Old Settler's Music Festival : Artists : The Blue Hit

Since May of 2007, The Blue Hit has been bending the lines of folk music into a new genre all its own. Taking aspects of music from every spectrum there is, the original and introspective songwriting and dynamic arrangements crafted by this trio have produced a sound that is unlike any other while still making any listener feel like they have been to this place before. Their debut album, Move In, was released in 2009 after two years of crafting songs in a garage on east 51st street in Austin, TX.

Before summer 2007, member John McGee had played various instruments in many bands around Austin and San Marcos. He and Grace Park, who was studying music at Texas State University, had become close friends. After what can only be called an epiphany, she began writing music and performing publicly with friends, making a home at the Tantra Coffeehouse and Alice’s Restaurant. She and McGee were asked to play a graduation party, and they gathered some material together — it was then they discovered how fluidly they suited one another.

At their first Kerrville Folk Festival, they met David Moss, who had gone to the University of Illinois for cello and was making a name for himself in Chicago, playing gypsy swing, jazz and blues. Realizing that Moss was their third moved him to Austin, to a tiny house the trio shared with friends. That summer, in a sweltering garage, they gathered music, practiced what little they had and auditioned DJs and drummers among other musicians. But they found that no permanent fourth member was in the stars. The simple structure was fearlessly serene, and it enabled them to travel unplugged and unobtrusively.

When there was enough music for a gig, they booked their first at the Carousel Lounge in Austin, Texas. A week later, they performed a completely acoustic set at the Kerrville Folk Festival, where the trio had come together. Appropriately, the concert fell on the night of a blue moon. It was recorded and printed the next day as the band’s first EP, and before leaving the festival, The Blue Hit had sold every last copy.

By the time of their second tour, they had recorded Rowland’s gems in a handful of studios around Texas, including MediaTech (formerly Arlyn Studios) and Sunover Studios. The best of these efforts became SUMMER 2008 EP, a collection of professionally recorded live tracks. Touring with the EP started a vast and diverse fan base growing across the United States. Finally in December 2008, the trio teamed up with Dan Workman and John Griffin of SugarHill Studios in Houston to create its dynamic debut full-length album, MOVE IN, released with a National tour in May 2009.

Although The Blue Hit was named for Rowland’s late cat, Ponie, who has his own song, he is just one of many recurring themes and moods among the tracks on MOVE IN. Modern love, modern life and times, in lyrics that speak to people of all ages: an unprecedented sound that fits the American music scene right now.

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• Lissie
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• Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver
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• Sarah Jarosz
• Marshall Crenshaw
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• Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
• The Wheeler Brothers
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• Sam Baker
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• SHEL
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• Harmonica with Cara Cooke
• 2012 Youth Talent Competition Winner
• Mandolin with Sarah Jarosz & Joe Walsh
• Shakers with Mike Meadows of Swan Percussion
• Banjo Workshop with Tony Trischka
• Youth Talent Competition
• Youth Competition Winner Grace London
• Songwriting with Dale Ann Bradley & Steve Gulley