Greetings Attic Fans! HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE MUSIC ROOM THIS WEEK:     THURSDAY, AUGUST 28th DREW HOLCOMB / KATIE HERZIG Show time: 8:00 p.m. / Doors open: 6:30 p.m. Individual advanced tickets: $10 / At the door: $13 / Tables: $50 Nashville's DREW HOLCOMB has logged in more than 500 concert dates across the country from solo coffeehouse gigs to clubs, festivals, and colleges with his band, the Neighbors. He has also opened for Ryan Adams, Los Lobos, Susan Tedeschi, Marc Broussard, Sister Hazel, and the North Mississippi Allstars, to name but a few. That Holcomb has sold almost 10,000 CDs in the process is equally impressive given he has done it all without any major label or music industry support. Not bad for a folk rocker who calls himself a "recovering singer-songwriter." Listen:  KATIE HERZIG is a captivating songwriter and performer with enchanting vocals and a unique style that fans of Sarah Harmer will enjoy. She has a unique way of juxtaposing lyrical playfulness with thoughtful depth and emotion, and one of her songs (performed by The Duhks) was nominated for a Grammy this year. She's had a number of other songs featured in TV shows such as "ER" and "Grey's Anatomy." Her new record Apple Tree can be downloaded for free by visiting www.katieherzig.com. Listen:        FRIDAY, AUGUST 29th SUN SETS EAST / WILD HONEY Show time: 8:00 p.m. / Doors open: 6:30 p.m. Individual advanced tickets: $10 / At the door: $13 / Tables: $50 SUN SETS EAST is a unique blend of rock and country that is reshaping country music boundaries. They are a modern-classic country rock band pulling influences from Little Big Town and Keith Urban all the way back to The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. Listen:  WILD HONEY is one half Ruth Collins and one half Victoria Gibson. You may recognize them from the first season of CMT's show "Can You Duet." They are the new sound of Nashville country...a little bit country and a little bit rock & roll. Listen:                               SATURDAY, AUGUST 30th - FREE AFTEROON READINGS DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL: BUDDY EDWARDS / BILL MORRISSEY / DIANE DURRETT Show time: 12:00 p.m. / Doors open: 11:00 a.m. ART "BUDDY" EDWARDS' second novel, Ghost Notes, and his first solo CD, Songs from Memory, were released in 2008 on Defunct Press. He published his first novel, Stuck Outside of Phoenix, in 2003. The book was nominated for the Star Program, a marketing support program offered to select iUniverse titles that sell at least 500 copies. In 2008, Art reissued Stuck Outside of Phoenix on Defunct Press. Art co-founded the Refreshments, a Tempe, Arizona-based rock band that recorded two albums for Mercury Records in the 1990s. The band's hit single, "Banditos," rose to number eleven on the alternative radio charts in 1996, and the band wrote and recorded the theme song for the Fox television series King of the Hill. Listen:  BILL MORRISSEY's astute lyrical gifts and graceful, understated melodies have put him on festival stages across the world; into theatres, concert halls, and coffeehouses; garnered him critical acclaim from magazines, authors, and music peers; and have earned him two Grammy nominations. Stephen Holden, for the New York Times, wrote, "Mr. Morrissey's songs have the force of poetry...a terseness, precision of detail and a tone of laconic understatement that relate his lyrics to the fiction of writers like Raymond Carver and Richard Ford." On stage, Bill mixes the seriousness and urgency of his songs with a wry, acerbic wit. His often improvised and deadpan monologues and introductions provide a perfect balance to his live shows. Bill's new album, "Come Running" features guitar work by Dave Alvin and the remaining members of Morphine, Billy Conway and Dana Colley. Bluesy and soulful DIANE DURRETT has a brassy and gritty belt-it-from-the-depths delivery that commands your attention. "She's good. She's damn good," says Sting of the summation of his duet with Diane. She grew up in Atlanta, but spent five years earning her education on Nashville's Music Row. Her co-writers include Bonnie Bramlett (Superstar), Jerry Ragovoy (Piece of My Heart) , Jimbeau Hinson (Party Crowd) , and Georgia Music Hall of Famer William Bell (Born Under A Bad Sign). She has received accolades in Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany for her song "Take Me As I Am," which is featured on the soundtrack of the film "Ready, Willing, and Able." In 2004, the American Cancer Society selected Diane's acclaimed song "Whatever Makes Your Soul Sing" (from her album "Chill"), co-written with Jayne Olderman, as the theme of a nationally distributed DVD. She's opened for and sung with the likes of Faith Hill, Tina Turner, and more. Listen:  SATURDAY, AUGUST 30th - EVENING PERFORMANCES DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL: BUDDY EDWARDS & BILL MORRISEY Show time: 8:00 p.m. / Doors open: 7:00 p.m. Individual advanced tickets: $15 / At the door: $18 / Tables: $75 ART "BUDDY" EDWARDS' second novel, Ghost Notes, and his first solo CD, Songs from Memory, were released in 2008 on Defunct Press. He published his first novel, Stuck Outside of Phoenix, in 2003. The book was nominated for the Star Program, a marketing