Jenny Reynolds and Elizabeth Wills will perform a fine acoustic concert Saturday, September 14th, 2013 at 7:00 PM.
If you don't know of Jenny Reynolds...
-- Jenny's a native New Englander, but now calls Austin home.
-- Jenny has shared the stage with many fine artists, including John Prine.
-- Jenny started playing and singing at age 8 and has a fine bag of songs and does very fine vocal and guitar work.
Jenny Reynolds is a life-long native of Boston and grew up listening to James Taylor and the Beatles. Hailed as "...a gifted guitarist..." by the Boston Herald, Reynolds started playing when she was 8; listening to Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt helped Jenny to learn guitars weren't just for boys. "Patti Smith helped with that too."
Two years of touring Texas was all it took to get Jenny to move to Austin, a decision which came to fruition on the cross-country drive in a '97 Honda Civic that was crammed with everything that would fit. She arrived to a friendly welcome from Austin's music scene, making the transition smooth and successful. This 2003 Kerrville New Folk Finalist immigrated to Austin, TX in late summer of 2003, and was featured on KUT's Austin Music Minute the following November.
In relocating, Jenny left behind her a distinguished past in New England. Nominated for a 1999 Boston Music Award for her debut CD Colored in Poetry, Respond compilation, which to date has sold well over the $100,000 mark. Reynolds is also an Associate Producer of Respond II, which features Dolly Parton, Patty Griffin, Sarah McLachlan and Ani diFranco. Reynolds' sophomore CD, Bet on the Wind, received praise from Paste Magazine, The Boston Globe, and The Boston Herald, and is played on radio stations around the world.
Jenny was also Formal Showcaser at South by Southwest 2008 as Best New Local Act by the Austin Chronicle 2005 Critics Poll; "Jenny Reynolds' music is pop-infused Americana, Shawn Colvin meets Gillian Welch, with a smattering of Beth Orton" and has also been Featured on ABC, CBS and NBC television, and a Associate Producer of 'Signature Sounds'.
Following her mission statement of “Work hard, be nice, keep moving,” Reynolds has had significant accomplishments in music as an independent artist. Reynolds moved to Austin in 2003 and was named “Best New Local Act” in the Austin Chronicle’s 2005 Critics Poll. Since arriving in Texas, Reynolds has played The Old Settlers Festival and the Kerrville Folk Festival, The Cactus Café, and Threadgills World Headquarters. She has shared stages with Jimmy LaFave, Bruce Robison, Catie Curtis, Guy Forsyth, Sara Hickman, Shelley King, Michael Fracasso, John Gorka, John Prine, Ruthie Foster, Seth Walker, and Grammy Winner Terri Hendrix. When returning to her native New England, she has played Club Passim, Fox Run House Concerts, and the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse.
Reynolds latest CD, Next To You, features Ruthie Foster, Ian McLagan, Warren Hood, and Scrappy Jud Newcomb. It is her third national release. Reynolds’ music is an amalgam of Kathleen Edwards, Beth Orton and Gillian Welch. Next To You combines rockers and ballads, stories and rants, and precisely one hoot. Her music has been featured on major network television and independent film, including ABC’s All My Children and CBS’ The District. She is also the founder and producer of Austin's Williams Nite: an Annual Tribute to the Music of Hank and Lucinda Williams, an annual show that ran for five years.
Wishing to share the stage, Reynolds plays many acoustic duo gigs in Texas with Scrappy Jud Newcomb (Ian McLagan & the Bump Band, The Resentments) who also co-produced Next To You. She plays with stringed instrumentalist extraordinaire Steve Sadler when returning to New England. Full band gigs are rootsy and have included Rob Hooper on percussion. She is also an accomplished solo performer.
A trained educator, Reynolds also teaches guitar independently and with the National Guitar Workshop, and has written instructional articles for Acoustic Guitar Magazine. She is currently recording a new CD tentatively titled "Any Kind of Angel" with Mark Hallman (Eliza Gilkyson, Ani diFranco) at Congress House Studio in Austin in 2013.
