"...aptly pronounced "Burner"...an Augusta, Georgia transplant to the Midwest...Great guitar, strong vocals...you can tell he feels it...hand-jiving rockabilly groove...expends more energy playing one song than most of us are born with...finger-picking guitar style that reminds one of '50's masters...the music is seasoned, tasteful, deeply rooted and downright hot..."
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REVIEWS
“Although singer/songwriter/guitarist Greg Boerner first made his name in Georgia and the Carolinas as a fret-burning electric guitarist playing blues and roots rock, he's now settled in the Chicago area to concentrate on his adept acoustic guitar stylings and impressive original ballads, pop tunes, and blues compositions. His new CD Nowhere is rife with complex finger picking, evocative vocals, and well-constructed songs. Originals like "Seven Gables Stomp," "Sun Prairie Ramble," "Father and Son," and the moody title track reveal the many facets of this talented artist. The only cover on the disc is a skillful interpretation of Bob Dylan's classic "Don't Think Twice (It's Alright)".”
-Kevin Toelle, Blues Editor, Illinois Entertainer
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“Greg Boerner is an Augusta, GA, transplant. And fans of the blues can be thankful that the guitarist-singer-songwriter (notice the guitar is listed first) moved here. …On his debut CD, Nowhere, Boerner (pronounced "Burner") transports listeners along a road that runs from his southern hometown to Madison. …It's the blues tempered with a country and folk flavor that drives the CD. …Although he is just 30, Boerner uses a finger-picking guitar style that reminds one of '50's masters.”
-Natasha Kassulke, Wisconsin State Journal
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BIO
Make no mistake....Greg Boerner is a straight-shootin', clean livin' guitarist/singer/songwriter who performs like some kind of a road-hardened guitar maniac on one song, a 1950's pop idol on another, a Southern troubadour on the next - and at last blows you out of the galaxy with an antique blues tune that might well give John Lee Hooker pause.
Today at a young 40, Greg Boerner ( pronounced "Burner" ) shows a musical maturity that belies his age, favoring traditional forms of blues, folk, country, roots rock n' roll, and all that comes between. His songwriting reflects this eclectic mix and Boerner cites Ray Charles, Tom Waits, Willie Dixon, Mose Allison, J.J. Cale, Bob Dylan and Willis Alan Ramsey as a few of his influences. Audiences feel quite at ease with where he takes them - as if they are being taken to an old familiar place, but by way of a Southern backroad that only Boerner knows. His performance of blues is immaculate, emotional, and convincing, and rests proudly on the shoulders of B.B. King, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and all the giants that have come before.
Boerner hasn't always been an acoustic solo performer. He was a much sought after sideman with an electric guitar steeped in traditional blues and roots rock n' roll. At 18, he was touring the Southeast playing the cool rockabilly of Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, and Elvis as if he had been born to it. Through the years he found his singing and songwriting were being appreciated as much as his potent Stratocaster. Countless bands, gigs, and hot licks later, he arrived on the solo scene, discovering the simple pleasures of just a voice and guitar.
But the rock n' roll attitude of those younger days has never left him. It is the very thing that separates him from the majority of singer/songwriters who offer an audience a pleasant "folk" experience - but little more. Boerner's audiences, on the other hand, are quite used to him being soaked at the end of a performance expending more energy and passion playing one song than most of us are born with. Like most great musicians with something to say, Greg Boerner plays and sings as if his life depends on it.....it does.
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Born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Greg Boerner now lives in a far west suburb of Chicago near his son Jake. In addition to his three CD's, his music can be heard in several independent films and he can be seen performing at clubs, coffee houses, listening rooms, house concerts, and festivals. He has opened shows for Leon Russell, Patty Larkin, Willy Porter, Bill Morrissey, Chris Smither, Maria Muldaur, Pierce Pettis, Robbie Fulks, Gove Scrivenor, Wayne Toups and Tinsley Ellis.
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