'Folk' Bands // p 7 of 10

Nick Mulvey

Nick Mulvey (born 4 November 1984) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He played the hang as a founding member of the band Portico Quartet. In 2011 started his career as a singer-songwriter releasing the EPs The Trellis (2012) and Fever to the Form (2013) and his studio album First Mind in 2014 which received a Mercury Music Prize nomination. His second album, Wake Up Now, was released on 8 September 2017.

Beginnings

Mulvey grew up in Cambridge and attended Chesterton Community College and Long Road Sixth Form College. At the age of 19 he moved to Havana, Cuba, to study music and art. On returning to the UK, Mulvey enrolled at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies to study Ethnomusicology.

Portico Quartet

While studying ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, Mulvey met the other members of Portico Quartet. The band consisted of Cambridge school friend Duncan Bellamy (drums), Jack Wyllie (soprano and tenor saxophone), and Milo Fitzpatrick (double bass). Their debut album Knee-deep in the North Sea, was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize alongside Radiohead, Elbow, and Adele. The album's title was mentioned in the closing words to Alt-J's song Dissolve Me. Portico Quartet released their second album Isla on 9 October 2009 through Real World Records.

Solo career

Mulvey left Portico Quartet in 2011 to focus on a solo career as a singer-songwriter. Some critics noted his change in style, Mulvey states that his style of music stays consistent. "I'm always drawn to the same principles in music. Beneath each genre, at a certain level, they hold the same principles".

As a solo artist, Mulvey released his first EP The Trellis in November 2012, and his second, Fever to the Form in July 2013. On his autumn 2013 tour with Laura Marling, he performed in symphony halls across the UK, naming Marling as a great influence to his solo music.

In 2014, Mulvey played Wonderfruit in Thailand.

On 16 May 2017, Mulvey announced a new track, Unconditional, and on 20 May 2017 announced the album Wake Up Now, to be released on 8 September 2017. Two further singles were released: Myela (about the European migrant crisis) and Mountain to Move.

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Nina Simone

She was one of the most extraordinary artists of the twentieth century, an icon of American music. She was the consummate musical storyteller, a griot as she would come to learn, who used her remarkable talent to create a legacy of liberation, empowerment, passion, and love through a magnificent body of works. She earned the moniker ‘High Priestess of Soul’ for she could weave a spell so seductive and hypnotic that the listener lost track of time and space as they became absorbed in the moment. She was who the world would come to know as Nina Simone.

When Nina Simone died on April 21, 2003, she left a timeless treasure trove of musical magic spanning over four decades from her first hit, the 1959 Top 10 classic “I Loves You Porgy,” to “A Single Woman,” the title cut from her one and only 1993 Elektra album. While thirty-three years separate those recordings, the element of honest emotion is the glue that binds the two together – it is that approach to every piece of work that became Nina’s uncompromising musical trademark.

By the end of her life, Nina was enjoying an unprecedented degree of recognition. Her music was enjoyed by the masses due to the CD revolution, discovery on the Internet, and exposure through movies and television. Nina had sold over one million CDs in the last decade of her life, making her a global catalog best-seller.

No one website can fully explore the many nuances and flavors that made up the more than 40 original albums in the Nina Simone library. This site and accompanying radio station contain many of Nina’s finest works. However, we might not have had the chance to witness the breathtaking range of material Nina could cover if she hadn’t taken the path she did.

Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina on February 21st, 1933, Nina’s prodigious talent as a musician was evident early on when she started playing piano by ear at the age of three. Her mother, a Methodist minister, and her father, a handyman and preacher himself, couldn’t ignore young Eunice’s God-given gift of music. Raised in the church on the straight and narrow, her parents taught her right from wrong, to carry herself with dignity, and to work hard. She played piano – but didn’t sing – in her mother’s church, displaying remarkable talent early in her life. Able to play virtually anything by ear, she was soon studying classical music with an Englishwoman named Muriel Mazzanovich, who had moved to the small southern town. It was from these humble roots that Eunice developed a lifelong love of Johann Sebastian Bach, Chopin, Brahms, Beethoven and Schubert. After graduating valedictorian of her high school class, the community raised money for a scholarship for Eunice to study at Julliard in New York City before applying to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Her family had already moved to the City Of Brotherly Love, but Eunice’s hopes for a career as a pioneering African American classical pianist were dashed when the school denied her admission. To the end, she herself would claim that racism was the reason she did not attend. While her original dream was unfulfilled, Eunice ended up with an incredible worldwide career as Nina Simone – almost by default.

