Nashville Scene

The Cumberland Collective is a community of independent singer/songwriters and musicians from across the U.S.
Current members include:
Mike Willis, Clay Evans, Connor Rand, Isaac Hayden, Noah Collins, Jason Eskridge, Debra Gordon, Reggie Sullivan, Brendan Bull, De Marco Johnson, Philip Lowman, Ted Pennington... and regular featured guests.

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

Hi, I’m Lizzie. I’m a devoted and passionate country-pop singer/song- writer. I draw a great deal of inspiration from the artists I’ve always looked up to and admired, both as musicians and as people. I try to write music that will touch people, and perhaps, even take them back to when they have had a similar experience.

I’m so very thankful to everyone who has been supportive of me and who has believed in me. I hope that you, too, will follow along with me on this journey.

xoxo, Lizzie

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

At the age of 15, while still in high school, Allie Farris formed her first band and begun playing small coffee shops and venues around her hometown of Flower Mound, Texas. In the fall of 2007, Allie made her first live studio recording at the Dallas Sound Lab, which was released the following May(“Songs Written Upside Down“). In 2008 through early 2009, Allie performed at well-known Dallas venues like Six Flags Over Texas, the Brooklyn Jazz Cafe, Dunn Bros. Coffee, and the Maximedia Studios Live Soundstage. She also won first prize in the Gorilla Productions Battle of the Bands, earning the opportunity to record a full album at the prestigious Maximedia Studios of Dallas. The Album, All You Can Eat, was released in June of 2009.

After four years of vocal lessons from renowned coach Tom McKinney and three years of jazz piano/performance from virtuoso Julie Bonk, Allie left her hometown for the University of North Texas, where she studied jazz vocal performance for one year. During this year (2009-2010), Allie competed in the UNT Songwriting Contest, placing first; and the Wildflower! Songwriting Contest, in which she was one of the four top winners. Allie then went on to perform at distinguished venues like Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse, Grapevine Palace Theatre, Poor David’s Pub, Opening Bell Coffee, and Kerrville Folk Festival. In early fall of 2010, Allie left her home in Texas to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts as a songwriting student. After only a semester attending the school, she was elected by Berklee professors to perform alongside two other students in Berklee’s Songwriting Master Class.

Allie Farris (age 21) moved to Nashville, Tennessee in January 2011 to begin her life as a full-time singer/songwriter. She has already had the opportunity to perform in Nashville venues like Hotel Indigo, Pick’s in Nashville, and the Vanderbilt Hotel. She is currently working on her new EP recording in Nashville, to be released in early 2012.

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

Jesse and Noah Bellamy are a brother duo, and just as other classic brother groups (The Louvin Brothers, The Everlys, The Kinks, et al.) who have forged their own unique sound and identities, Jesse and Noah are also pushing musical boundaries to create their own path.
With their third record, Driven Back, the duo delivers an eclectic mix of roots-rock, power-pop, country and Americana. Coming from a family of musicians they are the fourth generation to play music. Their father and uncle are the well-known Bellamy Brothers and their grandfather, Homer, played professionally at local dances, while his father before him was a fiddler.
Raised by their grandparents while their parents toured, the duo was first influenced by their grandparents’ love of traditional country music and the popular music of the WWII era. “When we started playing guitar”, said Jesse, “we fell in love with blues, jazz and sixties rock. Hanging out at Dad’s recording sessions, led us to develop an appreciation of the recording process as an art form.”
After years of writing and recording with different record labels and becoming disillusioned with Music Row of Nashville, Jesse and Noah have thrown away the rulebook to forge their own sound. Driven Back is self-produced and independently released. Recorded at their project studio in Franklin, TN (just outside of Nashville), they were very conscience of keeping the project authentic and not over-produced. Both brothers wrote the songs on the record (the exception being “You Could Have Had It All” which was written by Jesse Bellamy with Steve Clark)—with most of the songs being written as they recorded them, unlike previous projects. Accomplished multi-instrumentalists, they’re responsible for the majority of the tracks on Driven Back, with vocals led by Jesse, with Noah harmonizing. As Jesse told the music website Riveting Riffs, “We just really wanted to make a good record…these songs don’t have to work outside the context of this record. That is the cool thing about a lot of them. It was just about feels and putting words up against them and seeing what stuck.”
The 10 tracks on the album start with “Weather Man”, an up-tempo folk rock tune (featuring the violin of Elin Palmer). “True Love Doesn’t Beg” features a Latin-infused ’exotica’ styled murder ballad that features guitar in the style of Link Wray. “Lilly Vereen” is a Southern Gothic themed waltz set in New Orleans. Once again Elin Palmer is featured on nyckelharpa, a traditional Swedish keyed violin, with Noah on auto-harp adding to the chamber-folk aesthetic. (Side note: the lyrical imagery was inspired by photographer E.J. Bellocq’s famous “Storyville” portraits from around 1912.)
The title song, “Driven Back” is a garage blues tune that features over-driven feedback laden guitars, while “You Could Have Had It All” jumps to a retro country-pop ballad with an interesting dual vocal harmony. “Traveler’s Prayer” uses ukulele to bring us a roots reggae inspired song while “Bend in the Road” is tribute to the 70’s country-pop of Glen Campbell and Jimmy Webb.
Trying to re-create what their grandfather’s band may have sounded like, the brothers came up with “The Homer Bellamy Centennial Blue Yodel”. Influenced by early country artists like Jimmie Rodgers, Frank Hutchison, and Cliff Carlisle, the instrumentation was inspired by the pre-bluegrass 1930’s ’hillbilly’ music.
“Florida Water” is homage to their much-maligned home state, combining southern musical traditions with the Latin-Caribbean cultural influences of the Peninsula. “Guilty of Myself” ends the record with a stripped down semi-acoustic ballad.
Fans are of great importance to the brothers and their past records have built a huge following in Texas, with their debut project Nowhere Revisited being based out of Fort Worth and with the Smith Music Group. Their first single, “Daddy’s got a Shot Gun” made the Texas Music Chart’s top 50 songs of 2006. Their second release, Landfall generated fans from Texas to Tennessee and in between and even charted on the HotDisc Top 40 in Europe.
Traditionally, brother duos have been some of the most creative and innovative in the history of Rock and Country Music—Jesse and Noah are willing and able to live up to that tradition. With Driven Back, the brothers are proving that they are self-sufficient artists who can cross genres and gain fans simply through hard work, good music and great songs.

