The talented and dedicated members of The Experience perform a wide variety of songs including traditional string music numbers, originals from the pen of guitarist and lead singer Tommy Edwards and several re-imagined rock, country or folk songs. The band is blessed with virtuoso instrumentalists who are also fine singers that in addition to their solo offerings, combine to form several duos, trios and a bluegrass gospel quartet.

The talented and dedicated members of The Experience perform a wide variety of songs including traditional string music numbers, originals from the pen of guitarist and lead singer Tommy Edwards and several re-imagined rock, country or folk songs. The band is blessed with virtuoso instrumentalists who are also fine singers that in addition to their solo offerings, combine to form several duos, trios and a bluegrass gospel quartet.

The original Nighthawks lineup solidified in mid-1974. Bringing together frontmen Mark Wenner and the young Jimmy Thackery with a veteran rhythm section, Jan Zukowski on bass and Pete Ragusa on drums, the quartet ruled the highways and honky-tonks until Jimmy’s departure in 1986 to pursue a solo career. The band opened many doors and forged many touring routes for their contemporaries, including the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray, and played with as many Blues and Rockabilly legends as they could. They opened show after show for Muddy Waters, James Cotton and Carl Perkins, and backed up and recorded with John Hammond and Pinetop Perkins.

The original Nighthawks lineup solidified in mid-1974. Bringing together frontmen Mark Wenner and the young Jimmy Thackery with a veteran rhythm section, Jan Zukowski on bass and Pete Ragusa on drums, the quartet ruled the highways and honky-tonks until Jimmy’s departure in 1986 to pursue a solo career. The band opened many doors and forged many touring routes for their contemporaries, including the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray, and played with as many Blues and Rockabilly legends as they could. They opened show after show for Muddy Waters, James Cotton and Carl Perkins, and backed up and recorded with John Hammond and Pinetop Perkins.

Jonathan Byrd and The Pickup Cowboys are musical gunslingers, vaudevillian hucksters, and old-fashioned tent revivalists. With their new album Pickup Cowboy (2018), they have brought a bold new set of working-class anthems to Americana fans, and a spirit-raising show to back it up.

Jonathan Byrd and The Pickup Cowboys are musical gunslingers, vaudevillian hucksters, and old-fashioned tent revivalists. With their new album Pickup Cowboy (2018), they have brought a bold new set of working-class anthems to Americana fans, and a spirit-raising show to back it up.

Abigail Dowd is a singer/songwriter/guitarist with a gift for telling stories. She grew up under the longleaf pines in the Sandhills region of North Carolina; land that could only be tamed by Scotch-Irish settlers. Dowd brings this heritage of storytelling and determination to her music and weaves together hints of Celtic melodies with the soulful gospel of the south.

AmericanaFest 2018 official showcase artist Emily Scott Robinson is an up and coming folk singer/songwriter who has been making big waves in the Americana scene.

Abigail Dowd is a singer/songwriter/guitarist with a gift for telling stories. She grew up under the longleaf pines in the Sandhills region of North Carolina; land that could only be tamed by Scotch-Irish settlers. Dowd brings this heritage of storytelling and determination to her music and weaves together hints of Celtic melodies with the soulful gospel of the south.

AmericanaFest 2018 official showcase artist Emily Scott Robinson is an up and coming folk singer/songwriter who has been making big waves in the Americana scene.

Chuck Brodsky is a storyteller, songwriter, troubadour, and a modern day bard. With only his acoustic guitar and his voice he’ll draw you in with genuine, down-to-earth warmth and his quirky, finely crafted songs. Using wit and irony, set to haunting melodies, he tells the stories of oddball and underdog characters through his syncopated guitar strumming or sweet finger-picking. His songs celebrate the goodness in people—the eccentric, holy, profound, courageous, inspiring, and the beautiful. They poke fun at what needs to be poked, and sometimes they challenge. They’re sworn to tell the truth.

Chuck Brodsky is a storyteller, songwriter, troubadour, and a modern day bard. With only his acoustic guitar and his voice he’ll draw you in with genuine, down-to-earth warmth and his quirky, finely crafted songs. Using wit and irony, set to haunting melodies, he tells the stories of oddball and underdog characters through his syncopated guitar strumming or sweet finger-picking. His songs celebrate the goodness in people—the eccentric, holy, profound, courageous, inspiring, and the beautiful. They poke fun at what needs to be poked, and sometimes they challenge. They’re sworn to tell the truth.