In late 2018, the trio caught the eye of Grammy Award Winning producer, Mitch Dane, while playing a show at a bar on a slow Sunday night in Nashville. Long story short: it was meant to be. TOWNE was looking for a producer that could capture their live sound on tape and Mitch was looking for a band with a live sound the he wanted to capture. Soon after, sessions were booked at Mitch’s Nashville studio, Sputnik Sound.
In early 2019, TOWNE’s fans came together, organizing two fundraising concerts to finance the recording of the band’s first full-length album, “In The In Between”. The album is set for release in August of 2019.
"In the House" at the Grinder House is broadcast live on WFMC Jams every Friday from 6-8pm central.
and focus on songwriting. A seasoned and well-balanced artist who is currently on the rise of becoming the next big thing across Country and Americana Music. Born in Mississippi, Amanda has Gypsy roots across Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee and Alabama. An outlaw lady with family values, a heart of gold and the voice of an angel. Amanda released an EP titled, Strong, in June 2017 with Melody Roundup Music and three independent albums. Amanda is one of the most honest-hardworking women in this business, a woman of faith and master at what she does. She will grab your heart at the first song that comes out of her body. Passionate, beautiful and one to definitely watch climb the charts. Be on the lookout for new music.
"In the House" at the Grinder House is broadcast live on WFMC Jams every Friday from 6-8pm central.
Eric sings from the perspective of a fellow traveler who understands well the doubts and frustrations as well as the joy and laughter this life brings. He's never been afraid to tell the truth in all its ugliness and beauty in his songs.
Growing up in Kentucky, Eric was the child of a father who was a pastor and a mother who
is a lauded music teacher. Eric has been performing since he was a teen and writing since he was just twelve.
Some of Eric's biggest influences include R.E.M., Tom Petty, Over the Rhine, Sixpence None the Richer, Simon and Garfunkel, U2, and Ryan Adams.
Never satisfied sounding like anyone else, Eric strives to be an original and veer away from the ordinary. This is reflected in the wide array of artists with whom he has shared stages including The Band Perry, Tiffany, Colony House, Jukebox the Ghost, Futureman (of Bela Fleck & The Flecktones), and Cavo.
Eric recently released a winter EP and a new single. He will more music later this year.
"In the House" at the Grinder House is broadcast live on WFMC Jams every Friday from 6-8pm central.
Les Kerr is a songwriter, recording artist and performer who brings blues, New Orleans music, Zydeco, rock and bluegrass together to create his “Hillbilly Blues Caribbean Rock & Roll.” A Nashville resident since 1987, Kerr was born in Louisiana and raised in Mississippi.
Les has recorded eleven albums, including his latest, Part of the Show. About Les’ music, national music publication No Depression’s Lee Zimmerman wrote, “Nashville’s Les Kerr creates a sound that’s both jovial and cerebral all at the same time…Kerr takes his stylistic additives from a variety of genres -- reggae, country, folk, blues and rock ‘n’ roll -- and meshes them into a hybrid that’s philosophical [and] sunny.”
Corey Webb, editor of Nashville Experience, wrote, “Les' music is like a passport through the American South. He takes you on a journey with lyrics that tell tales of places you'll want to see and people you'll want to meet. It's a good mix of the exotic and familiar.”
Les has performed at many festivals and has headlined annual Mardi Gras celebrations at Nashville’s famed Bluebird Café since 1992. Among the venues and events where he has performed include Nashville’s Official Independence Day Celebration, the Grand Ole Opry House, the Country Music Hall of Fame, Southern Festival of Books and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Nashville (formerly the Country Music Marathon).
Regional performances include shows at the Maple Leaf Bar and Louisiana Music Factory (New Orleans, LA); Decatur, Alabama’s Historic Princess Theatre; The Listening Room (Mobile, AL); The Railyard (Decatur, AL); Hal and Mal’s (Jackson, MS); Atlanta Dogwood Festival; Knoxville (TN) Dogwood Festival; Southern Festival of Books (Nashville and Memphis) and Cookeville, Tennessee’s city-wide “Cooking on the Square” event.
The title song of his 2015 Contributor album was inspired by Nashville’s street newspaper and the premier event of the video raised money for the newspaper, The Contributor. The video for Contributor was seen worldwide and was included on CMT.com.
