Chicago Acoustic Underground Podcast

Musician, Actor, Writer, native of New Mexico Elizabeth Bagby, now living and working in Chicago, joined us to record a Podcast show featuring her bandmates and on keys and harmonies, Sarah Scanlon. You have the opportunity to see them perform live this coming Monday December 23rd at Dave Hornyak's Live Wire 3394 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60641.

The Littlest Birds are one of the finest examples of an original music performing Duo I have ever heard. I have recorded them twice now and booked them in Chicago. You are about to hear and see why I love these two brilliant performers.

David Hawkins is the songwriter, singer, and guitarist from the cities of Chicago (Rogers Park, Evanston, Lake Bluff), Tulsa, and New Orleans (Metairie). David and his lovely bride Cheryl are dear friends and it is always a joy to be with them. This is David's second show with us and he played some of the songs from his 2nd recording "Hello Mr. Death Other Love Songs".

Adult Contemporary artist, Krista Hartman hails from the wild rose country in Canada. She spent countless Indian summers under the prairie stars at Fiddle Fests in her childhood amongst all those in her enormous lineage (on her mother's side of the family, there were 11 children and her father's, 17). Hartman learnt to play guitar at the age of 13 basing her foundation on a library of Ventures son...

Natalie Duke's voice can either break your heart or smash it. Her head voice soars with a plaintive tone so sweet you'll want to cry; until her chest voice smacks you in the face and tells you to stop being such a baby. A professional singer since childhood, Natalie has the chops to back up her ambitious melodies. Her songs are sarcastic catharses lathered with sincere harmonies. She has the emoti...

Growing up with small-town roots, between big city living and backcountry roads, it's no wonder Rory Sullivan developed a unique mix of musical taste. His blending of sounds, ranging from the versatile guitar and songwriting of James Taylor, husky voice of Marc Cohn, and contemporary pop sensibilities of John Mayer, allows Rory to create music worthy of the icons that preceded him.

Danielle Ate the Sandwich is the stage name of nationally-recognized independent folk musician and songwriter, Danielle Anderson. Danielle has shared the stage and collaborated with acts such as Pomplamoose, Lauren O'Connell, Leo Kottke and Mumford Sons. Beginning her career at small shows and open mic nights in Fort Collins, Colorado, Danielle has toured nationally since 2009, playing for a loyal...

My apologizes to Nana Zabic and Frank Barbaric. Somehow this got lost and is now found. Nana is a true multi-media artist her media is words and her palatte is music. I just re-listened to the entire show and it was a joy!

Jack Grendel joined us on the same day that we recorded Kirabella Frabotta. They were playing at the same venue that night. Somehow I lost all the photos of Jack's show, but there are some great videos from the show.https://vimeo.com/74472363https://vimeo.com/74472362

Peter Stewart now in Los Angeles and formerly of Minneapolis came down in June and recorded an acoustic show with us. Peter has excellent vocal control and is a hell of a picker. We hope to have him back with his rock band "Peter and the Twins" sometime in the future. In the meantime, enjoy this show.

The Sweet Maries are led by Amy Shoemaker and Susie Lofton, with their amazing vocal blend and soaring harmonies, and two of Chicago's best-loved musicians, Jim Cox on upright bass and Don Stiernberg on mandolin, performing originals and some of the best-loved songs of the 60's. Very acoustic, very much listening music, very heavenly all together.

Nashville based singer-songwriter Jesi Jones fell upon her passion for songwriting quite literally. At sixteen she took a tumble during her basketball team's state finals game which led to a series of knee surgeries, forcing her attention elsewhere. She wrote her first song during her time of recovery and soon after, formed the band Waiting for Iris.

Victoria Fuller's music is folk rock with jazz, blues, and pop overtones. Her voice is like a cross between Joni Mitchell and Ricky Lee Jones. She writes about love lost and found, overcoming struggles in relationships and life, and finding the good that's there, revealing personal anecdotes. Strong memorable melody lines lead you on a journey with some surprises and enough differentiation to keep...

The 1980's saw Mike Felten in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan living on a farm and playing with country rock cover bands until guys like Pete Seeger and Utah Phillips discovered Mike's folkier/political side. He played the 75th Anniversary of the I.W.W. and places like the Hiawatha Folk Festival, Rhinelander Festival and Pike Lake. Returning to Chicago in the 1990's , Mike found work playing heavy...

Christina Rae is a 21 year old singer-songwriter from the bluegrass hills of Kentucky living in the city lights of Chicago. I write about life and love and loss and, hopefully, the beautiful things we learn while traveling along this journey together.

Hannah Frank brought in "dub-music" for the first time to the studio of Chicago Acoustic Underground. Dubious Research is a post-genre band from Chicago. Originally launched in mid-2011, the project has continued to explore alien terrain and evolve ever since. These guys were a blast. What great music and tons of fun. I am sure you will enjoy this show.

Nathan Xander came in to the studio to record a new show. He now lives in New York City, but about 4 years ago he and some other unique singer/songwriters (Adam Faucett and William Blackhart to name a few) were prowling the dive bar venues performing their songs, each with their own spin on reality and broken dreams. All of them brilliant and all no longer based in Chicago. Certainly our loss, but...

This diminutive young lady came in and demonstrated that great things can come in small packages. Her voice is incredibly powerful and her lyrics are just as strong. I was very impressed with the emotions that she expressed through her songs. She is most definitely on the right path and I am certain we will hear much more from Briana.

Kevin is a dear friend and one of the true treasures of the Chicago Music Scene. Kevin and his Family live out in the Northwest suburbs. You must see this man live. He puts on one hell of a show. Take a listen to this Podcast and you'll see what I mean.

Tom Kastle is a singer, songwriter, tall ship captain, and teller of tales based in the Great Lakes who has traveled the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the Pacific. He toured as half of Tom Chris Kastle for two decades, producing a dozen recordings and a soundtrack for PBS (WTTW-TV Chicago).

The Earth Program, regarded for their unique cross-genre music styling's, classifying their music as "atomic rawk" "stoner pop" "retro spooky" "space punk," and incorporating various multimedia elements including projected visuals, robots theatrics into their on and off stage repertoire, Earth Program have extended their unique singular vision by creating an entire universe around it. The "fiction...

Lauren Nicole Clare aka Allie Lauren, hails from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and one could say she's a bit of a dreamer; a drifter with no arrival in site. Her sound is generally referred to as jazz influenced indie pop and some of her influences include Fiona Apple, Lykke Li, Corinne Bailey Rae, Florence + the Machine and Norah Jones. Her writing explores her voyage through love, life and the in betw...

The Ewing Theory is back on CAU. Their first appearance was back in 2011, Episode 363. Members Evan Walker, Joe Redmond, Mike Ryva, Peter Castaldo came in and we recorded this episode prior to their new CD release.

Cody Diekoff, has been on CAU a couple of times now, and I have seen him perform live several times. He is one of a kind. Inspired, incredibly hard working and dedicated to his craft. Enjoy his shows on Chicago Acoustic Underground, but to truly know him, you must see him live. I guarantee that you will have a great time. Oh yeah, buy his latest CD "Backenforth, IL" it is absolutely brilliant.

The Cartolinas are made up of Mandy Work, Sam Montanaro, and Zach Kritzer They came in and we had a blast recording their show. Yesterday was the release date for their new album which is now available for download on Bandcamp. Here is a bit of a taste of their album.