Kate Graves

“Kate Graves writes little songs.. Sometimes they are sparse…sometimes filled with lots of little words.  Often they are written about things like tasting sweet orange  on your lips and wanting to kiss someone so that they might experience tasting sweet orange on their lips.

Kate Graves likes kissing. And singing.  She hopes you will listen in and sing along.”

Kate joins us in the studio with Colorado’s own Jami Lunde & Jamie Mitchell.

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WhiteWater Ramble is:  Patrick Sites – Mandolin/Vocals,  Patrick Latella – Acoustic Guitar/Vocals, Howard Montgomery – Upright Bass/Vocals, Zubulon Bowles – Fiddle/Vocals, Paul Kemp – Drums

“Described as High-Octane Rocky Mountain DanceGrass, Whitewater Ramble (WWR) uses a simple recipe to craft its sound: start with bluegrass instrumentation, add drums, and finish with a boundary-less approach to grassing-up everything from disco house grooves to roots to Americana.

The Colorado-bred quintet combines the elements of mandolin, fiddle, acoustic guitar, upright bass, drums and vocals to explore the musical boundaries of multiple genres and to fuel their own mixture of original music and innovative cover song interpretations. Whether playing an intimate encore, acoustic and unplugged in the crowd, or surfing on top of the upright bass, Whitewater Ramble delivers a powerful and memorable live performance.Based in Fort Collins, CO, WWR has performed and headlined on every major stage across the Rocky Mountain Region. With over 900+ performances under their belt, the group has truly established themselves as one of the hardest working groups in the jam scene today. “

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“Singer. Songwriter. Folk and Rock musician. Michael Kirkpatrick is a modern day minstrel. He sings about nature, dreams and sensuality. The original music comes to you straight from Michael’s soul–unfiltered, passionate and true. Michael often covers other artists material, but only after finding that special character that makes the song his own.

Michael’s main instruments of choice to accompany his rich bass voice include the acoustic guitar and mandolin–although he has been seen with electric guitars, lap steel guitar, the sitar, hammered dulcimer and electric mandolin. Aside from performing as a solo artist, you can catch Michael on stage with his Folkadelic Rock band The Holler!”

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Robert Cline Jr. at KRFC Radio
Photo courtesy of Angel Mountain Media

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“Boy plays music he writes. Girl plays music she writes. One day girl goes over to boy’s house and they start to sing together. Boy smiles. Girl smiles back. Flash forward to their wedding day a few years later. Soon after,  Sweet Talk Radio is born.  Boy smiles. Girl smiles back.  SWEET TALK RADIO is the husband and wife team of Kathrin Shorr & Tim Burlingame.

This dynamic duo, based in Los Angeles, draws on the combination of Shorr’s captivating vocals and Burlingame’s lyrical guitar.  Their music has earned them recurring spots on the iTunes Singer Songwriter chart and the ears of music supervisors on some of today’s top tv shows.

“With undeniable chemistry both on stage and off, STR create alternative-folk-pop songs full of depth and yearning, delivered with an earnest desire to connect.” —Santa Barbara Independent

On September 4th, Sweet Talk Radio released their second album, “State of the Union”.

The eleven-song recording is a poignant rumination on love and relationships, mixed by Eric Robinson (Natasha Bedingfield, Colbie Caillat, Milk Carton Kids) and mastered by Evren Goknar (Greg Laswell, The Weepies) at Capitol Mastering.”

Photos by Angel Mountain Media

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Photo of Esmé Patterson by Todd Roeth.

Last week we successfully predicted an enormous reception for You Me & Apollo‘s EP release show. A crowd of fans showed up at The Aggie Theatre on Saturday for the celebration that included Turn 4 and this week’s KRFC MusicShare artist, Esmé Patterson.

With appearances playing with various groups on “All Things Considered”, “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Tonight Show,” folk and roll songstress Esmé Patterson has just finished her first solo album of original songs this Winter via Illegal Pete, Virgil Dickerson and Erin Barnes’ record label, Greater Than Collective. Described by Patterson in an interview as “raw,” All Princes, I is greatly influenced by Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks and Feists’s Metals.

American Songwriter called it “a warm, organic-sounding album that splits the difference between indie pop, folk-rock and coffeehouse jazz” in their full album premiere. Providing collaborations on the album are Nathaniel Rateliff, Roger Green (formerly of the Czars), Ben Desoto (Czars, Nathaniel Rateliff, Bare Bones), Genevieve Patterson and Sarah Anderson (Paper Bird), Carrie Beeder, Eric Moon, Mike Fitzmorris, Will Duncan, and many more.

You can sample the album below and buy it online from Greater Than Collective. Plus we’re sharing a free download of the first track, “My Young Man.”

Please note that downloads offered via KRFC MusicShare are intended to introduce you to great talent in KRFC’s community, and are NOT CD-quality recordings. If you want those, please support the artists by buying their music and/or seeing them live. Get more from KRFC MusicShare >>

If you’re in a band or are a musician looking to share your music, email your tracks to Andrew [at] krfcfm [.] org for consideration.

