“Now, here is a band I can get behind. Chicago-based Tim Larson & the Owner Operators recently dropped A New Deal, a record lands on the spectrum somewhere between Nebraska and The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place, depending upon how much you goose the volume pot. Clearly influenced by the stark lyricism of both Cave and Cash, Larson and his boys fill their bag o’tricks with layers of guitar that will send the meeker Americana stock running for the hills.” – Dodge, My Old Kentucky Blog

Classic soul meets rock and roll in this dynamic eight-piece collective from Chicago. The Congregation features Gina Bloom, a singer whose raw and powerful vocals are underscored by Charlie Wayne’s dynamic guitar riffs, the band’s rock and soul rhythms (Dan Wendt on drums, Chuck Sansone on keys and Steve Schuster on bass) and the lively call and response of a three-piece horn section (Justin Amolsch on trumpet, Erik Eiseman on sax and Nick Nottoli on trombone). When it comes to the songwriting, you won’t find any sugarcoated love songs here–you’ll get a little bit of longing and a whole lot of wronging.

While the release of Right Now Everything marked the band’s full-length album debut, The Congregation has been steadily gaining steam since the release of its seven-song EP, Not for Sleepin’, in late 2010. The band was named by the Chicago Tribune as one of “11 Bands to Watch in 2011”, and was recently featured in Paste Magazine as one of “10 Illinois Bands You Should Listen to Now”. The Congregation’s stop-and-take-notice sound earned the group the opportunity to share a triple stadium-bill with Grammy-winning band Wilco and critically acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird as well as another all-star ballpark lineup with the Flaming Lips and Garbage in the summer of 2012. In 2013, The Congregation appeared as an official showcasing act at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX and appeared on an episode of Through The Wormhole with Morgan Freeman.

Coldcock Jones & Lightnin’ Deuce Rooster formed The Buttermilk 5 in Peoria, IL in 1958 when they released their debut album, “Stop, Drop & Boogie.” Their sophomore release, ten years later, “O’ Lord the Things I Done,” flopped because they couldn’t fit enough albums in the trunk of the Zephyr. There may have been another album around that time. The band resurfaced in 1972 or 1973 with a live album recorded in St. Louis. Chuck Berry fought to have production of the album halted, as he found it stupid, but album was pressed and no one bought it. “Live At St. Louis ’72” (or ’73) sold 5 or 6 units before the band’s bass player, LaVel Brown, left the remaining albums at a music venue. Some shithole in Pekin (Illinois, not China). Coldcock and Lightnin’ both worked plenty of solo projects, but with only 8 or 9 blues musicians in Peoria, things moved slowly until they reunited in prison early in 1979. This lead to the creation of Buttermilk 5 Christmas album, “Christmas At Stateville,” which was released for charity in 1980. In Spring of 2006, Coldcock woke up in Chicago. Unable to find a ride back to Peoria, he took residence with Chicago rock band, The Last Vegas, and began recruiting musicians and doing a lot of drugs while watching Canadian television programming. When he found the right drugs and musicians, The Shithawks were hatched… and shit on everything.