Attention All Damo Fans! Damien Dempsey’s fifth studio album, The Rocky Road, hits stores today

Damien Dempsey's The Rocky Road Album Out Today
Damien Dempsey's fifth studio album, The Rocky Road, hits stores today! Be sure to order a copy from the United For Opportunity Music Store or from Amazon.com.

In this collection of eleven traditional and contemporary Irish folk songs, which has already reached the No. 8 spot on the Irish album charts, Damien conveys his country's tumultuous history, his own family tradition and his personal emotion in a way that remains relevant and meaningful to the Irish and non-Irish listener alike.

"Ballads are my roots," Damien explains. "It was the first music that turned me on, and the first songs that I heard being sung in my home by friends and family. I would have over two hundred ballads in my head, and I used to sing them regularly in pubs around Dublin in the 1990s. I reckoned I had a good feel for these songs, and as I studied Irish history, I felt I could really tell their story and do them some justice on an album."

MOJO MAGAZINE gave The Rocky Road four stars and described the album as "tradition with 21st century lyrical bite" and "a stirring mixture of grit and grace."

BONO of U2 has said, "Damien Dempsey blows me out when he opens his mouth. It's like the end of the world."

"As traditional Irish singers go, I don't think there has ever been anyone like him," says SINEAD O'CONNOR.

With The Rocky Road, Damien continues to show us that he is an artist that not only speaks directly to the hearts and minds of the everyman he represents; he also speaks for them.

Revisiting several of the cities from his tour this past Spring that included dates with Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova of The Swell Season, Damien will be appearing as follows:

August 30 – KANSAS CITY, MO – Kansas City Irish Festival
September 2 – ST. LOUIS, MO – Blueberry Hill
September 4 – MILWAUKEE, WI – Shank Hall
September 5 – CHICAGO, IL – Schuba's
September 6 – MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
September 7 – NEW YORK, NY – Mercury Lounge

Visit the Damien Dempsey website to learn more.

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Maiysha’s Debut Album, This Much is True:, In Stores Today!

Hi there…As you know, this is a very exciting time for me, and a long-time coming. I want to thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement – this wouldn't be happening without you. The album's available everywhere today - I hope you enjoy it, and that I'll see you soon at one of my live performances. Below are some announcements about the album and upcoming shows - stay tuned for more news from me soon!

Wishing you all the best,
Maiysha

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The long-awaited debut album, This Much is True:, is finally available today both as CD and download from Amazon.com and iTunes.

Maiysha is finally carrying out her lifelong dream of creating unique, meaningful music with the help of her family, friends and fans (that's you!). Her talent and passion is unmistakable, and she has already been featured on the TV Guide Network, NBC's "Weekend Today," CW 11 Morning News and 98.7 KISS FM and publications like USA Today, Newsweek, and Ebony Magazine, Black Beat Magazine and Seventeen Online.

Newsweek praised This Much Is True: for its "soulful sound, which incorporates hip-hop jazz, and funk…just as comfortable on the dance floor as at a backyard barbecue," while USA Today lauded the disc's opening track, "Over My Head," as "a delicate neo-soul confection" to kick off her "genre-defying debut."

The music video for first single "Wanna Be" is now airing on VH1 Soul and can be viewed on YouTube or Maiysha's MySpace.

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Maiysha’s Debut Album Available for Pre-Order

The August 26th release of Maiysha's debut album, This Much Is True, is just around the corner. The album is available for pre-order from Amazon.com.

Maiysha has already been featured on the TV Guide Network, NBC's "Weekend Today," the Streetology 1 Network and 98.7 KISS FM and has been hailed by critics in publications like USA Today, Newsweek, and Ebony Magazine as a truly talented songstress with a seductive, soulful voice.

Seventeen Magazine Online declares, "With a progressive soul sound and a captivating personality, we have a feeling she's going to be the next huge thing," and Black Beat Magazine says, "Now Maiysha has a progressive soul album to give to the masses. This Much Is True seamlessly blends R&B, jazz, pop with elements of hip-hop and drum and bass."

The album's 12 intelligent, hook-laden tracks reflect Maiysha's experiences in life and love and feature a cross-pollination of genres that is unlike anything currently out there in the contemporary soul music scene. Maiysha has been passionate about music ever since her childhood days of singing along to Natalie Cole in the backseat of her mother's car, and she is excited to finally share her music and talent with others.

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Damien Dempsey Hits the Road for U.S. Tour

Damien Dempsey will be hitting the road for a U.S. national tour this August and September, playing dates from the East Coast to Midwest to promote his new record, The Rocky Road, out in the U.S. August 26.

August 13 - Brooklyn, NY - Rocky Sullivan's
August 30, 31 – Kansas City, MO – Kansas City Irish Fest
September 2 – St. Louis, MO – Blueberry Hill
September 4 – Milwaukee, WI – Shank Hall
September 5 – Chicago, IL – Schubas
September 6 – Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Center
September 7 – New York, NY – The Mercury Lounge

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Jess Klein Returns to Northeast for a Handful of Gigs

Jess Klein will be returning to her home region for a handful of gigs this August. The bluesy folk artist recently relocated to Austin, TX where she is gathering inspiration and working on new material for her seventh studio album expected out in 2009, but the string of NY and MA performances shows she can't stay away for long.

