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Hot Club of Cowntown Ventures to Philadelphia on April 4

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Bob Wills has always been a core inspiration for the Hot Club of Cowtown's sound, but it has taken the Texas-based trio a dozen years to fully honor the King of Western swing. A fortuitous tour in England last spring led the band to London's Specific Sound studio, where they spent two days recording a 14-song marathon of only Bob Wills tunes. The result, What Makes Bob Holler, is a lively tribute to the American music icon, respecting Wills' legendary music while putting Hot Club's own signature on these songs. “We have been meaning to make this album for a long time," says Elana James, who co-founded Hot Club with Whit Smith (they're joined by bassist Jake Erwin).

On Monday, April 4, the Hot Club of Cowtown will appear at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, PA. The venue is located at 3025 Walnut Street—Showtime is 7:00pm.

What Makes Bob Holler arrives on the heels of 2009's Wishful Thinking, an Americana radio Top 100 album on which HCCT blended their love of hot jazz and Western swing with original songs, a Tom Waits cover and forays into more eclectic territory. The Austin Chronicle's Jim Caliguiri called it “the Cowtowners at their peak" and David Eldridge, in The Washington Times, describes the disc as “one of the year's most unexpected listening pleasures."

What Makes Bob Holler is something of an 180-degree swing from Wishful Thinking's more eccentric set list. It is the first time HCCT has focused on only one style for an entire album and they are proud enough of the results to express interest in doing more. “There are so many great songs that we didn't get to," says James. “We're going to have to make a box set, eventually, but we're just going to make it piecemeal," adds Smith with a laugh.

While the new disc focuses Bob Wills music, HCCT's live show will remain a engaging mix of what the band does best—whatever moves them at the moment. James reveals that the band often plays without a set list. “We have faith in the system that is the band. This energy that we plug into and it takes us away." Smith describes their shows as “like a rock 'n' roll show" and “people pick up on the energy and the sincerity."

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