04/30 - Friday :: The Bethany & Rufus Roots Quartet

In 2003, Bethany Yarrow released her debut CD, entitled "Rock Island", to amazing (and amazed) reviews. Beautifully produced by Kevin Salem (Mercury Rev, Bad Brains, Chocolate Genius) and Knox Chandler (David Gahan, Siouxsie & the Banshees), the CD mixed the gloss of pop production with banjos, dulcimers, harmonicas, slide guitars, gospel choirs, and the sampled ghosts of some of the great blues singers in America. In totally unexpected ways, Bethany took traditional slave lullabies, prison songs, and murder ballads, and turned them into grooving electronic pop for a new generation.

Bethany's brand of folk has certainly struck a chord across the country, and ears are beginning to perk up noticeably... HBO recently featured her version of "Black is the Color" in their series Cat House, and listeners have been knocked out by her "fascinating" and "dramatic" interpretations. Her voice has been called, "mesmerizing", "intense", "powerful", "spell-binding".... "A cross between PJ Harvey and Annie Lennox... Dido and Grace Slick..." Bethany has been dubbed a "musical medium", crossing genres and time, and in re-inventing these deeply American songs, Bethany has not only taken them into the future, she has made them deeply her own.

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Kyle Miller began playing the guitar several years ago and began playing harmonica soon after that. "After cutting my teeth on classic rock and the like I discovered folk and blues music. The discovery opened up my eyes to what I consider the bedrock of american music: folk, blues, rock n' roll, and country. My interest in those genres would ultimately lead to my many attempts at writing my own songs. In 2008, I released an album of original songs entitled "Better Off." Since that disc I have continued to write songs but have not compiled another disc. I hope to do so soon and I also hope to put a band together of like minded, capable musicians. This search is proving difficult however. I have also been continuing to perform in order to develop my own distinct style as both writer and performer."