“I Like Girls” sings lesbian jazz singer Samantha Sidley on iconic single; Upcoming album created by women incl. Inara George (The Bird and The Bee).

Iconic pride tune, written by Alex Lilly (Beck), Barbara Gruska (The Belle Brigade), out now. Hear it at Grimy Goods, Jazziz. US tour launches Aug. 11^th. 

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Samantha Sidley as photographed by Logan White

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PLAY, POST & SHARE

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/SamanthaSidley-ILikeGirls

Listen to “I Like Girls” by Samantha Sidley at Grimy Goods or Jazziz or the link above now!

“It takes us back to the speakeasies of the 20s, with flirtatious saxophones and crisp, expressive vocals. The song is a sophisticated and delicious ice-breaker, serving anthemic lyrical content for an evolving culture.” — Grimy Goods

Sam tells Jazziz, “I’m a jazz singer and I wanted to sing songs that represented me but still sounded timeless. I used to just change the pronouns in standards but now I have originals in the genre especially about me and my story.”

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Samantha Sidley | Live

All dates w/ Alex Lilly, The Bird and The Bee

08/11/2019: St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club (TIX)

08/12/2019: Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village (TIX)

08/14/2019: Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre (TIX)

08/15/2019: Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre (TIX)

08/16/2019: Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live (TIX)

08/17/2019: Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere (TIX)

08/20/2019: Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle (TIX)

08/21/2019: Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5 (TIX)

08/22/2019: Birmingham, AL @ The Saturn (TIX)

08/24/2019: Dallas, TX @ Trees (TIX)

08/25/2019: Austin, TX @ Parish (TIX)

08/28/2019: Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom (TIX)

08/29/2019: San Diego, CA @ Casbah (TIX)

08/30/2919: San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop (TIX)

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Samantha Sidley | “I Like Girls”

See Samantha Sidley performing an impromptu unplugged version of “I Like Girls” now!

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37ShCNptLG0

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Samantha Sidley | About

Samantha Sidley is a jazz vocalist, born-and-raised in Los Angeles, and she likes girls.

The words “I like girls” are the first thing you’ll hear when Sidley’s debut album Interior Person (Sept. 13^th, Release Me Records) opens. The song is an unassuming anthem, a future standard for an evolving culture. It’s also a fun and funny ice-breaker that you’ll sing along with.

“I Like Girls” is a peek into what plays out as a meticulously crafted debut album featuring Sidley’s beautifully trained voice taking confident ownership of songs written for her to sing by some of the most important women in her life.

These other “girls” include fellow musicians Inara George, Alex Lilly, and Sidley’s “Top One” favorite musician of all-time, her wife, Barbara Gruska.

“Inara and Alex and Barbara wrote songs that are all very personal to my story – they literally are my story – and from my lesbian perspective, which I appreciate so much,” Sidley says. In addition to co-writing many of the songs here, and playing drums (masterfully) on many of the tracks, Gruska also produced Interior Person in a studio constructed in Sidley’s childhood bedroom.

“My whole life was a song,” Sidley says of her childhood. “If I looked at a tree, it was a song. If I felt happy, sad, joy, it was a song. When I first heard Judy Garland in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ I remember thinking: ‘I understand.’ I’ve always considered myself an interpreter, which is sort of and undervalued art form. I like to take a song and make the story true for me.”

Sidley soon discovered Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, soul music in general, and her own personal “soulfulness” itself. You know, like all seven-year-olds do. Later, considering how annoyed 11-year-old Sidley was when her vocal instructor wouldn’t allow her to sing Holiday’s “Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)” at her first recital, it all made perfect sense.

A decade later, Sidley got to sing whatever she wanted, performing at NYC’s legendary Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, where she lived in Dorothy Parker’s room, listened to a lot of Anita O’Day and Ella Fitzgerald, and landed a rave review in The New York Times.

“She knows exactly how I express myself and what my intentions are,” Sidley says of her working relationship with Gruska. “Collaborating on this record has actually been a much longer collaboration of us getting to know each other.”

