Award Winning songwriter Dan Weber has been described as “The classic mid-life overnight sensation.” A gifted storyteller and inspired performer, in 2013 Weber won 3rd place in the prestigious Woody Guthrie Songwriting Competition and the Silver Award in the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. Previously he was a 2012 finalist in the legendary Kerrville ‘New Folk’ competition as well as the 2010 Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest along with several other national and regional honors.
An ex-Park Ranger, Weber follows the long tradition of songwriting legends, entertaining audiences with energetic performances and telling hilarious, true stories from the many roads he’s traveled. Songs from his debut CD ‘Ash and Bone‘ received accolades from American Songwriter Magazine, the Great American Songwriting Contest, and the UK’s Maverick Magazine said: “4 Stars: Has you hanging on to every word. That’s the touch of a true master craftsman songwriter, quite indispensable.”
The Victory Review magazine writes “Weber’s writing is as strong as any in the Contemporary Folk community. ‘Goodbye to Dad’ is one of the best original tunes that I have heard in a long time.” There’s also been recognition from DJ’s “‘Hank and Jesus’ is easily the best folk song I heard last year. It has a timeless and authentic ‘Me and Bobby McGee’ feel to it” and legendary folk troubadour Ramblin’ Jack Elliott said “I love Dan’s songs and he tells really good stories”
In 2014 Weber begins a new chapter: A full-length follow up CD with favorites like ‘Oh Woody’, ‘What I’m Lookin’, and ‘Crazy ALL Day’—a country-tinged anthem that is poised to be a breakout hit. The songs are heartbreaking, funny, rich in imagery, and full of life’s hopes and ironies. With them Dan Weber brings an authentic voice to Timeless Stories.
Family legend has it Avery Hill sang before she talked. Since then, drawing from influences as varied as the old-time jazz of Billie Holliday, the surf rock of The Beach Boys, and contemporary confessional songwriters such as Dar Williams, Avery has used songwriting to stretch her voice and play with the vast spectrum folk music offers. Her sensitive guitar picking complements the images of her honest and intentional lyrics.
Her first record, EP Fare Thee Well, released in 2012, was featured on Tom May’s nationally syndicated radio show River City Folk. “This emerging singer-songwriter has a memorable, lilting voice,” says May, “and is already penning songs that could someday be classics. She is an extraordinary young talent.”
Avery wrote songs for ten years before signing up for Portland songwriting institution Matt Meighan’s workshop, Songwriting as Truth Telling. Putting on her iron skin, ready for critique, she was surprised to learn that this class was not about playing for feedback, but about listening for truth. “What I realized then,” as she shared in an interview with River City Folk, “and what I continue to realize more deeply is that the way we become better writers is by becoming better listeners.”
She is currently working on her first full-length recording.
Listen to the performance here:
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