Trombone Shorty Cover Story In DownBeat Magazine Plus New Collaboration with Mark Ronson, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Zigaboo Modeliste and members of the Dap Kings

Trombone Shorty is featured in an extensive cover story in DownBeat Magazine (December 2011 issue), on newsstands soon. The six-page spread includes an interview with Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, explores his history, the creative process behind creating his new album For True, a page devoted to the Orleans Avenue band and much more.

In addition, Trombone Shorty's new collaboration with Mark Ronson, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Zigaboo Modeliste and members of the Dap Kings on "A La Modeliste" - now streaming on YouTube.

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue are in the midst of an extensive Worldwide Tour supporting their new album, For True, now entering it's 5th week at #1 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Album Chart. Catch them live on stage, please see Tour Dates >>

Loudon Wainwright III Interview Featured in MOJO Magazine

An in-depth interview with Loudon Wainwright III is featured in the November 2011 edition of MOJO magazine. Throughout the five page spread, the MOJO Interview explores Loudon's storied life and rich musical career as "America's king of confessional song." Renowned guitarist, songwriter and one time Wainwright producer, Richard Thompson, praises Loudon in a sidebar in the piece for writing songs "akin to Rembrandt self-portraits."

This past May, Loudon released 40 Odd Years, a career-spanning 4 CD / 1 DVD box set produced by Loudon and celebrated writer/director/producer Judd Apatow (his films 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up each featured Loudon in acting roles and Loudon provided the Knocked Up soundtrack) chronicling Wainwright's intriguing career. High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project (August 2009), earned Wainwright renewed critical acclaim as well as a 2010 Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album. Loudon's two previous GRAMMY nominations include I'm Alright, 1985 and More Love Songs, 1986.

Throughout a career of 22 studio albums, and with songs covered by Johnny Cash, Earl Scruggs, Big Star, Freakwater, Norma Waterson, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, and Rufus Wainwright, Loudon says he's, "Settled down and unsettled as ever. Still strapping on the old guitar and heading for the airport. Just looking to write the next song."

Catch Loudon performing live on a stage near you, please see Tour Dates >>

Duke Robillard and Bettye LaVette Nominated for B.B. King International Artist of the Year Award

The Toronto Blues Society has nominated both Duke Robillard and Bettye LaVette for their B.B. King International Artist of the Year Award for their 15th Annual Maple Blues Awards program. Honored with the award three years in a row (2001-2003), this also marks Duke's seventh nomination. This is Bettye's third nomination for the award (previously 2006 & 2007). The Maple Blues Awards is Canada's national blues awards program whose goal is to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize outstanding achievement in the field. Nominees were selected by a distinguished panel of some 50+ blues experts including radio hosts, journalists, festival organizers, and industry professionals regionally distributed across Canada.

Voting is open online at mapleblues.ca, until Saturday, December 10 at midnight (PST), to anyone who resides in Canada. The winners will be announced at the Annual Maple Blues Awards Gala in Toronto on January 16, 2012.

Duke is a two-time GRAMMY Award Nominee's latest album, Low Down and Tore Up, currently holds down the #1 spot on Roots Music Report's Top 50 Blues Chart. Duke's last album, Passport to the Blues, was nominated for the 2011 Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Album of the Year and Duke was also nominated again this year as Best Guitarist - a category he has already won an impressive 4 times in the past.

LaVette, also a two-time GRAMMY Award Nominee, was most recently nominated in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category for her 2010 release, Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook. Bettye was the Living Blues Awards Nominee for Blues Artist of the Year - Female in 2011, an award she won in 2004 and 2007. She was also a nominee for a 2010 Blues Music Award (Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year), a category she won in 2008.

Check out Duke and Bettye performing live on stage, please see Tour Dates >>

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As of this writing, Duke Robillard's latest CD, Low Down and Tore Up moved into the #1 spot on Roots Music Report's Blues Chart from last week's #3 position. Pieta Brown's Mercury, in the meantime, continues its reign at #1 on the Roots Music Folk Radio Chart. And Trombone Shorty's new For True CD is entering its fourth week at #1 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Album Sales Chart. Trombone Shorty's major label debut, the GRAMMY-nominated Backatown, also remains in the top 10, a full 78 weeks after its release, with 10 of those weeks at #1.

