Doors 7:30PM | Starts 8:00PM
Advance $12 | Day of Show $15
Over the last two decades, Kentuckian Ben Sollee has distinguished himself as multi-faceted creative, blurring the lines between music, tech, and activism. A graduate of the Univeristy of Louisville School of Music, he holds a BFA in cello performance. Since his debut record in 2008, Mr. Sollee has released 6 studio records and nearly 10 EPs garnering praise from the New York Times and NPR. His music has been featured in tv shows such as Weeds and Parenthood. In addition, Sollee has a growing career as a composer for film, tv, and interactive media earning a Emmy Award in 2018 for his score on the ABC special Base Ballet. Beyond music, Mr. Sollee is known for his social and environmental advocacy working with organizations like Oxfam America, The Nature Conservancy, and Canopy KY to protect people and the land. He currently lives in Louisville, KY with his wife and three children.
Sunday, May 12th, 2024
Doors 7:00PM | Starts 7:30PM
$22 ADV | $25 DOS
Hosted by L.A. Preston
The Spot on Kirk has a monthly open mic comedy show! There will be a chance to get up on stage and then the show will begin with featured comedians every month.
Doors @ 7:00 PM | Open Mic @ 7:30 PM | Starts @ 8:00 PM
No cover charge - Tips & donations appreciated
Please RSVP if you plan to attend. If you would like to inquire about the open mic, please contact the host at LA@lapreston.com for more information.
*Tickets go on sale Friday, March 8th @ 10AM*
Kelsey Waldon is one of Country music’s most singular voices. Across four acclaimed full-length albums full of both “heavy twang and spitfire pedal steel” and “coffeehouse confessionals” (Rolling Stone), she’s brought listeners into her world and shared her own experiences and perspectives. Her new project, There’s Always a Song (out May 10th via Oh Boy Records/Thirty Tigers), however, is about the singular voices that shaped her into the artist she is today.
“It’s like, I kind of was able to find my voice through these voices, you know?” Waldon says. “A part of me doing this album is expressing so much gratitude for the music that I love, for music that has meant a lot to me and helped me.”
These eight songs, from the earliest pages of the country and bluegrass music songbooks, helped the singer-songwriter from Monkey’s Eyebrow, Ky., find her place in the world before she became an artist whose own work generates buzz, lands on year-end best-of lists, and, in 2019, led Waldon to become the first artist in 15 years to sign a deal with John Prine’s Oh Boy Records. These days, they remind Waldon of why she wanted to make music in the first place.
“There’s a lot of bullshit out there, and sometimes our goals and dreams get clouded by competition or become jaded. [These songs are] like something tapping into me and being like, ‘That’s why you love this.’ It feels like home to me; it feels like the truth,” Waldon shares. “It just brought me so much joy to work with my peers, my friends, people I really admire.”
There’s Always a Song might not even exist, in fact, if not for S.G. Goodman, who in addition to also being a fellow western Kentuckian has been one of Waldon’s good friends since before they were making headlines with their music. During one of their frequent catch-up phone calls, Waldon told Goodman she would love to find a reason to collaborate and asked Goodman if she’d be up for recording a song together. Goodman suggested “Hello Stranger,” specifically citing the 1973 version by Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard.
Waldon didn’t stop with Goodman, though. Fellow John Prine devotee and “kindred spirit” Amanda Shires joins Waldon on fiddle for the Bill Monroe classic “Uncle Pen” — arranged in half time like Goose Creek Symphony’s version from 1971 — while Isaac Gibson, lead singer of 49 Winchester, helps Waldon honor his fellow Virginian, Ralph Stanley, on the devastating “I Only Exist.” Margo Price, one of Waldon’s first friends in Nashville, rounds out the list of guests, singing with Waldon on “Traveling the Highway Home,” which Waldon selected from fellow Kentuckian Molly O’Day’s catalog.
Waldon’s band, meanwhile, was a key inspiration for There’s Always a Song. The songs on this album are among those they frequently listen to in the van while on tour; Waldon and fiddler Libby Weitnauer, in particular, have bonded over their love of old-time and Appalachian music. They’d been out on the road for much of the year before they entered Nashville’s Creative Workshop studio (prominently featured in Heartworn Highways and a longtime Nashville staple) to make this record, which Waldon co-produced with GRAMMY Award-winning engineer/mixer/producer Justin Francis.
