Bluegrass heroes Stillhouse Junkies are on the forefront of breaking through the genre with their free-flowing musical interplay that weaves roots, classical, texas-swing and blues into a high-energy, intricately composed yet expansively improvised tapestry of sound.  

The trio, Fred Kosak (guitar, mandolin), Alissa Wolf (fiddle), Jeanette Adams (bass) are based in the wilderness town of Durango, Colorado.  Formed in 2017, the band is already 3 albums deep with singles constantly streaming out including a collaboration with Tim O’Brien. Their prolific songwriting, 3-part harmonies and outrageous instrumentals brought them the prestigious International Bluegrass Music Award “Momentum Band of the Year” in 2021.

Stillhouse Junkies are quickly becoming a household name as they tour incessantly across the United States. They have played beloved festivals such as Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, Rockygrass, Merle Fest, and ROMP gaining new fans every day. Their busy schedule has seen them supporting Willie Carlisle, The Lil Smokies and Asleep at the Wheel.

MaSango — world renowned, award winning multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, bandleader, and producer Zivanai teams up with triple threat vocalist, storyteller, and cultural strategist Helen to form this dynamic duo. They share sounds from Zimbabwe, Southern Africa, and the broader African Diaspora. MaSango pairs the unbeatable grooves of traditional music with contemporary songwriting. Story and song take the stage hand in hand as Zivanai and Helen weave culture, tradition, innovation, and humanity into a show that leaves you dancing and singing along.

Tony is an evocative and soulful singer, a wide-ranging songwriter and a virtuoso multi-instrumentalist adept on banjo, cello-banjo, slide guitar and baritone ukulele who mixes and matches sounds and styles with the flair of a master chef (he’s also an accomplished sculptor, but that’s another story). All of the music of America is in Tony’s music. Relix hit the nail on the head when writing of Tony: “True talent doesn’t need categories.” 

“Tony Furtado, banjo player, is back…in a big way,” writes banjo master Tony Trischka in his liner notes to Decembering, the brand-new album from Tony Furtado. “He’s planted his flag in the midst of the fertile ground that is modern banjo. Texturally fresh, confidently audacious, rich and giving, this recording is a masterpiece.” Decembering is a welcome return to the banjo and a much-needed ray of sunshine and light in these troubled times. 

Tony has performed throughout the world at top venues and appeared at such prestigious music festivals as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, Jazz Aspen, Kerrville Folk Festival, Strawberry Music Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Sisters Folk Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival and countless others. He especially values the opportunities he has had to tour with such legendary musicians as Gregg Allman and with such esteemed slide guitarists as David Lindley, Derek Trucks and Sonny Landreth.

Luke Price

Five-time Grand National Fiddle Champion Luke Price is a multi-instrumentalist performer, composer, and studio musician based in Portland, OR. He has his roots in American fiddling and swing traditions, but his interests and influences are diverse ranging through Soul, Jazz, Pop, and Americana. Luke is a Berklee School of Music alum and regularly plays and sings in a vintage soul/pop tinged band, “Love, Dean” alongside his wife Rachael Price. Luke brings a unique voice to any music he plays, whether he’s on the fiddle, guitar, or singing.

Born and raised in Knoxville, TN, Sally Buice and Molly Rochelson of The Montvales spent much of their formative years busking amidst the Elvis impersonators and musical saw players of the town’s Market Square, honing their uniquely boisterous harmonies and perfecting the art of people-watching. Some fifteen years later, the two are still at it-maintaining their study of the robust chaos of the commons as they tour the country playing their descriptive, textured songs on the self-described “feral outskirts of country music.”  Their lyrics tackle everything from heartbreak to gentrification to abortion rights, pulling audiences in alongside their well-worn harmonies and nearly telepathic musical connection.  

The music of Creekbed Carter Hogan (he/they) is a quiet act of defiance made at the end of your rope. It is the warm feeling of solidarity coursing through your body as you link arms with strangers. It is a hard-won laugh, brittle but brave, in the face of what hurt you the most. It is finding hope where there is none, asking questions when you’re told to stay quiet, demanding a future you believe in, and facing a world hellbent on destruction with community, enthusiasm, and joy.

More than a decade into one of contemporary folk’s most quietly extraordinary careers, Alela Diane returns with Who’s Keeping Time? on May 22 via Fluff & Gravy / Loose Music. 

The Portland songwriter’s seventh full-length came as the consequence of intuition, coincidence, and community. “I came to the end of a season last year,” Alela shares. “My daughters had grown a bit. I no longer had babies waking me in the middle of the night. I could hear myself think again.” More and more, those thoughts circled music. 

The ultimate spark for Alela’s return to her music community came in April of last year with the death of her close friend and mentor Michael Hurley — folk legend and indispensable presence in the Portland music scene. Tracked live in the attic of her 1892 Victorian home, Who’s Keeping Time? was produced by Sam Weber (Madison Cunningham, Anna Tivel) and brought to life with staples from the local music orbit, including members of the bands Lucius and Blind Pilot and fellow singer-songwriters Anna Tivel and AC Sapphire. 

Over the years, Alela’s lustrous discography has gathered major critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, NPR Music, The Guardian, and plenty more. UNCUT counted her work in their ambitious “50 best singer-songwriter albums” of all time roundup—a canon comprising John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Paul Simon—with Consequence echoing that significance, declaring, “Hers is a timeless sound, that of a wayfaring troubadour, which only seems to come a few times a generation.”

Shannon Lay’s music is shored by radical empathy. After 15 years of writing, recording and performing her singularly gentle songs in venues around the world, the self-taught singer-songwriter is most concerned with how her music may help people in emotional and spiritual need. In a world of persistent change, Lay’s goal is to have concentrations of love and energy in her work that double as a helping hand or a voice whispering “everything is going to be ok.” The singer’s abiding belief is that immense change also means invaluable transformation and permanent relief. Intention is her North Star. Hailed by publications such as Pitchfork, The Guardian, SPIN and Uncut magazine, Lay’s solo albums, including “Geist,” “August”, “Living Water,” and “All this life goin’ down” are noted for their thoughtful and entirely tender reflections on life’s big questions. Her seraphic voice has drawn comparisons to British folk icons Anne Briggs, Sandy Denny and Vashti Bunyan. Though an old soul, Lay aims to meet her listeners in the present. For her, creating a song, a recording or a live performance that is relatable and communal is of the utmost importance for we are constantly in flux and those unknowns, met with compassion, can be beautiful.