Shaped By Sound

Bleeds is not only the best Wednesday record—it’s also the most Wednesday record, a patchwork-style triumph of literary allusions and outlaw grit, of place-based poetry and hair-raising noise. Karly Hartzman—founder, frontwoman, and primary lyricist of the Asheville-born band—credits Wednesday’s tightened grasp on their own identity to time spent collaborating on previous albums, plus a tour schedule that’s been both rewarding and relentless. “'Bleeds' is the spiritual successor to 'Rat Saw God,' and I think the quintessential ‘Wednesday Creek Rock’ album,” Hartzman says, articulating satisfaction with the ways her band has sharpened its trademark sound, how they’ve refined the formula that makes them one of the most interesting rock bands of their generation.

The Connells are one of North Carolina’s most enduring and internationally successful indie rock bands, known for their melodic, literate songwriting. Formed in Raleigh in 1984 by brothers Mike and David Connell, the band emerged as a defining voice of the American college-rock and alternative scene. Their 1993 album "Ring" introduced them to a global audience, propelled by the breakout single “‘74–’75,” a Top 10 hit across Europe and a lasting generational anthem. While often associated with that era, The Connells have never operated as a nostalgia act, instead building a deep, consistent catalog. In 2021, they returned with their first studio album in two decades, engaging more directly with contemporary themes while staying true to their melodic core. Most recently, "Set the Stage," the band’s first-ever live album, captures The Connells as they’ve always been best understood—measured, powerful and fully present onstage.

Proclaimed a "national treasure" by the Los Angeles Times, GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, producer, and actor Anthony Hamilton has achieved global sales of over 50+ million albums. The NC Music Hall of Fame inductee notably performed for Nelson Mandela, President Obama and First Lady Michelle, and most recently President Joe Biden cementing his place in the history books as the "narrator of love." Introduced by way of the iconic 2003 smash "Charlene," his raw, awe-inspiring performances garnered the attention of NPR, where he starred in their noteworthy documentary series. He appeared in American Gangster and lent his voice to "Freedom" from the Academy® Award-nominated Django Unchained. Hamilton sang the National Anthem at the 2019 NBA All-Star Game in his hometown of Charlotte and released his tenth full-length studio album, LOVE IS THE NEW BLACK, amid all the racial injustices of George Floyd and the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Charly Lowry stands as a soulful powerhouse in the realm of music, enchanting audiences with her velvety vocals, heartfelt compositions and commanding stage presence. Her voice, imbued with a depth and resonance reminiscent of legends like Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt and Tracy Chapman, possesses a distinctiveness that is uniquely hers, echoing the rich heritage of her Indigenous ancestry rooted in the dark waters of Robeson County, NC. Her musical journey has been marked by acclaim and recognition, including reaching the Semi-Finals of Season 3 of American Idol, earning widespread praise for her prowess as a vocalist, songwriter and instrumentalist. Charly has harmonized with esteemed musicians, sharing the stages and studios with Grammy laureates and cultural icons like Rhiannon Giddens, Pura Fé and Rissi Palmer, solidifying her as a force in music.

Tan and Sober Gentlemen play Irish tunes, ballads, and pub songs right next to the Appalachian fiddle tunes of their youth, melding the two into what they call “Irish-American hillbilly music.” They've earned a reputation as one of the South’s hardest-hitting live acts, playing at blazing tempos and putting every last bit of energy they possess into the show. The result is a raucous celebration of the Carolinas’ Irish heritage, with drinking, dancing, and merriment galore.

Ben Folds is widely regarded as one of the major music influencers of our generation. The Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter-composer has created an enormous body of genre-bending music that includes pop albums with Ben Folds Five, multiple solo albums, and numerous collaborative records. His latest album features a live orchestral performance of his hits captured just before he stepped down as Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) at the Kennedy Center in DC. He currently tours as a pop artist, while also performing with some of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras.

