The Milk Carton Kids

Proving that two heads are indeed better than one, The Milk Carton Kids are made up of two singer songwriters who joined forces after failing to find fortune as solo acts. Kenneth Pattengale met Joey Ryan at one of his solo shows, and after becoming firm friends, the duo decided to start writing songs together. The songs that wrote together proved better than a lot of what they came up with solo, so they decided to form a band and take them on tour very soon afterwards. Their first record came out in March 2011, and “Retrospect” was a live record recorded in Ventura, California before the nascent duo had even decided on a name. Shortly before joining the bill of that years SXSW Festival, Pattengale and Ryan decided on the name The Milk Carton Kids and were soon afterwards hitting the road full time, first as the opening act and backing band for fellow folk singer and songwriter Joe Purdy.

The shows with Purdy spread their name far and wide, and shortly after the tour the duo self-released their second album and first professionally recorded record “Prologue”. Ever since then, they’ve become the one of the most acclaimed acts in Americana, continuing to write and record massively acclaimed albums while touring with acts as prestigious as The Punch Brothers and the aforementioned Lumineers. 2013 saw the release of their second album “The Ash & Clay”, and it doesn’t seem like anything will be able to stop these phenomenal young songwriters any time soon. For that, they come highly recommended.

By the age of 17 Sexsmith was playing regularly in a local bar in St. Catharines, Ontario, however, formed his first band three years before that at the age of 14. Raised in the area surrounding Niagara Falls, the singer-songwriter soon made a name for himself as the “One-Man Jukebox” being able to play a host of requests yelled at him from the audience. Following the birth of his first child in 1985, Sexsmith began writing his own songs and shortly after released the cassette “Out of the Duff” with fellow singer-songwriter Claudio. Sexsmith and family subsequently moved to Toronto, where the singer released the full-length cassette “There’s a Way” in 1986, produced by Kurt Swinghammer.

Following an open mic event, Sexsmith became aquatinted with Bob Wiseman who agreed to produced the singer’s next release. However, with incompatible schedules, the folk and pop singer’s album “Grand Opera Lane” wasn’t released until 1991. Independently released, the record produced the notable song “Speaking with the Angel”, and led Sexsmith to sign a deal to release his self-titled album in 1995. The full-length “Ron Sexsmith” was issued by Interscope/Warner in 1995, produced by Mitchell Froom and Daniel Lanois. Around this time the singer was praised for his songwriting accolades by Elvis Costello, and opened for the music star on his North American tour.

Sexsmith succeeded his self-titled release with “Other Songs” in 1997 and “Whereabouts” in 1999, after which the singer left Interscope/Warner and signed with Nettwerk Records. The full-length “Cobblestone Runway” arrived in October 2002 featuring Chris Martin on the bonus track “Gold in Them Hills”, after which he released the compilation album “Rarities” on Linus Entertainment. The 2004 album “Retriever” was a more pop influenced album and was dedicated to Elliott Smith and Johnny Cash, both of whom Sexsmith's music is indebted to. “Destination Unknown” followed in 2005 marked by its pure acoustic sound with fellow musician Donn Kerr, after which arrived “Time Being” in 2006, and “Exit Strategy of the Soul” in 2008.

The respected singer-songwriter’s 10th studio album, “Long Player Late Bloomer”,was produced by heavy metal producer Bob Rock, and issued in early 2011. In 2013 the full-length “Forever Endeavour” earned its release on Cooking Vinyl Records, followed two years later by “Carousel One”.