THE FLATLANDERS
“More a legend than a band,” is how The Flatlanders have been described. Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock were completely rejected by the country music establishment on their first go-round as The Flatlanders in 1972. Each went on to become Texas music titans—Joe the street-wise rocker, Jimmie Dale the mystic with the classic country voice, and Butch the cerebral folk singer and crack songwriter. It took them a mere three decades to reunite as The Flatlanders in 1998 to do a single for The Horse Whisperer soundtrack. It was so much fun, the trio decided to cut an entire album, Now Again, which raced to #1 on the Americana charts. "We didn't want to go another 30 years before we made a record," Ely says. "We didn't plan it or anything. We just sat down and started recording songs.” That record was followed by 2003’s Wheels of Fortune and a reissue of a smokin’ live Austin show from 1972. While each continues to pursue a solo career, every once in awhile The Flatlanders regroup for a taste of the old magic. "We came together as a bunch of friends who happened to be musicians, too,” Hancock reflects. “There's just that crazy Lubbock mystery to it. I think we all realize that this is something that is really special.” BEAUSOLEIL avec Michael Doucet
BeauSoleil is, quite simply, the most esteemed Cajun group on the planet. Fiddler Michael Doucet is well known for his mission to keep the unique southern Louisiana culture and music from extinction, but that hasn't stopped his band from innovating. BeauSoleil continually spices its Cajun gumbo with elements of zydeco, New Orleans jazz, Tex-Mex, country and blues, keeping the music vital and contemporary. Doucet formed BeauSoleil in 1975 with Louisiana's finest Cajun musicians. Their band name literally means "good sun" and is a reference to a fertile region in Nova Scotia, where the band's 17th-century, French-speaking ancestors lived prior to their migration to Louisiana, where they became "Cajuns." Over the past three decades BeauSoleil has made nearly 30 albums that range from very traditional to experimental. They've won Grammys and opened for the Grateful Dead. In addition to BeauSoleil's main stage performance, Michael Doucet will give a hands-on, family-oriented lecture-demonstration on the history of Cajun music Sunday on the Grand Hotel Stage. BeauSoleil's appearance received support from Western States Arts Federation and the National Endowment for the Arts. BE GOOD TANYAS
Last year The Be Good Tanyas played one of the best sets in Thirsty Ear Festival history and walked away with thousands of new fans. One of the most beloved folk acts to emerge in recent years, they’re back for an encore performance. The nucleus of this alt-folk trio is composed of Frazey Ford, Samantha Parton, and Trish Klein, who first met in the mountains of British Columbia at tree-planting camps and open stages. At Trish's Chinatown house they drank wine and shared songs. Bonded by their passion for old-time music and a love of vintage clothes, they began performing in Vancouver thrift stores, cafes, galleries, bars, house parties, you name it. After a brief U.S. tour, they hunkered down to record their classic debut Blue Horse, which featured gorgeous vocal harmonies, stirring melodies, and a singular balance of the band’s appreciation for traditional music with its taste for the contemporary. Blue Horse, a critical darling and popular success, catapulted the band to international fame. That record was followed by 2003’s Chinatown and, three year’s later, Hello Love, one of the most exceptional Americana releases of the decade. In addition to their main stage set, be on the watch for a stripped-down acoustic set on the Grand Hotel stage. ROBERT EARL KEEN
Like his Lone Star peers in The Flatlanders, Robert Earl Keen has become somewhat of a Texas icon, achieving nothing short of demigod status in Texas. Outside that singular state's borders he is known and admired far and wide by lovers of a good yarn set to twangy roadhouse rock, leavened by the occasional heartfelt acoustic number. His songs have been recorded by George Strait, Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, the Dixie Chicks, and the Highwaymen (Waylon, Willie, Cash & Kristofferson), among others, yet nobody can quite pull them off with as much humor and punch as he does. Given all the great Texas artists we've booked over the years — Guy Clark, Joe Ely, Billy Joe Shaver, James McMurtry, Butch Hancock, and the like — it's strange that we've never hosted Keen and his band. We are proud to welcome them for their first Thirsty Ear Festival performance. ROSIE LEDET & the ZYDECO PLAYBOYS
Like so many French kids raised in rural southwest Louisiana, accordionist, singer and songwriter Mary Roszela Bellard "Rosie" Ledet (pronounced led-dett), paid no particular attention to all the zydeco music that was around her in her formative years. But, at age 16, she heard Boozoo Chavis at a zydeco dance, and her fate was sealed. Ledet provides a unique female presence in the male-dominated zydeco world. Her self-penned tunes, sung beautifully in Creole French and in English, are often often sly and lusty. She has released seven albums of her own material on the Maison de Soul label, with a backing band that includes her husband on bass, father on rub board, and nephew on drums. The Zydeco Playboys began performing in 1994 throughout the Texas-Louisiana triangle and gradually spread their touring base to include the rest of the U.S., including her first stop at the Thirsty Ear Festival this year. ELIZA GILKYSON
An exquisite weaver of story-songs that strike at the heart of personal experience.
