JULY 2025 NEWSLETTER

Hey everyone.....I hope you are all enjoying your summer so far.  Remember when the ball dropped and 2024 became 2025?  It feels like two weeks ago, right?  Surprise!  We're at the midway point of the year.  Already.  I am going to look at my New Year's resolutions and see where my progress or lack thereof stands.

Meanwhile, I want to talk about contact information.  Specifically, no contact information.  

Let me explain.  I'm using a band or record label as an example because that's the lane I am familiar with and talking about here.  There are times when I hear a band online or am referred to them, or when a band or their manager reaches out asking me to represent them.  I go to Spotify or whatever link they give me to hear music or watch videos.  I like what I hear and go to their website looking for a contact page.  There is none.  I look at the top, bottom, and middle and either see no tabs for tour dates, videos, photos, bio; or see them, but do not see a "contact" tab.

Many acts just put those icons for social media instead, but this can be immensely frustrating if you are not on one or more of those apps like Facebook or Instagram or TikTok.  But you should list contacts for management, booking agent, publicist, social media coordinator; or any of the above if you don't have your team filled out yet.  But you should also include an email address for the band itself, in particular if you have no management.

If you are an independent and/or mid-level touring act, you should want not only fans to be able to reach you and interact with you; you should want potential managers, record label execs, and media outlets to find you.  It's one thing to not want to list a phone number, but to not list an email address is downright counterproductive to building a following and working toward a successful career.  

The bottom line is, you don't want to frustrate the people you are trying to reach with your music.  It leaves a bad taste in their mouths, looks unprofessional, and puts a damper on your marketing efforts.  It also keeps media types like journalists, radio programmers, and podcasters from finding you.  I have had numerous media figures reach out to me over the years asking if I know how to reach a particular band, and they always tell me how frustrating it is to have to track down an act they want to, or, critically, are assigned to cover.  

I could go on a rant about the lack of biographies on band websites, but that's for another time.  Meanwhile, take a look at your own websites, and make sure you have an easy path for folks to communicate with you.  It really cannot be that difficult, right?

Thanks for listening, and a happy and safe 4th to you all!.--MJF

(please note, I welcome and encourage replies to these missives.  I'd love to hear any stories you have about contact info frustration or anything similar.  thanks!)

New clients/new releases
David Wilcox: The Way I Tell the Story (August 15)--Asheville, North Carolina based David Wilcox has always been the kind of songwriter who quietly devastates you—never flashy, never loud, just one cleanly delivered line that lands exactly where you live. Now, with The Way I Tell the Story, the veteran folk artist leans into warmth and wisdom that has been won hard, pulling emotional threads in new and surprisingly luminous ways.The collection walks the line between hope and heartbreak, and it does so with the kind of precision that only happens when someone’s actually been through it.
Website: www.davidwilcox.com
First single "My Own Mind"
Tour dates: www.davidwilcox.com/shows 

Previously announced upcoming releases   
Ross Thorn: Fitting In (August 8)--Duluth, Minnesota based folk/Americana singer/songwriter Ross Thorn is back with his second album, Fitting In, set for release on August 8.  Right after the album is released, Ross will then take off on a set of tour dates that will take him (and support act The Spine Stealers) to the Paciifc Northwest and back.  Tour announcement coming this week!
Website: www.rossthornmusic.com
Tour dates: www.thespinestealers.com/events-2-1

Recent releases
Ron Sowell--Dance Till the Music Stops
Website: www.ronsowell.com

The Wildwoods--Dear Meadowlark
Website: www.thewildwoodsband.com
Tour dates: www.thewildwoodsband.com/shows

Brian Lisik--Goodnight, Detroit 
Website: www.brianlisik.com
Tour dates: www.brianlisik.com/shows

The Barlow--High Spirits 
Website: www.thebarlowband.com
Tour dates: www.thebarlowband.com/shows

Pure Prairie League--Back on Track 
Website: www.pureprairieleague.com
Tour dates: www.pureprairieleague.com/tour-dates

Companies we currently partner with:
Rounder/Concord Records—We are currently working tour press for Concord Records and Rounder Records --  including some of Rounder's rising stars, such as Amythyst Kiah, John R. Miller, Katie Pruitt, JD Clayton, Judy Blank, Bella White, and Sierra Ferrell.  On the Concord side, we are working with Boney James, Hiromi, Butcher Brown, and John Vincent III.  There are always recent releases that these artists are supporting, so we have hyperlinked their respective online media kits.

Also on tour
Cowboy Junkies 40th anniversary tour
www.cowboyjunkies.com/tour

Church of Cash
www.churchofcashmusic.com/shows

Chris Knight
www.chrisknight.net/tour

Badfish
www.badfish.com/tour

Red Wanting Blue
www.redwantingblue/tour

Shameless self-promotion
Mike Farley Band--Once upon a time, I was part of a popular Cleveland band that bears my name.  Okay, so we are technically still together despite living in three different states.  And we recently announced a reunion show on September 6 at Brothers Lounge in Cleveland.  It's to celebrate the 25-year anniversary of our signature album, halfaworldaway.  
www.mikefarleyband.com