Music Picks for Monday, June 28

Frontier Ruckus & Samantha Crain - Berkeley Cafe (Folk Rock/Indie Soul)
Frontier Ruckus, a Michigan based band who is on a east cost tour bring a Folk Rock sound that has elements of bluegrass, country and americana. They have a multitude of instruments, sounds, and ranges that can at times sound confusing, but they songs have a way to tie all elements together quite nicely. The songs can sound rousing or can be a mournful ballad telling tales of working class life, lost love, ect. This is most certainly worth checking out and you will not be disappointed if you enjoy raw, folk rock.
www.myspace.com/frontierruckus - check out 'Abigail" and "The Later Days"
Samantha Crain brings her melodiic voice to grace our presence all the way from Oklahoma. She has a powerful voice, poweverful lyrics and will impress you with her ability to blow your ears back with the raw power of her voice to the next song where her gentle voice can lull and comfort you. She has the range and depth of Bjork and it is most certainly impressive. This is the perfect nitecap to the opening performance of Frontier Ruckus.
www.myspace.com/samanthacrain - check out "Lions" and "Blueprints"

Hillbilly Hellcats - Slims (Rockabilly/Psychobilly)
This Colorado based band brings a brand of Rockabilly that is more reserved for the Texas scene. Taking a page from Dale Watson, this band blends elements of rock,folk and country to create an awesome sound and a great night of music. Their songs are entertaining but also full of wonderful insights and are very entertaining. Mixing their original songs with a couple of covers, this band will most certainly keep the crowd rocking, rolling and dancing... This promises to be a very entertaining night of music... Come on out and support this great band and great venue....
www.myspace.com/hillbillyhellcats - check out ALL the songs - I've had it playing in the background all day - awesome stuff!!