Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, Elizabeth Cook, Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Jackson Browne, Hot Tuna, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Molly Tuttle, Stacey Earle, Victoria Williams, and Steve Earle & the Dukes

Earle was born in Hampton, Virginia, United States in the 50s, but spent the majority of his childhood in San Antonio, Texas. He learned how to play the guitar at age 11 and by the time he reached 14 he was placing in talent contests. Earle was rebellious as a child and naturally evaded school to focus on music. He ran away from home at 14, dropped out of school at 16 and not long after moved in with his uncle in Texas, who was only a couple of years older and was also a musician. When Earle was 19 he pursued a music career in Nashville and supported himself through various odd jobs. He eventually acquired the position as a staff songwriter for Sunbury Dunbar, but grew bored with Nashville and rerooted to Texas where he formed a group called The Dukes.

Earle returned to Nashville in the 80s as a ghostwriter and had some of his work performed by national legends such as Johnny Lee, Zella Lehr and Carl Perkins. In 1982 he emerged as a solo artist, releasing the studio EP “Pink & Black”. His music teeters on the line of Springsteen style roots rock and traditional outlaw country revivalism. Although his recordings very rarely peered into the mainstream, he was venerated as a cult hero. Earle’s sound took inspiration from country (Merle Haggard, Hank Williams) folk iconoclasts (Bob Dylan, Neil Young) and most notably his personal idol, Townes Van Zandt (whom he named his son, Justin Townes Earl after).

His studio debut album “Guitar Town” was issued in 1986 to critical and commercial acclaim. It followed in line with the trend of rockabilly, which was popular during that time, but it also acted as a strong reinforcement of Townes unique style. Earle put two more albums out in the 80s “Exit o” (1987) and “Copperhead Road” (1988). The latter of the album’s was ostensibly the first of it’s kind to mix the genres of heavy metal and bluegrass. The album’s track “Johnny Come Lately” is a standout on the album in large respects due to the Pogues’ memorable contribution. Earle’s 4th studio album “The Hard Way” came out in 1990 and marked his last release through MCA. By this time Earle had fallen deep into substance abuse and put his life as a recording artist on hold.

He emerged with a vengeful comeback in 1995, putting out his highly anticipated follow up “Train a Comin’”. The album featured Peter Rowan, Norman Blake, Roy Huskey, and Emmylou Harris and earned him a Grammy nomination in the category “Best Contemporary Folk”. This phase saw Earle in full swing and welcomed a frequent and consistent output of albums spanning from the mid 1990s to the early 2000s: “I Feel Alright” (1996), “El Corazon” (1997), “Transcendental Blues” (2000), “Jerusalem” (2002), and “The Revolution Starts Now” (2004).

After a three year break between studio albums he released his 11th studio album “The Revolution Start’s Now”, which brought him his 2nd consecutive Grammy award. His 2009 follow up “Townes” featured experimental virtuoso guitarist Tom Morello and peaked to No. 19 on the US Billboard 200. Acclaimed songwriter, musician, and sound engineer T-Bone Burnett produced Earle’s next album “I’ll Never Get out of This World Alive”. The title shares it’s name with a Hank Williams‘ song as well as with Earle’s first novel. Earle released his 15th studio album “The Low Highway” on 16 April 2013 through the record label New West.

Emmylou released her first album 'Gliding Bird' in 1969. She was still establishing herself in the industry and finding her sound so it was a mixture of Joan Beez influenced originals with covers of some of the country/folk industries most prolific names such as Bob Dylan and Hank Williams. A folk re-imagination of Dionne Warwick/Bacharach/David hit 'I'll Never Fall In Love Again' gained the songwriter particular attention.

Her next LP 'Pieces Of The Sky' came six years later and charted at #7 on the US Country chart, it also included Harris's first hit single 'If I Could Only Win Your Love' which peaked at #4 on the Country singles chart. Whilst there was a lot of buzz around her major label debut, Harris established a solid backing band and released 'Elite Hotel' at the end of the same year. It topped the Country chart and included two number one singles, 'Sweet Dreams' and 'Together Again'. Her album success continued after the release of these two albums, to date she has had fourteen original albums chart within the top 10 of the US Country chart.

She scored a number one in 1987 when she recorded 'Trio' with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt. To date she has sold over 5.5 million records in the States. Emmylou is also known for her charity work, since 1999 she has performed an annual tour entitled Concerts for a Landmine Free World with proceeds going to Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation. She has been joined by a large selection of artists on these tours, including Bruce Cockburn, Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle and Joan Baez to name a few. She has been honoured with numerous awards over her long career, perhaps her most successful being thirteen Grammy Award wins. Her first came in 1976 after the release of 'Elite Hotel' she won the award for Best Country Vocal Performance and her most recent was a victory in 2014 in the Best Americana Album category for 'Old Yellow Moon'.

Jackson was born in Germany in 1948 before moving to California where he began folk singing in local clubs. As a teen he moved to New York and became a part of the Greenwich Village scene, befriending the likes of Tim Buckley and Nico. Nico and Jackson became romantically and musically involved resulting in Jackson contributing heavily to her debut album ‘Chelsea Girl’. Although classic songs like ‘These Days’ were Jackson’s compositions he wouldn’t record his own versions till years later.

Under the management of David Geffen, Jackson signed to Asylum Records and released his self-titled debut album in 1971. Singles like ‘Doctor My Eyes’ and ‘Rock Me On The Water’ were popular and a tour with Joni Mitchell helped to further promote the album. His next albums ‘For Everyman’ and ‘Late for the Sky’ received critical and commercial acclaim (the latter peaking at 14 in the album charts) and helped to solidify his sound, becoming known for his memorable melodies and personal lyrics.

As his career continued, his music to remained popular and his contributions to music were acknowledged when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. He also became known as a vocal activist on environmental issues (such as nuclear power and living more ‘greenly’) and has always contributed to charitable causes throughout his career.