Artist InformationBiography
2009 Susquehanna Music and Arts Festival Songwriter Contest First Place Winner
2008 Kerrville New Folk Finalist
2005 SolarFest Singer-Songwriter Contest Grand Prize Winner
2005 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist
PHIL HENRY is a singer-songwriter and music educator in southern Vermont. He sings funky, folk-pop acoustic originals which reflect the aspirations and realities of his small-town upbringing.
Phil grew up in the Adirondack town of Saranac Lake, NY, where he began writing songs about escaping small-town life. After graduating from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, Phil found himself teaching Middle School music students in Ticonderoga, NY, while refining his songs and performing in local pubs and coffeehouses. In 2000, he released his first CD, BOARD BY BOARD, whose title track chronicled the demolition of an abandoned church. He contemplated a move to big-city music markets, but was instead called by the small town life that first inspired his songs. Phil now teaches K-12 music in the Vermont town of West Rutland, and continues to build his catalog of thoughtful and energetic folksongs. In 2005, Phil released his second CD, NO PLACE LIKE HERE, which includes a modern Burlington, VT retelling of THE WIZARD OF OZ.
Phil's most recent CD is an EP titled FOLK 2.0, described as "An untraditional look at traditional folk music." This 5 song CD features contemporary arrangements of some of American folk music's favorite songs. The eighteenth century ballad "Blow The Candles Out" takes on a new life as a funk tune, energized by Wayne Davison on sax, Will Patton on Mandolin, and Sean Fitzpatrick on drums.
Phil was the winner of the 2005 SolarFest Singer-Songwriter Competition, and he showcased at the 2005 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. His music was featured on NPR's "Car Talk," in a WFFF Fox television commercial for THE X-FILES, and he has opened for folk notables Colleen Sexton, Rachel Bissex, and Vance Gilbert.
Instrumentation
Performs as a soloist (acoustic guitar), or with various instrumentists, including: mandolin, accordion, piano, sax, percussion, drums.
Discography
Folk 2.0 (EP, 2007)
Detour (with Gary Moon and Kate Blain, 2006)
No Place Like Here (2005)
Board By Board (2000)
Links
| http://www.philhenryband.com |