American Roots Music Festival

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Madison Cunningham is a 26-year-old Grammy Award-winning artist and songwriter known for her “wonderfully tangled imagery and cutting self-awareness” (NPR). As a guitarist, Cunningham has pushed the boundaries of a conventional singer-songwriter as her “guitar work is both classic and wildly emotive, and her soaring vocals are pristine and inspired” (Consequence). Cunningham first picked up a guitar at age seven, and by age 12 she was singing and performing alongside her five siblings in church. In her teenage years, she met Tyler Chester who would later go on to be a close collaborator and producer of several of Cunninham’s projects including Who Are You Now (2019), which Atwood Magazine described as “a guitar-driven record, full of twisting, meticulously arranged parts and interlocking melodies. It’s almost labyrinthine; you could get lost in her swirling words.” 

Cunningham’s latest effort, Revealer, won the Grammy for Best Folk Album.  Revealer finds her working once again with producer Tyler Chester along with Mike Elizondo and Tucker Martine. Written and recorded over all states of the pandemic, Madison says, “To me, Revealer is the binding theme of the album. The hand that slowly chips away at the mirror in which you see yourself and the world and replaces it with the reflection that is most true.” The album is “full of intricate musicianship, alongside forthright observations” (All Music), intimations and hard truths — a self-portrait of a young artist who is full of doubt and uncertainty yet bursting with exciting ideas about music and life. 

To learn more about Madison Cunningham, please visit her website and follow her @madicunningham. 

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With the release of her debut album, ‘Hard Won,’ in March 2017, singer-songwriter, harpist, and guitarist Lizzie No established herself as one of the most exciting new voices in indie folk music. Billboard Magazine called the album “simultaneously understated and fervent.” She followed up the album with the release of “Sundown,” a benefit track for Black Lives Matter.

Building on the songwriting prowess displayed in her critically acclaimed debut album, Lizzie No is unsparing in the stories she tells on her second album, ‘Vanity,’ released August 2, 2019. The nine songs on ‘Vanity’ are epic tales of ego, featuring narrative shifts within vividly crafted characters. No embodies characters ranging from a handsome egoist in “Narcissus” (which Rolling Stone called a “crisp alt-rock gem”) to a broke songwriter waiting for her big break in “Pity Party,” to a bitter and isolated rocker on “Loyalty” who rants that the crowd has left him behind. Inventive arrangements written in collaboration with co-producer Nick Rapley elevate the record to shimmering heights, alternating between swaggering grooves and intimate clarity.

Lizzie has toured with Iron & Wine, Adia Victoria, Ron Pope, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, and has showcased at festivals like Newport Folk Fest, Americanafest, South by Southwest, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Classical arrangements of her songs have been performed at the Louisville Orchestra’s Festival of American Music and the Downtown Chamber Series. She is also a winner of the American Songwriter Magazine Lyrics Contest.

In June of 2021, Lizzie joined Basic Folk as a guest host, appearing monthly on the podcast. Since her debut, she has interviewed Valerie June, Will Sheff of Okkervil River, Brent Cobb, Amythytst Kiah, Molly Tuttle, Kishi Bashi, SG Goodman, and many more.

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Solomon Hicks aka King Solomon Hicks the 28-year-old guitar phenom from New York City is a guitarist, vocalist, and composer. He invested in music from a very young age and started playing guitar at six years old. Growing up in Harlem he was constantly surrounded by music. Solomon witnessed performances that made a significant impact on his ambitions as a musician and he says: “When you’re around good musicians, it gives you that spark. Being around those types of musicians also taught me to NOT be the fastest guitar player. I wanted to be the one who knew the most riffs and drew on a lot of knowledge so I could play anything and with anyone.”

Solomon won the 2021 Blues Music Awards for Best Emerging Artist for his 2020 CD release, Harlem, on Provogue Records. The set, produced/recorded by multiple Grammy Award winner Kirk Yano (Miles Davis, Public Enemy, Mariah Carey), showcases Hicks as a writer, player and interpreter.

