The Rosebud Agency Will Continue To Service Contracted Dates But Winds Down Active Booking Operations - Special Projects And Management To Continue
The Rosebud Agency has wound down its role as an active booking agency as of December 31, 2013. Agency founder Mike Kappus will continue to work on special projects in addition to select artist management as he has for the past 43 years. The company will continue to service dates already contracted with ongoing staff in addition to Kappus, including Lizzie Hill, Connor Martinez and Saori Kappus. The new booking representatives for Rosebud artists are all noted here rosebudus.com/new_agency.
Established in 1976 (surely a contender for one of the longest-running sole proprietorship agencies), Rosebud expanded from an initial North American focus to booking performances in Europe soon after and has represented its artists worldwide ever since. Over 37 years, the company has accomplished a good deal; its intentionally small artist roster has racked up over 125 Grammy® nominations and 25 wins, plus dozens of Gold and Platinum records globally.
Artists with over 20 years tenure at Rosebud include John Hammond, who signed on with Rosebud nearly 37 years ago, Loudon Wainwright III, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the recently deceased JJ Cale, who worked with Rosebud for 30 years. Cale, Robert Cray (22 years), and the late John Lee Hooker (25 years) were all management clients as well.
In addition to the above, over the years Rosebud has also represented Muddy Waters, The Staple Singers and later Mavis Staples' solo career, Charlie Watts, Ry Cooder, Ben Harper, T Bone Burnett, Michael Bloomfield, Rubén Blades, The Neville Brothers, Captain Beefheart, Irma Thomas, Dr. John, Mose Allison, Zap Mama, John Lurie, ¡Cubanismo!, Antibalas, Willie Dixon, Femi Kuti, Tony Williams, John Hiatt and many more.
One unprecedented highlight for Rosebud included booking George Thorogood's epic 50/50 tour, coordinated such that the band played all 50 states plus Washington, DC in 50 consecutive days. All dates were routed to average just under 250 miles driving per day in Thorogood's Checker cab, flying only between Hawaii and Alaska, the mainland start date in Portland, OR and one other detour to play with The Rolling Stones at the Superdome in New Orleans.
Rosebud factored heavily in the growth of a number of artists. Signing with the agency in 1983, Los Lobos grew from playing LA clubs when they first joined the roster to supporting U2 and touring the world in the wake of their #1 single, "La Bamba", from the #1 album of the same name. In other instances of breaking down barriers for non-mainstream artists, Robert Cray's double platinum Strong Persuader CD, his first outing as a Rosebud-managed artist, reinforced the commercial viability of blues. Kappus followed that by taking on management for then booking client, John Lee Hooker, acting as executive producer of the blues legend's comeback CD, The Healer, and each CD that followed until his passing in 2001. These resulted in Hooker earning his first Gold records and first Grammy® Awards - 4 Grammys in total including 2 for Don't Look Back, co-produced by Kappus and Van Morrison. All this while Hooker was in his seventies and nearly 50 years into his recording career.
Kappus also acted as executive producer or co-producer on CDs by JJ Cale, Pops Staples, Robert Cray, Duke Robillard, Loudon Wainwright III, co-management client Trombone Shorty and John Hammond (scoring Grammy® nominations for 3 of 4 projects with Hammond). Overall those projects earned 13 Grammy® nominations and 4 wins and included collaborations with Keith Richards, Ry Cooder, Van Morrison, Carlos Santana, Herb Ellis, Charlie Musselwhite, Jimmie Vaughan, Lenny Kravitz, Bonnie Raitt, Booker T. Jones, Nick Lowe, Tom Waits, Johnny Winter, Canned Heat and Eric Clapton to name a few. Kappus also acted as associate producer on acclaimed documentaries on JJ Cale and John Lee Hooker. Among other awards, the Blues Foundation named Kappus Manager / Agent of the year in 4 separate years (no other agent or manager has won the award more than once).