^{Source NinaSimone.com}

Paolo Nutini

Paolo Giovanni Nutini (born 9 January 1987) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician from Paisley. Nutini's debut album, These Streets (2006), peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Its follow-up, Sunny Side Up (2009), debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. Both albums have been certified quintuple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.

After 5 years, Nutini released his third studio album, Caustic Love, in April 2014. The album received positive reviews from music critics. Caustic Love debuted at number one on the UK Album Charts and was certified platinum by the BPI in June 2014.

In late July 2014, he was referred to by the BBC as "arguably Scotland's biggest musician right now".

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Paul Simon

Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Simon's musical career has spanned seven decades with his fame and commercial success beginning as half of the duo Simon & Garfunkel (originally known as Tom & Jerry), formed in 1956 with Art Garfunkel. Simon was responsible for writing nearly all of the pair's songs including three that reached number one on the U.S. singles charts: "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", and "Bridge over Troubled Water".

The duo split up in 1970 at the height of their popularity, and Simon began a successful solo career, recording three acclaimed albums over the next five years. In 1986, he released Graceland, an album inspired by South African township music, which sold 14 million copies worldwide on its release and remains his most popular solo work. Simon also wrote and starred in the film One-Trick Pony (1980) and co-wrote the Broadway musical The Capeman (1998) with the poet Derek Walcott. On June 3, 2016, Simon released his 13th solo album, Stranger to Stranger, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Album Chart and the UK charts.

Simon has earned sixteen Grammys for his solo and collaborative work, including three for Album of the Year (Bridge Over Troubled Water, Still Crazy After All These Years, and Graceland), and a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2001, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2006 was selected as one of the "100 People Who Shaped the World" by Time. In 2011, Rolling Stone named Simon one of the 100 greatest guitarists. In 2015, he was named one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time by Rolling Stone. Among many other honors, Simon was the first recipient of the Library of Congress's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2007. In 1986, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music, where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees.

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Phil Cook

OUR FRONT PORCH, OR SOUTHERN LIVING ROOM...

opens to the street where we live in Durham, NC. There’s no hiding from the the outside world. We’re accessible. We choose to sit out here and greet the day as it passes because time eases right on by and yes folks do still wave to each other. I began taking my banjo and guitar on the front porch, starting in the spring of 2009. I’m not everybody, but I love to hear the sounds of learning instruments drifting from the inside a house. It’s like the human spirit is alive and well in there and that reassures me. Recently, I left a raucous late night second line down in New Orleans for some fresh air and ended up sitting on a house stoop with my friend Derek while someone inside the house beautifully worked through several Chopin Etudes. We sat there nodding in silence, taking it in like children.

I’ve never been too good at practicing. Since I was a child, the same story year after year. “I can tell he’s practicing, he’s just not playing what I’m assigning him…”, I’d overhear in hushed tones when my parents picked me up from lessons. I start with good intention, like we all do, and then I guess I just wander. Always have. Wander around the feeling and let the instrument say what it wants to say. I will never regret it, for those wanderings have been my most formative teachers. I don’t know if they got me to where I was supposed to be going, but they damn sure brought me to right here and right now.

Ten years have passed since that spring. In that time, I’ve traveled this country and beyond many times, met a host of truly incredible people, grown our family to include two beautiful children, buried two grandparents, watched our resilient community fight to maintain its soul and along the way, gathered an impressive collection of moments that make me believe and trust the good in people. Also along the way, I’ve found discreet pockets of time here and there to sit on the porch and wander. I’ve approached every single one of these recordings with the same mindset. “Couple of Takes, Keep the Mistakes.” and whatever I finish in a single day is the record. Sunrise to sunset allows me to believe in the spirit of these wandering moments and see them as a snapshot of that day, that time. It’s not who I am, it’s just where I was that day. Polaroids in a pile, all of them capturing an essence, none of them without imperfection.

