JESS KLEIN and RANDY WEEKS (BalconyTV)
PRESENTED BY BARBARA RAPPAPORT
A folk troubadour whose talents have been lauded on the national and international scene for almost a decade, Jess Klein writes songs that tell the story of the soul -- from wrenching heartbreak to finding the strength to pick up and move on.
Jess Klein emerged from the Boston music scene in 1998 with her independent release, Wishes Well Disguised, but it was her later releases -- 2000's Draw Them Near, 2005's Strawberry Lover and 2006's City Garden that would capture the attention of critics and fans worldwide. The New York native picked up the acoustic guitar and started writing songs while living as a student abroad in Kingston, Jamaica in her late teens. Her first songs reflected a bittersweet culture shock as well as the warmth and musical vibrancy of these new surroundings.
Klein returned to the states, moved to Boston, and began performing locally. After independently releasing her first two albums, winning the Telluride Troubadour Songwriting Contest, and garnering several Boston Music Award nominations, Klein was spotted and signed to Rykodisc in 2000 by then-president George Howard. Her first release for Ryko, Draw Them Near, [3.5 stars, USA Today], launched Klein on a worldwide tour where, among other highlights, her relaxed confidence and rootsy soulfulness wowed 70,000 attendees at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan.
Klein returned to the U.S. and joined the songwriter collective Voices on the Verge, along with Erin McKeown, Rose Polenzani, and Beth Amsel. The foursome was featured on Good Morning America performing Klein's song "Little White Dove," and drew sold out crowds in small theaters across the U.S. to their feet nightly with their blend of harmonies and eclectic styles. Looking for a new phase in her creative life, Jess moved to New York and recorded her second solo effort for Ryko. Strawberry Lover [2005], produced by former RCA recording artist Marc Copely. Strawberry Lover debuted as the No. 1 most added album at triple A radio a week before its release, was given four stars by MOJO, a plug from the nearly 80 million readership Parade, and within weeks of its release, the emotive and sensual title track was named one of the "Top Ten Sexiest Songs of the Moment" by the NY Daily News.
In 2006, Klein released the blues and Motown influenced City Garden on indie label United For Opportunity. The album was given an impressive five stars by MOJO Magazine and described by Roots Music UK as having "The best roots sound of any album heard this year." This album took Klein several times to the UK where she toured solo as well as with Erin McKeown. In 2007 Klein followed up with Live At Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction, which featured some of her best songs in a stripped-down, live setting.
Ready for a major change, Klein packed her bags and moved to Austin, TX in 2008. There she immersed herself in local culture -- taking up residence in a small community of long-standing Austin roots music staples. She began writing and testing songs out to small groups of fans at local club gigs, and in December 2008 she went into the studio to record her seventh studio album, Bound To Love.
www.jessklein.com
RANDY WEEKS
"Randy Weeks writes amazingly well crafted, beautifully melodic songs and delivers them with his own brand of laid back vocals and surfboard cool, very hip approach" says Lucinda Williams, who included his song "Can't Let Go" as the sole cover on her Grammy winning album, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.
www.randyweeks.com
TUNE IN AGAIN SOON FOR MORE GEMS FROM BALCONTV AUSTIN!!
A folk troubadour whose talents have been lauded on the national and international scene for almost a decade, Jess Klein writes songs that tell the story of the soul -- from wrenching heartbreak to finding the strength to pick up and move on.
Jess Klein emerged from the Boston music scene in 1998 with her independent release, Wishes Well Disguised, but it was her later releases -- 2000's Draw Them Near, 2005's Strawberry Lover and 2006's City Garden that would capture the attention of critics and fans worldwide. The New York native picked up the acoustic guitar and started writing songs while living as a student abroad in Kingston, Jamaica in her late teens. Her first songs reflected a bittersweet culture shock as well as the warmth and musical vibrancy of these new surroundings.
Klein returned to the states, moved to Boston, and began performing locally. After independently releasing her first two albums, winning the Telluride Troubadour Songwriting Contest, and garnering several Boston Music Award nominations, Klein was spotted and signed to Rykodisc in 2000 by then-president George Howard. Her first release for Ryko, Draw Them Near, [3.5 stars, USA Today], launched Klein on a worldwide tour where, among other highlights, her relaxed confidence and rootsy soulfulness wowed 70,000 attendees at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan.
Klein returned to the U.S. and joined the songwriter collective Voices on the Verge, along with Erin McKeown, Rose Polenzani, and Beth Amsel. The foursome was featured on Good Morning America performing Klein's song "Little White Dove," and drew sold out crowds in small theaters across the U.S. to their feet nightly with their blend of harmonies and eclectic styles. Looking for a new phase in her creative life, Jess moved to New York and recorded her second solo effort for Ryko. Strawberry Lover [2005], produced by former RCA recording artist Marc Copely. Strawberry Lover debuted as the No. 1 most added album at triple A radio a week before its release, was given four stars by MOJO, a plug from the nearly 80 million readership Parade, and within weeks of its release, the emotive and sensual title track was named one of the "Top Ten Sexiest Songs of the Moment" by the NY Daily News.
In 2006, Klein released the blues and Motown influenced City Garden on indie label United For Opportunity. The album was given an impressive five stars by MOJO Magazine and described by Roots Music UK as having "The best roots sound of any album heard this year." This album took Klein several times to the UK where she toured solo as well as with Erin McKeown. In 2007 Klein followed up with Live At Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction, which featured some of her best songs in a stripped-down, live setting.
Ready for a major change, Klein packed her bags and moved to Austin, TX in 2008. There she immersed herself in local culture -- taking up residence in a small community of long-standing Austin roots music staples. She began writing and testing songs out to small groups of fans at local club gigs, and in December 2008 she went into the studio to record her seventh studio album, Bound To Love.
www.jessklein.com
RANDY WEEKS
"Randy Weeks writes amazingly well crafted, beautifully melodic songs and delivers them with his own brand of laid back vocals and surfboard cool, very hip approach" says Lucinda Williams, who included his song "Can't Let Go" as the sole cover on her Grammy winning album, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.
www.randyweeks.com
TUNE IN AGAIN SOON FOR MORE GEMS FROM BALCONTV AUSTIN!!
Category
🎵
Music