Wes Weddell

Artist Information

Biography

** INNAUGURAL MARY GATES VENTURE FELLOW **


In the spring of 2001, Seattle singer/songwriter WES WEDDELL captivated the Northwest with a 65-day tour through all corners his home state gathering local stories and lore. The University of Washington-sponsored ‘Project’ earned him the inaugural Mary Gates Venture Fellowship and led to the “My Northwest Home” CD. It also planted some deep roots for Wes in the local music community.


** PERFORMING SONGWRITER TOP-12 DIY PICK **


“Songs to Get You From Here to There” followed in late 2006, marking the formation of the full ‘WW Band’ and capping a busy year that also saw “Carry On” win first place in the Tumbleweed Music Festival Songwriting Contest—an event Wes now hosts annually. “Songs” was named one of the late Performing Songwriter Magazine’s Top-12 DIY picks in June, 2007, and its folk radio successes helped Wes—ever the champion of the Emerald City’s local scene—expand his touring circles.


** “5 STARS - A MUST-HAVE ALBUM” **


Propelled by versatile character voices with compelling stories to tell, the 11 songs on 2010’s “By the Side of the Lake” comprise some of Wes’ strongest work—and performances—to date, exposing his rural roots and exploring threads that run through smaller communities as they grow and change. The full band returns to deliver diverse arrangements that nonetheless feel crisp and of-a-piece: unashamedly contemporary at full-throttle, but not afraid to leave the expertly-crafted narrative to a solo banjo or mandolin at times, too. The album surfaced on the major folk/roots charts/reports and continues to score airplay and stellar reviews from across the country and beyond.

“Let there be no doubt,” writes Tom Petersen of the Victory Music Review, “Wes Weddell is a major Northwest artist, a major talent in American music, and he’s here for the long haul.”


** “GIFT FOR STORYTELLING” **


Hailed a “Modern-Day Woody Guthrie” by the Seattle Times, a highlight of Wes’ performances are the stories that accompany the songs—effective in intimate settings and large-hall/festival environments alike; as one presenter raves: “Wes Weddell has a gift for story-telling, wisdom beyond his years, and a troubadour spirit that will serve him and his audience for a long time to come.”

Many of the players on the album join Wes for Seattle-area shows, and the full effect features guitar, bass, organ, drums, cello, and plenty of male/female harmonies.


** VIDEO OF LIVE PERFORMANCES AT http://www.youtube.com/WesWeddell **


Beginning in late-2010, Wes began participating in The Bushwick Book Club - Seattle (http://thebushwickbookclubseattle.com/), a collective of songwriters who write and perform original music inspired by each month’s literary selection. After nine appearances, those songs found their way out on a digital-only release: “The Bushwick Book Club Demos, Vol. 1.”

A native of Pullman, WA, Wes also keeps busy as an in-demand teacher and sideman on a variety of instruments, including regular work with the beloved folksinging duo Reilly & Maloney since 2003. That same year he founded Puget’s Sound Productions (www.livelocalmusic.org), a federal 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to creating community live-music spaces around the region and supporting local musicians, which he continues to run.

Instrumentation

WW: guitar; vocals; harmonica
Occasional guests: vocals; bass; drums; organ; cello
FULL-BAND lineup: guitar; bass; drums; organ; vocals (3-5 people)

* MORE MUSIC SAMPLES AT www.wesweddell.com *

Discography

“Battlefields and Broken Deals” (EP, 2001)
“My Northwest Home” (LP, 2001)
“Songs to Get You From Here to There” (LP, 2006)
“By the Side of the Lake” (LP, 2010)
“The Bushwick Book Club Demos, Vol. 1” (Digital-Only, 2011)

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Last.fm
• YouTube
• Bandcamp
• Blogger
• ReverbNation

Audio

• Remember When
  Listen  
• Out of the Way
  Listen  
• Dear Abby
  Listen  
• You Left Me With No Choice
  Listen  
• Carry On
  Listen  
• Ballad of the Whitman Greeks (Live)
  Listen  
• Got Out Some
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Dear Abby
• By the Side of the Lake
• Autumn's Calling
• White Hats and Wild Times
• Carry On
• You Left Me With No Choice
• Ballad of the Whitman Greeks

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Must-Have Album [+ Show ]
  

  'Wes Weddell is a master craftsman as a songwriter... 'By The Side Of The Lake' brings folk music b...'Wes Weddell is a master craftsman as a songwriter... 'By The Side Of The Lake' brings folk music back to its roots; telling true stories about real people and places. Weddell will make you laugh and make you cry; inspire anger and thoughtfulness. He'll entertain and educate you with his songs if only you will listen. Like the great bards of olden times, an encounter with Wes Weddell will leave you a little richer in mind and spirit than when you started. 'By The Side Of The Lake' is a Wildy's World Certified Desert Island Disc; a must-have album.

