Yesterday the FredRock Festival revealed its final four acts to round out their schedule adding Poor Young Things and Matt Mays to the Friday line-up, Carleton Stone to the Saturday line-up, and announcing Steve Earl and the Dukes will close the weekend on Saturday night.
The performers join previously announced acts Walk Off the Earth, Awolnation, The Trews, The Sheepdogs, Elliot Brood, and Matthew Good for this fantastic all ages festival happening in Fredericton this summer.
Early Bird Two-Day Passes go on sale Saturday June 2nd, at 10am AST for $79.99.
Advance tickets go on sale Saturday June 16th, at 10am AST. Rates are as follows:
Two-Day Pass – $99.99
Friday Pass – $52.99
Saturday Pass – $59.99
Tickets will be available on the Festival website at www.fredrockfest.com, Ticketpro at www.ticketpro.ca or by phone at 1-888-311-9090
If available, tickets at the gate will cost more. All ticket prices are subject to taxes and fees.
FredRock Festival 2012 happens August 10th and 11th at the Fredericton Loyalist Rugby Grounds. For more information visit www.FredRockFest.com.
The Performers
A protégé of legendary songwriters Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, Steve Earle quickly became a master storyteller in his own right, with his songs being recorded by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, The Pretenders, Joan Baez and countless others. 1986 saw the release of his debut record, Guitar Town, which shot to number one on the country charts and immediately established the term “New Country.”
What followed was an extremely exciting and varied array of releases including the biting hard rock of Copperhead Road (1988), the minimalist beauty of Train A Comin’ (1995) the politically charged masterpiece, Jerusalem (2002) and the Grammy Award Winning albums The Revolution Starts…Now (2004), Washington Square Serenade (2007) and Townes (2009).
I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive is Steve Earle’s 14th Studio Album and features the song “This City” which has garnered both Emmy and Grammy Award nominations. The new album has been met with overwhelming critical acclaim including a 3 ½ out of 4 Star review in the Los Angeles Times while the New York Post stated that the album was “American roots music at its best” in their 3½ out of 4 star review.
I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive was released alongside his debut novel of the same name (published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). The novel imagines the troubled life of Doc Ebersole as he is haunted by the ghost of his former patient and friend, Hank Williams. Patti Smith stated, “Steve Earle brings to his prose the same authenticity, poetic spirit and cinematic energy he projects in his music. I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive is like a dream you can’t shake, offering beauty and remorse, redemption in spades.”
Recognized as an actor from the overwhelmingly acclaimed series The Wire, Steve Earle is also a cast member on HBO’s acclaimed series Treme, currently in its second season. Additionally he has appeared as an actor on Law and Order and the feature film Leaves of Grass, starring Edward Norton, Susan Sarandon, Richard Dreyfuss, and Keri Russell.
Steve Earle lives in New York City with his wife, the critically acclaimed singer songwriter, Allison Moorer, and their one year old son, John Henry. He will close FredRock Festival 2012 on Saturday August 11th.
Hamilton born, Halifax bred Matt Mays has made a career out of defying expectations. From his early days as a member of the seminal ‘alt-country’ group The Guthries, Mays has always zigged when the public has been expecting a zag. After departing The Guthries to embark on a solo career Matt released his self-titled debut which maintained the rootsy, laid-back feel of his earlier work but also had a decidedly more rock vibe. The solo debut caused quite a stir across Canada and went on to be nominated for two Juno Awards (New Artist & Adult Alternative Album).
Matt followed this up with the first Matt Mays & El Torpedo album, recorded with the live band he had formed to tour in support of the Matt Mays album. Matt Mays & El Torpedo quickly evolved into one of Canada’s best live acts. Produced with Grammy Award-winner Don Smith (Tom Petty, Keith Richards), the album’s first single “Cocaine Cowgirl” was a massive hit and the album went on to win four East Coast Music Awards in 2006. The band began working in the US as well, the highlight of which was an appearance on the Conan O’Brien show.
Just when everyone had him tagged as a Tom Petty inspired rock ‘n roller Mays veered off in another direction, producing the music for the ill-fated When the Angels Make Contact film. While it confounded many fans the album was a critical success and went on to be nominated for another Juno in the Adult Alternative Album of the Year category. Matt put together an eight piece band to tour the music and visuals from When The Angels Make Contact.
2008 saw the return of El Torpedo and the Terminal Romance album. Produced in the UK with producer Chris Tsangarides (Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Anvil) the album features the singles “Tall Trees”, “Building A Boat”, and the epic title track. Terminal Romance won the CMW Indies Award and the ECMA for Rock Album of the Year as well as fourth Juno nomination.
With the departure of a couple key members of El Torpedo in 2009, Matt opted to retire the band name but continues to perform both solo and band shows (his current band consists of Adam Baldwin, Damien Moynihan, Jay Smith, and Serge Samson). Matt Mays performs on Friday August 10th at the FredRock Festival.
Poor Young Things need no sympathy. The rock ‘n’ roll band, made up of five resourceful focused musicians, gave up a contented life in Thunder Bay, Ontario and headed for Toronto without knowing a soul. Within a year, the band had recorded with their dream producer Jon Drew (Arkells) and signed a deal with Bumstead Records. Their debut EP, Let it Sleep, a precursor to a full-length album to be released later in 2012, is an emotive working-class rock release with songs primarily about the culture shock of a big city and surviving there. Poor Young Things perform at FredRock Festival 2012 on Friday August 10th.
The charismatic performer and soulful songwriter, Carleton Stone, honed his reputation for his sweat-drenched live shows in Maritime indie clubs. Carleton’s 2009 independent album garnered an East Coast Music Award nomination (Rock Recording of the Year) and two Music Nova Scotia nominations (New Artist/ Group Recording and Pop/ Rock Artist/ Group Recording). Now he’s focused on his self-titled album produced by Hawksley Workman. The Carleton Stone band will perform on Saturday August 11th at FredRock Festival 2012.
