“Afternoon Delight” Day Party w/ Will Hoge, Robert Ellis, Adrian & Meredith, Abe Partridge, Justin Wells

TKO/New Frontier Touring Present”Afternoon Delight” Day Party from noon to 5pm on Thursday, September 11 in The Neon Steeple featuring Will Hoge, Robert Ellis, Adrian & Meredith, Abe Partridge and Justin Wells.

Schedule

• 12:00pm  – Doors
• 1:00pm  – Adrian & Meredith
• 2:00pm – Robert Ellis
• 3:00pm  – Justin Wells
• 4:00pm – Will Hoge
• 5:00pm  – Abe Partridge

Adrian and Meredith

Folk duo Adrian and Meredith have always been ones to march to their own beat, and have never been apologetic for the art they create. The project brings together two performers who grew up on opposite ends of the musical spectrum. Adrian was raised on rock, punk, and motown with a unique croon to his voice and a “clawhammer banjo” approach to playing the acoustic guitar. Meredith cut her teeth in the old-time music scene, where she played traditional fiddle and learned flatfoot clogging while studying classical violin and classical tap dancing. Those two approaches come together in a way that honors the traditions of Folk and Americana music while pushing beyond those genres’ boundaries. Both Adrian and Meredith are connected to their immigrant roots within their families and that cultural connection deeply informs the music.

Since the duo joined forces in 2015, they have been pounding the pavement, putting their own spin on Americana. Their music embodies the spirit of the human story with a nod to punk, the heart of folk, flavor of Polka, and bounce of swing. Passionate about building global empathy through sharing the stories and origins of their american roots music, Adrian and Meredith have spent nearly 150 shows a year since their inception touring the USA, Canada, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Belgium Denmark, Netherlands, The United Kingdom, and Ireland.

Their music takes audiences and listeners on a journey, embodying the spirit of the human story through the music and dance traditions of the United States and creates connection to their origins, informing audiences as to the history of American culture and how migration patterns created uniquely American music. From jazz, rock, polka, irish, old time, rock, punk, country, new orleans jazz, quebecois, mariachi, and cajun – each song celebrates the unique tapestry of what it means to be an American, “turn[ing] out a style that might be what alt-country would be like today if it had been born in Green Bay instead of St. Louis….sassy horns and Meredith’s fiddle in gypsy-mode to comment on how truth and integrity have become quaint ideas in America (Twangville Music).”

Adrian and Meredith will be releasing their 3rd album “Klezmer American Acoustic Dynamite,” , a Dial Back Recording from Water Valley MS, with the help from friends of Squirrel Nut Zippers, Drive-By-Truckers, Punch Brothers/Mighty Poplar, and Jimbo Mathus. Drawing upon a diverse collection of influences, “Klezmer American” represents a departure from their norm, blending their consistent Klezmer melodies with the raw, gritty energy of John Kveen (bass), Hank West (horns), Bronson Tew (drums) of the incorrigible Squirrel Nut Zippers / Jimbo Mathus.

Adrian and Meredith take their fearless, blistering, and Balkan-tinged Americana to new heights with a live show that resembles a raucous, rebellious and home-spun variety show. 2023 has brought their full band sound back to the stage with festivals, tours, and teaching workshops throughout the USA and Europe. Two Europe tours, festivals like Blissfest (MI), Portland’s Folk Fest (OR) Mile of Music (WI), Jazz paa Fejoe (DK), Ahlen Fest (DE) and Wheatland Music Festival (MI), and support tours w/ Legendary Shackshakers, Jimbo Mathus, Shawn James and, Steve N’ Seagulls all fill the calendar. They’ve showcased at Folk Alliance International (2021, 2022, 2023), and were selected by Daniel Lanois for his Uprise.FM streaming platform.              

Robert Ellis

Recorded live to tape in just two days, Robert Ellis’s exquisite new album, Yesterday’s News, is as stripped-down as it gets, with the celebrated songwriter and producer’s delicate, reedy tenor accompanied only by nylon string guitar, upright bass, and the occasional piece of handheld percussion. The arrangements are harmonically sophisticated here, drawing on the open tunings and intricate fingerpicking of English songwriters like Nick Drake or Richard Thompson, and Ellis’s performances are similarly subtle and nuanced, tapping into the bittersweet longing of Chet Baker and the playful poignancy of Bill Evans and Jim Hall.

While that might seem surprising coming off 2019’s raucous Texas Piano Man, subverting expectations is nothing new for Ellis. Born and raised outside Houston, he gained early acclaim for his piercing introspection and absorbing narratives, but over the course of five solo albums, he flirted with everything from Paul Simon and John Prine to Elton John and Joni Mitchell in a series of sonic and visual transformations that ran the gamut from Redneck Steely Dan to Lone Star Liberace. NPR hailed his “musical daring and impeccable songcraft,” while Rolling Stone praised his “sharp eye for storytelling,” and the New York Times lauded his writing as an emotional “gut punch.”

