Soul rock

11 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Funk Rock, POP: with Live-band Production



Details:
For the majority of Lin McEwanâs young life, people assumed she couldnât sing because her unusually low voice didnât allow her to tackle the standard soprano parts.

âMy voice was so strange for my age,â she recalls, âthat when I was in the eighth grade, I had to play Santa Claus because the boysâ voices hadnât changed yet, and I was the only one who could do a convincing, âHo, ho, ho.ââ

It wasnât until she was 16 that she stepped onto the stage of her Baltimore high schoolâs gala gospel concert to give her first ever solo performance, a rousing blues take of âAmazing Grace,â for which she received a thunderous three-minute standing ovation.

Since then, Linâs repertoire and range have expanded significantly, as evidenced on her newly-released debut album. This self-titled LP features an eclectic collection of songs fusing rock, blues, pop, and funk. Tying it all together are Linâs powerhouse, soul-tinged vocals, evoking the old-school sounds of Mavis Staples, Nina Simone, Tina Turner, and even Bonnie Raitt.

But where Lin is concerned, comparisons are largely moot.

âLinâs voice is both beautiful and powerful,â says Jeanne Drewsen, of Artemis/V2 Records, âbut its greatest strength is its singularity. You can be certain youâve never heard anyone quite like Lin McEwan.â

Since graduating from Vanderbilt University, Lin has settled in New York, where she put together a talented group of instrumentalists who have backed the likes of Mike Stern and Gavin DeGraw. Since they began playing together last summer, Lin and her band have appeared at such landmark establishments as CBGBâs Gallery and the Bitter End, as well as the Rockwood Music Hall, the Cutting Room, Smokeyâs, and Kennyâs Castaways. But she still considers Baltimore home and tries to take the band back as often as possible.

Lin is also a proud member of ASCAP and the Songwriterâs Hall of Fame.