AJ Roach (born 1975) is an American singer-songwriter originally from Virginia, but now based in Ennis, Co. Clare, Ireland. Roach was born in Newport News, Virginia, but his family moved to his parents ancestral home in Duffield, Virginia when Roach was still very young.
As a teenager, Roach reportedly spent a number of months under the tutelage of cult blues guitarist Washboard Williams; however this rumor has never been properly substantiated, and Roach's playing style does not suggest such tutelage.
After attending college in Virginia, Roach lived in several different cities on the east coast of the United States before moving to San Francisco. The move to San Francisco was a turning point for Roach's musical career. There he met and befriended musicians like Tom Meshishnik, Todd Sickafoose, Sean Hayes and Noe Venable. The musical impact that these relationships had on Roach can be heard on Dogwood Winter, his first studio album. The album was jointly produced by Meshishnik and Sickafoose, and features Venable on backing vocals on several tracks.
Musical style
A. J. Roach's writing blurs the line between indie and traditional folk, and he has drawn comparisons in the press to Will Oldham, David Eugene Edwards and Vic Chesnutt.[1] He is considered a troubadour in the tradition of Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Roach's dry and cutting wit has made the stories he sometimes tells between songs almost as celebrated as the songs themselves.[citation needed]
Touring
Roach is best known for his vigorous touring schedule in both the United States and in Europe, at times performing as many as 250 dates per year. Roach has had a number of "revolving cast" musicians who have formed his band over the years. Some musicians that Roach has performed and or recorded with include Mia Birdsong (vocals), Todd Sickafoose (bass), Noe Venable (vocals), Alisa Rose (violin), Nels Cline (guitar), Brian Williams (guitar), Adam Roszkiewicz (guitar, mandolin), Nino Moschella (drums), Tom Meshishnik (guitar), Ian Parks (guitar, bass, organ), Steve Moore (piano, trombone).
AJ Roach's first full-length recording is entitled Dogwood Winter and was released in the United States in the summer of 2003 on the New Folkstar recording label. A subsequent UK release followed in January 2005. A follow-up to Dogwood Winter, Revelation, was released in the UK in late 2006 and had an American release in January 2008 on Waterbug Records. Revelation reached number 1 on the Euro-Americana Chart in December 2006. Also in December 2006, the album reached number 5 on the Freeform Americana and Roots (FAR) Chart.
Roach frequently appears in concert with Nels Andrews. The two are close friends and have toured together often in both the United States and Europe.[2] They are reportedly planning a full-length album together,[3] having already recorded a split 7-inch vinyl entitled Duct Tape & Whiskey.
A. J. Roach was one of the six winners of the 2011 Kerrville Grassy Hill New Folk competition at the 39th Annual Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, TX
The second track from Roach's second album was prominently included in both the CW TV series One Tree Hill, seventh season, episode No. 01[4] and in Showtime's United States of Tara, third season, episode #06)
(The second track, "Devil May Dance" can be heard in the TV series One Tree Hill, seventh season, episode No. 01[5] and in United States of Tara, third season, episode #06)
Faun Fables is an American band based in Oakland, California. Faun Fables is a concept and vehicle for Dawn McCarthy, who was inspired to write the original material while traveling after leaving the New York City music scene in 1997. Faun Fables also covers 20th century compositions by other songwriters and traditional folk songs. The music on the first album is entirely by McCarthy, as are all lyrics and most of the music on Mother Twilight. All albums except for the first are collaborations with Nils Frykdahl, inspired by McCarthy's previous work and "Dawn the Faun" stage persona.
Noe Venable is an experimental folk/pop singer-songwriter. She has earned a loyal fan base in her native San Francisco, in part through frequently performing in small, intimate venues. Her advocacy of small venues caused a stir in the San Francisco music community when she took San Francisco Chronicle reporter Joel Selvin to task for claiming that the city's music scene was "dead".
Andrew Calhoun is an American folk singer-songwriter based in the Chicago area.
Nels Andrews is a folk singer based in Santa Cruz, California. In 2002, Andrews was selected as a winner in the New Folk Competition at the annual Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Texas. In 2006, Nels was selected as the winner of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival's Troubadour Competition. In August 2006, Nels was selected as a winner of the Mountain Stage New Song Competition. Andrews' debut full-length recording, Sunday Shoes rose to Number 1 on the UK Americana Chart, and finished the year ranked Number 4 on the Euro Americana Chart's Top 20 albums of 2004.
