Recorded in town at the fabled House of David studio, Cooper enlisted the celebrated pedal steel guitarist Lloyd Green to co-produce and play a prominent role in the sound - a duet between voice, song and pedal steel. Other guests include Jason Ringenberg, Bill Lloyd, Jen Gunderman, Dave Roe, Pat McInerney, Paul Griffith, Nanci Griffith and label-mate Fayssoux.

Mission Door is a surprising first time collection from a songwriter who has spent the better part of his adult life writing about his musical heroes as a journalist (The Tennessean, No Depression, Esquire) and is now creating music revealing the lessons he has learned from the masters. John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Tom T. Hall, Eric Taylor: these are the voices that have contoured Cooper's inner landscape. He writes of the pains and joys of life with sympathy and a brutal honesty.

A native of Spartanburg, South Carolina, Cooper became enthralled with songwriting at the early age of 5 when he first heard Kris Kristofferson. The experience kicked off a lifelong love of songwriters who manage emotional literacy without seeming duly literary. Folks like Bobby Bare, Bob Dylan, Mickey Newbury, Emmylou Harris, Guy Clark and Eric Taylor. But it was songwriter Todd Snider who pushed Cooper to record his first batch of songs. The Cooper-Snider co-write 'Thin Wild Mercury' was named one of USA Today's 'Songs of the Week', as well as MOJO Magazine's 'Songs of the Month'. Cooper also produced Snider's Peace, Love and Anarchy album.

Highly regarded behind the scenes as songsmiths and session players with innumerable­ hits, cuts and licks to their credits this batch of seasoned pros has performed to sold out­ crowds from nearly their inception almost two years ago. While offering new takes on classic themes of redemption and loss, hope and home their songs are equally informed by the mountain sound of Ralph Stanley and the rhythm and blues of Ray Charles.

Recording all original material, The SteelDrivers' collision of back-country high lonesome and Delta soul is one of the most refreshing sounds to emerge on the acoustic scene in a long time. With no hype, just incredible talent, these five musicians have already established a name for themselves in a town that barely looks twice at a bunch of folks holding acoustic instruments. Stretching the boundaries of the typical bluegrass band, the dynamic rock/blues/soul vocals of Chris Stapleton (songs recorded by Josh Turner, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney) put the high lonesome bluegrass sounds smack dab in the middle of town. Nashville Bluegrass Band's Roland White says the band is The most exciting band to appear" on the scene in a long, long time! ."

The Circus is a six-piece psychedelia-tinged roots act from Sleepy Hollow, New York and they are set to release their first national cd, /The Great Unravel/, August 5 on their own Slambovian Music. They have a few other releases they have quietly made available on their website and sold at shows, but decided it was time to take Gandalf Murphy & The Slambovian Circus of Dreams to an audience beyond their somewhat fanatical live fans.

The band is songwriter and lead vocalist Joziah Longo, lead guitarist and producer Sharkey McEwen, multi-instrumentalist Tink Lloyd, percussionist Tony Zuzulo and bassist Chen Longo.

I recently read this quote from naturalist John Muir, "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." This is the theme of /The Great Unravel/ -- our connectedness to each other and to the world. But it's not done in a sappy or sophomoric manner, they are superlative musicians and Joziah is a great songwriter who manages to touch on both the profound and simple in a down to earth and engaging style. Their distinctive sound -- a mix of folk, prog-rock, pop and country - also sounds instantly familiar. One much used quote calls them 'hillybilly Pink Floyd' but I think it's too simple in describing the magic they create.

Fayssoux's voice was an integral element on some of country music's finest recordings. She sang duet and harmony vocals on many of Emmylou Harris' most celebrated songs, including 'Green Rolling Hills', 'Spanish Is A Loving Tongue', 'Bluebird Wine', 'Too Far Gone' and most recently, the Grammy-winning 'The Connection'. In the early seventies she and her then husband, John Starling, hosted at their Washington, DC-area home some of the most exciting and happening musicians at the time. It was in their living room where Rodney Crowell first met Harris.

She later retired from performing and moved to South Carolina. It was here in 1996, when Cooper was a middle school teacher in the Spartanburg area and working on a book on South Carolina musicians, he discovered Fayssoux. Familiar with her work from the liner notes of some of his favorite albums, he encouraged her to return to performing and result is the very special Early.