2023 Lineup

Mumford & Sons are a British rock band.

Some fourteen years ago, a few young men from London formed a band. It was a happy accident, with nothing unusual about how they formed; shared musical interests, an interest to both make and perform music whatever the occasion, and this comparatively unique passion for community and collaboration. They called their band Mumford & Sons, and have jokingly regretted it ever since. You can’t get everything right.

But there was plenty they did get right. The live show for one. Stood in formation across the front of the stage, like a solid back four that nobody’s finding gaps in, they clasped those instruments like their lives depended on it. Leaving their hearts up on those stages, and having won the hearts of all those in the crowd, the growing fervour around Mumford & Sons became inescapable.

When Marcus Mumford once spoke of putting college studies on the back burner to focus on ‘being a band’ whilst tearing up a staircase at the band’s old rehearsal rooms by London Bridge, it was a day or two ahead of the band’s first Glastonbury performance. It was a show that typically laid down another stone from which to step; a heaving John Peel tent, steam teeming from those vinyl walls and from the stage, and from the crowd.

To summarise the next decade in a few short sentences is to do the band a huge disservice to what is broadly considered a global phenomenon.  But if we told you that just a couple of very short years later Mumford & Sons were to return to Glastonbury to headline its prestigious Pyramid Stage? Well, that should say it all.  Britain’s most likely to became Britain’s already have.

Breathe in, let’s go: Number 1 albums around the world. Grammy Awards. BRIT Awards. Ivor Novello Awards. Q Awards. Billboard Awards. Sold out arena tours.  A debut US stadium tour. Festival headline slots. Bob Dylan’s backing band. Backed by Bob Dylan. John Fogerty’s backing band. Backed by John Fogerty. Sharing riffs with Tom Morello. Adventures with Baaba Maal. Trips to Senegal. South Africa. Europe. America. South America. Japan. Australia. New Zealand. Asia. Gentlemen of the Road; their own community-minded, self-curated festivals. Wilder Mind. Babel. Sigh No More. Memories. A massive, massive success. Breathe out. Decade 1. Tick.

In 2018, Mumford & Sons released their substantial fourth album, Delta. Helmed by producer Paul Epworth, it’s a record finding Mumford & Sons at their most adventurous. Men now, with responsibilities far removed from the day job, but men who feel at their most comfortable with who they’d become. In a studio. On the road. Making music. Collaborating. Trying different things. Leaning on their strengths. Brothers. United.

Mumford & Sons are a British rock band.  Their new chapter’s just being written.

www.mumfordandsons.com

James Gabriel Keogh known professionally as Vance Joy, is an Australian singer and songwriter and former Australian Rules Footballer.

He signed a five-album deal with Atlantic Records in 2013.  He released his debut EP God Loves You When You’re Dancing in March 2013. His song “Riptide” was voted number 1 on the 2013 Triple J Hottest 100.

Joy released his debut studio album Dream Your Life Away on 5 September 2014 in Australia and on 9 September 2014 elsewhere.

At the ARIA Music Awards of 2015, he won Best Male Artist. His second studio album, Nation of Two, was released in 2018. Vance Joy spent time in the Zac Brown Band as vocals.

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Born in Hollis, Queens, he debuted in 1999 with Venni Vetti Vecci and its single “Holla Holla.” From 1999 to 2005, Ja Rule had several hits that made the top 20 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, including “Between Me and You” with Christina Milian, “I’m Real (Murder Remix) with Jennifer Lopez, “Always on Time” with Ashanti, “Mesmerize” also with Ashanti, and “Wonderful” with R. Kelly and Ashanti. During the 2000s, Ja Rule was signed to The Inc. Records, which was formerly known as Murder Inc. and was led by Irv Gotti. Ja Rule has sold over 30 million records worldwide and was the best-selling rapper in 2001.

Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, actor and author Ashanti burst onto the music scene with her smash hit, self-titled debut album, Ashanti. It landed the #1 spot on both the Billboard Top 200 and R&B album charts, selling a whopping 504,593 units in its first week. This set a SoundScan record as the most albums sold by any debut female artist in the chart’s history and granted her a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. Over the span of her 20 year career, Ashanti has released six studio albums and received a number of illustrious rewards including eight Billboard Awards, a Grammy, two American Music Awards, two Soul Train Awards and six ASCAP Awards. She has reigned at the top as one of Billboard’s “Top Females of the Decade from 2000-2010” and continues to break Billboard records having a Hot 100 entry every decade in the 2000’s, 2010’s and 2020’s.

