Brandi Carlile (USA)

• Band Members: Brandi Carlile, Tim and Phil Hanseroth

• Discography: Brandi Carlile (2005), The Story (2007), Give Up The Ghost (2009), Live At Benaroya Hall (2011), Bear Creek (2012), The Firewatcher's Daughter (2015), Cover Stories (2017) & By The Way I Forgive You (2018)

• Website: http://www.brandicarlile.com/

We have been big fans of Brandi Carlile for a while now. She is a wonderful Grammy nominated singer-songwriter and producer. Born in Ravensdale, Washington, she dropped out of high school to pursue a career in music, teaching herself piano and guitar. Her first commercial album, 'Brandi Carlile', was released to critical acclaim but to limited commercial success. Brandi garnered wider recognition and commercial success with her 2007 single 'The Story', from the album of the same name. 'The Story' turned gold in 2017, having sold 500,000 copies to date. Brandi most successful album to date, 'The Firewatcher's Daughter' earned her a Grammy Nomination for Best Americana Album and peaked at number 9 on the Billboard 200.

Brandi has released six albums including 'The Story' (2007), 'Give Up the Ghost' (2009)  'Live at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony' (2011), the last reaching number 14 on the Top Rock Albums chart. In May 2017, Brandi released 'Cover Stories, Brandi Carlile Celebrates 10 Years of The Story, An Album to Benefit War Child'. Featuring 14 artists covering tracks from the original The Story album, including Adele, Pearl Jam and Dolly Parton, it debuted at number 30 on the Billboard Chart. Her seventh album, 'By The Way, I Forgive You' is due to be released on February 16, 2018.

Brandi Carlile's music through the years has been categorized in several genres, including pop, rock, alternative country, and folk. She said of her style, "I've gone through all sorts of vocal phases, from pop to blues to R&B, but no matter what I do, I just can't get the country and western out of my voice." Brandi has been a part of several activism campaigns and advocates for causes ranging from spreading awareness for health issues to women empowerment.

Brandi won Seattle's City of Music Breakthrough Award for 2010. The same year, she was a nominee for "Outstanding Music Artist", for her album 'Give Up the Ghost', at the 21st GLAAD Media Awards. Her 2015 album 'The Firewatcher's Daughter' was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Americana Album.

Sarah Darling (USA)

Discography: Every Monday Morning (2009), Angels & Devils (2011), Home To Me EP (2013), Dream Country (2016), Winter Wonderland (2017), Wonderland (2019)

Record Label: Be Darling Records

Website: http://www.sarahdarling.com

Our next LCM featured artist is a little bit special, a very talented US singer-songwriter with a sublime pure vocal. From her frequent national TV appearances, to the launch of her new line of boots with partner Durango, to the success of her French macaron company, Sweet Darling Patisserie....and a robust touring schedule, Sarah Darling is a very busy young woman!

Sarah Darling went into the studio in the summer of 2008 to record her debut album, Every Monday Morning, which was released on June 16, 2009. Her single "Jack of Hearts" successfully made its debut on Country Music Television's top 20 countdown. A second album, Angels & Devils, was released on February 15, 2011, following its lead single "Something to Do With Your Hands" and a digital single release of the U2 cover "With or Without You". 

In late 2012, a new single titled "Home to Me," was released to digital retailers on August 21, 2012 after being previously featured on Sirius XM's 'The Highway' country-music station. It sold over 8,000 copies in the first week of release becoming the top selling digital single from a new female artist since May 2011 when Lauren Alaina released "Like My Mother Does". "Home to Me" became Sarah's first single to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, reaching a peak of number 34. "Home To Me" was issued to radio, in multiple versions, customized for different states.

Sarah recently fulfilled a childhood ambition by playing the Iowa State Fair main stage, opening up for Carrie Underwood. Her August appearances at the Grand Ole Opry marked over 80 performances on that historic stage since her debut just three years ago.  Country Superstar, Brad Paisley paid tribute to her by performing a duet of "Whiskey Lullaby" with Sarah that brought the house down. Radio success with singles, 'Home to Me,' and 'Little Umbrellas' solidified the Iowa native as one of country music's breakout performers and elite vocalists.

