State Fayre

After the divorce of their parents, brothers Nathan and Caleb Followill moved to Nashville, Tennessee where they met songwriter Angelo Petraglia who introduced the pair to the influences of Thin Lizzy, The Rolling Stones and The Clash. In 1999 youngest brother Jared inspired by the Pixies and The Velvet Underground and cousin Matthew also moved to Nashville and Kings of Leon was born.

In 2002 Nathan and Caleb caught the attention of RCA Records who said they would be sending an A&R rep to hear them play. The band kidnapped Matthew from his home and spent a month in the brothers’ basement where they carved out the tracks “Molly’s Chamber”, “California Waiting” and “Wicker Chair”. A year later with Jared still unable to play bass, Kings of Leon released the “Holy Roller Novocaine” EP to critical reviews, receiving a considerable amount of exposure.

Kings of Leon have gone on to be one of the most successful rock bands of the 2000s, fusing their climatic Southern rock and blues influences to increasingly accessible results. The band released their debut “Youth & Young Manhood” in 2003 and subsequently “Aha Shake Heartbreak” in 2004, “Because of the Times” in 2007, “Only by the Night” in 2008, “Come Around Sundown” in 2010 and “Mechanical Bull” in 2013.

The band’s initial success was in the UK with nine Top 40 singles, two BRIT Awards in 2008 and all their five albums peaking in the Top 5 of the UK Albums chart. Following the release of “Only by the Night” in 2008 the band won the hearts of American fans largely helped by the radio-friendly “Sex on Fire”, “Use Somebody” and “Notion”. At the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards the group took home awards for Record of the Year for “Only by the Night”, Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for “Use Somebody”.

Due to the band international success and popularity of “Only by the Night” In 2008 Kings of Leon headlined Glastonbury festival followed by headlining slots at Reading & Leeds, Sasquatch, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits the year after.

In 2005, Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites worked together to form The Lumineers. The pair met and began making music together in Ramsey, NY. They moved to Brooklyn to pursue their dream of a music career, and later went to Denver. The band’s subsequent success was all thanks to its constant reinvention and collective desire to improve.

Over the years, The Lumineers gained more members like Neyla Pekarek, Maxwell Hughes, Ben Wahamaki, and Jay Van Dyke. Each new member contributed various musical skills and offered new creative twists to The Lumineers’ signature sound before its eventual departures. Despite the band’s ever-changing member lineup, the original founders Schultz and Fraites kept things fresh.

The band’s swift success began when “Ho Hey” hit radio waves in 2012. It differed from the usual pop-friendly tracks with its classic folk-rock twist. The single reached unbeatable heights on numerous charts across the globe and set up impending success for the band. Soon enough, The Lumineers’ unique self-titled record earned the group a Best New Artist nomination at the 2013 Grammys. It turned the tables on popular music and marked the beginning of a solid career.

After gaining well-deserved commercial success, The Lumineers geared up for more groundbreaking albums. Cleopatra followed in 2016, showcasing the band’s delightful versatility and proving its place in pop culture. Cleopatra sat comfortably at the top of the UK and U.S. charts and helped the band’s third full-length record III shake up its stellar discography.

III told a touching story of personal struggles, allowing The Lumineers to reach its full potential as a riveting band in 2019. Not only did it captivate fans with more creative diversity, but it stuck to the band’s original roots. III peaked at number 2 in the U.S., securing another incredible accomplishment for The Lumineers.

The Lumineers hit up 2022 with renewed vigor. Its fourth studio release, Brightside, breathed life into a promising record collection and proved the band was more polished than ever. It was no surprise, especially with Schultz and Fraites at the helm. True star power and lyrical storytelling weaved its way into each soulful track, shedding new light on The Lumineers’ music career.

Throughout its illustrious career, the band has maintained a revolutionary vision, building a cohesive collection of all-star albums while reinventing the folk-rock genre. Besides a game-changing discography, The Lumineers also liven things up with unifying concert experiences.

From Madison Square Garden to Red Rocks Amphitheatre, The Lumineers make a home in every legendary venue. Fans can’t deny the band’s presence on stage, especially with its subtle sound reverberating throughout each smash song or low-key ballad. The Lumineers constantly represent incredible versatility without showing any signs of stopping. Ultimately, the band takes indie elements to the next level while capturing the magic of true lyricism.

