I am a classical guitarists based out of Louisville, Kentucky. My current album includes works by Weiss, Bach, Legnani, Bennett and myself. Though I enjoy playing all periods of music I have a particular interest in contemporary music - especially works for electronics and guitar!

Stuart Wicke seeks to find meaning in simple things. His songs have been described as “emotionally resonant”, and “bittersweet”, striving to articulate everyday triumphs and conflicts, taking cues from Americana wordsmiths like Paul Simon, Taylor Goldsmith, and Patty Griffin. His lyrics are paired with a uniquely intimate rock sound which often combines indie rock, progressive rock, and jazz. He often performs solo as well as with a band.

Stuart Wicke Band has been an ongoing recording and performance project since Wicke was in high school. A prolific songwriter, he has released five albums, and two EPs. Beginning as a solo recording project, in 2015 he assembled a band to record and perform his songs. In 2018, Wicke moved from his native Louisville KY to Galway, Ireland, where he continued to write, record and perform as a solo act. Following his return to Louisville, the Stuart Wicke Band is a solo effort in the studio, but a collaborative effort on stage.

Stuart Wicke Band’s latest release, We Never Had Tomorrow Anyway (2022), was recorded in isolation in 2020, and reflects the frustration of the earliest months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Currently SWB is Stuart Wicke (guitars, voice), and Scott Boice (drums).

Chamberfolk: Three classically trained musicians playing original music, as intricately arranged as a string quartet, lyrically rooted in the singer/songwriter tradition, and wrapped in three-part vocal harmonies reminiscent of both Appalachia and Medieval Europe. Building from the tonal depth of the cello (or is it a bass?), layer in the shimmering sounds of a violin and the strikingly natural addition of banjo to create a sound at once familiar and impossibe to categorize. Unapologetic genre-benders, Harpeth Rising fuses Folk, Newgrass, Rock and Classical into something organically unique. 

The three musicians each hold classical performance degrees from some of the most venerated schools in the world: Indiana University, Oberlin, Eastman School of Music. But their classical background is only one dimension of this trio’s powerful musical voice. Hailing from vastly different parts of North America, each member of Harpeth Rising brings different influences to the core sound. Born in Brooklyn, NY, Maria Di Meglio began the cello in 4th grade, and developed her playing style studying both classical music and traditional songs of her families’ ancestry across Western Europe and the Caucasus. Michelle Younger of Charlottesville, VA comes by her modern spin on old-time infused banjo authentically; her family has been in the United States for generations, and she is a direct descendent of Cole Younger, a member of the James-Younger Gang and the namesame of his very own banjo tune. Jordana Greenberg, violin, grew up listening to the sounds of Stan Rogers, Leonard Cohen and Natalie McMaster in her native Canada before moving to Southern Indiana as a child. She studied classical violin by day through the pre-college program at Indiana University, and spent her nights learning the folk tunes and classic rocks songs that her family plays at the annual post-Passover jam session. 

All three women began singing after they completed their instrumental studies, and found a passionate new musical avenue. They developed their voices and arrangements to bring life to the lyrical expressiveness of their original songs. Hallmarks of their music include expansive three-part harmonies, consummate musicianship and a deft, yet soulful, lyrical perspective.

Their most recent album, SHIFTED, debuted at #1 on the Folk-DJ charts and was released to international acclaim. Tim Carroll of Folkwords wrote “Choose words to define this latest album – progressive, creative, innovative, imaginative - they all describe what’s on offer…Alternatively, don’t attempt to categorise their ingenuity with words, take the shortest route, immerse yourself in Harpeth Rising and let the music carry you with its flow.” Chris Spector at Midwest Record said “Taking Newgrass to the next dimension, taking back lyric writing as an art form, if you’ve cleaned your ears out recently, this set is going to blow your mind. One of a kind, in a class by itself and simply superlative throughout.”

New Music Coming This Spring
www.roadkillghostchoir.com

Cullen Edwards is following