Gethen Jenkins is an award-winning singer-songwriter born in Huntington, West Virginia, and raised in a rural Indian village in Alaska. All-American served eight years in the US Marines.
Sony/RED MUSIC and Five Music Inc. released his six-song EP titled Where The Honkytonk Belongs in July 2017; it had revolving play on Sirius XM’s Outlaw Country and was one of the top-selling Outlaw Country albums on iTunes. After being honored with the Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year awards at December 2017’s California Country Awards, Gethen was recently named 2018’s Best Outlaw Country Artist in LA Weekly’s annual Best of L.A. issue.
Earlier this year, Gethen Jenkins recorded his full-length album in Nashville with award-winning producer Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Willie Nelson).
Gethen’s played over 1,000 live shows, sharing the stage with prominent acts such as The Marshall Tucker Band, Billy Joe Shaver, Wanda Jackson, David Allan Coe, and many more.
Support from Firestone Walker’s 805 Beer, Gibson Guitar, Ernie Ball, SoFar Sounds, non-profit Team Red White and Blue, and Jam In The Van, to name a few.
Establishing a dedicated country fan base in Southern California – not been done since Dwight Yoakam.
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Lirico Spinto Tenor Jesús Daniel Hernández was born and raised in the lovely town of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México. As a child his biggest dream was to be a singer. He wanted to sing like Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete, two big idols of Mexico. It was very common to hear young Jesus singing around the halls of his middle school in Juárez, Mexico. It was during that time that he saw on tv the concert with the Three Tenors and his interest for classical music was born.
After hearing that concert he would try to imitate his new idols, providing new kinds of headaches to his family with his higher singing notes. He bought his first guitar at the age of 14, a wonderful companion that has lasted until this moment. On this instrument he learned how to accompanied himself. When he was 16 years old he immigrated to United States where he finished his high school and for a brief moment sang with a Mariachi band.
Even though life took him down different paths, taking different types of jobs to sustain his family, his dream to be a singer never disappeared from his mind. In 2003 Jesus enlisted in the U.S ARMY in 2003. At the end of that same year he volunteered to go to Iraq to serve in OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom). One night outside of the military Camp of Taji while in Iraq, the tenor remembered his dreams of being an opera singer while reading the Alchemist by Paolo Coelho.
Even though he enjoyed his job as a soldier, he felt that something was missing in his life, and that was his desire to sing. In 2007, while stationed in Texas, the tenor learned that one of his child idols was going to perform in San Antonio, TX. Upon seeing the price of the tickets he wrote an email to the then director of the San Antonio Opera, Mark Richter, asking him if they offered a military discount, so he could see his idol Placido Domingo. The opera director graciously told him not to worry about it, that the ticket was free for him for serving his country.
At the end of the concert the young tenor went backstage to ask his idol for an autograph. While Maestro Domingo was signing his program he asked the young tenor if he liked his concert and his music, to which the young soldier, responded that he always wanted to sing like him. Maestro Domingo invited him to sing for him in his dressing room in an impromptu audition, and after listening to the young tenor, Maestro Domingo invited him to be part of his prestigious Domingo-Cafritz young artist program in Washington, DC in 2008.
While in the program, Jesús participated in different concerts and operas with Placido Domingo. Since then the Tenor Jesús Daniel Hernández has been dedicated to singing to all kinds of audiences with his beautiful, sweet, and powerful voice all over the world. All thanks to a dream of a young boy, which he pursued until his dream became reality.
MAJOR GLEN is an established hard rock band from Denver, Colorado. Acclaimed in the local music scene, Major Glen has performed in marquee venues all around Denver as well as many of the independent rock and roll venues. Somewhere between the Pixies, Violent Femmes, and AC/DC, hard-rockers MAJOR GLEN are determined to keep rock music alive. Their electric live performances are something to behold and will definitely leave an impression on the audience member.
MAJOR GLEN was founded by Iraq War veteran Barrett Ward and his three friends in 2018. After spending over 13 years as an Active Duty Army Officer, Barrett left active duty to pursue a career in music and teaching. His time in the Army was wonderful and meaningful. Some highlights of his time were when Barrett served as a paratrooper and a platoon leader in D Troop, 1/509th Airborne Infantry Battalion and later as the commander of Bravo Company, 14th Military Intelligence Battalion in Baghdad, Iraq in 2009-2010. After his deployment, Barrett attended graduate school at The University of Texas Austin where he would eventually earn his PhD in English Literature. Barrett taught at West Point and the United States Air Force Academy prior to transitioning to civilian life.
Barrett has been writing songs and playing guitar and bass for over 25 years. He is lucky to have found the three best musicians in Denver to be in the band.
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Brought to you by BLR Athletique and BLR Cider
Derek Stoner is a recently retired U.S. Army Green Beret and Nashville recording artist. He blends a unique style of country music that America loves with a powerful Southern rock attitude.
