I struggled picking a favorite – his Solo (Ancient Road) or the Band’s performance (Fallen Heart) – so here’s a 2-pack. Jeremy Enigk, 42, a singer-songwriter from Seattle. Find him on Facebook and iTunes.
Weathered
December 1, 2016 by 17 Comments
Jack Garratt, 25, is from the UK. About his childhood he has stated that: “I just really enjoyed making noises and really enjoyed the reaction that I got from making those noises. So they [parents] put me on music lessons to encourage me to hone in on that talent rather than show off.” He wrote his first song when he was 12 and learned to play a variety of instruments from the guitar, drums and piano to the harmonica, mandolin, trombone and ukulele.
5:00 Bell! Long week. For the ride home…
July 29, 2016 by 7 Comments
Fenne Lily, 18, lives and studies in Bristol, England. She was born in Dorset and crafts elegant, folksy songs performed with a fragility that belies the lyrical strength of her music is accompanied by a simple acoustic guitar. Being discouraged from watching TV as a child was integral to the development of Fenne Lily’s musicality, as instead much of her time was spent writing songs and honing both instrumental and lyrical skill. Her folk-tinged music is woven with integrity and sincerity; grit and soft understatement in equal measures.
Liked this? Check out Fenne Lily’s Hit: Top to Toe
Find her on Facebook here: Fenne Lily
Kaki King
May 21, 2016 by 6 Comments
Katherine Elizabeth King, 36, known as Kaki King, was born in Atlanta and is a composer and guitarist. She was hailed by Rolling Stone as “a genre unto herself. ” In February 2006, Rolling Stone released a list of “The New Guitar Gods” on which King was the sole woman and the youngest artist. The Brooklyn-based artist has released six extraordinarily diverse and distinctive albums, performed with such icons as Foo Fighters, Timbaland, and The Mountain Goats, and contributed to a variety of film and TV soundtracks including Golden Globe-nominated work on Sean Penn’s Into The Wild.
And if you liked this, don’t miss Kaki King in this video: The Surface Changes. Wow!
Crosses
April 28, 2016 by 11 Comments
Please
June 17, 2015 by 21 Comments
Ray Lamontagne permitted 16-year old Sawyer Fredericks to sing his unreleased song “Please” as his original single for the final of The Voice 2015. Frederick won the competition, and wow, what talent (despite needing a haircut).
And if you are a purist (I am)…Here’s Ray’s version:
Kekuhi and Kaumakaiwa Kanaka’ole
March 8, 2015 by 23 Comments
A Hawaiian mother/daughter duo. If you close your eyes, these two will transport you to the Islands. Devine, soulful, spiritual.
Can you feel the breeze? Hear the ocean breaking on the shoreline?
Aloha Kakahiaka. (Good morning)
Árstíðir
February 7, 2015 by 5 Comments
Árstíðir (English: Seasons) is an Icelandic indie-folk band with classical, progressive rock and minimalist elements. The band formed in 2008 in Reykjavík.
Árstíðir became known to a wider internet audience in 2013 when a viral YouTube video showed them performing impromptu, Heyr himna smiður (“Hear, Smith of heavens”, a 13th-century Icelandic hymn) at a train station in Wuppertal, Germany. Don’t miss this Youtube video (with ~ 4,000,000 views) here: Heyr himna smiður
Find the band’s website here: arstidir.com
This tune will be found on the band’s new album to be released in March, 2015: Hvel
Background Source: Wiki
Woke Up To The Light
November 15, 2014 by 11 Comments
Strand of Oaks is led by singer/songwriter Timothy Showalter. Showalter, 32, was born in Indiana, and currently resides in Philadelphia. His new album HEAL was scheduled for mixing on December 26, 2013. Driving on the freeway on Christmas Day, Showalter and his wife hit a patch of black ice and crashed their car head on into a semi-truck, and were very fortunate to walk away with their lives. Showalter suffered a, “pretty severe,” head trauma, “which affected me much more than I realized at the time.” Fearing delays, Showalter, the mixing session went ahead. “Being on the verge of death, and my thoughts being so closely tied to that, changed the album’s direction,” Showalter claims. “Together, we pushed it toward a much more cathartic sound that forces the listener to where I was at that exact moment, somewhere between almost dying and being absolutely fearless.” (Learn more about the artist at Strand of Oaks)
I woke up to the light, you woke up to my hand
Reachin’ for the night we ran
If the morning comes, I will still be here
Holding all the lines of the fieldSave the dawn light shine
Save the moon, save the night
And I call you by name I call you here
In the distance we will find,
Heaven lies in waiting
And keep the light on for me
Keep the light on for meWe woke up to the light, and felt no warmth behind
Find this tune and the new June, 2014 Album on iTunes: Heal
Fink: Looking too Closely
October 11, 2014 by 14 Comments
Fink, aka Fin Greenall, is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and DJ. He was born in 1972 in Cornwall, grew up in Bristol and is currently based in Brighton, UK. His mother worked in the field of classical music and his father was a folk musician. Fin can recall “the one thing of his dad’s that Fin Greenall wasn’t allowed to touch was the old Martin acoustic guitar.” In an interview, Greenall remembers “It was his one possession where he said, ‘everything in this house is owned by everybody – apart from that.'” Their presence had an impact on his future in music. “The great thing about growing up in a house where music is a big factor… was the fact that music being part of your life was a perfectly natural thing.”
