Summer's finally here at HearthPR HQ, and we're having a tough time staying indoors while the sun is shining all around! But we're so excited to be promoting  two albums of beautiful acoustic roots music, and we think these are the perfect albums to play on your car stereo with the windows rolled down. California folk power-trio Coyote Grace should be familiar already, since we promoted their previous album, Ear to the Ground, back in 2010. Their new album is a delightful listen, packed full of memorable songs and enough sassy attitude and heartfelt love to last for days. Sharing this mailing, father-daughter old-time music duo Rafe & Clelia Stefanini are well known in traditional music circles as two generations of master musicians. Now they've brought together some of their favorite old-time tunes and songs for a relaxed album of family music making. They recorded this album in Eunice, Louisiana, and you can feel some of that Southern sunshine seeping into their music.
 

Coyote Grace: Now Take Flight

What blossomed as a sweet relationship between two young people busking on the streets of Seattle has become a powerful trio of roots musicians renowned for their totally engaging live performances and beautiful studio albums. At once both radically progressive and unashamedly nostalgic, Coyote Grace is at the forefront of a growing movement to redefine the meanings of “roots” and “tradition.” Sure they’ve played in bluegrass bands and country revues, but their music and their lives are a process of continual re-invention. They’re not afraid to slip Left Coast politics into a Midwest groove, because the honesty of their message shines through. Whether singing about the complexities of long-term relationships, or the head-spinning fun of barista crushes, they’re singing about each and every one of us, and that’s what makes their music so accessible. They’ve won over crowds across the US touring with The Indigo Girls, and with their newest album, Now Take Flight, they’re sure to win even more friends. Coyote Grace is poised to step into the national spotlight as troubadours of a new folk movement.

Coyote Grace: To the River

Rafe & Clelia Stefanini: Lady on the Green

Southern old-time music was made to be handed down from generation to generation, and with their new album, Lady on the Green, father-daughter duo Rafe & Clelia Stefanini prove they have the traditions well in hand. Whether trading twin fiddle lines, or sharing harmony vocals, Rafe & Clelia play as only family can, tightly intertwining their music. Born in Italy, fiddler, banjo player, guitar player, and singer Rafe Stefanini came to the United States in the early 1980s, having been inspired by Italian broadcasts of Bonanza and old Westerns to dive into American roots music at an early age. For the next 30 years, he’s been at the head of the Southern old-time music revival, performing in groups with bandmates like Bruce Molsky, Dirk Powell, Carol Elizabeth Jones, Stefan Senders, Beverly Smith, and recording albums for Rounder and County Records. Anyone who plays old-time music seriously has likely gone back to Rafe’s album catalogue to find an old tune, some tips on bowing, or notes on his banjo tunings. Rafe’s solo albums are cited as inspirational sources for a new generation of old-time musicians, and he’s toured the world as an ambassador for the music. In his daughter, Clelia Stefanini, he’s found the perfect bandmate. Now he’s making music as organically as possible, in the way the music was originally intended: as accompaniment to family life. As for Clelia, she grew up traveling to old-time music camps and festivals all over the place since day one. All that exposure to the music and the lifestyle left an undeniable imprint on her. At age 22 she’s come into her own right as a fiddler, guitarist and singer, known for her powerful musicianship and wry sense of humor. She’s followed the music down South, recently settling in the Cajun center of Eunice, Louisiana, and has been at the heart of her own generation’s recent embrace of Southern traditional music. Together, Rafe & Clelia Stefanini are dedicated to celebrating the home-made nature of old-time music.

Rafe & Clelia Stefanini: Whiskey Seller