support program offered to select iUniverse titles that sell at least 500 copies. In 2008, Art reissued Stuck Outside of Phoenix on Defunct Press. Art co-founded the Refreshments, a Tempe, Arizona-based rock band that recorded two albums for Mercury Records in the 1990s. The band's hit single, "Banditos," rose to number eleven on the alternative radio charts in 1996, and the band wrote and recorded the theme song for the Fox television series King of the Hill. Listen:  BILL MORRISEY's astute lyrical gifts and graceful, understated melodies have put him on festival stages across the world; into theatres, concert halls, and coffeehouses; garnered him critical acclaim from magazines, authors, and music peers; and have earned him two Grammy nominations. Stephen Holden, for the New York Times, wrote, "Mr. Morrissey's songs have the force of poetry...a terseness, precision of detail and a tone of laconic understatement that relate his lyrics to the fiction of writers like Raymond Carver and Richard Ford." On stage, Bill mixes the seriousness and urgency of his songs with a wry, acerbic wit. His often improvised and deadpan monologues and introductions provide a perfect balance to his live shows. Bill's new album, "Come Running" features guitar work by Dave Alvin and the remaining members of Morphine, Billy Conway and Dana Colley. Listen:                    SUNDAY, AUGUST 31st - FREE AFTERNOON READINGS DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL: TOMMY WOMACK & MARSHALL CHAPMAN Show time: 3:45 p.m. / Doors open: 2:00 p.m. TOMMY WOMACK delivers bluesy, rocking, countrified fun with clever lyrics. This Kentucky native and Nashville resident was formerly a member of the band Government Cheese and often performs as part of the duo Daddy with fellow Attic favorite Will Kimbrough. Fans of Todd Snider and Alex Chilton will enjoy this folk music icon. Listen:  MARSHALL CHAPMAN was one of the first women to front a rock and roll band. She's released 10 critically acclaimed CDs, shared the stage with everyone from John Prine to Jerry Lee Lewis to the Ramones, and had her songs covered by the likes of Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Buffett, Wynonna, Joe Cocker, Olivia Newton-John, John Hiatt, and Tanya Tucker. This smoky-voiced South Carolina native is currently touring in support of her latest rock country CD, "Mellowicious," her first studio CD in 9 years. Fans of Lucinda Williams and Bonnie Raitt will enjoy her music. Listen:    SUNDAY, AUGUST 31st - EVENING PERFORMANCES DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL: GOOD OL' GIRLS featuring: MARSHALL CHAPMAN, MATRACA BERG, JILL McCORKLE, & LEE SMITH / TOMMY WOMACK opens Show time: 8:00 p.m. / Doors open: 6:30 p.m. Individual advanced tickets: $20 / At the door: $25 / Tables: $100 MARSHALL CHAPMAN was one of the first women to front a rock and roll band. She's released 10 critically acclaimed CDs, shared the stage with everyone from John Prine to Jerry Lee Lewis to the Ramones, and had her songs covered by the likes of Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Buffett, Wynonna, Joe Cocker, Olivia Newton-John, John Hiatt, and Tanya Tucker. This smoky-voiced South Carolina native is currently touring in support of her latest rock country CD, "Mellowicious," her first studio CD in 9 years. Fans of Lucinda Williams and Bonnie Raitt will enjoy her music.  Listen: MATRACA BERG has had great success writing songs for other performers. After Reba McEntire had a #1 song with Berg's "The Last One to Know" and Randy Travis, Tanya Tucker, Marie Osmond, and others recorded her songs, RCA Records offered her a recording contract of her own. Matraca released her debut album, "Lying to the Moon," in 1990. In 1997, Matraca co-wrote "Strawberry Wine" which Deana Carter released as a single. Berg won the "Song of the Year" award that year at the CMA (Country Music Association) Awards. The same year, Matraca released the critically praised album Sunday Morning to Saturday Night. This album includes her single "Back When We Were Beautiful," a ballad that Matraca performed on the 1997 CMA's, for which she received a standing ovation. Listen:  JILL McCORKLE has written five novels and two collections of short stories She was 26 years old when she made publishing history in 1984, having her first two novels published simultaneously. While a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she was the recipient of the Jesse Rehder Prize, the University's most prestigious writing award. As a graduate student at Hollins, she won the Andrew James Purdy Prize for fiction. She currently teaches writing at Harvard University and Bennington College. She is a frequent reviewer for The New York Times Book Review. Her short stories have been widely published in literary journals, commercial magazines and anthologies, including The Atlantic Monthly, Cosmopolitan, and Ladies' Home Journal. Growing up in the Appalachian mountains of southwestern Virginia, nine-year-old LEE SMITH was already writing, and selling, for a nickel apiece, stories about her neighbors in the coal boomtown of Grundy and the nearby isolated "hollers." Since 1968, she has published eleven novels, as well as three collections of short stories, and has received many writing awards. Lee has