August is a prolific time in the crowdfunding world. Entering the latter third of the summer touring/festival season artists begin to turn their thoughts toward their next album cycle. In order to get an album funded in time to record in the fall or winter, it's time to crowdfund in late summer. It also helps that they do have that last third of a season to promote their campaigns from the stage. This month, I've got three wide ranging campaigns that include veterans of the British Invasion, some of Nashville's best session players, and one of roots music's rising young stars.
Abbie Gardner- Elements
I had the good fortune of seeing Abbie Gardner at AMERICANAFEST 2024. You don't often see solo artists accompanied by a dobro, but that's what you get with Abbie Gardner. If her name sounds familiar, you may know her from her former band Red Molly. In the past few years, she's established herself as a solo artist of renown, being a 2025 finalist for both Kerrville New Folk and Folk Alliance International. This time around, Gardner has recruited a band to help her out, including drummer Jano Rix (Wood Brothers). The album is already recorded and Gardner is running her $17,000 Kickstarter campaign to cover those “after studio” costs like promotion and duplication of physical media. The album is available in CD or vinyl formats. Digitally, you can get it as a download (MP3, WAV, and FLAC) or on a USB drive shaped like a cassette tape. Other backer perks include your name in the album's liner notes, a one-hour Zoom call, and an Executive Producer credit.
The River Cryers- Debut Album
You may not know the members of The River Cryers (Dan Haseltine, Steve Hindalong, Billy Smiley, Ron Hemby, and Matt Nelson) by name, but you've almost certainly heard their work. Solo and in various combinations, they've written for and worked alongside some of Nashville's finest, including Buddy Miller, Michael W. Smith, Sixpence None the Richer, and Amy Grant just to name a few. At some point during their studio sessions, the friends decided to form a band that they're calling a mix of “guitar-based rock and roll, folk, Americana and harmony-rich pop.” From the teasers they share on their Kickstarter video, I get a vibe of Tom Petty and The Eagles along with tinges of the gospel world they've spent a lot of time in. To get their album off the ground, they're running a $45,000 Kickstarter campaign and they're offering a number of campaign perks. In addition to the album in digital, CD, and vinyl (with a autographed tier for the latter two) and standard campaign perks like a tee-shirt or handwritten lyric sheets, you can get some unique personalized experiences such as a hike with Steve Hindalong or a studio tour with Dan Haseltine and Matt Nelson. You can even purchase a “percussion package” of gear from Hindalong's own collection.
Chad & Jeremy- When All Is Said and Done
If you're a fan of '60s rock music, you may remember Chad & Jeremy for their string of Top 40 hits including “A Summer Song,” “Willow Weep for Me,” and “Yesterday's Gone.” While they were swept in as part of the British Invasion, Chad & Jeremy always stood out from their peers, less jangly bop and more folksy harmonies in the vein of Simon & Garfunkel. While Chad Stewart died in 2020, Jeremy Clyde is continuing on and diving into his and Stewart's archive of demos, outtakes, and unfinished tracks to bring to life When All Is Said and Done, the final Chad & Jeremy album. But all that digital transfer and cleanup of the archival works, recorded over multiple decades, doesn't come cheap so Clyde is running a Kickstarter campaign that started at $12,000 but has already almost doubled that goal and is into stretch funding territory. The album is available for pre-order in digital and CD formats. You can also get a magnet, a pin pack, a tote of vinyl from Jeremy's record collection, and tour jackets from their 2007 tour.
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