Amigo the Devil + Friends ft. Stephanie Lambring, Willi Carlisle, and More

Amigo the Devil + Friends ft. Stephanie Lambring, Willi Carlisle, and More

Danny Kiranos, the Austin-based songwriter behind the Amigo the Devil project, has somehow managed to meld the worlds (and fanbases) of traditional folk, country music, rock, and metal into one.  The sonic experience is morbid, yet poetic and oddly romantic.  His unique artistic perspective and ability to connect with audiences has allowed him to amass a dedicated, cult-like fan-base. Loaded with sing-alongs – and an unsuspecting dose of humor to make otherwise grim topics accessible for fans of every genre – the songs still remain deeply rooted in the tradition of story-telling…something that seems to be a lot less common nowadays. Attending an Amigo the Devil show is an experience: you become one with a wildly prophetic man, armed only with his entrancing voice and a banjo, and bear witness to an astounding performance that will stick with you for a long time.

Singer-songwriter Stephanie Lambring’s new record, Autonomy, released October 23, embraces the heaviness that can sometimes exist in life, confronting hard truths and examining difficult topics through a lens of someone working to reconcile their feelings about it all. Autonomy‘s “Joy of Jesus” recently earned the number 28 position on NPR’s 100 Best Songs of 2020, with Ann Powers calling Lambring “one of Nashville’s most fearless young singer-songwriters.” Powers also named Autonomy as her Best of October pick on NPR’s All Songs Considered, noting, “What lifts these stories beyond the maudlin is Lambring’s thoughtfulness and clarity in going past the point of comfort to a place that demands the listener not just weep, but confront her own assumptions, the lies she tells herself. Speaking truth should feel uncomfortable, but ultimately freeing. And beautiful. Like this music.” Lambring has had playlist support from Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. She has also been the face of TIDAL’s Rising Folk playlist, and “Pretty” is included in the Best of Rising Folk 2020 playlist. Additionally, Rolling Stone called “Daddy’s Disappointment,” the song that sparked the writing process for the record, a Song You Need to Know and an “alt-country gem”; the track has also received spins on BBC Radio Scotland.

Willi Carlisle is a poet and a folk singer for the people. Like his hero Utah Phillips, Carlisle’s extraordinary gift for turning a phrase isn’t about high falutin’ pontificatin’; it’s about looking out for one another and connecting through our shared human condition. On his anticipated second album, the magnum opus Peculiar, Missouri (coming July 15, 2022 on Free Dirt Records), Carlisle makes the case across twelve epic tracks that love truly can conquer all. Born and raised on the Midwestern plains, Carlisle is a product of the punk to folk music pipeline that’s long fueled frustrated young men looking to resist. After falling for the rich ballads and tunes of the Ozarks, where he now lives, he began examining the full spectrum of American musical history. This insatiable stylistic diversity is obvious on Peculiar, Missouri which was produced by Grammy-winning engineer and Cajun musician Joel Savoy in rural Louisiana. The songs range from sardonic trucker songs like “Vanlife” to the heartbreaking queer waltz “Life on the Fence.” The album also imbues class consciousness in songs like “Este Mundo,” a cowboy border ballad about water rights, and the title track’s existential talkin’ blues about a surreal panic attack in Walmart’s aisle five. Though Carlisle’s poetic words evoke the mystical American storytelling of Whitman, Sandburg, and e e cummings, ultimately this is bonafide populist folk music in the tradition of cowboys, frontier fiddlers, and tall-tale tellers. Carlisle recognizes that the only thing holding us back from greatness is each other. With Peculiar, Missouri, he brings us one step closer to breaking down our divides. 

Source: The Basement East