Interior Person, the debut album from Samantha Sidley, arrives Sept. 13^th, preceded by the single “I Like Girls,” out now.  Samantha Sidley is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Samantha Sidley | Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : RELEASE ME RECORDS

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Gregory Ackerman shares “We’ve Got A Runner” single, produced by Pierre de Reeder (Jenny Lewis, She & Him), out now via Munich Records.

Song is taken from International Songwriting Competition finalist’s upcoming “Stresslove” EP of “love songs for those who have fallen out of love.”

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Gregory Ackerman as photographed by Andrew Wofford

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Gregory Ackerman | Live

06/20/2019: Los Angeles, CA @ The Hi-Hat

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PLAY, POST & SHARE

  

About | “We’ve Got A Runner” by Gregory Ackerman

[LYRIC VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veB5zFUsk00

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[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/GregoryAckerman-WeveGotARunner

“A gentle tale of breakup, over highlighted, ethereal marimba, shakers and even handclaps in the mix.  It’s a stirring percussive ensemble, over moving vocals and guitar, and an enticing harbinger of the upcoming EP.” – Americana Highways (LINK)

 “‘We've Got A Runner’ was a song I wrote after college after a break up. I recorded it in my room and posted a demo version in 2015, but always wanted to resurrect it in a studio. It’s a breakup song, and since it went with the theme of the EP – love songs meant for those who had fallen out of love – I decided to rerecord it this year.” - Gregory Ackerman

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Gregory Ackerman | In The Press

“Inspired thematically by the 24-hour news cycle and structurally by Agatha Christie’s landmark 1939 novel ‘And Then There Were None,’ “Ten Little Indians/And Then There Were None (State Of The Union)” recounts troubling issues of the day — like “nine reasons not to handle a gun” and “eight people dead in a bar” — over hypnotic guitar and eerie, increasingly chaotic backing vocals.” – American Songwriter (LINK)

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Gregory Ackerman | About

Los Angeles area-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Gregory Ackerman was recently named a Top 10 Finalist in the International Songwriting Competition (out of nearly 20,000 submissions.) Ackerman’s song “Ten Little Indians/And Then There Were None,” taken from his 2019 Munich Records (est. 1972 in the Netherlands and now a division of V2 Records) album And Friends, is the tune bestowed with the honor. Listen to it via American Songwriter here.

With his 2018 music continuing to be noticed, Ackerman is now prepping new releases for 2019. A new Ackerman tune “Cooler Heads,” written with long-time friend and collaborator Keenan McDaniel, is just out, and Birp! (birp.fm), which included the cut on its June 2019 playlist, will also be including the Ackerman song “Painkillers & Steroids,” taken from Ackerman’s late-2018 The Demo Years compilation, as part of its ongoing vinyl series.

All of this activity leads into Ackerman’s next release for Munich Records, an all-new four-song EP entitled “Stresslove,” set to arrive on October 4^th, 2019, with its initial single “We’ve Got A Runner” out now. As with And Friends, the “Stresslove” EP is once again produced by Rilo Kiley bassist, Pierre de Reeder.

Gregory Ackerman is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Gregory Ackerman | Links

ASSETS : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : MUNICH RECORDS

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

“I Like Girls” sings lesbian jazz singer Samantha Sidley; Upcoming debut created by women incl. Inara George (The Bird and The Bee).

See delightful performance of lead single, written by Alex Lilly (Beck), Barbara Gruska (The Belle Brigade) now. US tour launches Aug. 11^th.  

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Samantha Sidley as photographed by Logan White

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PLAY, POST & SHARE

Samantha Sidley | “I Like Girls”

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37ShCNptLG0

“I’m gay and I’m proud, and I want to sing songs that are about being gay and proud,” Samantha Sidley explains about “I Like Girls,” but also about actually liking girls.

