Tweed Records is an independent record company in Chicago, Illinois.

Paul van der Bijl and Jason Reed are a folk, singer/songwriter duo based in Chicago. The songs for their album Walk the Garden are a result of many years of songwriting for the congregation at Covenant Presbyterian Church of Chicago.

The Spares make twangy, bluesy, roots music — call it alt-country or Americana. The Chicago duo writes and sings about characters in hard places whose stories hint at love and truth in ways that the characters themselves don’t always recognize. Their lyrics are thoughtful and honest, just as their acoustic music is raw, beautiful, and compelling.

Jodee Lewis and Steve Hendershot formed The Spares in 2004. On the duo’s second CD, 2007’s Beautiful and Treacherous Thing, the pair shares songwriting duties on a collection of songs about the volatility, longing and worth of the heart. Smother Magazine made Beautiful & Treacherous Thing an Editor’s Pick, saying “The band mixes alt-country twang with gritty roots rock and urbanized Americana for a sound somewhere in heaven between Gram Parsons and Alison Krauss.” Country and roots magazine Maverick (UK) calls it “hauntingly gorgeous,” and New City (Chicago) calls it “simple, aching, and hearty.”

The Spares released their first CD, Hand Me Down, in 2005. Roots Music Report called the CD “one of the finest Roots Rock/Americana albums to be released” that year, and the lead song, “Mexico,” was named “Best Song — Country” for 2006 by the International Academy of Independent Artists.