Called 'a sophisticated songwriter with a crisp, powerful voice' by The New York Times, Darling pairs her uncanny knack for songwriting with her passion for performing on stage. She's been tagged 'Nashville's Darling' by Music City's Convention and Visitors Bureau and since her appearances on Rising Star, the term 'America's Darling' has been used to describe her.

CAIN (USA)

• Band Members: Taylor, Madison and Logan Cain

• Discography: The Cains EP (2015)

• Contact:

• Website: http://thecainsofficial.com/

For our next showcase artists we take another trip to the big 'N' Nashville, the current home of Alabama brother and sister trio The Cains. They released a very good and mega catchy single and video back in February called 'Knock Knock', which we all love very much here at LCM HQ. It's taken from their self titled debut EP released in 2015. We think there are big things ahead for the band and are really looking forward to their debut album and seeing them live for the first time at the 'Buckle and Boots' festival in Stockport. 

Shortly after learning how to talk, the Cain siblings were harmonizing with each other. The two sisters and brother from Hartselle, Alabama have shared a lot over the years, but their passion for music is what has brought them together as The Cains, a country band with unique harmonies and a variety of influences.

Taylor, Madison and Logan Cain are not only singers and songwriters, but also multifaceted entertainers and musicians who play guitar, piano, bass, harmonica and more. It all started when eldest sibling, Taylor, learned her first song on the piano at 5 years old and, a few years later, began teaching her younger siblings to sing harmony with her. A few years of practice and three college degrees later, the group has banded together as The Cains to write, record and release their own original music.

While their harmonies are reminiscent of earlier sibling groups such as The Everly Brothers and The Carpenters as well as more current acts such as Secret Sisters and The Band Perry, The Cains have created their own iconic style of harmony. Besides drawing from their own DNA, their original music features compelling, edgy lyrics that evoke emotion and is inspired by a vast combination of genres from country, soul and pop to Americana, folk and contemporary Christian. Their sound can be described as The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac meets Echosmith. Even with a variety of influences, The Cains know exactly what they want in their music – honesty.

It all started at World Harvest Outreach Church where the trio gave their first performance of “Mary Did You Know” at the annual Christmas play. From that moment on, performing together became the new norm for the trio. The siblings were home-schooled together until their teenage years when they each enrolled in Hartselle High School. They were all members of the Hartselle High Cheerleading Team and each graduated at the top of their class.

The three of them would later attend Troy University in Troy, Alabama and, for the first time in their entire lives, wouldn’t share a bedroom. After they all relocated for college (and moved back in together), Logan, Madison and Taylor became very involved at Troy and slowly began making music again.

In between Logan’s practices with the Troy University Cheerleading Team, Madison’s work with the Chi Omega women’s fraternity and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Taylor’s work with Troy University’s up-and-coming music industry program, the three of them would perform at various religious, volunteer and university-related functions.

In 2012, The Cains heard about a competition that was taking video submissions for a chance to open for Andrew Ripp and Dave Barnes at WorkPlay Theater in Birmingham, Ala.; however, they heard of the opportunity only one day before the contest was scheduled to end. The three of them made the executive decision to skip class and write their first original song, “Stay On Board;” and as luck would have it, they won. Only 30 minutes after The Cains were added to the bill, the show sold-out. The performance was a huge success and solidified their underlying desire to pursue a music career together.

“We’ve been performing and singing together our entire lives – literally since we were five, six and seven years old. It’s always been our passion, but after we won the competition to open for Andrew and Dave at WorkPlay, everything changed. Not only did we begin to believe that we really could make a career out of this, we saw that we had a legitimate fan base that believed in us! That night was the beginning of our journey,” commented Taylor Cain.

What started out as the designated musical guest for World Harvest Outreach Church’s annual fish fry turned into a sophisticated group of singer-songwriters who defied the odds and won a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to open for some of their biggest musical influences while also showcasing their own original music.

