The FBR

Artist Spotify Preview: https://bit.ly/4cpmaFi Artist Video Preview: https://bit.ly/3TuiARw   WILLIAM MATHENY (Morgantown, WV) William Matheny is a West Virginia-based singer-songwriter whose brand of Americana music is firmly steeped in the Appalachian storytelling tradition. Written and recorded before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Matheny’s latest record That Grand, Old Feeling is his most expansive work yet, taking narrative inspiration from the eclectic characters who inhabit dive motels and roadside haunts as well as sonic cues from the work of artists like Magnolia Electric Co. and Drive-By Truckers. Highlights include the slick, brooding “Every Way to Lose,” which Matheny wrote after discovering Alabama’s Wall of Jericho trailhead, and “Down at the Hotel Canfield,” which was inspired by a visit to a real hotel in Dubuque, IA, that infamously boasts a ghastly history. Matheny’s longtime band comprises close friends who also call West Virginia home. 
  THE FBR (Nashville, TN)  The FBR is fronted by Malarie McConaha and Tim Hunter.  McConaha is the band’s lead singer and electric guitar player while Hunter plays acoustic guitar, harmonica, and vocals.  The two met at an open mic night at Puckett’s (now Fox and Locke), the local watering hole in Leiper’s Fork outside of Nashville.  They bonded over their love of Leonard Cohen and what started as an acoustic project became a blues, roots, and southern rock-inspired band named to honor the Cohen song “Famous Blue Raincoat,” from his album The Songs of Love and Hate.  Ghosts, their debut album, was released in January 2024.


AUSTIN PLAINE (Nashville, TN)  Born in Fargo, ND and raised in Minnesota, Austin Plaine’s music is seeded in storytelling. At age 13, he was intrigued to find a guitar that belonged to his grandfather in a family closet and, with the help of his cousin, he learned his first chords and dove straight into songwriting.  His influences are varied: the storytelling of Dylan, of course (“Coming from Minnesota, it’s hard not to be influenced by him…. “Boots of Spanish Leather” is one of the first songs I really felt a connection with.”). You’ll be reminded of the breadth and genius of Conor Oberst. Listen closely, and you’ll hear bits of his other childhood heroes: Kurt Cobain, Springsteen, Ryan Adams.

His self-titled debut was released in 2015 and included "Never Come Back Again", a breakthrough single that has amassed more than 26 million streams on Spotify.  Faded Feathers, his most recent album, was released in 2023.