Tag: GREY DELISLE – GRIFFIN

WE LOVE AMERIPOLITAN LOVEFEST2023

Eddie

What is Ameripolitan? The Ameripolitan Awards Weekender website‘s list of nominees for the 2023 honors ends with a note defining the term as “a word that represents the different heritage of roots music that inform the artists that you see here. Much of the music is hard to define to a single genre and as musicians, we tend to draw inspiration from many things to create a unique voice or sound.”

The Ameripolitan awards are given in four categories: Western Swing, Outlaw, Rockabilly, and Honky Tonk. Artists in each category were well represented at last weekend’s event with showcases Friday and Saturday and the Awards show Sunday night.

Founded by Dale Watson in 2014 in Austin, Texas, the Ameripolitan nonprofit organization moved to Memphis, Tennessee, when he did in 2018. This year’s Weekender was held at the Guesthouse at Graceland, on Elvis Presley Boulevard. Coming back from a two-year COVID hiatus, and with the sights and sounds of the hit movie Elvis lingering in the air, this year’s event was a humdinger!  

The column is fortunate to have had Kevin Smith there to report on the weekend. While his photos have frequently been featured in this column, his last full report was in 2019, when he highlighted the rockabilly fest Nashville Boogie.

The 2023 Ameripolitan Awards Weekender by Kevin Smith 

This grand celebration of music involved so many wonderful performances that I simply can’t talk about all of them here, so I’m just going to mention a few highlights and takeaways. (You can browse the full schedule here — what a list of names!)

The singular highlight for me was the incomparable Sierra Ferrell, who took home the Western Swing Female Award. Part old-time mountain music, part honky-tonk, with a healthy dash of 1930s Django jazz thrown in, Ferrell played a highly exciting set to a packed house at the Graceland Theater. Truly a unique and creative soul, and at the top of her game, it’s no wonder that she has quickly become a beloved performer.

Other singer-songwriters who grabbed me included Texan Kaitlin Butts, and Nashville’s Kristina Murray and Emily Nenni. Also from Nashville, Melissa Carper and Brennen Leigh played a batch of western swing-inspired songs and were joined by Grammy-winning vocalist and fiddler Katie Shore from Asleep at the Wheel. Another highlight was India Ramey, who performed at a Hanks Williams tribute. 

Ultra-traditionalist Jake Penrod was a crowd favorite, playing honky-tonk the way it was done back in the golden era of country music, and he just may have the best Hank Williams vocal interpretation of anybody. Rockabilly was well represented, and it is always a thrill to catch Joey Simeone, frontman for The Bellfuries.  True to form, his Sam Cooke-inspired vocals absolutely wowed the crowd.  

Fans of country and rockabilly guitar had lots to rave about as well. Kyle Eldridge and Sean Mencher put on a performance for the ages featuring tributes to guitar greats Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, and Joe Maphis. Rising guitar star Mitch Polzak also dazzled with his instrumental interpretation of Sergio Leone’s theme music for spaghetti westerns. By far, though, the most popular band representing the rockabilly genre at the moment is The Hi-Jivers from Nashville. They are a husband-wife duo that focuses on a hybrid of rockabilly that’s steeped in the blues.  

The Awards

Complete with a fashion show, red carpet, and an afterparty, the awards ceremony closed out the weekend on Sunday night with performances by The Whitmore Sisters, Wayne Hancock, Brennen Leigh, and many more. In addition to the annual awards, listed below, some of the music’s legends received special awards for their lifetime contributions. This year’s recipients were country music trailblazer Johnny Rodriguez and honky-tonkers The Adams Brothers. Rodriguez was a popular star in the late ’70s and into the early ’80s. He’s well known as a superior vocalist, and he performed on this night, playing Lefty Frizzell’s “That’s the Way Love Goes” to a standing ovation.  Perhaps best known as the touring band for both George Jones and Johnny Paycheck, The Adams Brothers’ roots run deeper still, as they backed up other legendary performers including Ray Price and Marty Robbins, Loretta Lynn, Little Jimmy Dickens, Merle Haggard, and Buck Owens.  

What a weekender, my head is still buzzing. 