The group was originally comprised of acoustic duo Adam Duritz and guitarist David Bryson. They spent their early musical career playing coffee shop gigs in San Francisco. The two were interested in recording demos as a band and additional members bassist Matt Malley, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, and drummer Steve Bowman completed the beginnings of what would be Counting Crows. The band’s name alludes to the British nursery rhyme “One For Sorrow.”

The year 1993 became a turning point for the band. First they were asked to perform at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony as a last minute substitute for Van Morrison. Later that year Counting Crows was signed to Geffen Records and released their debut album “August and Everything After.” They supported the album by joining tours with Bob Dylan, Los Lobos, and the Cranberries. The album’s single “Mr. Jones” exploded on the airwaves and the video became widely requested on MTV. The album stayed on the charts for an impressive 93 weeks starting in 1994. The acknowledgement led them to tour with the Rolling Stones during that same year.

With the addition of drummer Ben Mize and guitarist Dan Vickrey, Counting Crows released their sophomore album “Recovering the Satellites” in 1995. It reached No. 1 in 1996 and songs like “A Long December” and “Have You Seen Me Lately” became hits. Counting Crows has had success in the film industry. Their song “Accidentally in Love” was featured on the animated film “Shrek 2”’ soundtrack and they received nominations for a Grammy, Oscar, and Golden Globe Award for their contribution.

Counting Crows cites Van Morrison, R.E.M., Mike + The Mechanics, Nirvana, Bob Dylan, and Nirvana as their musical influences.

Prior to making waves in the music industry, Morissette had appeared on the children’s television show “You Can’t Do That on Television”. Using money she had earned from the show the young talent recorded her first music demo entitled “Fate Stay With Me” in 1985, when the singer was 11. Three years later Morissette inked a publishing contract and in 1991, after signing with MCA Canada, released her debut album “Alanis”. Produced and co-written by Leslie Howe, the album became a hit in Canada, spawned the singles “Too Hot”, “Walk Away”, and “Feel Your Love”, and led to Morissette winning the Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist.

Morissette’s sophomore album “Now Is the Time”, released in 1992, was a more thoughtful and candid album, and featured less pop production work than its predecessor. Despite being popular and producing three Top 40 singles “An Emotion Away”, “No Apologies” and “(Change Is) Never a Waste of Time”, the album was a comparative commercial failure and the singer was dropped from MCA Canada.

After graduating from high school, in liaison with her manager Scott Welsh, Morissette moved to Toronto, Canada, and began recording her third full-length in songwriter and producer Glen Ballard’s studio. By 1995 she had signed a deal with Maverick Records who issued “Jagged Little Pill” internationally in June 1995. The album’s lead single “You Oughta Know” soon got picked up by the relevant and influential Los Angeles, California radio station KROQ-FM, snowballing Morissette to success. The exposure led to heavy rotation on MTV and MuchMusic, and resulted in “Jagged Little Pill” reaching No. 1 in the U.S. Subsequent singles included “All I Really Want”, “Hand in My Pocket” and the instantly recognisable “Ironic”. The album went on to sell over 30 million copies worldwide, was certified 12 times platinum in Canada, and won the singer-songwriter six Juno Awards and four Grammy Awards in 1996.

After a successful tour in support of the album, and a six-week hiatus in India, the singer collaborated with Ringo Starr and Dave Matthews Band before returning to the studio to focus on her follow-up. Released in 1998, “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie” earned the highest first-week sales by any female artist, however failed to live-up to the success of its predecessor. After contributing four tracks to the Jonathan Elias project “The Prayer Cycle” Morissette released the live acoustic album “Alanis Unplugged” and toured alongside Tori Amos.

Morissette’s fifth studio album “Under Rug Swept” once again topped the charts in Canada, this time however the singer wrote and produced the album on her own. Aided by the singles “Hands Clean”, “So Unsexy”, and “Precious Illusions”, the album went platinum in Canada and sold over a million copies in the States. After the live concert DVD “Feast on Scraps” in 2002 the singer went on to release her sixth full-length album “So-Called Chaos” issued in 2004, followed by the acoustic rework of her breakthrough album entitled “Jagged Little Pill Acoustic”. In 2008 Morissette released the album “Flavors of Entanglement” which documented the break-up of her relationship with Ryan Reynolds, followed by “Havoc and Bright Lights” in 2012.

