Danny Schmidt
A man, a guitar and a bagful of the best songs you’ll hear today, that’ s the simple truth about Danny Schmidt. He has a big reputation in the States where Sing Out Magazine described him as “the best new songwriter we’ve heard in 15 years” and after three tours of the UK he has a large following here too. Not to be missed.
Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter, Danny Schmidt has been building an enthusiastic (nearly cult-like) following while simultaneously inspiring the admiration of his fellow artists and critical acclaim from industry professionals. He is an authentic timeless troubadour in the tradition of Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Dave Carter, who delivers his craft with a quiet power, a level of complexity and an underlying humanity that is truly rare in this age of sound bite marketeering. It’s his songwriting which won him the prestigous Kerrville New Folk award, but it’s his intense live performances that leave listeners with a sense that each of his songs is necessary, plain and simple. His guitar work is effortless and sparkling, his arrangements are fresh and unpredictable, his voice ageless. Stylistically and musically, Danny’s writing spans an impressively diverse reach, from deeply-rooted Appalachian mountain gospel to haunted English balladry, from syncopated Piedmont country blues to vagabond 60′s protest folk-stumpery. He tackles universal themes of love, loss and longing . . . restless discontent and grateful joy. And he captures both the sorrow and the beauty inherent in our everyday lives with the wisdom of a perceptive, compassionate elder and with the innocent awe and tenderness of a child.
In the words of Sing Out Magazine: “He is perhaps the best new songwriter we’ve heard in the last 15 years.” And in the words of Texas Monthly: “With seductive simplicity, his music simply demands your attention.”
“Everything about the man is gentle, except his capacity for insight, which is crushing.” Songwriter Jeffrey Foucault
“I’ve not felt a performance with this much intensity since I saw Neil Young solo years ago, nor have I heard songwriting with this much subtlety of craftsmanship since Leonard Cohen. I was completely floored.” Henri Simmons, the Filter
“Very few people in this world can captivate an audience with just a voice and a guitar the way Carrie Elkin can.” Matthew Toledo, Athens Music Network
“He is, perhaps the best new songwriter I’ve heard in the last 15 years.” Rich Warren, Sing Out! Magazine
“In his use of parable and allegory, there are inevitable comparisons with Cohen and Dylan, but these are songs of such quality and beauty that they more than hold their own in this exalted company.” 5* Maverick Magazine
“In today’s underground folk world, Danny Schmidt is spoken of in reverent tones, drawing comparisons to Leonard Cohen, with a poetry that breathes naturally and without pretension, with results that are both attractive and intense.” Jim Caligiuri, Austin Chronicle
“This songsmith has been churning out brilliant, poetic songs on the human condition coupled with dazzling technique on his guitar strings for almost a decade.” Jay Trachtenberg, KUT Radio in Austin
“Danny Schmidt’s done it again. One of the country’s best singer-songwriters has released yet another masterpiece.” Les Reynolds, Indie-Music.com
“With beautifully crafted, lonesome pines music and complex beguiling words, he would’ve fitted neatly on the bill at any ’60s coffee house alongside Townes Van Zandt or Leonard Cohen.” Andy Fyfe, Q Magazine
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