In addition to booking and management duties, Kappus made CD deals for Mavis Staples, Bettye LaVette and Charlie Watts and was instrumental in helping Buddy Guy secure the record deal that resulted in his comeback albums, beginning with his breakthrough Damn Right, I've Got The Blues in 1991. Kappus was also hired by Van Morrison to oversee promotion and marketing for his April 2008 CD, Keep It Simple. The record's entry in the Billboard pop charts at #10 marked the highest ever US chart position in Van Morrison's lengthy career.
As head of The Rosebud Agency, Kappus has also incorporated policies focused on environmental and social responsibility issues into the company's daily routine. The Rosebud office was converted to full solar power in 2000 (the largest such installation in San Francisco at the time) and was named in the first wave of green business certifications in San Francisco. Kappus' environmental concerns also drove him to coordinate 2 compilations for non-profit, Earthjustice, featuring artists from Tom Waits and Willie Nelson to Norah Jones, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Rubén Blades, Michael Franti, Ani DiFranco, Keb Mo, Ruth Brown, Etta James and many more.
Kappus also initiated the HART (Handy Artists Relief Trust) Fund for The Blues Foundation in 2000 with his own personal funds, supplemented by proceeds from special W.C. Handy All Stars tours he organized to help fund the campaign. The W.C. Handy All Stars were made up of a revolving cast of the best in blues - all winners of W.C. Handy Awards (now known as Blues Music Awards). The concept was to bring to the blues world the same type of artist support that the R&B Foundation had established at the time for that genre - providing financial assistance to artists in need, for everything from paying medical and dental bills to burial costs. The HART Fund has gone on to thrive and attract supporters from around the world, helping artists in need every year while building funds for future rainy days. Kappus continues to support this and numerous other non-profit organizations in various ways.
The Rosebud Agency booking side goes out on a very high note with the December 6, 2013 announcement of this year's Grammy nominations. Rosebud artists scored eight nominations and collaborated on many more. Charlie Musselwhite brought home three nominations while Allen Toussaint was honored with two nominations, with one each going to Mavis Staples, James Cotton and Jim Lauderdale. Charlie Watts, Trombone Shorty, Mavis Staples (featured along with The Staple Singers), The Savoy Doucet Cajun Band and BeauSoleil's Michael Doucet also contributed to additional Grammy nominated projects this year.
The Blues Music Awards announced their 2013 nominees shortly thereafter with Charlie Musselwhite and James Cotton tied with Lurrie Bell for the most nominations earned by any artist this year. Marcia Ball was also nominated for the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year (an award she's won 5 times and been nominated for 15 times previously), adding up to 11 total BMA nominations for Rosebud artists.
The Blues Foundation also announced Mike Kappus' induction into the Blues Hall of Fame which will take place the day before the Blues Music Awards on May 7, 2014 in Memphis, TN. Kappus is also the only individual to have won The Blues Foundation's agent / manager of the year award more than once, having won 4 times over the years. The Blues Music Foundation has described Kappus as "the kind of manager and booking agent any musician would want" and "one of the most respected men in the business."
Other year-end achievements for Rosebud artists include the Americana Music Association naming Carrie Rodriguez's Give Me All You Got and Jim Lauderdale's collaboration with Buddy Miller, Buddy and Jim, among its Top 10 most played albums on radio this year - see details below.
2013 was one of the agency's top fiscal years with 2014 having been on track to be the agency's best year ever. The Rosebud Agency continues with Kappus and key staff handling special projects and managing a limited number of select artists. Mike Kappus' bio can be found at rosebudus.com/founder.
