Music at Southwest.fm

Scott Ellis

Nicole Atkins

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Nicole Atkins

"I don’t come up with melodies, they come to me–they just kind of happen while I’m traveling."

Nicole Atkins made her recording debut in 2007 with the release of her now classic album Neptune City. Since that time she has appeared on numerous late night TV shows, including “The Late Show with David Letterman”, “Conan”, and “Later… with Jools Holland,” and featured in media outlets ranging from The New York Times to Time magazine. She has toured throughout the US and Europe, both headlining and also touring with The Black Keys, Mavis Staples, JD McPherson, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Old 97s, Primal Scream, Chris Isaak, and many more.

Nicole’s fourth studio album, GOODNIGHT RHONDA LEE, released in 2017 on Single Lock Records, is a vintage soul album inspired legendary artists like Dusty Springfield, Candi Staton, Roy Orbison, and Janis Joplin, was produced by Niles City Sound (Leon Bridges), with additional mixing by Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes).

Nicole Atkins plays at Luck Reunion

Nicole Atkins interview at Luck Reunion

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David Ramirez

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David Ramirez

"I find there is so much beauty getting outside of your home and embracing life. That’s how travel inspires me."

David was born in Houston, TX and grew up in the suburb of Sugarland. While attending college in Dallas, he formed the David Ramirez band, an acoustic folk-pop act. After a stint in Nashville he packed his belongings into his Kia Rio car and hit the road. Without a booking agent or manager, he toured from city to city playing open mics, house shows, and dive bars. It was those experiences that inspired the songs on his first solo release, the 2007 EP, Birmingham, which included an early solo recording of the fan favorite "Fires." Since then David has released albums in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2018, David’s songs were featured on notable TV shows, "This Is Us," "Billions," and "The Ranch." David just released his fourth full length album, entitled We’re Not Going Anywhere. The album is an expansive sound influenced by some of David’s favorite 80’s bands like The Cars and Journey, and lyrically reflective of the intense political landscape in America and his bi-racial viewpoints.

David Ramirez plays at Luck Reunion

David Ramirez plays at Luck Reunion

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Buck Meek

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Buck Meek

"You meet so many people on the road and a lot of those short bittersweet interactions you would have with a passing stranger weave their way into my songs.

Buck Meek’s songs are for the lost dogs of honest mechanics, good guys and girls born into a life of crime, runaways, snow spirits, the ghosts of Central Park, unsung diving-board stars, the affection shared through gambling, and so on. Bred in Texas, more bread in New York City, Meek spins outlaw ballads and quotidian fairy tales into a yarn, with Adam Brisbin on guitar, Mt. Davidson on bass, and Austin Vaughn on drums.

Looking to the past, following his fledgling years as a boy playing gut-bucket blues, manouche jazz, and western swing in bars and dance halls across Texas, he moved to NYC and released two solo EPs, Live from a Volcano (2013), and Heart Was Beat (2015). Shortly after moving to NYC, he met songwriter Adrianne Lenker, and after a year of fervent collaboration, they recorded two EPs, A-sides and B-sides (2014). The duo went on to circle the USA several times over before expanding into a four-piece outfit, Big Thief, and have since released two records, Masterpiece (2016) and Capacity (2017). Buck Meek is a kaleidoscope of human relationships that illuminates mysticism in the temporal, humor unearthed in tragedy, the strength of vulnerability, and the words unspoken that elucidate love. 

Buck Meek plays at Luck Reunion

Buck Meek interview at Luck Reunion

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Mt. Joy

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ArtistOnTheRise-Stamp

Mt. Joy

Mt. Joy participated in Southwest: On The Rise to Luck Reunion 2018.

"The most beautiful thing about this song, and really this record, is it's about how bad I wanted everything that's slowly starting to happen for this band."

Mt. Joy began as a rekindling of musical ambitions between high school friends Matt Quinn and Sam Cooper. Reunited in Los Angeles, the pair met multi-instrumentalist Michael Byrnes through a Craigslist ad. Together, they recorded three songs and sent them out into the world, hoping for the best. Over 15 million Spotify streams later, Mt. Joy have quickly transitioned from a part-time calling into a full-fledged band, with Rolling Stone hailing them as "your new folk-rock heroes" and NPR Music naming them a Favorite New Artist of 2018. In 2017, they toured with The Shins, The Head and The Heart, and Whitney, while popping up at Bonnaroo, Newport Folk, and Lollapalooza, eventually catching the attention of Dualtone Records. The songs on their self-titled debut album depict Quinn wrestling with his own conscience, where the mundane and the fantastic collide as he processes tragedy, society, and love. But there's a sense of hope underlying everything, girded by the fact that the LP is an impressive, honest portrayal of a young band facing that moment where dreams become reality, and finding beauty in the exhilarating uncertainty of it all.

Watch the video for "Silver Lining"

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