"Erica Wheeler writes songs that could make Wendell Berry hum."Hilltown Concert Series, MA
ERICA WHEELER is an award-winning singer/songwriter, a dynamic keynote presenter and an experienced workshop facilitator. Known for her visual, cinematographic style of writing, Erica's songs paint sharply detailed portraits of the American landscape and the lives lived there. Her songs and stories beautifully evoke a sense of place the listener, while her hands-on workshops, The Soulful Landscape, offer opportunities for people to access and articulate their own stories of place and belonging. Committed to deepening the relationship between people and place, Erica's latest release Good Summer Rain (March 2008) was sponsored in part by the Trust for Public Land.
"Her songs measure the cost of urban sprawl not in terms of species endangered, but in memories lost. Her lyrics evoke all the trails we've hiked, the streams swum, the trees climbed, and all the moments of growth enjoyed there--the silent epiphanies, the stolen kisses--without ever sounding preachy. But when she drops the truism "Your children won't know (the land) the way I did," suddenly your local zoning battle may seem a little more interesting." -Yankee Magazine
Good Summer Rain wins first place for "Best Interpretive Music." at the
2008 National Association for Interpretation Annual Conference
Pictured below: Jim Lovell, Erica Wheeler and Tim Merriman
MORE ABOUT "GOOD SUMMER RAIN"
Good Summer Rain (2008), the new album from award-winning songwriter Erica Wheeler, is an imaginative, unforgettable journey through the American landscape and the lives lived there. Each song beautifully evokes the relationships between people and place today, spanning from the intimate streets of Greenwich Village to the sweeping vistas of Jackson Hole and reaching out to where farmland gives way to sprawl and wilderness gives way to industrial growth.
Produced in Boston by Crit Harmon (Martin Sexton, Mary Gauthier, Lori McKenna), Good Summer Rain fuses the roots Americana sounds of dobro, mandolin, guitar, and drums with the elegance of piano and upright bass, offering a rich textural foundation for Erica's expressive lyrics and intimate, conversational vocal style.
Beautiful, thoughtful, deeply spiritual and satisfying, Good Summer Rain evokes a sense of connection that is much needed in our world today. It will make you smile, laugh and cry, but most of all, it will make you think.
Good Summer Rain was sponsored in part by The Trust for Public Land (www.tpl.org), an organization that works to conserve land for people by protecting cherished landscapes from inner cities to wilderness. Working together, Erica and TPL are helping to inspire a deeper connection between people and place today.
More Reviews
"If this CD doesn't compel you to get outside and enjoy what little green space we have left, put it on for a mental break while you're stuck in the concrete grid of rush hour." -Performing Songwriter Magazine
"Listening to Good Summer Rain is like flipping through the photo album of an Ansel Adams road trip. Each artfully created song transports the listener to a particular location, like a snapshot in time." -Planet Jackson Hole News
"Great title for this disc because it feels like a late summer afternoon. For this new recording (Erica) returns with an album of originals that, while not a concept recording, plays like a complete arc. The gentle backing and crystal clear production are the perfect vehicle for these songs. Her career has been under the radar, but that hasn't stopped her from staying true to her vision and following her muse. We need more albums like this." -VillageRecords
"Summer's Here Early. Closing my eyes while listening to singer/songwriter Erica Wheeler's newest offering, Good Summer Rain, I was instantly transported to various outposts in the backcountry of America. Wheeler's expert songwriting is surpassed only by her emotive voice. She has the ability to convey a myriad of emotions—sadness, love, exuberance, resignation--within a single song. While roots Americana folk may not be everyone's cup of tea... I can't think of anything else I'd rather listen to after a lazy summer afternoon, sitting on the back porch drinking lemonade and watching the fireflies play." -Valley Advocate.com
Backyard Concert, Anne and Tom's, Colrain, MA
Upcoming Events »
- Sat, Jul 11, 09
Private Party/Afternoon
Montgomery, NY - Sat, Jul 18, 09
Franklin Land Trust Members Picnic - Sat, Aug 8, 09
Evening Concert
Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health
Lenox, MA - Fri, Aug 14, 09
Summerfolk Music and Craft Festival
Owen Sound, Ontario CANANDA - Sat, Aug 22, 09
Westport Town Farm
Westport Land Conservation Trust Event
Westport, MA
