Nora Jane Struthers & The Party Line return to the Freight riding high from the success of their most recent album, Carnival, which rose to #11 on the Americana Radio Chart. Nora Jane grew up in Virginia, studied at NYU, and taught English in Brooklyn before moving to Nashville to focus full time on music. Bluegrass Unlimited called her first solo album, recorded in 2010, “a marvel that combines brilliant songcraft, a sultry yet honey-hued voice, and an inspired sense of personal musical style.” The reviewer for Bluegrass Breakdown called it “one of the most mesmerizing, haunting, and hard-hitting projects I’ve ever heard.” Carnival ups the ante with a compendium of songs that tell memorable stories about a range of compelling characters.
 
Nora Jane’s band, The Party Line, won recognition as best band at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. It features Joe Overton on clawhammer banjo and harmony vocals, Drew Lawhorn on drums, Josh Vana on electric guitar, and Brian Miller on bass. What else? Nora Jane happens to be a great dresser with a wonderful collection of vintage clothes – but it’s the songs, the singing, and the terrific musicianship that will leave you humming.

Erika, Rachel, and Chloe Tietjen are the T Sisters, three East Bay sibs with an uncanny knack for blending their voices and making beautiful music together. “We sang together when we were little, making up songs and writing plays in the attic of our grandparents’ house,” they say on the band website. “Our parents were dancers and our father is a musician, so rhythm and movement were a constant backdrop for our experience of music.” Folk at heart, the T Sisters also draw heavily on elements of country, gospel, R&B, and sibling bands like The Andrews Sisters and The Beach Boys. Their debut album, Kindred Lines, produced by Laurie Lewis, features gorgeous a cappella singing on a few songs, including a great cover of Paul Simon’s “American Tune,” and tasteful backup from a stellar group of musicians including Todd Phillips, Linda Tillery, and Mike Marshall. “I was really delighted with their sound,” says Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records. “The interplay of their voices is just pure delight.”

Visit Nora Jane Struther's website

Visit the T Sisters' website

Listen to a track from Nora Jane Struthers:

Listen to a track from the T Sisters: