24 year old guitarist and singer-songwriter Matt Lindauer is most definitely onto something different. The music he has put out so far combines many diverse influences, ranging from The Band and Bob Dylan to Jimi Hendrix, The Walkmen, Elvis Costello and The Smiths. But through it all, the highly lyrical and musical approach presented is something of its own; soulful but not (always) simple, thoughtful but easy to kick back and take in.

Casey Shea is an artist operating at the very top of his game and, by comprising the very best elements of Lennon, Davies and Stills, has captured a sound long since past. Although gloriously retrospective, Shea injects his own sublime, colourful use of language which, in turn, propels his songs to a far higher plain. - Joel Crane (NME)

Gabriel Miller-Phillips grew up just outside Boston, where he fell in love with music by listening to his parents' old folk records and an after-hours blues show on public radio. He left New England to attend college in New York and he tried to keep his mind on his schoolwork, not his guitar. As he puts it, "I thought I should ignore music, but I was miserable."

“[Rowe has] the grainy, coarse, pulverized and yet full and lumbering voice of a blues singer or an understudy of Tom Waits mixing with the slick, agile, lyrical folk rocking command of a soft-spoken young urban singer/songwriter.” [CD Baby- www.cdbaby.com]

"Charles Ramsey is perhaps the most proficient and tasteful guitarist to perform in the [2008 Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition] thus far. Add to this natural (rather extraordinary) songwriting ability, thoughtful lyrics, and a really great voice, and you have yourself a singer-songwriter to keep an eye on."
- Dan D'Ippolito

Paul is nice. He wears a fair amount of plaid and usually wears sneakers. He has lived in several places, most of them cold. Now Paul lives in Brooklyn and spends a lot of time playing the songs he writes with a bunch of guys who know much more about music than he does. Lacking a name, this group (a "band", as it were) shall for the time being be collectively known as "Paul Basile."

"Above all things to mention about Kiehne is his songwriting, which can be described as a moment where everything comes together effortlessly as if cut by nature itself, the result of which is awesome in the true sense of the word. Add this to the choir of friends singing perfectly matched harmonies on top of Kiehne’s cutting, emotive vocals and the result might very well give you the chills. Chris Kiehne is a name to pay close attention to." -- Don D'Appolito

Kyle was sitting around one day thinking about how nice "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was, when he decided to write a song in the same vein. His failure to do so was at least interesting, and the WLSC deadline was about two hours away, so he recorded the song in about 20 minutes and emailed it off. The result will be his first solo performance in many years. He often performs with his band, The Secret Life of Sofia.