BRIDJ WILLIAMS and FRIENDS:
AMERICANA SHOWCASE
We are kicking off this music-filled weekend with yet another CST homecoming! This one may not be as obvious because when Bridj Williams was here, we knew him as Nick Rapley or Ralphie in A Chiristmas Story!
Bridj Williams (Nick Rapley) is a Valparaiso native singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer, and producer.
After a decade living in New York honing his craft, gracing stages such as Radio City Music Hall, he has returned to his home-town to excavate his roots and explore the spiritual nature of his deeper self. The result is his forthcoming record, "Get Help", a diverse and driving 90s americana rock tinged journey of introspection through relationships and life altering events. Imagine Tracy Chapman performing Gin Blossoms hits backed by The Heartbreakers and you've got the Bridj Williams sound. The ultimate vision of his artistic efforts is to redefine masculinity under the lens of emotional intelligence, vulnerability, authenticity and self love.
Jess Ledbetter is a compelling singer/songwriter from Arlington, Texas. A closet songwriter all of her youth, Ledbetter moved to New York City at 18 and earned a degree in Fine Art before being swiftly drawn into the vibrant East Coast music scene. After cutting her teeth in rock and roll, she moved to Austin, TX to practice audio recording. She released her debut solo EP Slow Desert on UK based label Shifting Sounds. In 2021 she relocated once more to Northern Arizona where she began working as an entertainer on the Grand Canyon Railway, a passenger train that travels to the Grand Canyon. Ledbetter began writing what would become her debut full length solo album in partnership with long-time friend and collaborator Nick Rapley. Small Town Forgiveness was self-released on March 15, 2024 and lives as an intimate painting of the Southwest landscape. Ledbetter draws inspiration from The Cure, Nick Drake, Cat Power, The Smiths, Townes Van Zandt, and Neil Young among others. Americana Highways wrote, “Small Town Forgiveness takes you on a journey that’s riding the rails, its imagery and emotion transporting the listener from one stop to the next, each one exhilarating and unforgettable”.
Turner Porter pens country folk songs about Midwestern excess, heartache and big dreams. His style ranges from the mundanity of suburban sprawl to the belly of the post-industrial beast of Detroit living.
New single 'Burnout' is a ragged acoustic country song expressing the trials and tribulations of life on the road and at home. Staying true to the original demo, Porter channeled the desperation of burned out warehouses and homes surrounding his East Detroit residence in stream-of-conscious ramble, evoking a cinematic reflection of where he's at and where he's going.
2023 EP "Chase That Jackrabbit" is a collection of rough and rumble Americana songs defined Porter's former project The Ferdy Mayne and forms the basis of where he's heading. Mixed and mastered by Ben Collins (Minihorse, Frontier Ruckus, Ally Evenson) with a sprinkling of pedal steel by Trevor Sohnen (Cosmic the Cowboy).