Since bursting on to the scene with his band Back Door Slam’s critically acclaimed album ‘Roll Away’ in 2007 (“I heard the spirit of Jimi Hendrix” Patrick McDonald – Seattle Times), Davy’s star has only risen. His sophomore release ‘Coming Up For Air’ was produced by the legendary Peter Frampton (“Davy already has a recognizable style. He’s definitely the gunslinger guitarist of the 21st century,’’- Peter Frampton), with subsequent tours seeing him supporting and sharing the stage with acts such as Jeff Beck, The Who, Joe Bonamassa, Kid Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd, George Thorogood, Brian Setzer, the Sammy Hagar-fronted supergroup Chickenfoot, and guitar hero Joe Satriani who called Davy “My favorite modern Bluesman”. Knowles has several top-5 Billboard Blues charting albums under his belt, high profile TV appearances (Jimmy Kimmel Live and CBS Good Morning America among others), and has been praised with high accolades from heroes and press alike – but it’s not just the music industry who has taken note. Knowles was also the very first artist in history to perform live to the International Space Station directly from mission control in Houston TX, and has had his music taken to the Space Station by two astronauts, Nicole Stott and Ron Garan, on their missions orbiting Earth. Never one to be satisfied or to sit still, Knowles has explored multiple genres and styles, from the hard-hitting 70’s classic rock influenced album ‘Three Miles From Avalon’, to the haunting acoustic delta blues of ‘1932’, and the sweet, soul-searching folk of 2023’s ‘If I Should Wander’. Whether spending an evening onstage armed with just an acoustic guitar, or wielding his well worn and trusty Telecaster while fronting his blues/rock trio – and at any point in between the two – Davy Knowles is a versatile and formidable songwriter and musician.

Photo credit – Allison Morgan

Since bursting on to the midwestern music scene with the band High and Lonesome in 1992, David Zollo has had a busy career. Along with constant touring, in the U.S and Europe, with High and Lonesome (1992-1998;) and his current band, The Body Electric (1998-present) Zollo has recorded 7 releases of his own material, including the most recent, “For Hire.” The current iteration of the band is his longest running, all four members playing together for a decade or more. It consists of Brian Cooper (drums, percussion,) Ryan Bernemann (bass guitar, harmony vocals,) and Randall Davis (electric, acoustic, and pedal steel guitars,” all of whom are some of the most in-demand musicians in the state of Iowa.

In addition, he founded and operated the seminal, Iowa-based, roots music label, Trailer Records (Bo Ramsey; Joe and Vicki Price; Greg Brown; The Pines; Brother Trucker; Kelly Parkeooper; Pieta Brown, as well as his own work, and that of others, from 1994-2006;) played keyboards and sang harmonies on many records by Nashville folk singer Todd Snider; fellow Iowan William Elliot Whitmore, and Greg Brown, amongst many other artists; and worked as a producer (The Pines; Brother Trucker; Kelly Pardekooper.) In 2017, he also formed a new band with Whitmore, guitarists Stephen Howard and Steve Doyle, and Body Electric drummer Brian Cooper, called Middle Western. Their debut release, When Your Demons Are Under Ground And You’ve Got To Dig Them Up. was recorded at Lone Tree, Iowa’s Flat Black Studios, with Luke Tweedy, and was released in 2018. They are currently working on their second record, which should be available in late 2023.

In 2017, David was asked to lead a delegation lobbying Senator Charles Grassley on behalf of the Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act. Introduced as House Resolution 881, it required a corresponding bill in the U.S. Senate. Accompanied by Daryl Friedman, from the RIAA, and children’s songwriter Justin Roberts, Zollo invited his friend, and Des Moines-based entertainment attorney, Brandon Clark, and the group met with Senator Grassley at a town hall meeting in Bloomfield, Ia. Since the only way they could get the meeting with the Senator was to have some of his constituents from Iowa there to speak, Zollo and Clark were the main drivers in what turned out to be a very successful visit. Grassley not only supported the bill, but he ended up co-sponsoring the Senate version, and in early 2018, the joint bill was passed as the Music Modernization Act. The meeting was such a success, that David Zollo has been asked to lobby Senator Grassley again, in 2020, and US Representative Ashely Hinson, also in 2020, for consideration of various topics of interest to the RIAA.

Despite the many things Zollo has done during his career, it is as a live performer that many feel he’s at his best. Check him out at a venue near you, or visit www.davezollo.com for a list of upcoming shows.