SMILING & DIALING

HEAR THE HARMONIES HERE

Music
TIN BIRD CHOIR - The second album from the band, Homesteady, will be released on July 2 and celebrated with a show at Concerts Under the Stars on Sunday July 14 with WXPN.  The new album is a bold evolution of their signature 'barn rock' sound.  The album, fully funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign, was recorded in the band's barn in Coventryville, Pennsylvania by Kevin Killen, and includes the work of Heather and Eric Hurlock, with bass player Josh Sceurman and drummer Ellen Houle.  With literate lyrics, organic harmonies, urgent melodies, Tin Bird Choir is intelligent and original, simple, fun, often quirky, and sometimes even a little haunting. BURNING BRIDGET CLEARY - The young Celtic powerhouse band is just back from another successful festival showcase, and preparing to spend…
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#1 on FOLK-DJ for the month

Music
  SUSAN McKEOWN - "Everything We Had Was Good" was the #1 most played song for the month of February on the FOLK-DJ charts, which include 150+ DJ's from the US, Canada and Europe.  Fantastic reaction from all corners to this duet with James Maddock.  This is in my opinion Susan's best record in many years, and is filled with songs of passion, vulnerability and conviction.  You should also hear "Patience" and "On the Bridge to Williamsburg". BEN ARNOLD - Just mailed Ben's new album, Circle 'Round the Sun last week.  This Philadelphia writer continues to make solid record after solid record, and the new album is no exception.  Great new songs include "The More Things Change", "Thankful", "January's Gone" and "Float Down Stream" which WXPN just put into rotation…
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music on both sides

Live Performance, Music, News, Photos, Radio, Tour, Uncategorized, Video
LINDI ORTEGA - "Murder of Crows" - The second emphasis track from Cigarettes and Truckstops, serviced this week via allaccess.com digital delivery systems.  You should have received an email on Wednesday with a link to the track.  This is the most played song at Americana radio.  Lindi continues her tour this month with dates in Charlotte, Atlanta, Nashville,  and then a headlining run across Canada and then dates in the UK and Europe.  The press continues to build with stories this week in the New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer. RAH RAH - "Prairie Girl" - Second single from the album, the poet's DEAD.  First single from the album was a Top 30 track on CMJ College 200.  They continue to tour the US, including dates at SXSW this year. …
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birdie & the greatest night at the opry

Uncategorized
Birdie Busch and the band plays for a sold-out Johnny Brenda's last Friday night.  The night featured Jason Loughlin and Joy Kills Sorrow and the debut of the cardboard universe and supermoon lighting.  Carl Cheeseman, Tommy Bendell, Todd Erk, Ross Bellenoit and Craig Hendrix make the Greatest Night.
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Birdie Busch cover story in City Paper

Live Performance, Music, Radio, Tour
Birdie was interviewed in this week's Philadelphia City Paper about the upcoming Philly Opry III at Johnny Brenda's next Friday night.  She had a chance to talk about the recording process for the new album, her fundraising campaign with PledgeMusic, the packaging and artwork, and her plans to find a distributor for the recording, Birdie Busch and the Greatest Night.
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BIRDIE FEATURE ALBUM – WXPN

Live Performance, Music, Radio, Tour, Uncategorized
We are honored to be selected for the WXPN Feature Album of the Week this week.  With her fourth album, Birdie Busch & the Greatest Night, Birdie has created a muscular, angular and band psychedelphia of beautiful melodies, honest lyrics and engaging rhythms all cut live to tape in the studios of Dr Dog's engineer, Nathan Sabatino.  Birdie and her band the Greatest Night will debut the album at her Philly Opry event at Johnny Brenda's on Friday January 18 at 9pm with Jason Loughlin and Joy Kills Sorrow.  Some tickets are still available for this show.  Birdie was chosen last week as part of the Pledge Music favorite albums of the year by the staff and founder Benji Rogers.  Love that.
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PROG AGAIN – 7th

Music, Radio, Uncategorized
I will be joining Dan Reed for the 7th Annual High's in the 70's Prog Rock Marathon on WXPN this coming Saturday January 5.  This year we are doing 12 hours of prog with Echoes NPR host John Diliberto and Star's End host Chuck van Zyl.  Joining us this year will be author Dave Thompson, who will bring his own collection of prog oddities.  Plenty of classics and my personal assortment of vinyl near-cult classics like Blodwyn Pig, Tasavallen Presidente, Audience, Andy Pratt and Matching Mole. What makes for near cult status in prog?
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2012 FAVORITES

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FAVORITES OF 2012 Found a great combination of artists of all ages making music still vital, challenging and just plain entertaining.  Gorgeous melodies, strong grooves and relevant themes continue to shine each year, in both the album format and the digital single.  These are not really the biggest selling records, but more the ones I spent the most time listening during the year. I decided for the first time to divide the music makers into three age groups.  Never really thought about that before, but now that so many men and women are making pop and rock music into their 70's, it has stretched the writing cycle well beyond teen angst and middle-aged revolution. NEW ELDERLY BOB DYLAN - 'Duquesne Whistle' has the single best groove of the year. ROLLING…
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6th annual prog marathon

Live Performance, Music, News, Radio, Tour, Video
glad tidings for the new year. while reading the station's top 100 list, i assembled a list of favorite recordings of 2011. these are not necessarily the best of the year, but are the ones i listened to again and again, and found something more i liked about them each time. i would define a "best of" list as those that got the most airplay and sold the most copies, and achieved mainstream attention in a world that has adapted to the mediastream. so instead of the 'best' here's my most enjoyed. FAVORITE SOUNDS OF THE NEW ELDERLY:: my morning jacket - best rock record made this year. loved the who^ references, especially the pete townsend windmill riffs in ''circuital''. intense, delicate, serious and tongue in cheek, MMJ marries all…
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