• Here for the Long Haul [+ Show ]
  

  “Ooo, ahhh; a little whoopie ti-yi; and maybe a little sigh of relief: the new Wes Weddell record is...“Ooo, ahhh; a little whoopie ti-yi; and maybe a little sigh of relief: the new Wes Weddell record is here, and it’s a great pleasure to say that it’s a great, great album...this is a consistently enjoyable listen. Let there be no doubt: Wes Weddell is a major Northwest artist, a major talent in American music, and he’s here for the long haul.”

• Troubadour in the Truest Sense [+ Show ]
  

  “Folk, rockabilly and lonesome cowboy waltzes mingle in Seattle-based Wes Weddell’s songs. A trouba...“Folk, rockabilly and lonesome cowboy waltzes mingle in Seattle-based Wes Weddell’s songs. A troubadour in the truest sense, Weddell sings of broken hearts, winds upon the plains and ‘gortex [and] grass skirts.’
  
  “The highlight of the record is ‘You Left Me With No Choice.’ ‘My heart still beats your number every evening,’ sings Weddell, giving loneliness a new rhythm.
  
  “Instrumentation is sparse, mostly acoustic guitar, bass and brushes on a snare, while banjo, fiddle and Hammond organ are friendly neighbors who peek their heads over the fence from time to time. If you’re looking for a folksinger for your road-tripping, take Wes Weddell along for the ride.”
  
  (“Songs to Get You From Here to There” Performing Songwriter Top-12 DIY Pick for June, 2007; review by Mare Wakefield)
  

• Modern-Day Woody Guthrie [+ Show ]
  

  “Modern-Day Woody Guthrie.” -Seattle Times “A refreshing throwback in these days of synth...“Modern-Day Woody Guthrie.”
  -Seattle Times
  
  
  “A refreshing throwback in these days of synthesized, digitalized, commercialized performers and performances ... [Wes] is doing it the old-fashioned way. There’re not very many pioneers out there.”
  -Walla Walla (WA) Union-Bulletin
  
  
  “Equipped...with [an] historian’s skills to match his musical talent.”
  -Mary Gates Foundation
  

• Gift for Storytelling [+ Show ]
  

  “Wes Weddell has a gift for storytelling, wisdom beyond his years, and a troubadour spirit that will...“Wes Weddell has a gift for storytelling, wisdom beyond his years, and a troubadour spirit that will serve him and his audience for a long time to come.”
  -Fran Snyder, concertsinyourhome.com
  
  
  “As in the finest storytelling, the emotion is conveyed by the details, the plainly narrated actions, and the growing sense of the humanness of the people involved... We are the better for it.”
  -Bill Fisher, Victory Music Review
  
  
  “Wes renewed my heart about folk music.”
  -Mary Lytle, former Seattle Folklore Society president
  
  
  "Your new CD is wonderful!"
  -Richard Gillmann, KBCS-FM
  
  

• All the miles... [+ Show ]
  

  Thank you for all of the miles, interfacing with strangers, expensive gas, and probably a hurried sc...Thank you for all of the miles, interfacing with strangers, expensive gas, and probably a hurried schedule to bring us such lovely live music... May your future audiences give back to you in appreciation as much as you so generously give to them. (2007)
  
  People are still talking about how priviledged they were to hear you
  sing your stories. Thank you...for sharing so unselfishly. (2008)
  
  He was equally adept on the harmonica as on the guitar, and the narrative tales of his songs rival many written pieces because his storytelling is so vivid and detailed. He is definitely a singer-songwriter whose career and music I plan on keeping an eye and ear upon. (2007)
  
  Good music, good time! Thank You!! (2007)

Setlist

A standard evening of two 45-minute sets draws heavily from the original material of Wes' discography. Listening environments get more stories.

Occasional covers range from taditional (Stephen Foster's "Hard Times" ) to non- (A-ha's "Take On Me") to works from songwriter-friends. Full-band sets feature all players and showcase harmonies.

* Video of live performances at http://www.youtube.com/WesWeddell

Basic Requirements

Calendar