Pieta Brown's own blend of folk, rock, country and blues has garnered numerous comparisons to musical forbearers like Rickie Lee Jones, Bobbie Gentry, and Bob Dylan. Lyrically and musically poetic, Brown's deceptive simplicity and seductive purity combine to create songs that meet somewhere between the Carter Family and Tom Waits. Pieta's purity goes deep into the heart, summoning up feelings of safety and longing, both at the same time.
Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, United States) is an American musician, poet and artist whose position in popular culture is unique. Although his career began in 1959, much of Dylan's best known work is from the 1960s, when he became an informal documentarian and reluctant figurehead of American unrest. Some of his songs, such as "Blowin' In The Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'", became anthems of the anti-war and civil rights movements.
Kevin Devine is an American songwriter and musician from Brooklyn, New York, who is known for alternately introspective and political lyrics and melodic acoustic guitar tunes. He cites his influences as Bob Dylan, Elliott Smith, Guns N' Roses, Brother Paramo and Nirvana, among others. He grew up in Brooklyn and Staten Island, and has spent significant time in Manhattan and Queens as well. Devine graduated Fordham University at Lincoln Center in 2001, majoring in journalism. He also played in an indie/punk/emo band called Miracle of 86 after the (Miracle) New York Mets.
Michael Kiwanuka is a British musician of Ugandan heritage who writes songs combining soul and rootsy folk influences and sings them with a deep, husky soulful voice. The Home Again Songfacts says that after signing with Communion Records, Kiwanuka recorded his debut EP, Tell Me A Tale, with the help of Paul Butler from The Bees, who took the Muswell Hill, London native to his Isle of Wight studio to record the songs.
Jedd Hughes grew up in the small south Australian town of Quorn. His father loved the sounds of Australian traditional country singer Slim Dusty and American icons such as Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins. When he wasn't listening to music at home,
much of his childhood was spent onstage. At age 8, he won first place at the Port Pirie Country Music Festival. One year later, his dad gave him a few guitar lessons, and by age 10, he was playing a custom-made acoustic guitar.
Singer/Songwriter Colin Hay is the former front-man of the classic Australian band Men at Work. Since the group disbanded he has released several solo albums, including Man at Work, which featured re-recordings of classic Men at Work songs in an acoustic environment. More recently Hay has been involved with the NBC TV series Scrubs, lending several songs to the sitcom, including "Waiting for My Real Life to Begin," "My Brilliant Feat" and "Beautiful World.
Scott Kelly is one of three founding members of Oakland, California, United States experimental metal band Neurosis. Has been writing and publishing music since 1985 with Neurosis, Tribes Of Neurot, Blood and Time and his solo acoustic project. He has contributed guest vocals on three Mastodon recordings, Aqua Dementia from the album Leviathan (2004), Crystal Skull, from Blood Mountain (2006) and the title-track off Crack the Skye (2009).
Laura Marling (born 1st February 1990) is a folk singer/songwriter/guitarist from Eversley, United Kingdom. She began playing the guitar at the age of five, first being taught the blues by her father in front of the family fire, and has been enthralled by the songs and lyrics of the likes of Neil Young, Bob Dylan, James Taylor and John Mayall ever since. It’s not just the “golden-oldies” that Laura admires; she also harbours a rather deep love for alt.country’s favourite son, Ryan Adams.
Jason Isbell is an alt-country singer /songwriter /guitarist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Best known for his years with the Drive-By Truckers where he played with his then wife, bassist Shonna Tucker. Isbell - who joined the Truckers in 2001 - left the band in early 2007 around the same time as his divorce from Tucker was finalized. In addition to being a gifted songwriter, Isbell is regarded as an exceptional guitar player.
Jesca Ada Hoop is a American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Northern California, who performs music that covers differing genres. Her musical mentor has been Tom Waits. One of five children in a fifth generation Mormon couple, Hoop was steeped in a musical environment created by her family. She began performing as a child and starred in her high school choir. Hoop broke away from the strictures of Mormonism just as her parents were separating.