“Get me South, Mama get me North, Get me out of Backenforth,” Chicago Farmer sings on the title track of Backenforth, IL, out January 22, 2013. It’s the centerpiece of his sixth collection of Guthrie-inspired populist songs, as well as autobiographical. The son of a small town farming community, Cody Diekhoff logged plenty of highway and stage time under the name Chicago Farmer before settling in the city in 2003. Profoundly inspired by fellow mid-westerner John Prine, he’s a working-class folk musician to his core. His small town roots, tilled with city streets mentality, are turning heads North and South of I-80. Backenforth, IL is also about finding your place in life - that sweet spot where we all belong. “I love the energy, music, and creativity of Chicago, but at the same time, the roots and hard work of my small town,” he shares. Growing up in Delavan, IL with a population less than 2,000, Diekhoff’s grandparents were farmers, and their values have always provided the baseline of his songs. He writes music for the “kind of people that come to my shows. Whether in Chicago or Delavan, everyone has a story, and everyone puts in a long day and works hard the same way,” he says. “My generation may have been labeled as slackers, but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t work hard - many people I know put in 50-60 hours a week and 12 hour days. That’s what keeps me playing. I don’t like anyone to be left out; my music is for everyone in big and very small towns.” He listened to punk rock and grunge as a kid before discovering a friend’s dad playing Hank Williams, and it was a revelation. Prine and Guthrie quickly followed. The name Chicago Farmer was originally for a band, but the utilitarian life of driving alone from bar to bar, city to city - to make a direct connection to his audience and listener, took a deeper hold. Songs like “Workin’ On It,” are the kind of sing-a-longs he’s known for; it’s become common to see whole rooms full of strangers erupt and sing to the choruses of his songs on first listen. While “The Twenty Dollar Bill” is more sentimental, reminding everyone of that time their own Grandma surreptitiously passed along a little cash to hang onto. Cody co-produced the album with Chris Harden in Chicago at the I.V. Labs Studios. While the inspiration has never changed, previous albums have been with Nashville session players - or just himself with guitar and harmonica. For Backenforth, IL, he brought in friends for a loose and live vibe, accompanied by “The Hired Hands,” Darren Garvey on percussion and Mike Davidov on bass. Cody and The Hired Hands were recorded live and on analog tape to capture the feel and authenticity of each performance. Later, some of Chicago’s finest musicians chimed in on pedal steel, resonator, electric and acoustic guitar, organ, dobro, and vocals. Chicago Farmer plans to continue touring relentlessly to support the new album. With Backenforth IL, he solidifies that wherever he is, that’s where he belongs, that’s where the songs will be written and sung, and that’s where the music will be played. - Somewhere between a bar and the recording studio, Miles Nielsen stirs up his own pop rock brand of Beatles-eque Cosmic Americana. Pop rock arrangements and sunny melodies tucked between a long lost country folk steel guitar floating through speakers around crashing drums, bouncing bass lines and smooth as butter keys. Born in Rockford, IL, home of Cheap Trick and ‘Symbol’, power pop DNA runs through the veins of his songs and performances. 13 years spent playing bars, clubs and theaters, Miles has played and performed as vocalist / lead guitarist in many midwestern bands from past to present, Harmony Riley, HMS, and most recently, as a member in the Appleton, WI via Rockford ensemble, Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons– as well as his own band when time permits as “Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts.” Aside from opening for acts such as Medeski, Martin & Wood, to Cake, to Moe, he also co-owns a recording studio in Rockford, IL, FUSE, that has served as the recording home to Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons. He has worked with many artists such as Augie Meyers, Lonnie Brooks, Gabriel Reed, Cheap Trick, and The Good Year Pimps. From writing and performing his own tunes to recording and performing on other artists songs, Miles Nielsen continues to help carry out that very rare rock n’ roll torch that only few can claim out loud, “that sound?… it came from the midwest.” - Old Shoe is a five-piece Americana Folk Rock band based out of Chicago, Illinois. Made up of talented songwriters from across the country, hailing from as far away as Alaska, the band's compositions paint a diverse landscape of American life. Constantly playing throughout the midwest, their wealth of experience in the musical world never ceases to grow. Their performances will draw you in at the start and leave you panting on the dance floor by the end. Having recently released their second album, Let Yourself In, the band already has enough material for a third album that they play during their live shows. They cover Little Feat, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder and Warren Haynes to name a few. In the last year alone, Old Shoe played at Summer Camp Music Festival, Tall Tree Lakes Music & Camping Festival, Cabin Fever, Ribfest Chicago and the Whippersnap Music & Arts Festival. They even hosted their own Shoe Fest, which featured Great American Taxi, Kyle Hollingsworth and Split Lip Rayfield.  - MUSIKANTO walks the line between Indie-Blues and Urban Americana, while borrowing elements of Experimental Folk and broken-down Orchestral music. The Chicago songwriter grew up listening to his father's obscure folk and roots rock records and the music of Fraser and Debolt and Jerry Hahn. With a propensity toward heartbreaking ballads and melodic melodrama, MUSIKANTO's songs survive the bite of a Chicago Winter and the soul of a Midwestern bon-fire. MUSIKANTO carries the lyrical weight of folks like Van Morrison and Elliott Smith and the driving tone of Ray Lamontagne and Amos Lee. His narratives rattle the core of the human spirit leaving you feeling like an outsider who witnessed something very real. After years of touring and writing, Musikanto set out to record his best record to date. He made countless late-night drives from Chicago to Milwaukee and back to record the new songs at a friend’s home studio. During the drives, he listened to the songs develop their personalities, re-writing lyrics and adding instrumentation he heard in his head as he drove.