Shelby Earl | |
---|---|
![]() Shelby Earl performing at the Pantages Theatre (Tacoma, Washington) | |
Background information | |
Born | Olympia, Washington, U.S. |
Genres | Indie Rock, Songwriter |
Occupation | Musician |
Instrument(s) | vocals, guitar |
Years active | 2005 - |
Labels | Nine Mile Records |
Website | www |
Shelby Earl is an American singer-songwriter and musician based in Seattle, Washington. Earl's first solo album, Burn the Boats, was produced by John Roderick [1] (featuring members of Telekinesis, The Long Winters, Fleet Foxes and more) and released on Local 638 Records (owned and operated by Visqueen's Rachel Flotard). In 2011 NPR's Ann Powers named Earl her "new favorite songwriter" and Amazon.com dubbed her album the "#1 Outstanding 2011 Album You Might Have Missed". [2]
Since the release of her debut album, Earl has opened for Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie, Loudon Wainwright III, Rhett Miller of the Old 97s, Crooked Fingers, Lavender Diamond, The White Buffalo, Felice Brothers, Tom Brosseau, Aaron Lee Tasjan and more.
In April 2013, Rolling Stone suggested Earl's song "Everyone Belongs to Someone" be included on Zach Braff's Garden State follow-up film. [3]
Earl released her second solo album, Swift Arrows, produced by Seattle indie folk artist Damien Jurado, in July 2013. The album was recorded live at Seattle's Columbia City Theater [4] and was well received by such outlets as NPR ("Music For Folks Who've Been Through a Few Things"), [5] Salon.com ("SXSW: Meet Shelby Earl, the singer you need to know"), [6] and Rolling Stone ("Shelby Earl Comes Out Firing in 'Swift Arrows"). [7]
Earl's version of Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was featured on the “Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right” episode of Grey's Anatomy (season 10, episode 23), which aired on May 8, 2014. [8] Jackson was very influential in Earl becoming an artist. The song was produced by Eric Howk. [9]
In May 2014, Earl performed at the Sasquatch! Music Festival and was highlighted in an article as one of "4 Puget Sound Bands to Watch at Sasquatch." In the article she stated: “I've never even submitted to (festival organizer) Adam Zacks before because I just knew that it wasn't time yet. So our conversation where he went ‘Yes, I was gonna ask you,’ was so incredibly exciting for me,” she said. “It definitely feels like a sort of rite of passage to that next level and just a huge honor.” [10]
After Earl's performance, BestNewBands.com listed her in their "6 Great New Bands We Saw At Sasquatch! Day 3" article. In it, they wrote "She’s a raw, refreshing blend of folk, rock, and country, and performs with a very talented backing band who keeps her away from typical singer-songwriter territory (which can get stale for live performances). Earl’s pure voice, capable guitar playing, and strong songwriting should push her to the forefront of Seattle’s folk-rock scene." [11]
Earl's third solo album, The Man Who Made Himself a Name, was released in 2017.
Emmylou Harris is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana genre in the 1990s. Her music united both country and rock audiences in live performance settings. Her characteristic voice, musical style and songwriting have been acclaimed by critics and fellow recording artists.
Sondre Lerche is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, musician and actor. His discography includes ten studio albums and multiple EPs.
Peter Wolf is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of The J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983 and as a solo artist.
Brandi Marie Carlile is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Her music spans different genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. Throughout her career, she has received eleven Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards, in addition to being nominated for an Academy Award.
Allison Moorer is an American country singer-songwriter. She signed with MCA Nashville in 1997 and made her debut on the U.S. Billboard Country Chart with the release of her debut single, "A Soft Place to Fall", which she co-wrote with Gwil Owen. The song was featured in Robert Redford's The Horse Whisperer and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1999. Moorer performed at the Oscars ceremony the same year. She has made ten albums and her songs have been recorded by Trisha Yearwood, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Steve Earle, and Hayes Carll.
Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic reinventions, and cultural impact, Swift is a leading figure in popular music and the subject of widespread media coverage, with a vast fanbase known as Swifties.
