His music earnest and expectant, if a little
weatherworn and weary, Winnipeg-based songwriter
and performer Scott Nolan has earned the
esteem his works have rendered. Some have
called him noteworthy, even acclaimed - but
the smart money cites Nolan as a voice rarely
heard this side of the century, a musician
who shrugs away any five-dollar-cover singer-songwriter
motifs before he unsnaps his guitar case.
His are the songs sung for people with a
past, sturdily backlit with unswerving musicianship
and a disposition rooted in the best of rock
n' roll, roots and Americana.
Born in Toronto and raised in Winnipeg, Nolan
hasn't been without an instrument in his
hands as far back as he can remember. His
efforts in several bands, including Leaderhouse
and Motel 75, soon directed him toward a
strong solo career that has secured him a
place in the ranks of the country's finest
songwriters and performers. A seasoned multi-instrumentalist,
Nolan has recorded (alongside bandmate and
drummer Joanna Miller) with several modern
Americana tastemakers, including the Holmes
Brothers, Hayes Carll and Gurf Morlix.
Weaving seamlessly between the twang of parlor
electric guitar and heavy-hearted dirges,
Nolan's body of work offers an interchange
of heady balladry as well as more muscular
outflow. With five full-length recordings,
two Western Canadian Music Award nominations
and countless tours, "Bad Liver/Broken
Heart" - a track from Nolan's record,
Receiver/Reflector - won second prize in
the International Songwriting Competition
in the Americana category.
Though some of his compositions deliver in
a sparse and intimate tender - some would
say even hushed - Nolan's sonic rancor isn't
dug in too deeply, breaking forth with a
crisp, yet threadbare elegance reminiscent
of Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and Patti Smith.
Scott Nolan's music is not the stuff that
sidles into the background -- even when it's
obscured: anyone who knows what's worth looking
at will know exactly where to find it.
* Scott was a double nominee at this years
Western Canadian Music Awards with appearances
in the Best Songwriter Category and Best
Roots Album
* Scott recorded his song
" Ain't Dead
Yet" with the famed
Holmes Brothers
and will be doing more
recording with the
legendary American roots
masters.
* "Bad Liver/Broken
Heart" was
recorded by Hayes Carll
on his latest record
"Trouble in Mind"*
This song is
in solid rotation in the
USA and across Europe.
*Produced Adam Carroll's
( noted Americana/roots
artist ) latest record
" Old Town Rock
and Rolll" . This
record has received
rave reviews and spent
several weeks in the
top 30 on the Americana
music charts.
* "Bad Liver/Broken
Heart", was
the second place winner
in the International
Songwriting Competition
for 2008, in the
Americana category. ( Over
15,000 entries)
* Feature article in "
Penguin Eggs"
folk, roots, and world
music magazine ,Autumn
issue 2008
Scott opened for and collaborated
with Hayes
Carl ,of Texas, on his
recent Canadian tour
and also toured with Adam
Carrol and Gurf
Morlix in 2008.
* Opened for Watermelon
Slim and the Workers
in Kansas City , Kansas.
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