We're in Yonkers, NY right now wrapping up a fantastic evening with the Stray Birds. Check out the rest of our tour schedule and help spread the word about the rest of these spring-time shows in the Eastern States!
Thu 5/9 | Thunderbird Cafe | Pittsburgh, PA
Fri 5/10 | Mauch Chunk Opera House | Jim Thorpe, PA (w/ David Jacobs-Strain & Bob Beach)
Sat 5/11 | Holcomb Farm | West Granby, CT
Sun 5/12 | Rockwood Music Hall | New York, NY
Sun 5/12 | Superfine | Brooklyn, NY
Tue 5/14 | Cantab Lounge | Cambridge, MA
Wed 5/15 | Cady's Tavern | Chepachet, RI
Thu 5/16 | B Side Ballroom | Oneonta, NY
Fri 5/17 | House Concert | Lancaster, PA
Sat 5/18 | Urban H2O | Yonkers, NY
Sun 5/19 | Firebox | Hartford, CT
Mon 5/20 | St. Mazie | Brooklyn, NY
Wed 5/22 | Sportsmen's Tavern | Buffalo, NY
Thu 5/23 | Abilene | Rochester, NY
Sat 5/25 | GottaGetGon Folk Festival Ballston Spa, NY
Sun 5/26 | Rockwood Music Hall Stg. 2 New York, NY
Tue 5/28 | Barley's Taproom | Knoxville, TN
Wed 5/29 | Oskar Blues Brewery | Brevard, NC
Thu 5/30 | The Purple Onion | Saluda, NC
Fri 5/31 | Music on the Square | Jonesborough, TN
Sat 6/1 | Forty Acres | Durham, NC
 We're back in Michigan for a week between tours and we have a handful of shows lined up here on the home turf! Last night (3/12) we played Lou-Grass Tuesday at the Wolverine State Brewing Company. Today (3/13) we recorded a segment for Michigan Radio (Ann Arbor's NPR Station), which will air next week on Stateside with Cynthia Canty. Tomorrow (3/14) we're playing a triple bill with our dear friends, THE APPLESEED COLLECTIVE and BIG DUDEE ROO at the BLIND PIG in Ann Arbor! Show starts at 9:30pm! The facebook event can be found HERE. Friday (3/15) we're performing at the Farmington Civic Theatre in the Detroit area. Details HERE. Check back for our Southernly Tour venues and dates later this week...
A friend of ours, Ethan Konett of Ann Arbor, MI, recently shared this message and video with us and we had to share with y'all (with his permission of course):
"A little story...
Of course, Maya is versed in plenty of bluegrass. Most of the time these days she wants to be Tony and I get to be Norman. A while back, however, we were talking about the banjo, and she wanted to see people playing the banjo. So we talked about different styles; the three finger, the clawhammer. I did tell her that Keith recommends the three finger, but she was quite curious about clawhammer. So we watched some clawhammer videos. But she wanted to see a clawhammer song that was "pretty," so I told her Lindsay played the clawhammer banjo and we watched the "All Day" video. She watched it over and over again. We haven't watched it in probably over a month, because it's mainly been Blake and Rice or the Bluegrass Album Band these days. All the sudden the other day she started singing this in the middle of dinner. So I couldn't resist recording it and sending it along. We've got to work on the lyrics maybe...
Anyway, I thought y'all would get a kick out of it. Have fun on tour.
Be well."
Someone get a banjo in that girls hands!
