If you’ve followed Tony Furtado’s prolific music career at all you won’t be surprised to know that his 15th album, Golden, is loaded with several impressive firsts. For the first time, he has self-produced and penned every track. It is also the first time his own artwork- a sculpture of a two-headed rabbit- has been featured on the cover. However, on what is arguably his most engaging, masterful recording to date, one first marks this album more than any other. After 20 years of recording, touring basically living on the road, it is the first time Furtado has ever recorded an album in the town that he calls home.

We’re musicians based in Portland, OR. There are 4 of us. We are Kali Giaritta (vocals, keys, percussion), Matt Harmon (vocals, guitar), Cole Huiskamp (bass), and Stephen Colvin (drums). Kali and Matt write pop songs on acoustic guitar and then we all try to twist them around as much as possible without making them suck. We used to have a banjo player and often got called a bluegrass or folk band. He was really great and particularly unique in playing style, so when he moved to Argentina, we didn’t try to replace him. Now we call ourselves Americana/Pop and perpetually hope that someone (you?) will suggest a more specific, appropriate, preferably made-up genre title.

Vial 8 is a mixture of multiple musical genres varying from influences such as: Black Sabbath, Badlands, Iron Maiden, Corrosion Of Conformity, Alice n Chains, Judas Priest and anything else that ROCKS!!! Vial 8 Is Jeff Mack (Vocals, Guitar) Chris Chalmers (Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals) Roger Crozier (Bass, Backing Vocals) Rex Johnson (Drums). Vial 8 has just finished a 4 song EP to take with them to Austin Texas and play South By South West. They ROCKED Texas and are back in the studio to finish recording a full length release due this summer. Vial 8 has been playing throughout the northwest with bands like Faster Pussycat, Divide The Day, The Atomic Outlaws and many more. Their extensive live experience, studio experience and writing skills has made for explosive live shows, hard driving originals and an in your face experience that is Vial 8. So watch for us in your area and come get Vial 8’ed

The Shades of Black Show is a celebration of the different textures and dimensions of the black experience through the Performing Arts. Created in 2003 at the University of Idaho by Kwapi Vengesayi and making its debut in January of 2004, Shades of Black has become a cultural phenomenon. Featuring individuals and students from Washington State University, the University of Idaho, Boise State University, Eastern Washington University, the University of Washington, Gonzaga and other campuses across the region, Shades of Black has established itself as one of the most anticipated cultural showcases in the pacific northwest.

After seven years of hard work and a relentless tour schedule, Chicago’s The Henhouse Prowlers have gained a growing reputation for their highly original, tradition-inspired bluegrass built around intricate harmonies and electrifying stage energy. In 2010, while balancing time on the road and in the studio in Colorado, the Prowlers placed third in the prestigious Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition and took top honors in the RockyGrass Band Competition.

Benyaro, New York City's indie acoustic soul and roots power duo, has a sound reminiscent of "early Tom Waits" (KBGA- Missoula, MT), "acoustic David Bowie" (WESU- Middletown, CT), and "Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young" (Connect Savannah). According to Relix magazine's Jan/Feb 2011 issue, Benyaro is "on the verge...indie acoustic soul power." Their 2 albums have spent time on the CMJ Top 200 and over 120 radio stations across the world spin Benyaro's music. Lead singer Ben Musser's voice has been dubbed "a strange amalgamation of Cat Stevens and Axl Rose" (Yes! Weekly). Knowing this, one can expect Benyaro to deliver an intense, emotional, and upbeat performance. Musser and upright bassist Bobby McCullough combine their voices and instruments with feeling and honesty, drawing audiences into their world of soul, folk, country, rock, blues, gospel and beatboxing/house. Though only two performers, one is treated to the sound of a full acoustic band as they play percussion with feet, nylon string guitar and upright bass with hands and sing together with conviction. Benyaro has recently released Good Day Better, the follow up to their nationally charting (CMJ), self-titled debut album. According to Philadelphia Daily News, Good Day Better offers a "campfire hoot of a sound endowed with warm tunes and tight harmonies." Good Day Better explores and expands the boundaries of acoustic music and is available at Benyaro shows, iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon, and other fine online retailers.

The Clumsy Lovers have brought their mix of fiddle and banjo-fuelled, bluegrassified Celtic rock to North American audiences for over a decade. With more than 2500 performances under their belts, their high-energy shows have worn out dance floors and created a loyal following in 49 states and across their homeland of Canada.

In addition to their live shows, The Clumsy Lovers have also released a series of award-winning and critically acclaimed recordings.  Early self-produced recordings garnered the attention of venerated label Nettwerk Records, which came on board to release “After The Flood” (2005) and “Smart Kid” (2006).  Both albums won a CD of the year nod from the Indie Acoustic Music awards, as well as being nominated for numerous other honors (including multiple mentions from The West Coast Music Awards, and the Canadian Folk Music Awards).  

The Saint James Society began with 5 individuals who, from the time they where born, have compulsively sought to understand the weird, and from weird corners of America they met in Austin, Texas. Stars align and "Ballad of the White Horse," a creepy roller inspired by 60’s garage sounds & 80's junkie glam, was written at the very first practice. Since that shimmering evening, The Saint James Society have polished their pistols at the best clubs in Austin with some of Austin's finest garage/psyche accomplices. Aside from being selected for a spread in Underneath Magazine, "Ballad of the White Horse" was recently featured as Song of the Day on SoundCloud, and they have a 30 date tour booked for the month of February to coincide with the release of their self-titled debut EP on Tee Pee Records. Things are going to get strange.

Finn Riggins is the result of a longtime collaboration between Cameron Bouiss, Eric Gilbert and Lisa Simpson. Having met while completing their music degrees at the University of Idaho, the trio began playing music together in 2000, an endeavor that would ultimately culminate in what is now Finn Riggins. In August of 2006, Bouiss, Gilbert and Simpson quit their jobs and moved to Sun Valley, Idaho to stitch together the outlines of Finn Riggins at “the helibase” – a secret practice spot/tour launch pad. Practices yielded shows, shows yielded tours and by the end of their first year as a group, Finn Riggins found themselves a national touring act who lived as much on the road as they did at home.

Hidden beneath the bows of the Northwest evergreens is found Flowmotion, one of Seattle’s most distinctly diverse rock bands. This is an act that fails to fall into an easily packaged genre, succeeds in defying stereotypes, and throws one hell of a party no matter what city, town or festival the five-piece band happens to land in.

Flowmotion is a name well known in the Seattle live music scene and becoming increasingly familiar up and down the West Coast, yet largely unheard of throughout much of the country. The band has managed to remain in the “best-kept-secret” vault of the live music scene, all the while honing a live show that often exceeds the size of the stage they might find themselves performing on. A Flowmotion show is a swooping ride through the fingers of rock fueled solely on the expert musicianship of its five parts, producing a sound that’s unmistakably huge.