We're really excited to bring you another outstanding lineup of regional talent for Mike Aid 3! Check these guys out at a venue near you and support live music in your your area! We look forward to seeing all of your smiling faces again at the end of August down on the mountain.
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Please welcome Barrelhouse back to Mike as this year's Saturday night headliner!
Barrelhouse is a Virginia-grown, six-piece band rooted in the styling of dirty, southern Electric Blues. Harvesting influences from Chicago, Texas and the Mississippi delta, Barrelhouse takes pride in giving a respectful nod to a authentic blues tradition while retaining its own unique, fresh and home cooked flavor.
Since last year's Mike Aid performance, this Richmond based blues band has had great success. Barrelhouse represented the River City in the 2011 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN and has shared the stage with ZZ Top, Jimmy Herring and Gregg Allman. They look forward to a bright 2011 and are excited to return to Mike Aid to wrap up the summer. |
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This year's Friday night headliner is the Allen Thompson Band!
Some folks’ paths are determined for them before they are old enough to wonder what their paths should be. Such is the case with Allen Thompson. Thompson has been singing and telling stories for longer than he can remember. Judging by the responses to his albums and live performances, he won’t be stopping anytime soon.
Allen’s songwriting and performing abilities have been recognized and applauded by Relix Magazine, American Songwriter, Jambands.com, and even CMT. Allen’s continued growth as a songwriter and performer is evident. Audiences from South Carolina to California and many points in between are falling in love with his mournful vocals and honest turns of phrase.
It is precisely that attitude that draws listeners to Allen’s music. Thompson was born to tell a story. The first time you hear his sweet, soulful voice sail through one of his songs like the wind whistling through the mountains, you’ll want to listen again and again to the stories he is telling. |
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Former Champions are a modern musical ensemble focused on expressing ideas and emotions through sound and words. Targeting to influence and inspire the human spirit with dynamic groove-based compositions, the music has been described through a multitude of genres including Rock, Funk, World-Beat, Electronica, and NuJazz.
FC have recently shared the stage with Lotus, Perpetual Groove, Tea Leaf Green, EOTO, Toubab Krewe, John Brown’s Body, Zappa Plays Zappa, Deer Tick, Telepath, The Hackensaw Boys, Brother's Past, Conspirator, U-Melt, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Sci Fi, Big In Japan, Jounce, mewithoutyou, Biodiesel, Indobox, Papadosio, Stushido, Basshound, Turbine, The Mantras, and The Bridge among others. |
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Relacksachian’s sound is a mirror image of its name. In creating and combining a relaxing atmosphere with Appalachian-inspired improvisational music, the quintet has managed to generate a sound that consistently stirs audiences into dancing mashes of country girls, city boys, young folk, old folk and most of what may be there between.
The band’s music resonates among so many listeners because it transforms the traditional to new, and the new to traditional. Showcasing a fiddle, a mandolin, spoons, a washboard, an upright bass, an acoustic guitar and a drum set, Relacksachian reinvents traditional fiddle and bluegrass tunes and reworks songs from the likes of Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead, all while maintaining an impressive library of original music. |
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With elements of rock and roll, funk, blues and world music and a heavy inclination for improvisation Half Moon’s sound is best described as an attempt to extinguish all musical barriers. One thing is for sure though, once the first note hits, a journey of musical exploration is under way; and its vehicle is driven by wailing guitar licks, robotic synth sounds, melodic piano
patterns and thick back-beats, always striving to carry it’s listener to never predetermined areas of creativity.
Following and directing one another through song passages these four musicians treat their instruments as extensions of their souls, playing each idea instantaneously as it occurs. And still, even with so many directions, they play less as a band of individuals and more as a unified cohort, conjoined by the same idealogy, the enjoyment of spontaneous music. |
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| The Harwell Grice Band has been entertaining audiences throughout Virginia, nonstop, for the past five years. Their original Bluegrass and Americana mixed with a large repertoire of traditionals and even a few popular covers result in a very entertaining show. The Harwell Grice Band was formed when four friends: Josh Grice, Matt Hubbard, Gabe Robey and Spencer Young got together back in college and started playing bluegrass. After playing a few times they started writing and performing their own material around Radford University. After nearly five years of playing for friends, bars, parties, weddings and festivals, The Harwell Grice Band has morphed into a talented and versatile group of musicians, sharing the stage with the likes of Larry Keel, Seldom Scene, Tony Rice, Blue Highway and Chatham County Line to name a few. The bands musical arrangements and three and four part harmonies are some of the best in the business. Their lyrics are both meaningful and honest and reflect a special unconformity while staying true to the traditions and themes of Appalachian music. |
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Kerosene Willy is freestyle, groovin’, roots music. Whatever your musical taste, there’s something in the Willy for all. Equally at home with a kicked back acoustic-style jam to a full-blown rock show, the Willy will get you there and back. From blues to bluegrass, rock and soul, and much in between, Willy delivers an experience that pulses and sways into the night. Tasty original music with some choice covers. Check it out, it’s worth the trip. |
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Shorefire,a name that represents the music they play and the aura of which they try to create with it. They blend reggae, funk and rock for an original sound that evokes the party vibe they often sing about. All the while maintaining ear-friendly hooks and remembering their acoustic roots. This band is no doubt a surefire representation of what long nights with old and new friends is all about, enjoying life and the music it inspires.