—

Here’s a list of the 2023 Ameripolitan Award nominees and winners (in bold):

HONKY TONK FEMALE
Hannah Juanita
Kathryn Legendre
Kristina Murray
Summer Dean

​

HONKY TONK MALE
Dallas Burrow
Garrett T Capps
Jeremy Pinnell
Timbo

HONKY TONK GROUP
Cory Grinder & The Playboy Scouts
Croy & The Boys
The Shootouts
The Waymores

OUTLAW FEMALE
Brit Taylor
Emily Nenni
Kaitlin Butts
Rachel Brooke

OUTLAW MALE
Coleman Williams
Scott H. Biram
Vincent Neil Emerson
Willi Carlisle

OUTLAW GROUP
Dallas Moore Band
Jenny Don’t & The Spurs
The Rhyolite Sound
The Whitmore Sisters

ROCKABILLY FEMALE
Amy Griffin
Jane Rose
Mozzy Dee
Saudia Young

ROCKABILLY MALE
Eddie Clendening
Mitch Polzak
Nic Roulette
Sean K. Preston

​

ROCKABILLY GROUP
The Hi-Jivers
Ichi-Bons
The Phantom Shakers
Televisionaries

​

WESTERN SWING FEMALE
Brennen Leigh
Carolyn Sills
Melissa Carper
Sierra Ferrell

WESTERN SWING MALE
A Jay Wade
Kyle Eldridge
Sage Guyton
Wild Earp

​

WESTERN SWING GROUP
The Southwest Biscuit Company
Sad Daddy
West of Texas
Western Swing Authority
The Lucky Stars

​

MUSICIAN
Daniel Mason (banjo)
Katie Shore (fiddle)
Kullen Fox (trumpet + piano)
Mike Bernal (drums)
T. Jarrod Bonta (piano)

DJ
Celia Villagran – Texas Hellkitten Radio
Jimi Palacios – Country Du Monde
Kevin Martinez – Colonel Paco Chaos Pacobilly Hour
Marivi Yubero Garcia – Marivipolitan
Del Villarreal – Go Kat, GO! The Rock-A-Billy Show!

VENUE
Knuckleheads, Kansas City
Rattlesnake Saloon – Munich, Germany
Roosters Country – Mesa, Arizona
The Southgate House Revival – Newport, Kentucky
Sagebrush – Austin, Texas

FESTIVAL
Michael Hearne’s Big Barn Dance – Taos, New Mexico
Western Swing Out – Tehachapi, California
Vintage Torque Fest – Dubuque, Iowa
Zoofest – Lincoln, Nebraska

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THE BEST CLIENTS IN THE WORLD

my live music love story

As we enter festival season and tour madness, I am thinking of the decades past and although my clients and I were in the thick of it, I am happier now. The quarantines allowed us to each re-boot. Most of my roster have kids, so in a few cases, a year may have passed with no communication! It was a blur but as one who is generally available 24/7 (25/8 as we call it at RajiWorld), this was new. It was fascinating too as I have found we each landed on the same page with respect to touring and that even includes our beloved festivals.

The current fan-base has reached out for privates, house-concerts and corporates as those came back first. They have loved these events and creativity and as you may know, this kind of booking is my specialty. They have ALL recorded and have learning to share music in new ways.

I just wanted to tell the world how much I love and respect them each and let you know that you can find them on all of the platforms as well as booking your own show directly with me for just about any of them!

RajiWorld LLC is your women-owned, COVID19 compliance certified, WBE & DBE and HUB Partner for producing, curating and booking your events! 

I look forward to working with you! 

Roggie Baer, founder/ agent discovering talent /connecting talent with events, brands and fans/mentoring/producing results

BOOKING IS EASY, just click on the artist of your choice.

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SXSW SEASON HAS ARRIVED

We welcome you to SXSW 2022! This year, I am proud to present Goldy, an LA based four piece, who makes rock ‘n roll pop music. Their songs are very catchy and melodic and this is their first conference. The came to me via Producer Marvin Etzioni who has been very busy in the studio this year, also working with client’s Grey DeLisle and Eddie Clendening in The Roughhousers project I wrote about last month. Expect a sneak peak as the media is chomping at the bit! Grey will serve as out Emcee and comic relief on this magic carpet ride. Eddie will showcase his hot Rock-a-billy band from Vegas.

