Headed by singer/guitarist Freddy J IV, Left Lane Cruiser is a bona fide blues rock band from the American mid-west. Far from pretending to be rambling hobos for the sake of a manufactured image, Left Lane Cruiser has been genuinely living the blues for over a decade, bringing its freestyle jams to crowds all over the world.

A bunch of cardboard, duct tape, a trash can, a couple buckets, a busted ass skateboard and a bunch of hollerin’ and you have the White Trash Blues Revival.

Gun. From Munster, Indiana. Gun plays Garage/Punk/Blues tinged songs. Gun sort of sounds like The Sonics, and The Black Keys, and The Cramps, but then again, not really. Gun mixes rum and whiskey together (“along with some other shit”) and drinks it. Gun calls it “Riskey”. Gun has had 11 drummers over the years. Gun has an affinity for “shitty speed”. That might be something they use to describe their music. Or they’re talking about drugs. Maybe both. Gun plays their music live. Gun shows are unforgettable. Gun.

As the Gateway to the West, the promise of leaving St. Louis was built into the prospect of arriving here; her arch functions as an ironic symbol of something to pass through, that which you don’t look at but look beyond. But for those who stay, like the five-piece punk-blues wrecking crew Kentucky Knife Fight, this unswept city itself finds a voice in their sound. Like the dark side of a postcard, unfamiliar unless you live there, their newest songs are inhabited by the city’s criminals and carrion – its lonely, displaced, and desperate. Their city is poised on the precarious edge between southern hospitality and northern cynicism, between bourbon in a pitcher and lukewarm beers that you have to open yourself.

Kentucky Knife Fight have grown along with the city, returning after relentless touring with an increasingly acute perspective of the hardships inherent in St. Louis life. Like the scene itself, they have seen their own youthful angst become introspection and insight; what were once accidental riffs have become anthems; and opening for national acts have yielded performances that were not only memorable, but mattered. Their music is world-weary but hopeful; grace is never enough to save the unsavory; and just because you love something doesn’t mean that it’s good for you.

Pulling St. Louis with them like an always-almost-broke-down trailer across the country, the band is but one of a growing armada of ambassadors in every medium, renewing the city’s vital voice in American art. As it has nurtured its native son Pokey LaFarge, who can be heard on Jack White’s newest record, the city’s community-based initiatives, collective spaces, and galleries are fostering progressive ways to imagine performance-based art. Newly influential again, St. Louis is listening to Kentucky Knife Fight tell its story; they were named “Best Rock Band” twice by the Riverfront Times, but that feels less like an award than an announcement. Because Kentucky Knife Fight are too hungry to be tired; too restless to rest; and too stubborn to stop.

Kentucky Knife Fight is…
Jason Holler – vocals
Curt Brewer – guitar
Nate Jones – guitar
Jason Koenig – bass
James Baker – drums

If you see us playing on the street, throw a dollar in the can… we also take tits, cigarettes, moonshine and food

Stripped down upbeat Rhythm & Blues, Country, folk and a pinch of Rockabilly, The Gold Hope Duo is a joint effort between front-persons Lara Hope and Matt “The Knife” Goldpaugh. Lara strums the guitar while Matt slaps the Upright Bass or picks the 5 String Banjo. They share percussion duties with their fast feet and live by the motto “If you can’t do it, kazoo it!” Their powerful voices intertwine, harmonize and amaze.

A duo sure to make you dance, laugh, drink and grab your partner’s behind. They’re made of fun!

“He’s a throwback to the guitar-toting country troubadours of yesteryear and at the same time a product of the rock and roll era, certainly the only performer of his kind in the greater Chicagoland area.”

— Bill Dahl, author of The Art of the Blues.