Singer, Natalie Jose (also of Blue Ribbon Glee Club) leads this Chicago based outfit, as they explore the dynamic artistry of country music legend, Patsy Cline. Weepin' Willows takes its audiences back to the good ol' grit of Patsy's Honky Tonk stomps, alongside her polished gems of the 1960's Nashville Sound.

Formed in late 2009, The Weepin’ Willows features an all-star line-up including: drummer, Jamie Gallagher (Andreas Kapsalis Trio, Megitza Quartet); lead guitarist, Dave Gallagher (Umbra and the Volcan Siege); pianist, Dan Ingenthron, (Curtis Evans and Our Friends Electric); steel guitarist/guitarist, Adam Przyblyla (Andy Wagner Band, Blue Line Riders); and upright bassist, Bob Lovecchio (Angel Melendez & The 911 Mambo Orchestra).

Chicago's original honky-tonk fools, the Gin Palace Jesters are purveyors of the finest in hard hitting hillbilly Honky-tonk, Country Boogie and Western Swing . Infused with a deep and sincere fondness for all traditional American musical styles, the sound of the Gin Palace Jesters could best be described as being akin to the sounds of Country Music's "Golden" age.

The Lawrence Peters Outfit is a scrappy honky tonk band from Chicago, with a sound that is deep-rooted in the country music traditions of Webb Pierce, Jimmy Martin, Hank Williams Sr., Harlan Howard, Dwight Yoakam and Ola Belle Reed. Lawrence Peters sings and plays snare drum, leading the band through his finely crafted originals, and cherry-picked classics. The Outfit includes Matt Gandurski on lead guitar, Dave Sisson on rhythm guitar, and Josh Piet on upright bass.

For generations, practitioners of that uniquely American art form known variously as old-time or string-band music – progenitor of country, precursor to bluegrass – have labored in obscurity, their talents unrecognized, their provenance maligned. The men of Tangleweed are proud to uphold that tradition.

Their personal histories, while colorful, bear witness to the manifold hardships and hard-scrabble existences so commonly borne by folk artists. Only one was educated on the Continent. Most were forced to leave college after graduation.

Like most such groups, Tangleweed typically performs at drinking establishments and other communal gathering places, where ordinary people come to wash away the trials and tribulations of their workaday lives. Such venues are far removed from the niceties of the concert hall. Yet they testify to the formative influence that context can exert on performance style. How easily does the plaintive keening of Tangleweed's vocal harmonies rise above the whine of milk frothers and espresso machines. How cleanly do their finger-picked melodies cut through the din of mobile telephones and personal computing devices.

Tangleweed’s repertoire, which encompasses traditional fiddle tunes, African-American blues, rags, and stomps, was born in the rich soil of the rural agrarian South. Unlettered and without formal training, its originators gave rise to a deeply expressive musical idiom that spoke for and to a vast, poverty-stricken community of Euro- and African-Americans, for whom such music functioned first and foremost as an accompaniment to social dance. Tangleweed is proud to claim this rich cultural legacy, without in any way sharing in it.

Relieved of the burden of authenticity, unencumbered by troublesome notions of historical accuracy or, indeed, of personal accountability, the men of Tangleweed are free to pursue their own startlingly original interpretive impulses. So does a great tradition reinvent itself, often beyond all recognition.

The Golden Horse Square Dance Band was founded in 2000 by Annie Coleman and Anthony Burton. Annie grew up calling square dancing at her families resort (The Golden Horse Ranch. www.goldenhorseranch.com). The Golden Horse Ranch Band's 5 part harmonies and good time stomping cowboy style is not to be missed. This 7 piece ensemble features mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, banjo, guitar, snare drum/washboard, and the occasional bassoon, played by a stellar group of musicians from a cross section of Chicago bands, such as Reds and Blue, Palliard, the Lawrence Peters Outfit, The 1900's, Tangleweed, and everyone's favorite marching band, Mucca Pazza.

Poor Elvis is Andrew Francis & Pamela Maurer, a Chicago-based duo that play hot-rockin', ear-splittin' original Rhythm & Revival music on guitar, washboard, mouth-harp, and ukulele.

Hailing from Chicago, The Northside Southpaws are an entirely unique, all-left-handed mandolin/guitar duo who perform high-energy string ragtime, old-time country, "proto-grass", and turn-of-the-century waltzes on left-handed resonator instruments.

Jonas Friddle and the Majority is a new Chicago-based “orchestral folk” group with a big sound. The seven-piece band is comprised of a string section, brass, organ, banjo and drums, and combines a full orchestral sound with driving rhythms for a powerful result. Each member of the Majority boasts a strong personal music career with close ties to Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, where the band formed.

Jonas Friddle’s arrangements and songwriting are heavily rooted in traditional American music. His passion for old-time style banjo from his native North Carolina leads to rhythmic and rolling compositions. At the same time the founder of The Barehand Jugband pulls from the raucous sounds of 1920’s blues and string bands. Following the example of new folk groups like Crooked Still, Abigail Washburn and Old Crow Medicine Show, Jonas looks for a new take on an old sound.

Since 2004 Al Scorch and Co. have played an original banjo driven style of music rooted in the old-time string bands of the 1930s influenced by Romani folk music, country song-writers and 21st century punk. After years of musically slaving in the sweat sodden basements and dingy living rooms of the country, they have been plucked from obscurity by the benevolent corporate overlords at HEWHOCORRUPTS INC. March 31st sees the release of Al Scorch and the Country Soul Ensemble's new full length Tired Ghostly Town to cassette tape by HWC INC.