"Secrets of the Heart" is garnering critical acclaim from peers and critics alike. "This is the best CD I've heard in two years," said Sloan Wainwright, Waterbug Recording Artist. The album is being featured on WPKN (89.5) in Connecticut and by Gene Shay at WXPN (88.5) in Philadelphia, and is in heavy rotation at WKZE (98.1) in Sharon Connecticut. "Secrets of the Heart" can also be heard on WFUV in New York.

Hamner, a Mississippi native, writes and performs original and traditional music in the "Americana" genre, the crossroads of southern blues, country, rock and folk. "Secrets of the Heart" combines Hamner's lyricism and poetry with a driving bluesy beat in cuts such as "Fixing to Rain". "Fallen Angel Song" shifts to a swinging country riff while "After the Fall" features seductive vocals showcased in a tender elegy. For most fans, Hamner's "Ariana's Song", written for his daughter, and the simple and eloquent "Lowry's Homesick Reverie" are favorites. Philosophically biting "Secrets of the Heart" and "The Taste of Strange Fruit" offer Hamner's take on power and corruption.

On this album, Hamner works with New York area musicians including Jon Sholle, a former member of David Grisman Quartet and Cary Brown, formerly with the Skatellites and currently performing with the Sloan Wainwright Band. Joyce Andersen, Ray Anthony and Dave Roufberg also perform.

Hamner is currently booking his fall and winter tour. Lowry regularly headlines at The Towne Crier Cafe in Pawling, New York, performed at the Summerfest in Dutchess County, New York and regularly performs at other New York area venues including Fez (under Time Cafe) in New York City. He performs engagements as a solo artist, accompanied by one or two players or with the full band, The Soul Drivers.

"Secrets of the Heart is truly a record, a document of where popular music's been and where it's going."
—-Will Bedard, Music Critic, The Record Review

"Lowry Hamner's songs are simply infectious. "Fallen Angel Song" and "Real True Love" rival the best of any on Lucinda Williams' new record-- and for that matter the best of Americana anywhere. Put it on the top shelf. This one is a keeper!" —Frank Matheis, Host, Frank's Picks, WKZE-FM, Music Critic, Taconic Newspapers

"Here are songs that deftly blend all that's finest in American musical tradition with a sensibility attuned to the uneasy conditions of heart and soul in the late 20th century." —Jeanne Marie Beaumont, author Placebo Effect

"Secrets of the Heart is literate, lyrical, authentic, hard, sentimental, provocative, musical, brilliant, thoughtful and profound. Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, and John Lennon would have been proud." — Barry Denenberg, Author

"Hamner, in his own personal way, is trying to make a few things right, in a world full of wrongs."
—The Music Matters Review, issue 10

"I can't get past the second song... I keep listening to the first two over and over!"
—Molly Ross, Grey Parrot Music

"Lowry regularly brings down the house with his blustering renditions of old blues and original songs."
—Phil Ciganer, Owner, Towne Crier Cafe

"You don't sing like Elvis but you're the best songwriter I've heard in ten years." —Sam Phillips, Sun Records

Last update MARCH 2008