Ruthie Foster is an American singer/songwriter of blues and folk music. She is from Gause, Texas and from a family of gospel singers. She studied music at McLennan Community College and then worked in the US Navy, where she started performing. Her debut was released in 1997 and she has performed in North America, Europe and Australia. She has often been compared to Ella Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin.
tUnE-yArDs is the moniker of Oakland-based musician Merrill Garbus. To date, she has two full-length studio albums and is currently signed to the British independent record label 4AD. She was formerly a member of Sister Suvi. Her debut album Bird-Brains was first released on limited edition vinyl and cassette in June 2009, via the Portland-based imprint Marriage Records. In July 2009, it was announced that tUnE-yArDs had signed to 4AD, and a limited edition pressing of BiRd-BrAiNs was released on August 17, 2009.
Metric is an indie rock band formed in 1998 at Toronto, Canada and based at various times in Montreal, London, New York City and Los Angeles. The band members are Emily Haines (vocals, synthesizers), James Shaw (guitars), Josh Winstead (bass) and Joules Scott-Key (drums). Initially Metric was a duo made up by Haines and Shaw, then in 2001 Winstead and Scott-Key joined the band. They took the name "Metric" in 1999 after a synthesizer beat that Shaw used on his sampler and as a reference to their musical precision. The group's music encompasses elements of indie rock, new wave and dance music.
Chelsea Wolfe is a singer/songwriter and eponymous full band out of Los Angeles, California. Inspired by the dark state of the world and the strange connection between all things, she creates a unique musical blend of goth-folk, experimental rock and spiritual realm funeral songs. With influences ranging from the great minds of Ingmar Bergman and David Lynch, to soviets and end-times literature, her songs conjure visions of other dimensions, claustrophobic echo-rooms and parking garage cathedrals.
Pat Benatar, considered a certified rock 'n' roll superstar, is a four-time Grammy winner with six platinum and four gold albums to her credit as well as such hit singles as "I Need a Lover", "Heartbreaker", "Fire and Ice", "Treat Me Right", "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", "Hell Is For Children", "Shadows of the Night", and "Love Is a Battlefield". Benatar is acknowledged as one of the leading female rock vocalists in the industry.
Le Tigre is an American electroclash trio formed in New York in 1998 by Bikini Kill vocalist Kathleen Hanna. Initially envisioned as a live back up band for Hanna's solo moniker Julie Ruin, Le Tigre mixed the leftist politics and feminism of riot grrrl with fun electronic samples and lo-fi beats. Other members included Johanna Fateman and JD Samson. JD joined Le Tigre as a full member when co-founder Sadie Benning left the band before the Feminist Sweepstakes album.
Crooked Still is a self-styled alternative bluegrass band consisting of vocalist Aoife O'Donovan, cellist Tristan Clarridge, fiddler Brittany Haas, banjo player Dr. Gregory Liszt, and bassist Corey DiMario. They are known for their high energy, technical skill, unique instrumentation and innovative acoustic style. O'Donovan and DiMario met at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in spring of 2001. Former cellist Rushad Eggleston, who was studying at Berklee College of Music, and Liszt, a graduate student at MIT, were playing music together around the same time.
Seeker Lover Keeper is a band consisting of Australian singer-songwriters Sarah Blasko, Sally Seltmann and Holly Throsby. Their self-titled debut album was recorded in New York and will be released in June 2011.
Imaginary Cities are Rusty Matyas and Marti Sarbit. It all started at The Cavern. Winnipeg is known as the “Heart of the Continent.” In this beating heart on the prairies, there is always new music being made: in its clubs and basements, and in between work and life. Imaginary Cities was born in a club called The Cavern, in between sets. Their debut album, Temporary Resident, has been nominated for the 2011 Polaris Prize Longlist, and they have been gaining fans around the world for their renowned live performances, including a stint opening for the Pixies across North America.
Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and five-time Grammy award winner who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the very successful R&B girl group Destiny's Child. After a series of commercially successful releases with the group and a worldwide number-one success with rapper Nelly and their Grammy-winning single "Dilemma", Rowland released her debut solo album Simply Deep in 2002.