Jonathan Rundman
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Jonathan Rundman

Edina, Minnesota, United States | Established. Jan 01, 1992 | SELF

Edina, Minnesota, United States | SELF
Established on Jan, 1992
Band Americana Singer/Songwriter

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Music

Press


"Living With Music: playlist"

bright, catchy indie pop - New York Times


"Top 12 DIY Pick"

Don't be surprised if Jonathan Rundman's fan base is made up of brainiac girls with glasses and pocket protectors. They're just responding to the love the shows them in Public Library's opener, "Smart Girls." Rundman goes on to laud the female intelligentsia while acoustic guitar, bass and drums keep a rollicking roots-rock beat. Throughout the album, Rundman's lyrics paint vivid pictures...utilizing clever phrasing and fresh rhymes. - Performing Songwriter


"Featured on the Paste Magazine Sampler CD"

Minneapolis resident Jonathan Rundman crafts incendiary pop records in the vein of fellow Midwestern songwriter Freedy Johnston. His newest record Public Library features The Silos as his backing band and weds clever, intelligent songwriting to delectable guitar hooks. - Paste Magazine


"Agression and ambient beauty"

[Rundman's] interest in Finland’s folk tradition is newly sparked. As a rock musician, he finds Finnish music’s rhythmic shifts and driving undertones familiar.
"There’s aggression, and then there’s this sort of pastoral, ambient atmospheric beauty that exists simultaneously," he says. "The minute I heard Finnish folk music, it was clear to me that this was crossover music." - thisisFinland: publication of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland


"In The Music Spotlight: Jonathan Rundman"

Since releasing 2004’s beguiling "Public Library," Rundman has toured and recorded Nordic folk albums with Finnish-American duo Kaivama, developed a liturgical song cycle, collaborated on an Americana record called "Tennesota" with former Chicago-area pop songstress Beki Hemingway, and raised two children as a stay-home dad...
The expanded experience base augments Rundman’s fundamental gifts on his new album "Look Up." - Chicago Sun-Times


"Top 10 of 2004"

...ridiculously infectious melodies and farm-fresh tenor vocals. Backed by members of the Silos (and produced by Silos frontman Walter Salas-Humara), Rundman manages to make blissful folk-pop out of the most mundane of matters, including library work. But he's at his best when he lets his darker impulses mingle with those chipper melodies on songs such as 'The Serious Kind' and 'Park River Bridge.' My favorite track is the immigrant anti-love song 'Second Language,' which captures a relationship that has hit the skids with one perfect line: 'We were sweeter when we sent mail.' - City Pages


"Album Picks"

Musically confident and emotionally vulnerable. His lyrics are refreshing and pleasantly unusual. - Billboard


Discography

2015- Look Up
2012- Jonathan Rundman (compilation)
2012- Arto Jarvela & Kaivama
2011- Kaivama
2007- 20 Songs from the 20th Century (compilation)
2004- Public Library
2004- Tennesota (duet album with Beki Hemingway)
2000- Sound Theology

Photos

Bio

Born and raised in the isolated Finnish-American communities of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Jonathan Rundman has been writing songs and performing across the country since he was 18 years old. He emerged on the national music scene as a Chicago-based touring artist, generating rave reviews in Billboard, The New York Times, Performing Songwriter, Paste, and countless regional publications. Now living in Minneapolis, he continues to tour and record. 

Jonathan's songs can be heard on radio stations across America, in Scandinavia and England, and have been featured on television's Ellen Degeneres Show and CBS This Morning. He has performed live on NPR's Mountain Stage Radio Show and on Iowa Public Television.

In January 2015 Jonathan Rundman has released a new album titled LOOK UP. A hi-fi tour de force, it marks a mature new phase in Jonathan's critically acclaimed discography. These ten songs explore themes of technology, linear time, and optimism, and navigate the uncharted spaces between midcentury heartland twang, ‘80s New Wave, and archaic Euro-folk.

Rundman's Nordic heritage sets him apart from other American singer-songwriters. In recent years, his immersion in Finland's folk music tradition has deeply impacted his songwriting and recording career. In 2013 his instrumental trio album with Arto Järvelä & Kaivama was nominated for Folk Music Album of the Year in Finland, and his original fiddle tune composition "Norman Borlaug Polka" was performed at the World Food Prize Laureate Ceremony in the Iowa State Capitol Building.

Rundman uses traditional Finnish instrumentation like harmonium and mandola to roam freely between disparate genres; classic rock, sacred music, bluegrass, power pop, and Scandinavian sounds are all present in his performances. Rundman's versatility has allowed for many multi-artist collaborations, and he has conducted instrumental and composition workshops at various colleges and events including the Great Lakes Folk Festival, the Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival, the Nisswa-Stämman Scandinavian Folk Music Festival, FinnWest in Vancouver BC, Valdosta State University, Luther College, and Finlandia University. 

DOWNLOAD 2015 LOOK UP ALBUM PRESS KIT HERE http://jonathanrundman.com/press-kit/

JONATHAN HAS SHARED THE BILL WITH THESE ARTISTS: BoDeans, Jill Sobule, The Silos, Walter Salas-Humara, Switchfoot, The Minus Five, Jon Langford, John Gorka, Pierce Pettis, Jake Armerding, Pokey LaFarge, Tom Freund, Half Handed Cloud, Over The Rhine, Stacey Earle, Joe Newberry, Justin Roberts, Charlie Parr, Red Tail Ring, Arto Järvelä, Frigg, and many more.

JONATHAN HAS PERFORMED IN THESE VENUES: arena events at the Superdome (New Orleans) and the Edward Jones Dome (St. Louis); festivals like Great Lakes Folk Festival (East Lansing, MI), Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival (Marquette, MI), Porcupine Mountain Music Festival (Ontonagon, MI), and Kirchentag (Germany); arts centers like Salmagundi Center for American Art (New York City) and the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis); and music venues like Old Town School of Folk Music (Chicago), Schuba's (Chicago), Cedar Cultural Center (Minneapolis), Memorial Union Terrace (Madison, WI), Red Eyed Fly (Austin), Hotel Utah (San Francisco), CSPS (Cedar Rapids), Focal Point (St. Louis), Cafe Nine (New Haven), Club Passim (Boston), Seattle Folklore Society (Seattle), Alberta Street Pub (Portland), WOW Hall (Eugene, OR), Mondo/Debaser (Stockholm, Sweden), Pet Sounds/Hannas Krog (Stockholm, Sweden), Mendocino (Helsinki, Finland), Säätämö/Klubi (Turku, Finland), Paviljonki (Jyväskylä, Finland), and dozens of colleges and universities.

Band Members