Mason Jar Music (founded June 2010) is an audio/visual production company and creative collective based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York co-founded by Dan Knobler and Jon Seale.

Overview

Mason Jar Music has produced audio and video content for artists and clients including

Chris Thile Christopher Scott Thile (; born February 20, 1981) is an American mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and radio personality, best known for his work in the progressive acoustic trio Nickel Creek and the acoustic folk and progressive blue ...

Andrew Bird Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing music ...

, Feist,

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...

The Wood Brothers The Wood Brothers are an American roots band consisting of brothers Chris (upright bass) and Oliver Wood (acoustic and electric guitars), as well as multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix. Their music is a combination of folk, gospel, blues and jazz. ...

Abigail Washburn Abigail Washburn (born November 10, 1977) is an American clawhammer banjo player and singer. She performs and records as a soloist, as well as with the old-time music, old-time bands Uncle Earl and Sparrow Quartet, experimental group The Wu For ...

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, bringing the instrument from its bluegrass roots to jazz, classi ...

The Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Grou ...

, and

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

. They are best known for a series of organic live performance videos filmed and recorded in non-traditional spaces. "The Mason Jar Music team offers to do all the work. They rearrange the artist's music for orchestra. Set up the space. Bring in musicians and a film crew. All the artists have to do is show up – and not be too surprised by the peeling paint on the walls." Mason Jar Music was named one of the 10 Most Innovative Music Companies by

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...

for "pioneering a new concert model." Their work has been featured on NPR, CNN, Paste, Billboard, TIME, CMT, Variety, NBC New York, The Village Voice, The Huffington Post, and other major media outlets.

Releases

''The Sea In Between''

A music documentary centered around singer/songwriter Josh Garrels. Filmed and recorded on location in

Mayne Island Mayne Island is a island in the southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia. It is midway between the Lower Mainland of BC and Vancouver Island, and has a population of 995. Mount Parke in the south-central heart of the island is its highe ...

, BC, the film features several live musical performances and weaves together multiple narratives including those of Josh and the Mason Jar Music musicians. "The movie itself could be described as a 'a visual LP.' It consists of 10 of Garrels' songs recorded in various locales across the island ranging from inside St. Mary Magdalene Anglican Church to a neighboring farm to numerous spots along the island's surrounding bays. Each musical piece highlights a different aspect of Garrel's life—as a husband and father to three toddlers, as a songwriter perfecting his craft and as a human seeking to assure his faith and find his place in this world." The film was released independently on January 29, 2013

''The Storm is Passing Over''

A compilation album to benefit the victims of

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

in New York and New Jersey. Features notable independent folk artists performing original renditions of "classic American storm songs." Released independently on December 26, 2012, all proceeds are donated to the relief efforts of

Occupy Sandy Occupy may refer to: * ''Occupy'' (book), a 2012 short study of the Occupy movement by Noam Chomsky * Occupy movement, an international protest that began in New York See also * * Occupancy Within the context of building construction and ...

. "The album's 15 tracks were recorded and mixed over just a two-week period in December, 2012, by a range of artists that included

and Bela Fleck, Town Hall,

Tift Merritt Tift may refer to: Places * Tift County, Georgia, a county in south-central Georgia, United States People with the given name * Tift Merritt (born 1975), American singer-songwriter People with the surname * Andrew Tift (born 1968), British portr ...

, and many more. Each track of ''The Storm is Passing Over'' centers around a real performance, recorded live, and the raw artistic passion is palpable."

''Decoration Day''

A series of covers compilations released annually around Memorial Day weekend. The project began in 2012 "when a recording session fell through, the crew threw together a last minute marathon collaboration with artists from the indie-folk community. The result was a six track EP, entitled ''Decoration Day'', dedicated to some of the greatest American folk songs of the last two centuries." Each year's release features a new batch of artists and studio musicians, as well as a new collection of covers. ''Volume 1'' (2012) features classic American folk and gospel, ''Volume 2'' covers 1960s soul, ''Volume 3'' tackles songs of the 1990s, in honor of MJM co-founder Dan Knobler moving to Nashville, TN, "Volume 4" explores songs about home: finding it, leaving it, loving it, hating it, missing it, and returning to it. ''Decoration Day, Volume 2'' was selected by

NoiseTrade NoiseTrade is a global online audio and book direct-to-fan distribution platform. It is based in Nashville, Tennessee. It enables its users to upload original music and books and give away for free without digital rights management to anyone w ...

as one of its 2013 staff picks.

Clients and collaborators

* Adam Kromelow * Adriel Denae *

Aoife O'Donovan Aoife O'Donovan ( , ; born November 18, 1982) is an American singer and Grammy award-winning songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer for the string band Crooked Still and she also co-founded the Grammy Award-winning female folk trio I'm ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

Ben Sollee Ben Sollee is an American cellist, singer-songwriter, and composer known for his political activism. His music incorporates banjo, guitar, and mandolin along with percussion and unusual cello techniques. His songs exhibit a mix of folk, bluegras ...

* Cory Chisel *

Dawn Landes Dawn Landes (born December 5, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is originally from around Louisville, Kentucky but spent many years living and performing in Brooklyn, New York. As a recording artist she has released five f ...

* Dylan Reynolds *

Edgar Meyer Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is an American bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. He has won five Grammy Awards and been nominated seven times. Meyer is a member of the Telluride Bluegras ...

* EMEFE *

Emily Elbert Emily Elbert (born December 21, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Los Angeles, California. She has independently released six albums: ''Bright Side'' (2006), ''Proof'' (2010), and ''Alive, In Love'' (2011), ''Evolve'' ...

* Feist * Flearoy *

John Medeski Anthony John Medeski (born June 28, 1965) is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano ...

* Josh Garrels * Lacrymosa *

Lake Street Dive Lake Street Dive is a multi-genre band that was formed in 2004 at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. The band's founding members are Rachael Price, Mike "McDuck" Olson, Bridget Kearney, and Mike Calabrese. Keyboardist Akie Bermiss ...

Laura Gibson Laura Anne Gibson (born August 9, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She currently records for the U.S. independent label Barsuk Records, and the Berlin-based label City Slang. Gibson's most recent album ''Goners'' ...

Lucius Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from '' Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames ('' praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...

* Michael Daves *

My Brightest Diamond My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Nova. The band has released five studio albums and a remix album, five studio EPs and four remix EPs, and made several tours across the United States. Histo ...

Noam Pikelny Noam Pikelny (born February 27, 1981, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American banjoist. He is a member of the group Punch Brothers and was previously in Leftover Salmon as well as the John Cowan Band. Pikelny is a nine-time Grammy Award nominee, win ...

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

Sarah Jarosz Sarah Jarosz ( ; born May 23, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter from Wimberley, Texas. Her first album, ''Song Up in Her Head'', was released in 2009

Sara Watkins Sara Ullrika Watkins (born June 8, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and fiddler. Watkins debuted in 1989 as the fiddler of Nickel Creek, the progressive bluegrass group she formed with her brother Sean and mandolinist Chris Thile. In addi ...

* The Gunderson Family * Tim O'Brien *

* Town Hall *

Zusha The Zusha (russian: Зуша) is a river in Tula and Oryol Oblast in Russia, a right tributary of the Oka. The length of the river is 234 km. The area of its basin is 6,950 km².Film production companies of the United States Mass media companies based in New York City Companies based in Brooklyn