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Austin’s own powerhouse Gary Clark Jr. with special appearance by GRAMMY award-winning recording artists, the Dixie Chicks.

Gary Clark Jr. — GRAMMY award winner Clark has long established himself as a masterful guitarist whose passion and fiery playing sets him apart from more retro-minded musicians. He takes his original music to another level mixing funk, soul, hip-hop, psychedelia and anthemic rock to deliver one of the most powerful live-shows of any artist today. In 2011, Clark released The Bright Lights EP after signing with Warner Bros Records. Clark went on to release two additional albums, Blak and Blu in 2012 and The Story of Sonny Boy Slim in 2015, which debuted at number eight on the Billboard charts. In 2014, Clark was awarded a GRAMMY for Best Traditional R&B performance for the song “Please Come Home.”  His latest Warner Records release, This Land, is a serious contender for this year’s Grammy nominations, as he throws down the gauntlet with his prolific state-of-the-union.

Voices for Justice is the signature fundraising event for Proclaim Justice, Inc., a 501(c)(3) dedicated to winning freedom for inmates who are factually innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted.

All proceeds from the event will support winning freedom for innocent victims who are falsely imprisoned.

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Michael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees will launch a new tour and release their first-ever live album as a duo on April 3. Billed as “An Evening With The Monkees,” the tour will feature songs that span the band’s entire 50+ year career – from their 1966 self-titled debut to 2016’s Good Times.

THE MONKEES – THE MIKE & MICKY SHOW LIVE will be available on CD for $16.98. The 24-track collection will also be available digitally and via streaming services.

Tickets and VIP packages for “An Evening With The Monkees” tour dates go on sale this Friday, November 15. Every ticket purchased for “An Evening With The Monkees” includes your choice of a CD or digital copy of THE MONKEES – THE MIKE & MICKY SHOW LIVE. You’ll receive instructions via email on how to redeem your album after ticket purchase. In select markets only.

Produced by The Monkees’ archivist Andrew Sandoval & mixed by Christian Nesmith, THE MONKEES – THE MIKE & MICKY SHOW LIVE was recorded live in March 2019. The collection includes performances of all three of the band’s #1 hits: “Last Train To Clarksville,” “I’m A Believer” and “Daydream Believer.”

In addition to those hits, the live album also spotlights many of Nesmith’s finest compositions, including several songs that were never performed live during the Monkees’ heyday, like “St. Matthew” and “Auntie’s Municipal Court.” Other Nesmith-penned tunes on the collection include live versions of “The Girl I Knew Somewhere,” “Listen To The Band,” “Papa Gene’s Blues,” “You Just May Be The One” and “You Told Me.”

Dolenz takes the spotlight singing hits like “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” “Randy Scouse Git,” “Mary, Mary,” “Goin’ Down,” “For Pete’s Sake,” and “Porpoise Song.” The collection also features live versions of “Me & Magdelena” and “Birth Of An Accidental Hipster” from The Monkees’ most-recent studio album, Good Times (2016).

“An Evening With The Monkees” is the latest chapter in Monkee-mania, a saga that began in 1965 when four young men were cast in a television show about a struggling rock band that was inspired by the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night. Few could have predicted the impact the Monkees would have on music and pop culture at large, one that still reverberates more than 50 years later.

Formed in Los Angeles for the eponymous television series, the quartet of Dolenz, Nesmith, the late Peter Tork and the late Davy Jones brought a singular mix of pop, rock, psychedelia, Broadway and country to their music. The Monkees’ first single, “Last Train To Clarksville,” was released in 1966 and quickly headed for the top spot of the Billboard charts as a part of the band's self-titled debut album, where it would ultimately sit for 13 of the 78 weeks it remained in the Top 200. (Two decades later, in the midst of a new burst of Monkee-mania, The Monkees popped back onto the charts, bringing the total number of weeks to 102.) 

By the time the series aired its final new episode on March 25, 1968, the Monkees had seen three further albums top the charts — More of the Monkees, Headquarters, and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. All were released in 1967, staggeringly enough, racking up several more hit singles, with “I’m A Believer,” “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone,” “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You,” “The Girl I Knew Somewhere,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” “Words,” “Daydream Believer,” “Valleri,” and “Tapioca Tundra” all finding their way into the Billboard Top 40. The final tally: 16 million albums and 7.5 million singles sold in a mere 2 1/2 years.

After the series’ two-season run, the group went on to star in the cult feature film Head (co-written by Jack Nicholson) and a TV special (33 1/3 Revolutions per Monkee) while also continuing to record new material. But as the ’60s gave way to the ’70s, the members of the Monkees eventually gave in to their individual musical interests and went their separate ways . . . for awhile.

In February 1986, after MTV broadcast a marathon of The Monkees, Dolenz, Jones, and Tork reunited for a 20th anniversary tour, with Nesmith joining them onstage for the Los Angeles date of the tour. In 1996, all four members of the group reunited for a new album (Justus) and TV special (Hey, Hey, It’s the Monkees).

In the wake of Jones’s death on February 12, 2012, the surviving members of the Monkees reunited and performed a series of concerts. The shows were received so triumphantly that Dolenz, Nesmith, and Tork returned the following summer for a tour dubbed, “A Midsummer’s Night With the Monkees.”

