Wilkinson James was born in 2008 when Liz Wilkinson and AJ Scheiber met up and merged
their singing and songwriting into a musical partnership that one fan described as “the bastard
offspring of June Carter Cash and Townes Van Zandt.” Somewhere along the line that duo
became a full band, adding pedal steel, fiddle, and saxophone to Liz and AJ’s resonant
harmonies and classic-yet-fresh original tunes. Like their well-received albums Wilkinson James
and Abandon, their live shows are enlivened by their love of folk and blues, while adding dashes
of jazz, torch, and swing for fun and flavor.

Erik Brandt has been the ringleader of the award-winning eclectic Twin Cities-based Urban
Hillbilly Quartet since 1995. By night, he plays music. By day, he teaches English at Harding High
School in St. Paul. He’s played in venues all over the USA, Canada, Australia, and on various
street corners throughout Europe. On stage, Erik performs mainly original material drawn from
the Americana vein. Most of his original tunes can be found on the nine albums he’s recorded

with the UHQ and his four solo albums, including his latest, Folksinger. As a multi-
instrumentalist, Erik switches between acoustic guitar, piano and accordion during

performances.