He was WXPN’s “Artist To Watch” for August 2020, and his original song “421 South Main” made the Top 20 Blues Songs of 2020 on Spotify, and the song “What the Devil Loves” still gets spins on “Sirrus Bluesville” Radio.
Solomon has performed on KISS Kruise V, and Joe Bonamassa’s Blues Alive at Sea [2017 & 2019]. He’s shared stages with Buddy Guy, Samantha Fish, Tony Bennett, Jeff Beck, Ringo Starr, Jimmie Vaughn, Beth Hart, Mavis Staples, Robert Cray, Eric Gales, Norman Nardini, and many others. A member of the Blues Foundation in Memphis, Solomon has been Judge for the IBCs in Memphis [International Blues Challenge] being a supporter of young musicians and The Blues Foundation. He paid his own success forward by teaching music for the Children’s Aid Society, working with the Harlem Arts Alliance and the New York City Jazzmobile.

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They said it couldn’t be done. Four different songwriters joining forces to form a single band? There was simply no precedent (outside of CSNY, The Beatles, The Traveling Wilburys, The Highwaymen, Monsters of Folk, etc). And yet Fantastic Cat did it anyway, defying the odds and teaming up to record their highly unanticipated debut, The Very Best Of Fantastic Cat, out now on Blue Rose. Hailed by Rolling Stone as “a wildly satisfying collection of folk-rock, country, Americana, and good old rock & roll,” the album gleefully careens between genres and decades, mixing electrified ’60s roots and ’70s AM radio gold as it balances careful craftsmanship and ecstatic abandon in equal measure.

Individually, each member of Fantastic Cat boasts their own impressive resume along with a litany of critical acclaim. The Guardian dubbed Don DiLego “one to watch.” NPR said Anthony D’Amato “sings and writes in the tradition of Bruce Springsteen or Josh Ritter.” Rolling Stone called Brian Dunne’s latest single a “stunner” and praised Mike Montali’s band, Hollis Brown, as “the soundtrack for a late-night drive through the American heartland.” Collectively, though, the four transcend their respective roots, emerging as an instrument-swapping, harmony-trading, tear-jerking, wise-cracking rock and roll cooperative far greater than the sum of its parts.

They say some cats are born fantastic; others have fantasy thrust upon them. These guys are somewhere in the middle.

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Rissi Palmer’s gift lies in reaching across all musical boundaries. While she made her mark in Country Music, she is equally at home in R&B music, bringing the entire spectrum of popular music to bear on music she calls “Southern Soul.”

The daughter of Georgia natives, Rissi was born near Pittsburgh, PA, and spent her adolescent years in St. Louis, Missouri. Raised in a musical family that loved both country and R&B, Rissi was part of a singing and dancing troupe sponsored by a local television station at age 16, and by the time she was 19 years old, she had already been offered her first publishing and label deal.  

In 2007, she released her debut album, Rissi Palmer, charting singles, “Country Girl,” “Hold On To Me,” and “No Air.” Since then, Rissi has independently released a Christmas single, her first children’s album, Best Day Ever, and an EP titled The Back Porch Sessions. Her most recent album, Revival, was released in 2019 and has been critically hailed as her most personal and uplifting work to date.

A few highlights throughout her musical career include performances at The White House, New York’s Lincoln Center, and multiple appearances on the Grand Ole Opry. She has toured extensively across the country, sharing stages with Taylor Swift, The Eagles, Chris Young, Charley Crockett and many more. Rissi has also made numerous national appearances on Oprah & Friends, CMT Insider, CNN, CBS This Morning, GMA, Entertainment Tonight, and FOX Soul’s “The Book of Sean and has been featured in Associated Press, Ebony, Essence, Huffington Post, New York Times, Newsweek, NPR’s “All Things Considered,” PEOPLE, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, to name a few.  

As a passionate voice for country artists of color and those who have been marginalized in mainstream country music, Rissi launched her own radio show Color Me Country with Rissi Palmer on Apple Music Country. Since making its debut in August 2020, listeners have been treated to in-depth and riveting, often funny, yet very necessary conversations with Brittney Spencer, Cam, Chapel Hart, Crystal Shawanda, Maren Morris, Miko Marks The War and Treaty, Darius Rucker, and Mickey Guyton and author/journalist Andrea Williams. Fans can tune-in live to Color Me Country with Rissi Palmer every other Sunday on Apple Music Country at 4pP/7pE. To watch previous episodes on-demand, click HERE.

In conjunction with her radio show, Rissi created the Color Me Country Artist Grant Fund designed to support new country artists of color who are just beginning to build their music careers. 

Rissi is also a Special Correspondent for CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown. The weekly series airs Saturdays and Sundays on CMT at 9a/8c and features chart-topping music videos, news stories, live performances, and candid interviews from country’s biggest stars.