A two-time GRAMMY Award Nominee, Duke's past collaborations include playing with and/or producing Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Maria Muldaur, Dr. John and John Hammond as well as sorely-missed legends such as Jay McShann, Ruth Brown, Jimmy Witherspoon, Rosco Gordon and Long John Baldry. Duke's last album, Passport to the Blues, was nominated for the 2011 Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Album of the Year. He was also nominated again this year as Best Guitarist - a category he has already won 4 times in the past.

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue have toured relentlessly since the release of Backatown in April 2010. They've performed on five continents as well as making numerous TV, radio, festival and major concert appearances. The new For True album includes guests Jeff Beck, Kid Rock, Ledisi, Warren Haynes, Lenny Kravitz, Ivan and Cyril Neville, The Rebirth Brass Band, 5th Ward Weebie and more.

Recorded in the country west of Nashville, Tennessee, Mercury features Pieta's long-time collaborator Bo Ramsey (Lucinda Williams, Greg Brown), and is joined by great session players including Grammy-winning producer/ multi-instrumentalist Richard Bennett (Mark Knopfler, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris), bassist Glenn Worf (Mark Knopfler, Aaron Neville, Tammy Wynette), drummer Chad Cromwell (Neil Young, Mark Knopfler) and multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield (Bob Dylan, T-Bone Burnett, Johnny Cash).

Catch Duke Robillard, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Pieta Brown individually live on stage, please see Tour Dates >>

Interviews with Orleans Avenue guitarist "Freaky" Pete Murano and bassist Michael "Bass" Ballard are featured in the current editions of Guitar Player (November 2011) and Bass Player (Holiday 2011) magazines. The interviews explore Pete's and Mike's creative process, musical inspirations, playing techniques, and gear used on Trombone Shorty's 2010 breakthrough Grammy-nominated release, Backatown, and on the band's current Billboard Contemporary Jazz Album Chart topper, For True (September 2011).

Currently touring the U.S. through late November, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue recently returned from Europe where the band sold out shows in advance in London and Paris. Extensive media coverage in Germany, France, Spain and The UK was highlighted by radio and TV appearances including Later With Jools Holland for BBC TV and the Jamie Cullum Show on BBC Radio. The band's extensive schedule will have them returning to Europe in early December followed by more dates in the U.S., Mexico, Ecuador and Japan.

Catch Pete, Michael and the rest of Orleans Avenue with Trombone Shorty performing live on a stage, please see Tour Dates >>

Trombone Shorty's "For True" Featured In Nikon 1 Ad Campaign

Trombone Shorty's "For True" - the title track of his new album - is featured in the just launched ad campaign for Nikon's new Nikon 1 camera. Click here to check out the campaign: and watch for TV ads starting during the World Series.

For True is entering it's 4th week at #1 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Album Chart. At the same time, Trombone Shorty's last album, the GRAMMY-nominated Backatown, remains in the top 10, a full 78 weeks after its release (with 10 of those weeks at #1). Featured guests on For True include Jeff Beck, Kid Rock, Ledisi, Warren Haynes, Lenny Kravitz, Ivan And Cyril Neville, The Rebirth Brass Band, 5th Ward Weebie and more.

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue are in the midst of an extensive U.S. Tour. Catch them live on stage, please see Tour Dates >>

Rosebud artists Bettye LaVette and Meshell Ndegeocello are among a select group featured on The 30th Annual John Lennon Tribute, Live From the Beacon Theatre NYC, due out Nov. 15. Proceeds from the 15-track digital album will benefit the Japanese Red Cross' earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. The performances of Beatles and Lennon solo songs were recorded during the 30th annual Lennon tribute show, which took place Nov. 12, 2010. Ndegeocello, a 10 time Grammy nominee whose soon to be released Weather, produced by Grammy-winner Joe Henry (Aimee Mann, Solomon Burke, Ani DiFranco), sang "God," and LaVette delivered "The Word," which she covered on her Grammy Award-nominated 2010 release Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook. Patti Smith, Jackson Browne, Taj Mahal, Aimee Mann, Shelby Lynne, Joan Osborne, Alejandro Escovedo, Keb' Mo', Martin Sexton and the Playing For Change Band also appear on the album which will be available via all major online retailers.

Concert creator and producer Joe Raiola added that, "John's music and message continue to be a great inspiration to people everywhere....We're so grateful to Yoko and to all of the artists for allowing us to share the great performances from that special night with John Lennon fans around the world." 

Watch for details coming soon on the 31st Annual John Lennon Tribute concert - scheduled for Dec. 10 at Le Poisson Rouge in Greenwich Village.

