McGuckin Entertainment PR - Music

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 25, 2008

nelo READY TO RELEASE
DEBUT STUDIO ALBUM
ON APRIL 22

Band to Mark Occasion with Special Appearances

AUSTIN, Texas — nelo, the acoustic-based alt-rock band, is preparing for the April 22 release of its self-titled debut studio album on Pedernales Records/Justice Records, a special appearance on Release Day and a series of shows in Texas’ biggest cities.

On Tuesday, April 22, nelo (nell-o, spelled all lowercase) will perform during an in-store appearance at Austin’s Waterloo Records & Video and then will visit Fort Worth and Dallas for album release shows, returning to Austin for a special April 26 show at Antone’s for fans in its hometown.

The new record, co-produced by Freddy Fletcher and Steve Fishell with distribution by Fontana, offers the band’s up-tempo, jazz-inspired, alternative-infused originals — “Footsteps,” a thank-you to fans, for instance, and the past-is-past “Goodbye.”

Other new music from the upcoming album — cuts such as the break-up classic “All Gone to Nothing”; “Jumping Bean,” with its happy-go-lucky sax line; and “On Top of Love,” the first song completed by band founder and chief songwriter Matt Ragland — was heard as part of nelo’s March 13 set at BMI’s SXSW rock showcase at Club DeVille, which had earned a recommended in the Austin American-Statesman: “[The] young Austin-based sextet combines great hooks, cohesive sound, showmanship and fresh appeal into one seamless package.”

Austin Music magazine praises the band’s “full, contemplative sound” captured on the new album, saying, “At once uplifting, smooth, happy and emotional, nelo jams in a way bands with twice as many musicians wish they could. Bubbly instrumentals will have hippies bobbing across the grass at outdoor venues all summer long. … nelo is not pop candy, though.”

Ragland (acoustic guitar) brought together lead singer Reid Umstattd, Chris Hill (drums, percussion), Stephen Goodson (electric guitar), David Long (tenor & soprano sax, flute) and Mike St. Clair (bass, trombone) in Athens, Ga., where they gigged for little more than a year and built a fan base before moving to Austin.

Since then, nelo has been continuously touring, making special college appearances and playing SRO and sold-out shows throughout Texas like Meridian in Houston and Granada Theater in Dallas (some as part of the first Dell Lounge Presents tour, which also produced a performance DVD). Fans saw the band on TV in major markets including appearances on “Good Day” programs in Houston and Dallas and in features on ME Television in Austin.

Upcoming nelo shows include:
April 4, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Penn. (with The Wailers)
April 9, The Levee, Oxford, Miss.
April 10, 40 Watt, Athens, Ga.
April 22, Waterloo Records & Video, Austin (IN-STORE APPEARANCE)
April 25, Aardvark, Fort Worth (ALBUM RELEASE SHOW)
April 26, Antone’s, Austin (ALBUM RELEASE SHOW)
May 2, Granada Theater, Dallas (ALBUM RELEASE SHOW)
May 3, Pecan Street Festival, Austin
May 9, Meridian, Houston (ALBUM RELEASE SHOW)

For more information, visit www.mcguckinpr.com/mcguckin/nelo/nelo.htm
Also see www.nelomusic.com, www.myspace.com/nelomusic.

Contact: McGuckin Entertainment PR
Jill McGuckin, 512.217.9404; jill@mcguckinpr.com
Heidi Labensart, 512.478.0578; heidi@mcguckinpr.com

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Artist Information
Bio
Fact Sheet

Press Release:
Mar. 25, 2008
Aug. 22, 2007

Press Coverage:
American Roots:
May 6, 2008
Soundcheck:
May, 2008
Billboard Top 25:
May 10, 2008
Austin American Statesman:
Apr. 26, 2008
Texas Music:
Apr. 24, 2008
Austin Music + Entertainment:
March, 2008
SoundCheck
March, 2008
Rare Magazine
Mar. 08, 2008
The Daily Texan
Jan. 24 2008
Gearwire
Nov. 19, 2007