Faith and Harmony is a family group—two sets of three sisters who are first cousins. They grew up singing together in Greenville, North Carolina. All six members are descendants of Dorothy Vines Daniels of the Glorifying Vines Sisters, a gospel group that for many years has been a Music Maker partner artist, and great nieces of sculptor/guitarmaker/author/musician Freeman Vines.

A smooth and cheerful aura combined with unique style and therapeutic vocals, North Carolina based RnB artist CYANCA is gaining momentum with some of music’s best critics such as Revolt, Lyrical Lemonade, RNB Radar, and Okayplayer. Her personality and eccentric style capture your attention, but her voice commands it. The honesty in her music stems from personal experiences, and CYANCA believes packaging and delivering her heart to listeners will provide them comfort, energy, and a heightened love of self.

Jim Lauderdale, known as “Mr. Americana,” is a Nashville singer-songwriter who learned to sing and play multiple instruments in his native North Carolina. A two-time Grammy Award winner with 38 albums released and two more coming. His songs have topped country charts, and in 2002, the Americana Music Association named him both Songwriter and Artist of the Year. His Grammys include Bluegrass Album of the Year for Lost in the Lonesome Pines, which he won with Ralph Stanley. He received the Wagonmaster Award in 2016 and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2025. After collaborating on six albums with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and mentoring emerging artists, Lauderdale continues leading his band, The Game Changers, creating music rooted in church hymns, bluegrass, country, and rock and roll.

“It’s wild, the ways that humans try to make boundaries out of things,” Skylar Gudasz says. With her third LP, COUNTRY, (“Best of 2024” —Bandcamp) she interrogates borders of land and sea, mind and body: the limits of the lines we draw for ourselves. Raised in rural Virginia, a deep, lifelong affection for nature comes into focus; her approach informed as much by a summer night sky as the pacifist tenets of a Quaker upbringing. Gudasz released 2020’s Cinema (“a career-making star turn” —MOJO) after 2016 debut Oleander (“the Joni Mitchell the South never had” —Bitter Southerner). Playing in the live bands of Hiss Golden Messenger, Eric Bachmann, Big Star’s Third, and the Ask Me Anything super trio with Libby Rodenbough and Kate Rhudy, she’s staked out her own poetic corner as a songwriter – drawing upon rootsy surf, witchy rock & roll, cinematic Southern twang and dreamy art-pop.

River Whyless is a band from Asheville, North Carolina whose music sits somewhere between folk, indie and something harder to define. Known for their festival appearances (Newport Folk, Bonnaroo) and for their performances on platforms like NPR’s Tiny Desk, their sound has earned them a reputation for thoughtful songwriting and surprising arrangements. Their latest album, Monflora, feels like a conversation—between four distinct voices, between tradition and experimentation, and between the familiar and the unexpected. A return to their roots as well as a leap forward, the album blends lush harmonies with a raw, unfiltered energy.

Describing the Durham-based Hiss Golden Messenger is like trying to grasp a forgotten word: It’s always on the tip of your tongue, but hard to speak. Song writer and bandleader M.C. Taylor’s music is at once familiar, yet impossible to categorize: Elements from the American songbook—the steady, churning acoustic guitar and mandolin, the gospel emotion, the eerie steel guitar tracings, the bobbing and weaving organ and electric piano—provide the bedrock for Taylor’s existential ruminations about parenthood, joy, hope ,and loneliness—our delicate, tightrope balance of dark and light—that offer fully engaged contemporary commentary on the present. And then there’s an indescribable spirit and movement: Hiss Golden Messenger’s music grooves. There’s nothing else quite like it.

Al Strong is an award-winning trumpet player, composer, recording artist, and educator. A cultural innovator, he is the co-founder of the non-profit the Art of Cool Project, which spawned the internationally recognized Art of Cool Music Festival. A native of Washington, D.C., Strong is a graduate of the renowned Duke Ellington School for the Performing Arts and a passionate advocate for young people in music education. His experiences studying music at renowned Jazz Studies programs North Carolina Central University and Northern Illinois University, afforded him invaluable opportunities to perform at premiere jazz festivals.