Audiotree Plants Its Roots at CMJ


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On Saturday, October 15, I went to the CMJ (College Music Journal) send-off show that featured Paper Thick Walls, The Damn Choir, Kellen & Me, and Radiation City at the Ultra Lounge, which is located in Logan Square.  I found out about the event through Audiotree’s Facebook page.

Audiotree is an artist services music company that is involved in recording, live sessions, artist management, licensing and publishing.  In addition to being passionate about music, they also support important charitable causes like Rock For Kids, which is the Chicago non-profit where I serve as a junior board member.

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Audiotree currently manages the artist, Kellen & Me.  While you might think that Kellen & Me is a duo because of the name and the music he crafts, you would be mistaken. Kellen is a one-man music show.   Kellen & Me is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumental musician that stirs up a folk, electronic, and tape-looping sound.  His music captures a vibe that encompasses both the past and the future.  You can purchase his debut album on iTunes.

Audiotree’s owner, Michael Johnston went to CMJ with Kellen & Me.  CMJ is a music marathon and film festival that takes place once a year during October in New York City.  Kellen and Michael drove to the festival and stopped to stay with a pal in Ohio to break up the long trip.  Before they got to NYC they ventured a little further east to Boston to interview with Indie Ambassador, an artist management company.

Kellen & Me played at Shrine Music Venue in Harlem, Arlene’s Grocery store on the Lower East Side, and at Kenny’s Castaways in Greenwich Village.  The guys also got to check out other bands like Active Child, Portugal, The Man, Rubblebucket, and Oberhofer.

While part of the Audiotree team hit up NYC, Adam Thurston, Michael’s partner, held down the fort in Chicago and hosted five live studio sessions including the Screaming Females and Audiotree’s 80th live session with Joshua James.  You should definitely check out Audiotree’s archived live sessions and stay tuned for future live sessions.

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