Lin McEwan

Artist Information

Biography

**Just announced: Muzz Skillings, formerly of Living Colour, to produce Lin McEwan's second album, due early 2009

Up-and-coming popular singer Lin McEwan recently premiered her first two music videos before a packed crowd of cheering fans and friends at Manhattan’s Zipper Factory. The show also celebrated the release of the digital-only Now I Know EP, the follow-up to her self-titled debut album. The EP is the first release entirely composed of songs written by Lin and co-writer Mike Pettry.

Both the videos and the EP mark a big change for a girl who spent her youth being told that she couldn’t sing because her voice was too low. "My voice was so strange for my age," she recalls, "that when I was in the eighth grade, I had to play Santa Claus because the boys voices hadn't changed yet, and I was the only one who could do a convincing, ‘Ho, ho, ho.’"

It wasn't until she was 16 that she stepped onto the stage of her high school's gala gospel concert to give her first ever solo performance, a rousing blues take of "Amazing Grace," for which she received a thunderous three-minute standing ovation.

Since arriving in New York, the Baltimore-native has been “gaining notice for her uncommonly deep voice” and for her “soulfully sung and well-written material”—a funky fusion of soul and pop… like Tina Turner or Mavis Staples singing over Keane (The Baltimore Sun; JustSoul). Along with her talented group of regular players, who’ve backed everyone from Jesse Malin to Gavin DeGraw, she’s appeared at such landmark establishments as CBGB's and the Bitter End, as well as the Living Room, the Rockwood Music Hall, the Cutting Room, Crash Mansion, and Arlene's Grocery. But she still considers Baltimore home and takes the band back as often as possible.

Lin is a proud member of ASCAP and the NAPM.

Instrumentation

Lin McEwan: vocals
Mike Pettry: keyboard/piano, backing vocals
Steve Dawson: guitar
Pemberton Roach: bass
Dawn McGrath: drums

Discography

2008 Album Teaser:
1. Rest of Me
2. Feel
3. Now I Know

Lin McEwan (LP, 2917 Records, 2006):
1. White Roses
2. You Can Leave Your Hat On
3. Excuses
4. Ships Crashing
5. Over
6. Can't Get Near You
7. I Could Lie to You
8. Unexpected
9. Alias
10. You Didn't Love Me Back
11. Hope You Had Your Fun

Links

• linmcewan.com
• Lin's MySpace
• Lin's Videos on YouTube
• Lin's OurStage Fanclub

Audio

• Rest of Me
  Listen   Download
• You Can Leave Your Hat On
  Listen   Download
• (I Just Wanna) Feel
  Listen   Download
• Now I Know
  Listen   Download
• White Roses
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• A Waltz
• Rest of Me
• (I Just Wanna) Feel
• Now I Know

Video

Now I Know

Photo Gallery

Press

• Baltimore Sun LIVE! Feature
  

  Check out the article in the Photo Gallery...

• Now I Know EP Review [+ Show ]
  

  In ‘Rest Of Me’ strength and passion and determination do not save the singer, from the fragile real...In ‘Rest Of Me’ strength and passion and determination do not save the singer, from the fragile realisation that something is missing. It is a beautifully honest song that never succumbs to self pity or even anger. So even in the sadness, this self-knowledge brings hope.
  We move on to ‘Feel’ powerful and warm, strings and drums building on keyboards, a total pop classic in the making.
  Finally we have the title track which raises the soulful ghosts of Billy Joel and Carol King recordings and introduces a swagger that charms and hints at earthier things to come.

• Album Review: Lin McEwan - Lin McEwan, Rating: 9.5/10 [+ Show ]
  

  Rating: 9.5/10 "Sometimes you listen to an artist and the only word that comes out of your mouth ...Rating: 9.5/10
  
  "Sometimes you listen to an artist and the only word that comes out of your mouth is WOW!.... This album is all about soul and blues and its sung beautifully.... She sings ['You Can Leave Your Hat On'] better than Cocker and Jones... [and] brings sexy back better than anyone else can....
  "Be prepared to be blown away by her voice. Then you can come back and thank me for pointing out this great talent. [Then] listen to the songs on her new EP Now I Know. You'll thank me for that too."
  
  http://community.livejournal.com/mossip/76691.html
  
  October 27, 2008

• Just Soul Album Review: Lin McEwan [+ Show ]
  

  Lin is a beautiful lady who is also gifted with a sultry, bluesy voice. [The opening tracks are] str...Lin is a beautiful lady who is also gifted with a sultry, bluesy voice. [The opening tracks are] strong and smoothly sung..., [but] the tracks she wrote stood out to me the most. [Those include] “Unexpected” and “Alias” – this particular track having an almost haunting feel to it, soulfully sung & well written, suiting Lin’s bluesy vocals and being one of my personal favourites on the album, along with “You Didn’t Love Me Back”, also written by Lin, which is a track about unrequited love, sung with subtle drum & guitar accompaniment leading us onto the lively number called “Hope You Had Your Fun” which ends the CD. [The] band compliments Lin’s consistently strong, individual vocals.
  
