Little Anchor / Black Forest / Plates of Cake

Little Anchor blends the storytelling and simplicity of the Northwest with New York influenced pop sensibility. The Brooklyn-based four-piece was initially conceived over a long weekend in a cabin on the Columbia River Gorge as the solo project of Pacific Northwest native, Alexa Cabellon in May 2009. Upon her return to New York, the small front-woman with big ideas shared her material with friends and former NYU classmates Kendrick Lo (guitar), Thomas White (bassist), and Ian Chang (percussion), who now complete the group. The band's new EP, Yellow Lights, was released digitally on September 6, 2011.

Bringing together the fuzz-guitar rock of Neil Young & Crazy Horse and the reflective songwriting style of post-Beatles George Harrison, Brooklyn's Black Forest rallies around the melodic song-craft and dexterous voice of singer/guitarist Gann Matthews. After exploring the outer limits of solo performance and receiving "Best Singer-Songwriter" accolades from Denver's Westword, Matthews relocated to Brooklyn and formed Black Forest with guitarist Stephen Lopez, drummer Michael Campbell and fellow Colorado transplant, bassist Miguel Barrera.

With an emphasis on lyrical structure and clever melodies, Brooklyn's Plates of Cake play a kind of surrealistic pop music favored by luminaries such as The Kinks and Guided By Voices. After songwriter/guitarist Jonathan Byerley created two outstanding albums of hazy folk songs under his own name, he decided it was time to call in some old friends and cohorts from his home state of Colorado and strike up the band.