There's a rare confidence to Emily Jane White's songwriting: it's at once generous and tough-minded, reflective and unsentimental. Her work shares some elements with folk music, but the term does not do justice to her ambitious songwriting and robust arrangements. White possesses a singular voice inspired by the raveled threads of the uncanny in American culture, including depression-era blues and classic works of gothic literature.

"Enough gothic imagery for an Edgar Allan Poe novel." - Rolling Stone

"San Francisco-based singer-songwriter with a dark streak, has the perfect voice -- a coarse but beautifully aged alto soaked in rye….a beautifully produced collection of shiver." - NPR

Alana Amram, is a Brooklyn based singer/ songwriter who fronts country rock band Alana Amram & the Rough Gems. Formed in 2003, they have toured internationally.
She also plays bass for Lights (Drag City).

Amram and the Rough Gems are finishing up their first LP Painted Lady with producer Jesse Lauter (James Blood Ulmer, The Low Anthem). Breaking the industry standard,
they are releasing their second LP, Songs of Vince Martin simultaneously. Produced by Jesse Lauter and Mark Sebastian (Loving Spoonful.)

Amram comes from a huge music family, often seen sitting in with the band. She has garnered a reputation for her classic songwriting. Influenced heavily by folk, country-
western storytellers and early rock and roll, the Rough Gems range from deep sentiment to wild honky tonk.

They are currently the subject for the feature length documentary Sound of Asphalt.

For over thirty years Tom Irwin has been taking life experiences, turning them into songs, and giving those songs life through performances and recordings. The 51 year-old singer-songwriter opened for Willie Nelson & Family at the 2001 Illinois State Fair Grandstand and has performed with many other popular artists. Readers of Illinois Times voted him Best of Springfield for musician (2007), solo musician (2004), male musician (2002), male vocalist (2001), and folk band (1994 & 1999).
Irwin works around 200 dates a year in diverse venues and various areas. He has released ten full-length recordings of original songs selling thousands of copies of his music. Carry Me Home, his most recent recording, released in October of 2007 on Clyded Records was produced by Gary Gordon with an all acoustic lineup of mandolin, dobro, fiddle, and standup bass. The host of Songwriters Circle, a weekly gathering of central Illinois tunesmiths, for over 10 years, Irwin also has performed nearly every Sunday for over 15 years at the Brewhaus in downtown Springfield, Illinois.
His music has been described as "a cross between Buddy Holly and Frank Zappa" by Gajoob magazine, "brilliant and lasting" by the Tucson Weekly, "enduring" by the State Journal-Register, "updated John Prine," by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and “good enough to smoke” by Supe du Jour of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils.
You might laugh and cry, chuckle and squirm, tap your foot and nod your head, but you won't ignore or walk away untouched by this talented teller of stories through words and music.