Yesterday’s News marks Ellis’s debut LP for Niles City Records, an outgrowth of the famed Niles City Sound studio he and longtime collaborator Josh Block run in Fort Worth, TX.

Will Hoge

Will Hoge will release Sweet Misery, the Grammy-nominated artist’s 15th studio album on Friday, August 22. On Sweet Misery, Hoge reminds listeners that he isn’t afraid to break new ground – all while giving a keen nod to his rock and roll roots with the kind of grace and purpose that only comes with experience – without the baggage of predictability. In Will’s own words – “Following the re-recording and re-releases of Carousel and Blackbird On A Lonely Wire I found myself really wanting to make a louder, hooky, rock-n-roll band record again. Good stories, big choruses, shit to make you play it loud and drive fast with the windows down. I was without a band so I enlisted a crew of folks who I love – folks that I believed could really help bring out the bigger ideas in the songs. I hope folks will find some headphones and give it a good, loud listen. Top to bottom, the way albums should be listened to.”

Will Hoge has a career whose milestones include Number One hits, Grammy nods, major-label record deals, and hard-won independence. Years before Americana music received its own category at the Grammy Awards, Hoge was on the frontlines, helping to pilot and popularize the genre’s blend of American roots music. In the current digital era dominated by influencers seeking shortcuts to stardom, Will Hoge proudly treads the scenic route, immersing himself in the journey rather than fixating on the destination.

Abe Partridge

Abe Partridge is a heralded musician, singer/songwriter, visual artist, and podcaster based in  Mobile, Alabama. His 2018 debut, Cotton Fields and Blood For Days earned him rave reviews,  with Tony Paris saying in The Bitter Southerner: “He plays guitar the same way he writes lyrics,  bashing the strings with abandon until they are just about to come loose, then beautifully picking  the notes until every last word falls into place. More to the point, Partridge writes to make you sit  up and think. He wants to jar your reality. Sometimes, his lyrics are sly and subtle. Sometimes  they come at you with a roar and thunder, as if the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were  approaching, and the heavens were opening up to herald a warning.”

Since the release of his debut, Partridge has toured relentlessly, including several tours of the  Netherlands and the U.K. developing a reputation for moving, passionate, and sometimes  comedic, performances at prestigious songwriter festivals such as 30A Songwriters Festival,  Frank Brown Songwriters Festival, and Americanafest. He is a regular at the Bluebird Café in  Nashville and Eddie’s Attic in Decatur. He has performed on the syndicated radio programs,  Mountain Stage and Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour. He has shared the stage with Morgan  Wade, Paul Thorn, Steve Poltz, Dan Bern, Jerry Joseph, Glen Phillips (Toad The Wet Sprocket),  Tommy Stinson, Shawn Mullins, John Fullbright, and more.

When Partridge is not writing or touring, he is also a highly acclaimed visual artist. His paintings,  primarily acrylic on tarred board and watercolors, now hang in art galleries around the southeast  and in the private collections of Tyler Childers, Mike Wolfe (American Pickers), Rick Hirsch (Wet  Willie), and Tommy Prine. His artwork was featured in Stephen King’s 2019 sequel to The

Shining – Dr. Sleep. He painted the cover art for Charlie Parr’s, Last Of The Better Days Ahead  (Smithsonian Folkways). He also created art for Tyler Childers’ 2022 release, Can I Take My  Hounds To Heaven?

American Songwriter Magazine said, “Abe Partridge has established himself as one of the most  respected songwriters and visual folk artists in the southeast.”

Justin Wells

With Justin Wells’ latest album, 𝘊𝘺𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢, the Kentucky singer-songwriter once again stokes the fiery depths of his pure intent, the core elements of the record revolving around things that matter most in life — steadfast family, genuine friends, and creative fulfillment.

Captured by Grammy-nominated producer Duane Lundy at his legendary studio in Lexington, Kentucky, 𝘊𝘺𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 came about as an ode to Wells’ wife, Andrea, with whom he first crossed paths with when they were both teenagers.

“Cynthiana is the small central Kentucky town where we met,” Wells says. “There’s little pieces of her in all of these songs.”

The 10-song LP harnesses the raw power and lyrical honesty that’s made Wells a stoic figure in the rich, vibrant tapestry of music bubbling up over the last decade or so from The Bluegrass State — with Wells’ tone and talent quickly spilling out to the rest of the country.

“Cranking up the amps and gliding down the fretboard of his Fender Telecaster, singer-songwriter Justin Wells — in a similar tone to the late, great George Jones — rumbled across the Outpost stage, the sweat of a humid mid-summer afternoon dripping from his forehead,” Rolling Stone wrote of his recent AVLFest appearance.

It doesn’t matter to Wells the portals by which he’s able to reach the listener. What counts is this internal mission to connect with whoever’s in the room — folks in search of compassion and something real in a sometimes lonely and confusing world.