Independent Music Award winners The Black Lillies will play at Stage 112 on August 20, 2014. The Knoxville, Tennessee-based band is touring in support of their third studio album "Runaway Freeway Blues," which debuted at #43 on the Billboard Top 200 country charts and has spent the summer topping the Americana radio charts, peaking at #4. Rooted in the mud-rutted switchbacks of Appalachia, "Runaway Freeway Blues" is a beautiful ode to restless spirits and rambling hearts; the sound of a band that's becoming something of a phenomenon across the country.

The emotional arc of the record is brilliant, so vivid and detailed with lush harmonies and instrumental virtuosity that's as powerful in the quieter moments as it is explosive during jubilant ones. You can cherry-pick any number of songs from "Runaway Freeway Blues" and find gold. Banjo, pedal steel, piano and everything else lift this record up on wings of uncommon grace and stunning vitality, and when Contreras and Brady combine their voices, it calls to mind classic duets from times long gone: George and Tammy. Gram and Emmylou. Johnny and June. From the gentle Laurel Canyon folk rock of The Eagles to the honky-tonk heartache of classic country to the winding jams of the Grateful Dead, "Runaway Freeway Blues" is an album that defies easy categorization.

Contreras and his bandmates - harmony vocalist Trisha Gene Brady, multi-instrumentalist Tom Pryor, bass player Robert Richards and drummer Bowman Townsend - have grown from a few friends sitting around campfires and living rooms to a band that shows up in far-flung cities where folks to whom they've never played before already know the words to the songs. Eschewing record labels, they still managed to put a three tracks in Country Music Television's top 12 requested videos for a combined 14 months, dominate the Americana, AAA and college radio charts, and pull in rave reviews from the Wall Street Journal, PASTE Magazine, Vanity Fair and USA Today. They've been featured on numerous television specials and conquered festivals as widespread as Bonnaroo, Pickathon, and CMA Fan Fair. Despite trafficking in a richer, more authentic brand of country and Americana than what gets played on mainstream country radio, they've still been invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry more than twenty times - a record for an independent act.
Though The Black Lillies were offered record deals, they chose to turn them down in order to retain complete creative control of their music. Bandleader, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Cruz Contreras (co-founder, Robinella and the CCstringband) writes all of the band's material. Their debut album, "Whiskey Angel," was released in 2009 and appeared on multiple "Best of 2009" lists across the country. It won the 2011 Independent Music Award Vox Pop for Best Album, Americana from the Independent Music Awards. That album was followed by "100 Miles of Wreckage," which was completely fan-funded. Recorded by Sparklehorse's Scott Minor of Elkgang Studios, the album was delayed and greatly impacted by the suicide of Sparklehorse founder Mark Linkous at the studio on the final day of recording. His death inspired a new song, "Go to Sleep," which appears as the final track on the album. Critically acclaimed as one of the best releases of 2011, "100 Miles of Wreckage" ended the year at the #36 spot on the Americana Music Association's Top 100 Albums of the Year list based on radio airplay. That album was nominated for a 2012 Independent Music Award and the single for "Two Hearts Down" won the IMA for Best Story Song.
The band tours relentlessly and has become known for their dynamic, high-energy shows. The group honors the traditions of their Appalachian heritage while blazing new trails in the roots rock genre. Strains of old time, bluegrass, country, rock and jazz are heard throughout their music, creating a sound that is uniquely their own. "Earthy and gritty, their songs speak of pain, love, revenge and revelry with such spirit that they seem to be carved out of the planks of an abandoned backwoods cabin," a recent feature in Relix Magazine exclaimed. "They haunt your thoughts long after the curtain closes, rattling through your head like a crooked screen door slaps against its frame when a storm is coming."

The Hasslers

The Hasslers, a five piece rock outfit from Missoula, Montana, build songs around lyrics, but they don't skimp on materials. Haunting lap steel ambiance meshes with wailing organ riffs, all behind a forefront of tight vocal harmonies. Recent winners at both the ZMA awards and Sean Kelly's Top of the Mic contest, these kids embody the kind of small town pride you can raise a glass to. Genuine, hard-hitting, MT folk-rock, erudite pool hall rock, doesn't matter what you call it, it's fun to watch and it's good to listen to.


The Hasslers won 1st prize in the 2012 Sean Kelly's Top of the Mic Competition.
The Hasslers won a 2013 Zoo Music Award in the Folk & Singer/Songwriter category.
The Hasslers won the 2013 Red Ants Pants Music Festival Emerging Artist Competition

The Hasslers have performed with acts such as: Blitzen Trapper, Langhorne Slim and the Law, The Cold Hard Cash Show, The Cave Singers, and Futurebirds.