“These songs are deep. They were here long before me, and they will be here long after I’m gone, after any of us are here. They will survive the test of time,” Waldon says. “It’s like they live in some kind of universe that just survives forever. These songs know the secrets to life.”
Waldon is featured in the 2024 edition of the Country Music Hall of Fame's "American Currents" exhibit, and she'll perform a special "Songwriter Session" on March 2nd at the museum as part of the exhibition's opening. 2024 tour dates will be announced soon.
Tour Support: Nat Myers !
Thursday, May 30th, 2024
Doors 7:30PM | Starts 8:00PM
$15 Advance | $20 Day of Show
Four songwriters come together for an unforgettable evening of storytelling and songwriting at The Spot on Kirk!
William Seymour - www.linktr.ee/williamseymour
Caitlin Krisko & Aaron Austin- www.caitlinkriskoandthebroadcast.com
Jordan Harman - www.jordanharman.com
Saturday, June 1st, 2024
Doors 7:30PM | Starts 8:00PM
$20 ADV | $25 Day of Show
“Valazza captures a fluctuating melancholy perfectly on "Watching Planes Go By," a standout track from her enrapturing second album.” — NPR
"She is a gentle wanderer whose songs exude a sturdy self-assurance. Her delivery is as much British folk revival as anything, but her band’s desolate twang is unmistakably country, and Knows Nothing is one of the best country-ish records of 2023’s first half." – Bandcamp
“Valazza is a keen observer, particularly of the natural world and its power to reframe and shape a complicated tangle of emotions.” — No Depression
“The deafening buzz that seems to be gathering around her is fully justified” — Holler
“A well-crafted set of psych-tinged country and folk-pop, combining acoustic and electric guitars, piano, pedal steel and more with her gentle vocals and bittersweet melodies.” — KEXP
“Her songs are wise, eccentric examinations of emotional restlessness, culminating in a bittersweet cover of Michael Hurley's 'Wildageeses.'" — UNCUT
“‘An album of subtly brilliant songs. This is sure to be one of the best country albums of the year” — Americana UK
RVA opener: Sequoia
https://sequoiamusic.bandcamp.com/
Saturday, June 8th, 2024
Doors 7:30PM | Starts 8:00PM
$15 ADV | $20 Day of Show
Summer dance party at The Spot on Kirk!
All are welcome to have a good time here
VAMONOS!!!
The Spot on Kirk
22 Kirk Ave SW
Roanoke, VA, 24011
Group Lesson 8:00-8:30PM
Summer Dance Party 8:30-11:00PM
DJ Edgar - Salsa/Bachata/Kiz/Reaggeton/Merengue/Cumbia, etc.
Saturday, December 9th, 2023
Doors 7:30PM | Starts 8:00PM
$8 Advance | $12 at the Door
Recorded over the course of a 4,000-mile cross-country roadtrip, Taylor Ashton’s gorgeous new album, Stranger To The Feeling, is a sonic odyssey through the heart of America, one that works its way chronologically and geographically from coast to coast as it meditates on the meaning of closeness and connection. The performances are warm and inviting, anchored by Ashton’s deft guitar and banjo work and rich, easygoing melodicism, and the recordings—helmed by producer Jacob Blumberg and captured with a broad range of collaborators including Courtney Hartman, Big Thief’s Buck Meek, Lake Street Dive’s Rachael Price, Vulfpeck’s Theo Katzman, Late Show bandleader Louis Cato, and Mipso’s Jacob Sharp—are alternately sparse and lush, with arrangements often serving as aural reflections of their physical environments. From ablanket in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park to aspiritual vortex in Sedona, AZ, the settings are inextricable from the songs, and the result is a moving collection that manages to evoke both the gentle virtuosity of Nick Drake and the buoyant wit of Paul Simon.
Born and raised in Canada, Ashton got his start fronting the beloved Vancouver five-piece Fish & Bird. After moving to NYC, he teamed up with Courtney Hartman for 2018’s Been On Your Side, which Rolling Stone proclaimed “packs a punch,” and two years later released his solo debut, The Romantic, earning widespread praise alongside dates with the likes of Sarah Jarosz, Madison Cunningham, The Wood Brothers, and more.