Mackinac Blues, from Les’ New Orleans Set CD, was included in NPR’s All Songs Considered and the New Orleans-based OffBEAT magazine declared, “Kerr’s musical styling aptly cover the gamut from rockabilly to boogie to Caribbean beats with ease.”
Les was a three-time award nominee of the former Music City Blues Society and was featured in the TV documentary Civil War Songs and Stories broadcast on PBS stations across the U.S.
Lyrics of several of Les’ songs have appeared in three volumes of Maple Leaf Rag, a New Orleans Poetry Anthology. He is also the co-author of The All-American Truck Stop Cookbook (Harper Collins) and Tennessee (Graphic Arts Press).
For more information, visit www.leskerr.com
"In the House" at the Grinder House is broadcast live on WFMC Jams every Friday from 6-8pm central.
Carrie Hassler's amazing voice, highly entertaining performances, and numerous #1 albums and singles have garnered great attention over the last several years. She has received the Country Song of the Year Award by Strictly Country Magazine and appeared on the cover of Bluegrass Music Profiles Magazine, among numerous other recognition. She also garnered the #1 country single, "Country Strong" on European country radio and several #1 albums and singles on bluegrass music charts here in the U.S.
Carrie will soon begin recording her highly anticipated new album, but you can hear her on the 2011 IBMA Award nominated album, "The All-Star Jam Live At Graves Mountain" project (featuring Lonesome River Band, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, Audie Blaylock & Redline, Lou Reid and Carolina, Mark Newton, Carl Jackson, Crowe Brothers, Carrie Hassler, and Brand New Strings. The CD includes the 2011 IBMA Recorded Event of the Year" nominated song, "Graves Mountain Memories featuring: Russell Moore, Sammy Shelor, Audie Blaylock, Carrie Hassler, Lou Reid, Mark Newton and more. The album also picked up two other nominations, another one for Recorded Event of the Year and also Instrumental Recorded Event of the Year.
Carrie jumped on the scene late in 2006 with the release of "Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain" album on Rural Rhythm Records. The album was produced by Jim VanCleve of the band Mountain Heart and received immediate success debuting at #11 on Billboard Top Bluegrass Top Album Chart (retail sales) and spending nine months in 2007 on the Bluegrass Unlimited National Bluegrass Survey Top 15 Album Chart (airplay).
Just over a month after the initial album release, the single “Seven Miles From Wichita” hit the #1 spot on Sirius Radio’s Bluegrass Top 40 and went on to spend 10 months on the Bluegrass Unlimited Top 30 Single Chart and was also a crossover in country radio as well. While that single was still charting, another single, “Going on the Next Train,” hit the same chart and appeared until January 2008. Yet another track, the gospel bluegrass song “Least That I Can Do” spent a year on Bluegrass Now Magazine’s Gospel Truths Chart.
In 2008, Rural Rhythm Records released her second album, "CHHR2" again produced by Van Cleve. The album made its debut at #5 on Billboard’s Top 50 Bluegrass Chart (retail sales)and climbed the Bluegrass Unlimited Top 15 Album Chart along with many other charts. The first single, “I Can Go Back Anytime” hit #1 on the May 2009 Bluegrass Unlimited Top 30 with the second single, Faith & Hope also hitting the #1 spot on Power Source Magazine’s Top 10 Bluegrass Songs.
She has also been honored by her hometown of Pikeville, TN where the Mayor presented her with the Key to the City and proclaimed “Carrie Hassler Day."
Carrie has been influenced by a wide range of talents including Sheri Easter, a gospel singer who tinged her music with some bluegrass sounds along with the gospel message; Etta James, Patsy Cline, Dale Ann Bradley and Alison Krauss. "To this day, I remember the people I looked up to and I hope to make the same kind of mark in lives as these women did in mine," said Carrie.
"In the House" at the Grinder House is broadcast live on WFMC Jams every Friday from 6-8pm central.
"In the House" at The Grinder House - 02/07/2020 - Travis Bigwood and the Lonesome Doves
February 07, 2020
Grinder House is proud to welcome back to our stage, the winner of the Tennessee Songwriter Week last year and incredible talent, Travis Bigwood! Travis is a Knoxville singer-songwriter who uses southern ideology and folklore to create arrangements yearning for simpler times. He has recently stepped out to tell his own story.