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Descending from the mean streets of Everett, WA, Jericho Hill is a shredding rock n’ roll medley of whiskey and wonder. An enigmatic ball of sexy fury designed to keep your heart pounding, booties shaking, and your horns held high. By mixing curiously-crunchy melodic guitar licks with a stank-faced groove, and garnishing it with an aggressive vocal glaze, Jericho Hill has branded an energetic style of uptempo and tasty hard rock that might just melt the eyeballs out of your face.
We released our debut full length album The Suicide Jack on September 8th, 2018. Our album release show took pace at The High Dive Seattle. This was a sell-out event with a great bill. The album launch went swimmingly, generating over 21,000 Spotify plays in the first quarter of its release and landing us on a Spotify editorial playlist entitled “New Blood” which we remained on for several months. Being selected for an official editorial playlist on Spotify is a significant accomplishment for any band, so we wear this badge with honor.
Following the album release we have been playing regularly in the greater-Seattle area, shopping publishing opportunities, working on tunes for our next album, and looking for ways to move outside our own market. The pandemic brought our scene to a halt and we used the opportunity to take care of ourselves and our families. With the pandemic edging closer to an end, the band has been rehearsing regularly. We are currently writing our sophomore album with a projected release date of late 2022.
Jericho Hill is also a dedicated advocate for US military veteran causes, with two of our members being OIF/OEF combat vets (Mac – Navy, Steve – Army) and all members hailing from military families. In 2017 we were selected for the USAA/We Are the Mighty Mission: Music program; where we were flown out to Nashville to record at the legendary Ocean Way recording studios to produce content which would be used to generate some revenue for a veteran’s charity. All proceeds from Mission: Music went to a great organization called Guitars for Vets – a national program which assists veterans in need with procuring instruments and music lessons with the goal of healing through music.
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Doc Oliver was medically retired as a Navy Corpsman following two back-to-back deployments to Afghanistan. On his last deployment he survived a green-on-blue attack by Afghan soldiers. Now he is a singer-songwriter based out of Central Coast California, playing outlaw country music. On August 31, 2021 – the day the US pulled out of Afghanistan – Doc released his first full-length record “Welcome Home.” It was not a coincidence. The album is an autobiographical record about his life pre-, during, and post-Operation Enduring Freedom. The record was engineered by Grammy winner Mark Rains at his studio Station House in Los Angeles, and Mastered by multi Grammy Winner Pete Lyman in Nashville.
Listen to the Savage Wonder episode with him here.
Follow Doc Oliver here.
“Therapy for Doc Oliver was sitting in his garage with a guitar, a pen and paper, and working on a song. He has quite a bit to write about. The Central Coast-California based Americana singer/songwriter served 2 tours in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marine Corps as his team’s Corpsman, a Combat Medic. He earned the nickname “Doc” from stitching-up wounded soldiers and civilians alike.
Following a severe mass casualty incident in 2012 he was medically retired/ honorably discharged, suffering PTSD after being ambushed, injured by the Taliban, and losing three of his best friends in the event. Shortly after returning home his mother was diagnosed with cancer, and she passed away at age 57, just 2 days after Docs 30th birthday. He uses songwriting as a means of coping with his trauma, and the difficult events he has experienced in his life.
Doc now lives in a small town called Old Orcutt in Santa Barbara County, CA with his wife and three children. In 2019 he released an EP “Helmand”, and two singles “Too Far Gone” and “Vietnam Man” in digital stores. He and his band recorded a full album early 2021 which is his first full length album called “Welcome Home” at the Station House recording studio in Los Angeles with Grammy Award Winning engineer Mark Raines, and Mastering Engineer Pete Lyman. Doc decided to self release this album months in advance when he discovered the US was completely pulling out of Afghanistan by August 31st; the Album was released on that day.
After releasing an EP, 2 singles, and a full-length record in 2020, Doc began realizing that not only was he healing his own wounds, but he was healing the wounds of others. Though Oliver was in the military, his music is relatable not only to the veteran community, but so many more. “The harder the life, the more beautiful the song.”
Lloyd Baggs of LR Baggs was an early advocate, tapping him for the company’s prestigious “LR Baggs Presents” series. When they first met at a concert they spoke about music and the military, Baggs recounts, “Doc sent me a link to a few of his songs the next day, but there was no way I was prepared for what I was about to hear. Within minutes I knew that I was personally going to do everything I could to help him bring his beautifully raw, poignant songs to a much wider audience. After hearing his songs, I hope others will be compelled as I now am to help Doc reach other brave soldiers with PTSD and stitch their lives back together with his moving music.”
– Colin Montemarano, American Songwriter 2021:
Ava Aston is an award winning Independent Recording Artist who is passionate about Veterans, Faith and Patriotic causes. She is the wife of a U.S. Air Force Veteran and the daughter of a former Purple Heart National Service Officer. Ava desires to utilize her gifts and talents to make a Positive Impact. Music to encourage and lift people up, music that means something. Ava’s latest release along with all her other music is available on iTunes.
