It’s the weekend, and after our conversation with the Mike Belazis of Oliver Hazard, we traveled down to Waterville, Ohio, to see what Oliver Hazard Day is all about. We weren’t the only ones who made the trip to this town of six thousand families. Fans of Oliver Hazard travel upwards of ten hours from Nebraska to New Jersey to catch the fifth anniversary. The festival was filled with food trucks, custom IPAs, and second-hand shops. Everything was included, but instead of a kitchen sink, it was a pop-up stage at the end of the road filled with lamps and frames, making the night feel raw. Mike narrated the night festivities by introducing all the artists set to perform when it was time for them to perform, with the mayor of Waterville.

Oliver Hazard

The story of Waterville, OH indie-folk trio Oliver Hazard - Michael Belazis (vocals, guitar), Griffin McCulloch (vocals, keys), and Devin East (vocals, guitar) - is the digital age’s version of classic band mythmaking. One member of the band came home to Ohio after leading camping trips in California and decided to make an album with two childhood friends. They won a Facebook raffle to record one song at a studio. Instead, they played their whole album straight through once, resulting in their debut LP 34 N River (2018). The Fader called the album a “folk-pop masterpiece” and the band was booked at Bonnaroo and Mountain Jam shortly thereafter.

In 2019, the band released their 6 track EP, The Flood, which Billboard called a “souvenir.” This brings the band to their sophomore, self-titled album (July 2023), featuring music from the band’s recent Northern Lights EP, plus five additional songs. The sound of their upcoming 10-track LP, produced by Jacquire King (Of Monsters and Men, Kings of Leon), blends delicate arrangements with sturdy melodies. The LP is the work of 3 individual singers, songwriters, and multi-instrumentalists, who share an organic connection in the craft -- sensibilities that yield music that's harmonic, haunting, and also ambitious and surprising. "This album feels different than anything we've done in the past. We’re very simple people. I think the album reflects that, and I hope it captures something you probably can't describe yourself, but that speaks to you.” Dev says.

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Illiterate Light

Illiterate Light thrives on subverting expectations. Though just a duo, the Virginia duo makes surprisingly pummeling and thoughtful alternative rock. Since the band’s 2015 inception, they’ve focused on their unorthodox live show, with Cochran standing behind his kit and Gorman playing synth bass with his foot as he sings and strums his guitar. Fiercely egalitarian and independent, the two not only split up songwriting duties and arrangement ideas, they even built bike-powered stages: bringing the fans into the live experience and envisioning a greener future for shows.

But with their latest album, Sunburned, out January 27 via Thirty Tigers, Gorman, and Cochran have turned their attention inward to their songwriting and studio craft. It’s their most fully-realized and ambitious LP, full of immediate songs that update and revolutionize the band’s music-making approach. Rich keyboard and programmed percussion textures are now populating their songs, soaringly anthemic choruses and hefty doses of fuzz. “On our first record, we were very live-focused and wanted to make sure whatever we were writing was translated in person,” says Gorman. “Without that crutch, we could be more adventurous and take risks. We weren’t timid in the studio.”

Sam Burchfield

Raised in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains of South Carolina, Sam Burchfield was brought up on Appalachian music: folk, gospel, country and southern soul.  The young songwriter draws on these roots with a deep lyrical honesty that carries the tradition of folk music forward.  

Burchfield’s last album, ‘Graveyard Flower’, seeks to reconnect to the Appalachian roots that raised him. In a world of cell phones and internet distractions, this body of work beckons the listener to plant their feet firmly in the soil. Reconnect to the land, reconnect to each other; ‘Graveyard Flower’ is honest music.

Since his first EP 'Where to Run' in 2014, Burchfield has grown a loyal following along the east coast through steady touring both solo and with his band of 'Scoundrels'. He's also grown an active base of over 200k monthly Spotify listeners across the world, earning millions of plays for several of his top tracks, with three records and several singles released.

Field Guide

Field Guide (aka Dylan MacDonald) is a weaver of worlds. Built around his inviting voice and wrapped in warm textures, his self-titled sophomore full-length builds his most engaging world yet. It lives in a place between darkness and hopefulness with unshakeable melodies at its heart. “Melody is what makes words fall out of my mouth. It’s disarming. When I find a melody that represents my internal world, I drop my guard. I allow the words to appear out of thin air without judgement. A lot of these songs came to life that way. I wasn’t trying to make anything, but the songs became a home for words that I wasn’t yet ready to write on the page,” MacDonald says.

The past few years haven’t allowed for much escape from our interior worlds. There’s been a lot to move through, and many things can be true at once. This album lives at the sometimes-tense intersection of those truths – loving someone dearly while being pulled toward something new, feeling joy in the melancholy, a gratitude for deep friendship and an uncertainty of one’s place in it.

The album is also alive with the people and places that surrounded its creation. Vocals and acoustic guitars were recorded near Riding Mountain National Park in a woodstove-heated cabin during one of Manitoba’s coldest winters in years. Bass and drums were tracked at Breakglass Studios in Montreal, a room that already felt familiar from falling in love with the records of tour-mate Leif Vollebekk. Final overdubbing took place at Monarch Studios in Vancouver surrounded by trusted engineers and friends. And constant inspiration was found in his circle of Winnipeg creators working away on their own projects. Like The Big Pink house – Boy Golden, Slow Spirit, Roman Clarke, Kris Ulrich and others dropped in on each other to share demos and often lend their sounds to each other’s albums.

Beyond his hometown, Field Guide has had the opportunity to meet some heroes and new friends. He’s supported Leif Vollebekk, Bahamas, SYML, Wild Rivers, JP Saxe and Penny & Sparrow on their tours this year. He’s built a legion of fans online and on the road. So, while this is a solo album that invites the listener inside Field Guide’s inner monologue world, it really is meant to be lived in together. “These are the truest, rawest songs that I’ve ever written. I’ve never felt so sure about something I’ve made before. And now, it’s yours.”