Strangely enough for a musician of her magnitude, KT Tunstall did not grow up in a musical household. Her parents' only tape was a Tom Lehrer album on tape, leading Tunstall to discover the world of music entirely on her own while she spent her late teens travelling the world. Once she hit her twenties she had learnt enough about performing to start playing in a number of indie bands, where she developed a particular interest in songwriting. By her mid-20's she had struck out on her own as a singer/songwriter and after a brief dalliance with an American major label, she signed with the British indie label Relentless Records. #

Wisely, she and the label decided to spend a few years working on her material and her live performances before she debuted, and in 2004, her debut album “Eye To The Telescope” was released. The album received warm reviews from the start, but it was in danger of slipping under the radar until Tunstall was tapped to be a last minute replacement performer on a Later... With Jools Holland episode after Nas (of all people) cancelled. The solo performance of “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” that she played with only a guitar, a tambourine and a loop pedal utterly upstaged everyone else on the show, which included The Cure, Embrace and The Futureheads.

Relentless re-released the album soon after the episode aired, and the album rocketed into the charts at number three, the single also became one of the biggest radio hits of the year in the U.K, and on its release in the United States, became a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. She also had huge hits in the form of the singles “Other Side Of The World” and “Suddenly I See”, both of which actually bettered the chart performance of “Black Horse...”, charting at number 13 and number 12 respectively. That kind of success has stayed with Tunstall ever since, with her debut certified five times Platinum and three of her other studio albums certified Gold. More so than any sales certificate, however, she is an artist well on her way to national treasure status, and for that, KT Tunstall comes highly recommended.

Born in Paddington, London, UK, Costello is the son of parents Lilian Alda and Ross MacManus, the latter of whom was a trumpet player and band leader.

Costello’s first musical endeavour was with the band Rusty, which he started when he moved to Liverpool, UK, with his mother in 1971. After returning to London, another band Flip City came into fruition and saw the singer/songwriter adopt a pub-rock style of music and performance. He was later signed to the independent label Stiff Records which suggested a name change, to which he combined Elvis Presley’s first name with the name his father performed with on stage, Costello. The label released the debut album “My Aim Is True” in 1976 to good reviews as well as the reggae-driven “Watching The Detectives”.

Later being associated with the punk and new wave scenes due to Costello’s unabashed passion and vigour. He soon made a name for himself with his eclectic, widely influenced instrumentation and style, drawing influences from folk and rock to ska and reggae, along with seemingly infinitely-literate lyrics. The 1978 album entitled “This Year’s Model” was the first recorded with his backing band The Attractions and featured more of a hard-rock sound than his earlier material.

Costello’s ambitious 1979 album “Armed Forces” took the band to No. 2 in the UK chart, as did Costello’s most successful single “Oliver’s Army”. This same year Costello found time to produce the debut album for the band The Special, sparking a ska revival.

The early 1980s were a very good time to be an Elvis Costello fan, in which time he released no fewer than nine albums including “Trust”, “Imperial Bedroom” and “Punch the Clock” and consistently toured with The Attractions, before tensions were raised between Costello and bassist Bruce Thomas, which caused a split by 1986.

The majority of Costello’s work since the split has been as a solo artist, defined by his smart and diverse wordplay, genre-blurring music style and inherent passion. Costello has been awarded numerous awards throughout his career including a grammy, two Brit Award nominations for Best British Male, has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Rolling Stone ranked the band 80th on their 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list.

