Sean Rowe

ACCOLADES:
Selected as showcase artist SXSW 2009

Selected as showcase artist NXNE 2009

Opened the show for Boz Scaggs, The Doobie Brothers, Joan Osborne, Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root and folk great Michael Anderson

REVIEWS/PRESSS:

KEEPIN IT SMOOTH: BOZ SCAGGS/SEAN ROWE 6.09 ...Speaking of jaw-dropping: Sean Rowe made a roomful of new fans with a gripping 30-minute set. Rowe’s voice is every bit as soulful as Scaggs’, and his delivery was dramatic and engaging. He completely reimagined two iconic classics, Richard Thompson’s “Vincent Black Lightning 1952” and Leonard Cohen’s “Bird on a Wire,” and played a bunch of originals that trade on silence as much as audacious bursts of sound. He commanded the undivided attention of the packed house, and got a big and deserved ovation at the end. Kudos to the local promoters who are putting Rowe on these shows. He belongs on the big stage. - Metroland Magazine - www.metroland.net

***** 5 STAR DUTCH REVIEW:
Pure magie vanaf de eerste tonen. Pure magic from the first note... — Opgeslagen in: RECENSIES — john gjaltema - READ ONLINE
SEAN ROWE's MAGIC LIVES UP TO ITS NAME Sean Rowe’s voice is lower than you’d think, deeper than it should be for a young man - by David Malachowski - Daily Freeman - READ ONLINE
BREAK ON THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE...SITTIN'IN WITH SEAN ROWE by Don Wilcock - www.BluesWax.com - READ ONLINE
SEAN ROWE - MAGIC (Collar City Records) Sean Rowe latest album Magic is an album that is truly a real discovery, a singer songwriter who can write and play songs that just come together like magic. His voice is truly unmistakable and his sound is fresh with folk and blues influences. His songs tell stories which draw you in with his voice. This is brilliantly shown with the opening track Surprise and finishes off with the captivating The Long Haul. Production values are solid. I can see this doing well for Sean. He doing something that is fresh and original and his voice highlights that perfectly and I just can't stop playing Surprise, it's just a fantastic song. Read Online - posted by chris - Parx-e Web Zine - Melbourne, Australia - READ ONLINE
SEAN ROWE (MAGIC) There are singers, there are vocalists and there are guys with a voice. Sean Rowe has a voice, a warm baritone that was just made for singing folk-tinged blues songs and he can play guitar too, using his acoustic like a percussive instrument - Here Comes the Flood (a weblog about music) - READ ONLINE
MAGIC Sean Rowe is most definitely not what you expect. Not in the slightest. I recently took a trip to his website and stared down his scruffy face and tattooed arm. All right, Mr. Rowe, let’s hear what you’ve got. I chose a random track – “Night” – and pressed play. I leaned back and closed my eyes to the soft, calm strumming lullaby. Nice, I thought - and then he started singing - by Erika Dick - InYourSpeakers.com - READ ONLINE
VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS: The Not-so-Starving Artist (4.23.09) Singer-songwriter Sean Rowe chews the cud about survivalism—and his new record - by Josh Potter - Metroland Magazine photos by Leif Zurmuhlen - READ ONLINE
MAGIC SHOW Singer-songwriter Sean Rowe has the most distinctive, soulful voice on the Capital Region music scene. It's a rough-hewn, whiskey-soaked rasp of a voice — all sandpaper, honey and smoke. The kind of voice that stops you in your tracks - by Greg Haymes - The Times Union - READ ONLINE
THE ELUSIVE MAGIC OF SEAN ROWE Once you know how it’s done, the magic in a magic trick disappears. Sean Rowe’s new album is called “Magic” and to analyze it threatens to destroy what is magic about it - by Don Wilcock - The Troy Record - READ ONLINE
PRESS QUOTES:
“[Rowe has] the grainy, coarse, pulverized and yet full and lumbering voice of a blues singer or an understudy of Tom Waits mixing with the slick, agile, lyrical folk rocking command of a soft-spoken young urban singer/songwriter.” [Derek Sivers - CD Baby- www.cdbaby.com]

"Rowe has the uncanny ability in live performance to mimic a 3-piece band."[Metroland Magazine]

"When Rowe gets in front of a microphone, he is transformed into a wizened and grizzled old black griot. He summons up a voice from deep within that begs comparisons to such genre-bending innovators as funk-jazz master Gil Scott-Heron or the late beach bum turned philosopher Ted Hawkins." [Don Wilcock - The Troy Record]

"Singer-songwriter Sean Rowe has the most distinctive, soulful voice on the Capital Region music scene. It's a rough-hewn, whiskey-soaked rasp of a voice — all sandpaper, honey and smoke. The kind of voice that stops you in your tracks." [Greg Haymes - The Times Union]

"It seems almost impossible that a performer so slight and Caucasian could produce sounds so bottomless and soulful." [The Skidmore News-Skidmore College]

"Sean Rowe is real and intimate. His ability to create a world within each song both quietly and grandly is an absolute gift. Rowe’s entire soul is summoned into his voice, making each note genuine and every word meaningful."[Erika Dick - InYourSpeakers.com]

BIOGRAPHY:
Resonant, robust and resolute: the voice of Sean Rowe is deep, distinct and endearing.“As thick and sweet as molasses, Sean Rowe’s baritone is one of those rare singing voices that will leave you forever changed. Like Al Green, Van Morrison, or Gil Scott-Heron at their best…” -Metroland MagazineHailing from Troy, New York, Rowe has been writing and performing music for the last decade, perfecting his earthy baritone singing and street-beat inspired guitar playing. His percussive acoustic guitar technique mimics the downbeat of a kick drum, the backbeat of a snare drum, and the harmonic support of a bass player. This large repertoire of sounds coupled with the bottomless power and charming sensitivity of Rowe’s dynamic singing voice make his live performances explosively sparkle.
With his second release Magic (April 21, 2009/Collar City Records), Rowe’s lyrics are objective and passionate, each song portraying a feeling and mood by way of scattered imagery and events. Purveying a wide range of emotions, Magic is filled with life’s most sad and joyful moments. Rowe’s songs bear visions of impressionist paintings of struggle and pain, truth and beauty - undeniably a balance of dark and light. Oftentimes dreamlike, Rowe’s stanzas consist of non-linear glimpses that affect you in a visceral and instinctual manner. In the end, Magic communicates an idea that is emotionally affecting, while still leaving room for subjective interpretation and an element of mystery. There is no mystery, however in the love and admiration of Sean Rowe fans, as the production of Magic was entirely a fan-funded endeavor.
“Listening to Sean Rowe’s Album, Magic, it is hard to decide what is more magical-the dream inducing songs or Sean’s powerful, emotional voice. The big, deep and rich sound pulls on your heart almost to the point of breaking.”-Chris Wienk, Program Director at WEXT-FM

Rowe's official debut album, 27, was re-released on November 2004. The record earned several awards including the prestigious New York Foundation of the Arts Artist Fellowship Grant for music composition.
In the fall of 2005, following the success of 27, Rowe was chosen out of 1,000 American acts to tour throughout the UK for a month under the management of Contemporary Music Events and Artist Services (CMEAS). In late 2007, Rowe was one of four finalists chosen from a pool thousands of songwriters in the Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition produced by Jezebel Music. Rowe was also selected to perform a showcase event for the 2009 South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival in Austin, Texas.