My Grandmother met Hank Williams in 1949 at a record shop in Montgomery Alabama. She worked there, and Hank would come in from time to time to see how his records were doing. I love Hank Williams. Like much of southern culture, my grandmother included, he was a storyteller. I began writing songs the minute I first picked up the used Hohner acoustic guitar my dad bought me for Christmas in 1996. Even then, years before I discovered men like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Dr. Ralph Stanley, or Roy Orbison, I wanted to write songs that told a story. Back then, the stories were usually humorous little slices of teenage life. After high-school, some friends and I formed a ska band in Lancaster Pennsylvania. We called ourselves The Skankin' Buvas, wore Amish garb on stage, and sang about cars, girls, and the tortured lives of professional referrees. We actually received a good dose of local radio play, and got to share the stage with some great bands, including Five Iron Frenzy and Switchfoot. Eventually, we went our separate ways, many of us to different colleges. I recieved a Bachelor's degree in Music Recording Technology from Lebanon Valley College, in Annville Pennsylvania. While at college, I developed a taste for folk music, both new - Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens, Sun Kil Moon, and old - Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Leon Redbone, Nick Drake. In these artists, and in this medium I found a challenging new level of lyrical creativity, and an inspiring depth of emotive musicality. Nobody tells a good story like a folk singer. Some of the most compelling stories were some of the weightiest too. Songs like Hank Williams' Long Gone Lonesome Blues, Cash's Folsom Prison Blues, Iron & Wine's A History of Lovers, all dealt with death, straightfaced and unflinchingly. I began to try my own hand at writing these types of songs, eventually releasing an e.p. entitled The Blackbird Revue, which would later become our band name as well. Ironically, in the midst of releasing this album dealing with loss and heartbreak, the most wonderful thing happened. On January 22nd, 2008 I met a stunningly beautiful college senior, and voice major at Kansas University named Danielle Burch. Danielle was so vibrant, full of life and song, and it wasn't long before we began playing music together. Danielle was raised with great music: The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty. I'm pretty sure she knows the words to every song ever recorded in the '60s. We fell easily and naturally in love, and wed in July of 2009. Danielle is a beautifully stirring singer. She has a way of putting her heart in a lyric (even if singing harmony) that moves people, and she has an incredible musical sensibility. She knows where a song needs to go, and she takes it there. Over the next year, we worked very hard to create a unique, cohesive, musical expression, one that was representative of both of our hearts, histories and talents. In November of 2010, we released our first collaborative effort, our first album as The Blackbird Revue, The Whaler & Other Stories, a 5-song e.p. of tales both tragic and uplifting, haunted and hopeful. Engineered by Ed Rose (The Get Up Kids, Appleseed Caste), the album is at once an homage to those who inspired us, and something completely our own. Here's what some folks had to say about it: The Whaler & Other Stories could serve as a textbook example of how folk-inflected, country-informed rock\u002Fpop should sound. - J. Howell, Ink Magazine, Kansas City Worn, comfortable americana. The sway of Mother's Radio has a weathered, easy flow that's as rustic as a chipped porch swing. - Elke Mermis, The Pitch magazine, Kansas City The Blackbird Revue puts together folk, indie, and country sounds in a very sophisticated manner. Great songwriting and execution. The Lion's Mane is one of the most beautiful melodies I've heard all year. Get to know this band. Trust me. - Michael Byars, KCUR Radio, 89.3fm, Kansas City Beautiful production, lovely melodies, and intelligent lyrics. Nice work all the way around. - Diana Linn Ennis, KKFI Radio, 90.1fm, Kansas City The Blackbird Revue catch a sound that speaks of late autumn days spent in clear-headed and heartfelt reminiscence of life. Where Jacob's crystal-light voice seems custom made for Simon & Garfunkel's most stratospheric melodies, Danielle has a more throated and smokey tone, which carries the more somber emotional weight woven throughout the EP; the blend makes for an exquisite pairing, like lemon water and red wine. - J.R. Myszka, breadandglitterjournal.com The Blackbird Revue plays country-inspired ballads and adrenaline-ridden, soaring anthems fueled by ear-catching harmonies. - Abbie Stutzer, The Pitch magazine, Kansas CityFronted by husband-wife duo Jacob & Danielle Prestidge, the Blackbird Revue has crafted a sound that manages to be ethereal and earthy all at once, swirling and magnetic yet immediate and relevant. Many are taking notice. - Aarik Danielsen, The Columbia Daily Tribune In the past year since releasing The Whaler & Other Stories, we've filmed videos of 2 more songs, 17 Years, and Grain & Roses, made our first television appearance, and played roughly 30 concerts at numerous venues throughout the midwest (including The SXSW Festival in Austin, TX, and Kansas City's Middle of the Map Fest) alongside such luminaries as Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, Over the Rhine, Gregory Alan Isakov, Jay Brannan, and Vedera. We were a national finalist in the Bud Light Battle of the Bands 2012, and were selected to be part of the Chevy Music Showcase series in Kansas City. We've been featured on radio stations across the midwest, and in magazines such as Kansas City Star's Ink Magazine, and The Pitch magazine, where we were nominated for Best Americana Band in Kansas City for 2012. We love making music, and we always will. And like Hank Williams and my grandmother, we love a good story.-Jacob PrestidgeThe Blackbird Revue