Dubbed a "rootsy, soulful troubadour" by Time Out (London), Jeremiah is a Jersey boy with a Southern heart. He currently performs both under his own name, and with good friends in The Ramblers , an Uncle Tupelo-esque alt-country band in Brooklyn. When not performing his own tunes, he's often playing lead guitar and steel for other artists in the scene, and also performs every Wednesday at Late Night at Rockwood Music Hall
as their house guitarist.
Solo and band appearances have included many independent clubs/venues and major festivals. 2006 brought the third consecutive appearances at the Midwest Music Summit (Indianapolis), MidPoint Music Festival (Cincinnati), and the Dewey Beach Music Festival (Delaware).
MercyDriver:
Jeremiah's encore appearance at the 2004 Midwest Music Summit with Shelley Miller and Dave Golden was noted as "a highlight and perfect ending to an amazing weekend of music" by NuvoWeekly . This led to the three teaming with Illinois mandolin and fiddle ace Kara Kulpa to tour collaboratively in 2005 as MercyDriver. Their well-received performances included the American Songwriter Magazine-sponsored showcase at Midwest Music Summit '05--which was again written up as a festival highlight! While all four friends are now concentrating primarily on individual projects, they do seem to turn up at each others' shows (and homes!) relatively often with various stringed instruments and continue to tour together in various iterations.
Tracks in rotation on:
RadioCrystalBlue.com (63 on the RCB best/most played of 2005 list) & HarrisRadio.com (Brooklyn), iRadio LA 104.7 FM, WHBN (Harrisburg, PA), Denmark's Radio Holstebro 97.4 (www.RadioHolstebro.dk), and Resonance FM 104.4 in London, U.K. Recent shows at Uncommon Ground, Chicago, are streaming on www.uncommonground.com.
Press Clips:
"Birnbaum's music is being heard on radio stations across the globe and he's becoming quite the MidPoint veteran. He is an ASCAPLUS Popular Music Award (an award for ASCAP writer members) recipient, he opened for Suzanne Vega and he's been featured as a Spotlight Artist on SonicBids." (Cincinnati City Beat, Sept. 21, 2006)
"Jeremiah Birnbaum brings a hint of soul to the world of folk. His strong vocals and evocative piano flourishes recall a young Van Morrison or an upbeat Mark Kozelek. Birnbaum has reinvigorated the singer-songwriter tradition." -Download.com
"Riotously fun time." -NuvoWeekly, Indianapolis
Addt'l info:
*2004-2006 host of the popular Fire and Voice open mic (Top 10 of 2005, Indie Sounds NY), formerly at Micky's in the East Village
*2004-2005 and 2005-2006 ASCAPLUS Popular Music Award recipient
*2004 Newport Folk Festival pre-finalist
*2005 Club Passim Campfire Festival.
Additional studio and live appearances include:
Sean Smith
Shanna Zell
Tessa Perry
Dave Golden
Kara Kulpa
Shwa
Jamie Rae
