Joe Crookston

JOE CROOKSTON….

STOMPING LOUD IN MINOR KEYS & STORY SONGS & JAMBOREES
(from www.JoeCrookston.com)

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"Able Baker Charlie & Dog" awarded 2009 Album of the Year by the International Folk Alliance in Memphis, TN
Falcon Ridge "Most Wanted" Artist & Preview Tour
Rockefeller Foundation Songwriting Grant Recipient
Top 12 DIY Recording-Performing Songwriter Magazine
Mountain Stage New Song Finalist
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"This is not reviewers hype...This guy is flat out good"
 ---- Rodger Nichols of The Dalles Oregon Chronicle 
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Artful, intense, and often transcendent…imaginative, and extremely engaging...-
If you love a moving song and  magical madness,  Joe delivers it all....the music, the lyrics, the energy, and the passion for exceptionaly well written songs -- He loves his audience, and it shows.

Joe was chosen as a Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Most-Wanted Artist, and was featured on the Annual Falcon Ridge Preview Tour with Lindsay Mac, Anthony da Costa and Randall Williams. 28 dates, from Club Passim to Kennedy Center.

He was as a finalist in the Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, and received a year-long songwriting grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to travel throughout New York State, interview local residents, and write songs based on his experiences ... It's been a good couple years, and there is no stopping.

In February 2009, "Able Baker Charlie & Dog" was awarded "Album of the Year" by the International Folk Alliance in Memphis, TN.

He stands on stage holding his Martin OM 28, stompin' his foot, singing superb songs
about ruby red dresses, drunk roosters, ex-slaves, window washers, Polish Immigrants, Tinian Island, rutabagas and the cycles of life & death. He sings about the thread that runs through us all.
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Sing Out! Magazine says ...
"With all the performers out there, an artist has to go beyond good...and Joe does.”

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He's played:

The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival-  NY
The Kerrville Folk Festival - TX
New Bedford SummerFest - MA
Kennedy Center  -DC
Club Passim - Cambridge
Godfrey Daniels  PA
Irvington Town Hall Theatre
Mahaiwe Theatre
WFMT FOLKSTAGE
NW Folklife Festival
Ithaca Festival
Club Helsinki
Folk Project Festival
& hundreds more....

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Spring 2008, MaineFolkMusic.com wrote:

“It seems Joe Crookston can hardly set a foot wrong these days. Several of his songs have made it into the finals of some of the more prestigious national songwriting competitions; John Lennon, Mountain Stage, Great American Song Contest.  The audience at the 2007 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival named him one of the Top 3 “Most Wanted” Emerging Artists.

This honor landed him a spot on the 2008 Falcon Ridge Preview Tour, commencing in May, 2008… Joe Crookston’s star is rising. Versatile songwriting, excellent musicianship and a charismatic stage presence should earn him a permanent place on the national folk scene.”

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"Top-12-Do-It-Yourself Recording" -- Performing Songwriter Magazine

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"I've watched audiences glued to their seats at the end of Joe's shows simply not wanting the evening to end. There is a spirit in his music that is simultaneously sacred, celebratory, artful and solidly grounded in tradition ... Go see this man perform, and don't be surprised if you drive home singing his songs with a renewed sense of what's possible." -- Seattle Folklore Society
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Joe Crookston - Born and raised in rural Ohio, with Hungarian roots, Polkas Polkas...and eastern European food ... A little bit of Gypsy soul in this guy ... Whether it’s his hypnotic guitar sound, bubbling banjo, or short story lyrics, his music draws from his urban adventures and his rural Ohio roots, exuding a remarkable  timeless quality.

Haven't seen him perform??   You'll be glad you did..

In 1987, The Kent State Folk Festival changed his life.  After hearing Harvey Reid and the Horseflies at the festival, Joe sold his electric guitar, bought a steel string and never looked back. He's a fiddler and a pretty darn good percolating clawhammer banjo player to boot.

He has performed throughout the US, at Folk Festivals, Coffeehouses, venues ...  There is not a navel gazing break-up song to be found anywhere.   "Go see this man perform".... his audience rapport, musicianship and playful stage presence is intense, mesmerizing, and unforgettably dynamic.

Inspired by Woody Guthrie, Joe was awarded a year-long grant (2007) from The Rockefeller Foundation to travel around the State of New York , interview local residents, gather stories and write songs based on his experiences. His project is called, “Songs of the Finger Lakes.”

 "Fall Down as the Rain", not surprisingly, was chosen by Performing Songwriter Magazine as a 2004 "TOP-12-Do-It-Yourself" independent recording, was featured on National Public Radio's “All Songs Considered”, as well as Syndicated Minnesota Public Radio, The Midnight Special and Folkscene. He has shared festival stages with the likes of Livingston Taylor, The Subdudes, John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie, and Tim Reynolds,
John Gorka,  and many others.

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Victory Music Review says:

"Joe's songs are powerful, simple, distilled lyrical paintings weaving together cycles of life and decay, cycles of joy and pain, and eventually they thread the needle through all of us..." He is a commanding, charismatic performer. Be glad Joe's one of the good guys, because otherwise, he'd be dangerous."

"Oh my heavens! This CD is wonderful. WUMB (Boston) is playing it a great deal. Congratulations on a terrific sounding recording of well written songs." -- Marilyn Rea Beyer, Music Director, WUMB Public Radio Network-Boston

Want to read more?  Visit www.joecrookston.com