Whether traveling to gigs on horseback or by tour bus, Americana mavens The Brothers Comatose forge their own path with raucous West Coast renderings of traditional bluegrass, country and rock ‘n’ roll music. The five-piece string band is anything but a traditional acoustic outfit with their fierce musicianship and rowdy live shows reminiscent of stadium rock concerts. In fall 2017, “Campfire Caravan” featuring The Brothers Comatose, Mipso, and The Lil Smokies hosts three of today’s foremost emerging indie Americana bands as they trek across the United States to more than 30 cities. “Campfire Caravan” honors the musicians’ early days playing music, when they’d perform for friends and family in basements, living rooms, and around campfires. “Campfire Caravan” celebrates the American tradition of gathering communities around music.

Following three critically acclaimed full-length studio albums (Songs From The Stoop, Respect The Van, City Painted Gold), the five-piece string band disrupts the traditional album cycle and focuses their 2017/2018 release schedule on a series of strategically released songs. On Sept. 8, 2017, The Brothers Comatose releases a sun-soaked new single “Don’t Make Me Get Up And Go” produced by indie-rock legend John Vanderslice. Channeling harmony vanguards The Beach Boys, “Don’t Make Me Get Up And Go” is a nod to the delicate dance between two friends and trusting fate to either bring them romantically together or not. With lyrics written by the band’s tour manager Joe Pacini, lead singer Ben Morrison lends his crooning baritone to the fast-paced, feel good song.

“Going into the studio with Vanderslice was all about capturing the moment on analog tape,” says Ben. “We set out to record in a way we’ve never previously attempted. We did it live with all of us playing in the same room as if we were performing on stage. Vanderslice really understood the sonic landscape we were going for. He’s really a super producer, being a musician who has cut a lot of records of his own and produced albums by many great artists.”

The Brothers Comatose entered Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone (San Francisco) studio with drafts of “Don’t Make Me Get Up And Go.” After working out the verses and chorus in the studio, bassist Gio Benedetti came up with the three-part harmony bridge. Vanderslice had the trio of Ben, his brother Alex Morrison, and Gio, head into the studio’s echo chamber with its five-second delay, and the boys did what they do best. They sang their hearts out, and the result is sublime.

The Brothers Comatose is comprised of brothers Ben Morrison (guitar, vocals) and Alex Morrison (banjo, vocals), Gio Benedetti (bass, vocals), Philip Brezina (violin), and Ryan Avellone (mandolin). When they’re not headlining The Fillmore for a sold-out show or appearing at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, the band is out on the road performing across America, Canada, Australia, and hosting their very own music festival, Comatopia. In 2018, The Brothers Comatose will travel to Asia for a month of cultural music exchange and education with American Music Abroad, a program directed by the State Department.

8x GRAMMY® Award-winning singer/songwriter/producer, Stephen Marley just released his new album Old Soul on September 15, 2023 - his first full-length project since 2016. Featuring a stellar line-up of special guests including Bob Weir, Eric Clapton, Jack Johnson, Ziggy Marley, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Buju Banton, and Slightly Stoopid, the 14-track acoustic-inspired album is now available on all digital platforms via Tuff Gong Collective/UMe/Ghetto Youths International.  Limited-edition double LP vinyl in translucent yellow and green, CD, 2LP standard black vinyl and merch bundles are available for pre-order at stephenmarleymusic.com.  

Old Soul comes as a complete revelation. While grounded from the road during the COVID lockdown, Stephen set up a new studio on a remote family farm in the Florida countryside, holding nightly jam sessions in a converted garage. With a stripped-down ensemble comprising binghi drums, bass, acoustic guitar, and flute, Stephen played whatever he felt like — ranging from original compositions and reggae rarities with deep personal meaning to classics recorded by Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, and The Beatles. “Irie vibration,” Stephen says of the sounds made together on the farm. The lion’s share of Old Soul was recorded during these “unplugged” jam sessions.

Even as the album showcases Ragga’s versatility, the message within his music remains consistent. “We come to free the people’s minds,” says Stephen. “Only way you can free your soul is to free your mind. My father say, ‘No chains on my feet, but I’m not free.’ And then he come say, ‘Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery.’ Anywhere the music calls us, we are going to be there to spread the message of love and unity.” 

Old Soul explores a musical palette that spans a variety of cultures and genres alike, with hand-selected special guests furthering the spiritual journey that encompasses the album. 

In celebration of the new album, Stephen has embarked on an ambitious Old Soul Tour Unplugged 2023 through the fall.