"In the House" at the Grinder House is broadcast live on WFMC Jams every Friday from 6-8pm central.
"In the House" at The Grinder House - 01/31/2020 - Mother Legacy
January 31, 2020
SHAY COLLINS: When I was born I didnt come out crying I came out screaming the FUNKY ROCKIN BLUES.
They havent been able to shut me up since!
Music and my voice...as well as a great pair of legs and lips were my birth right. Momma implanted the ear for the "pretty" in music and My Uncle Ray brought out of me the raw insane creative and honesty
I was influenced and mentored by my Uncle "Mother" RAY COLLINS of the 70's hit band "Mothers of Invention" w/Frank Zappa. I inherited his ability to sing almost ANYTHING and to sing with my whole heart HONESTLY and from my soul. I have lived with ALL music being the focal point of my life. My Uncle Ray taught me Above ALL THINGS INTEGRITY IS EVERYTHING...BE HONEST in Everything you do...Including your talents!
"In the House" at the Grinder House is broadcast live on WFMC Jams every Friday from 6-8pm central.
Henry is a singer songwriter born in New York and raised between Long Island and Vermont. He first learned to play the guitar in 8th grade from a local musician and quickly picked up some of the basics of the instrument and started writing songs. Henry began performing original music in high school at coffee houses and talent shows and later at chapel services and open mic nights. After getting some local following, Henry began booking local bars and small venues and performing and writing his own original songs. In 2018, Henry headlined the Limitless Festival in Philadelphia and also took part in the East Rock Concert series alongside other local and national artists.
He later earned a spot as the resident artist at the Dekalb Market Hall, in Brooklyn where he performed his music for a five month stretch. In 2019, Henry began work on his debut album, “Home”, with Eric Lichter at Dirt Floor Recording & Production in northern Connecticut. “Home” features some of the tracks Henry has written about his life and his observations on the world around him, featuring artists like Eric Lichter and MorganEve Swain.
"In the House" at the Grinder House is broadcast live on WFMC Jams every Friday from 6-8pm central.
Growing up in the mountains of Southwest Virginia the son of a musician, Chris has been around music his whole life. Picking up his first guitar at the age of twelve, he became a young musician that has played in several bands and groups including Stonewall Grey, a regional band that he formed with his father Melvin in the late 90’s.
After taking several years off from music to pursue his education, Chris has returned to music as a singer songwriter performing regionally for the past year. With strong influences from his Heartland Rock roots with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, John Fogerty, and John Mellencamp, he enjoys writing about life with a little twist of history to it.
Coming from a region that is deeply rooted in coal mining and farming, Chris loves telling the stories of people we see every day that go untold. Passionately painting a picture in your mind, he will make you identify and feel the struggles and triumphs of life, love, loss and war like no other.
"In the House" at the Grinder House is broadcast live on WFMC Jams every Friday from 6-8pm central.
"In the House" at The Grinder House - 01/10/2020 - Dave Pahanish
January 10, 2020
Dave Pahanish is an artist, a three time #1 hit Billboard Country songwriter and he’s a producer. Dave penned Tobey Keith’s “American Ride”, Jimmy Wayne’s “Do You Believe Me Now?” and Keith Urban’s “Without You”.
Urban chose the song “Without You” because of how closely the lyrics fit in with his own life stating, "It's the most autobiographical song I never wrote.” Pahanish wrote the song after meeting his wife’s family for the first time without realizing any similarities to Urban’s life. The song became Urban's 12th No. 1 single.
Notable cuts by Dave include Tim McGraw "THe One That Got Away" and “Right Back Atcha Babe,” #12 Billboard single “I Will” for Jimmy Wayne, Emily Wests “Completely Yours” which Dave coproduced and Collin Raye’s “Divine Everlasting Love”. He is veteran of the Country Throwdown Tour with Willie Nelson, Eric Church, Little Big Town, Jamie Johnson, Eric Paslay, Montgomery Gentry, Eli Young Band and many others.
"In the House" at the Grinder House is broadcast live on WFMC Jams every Friday from 6-8pm central.