To catch Bettye and Meshell performing live on stage near you, please see Tour Dates >>

photo by Erika Goldring Listen To The Entire Broadcast at NPR: FOLK ALLEY

Jim Lauderdale was once again honored to host the Americana Music Association's awards program - his ninth time hosting the event in its 10 years of existence. The event was held before a sold-out crowd at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on October 13. Leading the house band for the evening was Instrumentalist and Artist of the Year Award winner Buddy Miller. Lauderdale's latest release, Reason & Rhyme (June 2011) is Jim's third project with legendary Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, a collaboration they began over 10 years ago. In addition to a live awards broadcast that featured performances by Lucinda Williams, Jerry Douglas and Gregg Allman, Robert Plant, The Civil Wars, Justin Townes Earle, and Hayes Carll, an edited version of the show will be aired Nov. 19 as a special episode of the new season of acclaimed PBS series Austin City Limits.

Jim is also appearing on NPR's Mountain Stage, airing the week after October 21. Joining Jim on this broadcast are Vince Gill, David Mayfield Parade, Red Molly and John Lilly. Mountain Stage blends studio quality with live performance before a theater audience. Over the years, Mountain Stage has featured performances by fellow Rosebud artists The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Charlie Musselwhite, The Weepies, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Bettye LaVette, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, Marcia Ball, Duke Robillard, Ruthie Foster, Carrie Rodriguez, Loudon Wainwright III, Pieta Brown, David Lindley, John Hammond, Mavis Staples and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. To find a station in your area that broadcasts Mountain Stage with local airtimes, click here. You can listen to other archived Rosebud artist performances, at NPR.org/mountainstage.

To check out Jim Lauderdale and all Rosebud artists on a stage near you, please see Tour Dates >>

Pieta Brown Offers Free Track In Solidarity With "Occupy Wall Street" Protestors

In solidarity with the "Occupy Wall Street" protestors, Pieta Brown is offering her song "I Want It Back" as a free download for the month of October by visiting her website at pietabrown.com/iwantitback.cfm.

"I'm offering 'I Want It Back' to say thank you to the people protesting. I wrote this song when feeling a lot of the same things that many people joining the 'Occupy Wall Street' efforts are feeling and voicing," Pieta says. "The song is a simple love song about longing...about wanting things back...like the feeling of a coherent country - a country where people from different places and ways of thinking try to work together. A place where there is enough to go around."

Pulled from Pieta's new radio-charting release (#1 on the Folk Radio Airplay chart as of this writing), Mercury, "I Want It Back" shows why she has been called "folk/country's heir-apparent" (Blurt) and why her fans include such songwriting legends as Mark Knopfler and Iris DeMent. In support of Mercury, Pieta is touring across the country playing solo shows and a string of dates with Amos Lee, Richard Thompson, Iris DeMent, and Greg Brown.

Check out Pieta performing live on stage, please see Tour Dates >>

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band members Gregory Davis (Trumpet) and Roger Lewis (Saxophone) are featured on the track "Ya Messinagh" from Tinariwen's new Tassili CD - which recently topped Billboard's World Music chart. The album also features guest appearances by members of Wilco and TV On The Radio. Formed in 1979 in the refugee camps of Libya, Tinariwen began gaining a following outside the Sahara region in 2001. With performances at Festival au Désert in Mali winning over fans like Robert Plant, Tinariwen's popularity continues to rise. Tassili is the band's fifth album.

Over the course of their 30-plus year career, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band has evolved into a world famous music machine whose name is synonymous with genre-bending romps and high-octane performances. Recently featured on HBO's hit series Treme, The Dirty Dozen also joined Dave Mathews Band and fellow Rosebud artist Trombone Shorty during the NFL Opening Kickoff 2010 pre-game concert broadcast live on NBC. In addition to Tinariwen, The Dirty Dozen have collaborated with artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, Dr. John, Widespread Panic, Norah Jones, Aaron Neville, Dave Mathews Band, Modest Mouse, and the Black Crowes.

Check out The Dirty Dozen performing live on stage, please see Tour Dates >>

Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars Featured on New Dan Zanes Album And In New Playing for Change Episode, Gimmie Shelter

Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars are featured on the title track of the new Dan Zanes album, Little Nut Tree. Released on September 27, the album also features Sharon Jones, Andrew Bird, and Joan Osborne and is the official follow up to Zanes' Grammy award winning CD, Catch That Train.

