Current Roster


Ian 'Mac' mclagan

Photo by T. Dimenno

Ian 'Mac' McLagan

In memory of my dear pal Mac:

Ian ‘Mac’ McLagan was a genuine, dyed-in-the-wool rock’n’roller. In fact, his smiling visage — he was, after all, a member of the Small Faces and the Faces — would serve as an ideal illustration in the proverbial Dictionary of What Is Truly Cool.

The man known to his many mates and even more fans and admirers as 'Mac' is the sort who shruged off such puffery. He carried on creating splendid and genuine rock’n’roll with his Bump Band as well as musically aid and abet a marquee line-up of truly blue ribbon talent that he toured and recorded with: The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, Taj Mahal, John Hiatt, David Lindley, Paul Westerberg, Billy Bragg and Patty Griffin, to name some but hardly all of the notables that McLagan had worked with over his four-plus decade career.

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Cactus Lee

Photo by Meghan Bass

Cactus Lee

Cactus Lee is an Austin-based musician named Kevin Dehan. He has a tireless devotion to songcraft, his sound featuring melancholy, ornate arrangements akin to the likes of Gene Clark or Townes Van Zandt. Caravan is the new Cactus Lee album on Org Music and Aquarium Drunkard; its influences are culled from generation-spanning sounds of quintessentially Texas music, but it is the most sonically expansive version of the project yet.

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Queen Esther

Photo by Aidan Grant

Queen Esther

“Needless to say Queen Esther drinks in fully from the musical waters that really have no name, but instead come from an inner fabrication where the woman understands what roots are really all about, and then implants them wherever she sees fit. This is free-form fullness that knows no walls. There is no real description of what Queen Esther has accomplished on RONA. Rather, it is a musical osmosis that is exactly what America and the rest of the world surely needs to assimilate into modern life, so maybe the human race can get on with living openly instead of boomeranging between fear and fanaticism.”

Bentley’s Bandstand - Americana Highway.

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Paige Hill

Photo by @danimal2006

Paige Hill

Paige Hill is an independent singer and songwriter based in Dallas, Texas. She is an Austin native and "a bit west coast obsessed," living there for eight years,” making Dallas her current location. Her music is about authentic connections to the best and most challenging parts of being a woman and a mother.

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Lisa GAMACHE

Photo by Lisa Gamache

Lisa Gamache

Lisa Gamache, singer, and songwriter raised in Houston, has been a professional musician since 1976. She teamed up with guitarist Earl Hunt in Austin to perform 70's folk rock covers in exchange for food and tips. The pair performed at Byron Scott's open mic that year, and Gamache fell in love with Austin's songwriter scene, and her affection remains. 

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Mark Daly

Photo by Michael Deinlein

Mark Daly

Cork-based Irish Rock musician Mark Daly's artistic chops have never been up for debate. After building an impressive following touring with the likes of Candlebox, Geoff Tate (Queensryche), and more, Mark Daly is gearing up for a busy 2023 tour beginning March 18, 2023, with Geoff Tate and a new video release, “Nothing to Lose,” on March 18, 2023.

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Emily Mcloud

Photo by Cameron Jordan

Emily McLoud

Emily McLoud’s six-track solo EP, Sugar Shine, her first solo EP, is a blend of folky, bluegrass, and modern sounds that include upright bass, acoustic guitar, drums with brushes, pedal steel, and mandolin—somewhat reminiscent of the early days of Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange). Sonically and thematically, it expands on her previous work in The Light Upstairs: ruminations on the passage of time, contemplation of opposites, and redemption in day-to-day living. The melodic tunes are couched in country and bluegrass sounds—arising gently from the fertile musical soil of McLoud's home state of Texas. The centerpiece is the title track, “So They Say.” It’s a conversation between parent and child, where the parent side-steps the temptation to say it’s all gonna be okay—instead offering something more honest and potent: “I could say to you, my precious little sugar shine…if anything can make the world a better place it’s me, and you, it’s time.” Emily recently released her debut EP, Sugar Shine.

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Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus

Photo by Winker

Berkalin Records is pleased to announce the 2023 release of Big Red Gibson, the new album from Austin's folk-rock duo Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus, their seventh release on the Houston label in fourteen years. Since their first meeting, Patton & Brokus have sung together and been partners in music and life for 40 years. Big Red Gibson represents a return to the rock side of Patton & Brokus' folk-rock origins for the first time since 2005 when they put their band Edge City ”on hiatus.” The band on Big Red Gibson plays with a Tom Petty/Byrds influence, led by Cordy Lavery's electric 12-string guitar. 

