On Jay Elle’s new full-length, 12-song album, Ride the Wave, he shares his way of dealing with the pandemic. “I think that much of what we do in life is ride one wave after another, as best as we can,” says Jay. “Some waves are fun to ride…and some are tough. Riding a pandemic is no picnic. But what choice ...

Once Great Estate is a band that was born out of the landscape and history of North Florida, the lifelong home (apart from a four-year college stint) of the group’s driving force, Tracy Horenbein. Along with fellow travelers Jeffrey Chagnon (bass), F. Matthew Burns (guitar and mandolin), Christopher Ash (fiddle and guitar) and drummer Steve Burke, in 2018 Tracy migrated ...

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, and for 15 years now a South Carolina resident (on Hilton Head Island), Marty Falle’s first exposure to music was from parents who made him pick an instrument: “I was in second grade. I chose the viola. I don’t know why. Then I went on to tenor saxophone, then bass guitar, guitar and piano.” He jumped ...

On a hot day, about a month after a forest fire engulfed the village he lived in, along with all his worldly possessions, minus only one, Israel Portnoy picked up the last object he owned (a vintage 12-string he calls “Guilda”) and began an incredible healing journey. “Maybe I couldn’t bring myself to play her as I could sense some ...

Sometimes music grabs people at a young age, and never lets go, pushing them along from one milestone to the next along the musical journey of a lifetime. That’s how it’s been for Aukland, New Zealand native, Jesse Wilde. After seeing the Elvis ’68 Comeback Special at age 11, Jesse requested a guitar from his mom. He took lessons from ...

Born in a little farm town in northeast Iowa and raised in Kansas City, MO, Randy Seedorff grew up in some fertile ground for country music. The seeds that would later bloom into his current success were planted deep early on. He got his first guitar at age 11 from his mom, who was a country music artist known as ...

Growing up in a western Pennsylvania coal mining town with no red lights, one store and six churches, for Gary Pratt, music was always a passion. He started a band at age 16 and has been singing ever since. He was a “serious” musician from the beginning, as well. That first band included older people, which meant they went places ...

Singer-songwriter Larry Jay was a guitar player first. When he heard a cousin playing guitar, he says, “I just vibrated with the strings.” He spent his younger days in various bands, honing his playing skills mostly on cover tunes. When asked about his early influences, Gary quickly names the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young and Willie Nelson. ...

Just call him Izzie. After a youth spent playing in bands, and the early 2000s playing and recording with his current Caravan comrades under a different name, the driving force behind his eponymous blues rock Caravan is experiencing a musical renaissance many former rockers can only dream about. In their previous incarnation, Izzie and company gave it all they had, ...

A multi-instrumentalist journeyman whose work spans four decades, GF Morgan (a.k.a. “Jeff”) has built a career spanning Texas honky tonks like Austin’s legendary Hole in the Wall and New York’s prestigious Lincoln Center stage. His love for Celtic music began early, but only later became his driving musical passion. “It’s always been something that’s been in my life,” says Morgan. ...