Hank Card and Conrad Deisler began writing songs together in 1976 when both were under-grads at Princeton. When the pair moved to Austin in 1980 they hooked up with pedal steel/banjoist Tom Pittman. Thus were the Austin Lounge Lizards born and they continue to this day, delighting crowds nationwide with their mix of top notch playing and hilarious lyrics that address many of the political and societal issues of the day.

The Lizard's busy touring schedule should bring them to your area soon.

Sarah Borges is a student.

It has nothing to do with the fact that she has worked at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Sarah Borges is a student in the same sense that Alan Lomax was a student, constantly looking for authentic, heartfelt sounds. The difference is that Borges digests the sounds around her and then delivers them anew in her own distinctive and unique style.

A rock n' roll background, deep fried with an admiration for American roots music and served with the finest of seasonings by legendary studio wizard Paul Q. Kolderie (Radiohead, Uncle Tupelo, The Pixies) proves a tasty recipe. Borges' debut, 'Silver City' has just enough spice to make you sit up straight and enough heartfelt emotion to make you think hard about why it is that you're wiping your eyes at its conclusion.

'It's about me finding my place in a culture I am continually learning about,' Borges admits, speaking of a process that began with a group of friends, all renowned Boston players, gathering on Sunday afternoons to play covers ...

Billy and Bryn Bright first met at Berklee School of Music in 1995. Bryn, a bass student at Berklee, lived below Billy and his roommate Brian Smith. She went upstairs to complain about the noise and wound up joining them in a bluegrass jam session. Bryn was in a jazz studies program and had never played bluegrass before but within weeks the three were playing locally as the Two High String Band.

A move to Texas in 1997 introduced the couple to Peter Rowan and soon they were touring the country with him as the Texas Trio. It was through Rowan that they met bluegrass legends Tony Rice and Vassar Clements. Rowan, Rice and Clements along with ex-Bad Liver Danny Barnes and fiddler Eamon McLoughlin joined Billy and Bryn on their self-titled debut album for Blue Corn Music.

'Far Away Blues' is the third studio album from San Marcos, TX. based singer/songwriter Adam Carroll and his debut for Blue Corn Music. 'Far Away Blues' showcases the idiosyncratic songwriting style that has endeared Adam to both younger and older Texas music fans and has prompted critics to compare Carroll with John Prine, Butch Hancock, Townes Van Zandt, Todd Snider and Bob Dylan.

Just Believe It is Susan Cowsill's first-ever solo album, but you probably already know her.

The singer/songwriter made her initial mark on popular culture at the tender age of eight with The Cowsills, the family pop group that scored Top Ten singles "The Rain, the Park and Other Things," "Hair" and "We Can Fly" and served as the real-life inspiration for TV's fictional Partridge Family. More recently, she won the hearts of discerning listeners with roots-pop supergroup The Continental Drifters, in which Cowsill's impassioned vocals and personally-charged songwriting graced three widely-acclaimed albums and countless riveting live performances. Cowsill's vocal talents have also appeared on recordings by acts as diverse as Dwight Twilley, Redd Kross, The Smithereens, Giant Sand, and Jules Shear, while her compositions have been covered by The Bangles and Hootie and the Blowfish.

Superlatives are rare in album titles, and for good reason: unless you’re a living legend or a legend-in-the-making like the Man in Black (1958’s The Fabulous Johnny Cash) or the Queen of Soul (1962’s The Electrifying Aretha Franklin), you’re all but begging for a crash course in humility. So if you’re going to stick a word like “phenomenal” in front of your name on a record cover, you damn well better have the goods to back it up.

“Those are some big shoes!” laughs Ruthie Foster, who, just for the record, is really one of the most humble and down-to-earth artists you could ever meet, phenomenal or otherwise. She admits to initially having “quite a few reservations” about calling her fifth album The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster, crediting both her producer, noted Austin-based “swamp music” guitarist Malcolm “Papa Mali” Welbourne, and her label, Houston’s Blue Corn Records, for making that particular gutsy call. As for how they came up with it, well … just give it a listen, and you’ll understand. The big shoes just fit — so much so, that calling this particular record by this particular woman at this particular time in her life and career anything but “phenomenal” would be akin to false advertising.

Caroline Herring's music can best be described as 'Southern'. Blending the sounds of country, folk and bluegrass with the unmistakable spiritual influence of the blues and gospel, Caroline's two Blue Corn albums reflect her Mississippi upbringing and her subsequent academic journey into Southern culture. More importantly, they showcase an extraordinary singer/songwriter whose poetic lyrics are matched by her melodic gifts and the sort of vocal talent that comes along all too infrequently.

Gurf Morlix has been a professional musician since 1966. He plays guitar, bass, mandolin, mandocello, dobro, pedal steel guitar, lap steel, Weissenborn guitar, banjo, piano, harmonica, drums, and just about anything else he might find lying around.

Gurf has produced, recorded with, or performed with a veritable "Who's Who" of the music business. The list includes Warren Zevon, Mary Gauthier, Robert Earl Keen, Slaid Cleaves, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Buddy Miller, Julie Miller, Ian McLagan, Lucinda Williams, Tom Russell, Eliza Gilkyson, Hot Club of Cowtown, Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris, Michelle Shocked, Blaze Foley, Jimmy LaFave, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Mojo Nixon, Jim Lauderdale, Michael Penn, Jerry Lee Lewis, Peter Case, Bob Neuwirth, Don Walser, Jon Langford, Troy Campbell, Bob Schneider, Steve Earle, Harry Dean Stanton, Syd Straw, B.W. Stevenson, Billy Swan, Charlie Sexton, The Plimsouls, Victoria Williams, James McMurtry, Sonny Landreth, Doyle Bramhall, Flaco Jimenez, Steve Forbert, Bill Kirchen, Lazy Lester, Rosanne Cash, David Byrne, Kevin Welch, C.C. Adcock, John Prine, Dave Alvin and many more.

He worked with Lucinda Williams for eleven years, serving as guitarist, vocalist and bandleader, as well as producing her critically acclaimed albums Lucinda Williams (Rough Trade/Koch) and Sweet Old World (Chameleon/Elektra).

He has released three solo albums, Toad Of Titicaca, Fishin' In The Muddy, and his latest, Cut 'N Shoot .

Gurf spends most of his time holed up in his home studio, producing albums for many well known artists, but he gets out once in a while to tour on his own or with some of his famous friends.

Gurf currently can be seen playing in the Imperial Golden Crown Harmonizers, a sort of superstar gospel group, who perform every Sunday afternoon in Austin, Texas and donate all the proceeds to local charities.

Jennie Stearns is a classic American songwriter. By turns heartbreaking and hopeful, her songs are evocative, poignant and haunting. Quintessentially human. Her strong yet intimate vocal style and the vivid imagery portrayed by her lyrics gently draw the listener into her world. Despite the often somber mood, you'll find yourself strangely at one with her perspective, akin to the intimate atmosphere of a late-night red-wine-confessional with a lifelong, much-loved friend.

The Two High String Band is made up of Billy Bright, Geoff Union and Brian Smith. Billy and Brian have played together off and on as The Two High String Band since 1995, when they all attended the Berklee School of Music. Geoff joined in the summer of 2002 and The Two High String Band become a full time band.