What People Are Saying |

Lowry Hamner and Jon Sholle
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So why is he profiled in an acoustic blues guide? Because anyone who has ever heard him play the blues will
attest that Hamner’s blues are as deep as it gets. He regularly brings the house down with his fiery renditions of
the classic country blues. He may be eclectic, playing Americana, folk and Alt-Country, but the blues is his essence. Equally versed as a fingerpicker and slide player, Hamner’s approach to the old blues is rooted in a lifelong intrinsic connection to the music. Still, when he gets out the old Epiphone that he has had since he was a teenager, he kicks out the truest blues you’ll ever hear. There is an ethereal, gritty feeling and profoundly moving sincerity and authenticity to Hamner’s blues. This is not something he learned. This is something he is and has always been. —-The Country Blues.com |
"Americana, Shmericana. That's just another flavor of the month pigeon-holing term. Listen to Mr. Hamner's tumultuous take on Muddy Water's delta apocalypse classic "Two Trains." Unfortunately, that's not on the album. You'll have to catch him live to witness that song. Lowry Hamner plays rock 'n roll!" —-Will Bedard, Music Critic, The Record Review |
I call it 'crossroads music.' It's an intersection where a variety of different influences meet. It's 'cosmic gumbo.' I'm possessed by it." —-Lowry Hamner |
"There are only two kinds of music; good and bad. I play the good kind." —-Louis Armstrong |
PAWLING, NYWith the release of "Secrets of the Heart",
American Roots musician Lowry Hamner presents his first solo work,
comprising some of the artist's most powerful and mature recordings
to date. |
"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.
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What reviewers
are saying about
SECRETS of the HEART |
"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
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