American short story folk

12 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Modern Folk, ROCK: Americana



Details:
PRE-RELEASE PRAISE FOR THE NEW THEA HOPKINS ALBUM, CHICKASAW

âThea Hopkinsâ new recording, "Chickasaw," puts her haunting voice front and center, and especially on her lovely self-written ballads, it's a voice with the mystery and power of the late, great Nick Drake.â -- Susan Werner

âThis is what making good music is all about! I especially liked âJenny Danced.ââ
-- Tom Rush

Acclaimed Boston singer-songwriter Thea Hopkins calls her music American Short Story Folk: concise, striking narratives, they tell of American romance and tragedy in modern terms. She is as inspired by great short story writers as she is by songwriters. Folk icons Peter, Paul & Mary, (who recorded her song âJesus Is On The Wireâ in 2004) described Hopkins as âone of the most literate, poetic and emotionally moving of the new singer-songwriters to arrive on the scene in the last few yearsâ.

Her new album, Chickasaw, contains the work of pianist Tim Ray (Lyle Lovett, Jane Siberry), guitarist David Goodrich (Chris Smither, Peter Mulvey), bassist Richard Gates (Suzanne Vega, Patty Larkin), cellist Natalie Haas (Mark OâConnor, Alasdair Fraser), and guitarists Bob Metzger (Leonard Cohen) and Steve Sadler (Kerri Powers, The Swinging Steaks), among others. It was mixed by Chris Rival and mastered by the albumâs violinist, Ian Kennedy. Among the 12 songs are two of a topical nature, a new version of her Matthew Shepard story song, âJesus Is On The Wire,â and the anti-war âRiver of Fire.â

Chickasaw is Theaâs sophomore album. Her debut album, "Birds of Mystery," was named one of the Top 10 local albums of 2001 by the Boston Herald. "A gorgeous dusky voice wraps itself like mist around country-folk songs of tenderness and substance," wrote Sarah Rodman.

In February of 2005, the nationally syndicated radio program "Acoustic Café" selected Thea's music for their monthly feature devoted to a new artist, "One To Watch." In 2004 in the Washington Post, Richard Harrington wrote that Peter, Paul & Maryâs album "In These Times" showcased "several promising new writers. The standout here is Thea Hopkins." (Thea's composition is the only new song to be performed in its entirety in P, P & Mâs most recent PBS-TV show, the career retrospective, "Carry It On.") In 2004, Thea's song "Western Town" was included in the CD "The Best of Boston Songwriters." In the years 2003 though 2007, Thea received ASCAP Plus awards for songwriting.
She won 2nd place in the 2004 Boston Folk Festival songwriter contest.

Thea has opened for Richie Havens, Maura O'Connell, John Hammond, Ellis Paul, Susan Werner, Connie Kaldor, Tracy Grammer, Brooks Williams, The Burns Sisters, Kris Delmhorst and Katy Moffatt.