The new raised bed is built and the heirloom starters are going in. The Speedwell is blooming, the creeping thyme is creeping and the blue jays have nested in the cedar. Shapiro Brothers are emerging from our Winter caves with fresh eyes, green thumbs and a vengeance. Don't be afraid. This is our normal look. Come see for yourselves at our upcoming shows, including our set at Green Guitar Folk House in Lenexa, Kansas with Mikal's full electric band, The Musical. If you like Shapiro Brothers, you'll love this electrified version with a rhythm section as juicy as a strawberry. And you don't even have to wait until summer. For more info or to reserve your seat, visit: greenguitarfolk.org.

In other news: Look for Mikal's new album release from The Musical this May. Check www.mikalshapiro.com for updates.

Chad's acoustic trio Old Sound and rock band The Supermassive Black Holes are playing near you with new releases scheduled for 2018. Click the links for details.

Until then, you can find us in the garden.

Shapiro Brothers are headed back out into the world! But first... we retreat into the dark, cold recesses of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for a winter retreat. No electricity. No running water. Just a wood burning stove and some good writing material. We hope to return to the sunlight with new material in hand and a map for upcoming musical travels in the new year. Stay tuned! 

Want to know how our other projects are faring? Visit: mikalshapiro.com and oldsoundmusic.com

We've staked the tomatoes and eaten all the blueberries. We've updated our passports and brushed up on our Français. Mikal even wrote a new song in French. Without further ado, Shapiro Bros. are ready to jump the pond! If you have any Franco friends, let them know we'll be roaming the countryside in support of the lovely Louise Thiolon. Many thanks to our friends and family who are helping with the garden and a special thank you to Bianca Hopkins of @slipshopprodigy who made our wonderful poster! You can check out more of her work here: www.slipshodprodigy.com. If you'd like to track our travels, you can like our Facebook page and follow Mikal's instagram.

Au revoir, nos amis aux Etats Unis. Hello, Paris! 

Back from a beautiful round of music-making through the U.P., the Bros couldn't be more grateful for all the lovely people we met and places we saw. It's a truly magical land up there and no doubt, we'll be returning when the fates allow. We also played a small fest in El Dorado, AR celebrating the Mayhaw berry and on the way back home, we made a pit stop in Springfield to play Hotel Vandivort with our dear friend and fellow musician Patrick Mureithi. Although it seems like we can't sit still, we did manage to plant some tomatoes and herbs that the recent sunshine has sent into overdrive. Spring is really cooking now!

Speaking of cooking, we have a couple stateside gigs heating up... as well as plans to jump the pond! Shapiro Brothers are excited to announce we'll be spending the month of July traveling across France with the wonderful Parisienne songwriter Louise Thiolon. Not only is Louise a font of wit and wonder, she just released her first EP and it's receiving critical acclaim in Paris and beyond. We are so proud of her and can't wait to spend some time making music with her.

Before the big leap though, we are honored to play a house concert series call the Shoe Tree Listening Room on Sunday, May 21st in Springfield, MO. For our next KC gig, you'll find us at Californo's with local banjo maven Teri Quinn and the touring folk pop Band of Lovers on June 1st. Meanwhile, Mikal is gearing up for her next solo recording and film projects and Chad has a number of gigs with his acoustic trio Old Sound and rock band Supermassive Black Holes. Click the links for more details and thanks so much for your support. (photo below taken at Hotel Vandivort by Patrick Mureithi)

Shapiro Brothers are excited to announce our Spring Tour with stops in Nashville, Columbus and the UP. Chad and Mikal have been working up some new songs and new (to us) classics that we can't wait to share with you on the road. We've also started our spring planting: onions, carrots, beets and our very own strawberry hill. Everything's coming up roses... er... garlic. You can our calendar for all the details. More updates to come!

Great news! Shapiro Brothers self-titled EP made 90.9 The Bridge's Best of #kcmusic 2016 EPs. Many thanks to musician and music editor Michelle Bacon for the pick. Michelle is a tour de force in KC and it's nice to know she's also a fan.

Is it Spring yet? Kansas City is already warming up and the grass is greening. Although, we've seen some snow and a few cold, winter days, it's been a strange season of ice and tornadoes and blooming irises.

What's next: Shapiro Brothers are ready to emerge from the darkness of hibernation and greet the new year with new songs and a renewed passion for the road. While Chad is busy booking an April tour into the upper Midwest, Mikal is working on a summer visit to France to connect with our dear songwriter friend Louise Thiolon. This February, we will attend the Folk Alliance International Conference for the fourth year in a row. The theme this round is Forbidden Folk: Activism in Art. It should be a rabble rousing good time and provoke some great dialogues about the role of music in social movements, historically and into the present. Shapiro Brothers will play a private FAI showcase and Mikal's South American Family Band Ayllu will hit the stage at the Kansas City Folk Fest the following Sunday, February 19th.

