The start to 2018 has been nothing short of amazing for our Blue Élan family. Quarter 1 involved new releases, our first SXSW showcase, and new signed artists. Here is a full recap on all that has been happening with us and your favorite Blue Élan artists… We’ve joined forces with Rough Trade, the preeminent European distributor for independent records! This new alliance fits perfectly with our goal of reaching like-minded local music lovers and will help us to build a strong global network of partners that will understand, respect, and support each of our artists’ unique visions and goals.  Rough Trade will be distributing BER’s entire catalogue and new releases throughout Europe and the UK/Ireland, beginning with the upcoming Rita Coolidge release, Safe in the Arms of Time! Pleased and honored to announce new additions to our family: Colin Devlin, Lisa Lambe, Textones, and Red Wanting Blue whose new album, ‘The Wanting’, is available for pre-order. We also welcomed a new addition to our BER staff. Connie Cham is now our Retail Coordinator managing and developing the Blue Élan’s online direct to consumer store. In March, we made our debut at SXSW with our first official showcase, held at Cooper’s BBQ. The night began with Chelsea Wiliams, who later sang a couple songs backing Rita Coolidge. Rita wowed the crowd with popular hits and some of her latest tracks off "Safe In The Arms of Time", which will be officially released on May 4th. Janiva Magness continued the evening with a sultry mix of crowd favorites and new singles off her latest album “Love Is An Army”, available now for pre-order. Jesse Dayton got the Austin crowd going with songs off his latest album as well, entitled “The Outsider”, also available for pre-order. Gina Silicia and Rod Melancon closed out the night. We can’t wait to be back next year. Janiva Magness’ “Love Is An Army” made a strong debut with its release in February. You can read all about the album and get your copy by clicking here. Gina Sicilia has officially finished recording her next full-length album, set to release in August. Mint Trip’s latest single "Tip Of My Tongue" off to a strong start on Spotify with the help of the band's DIY lyric video. Check it out here. Relaye returned from his long trip in South Africa and is putting the final touches on new music with singles on the way starting this summer. Scout Durwood is wrapping up shoots for her upcoming video series for her “Take One Thing Off” album. The videos are expected to be released this summer alongside new music. Bryan Stephens lent his voice to the title track on Janiva Magness’ album “Love Is An Army”. He will join her on stage at the Iridium in NYC on April 22nd. Jack Tempchin’s album “Peaceful Easy Feeling” was nominated for San Diego Music Awards 'Album of the Year’. Cindy Alexander is beginning her official tour following the release of her album “Nowhere To Hide”. Fanny Walked The Earth officially released their self-titled debut album with amazing articles from RollingStone, NPR Music, Yahoo!, and the LA Times. Amy Wilcox, has been working hard and is set to release new music this spring. Jesse Dayton will be joined by Rod Melancon for a handful of dates on his West Coast leg of his on-going 2018 tour. To find those dates and dates from all our artists, click here. Thank you for your on-going support of our label and our artists.