Ben Howard (born 24 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter, born in London. He moved to Totnes, Devon, in his teens. Howard's musically-inclined parents exposed him at a young age to their favourite records from singer-songwriter artists such as Bob Dylan, Nina Simone and John Martyn. Howard began writing his own songs and after a short spell studying journalism, he decided in 2009 at the age of 21 to become a full-time musician.
Matthew Barber (born January 10, 1977) is a Canadian singer-songwriter of indie pop and pop rock with folk and alternative country influences. Barber was born and grew up in Port Credit, which is part of Mississauga, Ontario, just west of Toronto, before moving to Kingston, Ontario to attend Queen's University, where he volunteered at campus radio station CFRC-FM and performed at campus pubs. After graduating from Queen's, he went to McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario for his master's degree in philosophy, and here he began to take his performing more seriously.
Shawn Mullins (born March 8, 1968 in Piedmont hospital, Atlanta, Georgia) is a singer songwriter who specializes in folk rock, Instrumental rock, and adult alternative music. Shawn's voice varies widely standing out along with his rythym acoustical, electric guitar strokes. Shawn travels with his sound man and tour manager, Big Kip Conner. Mullins's earlier work was influenced by acoustic and power-pop groups such as the Violent Femmes, The Producers and the Indigo Girls.
Diana Anaid kick started her musical career by making her self titled debut album and sending a copy to the national Australian youth radio network Triple J. The radio station picked up on the albums first track “I Go Off” and began playing it with an immediate response from the listening audience across the country. Diana’s first album, released through independent record label Origin Recordings in Australia. Diana was nominated as “Best Female Performer” for the 2000 ARIA awards (Australian Grammy’s).
Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer is an American vocalist, pianist and performance artist, best known for her work as one half of The Dresden Dolls. Born in 1976, she grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts and received her B.A. from Wesleyan University. She attended Lexington High School, where she was very involved in the drama department. Amanda sometimes has Lexington High School students perform drama pieces at her shows. Before she was in the Dresden Dolls, she was in a band called "Amanda Palmer and the Void". In October of 2000, she met Brian Viglione, a drummer; together they formed the Dresden Dolls.
In the 2005, WNFX/Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll Amanda Palmer won Best Female Vocalist.
Amanda has performed as a living statue called “The Eight Foot Bride†in Harvard Square as well as in many other locations.
Her solo album entitled “Who Killed Amanda Palmer†was released in September 2008, and was produced by Ben Folds, who also appears on the album. Zoë Keating also appears on several tracks.
In 2009, she pleaded with her label, Roadrunner Records, to drop her from their roster. She has been vocal about this in interviews and in concert, even dedicating a song called "Please Drop Me" that is sung to the tune of "Moon River."
On January 15, 2010, writer Neil Gaiman announced on his official blog that he and Palmer were engaged to be married.
On March 30, 2010, the album "Evelyn Evelyn" was released, as a collaborative work with Jason Webley.
On July 20, 2010, Palmer released a solo EP of Radiohead covers, entitled "Amanda Palmer Performs The Popular Hits of Radiohead On Her Magical Ukulele".
In January of 2011, Palmer and Gaiman announced that they were now legally married. Palmer also released a new studio album, Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under.
On January 21, 2011, Palmer released "Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under, an album with an Antipodean theme featuring songs that Palmer wrote about, or while in, Australia and New Zealand. Artists the album features include The Young Punx, Brian Viglione of The Dresden Dolls, The Jane Austen Argument, Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen, and Lance Horne.
In March of 2012, Palmer announced a formation of a new band called "Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra." They first released a cover of Nirvana's song "Polly." In May 2012, she raised over 1 million dollars to fund the release of the band's new album, "Theatre is Evil," via Kickstarter. The album was released in September of 2012. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
Jimmy Webb (born August 15, 1946 in Elk City, Oklahoma) is an idiosyncratic American popular music composer. Jimmy Webb is responsible for writing numerous popular and Top 10 hits sung by a disparate group of artists, including Glen Campbell ("Galveston"); Art Garfunkel ("All I Know"); Donna Summer and many others. Webb's father was a Baptist minister and a former Marine. His mother died when he was a teenager. His most popular songs were all composed when he was between 19 and 21 years of age.
John Cale (b.1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter. and record producer. Born on 9th March 1942 in Garnant, Wales, Cale spoke only Welsh until the age of seven, when he began to learn English at school. He went on to study viola at Goldsmiths College, University of London, where he became involved in avant garde music. He travelled to the U.S. to continue his studies, thanks to the help and influence of Aaron Copland, and met and worked with various avant garde composers, including John Cage.
Evan Dando is an American musician, most famous for fronting the alternative rock band The Lemonheads. Today, he is the only original member left in the current Lemonheads line-up, having served as lead singer since the band's original formation in 1986.
Ingrid Michaelson is a U.S. singer-songwriter whose hit single "The Way I Am" peaked at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. She took up piano at the age of five, attending Manhattan's Third Street Music School for two years, going on to the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island's Dorothy Delson Kuhn Music Institute. There she met vocal coach Elizabeth McCullough, who worked with her through high school. She is a graduate of Staten Island Technical High School and Binghamton University, where she received a degree in theatre.
Bright Eyes is a band consisting mainly of American singer-songwriter/guitarist Conor Oberst. Bright Eyes also features multi-instrumentalist/producer Mike Mogis, keyboard player Nate Walcott and a rotating lineup of collaborators drawn primarily from Omaha, Nebraska, United States' indie music scene. Having been deeply influenced early on by singer-songwriters David Dondero and Simon Joyner, Conor Oberst has been recording music since the age of 13. He released his first three albums at the ages of 13, 14, 15, respectively, all under the name "Conor Oberst" and released only on cassettes.