Music by and for the People! 2017, here we come!

Oh, the places we've gone! This year has been a flurry of touring, making new fans and releasing our very own recording. To everyone we've met on the road, to all those who've cheered us on from home, to our friends new and old and to our awesome, loving families: THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! If you would like us to send you a copy of the new album and/or you're shopping for musical gifts, you can purchase our EP here. You can also download it digitally here.

As we move into the darkest, coldest days of the year, we wish you warmth and good cheer. We brought all our plants in last week and already, they are stretching toward the window. The garlic is in the ground. Green sprouts have emerged between the on-going mine fields of black walnuts planted by the squirrels. The garden, in every season, is a give and take. It requires our diligence and care. So too, does our music. We will be spending our winter months writing, composing and tending some of our other projects due for recording early next year: Mikal with her full band and Chad with his acoustic trio Old Sound. We have also begun the booking process for next Spring. If you know of any Midwest house concert opportunities or would like to host us in your living room, we're all ears! House concerts are our favorite rooms to play and they will be a big focus for booking in the new year. If you'd like to catch us one more time this year, our last 2016 gig is at The Cinder Block Brewing Company in North Kansas City on Saturday, December 10th. Maybe we can share a couple brews before slipping away into our cozy caves.

Snow is predicted for Wednesday. We are ready for the tidings it brings. Happy Holidays! See you next thaw!

We are so excited to share these tracks with you!

Come celebrate our EP release in Kansas City this Thursday at The Brick and pick up a copy fresh off the press. Songwriter Grady Keller, who opens the show, will join us on banjo along with upright bassist extraordinaire Johnny Hamil. We'll be debuting a couple new songs and St. Louis band Spectator will close out the evening and have you dreaming your way to bed at a decent hour. Need more incentive? Check out this lovely review of our album from KCUR's Mike Warren here. If you can't make the show, you're still in luck! You can can download the album or order a physical copy shipped to your door here. 

Many thanks to the fine folks at our community radio stations 90.1FM KKFI, 90.9 The Bridge, 91.5 KANU and 89.3 KCUR. Between the spins and reviews, we are feeling the local love big time. Right back atcha. 

On November 3rd, the Bros will celebrate a hometown release of our brand new self-titled, 8-song EP at The Brick Bar in KCMO. Our good friend and fellow songwriter Grady Keller from Old Sound will open the show followed by the magical dream pop duo Spectator from St. Louis. It's an early dinner show for the whole family and starts at 7pm. Can't wait to hear the new tracks? We've got just the thing for you! Mikal put together a video for our song "Almost Ready," a sweet little co-write about domestic life. She found some footage from a 60s "nudie cutie" in the public domain and thought it would compliment our hokey folky love fest perfectly. Let us know what you think!

 

Fresh off the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival Stage 5 circuit, the Shapiro Brothers are ready to rock and banjo roll our way toward the east coast.

(Minus the banjo.) (No offense to banjo players, of course. We love you!!)

We will don our classic wares -- the Mossman and Silvertone -- along with our latest addition of t-shirts, stickers and... drumroll, please... our first Shapiro Brothers 8 song EP! Featuring a spread of waltzes, ballads, bluegrass and lullabyes, our self-titled EP captures the Bros. like a postcard from the road -- sentimental, well-traveled and temporal.    
 
The garden continues with beans and berries. Fall plantings are stretching their new leaves and almost all of Summer's tomatoes are in our belly. Now, we're ready for some apples... like the Big Apple! Please tell your New England folks we're headed their way. This is the first time we've headed east and we'd love to make some new friends. We have gigs in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

On our return, we'll be stopping in Columbus, Ohio to play a Chocolate Party reunion show with Chicago Farmer and Eric Nassau. If you've never been to Columbus, it's one of our favorite cities; known for it's laid back midwest charms and extravagant chocolate parties. If you've never heard of these acts, you're missing out on the goods! Do yourself a favor and check out their links.

You can also catch the Bros. in Iowa City, Chicago, Cleveland, Pennsylvania and St. Louis. Full tour details are on the website and Facebook page. You can also follow Mikal on the Instagrams.

We'll do our best to do our best. Sure appreciate all your support to keep this train a-rolling. xo, Shapiro Bros