Van Ghost is a band from Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois, formed by concert promoter Michael Harrison Berg and featuring vocalist Jennifer Hartswick. In 2007 after building up a solid repertoire of folk ballads, gritty Americana tunes and classic rock laced jams, Berg assembled an all-star cast of musicians and named the project Van Ghost.

With a 6 piece band flavored with pedal steel and psychedelic guitars, rhythm section, and haunting guy/girl harmonies, the band played it’s debut show before a packed audience at Chicago’s revered Metro in January 2008.

Following up their debut record, “Melodies For Lovers“, on Split Red Records, the band headed down to Nashville, TN to begin the tracking of their next release. With 2009 Grammy award winning Producer/Engineer/Mixer, Justin Niebank at the helm the bands sound continues to develop and expand.

Featured vocalist Jennifer Hartswick inspires audiences all over the world with her powerful voice and commanding trumpet playing. She exudes confidence and joy and brings her own refreshing spirit to the stage every time she performs. Jennifer's live performances are renowned as spontaneous, joyful and contagious. At the age of 20, having already recorded on two albums with Trey Anastasio

Trey Anastasio

Trey Anastasio is an American guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish...

 (Story of the Ghost, Phish, 1998, and One Man's Trash, Trey Anastasio, 1998), Jennifer was asked to join Anastasio's new band. She has been an integral part of the band for the last ten years touring internationally and sharing the stage and studio with such legends as Carlos Santana, Dave Matthews, The Rolling Stones and Herbie Hancock. She has also appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night With Conan OBrien, Austin City Limits, and many more.

Van Ghost's sound, categorized as Alt-Country, is comparable to O.A.R.

O.A.R.

O.A.R. is an American rock band composed of Marc Roberge , Chris Culos , Richard On , Benj Gershman , and Jerry DePizzo...

 and Widespread Panic

Widespread Panic

Widespread Panic is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The current lineup includes guitarist/singer John Bell, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz, keyboardist John "JoJo" Hermann, and guitarist Jimmy Herring...

.

With a revolving line-up of guest musicians, Van Ghost tours regularly at music festivals across the country including Summer Camp Music Festival

Summer Camp Music Festival

Summer Camp Music Festival is a jam music festival held each Memorial Day weekend at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, Illinois. Developed by concert producer Ian Goldberg of Jay Goldberg Events & Entertainment, the first year of the festival was 2001...

, Mountain Jam

Mountain Jam

"Mountain Jam" is an improvised instrumental jam by The Allman Brothers Band. The song's first known recording is on 5-4-1969 at Macon Central Park, but was officially released later on the albums; Live at Ludlow Garage: 1970, Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival: July 3 & 5, 1970, The...

, Bear Creek, and the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival.

Van Ghost made its recorded debut in 2009 with the CD Melodies for Lovers on Split Red Records.

Van Ghost is:

Michael Harrison Berg: Lead Vocals/Guitar


Jennifer Hartswick: Vocals


Rocco Labriola: Pedal Steel


Grant Tye: Guitar


Klem Hayes: Bass


Greg Marsh: Drums

The original line-up on "Melodies For Lovers" (through 2009):


Michael Harrison Berg: Lead Vocals/Guitar


Jennifer Hartswick: Vocals


Rocco Labriola: Pedal Steel


Dan Wean: Guitar


John Cwiok: Bass


Cory Healy: Drums

Guest Musicians:


Mike Poupko: Guitar


Greg Spero: Keyboards


Ali Kral: Fiddle


Nick Cassarino: Guitar


Jeff Greene: Bass