Tag: The Gasoline Gypsies

For the Love of Music — Blockhouse Valley’s River Raisin Americana Celebration Showcases Breadth and Depth of Genre and Artists at April 26 Event in Monroe

The inaugural River Raisin Americana Celebration features six acts from Michigan and Kentucky.

As members of Blockhouse Valley, Ashleigh Glass-Cooper and Cody Cooper hold a deep appreciation for Americana music.

The married partners not only write, record, and perform in that genre for their Metro Detroit quartet, but now they’re hosting a new festival to celebrate their love of it.

Known as the River Raisin Americana Celebration, the inaugural event will showcase six acts that demonstrate the breadth and depth of Americana music on April 26 at Monroe’s River Raisin Centre for the Arts.

“As Americana music draws from and mixes a broad array of other genres, one of the key concepts for the River Raisin Americana Celebration is to bring a variety of musicians with diverse approaches, instrumentations, styles, and stories,” said Glass-Cooper, who’s also the festival’s executive director.

“To accomplish our vision, we invited all bands and artists to apply to perform in our inaugural concert. We were thrilled to receive over 100 submissions! We reviewed each submission and curated a show that we believe will have something for everyone.”

What resulted is a solid lineup of Americana musicians from Michigan and Kentucky, including headliner The Gasoline Gypsies, Luke Trimble, Silver Creek Revival, Daniel Neihoff, Mike Ward, and Blockhouse Valley.

“Americana is a genre that can feel grounded while also being surprising, delightful, and moving,” Glass-Cooper said. “I fully anticipate that our audience members will each discover something new to love, even if they are primarily attending as fans of one of the six acts.”

I recently spoke with Glass-Cooper about the festival and the inspiration behind it.

Continue reading “For the Love of Music — Blockhouse Valley’s River Raisin Americana Celebration Showcases Breadth and Depth of Genre and Artists at April 26 Event in Monroe” →

Virtual Airwaves – Brian Maloney Features Michigan Artists and Music on The Sonic Coast

Maloney Music 4
Brian Maloney runs The Sonic Coast, an online radio station that plays Americana, roots and rock music by national and local artists. Photo courtesy of Brian Maloney

In 2014, Brian Maloney instantly reconnected with his hometown and its musical legacy.

The Sonic Coast founder and chief music curator visited the Motor City to attend a Crain’s Detroit Homecoming and started pondering his next life chapter.

“I was in downtown Detroit for a couple of days with the event, and everywhere I looked, I was reminded of what a remarkable place this city and state are in the music industry,” said Maloney, who spent 40 years working in radio and now resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“The following ‘revelation’ about what to do in retirement happened in February of 2020 when I brought The Gasoline Gypsies down to North Carolina for a couple of shows and a media tour.”

The band sold out two shows 700 miles from Port Huron, Michigan and reminded Maloney about the draw of Michigan-made music.

“It became clear I was going to focus everything I had learned over the past 40 years on my two favorite things: Michigan and local music,” Maloney said. “So when I retired, The Sonic Coast was born.”

Today, Maloney oversees the burgeoning online radio station, which plays Americana, rock, folk, country, roots, soul and funk from national and Michigan artists.

“I saw a tremendous opportunity in the state to play local artists (abundant!) on a meaningful platform to give them exposure next to national acts that were getting limited exposure in Michigan. Unfortunately, traditional commercial radio doesn’t invest in/support local artists much anymore,” he said.

“It’s honestly more important than ever for a band to get played and promoted on a platform. Spotify, Pandora and others are simply a database of music for consumers. Sonic Coast plays, promotes and interacts with the artists.”

To learn more about The Sonic Coast, I chatted with Maloney about becoming a DJ, working in radio, taking leadership roles with several stations, growing his new online radio platform, celebrating Michigan artists and music, adding curators and supporting live music.

Continue reading “Virtual Airwaves – Brian Maloney Features Michigan Artists and Music on The Sonic Coast” →