In The Row with John Mann, Sam Lewis, Jon Byrd & Greg Foresman

John Mann has been an engaging and positive force, gracing the singer-songwriter scene with bulletproof songcraft, thoughtful lyrics and a voice as warm and inviting as anyone's. Mann has released three well received albums and an EP over the last several years, all of which retain a sense of individuality while clearly revealing his core influences somewhere between The Band and John Prine.

Sam Lewis has collaborated with everyone from Leon Russell to The Wood Brothers. Chris Stapleton dubbed him “a modern Townes Van Zandt”. He’s often labeled with some form of the word ‘soulful’ (some have even compared his voice to molasses), Lewis’ style meets at a juncture of many different genres however he’s discovered what most musicians spend lifetimes working for; the place where feel-good music meets vital social commentary.

After spending a nomadic youth throughout the Southeast (USA), he began calling Nashville home in 2009. Since then he’s been joined on his journey by some of music’s most righteous and luminary figures. He has pressed the first few chapters in his career’s studio anthology with the release of his self-titled debut (2012), sophomore release Waiting On You (2015), third studio release Loversity (2018) and live-acoustic album Solo (2020). All have received critical acclaim and each session as grown with the legendary family for which he has adopted to curate and share his musical innervision with his listeners.

Waiting On You was co-produced by roots music cornerstone, Oliver Wood (The Wood Brothers, Tedeschi Trucks Band). Adjoined by their savant fluency in the soul music lexicon, Lewis and Wood called upon the instrumental palettes of masters including Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson, Neil Young), Darrell Scott (Robert Plant, Guy Clark), Will Kimbrough (Jimmy Buffett, Rodney Crowell), Gabe Dixon (Paul McCartney) and the McCrary Sisters (The Fairfield Four), all placing their stamp on this enduring expression of un-compromised songwriting.

Billboard announced the highly anticipated third studio release Loversity and premiered the video for the first single, “One and The Same”. The album landed Lewis a spot on Rolling Stone’s “10 New Artists to Watch” list, with writer Marissa Moss describing the album as, “… seventies psychedelic soul, with a storyteller’s eye, a swampy Southern groove and an emotional, political punch.” Once again Lewis has given us an album filled with relentless grooves courtesy of rhythm section JT Cure and Derek Mixon (Chris Stapleton) and transfixing guitars of both Kenny Vaughan (Marty Stuart, Lucinda Williams) and Dan Cohen (Bruce Hornsby) - all who continue to bless each of Lewis’ studio campaigns.

A decade worth of touring his studio efforts (mostly solo) he has captivated audiences all around the world with his songs and stories that are glued together with a unique stage banter he’s developed from performing in numerous music halls, clubs, theaters, festivals, music cruises and the occasional living room. SOLO (2020) is a solo-acoustic album featuring new songs as well as reimagining previously released songs. Recorded at Southern Ground Studios in Nashville in front of a live audience SOLO is an intimate snapshot that captures Lewis in his element and is certain to be a fan favorite for years to come.

While each album has a distinct sound, they all circle back to one universal theme and certainly something you will hear Lewis preach to his audience, “we are all trying to get somewhere — all running from something or toward something; we’re all in it together, though.”

Jon Byrd plays “what they used to call Country Music.” Born in Birmingham, Alabama, he grew up in the piney woods of south Alabama before becoming pivotal in Atlanta’s storied Redneck Underground music scene of the 80s & 90s. He was always a featured sideman, but his first solo recording (Byrd’s Auto Parts 2007) didn’t happen until after he moved to Music City over 20 years ago. Since then he’s recorded 3 other full-length solo records: Down at the Well of Wishes (2011), Route 41 (2014), and Dirty Ol’ River (2017), and a 5-song EP Me & Paul. 

He is a featured vocalist on the Red Beet Records Grammy-nominated I Love: Tom T. Hall’s Songs of Fox Hollow alongside Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Bobby Bare, and Tom T. himself! Jon’s albums have been lauded by Mojo Magazine, Maverick Magazine and NPR. 

After a summer of national radio exposure via Thacker Mountain Radio out of Oxford, MS and NPR’S Mountain Stage Radio from Charleston, WV,  a new full-length recording: ALL YOUR MISTAKES will be released this fall on Longleaf Pine Records.

Jon’s an international touring artist and has played the Country Music Hall of Fame with Lloyd Green and Duane Eddy. Yet when asked about some of his career highlights he wittily responds with, “I sold a drum set to John Prine.” 

Greg was born in 1960 in Louisville, Kentucky, and by his early teens was consumed with playing the guitar and finding like-minded people to jam and form groups with.  Playing at back yard parties and school dances by the time he was 14 and moving into nightclubs at 16, Greg started his “life on the road” at 18 years old – fresh out of Central High School.

For the next 10 years, Greg’s musical career was relegated to playing mostly cover music in clubs throughout the Southwestern and Midwestern states; although with the help of his trusty Porta-Studio, he was always writing songs and working on ways of getting the songs down on tape properly.  This period was highlighted by “The Hammerheads,” a hard-rocking, Southern funk group that tore up the I-65 circuit from 1988 to 1992.  The Hammerheads released a self-titled “Live” CD in 1992.

After the break-up of The Hammerheads, Greg soon became an in-demand touring guitarist in Nashville, Tennessee (where he moved in 1988).  He also began The Greg Foresman Band in 1993.  This ”grand experiment” as it’s now considered, pushed Greg to the center stage spotlight, a place on the stage where — to say he wasn’t extremely comfortable — would be an understatement.

However, he persevered and has released five studio albums and a very popular “Live” collection available for free on his website.  He and his band have also carved out a respectable and loyal following in their corner of the world by playing live shows as often as their schedules allow.

Greg joined Martina McBride’s touring band in 1997 and has been around the country and overseas with Martina & company many times over.  “I definitely owe Martina a debt of gratitude,” he said.  “She’s kept me on for all these years and it’s allowed me to do MY thing as well.”

Greg has become an in demand session guitarist in Nashville as well, playing on thousands of recordings over the last several years, as well as Producing albums by such artists as Sheila Lawrence, Heidi Howe and Chris Walsh, among others.