David Wilcox
More than three decades into his career, singer/songwriter David Wilcox continues to push himself, just as he always has. Wilcox, by so many measures, is a quintessential folk singer, telling stories full of heart, humor, and hope, substance, searching, and style. His innate sense of adventure and authenticity is why critics and colleagues, alike, have always praised not just his artistry, but his humanity, as well.
That's very much by design. It's the result of a man giving himself over in gratitude and service to something bigger than himself. An early '80s move to Warren Wilson College in North Carolina set his wheels in motion, as he started playing guitar and writing songs, processing his own inner workings and accessing his own inner wisdom. In 1987, within a couple of years of graduating, Wilcox had released his first independent album, The Nightshift Watchman. A year later, he won the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Award and, in 1989, he signed with A&M Records, selling more than 100,000 copies of his A&M debut, How Did You Find Me Here.
In the 30 years and more than 20 records since — whether with a major label, an indie company, or his own imprint — Wilcox has continued to hone his craft, pairing thoughtful insights with his warm baritone, open tunings, and deft technique. He's also kept up a brisk and thorough tour itinerary, performing 80 to 100 shows a year throughout the U.S., and regularly deploying his talents by improvising a “Musical Medicine” song for an audience member in need. In recent years he’s taken that process a step further, carefully writing and recording dozens of his “Custom Songs” for long-time fans who seek his help in commemorating and explaining the key milestones in their lives.
Lest anyone think that he's lost his touch, Wilcox pulled no punches on his most recent release, 2018's The View From the Edge. Not only does the song cycle find him delving into mental health, family legacies, spiritual contemplations, and topical concerns, the song “We Make the Way By Walking" also won him the Grand Prize in the 2018 USA Songwriting Contest.
Wilcox’s honesty is why Rolling Stone has written that his “ongoing musical journey is compelling and richly deserving of a listen.” It's also why Blue Ridge Public Radio has noted that, “The connection people feel with David’s music is also the connection they feel with each other.” As Wilcox himself puts it, “I'm grateful to music. I have a life that feels deeply good, but when I started playing music, nothing in my life felt that good. I started to write songs because I wanted to find a way to make my life feel as good as I felt when I heard a great song. I don't think I'd be alive now if it had not been for music.” And we’re all grateful for the result.
Cleveland-born David Wilcox is a father, a husband, a citizen, and a songwriter. First inspired to play guitar after hearing a fellow college student playing in a stairwell, Wilcox is now 20 records into a career marked by personal revelation and wildly loyal fans. His lyrical insight is matched by a smooth baritone voice, virtuosic guitar chops, and creative open tunings, giving him a range and tenderness rare in folk music.
Wilcox released an independent album in 1987, was a winner of the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk award in 1988, and by 1989 he had signed with A&M Records. His first release on the label, How Did You Find Me Here, sold over 100,000 copies the first year largely by word of mouth. His latest record, The View From the Edge (2018), is a collection of powerful new songs, many of which he has been performing at live shows for the past several years. It’s an album that reflects four years of thinking, writing, crafting, playing, and life.
Considered a 'songwriter's songwriter,' his songs have been covered by artists such as k.d. lang and many others. In addition to his writing prowess, his skills as a performer and storyteller are unmatched. He holds audiences rapt with nothing more than a single guitar, thoroughly written songs, a fearless ability to mine the depths of human emotions of joy, sorrow, and everything in between, and all tempered by a quick and wry wit. In live performance, David loves making up a spontaneous song for an audience member in need. Anyone who has seen Wilcox perform more than once or twice has seen him concoct one of his “Musical Medicine” songs on the spot, full of lyrical artistry and musical inventiveness, like some kind of uncanny parlor trick.
David Wilcox finds inspiration wherever he looks. The songs in turn provide inspiration to longtime listeners as well as those finding him for the first time. It’s in the song and the craftsmanship; it’s medicine for the soul; it’s story; it’s a restless spirituality.
Whatever it is, it serves many purposes, even for the songwriter himself. “All these songs are the blazes on the trail, the stuff I need to hear in order to remember on a daily basis,” he says, acknowledging his own path. “It would have been easier if I could have heard these songs 20 years ago, but that isn’t how it works. I had to live it to be able to sing it.”
Nick Sherwin is back at the Coach House performing new music from his upcoming 15th solo album, "Threshing Floor".
We haven't let the time do us, we have done the time. On New Year’s Day 2021, we released the single "Beautiful People" (featuring Moshe). The full album (our 14th record) "Lonely Bird" followed and then a second single "Paper Wings and Burned Out Things".
2020 saw the release of our 12th solo album "Songs of Love and War" and "Lachlan's Dream" (13th release) an all instrumental album.
We cracked the top 5 in the nation on Reverb Nation on the strength of the single “Something New” which has been featured on over 15,000 music streaming sites in 70 different countries.
We now have a global fan base with followers streaming music in the U.K., Australia, Japan, Mexico, Canada and in many other parts of the world.