Hearth Music is proud to announce our first VIP publicity mailing campaign. The VIP mailings go out to a select number of grade-A media contacts in the US and Canada and feature CDs that we love and handpick. It's our way to help great musicians get their music out to the world. Check out the featured artists for the June/July VIP mailing:

Ruthie Dornfeld:  Duets Abroad

"Mazurka" from Duets Abroad

 

Master fiddler Ruthie Dornfeld has had one of the most varied careers in traditional folk music. Each album release is different from her last, but as much as Ruthie is known for her boldly original ability to marry different musical traditions, she is also known for her impeccable choice in collaborators. A summary of her musical partners over the past two decades includes guitarist Keith Murphy, accordionist Jeremiah McLane, harmonica player Joel Bernstein, folk instrumentalist John Miller, and countless great musicians from Scandinavia and Western Europe. Ruthie is a deeply eclectic musician who straddles many borders in her music, but brings the same focus and integrity to every tradition she studies. When listening to her music, national boundaries blur together and a new image arises: acoustic world-time music driven by a simple passion for good tunes.

Cort Armstrong:  Chicken Pickin'

"I Don't Mind" from Chicken Pickin'

 

We’re especially excited about the new CD from chicken-pickin’ guitarist/songwriter Cort Armstrong. He’s been one of the best-kept secrets in the Pacific Northwest for quite a few years now and we’re happy to help spread the word about his songs. Cort first came to our attention with his Appalachian “Molassagrass” band, Jangle Bones. They had a great vision of Appalachian mountain music. Unlike most bands, which focus on the relatively small tradition of “old-time” music, Jangle Bones played anything from juke joint country blues, to fiddle tunes, gospel songs, ragtime guitar; their credo was mountain music for mountain people. Cort brings this same philosophy to his new solo release, Chicken Pickin’, named for his signature style of guitar playing. His “heavy-thumb” fingerpicking style evokes both the driving, rolling sound of Rev Gary Davis and the syncopation of Merle Travis. Cort blends these country and blues influences together into a sound that is entirely at home both in Asheville, NC, where he’s made his home, and Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula, where he currently lives. Both regions are home to powerful mountain ranges and Cort channels this mountain music in all of his work.

Dejah Léger:  Hand Sewn Lullabies

"Swedish Lullaby" from Hand Sewn Lullabies

 

When singer-songwriter and traditional musician Dejah Leger became a mother, she realized how few authentic, subtle lullaby CDs suited her tastes. In response, she created a refreshingly honest and relaxing lullaby collection. She recorded this album in one afternoon using just guitar and voice. Harmonies woven throughout bring to mind a gathering of mothers singing to a child, and the guitar work is rich and varied. Drawing from her French-Canadian music sources (she is also in the Acadian group La Famille Leger), Dejah sings in archaic French for two berceuses. Her a cappella rendition of All the Pretty Horses is haunting, as is her eery and enchanting Swedish Lullaby. Her musical rendering of the classic poem "Wynken, Blynken and Nod" is already being requested by cover artists, and she even throws on a new song that she wrote for her daughter. Add in the bittersweet rendering of Charlotte's Web's "Mother Earth and Father Time" and you have a lullaby CD that will become a household favorite.