  -Tracey Cope, www.justsoul.net
  

• Extra: Lin McEwan [+ Show ]
  

  Surfing through myspace, I've found lots of artists unsigned to any label. In some cases, it's obvi... Surfing through myspace, I've found lots of artists unsigned to any label. In some cases, it's obvious why; in others, it's incomprehensible. The latter applies to young singer/songwriter, Lin McEwan. She overwhelmed me... with her incredible blues voice.
  
  [Her] fine debut deserves international response. Throughout the album, she demonstrates a skillful mastery of her deep, dark voice. She has the dynamic soul of a rocker... but the maturity and subtlety to build tension in her softer material. Lin knows that she doesn't need to oversing to get your attention; she claims it naturally. So it seems she already knows what many big stars... have yet to learn.
  
  -David Kilchoer, The Zurecher Oberlaender, Switzerland

• Review: Lin McEwan - Now I Know EP [+ Show ]
  

  “[Lin McEwan] looks the part of usual pop princess… and then she sings. And what you hear is not the...“[Lin McEwan] looks the part of usual pop princess… and then she sings. And what you hear is not the typically adenoidal voice of today's pop minions, but a full colorful voice more reminiscent of Cassandra Wilson than Jessica Simpson. Full of vibrato and dark alto coloring, Lin McEwan may be one of the most unique and enjoyable voices in pop music at the moment.
  
  The EP opens with Rest Of Me, an ode to the pieces of us that get lost on the road to whom we become. The song is incredible, and… I suspect it would outsell many of its contemporaries with the right push. ‘Feel’… shows off the vermillion colors of Lin McEwan's voice. The EP closes with Now I Know, a jazzy little number that really underscore the comparison to Cassandra Wilson.
  
  The Now I Know [EP] is an excellent introduction to Lin McEwan. I would say that Lin McEwan's voice is as iconic as she herself may someday be.”

• Lin McEwan: a striking bluesy voice [+ Show ]
  

  Possessing an incredibly smoky and soulful voice, McEwan makes mature, bluesy rock music. Her strik...Possessing an incredibly smoky and soulful voice, McEwan makes mature, bluesy rock music. Her strikingly deep voice lends a classy sensuality to her songs....
  McEwan is a remarkable singer and her band are more than capable.
  
  
  -Peter Kearns
  T.O. Snob's Music
  www.snobsmusic.net/2008/09/lin-mcewan-striking-bluesy-voice.html

• Review: Lin McEwan [+ Show ]
  

  “I love Lin Mcewan’s deep voice, [and her] great funky bluesy version of ‘Leave Your Hat On.’ I’m no...“I love Lin Mcewan’s deep voice, [and her] great funky bluesy version of ‘Leave Your Hat On.’ I’m not a great lover of cover versions, but… her voice was made for this song. ‘Alias’ is fantastic; I think this could be a future classic....Great album. Love it.”

• Top Talent: Lin McEwan [+ Show ]
  

  "Looking for a more bluesy type of music, something that will reach down deep into your soul and pul..."Looking for a more bluesy type of music, something that will reach down deep into your soul and pull at your heart. A woman whose voice sounds very raspy and yet still incredibly effeminate? Well, we've found her." - June 2006

• Lin McEwan [+ Show ]
  

  Lin McEwan's new album, "Lin McEwan" is a self portrait of the style and grace this new and upcoming...Lin McEwan's new album, "Lin McEwan" is a self portrait of the style and grace this new and upcoming soul rocker paints in song. I'm finding the "You Can Leave Your Hat" track shows the peak of her energy and smooth delivery that lures listeners deeper.

Setlist

We typically do one to three 45-minute sets, including the material on the Lin McEwan LP. We supplement this with various other originals and a few covers. Our covers, however, are not slavish recreations of the original recordings. They are our own interpretations and are not usually songs that had top-40 type popularity in their earlier incarnations.

Basic Requirements

Calendar