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| By
his own words, Peter Oyloe is "an old soul,
raised on homegrown goats milk and thoughtful solitude,
whose love of love and people is constant and strong."
Oyloe's vocal talents fall easily into the ranks
of legends such as Jeff Buckley and James Taylor,
saturating every song with lush melodies, sometimes
soaring and crooning and sometimes delicate and
understated. His vocals traverse a broad spectrum
of emotion, at times dark and contemplative, reflecting
the stark honesty and ardor Oyloe brings to his
music, and other times driven by an upward grace
and sweeping romanticism. |
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| Melissa
Rose Ziemer is a longtime favorite of Chicago music
listeners and music writers. Her latest CD "Not
All Black & White" illustrates her high
regard. Her natural songwriting style and impressive
vocals deliver sounds ranging from subtle neo-country
to powerful folk rock to soulful pop. Ziemer (pronounced
ZEEMER) got her start fronting two of Chicago's
most popular bands, "Gertrude," a pop/rock
group voted "Best Female Fronted Band in Chicago"
and "The Juleps," which featured an All-Star
Windy City line-up. As a solo performer or with
a band, Ziemer is an energetic live performer with
a natural stage presence. |
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Fulton
County Line is one of Chicago’s finest real
country music acts. Formed in 2004 and named after
a bucolic county in western Ohio, they've grown
into an accomplished and impressive live act through
weekly residencies at Horseshoe and The Pontiac
Café, and a variety of other gigs in and
around Chicago. The band features Scott Angle on
lead vocals/acoustic guitar, Mike Conroy on lead
guitar and vocals; Gabriel Stutz on pedal steel;
Josh Piet on upright bass; and Lance Helgeson on
drums and vocals.
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| UPDATE:
Tanya Witt
is a Red Cross certified volunteer, and was forced
to cancel HankFest to focus on hurricane relief.
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR, TANYA!
Tanya began entertaining at the age of three. She
studied Music Business at Belmont University in
Nashville and while attending college, performed
at legendary venues such as Nashville Palace, Tootsies,
Lonnies, and Barbara's. In December of 2002, Tanya
backed up Ray Charles in one of his final concerts.
She also performs as lead singer with her acoustic
band "Past Due." |
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The
Dan Whitaker Country is one of the growing Chicago-based
country and Americana-flavored bands helping
to put Chicago on the national map as an authentic
country center. They perform a mix of classic
country, western swing and hillbilly music featuring
Dan’s original country & western material
along with a variety of timeless classics. The
group has been playing a weekly residence in
Chicago at the West Logan Square bar Hotti Biscotti
on Thursdays since January 2004. They have also
performed at the prestigious Country Music Festival
at the Taste Of Chicago. |
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Lisa
DeRosia grew up in a musical family in Michigan
City, IN, where she sang in her church. After
forming and performing in other bands, she and
ex-fiancé Greg Schultz (guitar, pedal steel)
created Lush
Budgett in 1996. She eventually reunited with
another former band member (Mitch Straeffer, bass),
then added Steve Doyle (dobro, guitar, trombone,
mandolin, vocals) and Gerald Dowd (drums) to complete
the lineup. DeRosia also teaches Wiggleworms and
guitar classes at the Old
Town School of Folk Music, and directs children’s
musical theater productions.
