Chicago’s Woodrow Hart & the Haymaker bring 78-rpm into the modern age. With simple instrumentation—guitar and resonator, fiddle, trumpet, piano, upright bass, and trap kit—the self-proclaimed “dirty old-time band” and its five multi-instrumentalists craft an honest, rowdy sound that is at once both old and new. A unique mélange of pre-electric country, blues and folk, with hints of early jazz and imbued with the spirit of Chicago punk rock, the band reinvents American musical tradition while holding fast to the integrity of each genre and its artists to create a sound that is distinctly genuine, distinctly Southern, distinctly restless, and all its own.

Formed in the spring of 2009 Me and the Devil quickly became known for putting on a great live show. Mixing traditional country and blues with there own original material they’ll either make you get up and dance or cry in your beer

Justin and the Salty Dogs began making music out of necessity. When Brownie McGhee (1915-1996) so astutely said years ago that “Blues is Truth,” he exposed the roots of an ancient philosophical tradition that regards music as playing an important role in the welfare of a troubled mind. The ancient Roman philosopher Seneca (ca. 4 BCE-65 CE), for instance, speaks like a bluesman when he says, “Let the mind be soothed by the reading of poetry and occupied by the tales of history; it should be treated with sensitivity and finesse. Pythagoras used to calm his worried mind with the lyre; and who does not know that the cornet and trumpet act as stimulants to the mind, just as certain songs provide it therapeutic relief” (De Ira 3.9). The songs by Justin and the Salty Dogs, initially self-prescribed medicines, have precisely this aim. The “physicians” with whom they have consulted are numerous, but a few are especially worthy of mention: Mississippi John Hurt (1893-1966); Jimmie Rodgers (1897-1933); Sonny Terry (1911-1986); Woody Guthrie (1912-1967); and Muddy Waters (1913-1983). They tip their hats to these sage musicians and others like them, in all their complexity and problems, for pointing the way.

What ever happened to all those dudes that were in those local metal bands of your youth? Well, in the case of The Hard Wood Boys they play old timey traditional folk with a twist now. With a few instruments (and some cleaning supplies made into instruments) these four long time friends are bringing you that hot new jug band joint straight from the underground. And by underground I mean rural Illinois. Featuring a washtub bass as well as mandolin, banjo, washboard and guitar The Hard Wood Boys tap into the very earliest American roots music. If the name Alan Lomax means something to you then this is your kind of band.

Lou Shields is an Artist, Musician, Teacher and Skateboarder who has been living and working in the Chicago area his entire life. He has also traveled extensively and draws on life experiences when making his work. His music is rooted in pre and post war 20th century America with a 21st century perspective. He has a deep appreciation for Delta Blues, Country Blues, early Country and beyond. Shields continues that tradition with respect in the 21st century and transcends any specific genre. He released his first EP in the Spring of 2011 but has been making music for over 20 years.