The Byrds were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member. Although their time as one of the most popular groups in the world only lasted for a short period in the mid-1960s, the Byrds are today considered by critics to be among the most influential rock acts of their era. Their signature blend of clear harmony singing and McGuinn's jangly twelve-string Rickenbacker guitar was "absorbed into the vocabulary of rock" and has continued to be influential.
Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh rock band formed in Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore, plus Nicky Wire. They form a key part of the 1990s Welsh Cool Cymru cultural movement.
Rilo Kiley was an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consisted of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Dave Rock.
Lipstick Traces is a compilation album by Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers, and consists of various B-sides, rarities and cover versions. It was released on 14 July 2003 by record label Sony, and reached number 11 on the UK Album Chart.
Christopher Hillman is an American musician. He was the original bassist and one of the original members of The Byrds, which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby and Michael Clarke. With frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Hillman was a key figure in the development of country rock, defining the genre through his work with The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas and the country-rock group The Desert Rose Band. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the Byrds.
Jennifer Diane Lewis is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley.
The Used is an American rock band from Orem, Utah, that formed in 2001. The group consists of vocalist Bert McCracken, bassist Jeph Howard, drummer Dan Whitesides, and guitarist Joey Bradford.
Skillet is an American Christian rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1996. The band currently consists of husband John Cooper and wife Korey Cooper along with Jen Ledger and Seth Morrison. The band has released eleven albums, two of which, Collide and Comatose, received Grammy nominations. Two of their albums, Comatose and Awake, are certified Platinum and Double Platinum respectively by the RIAA, while Rise and Unleashed are certified Gold as of June 29, 2020. Three of their songs, "Hero", "Monster", "Awake and Alive", are certified Multi-Platinum, while another three, "Whispers in the Dark", "Comatose", and "Feel Invincible", are certified Platinum, and another four, "Rebirthing", "Not Gonna Die", "The Last Night", and "The Resistance" are certified Gold.
Tilly and the Wall was an indie pop group from Omaha, Nebraska. Their name originated from a children's book called Tillie and the Wall, written by Leo Lionni. They are particularly noted for having a tap dancer, Jamie Pressnall, provide percussion, instead of a drummer.
Kiley Dean is an American contemporary R&B singer. Dean was born and raised in a small town in Arkansas. When she was about 7 years old, her family decided to move to Orlando. She grew up singing in school and church, which led her to singing back-up for Britney Spears' tours, "…Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" as well as Madonna's tours, "Sticky & Sweet", "MDNA" and "Rebel Heart."
The Brunettes were an indie pop or twee pop group from New Zealand formed in 1998 to 2009. The band consists of core members Jonathan Bree and Heather Mansfield, with additional contributions from part-time members such as Ryan McPhun and Princess Chelsea. The group had released several well-received albums such as Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks (2002), which received 4.5/5 stars from AllMusic. Signed to Lil' Chief Records, they had opened for bands such as Rilo Kiley and Beirut.
Nathaniel Clifford "Nate" Walcott is an American musical composer, arranger, pianist, keyboard player, and trumpet player. He has composed the scores for several feature-length films, including 2014's The Fault in Our Stars. He is a member of the band Bright Eyes, and has played in Conor Oberst's Mystic Valley Band and with singer-songwriter M. Ward. Between 2016 and 2019, Walcott was the touring pianist and keyboard player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, during their The Getaway World Tour.
Lake Street Dive is a multi-genre band that was formed in 2004 at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. The band's founding members are Rachael Price, Mike "McDuck" Olson, Bridget Kearney, and Mike Calabrese. Keyboardist Akie Bermiss joined the band on tour in 2017 and was first credited on their 2018 album Free Yourself Up; guitarist James Cornelison joined in 2021, after Olson left the band. The band is based in Brooklyn and frequently tours in North America, Australia, and Europe.
Jennifer Carole Ledger is an English singer, drummer and co-vocalist for the American Christian rock band Skillet. At the age of 18 she became Skillet's drummer when their former drummer Lori Peters retired.
"So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star" is a song by the American rock band the Byrds, written by Jim McGuinn and Chris Hillman and included on the band's 1967 album, Younger Than Yesterday. The song was inspired by the manufactured nature of the Monkees and was released as a single on January 9, 1967, reaching number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, but failing to chart in the United Kingdom.
Jim McGuinn, born James Slusarek, is an American radio personality. He served as program director of the now defunct Y100 100.3FM (1997–2005) and its predecessor, WDRE in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1995–97), both of which changed formats after being bought by Radio One. McGuinn also served as Program Director for KPNT (1994–95), St. Louis, and WEQX (1990–94), Manchester, Vermont, beginning his career in commercial radio as a DJ at WWRX (1988–90), Providence, following time at his college radio station, WPGU (1984–88), Champaign, Illinois.
Parachute is an American pop-rock band from Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. Formed in 2006, they released their major-label debut album, Losing Sleep, in 2009, followed by their second album, The Way It Was, in 2011 and their third album, Overnight, in 2013. Vanguard Records released the band's fourth album, Wide Awake, on March 11, 2016. The band independently released their fifth album, Parachute, in May 2019.
Autumn Was a Lark is an EP by the band Portastatic. It was released on the Merge Records label in 2003.
Man Overboard is an American pop punk band from Mt. Laurel and Williamstown, New Jersey that began in 2008. Since then, they had released two EPs, an acoustic EP, a split with Boston pop punk band Transit, a compilation and four full-length albums. Taking influence from such pop punk acts as Blink-182, Saves the Day, and Taking Back Sunday, Man Overboard played a brand of upbeat and poppy pop punk with the emotion of 90s emo acts such as The Promise Ring. The band was signed to Rise Records. They are well known for their motto within the pop punk scene to "Defend Pop Punk". On January 28, 2016 they announced a hiatus on their official website; the hiatus ended on August 2, 2018 when the band announced a 10-year anniversary tour.
Jonathan Owen Bree is a singer-songwriter and producer from New Zealand, best known for his work as a solo artist, as well as co-founding the indie pop group The Brunettes, in 1998 and Lil' Chief Records, in 2002. He frequently collaborates with label-mates as a musician, engineer, and record producer.