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The Muckrakes hail from the backwaters Hampton Roads and formed after a lengthy search for like minded folks to create original roots inspired rock music. Together, the group has found the right combination of sweet and sinister, of power and weakness, of new and old and is here to help make the celebration of life a little more rowdy. |
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The Lazy Man Dub Band came together in Fall of 2007 by a happy set of fortunate circumstances. Starting with Roanoke, Virginia, the band has been laying down the jams all across the state and leaving in its wake an exploding fan base. Constantly evolving as a group, Lazy Man relentlessly experiments with their sound, by bringing new and different arrangements to the table each night. No two Dub shows will leave you feeling the same.
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Blue Mule - a unique group of musicians working in a bluegrass context
with heavy doses of jazz, rock, blues and country.
Blue Mule - a performance that is one of intensity, spontaneity
and the pursuit of "playing that lick just a little bit better than the night before".
Blue Mule - it's what you're doing this weekend! |
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| "Forget everything you'll surrender. Just open your mouth wide and sing." |
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It's been seven years and counting since The Atkinsons first set foot on Richmond, VA stages. What started out as a small acoustic outfit turned into a band that took on a life of its own. The Atkinsons meld roots, country, mountain, and rock music into their own style of rambling swing rock & roll. Heartfelt story-telling is at the core of The Atkinsons, and it is complemented with three-part harmonies layered over mandolin, fiddle, drums, bass and electric guitars. |
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The Apache is an collective mix of orginal old school rock with a touch of folk, southern rock, roots rock and others blended into one dynamic sound. Sam Fochtman (Royal Greens), Josh Lynch (Pickin' Buds, County Bound), and Chance Taylor (Barefoot West) have come together to give you a full force, in your face show! Go hear them live, as they put their spin on many (usually) unheard covers and original songs. |
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Hailing from the mountain crossroads of Roanoke, Virgina, Matt Browning crafts a delicate blend of roots country, traditional rock 'n' roll, and Appalachian music. His originals give hard-edged insight into a fading image of the effervescent Old South--railroads, ghost towns, family loyalty, and an acute reverence for nature. Carefully selected covers illustrate his love of soulful music--a heaping dose of Rolling Stones here, a dash of Grateful Dead there; all spiked with a spiritual injection of Bob Dylan and Waylon Jennings. In a world of fabricated sin, Matt Browning offers a brand of six-stringed salvation that is impossible to unearth just anywhere. His music is not to be missed. |
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The rejoining of creative forces, Henry Lazenby and Marcus Morris, is exciting and impressing live music lovers across the region who have enjoyed their original tunes for the past five years. The Groova has been on quite a journey so far, but they're just getting started. |
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Slideways hails from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Roanoke, Virginia where they all grew up together. Their music is a rough blend of reggae, blues, and rock and roll with influences ranging from Sublime and The Talking Heads to Pink Floyd and Kings of Leon. Their primary goal is to create original music that is as fun to listen to as it is to play. |
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| What! What? Rythm & Booze is a mad scientist's dream of Rock and Roll greatness bringing Reggea, Hip Hop, and straight up Rock to audiences with a helluva punch. |
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The Hollow Springs Band is a four member family band from Callaway, Virginia. Though fairly new to the music scene, HSB has developed a loyal following playing classic country, bluegrass, blues & rock with original tunes beginning to be added to their show.
The three youngest members of the band, 11, 12 & 14 years of age, allowed their father to join the group since they could not drive to shows. Don’t let their young ages fool you; these guys can play. The Hollow Springs Band is thrilled to be joining Mike Aid 3 this year! |
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String theory is a band the defies definition. Hungry to play and energized beyond believe, they will rock your face off, if you let them. |
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Who is Paw Rawski? |
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