Charles Bryant and Grifters & Shills, together at Devil and the Deep Brewery.

Charles Bryant: In an article published by Texas Music Magazine last year, music journalist Trey Gutierrez wrote: Charles Bryant may the most prolific Texas songwriter you’ve never heard of. His 3rd, and latest CD, titled ‘Kiss The Sun’ was named one it’s best Texas album releases of 2017. In his review of the album, music journalist William Michael Smith concluded: “A vast, sweeping work of beauty, grace, compassion and heart, ‘Kiss The Sun’ gives hope to those who miss the bruising word constructions of Townes Van Zandt and other Houston singer-songwriters who set the bar so high to begin with. ‘Kiss The Sun’ is no less than a minor masterpiece from a true underdog an native son”.

Grifters & Shills: His was hard rock and heavy metal. Hers was the classic sound of the East Texas piney woods. Theirs was a fiery collision, bearing forth a sound that was at once novel and instantly familiar--high lonesome harmonies with a rock and roll soul.

Behind Grifters & Shills is John and Rebecca Stoll, native Texans who met in a classic rock/blues jam band in 2008. Between them they discovered a magnetic chemistry that manifested not only in music, but in all aspects of their relationship. When they began playing as a two-piece band, they found a unique voice in the combination of Rebecca's East Texas vocal stylings and John's formidable guitar work. They immediately began writing their own songs, while testing the waters of vocal harmonies and adding an array of instrumentation to their arsenal. A typical show will feature a delightful range of electric instruments, including John's archtop guitar, Rebecca's bass, a homemade suitcase drum, a couple of cigar box guitars, a handful of harmonicas, and an occasional kazoo.

They call it high lonesome heavy metal, and together, this two-person, dozen-instrument act provides a show full of sound a fury, punctuated with raw, quiet vulnerability, forging new trails and shining new light on familiar ground.

In 2019, Grifters & Shills released "Pretty Little Secrets", an explosive album that takes a no-holds-barred exploration of the dark and the light, sin and redemption, and a whole host of characters brought to life through 15 original songs. The album was written, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Grifters & Shills, with artwork by John Streeter, and a guest appearance by percussionist Nathan Bando. Grifters & Shills was signed to Spectra Music Group for distribution of the album.