Official site: https://SlightlyStoopid.com
Get the Music: https://SlightlyStoopid.com/music
Find a Show: https://Slightly Stoopid.com/tour

As a musical brotherhood since 1995, Slightly Stoopid, led by the vastly versatile duo of Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald, has expanded its fusion of rock, reggae, acoustic soul, hip hop, heavy metal, and punk rock, and achieved artistic freedom and commercial success while subscribing to their own DIY ethos. In the process, the talented collective has grown both onstage - from their original trio to a seven-piece ensemble - and as the generational forebearer of an immensely growing subculture and lifestyle movement. 

Bound by their devotion to a musical agenda that relies on the spirit of collaboration and improvisation, and a social agenda that advocates for the freedom and legalization of marijuana, Slightly Stoopid’s musical melting pot continues to earn the respect of their mentors and peers, inspire countless young musicians, and delight millions of fans.

Read more at: https://www.slightlystoopid.com/about

Damian Robert Nesta Marley, also known around the world as “Junior Gong” and more recently as “Gongzilla” was born in 1978 to parents Bob Marley and Cindy Breakspeare, Miss World 1976.  As a young adult, he developed a passion and a gift to speak for those who cannot always speak for themselves. A self-proclaimed ‘Spiritual Revolutionary’, Damian has worked assiduously to carve his own niche in music history and to add a new perspective to the Marley legacy for the 21st century. 

At the age of 13, Damian began performing in a group called “The Shepherds” which comprised of Shiah Coore (son of Third World guitarist Cat Coore) and currently a member of his band, and Yashema Beth McGreggor, daughter of reggae singers Freddie Mcgreggor and Judy Mowatt and then began touring with his brothers, Stephen, Ky-mani, Julian and Ziggy. 

By 1996, Damian had already made his stamp as a different kind of Marley when he released his first solo album “Mr. Marley”, a heavily dancehall-influenced album produced by his brother Stephen Marley.  His second album “Halfway Tree” was released in 2001 by a major record label and showcased Damian’s unique gift for blending dancehall, reggae and hip-hop styles.  This album won Damian much recognition and remained on the Billboard Top Reggae Album Charts for 158 weeks and earned him his first Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2002. 
While honored by this recognition by the global music fraternity, Damian continued to work in the studio, laying the groundwork for the tracks that would become his highly anticipated album, “Welcome To Jamrock”. The lyrics in this album presented Marley as a true spiritual revolutionary, as he used his talent to evoke a spiritual change while trying to enforce a better way of thinking.  He is described as “rhyming with the conviction of a street preacher with the intellect of a university economist”.  

Damian’s hit single “Welcome to Jamrock” was listed as one of the Top 100 Songs of the Decade by Rolling Stone, and at the 2006 Grammy Awards, he won Best Reggae Album and Best Urban/Alternative Performance for Welcome to Jamrock. Damian is the only Jamaican reggae artist in history to win two Grammy Awards on the same night. He is also the only reggae artist to win in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category at the Grammy Awards. The New York Times called Welcome to Jamrock the “best reggae song of the decade.” 
Welcome to Jamrock led the pathway to Damian’s critically acclaimed collaboration with Nas for 2010’s much lauded album “Distant Relatives” – a project which explored the relationships between reggae, hip-hop and Africa. The album title refers not only to the bond between the artists, but the connection to their African ancestry, which inspired the album both musically and lyrically. USA Today referred to the album as a “potent and often provocative collaboration” and by Rolling Stone as “an Afrocentric winner.” The album debuted at Number 5 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and Number 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Rap Albums and Reggae Albums charts, with Billboard heralding the album as “a dynamic hybrid.”    

The Distant Relatives Tour kicked off in 2011 and saw Damian traveling and performing for thousands of fans all over the world, including South America, Europe, The United Kingdom, The Caribbean and North America.  

Damian continued to cross musical boundaries in 2012, as he went on to partner with Skrillex for their groundbreaking track “Make It Bun Dem”, which Rolling Stone called “a monster mash up of dubstep and dancehall” and has led to several remixes of the original version.  Damian recently released two other singles; “Set Up Shop” and  “Affairs of the Heart” which both received widespread airplay. 

Damian continues to tour with his band all over the world as a way of entertaining and healing as he continues to spread the message for those whose voices cannot be heard. He is working with his brothers Stephen and Julian under their Ghetto Youths International Label, to discover, develop and sign gifted artistes by applying their musical talent and vast experience to create new and different styles of music.  

Damian is currently in the studio working on his upcoming solo album.

Traditional western and country music. Ranching, rodeo & other agricultural tragedies. Fan of cold beer, gin, military history & campfires.

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