Alicia McGovern

Artist Information

Biography

Winner: Kerrville New Folk Competition 2012

Winner: Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest, 2011

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"I hear the craft behind her lyrics and realize she's the best kind of artist: she makes her art seem effortless."

-Devon Leger, Hearth Music, Victory Review Music Magazine,11/2010
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Since releasing her first record (We Just Fly, 2009), Kerrville New Folk Winner Alicia McGovern has quickly been standing out as a singer/ songwriter whose performances are authentic, vulnerable, and compelling.

In addition to winning the esteemed Kerrville New Folk Competition (May 2012), Alicia also won The Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest at the Sisters Folk Festival in September 2011.

She has also placed, or been a finalist in, The Mountain Stage New Song Regional Round (2012), The Great American Song Contest (Top 5 in the Singer/Songwriter Category, 2012), The Susanne Millsaps Memorial Song Contest (Finalist, 2011), The Woody Guthrie Folk Festival Songwriting Competition (Honorable Mentions in 2010 and 2012), and The Tucson Folk Festival Songwriting Contest (Third Place, 2010).

In October 2010, Alicia released her sophomore CD (Words Through The Seasons). The record was warmly received by the Folk Community, charting on the Folk Radio charts at #5 in December of 2010, and for February 2011 at #2 on the EuroAmericana Chart (the latter leading to a Netherlands tour in early 2012). "Words Through the Seasons" was listed as on one of the top folk albums of 2011 by The Folk DJ Charts.

In the words of renowned songwriter Steve Seskin, Alicia's music is "passionate, poignant poetry combined with beautiful melodies sung with a great sense of what she's singing about. Alicia McGovern doesn't just write songs and sing them, she feels them deeply and when you listen to her, you can't help but do the same."

Instrumentation

Alicia McGovern- songwriter, vocals, guitar

Discography

We Just Fly (April 2009).

Words Through the Seasons (October 2010).

Official Website

http://aliciamcgovernmusic.com/

Links

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Last.fm
• MySpace
• Alicia's Official Website
• Alicia on CD Baby

Audio

• I'll Keep Tryin'
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• So Many Songs
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• Ruby Red Sky
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• You Ran off with the Gypsies
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• A Night On The Town
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• You're in the World
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• You Do Not Bring Me Flowers
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• The Holly and All
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• Grey Sky
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• Long Day
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Lyrics

• I'll Keep Tryin'
• So Many Songs
• Ruby Red Sky
• You Ran off with the Gypsies
• A Night On The Town
• You're in the World
• You Do Not Bring Me Flowers
• The Holly and All
• Long Day
• Grey Sky

Video

Alicia McGovern (USA) live from Roots on the Road.nl @ PODIUM (video by Larwin).mp4

Photo Gallery

Press

• Passionate, poignant poetry [+ Show ]
  

  "Passionate, poignant poetry combined with beautiful melodies sung with a great sense of what she's ..."Passionate, poignant poetry combined with beautiful melodies sung with a great sense of what she's singing about. Alicia McGovern doesn't just write songs and sing them, she feels them deeply and when you listen to her, you can't help but do the same."
  -Steve Seskin

• Great American Song Contest award-winner Alicia McGovern [+ Show ]
  

  "Great American Song Contest award-winner Alicia McGovern is a remarkably talented singer and songwr..."Great American Song Contest award-winner Alicia McGovern is a remarkably talented singer and songwriter. Her songs resonate with emotional complexity, creative dimension and poetic insight. She is an artist who truly impresses on every level."

• Alicia McGovern: Words Through the Seasons [+ Show ]
  

  Singer/Songwriter Alicia McGovern: Words Through the Seasons 2010. self-published. It’s diffi...Singer/Songwriter
  Alicia McGovern: Words Through the Seasons
  
  2010. self-published.
  