[four stars] for the new CD Bet on the Wind "Reynolds has a smooth-as-velvet voice..." - Bill O'Neill, The Cape Cod Times
On Bet on the Wind "Reynolds has a touching and mournful tremble in her voice, and some grit too, on this collection of sweet and driving country-folk-Americana...terrific new CD..." - Sarah Rodman, The Boston Herald
"Is there room for yet one more singer-songwriter in this world? If it's Jenny Reynolds, I'd say yes. She writes intelligently emotional songs, her music is melodic and catchy, and her voice is rich and compelling. She plays acoustic guitar, and with her talented backing band, rocks out when the mood suits her, and still can be meditatively quiet, as on the heartbreakingly beautiful 'Bet on the Wind.'" - Bostonia Magazine
"...a powerhouse performer..." - Northeast Performer
On Bet on the Wind "Reynolds is a skilled writer...one of the best performances here is her warm and gentle cover of Peter Gabriel's Mercy Street." - Ed Symkus Community Newspaper Company
"'Bet on the Wind' [is] a stunning collection of soulful tunes rooted in the simplicity of the Americana music tradition..." -Bay Windows (Boston), Sept. 2002
"Her songs are melodic, literate and well-crafted...Jenny Reynolds' personal presence is most enchanting." - Marilyn Rea Beyer, Music Director, WUMB Radio Network (Boston)
"Jenny Reynolds is a wonderful new performer with great melodies that sometimes remind me of Karla Bonoff....[with] vocal inflections like Natalie Merchant,...Jenny is someone to watch." - Rounder Records artist Les Sampou
"...a gifted guitarist..." - Sarah Rodman, The Boston Herald
"...a real talent for writing catchy melodies with thoughtful, poetic lyrics..." Lee Larcheveque, Acoustic Cafe, WMUA, Amherst, MA
"What a voice... [she] could give mouth-to-mouth over the phone!" - J.D. Rose, Program Director, KFAN (Fredericksburg, TX)
"...melodically elegant..." --Dan Gewertz, The Boston Herald
"[Jenny is] ...among the most promising new songwriters..." - The Boston Globe
"Her voice carries that conviction throughout every song. Both the songs and the voice will get under your skin and you'll hear them long after the CD player is shut off." - Richard Cuccaro
Elizabeth Wills is a confessional songwriter with a musical force that presses Americana pop music to discover its highest self. Her draw comes from her pure accessibility and the emotional connection she makes with her listener by delivering her songs through a voice that is at minimal angelic and can be best described as viscerally intoxicating.
Elizabeth was born in Fort Worth, Texas and wrote her first song on piano at age 6. Once old enough, she began singing in both her church and school choirs. Elizabeth learned to play the guitar in her early teens and by eighteen she was playing open-mics, coffeehouses and bars in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. She recorded her first full length album at 19 and has released a total of 5 to date. She recalls growing up listening to the music of Nanci Griffith, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, U2 and the Cure along with Joni Mitchell whom she considers her greatest influence.
Elizabeth's music is cultivated from a simple and organic place and she finds that art and expression of every kind have influenced it. Her moral compass rings true in every note and word of her music. Sheila Dichoso of Campus Circle after seeing one of Elizabeth’s shows commented, “You know something is special when it breaks your heart and tugs at your fragile heartstrings, yet exquisitely captures your every emotion. Wills sang her heart out to a transfixed crowd, exhibiting introspective lyrics of wide-eyed honesty, acoustic melodies and an ethereal voice that will haunt you for hours...”
“When I was first starting out,” Elizabeth observes, “my music was folkier, so finding a deeper rhythm in the music -- finding the heartbeat -- became a real integral part of my musical expression”. As a whole, she says, "her music is about spreading one's wings, coming into one's own and expressing from a higher place — letting go of fear and expectations, and just allowing yourself to fly.”