This is a collection of snapshots. Recording “D.L.’s Holler” in the upstairs hallway of an elementary school, outside my wife’s classroom while she graded papers in a thunderstorm. Listen for the thunder roll in one of the breaks. Recording “Waiting Round The Oven Buns” in my house in January while my wife Heather, pregnant with our first child, napped in the front room. Driving hours in the wrong direction during a blizzard into Tennessee on Highway 40, making us four hours late for the recording session I had booked for This Side Up. Loading in wet and snowy and then loading out 4 hours later with my friends Nick and Yan, finished, victorious and laughing. Recording “Saratoga” with one son next to me flipping through “Calvin and Hobbes” and my other son napping just a room away. Sitting on an old front porch in Birmingham, Alabama one hot spring morning with James’ beat-up classical guitar and recording a quick voice memo as we were packing up to leave. Sharing a joint with my brother Brad on the way to The Cave in Chapel Hill and feeling grateful for the spontaneous virtuosity of the Canine Boys and Libby Rodenbough. These moments, stacked up in a pile, feel like the kind of riches nobody can ever take away from me. The truest currency. I hope you, dear listener, also share this currency and feel this gratitude when you think of the journey of moments that has formed you.

^{Source philcookmusic.com}

Phox

PHOX was an American six-piece alternative folk / indie pop band from Baraboo, Wisconsin. PHOX's self-titled debut LP was released on June 24, 2014.

Prior to the formation of PHOX, many eventual members collaborated with Zach Johnston for his album Sonntag, which was written in California, but recorded in Wisconsin. Some time later while Matt Holmen was playing with Davey Roberts, Matt Roberts (keys), and Jason Krunnfusz (bass) in Baraboo. The group connected once again for what was originally thought to be a one-off show at the local event, Boo Bash on May 4, 2011. The group still needed songs to play and someone to sing them. Monica Martin was asked if she'd sing some tracks from Sonntag and some cover songs at the event and she agreed. Moving forward, Monica wrote lyrics and melodies, and the group arranged the songs from their first two EP's and their self-titled first record release.

The band released their EP Confetti in early 2013, for which they created a video component for each track. 2013 also saw a Daytrotter session, positive press, a spot at South by Southwest and a national tour opening for Blitzen Trapper. The band played Lollapalooza as a last-minute addition in August 2013, drawing a large crowd despite their midday spot. In September 2013 PHOX opened for The Lumineers at Apple's iTunes Festival in London. Local Wisconsin publication Isthmus praised PHOX as one of the year's greatest musical success stories. Throughout 2015, Phox supported Paolo Nutini and The Head and the Heart, while also headlining around the U.S. non-stop. They also made their debut in New Zealand and Australia during March 2015. They were also featured on NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert. Other notable festival stops include Coachella, Bonnaroo, Firefly, Summerfest, Sasquatch, and the inaugural Eaux Claires Music and Arts Festival where they also screened their latest [mockumentary] film titled, Amor Fati, directed by member Zach Johnston. The film was uploaded publicly to YouTube on December 24, 2015. The band is currently signed to Partisan Records, and are managed by Foundations Artist Management. They recorded their first full-length, self-titled album at April Base – Justin Vernon's home studio in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

PHOX announced an indefinite hiatus on October 17, 2016. The band played their farewell concert at the Al. Ringling Theatre in their hometown of Baraboo, WI on February 4, 2017.

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Piers Faccini

Piers Faccini was born in London, England to an Italian father and an English mother. His family moved to France when he was five years old. His brother is the writer Ben Faccini.

Faccini first appeared on the music scene in London in 1997, co-founding Charley Marlowe with performance poet Francesca Beard, percussionist Frank Byng and guitarist Luc Suarez; the band split in 2001 when Faccini decided to pursue a solo career. His first solo album Leave no Trace was released in 2004 by French Independent label Label Bleu. His second album was released by Los Angeles label Everloving Records in 2006; Tearing Sky was produced by JP Plunier, and featured Ben Harper, who Faccini would tour with between 2006 and 2008. His third album released by French Independent 'Tot ou Tard' in 2009 was co-produced by Faccini and Renaud Letang. His fourth album, My Wilderness, was released in late 2011 on Six Degrees Records. His fifth album, Between dogs and wolves 2013 and sixth album I Dreamed an Island 2016 were released on his own label Beating Drum.

Faccini has collaborated over the years with many musicians and singers including Rokia Traore, Busi Mhlongo, Ben Harper, Ballake Sissoko, Vincent Segal, Camille, Francesca Beard, Luc Suarez, Seb Martel, Patrick Watson, Dawn Landes and Ibrahim Maalouf amongst others. In March 2011, Faccini contributed to the Patagonia Music Collective, contributing to the UK-based Environmental Justice Foundation.

