In The Round with Brian Ashley Jones, Melanie Jean, Michael Haney & Gritty Flyright

Brian Ashley Jones is a soulful singer, accomplished guitarist, and versatile Americana songwriter whose compositions have been placed in film and television and recorded by a variety of other performing artists. Jones' songs find influence in the guitar-driven country, blues and bluegrass that he absorbed in his hometown, Spartanburg, South Carolina. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Brian performs internationally at festivals and concert series and leads seminars for music education programs, music business conferences, and NSAI chapters around the USA. Brian's current independent release, Courier, made the Top 40 of the Roots Music Report, broke the Top 100 of the Americana Music Association's album chart, and is receiving widespread commercial, college, public, and international radio play. The swampy instrumental "Pull 'em Up" has been featured in the widely acclaimed PBS television series "Road Trip Nation" and footage of Jones performing "Free To Miss You" live at The Bluebird Cafe has been featured in the British network television show "Amanda Holden's Fantasy Lives". The Brian Ashley Jones Trio showcased these songs as official performers at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and Brian was nominated for Best American Roots Guitar Player in the Alternate Root's 2011 Reader's Choice Awards! Along with his own busy touring schedule, Jones has accompanied a diverse batch of artists on stage and in the recording studio including Grammy Award winning songwriter Jon Vezner, Eric Heatherly, Caroline Aiken, Thom Shepherd, Sara Hickman, Donna Hopkins, David Gans, Corinne West, Doug Jones, Donovan Roberts, Jeff Black, Diane Durrett, Ralph Roddenbery, Deep Blue Sun, Celeste Krenz, Wyatt Easterling, and Spuyten Duyvil. What people are saying! "...an excellent guitarist and thoughtful singer-songwriter" - Jack Silverman, Nashville Scene "...a master class on how to play the guitar" - James Soars, Maverick Magazine, Kent, England "...an accomplished musician... warm tenor vocals" - Brad Fischer, Nashville Music Guide "…a stellar guitar player, lyricist and songwriter... Brian's live show is a must see!" - Tom Tranchilla, KPFT, Houston, TX. "…intelligent… clever… a monster on guitar.” - Janet Hans, Urban Campfires Concert Series, San Antonio, TX. "Courier would sound as good on a down-home, back-porch boombox as a hi-fi stereo system normally tuned to NPR." - Chris DeVille, Columbus Alive, Columbus, OH.

Melanie wishes to aid charities by asking us to unite together on February 14th 2009 and donate to the charity Keep A Child Alive by buying Melanie’s single ‘Rollercoaster’. ‘I pledge that 50% of all sales will be given to KCA……..please show your support, say ‘I love you’ – and of course buy a great song! 50% OF ALL SALES MADE BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER FEBRUARY 14TH WILL ALSO BE DONATED TO KEEP A CHILD ALIVE. Melanie has also visited West Africa on many occasions and has witnessed first hand, poverty in its extreme. ‘I was fresh faced and to be perfectly honest couldn’t believe a lot of what I saw and on each visit to Africa I experienced new things that humbled me more and more. Each encounter was priceless and inspirational and taught me so much about myself and others. I am left with memories that I shall never forget. The key is that it doesn’t take much money from each of us to transform the lives of so many people who live in poverty and despair’. Keep a Child Alive brings attention to the already 25 million people that have been killed by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and the millions more that are threatened and orphaned by the disease. By the end of 2006, 39.5 million people were living with HIV or AIDS, including 2.3 million children under the age of 15. Despite AIDS being a preventable and treatable disease, 2.9 million people died from AIDS related causes last year, including 380,000 children under the age of 15—the equivalent of one child dying per minute. KCA's efforts continue to focus in particular on sub-Saharan Africa as it remains the worst-affected region in the world. With a little more than one-tenth of the world's population living in this area, it is home to almost 64 percent of all people living with HIV—of the overall 24.5 million infected, 2 million are children. While access to ARV therapy has increased more than eight-fold since the end of 2003, only 17 percent of people in need of treatment receive it. In addition to improving access to ARV therapy, KCA offers a range of support services including nutritional projects, diagnostic testing, training of health care workers, counseling, and funding sites where AIDS orphans can be cared for. Melanie Jean’s beautiful Trinidadian mother was a born musician and cultivated her daughter’s passion for music from a young age. Guided by her mother to sing and learn classical instruments like the piano and violin, Melanie remembers when she would sit quietly beside her as she learnt to play. In her 18th year, she arrived in the modern city of Liverpool and was re-introduced to her first love: music. The bustling metropolis, home to The Beatles, had a live band scene that had Melanie’s eyes twinkling and soon enough, her musical ambitions were back in full swing. She moved to London after earning a degree and joined a four-girl, one-guy band called FunkAngelic. The indie-urban group had a unique sound that received praise from critics nationwide. Of the band’s first single, RWD magazine called it, “a great debut track,” telling readers to, “expect big things from this group.” After touring the county, performing in front of thousands, FunkAngelic secured a distribution deal in the UK, Europe and Japan, boasted impressive record sales and filmed a music video for the second single, “Time”. Today Melanie Jean has taken new direction and now stands alone as a solo artist. With vocals as smooth as Sade’s, a style as soulful as Ella Fitzgerald and versatility reminiscent of Diana Ross herself, Melanie has been inspired by a sophisticated selection of music icons. The 25 year-old singer’s voice is undeniably distinctive, ever-moving her listeners with songs that caress the soul. Currently working with British female producer, JPL (Jo Jo, Sean Mac and TWF), Jud Mahoney (Eric Benet, Calvin Richardson, Tyrese) and Sammy Jay (Jamelia, Rod Stewart, Raphael Saadiq), Melanie has conjured up some of her most delectable material yet. “Rollercoaster” is the breakthrough single from the passionate singer/songwriter’s latest musical endeavours. An irresistibly catchy melody and, “Rollercoaster” features the lyrical rhymes of UK’s most anticipated addition to the music industry, Darnell Swallow from Big Brother 9. Produced by JPL, Melanie says of the song ‘This song is about those times when you meet someone and you like them and you just can’t get them out of your head! You’ve tried to forget; you’ve prayed about it, you can’t sleep from thinking about this person, and it’s messing you up - but you’re in LOVE! This journey is a ‘rollercoaster’ of emotion.’