Beats, Brews & Buddies

Aaron Geller has been playing guitar for 30 years and is regularly playing around the Roanoke and NRV area in a variety of styles: Blues, Appalachian, Hip Hop, Latin Jazz, Acoustic rock (even though he’s a metal head shredder at heart). He also writes instrumental acoustic music. When not playing music, he’s either teaching Chemistry at Virginia Tech or hanging out a brewery (possibly getting his lectures ready).

Robby Sinclair began his musical journey at the age of 10 in Roanoke, VA. He honed his craft studying Jazz at Virginia Commonwealth University, which laid the foundation for a dynamic career. Spending 12 years in New York City, Robby became a sought-after session drummer, collaborating and touring with various artists and styles. 

Relocating to Los Angeles, Robby spent five years touring with Chet Faker and collaborating with an impressive roster of artists, including Linda Perry, Chris Baio (of Vampire Weekend), Jon Natchez (of War on Drugs), Natasha Bedingfield, Steve Lukather, and Mia Folick, further cementing his reputation as a versatile performer. 

Now based in Paris, France, Robby has embraced a new chapter, focusing on writing music and nurturing talent through his independent label, Big Pebble Records.

JAMIEL ALLEN was born in Key West, FL, and spent part of his childhood in Ecuador. Hailing from a family of musicians and artists who encouraged his love of the arts, Jamiel began playing trumpet at the age of 10 in school and guitar at home. However, he discovered his love for the piano on his own and after teaching himself to play for a year, Jamiel began taking lessons from world-class pianist and teacher Franko Richmond, whose impact and pedagogy still resonate with his career to this day. Jamiel is an exceedingly talented pianist, songwriter, studio producer, and singer, excelling at harmonies and vocal layering. Jamiel moved to Southwestern Virginia in 2006 to be closer to family and has been an active recording, performing, and touring artist as well as a musician for hire and producer and co-producer on several projects in the area ever since. Jamiel is a founding member of several bands in the region, many of his own projects, and has performed for well over one hundred album recordings and toured both nationally and internationally, infusing his projects and recordings with his passion for the art. Jamiel is most recently giving life to his main project “Shmazz" and currently lives in Roanoke, Virginia.

Robby Carden has been a member of the Jared Stout Band since the spring of 2019. Throughout his career, Robby has had the honor of opening for iconic artists such as Blues Traveler, Emmylou Harris, Chris Knight, Shooter Jennings, Sam Williams, Phil Vassar, 38 Special, and the Little River Band.  

A seasoned performer, Robby was part of the *FloydFest Band on Fire* winning group, Welcome to Hoonah, and the runner-up with Seph Custer and the Flatbreaks. With the Jared Stout Band, he achieved recognition as a *FloydFest On the Rise* runner-up and frequently appears as a FloydFest Artist at Large. Robby is also an Artist at Large and house band member at Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival.  

His recording credits include collaborations with Morgan Wade and the Stepbrothers, Tobacco Apache, Riverbank Ramblers, Funk Punch, The Mad Iguanas, and, of course, the Jared Stout Band.

Jeremiah began playing drums at around 12 years old, mimicking music videos on MTV. Throughout high school he was trained by Jeremy Price and had his first paying gig at 16. Jeremy also encouraged him to pick up guitar as a means of doing something musical in the evenings that wasn’t quite as loud. The most important thing he got from Jeremy, however, was the inspiration to teach music at some point. After years as a drummer and one of the songwriters for Grass Monkey, he decided to step back from performing, and began teaching as a way to help others while still doing what he loved most. For the last decade he has operated Rhodes Music Instruction out of Raleigh, NC. When he’s not working on his business, he’s either in one music studio or another as a session musician, or hanging out with his daughter, who is way cooler and more talented than him.

Steve Gross is a Music Business Consultant, A&R Consultant, and talent Manager at Atomic Artist Entertainment. 

Father Sun’s repertoire encompasses reggae covers and original compositions, each note carrying the authentic vibe of the genre. Their performances are not mere musical exhibitions; they are heartfelt celebrations of life and the universal language of music. Join Father Sun on their musical odyssey, where the essence of reggae is embraced and shared, connecting souls and spreading positivity wherever their music is heard.

Janiah Allen holds down the low end on the bass, providing a combination of steady root notes, syncopated rhythms, and melodic fills, adding depth and movement to the music. Janiah’s son, Nyo Allen, offers his exceptional drumming skills, bringing life to Father Sun’s beats and creating a tight, cohesive groove with his father on bass. On lead guitar, Aram Skenderian adds a touch of virtuosity to the mix with tasty solos that complement the rhythmic elements and enhance the overall vibe. Father Sun often invites additional talented musicians for live performances & studio recordings & can be seen backing other reggae artists from outside the region.

Sarah Bowles, also known as Sarai Sibéal, is a native Roanoker. Merging electro-soul with R&B, disco and world music influences, Sarah crafts a mesmerizing fusion of sound that captivates and engages listeners. She released her debut solo album Taboo (Tapua) last November that was co-produced and co-written with Jamiel Allen & Sam Lunsford. The album features musical performances and solos from Willis Greenstreet and Cameron McLaughlin. This year she has co-written and co-produced eight new tracks to be released as singles and EPs this fall and winter with Cameron McLaughlin and Sam Lunsford, featuring Willis Greenstreet, Keith Thomas, Cameron Moore and Taber Gable.

Seph Custer is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Southwest Virginia. For his first 7 years in music, his career revolved around playing lead guitar, banjo, slide and mandolin for numerous rock, americana, blues, punk, alternative, and traditional bands. With a desire to combine his love for a wide range of music, and a shortage of musicians to perform the required parts, Seph embraced the role of front-man for the first time in 2014. Since then, he's fined tuned his sound over the course of two studio albums and over 1,200 live performances, combining his diverse music taste with his skill set from several instruments; all delivered with only vocals and a modified guitar. Seph Custer delivers high energy solo performances utilizing techniques from guitar, mandolin and bass to create a soundscape on a single instrument that rivals some 3-piece bands: no looping or pre-recorded tracks required.

Seph has been featured in The Floyd Country Store’s annual tribute concerts, covering Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, Carole King, and Paul Simon. In 2015, Seph's music was so well received at Callaway Brewing Company, they named a small batch German Wheat Ale "Sepheweissen." Seph Custer & The Papa Tom Band were included in Floydfest’s 2017 “Artists on the Rise” competition. In 2018, he became a member of Brackish Water Jamboree playing mandolin, joined them on tour, and performed alongside them in the “Rockn’ to Lockn” competition.

His first solo album, 'Where You Are' was released on January 19th, 2016. 'Where You Are' consists of 8 tracks, including 3 songs with violinist Laurel Brooke. It has been featured on 101.5 The Valley's Music Place, The Roanoke Times, and on various blogs online. 'Where You Are' was recorded, mixed, and mastered at Windfall Studios by Dave Fason in December of 2015.

Seph's sophomore album, 'Beginning to End' features 12 original songs, touching on many genres; Americana, Funk, Bluegrass, Singer-Songwriter, Folk, Blues, Old-Time, and Rock, all performed with only guitar and vocals. 'Beginning to End' was recorded live on November 1st at Windfall Studios - engineered, mixed and mastered by Dave Fason, all on site. It was released worldwide on November 18th, 2017.

As well as being a performer and composer, Seph teaches acoustic & electric guitar, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, bass, violin, slide guitar, lap steel, dobro, and music theory.

Boyd Clement with Phat Boyz