About the Show
Music City Roots
A weekly concert and live radio show presented from The Loveless Cafe Barn in Nashville, TN.
Derek Hoke
Dark times call for dark songs. At least that’s how East Nashville based singer/songwriter Derek Hoke sees it. On his new album, the portentously titled Bring the Flood (Little Hollywood), Hoke dives into a sound far more ominous, threatening, and anxiously introspective than the music on his previous three full length releases would suggest.
“So much pain and sorrow/more than I’ve ever seen,” sings Hoke on the opening “Love Don’t Live Around Here,” an exploration of life passing by for people stuck in their small town existence. And for most of the next 40 minutes, he explores various shades of unease, if not quite gloom, of the characters that populate this world with the confidence and musical prowess gleaned through years of working in Nashville, one of the toughest, most competitive songwriting scenes in the nation, if not the world.
Assisted by contributions from friends and neighbors such as Elizabeth Cook, Langhorne Slim, Aaron Lee Tasjan, and Luther Dickinson, then molded into a cohesive whole by longtime producer and friend from childhood Dex Green, Bring the Flood finds Hoke more visceral, honest and intuitive than at any other point in his career.
Look for Hoke to further expand as he takes Bring the Flood on the road in 2017 and beyond, exposing audiences to its nocturnally inspired nature and spellbinding musical charms.
Ms. Adventure
Ms. Adventure brings together the antics and musicianship of three seasoned string band instrumentalists, vocalists and songwriters. The band bonded after a series of Murphy’s law-inspired mishaps on tour which helped cement their creative partnership fueled by a shared love and mastery of American roots music.
Ms. Adventure is:
Lead vocalist and bassist Vickie Vaughn, a powerhouse singer who has toured with Patty Loveless and appeared on the Grand Ole Opry.
Fiddler Kimber Ludiker, founder of the GRAMMY-nominated band Della Mae and winner of three National Fiddle championships.
Guitarist Avril Smith, a versatile instrumentalist who most recently toured with Americana artist Becky Warren opening for the Indigo Girls.
Ms. Adventure just completed their debut album which will be released in the Spring 2018.
Greg Garing
Greg Garing has been a Nashville insider legend for a long time. When the city’s Lower Broadway area was a no man’s land, Garing helped make it a haven for singer-songwriters and lovers of roots music – although he might bristle at the terms. Finding a word to describe Garing, or even what he likes, is not easy.
“The whole retro thing turns me off,” says Garing. ” I can’t deal with all the watered-down alt-country stuff. Bluegrass music today isn’t bluegrass music to me. You know how the old guys are about the new stuff? That’s me.” Garing began his professional career at the age of 10, playing boogie-woogie and ragtime piano at the local VFW hall in Erie, Pa. He was unimpressed with the music loved by his school-aged contemporaries.
“At 15, I didn’t even know who Kiss was,” he says.
At the age of 18, Garing moved to Nashville to find what he considered the real musicians – bluegrass and old-time greats, classic country artists from the beginnings of the Grand Old Opry
“I played with the Crook Brothers,” says Garing. “They were still on the Grand Ole Opry, and nobody knew it. They were there since the original broadcasts. I sat with Curly Fox (another vintage Opry veteran) for three days and learned all I could. I remember playing for hours with Jimmy Martin and Carl Story.
“I look back at it, and it seems like a dream,” he says.
Garing mourns the loss of fiddle great Vassar Clements, Martin, John Hartford, Roy Husky and Benny Martin.
He made 36 recordings with Clements and, he says, Hartford was “like a dad” to Garing when he moved to Nashville. And when Garing played with the musicians, he was in awe.
“There I was, standing with my idols,” he says. “It was just so powerful.”
He played fiddle in Jimmy Martin’s band, the Sunny Mountain Boys, for two years.
On his own, Garing set up shop on Nashville’s Lower Broadway. The area became a scene for fans of old-time country and honky-tonk traditionalists. Garing bemoans that the group BR-549 ended up getting most of the credit for the scene.
