South Carolina husband-and-wife duo Shovels & Rope channel country, folk, bluegrass, Americana, and blues through a nervy indie rock prism. Emerging in 2008, they found success with the albums O’ Be Joyful (2012) and Swimmin’ Time (2014), both of which cracked the Billboard 200. In addition to studio LPs like Little Seeds (2016), By Blood (2019), and Manticore (2022), the pair have released multiple volumes of their popular Busted Jukebox covers series, which has seen them collaborate with a wide array of artists like Brandi Carlile, the Milk Carton Kids, M. Ward, Rhett Miller, Sharon Van Etten, and others.

True Blood: Music from the HBO Original Series, Vol. 3
Shovels & Rope consists of married singer/songwriters Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst. Like Trent, who also played with the indie rock band the Films, Hearst had spent the years prior pursuing a solo career, utilizing her raw yet melodious and expressive voice to deliver a handful of albums, one of which landed a single, “Hell’s Bells,” in the 2010 season of True Blood. Inspired by the likes of Woody Guthrie, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, the Cramps, and the soulful harmonies of Johnny Cash and June Carter, the pair provided tour support for like-minded artists such as Justin Townes Earle, Hayes Carll, and the Felice Brothers before heading into the studio to lay down the tracks for their debut. The resulting O’ Be Joyful, which channeled country, bluegrass, and blues through a nervy indie rock prism, was released in 2012. The album fared well with critics and roots music fans, and at the 2013 Americana Music Honors & Awards, Shovels & Rope were named Best Emerging Artist.

Busted Jukebox, Vol. 1
The duo’s second album, Swimmin’ Time, was released in August 2014. That year also saw the debut of a documentary about them, The Ballad of Shovels & Rope, which won the Tennessee Spirit Award at the Nashville Film Festival. In November 2015, Shovels & Rope released Busted Jukebox, Vol. 1, in which the pair covered songs by their favorite artists in collaboration with like-minded musicians including Shakey Graves, the Milk Carton Kids, JD McPherson, Butch Walker, and others. Shovels & Rope signed with noted indie label New West Records for the release of their fifth album, 2016’s Little Seeds. Busted Jukebox, Vol. 2, featuring Brandi Carlile and Rhett Miller, among others, appeared in December 2017.

Shovels & Rope returned with By Blood, their fourth album of original material, in April 2019, and two years later they unveiled a third Busted Jukebox installment that featured collaborations with Sharon Van Etten, M. Ward, and Secret Sisters.

Shovels & Rope delivered Manticore, their fifth proper studio album, in February 2022. Manticore consisted of songs written prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but the duo used the extra time allotted by quarantines to work on expanding and detailing the album’s instrumental arrangements.

– James Christopher Monger

Nic Clark had a fairly unconventional childhood, which is perhaps one reason why his first album, Love Your Life / Songs for the Whole Family, came out youth-centric.  It wasn’t that he wasn’t supported— in fact, his mom got him the certificate that allowed him to play in bars at the tender age of twelve.  It was the school thing.  His school system in the Denver area had a truancy court, and he set up semi-permanent residency there around the 7^th grade.

You see, he had found the blues. Visiting a bookstore with his brother, he found a book about harmonica playing which included pictures of Sonny Boy Williamson and Stevie Wonder and a harmonica… and he never came down.  The harp was his school, and he never missed a class there.  Soon he was playing live and then, after the shattering loss of both a young cousin and his grandfather, he found the healing power of music, too.

The harp led to the blues, and he identified his biggest influences as Mavis and the rest of the Staples Family, Taj Mahal, Curtis Mayfield, and the Staples’ “Respect Yourself”—“Such simple and direct lyrics,” he says, “But so many layers.”

His harp connected him to other bluesmen, including Billy Branch (who played with Willie Dixon), Lazy Lester, and Muddy Waters’ son Big Bill Morganfield.

Eventually, he fell in with Rick Estrin and the Nightcats.  One night in the van—Nic was 14—he got to talking about Charles Bukowski with guitarist Kid Andersen, who said, just a bit incredulously, “You read Bukowski?”  “Yeah.”  “Hell, yeah,” said Estrin.  Some people are just born that way.

