About Me
Noah Paley picked up a guitar in 1999 and started writing songs. Within months, he was performing them before enthusiastic audiences at theaters, coffeehouses and festivals in and around North Carolina. In June, 2006, Paley performed at the Celebrate Our State Festival in Highpoint, North Carolina, along with Doc Watson and Melva Houston. In October, 2006, Paley opened for Grammy-nominated instrumentalist Boney James at The Carolina Theatre in Durham, North Carolina. Also at The Carolina Theatre, Paley opened for Grammy-award-winning saxophonist David Sanborn in January, 2004.
UMass Public Radio selected Paley's second CD, Small Truths, as one of the best CDs released in 2002, along with albums by Norah Jones, Bruce Springsteen, Ryan Adams, and Richard Shindell. And "So Many Things," a song on Small Truths, made the Best of 2002 playlist aired by Kansas Public Radio, along with selections by Eva Cassidy, Gillian Welch, James Taylor, Dixie Chicks, and Patty Griffin, among others.
Paley was a finalist in the 2002 Carolina Calling talent contest, and performed on statewide public television as part of the competition. He was a semi-finalist in the 2002 Independent Music Awards, and was selected to showcase for the North Carolina Arts Council as a touring artist. In November, 2000, the NPR affiliate in Chapel Hill, WUNC-FM, chose Paley's song "Moonlight Still" for inclusion on the Best of Back Porch Music Vol. III compilation CD, along with songs by Doc Watson, Alison Krauss, and Nickel Creek. Several of Paley's songs have received high marks in the Billboard and John Lennon songwriting contests.
Paley's work has been praised by critics from Oregon to Australia. His debut CD, Sticks & Stones (October, 1999), was dubbed "perfectly formed" by Playgrounds Magazine (Columbus, Georgia) and "magic" by The Eugene Weekly (Eugene, Oregon). WRFG-FM in Atlanta has called Small Truths (May, 2002) "a wonderful recording," and The Ocracoke Observer described it as "a delicious piece of musical art . . . produced to perfection . . . ." A folk DJ in Melbourne, Australia, called Paley's third CD, Better Days, "a real treasure trove of great songs."
