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Gina Forsyth is an award-winning singer/songwriter,
violinist and guitarist. Her southern roots dig deep into the soul of
American culture and bloom forth in the form of pertinent, powerful
lyrics that rest on the branches of vivid melodies. Steeped in a
wide array of influences, she has successfully linked the
traditional to the contemporary, the erudite to the instinctual
and the accomplished to the unrefined.
Born in Florida and raised in Alabama, Forsyth grew up on hymns,
country songs and old time fiddle tunes. In 1983, she moved to
New Orleans studying classical and jazz violin at Loyola University.
Forsyth quickly grew to love Cajun music, even moving at one point
to Lafayette to steep herself in Cajun music.
She toured with the Cajun rock band Mamou in 1989,
and sang "Valse de la Vie" on the group's Ugly Day CD,
released on Rounder Records (1992). After stints with a number of
other Cajun bands, these days she regularly tours with
Bruce Daigrepont, and appears on his most recent
CD, Paradis, also on Rounder Records (1999). In addition,
she is great demand as a session player for many other musicians,
including the Burns Sisters, with whom she toured
and appeared on their Rounder CD, Out of the Blue (1999).
Currently, Gina tours with the Malvinas, a folk
group, with current and former Texans Lisa Markley
and Beth Cahill, and appears on the trio's debut
CD, i'm not like this (2002). Their second CD, Love, Hope + Transportation (2005), has garnered critical acclaim and much airplay on folk radio over the past couple years.
As a singer/songwriter, Forsyth has earned many honors, including
Emerging Songwriter Winner at the Napa
Valley Folk Festival (1993), and New Folk Winner at the
Rocky Mountain Folks Festival (1996). Her work can
also be found on numerous compilations, including five from
Waterbug Records. In 2005, two of her songs, “Somewhere Off the Foot of this Mountain” and “St. Anthony” were published in two separate issues of Sing Out!
She has been named Offbeat magazine's
People's Choice Winner in the folk category (1994).
She also won Offbeat magazine's
Best Singer/Songwriter for two years in a row
(1995-96) and was the winner of the 1996 Best Cajun CD of
the Year (Dans La Louisiane, with Waylon
Thibodeaux). She regularly performs at The Neutral Ground
Coffeehouse, New Orleans' hangout for the singer/songwriter
set, and often hosts touring shows there.
Gina Forsyth's latest release is You Are Here (2001). This
debut solo CD was heralded as, "...an eclectic, beautifully played
testament to choosing the right personnel and crafting a great
song." (The Daily Advertiser, Lafayette, LA). Gina is
beginning work on a new solo CD, to be out later in 2007 (maybe 2008).
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