  It’s difficult to be a singer-songwriter, especially a singer-songwriter who bares her heart and inner thoughts, as Alicia does. Many times this kind of “heart-on-my-sleeve” songwriting can be quite unbearable. Just because you can write a song doesn’t mean we have a need to listen to it. So that’s why I appreciate songwriters who bring new ideas and fresh energy to this old idiom. Alicia treads the familiar ground of break-up and relationship songs and manages to completely transcend the usual stereotypes. Or maybe more than that, she simply doesn’t care that they may be stereotypes. I hesitate to say it, but there’s a real innocence to her music.
  At first listen, I’d say that her songwriting is completely open and devoid of
  artifice. On second listen, I hear the craft behind her lyrics and realize that she’s the best kind of artist: she makes her art seem effortless. This album is a joy to listen to and I love her voice. It wavers so nicely between near-breaking and crystal clarity. Alicia’s voice sounds at once playful and wistful, both of which are great qualities in a singer-songwriter. [Devon Leger]
  
  Try it for a buck on iTunes: “I’ll Keep Tryin” is the perfect example of what I’m talking about. Her lyrics keep pointing to clichés, then veer away sweetly into unexpected surprises. I find this song to be particularly touching.
  
  PURCHASE LINK: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/aliciamcgovern2
  
  WEBSITE: aliciamcgovernmusic.com

• Alicia McGovern: Words Through the Seasons [+ Show ]
  

  Alicia McGovern: Words Through The Seasons Geschreven door Rein van den Berg Niet iedereen be...Alicia McGovern: Words Through The Seasons
  
  Geschreven door Rein van den Berg
  
  Niet iedereen betrap ik op een scherpe muziekneus, maar wel wanneer "onze" John zich roert, dan spits ik mijn oren extra. Hij was het die mijn aandacht richtte op Alicia McGovern. Het aanbod aan kwalitatief artistiek sterke vrouwelijke singer songwriters is al schier onuitputtelijk. Voor (semi)debuterende zangeressen moet dit al helemaal een extra uitdaging zijn om door te breken. Hij hoorde iets opmerkelijks binnen haar muziek, en ik deel oprecht in deze mening. Wat we dan denken te horen beschrijft Alicia zelf waarschijnlijk het beste in haar lied Heavy As The Wing. Onderscheid maken lijkt zo vanzelfsprekend, maar wanneer je teveel duwt werkt de energie eerder tegen je.
  
  Alicia’s kracht ligt hem wat mij betreft in de directheid van haar poëzie. Ze blijft dan ook zeer dicht bij zichzelf wanneer ze haar teksten schrijft, zonder te vervallen in algemeenheden, of met de intentie om een publiek te bekoren. Alicia maakt het soort muziek waar een publiek vanzelf naar op zoek gaat, niet andersom. Songs about trains, songs about love, liedjes voor alle seizoenen. Thema’s genoeg. Fans van Lucy Kaplansky en Dar Williams worden op hun wenken bediend. Dit stond niet alleen ter illustratie in het bijgevoegde promotie-materiaal, maar tot die slotsom zal de doorgewinterde bezoeker van deze site zelf ook wel komen na beluistering. Samen met Multi instrumentalist Duke Levine weet Aliciua McGovern de luisteraar naar zich toe te trekken op Words Through The Seasons. Zondermeer een aanbeveling voor muziekliefhebbers die iets meer diepgang zoeken in hun muzikale voorkeur. Deze plaat is weliswaar opgenomen, gemixt en bewerkt door Mark Thayer van Signature Sounds Studio, maar niet via dat label uitgebracht. In principe zou deze aanbeveling moeten volstaan voor een soort keurmerkgarantie waarvoor dat label mijns inziens synoniem staat. Alicia McGovern piekt op het eind van 2010.

• Words Through the Seasons is a True Delight [+ Show ]
  

  Alicia McGovern's sophomore album is the sonic equivalent of a stop animation video. Quivering, flui...Alicia McGovern's sophomore album is the sonic equivalent of a stop animation video. Quivering, fluid, delicate, with soft edges, a touch of vintage aesthetic, full of whimsical surprises and the the occasional quirky left turn, Words Through the Seasons is a true delight. Fans of Dar Williams and Lucy Kaplansky will feel right at home with Alicia's music.

