Miriam Linna & Billy Miller – Brooklyn, NY – Norton Records, A-Bones, Kicks Books
Legends of Rock ’N’ Roll live in the flesh for the first time at Hip Drop! (We tried to have them a few years back, but unforeseen circumstances prevented it). Miriam & Billy run Norton Records and have been an integral part of the Ponderosa Stomp since its earliest days. If somehow you do not know, please visit NortonRecords.com and check out the unbelievable selection of new and old sounds available therein. Spend a few dollars as their warehouse was flooded in Hurricane Sandy last year ruining thousands of records. They are back stronger than ever and in addition to records are now releasing books by Andre Williams, Kim Fowley, Harlan Ellison, Sun Ra, and more on imprint Kicks Books. They’ve played together in the A-Bones since the mid-1980s and their record collection has got to be the stuff of legend!

Miles Tackett – Los Angeles, CA – Breakestra, Funky Sole
Music Man Miles is known best for Breakestra, a group he founded in 1997. Breakestra have four albums and a handful of singles and over the years have played with a who’s who of Cali Hip Hop as well as Funk and Soul legends worldwide. Miles runs the weekly Funky Sole party on Saturdays at the Echo LA and between live music and DJing, he has been in the center of the Hip Hop/Funk scene in LA for many years. We’ve been trying to get Miles to Hip Drop since the earliest days so we’re excited to announce him now!

Beyondadoubt – Portland, OR – I’ve Got A Hole In My Soul
We are honored to have Beyonda back again after first gracing the Hip Drop stage in 2010. Her monthly I’ve Got A Hole In My Soul party has been going strong for nearly eight years, keeping the Portland kids dancing, bringing in quest DJs from all over, and working hard to bring the soul sounds of her Memphis roots to the Northwest. She is a producer and club DJ who has toured with Beth Ditto and produced tracks featuring New Orleans bounce artists. Check out her mixes and original production.

Todd-O-Phonic – Hoboken, NJ – WFMU, Telstar Records, Maxwell’s
A veteran of Hip Drop’s 2,3, & 4, Todd is known for a special breed of wild Rock ’N’ Roll on the turntables. Todd is known to many as the longtime booking agent and co-owner of the recently shuttered Maxwell’s Hoboken and as the head honcho of the famed Telstar Records. Check out his archived WFMU shows. Welcome back Todd!

Pierre Baroni – Melbourne, Australia – PBS Radio Melbourne, Soul-a-Go-Go
We are excited to have Pierre play his first Hip Drop as he has been a Stomp regular for some time. A DJ and photographer, Pierre is known for discerning taste in early 60s R&B. Listen to Soul Groove ’66 Saturdays on Melbourne’s PBS, and live catch him weekly at the Cherry Bar and monthly at Soul-A-Go-Go with Hip Drop regulars Mohair Slim and Jim Dandy.

Kitty B Shake – Paris, France
Kitty B Shake brings her special breed of wild rock ’n’ roll and greasy R&B to the Hip Drop for the first time. Based in Paris and with roots in Venice, Italy, Kitty is on the line-up for a million festivals including upcoming Born Loser in Italy at the end of August and Gutter Ball in Norway in September, as well as club gigs in her home towns. Check out some of Kitty’s mixes.

Alex LaRotta – Houston, TX – Alamo City Soul Club, A Fistful of Soul
Alex LaRotta is a Texas native and History Professor who just finished his master’s thesis on Chicano Soul aka San Antonio’s West Side Sound. He just moved back to Houston where he joined the ranks of monthly party A Fistful Of Soul. It’s Alex’s first Stomp and we are happy to have him as the Hip Drop’s Texas representative. Read more at his archivist blog posts and the monthlies Alamo City Soul Club and A Fistful Of Soul.

Emma Peel – Melbourne, Australia – PBS Radio Melbourne, Blow Up
Melbourne’s first lady of Go-Go (the white boots kind, not the DC kind!) and we are excited for her Hip Drop debut. Emma’s PBS Radio show Switched On features Bossa Nova, Boogaloo, R&B, and more on all original wax, as well as interviews with the creators of the music. Emma ran a monthly go-go party called Blow Up for a number of years and does guest spots on a regular basis. Have a listen to some of Emma’s mixes.

Kris Holmes – Auckland, New Zealand – New Zealand Soul All-Dayer, Radio Ponsonby
Welcome Kris to his first Ponderosa Stomp: our first Hip Dropper from New Zealand! Check out his mixes or help him with his history of Greenville, Mississippi labels. Kris hosts the weekly Sunday Shuffle on Radio Ponsonby in Auckland and features the gamut of hip drop sounds. Kris also contributes to the Cosimo Code research project, works in Auckland as a music teacher, and releases his own 45s.

Matty, Pasta, & Mitch – New Orleans, LA – Alligator Chomp Chomp
Our local boys will be familiar faces to many in the Hip Drop, Ponderosa Stomp crowd. Collectively spinning at their Alligator Chomp Chomp Gulf Coast party twice a month for the last few years, where they feature, Swamp Pop, R&B, Garage, and Soul, these three have played just about everywhere. Matty as a Royal Pendleton and half of Mod Dance Party, Mitch in the Haunted Hearts and Lonely Knights, and Pasta from Hangover Tavern and a million other gigs. If you’ve been to New Orleans on a rock ’n’ roll journey, chances are you’ve run into one or all three of these characters at 3am dancing to some bayou classic. Matty and Pasta have played Hip Drop in its early days, but we welcome Mitch for his first one!

Hosted by Brice Nice – WWOZ, Sinking City Records, Allons Records
Co-founder of Hip Drop and current head honcho, Brice Nice is a radio and club DJ, music historian, and record producer. His Block Party show beams out every Saturday night from 6-8pm on WWOZ 90.7fm in New Orleans or online at www.wwoz.org. He’s written for Offbeat and Wax Poetics and DJs all over. He co-owns Allons Records (with Michael Hurtt) and Sinking City Records (with Scott Borne) which recently released wax by the Stooges Brass Band and bounce legend Ricky B.