The All Stars can also be seen performing on The Rolling Stones' "Gimmie Shelter" in episode 47 of the multimedia phenomenon, Playing for Change. The project's "Stand by Me" video has been popular online, with over 30 million hits on YouTube.

Formed in a refugee camp during Sierra Leone's vicious civil war, the All Stars' incredible story was documented in the award winning film, "Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars." The All Stars' second studio album, Rise & Shine, was released March 23, 2010 by Cumbancha. Produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos (Faith No More, Angelique Kidjo, Rickie Lee Jones, Susan Tedeschi), the CD also features fellow Rosebud artist Trombone Shorty.

With performances on five continents at some of the world's most prestigious venues and music festivals, the band is currently taking a break from touring while recording their next album.

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As of this writing, Pieta Brown's Mercury is #1 on Roots Music Report's Top 50 Folk chart for the second consecutive week. Pieta's North American tour in support of the CD began on September 29 and continues through the New Year highlighted by select shows with Richard Thompson, Iris DeMent, Greg Brown and Amos Lee. Pieta sang on Lee's latest album, Mission Bell (Blue Note), which was produced by Joey Burns (Calexico).

Mercury features Grammy-winning producer/player Richard Bennett (Mark Knopfler, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris), bassist Glenn Worf (Mark Knopfler, Aaron Neville, Tammy Wynette), drummer Chad Cromwell (Neil Young, Mark Knopfler), multi-instrumentalist David Mansfield (Bob Dylan, T-Bone Burnett, Johnny Cash), her long-time collaborator Bo Ramsey (Lucinda Williams, Greg Brown) and an appearance by Mark Knopfler on electric guitar on the track "So Many Miles".

Over the years, Pieta has toured with Mark Knopfler, JJ Cale, John Prine, Ani Difranco, Calexico, University of Northern Iowa Symphony, Brandi Carlile and many more.

Congratulations Pieta! Check out Pieta performing live on a stage near you, please see Tour Dates >>

The Blind Boys of Alabama To Join Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Holliday, Peabo Bryson and More at 90th Birthday Celebration Honoring Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery

The Blind Boys of Alabama are among an all-star lineup honoring the life of American civil rights leader Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery on October 9 at the Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta, GA. Hosted by CNN Anchor, Soledad O'Brien, "His Words - Our Gift: A Musical Experience" will also feature performances by Stevie Wonder, Lady Tramaine Hawkins, Jennifer Holliday, Peabo Bryson, Cicely Tyson, Cassi Davis, Dawn Lewis, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Morehouse and Spelman College glee clubs and other special guests.

Lowery became the third president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference after Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, and participated in most of the major activities of the African-American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Honored for his many achievements over the years, Lowery was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2009.

Invited to the White House by the last three U.S. Presidential Administrations, The Blind Boys of Alabama are heading to Atlanta after appearing in front of an estimated 40,000 people at San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. The five time Grammy Award and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners are currently touring in support of their latest album, Take The High Road. In December, the band will present their special "Go Tell It On The Mountain: The Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas Show".

To catch The Blind Boys live in concert, please see Tour Dates >>

BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet Awarded "Best Non-European Cajun Band 2011" - First Time Ever Presented

The European Cajun and Zydeco Awards in Cologne, Germany honored BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet as the "Best Non-European Cajun Band 2011". Chosen from an online poll and by a jury from three different countries, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet was the first winner of this award out of a field of 36 non-European Cajun bands.

Since 2004, The European Cajun and Zydeco Awards have honored the best in Cajun and Zydeco music from throughout the European Union. This year, due in part to the Grammy's cancellation of the Cajun and Zydeco category from it's 2012 awards presentation, organizers of The European Cajun and Zydeco Awards wanted to include non-European bands in the voting for the first time. Top honors were awarded at the annual Saulieu Cajun & Zydeco Festival on August 7 in Saulieu, France.

Since their inception in 1975, BeauSoleil has not only spearheaded a cultural renaissance but has elevated Cajun music to one of domestic and international acclaim. In 1998, they became the first Cajun band to win a Grammy for their L'Amour Ou La Folie effort (Best Traditional Folk Album). The band received their second Grammy for Live at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Best Zydeco Or Cajun Music Album) in 2009. With eleven Grammy nominations over their 30-plus year career, BeauSoleil received their latest nomination in 2010 with their Yep Roc label debut, Alligator Purse (Best Zydeco Or Cajun Music Album).

Catch BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet performing live and onstage, please see Tour Dates >>