To celebrate the Monkees’ 50^th anniversary in 2016, the surviving members of the band recorded the critically acclaimed album Good Times. Much like the Monkees’ early albums, it featured tracks written for the band by a group of gifted songwriters, including Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), Rivers Cuomo (Weezer), Andy Partridge (XTC) and more. To support the album, Dolenz and Tork launched a successful tour that featured Nesmith beaming in remotely via Skype for a few songs during some of the shows.

In February this year, Tork died just eight days after his birthday.

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Multi-platinum, record-breaking band Shinedown - Brent Smith [vocals], Zach Myers [guitar], Eric Bass [bass, production], and Barry Kerch [drums] – has sold more than 10 million albums and 10 million singles worldwide, earned 13 platinum and gold singles, 5 platinum and gold albums, 15 #1 Active Rock hits, and amassed more than 1.5 billion total streams. Each of Shinedown's 25 charting singles on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs Chart has reached the Top 5 – an unparalleled achievement - and they hold the record for most Rock Airplay Top 10s ever. Recent hits “GET UP,” “MONSTERS” and “DEVIL” bring their total to 14 #1s on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs Chart, the second most in chart history, and the title track and current radio single “ATTENTION ATTENTION” is quickly climbing at rock radio. The story that unfolds on their latest album ATTENTION ATTENTION (Atlantic Records) reveals a personal, poignant, and powerful body of work and is an enduring statement about the resolve of the human spirit – touching on themes such as mental health, overcoming struggles,  not being afraid to fail and the importance of our human connection with one another. Speaking to the human spirit in a time of need and inspired by Shinedown bassist Eric Bass’ struggle with clinical depression, “GET UP” quickly became a crossover hit and a beacon of light for listeners around the globe, with its urgent and universal message of hope, empathy and encouragement. ATTENTION ATTENTION has received major media acclaim from the likes of Live with Kelly & Ryan, Huffington Post, Forbes, Salon, Billboard, Consequence of Sound, Buzzfeed, Grammy.com, Parade, Popdust and more, and landed them a slot in 92Y’s prestigious talk series, 92Y Talks, in NYC. Shinedown’s distinct mix of explosive rock ‘n’ roll spirit, thought-provoking lyrics, melodic sensibility and cinematic flourishes colors ATTENTION ATTENTION, which has racked up more than 286 million global streams, simultaneously hit #1 on Billboard’s Alternative, Top Rock and Hard Rock Albums Charts, debuted Top 5 on the Billboard 200, and led to two iHeart Radio Music Award nominations for Rock Artist of the Year and Rock Song of the Year.  Hailed for their high-octane live shows, Shinedown continues to engender diehard love from millions of global fans and has racked up countless sold-out tours and festival headlining sets as well as numerous national television appearances. The band is playing to sold-out arenas in the U.S. and overseas on their ATTENTION ATTENTION World Tour, backed by their biggest, most eye-popping production yet and propelled by the undeniable power of front man Brent Smith’s voice.

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In 1977, history was made upon the release of THE GRAND ILLUSION album. DENNIS DEYOUNG AND THE MUSIC OF STYX celebrate that history by performing the album in its entirety plus all eight Top Ten hits LADY, BABE, COME SAIL AWAY, TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS, BEST OF TIMES, MR. ROBOTO plus classic rock anthems RENEGADE, BLUE COLLAR MAN, SUITE MADAME BLUE and many more.

DENNIS DEYOUNG is a founding member of STYX and the lead singer and songwriter on seven of the bands eight Top Ten hits. DENNIS is a legendary singer, songwriter, keyboardist, composer and record producer with a career spanning over 40 years. His voice is one of the most recognizable in the music world today and continues to inspire new generations of fans. THE ORIGINAL VOICE....ALL THE CLASSIC HITS….ALL THE MEMORIES....ONE UNFORGETTABLE EVENING.

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The Andy Roddick Foundation, the leading Central Texas organization enriching the lives of children through high quality afterschool and summer learning programs, investments in community innovators and awareness-building activities, has announced four-time Grammy Award winner Seal will perform at the 14th Annual Andy Roddick Foundation Gala on Sunday, November 17, 2019, at Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater.

Having sold more than 20 million records worldwide, singer-songwriter Seal has reached international fame with hits: “Crazy,” “Kiss From a Rose,” and “Love’s Divine.” Ranging in style from R&B and soul to acoustic pop and dance, Seal is the winner of four Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards, and Best British Male in 1992.

“We are thrilled to announce four-time Grammy winner Seal to headline at this year’s Gala at ACL,” says Andy Roddick, founder and chairman of the Andy Roddick Foundation. “You can support the great work the Foundation is doing to help kids in East Austin by purchasing Gala tickets or a table to the dinner.”

Gala tables and tickets are available at www.arfoundation.org.

The Gala brings together approximately 2,000 supporters, friends, partners and concert-goers for an evening of celebration and music. The evening features a cocktail reception, an extensive live auction, an elegant dinner and live concert at the world famous Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater. The event attracts the biggest names in music and entertainment and has raised $9 million since 2012 to support the Foundation’s afterschool and summer learning and enrichment programs.