In 2005, Ashanti made her telefilm debut starring as Dorothy in The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz, opposite Miss Piggy and Kermit. She also starred in Disney’s animated series The Proud Family and continued her journey in television landing roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Army Wives, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, as well as portraying Dionne Warwick on NBC’s American Dreams.

In her feature film debut she co-starred with Samuel L. Jackson in the #1 box office hit Coach Carter. Ashanti’s additional film credits include Resident Evil Extinction, John Tucker Must Die and Bollywood film Bride & Prejudice. Ashanti executive produced and starred in the musical drama and feature film STUCK, released April 2019. She donned her executive producer hat once again for the feature film Mothers and Daughters, starring Sharon Stone, Susan Sarandon and Mira Sorvino.

In partnership with Build-A-Bear Entertainment and Sony Pictures, Ashanti leads the cast of the family friendly Honey Girls and will soon begin filming The Plus One in March 2022.

The Ashanti brand has continued to flourish with several major partnerships including her own fragrance, “Precious Jewel” with AMC Beauty. Endorsements with Candies Apparel and the groundbreaking Herbal Essence, where she is the first African American to land a national campaign inspired her to launch a clothing line in collaboration with Miss Circle and partner with Pretty Little Thing to create her own swimsuit line “Ashanti.”

As an author, she has written her first book of poetry through Hyperion titled Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love and will release a book with Harper Collins in 2022.

As a philanthropist, Ashanti is the Ambassador for the Jumpstart Reading Program and became the “Youth of the Year” Ambassador for the Boys and Girls Club of America in 2009 and was inducted into their Hall of Fame. She became a member of their “BE GREAT” Campaign with Denzel Washington and was a part of the “Let’s Move” health campaign with Michelle Obama. To celebrate her contributions to music and recording, Ashanti will receive a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Spring 2022.

Howard Bailey Jr. also known as his stage name “Chingy” is an established Multiplatinum international recording artist from St. Louis, MO. His passion for music began at an early age, having being influenced by many different genres and artists including Michael Jackson, The Temptations, Kris Kross, & Tupac. His first performance as a young 12-year-old, was when Chingy entered a talent show as then rapper, Slix-O.

The name derived from his talent in battle rapping – he rapped fast and slick, tongue twisting while delivering clever bars, leaving his opponents speechless. There were sixty performers in his first talent competition, including poets, dancers, singers and rappers. He placed first out of all performers. At that time in 1992, that solidified his confidence in pursuing a music career as a performance and rapper.

Between the age of twelve and his first major record deal at age twenty-two, Chingy fine-tuned his craft, traveling and performing throughout the United States making a name for himself. He graduated high school and also attended a community college in St. Louis but decided that making music was his main priority, putting his formal education on hold. That happened to be the right decision for him at that time. He officially changed his stage name to Chingy in the year 2000. The name derived from he and his cousins using the term “chingy” for affluent people, who were showy with their wealth and riches, as opposed to saying they were “ballin”. Chingy toured as an opening act with Nelly in the summer of 2001 and then became apart of DTP’s, Disturbing tha Peace (DTP) record label. A year later in 2002, Chingy landed a record deal with Capitol Records/Disturbing the Peace.

He released his first breakthrough single, “Right Thurr” which dropped at the end of 2002 and became the number one record in the country in 2003, owning the number one spot on Billboard’s Hot Rap tracks. The single’s peak position was number two on Billboard’s Hot 100, staying on the charts for thirty-three weeks. Chingy’s delivery and irresistible twang in the way he pronounced “thurr” proved to be mesmerizing by his fans.

Chingy’s 2003 debut album, Jackpot, sold two million copies, producing other major hits “Holidae Inn” and “One Call Away”. A second album, Powerballin’, was released in 2004 including features from Lil Wayne, Janet Janet Jackson, Lil Flip & R- Kelly. His third album, Hoodstar was released in 2006. “Pullin Me Back” and “Dem Jeans” were successful singles from that project.

His fourth and last major label studio album, Hate It or Love It, was released in 2007 under DTP records. The album’s lead single is “Fly Like Me”, featuring Amerie. The album featured production from Scott Storch, Timbaland, and Cool and Dre. It was released on December 18, 2007 and featured other appearances by Ludacris, Bobby Valentino, Steph Jones, Trey Songz, Rick Ross, and Anthony Hamilton.