August 9 - Pawling, NY - Town Crier Cafe opening for Tift Merritt
August 15 – Cambridge, MA – Club Passim
August 16 – Windham, NY – Green World Festival @ Cuomos Cove
August 16 – Red Hook, NY – Tin Pan Alley
August 17 – Great Barrington, MA – Club Helsinki

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Maiysha Shines in Media Spotlight and Onstage at NY/NJ Shows

With just over a month to go before the release of her debut album, This Much is True, Maiysha is gaining an increasingly strong presence on the press radar.

Ebony Magazine recently declared, "What sets Maiysha apart from numerous up-and-coming divas is her broad vocal range, which like soul sister Mary J. Blige, successfully transcends hip-hop beats, R&B and funk." The magazine went on to say, "This Much is True is truly the start of a beautiful singing career for Maiysha."

Maiysha has also done interviews with TV Guide for its "mVids" segment and with the Streetology 1 Network at the Music Video Box 25th Anniversary party (which can be viewed online at www.streetology1.com//videos.php?video_code=726).

The progressive soul songstress is gearing up for a week of live shows in New York and New Jersey, and you can catch her perform on the following dates:

July 28 – New York, NY – Shrine
July 29 – New York, NY – Café Wha
July 30 – New York, NY – Tillman's
July 31 – New York, NY – Londel's Supper Club
Aug. 1 – Brooklyn, NY – 5 Spot
Aug. 2 – Long Branch Beach, NJ – Lenny Green Beach Party
Aug. 3 – New York, NY – Village Underground

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Maiysha’s First Single Released on iTunes

Maiysha released the first single, "Wannabe," off of her upcoming debut album, This Much is True, on iTunes on June 24. The album, set to come out on August 26, will be the first release on the UFO-distributed Eusonia label, run by producer Scott Jacoby.

This Much is True seamlessly blends hip-hop, pop, R&B, rock, jazz, cabaret, funk, drum and bass, and even the odd operatic style into a mesmerizing whole that is elegant and intelligent, hook-laden and envelope-pushing.

It's no surprise then that the yet to be released record has already garnered attention and praise from critics. Elysa Gardner selected the album's first track, "Over My Head," for USA Today's "The Playlist" on June 10 and described the song as a "delicate neo-soul confection." The song "Orbit" earned a place in Newsweek's "Checklist" in April and was lauded as "a soulful sound incorporat[ing] hip-hop, jazz and funk that is just as comfortable on the dance floor as at a backyard barbecue."

As a whole, the album marks the arrival of a striking new figure in the seemingly up-for-grabs realm of contemporary soul music.

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Damien Dempsey Digitally Releases Album

Damien Dempsey's latest album, The Rocky Road, was digitally released in the U.S. on June 6. The Irish traditional album, which features John Sheahan and Barney McKenna of The Dubliners and Sharon Shannon, is a healthy helping of traditional Irish ballads, a style of music with which Damien has a long history.

"Ballads are my roots," says Damien. "It was the first music that turned me on, and the first songs that I heard being sung in my home by friends and family. I would have over two hundred ballads in my head, and I used to sing them regularly in pubs around Dublin in the 1990s. I reckoned I had a good feel for these songs, and as I studied Irish history, I felt I could really tell their story and do them some justice on an album."

The Rocky Road immediately struck a chord with Irish fans, landing a spot at No. 2 on the Irish album chart just a week after its release. Damien is now spending the summer on a headlining tour in Ireland to promote the new album, and he will also be performing at notable festivals like the Celtic Heart Festival in London, the Wickerman Festival in Scotland and the ESB BEO Celtic Music Festival in Dublin.

Fans in the U.S. can expect a physical release of the album on August 26 and performances by Damien on the following dates with more to be announced soon.

August 13 – New York, NY – Rocky Sullivan's
August 31 – Kansas City, MO – Kansas City Irish Festival

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Gail Ann Dorsey Hits the UK with Gang of Four

Gail Ann Dorsey will be rejoining forces with Gang of Four when she performs as a special guest with them at London's Meltdown Festival and at the Download Festival in California. Dorsey teamed up with Gang of Four in the '90s, contributing to the British funk-infused punk band as a bassist and vocalist on tour and on the 1991 album, Mall. Gang of Four, which formed in 1977, subsided from music news in the late '90s, but started coming back full force with the release of re-recordings in 2005 and plans of releasing a completely new album this year. In addition to bringing Dorsey on tour, there has been talk of recording with her.

This year, Gail Ann Dorsey is working on a new album. She will also be heading to the recording studio soon with British indie trio The Noisettes.

Gail Ann Dorsey will appear with Gang of Four on the following dates:

June 20 – London, UK – Meltdown Festival at Southbank Center
July 19 – San Francisco, CA – Download Festival at Shoreline Amphitheater at Mountain View
July 20 – Los Angeles, CA – Download Festival at Gibson Amphitheater

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The Guggenheim Grotto Releases Single, Tours Ireland

The Guggenheim Grotto digitally released the new single "Waking Up in America" exclusively on iTunes Ireland earlier this summer on May 2. The trio is spending June showing off the new single touring in their native Ireland, but Kevin May and Mick Lynch intend to return to the U.S. for performances in July and there is currently talk of a brief residency in New York. Specific dates are soon to be announced.

Increasing The Guggenheim Grotto's presence in the U.S. mainstream eye is the use of the track "Told You So" from their debut album at the end of the June, 4 episode of the ABC series "Men in Trees." The episode is currently available for viewing online.

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