The Stone Foxes' New Music Video For Goodnight Moon Project Premieres On Wall Street Journal
The music video gives a voice to the homeless and shelter helpers who the band met while working with SuperFood Drive (a Californian non-profit) delivering food donations to food banks during their last US tour. During this tour, in support of their CD Small Fires (released February 2013), the band encouraged fans to attend their shows with non-perishable foods which they then delivered to the local food banks the day after each show. The impetus to get involved with issues surrounding homelessness is explained by Shannon Koehler (lead vocalist and drummer): "Every morning I walked out of the same subway station in downtown San Francisco seeing folks who had slept on the sidewalk all night, and I'd pass by them without batting an eye. The day I realized how easy it was to walk by when someone was just trying to say hello, I felt sick." Speaking of the process in creating the music video, Koehler continues, "When someone tells you they know what it's like to be chased off by police at night and then sings about it in a song you wrote, it's impossible not to tear up. ... It is a great honor to share the voices of the musicians we met at shelters on tour."
As a result of the band's experiences on the road and in filming the video, they launched Goodnight Moon Project. It's mission is to tackle homelessness through awareness and, as Koehler says, "Men, women; young, old; these are the faces and voices of folks you can help by giving your time and gifts to local shelters and food banks."
Trombone Shorty, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet and Jon Cleary Nominated For OffBeat Magazine 2013 Best Of The Beat Awards
Trombone Shorty, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet and Jon Cleary have all been nominated for OffBeat Magazine's Best of the Beat Awards 2013. Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews has been honored with an impressive 8 nods, doubling his nominations from last year and scoring the most nominations of any artist. Following on his wins from last year, Trombone Shorty has once again been recognized in the Artist of the Year, Best R&B/Funk Artist and Best Trombonist categories. Adding to these nominations, Trombone Shorty has been recognized in the Album of the Year and Best R&B / Funk Album categories for his latest release Say That To Say This; plus Song Of The Year and Best Music Video from the CD's lead single, "Fire & Brimstone"; and for Best Trumpeter.
BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet have been recognized in the Best Cajun Album category for their 2013 CD From Bamako to Carencro and have been nominated for Best Cajun Artist, a category they have won an amazing 13 times. Once again Jon Cleary appears in Best Piano / Keyboardist category. Cleary will also be performing at the awards show, with his band Absolute Monster Gentlemen featuring Nigel Hall. The awards event will be held at Generations Hall on January 18, 2014. To buy tickets, see here.
Best of luck to Trombone Shorty, BeauSoleil, Jon Cleary and all the other nominees. To catch Rosebud's artists perform live, see Tour Dates >>
JJ Cale Op-Doc On New York Times Site
The New York Times on December 16, 2013 premiered Naturally, J.J. Cale, an animated documentary short or Op-Doc, about the late JJ Cale, a Rosebud artist for 30 years before his passing. The short film by animator and filmmaker Drew Christie explores why the music legend never achieved the mainstream success and stardom that many believed he deserved. Despite his great influence on the music world (and, as the film portrays, directly on the work of Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, Lynyrd Skynyrd and John Mayer) Cale always remained true to his work and never sacrificed his musical vision in favor of commercial success. In its short format the film only touches briefly on the true depth of influence Cale created - not mentioned were Cale songs covered by other such icons as Johnny Cash, Captain Beefheart, Santana, The Allman Brothers, Jerry Garcia, The Band, Chet Atkins, Freddie King, and Maria Muldaur.
Trombone Shorty Music Academy On ABC World News With Diane Sawyer, Plus Shorty Also Featured On Regis Philbin's Crowd Goes Wild On Fox Sports 1
The Trombone Shorty Music Academy was featured on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer on December 17, 2013 at 6:30pm ET. The feature highlighted the efforts of the Trombone Shorty Foundation's nearly year-long partnership with Tulane University which mentors intercity New Orleans youth in music performance and music business.
Trombone Shorty also just appeared on Regis Philbin's new show on Fox Sports 1, Crowd Goes Wild. Trombone Shorty's feature aired on December 16, 2013 at 5:00pm ET.