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sharon Bourbonnais

Sharon Bourbonnais (Bour-Bo-nay) creates her style of music directly from her life experiences; in reality, her imagination, her past, present, or hopeful future, gathered from all the nuances resonating from her world. The Dallas-born and bred Austin Texas artist has absorbed a myriad of influences that manifest as a compound of blues, country, rock, and jazz. Her latest album, Party Party Dance Dance, is like a report card of efforts to find her best life while enduring its ups and downs. Party Party Dance Dance was an exact quote from Sharon’s mother as they headed to South Padre to relax on the beach during the day and party all night. “She was a beautiful woman and a massive influence in my life.” Party Party Dance Dance will was released locally on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, with a show at The Backstage. Special guests included Chris Gage, Christine Albert, Leeann Atherton, Rick Del Castillo, and Tijuana Trainwreck of Shinyribs fame. Sharon will release Party Party Dance Dance nationally on Friday, November 11, 2022.

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walter daniels & the del valle trustees

Photo by Nettie Reynolds

Walter Daniels & The Del Valle Trustees

Walter Daniels & The Del Valle Trustees, led by longtime punk rock harmonica player, vocalist, and nose Humanatone flutist, recently released their debut album, Have a Coffee Break With... on Chaputa Records and Ghost Highway Recordings in Austin. The album showcases a unique swinging band playing Texas-style punk and blues-country tunes. Think jailhouse swing and some lively, innovative punk country rock. “Have a Coffee Break… is a fun album with various sounds and moods- I hope people dig the rock, swing, and honky tonk sounds. We have a sense of humor and aren’t afraid to share it!” Daniels is best known for his work with Jack O’Fire, and Bigfoot Chester and has recorded with James Williamson, Lydia Lunch, Alejandro Escovedo, Guadalupe Plata, and Henri Herbert, among many others. Daniels most recently added harmonica to a song for Barry Adamson - former member of the Bad Seeds.

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The freddie steady revue

Photo by Chris Ermoian

The Freddie Steady Revue

Texas Music Awards Hall-of-Famer Freddie Steady Krc comes by his name, honestly. This singer/songwriter/guitarist/drummer/renaissance Texan has plied his musical wares worldwide for the past few decades. A charismatic live performer, Krc wins over any audience with his captivating original songs and engaging stage presence. He also enjoys capturing the spirit of his favorite cover songs. Krc (rhymes with search) landed in Austin at the moment that a musical revolution was getting started at a styles-don’t-matter joint called the Armadillo. The kid and the town were a perfect match.

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Joel mullins

Photo by Nicola Gell

Joel Mullins

Joel Mullins, Austin-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, first rose to prominence in the mid-2000s as the songwriter and frontman for Austin indie-pop quintet Tammany Hall Machine. Selected by the Austin Chronicle as one of the best new bands at that time for their energetic live show and Joel’s melody-driven songwriting, THM disbanded while still on the rise, after two well-received albums and on the heels of opening for The Bangles at La Zona Rosa. Joel quickly assembled a new band and released one album as The Deaf Ears before spending most of the 2010s playing keyboards and guitar for The Pons.

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8 1/2 Souvenirs

Photo by Christian De Massis

8 1/2 Souvenirs

8 ½ Souvenirs, after 20+ years, recently released their album At The Movies, in Austin and will celebrate a national release on Friday, September 30, 2022. The album was produced by Charlie Sexton. The music is a multilingual musical confluence of European cafe society, hot club, circus swing, and jazz with English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese songs. The songs are heavily influenced by jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt ("Souvenirs") and Nino Rota, composer of Federico Fellini's film 8 ½. At The Movies is their "IF we only get to make one more record, what do we want people to hear" album (we certainly hope there will be more). It is a collection of songs the band has been playing weekly at their C-Boy's Heart & Soul residency since they reunited in 2014, and the album is as eclectic as the band.