Annie Marie Lewis and Danny B Harvey will be in tough competition this year for cutest family band! As a guitarist, producer and composer Danny has played and recorded with such great artists as Levi Dexter, Tim Polecat, Johnny Ramone, Nancy Sinatra, Lemmy Kilmister, Lee Rocker, Slim Jim Phantom and Wanda Jackson. In recent years he has have been performing and recording with the very talented singer Lynda Kay Parker as 1/2 of the Duo called THE LONESOME SPURS. Their first CD was released in the fall of 2006 on Cleopatra records to critical acclaim. He is also well known as a founding member of the “take no Prisoners” rock’n’roll trio THE HEAD CAT. A band he started in 2001 with Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead and Slim Jim Phantom from the Stray Cats. In recent years Danny B started a Gothabilly Group with Jyrki 69 from the Finish Goth Band 69 EYES which they call The 69 Cats. They have two records out in Cleopatra Records. The most important new musical project Danny B is involved with his with his new wedded wife Annie Marie Lewis. She is none other than the niece of the “Killer” Jerry Lee Lewis and it was at his concert that Danny B first saw Annie Marie opening the show for the rock’n’roll icon. They are just back from the Outlaw Country Cruise.

We expect to see their Family Band competitors there next year;) Please meet NOCONA, I am very excited to kick off a great season with this new band to the roster.
Nocona begins with the husband/wife team of Adrienne and Chris Isom. The Isoms – who played in New York, Austin, and Toronto before finally relocating to Los Angeles. Nocona is a rock band who draw their roots from Country, Folk, Punk, Rock and psychedelia. Known for taking the psychedelia of the 13th Floor Elevators and mashing it up with the Bakersfield sound—Roky and Buck; Love and the Burrito Brothers, their previous albums, Nocona and Long Gone Song drew rave reviews and the band has played some of the biggest festivals in America – Outside Lands, Bonnaroo, and Stagecoach. Los Dos out July 10, 2020 finds the band digging deeper into its bracing melding of hard-edged Americana and a keen punk-bred sensibility. Right up my alley, right?

What can I say about beloved hometown fiddle hero Warren Hood? He is a class act, he has recently shared stages with Wilco, Alejandro Escovedo and Sheila E. You do not want to leave Austin without dancing to Warren’s top notch band!

Texas native, Morris Mills returns home to headline our Atomic Music Group’s first night for showcases. Join us Thursday, 3/17 at 1am at Lambert’s, in the heart of Austin’s touring concert district. Mills & band will bring their nostalgic Funk/Rock appeal to the Lone Star festival. With remnants of legends past, Mills set will embody a dynamic, energetic performance that will wow the masses. Those present with receive a freshly minted NFT compliments of Morris and SXSW super sponsor Blockchain Creative Labs. I bet it feels good to be King! This year will be special and I am very happy to be back in the throne in my old stomping grounds!

Speaking of me (lol), I am Mentoring again and would love to answer your booking questions. I am game to go deep with the things no one else will about life on the road. After three decades, I have some stories and some answers and tricks!

Rsvp is required, Mar 18, 2022 4:00pm – 5:15pm CT Hilton Austin Downtown Room 406

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THE ROUGHHOUSERS ARE HERE!

housers

Grey DeLisle

Grey DeLisle, former recording artist for Sugarhill/Vanguard is about to release her debut album for Regional Records. The covers album, aptly titled “Borrowed” features a James Bond theme song “You Only Live Twice” featuring The Satellites Four (originally recorded by Nancy Sinatra). The single will be released Oct, 20, 2021 and the album will drop in 2022. She’s also releasing an all-original album for kids in February of 2022 with her band The Roughhousers featuring Eddie Clendening, Deke Dickerson, Murry Hammond (Old 97s) and DJ Bonebrake (X).

Grey DeLisle Griffin is also known as the most prolific voice actress in American animation history, having performed over 2000 cartoon voices since 1996. Grey is also a comedian who launched her first stand-up comedy special, “My First Comedy Special” on Amazon Prime which has received rave reviews.

