Root Down in the Shadow

Shakey Graves Levee Drivers and Ladybird As a first-time "fest" attendee I wasn't sure what to expect. I've been to many fests, but never before a folk fest, and never before one in such a sprawling, open, natural environment. I'd heard of the Philadelphia Folk Fest (or just fest, as everyone calls it) of course but didn't know what kind of crowd it would draw, what the general feel would be, or how I would fit in as a young(ish) photographer with more of an indie music bent. As it came to be, the answers were, in order: the nicest fest crown I've yet experienced. I had anticipated an older crowd and while they were there in droves, there were also a ton of younger adults, kids and everything in between. There was no pushing, or crowding, or obnoxious drunk bros as far as the eye could see. The crowd was refreshing, and happy. Fest had this feel of absolute love of music, and of shared appreciation for it. I don't think I've even bee...

Hoots & Hellmouth are back at their rightful place, the stages of Philadelphia, as they have begun a residency throughout May on Wednesday nights in at Philadelphia’s Boot & Saddle .   The event marks a first for both band and venue, as this is the group’s first-ever hometown residency and the club’s first since local concert promotions agency, R5 Productions , reopened the South Philadelphia landmark's doors in September 2013.   Now that the first ever residency week at Boot & Saddle is in the books, it's a great time to check out Hoots & Hellmouth as they go through new material in front of fans and friends alike in anticipation of their upcoming recording sessions this summer. The band—led by founding members Sean Hoots and Robert Berliner —will be debuting new material each Wednesday night in May.  One such song, "Move Me" was first presented with the Root Down In The Shadow series Cover Club earlier this year and will be amongst...

Earlier this week we revealed the Sean Hoots solo cover of the BoyzIIMen hit 'It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday'.  In just a few days, the video has already crept near the top of our most played #CoverClub videos.  It was during a winter session three weeks ago at Nomad Recording Studio where Sean Hoots also recorded an original song with the working title 'Move Me.'  Even in the raw state that is presented via Cover Club; 'Move Me' has the rare quality of being a song you feel well acquainted with within seconds of hearing it. Cover Club | Sean Hoots "Move Me"  'Move Me' is amongst a collection of songs Hoots & Hellmouth are working on fine tuning in the next several weeks in preparation for an upcoming release.  It's possible it could be played in the annual Valentine's Day shows at Tin Angel .  For sure, you'll hear it during their residency in May at Boot & Saddle . Sean Hoots has been busy remove...

In early 2011, I was excited for the release of the Iron & Wine album Kiss Each Other Clean .  I had been keeping an eye on their website for details of shows and maybe a free single.  At the time, the depth of what you could find on the internet for music was burgeoning.  The fans had spoken and wanted more music, but the free-for-all that was Napster, etc was over.   With Kiss Each Other Clean, s omething happened, that I had never experienced before.  All the promo stuff that happened previously city by city, limited to local fans at record stores and radio stations, this now was out on the web for all to see.  There were many session from stations across the country.  Included in this promotional explosion was a video session at Daytrotter.com! Here it was a Daytrotter session in video form. Iron & Wine pre-Kiss Each Other Clean  - Jan 12, 2011: Daytrotter Studio, Rock Island, IL This was and still is a beautiful piece of recordi...