—No Depression
Singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson's deeply personal, increasingly political, songs have wowed both critics and audiences, especially since hooking up with Redhouse Redords to release of a string of critically acclaimed discs. Her brand-new live record, Your Town Tonight, features songs that span her entire career, including early originals like Rose of Sharon and Lights of Santa Fe, and captures Eliza's breadth as a songwriter as well as the gusto of her live shows. This string of artistic successes has secured Gilkyson's place on the Americana scene with a rock solid collection of songs, lean production, and a vocal confidence that often invites comparisons to her peers and admirers Patty Griffin and Lucinda Williams. COREY HARRIS
Back for his fourth Thirsty Ear Festival appearance, Corey Harris is clearly one of our favorite bluesmen. And we think he feels the same about us (check out all the Thirsty Ear Festival photos on Harris' classic Live At Starr Hill disc, available at the merch booth in the bank). At first exposure to Harris' timeless voice and earthy guitar, you might mistake him for one of the old masters, because the Virginia-based artist sings and plays with a depth and power that belies his relatively young age. B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Pinetop Perkins and other icons have either toured or recorded with Harris. His latest release, Daily Bread (Rounder), is a typical deft melding of deep blues, reggae, rock, and roots rhythms. Welcome back Corey. TODD SNIDER
"He reminds me of me." — Billy Joe Shaver

Todd Snider first garnered attention in the early '90s for his timely satire "Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues," a talking blues that poked fun at the angry, all too commercial alternative rock world. It struck a chord with a younger audience ready to move beyond alt-rock and recalled the acoustic folk of earlier times. Songs like "Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues" and "Double Wide Blues," a hilarious tale of trailer park life, are indicative of Snider's ongoing ability to connect with audiences with both humor and social commentary. Born in Portland, Oregon in 1966, Snider grew up in the South. He was discovered by Keith Sykes, a member of Jimmy Buffett's band, who was instrumental in getting Snider's 1994 debut, Songs for the Daily Planet, released. After a string of records blending bluegrass, blues, folk-rock, and country, Snider signed to John Prine's Oh Boy label and returned to his singer-songwriter roots, recording a string of critically acclaimed discs. Snider's latest disc is Live with the Devil You Know, which features the classic number "Just Like Old Times." GUY DAVIS
A central figure in the acoustic blues revival of the 1990s (along with fellow festival artist Corey Harris), Davis is one of a handful of younger-generation African-American blues artists keeping the acoustic tradition vital. His gravelly vocals, acute sense of melody, and penchant for earthy material make for a somewhat incorrigible kind of blues. A wonderful storyteller who grew up in a family of storytellers (his parents are actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee), his latest Handy-nominated CD, Chocolate to the Bone, is a beautifully authentic acoustic mix of original material and tasteful covers of traditional songs and seamless re-workings of tunes by such blues legends as Sleepy John Estes, John Lee Hooker and Blind Lemon Jefferson. JOE LOUIS WALKER
