Scott Kurt grew up in America’s Rust Belt, and the grittiness of his roots is evident in every aspect of his music. From his debut album, “Ragged But Right”, recorded with his band Memphis 59, to his first solo effort “Down This Road”, he captures the essence of hard living, hard work and hard times in deeply personal lyrics delivered by a whiskey-tinged bar room voice wrapped up inside a whole lot of full-tilt country-rock guitar.
Jillian Matundan is a singer-songwriter living in Northern Virginia. Her music and style is a blend of her favorite acoustic, rock, indie, and folk influences and inspirations.
Born and raised in New York State, she fell in love with was classical music when she began taking violin lessons at the age of three. Jillian trained on piano, flute, and even sitar-but is self-taught on all the other instruments she plays (guitar, ukelele, banjo, mandolin, string bass, and a host of other random instruments). She took a fifteen-year hiatus from writing and performing music to pursue a career in the labor movement when she re-discovered her musical muse in August of 2018.
Encouraged by friends and fellow songwriters, Jillian began playing solo at local open mics in January 2019, becoming the 2019 Vienna Idol runner-up along the way. She is a recipient of two Mid-Atlantic Song Contest 2019 awards (Finalist, Adult Contemporary Category for “Hangin’ On” and Honorable Mention, Open Category for “Monkey Paw”). She will be releasing her debut EP in 2020.
Jillian is a member of the Reston Community Orchestra, the McLean Symphony, the Pantones Steel Drum Band, the Songwriters Association of Washington, and the Folk Club of Reston & Herndon.
Ryan Paladino is part of the band Irresponsible. Irresponsible is an Alt-Rock band based out of Washington, DC, whose hard work has landed them headlining shows at such nationally-renowned venues as the 9:30 Club and Jammin’ Java. The quality and consistency of Irresponsible’s studio releases and live shows have established the band as favorites in the DC music community. With the release of one EP and two LPs over four short years, Irresponsible has received consistent airplay on the Local Lix hours of DC’s premier rock station, DC101. Five of their songs have been featured on the station, including the most recent single, “Burn With Me.” Irresponsible’s blend of lighthearted fun and serious musicianship sets this group apart from the rest!
7 Deadlies is a rock cover band that has become a trendsetter for live music at clubs,
events, and weddings in the Washington, DC area. The band stands alone in blending the best music from over four decades to create one of the most dynamic live shows in DC. Each show is a combination of 90s classics, 2000s rock anthems, hip hop sing-a-longs, classic rock throwbacks, and top 40 dance pop classics as if the best playlist you can create was put in front of you and performed live. 7 Deadlies understands that a great band knows how to perform and how to create a great experience for the audience. They are constantly bringing new things to the stage and setting a new standard in DC.
Rick Schaffer is part of The Jangling Reinharts. THE JANGLING REINHARTS came together to provide roots-rock music largely forgotten by other bands. Think: The Band meets Van Morrison and they go out to Stephen Stills’ house and listen to the Monkees while watching a Barenaked Ladies video. This melting pot of music describes what they are all about.
David performs regularly along the mid-Atlantic region of the US. With his addictive melodies, a soulful vocal style and an off-the-beaten-path kind of pop-sensibility, Smith is steadily becoming a well-known performer on the East Coast. He has shared the stage with a variety of well-known acts and has been a featured act for the Washington Redskins, Washington Nationals and the Citi Open.
Danny Kensy is a nationally touring Country artist and songwriter based in Richmond, VA. His music blends a modern day edge with classic and traditional Western sounds. Danny has opened for such acts as Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Gary Allan, The Charlie Daniels Band, and many more.
Kensy’s songwriting has been awarded by The Billboard Song Contest, The International Songwriting Competition, and The Great American Songwriting Contest. He has also been deemed “One To Watch” by Nashville Songwriting group NSAI and has won theJosie Award for Modern Country Rising Star.
Starcrush is one of the premier modern rock/party bands in the Baltimore area. Their high-energy shows and diverse song catalog have made the band a crowd favorite at the best venues throughout the region. Come out to a show to see for yourself why so many others are making Starcrush a “must-see” part of their weekend.
