About the Artist

About Chicago Farmer: 

The son of a small-town farming community, Cody Diekhoff logged plenty of highway and stage time under the name Chicago Farmer before settling in the city in 2003. Profoundly inspired by fellow Midwesterner John Prine, he’s a working-class folk musician to his core. His small-town roots, tilled with city streets mentality, are turning heads North and South of I-80.

“I love the energy, music, and creativity of Chicago, but at the same time, the roots and hard work of my small town,” he shares. Growing up in Delavan, Illinois, with a population less than 2,000, Diekhoff’s grandparents were farmers, and their values have always provided the baseline of his songs.

He writes music for “the kind of people that come to my shows. Whether in Chicago or Delavan, everyone has a story, and everyone puts in a long day and works hard the same way,” he says. “My generation may have been labeled as slackers, but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t work hard – many people I know put in 50-60 hours a week and 12-hour days. That’s what keeps me playing. I don’t like anyone to be left out; my music is for everyone in big and very small towns.”

He listened to punk rock and grunge as a kid before discovering a friend’s dad playing Hank Williams, and it was a revelation. Prine and Guthrie quickly followed. The name Chicago Farmer was originally for a band, but the utilitarian life of driving alone from bar to bar, city to city – to make a direct connection to his audience and listener, took a deeper hold.

About Kevin Galloway:

“I’m feeling pretty humbled and grateful these days,” says former Uncle Lucius frontman turned celebrated solo artist Kevin Galloway “I’m very comfortable being on my own, and I’m enjoying the more intimate shows and the opportunity to dig into the stories behind the songs. I’ve always gravitated towards songs that I can connect to on a personal level, so this is perfect for me.”

Kevin Galloway grew up in Freeport, TX, in the shadow of the chemical cooling towers that were a constant reminder of the industrial accident that had disabled and almost killed his father. Resettling in Big Sandy as a teenager, Kevin joined his college choir, took a job at the local bank branch, and spent some time as a music minister for his local church. At 25, he followed his creative muse to Austin. There, he found enthusiastic collaborators in the future members of Uncle Lucius, who soon earned a regional fan base and a reputation as one of Texas’s most celebrated and innovative bands.

Over the next few years, Uncle Lucius’ rousing R&B/blues/country-inflected rock ’n’ roll wowed live crowds across the country and established the band as local heroes in their music-savvy hometown. But after nearly 15 years of musical success and personal camaraderie with Uncle Lucius, Galloway felt that it was time to move on and transition to a solo career. He did so, decisively, with his 2018 solo debut The Change, which expanded on Galloway’s work with his former band while echoing the tradition of the various classic Texas troubadours whose work has inspired him over the years.