In the fall of 2014 after each of them graduated with honors from Troy University, The Cains packed up their small-town Alabama life and began the all-too-familiar pilgrimage to Nashville’s Music City; however, nothing about this band was mundane. The group released their debut album, Stay On Board, in October of 2014 and their debut single “Be Yourself With Me” hit radio. The single would produce a debut Top 50 on the MusicRow Country Breakout chart and garner the group MusicRow Magazine‘s DisCovery Award – achievements almost unheard of for an independent act.

In March of 2015, hot off the heels of a successful radio debut and packed performances at Country Radio Seminar 2015, The Cains broke onto the U.K. Country music scene with their first international appearance at London’s Country to Country (C2C) festival, Europe’s largest and most well-attended Country music event of the year. During C2C 2015, The Cains performed for festival attendees at the O2’s Saloon Stage and Town Square Stage. In addition to their C2C performances, The Cains also had the opportunity to open for the U.K.’s Bill Kirchen Band at London’s Tingwick Village Hall.

“C2C was such a special time for us,” commented Logan Cain. “Not only did we get to impact people, we directly watched that impact happen. We had the opportunity to perform for thousands of music fans that were completely soaking in the music. It’s not every day you get to receive such love and encouragement from complete strangers. We got to write songs with local artists in London and make great friends. Country to Country was a huge milestone for us and we are thankful for that experience and the souls we met there every single day.”

The Cains’ sophomore release, “Journey’s End,” received airplay on Sirius XM’s The Highway "On The Horizon", and the group released a new, self-titled EP on July 21, 2015.

Most recently, The Cains have partnered with Bravo TV’s hit reality series “Southern Charm” to write and record original tracks that recap recent happenings within the series. Bravo TV features The Cains’ original tunes along with lyric videos on their website, www.BravoTV.com.

With new music on the horizon and a successful U.S. Country Radio Seminar and U.K. Country to Country Festival already under their belts, it is safe to say that 2015 has aligned to be the year of the Cains.

Of the new music, Madison Cain commented, “I can confidently say that this new EP is the most authentic project we have ever created. Everything from the songs to the production to the artwork and photography has our fingerprints all over it. We did not make any compromises and we can’t wait to get the music to our fans.”

Jenn Bostic (USA)

• Discography: Keep Lookin' For Love (2009), Jealous (2012), Faithful (2015)

• Record Label: Jenn Bostic Music LLC

• Contact:

• Website: http://jennbostic.com

Our next LCM featured artist is an excellent US Singer-Songwriter originally from Waconia, Minnesota a small town 30 miles west of Minneapolis but now based in Nashville. Jenn has some great music to explore and if you get the chance to see her perform live, please do. Jenn's career as a singer-songwriter began when she was 10 years old, in the back seat of her father’s car with her older brother on the way to school. A horrific crash that killed her dad, a hobby musician who taught her folk songs like “Sunny Side of the Street,” and turned her on to Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt, changed the 30-year-old’s life forever.

“God must need another angel/Around the throne tonight,” she sings on “Jealous of the Angels,” a song on her second album, the follow-up to her promising debut, 'Keep Lookin for Love'. “Your love lives on inside of me/And I will hold on tight.”

Born in Philadelphia, but raised in Waconia, Jenn grew up singing with her family around the piano. Her father, a CEO of NordicTrack, played a variety of instruments, including accordion, while his daughter picked up a love of folk, blues, R&B, soul, show tunes and, eventually, country. Seeing her father die in front of her made her angry with God at first, but she later found an outlet for her sorrow in music and writing songs.

Jenn Bostic’s new album, 'Faithful', signals the confidence she’s gained from becoming “big in the U.K.” You can hear how that outpouring of fan love has freed the Nashville-based singer-songwriter to trust more fully in her instincts as an artist, a perspective reflected in the disc’s anthemic title track, which takes up the idea of keeping faith with yourself.

This thread is woven throughout 'Faithful', in large part a meditation on inner-strength and how your response to what life throws at you defines your character. In Jenn’s case, that’s meant not throwing in the towel when her early work was rejected by so-called star-makers and not resting on her laurels when her song “Jealous of the Angels” connected with an audience unimagined by those same industry figures.

