When Dennis Massengale and his friend, Paul Hatcher started BIG DEAL in 1994, the intention was to record the originals they were co-writing. Because of the vast cover band experience represented, BIG DEAL became a staple at Chattanooga clubs. An Atlanta agent heard the band and shows followed in that city, New Orleans, Huntsville, Athens and across the Southeast.

Please welcome Chattanooga’s own NO BIG DEAL to the EPB Stage this Sunday, to round out a 100% Local Music afternoon at the Chattanooga Market.

From the hidden studios of Chattanooga’s KZ-106 comes The Fabulous Stratoblasters to our very own EPB Stage.  The Stratoblasters have performed across the metroplex raising money for various fundraisers, entertaining crowds and generally having a darn good time for years.

The Chattanooga Market will welcome Chattanooga’s own CJ’s Energy Blues to the EPB Stage on Sunday, May 18, 2008.

A combination of high energy rock n’ roll blues and soulful original songs this duo brings excitement and spirit to the performance.

Chris Campbell & John Hare with their motor city and music city upbringings, bring forth a full range of musical expression in the songs they play.

BUCKTOWN KICKBACK formed in the fall of 2002 to showcase songs written by Adam Brooks Dudding. With extensive tours and two highly acclaimed self-produced albums, the band has blazed an impressive trail through the richly diverse Americana landscape with these Alt.Country/Bluegrass/Folk-Rock originals. Headlining concerts throughout the Midwest and Southeast as well as opening up for the likes of Alabama, Junior Brown, Railroad Earth, Todd Snider and Stacey Earle, Adam and his band (a revolving cast of amazingly talented musicians and artists) electrify listeners with their live performances and studio recordings.

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The Sweet Georgia Sound is a 20-member ensemble that has played in the Chattanooga area since 1994. SGS plays a variety of listening, dance, and ballroom dance music that includes classic and modern big band, swing, Latin, and waltz tunes.

In the Chattanooga area, Sweet Georgia Sound has earned the respect of accomplished ballroom dancers. However, Sweet Georgia Sound is also known for its ability and willingness to customize the musical program to meet the needs and preferences of its audience. Songs are selected and tempos are adjusted in order to accommodate the dancing abilities of those in attendance.

“Upon first listen to the New Binkley Brothers, my immediate thought was ‘There is indeed still hope for country music’. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about that canned crap coming out of Nashville nowadays (pop stars in cowboy hats). I’m talking about honest to goodness southern music which incorporates the gritty, shuffling fiddle of the famed North Georgia string bands of the 1920’s, the driving clawhammer banjo and the mountain harmonies that make your hair stand on end. These boys get it right. Hailing from Chattanooga, TN, this old-timey trio know just when to whoop it up, stomp and swerve out a fiddle tune, as well as break it down with old religious standards. In true southern fashion, these gents perfectly toe that line between saints and sinners; get down and get right and are as refreshing as cool corn liquor on a hot summers night.” –Leo Chancy TN Dept of Transformation

Gary Nicholson

Residence: Nashville
Hometown: Garland, Texas
Genres: Americana, Singer/Songwriter, Country, Blues, Rock
Website: www.garynicholson.com

A 2006 nominee for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Gary Nicholson has had more than 350 of his songs recorded, has won 26 ASCAP songwriting awards and is responsible for more than a dozen major hits. Unlike most tunesmiths, he is not bound by musical genre. His songs routinely top the country hit parade. But rock bands, blues artists, folk stars and bluegrass acts have also embraced him as a songwriter.

“I’ve never found it difficult to ’shift gears’ between different musical styles,” Nicholson says. “I let myself be dictated by the needs of the artist or of the writer I’m collaborating with. A lot of these guys are just looking for good lyrics. Songwriting is songwriting. A song is a song.”

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Artist website: www.annemccue.com

Anne McCue’s career has covered punk, Lilith Fair, Australian awards and Vietnam. She has released her fourth solo album, Koala Motel to critical acclaim and has recently co-produced two albums by other artists - Stephen Rowe and Leila Florentino. She has appeared as guest guitarist/vocalist on albums by Michelle Shocked and Gina Villalobos. Her two most recent albums, including Roll‚ (Messenger Records) was recorded at Dusty Wakeman’s Mad Dog Studios in Burbank, California. McCue and Wakeman co-produced the album. Going in with the philosophy of some of Anne’s favourite three piece bands she played the guitars, Dusty played bass with Dave Raven on the drums. The three jammed on the material, some of which McCue was still writing at the time. Guests on the album are Carl Byron (keyboards and accordion), Eric Gardner (drums on “Machine Gun” and “Tiny Little Song”and Mike Stinson (drums on “I Want You Back”). The album has received critical acclaim from such publications as Billboard, Entertainment Weekly and XM Satellite Radio (Top 5 Album of the Year) and was picked by Bob Harris of the BBC as his favourite album of 2004.
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Artist website: www.amycook.com

Everybody knows the stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas, and the celestial has always been proudly represented in Lone Star culture, be it bands (Explosions in the Sky), sports (Houston Astros) or the state nickname itself. Amy Cook also sees something unique up there, but the alt-folk singer-songwriter isn’t content simply marveling at the enormity of what lies beyond earth. On The Sky Observer’s Guide—written in a prolific four-week gush—she tells simple, bittersweet, earthbound stories, refracted through the panoramic scope of the heavens. Things like this happen when you leave the industrial clamor of L.A. for a humble, weirdly-named West Texas town like Marfa.
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