Artist Bios
Return to Homepage|
David Broza - May 25
WATCH: |
One of the most dynamic singer-songwriter instrumentalists in the world, multiplatinum Israeli icon David Broza has won the hearts of audiences with magnetic performances and soulful lyrics. His virtuosic guitar playing fuses Israeli, Spanish, and English musical influences; his flamenco rhythms blend with intricate rock-and-roll finger picking. His enduring career has been defined by over twenty-five successful albums and numerous awards. A steadfast humanitarian, Broza has worked to spread a message of peace through his music; since 1977, he has devoted substantial attention to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Songs such as the hit "Yihye Tov" and "Belibi" - a collaboration with the Palestinian music group Sabreen - have earned the performer accolades from critics and societies including Search for Common Ground, which applauds his commitments to peace. His dedication to promoting Israeli-Spanish relations and worldwide tolerance earned Broza a Spanish royal medal of honor from King Juan Carlos I in 2009. The album Night Dawn: The Unpublished Poetry of Townes Van Zandt (2010) and Third Language (2011) have captured worldwide critical acclaim for fresh lyrics and expert instrumentals. Night Dawn sets Van Zandt’s poetry to original music by Broza, while Third Language was produced completely on the Internet - an unprecedented creative innovation in the music industry. A powerful musician, passionate peace advocate, and music industry innovator, Broza awes and inspires audiences with his sincere message and musical allure. |
|
Julie Gold - June 15
|
Julie Gold is a New York Songwriter best known for Bette Midler’s version of her song
FROM A DISTANCE which won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1991.
A wide range of recording artists have covered it, singers from Jewel to Cliff Richard to The African Children’s Choir to Judy Collins to The Byrds to Donna Summer--just to name a few. Nanci Griffith, the first to record FROM A DISTANCE, has also covered Gold’s songs HEAVEN, SOUTHBOUND TRAIN, GOOD NIGHT NEW YORK, MOUNTAIN OF SORROW, and LOVE IS LOVE IS LOVE. Other artists who have recorded Julie Gold songs include Patti LaBelle, Patti LuPone, Lea Salonga, Andrea Marcovicci, Carol Woods, Sinead O'Connor and Kathie Lee Gifford. Gold’s Emmy Nominated lyric WE’RE 4 NEW YORK was a popular favorite that ran on the local NBC affiliate for years. Her song THANKS TO YOU was featured in the motion picture ANDRE, and her song DREAM LOUD was featured in the motion picture UNFAITHFUL, starring Richard Gere. DREAM LOUD is also a favorite song of The Girl Scouts of America. Gold delights in the fact that she was paid in Girl Scout cookies for that transaction. Gold has served on The Board of Governors for NARAS and is a guest artist for Lincoln Center's prestigious Meet The Artist Series. She has 4 CDs documenting her work over the years: Dream Loud, Try Love, The Girl I Found and Love is Love is Love. Currently she is writing songs for the Oxford University Press for a series that teaches English to elementary school children all over the world. As the daughter of an immigrant, she sees this as her most meaningful endeavor to date. She performs and gives motivational speeches around the country. |
|
Beats Walkin' - June 15
|
Ever since 1994, Beats Walkin' has been carrying on the great tradition of Texas-styled western swing music in the Philadephia area. With fiddle and steel guitar, a tight rhythm section, dynamic vocal harmonies, and a repertoire that spans everything from Bob Wills to Cole Porter, Beats Walkin's infectious brand of 'bop-a-billy swing' music will have you two-steppin' and smilin' all the way from Austin to Boston. The cast of characters includes: |
|
Dar Williams - June 22
|
Dorothy "Dar" Williams was born in April, 1967, in Mount Kisco, NY. She began playing guitar at age nine, and wrote her first song by the time she turned 11. After studying theatre and religion at Wesleyan University, Dar moved to Boston in 1990 to try out a career in theatre. She quickly got a job as a stage manager, and began writing songs and taking singing lessons on the side. Her voice teacher encouraged her to perform in coffeehouses in the thriving Boston Folk music scene. Three years later, Dar moved to Northampton, MA, and began performing in coffeehouses. After she opened for Joan Baez, Joan helped to further Dar's career by performing covers of Dar's witty, insightful songs about life's idiosyncrasies. Her first record, which she made independently, was quickly picked up by Razor & Tie, who re-released it in 1995. Since then, she has release six more solo CDs on the Razor & Tie label, including 2005's My Better Self. She also did a brief stint with the all-star trio she co-created, Cry Cry Cry (1998-2000), which included fellow singer/songwriters Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell. Her music has received praise from media and fans alike, and she has become known for her lyrical phrasing and intuitive observations. |
|
John Gorka - June 29
|
Godfrey Daniels is one of the oldest and most venerable music institutions in eastern Pennsylvania. A small neighborhood coffeehouse and listening room, it has long been a hangout for music lovers and aspiring musicians, and in the late 1970s, one of these was a young Moravian College student named John Gorka. Though a long way from Godfrey Daniels, John Gorka is still honored to be a part of the folk tradition "energetic acoustic music that is not a trend, not a fad, but an expression of everyday life. After Yesterday is the embodiment of that expression" another classic release where his rich baritone voice and unique song craft weave together in a way that can only be described as "Gorka." |
