Jason Isbell may still be young, but he's packed an enormous amount of musical experience into his 28 years. Growing up in a family of musicians, he absorbed everything he heard and began channeling it into guitar at age six and piano at 12. For the past six years, Isbell was one of three frontmen for the critically acclaimed Drive-By Truckers (DBT)—and although fans may have been shocked by his leaving the band in April, once you hear his solo debut Sirens Of The Ditch (which was co-produced by Isbell and DBT's Patterson Hood) it will only confirm that Isbell has his own unique voice. Musicians joining Isbell on the album include DBT's Shonna Tucker (bass) and Brad Morgan (drums) with cameos from Patterson Hood, his father David Hood, Spooner Oldham, John Neff and more.

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By the standards of anyone, guitarist Earl Slick has lived a rock and roll fantasy camp over his 30+ year musical career. While his name doesn't carry the recognition of a Clapton, Richards or Beck, Slick has played axe for some of the heavies hitters on the rock and roll circuit. Speaking bluntly with true rock and roll bravado, Slick's not shy to admit that showmanship and style are as essential to a guitarist's package as nimble guitar pyrotechnics. He admits, “it was just too much f-ing work” and “I don't have the patience for that shit” in regards to playing technically intricate guitar work. By playing with assurance, feel, grit, and flavor, Slick has knocked down a fair share of dream gigs to place on his rock ‘n roll resume. --Glide Magazine

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Drive-By Truckers released several albums of gutsy, often ironic roots rock (1998's Gangstabilly , 1999's Pizza Deliverance, and the live effort Alabama Ass Whuppin' ) before settling down to compose their unlikely magnum opus, The Southern Rock Opera, a two-act, two-CD work based loosely on the history of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, who met in college, started the group in 1996. The two initially played in a punk-inspired band called Adam's House Cat. Hood 's father, David Hood, was a Muscle Shoals session player whose bass ended up on such well-known records as the Staple Singers ' "I'll Take You There." The vision for the rock opera took shape as Hood began to address his own Southern roots. Far from being solely about Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Southern Rock Opera is also a coming-of-age tale about a guitar-playing kid wrestling with his Southern upbringing. In the narrative, the youth moves north, takes up punk, and tries to shed his accent; but then, inevitably, he reconnects with his past through Southern rock. The project was recorded primarily live in Birmingham, AL, and boasts a three-guitar attack (à la Skynyrd ) and a sound that swings from nervy, powerful rock & roll to a bruised, jagged tone that recalls Neil Young & Crazy Horse. --Allmusic.com

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Asbury Park, NJ is Bruce Springsteen's town. There's no two ways about it. So when The Bouncing Souls moved there to write what would become The Gold Record, Bruce's old ghosts, spirits which permeate the area, were almost sure to appear. It happens to anyone who's ever been to a rock show at The Stone Pony, Asbury's most famous jaunt. I've seen it time and time again. Shit, I've even seen the Souls cover Springsteen at the Pony. Anyway, in 1999 Springsteen made it into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame for the songwriting abilities he honed on the Jersey Shore. In 2006 it's fitting that the Souls create their latest album on the same hallowed streets. The result is undoubtedly the Bouncing Souls greatest achievement in songwriting and what will be one of the best albums of the year.

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Philadelphia's Circa Survive was formed by former Saosin vocalist Anthony Green with guitarist Colin Frangicetto -- both of them veterans of the local hardcore scene looking to indulge in the rule-breaking freedom of the neo-progressive movement of the mid-2000s. After Green and Frangicetto discovered likeminded bandmates in second guitarist Brendan Ekstrom, bassist Nick Beard and drummer Steve Clifford , Circa Survive recorded their debut album, Juturna (named after a Roman goddess), for Equal Vision Records in 2005. Lots of touring followed, including Warped Tour dates, and the album steadily sold close to an impressive 100,000 copies. A spot on the 2007 Coachella festival led into the late May release of Circa Survive's follow-up, On Letting Go. --Allmusic.com

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BEHEMOTH have always pushed the limits of their abilities and defied the boundaries of death and black metal. Now, the Polish metal kings have returned with a new offering, The Apostasy, which is destined to become both the defining release of the band's career and one of the most revered and dynamic offerings the genre has seen in years. The Apostasy's basic meaning is "to go against religion," and with Poland being one of the top religious countries in the world, BEHEMOTH strives to convey that being religious is not the key to happiness. This album takes everything to the next level, as Nergal (guitars, vocals) promises "more speed, aggression and blasphemy than ever before." The Apostasy is easily the group's most ambitious and epic offering yet and was recorded in the band's hometown of Gdansk with Nergal and longtime sound engineer Malta in the producers' chairs. The effort was once again mixed with the acclaimed Daniel Bergstrand (In Flames, Meshuggah, SYL) at Dugout Studios in Sweden and will be mastered by Bjorn Engelmann (Rammstein).

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In 2006, you were introduced to Envy On The Coast, the upstart Long Island quintet with the swiss-army rock aesthetics, boundless ambitions, and hearts big enough to fit each of their growing swell of fans.

After issuing a self-titled debut EP to widespread acclaim in August 2006, Envy On The Coast – vocalist Ryan Hunter, guitarists Brian Byrne and Sal Bossio, bassist Jeremy Velardi and drummer Dan Gluszak – set out on national tours with arena-filling artists like 30 Seconds To Mars and Angels & Airwaves and were named one Alternative Press' 100 Band You Need To Know in 2007. Following subsequent tours alongside peers as disparate as Circa Survive and Cute Is What We Aim For, Envy On The Coast have cut their teeth in front of thousands of fans, earning their own impassioned following in the process. No question, their earliest experiences together have been unforgettable and certainly their entrance has been grand.

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Such judgments cant be made for the deceitfully youthfull appearance of Asking Alexandria. Its fringes at dawn for this lot, but dont let that fool you They've got all the swagger and cockiness of a well reputed band and are the most entertaining on the bill tonight. Frontman James murray has a voice As I Lay Dying would be jealous of and AA's sound is overall brutally intense. With gut wrenching excellence in the form of Grammaphone Ellegance this viscerally pleasing bunch upstage the other bands in every way. --BIG CHEESE MAGAZINE

Ben & Cam both use The Outlaw through 4X12 Cabs

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