See Samantha Sidley performing an impromptu unplugged version of “I Like Girls” now; Single studio version arrives via Release Me Records on June 21^st.

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Samantha Sidley | Live

All dates w/ Alex Lilly, The Bird and The Bee

08/11/2019: St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club (TIX)

08/12/2019: Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village (TIX)

08/14/2019: Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre (TIX)

08/15/2019: Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre (TIX)

08/16/2019: Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live (TIX)

08/17/2019: Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere (TIX)

08/20/2019: Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle

08/21/2019: Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5 (TIX)

08/22/2019: Birmingham, AL @ The Saturn (TIX)

08/24/2019: Dallas, TX @ Trees (TIX)

08/25/2019: Austin, TX @ Parish

08/28/2019: Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom

08/29/2019: San Diego, CA @ Casbah (TIX)

08/30/2919: San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop (TIX)

Samantha Sidley | In The Press

 “Sidley has a sweet, girlish voice, so light that at times it almost disappears. But that vocal weightlessness is somewhat deceptive. She holds in reserve an airier version of the wail deployed by Rickie Lee Jones and Laura Nyro, which injects blushes of emotional color into her mostly playful singing.”

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Samantha Sidley | About

Samantha Sidley is a jazz vocalist, born-and-raised in Los Angeles, and she likes girls.

The words “I like girls” are the first thing you’ll hear when Sidley’s debut album Interior Person (Sept. 13^th, Release Me Records) opens. The song is an unassuming anthem, a future standard for an evolving culture. It’s also a fun and funny ice-breaker that you’ll sing along with.

“I Like Girls” is a peek into what plays out as a meticulously crafted debut album featuring Sidley’s beautifully trained voice taking confident ownership of songs written for her to sing by some of the most important women in her life.

These other “girls” include fellow musicians Inara George, Alex Lilly, and Sidley’s “Top One” favorite musician of all-time, her wife, Barbara Gruska.

“Inara and Alex and Barbara wrote songs that are all very personal to my story – they literally are my story – and from my lesbian perspective, which I appreciate so much,” Sidley says. In addition to co-writing many of the songs here, and playing drums (masterfully) on many of the tracks, Gruska also produced Interior Person in a studio constructed in Sidley’s childhood bedroom (more on that later.)

“My whole life was a song,” Sidley says of her childhood. “If I looked at a tree, it was a song. If I felt happy, sad, joy, it was a song. When I first heard Judy Garland in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ I remember thinking: ‘I understand.’ I’ve always considered myself an interpreter, which is sort of and undervalued art form. I like to take a song and make the story true for me.”

Sidley soon discovered Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, soul music in general, and her own personal “soulfulness” itself. You know, like all seven-year-olds do. Later, considering how annoyed 11-year-old Sidley was when her vocal instructor wouldn’t allow her to sing Holiday’s “Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be)” at her first recital, it all made perfect sense.

A decade later, Sidley got to sing whatever she wanted, performing at NYC’s legendary Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, where she lived in Dorothy Parker’s room, listened to a lot of Anita O’Day and Ella Fitzgerald, and landed a rave review in The New York Times.

Unfortunately, the universe slapped back when Sidley’s father became terminally ill. She moved back to Los Angeles to be with him until the end, and then to grieve with her mother and sister whom she considers her best friends.

“And then Barb came into our life.”

Two years of living in a house under renovations later, and Gruska had transformed Sidley’s childhood bedroom into her music studio.

The couple now lives in an apartment just down the street.

“She knows exactly how I express myself and what my intentions are,” Sidley says of her working relationship with Gruska. “Collaborating on this record has actually been a much longer collaboration of us getting to know each other.”

“All of these women have been a huge part of my artistic livelihood,” Sidley says, referring to Gruska, George and Lilly. “They have given me the stories to sing and the opportunity to share and be vulnerable. I have found strength through of all my deep sorrow by singing.”

Samantha Sidley likes girls and it’s easy to like her back.