In the mid-1990s, Garing moved to New York City, where he attempted to create a similar environment to what he had created in Nashville. While there, he released the album “Alone” (1997), which received great reviews, but sold little.
Garing spent much of his time playing with and learning from the Harlem All-Stars, which included Al Casey (who had played in Fats Waller’s band), Eddie Swenson (who had performed in Louis Armstrong’s group) and other veterans of the classic jazz era.
With precious few of country’s greats still living, Garing says he’s “out in the cold, cruel world, trying to figure out what to do” with all the information that has been imparted to him.
John Oates
John Oates is one half of the best-selling duo of all time Hall & Oates, as well as an accomplished solo artist. Singing from the time he could talk and playing the guitar since the age of five, John Oates was destined to be a musician. Born in New York City, his family moved to a small town outside of Philadelphia, PA in the early 1950s – a move that would change the course of his life.
Soaking up the sounds of the 60s, John was influenced by the nascent folk scene, bluegrass, delta blues, and ragtime guitar styles, while also immersing himself in R&B legends such as Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, The Temptations, Curtis Mayfield, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. One of his biggest mentors was his guitar teacher Jerry Ricks, who had spent time on the road with Mississippi John Hurt and Son House, and introduced John to the music of Doc Watson and Reverend Gary Davis, passing down their signature finger and flatpicking styles.
John Oates met Daryl Hall while attending Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. The two began collaborating and playing music together, marking the beginning of their historic partnership. Since their formation in the early 70s, Daryl Hall & John Oates have gone on to record 21 albums, which have sold over 80 million units, making them the most successful duo in rock history. They have scored 10 #1 records, over 20 Top-40 hits, and have toured the world for decades. Their involvement in the original Live Aid concert and the groundbreaking We Are The World charity recording have further established them as legendary artists, who have personally and through their music, stood the test of time.
In addition to their numerous American Music awards, MTV awards, and multiple Grammy nominations, in 2005 they were inducted into the American Songwriters Hall of Fame. In May of 2008, they were also presented the prestigious BMI Icon Award for their outstanding career achievement in songwriting. In April 2014, Hall & Oates was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Since embarking on a long awaited solo career in 1999, John has recorded five solo albums: Phunk Shui, 100 Miles of Life, Mississippi Mile, a live album called The Bluesville Sessions, and Good Road To Follow, (which featured collaborations with Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, Vince Gill, Nathan Chapman, Jim Lauderdale, and Jerry Douglas).
In January 2015, John released Another Good Road (Warner/Elektra), a DVD docu-concert that premiered on Palladia Music Channel. Recorded live in a Nashville studio in one session, the video featured some of Music City’s finest musicians and singers as well as rare, seldom-seen footage of John’s family ranch in Colorado – a glimpse into his world behind the music.
John is a diverse musician and songwriter active in Nashville community and beyond. Founded in 2010, he was the creator and executive producer for the 7908: The Aspen Songwriters Festival at the historic Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, CO. In 2013, John teamed up with Jim James (of My Morning Jacket) to curate the Bonnaroo Super Jam with special guests Britney Howard, Billy Idol, R. Kelly, Larry Graham and the Preservation Hall Jazz band.
In April 2017, John released his memoir Change of Seasons co-written with Chris Epting and published by St. Martin’s Press. The acclaimed title was an Amazon best seller and has been received with both outstanding critical and fan reviews. After completing an extensive book promotion tour in the spring of 2017, Oates resumed work on an important music project that represents the next exciting phase in his burgeoning solo roots music career. The project is entitled Arkansas and is set for release in 2018. Originally inspired by the music and legacy of the legendary Mississippi John Hurt, the project grew to encompass other artists and styles that represent the dawn of American popular music. Stylistically diverse and eclectic, the collection features a full band that was put together specially to bring the full range and flavors of classic American musical styles to life. Oates crafted a number of original songs for the Arkansas album; selections actually inspired by the process of digging deep into the sonic soil of authentic roots music. “I really believe this is the most vital and satisfying solo project I’ve ever embarked upon,” Oates says of Arkansas. “Of all the music I have ever made with anyone, for me this album sits right up there.”
