Oxford-based singer/songwriter Charlie Mars has just released his newest CD, The Money (Rockingham Records/Thirty Tigers). His fall tour has included include stops in Austin, New York City, Minneapolis, and Toronto. His previous CDs include Like a Bird, Like a Plane (2009) and Blackberry Light (2012). Rolling Stone said of his music, “…big emotional rock from Mississippi… a knack for hooks, and the hooks here have real barbs: They tug at you and just might draw some blood.”

Water Liars are drummer Andrew Byrant of Water Valley, guitarist Justin Kinkel-Schuster from Jackson, Tenn. by way of Arkansas and bassist GR Robinson. The folk/rock trio recently released their third CD, Water Liars (Fat Possum). Their previous releases included Wyoming and Phantom Limb. The band takes their name from the opening story in Barry Hannah’s collection, Airships. In a review, National Public Radio said: “Amid the rough-around-the-edges folk-rock, there is an airy simplicity.”

The stories in John Warner’s Tough Day for the Army (LSU Press) move from hilarious and biting to unsettling and sad – sometimes within a few pages. The stories combine a strong wit with a soft heart, comedy and satire with tender rambunctiousness. Warner is the author of The Funny Man as well as three other books. He is a weekly columnist for the Printers Row, the literary supplement for the Chicago Tribune and an editor at McSweeney’s.

Delta Reign is a bluegrass band from the Mobile River delta region of the Alabama Gulf Coast. The band brings together their musical influences: bluegrass, swing, blues and jazz, into what they call, “Delta bluegrass.” Founding members, husband and wife duo, Pat and Benita Murphy, from Mobile, play banjo and guitar respectively and are joined by George Mason (fiddle) and Joshua Faul on upright bass. Their latest CD is Calm Before the Storm (Mountain Fever Records).