Announcing 'The Mande Sessions', an exciting new music project. I've started an initiative on kickstarter.com seeking to find 'backers' to pledge support for my Malian Mande-music album I hope to make in late 2009/early 2010.

I'll be traveling to Bamako to record original Bambara songs with top musicians. The album will be a rustic collection influenced by Aboubacar Traore, Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate, and Salif Keita's acoustic work, among others. The instrumentation will feature acoustic and some electric guitar, tamani, dun dun, djembe, and calabash drums, kora and ngoni, and some balafon.. plus, of course, beautiful choruses of 'call and response' voices.

I'm giving away tons of cool prizes and rewards to the folks that back the project.

See how it all works and be a 'backer' at the following site: www.kickstarter.com/profile/adamklein

Here's a cool video with details:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FxkRz01MgQ

I'm pleased to have been nominated for Best Solo Performer in Athens' Flagpole Music Awards. All are welcome to vote. Cast your ballot online @ www.flagpole.com/Awards and see what's been going on in town this past year..

Back from a two week trip to Nicaragua. See the blog page for a bit more on that. Had a great time working with AJWS (www.ajws.org) and the development agency Nochari in the town of Nandaime. Also traveled to the fine colonial town of Grenada, the beautiful island of Ometepe (its straight out of 'Lost' and hoping to officially become the 8th wonder of the world), and some days surfing (trying, at least) down at San Juan del Sur, the latest hot travel spot in Nica. Definitely go if you get a chance, and make sure to swing north to the mountains of Matagalpa (my next route) for excellent coffee and off the beaten track Nica. Used my friend Josue's guide book, the Moon Handbook to Nicaragua, and it was useful and excellent. Highly recommended.

A few shows coming up before I head out for another AJWS 'gig' in Uganda for the summer:

SAT. JUNE 13th @ Caledonia Lounge (Athens)- w/ Wydelles and Kaitlin Jones & The County Fair

SAT. JUNE 20th @ Roots Cafe (Brooklyn)- w/ Raphael McGregor and the good man Pete Sinjin.

Oh! Shows coming up in Europe in mid-August to early September. Check the Shows page and come on out in Netherlands, Ireland & England!

Check out the Shows page for links, info, etc.

More soon,
adam

Hello there! Back from some months of travels in West Africa. New shows coming up (Athens, Atlanta & NYC), new blog posted.. visit the blog page for a look!

Exciting news on the Cowboy Angel Music front. We'll be putting out some exciting stuff in the coming (X) period of time. Look out for Nutria's next pop rock gem, 'Permanent Reminder of a Temporary Emotion'. Bob Spires, Jay Gonzaez & co. are back with another great record and Cowboy Angel is pleased to send it your way!

Athens Americana festival's coming up: April 24th & 25th @ Little Kings in Athens. Hell of a line-up (Vigilantes of Love, Hope For Agoldensummer, Little Country Giants, Dave Marr, Don Chambers, Wydelles, Curley Maple, Justin Evans & The Chinatown Diary, Kaitlin Jones & The County Fair.. plus other great Athens songwriters and bands. See what I mean?

Check out www.cowboyangelmusic.com for the schedule and related info. It's $6/night, 21+.

More soon,
adam

Paste Magazine recommends 'Western Tales & Trails', and has placed the record at its listening station in select independent record stores nationwide! Check out www.pasterecommends.com & see if it's in a store near you!

And on a side note, I'm off to South Africa today for a safari and travels, followed by three + months back in Mali, West Africa, where I'll be visiting friends, returning to 'my' village, and hopefully doing a good bit of writing on the music & creative writing fronts.

