See here for Lamplighter enlightenment

“PETER MULVEY is reaching for gold with his new record The Silver Ladder, produced by Chuck Prophet.  ”

The eclectic range of Mulvey’s tireless past pays handsome dividends on this stylistically sweeping, LA-recorded album. A crack specially convened band (including regular Dylan drummer David Kemper) adhere to his well-established live and direct recording approach and allow the performer’s deeply matured, naturally wry and hard-edged Americana to attain full, flowing life. From the raunchy melodic pop of “Sympathies” through suburban requiem “Remember the Milkman”, the dizzying weirdness of “If You Shoot At A King” and even Led Zeppelin modal thunder on “Copenhagen Airport”, Mulvey’s troubled visions attain striking clarity. – Gavin Martin, Uncut

Davis Enterprise:
“The cream of the crop… sings with a clarity reserved for the likes of legends.”

Mojo (UK):
“Singularly gifted.”

Boston Globe:
“Peter Mulvey is all substance, which is his style.”

SIMON BALTO is a writer of folk and alt-country songs from southern Wisconsin. His music draws from a range of influences, both musical and not. More than anything, the style and storytelling are especially informed by the hills of southwestern Wisconsin that were his early home, and by the people he’s met there and in travels around the country. An avid writer and reader, Balto’s songs focus on narration: workers and lovers, mothers and sons, the dying and mourning, the prideful and the abused. There is a deeply satisfying component to each of his songs – a reminder of home, woodsmoke, and the first traces of your breath as winter begins to settle.” 

“An unbelievable talent, his layered folk ballads are reminiscent of Baez and Dylan, Guthrie and Prine. There is a deeply satisfying component to each of his songs – a reminder of home, woodsmoke, and the first traces of your breath as winter begins to settle.”-MUSIC MEANS FAMILY (CHICAGO)

And then there are the not-dueling ANNAs

ANNA VOGELZANG has been making songs since 2000, playing them in public since 2003, and driving them around the country since 2007. Her melody-driven, multi-instrumental folk-pop ballads have landed her on bills with some of her heroes, including Sara Bareilles, Gillian Welch, Mirah, Anais Mitchell, Laura Gibson, Wye Oak, Steve Poltz, Amanda Palmer, & many more. Anna’s new Driftless EP is a home-spun, steadfast collection of gritty new-folk songs, many of which were written in 2014 as part of the song-a-week project RealWomenRealSongs.Vogelzang plays the banjo, ukuleles, guitar, and kalimba on stage, but has always been a singer who loves words and feelings first and foremost.

“The Wisconsin troubadour has a penchant for playfulness when it comes to her music; however, when she gets serious, few craft a better folk song.” THE HUFFINGTON POST

“Vogelzang is one of the blossoms in the fertile field of Madison new-folk practitioners. She has an infectious, hearty singing voice and switches with joy between banjo, ukulele and guitar.” WISCONSIN PUBLIC TELEVISION

“Madison, Wisconsin’s Anna Vogelzang has a voice that can knock down a listener, clashing from a sweet, nearly conversational tone into a confident country-girl howl.” PERFORMER MAGAZINE

“The exquisite lyrical craftsmanship on Canary in a Coal Mine is matched by Vogelzang’s incredible vocal range, evoking everyone from Regina Spektor to Ani DiFranco, shifting between delicate lilt and evocative howl at will.” 9/10 Stars POP MATTERS

Raised among the ferns and the farmland of Northern Washington, lyric-driven songwriter ANNA TIVEL loved words long before they became the backbone of her music. After moving to Oregon in 2007, she slowly discovered the friendly music scene as a fiddle player, and soon after picked up the guitar and began to write. Her latest album was released in June 2014 on Portland’s well-loved Fluff and Gravy Records. Anna is based in Portland, OR and spends her time reading and writing and touring and fiddling and watching her dog try to catch flies by the window.

“These are organic songs that freely reveal the poetry of the mind, heart, and soul, the sharp imagery of the world translated into sound.” – No Depression

“Anna’s strength is that of a lyricist. Her songs are filled with lines that intrigue and haunt.” – David Steinberg