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Bruce Smith

Photo by Jody Domingue

Bruce Smith

Austin-based, Americana-roots singer and songwriter Bruce Smith recently released his new CD, 1000 Horses.“1000 Horses” is a song about faith, hope, and rockin’ and rollin,’come what may. The other nine tracks are hewn with that notion and offer a rollicking ride through small towns and big cities, staring at stars, riding in fast cars, and love with its constant ups and downs. Smith sings about turning the “gas tank in bone dry and empty,” and 1000 Horses aspire to do just that. The band consists of Bruce Smith (singer, songwriter), Spencer Jarmon (lead guitar), Zeke Jarmon (bass guitar), Conner Church (drummer), and Grammy Award winner Randy Caballero (keyboards). The group initially came together in January 2004 when a few members met at J. T. Van Zandt’s Longbranch Inn’s open mic night along with a dear old friend Matt Hubbard of Willie Nelson and Edie Brickell fame. 

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Melinda Joy

Photo by Jake Lorfing

Melinda Joy

Melinda Joy, singer-songwriter, and bass player, residing in Austin, TX, interweaves poetic lyrics drawn from a variety of musical styles that emit a soulful, jazzy, lush, groove-driven rock & roll sound, that has also been described as “southern gothic.” Born in Washington, D.C. she grew up in the Midwest and has lived in New York City, San Francisco, North Carolina, Philadelphia, and New Orleans before migrating to Austin, and building her life from scratch; after living through Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Beautiful Illusions is Melinda's first CD release in 15 years and reflects on the joy and sorrow she's navigated through the years. Some of the songs have been percolating since she lived in New Orleans and the aftermath of Katrina, while others are fresh, with themes touching on love, loss, spirituality, pilgrimage, political observation/commentary and the often-painful path to awakening.

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larry seaman

Photo by Todd V Wolfson

Larry Seaman

Larry Seaman is an Austin-based singer-songwriter, guitarist, and assemblage artist. He founded Standing Waves, a seminal force in Austin’s punk/new wave scene at Raul’s, Duke’s, Club Foot, and the Armadillo World Headquarters. His musical style is guitar-driven, melodic rock, a product of Austin and Texas. It’s American music, with obvious British and New York influences, and ranges from psychedelic rock to gentle ballads to catchy pop songs. Larry's most recent release is, Death Takes a Holiday, on Flak Records, a rocking follow-up to Resurrectionist.

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The Footnotes

The Footnotes

Veteran singer-guitarist songwriter, Rick Eakens, from Las Cruces, New Mexico, has led The Footnotes, on and off, for most of his life, crafting the sound in his head into rootsy, high-energy rock 'n' roll that embodies the unpretentious attitude, catchy songcraft and high-energy abandon of the vintage classics that originally inspired him to make music.

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Brittany Shane

Photo by Todd V. Wolfson

Brittany Shane

Brittany Shane, is a singer songwriter from the small town of Baraboo, Wisconsin. She discovered her love for performing dance at the tender age of two and a half and started making music while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her music is a blend of pop, rock and alt-country. Her songs are about love, loss and finding the strength to move on in the form of poetry. She is heavily influenced by Ryan Adams and Kathleen Edwards. Brittany is easily inspired by listening to music, it feeds her creativity and usually sparks a new, original song.

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Heather Bishop

Heather Bishop

Texas writer Heather Bishop is a vocalist, songwriter, and multi–instrumentalist. Her current work is best described as roots music, with songs that linger in the crossroads of soul, folk, rock and country. As a guest artist, she has contributed vocals, strings, and percussion in genres ranging from Rock to Reggae, Bluegrass to Metal, Folk, Americana, and everything in between.

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True_Believers_in_front_foxes-T- DiMenno.jpg

True Believers

Photo by T Dimenno

True Believers

September 2013, five Austin bands and more than a thousand friends and fans gathered at the Moody Theatre, home of the Austin City Limits television series, to pay tribute to Brent Grulke, the creative director of South By Southwest, who unexpectedly passed away at the age of 52. 

Closing out Grulkefest were The True Believers, the band that Grulke had mixed sound for in their earliest days in 1984. The band fittingly gave their old friend a powerful sendoff by delivering a scorching set of three-guitar firepower that left the audience screaming for more, and the band feeling like they had some unfinished business to tend to. 

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Shoulders

Photo by Claudia Parker

Shoulders

The first songs of Shoulders co-founders Michael Slattery and Todd Kassens were conceived over bottles of generic gin in run-down Los Angeles apartments and New York walk-ups, and were taped on a True Tone cassette recorder, with additional percussion provided by the irritated pounding on the floor above or the ceiling below, and with sound effects provided by the blowing horns and screeching brakes on the streets outside their open windows. 

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