Born in Miami, during World War II, Chris Smither grew up in New Orleans where he first started playing music as a child. The son of a Tulane University professor, he was taught the rudiments of instrumentation by his uncle on his mother’s ukulele. “Uncle Howard,” Smither says, “showed me that if you knew three chords, you could play a lot of the songs you heard on the radio. And if you knew four chords, you could pretty much rule the world.” With that bit of knowledge under his belt, he was hooked. “I’d loved acoustic music – specifically the blues – ever since I first heard Lightnin’ Hopkins’ Blues In My Bottle album. I couldn’t believe the sound Hopkins got. At first I thought it was two guys playing guitar. My style, to a degree, came out of trying to imitate that sound I heard.”

Gavin Marengi, a singer-songwriter hailing from Salisbury, Massachusetts, is a true hometown enthusiast. His deep connection to his small town roots and his formative experiences growing up shape the heartfelt narratives woven into his songs.

The Commonheart’s sophomore album, ‘Pressure’ (Jullian Records), is both rugged and refined. The 10-song album showcases raw-nerve soul musicianship pristinely recorded. It’s an album by a band on a mission. “We are willing to take risks and to go at any lengths for this band,” Clinton says affirmatively. “We are ready to spread positivity and make a stretch of this thing.”

From New Jersey, John Gorka is a world-renowned singer-songwriter who got his start at a neighborhood coffeehouse in eastern Pennsylvania. His rich multifaceted songs full of depth, beauty and emotion gained attention from critics and audiences across the country, as well as in Europe . In addition to his 11 critically acclaimed albums, many well known artists have recorded and/or performed John Gorka songs, including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith, Mary Black and Maura O’Connell.

Born and raised in Canada, Ashton got his start fronting the beloved Vancouver five-piece Fish & Bird. After moving to NYC, he teamed up with Courtney Hartman for 2018’s Been On Your Side, which Rolling Stone proclaimed “packs a punch,” and two years later released his solo debut, The Romantic, earning widespread praise alongside dates with the likes of Sarah Jarosz, Madison Cunningham, The Wood Brothers, and more.

Peter’s talents as a creative artist—both with Peter, Paul & Mary and as a solo performer—are frequently directed at using music to convey a message of humanity and caring. His gift for songwriting has produced some of the most moving songs Peter, Paul & Mary have recorded, including “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” “Day is Done,” “Light One Candle,” and “The Great Mandala.”

In a career that spans six decades, 26 albums and three GRAMMY awards, Hudson Valley Troubadour Tom Chapin has covered an incredible amount of creative ground. In addition to his work as a recording artist and concert performer, Chapin has acted on Broadway, as well as working extensively in television, radio and film.

Randy’s music is not of an ordinary world, but rather from an other dimension …one that has no time for things that have no soul. Cascading wildly through infinity his music brings joy, an ephemeral spark, a firefly’s ethereal glow, the feeling of running against the wind, a quicksand of shadows and an echo of memories, the darkness of bitter coffee, the light of a madness that shines.