WXPN Artist To Watch - July 2007
Hoots & Hellmouth

Not quite folk or alt-country, but more than just a rock group, Philadelphia's Hoots & Hellmouth crafts fiery, cathartic roots-rock that the band describes as "new music for old souls." Hear Hoots & Hellmouth perform a concert from WXPN and World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.

Formed in 2005 around the acoustic guitars of Sean Hoots and Andrew "Hellmouth" Gray, the two began creating a body of work that was vastly different from what either had created in the past. Often fleshing out their arrangements with organ, upright bass, drums and mandolin, Hoots and Gray saw their star begin to rise after appearances at the 2006 Philadelphia Folk Festival and last year's WXPN All About the Music festival. Blending soul, folk, country, gospel and rock with the sounds of classic Americana, Hoots & Hellmouth has, on record, lived up to the promise of its revival-like live shows — which is saying a lot.

Check Out the Archives for a Live Show
The band played a Live Concert for an XPN Free At Noon show on May 25, 2007. The entire concert, broadcast live on WXPN, KUT, VPR, and NPR.org is archived on NPR.org/Music.

Hoots & Hellmouth are slated to play the river stage at this year's XPoNential Music Festival on Saturday, July 21.

Band Members
Sean Hoots: guitar, vocals
Andrew Gray: guitar, vocals
Robert Berliner: mandolin, vocals
Tim Celfo: bass
Mike Bardzik: drums
Anna-Christie Sadler: vocals
Beatrice Sadler: vocals
Cass Sadler: vocals

Related Links: Artists To Watch | 2007 XPoNential Music Festival | Free At Noon Archive