Raised in the backwoods of Monroe County, Indiana, Austin Lucas was born into a folk and bluegrass lineage. Learning to harmonize before learning to read, Lucas honed his vocal control early as a member of the nationally-acclaimed Indiana University Children’s Choir. In a narrative as well-worn as it is true, Lucas rebelled against his upbringing, leaving his Americana roots for the catharsis of punk rock. After the better part of a decade spent criss-crossing the globe with a series of bands in broken-down vans, living in the Czech Republic from 2003 and returning back to the USA in 2008. Lucas hit a musical glass-ceiling, eventually finding respite for his ringing ears in the delicacy of traditional song craft. Taking his music in the direction the Americana Roots and traditional country genre. Singing with the conviction of a preacher bereft of his faith, Lucas tackles recurrent themes of the soul, sin as personal purgatory, and the possibility of finding redemption in this life. The fallacies of man take center stage as the righteous false prophet is denounced as a “hollow vessel with unsteady hands.” Turning the harsh light of hindsight on himself, Lucas addresses the hard lessons learned in the passing of youth, ruminating on the failures and missed opportunities, pledging, “If there’s a light shining/ Point the way there/ A straight way of walking/ I’ll be like an arrow.”

Following his solo debut, The Common Cold (2006), Lucas has steadily built upon his recorded output, releasing Putting The Hammer Down (2007), the Bristle Ridge (2008) collaboration with Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music, and Somebody Loves You (2009), which debuted at #7 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart, A New Home In The Old World (2011) and after signing with New West Records, Stay Reckless(2013). Lucas has consistently evolved and grown as a musician and songwriter, resting on no laurels and developing the songs’ framework further with each successive album.

Having raised his profile on the road touring with Willie Nelson and Jamey Johnson on the Country Throwdown tour, SXSW and MNFW. He has also extensively toured with Dawes, Langhorne Slim, William Elliot Whitmore, Joe Pug, Scott H. Biram, Cory Branan, John Moreland and Drag The River. Lucas has also bolstered his loyal grassroots following with appearances at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Canada’s Sled Island Festival, Florida’s Harvest of Hope. Folk music is for the common folk, and Lucas delivers, often ending his shows playing on the floor amidst the crowd. Lucas has also toured extensively throughout Australia and Europe building his fan base with each passing show and new audience. Lucas is about to embark on a east coast tour and then later in 2015 he will be back in Europe.

6’10 is the folk/Americana incarnation of Tobin Bawinkel, frontman for Celtic punk stalwarts Flatfoot 56. In comparison to the hectic sounds of his other outfit, this is a more subtle approach through heartfelt and emotional journeys against the backdrop acoustic instrumentation. Bawinkel is joined by bandmates Josh Robieson (Mandolin, Ukulele/vox) Mike Pettus (Ukulele Bass/vox), Keith Perez (Cajon/vox) and Vanessa Bawinkel (accordion/vox).

Joey Kneiser was a boy formed in the red-clay mountains of East Tennessee. Skinned-kneed and too blind to drive a car, he constantly searched for a place to locate his restlessness– playing in punk bands with instruments he taught himself to play, skateboarding with a pack of Oak Ridge ruffians, and writing his own songs amongst the humid Southern air.

The boy grew up and headed west to the small Tennessee town of Murfreesboro. There he met the group of people who would go on to form the band Glossary. As the singer/songwriter for the group, Kneiser led the band through seven albums of country/soul-infused rock-and-roll. He filled his downtime between Glossary tours with his own solo projects. In 2009, he released his first solo record, “The All-Night Bedroom Revival,” which he wrote and recorded in his Murfreesboro home. Two years later, he recorded and released the EP “Moonlight for the Graveyard Heart.” Meanwhile, Glossary’s drummer Eric Giles had begun what would become a long bout with shoulder and back problems, leaving the band unable to tour or make a record. “The five of us made a promise years ago that there was no substituting anyone in the band. If someone couldn’t play, we’d take a break.”

Moving to Nashville and building a small home studio, Kneiser began recording his third solo record “The Wildness” during Glossary’s hiatus. “I felt like I was starting over. I had no band and no money to pay one. I realized pretty quickly that if I was going to make a record I’d need to record it myself and play everything.” He called on Glossary member and ex-wife Kelly Smith to sing with him. “We’ve been singing our whole adult lives together. I don’t like to hear my voice without hers next to it.” What came out was a ramble of songs that echoes back to Kneiser’s youth by highlighting the illness that haunts musicians – an unrelenting restlessness. “I wanted to go back to the beginning and try to figure out what it was I truly loved about rock and roll.”

The songs that make up “The Wildness” hearken back to Kneiser’s musical first loves. Bruce Springsteen, The Replacements, The Band, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Van Morrison all make their influence known on the record. “I wanted to make something simple and classic sounding with the writing as the centerpiece.” The record goes from rock and roll driven barn burners like “Run Like Hell” and “The Heart Ever Breaking” to folk songs like “Heaven Only Wants Us Once We’re Dead” and “Every Port In The Storm.” As to the overall vision for the record, Kneiser says, “These songs are a love letter to rock and roll and to the person closest to you who lets you pursue it.”

In addition to his own music, Kneiser has produced and recorded records for numerous artists, including Austin Lucas and Wooden Wand. He has also made music videos for artists like John Moreland and Jason Isbell.

The Wildness will be released in the fall of 2015.

Singer/Songwriter for The Goddamn Gallows solo Project, Stripped down Roots Punk