AMY GALLATIN: Sweet Gatherings

Amy Gallatin

Sweet Gatherings

© 1995 Amy Gallatin (664565000228)

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Folk material with an acoustic country/bluegrass feel, showcasing many undiscovered songwriters from the Western states. Mandolin, Dobro, banjo, and some instrumental surprises.

notes

Amy Gallatin, born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, lived in several states before settling in the West, where she was raised. During her ten years in Idaho and Montana, she had had the good fortune of being able to work at two of her loves in life: horses and music; Amy helped to organize the horseback riding programs and was the featured entertainer at various guest ranches. Her performing background had been as a solo artist out West prior to her meeting some Connecticut musicians while wintering in New England in 1992.

With that Connecticut connection came the opportunity to tour as a working unit, so Amy packed her guitar and moved east in the fall of 1993 to pursue her music. Four albums later (including a live album and a project recorded in Nashville with ace producer Rich Adler), Amy Gallatin and her band Stillwaters have taken the stage at some of the most prestigious venues in the U.S., Mexico, and Europe. They were invited in 1996, '98, and 2003 to tour several European countries. Their most recent performances in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark drew extremely enthusiastic crowds at house concerts, music clubs, theaters, country & bluegrass festivals, and National Radio. Amy & Stillwaters represented the United States as the featured performers at the European World of Bluegrass convention in The Netherlands in May '98.

Amy is at home singing various musical styles -- country, folk, bluegrass or western swing--branding each song with soulful sincerity. Her influences are diverse, ranging from old and contemporary cowboy tunes learned out West, to great country artists like Emmylou Harris, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, and the Everly Brothers, with even a dash of blues influence thrown in--Koko Taylor, Katie Wilson, BB King, and Shemekiah Copeland. She currently performs with renowned Dobroist Roger Williams, formerly with Southern Rail, Salamander Crossing, and White Mountain Bluegrass.

In this follow-up to her first album (Northern Girl, now out of print), Amy diversifies both her material and instrumentation, drawing further on her Western influences yet including songs from writers on both sides of the Rocky Mountains. Rob and Bonnie Willows Quist penned "This House of Memories," an ode to the Quist family homestead in Northern Montana. "Edgar Griffin--1918" is a haunting song written by old friend Walkin' Jim Stoltz about an inscription he found carved on a tree high in the Uintah mountain range backcountry of Utah. "Goin' Back to Texas," an old Carson J. Robison tune, adds a bit of lively Texas swing to the mix. Sarah Elizabeth Campbell's thoughtful "Geraldine and Ruthie Mae" and the poignant Tim O'Brien/Patrick Alger tune "Time to Learn" add a pensive touch. The album ends on an upbeat note with Native American singer-songwriter Bill Miller's "Forever Ride." The project features several noted guests from acoustic music circles, among them Northern Lights' Jake Amerding on fiddle, Howie Burson on clawhammer banjo and Christina Muir on harmony vocals.

"This album gave us all a chance to stretch out a bit, musically speaking," Amy says. "We've got Matt (Nozzolio) playing lap steel, Kevin (Lynch) playing autoharp, guest bassist Jim Whitney bowing the bass on 'One More Day.' Plus lots of other guest musicians like Joe Grieco on piano, Howie Burson on clawhammer banjo, even some cello and steel drums. I was able to add another female voice to mine with Christina Muir's wonderful harmony vocals. And of course what Jake (Armerding) does on that fiddle is amazing!! Whereas my first album, Northern Girl, was like "hey we've got a band, let's make an album!", with Sweet Gatherings I wanted to create a musical gathering of sorts, both with the musicians and the songs I chose."


Amy Gallatin - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmony vocals

Kevin Lynch- mandolin, guitar, autoharp, harmony vocals
Matt Nozzolio - Dobro, lap steel, harmony vocals
Tara Rickart - acoustic string bass



...with Special Guests:
Steve Brechter - banjo
Jake Armerding - fiddle
Christina Muir - harmony vocals
Howie Burson - clawhammer banjo
Joe Grieco - piano
Johnny Montagnese - percussion
Rachel Finn - cello
Arthur Lipman - steel drums
Jim Whitney - acoustic string bass


"The album is a fine collection of songs, most of them the works of relatively unknown Western writers. As with the earlier album, the synergy created by the combination of Amy's compelling but tender vocals and the band's obvious musical rapport, makes for a first rate album by a group that...has established itself as an important presence on the New England music scene." -- Folkfare Magazine

"She's surrounded herself with some great musicians and chosen some terrific songs...Gallatin is a masterful song selector. The songs are all of the same spirit and seem as if they are delivered from the heart of someone who longs for the wide-open skies..." --Folk Notes, New Britain Herald

"Sweet Gatherings is an exquisite collection of well-chosen songs performed beautifully by this acoustic band. Stillwaters shimmers throughout, its chemistry evident as they slip forward into solos or pull back to join an undercurrent...Gallatin's bell-like soprano voice rings clearly above the lively instrumental arrangements." --Pop Scene, Meriden Record-Journal

"Amy's voice is a cross between Emmylou Harris & Nanci Griffith: her songs are filled with images of tender emotions and the rugged West."
~Ed McKeon: host "Folkrama" on WWUH Radio, film documentary director/producer, music reviewer

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  • This is one sweet album!
    author: Ken Bastura

    Amy can tear your heart out with a songs like Edgar Griffin or Geraldine and Ruthie Mae. Then she can make you feel like saddling up and heading for the hills with Appaloosa. And Bill Miller's song of hope and dreams Forever Ride is absolutely killer. Amy's vocals make this album soar.

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