Little Feat and Shovels & Rope

When your band is hailed by none other than Jimmy Page as his favourite American band while at the height of his powers, you know you're doing something right, but Little Feat are so much more than some famous guy's favourite band. The seeds of the band were sewn when singer, songwriter and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne met George was playing in Frank Zappa's band The Mothers Of Invention. Payne auditioned, was not successful, but the duo struck up a friendship all the same, and along with Roy Estrada, a bass player who George knew from playing in the Mothers with him, and drummer Richie Hayward, the quartet formed the first incarnation of Little Feat together.

While he wasn't in his band anymore, Zappa was still aware of George's talent, and was instrumental in securing the band a record deal with Warner Bros. Records. The band recorded their first album in August and September 1970, and was released the following January. Their first two albums were critically adored but weren't hits, despite their song “Willin'” becoming a modern rock standard of the time. Because of their lack of success, the band briefly split up before getting back together in 1972, and thanks to evolving their sound to incorporate influences from New Orleans funk, the band started to gain enough sales to keep them afloat throughout the 1970's. It would take something truly tragic to take out the band, and that was exactly what happened when George passed away in 1979.

However, George's longtime co-vocalist Paul Barrere, put the band back together in 1987 along with Payne and a host of others who the band had worked with during their hiatus. To this day, the band are still writing and recording, along with playing some of the best live shows of their entire career. The list of artists who've paid tribute to the band is a mile long and filled with names like Bob Dylan, The Black Crowes and Joe Walsh, and they're still going strong to this very day. For that, they come highly recommended.

Cary Ann Hearst was born in Mississippi and attended the College of Charleston in 1997. During school she began performing music as a solo artist in local bars and venues and realised her talents for folk music. After graduating she toured, recorded and performed with various groups including Caravan and Borrowed Angels. Hearst first saw Michael Trent performing with his band The Films in 2002 and they began touring with various artists including Jump and Little Children. To begin their careers they each recorded solo albums, Hearst released 'Dust & Bones' in 2006 and Trent released a self titled LP in 2007.

In 2008 Hearst and Trent decided to record as a duo and released the album 'Shovels & Rope' as a co-bill under their individual names but they didn't intend to work together permanently. Hearst and Trent married in March 2009 yet still continued to focus on their solo careers, releasing selected EPs and full lengths before committing to the duo in 2012. They released 'O' Be Joyful' under the name Shovels & Rope and it peaked at #123 on the Billboard 200. They performed the single 'Birmingham' on the Late Show with David Letterman in January 2013 and the Americana Music Honors & Awards awarded Shovels & Rope the accolades of emerging artist the year and song of the year for 'Birmingham'.

Following the new exposure and a heavy touring schedule where the couple play mixtures of original material and joint work, their 2014 album 'Swimmin' Time' went top twenty on the US Billboard charts.