Root Down in the Shadow

There's always something exciting going on for the bands of Cover Club . This week's entry, Mason Porter , will finish the week with their own curated fest : The Midnight Mountain Music Show featuring friends galore such as Wallace Brothers , Ladybird , Kalob Griffin Band, and Hinton, Bower, Jones . Meanwhile they start the week celebrating other friends, American Babies , by choosing them as their Cover Club selection! This has to be the best value in town with$60 for two nights camping and show ticket. How's the response so far? "The response has been unbelievable. So much enthusiasm. So many people want to be a part of this and help out and see it succeed. We have an amazing community of fans and friends and family and this festival is really bringing everyone together in a really special and exciting way." For Midnight Mountain Music Festival tickets head to MasonPorter.com/MMMS Joe D'Amico of Mason Porter explains the choice of Ameri

It's a big weekend for August John Lutz II.   Saturday marks the release of 'O Foolish Heart his debut solo release.  Before grabbing your tickets for the show at Bourbon and Branch, check out the insight August gives us to five questions we had about his new material. 1. Q:​ It’s been 7 years since the first Levee Drivers EP and fans have been clamoring for a full-length album - only to be teased with a few songs here and there. Now, just a month or so before the full-length is ​officially​ recorded, you’re releasing a 5-track solo effort. Why now? A: ​It basically came down to timing and finding the right songs to complement each other. Everything fell comfortably into place with this project. I’m also in the middle of recording a follow-up to ​O’ My Foolish Heart​, and on top of that the Levee Drivers full- length should be out sometime next year. People definitely won’t have to wait long between releases! August John Lutz II - Photo By Bob Swee

Arc Iris may be from Providence RI, but, for me, their front-woman, Jocie Adams , has always been a part of my Philadelphia listening experience. At one of my first shows in Philadelphia six years ago, she was a shy multi-instrumentalist with The Low Anthem. Over the next two years I would catch The Low Anthem every time they came through town It was Jocie’s evolution that really had me hooked. It wasn’t just what new instrument she would play next, as she moved between crotales, hammered dulcimer, clarinet and so many more instruments, but as a vocalist you could see her emerge. This emergence was most stark with the cover of Jack Kerouac “On The Road”/ Tom Waits “Home I’ll Never Be.” Through the years, the vocal duties on the song moved over to Jocie taking the reins. It was so uplifting and exciting, to see this tiny sun-dress-folkster of a free spirit wailing away, channeling some Janice and bringing the whole crowd to their feet. As Jocie’s career has progress

Dudes, the Lid is this weekend!  Get on it. The Lid creator Pat Finnerty sat down for Philly video director extraordinaire Bob Sweeney to preview the fest.. Here's the sweet scoop:  Pat Finnerty "The Lid" (Preview) from Bob Sweeney on Vimeo . PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE Friday September 4 at 9:00pm with special after party featuring Black Landlord Saturday September 5 at 11:00pm Sunday September 6 at 8:00pm CREDITS Written by/Lead Artist: Pat Finnerty Script Devising Team: Pat Finnerty, Jess Conda , Ali Wadsworth and Bob Babjak . CAST Moustache Man: Brian Ashby The Lid: Brian Langan The backup singers: Jess Conda and Ali Wadsworth Frizzy Boo: Gretchen Lohse Band: Justin Pellechia and Keaton Thandi ( Satellite Hearts ) Thomas Hughes ( Spinto Band , Carol Cleveland Sings ) Mike Quinn ( Purples , Needlepoints , Mike Quinn and the Moneynotes , Okay Paddy , many other bands) TICKET INFORMATION $20 Tickets available at: Fringearts.org FringeAr

Kalob Griffin Band celebrating their Cover Club session at Cambridge Sound Stuidos The bands of Cover Club have done a great job of bringing out the best Philadelphia has to offer varying from contemporaries such as Strand Of Oaks , The Districts , Clap Your Hands Say Yeah , mewithoutYou , the Lawsuits , Cruisr , and Chris Kasper. The classics have been deep with Hall & Oates , Ween , Nina Simone , Boyz II Men , The Dead Milkmen , Joan Jett , all the way to Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles . No matter which end of the contemporary/classic spectrum bands choose from, there's always an "oh yeah, I can't believe he/she/they hasn't/haven't been covered yet. Oft overlooked, Jim Croce is an indisputable favorite no matter where you're from, and fits perfectly for Cover Club as he was born and raised in South Philadelphia and laid to rest nearby after spending most of his 30 years on the planet here.   With a bit of unintended irony, Kalob Grif

Philadelphia Folk Festival is an enigma. It's actually far away from Philadelphia at Old Poole's Farm in remote Schwenksville, PA. Once you arrive and park, and either walk or shuttle in you pass a sea of cars and a tent city. There are stages off in the woods, there's a whole other world off in the distance in this magical tent city. What is going on? For this blogger who has experienced only about 8 or so sets total at the fest in the last few years, it is a nut that must be cracked. What exactly goes on at this fest? All the local musicians seem to be buzzing about it every summer year. It was suggested that the only way to get to understand the fest is to ask those who experience it every year. And by every year, we don't mean in the last few years since an adult moved to town. We mean, from people who in some cases, have been going ALL of their life. With the help of Philadelphia Folksong Society , Root Down In The Shadow invited some "life

Cover Club started as one of those "let's see where this goes" types of projects. We started with a friend's studio in Newtown, Pa with Break Neck Studios to showcase some favorite bands. While the goal of the project has always been to share the Philly music that we love so much, it has been a great opportunity to share our affinity for our favorite studios and sessions. We've worked with Nomad Recording Studios , Kettle Pot Tracks , and Cambridge Sound Studios ; while making stops in Fairmount Park , the Sluice Box , MilkBoy , Church of Kong , and more! We'd be terribly amiss if we didn't take the opportunity to work with John Vettese of WXPN 's The Key for a chance to collaborate for a Key Session - Cover Club edition! Slight problem though, John is such an avid supporter of the Philly local scene, it's tough to find someone he hasn't already worked with. On top of that, how do you pick from the list of people he's on