Multiple WC Handy Award winner Joe Louis Walker, who has been plying the deep blues for decades, is widely regarded as one of the finest guitarist/singer-songwriters of the genre. Merging the electric, urban sounds of West Coast and Chicago blues with the down-home acoustic traditions of the Delta, Walker never strayed far from what he calls "the real blues." In a career that spans more than 35 years, he's balanced tradition with innovation and made a significant mark on the evolution of the genre. Aside from his own 18 solo albums, Walker has recorded with the likes of BB King, James Cotton, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Branford Marsalis, and Ike Turner. Walker will be performing with his longtime band, The Bosstalkers. RICHARD JOHNSTON
Embracing the one-chord, deep trance blues of the Mississippi Hill Country, Richard Johnston appeared as a street musician on the blues scene in Memphis in 1997, and three years later recorded his self-produced, self-released debut, Foot Hill Stomp (one of our favorite blues releases ever). Featuring guest appearances by Jessie Mae Hemphill and Cedric Burnside, it was nominated for a Handy Award, and the CD release party on Beale Street was broadcast to over 20 million listeners via German NPR. Like his musical hero, Junior Kimbrough, Johnston reached the world by sitting still. From 2001 to 2005 he played to festival-sized audiences who traveled from around the world to experience Memphis and it's musical heritage. This was the key to establishing an ever-growing legion of fans worldwide, without label involvement. Armed with one-of-a-kind instruments and a galaxy of porch-gazing grooves, Johnston is known for his ferocious performances, and he has played many blues festivals throughout the world. In just a few short years, Johnston has become one of the most popular and critically acclaimed street musicians in America. SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST
By far the most popular Western swing band in New Mexico and a favorite at the Kerrville Folk Festival, South by Southwest boasts Michael Hearne’s smooth voice and clean acoustic guitar style, Carmen Acciaioli’s mastery of the steel guitar, fiddle, mandolin, dobro, and hammered dulcimer, and Zeke Severenson’s solid bass playing. Nurturing a style of music that is impossible not to dance to, Hearne & company’s singular take on Western swing make them what folks all over the Southwest and beyond call their favorite band. Hearne has penned songs for the likes of Jerry Jeff Walker and Bill Hearne (his esteemed uncle), and has co-written with Mentor Williams and Andy Byrd, Shake Russell, Keith Sykes and many others. RYAN McGARVEY
For the past two years New Mexico native Ryan McGarvey has been wowing Santa Fe and Albuquerque audiences with his no-holds-barred guitar histrionics. Years ago, he had the opportunity to jump on stage and jam with Fat Possum heroes Kenny Brown and Cedric Burnside at the Thirsty Ear Festival. Since then, McGarvey, who is sometimes referred to as the Stevie Ray Vaughan of New Mexico, has performed at many of the most prestigious venues and festivals in the Southwest. The 20-year-old bluesman recently took home the 2007 New Mexico Music Award for "Best Musical Production: Blues" in addition to being nominated for "Best Musical Production: Mainstream/Rock." He is preparing to release his debut CD this summer. TRIO JALAPENO
Trio Jalapeno is perhaps the best-known group playing traditional New Mexico folk music. In 1937 at age 13 Anotonia Apodaca (lead voice, guitar and accordian) won an accordion competition at La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe. Six decades later she was awarded the prestigious Governor's Award for Excellence and Achievement in the Arts. The fiery octogenarian is famous for her humorous, commanding stage presence. Radio personality Ray Casias (voice, guitar) has written over 200 songs in the Hispano folk tradition. Woodarver Bernardo Jaramillo performs on the "tololoche," or acoustic bass viol. Together, Trio Jalapeno has, over many years, earned its place as one of the region's most beloved bands.

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