FEATURED ARTISTS

From backwoods barbecues and community gatherings; Allen Stone emerges to share personal melodies, telling his tales of life after just 22 years. Getting his start singing at his father’s church in small-town America; it wasn’t until later when introduced to the greats of soul music (Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin) and then to the confessional lyrical fashion of the 60’s -70’s singer/ songwriters, did music begin to ignite intense passion, eventually carrying this boy to a musical home.

His debut album “Last To Speak” touches upon a range of styles and themes. Integrating classic soul, catchy pop hooks, r&b beats and folk roots with lyrical matters of testimonial broken relationships, poisonous politics and an intimate challenge to religion. Stone’s music is notable for his finely crafted evocative songs and a fresh, smooth, soul-filled voice-one that certainly belies his age.

In a generation of over saturation, it’s Allen Stone’s strong musical talents and honest messages of progression that shall keep this blue-eyed soul continuing to create what only comes best naturally.

Allen performed at Val’s in-home session with Andrew Belle in February.

Citizen Cope (aka Clarence Greenwood) is a singer/songwriter from Brooklyn NYC that blends folk, reggae, blues, and rock. His music is simple to the point of being stripped down, as if bearing it all was the only way to get our attention. A mix of hip-hop, folk, and blues his songs are mostly beats – mix bass drum, high hat, snare, clap track and repeat – buffed smooth by a haggard, road-weary voice. Uncommon chords for texture and keyboards for lift. One Rolling Stone critic called him “a modern day bluesman who paints a plaintive portrait of the human condition.”

Eric Stang began playing piano at the age of five and has never looked back. A Chicago native and DePaul University Music School graduate, Eric has performed as a professional musician since the age of 13. After starting off in piano bars and local jazz & funk bands, Eric cut his teeth on the Chicago blues and rock scene. Having performed at venues such as: The Kingston Mines, B.L.U.E.S. on Halsted, The House of Blues, Howl at the Moon, The Park West and Aragon Ballroom, Eric has built his reputation in Chicago as a virtuoso piano player, singer/songwriter as well as session musician. Eric recently formed the Eric Stang Project with fellow musicians he has worked with over the past few years. They are now solidifying their energetic sound with the rich textures of grand piano, Fender Rhodes, electric and acoustic guitar, synths, strings and horns. The Eric Stang Project released their self-titled debut EP in November, 2009.

The xx is a band from Wandsworth, England, formed in 2005. The four original band members met at Elliott School, notable for alumni including Hot Chip, Burial and Four Tet. Their debut album, xx, was released on Young Turks Records on 17 August 2009. They recorded the album in a small garage that was part of the XL studios, often at night, which contributed to the sleek, whispery nature of the album. The band have toured with The Big Pink and Micachu. Their song “Intro” is also being used in a promotional commercial for the series Cold Case and Law & Order on the Dutch television network Net 5, and “VCR” was featured in a Lie to Me episode.

One eskimO’s striking sound and presentation can be traced back to 2004, when Leontiou first hit the UK Top 10 with his solo debut single, “Story Of My Life.” His album, entitled “SOME DAY SOON,” proved equally successful, selling more than 200,000 copies and catapulting the soulful young singer to pop success. But, the experience left the gifted young vocalist strangely unfulfilled, as if he were merely a spoke in the great wheel of music industry marketing.

The idea for One eskimO began to gel on a long flight home after a promo tour for Leontiou. Rather than continue on the same unsatisfying path, Kristan did something both brave and rare – he walked away from success to create something he could be proud of. After some R&R, Leontiou reached out to drummer Adam Falkner and the two began writing songs and developing a distinctive new sound. “We wanted to create something really cinematic and dreamy,” Leontiou says. “We wanted to create a magical world of our own.”

Sonic inspiration came from a variety of diverse sources, from The Beatles and The Fugees to Massive Attack and UK hip-hop/folk duo Nizlopi. Bassist Jamie Sefton and guitarist Peter Rinaldi were brought in to complete the group, which then spent long hours in rehearsal, building a multi-layered foundation with largely acoustic instrumentation.