With the release of her third CD, Upstate Songs, rising-star Devon Sproule has joined the growing roster of artists on City Salvage Records.  And, the "buzz" over this release has only added to national recognition that Sproule received with the release of her two previous albums.

Raised on Canadian folk music, dead teenager ballads from the 50's and the Beatles on a 465-acre commune in rural Virginia, the twenty-one-year-old Sproule began touring nationally at the age of sixteen, sometimes performing with the accompaniment of a rock band. Although the rock-influenced sounds featured on Long Sleeve Story, released in 2001 and produced by Dave Matthews Band bassist Stefan Lessard (who also appears on the record) brought Sproule's name to the public eye, it is the music on Upstate Songs that will establish her as a considerable, mature songwriting talent. Rolling Stone's "Critics Top Albums of 2003" called Upstate Songs, "Perhaps the sweetest and most honest folk pop album recorded this year."

Paul Curreri, a twenty-eight-year-old guitarist and songwriter from Virginia, plays the guitar like a man possessed.  "Anyone who's seen Paul shock a noisy barroom into silence has experienced what it must have been like to see Dylan breaking onto the folk scene in the early '60s..," says Brady Earnhart, a songwriter and James Madison University Professor.  And, according to K. Bartlett Shaw, "...to classify him is like trying to classify the whole of the United States. He is a melting pot of Dylan, Prine, Simon, and Hurt all topped with Paul's own unique twist..."

Curreri unveiled his third album, "The Spirit of the Staircase," in December of 2004.  In what may be Curreri's most eloquent musical statement to date, the level of pure sonic invention permeating "The Spirit of the Staircase" echoes the level of craft, insight and risk for which the young musician, at the relative beginning of a career, has already been credited. "It's a rare find to catch a young guy who can play this well, have his own voice as a singer, and write songs that are as interesting as anything out there," says Vintage Guitar magazine.

With equal parts somber and playful, the songs on "The Spirit of the Staircase" present Curreri grappling with his attempts to make sense of a life devoted to making music and living on the road. "I'd been touring a lot these past few years, finally making it to Europe and feeling some green slip away," says Curreri. "Music was paying the rent and life was good, but somewhere along the way, I'd forgotten where I put the old happiness and love for writing, the big treasure." 

Curreri titled his third album "The Spirit of the Staircase" after a French expression l'esprit d'escalier, which means: Things you think to say after it's too late and you're on your way out the door. "Ridiculous, but that's how I'd been feeling," says Curreri, "like I was on my way to burning out, that I'd wasted all of my youthful juice booking rental cars instead of watching the mountain change colors outside my window, not to mention actually walking toward the mountain."

Raised in Richmond, Virginia, Paul now makes his home in Charlottesville, Virginia. He grew up playing music but ended up enrolling at Rhode Island School of Design to pursue painting and film. While Curreri credits his experiences at art school with developing his ability to observe and record the visual world, soon his true passion began to rise to the surface. By the time Paul graduated from RISD, he'd composed over 200 songs on guitar and piano. Turning down a job at MTV he set to work carving out a life as a musician. His acclaimed debut for City Salvage Records, "From Long Gones To Hawkmoth," was released in 2002.  A triumphant follow-up, "Songs For Devon Sproule" was produced by internationally renown singer/guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps to wide critical acclaim. "The first time I saw him play I was just blown away," says Phelps. "Paul's songs were incredible, his guitar playing was amazing. . .undeniable stuff."  Curreri plays with crisp and complex finger picking and an energy that holds you fast.

Curreri arrived in Charlottesville, Virginia in October of 2000 and quickly became a focal member of the bustling acoustic music scene there. His poetic country blues - at times relaxed, at times exploding - set the feet moving of audience after silent audience. "A ruffled gypsy gutter cowboy, a true life adventure, a bright new voice," said WTJU's Aer Stephen.

Sproule has toured and/or shared stages with the likes of: Dan Bern, Erin McKeown, Guster, Dave Matthews Band, Eddie From Ohio, Nerissa and Katryna Nields, David Gray, Patty Larkin, Steve Forbert, and, the wonderful up-and-comers, We're About Nine.  As for Curreri, A 2001 spot at the Knitting Factory in New York led to a string of tour invitations from famed songwriter Kelly Joe Phelps. Other evenings included spots and runs with Chris Smither, Geoff Muldaur, John Gorka, Hot Tuna, David Amram, Lucy Kaplansky, Spider John Koerner, John Herald, Corey Harris, and others.

Sproule's live concerts capture her at her best: candid, poetic and with stage presence that is youthfully charming and self-possessed.  Curreri's songs and energetic finger picking style that seems all his own are absolutely captivating.  And together, with their sweet, cutting harmonies, they are blowing audiences away.