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Wil Maring - Folk

AMERICA NORTH: USA: Illinois (IL)

Wil Maring
Booking and Artist Contact
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Artist Bio:

As Wil Maring sat for long summer hours as a teenager at her family's roadside vegetable stand, picking out self-made tunes on her Sears guitar to pass the time, she never dreamed of the path she would one day follow. Wil has become a highly acclaimed songwriter, a previous winner of the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merlefest, and has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry with her original music, in addition to touring extensively in Europe and Japan. She honed her songwriting skills playing music professionally in Europe with her group Shady Mix.

Wil Maring and virtuose guitarist and fiddler Robert Bowlin have been recently combining talents to create beautiful original acoustic music which straddles the fence between bluegrass, folk and country music. Wils beautiful airy vocal style and heartfelt lyrics have raised the eyebrows of the acoustic music world in recent years with the release of her three solo cds and four band cds with her band Shady Mix. Robert, a two-time National Fingerpicking and Flatpicking Guitar contest winner, has been a band member with legendary artists like Bill Monroe, Maura O Connell, Kathy Mattea, the Osborne Brothers, and many more. their music will leave audiences spellbound long after the show is over. For bigger venues, Wil sometimes appears with whole band, Shady Mix, which includes instrumental lineup of upright bass, fiddle, mandolin, and sometimes banjo.

As Dave Higgs, respected host of Nashville Public Radio's nationally syndicated bluegrass program describes the performance: "Absolutely, hands-down some of the most mesmerizing, exciting, interesting and enjoyable acoustic music I have ever heard. Wil's songs are just in a league of their own, and the picking.... the interplay between (the musicians) is simply astonishing. Not clones -- but an inspired group with a different message. I love it!"
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

"I think Wil is one of the most talented singer/songwriters around love her music."
- Carl Jackson, Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter/producer

"Wil Maring, one of the most underrated writers in bluegrass, returns with a new collection of songs about familiar topics like home, family, the road, and relationships. Her approach is refreshingly intimate and subtle, rendering the songs simultaneously contemporary and timeless, in a way that rewards repeated listening. The singing matches the grace of the songwriting, and her top notch regular band, with great guests like Rob Ickes and Stuart Duncan, couches everything in shimmering, spacious sound. Plus theres a great cover of a Stevie Winwood song hows that for contemporary bluegrass?"
- Bruce Bergathon Acousticity WGLT, Bloomington, IL

"When you are finished reading this review, please, please go to her website and have a listen to her voice. I cant even begin to describe what it is about it that attracts me so. Is it the easy back-porch alto, the slight twang, the way it just sounds real? ......Whether you focus on the heartfelt poetry of the lyrics or the gently intricate playing, Maring and company welcome you to a very genuine place in the country. Essential!"
- Michael Devlin, Music Matters Reviews

"Dont get much better than this.... Nothing else to add except to urge you buy this excellent album."
- Maverick Country Music Magazine, United Kingdom

"Congratulations, Wil, on another great record! Strong songwriting, excellent production, and stellar players - this one will be getting lots of spins!"
- Bud Johnson, host of syndicated Acoustic Accents, Tok, Alaska

Song Information - credits, lyrics, album:

» The Open Road
Album: The Calling
Genre: Folk
» Keeper of the Farm
Album: The Calling
Label: Roan Pony Records
Genre: Folk
» Make You Smile
Album: The Calling
Genre: Bluegrass
» Rows
Album: The Calling
Genre: Americana
» One in the Great White Yonder
Album: The Turning of a Century
Label: Roan Pony Records
Genre: Americana

Get This Band's CDs:

Price: 14.00 (USD)
S&H: 0.00 (USD)
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The Calling

Wil's heartfelt, prizewinning songwriting rests confidently on that fence between bluegrass, folk, country, and pop, with her lilting, airy, yet edgy, emotion-packed vocals supported by virtuoso backup.
Price: 14.00 (USD)
S&H: 0.00 (USD)
Grab It:
CDBaby.com

The Turning of the Century

A 1998 winner of Merlefest's "Chris Austin Songwriting Competition", Wil Maring continues stylistically with "The Turning of a Century" where she left off with her first well-received solo release, "An Ocean From Home", confidently teetering between the genres of bluegrass, country and folk, with dashes of old-time, Celtic, and even pop elements. The eleven originals and one bluegrass standard on this CD showcase her warm, intimate vocal style, the honest, heartfelt lyrics and penetrating melodies of her songs. These, along with the superbly supportive instrumental work, and immaculate production combine to create a pillowy acoustic world with no hard edges and no sharp corners- a comfortable world that the listener is hesitant to leave after the last song fades to silence.