Faccini has also produced several albums for other artists, most notably Ela by Brazilian cellist and singer Dom La Nena, Northern Folk by Jenny Lysander and Terre de Mon Poeme by Yelli Yelli. Faccini is also a poet and children's author, publishing his first book of poetry ‘No one’s here’ in 2016 and a children's book/cd 'La Plus Belle des Berceuses' which he also illustrated in 2017, published by the French publisher, Actes Sud.

in 2009 his album Two Grains Of Sand was nominated for the French independent music award, Le Prix Constantin and voted album of the year by the listeners of French national radio, France Inter. His album with the cellist Vincent Segal 'Songs of Time Lost' was in NPR’s top ten world music albums of 2014 and in Songlines top 10 albums of 2014 as well as in their Greatest World Music Albums of the last 5 years.

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R.E.M.

R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, that was formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist/backing vocalist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe. One of the first alternative rock bands, R.E.M. was noted for Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style, Stipe's distinctive vocal quality and obscure lyrics, Mills' melodic basslines and backing vocals, and Berry's tight, economical style of drumming. R.E.M. released its first single—"Radio Free Europe"—in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. The single was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the band's first release on I.R.S. Records. In 1983, the group released its critically acclaimed debut album, Murmur, and built its reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases, constant touring, and the support of college radio. Following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream hit in 1987 with the single "The One I Love". The group signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to espouse political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas worldwide.

By the early 1990s, when alternative rock began to experience broad mainstream success, R.E.M. was viewed by subsequent acts such as Nirvana and Pavement as a pioneer of the genre. The band then released its two most commercially successful albums, Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), which veered from the band's established sound and catapulted it to international fame. R.E.M.'s 1994 release, Monster, was a return to a more rock-oriented sound, but still continued its run of success. The band began its first tour in six years to support the album; the tour was marred by medical emergencies suffered by three of the band members.

In 1996, R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. for a reported US$80 million, at the time the most expensive recording contract in history. Its 1996 release, New Adventures in Hi-Fi, though critically acclaimed, fared worse commercially than its predecessors. The following year, Bill Berry left the band, while Stipe, Buck, and Mills continued the group as a trio. Through some changes in musical style, the band continued its career into the next decade with mixed critical and commercial success, despite having sold more than 85 million albums worldwide and becoming one of the world's best-selling music artists of all time. In 2007, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in their first year of eligibility. R.E.M. disbanded amicably in September 2011, announcing the split on its website.

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Ray LaMontagne

Raymond Charles Jack "Ray" LaMontagne (/lɑːmɒnˈteɪn/; born June 18, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. LaMontagne has released seven studio albums, Trouble, Till the Sun Turns Black, Gossip in the Grain, God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise, Supernova, Ouroboros and Part of the Light. He was born in New Hampshire and was inspired to create music after hearing an album by Stephen Stills. Critics have compared LaMontagne's music to that of Otis Redding, The Band, Van Morrison, Nick Drake and Tim Buckley.

Early life
LaMontagne was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1973, one of six children raised by his mother. In his early teens he lived in Morgan, Utah, and was more interested in drawing images of Dungeons & Dragons than in his school work. After graduating from high school, LaMontagne moved to Lewiston, Maine, and found work in a shoe factory. LaMontagne also spent a significant amount of time in Wilton, Maine. Other sources state that by his teen years he was living in Maine, spending time in Turner and Buckfield.

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Red House Painters

Red House Painters were an American rock band, formed in San Francisco, California in 1988. They were one of the most prominent acts associated with the slowcore/sadcore subgenre. Fronted by primary songwriter Mark Kozelek (vocals, guitar), the band also included drummer Anthony Koutsos and bass guitarist Jerry Vessel. Guitarists Gorden Mack and Phil Carney both performed with the band during separate six-year tenures.

In 2001, Red House Painters quietly dissolved, with Koutsos, Vessel and Carney continuing to record and perform with Kozelek under his new guise Sun Kil Moon until 2010.

While in Atlanta, Georgia, Ohio-born Kozelek became friends with Anthony Koutsos, a drummer. He then moved to San Francisco, California, adding guitarist Gorden Mack and bassist Jerry Vessel to complete the line-up for Red House Painters. After forming, the group played the San Francisco scene extensively, and recorded demos from 1989 to 1992. The band were signed to 4AD in 1992, on the strength of a demo tape passed to 4AD boss Ivo Watts-Russell by American Music Club frontman Mark Eitzel.