In 2019, Drew decided to conduct a little experiment for himself. He was playing music several nights a week in restaurants and breweries all around Richmond, VA just trying to pay the bills and was growing weary of playing the same old cover songs the same old ways to get a few nods from the bar every once in a while if he played the “right tune.” So he wrote a song with the may-I-please-have-your-attention opening line…
“I’m usually a pretty good guy, but I usually don’t get treated this bad…”
And heads started turning. Drew had discovered something powerful that somehow in over a decade of performing other peoples’ music he had never considered: he could write his own music. So after beginning to throw the fun pop song, USUALLY in the mix, he started writing other songs. Some boasted the same tongue-in-cheek-what-did-he-just-say flair and some hit on much more intimate themes that would become the MIGHT AS WELL EP. The southern rock fueled title track of that EP speaks of growing up in West Virginia and then taking another look at the state after having been gone for several years lamenting…
…it’s just like I remember but I don’t see how I used to see…”
This collection of songs that draw you in with compelling lyrics and carefully crafted melodies features UNAMERICAN JESUS which tackles the complicated relationship between violence and religion in America…
“Preacher, can I get a gun? Well, who do you wanna shoot?”
And the aggressive THE ONE YOU SHOULD FEAR which dares (and warns) the oppressors of the world to underestimate the marginalized…
“I don’t know what you think you see when you turn your head and stare at me but you couldn’t be right…”
Drew is only beginning this journey of song-creation and we’re sure the best is yet to come.
Steel Blossoms began when members Sara Zebley and Hayley Prosser moved to Nashville to begin playing music full time together. Both Sara and Hayley have been playing music together since 2011 and have been writing together since 2012. Steel Blossoms plays in Nashville, TN full time and tour two times a year all around the United States.
Now 6 albums into an eclectic and powerful career that has included 5 top 40 Americana releases, singer/songwriter Randy Thompson continues to make his home in small town Clifton, Virginia. His music lovingly embraces the past even as it pulls it kicking, picking, singing, rocking – its way into the 21st Century. Since the release of his album ‘Further On’ in 2008, he has also toured extensively in Europe, performing as well as headlining festivals in Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Norway and the UK. He has had a total of 12 singles reach the top 10 on the International Hotdisc chart and 3 Top 20 appearances on the ‘Euro Americana’ album chart.
His 2012 release ‘Collected’ was on many ‘Top 10 album of the year’ lists including ‘Outlaw Magazine’ and ‘Country Music People’. Renowned Texas music critic Dave Pilot named ‘Collected’ as one of his ‘Top 10 All Time Albums’.
Randy Thompson Band will be on the road in 2018 both in US and in Europe with a brand new release, ‘War,Peace,Love,Fear’. Forged on the road and carved from hard-lived experience. This collection finds the artist in confident, reflective, peak career form.
Neil McKillip hails from Athens, GA, where he began playing piano at the age of four. His classical training continued all the way through college where he studied music and criminal justice at the University of Georgia. During that time, Neil also played in several bands before finishing school and moving to the Washington, DC area.
For the past 10 years, Neil has performed at several venues in the DMV area and is a regular player at Bobby McKey’s dueling piano bar in National Harbor, Maryland.
Saving the world one song at a time, Washington DC-based Emma G is a multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, and the front person of a Goddess-rock trio reminiscent of a combination of Pink, Natalie Merchant, Amy Winehouse, and Alanis Morrissette with a sprinkling of Sia and Alice in Chains for good measure.
Emma G’s edgy tones and gutsy lyrics hammer home messages of love, vulnerability, empowerment and strength with a progressive/soul/pop-rock sound that is engaging, inspiring and appealing to a hugely diverse audience.
Melodime blends rock and roll, stunning piano melodies, and catchy guitar riffs with strong story-telling country roots and sing-along choruses.
Melodime, featuring Brad Rhodes (lead vocals, acoustic guitar), Sammy Duis (piano, organ, bass), Tyler Duis (drums), and Jon Wiley (bg vocals, guitar, mandolin, dobro), perform over a hundred shows annually throughout the continental United States, all while running a charity, ‘Now I Play Along Too,’ which provides musical instruments and lessons to underprivileged children.