As banjo player Derek Kretzer of The Plate Scrapers speaks about the band’s beginning, it becomes clear that his own journey into folk music, the assembling of the band, and their evocative name are all intertwined. After spending his high school years playing guitar in a variety of band settings and genres (along with his younger brother, a drummer at ...

Lolly Lee credits her fifth or sixth grade chorus teacher in Tallahassee, Florida with planting the singing seed that would grow to bear fruit much later: “…[she] pulled me aside one day and she’s like, ‘You’re really good. You’ve got a “different” voice,’ and I was like ‘Huh?’” Into adolescence, Lolly was focused more on instruments, playing piano and teaching ...

With a schedule encompassing more than 200 shows per year, running a music production and artist development company, creating a regular podcast, and even sharing their experience with aspiring artists through an online academy, Cliff & Susan (aka Cliff and Susan Prowse) are the definition of musical power couple—a duo completely focused on making an impact with their music and ...

As the “baby” of his musically-inclined family, Kansas City singer-songwriter Bill Abernathy recalls being “the little eight-year-old kid that was hanging around watching my brother sing folk music…with a bunch of his friends in the living room.” Music became an important part of his life, as well. But despite performing throughout his youth and into adulthood, Bill opted for the ...

A.H. Pettus is one of those folks whose creativity simply has to flow out in many directions. Whether it involves visual arts like film making or painting, acting, fiction writing or songwriting, this artist has a lot to share. Most recently, he has returned to music as a way to work through challenging life events and raw emotions. His new ...

It took a little while, but Racyne Parker seems to have finally figured out where she should really be. She’s found her identity as a singer-songwriter after pushing as far as she could in other areas of her life. The seeds of her current musical life were planted firmly when she was little, mainly by her singer-songwriter dad. “He was ...

Growing up in Southern California during the ‘80s, Dave Lebental’s interest in music was initially fueled by the eclectic mix albums he heard his older sister playing. “Being a young kid,” he remembers, “I was hearing all that. And then once I became 12 or 13 I would spend my pocket change on buying albums.” Although he played brass instruments ...

Unlike the stories of youthful encouragement many artists share in these profiles, Kim Brogli recalls what discouraged her from singing at a young age. “It was elementary school when I tried out for the little school choir and I didn’t make it. I was just like ‘Ok. There’s that. I guess I can’t sing.’…I was super-effected by people’s opinions. I ...

Originally from Massachusetts, Jon Shain ended up adopting Durham, NC as his home, after attending Duke University and, more importantly, finding a musical home; a place where he would add the blues to his rock and soul background and come up with his own unique style. Jon remembers his earliest intentional exposure to music by way of his dad, a ...

Jack Nelson is a life-long Texan. He currently is based in College Station, he was born in Corpus Christi, spent his early years on the nearby King Ranch, and got an education at Sam Houston State in Huntsville. He says, “Aside from the five years I spent in the Navy, traveling around the world…I’ve called Texas home…” Jack has had ...