Rachel Drew is a singer-songwriter from Chicago. She grew up in a musical family and is known for her voice and her catchy, self-penned tunes that blend blues, country, pop, folk, and retro soul. "Old Sky New" is her newest album, recorded with Blaise Barton at Grammy-winning Joyride Studios. It features John Szymanski, Alton Smith, Cathie Van Wert Menard, Michael Krayniak, Jason Batchko, and Chloe F. Orwell. Alan Harrison of The Rocking Magpie writes, “There’s something of a hint of Dusty in Memphis, minus the strings here; as Rachel actually has a similar breathy and pearlescent voice that reels you in, and before you know it you’re sitting totally engrossed in the offering coming out of the speakers... the arrangements are pure Laurel Canyon at its height when Linda Ronstadt and Mama Cass could do no wrong.” See www.racheldrew.com for more.

“One of the most underrated songwriters in American music, Steve Dawson’s newest venture is Funeral Bonsai Wedding, a jazz-folk collaboration that recalls the best of Tim Buckley or Astral Weeks-era Van Morrison. Those may seem like lofty notices, but Dawson has a way with melody and image that live up to them” — Riverfront Times

“There was a time when popular radio was defined by the craftsmanship and raw talent of folks like Al Green, Paul McCartney and Carole King. Steve Dawson would have fit in just fine. One of the great pop-rock voices of our time” — Jambase

The idea of FUNERAL BONSAI WEDDING came to Steve Dawson while riding a bus in his hometown of Chicago. Every day he passed a florist with three windows, each with a sign. “Funeral,” read one. “Bonsai,” another. “Wedding,” read the last. 

However random, Dawson realized the words sounded natural when put together, much like the group that would share its title. Indeed, when FUNERAL BONSAI WEDDING released its self-titled debut album in 2014, the collaboration appeared like it shouldn’t work. As the songwriter-singer behind Dolly Varden, an acclaimed Americana band from Chicago, Dawson’s roots are country and soul. He is joined by three Chicago jazz musicians — vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, drummer Charles Rumback and bassist Jason Roebke — known for their inventiveness on Chicago’s legendary free jazz scene, having participated in projects with people like Ken Vandermark, Ryley Walker, Nicole Mitchell, Jeff Parker, and Nels Cline, among many others.

Put together, the music of FUNERAL BONSAI WEDDING is unlike all of the above. On Last Flight Out, every sound is inverted: Adasiewicz’s vibes serve as the lead instrument, Dawson’s voice often leads to chants, and Rumback and Roebke shift time to move the music to side pockets as they move it forward. The closest comparison to the ephemeral blissed-out melodies is Van Morrison’s epic Astral Weeks, which aims for transcendence amid ordinariness. To reach those otherworldly heights, Dawson had to invert the process he was conditioned to within the context of a rock band.

This time out, Jason Roebke played a bigger role in writing the string arrangements to accompany Dawson’s songs, enhancing them in ways that made even the most downcast lyrics glow with beauty. “Jason added to the meaning of the songs. It’s pretty incredible. I had been playing with him for many years, but it shows me he’s paying attention to the full songs — not just his part, but the whole picture,” Dawson says. “It’s really wonderful.”

By shedding traditional song structures, and inspired by the open space created by his new collaborators, Dawson found himself gravitating towards more impressionistic lyrics, which happened to fit the surrealistic world that emerged since the last record. Those details creep into Last Flight Out through lyrics and moods that hover on the edge of both hope and despondency — A state that reflects the everyday news cycle. “The songs go unexpected places,” Dawson says. “I let my imagination go where it will. I didn’t try to confirm it to a traditional narrative.” 

The first thought had to be best thought since LAST FLIGHT OUT was recorded in a single day at Kingsize Sound Labs in Chicago with John Abbey at the controls. The band was fresh from a headlining performance at Constellation and wanted to capture that energy in just a few hours. 

For Dawson, the magic of FUNERAL BONSAI WEDDING comes from that blind trust. If Dawson hadn’t seen that florist window, if he hadn't agreed on a lark to improvise on a stage he'd never played, if he hadn’t decided to put his songs in the hands of musicians he barely knew at the time — He would have been stuck.

FUNERAL BONSAI WEDDING is the sound of starting over and not knowing what’s next until it happens.

Charming Axe is a Chicago based, American Roots band that performs cover songs as well as originals in a variety of arrangement styles. Charming Axe music spans bluegrass, country and folk and roots with an emphasis on Appalachian derived straight vocal tone and three part harmony, accompanied by traditional folk and acoustic instruments including guitar, mandolin, fiddle, upright bass and others. Their songs range from forlorn, heartfelt love songs and a cappella ballads, to uptempo dance numbers. Traditional tunes from artists like Porter Wagoner, Emmylou Harris and Rhonda Vincent are sure to please any fan of this kind of music and their adaptations of nontraditional and original songs keep their shows fresh and exciting every time.

Rob Newhouse (Guitarist/Vocalist) has racked up many years of performing, recording, writing and teaching. A military brat, he grew up in various places; New Jersey, Texas, Alabama and the Azores to name a few. His mom was a big band singer in the '40's and Dad was a jazz-lover; music was always an important part of everyday life. A drummer originally, Rob switched to guitar and played in many bands, including Chicago roots-pop favorite the Elvis Brothers. He left the bar band scene in 1998 and began teaching at Chicago's famous Old Town School of Folk Msic. "I was surrounded by a community of stellar musicians; walking songbooks of American folk and roots." His long time love of mountain style vocal harmony led him to Eugenia and Hannah and they hit it off instantly. Loves family, food, kindness, tolerance, truth and oh yeah, music! 

Since moving to Chicago in 1991 from the east coast, Eugenia Elliott has made her mark on the Chicago music scene in a wide variety of musical genres that include vocal jazz standards, bluegrass, old time country and popular contemporary music. Eugenia has also been successful in the realm of studio recording including demo and album work. You can hear her in local bands such as the Teflons and the Linda Marie Smith Band as well as on her own album of originals entitled 4000 Weeks. Eugenia has held down a variety of “day jobs” including those as a clinical social worker and massage therapist. She feels there is a symbiotic bond between the two professions and music in that all are dedicated to relationships, communication and, in a sense, healing. 

Hannah Hill has a deep and genuine love of vocal harmony. As the daughter of a church choir director she was inspired by her mother's singing and piano playing; inheriting her love of traditional and American folk music. Hannah, who has sung in nearly a dozen choirs in her life time, is a self described "strumming" guitarist and has a theatrical performance background. In addition to contributing her clear and gentle soprano voice to Charming Axe, Hannah is a preschool music teacher and volunteer art teacher and is also a Certified Music Practitioner where she performs live, therapeutic music at bedside for the critically ill, elderly, and other patients during difficult times. 

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