The Honeycutters, an Asheville, NC based original country roots band, has signed an exclusive recording contract with Organic Records®. The band led a successful Kickstarter campaign raising $31,317 to help fund their third studio album. They have laid down the tracks in Echo Mountain Recording Studio in Asheville and are mastering it at Crossroads Studios in Arden. The album is slated for release in the spring of 2015.
Led by songwriter Amanda Anne Platt, The Honeycutters include Tal Taylor on mandolin, Rick Cooper on bass,Josh Milligan on drums, and Matt Smith rounding out Platt’s songs on pedal steel, electric guitar, and dobro to create a sound that carries just as well across the bar room as in a church or a theater. Platt’s songs are shaped by a raw honesty that comes straight from the heart and emits a sort of melancholy happiness.
“We’re very excited to be joining the Organic family!” said Platt. “We’ve been considering going with a label to help us grow, and it feels right to team up with one that is based in Asheville. Keepin’ it local. We want to keep the music coming, and believe the Organic folks are just the guys to help us do that.”
“The Honeycutters fit perfectly with Organic, where we love to support and promote great original music,” said Organic Records Marketing Director Ty Gilpin. “They are super talented players and Amanda is a songwriting and singing tour de force. They are hard-working, dedicated to the music and great people to boot!”
The band is frequently mentioned along with the movement to “Take country music back to it’s roots.” The Honeycutters are just doing what they know how to do: making music that feels as good to hear as it does to play.
“The new album is the one I’m most proud of to date.” Platt goes on to say, “I took much more of a driver’s seat in it’s making, and the process has forced me to do a lot of growing up… I feel like I’ve really found my voice. I’m very excited about the line up of the band, and the songwriting includes some of my very favorites.”
The soon-to-be-titled release is slated to drop in April with an album release party in Asheville along with a release tour to be announced. They are also scheduled to appear at MerleFest that same month.
The Honeycutters formed in 2007 in Asheville, the town they still call home, and had quick success with their first release Irene (2009). That release and their sophomore effort When Bitter Met Sweet (2012) grew their audience to help expand their tours to include notable appearances at Merlefest, Suwannee SpringFest, Strawberry Music Festival, Vancouver Island Music Fest, Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Fest and the Nelsonville Music Festival. They have also performed alongside esteemed musicians Guy Clark, Tony Rice, The Seldom Scene, Billy Joe Shaver, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Amy Ray, Donna The Buffalo, Jill Andrews, and The Steep Canyon Rangers.
Amanda Anne Platt has been hailed as “easily one of the best songwriters coming out of WNC these days” by WNCW programming director Martin Anderson, who goes on to state, “and she really needs to be discovered by the national Americana world.” In both her simple composition and honest delivery it’s easy to hear the influence of country legends such as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, or Loretta Lynn, and with this Miss Platt credits growing up listening to her Father’s extensive record collection every Saturday morning. Despite her love for classic country, she cites Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty as major influences and her songwriting carries a wit and an edge that plants her firmly in her generation.
For a sampling of The Honeycutters’ previous releases and some live mixes, visit: http://noisetrade.com/thehoneycutters/noisetrade-mixtape.
For more information about the Honeycutters and their tour dates, please visit: www.thehoneycutters.com.
The Good Word About
The Honeycutters:
“I recommend the Honeycutters not only because they’re some of the best my hometown of Asheville, NC, has to offer. Their music embodies a very catchy, accessible, optimistic sort of spirit so frequently lacking in folk circles (where brooding, hyper-analytical music reigns supreme). What’s more, like Carolina Story, they’re a great band replete with tasty harmonies.” —Kim Ruehl, Folk Music About.com
“… just superb, with a sweet toned and melodious aura that put me in mind of the erstwhile everybodyfields. Today’s Smoky Mountain area modern folk thing does have a certain vibe, and these guys are among its finest purveyors. Happily, after three floaty and beautiful songs the band shifted into a hard Memphis vibe with ‘Fancy Car.’ It was a car song disguised as a train song, with a rolling rock beat.. Great stuff.” —Craig Havighurst, Music City Roots
“They’ve got a sound as classic as grits… I thought of those country songs that play on those diner jukeboxes you see in movies.” —Charlotte’s Creative Loafing
