The Chattanooga Market

On Stage 6/15 – Kira Small

“Girl, you sound like a neat glass of single malt in a world of Michelob Ultra.” Those were the words of Grammy award-winning songwriter Mike Reid (“I Can’t Make You Love Me”) when he heard Kira Small sing. This slinky, sultry, soulful siren combines the smoothness of Norah Jones, the rawness of Bonnie Raitt, the hip-ness of Alicia Keys and the flat-out-wailing of Aretha Franklin to bring forth her mix of spellbinding original material and R&B classics.

While Nashville (her current home base) is most known for country music, there is a deep vein of southern soul and R&B running through it that Kira has tapped into, and it has become her lifeblood. What really happened is she found herself surrounded by a bunch of greasy old R&B dudes from the serious south and felt so at home they decided to make a record. That record is her latest CD, Love In A Dangerous World, which was produced by Bruce Dees (James Brown, Ronnie Milsap). It features numerous Motown and Muscle Shoals R&B veterans and sounds pretty much like rib meat falling off the bone. Continue reading

On Stage 5/11: Bucktown Kickback

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.

On Stage 4/27: Gary Nicholson

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.”