimed I Don’t Like Being Honest EP, the album will be made available everywhere on April 6, 2018. Today, fans can hear a brand new song off When My Heart Felt Volcanic called ‘Fake Nice.’
RAVYN LENAE UNVEILS SULTRY VISUAL FOR “STICKY”
Chicago’s rising pop sensation, Ravyn Lenae returns today giving fans the mid-week boost everyone deserves in her new “Sticky” video. The Weird Life directed visual finds Lenae & her girls grooving to the beat through a psychedelic maze of colors.
Independent Music Magazine Indie Band Guru Launches Indiegogo Campaign
Indie Band Guru (IBG), an NYC-based online music magazine, will launch an Indiegogo campaign on January 8. The funds from the campaign will be used to launch Knowledge To Get Known, a suite of resources and services to help independent musicians advance their careers.
Indie Band Guru was founded 9 years ago by Keith Profeta as a way to help support and promote musicians working in the independent and do-it-yourself (DIY) music scenes. As IBG’s reach and readership grew, so did their ambitions.
“We have built a pretty nice platform for helping independent musicians get the word out about their music,” said Profeta, “I have so much passion for indie music, and the artists that make it. I always wanted to do more to share the knowledge I have picked up along the way.”
DRAM ADDS NEW VERSE ON CLEAN BANDIT’S SMASH SINGLE “I MISS YOU”
“I Miss You” sees Clean Bandit [formed of brothers Luke and Jack Patterson and Grace Chatto] return with a sentimental, tear-jerking smash; one of the band’s most inspired songs to date. Produced by Jack Patterson and Grace Chatto alongside the band’s resident producer, Mark Ralph, vocal duties stem from the inimitable talent that is Julia Michaels.
A-Trak Premieres Second Annual Cut It Out DJ Mix
“I recorded this during a day off on Holy Ship,” says A-Trak of the mix. “I wanted to include a bunch of music I listen to but don’t get to play enough in my sets. I like to sway between genres…don’t get seasick.”
The 77-minute journey features explorations in drum-and-bass, dembow, techno and electronic soul, bookmarked by A-Trak’s signature blend of hip hop and house.