Interior Person, the debut album from Samantha Sidley, arrives Sept. 13^th, preceded by the single “I Like Girls,” out June 21^st.  Samantha Sidley is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Samantha Sidley | Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : RELEASE ME RECORDS

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Married dreampop duo Fawns of Love launches west coast tour in support of critically praised sophomore full-length, out now.

Named L.A. Weekly’s “Album of The Week,” hear Bakersfield-based band’s “Permanent” streaming now, Full itinerary below.

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Fawns of Love (L-R): Jenny Andreotti, Joseph Andreotti. Photo credit: Jenny Andreotti.

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Fawns of Love | In The Press

“A dreampop gem.” — Paste

“Would fit right in at David Lynch’s Roadhouse” — MAGNET

“The soft gauze of Cocteau Twins and Slowdive. Perfectly woozy.” — FLOOD

“There is obsessive joy in the Fawns of Love’s take on shoegaze.” — The Big Takeover

“Psychedelic dream pop.” — MXDWN

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Fawns of Love | Summer Tour 2019

06/07/2019: San Diego, CA @ The Whistle Stop (w/ Slowness)

06/08/2019: Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Cafe (w/ Slowness)

06/11/2019: Stanford, CA @ KZSU Radio, Stanford University

06/12/2019: San Francisco, CA @ The Makeout Room (w/ Slowness)

06/13/2019: Sacramento, CA @ Stone Vintage Music (w/ Coast Office)

06/14/2019: Portland, OR @ Azoth (w/ Vacant Stares)

06/15/2019: Fresno, CA @ La Maison Kabob

07/07/2019: Oakland, CA @ The Uptown (w/ Vacant Stares, Topographies)

08/20/2019: Bakersfield, CA @ Going Underground (w/ Temple of Angels)

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Fawns of Love

Permanent

(Test Pattern Records)

Out Now

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/FawnsOfLove-Permanent

Track Listing:

01. Someday (STREAM | MP3 | VIDEO)

02. December (STREAM | MP3 | VIDEO)

03. Horoscope

04. Permanent

05. Mournful Eyes (STREAM | MP3 | VIDEO)

06. Divine

07. Anarchy & Kisses

08. Wasted Days

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“Built upon the shoulders of The Cure and Slowdive with its swimming guitar lines and washes of hazy, bright synths. – buzzbands.la

Bakersfield, California-based shoegaze / dreampop duo Fawns of Love (Jenny and Joseph Andreotti) launches a west coast tour tomorrow in support of its second album Permanent, out now via Test Pattern Records. The album was recently named “Album of The Week” by L.A. Weekly, and the late 2018 single “Mournful Eyes” can be heard via Grimy Goods , with the music video for the track streaming now at High Clouds.

Both full-time educators – Joseph teaches middle school, Jenny is a full-time instructor at CSU-Bakersfield – the Andreottis have been performing together for 16 years, recording, touring and releasing music throughout that time under various names and labels. In 2013, they began a break when Jenny enrolled in a history graduate program, but by 2017, it was time to begin being a band again, including choosing a new name.

“One of our favorite records is Hounds of Love by Kate Bush,” Joseph says. “We wanted a name that would pay homage to that.”

 In addition to Kate Bush, additional influences on Fawns of Love include familiar names such as The Chills, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Blur, Pulp, Slowdive, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Sparks.

 Fawns of Love takes all of these legendary sounds, which some might think of as cold or aloof, and makes them pop with overtones of The Smiths, New Order, and the warmth that comes from the Andreotti’s many years of making music together.

Permanent, the second full-length by Fawns of Love, is out now from Test Pattern Records. Jenny and Joseph Andreotti are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Fawns of Love | Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BANDCAMP : SOUNDCLOUD : TEST PATTERN RECORDS

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Nascent Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Sameer Tolani forms namesake band of consummate musicians to create his raw, confessional debut.

Self-titled LP of bare, cathartic tunes, out June 14^th. Band plays NYC record release show at Piano’s, June 15^th. Hear “You and I” at Torched now.

