- Meg Hutchinson
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Meg Hutchinson 
photo by Asia KepkaBackground information Born Great Barrington, Massachusetts Origin United States Genres folk Occupations Musician, singer-songwriter Instruments guitar Labels Red House Records Website meghutchinson.com Notable instruments Martin guitars Meg Hutchinson (born 1978, South Egremont, Massachusetts) is an American folk singer songwriter known for distinct alto vocals, poetic lyrics, and sophisticated songwriting. Originally from rural western-most Massachusetts, Hutchinson is now based in the Boston area. Influences include poet Mary Oliver, songwriter Shawn Colvin, and mood maker David Gray. She has won numerous songwriting awards in the US, Ireland and UK, including recognition from John Lennon Songwriting Contest, Billboard Song Contest and prestigious competitions at Merlefest, NewSong, Kerrville, Falcon Ridge, Telluride Bluegrass and Rocky Mountain Folks festivals.[1]
"a master of introspective ballads" -Performing Songwriter Magazine [2]
"a folkster made of sterner stuff" -The Philadelphia Inquirer [3]
"elegant and free-floating melodies that sound both modern and rooted" -The Boston Globe [4]
"music as powerful as it is gentle" -No Depression [5]Contents
Biography
Meg Hutchinson was raised by English teachers in a small town outside of Great Barrington, Massachusetts called South Egremont. Growing up in the Berkshires, the mountains, woods and ponds were her childhood muses, as were poets she read (like Mary Oliver, Robert Frost and William Butler Yeats), and the songwriters she listened to (like Greg Brown and Joni Mitchell). When she inherited her grandmother’s 1957 Martin guitar at age eleven, her love of words found an inspiring instrument, and there was no turning back. “Songwriting is not something I chose, I’ve just somehow always known that this is what I love to do. This is what I can’t help but do,” she says.
After graduating from Bard College at Simon's Rock, with a BA in Liberal Arts with concentration in Creative Writing, Hutchinson quit her longtime job on an organic lettuce farm and settled in Boston, Massachusetts. In between gigs at pubs, coffeehouses and subway train stations, she won a Kerrville New Folk Award (2000) and was nominated for a Boston Music Award for her first studio album "Against the Grey." She went on to win awards at the Rocky Mountain Folks Fest, the Telluride Troubadour Songwriter’s Showcase in Colorado and The Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merlefest in North Carolina, all in the course of a year, causing national publications like Performing Songwriter to take notice, calling her “A master of introspective ballads filled with understated yearning and an exquisite sense of metaphor.”
After recording her live CD "Any Given Day" in 2001, and continuing to build a fan base throughout the Northeast, she went into the studio with esteemed producer Crit Harmon (Lori McKenna, Martin Sexton, Mary Gauthier) to record "The Crossing." Released in 2004, this album was enthusiastically received by critics and DJs across the country, catching the attention of renowned folk/roots label Red House Records. Label president and veteran producer Eric Peltoniemi knew there was something special in the young singer-songwriter, “Meg won me over with the profound yet easy depth of her lyrics—rich words married to melodies I just can’t get out of my head.” Knowing her songs could stand alongside those by Red House heavyweights Greg Brown, Eliza Gilkyson and John Gorka, Peltoniemi signed Hutchinson to the label.[6]
2008 Album "Come Up Full"
"Come Up Full" was inspired by Maine lobster fishermen and was Hutchinson's first collaboration with Connecticut sketch artist and painter Mary Devaney.
"Come Up Full" was Hutchinson's first release on reputable Folk label Red House Records. A lyrically rich record about encountering good things when you least expect them, Hutchinson's introduction to the Folk community was well-received within the genre and was instrumental to Hutchinson's growth from being a regional New England songwriter to an internationally-touring recording artist. In songs like “Ready,” “Home” and “Come Up Full” she sings about our universal ability to overcome life’s most trying times. With a poet’s sensibility, Hutchinson’s songs are laced with a weathered but unselfconscious optimism, a love of language and of the natural world. An honest writer, Hutchinson does not shy away from the hard topics. In “America (Enough),” Hutchinson explores American culture, excess and war by writing about how things taken to an extreme almost become their opposite. Another timely song on the new album is her “Song for Jeffrey Lucey,” based on the real story of Lance Corporal Jeffrey Lucey, who returned from Iraq, suffering from severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Whether tackling political issues or matters of the heart, Hutchinson writes about human resilience. Produced by Crit Harmon (Lori McKenna, Martin Sexton, Mary Gauthier).[7]
2010 Album "The Living Side"
"The Living Side" was Meg Hutchinson's first collaboration with celebrated Polish modern art photogapher Asia Kepka.Upon the release of "The Living Side," Hutchinson's second album on Red House Records, master songwriter John Gorka said, “After you hear Meg, you feel you’ve been somewhere.” [8]
The album is material of the times - Hutchinson's answer to the American cultural search for meaning and connection in the midst of bank bailouts, work-aholism and global warming. The songs begin with vivid, naturalistic images of apple orchards and trailer parks, stark factory towns and the Statue of Liberty. But the songs intend to guide listeners to more intimate places, exploring how we feel in a time of fast and frightening change. The album begins with “Hard to Change,” a song about Americans' struggle to unplug from high-tech gadgets and more fully connect with each other.
“I grew up in the country without a TV or internet," Hutchinson says. “There were so many quiet hours in the day. So many spaces between events. We have forgotten how to be alone in our thoughts. All the best work comes out of that rich stillness of waiting."[9]
Discography
Solo Albums - Charts (peak)
Year Album Radio Charts Sales Charts Song notes Folk [10] Roots [11] Billboard [12] Amazon [13] iTunes [14] 2010 The Living Side (after 2 weeks, still climbing) 27 15 32 9 8 "Hard To Change" reached #2 on Folk radio 2008 Come Up Full 10 11 - 18 24 "Home" reached #6 on Folk radio 2004 The Crossing - - - - - While this album did not chart, it was the first serviced to radio stations in New England primarily, received heavy airplay from WERS Boston. 2001 Any Given Day (Live) (remastered in 2009) - - - - - While this album did not chart, "True North" was the song that introduced Hutchinson's music to the Folk community at festival competitions. 1999 Against The Grey - - - - - 1996 Meg Hutchinson - - - - - Singles
- True North (2007, studio version)
Collaborative Albums
- Winterbloom: Traditions Rearranged (2009)
(with Antje Duvekot, Anne Heaton, and Natalia Zukerman)
External links
- Official Web Site www.meghutchinson.com
- Facebook www.facebook.com/meghutchinson
- MySpace www.myspace.com/meghutchinson
- Twitter "hutchtweets"
References
- ^ https://www.meghutchinson.com
- ^ https://www.performingsongwriter.com
- ^ https://www.philly.com
- ^ https://www.boston.com
- ^ https://www.nodepression.com
- ^ https://www.redhouserecords.com
- ^ https://www.critharmon.com
- ^ http://www.johngorka.com
- ^ http://www.meghutchinson.com
- ^ http://www.folkradio.org
- ^ https://www.rootsmusicreport.com
- ^ https://www.billboard.com
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/gp/new-releases/music/63719
- ^ https://www.apple.com
Categories:- American female singers
- American folk singers
- American folk musicians
- Songwriters from Massachusetts
- American female guitarists
- Musicians from Massachusetts
- American poets
- Kerrville New Folk Competition finalists
- People from Berkshire County, Massachusetts
- 1978 births
- Living people
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