The Split Livers is a collaborative project between two of the most influential musicians in the alternative/acoustic punk bluegrass scene. Danny is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and genre-bending artists of his craft, Barnes’ musical interests are both varied and adventurous, and he incorporates that versatility into a progressive approach to an instrument that is musically polarizing and steeped in tradition. Although he demonstrates an appreciation for the history of the bluegrass, country, and folk music from which the banjo’s reputation was born, his inventive take is what truly separates him from his contemporaries…using the banjo as his ‘weapon of choice’ to play non-traditional music like rock, fusion, and jazz with electronic percussion and loop elements. Wayne and Split Lip Rayfield have carved out their own genre of music with their unique sound and instrumentation. Often described as a mix of bluegrass and country with an accent of metal Split Lip Rayfield has been a pioneer on the music scene, bending musical genres and crossing countless boundaries of musical expectations. Together Danny and Wayne bring you an experience like nothing else – Danny and Wayne are joining forces to bring you some classic songs from each of their band’s repertoire while also blazing new trails (expect a to see an album release in the near future) that will change the face of music, yet again.

A Benton Harbor Lunchbox is amateur-radio parlance for a transmitter/receiver made by the Heathkit Co. of Benton Harbor, MI, in the early 1960s. Brilliant in its simplicity, intuitive, and fully functional, it harnesses the power of the airwaves to bring all the lonesome souls together.Inspired by the rudimentary technology that is their namesake, this Chicago-based group makes music with a similar purpose: To transmit and receive the collective consciousness, sometimes emotionally, sometimes cerebrally, and sometimes viscerally, like a kick to the crotch. Their literate, unpretentious, and undomesticated homage to the American underground speaks for itself– and hopefully to you.

“The twenty-somethings who make up the trio – Peter Winne, Jake Hoffman, and Sam McDougle – have been callousing their hands and pushing their vocal chords for years as they’ve toured, recorded, and breathed traditional folk music. Their lucid take on old American music has taken them them from street-performing in Copenhagen and Berlin to venues along the east coast to an acclaimed 2007 performance on NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. Their debut album Risk Not Your Soul (2011) reached the top ten on the Roots Music Report’s folk radio chart, and they recently finished tracking a second record set to release in June.”