Carrie Rodriguez & Ben Kyle

“”Fiddle” and “deadly” don’t usually appear in the same sentence together – unless you’re talking about Carrie Rodriguez. -Denver Post

“Most albums with such ambitious titles fall flat in their attempt; Kyle, in songs and voice that sit comfortably between Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams, dwells comfortably in the long shadows cast by his forefathers while leaving his own undeniable stamp on the proceedings.” -David Mead, Paste Magazine review of America

Frontman and driving force behind the region’s favorite alt-country band Romantica, Ben Kyle is equally at home in intimate settings. His careful, compelling voice and softly spoken guitar resonate differently when not backed by full band: things hinted at rather than heard, with a candor sometimes swept away by the pedal steel guitar.

It’s been a fast and furious eight years for violin/mandobird/tenor guitar player and vocalist Rodriguez. At a one-off gig at the 2001 South by SouthWest festival, she caught the ear of songwriter Chip Taylor (“Wild Thing,” “Angel of the Morning”), and the two started working together almost immediately. Eight years and 8 records later (4 of them recorded with Taylor), Rodriguez is releasing her first covers album, Love and Circumstance.

“…multi-instrumentalist Carrie Rodriguez fills any room simply with her smile and lack of pretense.” -Jambase.com

Growing up in a musical family in the Austin, TX area (her father David is a noted songwriter, and her great aunt Eva Garza was a popular Latin recording artist in the 1950s), Rodriguez had a wide variety of early musical encounters: touring the Netherlands with her father at age 15, sitting in with Lyle Lovett’s band when he was in town. Her association with Taylor put her on the national scene, and soon she was touring and recording with the likes of Lucinda Williams and Alejandro Escovedo.

Rodriguez brings her arresting voice and unique sound to songs by her father, David Rodriguez, as well as Richard Thompson, Hank Williams, Nick Lowe, and many more. Her sound is due partly to her choice of instruments: violin, tenor guitar (a smaller 4 string guitar similar to a banjo), and mandobird (an electric mandolin that looks more like a guitar).
“a fiddler with contest-killing chops… she modernizes country on her own terms -St. Louis Riverside Times

• Carrie sings “Absence” on Austin City Limits

• Kyle singing “The Simple Life”

• Carrie and Ben on a stirring “Danny Boy”

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