Wilder Days by Natasha Borzilova released April 21, 2015!

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Hadley Music Group is proud to release the fourth solo effort by singer songwriter Natasha Borzilova, Wilder Days. On this album she borrowed instruments from friends, learned to play them for the songs on the album. Instruments she played included mandolin, dulcitar , keyboard, and banjo as well as acoustic and electric guitars. She wrote all of the songs on this CD with the exception of her first cover tune, “Oysters”, a song by Tori Amos who has been a favorite of hers for a long time. Below is the EPK with Borzilova talking about some of the songs on the album and her process of making this record.

 

 

 

Ulisse releases companion CD to her book

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Hadley Music Group has released a companion CD to the book The Songwriter in Me: Snapshots of My Creative Process written by singer songwriter Donna Ulisse. The CD is titled The Songwriter in Me: The Demo Recordings and includes all twenty-four songs that are featured in the book as lyrics.

As soon as the book was completed, Donna approached Kathy Anderson at HMG with the vision of a companion CD offering readers of the book the opportunity to also listen to the songs as they were reading the lyrics along with the notes Ulisse has in the book regarding the meter of each song, how the melody works with the lyric and rhyming patterns. It was also her vision to present the songs in much more sparse arrangements than her other recordings to show the listeners how she often hears her songs when she writes them and also how she records them to present to her publisher as a representation to pitch to other artists, inspiring “The Demo Recordings” as part of the title. All of the songs are recorded with just acoustic guitar tracks and and on occasion an additional mandolin, fiddle and vocal harmony. Musicians on the CD are Bryan Sutton, Kenny Smith, Glen Duncan and Tony King. Ulisse’s husband and co-writer on many of the songs, Rick Stanley, sings harmonies on multiple tracks and also sang lead on the song “The Man That I Am” which Ulisse felt was a bit more believable than singing it herself.

The album includes some of Donna Ulisse’s most popular songs such as “Let it Rain”, “Showin’ My Roots”, and “I Am A Child of God” as well as many songs that have yet to be heard. However, even the familiar songs will sound fresh to those familiar with the original releases when they hear them in this stripped down setting.

Photo and video shoot for new music from Natasha Borzilova

Natasha was recently in the studio of Nashville photographer Shannon Fontaine for a photo and video shoot for her upcoming CD release Wilder Days. Below is makeup artist and stylist Cassie O’Sullivan getting her ready for the shoot.

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Donna Ulisse to head back into studio with producer Bryan Sutton

DonnaBryanPrePro_edited-2Singer songwriter Donna Ulisse and guitar virtuoso Bryan Sutton are preparing to team up for their second studio effort on the Hadley Music Group label. The album will be Ulisse’s eighth release on the label.
Sutton was at the helm of production for Ulisse’s 2013 release Showin’ My Roots which was her first album to feature mostly cover material as she paid tribute to many of her musical heroes. 
Ulisse, who has been nominated as IBMA Songwriter of the Year for the past three years in a row, will be turning to her own vast song catalog once again for this new album. She handed Sutton nearly sixty songs to sift through and they recently narrowed it down from twenty to a final twelve in a recent pre-production meeting. 
Bryan Sutton is one of the most sought after session acoustic guitarists in Nashville, a member of the band Hot Rize as well as a recording artist in his own right on Sugar Hill Records. His latest release “Into My Own” is nominated for a Grammy in the best Bluegrass Album category. He was also voted IBMA’s Guitar Player of the Year in 2014. 
Ulisse is busier than ever as she continues to tour with her band The Poor Mountain Boys playing festivals and concert venues. She also is experiencing more success than ever as a songwriter, having her songs recorded by other artists including recent cuts by the Larry Stephenson Band as well as Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. In 2014 she authored the book The Songwriter in Me: Snapshots of My Creative Process and launched a traveling songwriting workshop called Songwriting Escape. 
An official release for her new CD is being targeted for late spring or early summer. 

 

Uncle Hadley Music adds more bluegrass cuts to catalog

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The Larry Stephenson Band recently included “Come To Jesus Moment” on their bluegrass gospel release Pull Your Savior In. The album has received very favorable reviews and is getting heavy airplay on bluegrass and gospel stations.

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver also included the song “Wilma Walker” on their current release In Session.

Both songs are written by Uncle Hadley Music writer Donna Ulisse and her husband and frequent co-writer Rick Stanley. 

Donna has busiest year ever at IBMA conference in Raleigh!

Donna being interviewed by Bluegrass Today's David Morris.

Donna being interviewed by Bluegrass Today’s David Morris.

Each year in late September, the International Bluegrass Music Association hosts an annual conference ending with the annual awards show. The event has been held in Raleigh, NC for the past two year.  Donna was there in full force as an official showcase artist but she also did many other things.

Bluegrass Today’s David Morris interviewed her about her book on songwriting. You can watch the video here.

Donna and her band The Poor Mountain Boys also did a master class at a local middle school. Enjoy a short video clip of them teaching here.

On Friday evening, Donna and The Poor Mountain Boys were part of the IBMA Wide Open Bluegrass StreetFest, doing a show on a street stage in downtown Raleigh to a large and enthusiastic crowd.

There was also an interview with the local ABC affiliate about women in bluegrass as well as a songwriting workshop with several other bluegrass songwriters. Ulisse also had a booth all week in the exhibit hall where she took time to meet and greet folks.

 

Borzilova back in Boston area!

Performing for Socks for Siberia. Photo by Gary Wise

Performing for Socks for Siberia. Photo by Gary Wise

Natasha Borzilova was recently back in the Boston area for three shows with Canadian folk singer songwriter NancyBeaudette. One of the shows included a fundraiser for Sock For Siberia which is one of Borzilova’s favorite charities. They send much needed items to orphanages in Siberia.

Congratulations to Donna Ulisse for IBMA nominations!

hadley-congratulates-donnaHadley Music Group is proud to congratulate Donna Ulisse for her nominations at the IBMA awards for 2014.

For the third year in a row, she is nominated for Songwriter of the Year along with Becky Buller, Jerry Salley, Tim Stafford, and Mark “Brink” Brinkman.

Her recording of “Wait a Little Longer Please Jesus” is also nominated as Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year.

The awards will be held in Raleigh, NC in late September.

Donna Ulisse plays WSM-Durango stage again at CMA Music Fest

Donna on the WSM-Durango stage waiting to be introduced

Donna on the WSM-Durango stage waiting to be introduced

For the fifth year in a row, Ulisse was invited to perform in the Nashville Convention Center at the annual CMA Music Fest. Her performance was on the popular WSM-Durango stage to a great crowd. The performance was also broadcast live on WSM 650-AM and streamed live globally by the station.

Her show featured many of the tunes on the “Showin’ My Roots” album.

After her performance, her fans waited patiently for a meet and greet, photos and autographs.

 

 

 

Ulisse writes first book for Hadley Music Group

BookCoverAmazon_edited-1Donna Ulisse recently completed her first book for Hadley Music Group titled The Songwriter in Me: Snapshots of My  Creative Process. 

In this book, Ulisse shares her development as a songwriter; from introducing us to the people around her as a child who fired up her imagination, to being a signed songwriter at a music publishing company in Nashville, TN for the past fifteen years. She offers tips on the co-writing process, explanation of song structures and rhyme patterns, exercises on how to get your own creative juices flowing, as well as many of her own lyric examples with insights to her approach on each lyric. Written in her endearing, straightforward and down to earth style, Ulisse’s love of songwriting shines through on each page and she presents the information in an accessible form to writers of all levels. The book quickly moved into the Top 10 on Amazon in the category of books on songwriting.