Big Texas Nights feat. Halleyanna and the Tennessee Volunteers w/ Hunter McKithan

HALLEYANNA AND THE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS

HalleyAnna Finlay simply sings like her songs were stamped on her heart at birth. Evidence: The Country. HalleyAnna’s superb debut collection swaggers (“So Heavy”) and sways (“Fast Train”) with effortless elegance. The album, which deftly spotlights her meeting point between Patsy Cline and Emmylou Harris, serves as a shining introduction to a skyward bound emerging talent. High watermarks – particularly, “Back in Your Arms Again” and “Peace Is Lonely, Love Is War”– already show HalleyAnna growing exponentially sharp as a songwriter.

“Experience is what happens when you don’t get what you want, so songwriting makes me feel better,” she says. “Any time I’d go through a heartache growing up, my dad would say, ‘Well, you’ll get a good song out of it.’ Sure enough, I really did. You can’t write every single song about how somebody broke your heart, so some of the stuff I’ve done is more serious. ‘Back in Your Arms Again’ may sound like a song about somebody who dumped you, but it has a much deeper, eternal, death-related theme about meeting in the next life.”

For the last decade, HalleyAnna has honed her songwriting skills at Cheatham Street Warehouse, the legendary Central Texas listening room owned by her father, singer-songwriter Kent Finlay. She now leads the next generation of compelling writers who follow James McMurtry, Todd Snider, Bruce Robison and others who started out at Cheatham Street. “I grew up listening to people who play music in Texas,” says the youthful singer-songwriter. “I really love the traditional stuff that’s going on in East Nashville like Elizabeth Cook and Caitlin Rose and Hayes Carll and Slaid Cleaves here in Austin. They embody the same traditional country that I like.”

All personify the literate storytelling so identified with the Texas music tradition and HalleyAnna has put her creative writing studies to good use following their footsteps. Look for further proof one her sophomore effort (due in early 2013). Americana all-star Bill Chambers (Kasey’s father) produced the collection. “Working with Bill is so easy and great,” HalleyAnna says. “Bill came up and was here for the summer touring with Kasey and he had about a week window to make a record with me. He brought this really nice microphone that Kasey used on ‘The Captain’ and ‘Barricades and Brickwalls’ and we did vocals pretty much live. We cut the album in five days in the Wood Shed in San Marcos.”

HalleyAnna on Facebook | HalleyAnna on Twitter | Official Website

HUNTER MCKITHAN

Hunter McKithan & the Offenders are a rising force with well-seasoned songwriting skills to back up their gifted musical and instrumental talents. With roots buried deep within the genres of blues, alt. country, americana, soul, and a major influence of old-fashioned American rock and roll, it’s extremely hard to describe exactly what brand of music you’re hearing coming from whatever stage or stereo system the Offenders are occupying. But one thing is for sure. It refuses to go unnoticed. And what good is music once it’s been labeled anyway? The guys released their debut album, ‘Shape of it All,’ late in the summer of 2007 and have sent several songs to the top requested lists – including the number 1 song of 2008 on radiofreetexas.org, ‘Fallin From High.’ The band spent much of 2009 gearing up for the release of their much anticipated ‘Lee Road Sessions’ EP to be followed up with a full length album of entirely all new material. Now, after teaming up with famed producer Mike McClure, the third record is complete and will be released January 18th, 2011. ‘Not Broken Yet’ is a 13 track (12 new, 1 re-recorded) album of material unlike anything you have ever heard from Hunter McKithan & the Offenders. Be sure to grab a copy of the album and catch a live show next time they’re in your area.

Hunter McKithan on Facebook | Hunter McKithan on Twitter | Official Website