"So long as Lowry Olafson releases a new CD each
year, all is right with the world."
Jurgen Gothe, CBC Radio, Disc Drive
"Lowry Olafson gets the truth into his songs: the
earthiness and the elegance of the everyday. -Tom Kimmel - songwriter

16 MP3 Songs
FOLK: like Joni, FOLK: Gentle



Details:
Biography


Lowry Olafson was born in Lahore, Pakistan, where his father worked with the United Nations. Upon returning from overseas the family settled on the Canadian prairies. Lowry's mother taught piano and he began playing piano at the age of five. He studied violin at the Regina Conservatory from age nine and was a member of the Regina Junior Symphony. He then added the guitar and songwriting to his musical accomplishments at eleven. He began public performances early, singing a wide range of material from folk to musicals. At age thirteen, the family moved to the Maritimes where Lowry continued performing throughout his high school and university years.

He began touring and performing and developing as a professional musician across Canada. A tour of Southeast Asia turned into a stay of four years in Australia, where his numerous adventures provided colourful material for his stories and songs.

Based in Perth, Western Australia, he played guitar, violin and mandolin for a variety of bands ranging from traditional and contemporary folk to a sci-fi new wave band, and renewed his studies in violin and music composition.

Lowry returned to Canada in the early 80's while continuing touring internationally to such events and venues as the Australian National Folk Festival and the Hong Kong Folk Club. In 1992 he released his first album, Wind and Rain. Several more recordings met with popular success, leading to his 1998 release of Little Mysteries, named the Number One New Release of the Year by Jurgen Gothe, host of CBC's Disc Drive. Little Mysteries also made the Top 12 in Performing Songwriter magazine.

He has performed with musicians such as Odetta, Dar Williams and Bill Morrissey, at numerous festivals, and at the legendary campfire sessions of the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas. He has also appeared at Nashville's renowned Bluebird Café, and continues to tour in Australia and Southeast Asia, as well as North America.

He relocated with his family to Gibsons Landing, on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast in 2001. He renovated an abandoned parsonage and built a recording studio, where he recorded his recently released seventh CD, Solid Ground.

Lowry continues to teach Songwriting Workshops in schools and write songs. He has just signed a two-year licensing deal with the B.C. Ministry of Children and Family Development for his song "Kids Can't Wait (To Have a Family") as the theme for their upcoming adoption campaign. He also produces albums for other performers and just won a National Parenting Publications Award for KnobbledeeKnees by children's entertainer Graham Walker.