Todd Kessler and The New Folk: Sea fever (2012)

"Todd Kessler, Season 3 contestant and member of Team Ceelo on NBC’s hit show, The Voice, started working his way through the Chicago music scene in 2005, getting his hands on every open mic he could. He was soon headlining shows at Chicago’s best venues (Lincoln Hall, Millennium Park, SPACE, and Double Door), gaining fans and praise with his powerful voice and poignant storytelling. In 2007, Kessler found himself in the studio with an abundance of songs to record, but no band to back him up, so he turned to drummer Bob Parlier, guitarist Sam Smiley and bassist Graham Burris to fill out his Alternative Folk Pop sound, and with that The New Folk began to take shape. The New Folk has experienced great local success in clubs and venues throughout Chicago, and it has garnered national recognition on multiple television shows (“Veronika” on Hellcats, and “Conversations in Gray” on Prom Queen). Kessler and The New Folk then teamed up with Producer Manny Sanchez (Patrick Stump, Mavis Staples, Umphree’s McGee) to create a unique sound, which has been described as Alternative/Folk/Pop With a summer residency at the famed Schubas Tavern in Chicago, The New Folk celebrated the release of Kessler’s fifth studio release, “Sea Fever,” to a capacity crowd in August 2012. After Kessler’s run on The Voice, he and The New Folk plan to tour in support of Sea Fever" (Bandcamp)