Indigo Girls

Across four decades, 16 studio albums, and over 15 million records sold, Indigo Girls continue to blaze the trail for generations of Queer artists in the mainstream. The Grammy-winning duo of Emily Saliers and Amy Ray began their career in clubs and bars around their native Atlanta, GA amidst a blossoming alternative music scene before signing to Epic Records in 1988. Indigo Girls’ eponymous major label debut sold over two million copies under the power of singles “Closer to Fine” and “Kid Fears” and introduced the duo’s signature harmonies and stirring, sophisticated songs to a dedicated, enduring global audience. Indigo Girls was the first of six consecutive Gold and/or Platinum-certified albums. Their latest record, Look Long, is a heartfelt and eclectic collection of songs that finds the duo reunited in the studio with their strongest backing band to date. “We joke about being old, but what is old when it comes to music? We’re still a bar band at heart,” says Saliers. “While our lyrics and writing approach may change, our passion for music feels the same as it did when we were 25 years old.” Committed and uncompromising activists, Saliers and Ray work on issues like racial justice and reproductive rights (Project Say Something), immigration reform (El Refugio), LGBTQ advocacy, education (Imagination Library), death penalty reform, and Native American rights (First Peoples Fund). “As time has gone on, our audience has become more expansive and diverse, giving me a sense of joy,” says Saliers. Recently, “Closer to Fine” featured prominently in Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster film Barbie and introduced Indigo Girls’ music to a new generation of listeners. Released in 2024, their critically-acclaimed documentary Indigo Girls: It’s Only Life After All (directed by Alexandria Bombach) blends 40 years of home movies, raw film archive, and intimate present-day verité into a soulful career retrospective. A New York Times Critic’s Pick, the documentary premiered opening night at the Sundance Film Festival in 2023 and went on to screen at SXSW, Tribeca Film Festival, and Hot Docs before releasing to Netflix. A third film, director Tom Gustafson’s 2023 jukebox musical Glitter & Doom tells the tale of a whirlwind summer romance through inventive reimaginations of classic Indigo Girls songs. Glitter & Doom boasts a star-studded queer supporting cast featuring Lea DeLaria, Tig Notaro, Kate Pierson (The B-52s), RuPaul's Drag Race alum Peppermint, and even a cameo from Amy and Emily themselves. While Rolling Stone describes them as “ideal duet partners,” Indigo Girls’ live performances aren’t so much duets as they are community experiences—massive group singalongs together with their audience. To hear those collective voices raise into one, overpowering the band itself, one realizes the importance Indigo Girls’ music has in this moment. In our often-terrifying present, we are all in search of a daily refuge, a stolen hour or two, to engage with something that brings us joy, perspective, or maybe just calm. As one bar band once put it, “We go to the doctor, we go to the mountains…we go to the Bible, we go through the work out.” For millions, they go to the Indigo Girls: a creative partnership certain of its bearings, forging a way forward.

George Thorogood

Little River Band

The Eagles founding member, the late Glenn Frey, knew what he was saying when he dubbed Little River Band “the best singing band in the world.” Through the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, LRB enjoyed huge chart success with multi-platinum albums and chart topping hits like:  “Reminiscing”, “Cool Change”, “Lonesome Loser”, “The Night Owls”, “Take It Easy On Me”, “Help Is on Its Way”, “Happy Anniversary”, “We Two”,  “Man On Your Mind”, “The Other Guy”, and It’s A Long Way There Worldwide album, CD sales and digital downloads now top 30 million and LRB has set a record for having had Top 10 hits for 6 consecutive years - In fact, they were the very first band to achieve that remarkable status! According to BMI, “Reminiscing” has garnered rare status with over 5 million airplays on American radio, and “Lady” is close behind with over 4 million airplays.  Bassist/vocalist Wayne Nelson joined the band in 1980, and worked alongside founding members with some of the most distinctive harmonies and vocal abilities, creating the unique LRB sound. In 1981, Nelson was recognized by world renowned Beatles producer Sir George Martin whom, while producing ‘Time Exposure’, chose Nelson to record lead vocals on two of the band’s biggest hits, “The Night Owls” and “Take It Easy On Me.” Later that same year guitarist extraordinaire Stephen Housden joined LRB bringing a rock element into the band’s sound.   That helped to contribute to their string of Top 10 hits.  As band members departed, both Housden and Nelson worked together to bring LRB into the new millennium.    To date, lead singer/bassist Wayne Nelson has contributed his vocal and bass guitar talents on 22 Little River Band Albums/CD’s.  LRB continues to perform to sold out audiences, and Stephen Housden continues to write and participate in all things Little River Band.  In 2004 LRB was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame at the 18th Annual ARIA Music Awards and in September 2015 the band was awarded Casino Entertainer of the Year at the G2E Gaming Expo in Las Vegas Nevada.  Turning the page brings us to the current lineup of Little River Band…  Keyboardist Chris Marion is a Dove Award winning producer. Chris is the creator of all the orchestral arrangements and charts on The Big Box. It is amazing to watch him play, sing, and conduct from his riser!  Lead Guitarist Rich Herring is a highly skilled player, singer, and producer of many Nashville artists…not to mention a great songwriter. He and Wayne have co-produced every LRB project since he joined the band.  Drummer Ryan Ricks has locked down the rhythm section, and rounds out the vocals with his incredible range. Great singing drummers are rare…and LRB is lucky to have Ryan as part of that all-important vocal blend.  Nashville Guitarist Colin Whinnery plays rhythm and lead guitar, and shares lead vocal duties with Wayne. He brings a brand new voice and a fresh outlook to the rhythm section.  Early 2014 saw the release of Little River Band’s, ‘Cuts Like a Diamond,’ on Frontiers Records.  “What If You’re Wrong,” went to #1 and stayed there for 3 weeks says Jim Shoe of CLASSX Radio.  “Forever You, Forever Me,” and “You Dream, I’ll Drive,” both climbed into the station’s TOP 3.   In November of 2016, LRB released, ‘The Hits…Revisited,’ on Wurld Records -  a CD consisting of 9 re-recorded hits along with 2 new songs.   May of 2017 brought the release of ‘The Big Box’ -  a box set consisting of 6 disc’s featuring a DVD with live footage from their 40th Anniversary Tour.  It Easy On Me were hits in 5th and 6th y  Bringing their vocal and musical energy along with great arrangements to their timeless classic hits, each show creates new memories for the audience.  The band enjoys watching their fans fall in love with the songs all over again as they are swept up by the show’s powerful performance and the volume of hits from LRB’s history.  With 90 -100 dates scheduled for their 2017 tour, Little River Band is hotter than ever selling out shows and making music from coast to coast nationwide continuing their legacy of being “the best singing band in the world.”  Little River Band is:  Wayne Nelson:  Lead Vocals/Bass  Chris Marion:  Keyboards/Vocals  Rich Herring: Lead Guitar/Vocals  Ryan Ricks: Drums/Percussion/Vocals  Colin Whinnery: Guitar/Lead Vocals  

