Mike Mangione creates music that speaks to the masses in a brutally honest tone. His constant dedication to his audience and the art of live performance has been the underlying impetus behind his CD, “Tenebrae."

"With ‘Tenebrae’ I wanted to do something different,” says Mangione. “I wanted to record some- thing that had a life of its own. I am such a huge fan of producer Daniel Lanois. His albums are like audible incense, seeping through the speakers and filling the room with a discernible funk. Albums like ‘Achtung Baby,’ Bob Dylan's ‘Time Out Of Mind,’ Emmylou Harris' ‘Wrecking Ball,’ and Peter Gabriel's ‘US’ set the bar for me. These albums all have something very mystical and pensive about them. I wanted ‘Tenebrae’ to be in that same ballpark - or at least the same parking lot of the ballpark - as those incredible albums."

Born in a northern suburb of Chicago and now residing in Milwaukee, Mangione is no stranger to movement and change. Following the 2005 release of “There and Back,”  Mangione has logged approximately one hundred and fifty shows per year throughout the country including such notable performances as SXSW, Midwest Music Summit, Chicago's Mobfest, Milwaukee's Summerfest, and the band was invited to perform at the World Youth Day Festival (the largest youth festival in the world) in Sydney, Australia in July 2008.

Mangione has opened for performers like Jamie Cullum, The Samples, Will Hoge, Jacks Mannequin, Lifehouse, Brian Vander Ark, and Michael McDermott. 

Just as his band started to come together, Mike had an auspicious experience. "I was sitting at mass in Milwaukee and heard this young guy playing cello; it blew my mind. It was such a compelling and moving instrument, I knew I had to add it to the band." Mike promptly recruited 19 year-old Patrick Hoctor, a student in Milwaukee, to become the band's cellist. Soon thereafter, Kristina Priceman, a 19 year-old violin student also in Milwaukee, joined the band to complete the group. For two weeks, Mike and Co. recorded in a converted warehouse in Lexington, Kentucky. "That was probably the longest length of time I have spent in one place in quite some time," Mangione quipped. Much of Tenebrae was recorded live to give it a dynamic, organic air. Mangione is concerned as much with composition as he is with sonic textures. As a result, there is a beautiful, yet haunting undertone throughout the record that balances content with form – a living, breathing feel.

Kim Gnagey is a singer/songwriter born and raised in the Midwest.  Her indy-pop sound encompasses a variety of flavors, including jazz, folk, acoustic rock and r&b, combining fresh harmonic structure and poetic lyrics with simple, memorable melodies.  Kim's musical beginnings were in the church as well as community musical theatre productions, and then continued with choral and classical music training as a vocal music education major in college.  Winning the title of Eastern Idol in a scholarship competition at Eastern Michigan University rekindled her love for solo performing, and inspired confidence to further pursue writing, developing and performing her own music in her own unique style.  In the last year, Kim has been heard locally both in solo and collaborate performances with musicians like Paul Murphy and Tyler Osgood, as well as with bands Freedumb and Sound Cake, though she has spent the last 3 months on a writer's retreat in Normal, IL.  Kim's voice has been compared to Adele, Alicia Keys and Colbie Caillat, and her writing style to Jamie Cullum, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman and Jason Mraz.  Her influences include some of the previous as well as Ella Fitzgerald, Jewel, and Regina Spektor, among others.