Find this tune and his 2014 album on iTunes here: Hard Believer
Related Posts: Fink: This is the Thing and Perfect Darkness
Let it Go
September 25, 2014 by 7 Comments
James Bay, 22, is from Hitchin, UK. He brings his twist to the music of his heroes Carole King, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jackson Browne and James Taylor. Bay’s 2013 debut album: The Dark of the Morning. Bay’s Website: JamesBayMusic.com for Bio. Interview with James Bay: NoiseTrade
Related Post: James Bay: Move Together.
Thank you Rachel.
Crystalline
September 20, 2014 by 4 Comments
Ruu Campbell is a British singer-songwriter from Shropshire, England. His music has been compared to Bon Iver and James Vincent McMorrow. (Although, I think he sounds more like Nick Drake.) Campbell’s songs “The Call”, “Crossroads” and Mathereal were featured on Parenthood in 2012.
His new album was released on June, 2014 and can be found on iTunes here: Heartsong.
Ruu Campbell’s website: ruucampbell.com
Whispers
September 11, 2014 by 16 Comments
Mike Rosenberg, 29, was born in Brighton, England. He is better known by his stage name Passenger, is an English folk-rock singer-songwriter. Rosenberg learned classical guitar when he was young: ” My parents were really encouraging about music so that sort of started the path. When I was about 14-15, I started to write songs, which were absolutely dreadful. But as I kept going the songs became better and better – it was just so bloody obvious that this was what I wanted to do. I never really applied myself in school and music was the only thing I wanted to spend my time doing…I’m heavily influenced by Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and Neil Young although I’m nowhere near as good as those guys!”
Song on Whispers Album on iTunes
(Source: Wiki & Vancouver Weekly: Who is Mike Rosenberg?)
Friday night I’m going nowhere
August 29, 2014 by 14 Comments
Friday night I’m going nowhere
All the lights are changing green to red
Turning over tv stations
Situations running through my head…
Noah & Abby Gundersen
July 26, 2014 by 12 Comments
Noah Gundersen, 25, is an American singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington. Gundersen began playing music when he was 10 or 11 years old when his parents had him take piano lessons. In 2002, he inherited his first guitar from his father and taught himself to play the guitar and recorded songs with his father’s recording equipment. Three years later, his birthday gift was an acoustic guitar with which he still performs with today. Around the age of 16, Gundersen was performing solo in local cafes. His sister Abby began to accompany him with violin and harmonies in 2006.
Find this tune on iTunes on his album Ledges.
Don’t Let Me Go
July 1, 2014 by 23 Comments
Jarle Bernhoft, 38, also known as Bern/hoft, is a Norwegian singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and lyricist. Bernhoft is from Nittedal in Norway, but currently lives in New York.
what he [Bernhoft] did with those few tools was quite extraordinary. Using them, and via a process of instant recording, looping and layering, he was able to create the sound of a full band – including all the instrumental parts plus backing singers on rich harmonies – and it was all just him.” – The Guardian
Find his website here: Bernhoft.org
Find his new album released last month here: Islander / Bernhoft
Let Me Comfort You
June 26, 2014 by 17 Comments
Erick Baker, 35, is a singer-songwriter from Knoxville, Tennessee. He didn’t sing or write songs until he enrolled at the University of Tennessee. Baker had picked up the guitar during his college days and played occasionally at parties for fun, by his own admission in hopes of meeting women. While doing a set at an open-mike night in Knoxville, Baker was spotted by a local promoter who gave him a spot opening a show for John Legend and soon buzz about Baker began to spread. He has performed with national acts, including rock musician James Blunt, alternative country musician Brandi Carlile, pop-rock musician Gavin DeGraw, the rock band Goo Goo Dolls, the rock band Heart, R&B artist John Legend.
“My songs belong to every right turn and wrong turn that have led me here,” Baker says. “They reflect the pieces of poetry hidden in the experiences that lie in each of our everyday lives.”
Find this tune on iTunes: Erik Baker: Live At The Bijou Theatre
If you liked this, don’t miss: Erick Baker – Stay Awhile
Credits:
- Thank you Dr. Bill Wooten for introducing me to Erik Baker.
- Bio Sources: Wiki. iTunes. ErikBaker.com
Árstíðir
June 8, 2014 by 22 Comments
Árstíðir (English: Seasons) is an Icelandic indie-folk band with classical, progressive rock and minimalist elements. This tune is titled “Ljóð í sand” (Poetry In The Sand). Árstíðir became known to a wider internet audience in 2013 when a Youtube video went viral (3,000,000+ hits) showed them performing impromptu, Heyr himna smiður (“Hear, Smith of heavens”, a 13th century Icelandic hymn) at a train station in Germany. The video was shot by their PR manager after they had played a concert the venue inside the train station. The a capella was noted for improvising with the vaulted acoustics of the train station to effect the echo chambers of a monastic chapel.
Find the Icelandic Hymn that went viral on Youtube here.
Find their album on iTunes here: Svefns Og Voku Skil (Sleep & Waking Returns)
Rodrigo y Gabriela
June 5, 2014 by 32 Comments
Rodrigo y Gabriela are a Mexican guitar duo (Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero) whose music spans a number of genres including nuevo flamenco, rock, and heavy metal. The duo’s discography consists largely of unaccompanied duets on the classical guitar. The musicians gained a reputation by playing on the streets of Dublin, Ireland and gained a cult following. They regularly dismiss being classified in a particular genre of music, preferring to say they play a fusion of many influences.
Loved this? Check out Orion and The Soundmaker.
Find their new 2014 album on iTunes: 9 Dead Alive. Find their official website here: rodgab.com
Live & Learn 