Journalist Martin Aston passed on a tape that Mark Eitzel had given to him. Never before or since had I received a demo that was 90 minutes long! In fact, it was quite some time before I actually listened to the whole thing all the way through. Every morning and evening, driving to and from work, I would start at the beginning, "24" (I know, I know, what more do you need to hear, right? What a song.), but only get about half way through that and whatever the second song on the tape was before arriving home/at 4AD. When I finally did listen to the full 90 minutes I called young Mark K. and left him a message. I learned later he was sitting in the bath listening to me talk. It was a perfect time for me to hear that brilliant band. — Ivo Watts-Russell

Between September 1992 and March 1995, the band released three LPs, one double LP, and one EP. Their first 4AD release was an album made up of demos entitled Down Colorful Hill. In 1993, the group came out with two self-titled records (now commonly referred to as Rollercoaster and Bridge because of their cover artwork).

In early 1994, they released an EP entitled Shock Me, featuring two cover versions of an Ace Frehley-written KISS song. The introspective Ocean Beach followed in spring 1995. Founding guitarist Gorden Mack left shortly after the album's release, and he was replaced shortly thereafter by Phil Carney.

While Kozelek was beginning work on a solo project, he parted ways with 4AD after a tumultuous relationship, so Songs for a Blue Guitar was eventually released on Island Records subsidiary Supreme Recordings/Polygram in summer 1996. The album featured lengthy guitar jams and cover songs, and was the band's biggest seller in the U.S. By early 1998, their sixth album was completed. However, the band was beginning to dissolve, and major label mergers during the late 1990s would leave the record in limbo; it was not until 2001 that Old Ramon was issued on the Sub Pop label. 

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Reuben and the Dark

Reuben and the Dark are a Canadian indie folk band from Calgary, Alberta. Led by singer and songwriter Reuben Bullock, the band also currently includes Shea Alain (guitar/keys), Brock Geiger (guitar/keys), Ian Jarvis (bass), and Brendan 'Dino' Soares (drums).

History
Bullock released the solo albums Pulling Up Arrows in 2010 and Man Made Lakes in 2012 before deciding to adopt a band name. The band signed to Arts & Crafts Productions in 2013.

The full band's debut album Funeral Sky, produced by Christopher Hayden of Florence and the Machine and Stephen Kozmeniuk, was released on Arts & Crafts in 2014. The album was supported by a concert tour of both Canada and the United States, as well as a smaller follow-up tour of Western Canada.

In 2016, they released the single "Heart in Two", and toured North America as an opening act for Vance Joy. "Heart in Two" reached #1 on CBC Radio 2's Radio 2 Top 20 chart the week of February 12, 2016.

In 2018 the band released their second album Arms of a Dream, as well as a cover of The Tragically Hip's "Bobcaygeon" as a charity single to benefit the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund. During the tour for the Arms of a Dream album across Canada, the band's tour bus crashed on the Trans-Canada Highway near to Banff National Park. Whilst the vehicles were written off, the band members only suffered slight injuries and were able to continue their tour, even though some of their instruments were damaged beyond repair.

In February 2019 the band released a stand alone digital single "Hold Me Like A Fire" along with a collaboration video produced by the National Music Centre during their artist in residence program. On October 25, 2019, the band released their third album un love. Also in 2019, their song Black Water, from the album Funeral Sky, was featured in the trailer for El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. The band also contributed a cover of What a Wonderful World for the soundtrack of the 2020 film Doolittle.

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Robert Plant

Robert Anthony Plant CBE (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Plant is regarded as one of the greatest vocalists in the history of rock music.

Plant enjoyed great success with Led Zeppelin throughout the 1970s and developed a compelling image as the charismatic rock-and-roll front man, similar to contemporaries such as Roger Daltrey of the Who, Freddie Mercury of Queen, Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones and Jim Morrison of the Doors. With his mane of long blond hair and powerful, bare-chested appearance, Plant helped to create the "god of rock and roll" or "rock god" archetype. Although Led Zeppelin dissolved in 1980, Plant occasionally collaborated with Jimmy Page on various projects through this period, including forming a short-lived all-star group with Page and Jeff Beck in 1984, called the Honeydrippers. They released an album called The Honeydrippers: Volume One, and the band had a No. 3 hit with a remake of the Phil Phillips' tune "Sea of Love", plus a follow-up hit with a cover of Roy Brown's "Rockin' at Midnight".

