Small Town Boys with Big City Aspirations

Small Town Shade is 4-piece country/rock group hailing from right here in Cortland.  What started as a fun duo between singer, Nick Stark, and drummer, Aaron Craig, quickly snowballed into a serious project gaining a lot of momentum.  Stark and Craig, a pair of cousins, tried to plan the next step, as bookings and show became in much higher demand. They brought in the services of bass player, Michael Marcey, and lead guitarist/singer, Rocco Rich.  Once the group got together, they developed a style that hadn’t been seen in upstate New York, featuring dueling lead vocals, tight harmonies, and really driving blend of country and rock.

“We don’t just want to be a cover band”, stated Stark in a recent interview.  “We take pride in actually writing our own material, and not just regurgitating the exact things you hear on the radio.”  Apparently the Syracuse Area Music Awards (SAMMYS) agreed, with the group winning two awards in 2017 for “Best Country” and “People’s Choice for Best Band”, and also winning “Breakthrough Modern Country Band” in 2016 and “Entertainer of the Year (Band) in 2017 for the Josie Music Awards based out of Chicago, IL.   “It was awesome to score some hardware for our hard work. It sort of validates what you do,” said Craig. He followed up by saying “We work our tails off writing, but also a big thank you goes out to our producer and co-writer Lonnie Park. Without him, we’d really be missing some key components to our songs”

The group has shared the stage with many big country stars including Old Dominion, Tyler Farr, Parmalee, and Granger Smith just to name a few, and they have a full plate coming in the summer of 2018.  In between working on their full-length album that will be coming out at summer’s end, you can catch the guys all over central New York. Check them out online at www.smalltownshade.net and also follow them on Facebook and Instagram.  They just released a new single “Gasoline”, available in all major digital marketplaces.