Jake Payne and Matt Hopper play Gypsy Lounge at Ken’s Creekside on March 12

SEDONA, AZ - March 9, 2009 - Jake Payne and Matt Hopper will play in concert at 8 pm at The Gypsy Lounge, Thursday, March 12. The Gypsy Lounge is located inside Ken’s Creekside Restaurant, 251 Hwy 179 in Sedona, Arizona.

Born in the southern desert of Arizona, Jake Payne has 16 years of playing experience. Payne’s indie rock songwriting style and his four-octave range has been of particular note to journalists and music critics alike.

A resident of Sedona, Ariz., since 2004, Payne started playing in the city’s coffeehouses and bars building up a loyal following in the music scene. Payne’s fans are drawn to his emotional sincerity, lyrics and his prowess on the guitar.

Payne recently returned from a two week tour around the Southwest, playing shows all over Colorado, Northern Arizona, Hollywood and Las Vegas. Payne stated, “Being on the road is an awesome adventure, a microcosm of the ups and downs of life, we met so many great people and at the same time dealt with a lot of intensity.” But intensity is good for a musician, as Payne wrote 5 new songs while on the road. “I have been working really hard on my new songs so I can incorporate them in to shows I am now playing here in Sedona,” Payne stated.

Payne is currently working on his debut album. For more information, visit www.MySpace.com/JakePayneGlass.

Matt Hopper formed The Roman Candles in the year 2000. Their first performance was at Gig's Music Theatre in Anchorage, AK opening for Joy Electric. He formed different versions of the band with different members of the Anchorage music scene and within a few years had somewhat of a following in Alaska, released an EP on a Canadian indie label, and a self-released full length in 2003 - also the year they were named "Best Rock Band" via reader polls in Anchorage Daily News and Anchorage Press.

While messing around with summer touring, he decided to make a go at it and his leash was cut loose in fall of 2003 when he launched a 3 month solo tour with his friend Andrew Norsworthy. By the end of that epic journey, he continued to gig solo logging over 400+ self-booked gigs and 200,000 miles.

Brian Whelan of The Broken West put it simply when he said "Matt Hopper is a real life troubadour"...and this holds true. He toured until his car broke down at 3 a.m. near the Mexico border on an overnight drive from Tuscon to San Diego. Crippled by the cost of fixing his car, he took up an offer to move to Madison, WI and record an album there with a band called The Downtown Brown...who promptly became The Roman Candles within weeks of Hopper's arrival. Living on a couch for most of his stay in Madison, Hopper took on a tour with up and coming band Cold War Kids to help pay some bills. They backed him up every night of that tour. Hopper returned to Madison and continued to write and live north of Chicago, the band did a tour to Nashville with Cameron McGill and Hopper played some festivals that summer such as the South Park Music Festival, where a nice reviews came in: "Matt Hopper proved this weekend that he is a monster rock and roll front man who writes brilliantly crafted pop tunes. He has the catalog, persistence and the stage presence to be the next big thing in pop music’s re-birth of the singer/songwriter genre. He’s already proven he’s among the best of his class."

Matt Hopper's music is an infectious blend of folk, psychedelia, and rock. As a songwriter, he included quite a variety on his latest record "Reverse Odyssey" and his jam "Head To Feet" resulted in him being asked to play four weddings in the past year, and one song \"Our Love Is So Soft" was featured on the ABC drama "Brothers & Sisters". His rockers got him hand selected by Kings of Leon as potential openers for a benefit concert in Chicago...where he ended up third in fan voting against some stellar talent.

Alaskan’s revere and curse him with titles such as "Alaska's only rock star" and their "prodigal son" and he has set a record for playing Miss Alaska Pageants. Love him or hate him, he left a distinct mark on his tenure in the Alaska music scene, where he served the local music community as a performer, radio DJ (KNBA & KRUA), music reviewer, blogger, website operator, booking agent, concert promoter, and rock and roller.

The LA Weekly has said "Matt Hopper has the appeal and talent of a quintessential American singer-songwriter. He writes earnest alt-countrified songs that are pop without being cliché and delicate without being sappy.”

In 2006, Matt Hopper & The Roman Candles recorded and released their first independent full length record “Reverse Odyssey” in Boise, ID and spent the rest of the year and most of 2007 and 2008 touring on the record. He recently secured new management in New York and is working on showcasing for labels in 2009 as well as writing and recording new material.

For more information visit www.matthopper.com