bluegrass

Hailing from the grasslands of Western China, Marmur is a legendary figure from China's underground music scene. Described as the 'Lou Reed of the grasslands', Marmur's music combines traditional Kazakh folk melodies and instruments with Western and traditional Chinese instruments. Marmur's band 'IZ' is credited with single-handedly kickstarting China's alt-country scene and has influenced a huge range of acts including Mongol-crossover pioneers, Hanggai.

Andrew Collins (born March 4, 1965, Northampton) is an English journalist, scriptwriter, and broadcaster. After studying epic graphic design at Chelsea School of Art, Collins started writing for New Musical Express in 1989, subsequently taking up editorship of Q in 1995, having worked on Select and Empire (where he was briefly editor for three issues in 1995, before moving over to Q). He also formed a double-act with fellow music journalist Stuart Maconie, presenting the Sony Award-winning BBC Radio 1 show Collins & Maconie's Hit Parade...

Reared in Austin, TX, and schooled at Berklee, fiddler/singer Carrie Rodriguez made her recording debut in 2002 alongside country-folk legend Chip Taylor on the Let's Leave This Town album. Taylor first heard her at the 2001 South by Southwest Music Festival and invited her to tour with him, which she did for years. She released her debut album, Seven Angels on a Bicycle, in 2006.

The Hackensaw Boys first began playing their joyful blend of old-time and bluegrass-tinged string-band music on the streets of Charlottesville in the autumn of 1999. Far from limiting themselves to the old-time canon, however, the Hackensaws have been first and foremost a band of songwriters. Their music, while drawing upon the spirit of the mountains, is sophisticated and informed by the best elements of punk rock and classic country music. As one reviewer put it: