From way down South, here come The Nouveaux Honkies. This violin, guitar, bass and drum quartet are Roots and Roll that Rocks. “If Johnny Cash and Freddy King had a baby it would be the Nouveaux Honkies,” said the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. Their 2007 self titled cd won best roots band in Palm Beach County. Their 2008 cd “Where Do I Go” hit #3 on the National Roots Country (Americana) Chart, Roots Music Report and 48 weeks later was still on the charts when their 2009 cd “Live at Sun” was in the top 30 on the National Roots Blues Chart. Blues Revue Magazine linked their sound to the Stones, with hints of Dire Straights, Curtis Mayfield, Hendrix and Howling’ Wolf. Singer/guitarist, Patrick Timothy O’Donnell’s vocal style was said to be “an amalgam of Van Morrison and Willy De Ville.” Add in violinist, Rebecca Dawkins with her crafty lead lines and poppy rhythms and their unique blend of blues, swing and country is described as a reinvention of the musical wheel. The group has  been touring since July of 08’. Their live show is an elegant display of frenzied mayhem. Their summer tour of 09’ put the band through the northeast with Elmore magazine naming them their favorite newcomer at The Rhythm and Roots Festival in Rhode Island. 2010 started with work on their upcoming LP entitled "Your Town". Honkies hit the road again in the summer so don't miss the show! 

Bill Wharton (Sauce Boss) has cooked gumbo on stage for over 168,000 for free. He mixes his own spicy original music--Florida Slide Guitar Blues--and adds his famous Liquid Summer hot sauce right into every night's cooking demonstration of his own gumbo recipe. It's a multi-sensory soul shouting picnic of rock and roll brotherhood. And at the end of the night, everybody eats. 

After more than 30-years of live performances, five releases, and being covered by artists in nearly every genre of music, IKO-IKO continues to get more attention than nearly any artist not signed to a “major label” and they have the accolades to show for it. Drout’s songs are covered by a wide range of artists - including Albert Castiglia and Joey Gilmore. Gilmore’s version of “The Ghosts of Mississippi” won him the “Best Blues Artist” award from The  International Blues Foundation’s IBC awards in 2006 and BluesRevue magazine named it “Blues Song of The Year” for 2006.

The band, itself, is award-winning and has movie soundtracks to their credit. “Don't Mess With The Voodoo” appeared, as did the band, in the Martin Scorsese film, Cape Fear starring Robert DeNiro and the band performed on the soundtrack for the film, Contact starring Jodie Foster.

Born the grandson of a Mississippi sharecropper, Ben Prestage has been soaked in Blues tradition and Mississippi culture since birth. Growing up in the swamps of south central Florida, Prestage began to mix Mississippi Country Blues with his own brand of Florida Swamp Blues. This muddy- water- meets- black- water stew has led him to perform from California to the Carolinas to the Florida Keys, in large festivals, every kind of bar, and sometimes on downtown sidewalks. Ben Prestage spent some time as a street performer on historic Beale Street, while living in Memphis, TN. He used to share a spot in front of the New Daisy Theatre with modern blues legends Robert Belfour (Fat Possum Records) and Richard Johnston (2001 International Blues Competition winner). 

Being a street musician in the “Blues capital of the South” threw Prestage’s music in a new direction. To his show, he added a cigarbox guitar (made by Memphian an one-man-band John Lowe) which has stereo guitar and bass strings that can be played independently, at the same time. Then Ben added a series of four foot pedals that can be manipulated by the heels and toes of both feet to play a drumkit. The final result is Ben playing guitar, bass, and drums while singing his own brand of Blues which leaves bottles empty and dance floors full wherever his music takes him.

Captain Reese has been known as the voice of Musicians Exchange and his history with the Exchange dates back to 1976 .He is a solid bass player with a ripping powerful singing voice and when he hits the mic you will take notice. A former preacher, current boat captain, & a video production specialist, his band is a potpourri of some of the best So. FL musicians, playing a variety of blues, rock and roots.

New Country - Amber is a 23 year old vivacious red-head specializing in crossover country music with a celtic twist. Her lead vocals are gripping while her fiddle playing leaves audiences always wanting more. Amber Leigh's music is engaging and conforting, full of inticing pop hooks, yet embraces true country soul because of her roots in southern rock fiddle music. Amber's music is a engaging mix of Country, Rock, Celtic and Soul. 

She has just released her 4th independent CD Reckless recorded in Nashville and produced by Billy Austin, Michelle Poe and Grammy Award Winner Silvio Richetto. Amber has been singing and playing out professionally for over 11 years now. Her influences include a wide range of fiddle styles including Cape Breton, Irish, and bluegrass, and she manages to blend all the styles to come up with her irish infused crossover county sound. Her vocal influences include, Bonnie Raitt, Jennifer Nettles, and The Corrs. The Amber Leigh Band headlines over 200 shows a year up and down the east coast securing a huge fan base. She has built one of the largest, strongest fan bases any country performer has without a major label behind her. 

In the recent months Amber Leigh has opened for Nashville acts such as Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Toby Keith, SugarLand, Keith Urban and more including Britney Spears and Christina Agulairia. For the past 11 years she has held down a house-gig at one of the most exciting ocean-front clubs in Palm Beach -"Boston's on the Beach" in Delray Beach.

