Artists
Sean Hayes
Sean Hayes is a Bay Area singer-songwriter who makes music to dance to or cry to, or maybe both at the same time. He was born in New York City, raised in North Carolina, and honed his earliest musical chops in a band playing Irish and old-time tunes — but his unique style of deeply felt, R&B-inflected folk really matured during his two decades singing and playing in cafes, bars, and night clubs of San Francisco.
His voice layers wonder and heartache upon grit and gravel, sex and soul. His lyrics carry an unpretentious wisdom. He’s dueted with Aimee Mann; been covered by the Be Good Tanyas; and toured with Anais Mitchell (performing songs from Hadestown, before it was an award-winning Broadway show). His songs have appeared on NPR, NBC and HBO.
Lonesome Shack
Lonesome Shack conjures a spirit that drifts between city and desert, navigating trials of love, loss and the natural world. With an ear to folk and blues traditions, they craft songs that stir the heart and shake the soul. On their 8th studio album Song Of The Horse, set for release July 19th, 2024, they dig deeper into forces of nature and elemental grooves. Song Of The Horse was recorded by Johnny Goss in a three day session at Dandelion Gold on the outskirts of Tucson, AZ. The band was joined by their old friend and legendary Tucson musician Tom Walbank on harmonica for the session.
Lonesome Shack’s story began on the edge of the Gila Wilderness in Catron County, NM, where Ben Day Todd lived in a small shack for four years with his girlfriend at the time. There his interest in American and international folk and blues music grew and he began performing and recording under the name Lonesome Shack. Ben met longtime band mates Kristian Garrard and Luke Bergman at Cafe Racer in Seattle, WA in the late 2000’s. Now they live in three corners of the States- Ben in Escondido, CA, Kristian in Bothell, WA and Luke in NYC. Despite the distance, the magnetic trio continues to meet up for recordings and performances worldwide.
Testimonials: “... immediately brings to mind the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta with occasional flourishes of what almost sounds like Malian guitar. But it’s also anything but traditional, and that is immediately clear from the lyrics of songwriter and frontman Ben Todd. It’s the kind of stripped down, raw, expressive and danceable music that’s well suited for a dark bar.” - GLIDE MAGAZINE
“… heartbreakingly beautiful” – SECRETLY IMPORTANT
“You wait for a release that you never get. It's both frustrating and glorious. And you can somehow dance to it.” - IF IT’S TOO LOUD
“Lonesome Shack occupies a lane all its own, built on sounds that haven’t been heard, in the vein of Junior Kimbrough, or R.L. Burnside, but without pastiche or pantomime.” - AMERICAN STANDARD TIME
“One of the slickest guitar players in town.” - KEXP