About the Andy Roddick Foundation

The Andy Roddick Foundation exists to help more children discover their passions. We accomplish this by providing access to high quality learning and enrichment for children and youth during Out of School Time. The Foundation serves children and youth who are most at risk of falling behind. We define high quality as a low student-teacher ratio, highly qualified and trained teachers, and whole-child, hands-on learning. Whether social and emotional development, school day participation, family engagement or academic performance, students who participate in the Foundation’s programs outpace their peers. The Foundation believes it’s time we started talking out of school and supporting access to high quality programs for all children and youth.

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Having sold more than 23 million albums to date, award winning band INCUBUS announced they will be hitting the road to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of their platinum selling album Make Yourself. The Grammy-nominated band will take the 20 Years of Make Yourself & Beyond tour to 39 cities across the country, playing songs from that era as well as other songs spanning their career. Special guests Dub Trio, Wild Belle and Le Butcherettes will join on select dates.

Incubus will offer VIP upgrade packages for each show with options that include a backstage tour, on stage photo opportunity, invitation to the Incubus pre-show jam session, and access to watch the entire show from the side of the stage. For the first time, top tier VIP tickets will include access to MIXhalo www.mixhalo.com, a breakthrough audio enhancement that enables fans to hear what the band hears onstage. Fans can visit www.VIPNation.com for more information.

“We are so looking forward to this Fall tour. Make Yourself was such a pivotal moment in our band and we are beyond excited to reintroduce this album to our audience while also showcasing the many musical roads it ultimately led us down. See you soon!” said Brandon Boyd.

Incubus – Brandon Boyd (Vocal), Mike Einziger (Guitar), Jose Pasillas II (Drums), Chris Kilmore (Keyboard/DJ) and Ben Kenney (Bass) – have sold over 23 million albums landing four Top 5 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 and one #1 album. The band saw global success across eight studio albums having achieved RIAA gold, platinum and multi-platinum success along with four singles hitting #1 on the Billboard Alternative Song chart, including “Drive”, “Megalomaniac”, “Anna Molly” and “Love Hurts”. For more information on Incubus visit: http://www.incubushq.com/.

The band has cemented its legacy in not just music but in giving back with their nonprofit, The Make Yourself Foundation. The foundation was started in 2003 by the band, and serves as a vehicle for its members to support causes they care about. With the help of fans around the world, the nonprofit raises money and awareness for nonprofits of various categories, and create opportunities to give back to the audience for giving back to the world. Since its inception, MYF has raised several million dollars and awarded grant funding to over 60 nonprofit organizations.

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LEWIS BLACK, GRAMMY Award-winning, stand-up comedian, is one of the most prolific and popular performers working today. He executes a brilliant trifecta as a stand-up comedian, actor and author. Receiving critical acclaim, he performs more than 200 nights annually, to sold-out audiences throughout Europe, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. He is one of a few performers to sell out multiple renowned theaters, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York City Center, the Main Stage at the Mirage in Las Vegas and most recently, a sold-out Broadway run at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City. 

His live performances provide a cathartic release of anger and disillusionment for his audience. He is a passionate performer who is a more pissed-off optimist than a mean-spirited curmudgeon. Lewis is the rare comic who can cause an audience to laugh themselves into incontinence while making compelling points about the absurdity of our world.


LEWIS BLACK came into national prominence with his appearances on THE DAILY SHOW in 1996. Those appearances on THE DAILY SHOW led to comedy specials on HBO, Comedy Central, Showtime and Epix. In 2001, he won Best Male Stand-Up at the American Comedy Awards. He has released eight comedy albums, including the 2007 GRAMMY Award-winning The Carnegie Hall Performance. He won his second GRAMMY Award for his album Stark Raving Black and has published three bestselling books: Nothing’s Sacred (Simon & Schuster, 2005), Me of Little Faith(Riverhead Books, 2008) and I’m Dreaming of a Black Christmas (Riverhead Books, 2010). In 2012, he performed eight sell-out shows at Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway as well as did one of his two HBO Specials BLACK ON BROADWAY. In 2015, Black notably voiced the character “Anger” in the Academy Award winning film from Pixar, “Inside Out.”

Additionally, Lewis Black does a live streaming show called THE RANT IS DUE at the end of each of his standup performances. This show is written by the audience watching throughout the world and also by the audience in the area of each show. With so much to get off their chests, people use Lewis’ platform to Rant about what on their minds. For a view of the latest shows, and the submission form, click here.

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ABOUT HAYES CARLL

The chorus to the title track on the new Hayes Carll album, What It Is, is a manifesto.

What it was is gone forever / What it could be God only knows.
What it is is right here in front of me / and I’m not letting go.

He’s embracing the moment. Leaving the past where it belongs, accepting there’s no way to know what’s ahead, and challenging himself to be present in both love and life. It’s heady stuff. It also rocks.

With a career full of critical acclaim and popular success, Carll could’ve played it safe on this, his sixth record, but he didn’t. The result is a musically ambitious and lyrically deep statement of an artist in his creative prime.

Hayes Carll’s list of accomplishments is long. His third album, 2008’s Trouble In Mind, earned him an Americana Music Association Award for Song of the Year (for “She Left Me for Jesus”). The follow-up, KMAG YOYO was the most played album on the Americana Chart in 2011 and spawned covers by artists as varied as Hard Working Americans and Lee Ann Womack, whose version of “Chances Are” garnered Carll a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song. 2016’s Lovers and Leavers swept the Austin Music Awards, and was his fourth record in a row to reach #1 on the Americana Airplay chart. Kelly Willis and Kenny Chesney have chosen to record his songs and his television appearances include The Tonight Show, Austin City Limits, and Later w/Jools Holland. Carll is the rare artist who can rock a packed dancehall one night and hold a listening room at rapt attention the next.