Tuesday, June 18th, 2024
Doors 7:00PM | Starts 7:30PM
$15 ADV | $20 Day of Show
Living somewhere in-between modern catharsis and American myth, Griffin William Sherry's roots continue to grow strong in the ever-evolving genres of Folk, Americana and Rock & Roll.
Griffin's music is inspired by his New England rural roots. As such, he cobbles together an inimitable signature style, visceral and heartfelt, loud and passionate, each song taking on a voice of its own.
In 2011, He co-founded the independent band The Ghost of Paul Revere, capturing the hearts and minds of countless fans with a series of acclaimed releases and sold-out shows everywhere. He helped establish his own music festival, performed on national television, and garnered millions of streams. In 2019, his song The Ballad of the 20th Maine became the official Maine State Ballad, securing The Ghost of Paul Revere's place in Maine music history.
In 2022, after writing music for seventeen years, Griffin's begun work on his first solo record, taking a defiant step in a new direction.
Opener: Jacob Ritter (of The Wilson Springs Hotel)
Sunday, June 23rd, 2024
Doors 7:00PM | Starts 7:30PM
$15 Advance | $18 Day of Show
Australian-based folk diviner Leah Senior silences audiences with vivid lyricism and a voice that soars with a disarmingly honest Sandy Denny-like clarity. Leah effortlessly weaves together spring-time baroque pop playfulness with a fragile blend of bedroom folk. Her fourth album The Music That I Make (2023, Poison City Records) reveals Leah at her most intimate, her songs a cycle of vulnerable meditations on what it means to create. The Music That I Make transports the listener to her sandstone shack in Anglesea, where autumnal British folk meets rain streaked AM radio.
Leah’s previous three albums The Passing Scene, Pretty Faces and Summer’s On The Ground were released through Flightless Records. A chance late night encounter with King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard saw Leah Senior joining their independent label Flightless. In 2022 Leah and her band joined King Gizzard on a national tour of USA/Canada, performing at iconic venues including Red Rocks and Berkeley Theatre.
Leah Senior’s captivating live performances have seen her supporting international artists including Jessica Pratt, Jeff Tweedy and Bedouine and performing at festivals such as Levitation, Desert Daze, Port Fairy Folk Festival and Golden Plains.
"Leah Senior is an amazing folk singer, very, very talented, and nothing like King Gizz's music at all. Her songs are equally terrifying, joyous, sad and exciting. We get chills watching her perform." – King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard
"Enchanting..Recalling Joni Mitchell playfulness through cosy folk, minimalism" – Rolling Stone
Kairos Creature Club (KCC) is a new project from Lena Simon (La Luz) and Glenn Van Dyke (BOYTOY). After years of playing in bands confined by genre, Van Dyke and Simon founded KCC definitively as an exploration of music. As an ever-evolving project, KCC is fueled by collaboration, the duo seeking out individuals who are moved by the moment, and subsequently capturing the minutiae when different combinations of artistry and creativity collide.
Local support: The Stray Lions ( RECORD RELEASE! ) & Cherry Moon
Monday, June 24th, 2024
Doors 7:00 PM | Starts 7:30 PM
$12 Advance | $15 Day of Show
Hosted by L.A. Preston
The Spot on Kirk has a monthly open mic comedy show! There will be a chance to get up on stage and then the show will begin with featured comedians every month.
Doors @ 7:00 PM | Open Mic @ 7:30 PM | Starts @ 8:00 PM
No cover charge - Tips & donations appreciated
Please RSVP if you plan to attend. If you would like to inquire about the open mic, please contact the host at LA@lapreston.com for more information.
Inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame!
Long before there were Kings of Leon, Keys of Black or Whites of Jack in Music City there was a riddle spewing prophet of roots rock and roll. A bluesy blast of baritone bombast. Equally versed in two glorious worlds, Rock and Roll – with a strong side of Outlaw Country. He is a force on tour and a tour de force. He is the last of the Full Grown Men and Roots Rock Royalty.
A native of Hattiesburg, Wilder’s 1986 debut album, It Came from Nashville, was named one of the 50 Best Southern Rock Albums of All-Time by Paste Magazine. Webb was honored to participate in Shemekia Copeland’s recent Grammy nominated LP “Uncivil War” co-writing and performing on the track “She Don’t Wear Pink.” He’s been in a number of movies, but is best known for his cult classic short films: “Webb Wilder Private Eye,” “Horror Hayride” and ”Scattergun.” Webb’s engaging personality led him to become one of America’s first Satellite DJs on XM Radio. He’s now a DJ and the host of the Americana Countdown show on WMOT radio/Nashville as well as continuing his three decade career as an Electrifying Artist on stages worldwide.
“Webb flat out rocks! They serve up potent Southern comfort.” Rolling Stone Magazine
"With his obvious love of British rock and Southern roadhouse, Wilder could be a kind of Tom Petty for the trailer set." - San Francisco Chronicle
“These days the term ‘roots rocker’ is almost meaningless, but Wilder’s blend of a rocker’s heart with a hillbilly’s soul is probably the best aural definition of it yet.” Time Out Chicago
“Discover the mystery, the madness, and the magic of the man called Wilder. A giant standing proudly above lesser talents.” That Devil Music
Saturday, June 29th, 2024
Doors 7:30PM | Starts 8:00PM
$15 ADV | $20 Day of Show
Holy Roller brings you songs of love, loss, hope, and heartache. Their early country twang and vivid lyrics meld with signature harmonies for a sound that is beautifully crooning.
A natural soul singer and blues musician, Drew Foust’s music sounds like it’s made between the
bleary hours of a rock bar’s last call and a southern preacher’s early morning prayer. Hand
made, self-made and arranged in dramatic structure, the music is lyrical and rhythm driven,
always pushing a feeling forward. His latest release, “Good Thing,” is inspired by the Memphis
soul music from the 60’s and 70’s.
Thursday, July 11th, 2024
Doors 7:00PM | Starts 7:30PM
$12 Advance | $15 Day of Show
Here I Am Nashvillian songstress Alice Wallace declares on her new album, set for a spring 2024 release via Mule Kick Records. It’s a title that hints at her deeply personal, confessional songwriting style, one that invites the listener to gaze at her beating heart as each intimate secret pours out, propelled by a powerful, expressive delivery that marks her as one of the true vocal talents of her generation. Alice does not hide behind the microphone, but uses it to amplify everything inside her champing to get out. She’s survived the highs and lows of life, love, and the music industry and finally produced the album she feels she was destined to make. Here I Am, she says, the real Alice Wallace. Cuttingly self-exploring, delivered with emotionality, and with just the right pop Americana sensibilities, Here I Am is Alice Wallace’s most expansive album yet. For fans of songwriters who turn personal heartbreak into musical gold and for anyone who loves a powerful, full-ranged, expressive voice, Here I Am is not to be missed.
Wallace was named 2017 Female Vocalist of the Year by the California Country Awards and her voice has been called “a powerful natural occurrence… an awe-striking wonder" by Saving Country Music. She previously released four solo albums, the latest of which, 2019’s Into the Blue, earned recognition from Rolling Stone Country with the title track being named one of the Best Americana Songs to Hear Now. This was followed by Lucky Break via Side Pony, a duo project with friend Caitlin Cannon that took the pair across the United States and Europe.
“…one of the most unheralded singers in independent country/Americana.” - Saving Country Music
Envision and believe in your own universe, and it will eventually form around you. The HawtThorns are reimagining their universe in their latest recording adventures. The sun-kissed songwriting, deft guitar work, and lush vocal harmonies that have been at the core of their sound are exponentially magnified through the lens of their upcoming record, Zero Gravity. This 3rd album from the Nashville-based duo includes 11 songs recorded at The Studio Nashville owned by The Wood Brothers and was performed by some of Nashville’s most accomplished musicians.
Zero Gravity is a sonic trip into deeply felt personal experiences, abstract storytelling, and adventurous, genre-bending productions. The HawtThorns love for guitars is apparent on this record, as the layers of variously toned and textured electric and acoustic instruments are as much a part of the songwriting as are the lyrics. The interplay between far-out keyboard tracks and Johnny Hawthorn’s syncopated guitar hooks and riffs deliberately creates a unique appeal for each of the tracks. The music beds enhance KP’s fearless, wistfully honeyed lead vocals - recorded live, with the band directly to 2-inch tape.
