Rock ‘n’ roll saved the world. Back in the mid-1950 when it came rumbling out of nowhere, parents tried to stop their kids from listening to this new raw, primal, and edgy music that blended Hillbilly with Rhythm & Blues and a huge dollop of adrenaline. As we know, Rock ‘n’ Roll was too wild to contain, and it spread throughout the U.S. and then made its way around the world in just a matter of months. Rock ‘n’ roll scared the older generation because they were not familiar or comfortable with the ‘noise’ that the kids made. And those ‘kids’ were the musicians that we now consider legends – the long list includes Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and the man who invented the Rock ‘n’ Roll guitar riff, Chuck Berry.

Elvis has been referred to as the ‘King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ for decades, but music historians have challenged that title for almost as long as it has existed. Sure, Elvis was the acceptable face of Rock ‘n’ Roll and was the best-selling artist of the era, but was he actually the ‘King’? Elvis moved quickly from a Hillbilly/Rockabilly singer to Rock ‘n’ Roll star, to movie idol in such a short amount of time, trading some of his Rock ‘n’ Roll edge for a shot at superstardom. Some argue that the real king of Rock ‘n’ Roll was Chuck Berry, and there’s a lot of proof out there that backs that claim up. From his Rock ‘n’ Roll riffs to his rebellious attitude, Chuck Berry personified the true essence of the genre. And besides, many iconic groups – from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to the Beach Boys – covered or ‘borrowed from’ Chuck Berry’s biggest hits but rarely touched an Elvis tune.

Chuck Berry stuck to his guns throughout his career, playing Rock ‘n’ Roll music his way. Rarely straying from the formula, he created, Chuck was a tough cookie with some of the greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll guitar riffs in history. He didn’t always make the Top 40, but his reputation never dimmed. Even during those long spells between studio albums, he was always on the road, keeping the primal and raw edge alive. On LIVE FROM BLUEBERRY HILL, a previously unreleased live show from 1996, his playing is a little slower, but his Rock ‘n’ Roll spirit is alive and well and ready to strike. Gathering together 10 of his greatest songs – including “Johnny B. Goode”, “Sweet Little Sixteen”, “Roll Over Beethoven”, and “Rock and Roll Music” – LIVE FROM BLUEBERRY HILL presents the man himself continuing to do what he was born to do. The show is rough and sticks to the same spirit of Rock ‘n’ Roll that Berry invented over 60 years ago. While Elvis may have gone out as an entertainer, Chuck Berry was still a true rocker. Some say he was the ‘King’, but that is for you to decide.

The COVID-19 pandemic cast a large and menacing shadow over every aspect of our lives. In 2020, families were kept apart, businesses suffered, large gatherings of people were forbidden, and it seemed as if things may never get back to normal. But what was normal before the pandemic and what is the new normal? For some folks, things never changed. For others, their mental health was most certainly challenged by all the confusion and radically different talking points. The music business was thrown for a loop, with tours being cancelled or postponed and recording sessions brought to a halt. Record stores shut their does, some of them for good while others had to refocus their attention to their online business in order to survive. Things have always been changing and evolving over the years, but in 2020 and 2021, the music business scrambled to adapt to a whole new way of life.

But what about the artists? Well, if they weren’t able to tour, they focused on creating their art. And over the course of the last year, we have been able to experience the fruits of their labor. From Greatest Hits sets to archive compilations, acoustic recordings to new albums, we have been witnessed to the positives that can emerge by a virus that has wreaked havoc across the globe. Take Bria, for example. Essentially a duo featuring Orville Peck/FRIGS members Bria Salmena and Duncan Hay Jennings (plus backing vocalist Jaime McCuaig, FRIGS drummer Kris Bowering and vocalist Ali Jennings), Bria occupies that musical universe which incorporates Country, Folk, and Americana. However, this group of talented individuals chose not to write a batch of songs inspired by the pandemic. Instead, they decided to record a small handful of cover versions that connected with their emotions. As Bria Salmena states: “I wanted to listen for what might reflect my life back to me, six tracks that could be my mirror.”  CUNTRY COVERS VOL. 1 is the resulting EP.

As 2021 comes to a close, CUNTRY COVERS VOL 1 arrives just in time to wrap up the year melody, melancholy, and mystery. Featuring songs originally released by Karen Dalton (“Green Rocky Road”), Waylon Jennings (“Dreaming My Dreams With You”), John Cale (“Buffalo Ballet”), Mistress Mary (“I Don’t Wanna Love Ya Now”), Lucinda Williams (“Fruits Of My Labor”), and the Walker Brothers (“The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore”). The recordings are not rough and raw, but they aren’t polished to perfection, either. These are songs with a heartbeat – human to a wonderful fault. This is as real as it gets and doesn’t flinch in allowing emotion to dart between the beats and breaths of the songs. Only six songs, CUNTRY COVERS VOL. 1 leaves the listener wanting more. But if you go back and take another listen, the songs will unravel a different layer and feeling. Listen again, and same thing. Go ahead and give it a spin. Over and over again.

For a musician, longevity is always the goal. No musician wants to leave their mundane day job, make a few records, and tour the country several times, only to be back working a day job in two- or three-years’ time. However, even if they do fall into that all-too-common situation, they still create music in their spare time. A true artist never stops creating – it is in their blood. Very few musicians are able to push forward, leap over obstacles, overcome failures, and continue on their quest to take their art to a new level. It takes determination, strength, belief, and passion to accomplish anything in this universe, but you must possess a little magic in order to connect with an audience and, more importantly to maintain that connection. Jeff Rosenstock is one of those artists.

Born in Long Island, he first came to prominence in 1998 as a member of ska-punk band The Arrogant Sons of Bitches. His next high-profile project, Bomb the Music Industry! debuted in 2005. And let’s not forget the other bands he was involved with – Pegasuses-XL, Kudrow, Antartictgo Vespucci, and the Bruce Lee Band. And then there is his production work for The Smith Street Band, Binary Heart, Mikey Erg, Laura Stevenson, and others. And we haven’t even touched on his successful solo career including the albums WE COOL? (2015), WORRY (2016), POST- (2018), and NO DREAM (2020). An artist that is capable of moving between genres with ease – sometimes in the same song – Rosenstock has become a critical favorite and has built a loyal following over the years. With NO DREAM drawing rave reviews, the pandemic brought live shows to a halt. With time on their hands, Rosenstock and his band contemplated their next step. They settled on something very special…

2021’s SKA DREAM is a blending of Rosenstock’s past and present: a complete Ska re-working of NO DREAM. Where the original album was energetic modern Punk, SKA DREAM takes the songs in a more spirited direction. Still packed with that Punk edge, they Ska rhythms add a different layer to the songs, taking removing the angst and replacing it with a more playful style of angst. SKA DREAM does not remove the emotional punch of NO DREAM – it just redirects it in a different direction. There’s no denying that Rosenstock’s career has taken him on many different paths, but this album brings everything full circle without feeling like it is just a trip down Ska Punk nostalgia lane. It is new, fresh, and fun. And as we know, we could all use more fun in our lives!