“Repeating myself creatively would ultimately leave me empty. Covering new ground, exploring, and taking chances gives me juice and keeps me interested.”

He knew he wanted to find the next level. On What It Is, he clearly has.

It wasn’t necessarily easy to get there. Carll’s last release, 2016’s Lovers and Leavers was an artistic and commercial risk — a bold move which eschewed the tempo and humor of much of his previous work. The record revealed a more serious singer-songwriter dealing with more serious subjects — divorce, new love in the middle of life, parenting, the worth of work. What It Is finds him now on the other side, revived and happy, but resolute — no longer under the impression that any of it comes for free.

“I want to dig in so this life doesn’t just pass me by. The more engaged I am the more meaning it all has. I want that to be reflected in the work.”

And meaning there is. Carll sings “but I try because I want to,” on the album’s opening track, “None’Ya.” He’s not looking back lamenting love lost, rather, finding joy and purpose in the one he’s got and hanging on to the woman who sometimes leaves him delightedly scratching his head. “If I May Be So Bold,” finds him standing on similar ground — lyrically taking on the challenge of participating fully in life rather than discontentedly letting life happen.

Bold enough to not surrender bold enough to give a damn
Bold enough to keep on going or to stay right where I am
There’s a whole world out there waiting full of stories to be told
I’ll heed the call and tell’em all if I may be so bold

There’s no wishy washy here and he’s not on the sidelines. In fact, he’s neck-deep in life. On the rambunctious, fiddle-punctuated, “Times Like These,” he laments political division in America while delivering a rapid-fire plea to “do my labor, love my girl, and help my neighbor, while keeping all my joie de vivre.” Carll’s signature cleverness and aptitude for so-personal-you-might-miss-it political commentary is as strong as ever. The stark, “Fragile Men,” co-written with singer-songwriter Lolo, uses humor and dripping sarcasm to examine his gender’s resistance to change in less than three minutes of string-laden, almost Jacques Brel invoking drama. It’s new musical territory for Carll, and the result is powerful. His voice is strong and resonant on these songs, and it’s thrilling to hear him use it with a new authority. He is alternately commanding and tender, yet always soulful.

Carll returned to trusted producer Brad Jones (producer of 2008’s Trouble in Mind and 2011’s KMAG YOYO) and Alex the Great Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, to record What It Is, and recruited singer-songwriter, author, and fiancee Allison Moorer as co-producer. The production is adventurous while keeping the focus on the singer and his songs and providing a path for him to go where he wants to go. Where that is, is forward.

That’s evident in the songwriting. Carll continues to hone his singular voice, but is also a flexible co-writer. Matraca Berg, Charlie Mars, Adam Landry, and Moorer have co-writing credits here, but it was Moorer’s inspiration that provided the largest impact.

“On the songwriting front she’s just a pro. She helps me cut through the noise and she does it with wit and style.”

Carll’s own wit and style has never been more evident. Whether it’s with the put-you-in-picture detail of, “Beautiful Thing,” the not quite sheepish enough, dude-esque defense of dishonesty in, “Things You Don’t Wanna Know,” or the strong as a tree trunk declaration of love on, “I Will Stay,” he displays an increasing command of his poetic lexicon.

Writers most often wrestle with experience and expectations, either romanticizing the past or telling us how good it’s going to be when they get where they’re going. What It Is is a record that is rooted solidly in the present, revealing an artist in the emotional and intellectual here and now.

ABOUT BEN KWELLER

Indie icon Ben Kweller returns with some of the strongest music of his career. He didn't go away just because -- he was fifteen minutes away from death. "We almost died," Kweller says. "Me, Lizzy, our two boys... dead. We wouldn't be here if Liz hadn't woken up that night."

Kweller is referring to an ill-fated trip to the mountains of New Mexico, back in 2013. The family went on what was meant to be a winter wonderland vacation and instead suffered acute carbon monoxide poisoning.

"We were in this sweet little cabin and in the middle of the night, Lizzy woke up and said, 'Ben, get up! Something's wrong -- I feel horrible,'" Kweller says. "I immediately jumped out of bed and collapsed to the ground. We instinctively crawled to the front door and opened it. Fresh air rushed in the cabin. I called 911. We grabbed the boys out of bed, trying to shake them awake, and managed to get everyone outside in the snow. The boys were crying and falling in and out of consciousness -- it was like something out of a horror film," Kweller says. "When the ambulances arrived, they tested our blood and said our CO levels were so high, we were 15 minutes away from not waking up. Fifteen minutes! We spent the next day in the hospital on pure oxygen and days after that feeling lethargic and mush-brained. When we got back home, I was an incapacitated zombie. I told my team to cancel everything. I was done."

