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Who is PETER MULVEY and why does he lamptoon us each year?

Over the past 20 years, Mulvey has pursued a restless, eclectic path as a writer and musician – immersing himself in Tin PanAlley jazz, modern acoustic, poetry, narrative, and Americana stylings. Relentlessly touring as a headliner – his attitude is, “When you love what you do, you can work all the time,” – he has also shared the stage with luminaries such as Emmylou Harris, Richard Thompson, Ani diFranco, Indigo Girls, and Greg Brown, and has attracted an audience that stretches from Anchorage to Amsterdam.

In every aspect of his career, Mulvey draws on an extremely broad swath of influence; he is always reading, listening, and eager to hear new poetry, modern minimalist composers, old-time fiddle tunes, Argentinean trip-hop, or top-shelf bar bands. Said The Irish Times: “Peter Mulvey is consistently the most original and dynamic of the US singer-songwriters to tour these shores. A phenomenal performer with huge energy, a quick fire, quirky take on life, and an extraordinary guitar style. A joy to see.”

….Still, it is the live performance that defines that work. Night after night, whether performing solo, duo (with David “Goody” Goodrich), or sometimes even with a band, Mulvey attempts to be the sum of his parts, to draw on all the musical legacies he has studied, to make a fresh, vital moment out of everything he and the audience have brought to the table that night. “People need this. I need this. To come together in a room, to try to make music come alive, for real, for right now, and then to let it go…that is the whole deal for me.”

BEN BEDFORD delivers intriguing sketches of America, its individuals, their victories and their struggles. Poignant, but never sentimental, Bedford’s portrait-like songs capture the vitality of his characters and draw the listener deep into the narratives. With three albums to his credit, Bedford’s songs tackle scenarios including homelessness, the plight of a Confederate soldier’s wife during the American Civil War, the aerial triumphs of Amelia Earhart, the life of Jack London, the murder of Emmett Till in 1955, John the Baptist, the poet Vachel Lindsay and even the 1973 standoff between members of The American Indian Movement and federal agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Often drawing upon history, Bedford’s songs have a strong sense of time and place. The songs are rich in sensory detail which allows the listener to hear, see and feel each narrative.

A true son of the heartland, Bedford dips into the deep inkwell of classic American literature and writes with the ‘old soul’ quality of his literary idols, such as John Steinbeck and Toni Morrison. All three of Bedford’s albums have charted highly on the Euro Americana charts and the Folk-DJ charts with What We Lost also charting highly on the Roots Music Report charts. In July of 2010, Bedford was named one of the “50 most significant Folk singer-songwriters of the past 50 years” by Rich Warren of WFMT-Chicago. The list, which included artists such as Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, Judy Collins and John Prine subsequently appeared on the blog of journalist Eric Zorn on the Chicago Tribune website.

Bedford recently finished work on his fourth album, The Pilot and the Flying Machine, which features Diederik van Wassenaer (The Underhills, Dietrich Jon) on violin, Ethan Jodziewicz (Sierra Hull, Darol Anger) on double bass, Kari Bedford on harmonies and was engineered by Dave Sinko (Punch Brothers, YoYo Ma, Edger Meyer).

“The Illinois songwriter is a masterful storyteller who can turn what seem like obscure historical references for engaging tales rife with vivid, stark imagery.”  Erik Ernst, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

JOSEPH HUBER   Will be Joseph’s Carpe debut.  Singer/Songwriter/Multi-Instrumentalist Joseph played  with the Milwaukee-based “streetgrass” group, the .357 String Band–a group that, despite its abrupt break-up, still continues to gain popularity, is known as one of the most influential groups in the recent insurgent underground country and bluegrass movements. Having moved from .357, Huber has honed his songwriting abilities immensely and now continues moving onward and upward captivating folks with his sincere and well-crafted songs under his own name and with his backing band. Whether it’s irresistible, fiddle-driven, danceable tunes or honest, heart-wrenching “songwriter” songs, Huber spans the spectrum and knows how to evoke joy or pain with the likes of the best.

His lyricism and introspective writing style has received high acclaim from many Americana enthusiasts. Huber released his 3rd solo album entitled ‘The Hanging Road’ under Nashville’s ‘Muddy Roots Recordings’ label in Spring 2014, following his self-released previous efforts, ‘Bury Me Where I Fall’ and ‘Tongues of Fire’, and has plans for yet another early 2017 release.

LOST LAKES is a collaboration between Corey Mathew Hart and Paul Mitch. The two met during a songwriting competition held by a local radio station. It wasn’t until they returned for a duets portion of the follow year’s competition that Corey saw Paul play bass and singing harmonies. The first time Corey and Paul played together, they clicked musically and personally. The collaboration has grown over the years, developing into a strong songwriting and production team with a focus on well-crafted tunes and tight vocal harmonies. Lost Lakes’ self-titled debut record bears witness to their talents and the fact the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.

Recorded over a 9 month period, the recording process was a labor of love. Paul and Corey produced the record and enlisted percussionist Shane Leonard (Field Report, The Stray Birds) along with longtime bandmate Rusty Lee on keyboards to fill out the sound. The project was recorded in a shared warehouse space called the Dojo. Many of the basic tracks were recorded live in 2 separate sessions with overdubs done in small Thursday night sessions. Being fairly porous to the outside elements, the temperature in the Dojo ranged from 41 degrees to well over 100 over the course of the project, adding a sense of adventure to the sessions. Being able to take their time for this project gave Corey and Paul a lot of freedom to try different sounds and arrangements for songs they have been playing live for a couple of years. With no pressure, no deadline, and a giant warehouse space filled with eclectic gear, the two managed to create a record of the highest quality.

When it came time to mix the album, Corey and Paul called on an old acquaintance, Grammy award winning engineer Justin Guip. The two had met Guip years ago when they opened for The Amy Helm (daughter of Levon Helm) at a Barn show in Spring Green, WI. Guip also happened to have just finished a record with the Stray Birds that Shane Leonard played percussion on. The past and present collided, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Corey and Paul approached Guip about mixing the record and he was very excited about the songs and tracks that were laid down at the Dojo. Guip’s aesthetic greatly aligned with the vision that Paul and Corey had for the record, and the result is a compelling masterpiece.