Grey’s most iconic roles include ‘Vicky’ from “The Fairly OddParents,” ‘Samantha “Sam” Manson’ from “Danny Phantom,” ‘Mandy’ from “The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy,” ‘Frankie Foster,’ ‘Duchess’ and ‘Goo’ from “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends,” ‘Yumi Yoshimura’ from “Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi,” ‘Azula’

from “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” ‘Kimiko Tohomiko’ from “Xiaolin Showdown,” as well as ‘Lola,’ ‘Lana’ and ‘Lily Loud’

from “The Loud House”, Monster Girl on Invincible, Delilah Briarwood on Critical Role’s Vox Machina, Ms. Chalice on Cuphead and ‘Prince Puppycorn’ from “Unikitty!.” She has also been the voice of ‘Daphne Blake’

in “Scooby-Doo” cartoons since 2000.

Her film roles include ‘Grandma Sanchez’ in “The Book of Life,” ‘Arcee’ in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “Bumblebee,” ‘Dewdrop’ in Pixar’s “Onward” and Setsu Oiwa’ in Studio Ghibli’s final film “When Marnie Was There.” She is also a Grammy-winning recording artist. Grey is a single mom to her 3 kids (ages 5, 7 and 15) and she’s basically kicking butt.

Eddie Clendening

Eddie Clendening brings with him over two decades of experience on the stage. Having appeared with early ROCK & ROLL greats like Scotty Moore, James Burton, Pat Cupp, Hayden Thompson, Billy Lee Riley, EarlPalmer, Dale Hawkins, Gene Summers, Jimmy Lee Fautheree, Jerry LeeLewis, Little Richard, and scores of others. Contemporary musicians are also taking notice of this explosive and handsome young frontman for not only his vocals, but also his work on the electric guitar. Eddie has toured extensively and successfully with his own backing group “The Blue Ribbon Boys” in not only the U.S. but Europe, Asia,Australia, and elsewhere.

He has also worked with other well known groups such as Deke Dickerson’s Ecco-Fonics, Big Sandy, The Hi-Qs, LloydTripp… the list goes on and on. He has been invited to perform at dozens of international music festivals, The Rockabilly Rave, Viva Las Vegas, Hemsby, Le Blues Autour du Zinc Rockabilly and so on… not only with his own combo but also as the vocalist for the reunion of “Go Cat Go”, one the largest selling roots ROCK & ROLL groups of the 90’s who tragically lost their singer in 1993.

He has appeared on several ad campaigns for fashion brands likeW.H. Ranch Dungarees, J.S. Sloan, and Ralph Lauren, coast to coast, prime time, and regional television programs such as The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The View, Today Show and more. He has also been a regular voice on various satellite/AM/FM/internet radio programs. Eddie originated the role of, and was featured as Elvis Presley in the hit Broadway musical “The Million Dollar Quartet”, where he performed 8shows a week to packed houses racking up over 2200 performances! He also helped create and starred in the show “Heartbreak Hotel” which is currently the only Elvis Presley stage bio endorsed by the Elvis Presley estate, SONY Music and RCA.

He’s continued to be seen on stage in plays and tribute shows to many of the other greats as well, Buddy Holly, JohnnyCash, and Carl Perkins to name a few. And he continues to be in demand wherever fans of ROCK & ROLL gather. It seems Eddie is also beginning to get some much-deserved acclaim, thanks to the release of his four studio albums to date; “Sometimes It Rains”, “Eddie Clendening Is… Walkin’ And Cryin’”, “Eddie

Grey DeLisle, Eddie Clendening, Deke Dickerson (Ecco-Fonics), Carl Sonny Leyland (Big Sandy and The Fly Rite Boys), Murry Hammond (Old 97’s), and DJ Bonebrake (Founding Member of X and The Knitters).

 You will never forgive me if you do not get your eyes on these videos first, grab your kids and the naughty neighbor, have a party. You will never be the same again;)

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BEST CLIENTS IN THE WORLD!