• ALICIA McGOVERN – WORDS THROUGH THE SEASONS [+ Show ]
  

  Alicia McGovern is een jonge, getalenteerde zangeres, songschrijfster en verteller van verhalen uit ...Alicia McGovern is een jonge, getalenteerde zangeres, songschrijfster en verteller van verhalen uit het Amerikaanse stadje Utah die met haar nieuwste plaat “Words Through The Seasons” voor een gesmaakte opvolger voor haar debuutplaat ‘We Just Fly” uit 2009 heeft gezorgd.
  
  Haar inspiratiebronnen zijn andere vrouwelijke singer-songwriters als Patty Griffin, Jolie Holland en de dames van ‘The Be Good Tanyas’ die net als zij een opeenvolging van emoties en beelden in hun liedjes opwekken. Haar frêle stem, waarmee ze haar poëtische songteksten declameert terwijl ze zichzelf op akoestische gitaar begeleidt, kan als haar sterkste handelsmerk omschreven worden.
  
  Ook de instrumentale bijdragen van snarenvirtuoos en multi-instrumentalist Duke Levine en violiste Daisy Castro zorgen voor een zeer aangenaam en uitgebouwd geluid bij de tien liedjes die haar tweede plaat sieren. Dat Alicia McGovern zeer gepassioneerd tewerk gaat blijkt uit enkele tracks waarin je haar oprechte betrokkenheid bij het gebrachte verhaal zo kan horen en voelen. De overwegend in folkstijl gebrachte liedjes spreken de luisteraar direct aan en dwingen je om aandachtig naar de muziek en de teksten te luisteren.
  
  Opener “Ruby Red Sky” is al meteen een schot in de roos, gevolgd door één van de beste songs op deze cd: “A Night On The Town”. In “Our Tiny Little Hearts” komen er nadien even wat invloeden uit de bluegrassmuziek opduiken, vooral door het knappe, ritmische banjospel van Duke Levine. Haar opvallende stem ontroert in het emotionele nummer “I’ll Keep Trying’”, de recht vanuit het hart gezongen liedjes “I Wanna Grow Old” en “You’re In The World” en in het simpele, doch ronduit fantastische “You Do Not Bring Me Flowers”.
  
  Wat me echter het meest aanspreekt in het werk van deze Alicia McGovern is dat ze de platgetreden paden van gelukzalige liefdesliedjes en van tranerige hartzeer-songs een gans nieuwe dimensie weet te geven waarbij ze zich ver van de stereotiepe clichés weet te houden. Dat is al bij al toch wel vrij uitzonderlijk en daarom dan ook misschien wel haar grootste verdienste. Haal dit schijfje in huis en geniet er veelvuldig van: u zult dan veel beter begrijpen wat ik hierboven heb proberen uit te leggen.
  
  (valsam)

• Alicia McGovern, Words Through The Seasons (Independent) [+ Show ]
  

  Gepakt worden door enkel en alleen maar een stem, dat overkomt mij niet vaak. De uit Utah afkomstige...Gepakt worden door enkel en alleen maar een stem, dat overkomt mij niet vaak. De uit Utah afkomstige singer-songwriter Alicia McGovern heeft zo’n stem die mij bij de strot greep. Kreeg er letterlijk en figuurlijk de rillingen van. Let op, dit allemaal in positieve zin bedoelt natuurlijk. Poëtische folk zo puur kom je maar zelden tegen. “Words Through The Seasons” is McGovern’s tweede CD dat behoorlijk goed in de smaak valt bij mij. De CD werd geproduceerd door Mark Thayer (Caroline Herring en Diana Jones). Een andere voorkomende naam op deze plaat is die van de niet te onderschatten multi-instrumentalist Luke Levine (Antje Duvekot). Richtingen en uitgangspunten mogen dan wel duidelijk zijn neem ik aan.
  