William Pint and Felicia Dale are folk musicians based in Seattle. Known primarily for nautical music and sea chanties, they are among the best-known performers in that genre in the United States. Their albums have been favorably reviewed in Dirty Linen magazine, Sing Out! magazine, and Folk Roots magazine. They tour regularly in the UK as well as the United States and have also performed in The Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Estonia. Between 1988 and 1991 they performed with Canadian performer Tom Lewis.
Adam Levy is a jazz guitarist who was a member of Norah Jones's band.
Anaïs Mitchell is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and playwright. Mitchell has released eight studio albums, including Hadestown (2010), Young Man in America (2012), Child Ballads (2013), and Anaïs Mitchell (2022).
Jonathan Byrd is an American singer-songwriter based in Carrboro, North Carolina. He is best known for his narrative tales of love, life, and death in America. In 2003, he was among the winners of the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival. He set a record for CD sales at the festival that year, making more sales than the main stage acts. His song, "The Ballad of Larry" has been listed a "Top Rated Song" by Americana-UK. He primarily performs solo and accompanies himself in a variety of traditional acoustic guitar styles. His recordings have featured a variety of instrumental ensembles and typically include one or more instrumental tracks that feature Byrd's skillful flatpicking technique. Occasionally he also appears with the Athens, Georgia based world music duo, Dromedary.
Acoustic Hearts of Winter is a Christmas album and the second studio album by American pop duo Aly & AJ. The album was released on September 26, 2006 in the United States, via Hollywood Records. The album was conceived as a project after completing the deluxe edition of their debut album, Into the Rush (2005). All production of the album was done by Antonina Armato and Tim James. The majority of songs are cover versions of religious Christmas carols or contemporary classics. Two originals appear on the set, which were written by Aly & AJ with Armato and James. Musically, the album has an instrument-driven acoustic feel, primarily by guitar. It utilizes pop music influences on Christmas music. The album sold 110,000 copies in the United States.
Chris Hawkes is a songwriter, singer, guitarist, recording engineer and producer. Hawkes performs with Miranda Dawn as the duo Dawn and Hawkes.
Devon Sproule is a folk and indie rock singer-songwriter and musician based in Charlottesville, Virginia. She shared the ASCAP Foundation Sammy Cahn Award for 2009 with Oren Lavie. She is married to fellow musician, and music producer, Paul Curreri.
Kate Mann is an American musician currently based in Taos, New Mexico. She is originally from the Sandia Mountains in New Mexico but moved west as a young adult to pursue a career in music, then moved back in 2011.
Eric Taylor was an American singer-songwriter from Texas, known for his storytelling style, combining spoken word with anecdotal songs to create a theater-style performance. In addition to Taylor's nine solo releases, his songs have been recorded by Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett, Peter Cooper, and others.
The Waitress is the second album by folk singer-songwriter Jonathan Byrd. The album was released in 2003, the same year that Byrd won the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival. The Waitress reached No. 20 on the Folk Radio Airplay Chart and has been noted for Byrd's lyrical character sketches and deftly played guitar.
Danny Schmidt is an American singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas, where he now lives with his wife, fellow musician and singer-songwriter Carrie Elkin.
Courtney Marie Andrews is an American singer-songwriter originally from Phoenix, Arizona. She released her first widely distributed and breakthrough album, Honest Life, in 2016. From 2010 to 2011, Andrews was an auxiliary member of Jimmy Eat World, appearing on their 2010 album Invented and acting as their keyboardist and backing vocalist on the subsequent tour.
Todd Sickafoose is an American jazz and rock musician, composer, and producer/engineer from San Francisco, California.
Rebecca Ann Loebe is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. She has performed and toured with such recording artists as Shawn Colvin, The Civil Wars, Gregory Alan Isakov, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Ellis Paul amongst others. In 2011 she made her international broadcast television debut on The Voice . In addition to being a solo singer she is a founding member of Austin-based band Nobody's Girl.
Michael Jerling is an American acoustic folk singer-songwriter. He was born in Illinois and attended college at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. His association with Fast Folk Musical Magazine in New York's Greenwich Village led to his song, "Long Black Wall", being included in a Smithsonian Folkways CD celebrating twenty years of Fast Folk. Jerling has won several awards for his music including winning the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival's "New Folk" competition. Jerling recorded two albums on the Shanachie label, and two on Waterbug Records. He currently records on his own label Fool's Hill Music. He has collaborated with several musicians including Bob Warren, Tony Markellis, and Teresina Huxtable and recorded and produced albums for Lorne Clarke, Mike Quick, Huxtable, Christensen & Hood, Mark Tolstrup and Mallory O'Donnell.
Dawn and Hawkes are an indie folk duo from Austin, Texas consisting of singer-songwriters Miranda Dawn and Chris Hawkes.
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