As the months rolled on, Kweller began to battle depression as a result of the poisoning. There was a period where the "Sundress" singer didn't think he'd ever see the stage again. "I just didn't care -- I didn't want to play music anymore," Kweller says. "I didn't want to leave my family's side, and for the first time in my life I was scared. When you almost die, everything changes, and all the unimportant sh*t disappears. Luckily, I kept writing songs and they got me through some really dark places. Eventually I had 50 ready to go but I was still reluctant to start the machine back up again. A close friend of mine called me up and said, 'Just come over and let's record something together. Even if it's just a demo, maybe it'll make you feel better.'"

That close friend was producer and songwriter, Dwight A. Baker (Misseo, Brandi Carlile). One thing led to another and the two ended up co-producing an entire album. The album is called, Circuit Boredom, and lucky for us, it will be released! The first single, "Heart Attack Kid," was released in early '19 with a music video co-directed by Superorganism's Robert Strange. The BK touring machine is also gearing back up with shows in North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia.

With a regretful sigh, Kweller shares "There were so many times over the past five years that a fan would come up to me and say, 'Dude, where have you been?' "rather than going into detail, I'd shrug it off and say, 'man, I needed a break, but I'll come back one day.' Inside, I wasn't sure, though."

A major turning point that convinced Kweller to put music back into the world, was the loss of his friend Anton Yelchin. The two had a close bond and even shared the silver screen in Rudderless, a music-based drama directed by William H. Macy. "I'm still in awe of Anton's creative output and all that he achieved in such a short period of time," Kweller says. "One of my best friends, gone in the blink of an eye -- it absolutely woke me up. I knew I had to overcome my own trauma and do what I was born to do. Plus, Anton would've thought it rude if I didn't share these songs."

All of this comes as a relief to BK fans, whom, for over 15 years, have sung along to his anthems and cried to his ballads. They know his gift for jumping through genres while remaining heartfelt and authentic. They also know that nostalgia and optimism were his trademarks long before his run-in with mortality. Now, with the forthcoming release of Circuit Boredom, we are reminded that a light really is at the end of the tunnel, we just have to listen for it. We're glad BK's back.

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Let the good times roll.

When fans of Texas-bred Josh Abbott Band hear the four-track EP Catching Fire, they’re likely to reconnect with a sound from the not-so-distant past. They’re songs of positivity, built on solid country textures and unified by Abbott’s congenial-but-experienced voice.

The seven-piece group cut its teeth as a hard-touring act with hooky melodies that deliver real- world stories. Led by the true-to-life cycles in Abbott’s life, JAB explored new territory with its last two albums – documenting the dissolution of a marriage in Front Row and adding strings and a horn section to Until My Voice Goes Out – but Catching Fire captures a sense of personal renewal.

“My embers are startin’ to glow again,” Abbott sings in the opening line of the title track. Indeed, the entire Catching Fire project is bright, spry and optimistic. From the limber lines of Preston Wait’s fiddle to the decisive crack of Edward Villanueva’s snare and the animated scratch of Abbott’s acoustic guitar, there’s a relaxed energy to the project, a sense of hard-won spirit that can only be developed by confronting – and conquering – emotional hurdles.

“We have a whole new refocused attitude on what we're gonna do now moving forward,” Abbott says. “Catching Fire is a reflection of what's happened over the last year and a half of my life.”

“Surprise Surprise” – a jaunty, driving bit of autobiography – details the rise and fall and rise again, namechecking banjo player Austin Davis in the opening line as it follows JAB’s 2006 inception and ascent to one of country’s most dynamic live acts. Likewise, verse two loosely documents Abbott’s own relationship travails, from love to broken heart to a marriage that resulted in his first child.

While Catching Fire captures the band’s current heartbeat, the songs fit so neatly into the JAB live set that fans experienced them as if they were already part of the band’s canon.

“Half the time, I don't even introduce them as new songs,” Abbott notes. “We just roll in and play them and watch the fans just bounce around and jam and have fun. Sometimes you'll see fans look around like, ‘Do you know this song?’ But by the end of the song they're singing it.”

Country fans have been singing JAB songs for more than a decade already. The band got its start when Abbott and Davis, frat brothers at Lubbock’s Texas Tech University, braved the stage on open-mic nights at Blue Light Live. Davis managed to make the bluegrass-based banjo fit in a contemporary country setting, establishing a blueprint as additional members joined JAB. Villanueva brought a rock- band spirit on drums and Wait hardened the group’s country stance with his flagship fiddle when they signed on 18 months later. Lead guitarist Caleb Keeter joined in 2010, amping up the group’s power quotient, while keyboard player David Fralin took his place in 2015, bringing an additional layer of texture. The newest member – bass player Jimmy Hartman – added his name to the lineup in 2018, solidifying JAB’s signature tough undercurrent.

The band’s relentless on-stage attitude quickly made it a successful touring act, building out from a Texas band to a regional act to a national crew with a devoted following from coast to coast.

Concurrently, JAB developed its own label, Pretty Damn Tough Records, before that was an accepted practice in country circles. Two of their projects, Small Town Family Dream and Front Row Seat, scored top 10 debuts on the Billboard country albums chart, while five titles cracked the Billboard country singles lists, including a pair – “Oh, Tonight” with Kacey Musgraves; and “Wasn’t That Drunk,” with Carly Pearce – that represented the first chart appearance for current female country stars.

All that music established JAB as a band of renown: a good-timin’ cast with a plethora of sing- along songs that raised concert-goers’ spirits whether your date was a fellow college student or a series of longnecks from the bar.