  De passie van Joni Mitchell, Patty Larkin en de creatieve geest van The Indigo Girls dineren op “Words Through The Seasons” aan dezelfde tafel. McGovern verpakt haar aangrijpende, soms zelfs onthutsende, teksten zorgvuldig in, in relatief simpele melodieën. Ze boetseert het goed luisterend oor met liedjes als I’ll Keep Tryin’, ‘You Do Not Bring Me Flowers’ en ‘You’re In The World’. Je voelt de ernst van de blootstelling maar de melodie zorgt ervoor dat het niet aan je gaat knagen. Als ik mij niet vergis zullen we het komende jaar meer horen of misschien wel zien van Alicia McGovern. (Jan Janssen)
  
  Translated to English:
  Caught by only one vote (on the EuroAmericana Chart) but, it happens to me often. The Utah coming singer-songwriter Alicia McGovern has a voice that grabbed me by the throat. Literally got the chills of. Please note, all this means is positive. Poetic folk so pure you will find only rarely. "Words Through The Seasons" was McGovern's second CD that pretty good finds favor with me. The CD was produced by Mark Thayer (Caroline Herring and Diana Jones). Another common name on this record is that of the not inconsiderable multi-instrumentalist Luke Levine (Antje Duvekot). Directions and principles may then be obvious I suppose.
  
  The passion of Joni Mitchell, Patty Larkin and the creative spirit of The Indigo Girls dine on "Words Through The Seasons" at the same table. McGovern packed her poignant, sometimes shocking, texts carefully, in relatively simple melodies. She sculpts the right ear with songs like I'll Keep Tryin ', "You Do Not Bring Me Flowers"and "You're In The World. " You feel the seriousness of the exposure but the melody makes it not you go gnaw. If I am mistaken, we will hear more next year or perhaps seeing Alicia McGovern. (Jan Janssen)
  
  

• ALICIA MCGOVERN “Words Through The Seasons” (Alicia McGovern Music) [+ Show ]
  

  Vanuit het verre Utah mochten we onlangs een bijzonder aangename verrassing in onze brievenbus begro...Vanuit het verre Utah mochten we onlangs een bijzonder aangename verrassing in onze brievenbus begroeten. “Words Through The Seasons” meer bepaald, de tweede van de van daar uit flink aan de weg timmerende jonge zingende liedjesschrijfster Alicia McGovern. Die doet het daarop met tien eigen liedjes, die vooral bij fans van dames als IrisDeMent, Lucy Kaplansky en Dar Williams in goede aarde zouden moeten kunnen vallen. Vakbekwaam bijgestaan door producer Mark Thayer en begeleid door multi-instrumentalist Duke Levine (op gitaar, sitar, banjo, ukelele, lap steel, mandoline en mandola), percussionist Brad Wentworth, bassist Rob Jost en strijkster Daisy Castro gaat ze daarin voor een ontwapenend eerlijke aanpak, daarbij voortdurend zowel de wereld rondom haar als haar eigen hart als inspiratiebron gebruikend. Extreem delicate liedjes (zoals “A Night On The Town”, “I’ll Keep Tryin’” en “Heavy As The Wing”) afwisselend met wat wulpser ingevuld spul (genre “Ruby Red Sky”, “Our Tiny Little Hearts” en het aparte liefdesliedje “You Do Not Bring Me Flowers”) houdt ze zich met sprekend gemak staande op het slappe koord tussen Americana, folk, old-time en roots pop. Geen wonder, dat ze het met materiaal van dat kaliber reeds tot in de bovenste regionen van de Euro Americana Chart schopte! Een mooie, wat aparte stem, leuke liedjes, sterke teksten… Gaan we beslist nog veel meer van horen!