Thanks for a great 2008 & all the continued support for 'Western Tales & Trails'! Looking forward to seeing y'all next time, somewhere...

take care,
adam

Here's a heck of a review from the fine folks at Americana UK:

Compelling stories from a gifted storyteller

The bullfrog told Adam Klein where to find his songs if the sleeve of “Western Tales and Trails” is to be believed. The amphibian in question was descended from the bullfrog who spoke to Townes Van Zandt and its great great grandmother had once been on a date with the bullfrog who had spoken to Neil Young. This bullfrog must have known what he was talking about because with his help Klein has found a rich vein of songwriting material and mined it with extraordinary skill. Klein it seems is a collector of stories, a man who “…listens with his entire body…”, impressively well travelled, a collator of histories and characters and their voices. His sophomore record speaks in all these voices with a sense of great authenticity. It evokes at times the Great Plains, grand open vistas, at other times giving off a strong Laurel Canyon vibe, sweet and good natured. They sit side by side with one never seeming derivative of the other. Neither does it seem Klein is content to simply emulate the sounds and stories that inspired him because his songs are written with great intelligence and insight. “Nomie Wise” is a well worn murder ballad with its perspective shifted to the first person, “Dead Cow Hill” is a spare and stately elegy for Butch and Sundance and “Joni (Corner of a Dark Café)” is the other half of the conversation in Mitchell’s “The Last Time I Saw Richard.” Along the way there are songs of desolation and longing, dancing whores and retold legends. Especially memorable is the shootout among the “Purple Sage”, with its driving rockabilly shuffle and twanging Telecaster. It’s incredible stuff, a distillation of wide and tasteful influences that still manages to speak in its own compelling voice. And these stories, these characters, are all lent the sweetest and shakiest of vocals, recalling Paul Simon but imbued with the wide eyed spirit of Neil Young. Klein has some hefty talent behind him, including alumni of records by Robbie Robertson, The Allman Brothers and John Prine. The most recent addition to the Drive By Truckers, John Neff even lends pedal steel to one track, but it’s Klein’s talent that takes centre stage with his remarkable gift for crafting a song and delivering it with utter conviction. This is music to be celebrated and one gets the impression that the brassy fanfare that closes “Western Tales and Trails” is truly well earned.
-Alex Cleary

No Depression chimes in on the new record!

Here it is (below) in full, written beautifully by Russell Hall. Or check out http://www.nodepression.com/articles.aspx?id=4837) to see the new No Depression site.

"Adam Klein knows a thing or two about the frontier West. His songs – peopled with hard-drinking renegades, black-clad desperadoes, and mysterious women – fall squarely in the storytelling tradition of such gifted writers as Townes Van Zandt and David Olney. Listening to the Athens, Georgia, artist's material is sometimes like stepping into a sepia-toned photograph, or through the swinging doors of a saloon.

What's remarkable is that Klein explores his dusky themes with music that is bathed in sunshine. Fitted with rustic instrumentation – lap steel, fiddle, acoustic guitar, piano – the songs on Western Tales And Trails glow with a subtle incandescence. Their warmth stems in part from Klein's voice, a buoyant tenor that brings to mind a fierier version of Jackson Browne.

High points include "Ruby Darby", a slice of revved-up honky-tonk; "Purple Sage", a rockabilly gem fitted with a folk-pop chorus; and "Dead Cow Hill", a campfire ballad that contemplates the last days of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Several of Athens' finest musicians pitch in – among them roots-rock veteran Randall Bramblett and pedal steel player John Neff – but this is Klein's show all the way."

The tour is underway.. Been a long few days around NYC, including a show at Caffe Vivaldi in the village, an afternoon wandering around Red Hook in Brooklyn, hanging out at a few shows at Banjo Jim's (including tonight's Gram Parsons tribute, which Raph and I played along with friends- Brooklyn's Basement Band, Kevn Kinney w/ talented music wizard Aaron Lee Tasjan & more), last night's show in Philly, and a touch of writing. Tomorrow it's off to DC for the Iota show opening for Eileen Jewell & seeing a bunch of friends. Can't wait. And then the midwest's comin' up.

Thanks for stopping by,
adam

'Western Tales & Trails' is doing well at Americana radio! Last week it entered the Americana charts in the states as the 5th most added album, tied with the likes of The Pretenders, Jenny Lewis, & Ray Lamontagne.