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Tolani (L-R): Raj Diwan, Turner Stough, Sameer Tolani, Andrew Schaeffer, Simon Witt. Photo credit: Kevin W. Condon.

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PLAY, POST & SHARE

Tolani | “You and I”

“There’s a good chance you’re feeling nervous, if you’re anything like me.” This lyric, from the song “You And I,” opens the debut album by Tolani, a Brooklyn-based five-piece led by the band’s namesake, Sameer Tolani. The record is raw in many ways. In its personal lyrics, candid production techniques, and cathartic vocal and instrumental performances that speak openly to the brutal honesty and authenticity of this record.

[STREAM]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/tolani-you-and-i

[MP3]: http://www.fanaticpromotion.com/tolani/tolani-youandi.mp3

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Tolani | Live

06/15/2019: New York, NY @ Pianos (8PM, Record Release Show)

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Tolani

S/T

(S/R)

June 14^th, 2019

  

Track Listing:

01. You & I (STREAM | MP3)

02. I'm On Fire

03. Look To The Skies (STREAM | MP3)

04. Leaving You Behind

05. Shadows

06. Hope and Might

07. The Darkest Lights

08. Swallowed By The Sun

09. Climbin’ Up A Mountain

10. It Drives Me Nuts

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Tolani | About

“There’s a good chance you’re feeling nervous, if you’re anything like me.”

This lyric, from the song “You And I,” opens the debut album by Tolani, a Brooklyn-based five-piece led by the band’s namesake, Sameer Tolani.

The record is raw in many ways.

In its personal lyrics, candid production techniques, and cathartic vocal and instrumental performances that speak openly to the brutal honesty and authenticity of this record.

For example, rarely are guitar solos played the way they are meant to be played: As desperate expressions of the soul. Here, guitarist Raj Diwan lets loose song after song, to great effect.

“This record is my attempt at being honest with the world,” Tolani says. “I spend a lot of time filled with existential stress,” he confesses. “Sometimes I think I’m a beautiful weirdo, but I pretend a lot, and I wanted to make a record in which I could be authentic.”

“To you I’ll speak, the things I keep known only to myself,” Tolani sings on the album’s penultimate cut “Climbin’ Up A Mountain,” singing directly to the listener.

Tolani makes no issue about coming to the songwriting and record-making game with more passion than practical experience. It’s what makes the album so charming, frankly.

“I have a limited palette, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. The music that comes out is an expression of how I’m feeling, and letting it out is like therapy for me.”

In this way, Tolani’s songs can remind of John Lennon’s “primal scream” period, albeit with less screaming.

“Honestly, I’m the weakest of the bunch, musically,” he continues. “It’s a gift for me to be able to play with these guys.”

Indeed, Tolani has surrounded himself with ace players that deftly support his music whims.

“They bring a level of musicianship that elevates my simple ideas,” he says.

“Raj’s guitar tone is to die for. His solos are always a highlight,” Tolani exclaims of the previously mentioned Diwan’s playing.

“Simon (Witt, Keyboards) is our secret weapon. He can play anything. He’s absurdly humble about it too.” The band is rounded out by Andrew Schaeffer on Drums and Turner Stough on Bass.

“I love Andrew’s drumming style. He’s so smooth, and Turner’s a local legend.”

As the lyricist and singer, Tolani explains, “My aim is to express my inner self outwardly, in a way that people who’ve faced similar struggles can hopefully relate to. When that happens, all the unpleasant life experiences that led to these songs are worth the struggle.”

On another optimistic note, Tolani leaves this personal observation: “Songwriting inspired the changes I’d been longing for. Fulfillment will only come if I stay true to myself. This record began as a coping mechanism and ended up as catharsis. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

The self-titled debut album by Tolani arrives on June 14^th, 2019.

Sameer Tolani is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Tolani | Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : INSTAGRAM

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL