Root Down in the Shadow

So our pal Mat Burke had the bad luck of getting his place broken into a few months ago.  To overcome the major shortfall that isn't covered by Mat's numerous jobs, he's doing things to raise money in the only way that he knows how: a "Break In Fundraiser."  Here's what Mat has to say about the event: "As many of you know my home was broken into shortly after christmas. The burglars ended up stealing around 10,000 dollars of my stuff. Bummer I know but the really bad thing about all of this was that about 5-6 thousand of that wasn't even my stuff. It was mics, mixing boards, pedals and other odds and ends i was borrowing from a studio for the recording of my new record. Underground Arts and their awesome staff has donated the room and the staffs time to help raise money in hopes of paying back the studio and replacing the equipment that has been stolen. Every dollar of the ticket sales will go toward this. We will also be holdin...

#CoverClub 2.0 @Nomad Recording Studio by #CoverClub * As The Root Down In The Shadow #CoverClub team starts to unveil it's latest sessions and plan the next session, it's time to release some of this killer audio for your downloading pleasure. The Bernhardt Family Band - Photo by Bob Sweeney The sessions recorded in January back at Nomad Recording Studio feature Sean Hoots, The Bernhardt Family Band, Up The Chain, and Dominic Angelella of DRGN KING. The set includes 3 unreleased originals and only 1 previously released track. Covers on the download include Toy Soldiers and The Lawsuits. If we can get a release to include the Sean Hoots/BoyzIImen cover or Dominic Angelella's Dead Milkmen cover we'll add it asap! Keep an eye out for more tracks from our Breakneck Studios session 2.0 including Mat Burke, Levee Drivers, Lucy Stone, and Leaf & Tree. While the first sessions are set up as #FreeDownload currently on SoundCloud for Breakneck Studios session ...

The first Thursday of every month is the always intriguing Communion show at Underground Arts .  The line-ups feature from 5 to 7 bands, some on the Communion Label , some local, all exciting.  In early April a 5 band line-up was featured including three Philadelphia bands, The Lawsuits , Gretchen Lohse , and Banned Books .  National touring acts, Johnny Stimson and Sturgill Simpson flushed out the lineup, with Johnny Stimson bringing his soul over beats, while Sturgill brought his weathered twang. Video mastermind Bob Sweeney and Root Down In The Shadow regular contributor, Michael Southerton got together to make a few videos.  Bob shot some Super 8, while Mike was sure to get all the right instruments at all the right times. Check out some videos by Bob Sweeney featuring Gretchen Lohse, Johnny Stimson (coming soon) , and The Lawsuits: Gretchen Lohse "Spider at the Gate" (Communion PA) Gretchen Lohse "Spider at the Gate" (Communion PA) from B...

Everyone has roots somewhere. I have a bunch in England, Scotland Germany, and even some native roots in Upstate New York. The same thing is true with Music. A couple hundred short years ago, settlers from the UK and Ireland found themselves pushed to into and onto the other side of the Appalachian chain. They brought with them fierce independence, grit, determination, a rich ancient history and music. Today that music is a heartfelt mix of those varied musical traditions. The Ballad. High Lonesome voices. All manner of stringed instruments and nary a drum to be seen. This is, of course, Bluegrass. Bluegrass never disappeared, but it slipped in popularity thanks to its off shoot, Country Music. High Lonesome was replaced with Sultry. Ballads of loss and moral repercussions were buried under songs of cheatin’ and woe. Fortunately, like the tough and hardy clans that gave birth to it, bluegrass thrived in the hollers and mists of our imaginations. Always th...

artwork by Jennifer Prough So just a few weeks back, two hot U.K. bands with brand-new releases played Philadelphia together.  The supporting acts were two exciting bands that have been tearing up the local scene.  The room was packed.  The mood was high.  The crowd was comfortable??? Photo by Lindsey Borgman Yeah, this super dope line-up of To Kill A King, Prides, Worshyper , and Maitland was in a local living room.  Once again Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia raised the bar on the increasingly popular house-concert scene here in town.  The Sofar Sounds crew has asserted their dominance in the movement, bringing quality music to homes and studios for an experience that can't be matched. You see, you can't just add people and bands to a living room and expect success.  While it takes the right fans, the right bands, and the right hosts for everything to work it also takes that little bit of allure that only a Sofar Sounds show can provide wi...

Video by Bob Sweeney In just three short weeks, on Saturday April 26th, Up The Chain will be at Ardmore Music Hall opening for The David Wax Museum .  As we celebrate the upcoming show with a #CoverClub release, let's look back at the recent rise of Up The Chain.  Suddenly everywhere, Up The Chain appeared to have burst onto the scene more prominently last fall. Root Down In The Shadow first came across Up The Chain, in October of last year.  In just a few short days, Up The Chain played a WXPN sponsored session at " The Porch at 30th St. Station " and played a Sofar Sounds: Philadelphia show .   These shows were part of the celebration for the release of new album Seeds and Thorns (produced by Bill Moriarty ( Dr. Dog , Lawsuits , Toy Soldiers ), his follow-up to their debut LP Holy, Open, Drying Road. Cover Club | Up The Chain 'No Sweeter Sound' To get insight into the rise of Up The Chain, Reed Kendall the driving force behind the band, an...

Caleb Hawley is playing Milkboy: Philadelphia April 2nd 2014.  After years of relentless touring, open mics, and learning the business good & bad, Caleb Hawley has found his groove.  With a full band in tow, Caleb returns to his roots, ready to share his love of R&B. To get you ready for the show, here's some Q&A with Caleb Hawley and a few tastes of what to expect! Your career seems to be coming back around to your early influences (Ray Charles, Stevie etc).   How have the singer/songwriter circuits prepared you to come back to the full sound? Definitely have been coming back around to some of the influences that made me fall in love with music in the first place.  Maybe it's just a phase of the cycle, but I've been back in it for a few years now. I started off solo & stripped down because I was eager to tour and it seemed to logistically make the most sense.  I think the most important thing that I got from playing the sing...

Note: Photos by Lindsey Borgman Pearl And The Beard came to Philadelphia as part of the Communion: Club Night Tour!  Judging by the time slots or the marquee it's hard to tell who the featured artist was for the night, but based on the majority of the music fans at Underground Arts migrating to the stage it was clearly Pearl And The Beard.  The chatter indicated about half of the crowd was beyond excited, while the other half was justifiably curious.  Not the standard rock n roll lineup, Pearl And The Beard doesn't do anything "normal": no drum kit, no "lead" singer, a cello.  These cool kids have no reservations about doing things their way. Photo by Lindsey Borgman Back in 2011, Pearl And The Beard caught the wider attention of the music world with their second album  Killing the Darlings.  Tours with David Wax Museum, Lucius , You Won't , and Lady Lamb The Beekeeper helped build a base of rabid fans. At the end of 2011, when thi...