Andy Frasco & The U.N. “Embrace new change, and take it day to day.” “Growing Pains” With curly tufts of a recognizable ‘fro peeking out from his omnipresent knit cap, Andy Frasco is a cross between John Belushi’s “Joliet” Jake Blues and Jimmy Buffett. He’s a band-fronting, songwriting party animal who turns into a swirling rock ‘n’ roll Tasmanian Devil onstage leading his U.N., not unlike Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. “We’ve dedicated our lives to doing this, so we want to give it 130% of our energy,” says the unapologetic leader of Andy Frasco & The U.N., which has grown from playing bars to touring more than 250 days a year all over the country. “We don’t chase the latest trend down the rabbit hole. This is who we are. You don’t have to be in the cool club to enjoy our music. We’re all in this together.” Those experiences are summed up on Growing Pains, the group’s landmark 10th studio album (along with two live records), and first full-length effort since 2023’s L’Optimist, which showcases Frasco’s growth as a tunesmith in his own right. “I wanted to show people how I’ve grown as a songwriter,” said Frasco. “That I wasn’t just a crowd-surfing party guy in a bar band. This record is about finding a balance in both music and life, focusing on the simple pleasures. It’s about living in the present moment and taking nothing for granted because there are no guarantees tomorrow.” Produced by Frasco himself for the first time, the collection’s centerpiece is the anthemic “Try Not to Die,” a glass half-full anthem to seizing the day that combines country twang with an easy island breeze in its affirmative message (“Enjoy what you got/Forget what you’re not/Remember that love comes first”).  “My goal as a musician and songwriter has always been to get people out of their echo chambers to grow,” says Andy. “You can’t grow unless you hear both sides. My hope is people break out of their depression and think of a different way to live life. I try to write optimistically depressing songs. I’m always looking for silver linings.”  “Life is Easy,” featuring bluegrass superstar Billy Strings, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country and co-writer/frequent collaborators Steve Poltz (Rugburns, Jewel) and Chris Gelbuda (Meghan Trainor), is a folk protest anthem, with under-the-radar tongue-in-cheek lyrics like “They’re selling us the blood/While they’re all bleeding us.” “We’re all just consumers being sold something,” he explains. “We don’t see what’s being put in our McDonald’s burgers or our juices. It’s like they want to squeeze the lemon until it’s dry.” Both “Tears in My Cocaine” and “How to Cure a Heartbreak” deal with addiction and getting sober, the former with great lines like “I’m texting all my exes,” the latter with the admission, “I try to fill my soul with substance/But my bucket’s filled with holes.” “Why do we put these things in our bodies to cure the stuff that’s in our heads?” wonders Andy. “That’s not going to cure it, it will only suppress it.” “Swinging for the Fences,” featuring cameos by G. Love and Eric Krasno (Lettuce, Tedeschi Trucks Band Soulive), is a Motown-flavored paean to dating someone out of your league. The playful “They Call Me Hollywood (But I’m from LA),” co-written with frequent partner Kenny Carkeet, features rapper ProbCause, while the title track is a sing-song, hip-hop-influenced rhyme about embracing change and taking it day-to-day. “These thoughts are nothing without action,” sings Frasco. “Easier” takes a martial beat to an old-school folk anti-war protest sing-along with lines like “Why do we like to fight/When it’s easier to shine some light?” a reaction to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Having bought a home in Denver five years ago, Frasco wrote most of the new album in Nashville with his longtime guitarist Shawn Eckels, and frequent songwriting partners Chris Gelbuda, Steve Poltz, and Andrew Cooney, choosing musicians “for what was right on each song… I’m finally learning how to turn my thoughts into melody. That was the hardest part for me.” Frasco’s entrepreneurial ability was meant for the music business from the time he was a teenager growing up in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley “stuck between rock ‘n’ roll and ‘Purple Haze,’” a fourth-generation Los Angeleno native poring over attorney Don Passman’s All You Need to Know About the Music Business and Guerilla Marketing. Starting his professional career by DJ’ing at his friends’ bar mitzvahs, Andy started booking and managing bands while still in high school, even going on the road as a tour manager. After stints working at Drive