This week the album shows up at #12 on the FAR (Freeform American Roots) chart and, significantly, debuts at #4 on the Euro-Americana chart, alongside the new Lucinda Williams, Dylan, & Rodney Crowell.

For radio enquiries, or to request an interview, contact Pete Knapp of Shut Eye Records: 678.986.5110 or knapp@shuteyerecords.com.

Also look out for a review from No Depression (www.nodepression.com) in the coming weeks. Plus a translation of reviews from across the pond, including *4 Stars* from CtrlAltCountry.be & a great Rootsville write-up.

The tour starts in NYC on SUN NOV 9th with an intimate show at Caffe Vivaldi in the Village. Come on down to the shows & hang out- it'll be a fine time. CDs and t-shirts will be on hand. Please visit the Shows page for the full calendar.. see ya out there!

Well well.. here it is folks. The new site is up & live. Hope you've been following along via myspace the past few months. Check out the myspace page & blogs for the run-down: www.myspace.com/adamkleinmusic

Lots of activity these days for the new record. 'Western Tales' entered Americana radio the other day tied for the 5th most added albums. Sitting pretty along with the latest from The Pretenders, Jenny Lewis, Ray Lamontagne, and others.

Got an extensive tour booked in mid-late November and early December. Shows in NYC, DC-area (opening for Eilen Jewell at Iota!), midwest (Kent State Folk Fest, Chicago, Madison, opening for Chris Trapper of Push Stars @ Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, Ypsilanti).. and on to New Mexico & the Front Range of Colorado. Then some early December shows in the southeast (Blue Plate Special, Eddie's Attic & more) before heading to South Africa & Mali into '09.

New reviews are starting to come in for 'Western Tales', including Flagpole Magazine & Rootsville in Belgium. They'll be posted here & on myspace shortly.

Enjoy the new site & keep in touch. Hope to catch ya on the road soon.
-adam

Lots of exciting news from the home front.. Recent months have seen Adam perform as a showcasing artist at the 2008 Folk Alliance conference in Memphis in late February as well as at various day parties during this year's SXSW in good ole Austin, Tejas. Check out the blog page for some cool stories and details. While you're there, check out the write-up from his recent European tour. In its entirety. Should be a fun read.

So what's the update? "Western Tales & Trails" is finally complete. Jeff Capurso did a sweet job of mastering at Chase Park and the record sounds great! We'll finally have the finished product in hand by August, and you can find the record at all upcoming shows. Definitely didn't make the originally intended timeline, but so it goes. Seems like a really good reason to write a bunch of short, fun songs, get back in the studio, and churn out another one in no time. Thanks to AJ Adams and all the players for lending their talents to the project!

A bit of news: Adam will be traveling to India for the summer, working with American Jewish World Service (www.ajws.org) and their project partner, Ride India (www.rideindia.org) in the southeastern region of Tamil Nadu. Gonna be an exciting trip. This means the official release of Western Tales & Trails will be moved back to the fall. Look out for some shows in New England, NY, etc.. in mid-August and mid-September, along with an official CD release show in Athens in October.

Check out the myspace page for the most up-to-date info on the August shows up north.

Adam will perform at this year's Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis on Feb. 21st. Catch his evening showcase at 6:30pm & private showcases over the course of the weekend. All shows are at the Downtown Marriott. Visit the shows page for details.

Adam's back from a great first tour across the pond. Thanks to everyone for coming out. The house concert in York, set at legendary folk venue Cafe de Amer in Drenthe, Netherlands, and Dublin's Cobblestone were a few of the favorite nights. Check out new pics on the gallery page & more photos and stories from the travels in Adam's blog at www.myspace.com/adamkleinmusic.

You've heard it before, but work is progressing on his second album, Western Tales & Trails. Be on the lookout for new songs on the myspace page in the coming weeks, CD release shows info, and shows in the southeast this spring.