Erica Dawn
With a record release party already planned this month, Erica Dawn just keeps adding more to celebrate. The Akron native took top honors in the Akron Beacon’s Best Poll in the “Top Band” category. The country singer bested a pretty impressive list of the area’s top bands that included Michael Stanley & The Resonators, The Hitmen and Buck Naked. Erica Dawn’s debut EP Release Party will be on Saturday, April 16th at Whiskey Ranch Saloon CAK in Green, Ohio. The EP will include the already released “Southbound and Determined,” along with “Officer Hero” and “Stayin’ In.” The single and EP will be available at iTunes and Googleplay. Erica Dawn kicks off the month of April opening the show for Whiskey Loco on Saturday, April 2nd at Nashville Nights, and will also be at Nathan’s Patio in Canton on Friday, April 22nd. Get all the latest information on Erica Dawn at her website www. ericadawncountry.com or on her Facebook page, Erica Dawn Music.
Mark Leach
It seems that April is the perfect month for a record release. Mark Leach thinks so, too. The Barberton native is releasing his new four-song EP, Homemade, on Saturday, April 16th at Thirsty Cowboy in Medina. Phillip Fox Band from Columbus will be opening the show. Tickets are $10 or $5 with EP purchase. Tickets are on sale now at www.thirstycowboy.com
Leach, has had previous releases, “With Love From Tennessee” in 2012 and a follow up with “Let’s Get Lost” in 2014 (which reached #23 on iTunes). He has been on the road touring and promoting to support both efforts. In addition to his own shows, Leach has had the opportunity to open for artists including Kip Moore, Trace Adkins, Granger Smith, Will Hoge, Chris Janson, and most recently Scotty McCreery at the Canton Palace Theatre. And Granger Smith stated, “Mark brings a professional, energetic show that we love putting on the bill with us. The guy knows how to work a crowd and he has written the songs to back that up. I’m proud to consider him a friend.” With his heart and home in Ohio, Leach has made the move to Nashville to continue building upon his career as a singer and songwriter. In the past months, he has spent most of his time writing with prominent songwriters around Music City, creating nearly 50 new songs in preparation for this next release. After conducting a successful Kickstarter campaign last fall to fund a new EP, Leach enlisted the help of Grammy nominated producer Matt McClure, known for his work with Lee Brice. The music they have created has become, “Homemade.”
Mark Leach will also be playing at The Country Fest on Saturday, June 11th at 3:00pm. Check out his website for more information, www.markleachmusic.com or follow him on Facebook.
Kyle Thomas
The Ohio native, former WVU football player and full time singer/songwriter will be making his debut with an EP Release Party on Friday, April 8th at Whiskey Ranch Saloon CAK in Green, Ohio. Thomas has been keeping busy the last few months on stage all over Northeast and Central Ohio and West Virginia, and has been spending time in the studio working on the EP with producer, Dylan Roth. The EP will be available on iTunes, but you can get a copy the night of the release party and even before it is available at the online store.
Kyle Thomas will be opening the show for one of the area’s favorites, Tony Rio & Relentless at The Bar in Akron on Saturday, April 2nd. He then will open a pair of shows for Chad Baker, the first on Thursday, April 14th at The Gateway Pub in Akron and the following night, Friday, April 15th at Nashville Nights in Akron.
You can find out more about Thomas, his show dates and his new EP at his Facebook page, Kyle Thomas Country.
Phillip Fox Band
The Columbus quartet will be opening the show for Mark Leach at his EP release party on Saturday, April 16th at Thirsty Cowboy in Medina. While there are a lot of bands that claim to be “different” and to have created their “own sound” only to sound like everyone else, but for the Phillip Fox Band, that statement could not be more true. With the bands debut full-length album, Heartland, they created their own sound that is best described as ‘Country-Fried Rock N’ Roll’.
The Phillip Fox Band travels all over with shows in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan, and that was only last month. They have played on festivals from the Buckle Up Fest to headlining shows at Ohio Bike Week. “For us it’s about the music first,” explains front man, Phillip Fox. “Our favorite songs and artists are timeless. It’s great music that transcends scenes, fads, and production trends. We’re not really paying attention to what’s popular at the moment or what will get played on the radio and we hope that comes as a breath of fresh air in our music.” It does, indeed.
You can found out more about the Phillip Fox Band, their music and upcoming dates at the bands website www.phillipfoxband.com or follow them on Facebook. In addition the group will be working on their next album in the coming months and we hope they will be back in Northeast Ohio a whole lot more!
Andy Timko
Most singers don’t wait until they are 23 years old to first take to the microphone. For 27 year old Andy Timko, he did just that. He played basketball in college and after that he would play guitar for his sister as she would play gigs around their hometown of McDonald, Ohio, a suburb of Youngstown. But, one day it just him and he has been singing ever since. “Being onstage, being exposed to people, I just went for it one night, and that started it out for me,” he said. “I picked up a guitar player and now there’s a whole band.”He released an EP with all five songs written by Timko. The one that definitely stands out, and has received regional radio airplay is “Carolina.” The song is something that you would think came straight out of Nashville. The 6’4” singer has a great feel and depth to his voice. Andy Timko will be playing at Whiskey Ranch in Green, Ohio on Saturday, April 2nd. He will be back at the Whiskey Ranch on Saturday, May 28th and has another date booked in July. He will do an acoustic set at Wilbert’s in Cleveland on Friday, June 3rd. Timko will also be playing at the Dusty Armadillo on Saturday, August 20th. For more about Andy Timko, as well as his complete show schedule, go to www.andytimko.com or follow him on Facebook. Be sure to check out his five song EP on www.ReverbNation.com, it is definitely a nice little surprise if you have never heard him and be sure to check out one of his live shows.
Tony Rio & Relentless
The Johnny Appleseed Entertainment Committee, announced the booking of Akron area native and Nashville recording artist Tony Rio & Relentless to headline the annual two-day festival to be held Friday, July 29th and Saturday, July 30th at the Apple Creek Village Park in Apple Creek, Ohio. Rio will perform from 6PM to 10PM on Friday, July 29th. Tony Rio & Relentless are making their second appearance at the Johnny Appleseed Festival.
“I am pleased to have worked with Tony Rio to bring him and Relentless back to the Johnny Appleseed Festival” Jeff Pinnick committee leader said of the announcement, “Tony is a gifted musician, and along with his band, Relentless, provides a high-energy, family friendly country rock concert that is sure to satisfy both young and old.”
In addition to the Johnny Appleseed Festival, Tony Rio & Relentless will be playing a Fundraiser for The Greater Akron Fisher House presented by The Kappa Gamma Fraternity. The show is Saturday, April 2nd at The Bar in Akron. Special guest is Kyle Thomas. This is an 18 and over event. Tickets are $10 in advance $15 at the door.
You can find out more about other Tony Rio & Relentless show dates at www.tonyriomusic.com or follow them on Facebook. And check out their music at www.ReverbNation.com.
