South Austin Song Circles: Skyla Rose, Brandon Kinder, Bukka Allen & Jane Ellen Bryant
Decades of songwriting to process the joy and pain of living has led Skyla Rose to where she is today. Her upcoming singles, “Caffeine and a Dream” and “New Mexico” (recorded and produced by Mike Meadows) reflect a period of transformation that brought her back to the stage with a new perspective. Her smooth Americana melodies and guitar voicings weave together stories and images that will make you want to get in your car and drive to some new beginning.
In addition to her work as a singer/songwriter, Skyla is also an audio engineer and music industry professional who works hard to lift up the voices of musicians she has the honor to work with and put on shows that audiences will remember. Whether she’s behind the mixing console, managing behind the scenes, or up on the stage, she lives for the moments when a room full of people can fall silent as they are united in the truth, feeling, and connection of a song.
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There is a certain resilience, albeit sometimes desperate to The Wealthy West’s songs. The solo moniker for The Rocketboys’ frontman Brandon Kinder, The Wealthy West sings songs that fully encapsulate someone who has chosen to step away from the comfortable, from his friends and easy relationships, and is trying to figure out his place in life. As if leaving the house with the door flung open and marching into the unknown, he periodically turns around to make sure that his real life is still there before plunging forward.
Musically The Wealthy West sits between the storied troubadours of the 60’s and modern solo artists such as Bon Iver and Father John Misty; there is a gritty quality to his delicate voice - with just enough pain hidden behind fragile beauty to keep the listener guessing. Kinder is truly creating a body of work, charting an uneasy path through an uncertain world, spurred on by just enough hope to keep going, but not enough to stop questioning.
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A lot has happened in the seven years since Austin’s born and raised songstress, Jane Ellen Bryant presented new music to the world. The arrival of her Saturn return in her late twenties brought about all the cliches: the twists and turns, upheavals, and essentially the restructuring of one’s core. Her latest single “My Corner of the World” ( Feb 5th) gives listeners a glimpse into the window of Jane’s excavation process: the journey of falling in love, the questioning of her surroundings, and the redefining of what it means to be herself. Written and recorded alongside her partner Daniel Leopold (the other half of Jane Leo & frontman of Leopold and His Fiction), Jane and Daniel presented the songs to producer Danny Reisch (Molly Burch, Tele Novella, Local Natives) to give the songs their finest presentation.
Jane Ellen Bryant is the former winner of “Best Female Vocalist” & “Best New Band” at the Austin Music Awards. Her new music highlights the purity and softness of her ethereal voice and and lyrically reveals depths uncharted in her before.
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Bukka Allen is an accomplished keyboardist and accordion player who has performed and recorded with many musical troubadours including his father Terry Allen, Ian Moore, Joe Ely, Robert Earl Keen, Jack Ingram, Ryan Bingham, The Bodeans, Courtyard Hounds and Joe Walsh.
As a singer/songwriter, he has recorded two critically acclaimed solo albums, 1998’s Sweet Valentine, and 2007’s Confidant. Allen is also a major force behind Austin’s premier instrumental group, Screen Door Music and has scored commercials and films.