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| Ted
Wulfers
& Beggar's Bridge |
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| Ted
Wulfers & Beggar’s Bridge is a nationally
touring band from Chicago. His new “Cheap
Liquor” release is an ode to his favorite
pasttimes – women, drinking and legendary
music. Performing like there’s no such thing
as closing time, his group combines rock 'n roll,
pop, jazz, folk, jam and world. Tipping his hat
and glass toward his roots and influences, Wulfers
& crew have been compared to Tom Petty, Bruce
Springsteen, AC/DC, Warren Zevon, Guns & Roses,
The Rolling Stones, Dierks Bentley, Bob Dylan, Gram
Parsons, Dwight Yoakam, Big & Rich and more. |
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| The
Stone City Stragglers is a six-piece band from Joliet,
IL, also known as Stone City because of the limestone
that was used to build the infamous prison walls
and other historic buildings. Since 2002, they've
carved out a name in the Americana/Alt. country
scene. Their 2004 "The Last Resort" release
gained the attention of reviewers and fans across
the U.S. and abroad. With their passionate live
show, the band has recently opened for such acts
as Drive-By Truckers, Billy Joe Shaver, Jon Dee
Graham, Reckless Kelly, Caitlin Cary/Thad Cockrell,
The Sadies and more. |
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Growing
up in North Carolina, Seven Harkey swished with
country music, gargled with pop, and spit southern
rock. Greyhounding to San Francisco on the cusp
of the early-Nineties Alt-Country surge, he
explored his varied roots in the garagey Farmgirl
and his
powerfolk quartet, The Lomaxes. But critical
acclaim didn't soothe Seven's hunger for a change
of atmosphere, so he headed east for the chill
of Chicago. There, alone and with cohorts, he
continues to take his unique brand of guitar-playing
and word-singing to new levels of strum and
bash. Perhaps most notable in Harkey's performances
is his electric connection with audiences, delivered
with an intense yet engaging demeanor. |
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| Kristin
Shout draws her music from the tunes of Kurt Weill
and Edith Piaf to the folk rock of Neil Young and
the alternately brazen and moody vocals of PJ Harvey.
Kristin's music career started on the streets of
Paris in 1994; Over the next five years she traveled
and played in such diverse European countries as
Belgium, Holland, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic,
Switzerland and France. Kristin was a member of
the ensemble that won the 1991 National Poetry Slam
and received a fellowship award from the Illinois
Arts Council in the field of performance art. Shout
can be seen performing with her band, Smoking Kitten,
voted the best new band in Chicago in New City’s
"Best of Chicago" 2002 Reader's Choice
poll. |
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With
a career spanning over 35 years, Kent Rose has
honed his sound and style to become "the
voice that remembers." It has become a testament
to the sound and style of his influences among
which include: Hank Williams, Don Gibson, Stonewall
Jackson, and Floyd Tillman. T.J.
Simon of Music-Box Online described him as "dressing
like Buck Owens, singing like Dwight Yoakam, and
writing songs like Buddy Holly." Having worked
the road with regional and national acts, he's
opened shows for bluesman Teddy Morgan, Juno award-winning
Canadian supergroup Blackie and the Rodeo Kings,
and folk-blues phenom Jackie Greene, among others. |
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| Combine
a group of honky tonk purists with a talented young
singer just out of Austin, and you have the True
Historians. Always striving to give the most authentic
sound to some of the saddest, down-on-your-luck
stories you could ever split a bottle of whisky
over, the band takes great pride in playing honky
tonk music in some of the seediest beer joints in
Chicago. True
Historians are Trevor McSpadden (Lead Vocals/Rhythm
Guitar), Brian Buhman (Upright Bass), Ken Drost
(Pedal Steel), Bob Siebecker (Lead Guitar), Jeff
Scalia (Drums), Joe Cromer (Piano/Organ).
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| BIO
SOON |
On
the heels of notable success from their most recent
studio CD "Scars We Share" (Doug McBride,
Josh Cutsinger, Gravity Studios), and live acoustic
CD, "Live at Uncommon Ground" (Blaise Barton),
Seven Day Run has stayed busy the past few years, performing
at Chicagoland venues including Double Door, House of
Blues, Martyr’s, Metro, Schuba’s and many
others. The band includes Joe Avezzano (drums), David
Bills (keyboards), Andy Goesel (bass), Pat Keiner (lead
guitar, vocals) and Kevin McDonough (guitar, vocals).
They’re presently working with award-winning Producer
Jack LeTourneau (Billy Branch, Hayden Thompson, Dale
Hawkins) on a forthcoming studio CD, scheduled for release
in Fall 2005. |
John
Lilly's unique blend of music bridges the waters between
tradition and innovation. Mixing his own roots-based
original songs with the best of early country music,
John offers a lively and entertaining program of American
roots music.
"If
Hank Williams had a sunny disposition, he'd be John
Lilly" -- Independent Weekly; Durham, NC
"Lilly's
the real thing -- he's got the 'feel,' the intensity,
the soul, and the sweetness in his music." --
Bluegrass Unlimited
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