 LINDSAY LOU & THE FLATBELLYS
RELEASE YOUR SHROUDSEarthwork Music EW2301 Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys are a fresh new voice in modern bluegrass, with driving instrumentals and a straight-from-the-still quality to Lindsay’s voice that gives the project a strong sense of authenticity and heritage. Starting off with “Hat’s Off,” the entire band lays down a powerful bluegrass groove that immediately creates a unique, credible sound. But this is a band willing to cross boundaries, as well as define them, creating a very musical and compelling style. “Pass Me The Whiskey” rocks out on a punchy bass line from Spencer Cain and a cracking mandolin chop on the backbeat, spurred on by Lindsay’s bluesy vocals. “Querida Tierra” ventures into a south-of-the-border groove that shifts rhythmically and melodically in a hypnotic dance. The band even ventures off into some swing styles, such as the excellent “Tied Down To You” where they toss in a clear-toned trumpet in a Rosine-meets-New-Orleans sound that’s completely engaging. “Leaves And Pods” trods a more pop-influenced style that would sound at home from any of the more modern progressive bluegrass bands working today. And “Wonderful You Are” could find a place on a CD from jazz/pop vocalist Norah Jones. All the bandmembers deserve a shout-out for their skills and creativity. Mandolinist Joshua Rilko has a strong, inventive style that draws from players such as David Grisman, Matt Flinner, and others without sounding derivative. Banjo player Keith Billik employs a dramatically melodic style that perfectly meshes with the rest of the band. Resonator guitarist Mark Lavengood manages to avoid the “Flux trap” to establish his own voice on the instrument. Release Your Shrouds showcases an exceptionally talented band with a lush, warm ensemble sound that creates layers of harmonies and intricate, dynamic arrangements to draw in and captivate the listener. If you’re a fan of broad-based bluegrass with a strong infusion of creativity and intelligence, Lindsay Lou and the Flatbellys is a band you definitely need to check out. (Earthwork Music, 4399 N. 7 Mile Rd., Lake City, MI 49651, www.earthworkmusic.com.)DJM This review can be found at its original source here: http://bluegrassmusic.com/content/2013/reviews/lindsay-lou-the-flatbellys-release-your-shrouds/
And on another note... Lindsay's mom, Cherie Petroff, wrote her own version of a review and we'd like to share it with you:
"Watching you tonight made me think back and remember a lot of things. I'd like to share a few with you.
When you were very small, about 4 or 5 years old, you stood on a chair to sing "Happy birthday," to your great grandpa in front of a lot of people on Harsen's Island. It was his 80th birthday and you didn't care who was watching. All you wanted to do was to make my grandpa happy, and you certainly did.
Many years later, at daddy's cousin Kurt's funeral, something was a bit wrong with your guitar or something before you were about to sing, "Over The Rainbow,' the song Auntie Helen requested. You were not bothered at all about it. All you did was to say something like," Please give me a moment." And after a moment, you were ready to go like nothing ever happened. Another thing that I remember so vividly is you and Tiff singing one of my brother, Nathanael's songs at your graduation ceremony. I was shaking so much, while trying to record it, because I was falling apart, (and trying not to cry my heart out, with my mother sitting next to me), but you delivered the song so beautifully. How in the world you did that is beyond me. I guess I am trying to tell you that I think you were born to sing. I don't know why or how, but that's the truth.
When you sing, it opens my heart so wide, I can't explain it... and I think you have the same affect on most people who hear you. You are so poised, confident and humble all at once. I will never be more proud and happy to call you my daughter, even if I live to be 100 years old.
xo mom"
Thanks Mom. These words are more meaningful and encouraging than any write-up or review I have ever or will ever read.
 Joshua calculated it, and we have 80 hours in the van ahead of us. One way.
Whew! Wish us luck on the road folks... And please help us get the word out about these shows. This will be our first time to almost all of these venues, so word of mouth promotion will be our greatest tool for garnering good crowds! More tour photos to come...
Thu 1/31 - Bieroc Cafe - McCook, NE - 7:30 PM
Fri 2/1 -4th & Main - Wray, CO - 7:30 PM
Sat 2/2 - Ballantyne House Concert - Pine, CO - 7:00 PM
Sun 2/3 - Oskar Blues - Lyons, CO - 4 p.m.
