Nashville, Tenn. — The Americana Music Festival and Conference will play host to an exploration and celebration of the blogosphere Friday, September 19. The epitome of the anarchic world of contemporary taste-making, blogs break bands, amplifying traditional grassroots campaigns and word-of-mouth buzz.

Innovative industry outfit Thirty Tigers will partner with bloggers My Old Kentucky Blog and Aquarium Drunkard to present a two-pronged AMA event: A daytime panel featuring My Old Kentucky Blog’s Craig “Dodge” Lile, Aquarium Drunkard’s Justin Gage, Amanda Petrusich (New York Times, Pitchfork, Paste) and Janet Timmons of Nashville’s Out the Other will take a multifaceted look at blogs: who’s reading them? Who is writing them? How do Americana bands reach them? Friday evening, an eclectic Americana lineup of blogger darlin’s featuring Jason Isbell, O’Death, Those Darlins, Blair and Le Switch will take the stage at the Basement.

“The blog’s key role in promoting Americana music just underscores our genre’s natural fit with progressive culture,” says AMA Executive Director Jed Hilly. “The benefits of taking a closer look at the Americana and blogosphere relationship are obvious: Our foundations and fan bases are invariably intertwined.”

The Onion dubbed Jason Isbell “a truth-slinging troubadour yearning to push the Southern-rock envelope while hewing close to his Alabama roots.” Isbell, formerly of the Drive-By Truckers, is an accomplished musician and songwriter who weaves dark stories about desperate characters, combining elements of rock, blues and soul. His debut album, Sirens Of The Ditch, received rave reviews from The Washington Post, Pitchfork Media, Village Voice, and more.

New York outfit O’Death’s third LP, Broken Hymns, Limbs and Skin, feels like a giddy junkyard hoedown: At times it sounds morose or contemplative, but underneath the melancholy lays a gospel fervor, bashed from paint buckets, banjos, guitars and anything else within kicking distance. Currently, O’Death propels their Americana-meets-gypsy-punk of recent years into a more urgent, unrelenting celebration of life and death.

Murfreesboro’s Those Darlins are ready to party…hand clapping, bloomers, and bourbon. This country mob (Nikki Darlin, Jessi Darlin and Kelley Darlin) boots out a blend of deadpan, crazed music reminiscent of The Carter Family and the Black Lips. Their forthcoming EP on Oh Wow Dang Records is produced by Jeff Curtin (Vampire Weekend, Pitchfork TV, and pioneer of “recap rock”).

Blair writes and sings but “singer-songwriter” would be somewhat misleading. With her innate pop sensibility and intense delivery, it would be more accurate to describe Blair’s sound as the musical meeting of Dolly Parton and Radiohead. Blair’s four-song EP Pluto received praise both online and off with coverage from outlets spanning LA Weekly to My Old Kentucky Blog. A full-length release has been completed and is being readied for release in early 2009.
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About the Sponsors

My Old Kentucky Blog.com is a fanatically updated one-stop shop for all things indie rock. The website’s owner, Craig “Dodge” Lile, has garnered national attention for his enthusiastic and knowledgeable posts about independent music, and the popularity has transcended into a weekly two-hour radio program on Sirius Satellite Radio.

About Aquarium Drunkard
Justin Gage is the founder and Editor-In-Chief of the influential Aquarium Drunkard.com, an award-winning, internationally acclaimed music blog based in Los Angeles. Gage also has an award-winning radio show on Sirius’ Left of Center channel and is the founder of Autumn Tone records.

Äbout Thirty Tigers
Thirty Tigers is a marketing, distribution, publicity and management outfit (but not necessarily all at the same time) that provides a loving home to such acts as The Avett Brothers, Jason Isbell, Amy LaVere, Justin Townes Earle, Elizabeth Cook and James McMurtry among others. They are also the proud home to indie ingénues Jessica Lea Mayfield and Those Darlins.

Slated for September 17-20, 2008, the 9th Annual Americana Festival and Conference will offer seminars, panels and networking opportunities at the Nashville Convention Center by day, while each evening brings stacked Americana showcases. Legend Levon Helm will officially jump start the festivities Wednesday, September 17 with his Ramble at the Ryman, and the capstone of the festival will take the form of the annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards, scheduled for September 18 at the historic Ryman Auditorium.

Tickets are now available for the Levon Helm Ramble at the Ryman and the Americana Honors & Awards show at Ticketmaster and the Ryman box office for $65 or $45 and $45, respectively.

For the latest additions to showcase lineups, ticket purchasing and more information about the Americana Music Festival and Conference, please visit http://www.americanamusic.org/.

About the Americana Music Association
The Americana Music Association is a professional trade organization whose mission is to provide a forum for the advocacy of Americana music and to promote public awareness of the genre to support the creative and economic viability of professionals in this field. Dedicated to building and promoting the Americana genre and the individuals who participate in that industry, the Americana Music Association works closely with artists, labels, radio stations, retailers, print media, festivals, agents, publishers and more to help organize and build the infrastructure necessary for the Americana genre to achieve success both creatively and financially.

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Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters. Photo by Myriam Santos

Friday, September 19th
Cannery Ballroom - 8:00pm

1 Cannery RowGrimey’s (CD Signing) - 4:00pm
1604 Eighth Ave South

Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters will be in Nashville during the Americana Music Conference with a show at the Cannery Ballroom on Friday, September 19th at 8:00pm. Earlier that day, The Boxmasters will be signing copies of their self-titled 2 CD set at Grimey’s at 4:00pm. The Boxmasters will also be presenters at the Americana Honors & Awards Show on September 18th at the Ryman. The band just wrapped up a 41 city, cross country tour that was met with acclaim with fans and critics alike. One of the highlights included the recent show at Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble Session in Woodstock on August 23rd (www.levonhelm.com to check out the photos from the show).

The Boxmasters have been generating quite a buzz with appearances on the Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, VH1 Rock Honors salute to The Who, Extra, guest hosting Jonesy’s Jukebox on Los Angeles’ Indie 103 and a special in-studio session with legendary DJ Jim Ladd at KLOS. During the month of September, The Boxmasters are hosting GAC’s weekly show Edge of Country for four consecutive weeks, the first time an artist has had that honor.

The Boxmasters continue to remain at Top 20 on the Americana radio chart and recently reached the #2 spot on the AIMS retail chart! Their current video “The Poor House” continues to receive airplay at GAC and CMT.com.

Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters’ sound combines the influence of the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Kinks, and the Animals, fused with Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. Their upbeat rhythms, infectious arrangements and dark lyrical themes create a unique musical experience that has astounded critics. American Songwriter explains, “…Thornton nails the gut Appalachian realities of his home state with a raw hillbilly vigor…Aqua Velva perfection.” Dirty Linen states, “…a rollicking 2 CD set of country rockers and cover tunes that would probably bring a smile to Gram Parsons and Johnny Cash.” The Los Angeles Daily News hails, “Billy Bob Thornton’s latest musical excursion is a clever and ambitious album of raging hillbilly rock.”

For more information check out Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters online or visit them on MySpace.

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