Thru, Capitol and Atlantic Records, Frasco taught himself to play piano, dropped out of college, then used the rest of his bar mitzvah savings to buy a van to tour on his own. He picked up a backing band at each stop in the tradition of Chuck Berry, emulating his own larger-than-life childhood blues heroes BB King, Dr. John and Buddy Guy. Fifteen years later, Andy Frasco & The U.N. -- Ernie Chang (saxophone), Shawn Eckels (guitar, vocals), Andee "Beats" Avila (drums, vocals), and Floyd Kellogg (bass guitar) – have gone from a bar band to a festival, shed and theater attraction, regularly playing before sold-out crowds with a show that finds them segueing from a world-class soul review to a jam band to blues-busters, hip-hoppers and punk rockers (with covers of My Chemical Romance’s “Teenagers,” Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer/Life During Wartime,” Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” and Clash’s “Train in Vain” peppering the playlist), all in the same set. From switching instruments mid-song to Frasco stagediving into the crowd or kibitzing with them, an Andy Frasco & The U.N. show is a celebration of inclusivity and tolerance where “You do You” and “let us do us.” “I came into this life wanting to write songs,” said Frasco. “It took 15 years, but I feel I’m starting to get credit for it. My cup is full. I’m really starting to see my dreams come true.”

Kitchen Dwellers continue to carve out their own lane in the world of progressive roots music, blending bluegrass, folk, and psychedelic grit into a sound as expansive as their Montana home. The Bozeman-born quartet of Shawn Swain (mandolin), Torrin Daniels (banjo), Joe Funk (upright bass), and Max Davies (acoustic guitar) has grown from regional upstarts into one of the most dynamic and forward-thinking bands in modern string music. Their catalog pairs instrumental virtuosity with emotional storytelling, an exploratory spirit, and a deep connection to the American West. In 2024, Kitchen Dwellers released their latest full-length studio album, Seven Devils, which arrived on March 1 and debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart. The record expanded the band’s creative reach and reinforced their place at the forefront of progressive roots and bluegrass. The band’s newest release, The Katabatic EP, highlights another side of their creative arc. Recorded in late November 2021 at Mighty Fine Studios in Denver and Peach Street Studios in Bozeman, the three-song EP captures a vivid snapshot of wintertime inspiration in Montana. Rooted in sweeping landscapes and natural contrasts, the EP blends mythic lyricism, atmospheric instrumental interplay, and a progressive blend of bluegrass, folk, and americana that has become the group’s signature. The song “Madison” tells the story of a mystified angler on the Madison River, drawing parallels between love and the unpredictable rhythms of fishing. The instrumentals “Mimas and Ida” and “Katabatic” broaden the sonic palette with guest trumpeter Eric "Benny" Bloom of Lettuce, whose brass textures add lift, spark, and momentum. Shifting grooves, evolving tempos, and evocative melodies evoke mountain valleys, windswept terrain, and orbiting moons. The EP was produced by Kitchen Dwellers, mixed by Stephan Gueguen and Max Davies, and mastered by Stephan Gueguen. Kitchen Dwellers have continued to earn national attention through consistent touring, acclaimed studio work, and an expanding grassroots following. Their studio album discography includes Ghost in the Bottle (2017), Muir Maid (2019), Wise River (2022), and Seven Devils (2024). Collectively, these releases have amassed more than 15 million streams across platforms, with recent NOCO releases accounting for more than 8 million. Their vibrant live show has taken them to major festivals and iconic stages across the country. The band has performed at Bonnaroo Music Festival, Telluride Bluegrass, Under The Big Sky, WinterWonderGrass, Northwest String Summit, and more. They have also achieved career milestones by headlining Red Rocks Amphitheatre and headlining the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Along the way, Kitchen Dwellers have received praise from outlets such as Bluegrass Today, Huffington Post, Relix, American Songwriter, and additional national publications. Kitchen Dwellers continue to evolve while staying rooted in the landscapes and creative curiosity that shaped them. With Seven Devils marking a major milestone and The Katabatic EP offering a distilled burst of artistic expression, the band remains committed to pushing the boundaries of modern bluegrass and exploring new musical terrain.