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Community Corner

Eric Brace and Peter Cooper in concert, with Medium Gauge

Eric Brace was a music columnist for The Washington Post and now is the frontman for the Americana band Last Train Home; Peter Cooper is the senior music writer for Nashville’s Tennessean newspaper. Together, they are getting rave reviews -- including a 2011 Grammy nomination -- for their gentle country melodies and charming lyrics, not to mention their guitar work and engaging voices. After Brace moved to Nashville in 2004, he met Cooper at a “guitar pull.” Soon, they began performing live together, and since 2008 the duo has traveled around the U.S. and Europe. Their first CD "You Don’t Have to Like Them Both" reached Top 10 on the Americana chart. Their third CD, “The Comeback Album,” came out in April and Cooper's newest solo recording, “Opening Day,” is set for release on Sept. 10. Steven Stone, of enjoythemusic.com, says of the duo: “Their music resides in the large space between folk and country. It’s tight and catchy without being slick or calculatedly commercial. Perhaps the term back-porch country best describes (it)." Brace continues to tour and record with Last Train Home, and he oversees the indie label Red Beet Records. Cooper, who spent some formative years in Northern Virginia, is a sought-after session player, a professor of country music at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music and a guest DJ in Sirius/XM’s Outlaw Country. 

Nick Peters, also a former journalist, and Steve Erickson, of Arlington, formed the Medium Gauge duo in late 2010 after meeting at Washington area musicians' showcases. They perform regularly at Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton and have opened for other Focus Music concerts. Prior to moving to D.C., Peters performed regularly in the Los Angeles area and Erickson was active in the Atlanta music scene. Both are in the Songwriters Association of Washington. Erickson last year released the solo CD "It's About Time."

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