“When you're a young band, you wouldn't know this, but those first couple albums you put out, that is who you are,” Abbott notes. “That is your sound.”

As any reasonable rebel does, the band tested its parameters once it was on solid footing. They signed for a short time with a major label, experimenting by mixing their raw tone with a more commercial edge. As they returned to indie status, Abbott ambitiously documented his first marriage in Front Row Seat. And the expansive Until My Voice Goes Out, recorded as Abbott tended to an ailing father, mixed elegant strings and a Memphis-tipped horn sound. His dad passed away just weeks before they finished the album, and it created a rite of passage that was particularly difficult to process in such a public occupation.

“There were nights in that first year after my dad died, I was bawling five minutes before we went on stage, and I'd have to wipe the tears away and throw on a smile and sing ‘My Texas,’” Abbott recalls. “A good time is what they come for, and I didn't want to rob them of their experience because of a hardship that I'm going through in my life. I could mourn my father when I was in the back of the bus. The time for it wasn't when I was on stage.”

Those concerts, in fact, planted some of the first seeds of renewal in Abbott’s life.

“When you're able to have fun with a crowd of people and sing and dance around on stage, it's definitely therapeutic,” he says.

As he put the pieces back together and felt a personal sense of renewal, the band as a whole felt a need to get back to its own roots. They took the four new songs – the Abbott/Wait compositions and the two outside pieces – and teamed with accomplished producer Marshall Altman (Marc Broussard, Frankie Ballard, Aaron Watson) for sessions at the Sonic Ranch on the outskirts of El Paso.

The multi-studio facility, nestled in a working pecan orchard, is appointed with bright tapestries and cozy casitas – residences that provide an uncanny flexibility. Billy Gibbons, Third Eye Blind, Midland and Portugal. The Man are among the acts who’ve found inspiration at the Ranch. JAB typically recorded into the wee hours of the morning, hitting their creative stride around the hours when their biological clocks reach their live-performance peak.

“Generally when you record in the studio, you're working daytime hours,” Abbott says. “But out here in this place, it's your studio basically; you can do what you want. There were nights that we were recording till 2 or 3 a.m., and then the next day we just wouldn't start until noon. That’s musician time. We're so wired to really get our brains going at 10 p.m.”

The band’s musical renewal is perhaps timely. Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, Aaron Watson, Midland and Cody Johnson are successfully blending the Texas mindset – a country framework with unique, multi-genre flavors – into commercial country music, and the JAB tradition fits neatly into that trend.

“If you didn't know any better, you would have thought Jon Pardi or Luke Combs could have been from Texas,” Abbott says. “I just look at what's going on in music – not only with the Texas people, but with some of the others that are succeeding from other states – and I just hear similarities.”

Catching Fire brings a sense of similarity back to JAB’s own foundation. It’s a return to the band’s sonic past, a revival of its bar-bred optimism and fiery individualism. And it’s a reflection of the group’s off-stage cycles as old chapters are closed and a renewed, upbeat storyline comes to life.

“It's not about being sad, it's not about losing a father or going through a divorce,” Abbott says, elaborating on its current emotional position. “We have a great career, we have a great fan base, we’re still making music for a living. I have a beautiful wife and little daughter that bring me join every day. So there’s a whole lot of personal renewal, and Catching Fire represents all of that. There’s nothing slow, nothing sad.”

Just a JAB-style good time.

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Few relationships in life are more complicated than those among band members. Music history is filled with stories of the rise and fall of creative personalities, but the Randy Rogers Band is a unique brotherhood fueled by a shared passion for making great music and a strong commitment to each other. That bond forms the foundation for the new music on their latest album Hellbent, a high-octane collection of songs buoyed by the same fearless spirit and sense of camaraderie that has made them one of country’s most compelling bands.

In a business where bands come and go and membership is often a revolving door, the Randy Rogers Band has been together for more than 17 years. “Just like any other relationship, you have to pick your battles and have respect for each other,” Rogers says. “None of us know how to do anything else. This is our livelihood. It’s how we take care of our families. Years ago when we were really struggling and wondering how we were going to make it, there were some deep and emotional conversations that we all had with each other about if this is really what we all wanted and the decision was made a long time ago. The answer was yes then and the answer is still yes now.  It’s something we all believe in. This is our life’s work.”

The culmination of their musical journey thus far can be heard on Hellbent. 

“Creatively we all bring something different to the table and you can hear it in the records,” Rogers says. “You can hear people’s personalities in the records.”

It’s that blend of unique personalities that have fueled the Randy Rogers Band’s success for nearly two decades. 

“Our bass player, Johnny Chops, has this way of writing. It’s a little old school, a little Waylon-esque if you will. His lyrics aren’t necessarily anything like mine. They are a little bit more vague and more interpretive,” Rogers says, bragging on his bandmate. “What Brady Black adds to our makeup is his sensibility on stage, his appearance, his energy, his unique way that he plays the fiddle. He’s a crowd pleaser.”

“Les Lawless, our drummer, has played on hundreds of albums with many different artists. He’s kind of the human metronome. He’s a solid drummer. I can’t recall a mistake he’s ever made on stage. He’s just a rock. Geoffrey Hill [guitar, vocals] is a very talented musician. He’s a great singer, a great harmony singer. Most of our sound as a band is because of Geoffrey and his unique vocals and the way he blends his vocals with my vocals.”

