Your Favorite Non-Famous Artist

[Andromeda]

I love listening to new music. I discovered an artist a few years ago that I really like. He is a regional performer out in the Washington area but I guess he does perform all over the country. His name is Michael Tomlinson. To me his style is a mixture of Kenny Loggins and Dan Folgelburg. I have emailed him a few times and he is a great guy. My favorite songs of his are "The Way We're Going" and "All Is Clear" off of his "Face Up In The Rain" CD. But he also has many other great songs on other CDs.

Here is a link to his web-site:

Michael Tomlinson


He is not a house hold name but that doesn't matter. I know that there are probably many other artists out there producing great music (I know many are on this very forum!) that many of us have not yet discovered. So here is a chance to promote and sing the praises of a musician who might not be a house hold name. Share them with us and provide a link if they hapen to have a web-site.

[nubjamin]

my guitar teacher. fantastic singer/songwriter/guitarist. he does all sorts of stuff, including bluegrass, irish, folk, rockabilly, country, and good old rock/pop:

http://www.jeffersonhamer.com

[Guyute]

Someone just gave me a CD for a guy they saw here at the Freight and Salvage. His name's Kelly Joe Phelps....don't know if he's famous, but I'd never heard of him before.

Really enjoying his "Slingshot Professionals" CD.

[bam]

Mine is John Foster, www.johnfostermusic.com

Great guitar player, singer, writer and session guy.

[mtmikey]

Originally Posted by Guyute

Someone just gave me a CD for a guy they saw here at the Freight and Salvage. His name's Kelly Joe Phelps....don't know if he's famous, but I'd never heard of him before.

he's kinda famous. he's way good. great slide work.

as an aside, at one of my shows a week or so ago, overheard from a really nice, very attentive little kid in the front row: "mom, is he almost famous?"

nowhere near and likely never will be, but certainly made me grin then and now.

i listen to tons of players who are world-class but have received little to no recognition. the list is very long...

i do very much dig a canadian singer/songwriter called gregory hoskins. saw him at the canadian guitar festival. been listening to his "king of good intentions" cd ever since.

so many others...

[wthurman]

Well, fame is an interesting thing to measure by... since if I've heard of them, they're famous to some degree, even if a SMALL degree.

So my list is people I know who are impressive but you wouldn't know (or might), and they're all people I've known in the distant past to one degree or another, which adds a lot to my enjoyment. In addition, what they are doing these days doesn't really show the amazing scope of their abilities.

[jackweasel]

Michael Reno Harrell is my favorite songwriter, known or unknown. He's a combination John Prine, Guy Clark, Roger Miller, Americana Artist who is self promoted and produced and hails from Charlotte, NC. I have, honestly, learned about 20 songs from his five cd's and am chompin' at the bit for the new one that's due to be released this spring. Go to his web site www.michaelrenoharrell.com and you can download two songs from each of his cd's for free.

[anthonyc007]

This fella is semi-famous, but certainly not mainstream: Sam Beam (a.k.a. Iron & Wine). Great, simple acoustic folk songs (usually with simple travis picking). But a great songwriter. Check out "Our Endless Numbered Days". Wonderful LP.

His most famous tune is a cover, ironically: "Such Great Heights" featured in the movie Garden State and an M&M commercial.

I'll give an honorable mention to Gillian Welch (right, Karen?).

[whimsmith]

Met Michael Tomlinson 20-some years ago and he was good then, enjoy Kelly Joe Phelps, shoot, who wouldn't. Don't know the others yet, but I am sure gonna check them out real soon. Keep 'em coming.
My own personal semi-unfamous performer would likely be Sam Pacetti.

[astrummer]

One of our own.......Jim Tozier

[Brackett Instruments]

Acoustic Syndicate. Great musicians. I grew up picking with some of them.
http://acousticsyndicate.com/

[Rejoice Music]

I always enjoy listening to acoustic guitarist Larry Pattis. His style just appeals to me. I like his last album 'Hands of Time'.

[harlon]

ohh - I like this thread. You should take a minute and listen to Roger Hardin . He has won several fingerstyle championships, so I don't know if he qualifies as famous - but he should be. Plus he's a really nice person. Check out my personal favorite "Barbara's Tea Pots" on his website.

[ljguitar]

Hi William...
Peter Janson - Firelight Moonlight.
Peter's website

Someone here in the group mentioned that Peter plays in a coffee house where they live, and had given him/her some lessons. I went to his site and immediately bought the album from iTunes.

Peter is a very creative fingerstyle artist.

[Gilliangirl]

Originally Posted by anthonyc007

I'll give an honorable mention to Gillian Welch (right, Karen?).

Right! ... altho' she's getting to be pretty well known now and someday she'll cross that line to *famous*! (Hmmm... is it a line you cross or does the dirt road you're on just start turning into a six-lane highway?)

For Christmas my sister gave me a cd called La Guitara and it's been in the cd player since. There's some really good artists on there, all women. The one I've taken the time to check out further is Alex Houghton. She's been described as a having a style similar to Leo Kottke. here's a link...
http://www.alexhoughton.com/houghton/cd3.html

I've also been listening to a woman named Melissa Larkin. Her website is here:
http://www.melissalarkin.com/
She tells this great little story about how her mother's old Yamaha guitar, who she's named 'Donna', just sat gathering dust on a guitar stand while she was growing up. Donna was so lonely until Melissa befriended her.