Photo of Rob Drabkin and members of his ensemble by Lucia De Giovanni.

Much to KRFC’s delight, Denver native and three-time Westword Best Singer/Songwriter, Rob Drabkin, joins Fierce Bad Rabbit, Patrick Dethlefs, and Beats Noir in our first month of free downloads on KRFC MusicShare.

Drabkin spent the last week mastering new recordings and preparing for his 6th Annual Birthday Bash & EP Release Concert this Friday at the Bluebird Theatre in Denver, with special guest SHEL and Dave Tamkin. The track we are sharing today will be familiar to fans of this Colorado son. A Live recording of “Little Steps” taken just last January at the Bluebird Theatre has become one of Drabkin’s most popular downloads on iTunes. Driven by a steady rock beat, drenched in organ, and embellished by his lush vocals, the masterful sound of the present release raises the bar in a major way.

For those who haven’t been following this artist, the song title could describe the artist’s life in music from his first foray into piano lessons at age 5. Drabkin’s little steps have formed one big, fascinating story to watch unfold on stage and in the media as he navigated the path from studying Biochemistry/Molecular Biology and Spanish to a three year reign as Denver Westword’s Best Singer/Songwriter and his most recent achievement as the voice of Stapleton on KBCO and KTCL.

While the world waits all week for the release of the entire “Little Steps EP,” you can get your share right now, and visit robdrabkin.com for more from this superb Colorado artist.

Little Steps

Words & Music by Rob Drabkin

While you’re here… take a listen to this brand new song,

“Stay (The Morning Light Fades)”

Words and Music by Rob Drabkin.
String Arrangement by Eduardo “Bijoux” Barbosa.

Please note that downloads offered via KRFC MusicShare are intended to introduce you to great talent in KRFC’s community, and are NOT CD-quality recordings. If you want those, please support the artists by buying their music and/or seeing them live.

If you’re in a band or are a musician looking to share your music, email your tracks to Andrew [at] krfcfm [.] org for consideration.

Happy Holidays from Fierce Bad Rabbit
Photos courtesy of Darren Mahuron

“Fresh, energetic and intelligent, Fierce Bad Rabbit takes you on a journey so interesting that you don’t want it to ever end. From the opening notes of “Everything Is Alright”, the first track on their eponymous debut EP, through the infectious melody and lyrics of “YOU!” off of their 2012 EP, “Live and Learn,” you know you’re in for something new and captivating. Tightly woven tapestries of notes and well-crafted lyrics delivered with disciplined passion by frontman Chris Anderson, who also plays guitar and keyboards, combined with the powerful yet perfectly nuanced viola and supporting vocals of Alana Rolfe, the rock-solid rhythmic backbone of Dayton Hicks on bass and Max Barcelow on drums create a constantly changing yet consistently fulfilling musical experience for the listener.

Photos courtesy of Darren Mahuron

The vocals themselves may occasionally make you think that you could be listening to a new project from Brandon Flowers of The Killers or Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem. The band clearly shares the influences of such indie favorites as Arcade Fire and The Shins, and there is a certain kinship with other leading-edge artists like The National, Iron & Wine and Band of Horses. But the music this Ft. Collins, Colorado-based quartet makes is all their own, and the more you hear it the more it comes across as a brilliant amalgamation of many musical styles and structures. Alternately joyful and somber, forceful and laid back, playful and contemplative, their songs challenge you to decide whether you should stand and listen intently or grab the person next to you and dance the night away.

Formed in 2009, the band released two solid recordings in scarcely more than a year: the self-titled debut EP and a full-length, 15-song sophomore effort, “Spools of Thread”. After making an immediate impact on the increasingly sophisticated and crowded Colorado music scene, playing to packed houses at local hot spots in Ft. Collins, Denver and elsewhere and drawing large crowds at busy festivals like the Westword Music Showcase and UMS, the band is now touring extensively, including appearances at America’s preeminent independent music gathering, South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, the storied Viper Room in Los Angeles, California, and many, many more.

Listen once and you’ll be impressed. Listen again — and see them perform live — and you will be a fan. From that point on you’ll want to see them again and again, and you’ll join the growing ranks of people eager to see what happens next for this talented group called Fierce Bad Rabbit.”

Find FBR at www.facebook.com/fiercebadrabbitmusic  or www.reverbnation.com/fiercebadrabbit

Photos courtesy of Darren Mahuron

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While in Colorado, Judith Avers has consistently rocked the stage or appeared on albums with other great talents including The Fray, Born in The Flood, Yonder Mountain String Band, Hazel Miller, Gregory Alan Isakov, Holly Near, Glen Phillips, John Sebastian, Devotchka, John Magnie (Subdudes), Liz Barnez, Nina Storey, and songwriting legends Gary Harrison, Tia Sillers, Mark Selby, Randy Sharp, Mark D. Sanders, and Gary Chamberlain among others.

Now based in West Virginia, Judith continues to amaze everyone touring nationally with, not only her brilliant songwriting and angelic delivery, but her beauty and grace embodied by the incredible artist she has become. We are thrilled to have her back in the KRFC studio! www.JudithAvers.com

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