The album did not receive the proper marketing and promotions by the record label he was signed to at that time (Disturbing Tha Peace (DTP)/DefJam) and subsequently was not heard as prominently as his other albums. Chingy took a step back from the intricacies of the industry and became an independent artist releasing mixtapes over the years while also landing roles on film and television.

As of 2017, Chingy is currently working on a new studio project entitled Dead Rose. The concept derived from the thought that even after a rose has died, it still holds its beauty. His fifth studio album embodies this concept in its totality. From his chart topping ladies’ anthems to the tracks that make you want to dance, Chingy stays true to the music his fans know him for with this project. However, his lyrical content has blossomed, radiating energy through poetic lyricism that everyone can identify with. He is positioned to “come back from the dead”, showing his fans his dormancy has enabled him to thrive, both professionally and personally. Dead Rose will substantiate the beauty in transformation, indistinguishable to the life cycle of a rose.

Perhaps it’s the way they keep clubs turned up to the maximum with energetic anthems like the Lil Jon-assisted party starter “Salt Shaker” and Latin-tinged international hit “Shake” featuring Pitbull.

Or maybe it’s how they push the envelope on decency on the foul-mouthed, triple-X-rated “Wait (The Whisper Song)” and hard-edged hood classic “What’s Happnin” featuring Trick Daddy. Or it could be the way they effortlessly rise to any occasion on hits as diverse as their collaboration on Lil Jon’s “Get Low” or their crossover single “Dangerous” featuring Wyclef Jean.

Whatever the reason behind their six-album career of megahits and platinum plaques, Ying Yang Twins have defined the sound of club music in hip hop for more than a decade. Made up of Kaine (Eric Jackson) and D-Roc (DeAngelo Holmes), these brothers from other mothers know how to get any party started right.

Continuing to turn dance floors out and operating at an average of 100 beats per minute, Ying Yang Twins return with their flawless forthcoming mixtape aptly titled Ass In Session.

“The game has been missing Ying Yang,” says D-Roc. “So you can expect Ying Yang to bring to the table what we always brought. The new music got the old school vibe that you want but it’s fused with some of the new school.”

The sonic soundtrack for your next block party, bon fire, bar mitzvah or booty shaking club night, Ass In Session is destined to keep any festivity on fire.

“Our job is to go back in the club and turn it up,” says Kaine. “Everybody is swag bragging right now. Nobody is really enjoying themselves. They’re making good music but they ain’t making good club music. We’re bringing the element of fun and enjoyment back.”

Those elements of good times and merrymaking are exactly what the Twins bring on Ass In Session. With tracks like the playful “Thicky Menaj” featuring K Stylis and the Mr. Hanky-produced rump shaker “Giddy Up” featuring Collipark Music label mate V.I.C. (“Wobble”), they are just as amped up as they have ever been.

On “Twerk It Like a Ying Yang Song” featuring Duff E, the duo dedicate the record to their undeniable musical influences over the years. They even address other rappers who have “borrowed” their adlibs on “D-Roc’s Hahn.”

And on the visually explicit “Shakin Her Legs,” Kaine and D-Roc have freaky forays as nasty as they wanna be atop Mr. Collipark’s blazing, up-tempo production.

“We’re still pretty zany in the mindset,” Kaine admits. “We still say what we want to. So it’s going to be like a whole movement of good music.”

That musical movement first began some 13 years ago with their breakthrough single “Whistle While You Twurk” in 2000. The record swept through the South like wildfire and peaked at Number 17 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop Billboard charts. Later that year, it was followed by their full-length debut album Thug Walkin.’

Their sophomore album Alley: The Return of the Ying Yang Twins dropped two years later in 2002. That same year, the group helped blow the hinges off the doors of hip hop when they appeared on the Lil Jon’s 2002 smash hit single “Get Low.”

Their 2003 follow-up album Me & My Brother continued to catapult them into the mainstream. Fueled by hit singles “Whats Happnin!,” “Naggin” and “Salt Shaker,” the album reached platinum sales.

Then, they topped themselves again with multi-platinum album U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta). The album’s string of hit singles “Wait (The Whisper Song),” “Badd” and “Shake” dominated urban radio, shook up the clubs and made the summer of 2005 about 1,000 degrees hotter.

For their 2006 fifth album Chemically Imbalanced, they merged the production of Mr. Collipark (who produced the majority of their previous albums) with the rootsy boom bap of Wyclef Jean and Keith Duplessis and spawned the Hall & Oates-sampled crossover single “Dangerous.”

