8 rolling fingers--
1 Thumb playing bass--
6 buzzing strings--
1 stomping foot--
89 story songs--
1 Picasso banjo--
1 thumping hardwood floor--
1 big heart--
Sounds Like
-"Able Baker Charlie & Dog" was awarded "Album of the Year" by the International Folk Alliance in Memphis, TN.**2008 Falcon Ridge "Most Wanted Artist"..I Sing for the Beauty that's still left on this Earth. "Minor Keys & Story Songs & Jamborees". Drunk Roosters, Runaway Slaves, Roofing Hammers, Tinian Island, Life & Death, and Rutabagas....
In March 2008, MaineFolkMusic.com wrote:
“It seems Joe Crookston can hardly set a foot wrong these days. Several of his songs have made it into the finals of some of the more prestigious national songwriting competitions; John Lennon, Mountain Stage, Great American Song Contest. The audience at the 2007 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival named him one of the Top 3 “Most Wanted” Emerging Artists. This honor landed him a spot on the 2008 Falcon Ridge Preview Tour, commencing in May, 2008… Joe Crookston’s star is rising. Versatile songwriting, excellent musicianship and a charismatic stage presence should earn him a permanent place on the national folk scene”.****************************************************************************************************************************************
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Goodhearted, Artful and intense, Joe crookston’s music and guitar playing is imaginative, extremely engaging, and draws deeply from his rural roots as well as his many urban adventures. Recognized as a master story teller through song, Joe was recently awarded a year-long songwriting grant from The Rockefeller Foundation to travel throughout New York State, interview local residents, gather stories and write songs based on his experiences. Many of these songs have just been released on his new (2008) CD,
“Able Baker Charlie & Dog.”*************************************************************************************************************************************
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If you love lyrics, Joe writes with an insight comparable to Jackson Browne. If you love a moving, inspiring song or the kind of magical madness of creative funk, Joe delivers it all. The music, the lyrics, the energy, and the fun -- it’s going to be a *great* show!!!*****************************************************************************************************************************************
Sing Out! Magazine says....
”With all the performers out there, an artist has to go beyond good...and Joe does.”
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"Top-12-Do-It-Yourself Recording"-- Performing Songwriter Magazine
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"I’ve watched audiences glued to their seats at the end of Joe’s shows simply not wanting the evening to end. There is a spirit in his music that is simultaneously sacred, celebratory, artful and solidly grounded in tradition.......... Go see this man perform, and don’t be surprised if you drive home singing his songs with a renewed sense of what’s possible." --Seattle Folklore Society
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Joe Crookston’s music and songwriting is deeply rooted in the grand celebration of life, death, ancestry and the interconnectedness of us all. It’s music that is real, music that connects and music that tells stories with precision and craft. Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, with Hungarian musical roots, he inherited his love of music and song from his late mother, a prolific songwriter and accordion player. Whether it’s his mesmerizing guitar sound, bubbling banjo, his music draws from his rural Ohio roots and exudes a remarkable intergenerational, universal, and timeless quality.
"Go see this man perform".... his audience rapport, musicianship and playful stage presence is intense, mesmerizing, and refreshingly dynamic.
In a project inspired by Woody Guthrie, Joe was recently awarded a year-long grant (2006-2007) from The Rockefeller Foundation to travel around the State of New York , interview local residents, gather stories and write songs based on his experiences. His project is called, “Songs of the Finger Lakes.” Find out more about Joe at www.joecrookston.com.
His keen musicianship as guitarist, clawhammer banjo player, fiddler, singer and songwriter fuse contemporary and traditional styles, and his writing simply and beautifully paints pictures with words.
His 2004 "Fall Down as the Rain", not surprisingly, was chosen by Performing Songwriter Magazine as a 2004 "TOP-12-Do-It-Yourself" independent recording, was featured on National Public Radio’s “All Songs Considered”, as well as Syndicated Minnesota Public Radio, The Midnight Special and Folkscene. He has shared festival stages with the likes of Livingston Taylor, John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie, and Tim Reynolds, John Gorka, and many others.
"Fall Down as the Rain", was named "Best Folk Recording" by Seattle’s KBCS radio, and WXOU in Auburn Hills MI. The CD is a beautiful exploration of the cycles of life, death, and the awesomeness of being alive despite the troubled world we live in.
Victory Music Review says:
"Joe’s songs are powerful, simple, distilled lyrical paintings weaving together cycles of life and decay, cycles of joy and pain, and eventually they thread the needle through all of us..." He is a commanding, charismatic performer. Be glad Joe’s one of the good guys, because otherwise, he’d be dangerous.
"Oh my heavens! This CD is wonderful. WUMB (Boston) is playing it a great deal. Congratulations on a terrific sounding recording of well written songs." Marilyn Rea Beyer, Music Director WUMB Public Radio Network-Boston
Album of the Year eh? I couldn't imagine an artist more deserving....Congratulations, Joe! You have been so inspirational to me since the first time that I saw you perform..... Keep on singin your heart!!!
Great show and workshop! Made me want to write, and, well, that's kind of the point, isn't it? It was fun getting to hang out some. Hope we can do it again!
Looking forward to this Friday. Since I had you and Jud this year, I'm wondering who I can get who shares our initials for next year, good lord willin' and the grant comes in. I tried Johnny Cash, but he's not returning my e-mails...
Great performance in Garden City at Our Times Coffeehouse. Glad that Marty got you there and that I got to meet you and buy your cd. Been great listening so far and the government didn't waste their grant on you...you gave them 110 %.
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