The Warm Up with Elliott Rose da Costa

05/22/2012 By
The Warm Up with Elliott, Rose, da Costa [ 18:32 | 42.43 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s always fun to have old friends visit, and that’s exactly what happened with John Elliott, Raina Rose, Anthony da Costa and Andrew Pressman showed up early this morning before they headed to Fayetteville.  Elliott, Rose and da Costa have all stopped through Ardent over the past 5 years to record their own Ardent Presents sessions, and now they’re on the road together and getting ready to release a new album on Family Records.

They didn’t play any songs from their upcoming EP, unfortunately, but they did play some great tunes, including the new single from Anthony da Costa’s new solo album, Secret Handshake.

Keep your eyes and ears open for more amazing music coming from these guys in 2012, they’ll be playing all over the world for the rest of the year – both together and apart!

And, don’t forget to check out our solo podcasts with Anthony da Costa, Raina Rose and John Elliott!

John Elliott, Raina Rose and Anthony da Costa first sang together in the Kerrville campgrounds in 2007. They wish they were trains. Their songs and sensibilities are as different as the states they call home (California, Texas & New York), resulting in a captivating and unpredictable live show. Andrew Pressman (CA native, TX transplant) joins them on bass to complete and elevate the vibe. Also to father and co-parent Raina’s first child, Emmett.

Their début collective EP was produced by Tony Berg (Bruce Hornsby, Nickel Creek, Edie Brickell) and is soon to be released by Family Records (Rosi Golan, Pearl & The Beard). WHATTA SOUND!!! They have toured nationwide and will be featured in a forthcoming documentary about folk music creatively entitled FOLK. They are proud to be sponsored by Bayard Guitars. They have each released several albums independently and are active touring artists with visible presences on the internet (including, but not limited to: YouTube, iTunes, Facebook & Twitter). Hate the game, not the player; believe the hype.

Filed Under: The Warm Up Podcast Tagged With: , , , , ,

Spotify Playlist: Folk Alliance International 2012 by Rachelandthecity

02/27/2012 By

For our feature Nice Playlist, Brah, we ask some of our favorite musicians to make a themed Spotify playlist for us. You know, Songs to Make-out To, The Worst Bands I Have Ever Heard, Songs Your Mom Would Like,  we just ask them to be creative, and then we post them to The Ardent Music Blog and share them with you. When you’re looking for a good Spotify playlist, now you know where to look. This week we invited music aficionado Rachelandthecity to put one together for us for Folk Alliance International. We invite you to take listen to the playlist while you read why the musician included each song. Enjoy!


I look forward to the International Folk Alliance Conference every year. I always meet a lot of great people and discover tons of good music. It is easily my favorite music convention. Held in downtown Memphis for the last 6 years at The Marriott, it’s a small event hosting just 2000 people. The day is filled with panels and classes, with a few private showcases, but the main music event starts at 6PM Wednesday through Saturday and features about 30 official showcases each night. Then at around 10:30 the music moves upstairs to the top three floors of the hotel with about 6 hours of showcases every night featuring hundreds of musicians. The beds have been removed from the rooms and so about 30 rooms on each floor, around 90 in all, are turned into small showcase rooms with bands playing 20 minute sets. You’ll never see so much fantastic music in such a short amount of time anywhere else in the world.Not to mention, one of the most fun parts of the conference is the sense of community. Don’t be surprised to catch Steve Poltz sitting next to you while you’re catching a set from Matt the Electrician, or find yourself sharing a cigarette on the stairwell with members of The Tuttles and The Milk Carton Kids, and did you hear Anthony Da Costa was turning 21? Well, you’re invited to the party to watch as he is serenaded by Carrie Elkin, Danny Schmidt, Raina Rose, Rebecca Loebe, and many more.

This is a playlist of some of my favorite artists that played FAI this year. It is in no way complete (there seem to be a lot of artists either without music on Spotify or without their latest work) but this should give you a glimpse of some of the fantastic musicians that passed through Memphis last week. Now, that FAI is leaving Memphis and headed to Kansas City, we hope these folks will find another reason to visit us soon!

1. The Milk Carton Kids

I liked these guys so much when I first heard them last month that I invited them to Ardent to record an episode of The Warm Up. You can hear it here.

2. Humming House

This Nashville based group is friends with Carolina Story (who I really love too) so I caught them in a packed room where everyone seemed to be singing along.

3. Matt the Electrician

This guy is so mind blowing that I saw him play three times at the Folk Alliance – and I invited him to play The Warm Up. He played a brand new song that he named right before we recorded it. Listen to that performance here.

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Filed Under: Nice Playlist, Brah Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ardent Presents: Raina Rose

02/08/2011 By
Ardent Presents: Raina Rose [ 34:15 | 72.54 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Growing up in Portland, OR, I have to admit I was oblivious to the rich muddy history of the Memphis Music scene with the exception of a vague awareness of Sun Studios and Elvis Presley, given to me by my father and his college degree from UC Santa Cruz in the history of Country and Western Music. So when I came to Ardent, referred to the lovely Rachel by my best friend and occasional tour partner, John Elliott, I had to admit I was incredibly taken aback by the eponymous albums hanging on the brick walls of the hallway down which I was stumbling, sleep deprived.

It was February of 2009 and the International Folk Alliance was exploding in the Memphis Marriott overlooking the deep and hungry Mississippi. I am in turns either a tornado, or a responsible and clean cut grown-up… while participating in this conference I tend towards the former, often staying up til 8am, drunk and barefoot in the hotel lobby with my dear brothers and sisters in arms; comrades who understand and also subject themselves to a meager living, the world through a windshield, small stages with (hopefully) quiet eager audiences, stranger’s sofas, and gas station coffee… all to play songs.

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Filed Under: Ardent Presents Podcast Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,