Mr. Smalls Funhouse Theatre

Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Richman was one of rock's most eccentric and unpredictable cult figures, a performer whose eternally childlike public persona and seeming naiveté -- typified by songs like "Ice Cream Man," "Hey There Little Insect" and "I'm a Little Aeroplane" -- tended to obscure the dexterity and craft of his music, which skirted from garage rock to country to Latin stylings and back....

Son Volt
After touring in support of their 1993 masterpiece, Anodyne, the seminal alternative country band Uncle Tupelo split up over long-simmering creative differences between co-leaders Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy....

Rogue Wave
Rogue Wave formed in 2002 when a newly-unemployed Zach Rogue left his San Francisco home, visited friends in New York City, and returned to California with nearly a full album's worth of textured, cerebral indie pop....

Alesana
Beginning in Baltimore and solidifying its lineup in Raleigh, NC, Alesana formed in October 2004 around guitarist/vocalist Shawn Milke, guitarist Patrick Thompson, vocalist Dennis Lee, bassist Steven Tomany, and drummer Daniel Magnuson....

mewithoutYou
A blend of experimental rock structures, punky energy, spoken-word melodies, and Judeo-Christian content characterizes the output of mewithoutYou, a Philadelphia-based band that formed in 2001. Having grown up listening to Jawbox and Burning Airlines, brothers Aaron and Michael Weiss initially cut their hard rock teeth as frontmen of the Operation....