|
Steven Forbert - July 13
|
Nearly 28 years since breaking into pop consciousness with his second album Jackrabbit Slim and its infectious Top Ten single "Romeo's Tune," Steve Forbert remains a master of songs offering clear-eyed insight and plain-spoken, heartfelt eloquence. On his 429 Records/SLG debut, the well-traveled Nashville-based troubadour, who maintains a busy touring schedule of over 100 dates a year " explores his ongoing fascination for Strange Names & New Sensations with characteristic wit, a sense of social consciousness and the ever-present romantic optimism that has endeared him to two generations of folk/rock fans. Beyond launching an exciting relationship with a new label, the vibrant collection finds Forbert in the midst of a true career renaissance at the wonderful age of 52"a time in his life he reflects upon wistfully on the sly narrative of the up-tempo, horn driven tune "Middle Age." |
|
The WhiskeyHickon Boys - July 21 (Sunday)
|
The roots of the early folk-rock scene can still be detected in 2012 with The WhiskeyHickon Boys... a relatively obscure sound of creatively-built for today's hybrid generation. These ex-folkies, who nightly pick up a combo of acoustic and electric instruments... produce an improvised Bluesy/Skiffle interpretation of the traditional Folk, Blues, Jazz and Roots influences. The WhiskeyHickon Boys have re-introduced their audience to that ringing, circular guitar riff sound that's become the center piece of their musical trademark. |
|
Christine Havrilla - July 27
|
Portland based, Philadelphia native, Christine Havrilla, brings her "well-built, catchy, smart tunes" (Upstage Magazine) back to Bryn Mawr's Twilight Concert Series! Touring nationally in support of her new project, GYPSY FUZZ, Christine utilizes the soft gritty texture of her vocals to express warmth and honesty audiences quickly embrace. Named "One of the Top Ten Indie Artists" by The Advocate Magazine, The Washington Post writes, "(Havrilla's) songs are intelligent and moving, the arrangements are incisive and colorful, and, best of all, Havrilla consistently comes across as a confident and seasoned performer." Gypsy Fuzz's premier album titled "Searching. Finding. Living." was listed on Advocate Magazine's "Best Overlooked Albums of 2011!" (Advocate -November 2011) and She Wired's Top Ten Albums of the Year! Nominated for 2012 About.com's Reader's Choice Awards, WXPN calls her music "a terrific big sound" & Philadelphia Magazine says, "She rocks!". |
|
Mary Fahl- July 27
|
"Sounding like no other singer of her generation" (Allmusic.com), Mary Fahl is an expressive, emotional singer/songwriter who first achieved fame as lead singer and co-founder of the mid-1990s cult band OCTOBER PROJECT, an East Coast chamber-pop group that recorded two poetic albums for Epic, selling over 300,000 albums. With what the Boston Globe dubbed "a voice for the gods" Fahl wraps you up in that rich contralto of hers and transports you to every corner of a song with power and subtlety. As a solo performer, she has recorded albums for SONY Classical and V2 Records, and has written and performed songs for several major motion pictures, including the lead song ("Going Home") for the Civil War epic Gods and Generals. With a repertoire of beautiful melodies and sumptuous textures that includes songs from October Project, her acclaimed version of "Dark Side of the Moon," and her own elegant songs which draw on classical and world music sources as well as thinking man's folk-pop, all Fahl needs to sound cinematic and lush is a guitar, a spotlight and a glass of water. It may help if you close your eyes. For this upcoming show, Fahl will also perform songs from her long-anticipated, soon-to-be-released album, "Love and Gravity". A pre-lease of this new CD will be available at the show. |
|
David Wilcox - August 3
|
Cleveland-born David Wilcox was inspired to play guitar after hearing a fellow college student playing in a stairwell. His lyrical insight is matched by a smooth baritone voice, virtuosic guitar chops, and creative open tunings, giving him a range and tenderness rare in folk music. He released an independent album in 1987, was a winner of the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk award in 1988, and by 1989 he had signed with A&M Records. His first release on the label, 'How Did You Find Me Here', sold over 100,000 copies the first year largely by word of mouth. Now, 17 albums into a career marked by personal revelation and wildly loyal fans, David continues to find and deliver joy, inspiration, and invention. Considered a 'songwriter's songwriter', his songs have been covered by artists such as k.d. lang and many others. In addition to his writing prowess, his skills as a performer and storyteller are unmatched. He holds audiences rapt with nothing more than a single guitar, thoroughly written songs, a fearless ability to mine the depths of human emotions of joy, sorrow and everything in between, and all tempered by a quick and wry wit. Reflecting on well over 20 years of record-making and touring extensively around the US and world, Wilcox says, "Music still stretches out before me like the head-lights of a car into the night. It’s way beyond where I am, but it shows where I’m going. I used to think that my goal was to catch up, but now I’m grateful that the music is always going to be way out in front to inspire me." |