reached a wider audience with New York Times bestseller The Last Girls (2002), which was inspired by an actual raft trip she made down the Mississippi River with other Hollins girls in 1966. TOMMY WOMACK delivers bluesy, rocking, countrified fun with clever lyrics. This Kentucky native and Nashville resident was formerly a member of the band Government Cheese and often performs as part of the duo Daddy with fellow Attic favorite Will Kimbrough. Fans of Todd Snider and Alex Chilton will enjoy this folk music icon. Listen:      MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 1st SONGWRITERS OPEN MIC Show time: 7:30 p.m. / Doors open: 7:00 p.m. Individual tickets: $5 / Tables: $25 For over 16 years, we've hosted Atlanta's premiere OPEN MIC for the performing songwriter. National and local acts perform 2 songs each, with 3 finalists returning for a third song at the end of the evening for a chance to win a cash prize and a spot in our bi-annual, nationally acclaimed Open Mic Shootout. These Open Mics are well attended and are once again being hosted by Attic founder Eddie Owen. This is a great opportunity for up and coming talent to hone their skills and for listeners to see and meet tomorrow's stars. For more information on playing at our Open Mic, visit the "Artist Info" page of our website.     TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2nd JOHN COWAN SONGWRITERS SERIES Show time: 8:00 p.m. / Doors open: 6:30 p.m. Individual tickets: $15 / Tables: $75 JOHN COWAN brings his version of a songwriters series to the Attic on Tuesday's in September.  Stay tuned for further details from this acclaimed bluegrass artist. Listen:          WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3rd ATLANTA STAR SONGWRITER SERIES featuring: GIRLYMAN, GARRISON STARR, ADRIANNE, KYLER ENGLAND (IN-THE-ROUND) Show time: 8:00 p.m. / Doors open: 6:30 p.m. Individual advanced tickets: $12 / At the door: $15 / Tables: $60 Brooklyn's GIRLYMAN is a trio who delivers a high-energy and often humorous blend of urban folk, pop and bluegrass with soaring 3-part harmonies. Doris Muramatsu, Ty Greenstein and Nate Borofsky are all classically trained. They trade off songwriting duties and instruments, which include guitars, banjo, djembe, and mandolin. Critics have likened their sound to something like Nickel Creek meets the B52s, or a modern day Peter, Paul and Mary. After releasing their first two CDs with Daemon Records, they're currently touring in support of their live release "Somewhere Different Now." Listen:  Talented rocker GARRISON STARR is a native Mississippian who's been touring with the likes of Melissa Etheridge, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Steve Earle. Amazon.com notes that she sets her lyrics of female empowerment, romantic disillusion and coming-of-age confusion to the buoyancy of shimmering pop, and describes her voice as both breathy and gritty, yet able to rise to a lilting soprano. She is touring in support of her latest project entitled "The Girl That Killed September." Listen:  A transplant from LA, ADRIANNE was one of 50 finalists in the Coca-Cola New Music Award Competition and recently had 3 songs in the feature film "Eulogy," starring Ray Romano and Debra Winger. Adrianne has won the prestigious Eddie's Attic Open Mic Shootout, just got back from entertaining on one of the Rock Boat cruises, received the Boston Music Award for Best New Singer-Songwriter, and was a finalist in Boston's Lilith Fair Competition. She is performing tonight in support of her new CD, "Burn Me Up." Listen:    KYLER ENGLAND's organic pop music recently scored her the tile of “Hot 100 Unsigned Artists 2007" by Music Connection Magazine.  Kyler’s songs have been featured in many TV shows including Army Wives, Guiding Light, Zoey 101, Rollergirls, Paradise City as well as films like the upcoming “The Lucky Ones“ starring Rachel McAdams and Tim Robbins.  She is based out of Los Angeles, but tours over 100+ shows per yer...sharing the stage with artists like Sting, Annie Lennox, Teitur, Gavin DeGraw and Melissa Etheridge. Listen:        THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH ATHENS BOYS CHOIR (CD RELEASE) / WAYNE FISHELL EXPERIMENT / THE THIEVES Show time: 8:00 p.m. / Doors open: 6:30 p.m. Individual tickets: $5 / Tables: $25 THE ATHENS BOYS CHOIR is a one man spoken-word poet fronted by transsexual Harvey Katz.  Katz has been touring as the Athens Boys Choir since 2003, sharing the stage with performers like Ani Difranco, Katastrophe, Alix Olson, Michelle Tea, Leslie and the Ly’s, poets from HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, and more.  As Out Magazine wrote in 2006, “Katz avoids falling into the common spoken-word trap…and instead uses engaging wordplay, razor-sharp wit, and hip-hop rhythms.”  He already has released four CD's and the fifth is due for a September 2008 release.  Listen: Decatur's own WAYNE FISHELL opens tonight's show.A Southeast Performer Magazine notes his current project, Optimistically Hopeless" as, "24-carat pop. The real stars of this album are the lyrics--showing how universal our human condition is while letting the listener get to hear some good music in the process."A His music is an eclectic blend of folk rock. Listen: THE THIEVES open the show.