In 2013 in a matter of weeks, she went from being an virtual unknown to logging more than a two and a half million hits on YouTube for the “Jealous of the Angels” video to reaching #1 on U.K. singer-songwriter charts to being recognized on the street in London.

“Going to another country on your own, even one where they speak English, with a keyboard and not much else – that was a leap of faith for me,” confides Jenn “But it felt like what I was supposed to do, like that’s where I was called to go at that moment. When something like that happens and you find yourself challenged to do things you’ve never done before and which might seem scary, you rely on your core values to stay grounded.”

In hindsight, it seems Jenn’s purpose in the U.K. was to bring catharsis and comfort to a lot of people struggling with loss. She heard from many who said “Jealous of the Angels” helped them deal with the death of a loved one. The song was inspired by the passing of Jenn’s father. When she was 10, Jenn, her brother and her dad were involved in an auto accident on the way to school. Jenn’s father was killed in the crash. She spent many years processing her grief, often in song. But it wasn’t until “Angels” that she was satisfactorily able to convey her feelings about the defining event of her young life.

That life began in Philadelphia but unfolded in Waconia, where the family would regularly gather around the piano and sing. In addition to traditional American music – the 1930 standard “On the Sunny Side of the Street” was a favorite duet for Jenn and her father – the senior Bostic was fond of Bonnie Raitt and Emmylou Harris.

Jenn remembers attending Garth Brooks and Faith Hill concerts with her family. Her brother, who occasionally plays bass in her band, was a big fan of country music, but Jenn says she was more into Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. “I wanted to be Sporty Spice,” she confesses. “I’d sing into my hairbrush, dreaming of being a pop star.” These musical currents would eventually converge in her work, with a rootsy feel taking the place of straight-up country.

Jenn’s dad sat in on accordion with a respected local roots ensemble called Traveled Ground. Says Jenn: “After I lost my dad, they took me under their wing; they became like a second family.” They also respected her vocal talent, which was becoming obvious through her participation in show choir and musical theater. When she was 16, the group asked her to sing backup on an album they were recording. She later joined them onstage and sang lead on some recordings, contributing a bluesy feel to the material.

After graduating from high school, Jenn attended Boston’s esteemed Berklee College of Music. It was a far cry from Waconia. “I was so intimidated by the campus,” Jenn confides, “walking to class down city streets.” She dealt with this fish-out-of-water syndrome by throwing herself into her music-education studies (a natural outgrowth of her high-school mentoring of middle-school singers; she still conducts student workshops).

Being in Boston did, however, give Jenn the opportunity to front a country-leaning cover band that played up and down the East Coast, as well as for U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait. She regards her tenure with the group as a critical learning experience. “It taught me so much about performing, and I fell in love with country songwriting,” she confirms.

She calls her subsequent entry into “real life,” as an aspiring Nashville artist, a “trial by fire.” She played at the famed Bluebird Café and developed fruitful relationships with other songwriters but was mostly rejected by Music City’s power brokers. Undeterred, Jenn unveiled her debut album, 'Keep Lookin’ for Love' in 2009.

In 2012, with a few self-booked tours under her belt, she released 'Jealous', which featured “Jealous of the Angels.” On a shoestring budget, she shot a video for the song, then posted it on YouTube. The U.K.’s Mail Online later reported what happened next: “The song first came to prominence thanks to the veteran DJ Simon Bates, when he played it on his Smooth Radio show … The response was enormous, and soon it was part of the playlist on Radio 2, which led to BBC Breakfast flying Jenn in to play live.”

She recalls: “I found out about it on Twitter, when someone wrote to say they’d heard the song on Smooth Radio and was moved by it. I thought, ‘An online radio station found it on YouTube – that’s awesome.’ Then I found out that Smooth Radio is actually a broadcast station and a very important one in the U.K.” “Angels,” which was followed up the U.K. charts by the Jealous track “Not Yet,” went on to win five Independent Country Music Association Awards. In a moment of sweet vindication, Jenn was invited to perform it at the Grand Ol’ Opry.

