DENVER, COLO. (6/10/09) -- Swallow Hill is pleased to present Texas troubadour Slaid Cleaves as he shares our Daniels Hall stage with Stockholm, Sweden songstresses Abalone Dots for a special engagement on Saturday, July 25 at 8 p.m.

Entertainment Weekly writes: "Cleaves tells gorgeously compact stories in a voice packed with Texas trail dust." His latest album, Everything You Love Will be Taken Away, is his debut on Jimmy LaFave's co-op label, Music Road Records. "I'm in on all the decisions," says Slaid Cleaves. "It feels good to have so much more control over my fate now. I figured, I cut my own hair, I fix my own car — so why shouldn't I be the one responsible for getting this work of mine out into the world?"

It’s been five years since Cleaves' last album of self-penned songs, 2004's acclaimed Wishbones, which fans had anticipated in the afterglow of his 2000 breakthrough, Broke Down. But Cleaves' slow-and-steady-wins-the-race pace has always yielded albums full of uncommonly fine-tuned songs built to stand the test of time, and Everything You Love Will be Taken Away is par for his course. "Whether it's your loved ones, your way of life, or even just your sense of innocence and hope, every song in some way is about how it all gets taken away," says Cleaves.

To put the new record together, Cleaves teamed again with co-writing buddies like Rod Picott and Adam Carroll, as well as famed roots-rock producer, Gurf Morlix. Additional tracks were cut with long-time road-guitarist Charles Arthur in Virginia, and Austin singer/songwriter and producer, Billy Harvey.

Abalone Dots was founded in 2000, led by band member Rebecka Hjukström's father, Tord Hjukström. The Abalone Dots are all originally from a Swedish town called Västervik. The band members include Elin Mörk (fiddle and vocals), Sophia Hogman (mandolin, cello, key harp and vocals), Rebecka Hjukström (guitar, banjo, dobro and vocals) and Louise Holmer (bass, piano and vocals). They've been playing their own unique flavor of bluegrass for about seven years and currently live together in Stockholm.

In summer of 2006, Abalone Dots was signed by Sony BMG in Sweden and released their 2007 album, From a Safe Distance. They've played at various international festivals in Sweden, Tanzania, and the U.S., including the recent South by Southwest in Austin Tex., showing they're well on their way to musically conquering the U.S.

About Swallow Hill Music Association:
Helping people make and enjoy music since 1979, Swallow Hill Music Association celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2009 as one of the largest nonprofit institutions of its kind in the United States as a source for folk, roots and acoustic music. With more than 2,300 members, Swallow Hill provides a place to celebrate music that is rarely heard elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain Region. Three concert venues house more than 200 performances a year, featuring some of the world's great artists as well as up-and-coming new talent. Swallow Hill’s Julie Davis School of Music offers classes for every interest, skill level and member of the family. Each year, a faculty of 60 instructors provides training to more than 4,000 students. A Tier II member of the Citizens of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, Swallow Hill has been named one of the Top 25 Movers & Shakers in Arts & Culture by the Rocky Mountain News, has won both the Mayor's and Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts and countless "Best of Denver" awards, has been recognized by the North American Folk Alliance, and is one of the most sought-after venues by folk and roots performers in the country.