David Wilcox has a way with words, a way with guitars, a way with singing that cuts through the junk and the gunk and gets straight to the essence. His original songs are beautiful, tender, witty, and deeply engaged with the complexities of living in a messy, imperfect world. For David, says the magazine Performing Songwriter, “music is a personal compass for finding his way home. Lining it up with something deep inside, his words become image-filled poetry that dances to an internal rhythm. Challenging situations, elusive ideas, and long-suppressed feelings are directed into inspiring metaphors.” His music combines the best of folk and pop, with clever wordplay and catchy melodies on the surface, and in the depths a fierce commitment to telling the truth.
David grew up outside Cleveland and decided to learn guitar in college when he heard someone playing in a stairwell. He released an independent album in 1987, won the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk award in 1988, and signed with A&M Records in 1989. Since then, he’s released 17 albums, including his latest, blaze, which, he says, “gets to those places where I have not made my peace.” The music is both passionate and precise, political and personal, like David himself. “Fueled by brilliantly articulate guitar, an honestly pretty baritone, and deft lyrics, he combines the best of both pop and modern folk aesthetics,” says the Boston Globe. With his deft fingerpicking, flair for open tunings, and compelling voice, David brings out all the richness in his extensive catalogue of insightful originals. He’s also an engaging storyteller and a natural entertainer who connects with the audience and delivers a sparkling show.
Justin Farren is a Sacramento singer-songwriter who built his own house by hand. “It’s like living in a museum of my own mistakes,” he says, and that’s the kind of wit he brings to his songs and stories. West Coast Songwriters named his song “Midnight at the Fair” the Song of the Year for 2012. The Sacramento News and Review calls him “the storyteller with an impeccable voice, a guitar, and a head full of funny, tender, and engaging observation.”
David Wilcox has a way with words, a way with guitars, a way with singing that cuts through the junk and the gunk and gets straight to the essence. His original songs are beautiful, tender, witty, and deeply engaged with the complexities of living in a messy, imperfect world. For David, says the magazine Performing Songwriter, “music is a personal compass for finding his way home. Lining it up with something deep inside, his words become image-filled poetry that dances to an internal rhythm. Challenging situations, elusive ideas, and long-suppressed feelings are directed into inspiring metaphors.” His music combines the best of folk and pop, with clever wordplay and catchy melodies on the surface, and in the depths a fierce commitment to telling the truth.