Jenn went on to be the first international independent artist to have three singles—“Jealous of the Angels,” “Not Yet” and “Missin’ a Man”playlisted at BBC Radio 2, the most listened-to radio station in Europe. Famed BBC Radio 2 host Terry Wogan invited her to the station for a special St. Patrick’s Day appearance on his hugely popular Sunday show, Weekend Wogan.

She is quick to credit the contributions of co-writer/producer Barrett Yeretsian, best known for “Jar of Hearts,” his collaboration with Christina Perri, which created a sensation on “So You Think You Can Dance,” hit #1 at iTunes and has since sold six million copies. The writer/producer also lent a hand to 'Faithful'. Jenn likewise speaks rapturously of Faithful collaborator Lauren Christy, Grammy nominee and co-creator of The Matrix writing/production team, which has sold more than 30 million records alongside artists like Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Rihanna, to name a few.

“I think it goes without saying that ‘Jealous of the Angels’ will always hold a special place in my heart,” Jenn says. “But I’m now so excited about 'Faithful'. We’ve kicked everything up a notch. I’m incredibly grateful that my fans have been writing to say, ‘When is the new record coming out?’ and I can’t wait to start playing these songs for them.”

The Steel Woods (USA)

• Band Members: Jason Rowdy Cope , Wes Bayliss, Johnny Stanton and Jay Tooke

• Discography: Straw In The Wind (2017), Old News (2019)

• Contact

• Website: https://thesteelwoods.com

Straw In The Wind (2017)

Old News (2019)

The Steel Woods’ sophomore Thirty Tigers album, ‘Old News’, represents a creative leap for the southern roots rock songwriting team of Alabama native Wes Bayliss and his North Carolina partner Jason “Rowdy” Cope, who completed their first recordings barely months after they first met.

Recorded in Asheville, NC at Echo Mountain Studios, the site of an old church during a six-day break in a hectic touring schedule, the new double-vinyl disc (the follow-up to 2017’s critically acclaimed Straw in the Wind) features more original songs and, for the first time, the whole band participated – including the rhythm section of bassist Johnny Stanton and drummer Jay Tooke – playing in a single room, cutting the tracks virtually live.

“We really hone in on what we do, our strengths as a band, establishing a musical identity,” explains Wes about their latest effort. “The first album, we were still figuring out our sound, so what came out, came out. This time, we had a premeditated blueprint, a real plan.”

The songwriting partnership between Bayliss and Cope continues to grow, mature and blossom. “Over time, you find out a person’s strengths and weaknesses, and it just happened to turn out his strengths are my weaknesses, and vice versa.”

Part Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, dual-guitar southern blues-rock with elements of R&B, country, bluegrass, gospel, blues, folk and metal, the descriptively named, Nashville-based band deepens its resolve on a theme-driven album that joins the mystery train of the past with the full-speed loco-motion of the present, seeking to bring people together with the universality of music.

Conceptually and musically, Old News delivers a set of songs at once eternal with lyrics wrenched from today’s headlines, featuring mythic reverberations and social critiques to boot. The album mourns an idealized past but isn’t afraid to point the way to a better future that enlists the best of both worlds.

Gregory Alan Isakov (ZA/USA)

Band members: Gregory Alan Isakov, Jeb Bows, Phil Parker, Steve Varney, Max Barcelow and John Grigsby

Discography: Songs For October (2005), That Sea, The Gambler (2007), This Empty Northern Hemisphere (2009), Spotify Sessions EP (2013), The Weatherman (2013) Gregory Alan Isakov with The Colorado Symphony (2016), Dark, Dark ,Dark EP (2018), Evening Machines (2018)

Website: https://gregoryalanisakov.com

Contact:

Bio: Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and calling Colorado home, Gregory Alan Isakov has been traveling all his life. Songs that hone a masterful quality tell a story of miles and landscapes, and the search for a sense of place. His song-craft lends to deep lyrical masterpieces, with hints of his influences, Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen. He has been described as “strong, subtle, a lyrical genius.” Gregory released his latest album ‘Evening Machines’ on October 5th, 2018.

Evening Machines (2018)