Maxim Ludwig and The Santa Fe Seven

Early career

Ludwig began his musical career in the band Maxim Ludwig & The Santa Fe Seven, an Americana rock band centered around himself. The band undertook many transformations since their first appearance at the Stagecoach Festival in 2009 with members of k.d. lang's band Josh Grange and Ian Walker, joining the Santa Fe Seven for a period. The final line-up of the band consisted of Ben Reddell (bass), Chris Vos (steel guitar) and Jorge Balbi (drums). This was also the longest running line-up with their appearance at Austin City Limits Music Festival and SXSW as well as recordings and other touring.

Significant buzz surrounded Ludwig around this time, with Los Angeles Times music critic August Brown pleading in an article that "someone sign Maxim Ludwig by the end of the day" and writing that his songs "have all the swagger of the E Street Band, if that E Street were in 1970s Laurel Canyon and gently tweaked hippies drove it riding in stolen Cadillacs". Meanwhile, the L.A. Times' Randy Lewis compared the importance of Ludwig's shows to seeing Buffalo Springfield's early gigs, describing him as being "deeply schooled in the art of Americana music stalwarts such as Bob Dylan, The Band, Gram Parsons-era Byrds/Flying Burrito Brothers and the twangiest leanings of the Rolling Stones".

2015 - present

In 2015, Ludwig released two singles as a solo-act under Hit City U.S.A.: All My Nightmares and Assembly Line. In an interview with Ludwig, Indie Current called the new singles "excellent blends of rock, jazz, and soul". His debut album "Libra-Scorpio Cusp" is expected for release on June 7th 2017