Aoife O'Donovan is an American singer and Grammy award-winning songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer for the string band Crooked Still and she also co-founded the Grammy Award-winning female folk trio I'm with Her. She has released three critically acclaimed studio albums: Fossils (2013), In the Magic Hour (2016), and Age of Apathy, as well as multiple noteworthy live recordings and EPs, including Blue Light (2010), Peachstone (2012), Man in a Neon Coat: Live From Cambridge (2016), In the Magic Hour: Solo Sessions (2019), and Bull Frog's Croon (2020). She also spent a decade contributing to the radio variety shows Live from Here and A Prairie Home Companion. Her first professional engagement was singing lead for the folk group The Wayfaring Strangers.
The Lonely Forest was an American indie rock band from Anacortes, Washington with two EPs and four studio albums. In 2011 lead singer, John Van Deusen, was selected for Seattle Weekly’s best male vocalist award and the band appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The group went on indefinite hiatus in 2014.
Michael Jason Isbell is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell has won six Grammy Awards.
Orville Johnson is an American resonator guitar player born in 1953 in Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. He came up in the St. Louis, Missouri music scene. A frequent session musician, he also has released a number of solo and group albums. He has appeared on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on television.
Courtney Marie Andrews is an American singer-songwriter originally from Phoenix, Arizona. She released her first widely distributed and breakthrough studio album, Honest Life, in 2016. From 2010 to 2011, Andrews was an auxiliary member of Jimmy Eat World, appearing on their 2010 studio album Invented and acting as their keyboardist and backing vocalist on the subsequent tour.
Christopher Alvin Stapleton is an American country singer-songwriter and guitarist. Born in Kentucky, Stapleton moved to Nashville in 1996 to study for an engineering degree from Vanderbilt University, but dropped out to pursue a career in music. Shortly after, he signed a contract with Sea Gayle Music to write and publish his music.
Allison Russell is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician and activist.
Samuel Benjamin Cohen is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, artist, and producer based in Brooklyn, New York. A founding member of the psychedelic rock and pop band Apollo Sunshine, he released several albums with the group in the early 2000s. In 2009 he formed the solo project Yellowbirds, releasing the debut album The Color in 2011. This release was followed by Songs from the Vanished Frontier in 2013. The first Sam Cohen record, Cool It, was released on April 28, 2015, on Easy Sound Records, and primary featured Cohen playing all of the instruments. It was then re-released on Danger Mouse's imprint of Columbia Records, 30th Century Records, on June 3, 2016. Cohen is also known for his original collages on the Yellowbirds album covers, and his collage animation videos.
The Civil Wars were an American musical duo composed of Joy Williams and John Paul White. Formed in 2008, their style blended folk, country, and Americana, characterized by haunting harmonies and poignant lyrics. The duo gained recognition with their debut album "Barton Hollow" in 2011, which won two Grammy Awards. Their eponymous second album was released in 2013 and further solidified their success. They won two additional Grammy Awards before their breakup in 2014.
Noah Gundersen is an American indie folk singer-songwriter from Seattle.
Brittany Amber Howard is an American musician from Athens, Alabama. She rose to prominence in the early 2010s for being the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the primary songwriter of Alabama Shakes. Her work with Alabama Shakes garnered her four Grammy Awards from nine nominations. Later in the decade, Howard played bass in the side project Thunderbitch as well as both acoustic guitar and double bass for the trio Bermuda Triangle.
Andrew Joslyn is an American composer, orchestrator, film scorer, and violinist in various genres.
Nikki Lane is an American country music singer-songwriter and artist. She has released four albums: Walk of Shame, All or Nothin', Highway Queen, and Denim & Diamonds.
Yellowbirds was an American indie rock band active from 2009 to late 2014. It was first formed by guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Sam Cohen as a solo project, shortly after the dissolution of Cohen's band Apollo Sunshine. After Yellowbirds' debut album release The Color in 2011, their sophomore album Songs from the Vanished Frontier was released in 2013. According to Rolling Stone in 2013, the band "mixes rock, folk and weird bits of R&B filtered through a psychedelic lens."