The Blind Boys Of Alabama Featured On The Colbert Report For The Second Time In Just Over One Month, Plus Tavis Smiley Interviews Jimmy Carter Again
The Blind Boys of Alabama was featured on The Colbert Report for the second time in just over one month on December 19, 2013. This appearance follows The Blind Boys' November 13 interview and concert where they performed "Amazing Grace" and also "There Will Never Be Any Peace" off their new CD, I'll Find A Way, produced by Justin Vernon (Bon Iver). Their performance is part of a special holiday series titled "Christmas Carol Week." Other musical guests featured as part of "Christmas Carol Week" in addition to The Blind Boys include Gregg Allman, The National, Cyndi Lauper, Aaron Neville, Alan Cumming and wounded soldiers from MusiCorps. Also featured as a guest on the December 19 show was actor Ben Stiller. For view the full episode, please visit colbertnation.com
Blind Boys founding member Jimmy Carter was also interviewed on Tavis Smiley Radio the weekend of December 6, 2013. During Tavis' interview, the two discussed Carter's lengthy career of 70-plus years and the gospel group's newest recording, I'll Find A Way. Carter was also featured on Tavis' PBS show on October 9, 2013.
Charlie Musselwhite & James Cotton Tied For This Year's Top Blues Music Awards Nominees - Marcia Ball Also Nominated
With 5 nominations each, James Cotton and Charlie Musselwhite tied with Lurrie Bell for the most 35th Annual Blues Music Awards nominations of any artist this year. James Cotton's 2014 Grammy-nominated album, Cotton Mouth Man, garnered 3 separate nominations: Album of the Year, Song of the Year (for "He Was There"), and Traditional Blues Album of the Year. The album features James' high profile friends and mutual admirers including Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes, Rosebud artist and 2013 Grammy-nominee Ruthie Foster, Joe Bonamassa, Delbert McClinton and Keb' Mo'. James was also nominated in the Harmonica and Traditional Blues Male Artist categories this year.
Charlie was nominated twice for Album of the Year for his two 2014 Grammy-nominated collaborations: Get Up! with Ben Harper and Remembering Little Walter with Billy Boy Arnold, Mark Hummel, Sugar Ray Norcia, and James Harman. Charlie was also nominated in the Harmonica category, Traditional Blues Album of the Year (for Remembering Little Walter), and Contemporary Blues Album of the Year (for Get Up!).
Marcia Ball was also nominated for the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year. Marcia has won the award 5 times before and has been nominated for the award 15 times previously. Overall, Rosebud artists were honored with 11 BMA nominations for this year's awards. The 35th Annual Blues Music Awards will be presented at the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday, May 8, 2014. For more info and a complete list of nominees, please see here.
To Catch Marcia Ball, Charlie Musselwhite and James Cotton Live, See Tour Dates >>
Rosebud Artists Score 8+ Grammy Nominations!
Rosebud Artists just scored 8 Grammy Nominations in addition to being involved in several additional nominations. Amazingly, our intentionally small roster was represented by 3 of the 5 nominees in the Best Americana Album Category AND 3 of the 5 nominees in the Best Blues Album categories.
Charlie Musselwhite was nominated for Best Blues Album for his role on the Remembering Little Walter CD and separately, in the same category, for his collaboration CD with Ben Harper on their CD, Get Up!. This in addition to a nomination for Best Music Film for I'm In I'm Out And I'm Gone: The Making Of get Up!James Cotton's Cotton Mouth Man was also nominated in the Best Blues Category. Allen Toussaint scored two separate nominations - one for Best Americana Roots Song for "Shrimp Po-Boy Dressed" and one for Best Americana Album for Songbook. Mavis Staples' One True Vine and Jim Lauderdale's Buddy And Jim CD (with Buddy Miller) also scored nominations for Best Americana Album.
In addition to these 8 nominations, Trombone Shorty was featured on Cee Lo's Magic Moment CD in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category as well as a special guest appearance on the Hot 8's The Life & Times of CD in the Best Regional Roots Music Album category. And Wilco's Jeff Tweedy was nominated for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical, including his production on Mavis Staples' One True Vine CD. Mavis is also featured, along with The Staple Singers (Rosebud clients in their later years) on the Muscle Shoals soundtrack for their hit, "I'll Take You There" - nominated for Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media. Long-time Rosebud artist, Charlie Watts also scored with the Rolling Stones' three nominations in the Best Rock Song, Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package, and in the Best Historical Album category for Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965. The Savoy Doucet Cajun Band and BeauSoleil's Michael Doucet also appear on Best Folk Album nominee, They All Played For Us: Arhoolie Records 50th Anniversary Celebration, produced by long-time Rosebud friend, Chris Strachwitz.