"The crowd was hers from the start... Her lush voice calls to mind female singer/songwriter greats such as Carly Simon, Shawn Colvin and Sarah McLachlan. " - Jenny Block - Dallas Morning New
"Timeless wisdom tells us that home is where the heart is and Elizabeth Wills proves it with beautifully rendered songs of wanderlust and love on her latest album. Produces and engineered by Austin's Mark Hallman, who also plays bass, clarinet, lap steel and accordion, Love Comes Home features an all-star lineup of backing voices from Sara Hickman, BettySoo, Susan Gibson, and Shelley King. Wills chronicles the journeys and joys of counting off "every lonely mile, one by one," on that long ride home to a lover's smile, the helping hands of a "Million Angels" who get us through the darkest hours, and the heartbreak that may come when "timing wins again," as she sings on the album's closer and highlight, "Timing." In love and music, it's all about timing, and this is clearly Elizabeth Wills' time." - Dave Bloom, Texas Music Magazine
"Love Comes Home' is an appropriate title for Wills' newest project. It’s a journey from broken hearts to enjoying and cherishing the time spent with loved ones. If the same old Texas country is sounding like a broken record ready to be tossed out, Elizabeth Wills will point you in a different direction." - Brenda Rushing - Pegasus News (Dallas)
"Singer-songwriter Wills' new album is the first one produced by the nonprofit arm of the intimate La Grange venue the Bugle Boy. And the organization's instincts are right on. Wills delivers an enjoyable listening experience, brimming with confidence and sweetness." - Hector Saldaña, San Antonio Express-News
"Her instruments are her lovely voice, her songwriting pen and her talent for the piano and the six-string. You can hear her sonic beauty on folk-pop cuts from Love Comes Home, her latest album." - Mario Tarradell, Music Critic, Dallas Morning News
"Elizabeth Wills is one of those artists that you can discover over and over again and love her every time. She has the package deal all wrapped up, great songs, voice and instrumentation delivered with ease and grace. She will definitely be back to play our Festivals in Texas!" - Dalis Allen, Producer, Kerrville Folk Festival
"Every time I hear Elizabeth Wills perform, regardless of the venue, I say to myself, ‘What the hell is she still doing playing here?’ She is one of those artists we all brag about eventually when we tell our friends, ‘Yea, but I heard her years ago.’ Don’t miss the opportunity to hear her now while you can afford it!" - Paul Barker, Barker House Concerts
"Certain voices wrap around the listener's heart with instant familiarity and warmth, like a long lost friend you've been waiting to meet...that's what Elizabeth Wills' voice brings to mind. In regards to her songwriting, her song "in the broken" captures the essence of everything a song should be: heartfelt, clarified intimacy delivered with sincere conviction needing nothing more than elizabeth's warm voice and acoustic guitar arpeggios." - Sara Hickman, 2010 Texas State Musician
"The crowd was hers from the start...Her lush voice calls to mind female singer/songwriter greats such as Carly Simon, Shawn Colvin and Sarah McLachlan." - Jenny Block, Dallas Morning News
"Elizabeth Wills voice is at minimal angelic and can be best described as viscerally intoxicating." - Lane Gosnay, Founder, The Bugle Boy
"Elizabeth Wills is a great listen when you are alone and need to unwind. She sings gracefully about love, romance, and being thankful for what you've been given. Most artists these days sing of misery and despair and it's nice to see the polar opposite of that. Finally, someone who sees the world as the glass half full." - Samantha Jones, Static Multimedia
"You know something is special when it breaks your heart and tugs at your fragile heartstrings, yet exquisitely captures your every emotion. This rings true for singer-songwriter Elizabeth Wills’ music." - Sheila Dichoso, Campus Circle
"...rich, wise vocal style" - Jimmy Fowler, Fort Worth Weekly
Links...
jennyreynolds.com
elizabethwills.com
Concert...
Doors open at 7:00 and the concert is 8:00 to 10:00.
$15 suggested admission donation
BYOB and hors d'oeuvres are welcome!