They came back in 2009 with independent album Ying Yang Forever.

“Our love for music helps us get better and better,” D-Roc explains. “We’ve made the kind of songs that will still be here once we’re gone. They are timeless. And we’re making more songs that same way.”

And that’s exactly what they do on Ass In Session. A high-speed hit factory of slapping 808 kick drums, catchy, sing-along hooks and more energy than a power plant, this ain’t nothing but a party going on.

“We are just going to stick to our job,” says Kaine. “This mixtape is more like an album. It’s going to be jamming…We just gone slide in the groove and tighten up the screws.”

Otherness is the first album in over a decade from the group Rolling Stone declared “put Canadian post-hardcore on the map.” Five guys playing aggressive rock grew to a hockey-arena headlining phenomenon while pushing and pulling between spirited guitar leads, melodic might, and emotional weight.

AOF released four hugely successful studio albums, all Music Canada Platinum-certified: Alexisonfire (2002), Watch Out (2004), Crisis (2006), and Old Crows / Young Cardinals (2009). Kerrang! counted Crisis (2006) among the 50 Best Albums of the 21st Century, alongside undeniable classics from Green Day, Muse, Slipknot, My Chemical Romance, Blink-182, and Fall Out Boy. After Crisis hit No. 1 in Canada, at a stage where many bands compromise in search of greater success, Alexisonfire doubled down with even heavier riffs on album four, Old Crows/Young Cardinals. Released in 2009, it became their highest-charting record in America.

The guys never sacrificed the punk soul summoned in beat-up vans and basement shows. Blending their classic sound with new and forward-thinking textures, they produced Otherness themselves. Jonah Falco of Fucked Up mixed.

As Revolver Magazine noted in 2019: “It’s hard to overstate the influence Alexisonfire had in post-hardcore through the mid-2000s, their combination of singing and screaming setting the blueprint for many artists to come.”

Three decades ago, B Real, Sen Dog, and DJ Muggs sparked a trip that left popular culture stoned, stunned, and staggering in anticipation for more. Naming themselves after a local street in Los Angeles, Cypress Hill burst on the scene in 1991 with the release of their self titled debut album. The single s “How I Could Just Kill a Man” and “The Phuncky Feel One” became underground hits, and the group’s public pro  marijuana stance earned them many fans among the alternative rock community.

Cypress Hill followed their debut with Black Sunday in the summer of 1993, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’ s Top 200 garnered three GRAMMY ® Award nominations and went triple platinum in the U.S. As a result, Cypress Hill became the first rap group to have two albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 charts at the same time and are the first Latino American hip hop group to achieve platinum and multi platinum success. Since the releas e of Black Sunday Cypress Hill have put out seven more albums including 2018’s critically acclaimed, Elephants on Acid.

Cypress Hill made history once again in 2019 when the group was honored with their very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 202 1, Cypress Hill released “Champion Sound.” Produced by Black Milk, the single appears on the soundtrack of R.B.I Baseball 21 the eighth  installment of the R.B.I. franchise developed by Major League Baseball and is also the featured song for the band’s par tnership with Montejo Cerveza. Cypress Hill will celebrate the 30 th anniversary of their self titled debut this year with a SONY reissue on vinyl, 7 inch box set, a reissue across all DSP’s that includes eight unreleased tracks, as well as a graphic novel. The band also announced their very own STANCE sock (out now) and w ill be releasing their “Hits From The Bong” documentary as part of Mass Appeal’s “Hip Hop 50” franchise in partnership with Showtime.

For the past two decades, Silverstein have relentlessly pushed themselves to become the best version of the band for both themselves and their fans. That determination has led the Ontario-based five-piece from their underground roots to becoming one of the most influential bands in their scene, playing two thousand-plus shows all over the globe, and selling over a million records. Now Silverstein are celebrating their 20th anniversary with the release of their 9th, and perhaps strongest album to date: A Beautiful Place To Drown. While many bands would take their 20-year anniversary as an opportunity to rest on the laurels of nostalgia, Silverstein (vocalist Shane Told, guitarists Paul Marc Rousseau and Josh Bradford, bassist Billy Hamilton, and drummer Paul Koehler) see the landmark as a time to appreciate how far they’ve come, while also channeling all those years of experience into something new. A Beautiful Place To Drown finds the band deftly balancing their core sound—an intensely dynamic mix of melody and aggression, rooted in the energy of hardcore punk and the unabashed earnestness of emo—with their natural growth as songwriters and evolving inspirations.