The Funkabilly Playboys formed in late 1998. Their brand of high-energy party music is enjoyed by fans of all ages. Their musical style ranges from Rockabilly to Blues to Louisiana Swamp Funk and Classic Soul. These fun-loving party animals are fast becoming South Florida's favorite good time band. The bands originals blend seamlessly with their souped-up oldies and revamped classics. Each incarnation of their carefully selected covers comes with its own funky edge. This is not your average band. They refuse to play average songs. Visit Their Website

Daniel grew up in South Florida, and began playing guitar at age 5. He began taking lessons on Jazz guitar and theory, from David Gould, a Jazz guitar instructor from Sarasota Florida, who was also a great friend of the legendary Joe Pass, giving Daniel the opportunity of a handful of lessons from him as well. He started playing professionally with a straight ahead Jazz quartet at age 11 in Englewood Florida at the hardly famous..Shell Patio.
At age 13, Daniel became the youngest member of the Musicians Union, local 703, in Ft Myers Florida. > Daniel auditioned for the United States Army Band in his junior year of high school, and being accepted into the prestigious military band field, before graduating Lemon Bay High School, in Englewood, Florida.
Between 1992 through 2004, Daniel has performed and recorded with many major and local artists spanning through many different genres, but always settling back into Jazz. Recently returning home to South Florida from Lexington Kentucky, where Daniel has spent the last year and a half performing with Darren Dixon and the Dixon Line, John Michael Montgomery, and Deathrow Bodine.

Bio coming soon

Additional Links:

http://www.garageband.com/artist/shakedown_5

http://www.gigmasters.com/varietyband/ShakeDown

Established in South Florida in 2002, Riverdown is an explosive, versatile cover band delivering sucker-punch arrangements wrapped in a power rock package. With an amazing vocal range and boundless energy, frontman Jimi Robinette leads his troops through an evening of timeless classics, staples of solid rock-radio, to a wealth of preeminent progressive current rock. The understated bass play by Howi is masterful. The seamless efficiency of CJ'S drumming is extraordinary. Clint's driving guitar riff's are tasty and often mesmerizing. Their love of performance and respect for one another is obvious by their onstage chemistry, humorous interaction and flawless three and four-part harmony. Boasting a constantly expanding repertoire of over 250 songs spanning six decades, with four competent lead singers and the ability to perform unplugged or electric, each Riverdown show is fresh and full of surprises. Riverdown approaches each gig with an "all or nothing" attitude, continually pushing the standard for performance. With their powerful, top-notch sound system further enhanced by their state-of-the-art light show, you'll feel more like you're at a concert than in a bar. They love to play and it shows. They're really cool guys in a damn fine band, they have a good time wherever they go, and they want YOU to have a good time, too. Catch a live performance and allow Riverdown to take you on a peaceful journey down "Seven Bridges Road" to an electrifying trip on the "Highway to Hell." Fasten your seatbelt and enjoy the rock and roll ride.

In the town that I lived in, there was a barbershop,” Gilmore reminisces. “And the barber that owned the shop was a sanctified preacher. He was a minister, and he had this little flat-bodied guitar. It was electric, no amplifier to it. And he would bring it to the shop with him, and he was trying to learn how to play. So, I would get to the barbershop early whenever I would go to get my hair cut, or even after school, I would hang around at the barbershop, because I wanted to get my hands on that guitar. I would take the guitar and they had these old wooden benches. I would lay the guitar on top of the wooden bench and when you would strum the strings, the wood, the bench, would vibrate, and the floor would, the sound would resonate, and you could hear it without the amplifier. I learned just from watching him.” Young Gilmore tried to keep his obsession with the instrument from his church going aunt, who was raising him, but word of the talented boy who played at the barbershop eventually got back to her. She finally heard him play with his group at church and was moved to tears. “She went straight to Sears and Roebuck and bought me a brand-new guitar,” Gilmore says. “It was a Kay, I think. And from that, we started learning other songs, other music besides church music. And that didn’t sit too well with her. But when she finally accepted that we could make money, that we could make a lot on a weekend,though we weren’t old enough to be in the bars without parental supervision, she would go with us. And would sit at the door and take up the money for us.” Joey Gilmore's career has spanned 40 years with performances throughout the United States and Europe. He has called South Florida home for the past twenty years. Joey is a true Blues and R & B master who incorporates new and varied styles in his music performing original compositions mixed with traditional standards in his high energy live show. His tenor/baritone vocals belt out tunes with a loss abandon reminiscent of Blues Legends from the 1940's and 1950's. This Blues man's major influences are apparent without sacrificing his unique style. Artists Joey has shared the stage with include; James Brown, Etta James, Bobby Bland, Little Milton, Johnny Taylor and numerous others

Rythmation is a melting pot of sound, culture and positive vibrations sure to intoxicate your mind, body and soul.

Rythmation members are as diverse as the region in which they have joined.

Ishmael ( bass guitar ) and Rich ( lead guitar ) first met and jammed in the mid 80's and worked out a great relationship on the love and respect for music.

The two members matured the sound of the band working the South Florida music scene for some years then asked Bradley ( drums ) to join the band in the early '90's adding the third voice for their signature sound.

Check out www.rythmation.com.