Buddy Guy

The title of Buddy Guy's latest album says it all: The Blues Is Alive and Well. The legendary blues artist's eighteenth solo LP and follow-up to 2015's Born to Play Guitar showcases his raw and unadulterated sound, its fifteen tracks a true pleasure for aficionados and genre newcomers alike. "I got children and grandchildren who didn't know who I was, but nowadays we can play outdoor concerts and see kids that are eight, nine, twelve years old coming to me and saying, 'I didn't know who you was, but I read what Eric Clapton said about you,'" Guy explains when discussing his mindset around the new record. "I'm always trying to make an album that someone accidentally plays where some kid hears it, picks up a guitar, and helps keep the blues alive."And it only takes one listen to The Blues Is Alive and Well to realize that Guy's mission has been more than accomplished here. The record is arriving on the heels of a spate of high visibility for the 81-year-old performer: at the 2016 Grammys, he picked up a trophy for “Best Blues Album” honoring Born to Play Guitar, and that same year he hit the road for a U.S. tour opening for Jeff Beck. In addition to bringing the house down for a recent sold-out performance commemorating the closing of New York City's B.B. King's Blues Club and Grill, he recently appeared on David Letterman's Netflix talk show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. A truly restless and energetic performer, The Blues Is Alive and Well is the latest triumph in an already-legendary career.The Blues Is Alive and Well began to come together when Tom Hambridge, frequent Guy collaborator and producer, came to the man with a collection of songs he figured would be perfect for a new full-length. "He's like some of the older guys I used to play with," Guy enthuses about working with Hambridge. "When you play with a band for ten or twelve years, they almost know what you're gonna do. He's the type of guy who feels what I'm gonna do. Even in my early Chess Records days, you had Willie Dixon and several other guys affiliated with those hit records, and this kid just has that feel too. He brought the songs in, and hopefully we did a good job."And how: The Blues Is Alive and Well's fifteen tracks feature pristine production without losing the signature lived-in grit that Guy's been known for his entire career, from the low-slung riffage of "Bad Day" to the squealing solos of "Somebody Up There." Guy sounds every bit as vital and youthful here as he did dating back to his early collaborations with the late Junior Wells, and it's inspiring to hear a veteran artist laying down the blues with such gusto.Among the contributors to The Blues Is Alive and Well: young gun James Bay, who joins him on the aching "Blue No More," as well as Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, who contributes to the stomping barroom rambler "You Did the Crime." "Mick made a comment to me when he heard the song: 'Is that my voice? I didn't know it was still that strong,'" Guy states. "Before the late Junior Wells passed away, we did a whole tour with Mick. They exposed us a lot. I owe a lot of things to those guys, because they put us in places that we hadn't been, and they haven't forgotten that. We got a relationship between us. Whenever they come to town, they stop in the loudest blues club in Chicago and call me, and I'll go in the kitchen and fix us something. We still have a lot of fun." And Jagger's not the only Rolling Stone to hop on The Blues Is Alive and Well: Keith Richards contributes to the warm "Cognac," as does Jeff Beck. "Those guys have been my friends before they got famous," Guy reminisces while discussing his rejoining with old friends. "I went to England and those guys looked at me while I was playing a Stratocaster and said, 'Don't you know a Stratocaster can't play the blues?' I said, 'What do you mean?' It was a joke, because it was a country/western instrument before that—it wasn't supposed to play the blues. We all bought Stratocasters after that."And even as Guy pushes forward with his astounding career, he's careful not to forget his late contemporaries who inspired him along the way. "I went to sleep yesterday and woke up and all the great blues players are no longer with us. Muddy, Wolf, B.B.—they're all gone. Before they passed away, when they were in their prime, we used to have a drink and a laugh and talk about how when one of us is gone, the others have to keep it going. I'm trying to do something to keep this music that I love so well alive." And with The Blues Is Alive and Well, it's clear that the music—and Guy himself—ain't going away anytime soon.