Tim Bluhm (of Mother Hips)

Tim Bluhm is a classic songwriter, the kind who writes tunes that sound instantly familiar.

Bluhm began his musical journey while studying at Chico State, where he co-founded the now-iconic Mother Hips, a group the San Francisco Chronicle has hailed as “one of the Bay Area’s most beloved live outfits.”

Performing at frat parties quickly gave way to club shows, regional touring, and national buzz, and before they’d graduated from school, Bluhm and his bandmates were signed to Rick Rubin’s American Recordings on the strength of their debut album, ‘Back To The Grotto.’

Over the ensuing two-and-a-half decades, Bluhm would release eight more studio albums with the band as they cemented their status as architects of a new breed of California soul and earned a reputation as festival and critical favorites, sharing bills with everyone from Johnny Cash and Wilco to Lucinda Williams and The Black Crowes along the way.

Ever-curious and wildly prolific, Bluhm simultaneously released a slew of his own solo and collaborative projects on the side. He toured for years as music director with Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers, teamed up with The Grateful Dead’s Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann among others.

John Elliott has performed thousands of shows on several continents and in 49 of the 50 United States (Hawaii for the win). His music is as indelible as it is indefinable. His songs have been heard in movies, on network and cable television, on iPods, in cars, on radios, and around campfires. He has been releasing albums on Garland Lane, his own label, since 2004 to an always growing number of listeners. He remains an unsigned and unaffiliated artist and he is proud of that fact. He continues to make a living and build a dedicated following the old fashioned way: one new believer at a time.