William B. Howard Station Park sets the scene for the next in our series of Roadshow 2010 concerts.  Ten Kansas City-area musicians will present a broad range of music, at the historic train depot in downtown Lee's Summit, Missouri, and here online at KC Cafe Radio.

The music begins at 6:30 PM Central Time.  Bring a lawn chair or a blanket and join us for the live music "under the stars."  If you cannot join us in-person, then listen here online at the website beginning at 23:30 UTC.

For details on the event, including a Google map of the venue location, Click Here.

Featuring…

Erik Karlsson’s folk-rock songs are stories about worlds that could be inhabited by you or by me, by the person sitting beside you or the neighbor across the street. They are people with honest issues dealing with things in honest ways – some are happy, some at the end of their rope – but all are treated with respect at the hands of this engaging songwriter and performer.

A transplant from Houston, Texas to the heartland of Kansas City, Erik quickly found his way into the Kansas City singer/songwriter scene using his positive outlook and dynamic stage presence. A musician since he was old enough to reach the piano keys, Erik has played hundreds of shows through the years.

Erik’s first CD release was as a member of a band in Houston named The Plastic Yardbirds in 2001. He has since been performing his brand of music at any number of venues, from coffee shops to opening for national artists like Dana Cooper. With this kind of dedication to his music, Erik has made an impact on the Kansas City original songwriter scene in a very short time.

Not only is Erik on the bill for this Friday night's show, he is also emcee for the evening.

Jim Abel is living his dream, writing, recording, and playing his unique style of music in front of live audiences all around the Kansas City area.  His inspiration comes from the likes of Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, Janis Ian, John McCutcheon and, first of all, Tom Paxton.  But he also listens to the American Songbook, and a lot of his musical ideas come from Broadway. People like George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Noel Coward, Hoagy Carmichael and Rodgers and Hammerstein.  Then there is Cream, Dr. John and dozens of other blues players, including Tom Waits.  The result is a performance that encompasses a  unique and entertaining repertoire of songs that delights any taste.

With more than 25 years of experience as a musician, songwriter, playwright, and actor, Rick Malsick has had a lot of time to accumulate a repertoire of more than 100 songs. Most of those songs emcompass a variety of musical styles, including ragtime, jazz, and blues, some extending back to the time of the Civil War. His songs include a set focusing on the personalities and events that shaped Kansas City.  He plays regularly around Kansas City at a variety of venues, including bars, coffeehouses, and restaurants, and is a member of The Herrmannators.

By: Brian Lush
The Kansas City-based pop rock siren Jillian Riscoe is on the verge of getting too big for Kansas City with the release of her electrifying debut CD ELEVEN:ELEVEN. Produced by music industry veteran David Percefull (Davidk Cook, Phil Marshal and Bowling For Soup) ELEVEN:ELEVEN is a testament to a young singer songwriter finding both her voice and sound.

Unafraid of wearing her heart on her sleeve and going for those big dramatic moments in a way that we haven’t seen since Bella Donna-era Stevie Nicks, Riscoe corners a soon-to-be ex-boyfriend on Lie The Truth, brings romantic disillusionment down to a steady rock groove on Stuck and positively burns on All Fall Down.

It was Riscoe’s intention from round one to embrace a definitive sound – one that she has dubbed ‘dark romanticism’. “Typically, my songs are about love.” says Riscoe, “One way or another, they all end up being about heartbreak or a relationship or an ex-boyfriend. I typically write with that template in mind as a songwriter. I like to think of my music as ‘dark romantic’ and that is something that I want to get across to everyone that listens to my music.”

Rick Lally is a singer-songwriter from Olathe who plays acoustic-based pop. His new release, Acoustic Dreams, was produced, engineered, composed, and performed nearly entirely by himself. He even designed the album's artwork.

It's evident that Lally not only put a lot of work into these recordings but also that he is a very talented songwriter. Acoustic Dreams is mostly filled with mid-tempo recordings that recall Jack Johnson or Jimmy Buffet.

You could definitely picture Lally performing these songs on some beach somewhere. Songs like "Spring
Time" and "Go With the Flow" might make the listener want to do nothing but lay on the ground on a warm,
sunny day. For someone who is so land-locked, maybe Lally uses these songs as his way of escaping from our harsh, continental climate to a more tropical environment.

Lally also runs the Six String Music Studios that helps support many other local musicians.

Rich O’Brien calls Olathe, Kansas home and it’s the inspiration for his new self produced album, Under a Kansas Sky. He creates music because he feels he must, taking the advice of Abraham Maslow, “a musician must make music to be fulfilled.”

Rich says, “Self producing your own album is really like running a marathon. It can seem like an endless task and there are times, like in running a real marathon that you feel like giving up. Believe me, having finished five marathons, and given up in one, it is very similar. Similar because it is a very long process, in which the preparation involved, stretches over a long period of time.

Also, you must acquire a set of new skills that you are really not sure you will be able to do the first time. Once you have completed your first DIY album, though, you will feel like you have really accomplished something, and be much more confident about the next one.” Rich’s album “Under the Kansas sky” was completed over a 2 ½ year time period was truly a labor of love.

Gary Putthoff grew up in Kansas City listening to his father play the guitar on his lap with a metal slide.  The crawdad song was one of his favorites.

In college he took music theory and has always been a huge fan of Duane Allman, Eric Clapton, and all those guys who drew from the masters that lived along the rivers here in the midwest (Robert Johnson, BB King, etc.)

"I was lucky enough to work at public radio station and be the engineer for many local shows," Putthoff says,  "including a blues program which gave me exposure to a lot of blues history and music."

Putthoff is currently working on a new CD.

Forrest Whitlow is one of Kansas City’s best known and loved singer/songwriters.  He has written and recorded seven albums as a solo artist and with his band The Crash.  His newest album, appropriately titled 7, is his best of the bunch, so far… Songs ranging from rock to folk and espousing a variety of topics that only Forrest can write and sing about.  His music and style have been described as David Lynch meets Neil Young.  He has a strong sense of who he is and it comes across in his strong musical performances.   Forrest has a devoted following and plays consistently at coffeehouses, bars and bookshops around Kansas City.

Larry Garrett has been performing in the Kansas City area since the mid-80's – in churches, coffeehouses, bars, and at festivals.  His music reaches into his own memories as a kid growing up during a time when life was simple, and neighbors were genuinely neighborally.  That simplicity is reflected in his performances, which consist of solo vocal, guitar and harmonica.  And for those of us who remember those simpler days, Garrett's music is a delight to the ears.

Kaye Johnston is a soulful and talented songwriter who performs her music with great emotion and grace.

Musical from the tender age four, Kaye is classically trained in piano and voice and also plays mandolin and guitar. Her musical gifts have taken Kaye to performances as far away as the UK, at clubs and pubs, to as close as neighborhood coffeehouses in the Midwest.

Kaye has performed at many venues in Westport and the Crossroads Arts District in Kansas City, MO and has opened for national acts Michael Brewer, Dana Cooper and Ruckus and the Trousers.

Kaye is currently working on her fourth CD “Love's End."  Kaye currently performs at various songwriter acoustic venues in the Midwest.