Ardent Music is the home of Big Star. So anything that Ardent is involved with gets serious consideration at Songs:Illinois. The band Star And Micey have a new record (their debut) coming out on Oct 20 on Ardent and it features guests like Jody Stephens, Luther Dickinson, and Rick Steff.
Tour dates and preorder info here. The band mixes soul, rock, and pop in a very peculiarly Memphis kind of way. On the song “So Much Pain” you can hear a bit of that odd combination when Luther’s electric guitar part starts to kick in over the lead singers sweet but sorrowful vocals. This might be one of the pleasant surprises of 2009!