Of course, the lineup wouldn’t be complete without longtime member Todd Stewart. “There isn’t an instrument that Todd can’t play and he sings well,” Rogers enthuses. “Onstage he’s playing guitar on one song, mandolin on the next one, fiddle on the next one and a piano on the next one and a B3 on the next one. He’s a key part of our band because he fills up all those spots musically that no one else can do like him. It’s fascinating to watch him switch between every song.”

That dynamic musical chemistry has taken the Randy Rogers Band beyond the competitive music scene in their native Texas to build a national fan base with sold out shows across the country. The band has become skilled at capturing that live energy and passion on their albums and Hellbent is a perfect example. “We’ve been through this process long enough to know that we wanted this record to be perfect and complete so we kept writing and went back in and we recorded again,” Rogers reveals.

“It is important, especially in today’s day and age, not to put out content just for the sake of content. People see through that and it’s a big mistake young artists make just to put a video or a new song out just to have something to talk about. There is a lost art to making an entire album, being a cohesive unit and have it be something that you can stand up and play. We have to record songs we can play live. Ninety nine percent of the income we share is because we’re playing a show, so those songs can’t be throwaway songs.”

The first single, “Crazy People,” is a relatable tune that paints a picture of strict parents that weren’t always so straight-laced. “I did not write that song, however, I did live that song, and that’s why I cut it,” Rogers says with a chuckle. 

“When I heard it, I could imagine that my parents weren’t always fanatically religious. As a young kid, I definitely wasn’t comfortable around neon signs or around restaurants where they were serving alcohol. I just thought that was something very, very bad and that’s what was instilled in my head. It was very, very much a sin, so I was a little freaked out when I was a kid. It’s nothing against my parents. Both me and my brother turned out just fine, but I just think there was this sense of over protection and security and a lot of that was based around the church. So the first thing I did when I turned 16 was tried everything.”

Another highlight on the album is “You, Me and a Bottle,” penned by Rogers.  ‘I love love songs, and that song is a carefree kind of love song about kind of getting lost with your significant other,” Rogers says.

“The troubles of the world and stresses of the week fade when you are with that one special person. That all disappears. That’s kind of the feel-good song on the album I think and the prettiest love song on the record.”

On the other end of the emotional spectrum, “Anchors Away” is about a man who can’t commit and keeps running from love. “‘Anchors Away’ is a very sad song,” Rogers admits. “The chorus says, ‘Anchors away, works like a charm, first sign of danger, I pull the alarm,’ and the lyrics that really get to me are, ‘I don’t want to leave, I don’t know how to stay.’ That lyric to me really paints the picture of somebody who doesn’t know how to love and doesn’t know how to love someone back. Out of all the lyrics on the album, that lyric might be the most poignant lyric because a lot of times people sabotage themselves and relationships they are in because they don’t know any better because they’ve seen their parents do it or they are just in a cycle repeating the same mistakes. I think that’s a lot of people.”

“Wine in a Coffee Cup” paints an interesting portrait of a high-powered career woman. “Women have roles in the workplace that are very different than they were maybe 50 years ago,” Rogers says. “There are a lot of CEOs, CFOs, a lot of presidents and vice presidents. Huge companies are run by women. It’s an interesting fact that nobody is perfect and my idea of that song was a CEO of a company walking in every day and everybody thinks she has everything together and her life is perfect, but in all actuality she is like everybody else. She’s struggling with something. It could be her relationship, home life or family, but even the most successful people have flaws, so that was my take on it. It’s a nod to women and the fact that they are, in this day in age, hopefully treated as equals in the workplace but here’s this girl that’s running the company and she’s coming in buzzed every day. That song isn’t about someone I know personally. It’s about the culture and the environment we live in now. I guarantee that that song is happening somewhere.”

“Hell Bent on a Heartache” is a song Rogers first heard and fell in love with on Guy Clark’s album My Favorite Picture of You.  “I love that album start to finish and that song was my favorite song. Chris Stapleton and his wife, Morgane, wrote that with Guy Clark and I had no clue,” he says. “We were in the studio the week Tom Petty died and on that track especially there is this kind of Heartbreaker kind of feel to that song. It’s produced in a way that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers would have done it. The influence definitely shines through on this album, especially on that track.”

In recording Hellbent, the Randy Rogers Band worked with producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, The Oak Ridge Boys, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell) and recorded at the legendary RCA Studio A. “A large part of the country really enjoys the records that he’s made over the last 10 years and obviously I was paying attention to that,” Rogers says.

“I was noticing the albums I was listening to, and they were produced by him, so I called him up and asked if we could meet for lunch. I’d never worked with him before, so it was a very exciting going into RCA and meeting him and the team. We’re very thankful for that opportunity and getting to record in Studio A. So many people whether it be Dolly Parton or George Strait have recorded in that room, so it was a bit of hallowed ground. It was a little overwhelming as well. There’s pictures all over the walls there of people who recorded. It’s amazing.”

Recording Hellbent is just the latest chapter in the Randy Rogers Band’s thriving career. In addition to being a gifted vocalist, insightful songwriter and talented musician, the band’s founding member is also well known in music industry circles for his business savvy. He graduated from college with a degree in PR and is one of those rare musicians who has great executive skills too.

