Joel Ackerson - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Joel Ackerson is a storyteller. His emotional performances bring the audience through a true-life narrative that makes fiction seem boring. In his career, he has played more than 1500 shows in 30+ states, drawing consistent comparisons to artists like Elvis Costello, Glen Phillips and Martin Sexton. Come experience the intensity of one of today's most honest young songwriters.

Joel Ackerson's Online Store
ORDER "The Affirmation Sessions" CD

ORDER "Happy Songs for the Broken Hearted" CD

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"Vanity" live in Reno, NV (February 16th, 2008)

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 5/11/2005
Band Website: joelackerson.com
Band Members: For the songs on this page, I sang and played guitar. Occasionally, I played drums and bass as well. The rest of the credits go to:

The Affirmation Sessions:

TONY CATALDO - bass, flugelhorn

JASON THOMAS - drums on "No One Watching Us"

PAUL CATALDO - trombone

LOU SEGRETI - Hammond organ

Happy Songs For The Broken Hearted:

MATT BELARDINELLI - drums

BRETT HOBIN - bass

ROB LAUZON - guitar

TIMOTHY DANIEL - backing vocals

SETH HORAN - electric and upright bass on "Dangerous"

LOU SEGRETI - Hammond organ

JUDY HYMAN - strings

JOSH SULARSKI - piano.

The Affirmation Sessions was produced by Joel Ackerson. "Better" was produced by Joel Ackerson and Seth Horan. It was mixed by David Peters and mastered by Brian Lipski.

Happy Songs For The Broken Hearted was produced by Joel Ackerson and Alex Perialas. It was mixed by Joe Chiccarelli and mastered by Emily Lazar at The Lodge.

I love to travel, and am always looking for new places to tour. If you'd like to host a house concert or have me add a date in your city, send me a message.
Influences: I write my songs about the stories I've lived through, witnessed firsthand, or read about. The characters in these stories are my biggest influence.

At any given point, the art of the following folks has inspired me and likely saved my life:Glen Phillips, Ani DiFranco, Gabriel Mann, Bright Eyes, Jeff Buckley, Bruce Springsteen, Martin Sexton, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Live, Pearl Jam, Barenaked Ladies, Jonatha Brooke, Eminem, Ben Folds, The Cure, Counting Crows, John Mayer, Radiohead, Duncan Sheik, Rufus Wainwright, Ryan Adams, U2, Jellyfish, The Beatles, The Police, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Elvis Costello, Seth Horan, The Animators, Keane, Timothy Daniel, Steve Tannen, The Indigo Girls, Ryan Fitzsimmons.Also - Ayn Rand, David James Duncan, Ernest Hemingway, and Paul Thomas Anderson.

Sounds Like: You'll have to listen and see...
Record Label: TRUE STORY RECORDS
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Seeking drummer and guitarist...

Seeking drummer and guitarist...The Novelists would love to start playing shows again. To do this we need a drummer and hopefully a second guitarist and/or keyboard player. Singing musicians will be c...
Posted by Joel Ackerson on Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:18:00 PST

The Affirmation Sessions

I have just heard the final master of The Affirmation Sessions. It is amazing. We have been going back and forth for weeks on art and EQ. Caitlin, my contact at Discmakers, has been fantastic in de...
Posted by Joel Ackerson on Fri, 16 May 2008 11:34:00 PST

Help wanted!!!

I will be in Arizona from April 6th-8th. I am looking for a show on any or all of those days. This could be as simple as a house concert or as elaborate as a coffee house opening slot. In the words...
Posted by Joel Ackerson on Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:44:00 PST

Thank you Mill Valley

The Drew Pearce house concert last night was incredible. It was the most fun I've had in a long time. Thank you to Julia, Drew, Kimmie, Eric, Jill, Susie (who brought a group of 8!!!), Margo, Lia, S...
Posted by Joel Ackerson on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 04:28:00 PST

Would you like me to play your city?

I've started booking for my spring tour to support the release of my new album The Affirmation Sessions. I'm heading out at the end of March (beginning in The Bay Area) and looping most of the countr...
Posted by Joel Ackerson on Sat, 15 Dec 2007 07:19:00 PST

Glen Phillips... AGAIN?

A year ago I had the good fortune to fulfill one of my biggest dreams - opening for Glen Phillips. On March 31st of this year it will happen again. The venue is the incredible home of Chuck and Mich...
Posted by Joel Ackerson on Fri, 02 Mar 2007 11:08:00 PST

Birthdays?

So, yesterday was not only my birthday, but also the first birthday of my latest cd "Happy Songs for the Broken Hearted." I don't celebrate my own, but I'm quite proud to celebrate the anniversary of...
Posted by Joel Ackerson on Sat, 27 Jan 2007 11:03:00 PST

The Novelists... a reality.

They actually have a "Goals, Plans, Hopes" category on here. Funny. So, I'm on the fast track to becoming a Washoe County Sheriff. I had the year's best score on my recruit exam (go figure) and was...
Posted by Joel Ackerson on Wed, 16 Aug 2006 11:22:00 PST

Opening for GLEN PHILLIPS!!!

So, for some of you, that name means nothing. For others, he was the singer for that soft rock '90s band Toad the Wet Sprocket. For others still, you recognize his name from the top of my all time h...
Posted by Joel Ackerson on Thu, 09 Mar 2006 08:15:00 PST

25 shows in 22 days (an update)

I'm sitting in Telos House on the UNM campus in Albuquerque, NM. It used to be an old Sigma Chi frat house, but the chapter was closed due to misbehavior (at a frat house???). My friend Joey has lov...
Posted by Joel Ackerson on Thu, 09 Mar 2006 04:18:00 PST