Crowdfunding Campaigns of the Week: Travis Lee Dillon, Whiskey Myers, The Savage Hearts

As a changing music business closes off many traditional revenue streams, musicians are finding new ways to fund their projects and turn a profit. One of the most popular is through the use of crowdfunding sites like PledgeMusic, Kickstarter, and IndieGoGo. These sites allow independent artists a chance to skip the traditional label system and gather funding from their fanbase. But increasingly, it has also become a platform for more established artists to pre-sell their albums with some revenue generating bonus materials available. Each week I will pick three crowdfunding campaigns to feature here. This week’s trio includes a fiddle virtuoso, a Southern rock collective, and a man who is taking “write what you know” quite literally.

The Savage Hearts – The Twin Fiddle Album

While The Savage Hearts is a relatively new band, its members have years of experience as performers, producers, and educators. With their The Twin Fiddle Album The Savage Hearts, led by Annie Savage and featuring Kevin Slick, Kit Simon, and Bianca Bentz, will work with their children and students as “twin fiddles” for the album. Backer rewards include a signed Savage Fiddler Method Book, a 30 minute lesson, and the chance to have The Savage Hearts play at your wedding.

Whiskey Myers – MUD

Southern rockers Whiskey Myers plays in the tradition of acts like The Charlie Daniels Band and Marshall Tucker, combining electric guitar hooks with Red Dirt style vocals and lyrics. They have seen a good deal of success with this formula, sharing the stage with Jamey Johnson and Lynyrd Skynyrd among others. Now they’re returning with their fourth album, MUD, produced by Dave Cobb. The album is available for pre-order on PledgeMusic, with added backer premiums that include a vinyl test pressing, a limited edition acetate disc, and a one year unlimited Whiskey Myers show pass.

Travis Lee Dillon – The Appalachian Trail Folk Project

For many songwriters, “write what you know” is the key to success. Typically, this means songs of love, loss, and life on the road as experienced by the artists. But when folk singer Travis Lee Dillon decided he wanted to write about the Appalachian Trail, he took “write what you know” to the extremes and has started a Kickstarter campaign for he and a producer to hike the Appalachian Trail, guitars and recording equipment in tow, to write and record an album from the trail itself. Unique backer rewards include a postcard from somewhere along the Trail, a souvenir from their journey, and a custom flag that will be carried on the journey with Dillon.