Over the last decade, Connecticut native Stephen Kellogg has performed more than 1500 concerts around the world, raised thousands of dollars for causes close to his heart, been named Armed Forces Entertainer of the Year, and penned singles for artists like "American Idol" winner Nick Fradiani and the platinum selling rock band O.A.R. Stephen’s most recent writing work with legendary guitarist Robert Randolph, has led to a 2017 Grammy nomination for "Best Contemporary Blues Record." He's also had his songs covered by international major label acts and released eight albums of his own that have yielded hundreds of thousands of ticket and album sales.
When it comes to performing, CBS radio has called him "the best live act you've never seen" and another writer for No Depression gives him the oddly flattering title "the best songwriter you're not listening to." Filmmaker Peter Harding was so moved by the underground nature of Stephen's story that he made a documentary called "Last Man Standing" which went on to become an Amazon exclusive film. In recent years he’s added speaking to his resume delivering a Tedx Talk on job satisfaction, the key note speech for the prestigious photography summit WRKSHP, and garnering an invitation to speak to the students at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO on the topics of social justice and 'finding your voice.'
While it's true that Kellogg may not currently be a household name to everyone, he has persisted in building a substantial career that has landed him onstage with some of the biggest and best touring bands in the world (Train, Sugarland, Jason Isbell, Sara Bareilles, and Hanson to name a few.) Kellogg's music has found its way onto the Billboard charts and been featured in numerous films and TV shows. His Americana-tinged, folk, pop, and rock stylings can make his sound hard to define, but to his core, this musician and father of four brings heart and incredible energy to everything he does.

Benjamin Cartel

Just-dropped, Flickering Light is the second full-length album from Benjamin Cartel, the Cartel portion of the renowned duo Kaiser Cartel. Co-produced by Cartel and Mike Cohen, the new album features Benjamin Cartel on vocals, guitar and drums; Mike Cohen on guitar; and Kieren Mulvaney on bass.

Cartel’s sound merges a panorama of stylistic influences, including rock, psych folk, dream rock and even a bit of prog rock weaving through some of the tunes. It’s a prismatic sound with shimmering patience and musical wisdom, as if an imperturbable ambiance decided to enfold you.

Flickering Light encompasses ten tracks. “Starlight” provides a dreamy tantalizing tint of sonic colors riding a psych-pop melody. Cartel’s voice is smooth as cream, drifting in sparkling waves, like clouds floating by. “Coast Town” blends alt rock with psychedelic country rock flavors into an emerging wash of sound that’s simultaneously quixotic and a little dangerous.

“The Jungle Eats Everything” exudes a Beatles-esque sensibility on a psych rock melody. A lustrous, wistful guitar gives the tune a potent opalescent sonority. “Save That Number” delivers a bluesy alt rock melody reminiscent of the Kinks, only with jangly Byrds-like guitars and a sensuous bassline. “Summerflame” features wonderful jangly guitars and a cool stylish SoCal soft rock melody. Cartel’s voice is soft and warm and tender. The jangly guitar solo is yummy.

“Sweet Ride” exudes psychedelic folk rock aromas ensconced in tropical fragrant tones. “Tica” provides a pop-flavored folk melody, gentle gleaming colors and Cartel’s delicately understated vocals. It’s a beautiful love song. “Down Now” presents kaleidoscopic jangling guitars riding beneath Cartel’ rasping but sublime vocals, like creamy-smooth peanut butter with bits of chocolate added for crunchy sweetness.

The music video for “Down Now,” directed and produced by Cartel and Matt Clements, is shot in washed out colors, as if with a vintage 8mm movie camera. The musicians arrive outside a building, unpack their instruments and carry them up flights of stairs to the roof, where they play “Down Now.” When the camera pulls back, the density of rooftops is overwhelming; just as the optics are established, the camera zooms to close-ups, providing a feeling of vertiginous dislocation.

“I’m Not The Man You Think I Am” is redolent of the Beatles in tone and inflection. The glistening jangly guitar injects the tune with psychedelic blushes that ramp up the song’s structural flow. The title track rides a pulsing, persistent rock melody. A dirty screaming guitar imbues the tune with a compact energy that’s contagious and effective. The freight train rhythm puffs with glossy, radiant dynamics.

Flickering Light is marvelous. The melodic sheens glow with alluring harmonics, the rhythmic pulses provide magnetic energy and Cartel’s polished voice provides exquisite refined tones. Flickering Light coruscates with lustrous beauty.

Kris Gruen
Kris Gruen writes songs about grownup life infused with a mystic wonder, softening the world’s sharp edges like a glass of exceptionally fine bourbon. Kris grew up steeped in classic records. His Americana influenced new folk is grounded in the tradition of great narrative songwriters like Cat Stevens and Paul Simon and yet Kris’s voice is strikingly current. A New York City native who’s put down roots in Vermont, Kris effortlessly blends sagacious wit and emotional depth.

The new album Coast & Refuge is an album both about and created by partnerships where the sonic and thematic threads feel constant, equally at home in the old townships of Vermont where the new folk-artist lives, as it is in the new frontiers of Scandinavia, and the California coastline where much of it was written. The songs retain folk roots, but bring a contemporary urgency and a big sound. The result draws comparisons to Matthew Perryman Jones, Pete Yorn, Elbow, Griffin House, Ryan Adams, and Peter Bjorn and John; in fact, the latter’s Peter Morén appears on the album as vocalist and co-writer of one of the first singles “Every Day and Night Now.”

Over a four year period Kris worked with LA writer/producers Brad Gordon (Vance Joy, Dan Wilson, The Weepies,) and Justin Gray (Dirty Heads, James Bay & John Legend), Ramin Sakurai (Supreme beings of Leisure), Finnish singer-songwriter Peppina, and LA artist AM. During a seven country European tour in 2015, while supporting Jesse Malin, Kris was led to Stockholm to work with Peter Morén. Gruen also collaborated with filmmaker Melissa Miller-Costanzo on the song “Coming Down Around Me” for her feature film “All These Small Moments” starring Molly Ringwald and Jemima Kirke, which premiered at The Tribeca Film Festival this past April. Longtime producer Charles Newman (The Magnetic Fields, The Bones of J.R. Jones) produced the track in his Brooklyn based Cottage Sounds studio, as well as The Morén duet and the album closer, “2008,” a beautifully nostalgic ballad co-written with Los Angeles based artists Jim and Sam.

Kris has shared the stage with the likes of The Avett Brothers, Anais Mitchell, Billy Joe Armstrong, and Sean Lennon, and recently supported Alejandro Escovedo on the east coast and just returned from dates in Sweden at the Live at Heart Festival, as well as supporting Jesse Malin and Craig Finn (The Hold Steady) on a few shows in the UK.

Proceeds to benefit The Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh's Victims of Terror Fund.

"Music is a common language that brings people together", says WYEP general manager Abby Goldstein. "This is a moment to heal through music and a chance for all of us to give back to the Jewish community and show our support at a time when we need it most."

Ona is an indie-rock band comprised of longtime friends Brad Goodall (keys), Bradley Jenkins (vocals/guitar), Zach Johnston (bass), Max Nolte (drums), and Zack Owens (guitar).

The band formed in late 2013 and are based in Huntington, WV. Ona's debut record 'American Fiction' reached critical success appearing on NPR best of lists, SIRIUS Radio airplay, and a spot on nationally syndicated radio program Mountain Stage.

Cat Power, the vocalist, songwriter, musician, and producer Chan Marshall, will release her new album Wanderer on October 5, 2018, via Domino.

Produced in its entirety by Marshall, Wanderer includes appearances by longtime friends and compatriots, as well as guest vocals courtesy of friend and recent tour-mate Lana Del Rey. Written and recorded in Miami and Los Angeles over the course of the last few years, the new album Wanderer is a remarkable return from an iconic American voice.

Wanderer’s 12 tracks encompass “my journey so far,” says Marshall. “The course my life has taken in this journey - going from town to town, with my guitar, telling my tale; with reverence to the people who did this generations before me. Folk singers, blues singers, and everything in between.

They were all wanderers, and I am lucky to be among them.”