Tue 2/5 - Billsville West House Shows - Walla Walla, WA 8 PM
Wed 2/6 - Green Frog Cafe Tavern - Bellingham, WA - 9 PM
Thu 2/7 - In-Studio Performance 7pm @ KAOS 89.3 FM - Olympia, WA
Fri 2/8 - Empty Sea Studios - Seattle, WA - 8:00 PM
Sat 2/9 - Quimper Grange Hall - Port Townsend, WA - 8 PM
Sun 2/10 - Music Up Close H.C. - Tumwater, WA - 4:00 PM
Mon 2/11 - Duff's Garage - Portland, OR - 9:00 PM
Tue 2/12 - Mississippi Pizza Pub & Atlantis Lounge - Portland, OR - 6:00 PM
Wed 2/13 - McMenamin's Rock Creek Tavern - Hillsboro, OR - 7:00 PM
Thu 2/14 - Lincoln Cultural Center - Lincoln City, OR 7 PM
Fri 2/15 - In-Studio Performance 2pm @ KLCC 89.7 NPR - Eugene, OR
Fri 2/15 - Axe and Fiddle - Cottage Grove, OR - 8:30 PM
Sat 2/16 - Mama Llama Coffeehouse - Weaverville, CA 8 PM
Sun 2/17 - Six Rivers Brewery - Mckinleyville, CA 12:00 PM
Fri 2/22 - The Starry Plough - Berkeley, CA 8:30 PM
Sat 2/23 - The Sutter Creek Theater - Sutter Creek, CA PM
Sun 2/24 - McClaskey House Concert- Berkeley, CA 1:30 PM
Mon 2/25 - Bluegrass Night @ Amnesia Bar - San Francisco, CA - 9:00 PM
Thu 2/28 - Divided Sky - South Lake Tahoe, CA - 7:00 PM
Fri 3/1 - First Friday / Art Murmur - Oakland, CA - 8:00 PM
Sat 3/2 - Chthonic Theatre (w/ Front Country) - Oakland, CA - 8 PM
http://www.facebook.com/events/421794061229765/
 Our album "Release Your Shrouds" appeared on a few Best of 2012 lists! Here's what has come in so far: Beat Surrender Best of 2012 for Alt-Country Laurie DesJardins Top 10 of 2012 for KVMR 89.5 Nevada City, CATop 25 Albums of 2012 for The Back Porch, 88.1 WVPE Elkhart, IN Prescription Bluegrass Top 15 of 2012 (listed again on No Depression)Nominated for Best Americana Album, Best Production/Engineering, and Local Album of the Year for WYCE Jammies XIVTop 25 Albums for Stephen Harris at KRCC in Colorado Springs, COJohn Bommarito's Best of 2012 for Acoustic Brunch, Ann Arbor 107oneTop 100 Songs of 2012 for "The Power" from That Nashville Sound
And this new review came in from Folk World
This is such an album that puts a smile on my face from the first moment I listen to it. Nice, vocals and sometimes amazingly good fingerpicking. She and the band play with the music and takes it from tradition to a jazzy fifties style. A sunny, sparkling album by a great singer and a few great musicians. Highly recommended for it’s a clear and well balanced sound, strong compositions and real craftsmanship.
As well as this one from Rambles.net
the Michigan-based Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys (whose very name subverts bluegrass' characteristic rural earnestness) are on the genre's current edge, which in their case means that not everything on Release Your Shrouds is containable within that stylistic designation. Lindsay Rilko's playful "Tied Down to You," for example, owes nothing to Bill Monroe and everything to 1920s novelty pop. Nor will her singing bring Rose Maddox, Molly O'Day, Cousin Emmy or even Rhonda Vincent to mind. Not that there's anything wrong with that. She is a striking vocalist, able to sing just about anything apparently, and full of good humor and, when the occasion calls for it, political conscience.
Only a few of the cuts, most notably "My Side of the Mountain" (with social commentary one won't hear in Jimmy Martin's "The Sunny Side of the Mountain"), are broadly reminiscent of traditional 'grass. But the playing is accomplished, jazz-inflected and adventurous while retaining sufficient discipline to keep the self-indulgence at bay nearly all of the time. The lyrics of the songs, all written within the band, range far afield from what one expects to hear even in nominal bluegrass.
That's all right, of course. But on the negative side of the ledger, I have a fear -- one that I'm sure will occur to other listeners -- that on stage Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys may transform themselves into one of those dreaded "jam bands." Not so much in these grooves, however. Here there's sophistication and fun in disciplined amounts. Perhaps it's not for the hard-core audience raised on the Stanleys, Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs and their progeny. Even so, those whose tastes run to purer sounds (I, for example) will find themselves hard-pressed to resist Lindsay Lou's ecstatically eclectic and elastic voice.
