Bird & Flower from Columbus Ohio is your basic three piece folk band – banjo, ukulele, harmonium, glockenspiel, keytar… Wait, keytar? Yup. Much like the occasional inclusion of an instrument you would never expect, their songs have a freshness and an honest-to-god groove that makes them a lot more than your typical folk group. They stopped in during their first visit to Boston.

Song List:

Bird and Flower online

Download individual tracks here or listen to the whole thing:

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Boston’s own Antiques, back again!

Song list:

Antiques online

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Cambridge’s Thick as Thieves are a diverse pack of musicians. Actually, it’s a bit difficult to describe what they do, musically. Sometimes T. Rex, sometimes Television, but never boring. And they seem just as comfortable playing a song full-out on stage, or much more intimately, like here in our living room.

Song List:

Thick as Thieves online

Download individual tracks here, or listen to the whole thing:

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We had so much fun the first time our favorite Texans came in that we made sure they paid us another visit. Here’s another batch of wonderful tunes!

Song List:

The O’s on Myspace

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Israel Darling is another great badn from North Carolina – Greensboro, to be exact. Their songs tend to start with a folky melody, and then they add layer after layer of goodness. Today, Jacob takes it all back down to the bare bones.

Song List:

Israel Darling online

Download individual tracks here, or listen to the whole thing:

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When The Dead Trees did their first session (Mike solo), they were a Boston band. When they did their second session, they were a Portland (Oregon) band. These days, they are based out of LA, and in the intervening years have toured with Little Joy and Albert Hammond Jr.. They treated us to an all-too-short set, including what may be the most kick-ass Lennon cover we’ve heard.

Song List:

The Dead Trees online

Download individual tracks here, or listen to the whole thing:

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Even at the comparatively church-quiet volume levels that they were forced to play at in our living room, Thick Shakes manage to make a lot of noise wherever they play. A perfect soundtrack to a grindhouse flick about illegal car racing. This was also a fun one for me to mix. Hopefully my attempt to make my all-digital system sound like an analog system run by a 1950’s greaser worked out.

Song List:

Thick Shakes online

Download individual tracks here, or listen to the whole thing:

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The Mumlers are the perfect example of our ideal session. An incredibly talented 6-piece from San Jose, they mix big soulful sounds reminiscent of Otis Redding or Sam Cook (with a horn section to match – there are two more of them out of frame in the other room above) with a touch of that old fashioned Squirrel Nut Zippers or Dr. Dog kind of thing, but with a modern and fresh feel. They also put on a truly engaging live show, and are funny bastards to boot. They remind us of one of our other favorite bands, The Bees (or A Band of Bees as they’re known here in the US).

Despite a near complete collapse into hysterics during the first song, they recovered so beautifully that a second take was unnecessary.

Song List:

The Mumlers website

Download individual tracks here, or listen to the whole thing:

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The Jack Stafford Foundation is really just Jack Stafford, a man with no fixed address. Originally from the UK, he is now based out of Amsterdam, but one look at his tour schedule makes it clear that he is a man that doesn’t stand still for long. With an album devoted to ex-loves, an album devoted to love itself, an album devoted to the people of Amsterdam, and a few EPs for good measure, he can be heartbreaking, uplifting, or bitingly sarcastic. We largely got the latter when he stopped by, so be sure to check out his other songs as well to get a full feel for his range.

Song List:

Download individual tracks here, or listen to the whole thing:

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