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Poor Monroe is a New England-based group of longtime friends who share a deep love of modern and traditional bluegrass. Their exuberant performances, which feature meticulous polished vocal harmonies, scorching tempos, and compelling original and traditional material, have quickly catapulted them from brewery parking lots to showcase stages at premier festivals across the Northeast. These include the Green River Festival, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, the Podunk Bluegrass Festival, Ossippee Valley Folk Festival, and the Back Porch Festival. In addition to receiving two New England Music Award Nominations, Poor Monroe has recently released their first album — a self-produced, eponymous collection of originals and favorites that both pays homage to their influences while announcing themselves as a new, unique voice in bluegrass music. The band is comprised of: Eric Lee, (guitar/fiddle), John Benjamin (mandolin), Sean Davis (guitar), Chris Boucher (banjo), and Gareth Buckley (bass).

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A songwriter’s songwriter, known for his lyric craft, distinctive voice and soulful songs steeped in classic rhythm & blues, pop, jazz, folk and country, Milton first gained notoriety in his hometown New York City when his song “In The City” became a hit on New York’s WFUV radio. His live performances, which include material from every one of his albums, are praised for their wit, humor, and captivating charm.

Milton has toured extensively throughout the states since 2005, as a headliner and appearing as support for his hero and mentor Chris Smither, in addition to shows and tours with Joan Osborne, Steave Earle, Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore,  Sonny Landreth, Colin Hay, Kat Edmonson, Josh Ritter and many more.

In late 2019, Milton premiered his 5th and finest album Studio City with a sold out show at City Vineyard NYC.  The album, a veritable tour de force of songwriting and studio craft, features 12 ultra-catchy, concise tunes ranging in style from Sinatra-esque full orchestra swing, to Sgt. Pepper-like whimsical comedy to vintage country and New Orleans rhythm and blues.  In concert, Milton and his ultra-sharp band of NYC veteran session players deliver the songs seamlessly with Milton’s own graceful live arrangements.

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The countryfied king of our children’s entertainment circuit.—New York Magazine

Hopalong Andrew is a folk and western music artist who performs original and traditional cowboy-themed music. His recordings include his multi-award-winning debut album “Howdy Do!” (2018) which celebrates city life and it’s inspirational “can do spirit.” His upcoming release (2024) honors the incredible-but-true diverse and multicultural heritage of the American West. 

Hopalong Andrew performs large concerts with a full band for major events and renowned national venues such as Wolf Trap National Park (VA), Levitt Pavilion (CT), State Theatre (NJ), Lancaster Fair (NH), New York Public Library, Central Park, Bryant Park, Oldtone Music Festival, Brooklyn Folk Festival, and many more.

He also performs very a popular weekday morning concert series — as a one-man band in his hometown of New York City as chronicled in the May 2023 New York Magazine feature: “Hopalong Andrew Is the Hardest Working Cowboy Musician in Brooklyn”.

Hopalong Andrew’s family-friendly style naturally appeals to families but he has the flexibility to suit a range of audiences and occasions, including the older adults who grew up with the television cowboys of the 1950s. With clever and whimsical cowboy songs and energetic theatrics, his high-spirited music is something all people can enjoy. Who else can lasso you a cab while virtuosically playing the “William Tell” Overture on harmonica?

The New York-born Hopalong Andrew first experimented with “urban cowboy” music when he was a NYC Park Ranger in Central Park, where he wrote songs about wildlife and history. It was here that he envisioned a whimsical project where a cowboy could marvel at New York City. 

Stream his award-winning music online.

Hopalong Andrew is NYC-based singer-songwriter Andrew Vladeck, a fixture on the NYC music scene in the 90s and 00s, performing countless times at Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge (most recently for their 25th Anniversary series), and the fabled folk club The Living Room, where he was regularly featured in their “Best of” concerts. He has released several albums and has toured the US and Western Europe numerous times. He’s collaborated with many renowned musicians and won various songwriting awards, including 1st Place in International Songwriting Competition, and nods from Billboard, IMAs, GASC, UKSC. He’s shared bills with The National, Andrew Bird, Norah Jones, Soulive, Beth Orton, Moe, Jeff Buckley, Ani DiFranco and many more. His main side project during the 00s, The Honey Brothers (with actor Adrian Grenier), had a very active and unusual decade, touring 4 continents and playing top music festivals.