In 2019, Nic came out to San Jose to see one of his heroes, Jonathan Richman, perform at the Henry Miller (another hero) Library in Big Sur.  Kid Andersen, the Head Mojo of Greaseland Studios when not a Nightcat, suggested Nic stick around and be his studio assistant.  In the first few weeks, he got to help on a Charlie Musselwhite and Elvin Bishop session, and then one with Little Village Foundation’s (LVF) Sons of the Soul Revivers, which led to Nic meeting Jim Pugh of LVF.  A few jams later, Kid mentioned to Jim that Nic would love to make a record.  It snowballed from there.

“I’m a bit goofy, not a tough guy,” said Nic.  “Funky family music suits me better.”  He’s also the uncle of a niece, Leah, who’s 11, and a nephew, Asher, 6.  There are enough painful memories in his own slightly strange childhood that he explains why he’s fairly sentimental about children, about their innocence, and that’s why he wants to make music for the whole family, including the children.  But real music, he says, “Not pandering, not just to distract them, but to share something with them.  After all, the little ones deserve the best from us.”

And so he began work on Love Your Life.  One track, “I Love Music,” was recorded with his Colorado band, but the rest allowed him to play with heroes, the heavy hitters that hang out at Greaseland.  Kid on guitars of course, but also D’Mar—Derrick Martin, long-time drummer for Little Richard.  Atlantic Records session man Jerry Jemmott (Nina Simone, B.B. King) came in for a track on bass.  The Tonight Show’s Vicki Randall added percussion on several songs.   The Sons of the Soul Revivers backed up “I’m Your Friend.”  And Charlie Hunter, who stimulated “the most rewarding panic attack ever,” helped out on “Dance Party!” and “This Little Light of Mine,“ playing everything except vocals and harp.

“I wrote a few songs for my niece and nephew, and a couple for parents and grandparents.  It was a passion project, and it’s for my family.  Jim gave me total creative control, and I got to play the studio as well as instruments, so there’s fingerpicking guitar, Calypso steel pan percussion, and synthesizer weirdness at one point…we left no rock unturned.  It really turned out to be an insane level of fulfillment.  And I love my niece Leah’s album art.”

“Somehow, most children’s music shows come across as upper class… I wanted to make music with some grit in it, for Walmart customers like my own family, not the usual place.  I think we did OK.”

Little Village is a 501c3 nonprofit record company that seeks to shine the light of awareness on musicians who might not otherwise be heard and in doing so further the belief that a life filled with diverse music builds empathy making for stronger communities and a better world.

Jim Pugh’s international performing music career spans 40 years and includes multiple Grammy Award, platinum and gold records. He has recorded and performed with a star-studded array of musicians including B.B. King, Etta James, John Lee Hooker, Robert Cray, Boz Skaggs, Syl Johnson and Van Morrison. He created Little Village Foundation in 2014 to share the diverse music that has always inspired him and to help other artists, especially musicians no one would learn about without Little Village Foundation’s support.

Jim Pugh’s work with legendary blues artists and top selling rock musicians has earned him multiple Grammy Awards, platinum, and gold records. After 40 years in the music industry, the idea for Little Village came to Pugh after taking a step back and pondering what meant most to him.

Slowly, the idea for a nonprofit record label that encompassed those values was pieced together, and Little Village began operations in 2014. With some help, Pugh searches out, discovers, records, and produces music that otherwise would not be heard beyond the artist’s family and community. “It’s our intention to support the dreams of artists from nontraditional backgrounds, who are working in genres with deep roots in American culture. We pride ourselves on our diverse artist roster and variety of music genres represented by the label including mariachi, folk, blues, gospel, rock, spoken word, roots, soul, and more. All proceeds from CD sales return to the artists, who also own all their intellectual property, unlike a traditional record label. Production costs, musicians, studio time, promotion, and manufacturing are completely covered by Little Village.”