Rogers is co-owner of several Texas venues including Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, Texas where George Strait began building a fan base in his early career. Rogers is also a partner in Big Blind Management with Robin Schoepf and steers the careers of Red Shahan and Parker McCollum.

Rogers seems to have a unique talent for seeing around corners. It’s what drove him to take his band outside of Texas and develop fans on both coasts, even when the initial investment was risky. “I’m left brain and right brain,” the Cleburne, Texas native says. “I’m a very organized person and I can also see six months from now. I’m always thinking a step ahead and it wears my wife out because I’m talking about booking my life months from now. My brain is always spinning and thinking about what is coming next instead of really sitting in a moment. That’s a good thing and sometimes it’s a bad thing that I can never really turn my brain off.”

Rogers is also a big fan of collaboration and has partnered with friend Wade Bowen on the infectious Hold My Beer projects and joined forces with Lone Star legend Robert Earl Keen as the Stryker Brothers. He recently joined Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson and Jerry Jeff Walker to sing on Michael Martin Murphey’s Austinology album.

Though Rogers is prone to eagerly explore other musical avenues, the core of his creative adventure continues to be the Randy Rogers Band. For Rogers, Hellbent was the perfect name for the album, and not just because it comes from one of his favorite songs.

“The album is named Hellbent and isn’t necessarily for ‘Hell Bent On a Heartache.’ We’re in it for the long haul. We’re lifers,” he says with a grin.

“This is obviously our way of life. This isn’t some Johnny-come-lately group of guys. We’re like an oak tree. We’re not going anywhere. We’re not hinged on whether our next single will be a No.1. We’re not hinged on an album topping the charts. We have a great and loyal fan base and we do things right. When we play our shows, people expect to have a great night and to go home satisfied. As long as we keep doing that, no change in the industry, no record deal or anything like that can make or break this band.”

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Get in the holiday spirit with a special evening of seasonal classics!

One of Austin’s most celebrated musicians, Bob Schneider, released his 2018 album, “Blood and Bones” – his 7th studio album since his 2001 solo debut Lonelyland – via his Shockorama Records imprint. “Blood and Bones” captures Schneider at a unique, and distinct place. “Most of the songs are about this phase of my life,” he admits. “I’m re-married, I have a 2-year-old baby daughter who was born over two months premature because my wife had life threatening preeclampsia. So dealing with that traumatic event while getting older and looking at death in a realistic, matter of fact way, experiencing the most joy I’ve ever experienced along with feelings of utter despondency in a way that would have been impossible to experience earlier in my life, all comes out in the songs. My relationship with my wife is the longest committed relationship I’ve ever been in, so there was a lot of unchartered territory there to write about.”

The songs on “Blood and Bones” reflect this. Recorded quickly with producer Dwight Baker, who has worked with Schneider on 6 of his previous releases, the album highlights the chemistry that Schneider and his backing band of Austin’s very best musicians have developed while relentlessly playing live, most notably at the monthly residency Schneider has held at Austin’s Saxon Pub for the last 19 years. “I didn’t want to overthink the songs,” Schneider says. “I really respect Dwight’s ability to make great calls when it comes to what works and isn’t working when we are recording the songs. I felt pretty good about the quality of the songwriting, so I figured that would come through in the end if we just went in and played them the way I do live.”

While the performance and production are stellar, the songwriting finds Schneider in a particularly reflective mode. Sure, there are live favorites like “Make Drugs Get Money” and “Texaco” that will get even the most reserved crowds dancing. But more often the album finds Schneider reflecting on marriage, parenthood, and mortality. “I wish I could make you see how wonderful everything is most of the time, but I’m only blood and bones,” he sings on the title track, a meditation on the beauty and the limits of marriage. Later, on “Easy,” he tells his daughter “it’s always been a scary thing to do, to let my heart fall down into the endless blue, but it’s easy with you.” Through it all, there is a clear sense of mortality, of just how fleeting all of this is. “The hours and days stack up in the mirror,” he sings on “Hours and Days”. “We’re just snowmen waiting for the summer” he sings on “Snowmen”, before adding “we can’t bring them back, can’t bring nothing back.”

One thing Schneider has excelled at in his career is bringing audiences back. Though he has received little national press or major label support, he has managed to become one of the biggest acts in Austin, if not in Texas. His fans, who often discover him from being brought to his shows by their friends, are fiercely loyal. Many have attended dozens or even hundreds of shows. Thanks to these fans, Schneider has won more Austin Music Awards than any other musician, including Best Album, Best Songwriter, Best Musician, and Best Male Vocals, rounding in at 59 total awards to date.

In retrospect, it appears inevitable that Bob Schneider would become an artist. He was born in Michigan and raised in Germany, where his father pursued a career as a professional opera singer. As a boy, Schneider studied piano and guitar, often performing at family parties and backing his father on drums at nightclubs throughout his youth in Germany and Texas. He went on to study art – his other primary passion and avocation – at the University of Texas El Paso, before moving to Austin and establishing himself as a musician. He performs relentlessly, creates new music compulsively, writes poetry, and regularly shows his visual art in galleries around Austin. With “Blood and Bones”, Schneider further cements his reputation as one of the most versatile, inventive, and engaging songwriters working today. 

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