A powerful and wide vocal range (particularly evident in his high-pitched vocals) has given him a successful singing career spanning over 50 years. In 2008, Rolling Stone editors ranked him number 15 on their list of the 100 best singers of all time. In 2011, Rolling Stone readers ranked Plant the greatest of all lead singers. In 2006, magazine Hit Parader named Plant the "Greatest Metal Vocalist of All Time". In 2009, Plant was voted "the greatest voice in rock" in a poll conducted by Planet Rock.

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Ryan Adams

David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and poet. He has released 16 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of rock/alt-country band Whiskeytown.

In 2000, Adams left Whiskeytown and released his debut solo album, Heartbreaker, to critical acclaim. The album was nominated for the Shortlist Music Prize. The following year, his profile increased with the release of the UK certified-gold Gold, which included the hit single, "New York, New York". During this time, Adams worked on several unreleased albums, which were consolidated into a third solo release, Demolition (2002). Working at a prolific rate, Adams released the classic rock-influenced Rock N Roll (2003), after a planned album, Love Is Hell, was rejected by his label Lost Highway. As a compromise, Love Is Hell was released as two EPs and eventually released in its full-length state in 2004.

After breaking his wrist during a live performance, Adams took a short-lived break, and formed The Cardinals, a backing band that accompanied him on his next four studio albums. In 2009, after the release of Cardinology (2009), Adams disbanded The Cardinals and announced an extended break from music due to complications from Ménière's disease. The break-up of Ryan Adams & The Cardinals was also attributed to the death of Ryan’s childhood friend and active bass player Chris Feinstein in 2009. Chris was known to his friends and band-mates as “Spacewolf”. The following year, however, Adams resumed performing and released his Glyn Johns-produced thirteenth studio album, Ashes & Fire, in late 2011. The album peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. In September 2014, Adams released his fourteenth album, Ryan Adams, on his own PAX AM label, and formed a new backing band, The Shining, to support the release.

In 2015, Adams released 1989, a song-for-song cover of Taylor Swift's album of the same name, and worked on up to eighty songs for an album influenced by his divorce from actress and singer-songwriter Mandy Moore. The album, Prisoner, was released in 2017.

In 2019, Adams announced three albums to be released that year. However, the release of these albums was cancelled after several women, including a minor, came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Adams.

In addition to his own material, Adams has also produced albums for Willie Nelson, Jesse Malin, Jenny Lewis, and Fall Out Boy, and has collaborated with Counting Crows, Weezer, Norah Jones, America, Minnie Driver, Cowboy Junkies, Leona Naess, Toots and the Maytals, Beth Orton and Krista Polvere. He has written Infinity Blues, a book of poems, and Hello Sunshine, a collection of poems and short stories.

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Ryan Tanner

Songs steeped in Springsteen, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle,enduring, timeless storytellers who keep genre-namers busy. Is it folk? Is it rock? Is it country? The real questions are: does it move you? Does it take you somewhere? And, when listening to Ryan Tanner sing his songs, the answer is yes.

^{Source bandcamp.com}

Ryley Walker

Ralker began his career in Chicago's independent music scene after moving there in the early 2010s, releasing several cassette EPs and a vinyl EP. In 2014 he released his debut album for the Tompkins Square label, and followed it early in 2015 with Primrose Green released on Dead Oceans. Backing musicians Walker employed on Primrose Green include several noted Chicago jazz and experimental musicians such as Fred Lonberg-Holm.

Also in 2015, Walker released an instrumental album, recorded in collaboration with fellow Chicago musician Bill MacKay, entitled Land of Plenty. It was recorded live during a January 2015 residency at The Whistler in Chicago. The songs on the album were taken from the last two shows of the residency, on January 25 and 30. MacKay's guitar was recorded on the left channel and Walker's guitar was recorded on the right channel. Their instruments converge in the center. MacKay played 6-string guitar, requinto and glass slide, while Walker played 6 & 12-string guitars. The album's sound was described as fingerstyle ballads, psychedelic waltzes, and raga-inspired blues.

On August 19, 2016, Walker released his fourth album, Golden Sings That Have Been Sung, which was yet another change in his evolving sound. His fifth is Deafman Glance, released in May 2018.

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