AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: ALTAN/THE GAP OF DREAMS

When a dream is born from love and passion, it will never fade away. Altan, the traditional Irish outfit, is that dream come to life. Formed three decades ago by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (vocals/fiddle) and her husband Frankie Kennedy (flute/tin whistle), their shared musical vision became reality on a few duo recordings before forming a full-fledged band – Altan. Even though Kennedy passed away in 1994, Mairéad and her bandmates have continued to keep the musical dream alive. In 2018, they release the beautiful and inspiring THE GAP OF DREAMS.

AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: CINDY ALEXANDER/NOWHERE TO HIDE

For two decades, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Cindy Alexander has been crafting albums of emotional strength and delicate beauty. Thankfully, the string of albums that she has released over the years have not gone unnoticed. In 1998, she was named Songwriter of the Year and nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year by the Los Angeles Music Awards. Her debut album SEE RED was nominated for Independent Pop Album of the Year. Since then, she’s received many more awards and nominations including Songwriter of the Year –JPF Music, Best Female Rock Vocalist – All Access Music Awards, and Special Achievement Pop Artist – Los Angeles Music Awards. She was offered a major label recording contract thanks to her appearance on NBC’s Star Tomorrow but she chose to have more control over her career and rejected the offer.

AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: INGRAM/NIGHT STALKERS

NIGHT STALKERS, originally released in 1984, was Ingram’s third and final album. And before you jump to conclusions, this band of Ingram siblings was not related to Grammy-winning singer/songwriter James Ingram although there is a member of this act who goes by the named James/Jim! This album features the multi-talented former basketball player Norman AKA Butch Ingram (bass and trumpet) joined by his siblings James (vocals, keyboards, sax, flute), Barbara (vocals), Billy (guitar, bass, trombone), John (lead vocals, drums, tuba), Timmy (drums, percussion, trumpet) and Francis, Edith, and Virginia (vocals). Unlike most other family bands at that time, Ingram was a self-contained unit – writing, arranging and producing their own material.

AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: BLACKTOP MOJO/BURN THE SHIPS

Palestine, TX-based hard rock band Blacktop Mojo returns with their sophomore album BURN THE SHIPS. This blistering potpourri of power was recorded at Sound Emporium Studios in Nashville, TN, FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL, and Audioworx Studios in Palestine, TX. Blacktop Mojo’s blend of Metal, Southern Rock, Hard Rock and Grunge ensures that they will appeal to heavy music lovers across the board.

AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: KEITH HARKIN/IN THE ROUND

IN THE ROUND is an intimate and personal live album recorded by Keith Harkin, best known as a founding member and lead soloist of Celtic Thunder, the Irish sensations who have sold over a million albums worldwide. Prior to the release of IN THE ROUND, Harkin released two solo studio albums – KEITH HARKIN (2012) and ON MERCY STREET (2016) – plus the Christmas album NOLLAIG (2016), which debuted at #1 on the Billboard World Music Chart. While Celtic Thunder’s theatrical live performances are the stuff of legend, Harkin’s live performance on this release is stripped down to acoustic guitar and vocals. IN THE ROUND lets Harkin’s voice and the songs’ melodies do the talking.

AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: BUFFY SAINT-MARIE/MEDICINE SONGS

When spinning singer/songwriter Buffy Saint-Marie’s 2017 album MEDICINE SONGS, you’ll realize that the art of protest music is NOT dead – it was just waiting for Buffy to release a new album! Mixing her early stark, acoustic Folk roots with Native American rhythms and a contemporary sound, this is an album that demonstrates her ability to remain true to her roots while also moving forward as an artist.

Alliance Entertainment Blog

Tag: Album of the week