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

Michael began performing when he was 7 years old, doing a song or two with his Father's band, The Honky-Tonk Goodtime Band, whenever they played a "family friendly" venue. His first live appearance was in Mocksville, NC. He performed Flatt & Scruggs and Ricky Skaggs' "Cryin' My Heart Out Over You."

Even though he had learned a few chords when he was younger, Michael really started to learn how to play the guitar in his teenage years. It was at this time that he also began writing songs.

In his mid 20's, Michael became lead singer for a very successful regionally touring band called Native Son. While with Native Son, Michael shared the stage with many great, well-known artists like Gary Allan, Shenandoah, Sara Evans, Sawyer Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Wade Hayes and others.

Michael left Native Son in 2001 and began concentrating on his songwriting. In 2007, Michael teamed with hit songwriter/producer Byron Hill (www.byronhillmusic.com) to write music and songs for a film project.

In March of 2012 Michael recorded his first collection of original material, and released STAY COUNTRY in September of 2012. Produced by Byron Hill, Michael co-wrote all the tracks on the EP.

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

We would like to introduce you to our new house band at The Billy Block Show. Let’s call them Lucky 13. It’s a mighty talented and diverse group of veteran musicians with credentials that will blow your mind.

Randy Leago plays piano, organ, accordion, saxophone, penny whistle, guitar, bass and just about every thing else. Oh yeah, he sings too. Check out all of Lucky 13’s creds on the Meet The Band page in our monthly magazine.

Multi-instrumentalist Jimmy C. Clark displays his musical prowess on fiddle, pedal steel guitar, trumpet and guitar. Oh yeah, he sings too. Bassist extraordinaire Paul Ossola is relatively new to Nashville but has a huge following of admiring fans and musicians. Paul won a Grammy as the bass player on the late great Levon Helm’s Ramble from The Ryman recorded LIVE.

Thomm Jutz is an acclaimed guitarist, engineer, studio owner, artist and producer. His many credentials include producing and touring with Grammy winner Nancy Griffith, Americana star Mary Gautier, Otis Gibbs, David Olney and Amy Speace.

Unbeknownst to many Billy Block is an award-winning drummer who has performed and recorded with a diverse array of artists. We will play a set every week at 7pm and invite guest artist of all genres to join us. Lucky 13 will also be available to perform with artists featured on our show.

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media

With its debut release, Hellfires & Heartaches, The Eldon Huff Band makes two definitive statements: First, real rock and roll is alive and well, and as muscular as ever. Second, gifted musicians with southern sensibilities are still forging bedrock elements like blues and soul into fresh, powerful music that speaks to (and for) generations of listeners. You know from the first downbeat that Huff’s no rookie. He’s a real-deal guitar slinger, “raised up,” as they say in Kentucky, in hardscrabble coal-mining country and toughened for the task in bar bands and sideman gigs that began before he reached his teens. He was also – at fourteen – a preacher, until his flock decided that Saturday night bar gigs and Sunday morning prayer meetings just didn’t mix. It wouldn’t be the last time that Eldon had to choose between two or more very different directions. Huff headed south to Nashville in 2003, and quickly stirred interest from a major record label. The dream was coming true. Except…

[Show More]

Artist info obtained from public profile, artist website or social media