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They said it couldn’t be done. Four different songwriters joining forces to form a single

band? There was simply no precedent (outside of CSNY, The Beatles, The Traveling

Wilburys, The Highwaymen, Monsters of Folk, etc). And yet Fantastic Cat did it anyway,

defying the odds and teaming up to record their highly unanticipated 2022 debut, The

Very Best Of Fantastic Cat. Hailed by Rolling Stone as "a wildly satisfying collection of

folk-rock, country, Americana, and good old rock & roll" that offers “equal doses of Dylan

and Springsteen,” the album earned the vocal-trading, instrument-swapping collective

their national TV debut, sold-out headline dates around the US and Europe, festival

performances everywhere from Sundance to Take Root, and a song in the Showtime

series Tulsa King. In 2023, the unlikely four-piece teamed up with all-star producer Butch

Walker for a 50th anniversary take on Wings’ “Band On The Run,” which prompted even

more love from Rolling Stone, who dubbed them “the Harlem Globetrotters of

Americana.”

Individually, each member of Fantastic Cat boasts their own impressive resume along

with a litany of critical acclaim. Paste declared Don DiLego’s latest album a

“stunner.” NPR said Anthony D’Amato “sings and writes in the tradition of Bruce

Springsteen or Josh Ritter.” Rolling Stone called Brian Dunne’s new record “the sleeper

album of the year” and praised Mike Montali’s band, Hollis Brown, as “the soundtrack

for a late-night drive through the American heartland.” Collectively, though, the four

transcend their respective roots, emerging as velvet-clad rock and roll cooperative far

greater than the sum of its parts.

They say some cats are born fantastic; others have fantasy thrust upon them. These guys

are somewhere in the middle.

THE FELICE BROTHERS

The Felice Brothers first emerged from the Hudson Valley nearly two decades ago with a gloriously ramshackle sound that drew on everything from Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan to Walt Whitman and Flannery O’Connor. In just a few short years, the group went from busking in the subway to playing Radio City Music Hall with Bright Eyes and appearing everywhere from the Newport Folk Festival to Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble. Beginning with 2007’s Tonight At The Arizona, the band helped pave the way for the modern folk revival, while at the same time challenging its boundaries and conventions with bold sonic experimentation and unyielding integrity. The New York Times likened their music to “the rootsy mysticism of the Band,” while Rolling Stone praised the “scrappiness” of their “folk-rock noir,” and The Guardian hailed their songs as “impeccably crafted, with literary-minded lyrics that are both playful and profound.”

The band’s newest record, Valley of Abandoned Songs, marks The Felice Brothers’ debut for Conor Oberst’s new Million Stars label and showcases the group at their most intimate and unvarnished. Balancing hope and despair in equal measure, the album explores the search for meaning and connection through the eyes of a wide-ranging cast of misfits and outcasts, and though the recordings here span several years of almost-lost tunes, the result is a thoroughly cohesive collection that manages to feel both utterly timeless and particularly attuned to the present all at once.

Formed in 2001, The Iron Maidens have quickly established themselves as one of

southern California’s most popular tribute acts and are rapidly gaining international

recognition. The band boasts beauty as well as excellent musicianship, lively stage

presence, and a remarkable stage show with theatrical scenes interspersed throughout.

First and foremost on the agenda of The Iron Maidens is talent. These women are highly

trained professionals with diversified musical backgrounds ranging from orchestral and

musical theater to blues and rock. The band and its members have been the recipients

of many awards including best tribute band, and best in category (guitar, bass, drums,

voice) at events such as The Rock City News Awards, The LA Music Awards, and The All

Access Magazine Award Show to name a few. The line-up is Kirsten “Bruce Chickinson”

Rosenberg on vocals, Linda “Nikki McBURRain” McDonald on drums, Courtney “Adriana

Smith” Cox and Nikki “Davina Murray” Stringfield on guitars, and Wanda “Steph Harris”

Ortiz on bass.

The Iron Maidens cover Iron Maiden material from all eras of the band’s career,

encompassing the band’s biggest hits as well as fan favorites. The stage show includes

appearances by Maiden mascot Eddie, the grim reaper, the devil and more.

The Iron Maidens have packed houses everywhere they have played.