Espers is a neo-psychedelic folk band from Philadelphia. They formed in 2002 as a trio of singer-songwriter Greg Weeks, Meg Baird and Brooke Sietinsons but later expanded to a sextet including Otto Hauser, Helena Espvall and Chris Smith. Their music is reminiscent of late-sixties british folk such as that of Fairport Convention, Pentangle and The Incredible String Band as well as many contemporary folk acts such as Six Organs of Admittance, Marissa Nadler and Nick Castro and as such their work is often lumped in with the so-called new weird america movement or naturalismo as Devendra Banhart preferred to coin it in 2006.

The music of Azita Youssefi provokes reactions, but never indifference. To start, there’s her voice, which has a breathy, almost cartoonish timbre that belies her musical intellect. The way she deploys her vocal cords establishes obstacles, too. With her exaggerated enunciation and elongated vowels, Azita often sounds as if the words forced through her lips originated at another source…as in demonic possession. Her piano playing is physical and idiosyncratic as well. Add a two-drink minimum, and voilà! Instant cult hero.

Doug Paisley is a songwriter from Toronto with a new album out on No Quarter Records. His work is songwriting and performing his 21st century music. He plays and records across North America and Europe but mostly stays close to home. He is also a part of Dark Hand and Lamplight with Shary Boyle and performs rarely with Live Country Music. Some more of his music can be found through Butterama studios.