Video: "Catching Up with You"
Video: "Time Machine Heart"
Video: Festival information from WMNF!
Video: "Freightliner"

WMNF 88.5 presents: The 5th Annual Americana Music Festival
Saturday July 17th, 2010
4pm to midnight
Skipper's Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road, Tampa, FL    

Nine Alarm Productions and WMNF are pleased to present The 5th Annual Americana Music Festival to be held at Skipper's Smokehouse on Saturday, July 17th from 4pm-midnight.

The line up includes eleven of the best Florida-based Americana artists, including:
4:00-4:30 Radio-Free Carmela & the Transmitters (Sarasota)
4:45-5:15 Rich Whiteley Band (TPA)
5:30-6:00 The Takers (Gainesville)
6:15-6:45 Nine Volts (Cape Canaveral)
7:00-7:30 Steve Connelly & the Lesser Gods (TPA)
7:45-8:15 Hindu Cowboys (ORL)
8:30-9:00 Thomas Wynn & the Believers (ORL)
9:15-9:45 Mike Dunn & the Kings of New England (Winter Park)
10:00-10:30 Ted Lukas & the Misled (TPA)
10:45-11:15  Black Finger (Lake Worth)
11:30-12:00  Have Gun, Will Travel (Sarasota)

Advance tickets are available through WMNF by phone and online at wmnf.org and through WMNF ticket outlets for $12. Door price will be $15.

BAND DESCRIPTIONS and LINKS

Radio-Free Carmela & the Transmitters - Though tiny in stature, Carmela's voice reaches out with a kung fu grip to grab the listener and engage them in each storyline. This Sarasota songstress has the ability to instantly connect with her audience through a combination of insightful banter and a passionate original songbook.
http://www.radiofreecarmela.com

Rich Whiteley Band - Tampa Bay's Rich Whiteley creates Americana music goosed with charming pop hooks. His warm vocals glide over memorable melodies, while his lyrics smartly meld concrete musings and surreal imagery.
http://www.richwhiteley.com/RW_Site/Home.html

The Takers - Gainesville's Takers are proudly influenced by the legends of Honky-Tonk (Merle Haggard, Hank Williams) and the Outlaw Movement (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings) with lyrics inspired by the struggles of life and the curse of the bottle.
http://www.myspace.com/thetakershonkytonk

Nine Volts - Ranging from country and bluegrass inspired ballads to rousing, mountain music rockers, the Nine Volts songs bring to mind early Son Volt, the Drive-By Truckers, and the melodic, tender side of classic Allman Brothers. With lyrics that illuminate themes of Romantic reflection, regret and redemption, and the real-life mythology of the South, Cape Canaveral based singer/songwriter Conrad Wilson evokes the matter-of-fact, mournful soul of Townes Van Zandt and the optimistic, wide-eyed wonder of Gram Parsons.
http://www.myspace.com/theninevolts

Steve Connelly and the Lesser Gods - Former member of the critically acclaimed Headlights, this multi-talented Tampa area guitarist/songwriter/producer unleashes his latest project, the Lesser Gods. If you've never seen Steve Connelly play a guitar solo live, then prepare to be amazed.
http://www.steveconnellymusic.com

Hindu Cowboys - Hindu Cowboys may hail from Central Florida, but the band's origins extend from Nashville to the Canadian border and overseas to Bulgaria. The band's sound is a mix of folk, traditional string band, and roots music topped off with retro country gravy.
http://www.myspace.com/hinducowboys

Thomas Wynn & the Believers - Pieces of Dylan, The Band, Tom Petty, and Neil Young, and a bit of Waylon Jennings, Otis Redding, and CCR seep through this Orlando based band's makeup. Wynn's passionate lyrics and emotional delivery, coupled with his sister's soulful, yet haunting harmonies, backed by a tight, fiery band has built the reputation for don't-miss powerful, explosive LIVE performances.
http://www.thomaswynn.basekit.com/

Mike Dunn & the Kings of New England - Orlando-based Mike Dunn & TKONE have been called "a perfect representation of what American roots rock sounds like when filtered through a Central Florida haze" (Orlando Weekly). These guys wear their Springsteen, Petty, and Westerberg influences proudly on their sleeves.
http://www.myspace.com/mdtkone

Ted Lukas & the Misled - A mainstay of the Tampa area music scene, as well as the creator and organizer of the WMNF Americana Fest, Lukas's music is a rich Americana blend of rootsy-rock and twang, featuring plenty of big guitar riffs and catchy melodic hooks. His songs evoke the classic, yet contemporary sounds of Tom Petty, Ryan Adams, and Steve Earle,
http://www.tedlukas.com

Black Finger - This Lake Worth four-piece delivers country twang with plenty of guitar-driven, indie-alternative force. With lyrics chock full of sarcastic wit, their high energy live show is comparable to that of Cracker and the Waco Brothers.
http://www.myspace.com/blackfingermusic

Have Gun, Will Travel - Since the 2008 release of their debut full-length Casting Shadows Tall As Giants, this Sarasota-based band has been gaining momentum regionally as well as nationally. Casting Shadows... landed in the top 5 most-played album of the year on Tampa's WMNF 88.5 fm. The album opener "Blessing and a Curse" was chosen to appear on every episode of the 2009 season of PBS's Roadtrip Nation.
http://www.myspace.com/hgwt