KP and Johnny Hawthorn, have had celebrated careers that started in LA’s singer-songwriter and Alt-Country scenes. Between the two, they have hundreds of recordings heard on network and cable TV, and film. KP co-founded LA’s CALICO the band while Johnny fronted his own band and played in legacy acts, Toad the Wet Sprocket and Everclear. Their common ground has been the starting point for a sum greater than it’s parts, an inspired combination of songwriting, vocals and guitar work.
“Dynamite duo who aim to pull up their roots, stick by their guns and bring back the sounds of the Laurel Canyon in the 1960’s, the British invaders of the ’70’s and the cosmic cowboys still twirling through time and space” - PopMatters
"...a perfect blend of melody and magic, one that incorporates the sunny sounds of classic California Rock blended with the rich resonant sounds of today’s Americana musical environs” - The Alternate Root
“The HawtThorns make songwriting look easy.” - Americana Highways
Sunday, July 14th, 2024
Doors 7:00PM | Starts 7:30PM
$15 Advance | $18 Day of Show
Embertender - www.embertender.bandcamp.com
Embertender is a prog rock four-piece from Lexington VA, sworn to supply torrential riffage and sophisticated grooves uplifted by saxophone melodies and dynamic vocals.
Fix Your Hearts (DC) - www.fixyourhearts.bandcamp.com
Dead Billionaires (RVA) - www.deadbillionaires.com
Saturday, July 20th, 2024
Doors 7:30pm | Starts 8:00pm
$8 ADV | $12 Day of Show
Hosted by L.A. Preston
The Spot on Kirk has a monthly open mic comedy show! There will be a chance to get up on stage and then the show will begin with featured comedians every month.
Doors @ 7:00 PM | Open Mic @ 7:30 PM | Starts @ 8:00 PM
No cover charge - Tips & donations appreciated
Please RSVP if you plan to attend. If you would like to inquire about the open mic, please contact the host at LA@lapreston.com for more information.
Pocket Vinyl - www.pocketvinyl.com
L.A. Dies - www.la-dies.bandcamp.com
TLVS - www.tlvs.bandcamp.com
Friday, September 20th, 2024
Doors 7:30PM | Starts 8:00PM
$12 Advance | $15 Day of Show
Viv & Riley's sound is old-soul roots music to its core, elegantly combining a traditional backbone with the fresh iconic melodies of future-leaning indie-folk, and the tightly wound vocal harmonies of the old-time and classic country music they came from. Although they grew up on opposite sides of the country, Riley in Seattle, Washington, and Vivian in Lexington, Virginia, the two had an instant musical connection upon meeting in 2018. The pair has been collaborating since then, honing their sound playing hundreds of shows across the US, UK, and Canada. Since 2018, they’ve recorded and released multiple albums to critical acclaim from the likes of NPR Music, Rolling Stone, and No Depression, and have garnered nearly six million streams on Spotify. A bittersweet nostalgia lies at the heart of Imaginary People, the new album from Viv & Riley, released September 15, 2023 on Free Dirt Records. Over ten tracks, the pair applies an indie roots sheen to newly composed pop gems. Rooted originally in the folk tradition, the pair reframe the production into experimental territory, crafting songs that speak to finding a path forward into adulthood in an uncertain world. The album brings a reflectiveness to summertime jams that speak of uninhibited joy and creative camaraderie. Based out of Durham, North Carolina, they’ve tapped into the area’s eclectic and collaborative music scene, recruiting Alex Bingham of Hiss Golden Messenger to produce the album. Bingham brings a sunny, lush sound to Viv & Riley’s music, moving beyond their earlier country roots and toward a layered sound and sonic experimentation. The songwriting has evolved as well, from the world-weary, stripped-down country songs they’re known for to indie songwriting at turns sweetly sad and gently sardonic. Ultimately, Imaginary People is about carrying and honoring our pasts, about letting that inform our new steps forward. This balancing act is familiar territory for Viv & Riley, who also play in The Onlies, an award winning old time stringband that Riley co-founded in Seattle at age 7. In that role, they serve as co-artistic directors of The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes. In both preserving traditional music and bringing their own original folk music to new territories and audiences, it is clear that Viv & Riley have much to do with the present and future of roots music.
Saturday, October 12th, 2024
Doors 7:30PM | Starts 8:00PM
$15 Advance | $20 Day of Show
