World Cafe

From his start with the band Bluesology in 1961, multi-award winner Elton John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight) has time and time again proven himself to be one of the most iconic singer-songwriters of our day. Rising to international fame by the 1970's with the hit "Your Song," Elton has since released an overwhelming number of studio albums, many of which have climbed their way to the top of the charts.

Embracing old-school blues and backwoods country rock, Cold War Kids formed in 2004. Nathan Willett (lead vocals, piano, guitar), Matt Maust (bass), Jonnie Russell (guitar, vocals, percussion) and Matt Aveiro (drums) recorded some demos in the Los Angeles area and rode a series of EPs to Internet fame.

This past January, Cold War Kids reclaimed the spotlight with the release of Mine is Yours, an 11-track collection that's poppier than anything in the group's discography.

When indie-rock outfit The Broken West called it quits in 2009, it had two full-length records to its name. Now, two years later, lead singer Ross Flournoy has returned with his new group, Apex Manor, and released what could have been that beloved band's third album, The Year of Magical Drinking.

Rodney Crowell has been called Nashville's "golden boy" and "the songwriter's songwriter." As such, his work is often associated with country music, but much of what he has written over the years could be categorized as rock, folk, swing or bluegrass.

Crowell made a name for himself as a guitarist and singer in Emmylou Harris's Hot Band during the late 1970s, but that was only the beginning. Since that time, he's released 13 albums, most recently 2008's Sex and Gasoline.

Hailing from Washington state, Brandi Carlile began her music career at the age of 8, when her musician mother brought her on stage to sing a Rosanne Cash song. From then on, music was her constant companion, as she taught herself to sing, play the piano and later the guitar. Her latest album, 2009's Give Up the Ghost (produced by Rick Rubin), featured a guest appearance by Elton John and helped earn Carlile the "Breakthrough" artist honor at Seattle's City Of Music Awards.