• Alicia McGovern: Words Through the Seasons [+ Show ]
  

  Alicia McGovern’s Words Through The Season has been high on the Euro American chart for the past two...Alicia McGovern’s Words Through The Season has been high on the Euro American chart for the past two months. Woody and rustic McGovern is one of those singers with a voice that is unconventional, brittle and occasionally cracked but which ultimately worms its way into the listener’s ear. In addition she plays some fine acoustic guitar and her songs are perfect examples of the craft. With a lineage going back to sixties icons such as Melanie up to modern day exemplars like Natalie Merchant McGovern delivers an album that is heartwarming in its simplicity with sympathetic and understated backing from Duke Levine, Brad Wentworth, Rob Jost and Daisy Castro. While all play with a light touch the delicate banjo on I Wanna Grow Old is excellent while the use of sitar on You Do Not Bring Me Flowers adds a slight exotic touch. McGovern writes well with the majority of the songs bittersweet meditations on love and its attendant problems although she has a fine, brittle Christmas song in The Holly and All . This song should be packed away and brought out each year along with the decorations. At times her songs are reminiscent of early Loudon Wainwright’s melancholic style.
  The final cut, So Many Songs addresses the songwriter’s dilemma
  “so many love songs we all sing/songs of birds with wide open wings/you think we’d have learned to do one or the other/either to love or to find better things/and all the songs still to be sung/all the days and nights still to come/to be filled with hands and heartaches/and star-hung moons and bring-down suns”
  From start to finish a minor gem of an album.

• Alicia McGovern – De kracht van het woord (Interview)
  

  Click URL to read Dutch-written interview (English Version Available on site) by Ed Muitjens.

• Alicia McGovern Words Through The Seasons [Alicia McGovern 2010] [+ Show ]
  

  Bisognerebbe sempre apprezzare a pieno gli artisti che riescono, senza troppi timori, a raccontare d...Bisognerebbe sempre apprezzare a pieno gli artisti che riescono, senza troppi timori, a raccontare di se stessi attraverso i loro testi, la loro musica e le loro canzoni. Quello che più cattura in questo autoprodotto Words Through The Seasons, secondo album per Alicia McGovern (dopo We Just Fly del 2009), è la fragilità delle sue composizioni costruite su testi personali e melodie che, se ascoltate in silenzio, dimostrano di possedere tanta forza e intensità con un pizzico di malinconia. Alicia è una sognatrice, una stroryteller che non solo scrive e canta le sue canzoni ma che le sente profondamente dentro di sé e quando l'ascoltatore s'immerge in esse, non può fare a meno di emozionarsi a sua volta. Alicia, proveniente dal Connecticut viene fuori dal vasto sottobosco del cantautorato americano, che comprende folkstress come Rosy Nolan, Frazey Ford, Alela Diane, Anais Mitchell e moltissime altre. Solo recentemente ha ottenuto una certa notorietà piazzandosi terza al Tucson Folk Festival e ricevendo una menzione particolare al Woody Guthrie Folk Contest. Il suo sito recita: singer songwriter, folk e poesia e proprio questi elementi riassumono il pathos di questa raccolta che contiene dieci ballad che sono storie vissute sulla propria pelle o che sono poesie che raggiungono tutti gli angoli del cuore.
  
  Si sente una reale innocenza nelle sue parole e nella sua fragile voce che, come una foglia, cambia colore (e umore) in base alle diverse stagioni. Prodotto da Mark Thayer, Alicia si fa accompagnare in punta dei piedi da un nugolo di rodati musicisti che comprendono il multi strumentista Duke Levine alla chitarra, banjo e mandolini vari, Brad Wentworth alle percussioni, Rob Jost al basso e la brava Daisiy Castro alla viola, violino e cello. Le sue non sono semplici canzoni ma storie che parlano della vita, di amori trovati e lasciati legati da un forte passione per la natura che ci circonda. Ruby Red Sky e Night On The Town aprono la raccolta introducendoci nel magico mondo di Alicia che gira intorno alla sua voce, al suo leggero picking cui si aggiungono mandolino, percussioni e violino appena sussurrati in acustico silenzio. Our Tiny Little Heart e I Wanna Grow Old sono cantate con grande cuore da Alicia accompagnata da un banjo che regala quel mood da old timey ballad che ricorda Gillian Welch e Jolie Holland. I'll Keep Trying è uno dei brani più belli dell'intera raccolta, cantata in punta di piedi con quel fingerpicking appena accennato e il violino ad accompagnare la tenue melodia e quel "cercherò, cercherò sempre" che suona come una promessa o un proposito cui non puoi fare a meno di mantenere.
  