I spent last week in Hollywood with long-time clients and friends Grey DeLisle and Miss Pamela Des Barres which one would imagine to be enough glitz and glamour and rock and roll to do ya but NOPE, Grey brought me a surprise, sure he would be a great fit for my roster and lo and BEHOLD, she knows me well. Not a huge fan of tributes, I would never have discovered him on my own so I really got lucky! In addition to rounding out our shared fun with his funny, witty and sweet natural personality, he writes, records and plays beautiful music of his own. To me, the best part is the collaboration between the two of them coming soon! I will not say too much yet but there will be a kids show, record and more AND an adult cabaret show so public, private and festival stage will all get a chance!!

Eddie Clendening brings with him over two decades of experienceon the stage. Having appeared with early ROCK & ROLL greats like Scotty Moore, James Burton, Pat Cupp, Hayden Thompson, Billy Lee Riley, Earl Palmer, Dale Hawkins, Gene Summers, Jimmy Lee Fautheree, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and scores of others. Contemporary musicians arealso taking notice of this explosive and handsome young front man for not
only his vocals, but also his work on the electric guitar. 

Eddie originated the role of, and was featured as Elvis Presley in the hit Broadway musical “The Million Dollar Quartet”, where he performed 8 shows a week to packed houses racking up over 2200 performances! He also helped create and starred in the show “Heartbreak Hotel” that is currently the only Elvis Presley stage bio endorsed by the Elvis Presley estate, SONY Music and RCA. He’s continued to be seen on stage in plays and tribute shows to many of the other greats as well, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins to name a few. And he continues to be in demand wherever fans of ROCK & ROLL gather. 

He has appeared on several ad campaigns for fashion brands like W.H. Ranch Dungarees, J.S. Sloan, and Ralph Lauren, coast to coast, prime time, and regional television programs such as, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The View, Today Show and more. He has also been a regular voice on various
satellite/AM/FM/internet radio programs. 


Eddie has toured extensively and successfully with his own backing group “The Blue Ribbon Boys” in not only the U.S. but Europe, Asia, Australia, and elsewhere. He has also worked with other well known groups such as Deke Dickerson’s Ecco-Fonics, Big Sandy, The Hi-Qs, Lloyd Tripp… the list goes on and on. He has been invited to perform at dozens of international music festivals, The Rockabilly Rave, Viva Las Vegas, Hemsby, Le Blues Autour du Zinc Rockabilly and so on… not only with his own combo but also as the vocalist for the reunion of “Go Cat Go”, one then largest selling roots ROCK & ROLL groups of the 90’s who tragically lost their singer in 1993. 


It seems Eddie is also beginning to get some much deserved acclaim, thanks to the release of his four studio albums to date; “Sometimes It Rains”, “Eddie Clendening Is… Walkin’ And Cryin’”, “Eddie Clendening Is… Knockin’ At Your Heart”, and “Eddie Clendening Is… The Rage Of The Teen-Age!”, as well as several singles and compilation inclusions. 

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ROGGIE BAER OF RAJIWORLD JOINS ATOMIC MUSIC GROUP

Veteran talent agent Roggie Baer revealed that she is merging her longtime agency RajiWorld with independent talent agency Atomic Music Group.

Roggie Baer
Roggie Baer

As part of the deal, Baer will bring her extensive client roster, which includes Naomi Achu, That Carolina Sound, Headcat 13, Flam Chen, The Divine Horsemen, Akina Adderly, Honeysuckle Sage Riders, and Warren Hood among others to AMG.

As well, the deal includes RajiWorld’s endorsements and brand sponsorships business to AMG, and will serve as the agency’s North American Director of Partnerships following the merger.

One of the largest independent talent agencies in the U.S., Atomic Music Group is based in Los Angeles and maintains regional offices in Austin, Nashville and Torotono.

Roggie Baer’s full roster

Akina Adderly
Anastasia Hera
Bill Elm/Friends of Dean Martinez
Chris Stamey
Danny B Harvey and Annie Lewis
The Divine Horseman
Flam Chen
Grey Delisle-Griffin
Headcat 13
Hector Ward & The Bigtime
Honeysuckle Sage Riders
Julie Christensen
Laser Spectacles, Inc
Morris Mills
Nakia
Naomi Achu
Ryan Hamilton & The Harlequin Ghosts
Sly Curtis
That Carolina Sound
Warren Hood

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