This puts the total of Grammy nominations by Rosebud artists (not including the associated nominations) well over the 125 mark and will hopefully will increase the current total of 25 Grammy wins by Rosebud artists.
Congratulations and best of luck to everyone!
John Hammond Set To Release Live CD, Timeless - Marking 50 Years As A Recording Artist
John Hammond is set to release his new CD, Timeless, in January 2014. Its release will mark Hammond's fiftieth year as a recording artist, thirty seven years of which he has spent as a Rosebud artist. The new CD adds to an already incredible career, having released thirty-five solo albums since 1964's Big City Blues. Timeless, following on the heels of 2010's Grammy nominated CD Rough and Tough, was recorded live at Chan's in Woonsocket, RI (one of Hammond's favorite venues in the world). The album honors a host of legendary and hugely influential blues artists including Chuck Berry, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf and Bobby "Blue" Bland, as well as the living legend and longtime collaborator and friend of Hammond's, Tom Waits.
Timeless includes tracks such as "No One Can Forgive Me but My Baby", which was specifically crafted by Tom Waits for Hammond. Hammond originally recorded and released the song on his 1992 studio album Got Love If You Want It. The new CD also includes a live rendition of Hammond's own song "Heartache Blues" taken from his 2007 CD Push Comes To Shove. Following on from these tracks, Hammond performs songs written by some of the greats in blues: Jimmy Rodgers ("Going Away Baby"), Lightnin' Hopkins ("Last Night"), Cliff Carlisle ("That Nasty Swing"), Skip James ("Hard Times") as well as by those musicians noted before.
Over the course of Hammond's career just some of his accomplishments have included being a Grammy Award winner and five-time nominee; an eight-time Blues Music Award winner; and inductee into the Blues Hall of Fame. According to The New York Times, Hammond is "a blues legend with a voice like Robert Johnson's and a demeanor that belies his tear-it-up might before an audience." Most recently Hammond has appeared in the new documentary, Sweet Blue, about legendary guitarist Michael Bloomfield (the first client signed to The Rosebud Agency). One of John's earlier albums was a collaboration with Bloomfield and Dr. John entitled Triumvirate. The documentary also features Rosebud artists Charlie Musselwhite and Elvin Bishop.
To pre-order Timeless, please visit amazon.com To catch John Hammond performing live, see Tour Dates
Treme: season 4 episode 32 "Yes We Can" recap
Rosebud Artists Feature On HBO's Treme, Season Four: Music By Allen Toussaint, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue And BeauSoleil With Michael Doucet
This new episode, titled "Yes We Can Can", is named after Allen Toussaint's song and is played by the fictional WWOZ DJ Davis McAlary (Steve Zahn) in the opening scenes. Past seasons of Treme have also had episodes named after the legendary New Orleans musician's compositions including episodes in season two; "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky" and "On Your Way Down".
BeauSoleil's Michael Doucet appears in this latest episode greeting one of the main characters, Annie Tee (Lucia Micarelli), as she leaves the stage after her performance. Michael is then joined by the rest of BeauSoleil for an on-screen performance of their song "L'Amour ou La Folie", a track taken from their 1995 release of the same name.
Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews is also referenced a number of times during this episode. Firstly, his song "Hurricane Season", taken from his 2009 CD Backatown, is played in a scene featuring the characters McAlary and Simply (Henry Griffin). Then later, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue appear for an on-screen performance of "Hurricane Season" and "One Night Only" (also taken from Backatown).
December 31, 2013
Trombone Shorty, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet and Jon Cleary Nominated For OffBeat Magazine 2013 Best Of The Beat Awards 