For a period of time, Razorlight were one of the biggest bands in the United Kingdom. Far eclipsing everyone else who had come out of the same East London indie rock scene, even though that scene brought the world everyone from The Libertines to Bloc Party. From 2004 to around 2007, they were only second to Arctic Monkeys themselves in terms of albums sales, fan devotion, radio play and sheer popularity. However, the crucial thing to remember about Razorlight is that no amount of success, no matter how all-encompassing it was, was ever going to be enough for their frontman, one Mr. Johnny Borrell. Borrell formed the band in 2002, after ditching a solo career that he'd spent as an intense, young singer/songwriter supporting bands like the aforementioned Libertines in Whitechapel bars. Once he'd put together the first line-up of the band, and recruited NME scribe Roger Morton as the band's manager, the band made their live debut supporting The Von Bondies at Camden's Dingwalls and recorded demo versions of their songs “Rock 'n' Roll Lies”, “Rip It Up” and “In The City” shortly afterwards.

Borrell soon became something of an indie rock celebrity, thanks to his pin-up looks and habit of saying things in the press that were alternately bonkers, brilliant, disgustingly arrogant or a hybrid of all three. As I said before, no amount of success would satisfy the ambitious young rocker, so the sheer amount of critical acclaim and commercial success that they enjoyed straight out of the gate is arguably the best and worst thing to happen to Razorlight in their entire career. After the band signed with Mercury Records, their debut album “Up All Night” was released in June 2004, and was an immediate top three hit. In 2005, after their single “Somewhere Else” had crashed into the singles chart at number two, the band solidified their place as the next big thing by performing to an audience of 200'000 people at that summer's Live 8 festival in Hyde Park.

Their self-titled second album saw them ascend into the stratosphere. After its release in 2006, the band secured their first number one single in the form of “America”, Borrell's co-writing effort with their drummer Andy Burrows, and support slots with Queen + Paul Rodgers, The Rolling Stones and Oasis followed in short order. In October, they embarked on a sold out tour of arenas in the UK and the following year, they capped off their imperial phase by headlining the Reading and Leeds festivals, the biggest gigs of their career by far. Ever since then, the band have remained one of the most beloved acts of the 2000's as much for their singer's eccentricities a for their titanic back catalogue of hits and their consummate live show. For remaining relevant well past a lot of their peers, Razorlight come highly recommended.

Originally formed under the moniker Mr. Crowe’s Garden in 1984, the earliest incarnation took influence from local act R.E.M, 1960’s psychedelia, and classic rock. Though the band had undergone many changes over its history, brother Chris and Rich Robinson have remained at the core on The Black Crowes sound. In 1989 following a successful demo the band signed with Def American, who issued The Black Crowes' debut album “Shake Your Money Maker” in 1990. The multi-platinum selling release was recorded with the band’s first lineup of vocalist Chris Robinson, guitarist Rich Robinson, bassist Johnny Colt, guitarist Jeff Cease, and drummer Steve Gorman. Though the album proved relatively popular as a whole, it was their Top 30 cover of the Otis Redding song “Hard to Handle”, followed by the singles “She Talks to Angels”, “Jealous Again” that really catapulted the band to mainstream consciousness. In support of the release the Black Crowes opened for ZZ Top and took part on the Monsters of Rock tour in the Soviet Union alongside Mötley Crüe and Queensrÿche.

The band’s sophomore album “The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion” arrived in 1992 marking the departure of guitarist Jeff Cease and the arrival of Marc Ford. The album topped the Billboard 200 upon release, aided by the singles “Remedy”, “Sting Me”, “Thorn in my Pride”, and “Hotel Illness”. To fill out The Black Crowes' sound they invited the keyboardist Eddie Harsch to join their ranks, and whom made his debut on the album “Amorica” in 1994. The album earned strong reviews from a number of reputable sources including Rolling Stone magazine and was supported by a national tour, including an opening slot for the Grateful Dead in 1995.

In 1996 The Black Crowes released the full-length “Three Snakes and One Charm”, which the band supported with a summer run on the 1997 Further Festival with Ratdog and Bruce Hornsby. Following the release guitarist Marc Ford was sacked from the group, bassist Johnny Colt left of his own accord, and the Crowes lineup dissolved itself. After a small hiatus, a reformed Black Crowes appeared in 1999 consisting of the Robinson brothers, bassist Sven Pipien, and guitarist Audley Freed. The new lineup released the studio album “By Your Side” in January 1999, the same year the band were joined by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page for a pair of shows in New York and Los Angeles.

