Tommy Goodroad / Julia Sanders / Boy Howdy

Born and raised in Minnesota, Tommy Goodroad’s Midwestern-tinged country music captures the distinctive solitude of American cities and towns that would be landlocked if not for the Great Lakes. He now lives in Chicago, writing songs aiming to highlight the beautifully unrefined temperament of his home region and the people who reside there.

Julia Sanders believes in making the stuff of life into her art supplies. From everyday moments at the kitchen counter to thousand-mile wanderings across rural America, the Asheville-based singer-songwriter invites listeners to come along for journeys deep inside her heart.

You may recognize Boy Howdy as the cowboy behind the pedal steel guitar in Wisconsin’s premiere power-twang group, Dusk. He grew up in the small town of Freedom, WI, spending most of his time under a pile of dollar-bin country records. Now he’s steppin out on his own to bring you his fresh take on classic country and honky tonk with his debut solo album “Essential Country”