Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter Danny Schmidt is a writer's writer, with a lyrical depth drawing comparisons to Leonard Cohen, Townes Van Zandt, and Dave Carter. Upon winning the prestigious Kerrville New Folk award in 2007, Sing Out Magazine tagged Schmidt "the best new songwriter we've heard in 15 years." Just one man sitting alone on stage with his acoustic guitar and his poetry, in the timeless troubadour tradition, his musical influences draw from deeply-rooted Appalachian mountain gospel to haunted English balladry, from syncopated Piedmont country blues to vagabond 60’s protest folk-stumpery. But it all boils down to just great songwriting, in a singular style all his own.
Here's what some folk's have been saying about Danny's music:
"In his use of parable and allegory, there are inevitable comparisons with Cohen and Dylan, but these are songs of such quality and beauty that they more than hold their own in this exalted company."
5 stars out of 5, Maverick Magazine UK
"With seductive simplicity, his music demands your attention."
- Jeff McCord, Texas Monthly
"In today's underground folk world, Danny Schmidt is spoken of in reverent tones, drawing comparisons to Leonard Cohen, with a poetry that breathes naturally and without pretension, with results that are both attractive and intense."
- Jim Caligiuri, Austin Chronicle
"Danny Schmidt is a young man with blazing lyrical skills and a deserved cult following."
- Andrew Hawkey, Cambria Arts UK
“This songsmith has been churning out brilliant, poetic songs on the human condition coupled with dazzling technique on his guitar strings for almost a decade.”
- Jay Trachtenberg, KUT Radio in Austin
"Danny Schmidt's done it again. One of the country's best singer-songwriters has released yet another masterpiece."
- Les Reynolds, Indie-Music.com
"He might very well be the medieval love child of Ani Difranco and Tom Waits."
- WORT radio in Madison, WI
"With beautifully crafted, lonesome pines music and complex beguiling words, he would've fitted neatly on the bill at any '60s coffee house alongside Townes Van Zandt or Leonard Cohen."
- Andy Fyfe, Q Magazine UK
"I've not felt a performance with this much intensity since I saw Neil Young solo years ago, nor have I heard songwriting with this much subtlety of craftsmanship since Leonard Cohen. I was completely floored."
- Henri Simmons, the Filter
"Everything about the man is gentle, except his capacity for insight, which is crushing.”
- Songwriter Jeffrey Foucault
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