Backstage Pass

Listening to Midwest singer/songwriter, Heather Hammers feels like following a confident artist down a scenic yet unsure path, you feel both inspired and vulnerable as you go along, certain that the destination will be as rewarding as the journey.

For an example of this, look no further than one of the first videos posted to Hammers’ popular YouTube page. In the video, Hammers is making her way down a wooded pathway. Low light bleeds through the barren trees. Leaves crunch underfoot. It’s winter. Hammers looks back at you, the viewer, urging you to keep up. Once you reach a clearing, Hammers begins to play and suddenly the
goosebumps descending along your arms are from the sheer brilliance rather than the chill.

Even though the video is eight years old, the beginnings of the artist Hammers will become are
already on display. There’s the hidden melancholy layered beneath her luminous vocals. There’s the skillful strumming accompanying her immaculate melody. Most notably, there’s the confident vulnerability of Hammers alone with her instrument, unafraid, baring her soul among the bare branches.

The video in question, “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” has gone on to well over a quarter million views and though it is a cover by artist Tiny Tim, like everything Hammers creates, she makes it her own.

Hammers found her love of music at a young age, singing songs acapella around the house to the delight of her mother. Unaccompanied vocal performances eventually gave way to Hammers teaching herself to play the guitar. By the time Hammers reached seventeen she was performing her original songs in between raucous local band sets at all ages shows in southern Illinois. Though
Hammers would later say she was so nervous at those early shows that her voice would shake as badly as her hands, none of that fear was on display as she won over every room that saw her, even if they were there to throw down to their friends’ metal band. With each local show, Hammers continued to hone her craft, learning valuable lessons along the way like how to speak up for herself, how to project confidence even when it isn’t easy, how to stop overthinking, and, most notably, how to be easier on herself when she messes up.

In 2019, Hammers released “In Living Spaces.” A true DIY artist through and through (seriously,
check out her Etsy shop, The Crooked Spruce), Hammers wrote/recorded/produced the five
original songs entirely by herself. The collection speaks of an artist looking to make her place in the
world.

On “Home,” Hammers sings: “So you carve out a place for yourself at the edge of it all / In the side of a mountain, old and tall / Where the air is clear, and all the creatures run / Start a new
routine free from everyone.” With the EP, Hammers indeed carved out a place for herself beside
other songwriting luminaries such as Sufjan Stevens, Daughter, and Feist.

Now, Hammers has set her eyes on releasing her most ambitious collection of music yet. When
asked about a favorite song from the impending release, Hammers shared, “I wrote a new song not
long ago called, ‘Moonsong.’ It’s about my daughter, the time we share, and trying to cope with the
fact that it won’t last forever. I cried when I wrote it, and playing it still comforts me. I feel like I was honest and captured the feelings I was having in a genuine way.” Even though the song has yet to be released, fans of Hammers will have little trouble believing the above to be true. As always, Hammers will be confidently leading the way, looking back at the rest of us to catch up. 

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Little By Little is an indie folk-pop band based out of Murray, KY.  Lead by Kayla Little on vocals and guitar, with Brent Smith on bass, Sam Blalock on electric guitar and Carson McCann on drums. They combine influences from multiple genres like folk, pop, jazz, and rock to create their own unique sound. 

The band focuses mainly around Little’s songwriting. Kayla has been commanding the stage since childhood. A born thespian and inimitable vocalist, Little’s charisma and talent shine through each turn of phrase she delivers to her audience. Her classical vocal training and extensive background in jazz performance have lent themselves to Little’s agile, shimmering timbre that is as comfortable in a Mozartian aria as an Ella Fitzgerald jazz standard or contemporary pop tune. She grew up heavily influenced by classic artists like The Beatles, Elton John and Carole King. These influences and experiences give her songs a unique and eclectic color not found in typical indie artists today.

In just a handful of years, Little By Little has cemented their place in the Midsouth scene as incomparable performers and musicians.  

You can find Little By Little's single, Just Dreamin', available now on all streaming services.

Tickets are $8 in advance; $10 at the door. 

Additional information:

https://littlebylittleband.com

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That songwriters come from the western Kentucky clan of Neihoffs is a surprise to no one aware of the land and family. In number and colorfulness, there aren’t many rivals. But few have natural storytelling and melody baked in quite as thoroughly as in Daniel Neihoff. The youngest of six, Daniel wrote his first song at 8 years old as he grew up around a family fit for country songs – the old kind about struggle and lonesomeness, mistakes among enduring love. The melodies and legends were all around him in his family, and it all seeped in. Over the years, whether it was for paying gigs or for open mics at Paducah’s bars, Neihoff turned heads with his voice and rewarded the interest with his lyrics. The simmering burn of his talent and craft suddenly led somewhere big. At 20, his first audition for a set at Nashville’s iconic Bluebird Cafe was successful. The Reidland kid’s smooth and soulful sound had already landed on Music City’s doorstep from the river town’s flood planes. The area’s journalists took notice: WKMS’s Something From Nothing Podcast and The Spiel in Southern IL delved into his work. Neihoff was recently a semi-finalist on Nashville Rising Song. The world is hearing his range of traditional country to modern pop all with a soulful bend. We are hearing the launch of a voice familiar and unique that feels as if it began quite a while ago.

Additional information:

https://danielneihoff.com/

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