  E' impossibile non innamorarsi della malinconica Heavy as The Wing che ti mette le ali per portarti nelle incontaminate terre della sua terra natale. Il calore e l'innocenza delle invernali You're in The World e The Holly And All ti avvolgono in due folk song sussurrate dal suono della chitarra e dalla sua originale e profonda voce. You Don Not Bring Me flowers è una ballad corale con tanto di fisarmonica e slide che ricorda le Be Good Tanyas mentre la finale So many Songs è una talking folk song che conclude il viaggio attraverso i colori delle diverse stagioni e gli umori del nostro cuore. Ascoltatelo in religioso silenzio, se lo merita veramente.
  (Emilio Mera)
  
  Italian to English Translation:
  
  You should always fully appreciate the artists who are able, without too many fears, telling you about themselves through their lyrics, their music and their songs. What most captures this self-Words Through The Seasons, the second album by Alicia McGovern (We Just Fly after 2009), is the fragility of his compositions built on personal lyrics and melodies that, if you listen in silence, they have demonstrated so much strength and intensity with a touch of melancholy. Alicia is a dreamer, a stroryteller who not only writes and sings her songs, but that feels deep within himself, and when the listener immersed in them, can not help but get excited as well. Alicia, from Connecticut comes out from the vast undergrowth of American songwriting, which includes folkstress as Rosy Nolan, Frazey Ford, Alela Diane, Anais Mitchell and many others. Only recently has gained a certain notoriety finishing third at the Tucson Folk Festival and received a special mention to the Woody Guthrie Folk Contest. Its site says: singer songwriter, folk and poetry and it is these elements sum up the pathos in this collection that contains ten ballads that are experienced on their own stories or poems that are reaching all corners of the heart.
  
  She feels a real innocence in his words and his fragile voice, like a leaf, change color (and humor) according to different seasons. Produced by Mark Thayer, Alicia was accompanied on his toes have been run by a bunch of musicians that include multi instrumentalist Duke Levine on guitar, banjo and mandolin different, Brad Wentworth on percussion, Rob Jost on bass and the viola good Daisiy Castro , violin and cello. His songs are simple but not stories about the life, loves found and left tied by a strong passion for the nature that surrounds us. Ruby Red and Sky Night On The Town opened the collection of Alicia introducing us to the magical world that revolves around her voice, her light picking plus mandolin, percussion and violin sound just whispered in silence. Our Tiny Little Heart and I Want to Grow Old with big hearts are sung by Alicia accompanied by a banjo that gives this mood of old timey ballad reminiscent of Gillian Welch and Jolie Holland. I'll Keep Trying is one of the best songs of the entire collection, sung on tiptoe fingerpicking with that just mentioned and the violin to accompany the soft melody and that "I will, I will always" that sounds like a promise or a purpose you can not help but keep.
  
  It 'impossible not to fall in love with melancholy Heavy as The Wing, which gives you wings to take you into pristine lands of his native land. The warmth and innocence of winter You're in The World and The Holly And All wrap you in two whispered folk song from the sound of the guitar and his original and profound voice. You Don Not Bring Me Flowers is a choral ballad complete with accordion and slide reminiscent of the Be Good Tanyas and the end So many talking Songs is a folk song that concludes the journey through the colors of the different seasons and moods of our hearts. Listen in silence, if it truly deserves.
  (Emilio Mera)
  
  Emilio Mera - Roots Highway (Italy)

Setlist

Alicia can provide a full night of music, with about 30 originals, many traditionals (including her own arrangements), and many covers of beloved songs.

Basic Requirements

Calendar