“The next ‘breakout Americana’ act out of Nashville,” marrying Bluegrass & Gospel roots with their love for Rock, Blues & Traditional Country for a fresh and definitely different sound! Touring in support of their five star rated new album, The Gospel of Hurt, Trees Leave is the innovative duo of Wyatt Espalin (vocals & fiddle) and Cobi Ferguson (harmony vocals, guitar and mandolin). They have shared the stage with stellar artists like Patti Loveless, Sam Bush, Tim O’Brien, and The Greencards - and were finalists in the ’09 Bluegrass category of MerlFest’s prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. If you want to know what they sound like, melt Ryan Adams and Lucinda Williams with The Jayhawks and you’ll have something close, but perfectly and memorably different! MORE ABOUT ‘TREES LEAVE’ Any songwriter would have to agree that a feel-good song may fall out of the sky on a breezy, sunny day, but it may prove a daunting task for some. Most artists thrive on bringing their pain and misery into their work and, ironically, capture something beautiful that speaks volumes about the human condition by tapping into the dark realities of their lives. It may seem that there are no feel-good songs on "The Gospel of Hurt", the newest album by acclaimed Americana/Folk Rock duo, Trees Leave. But take a closer listen to this batch of emotional tunes and see what it's like to hurt so good. Trees Leave have traveled the nation for the last 2 years in support of their haunting debut album, "Run". From that album came the neo-Bluegrass number, "Water Falls" which placed the duo as a finalist in the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest held at Merlefest every year. They were placed in the Bluegrass category, but even contest host, Jim Lauderdale, didn't know how to classify the song. "It's just different, in a good way", he said. That's exactly how Trees Leave likes to be described: different. Over the years, they have crafted a sound that marries their Bluegrass roots with their love of Rock, Blues and Traditional Country music. Trees Leave’s preferred brand of Americana mixes raw, emotional lyrics with equally jarring melodies and instrumentation. Whether they are plugged in or sitting on the back porch, the urgency in their music and performance is hard to ignore. Usually performing as a duo, they share rhythm guitar duties when the other is impressing on their signature instruments. Cobi Ferguson’s polarizing guitar riffs and Wyatt Espalin’s fiery fiddle solos add spice to their live performances and keeps audiences guessing what will come next. When the venue suits it, Trees Leave performs with a backing band and their songs do not hesitate to meet them at the next level. The listener is caught off guard with the twists of irony, winks of wit and sighs of sorrow of the characters in their songs. Trees Leave have studied the architects of Americana music and are not ashamed of borrowing from their influences such as Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown, Gillian Welch, the Counting Crows and new Folk-Pop act, the Weepies. They would never call themselves Bluegrass players, but they love taking turns on fiddle and mandolin-laced folk tunes and often try to recreate the sounds of old world music with their tight harmonies and interesting interpretations of old standards. The duo has had the privilege of sharing the stage with the following artists: Patty Loveless, The Greencards, Sam Bush, Angie Aparro, Tim O'Brien, The Infamous Stringdusters, Irons In The Fire, The Lovell Sisters, Mac Powell (Third Day), Shane and Shane, Trevor Morgan, Randall Goodgame, Brianna Lane, Kort McCumber, Florez, Joan Wyatt Band, Braden Land, Shelby James as well as many more great artists. They also have been featured on Georgia's Public Radio with Edgar Treiguts and on Prescott, Arizona's ‘Folk Sessions’. www.TREESLEAVEMUSIC.com www.myspace.com/TREESLEAVE www.reverbnation.com/treesleave www.facebook.com/treesleavemusic