The full-length “Lions” followed in 2001 issued by Richard Branson's V2 label. Charting at No. 20 on the Bilboard 200, The Black Crowes toured alongside Oasis and Spacehog before embarking on their own headlining tour. With tensions running high within the group, the Black Crowes took a hiatus in January 2002, which saw Rich Robinson release a solo album entitled “Paper” in 2004. The group returned however in 2005 to play a show at San Francisco’s Fillmore, which found its way onto the live release “Freak ’N’ Roll… Into the Fog” in 2006. The compilation of previously unreleased albums entitled “The Lost Crowes” was issued in 2006, after which guitarist Luther Dickinson join the band’s ranks. The new guitarist directed the group in a more southern rock style, which was apparent on the 2008 album “Warpaint”. In 2009 The Black Crowes released their eighth studio album “Before the Frost/Until the Freeze”, followed by 2010’s “Croweology”, and the 2013 live album “Wiser for the Time”.

Kip Moore's career in music didn't always seem as destined as other artists. He worked as a store manager for Abercrombie & Fitch for four years whilst quietly working on his own music and sound before he obtained a record deal with MCA Nashville. However after this initial struggle, the country star continued to score success on the US Country Charts. 'Mary Was the Marrying Kind' was his first appearance at #45 and this was seen as testing the waters as the follow-up 'Something' 'Bout a Truck' topped the chart upon its release in September 2011.

His debut album 'Up All Night' was released in April 2012 and peaked at #3 on the Country chart and #6 on the US Billboard. It has sold over 300,000 copies thanks to hit singles such as 'Beer Money' and 'Hey Pretty Girl'. He was awarded with three nominations in 2012 from the American Country Awards including New Artist of the Year, Single by a New Artist and Video by a New Artist.

Kip is currently working on a follow-up album to his successful debut. He has released two preceding singles to date, the first entitled 'Young Love' peaked on the Country chart at #26 whilst 'Dirt Road' reached #35. The album is currently untitled but is expected in 2015.

After his mother suggested that he channel his teenage passion for poetry into songwriting, Jack Savoretti spent the rest of his teenage years almost obsessively writing songs, describing his process as the way that he conversed with the world at large. The backlog that he created, and the sheer experience that it gave him, meant that he was in a recording studio writing his first album by the time he was 21. His very first single, 2006’s “Without” was almost immediately play listed by Radio 2 and got him noticed by Corinne Bailey Rae, who he toured with over Europe for the rest of the year. At just 22 years old, Savoretti released his debut album “Between The Minds” in March 2007, which was critically acclaimed but a slow seller, at least at first.

Ever since then, he’s continued to record and release acclaimed albums, particularly his 2012 third album “Before The Storm”, an album written after a particularly tumultuous period of his career where he nearly gave up music for good. “Before The Storm” reinvigorated interest in Savoretti and in 2014, he signed to Sony BMG for his follow up record, 2015’s “Written In Scars”. Savoretti is a songwriter par excellence, and with the folk-rock world at his feet, he comes highly recommended.

The Magic Numbers formed in 2002, wasting no time in getting on the London gigging circuit, building their fan base along the way, and fortunately landing a record deal with Heavenly Records. Following this, the band’s status began to grow exponentially, landing support slots on tours with Travis and Snow Patrol, and then appearing on Festivals. It was in November 2004, that the band released a limited edition vinyl single “Hymn for Her”, which was launched with a three show residency at The Borderline, London. They also played their first live session on Dermot O’Leary’s show on BBC Radio 2.

On June 13th 2005, the band released their eponymous debut album, which was recorded at the Metropolis Studios in London. It shot up to number 7 in the UK Albums Chart. It was the singles that really propelled the release of the album too, turning heads in the direction of The Magic Numbers. “Forever Lost” made it to number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and “Love Me Like You” made it to number 12.

The following year, the band released the single “Take a Chance” on October 23rd 2006, which made it to number 16 in the UK Singles Chart, again catapulting the release of the album “Those the Brokes” which made it to number 11 in the UK Albums chart, and anomalously 3 in the Swedish chart.

Despite not making it to the top 20 of the charts, The Magic Numbers released the album “The Runaway” on July 26th 2010, and the album charted in five different European countries.

“Alias” released on August 18th 2014, made it to number 57 in the UK Albums chart.