About the Artist

Frances Luke Accord are an independent Chicago-based duo hailing originally from South Bend, Indiana. Both dedicated multi-instrumentalists and meticulous songwriters, Nicholas Gunty and Brian Powers distinguish their music with genre fluidity, buttery harmonies and acoustic ensembles. Although prevailingly a modern folk band, FLA sip copious inspiration from Americana, jazz, soul, and rock.

Fluke, FLA’s pseudo-self-titled introduction to a national audience, is a self-produced vocal tour-de-force that leaps quickly and definitively into the canopy of contemporary art. It is dreamlike and philosophical, haunting and whimsical. Its melodies evoke a noir film, a Spanish folktale, an enigmatic egoeye. However you pin it, something in the music is turning heads. Whether evidenced by their invitation to perform on NPR’s Mountain Stage Radio Show with Larry Groce, tours with Darlingside and Anaïs Mitchell, official showcase at Folk Alliance International’s 2017 Conference, or the $16K Kickstarter that funded Fluke, Frances Luke Accord’s compositions take the listener by the ear, pull the rug from beneath her feet, and leave her deliciously airborne. Listen.

Ryan Joseph Anderson’s solo career began in April 2014 with the release of his debut album, The Weaver’s Broom. The album, engineered and co-produced by Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hooray for the Riff Raff), was hailed as one of the best Americana records of the year. Songs from The Weaver’s Broom made “best of” lists for Daytrotter and Songpickr and were featured in Paste and Magnet. American Songwriter said that Anderson “evokes the open-tunings of Nick Drake as well as the barroom howl of Tom Waits.” Before going solo, Anderson was known as the bandleader and songwriter for the beloved Chicago roots outfit Go Long Mule, as a guitar slinger for garage-rockers Rambos, and as a producer, sessions man and sideman for numerous artists. His influences range from country blues to psychedelic rock and are on prominent display in his masterful guitar playing and songwriting. Anderson’s sophomore release, City of Vines was released in the summer of 2017 to critical acclaim. He toured extensively in support of the record and has shared the stage with such acts as Robert Earl Keene, Honey Honey, Robbie Fulks, Charlie Parr, and Amy Helm.