Here are some photos from our last show in Grand Rapids at the Wealthy Theater Annex. Enjoy :-)  Photo by Amalia Cassis
 Photo by Amalia Cassis
 Photo by Amalia Cassis
|  Photo by Amalia Cassis
 Photo by Amalia Cassis
 Photo by Amalia Cassis
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 We rounded off our first year of touring full-time with a "round two" in the North East all the way down to the Mid Atlantic. This time around the tour was booked solid by The Americana Agency, who really did a bang-up job of breaking us into new audiences.
 From Rochester we made our way to Greenwich, NY and played a lovely concert series at 70 Main. John and Zadie made us feel at home with the gracious hospitality and gave us a little peak into the beauty of upstate New York. We left with full tummies and warm hearts, and travelled farther North to BluSeed Studio in Saranac Lake. Folk Alley taped the show for broadcast and we met more awe-inspiring individuals here. Margaret and Drew sent us away with parting gifts- hand-made paper with our hometowns and letter-pressed messages.
 To get to Vermont from New York we got to take a car ferry, and while the winds were vicious, it didn't detract from the fun! When we arrived on the other side it was a short trip to our dear friend, Chris Dorman's. We played a house concert for him, his family and friends and in the morning recorded this song for his son Henry. You can listen by clicking play on the file below. Chris and his wife, Corie, have an amazing farm called Bread and Butter Farm and they've really got a good thing going there!
 From East Warren we traveled to New York City and played for the second time at the Rockwood Music Hall. Michael Daves joined us on stage again and sang/picked a Bill Monroe classic with us, Little Cabin Home On The Hill. Miss Tess took us to Mona's again and it was awesome to be able to spend time with her. Miss Tess and her band are an NYC staple. Check them out if you haven't already heard them! http://www.misstessmusic.com/
 I snapped this photo of Mark, also at the Rilko home, sporting papa Rilko's hat. Doesn't he look stunning?! It felt so good to be with family in the middle of the tour.
|  We started in Buffalo, NY and then played the next day in Rochester, NY at the Abilene Lounge. I snapped this photo of these strapping young men after the show. Big thanks to Danny and Scott with WXXI Public Broadcasting welcoming us in for an in-studio. performance to promote the show!
 Then we piled into the van once more and stared the journey to Vermont! I snapped this picture from the backseat because it struck me as so bizarre! We're in upstate New York in the middle of December and these two wackos are traveling around like it's mid-July! I guess that's what a heavy round of hackie sack will make you feel like.
The drive continued to be as beautiful as ever as the fortune I feel for being able to live in such a beautiful country enveloped me.
 After Chris' we played a Concert Series in East Warren, VT, which was broadcast live on the radio to the surrounding areas. Matt and his wife made a fantastic feast for concert goers and made our experience in East Warren amazing. They have built a house in the mountains there, which is beautiful enough to stop anyone in their tracks. I'm sorry to be redundant, but the people we meet on these tours really do make this job as incredible as it is. Above is another picture of our little hodge-podge family on the car ferry.
 NYC was the beginning of a stint with Eastern Cities. Next we played a show outside Philadelphia and had the honor of playing with Bob Beach at the Lansdowne Folk Society's Concert Series. From there we went South for a show in Washington D.C. where Joshua's parents live. They attended the show at the Corner Store, where Kris and Roy were as welcoming as ever. It was a sold out crowd and we the friendly faces made us feel right at home. This picture above was taken at the Rilko residence before the show. A pre-Christmas family photo. Big thanks also to Jay who came out and helped us with sound. Thanks Jay!
 After Washington D.C. we played a show in Pittsburgh and I was so impressed at the architectural/aesthetic design on this city. Seriously. I said wow once every 30 seconds and it was sincere. Luckily no one in the van took me out, and we continued on to Cleveland for a show at the Beachland Ballroom. From there we went to Kent, OH and did a special for Folk Alley, which will be viewable soon. We'll keep you posted. As for now, Happy Holidays and enjoy the road!
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