At a crucial moment of quiet intensity, the members of Hotels & Highways heard the wind rustling the trees in their headphones. For any other project it would have been an unwelcome signal to cut the take short and try again when there was golden silence. Instead, the three newly-committed band members smiled at their good fortune and carried on playing, the wind and trees now indelible partners in the song’s performance. It was September 2010 and Erin "Syd" Sidney, Lisa Piccirillo and Patrick Thomas were getting to be well-versed in letting their temporary home in the woods be a part of the creative process. They’d come to a lakeside cabin in New York to fulfill a mutual, career-long dream of living together while recording an album. A week-long tour of the Northeast had been booked immediately following the 10-day writing and recording retreat. The material was largely unwritten. The sound had not been clearly defined. But with each day’s new songs and each night’s recording sessions, what began as a joyful experiment in creativity and trust evolved quickly into an emerging full-length album and a well-received tour. Hotels & Highways, originally a nom de plume for songs a group of friends wrote together, had quietly and gracefully transformed into a band. With a stream of updates and videos coming from the cabin, friends and fans watched the project gather momentum and became an integral part of the experience. Real-time support for the group evolved into validation that only a proper release would do this music justice. Through the use of fan-funding website Kickstarter, the band raised over $13,000 (far surpassing their goal of $10,000) to finance the remaining production on their album and a corresponding national tour. With this massive vote of confidence from their fan base, Hotels & Highways' cabin-grown debut, "Lost River," hits digital stands on March 8, 2011. Syd, Patrick, and Lisa are each experienced touring and recording artists with self-released albums and a thick portfolio of singer/songwriter accolades. Each has performed showcases at prestigious music festivals, opened for national acts, maintained rigorous touring schedules and received plenty of quotable love from the press. Though comprised of accomplished members, Hotels & Highways is just beginning its journey. Leaving behind the sounds of that lake in New York, the band will share the spirit that defines them and live up to their name with a 6-week tour of the US, including dates at Cafe 939 in Boston, Rockwood Music Hall's new Stage 2 in New York City, Molly Malone's in Los Angeles and 20 other major cities in the Spring of 2011.

The forefathers of “crunchy western” music Jim McHugh, Morris Manning, Steve McBrian, and Jacob Stern deliver a homegrown, crunchy cookin’ performance with mandolin, bass, fiddle, guitar, dobro, banjo, and vocals. Their unique, smooth sounds are sure to tame the wildest beast or maybe even awaken the spirit within! Performances include original, crunchy, bluegrass, folk, and americana tunes.

Morris Manning

Morris Manning is a native of Franconia NH. As a singer/songwriter, Morris has a strong following asvan authentic New England folk singer. His original songs have been voted best in the region by various publications, and he has been nominated for a MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets) Award. Morris has played with The Chinese Cooks, The Regular Einsteins, Valhalla Taxi, El Mundo, Loli Marquez-Sterling Cabaret Group, The Bettys, and The New Gypsy Swing Quintet and tours regularly in Europe.

Steve McBrian

Steve has played, over the years, with Dumbwaiter, the Regular Einsteins, the Bettys, duos with Morris Manning, Valhalla Taxi, and most recently, Ricky and the Giants. Steve writes and records original music at home…but has, despite many attempts, refused to talk about it while sober. You can hear Steve on the Crunchy Western Boy’s first record, where he sang background vocals. In late August of ’09 Steve (finally!) became a ‘real’ man and took up the big bass fiddle. Shortly afterward he was seen rubbing his hands, alternately mumbling something about intonation, and shouting into the clear blue sky; “Damn you Banzai! Damn you to Hell!” Originally from Tyringham, MA Steve currently resides with his wife and son on a small farm in Meredith, NH.

Jim McHugh

Jim started playing when an old girlfriend bought him his first guitar some 24 years ago, and has been playing ever since. Jim played through college with Cottleston Pie, an original jam band who opened for The New Riders of the Purple Sage several times. He also played with a band called the Hoedads, an original folk band. Jim picked up the mandolin while hitchhiking around the country, he realized he could play and hitch at the same time. He played on the streets of Barcelona with Glen Hanson of the Frames just buy coincidence. Jim also began writing original music 24 years ago and honed his skills around the campfire, and in Grateful Dead parking lots around the country. Jim has played in Ireland on several occasions as well as the Netherlands and France. Jim currently lives in Warren, NH with his wife, 3yr old son and 7 month old daughter.

Jacob Stern

Fiddler extraordinaire Jacob Stern hails from Buffalo, NY. He currently lives in Ashland, NH. Brought up in the classical style, Jacob turned to the dark side some years ago after a run in with a strange creature in a far off land. He returned with a most peculiar sounding fiddle, and before he knew it he was playing it almost everyday. Now all he has to do is play the thing everyday.

Radio Free Vermont has been listed as a top Indie Internet radio station in the SHOUTcast Internet radio directory.  See picture below.

Mountain Man Website...

After some simple, unadorned recordings were posted on their MySpace page, the tracks swiftly made their way around the Internet. The group's whirlwind ascent included an appearance at SXSW, a recent U.K. tour and a spot at the prestigious Glastonbury Festival — all of this, and they won't have a proper album out until Tuesday.

The three women met only last year at Bennington College in Vermont. One day, Meath says, she heard music coming from the living room of her group house; it was Sarle singing one of her own songs. Meath says she was drawn to the tune and knew what she had to do.

"I had her come up to my room, and ... I had her sing it about 13 or 14 times until I memorized it, and then I taught it to Alex," Meath says.

Each of them grew up in music-loving households, and their songwriting talents came naturally — all three women have contributed songs to Mountain Man's first album. Meath says she came from a "singing family," while Sauser-Monnig's father owned a record store. Sarle says her first utterance was the theme song to the TV game show Jeopardy.

From The Mountain To The Stage

Onstage, the three women stand in a tight semicircle — Meath, on the left, is facing Sarle. Sauser-Monnig stands in the middle, or sometimes sits on a stool to play the guitar. Their live show is as pure as their recordings — three voices either a cappella or accompanied by a single guitar.

"Honey Bee" is a quick a cappella tune akin to a hymn. Melodic counterpoint is nonexistent, and the three voices sit on top of each other in pastoral, old-time-sounding harmonies that ring with a certain twang. The absence of accompaniment makes the chanted, plying chorus sound siren-like: "Let us sing a song to thee / Oh, my sweet honey bee."

The trio quickly solidified its musical synergy, and now Mountain Man has a manager, tour dates, MP3 downloads and record contracts on four continents. These days, the women's harmonies even bleed into their everyday conversation.

"Just feeling each other's voices vibrating in our own bodies and filling the room up," Meath says, before Sarle adds, "It was a feeling of, like, total elation."

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