A Nashville-based singer-songwriter with an honest, plainspoken vocal, an eclectic-roots sound and a knack for bringing crystalline characters to life, Jack McKeon is a different sort of musician. A student of the greats drawn to the timeless, rather than the trendy, he hails from Chatham, New York and harbors a deep love for the written word. First inspired by literary music icons from Hank Williams and Guy Clark to Tom T. Hall and John Hartford, McKeon arrived in Nashville in 2021 and has since established a reputation for his own message-drive lyricism – a value which shows up in its full sonic serenity on his 2024 album debut, Talking to Strangers.

In a recent review of his new album, So Far, So Good, American Songwriter Magazine observed Lance Cowan “is a remarkably talented singer/songwriter who’s every bit as capable and credible as the artists he represents. He is a master of melody, and the proof lies in the inviting and infectious attitude and approach that pervade this album overall. The gift he’s chosen to share with those who were previously unaware of his ample talents on the performance side of the divide between artist and audience. So Far, So Good indeed!” For the past 30 years, Lance has worked behind the scenes with some of the country’s finest songwriters, including Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Michael Martin Murphey and many more. Along the way, he has quietly honed his own songwriting skills, learning from those artists and influences Jackson Browne, Mark Heard and John Prine to name a few. His works have been performed and / or recorded by such respected artists as Joan Baez, Janis Ian, David Mallett, and several independent artists. In the studio he has been produced by legends like Allen Reynolds (Garth Brooks) and Jim Rooney (John Prine, Nanci Griffith) and has worked with musicians Dan Dugmore (Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor), Sam Bush, Pat Flynn (New Grass Revival), Dave Pomeroy (Don Williams), Andrea Zonn (James Taylor), Keith Sewell (The Chicks), Robert Reynolds (The Mavericks), among others.

New York-based country songwriter Cliff Westfall writes songs about heartache, loss, addiction… you know, funny songs. Or he can turn on a dime and dive headlong into a sentimental weeper. The Kentucky native delivers with a mixture of wit and bravado that, for Westfall, is central to what country music is all about. On his new album, Baby You Win, he’s assembled a crew of some of New York’s best musicians to explore a new idea of Americana, drawing inspiration from sources often forgotten by the current country scene.