Bryan Bowers
Encyclopedia
Bryan Bowers is an American
autoharp
player who is frequently credited with introducing the instrument to new generations of musicians.
Show with his 1980 recording of Mike Cross' song "The Scotsman". In 1993, Bowers was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame whose membership includes Mother Maybelle Carter
, Kilby Snow, and Sara Carter
.
In two consecutive years, 2006 and 2007, he released new recordings: Bristlecone Pine and September in Alaska. "Although such guests as Tim O'Brien, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, and Enright and O'Bryant play and sing on a number of cuts, this is a Bryan Bowers disc all the way, with his exquisite autoharp flavoring many of the tunes," wrote a November 2006 Bluegrass Unlimited
reviewer of Bristlecone Pine. "Bowers selects thematically diverse and lyrically strong material. There are powerful love songs ("When You And I Were True" and "Magnolia") and non-cloying meditations on life and death ("Bristlecone Pine," "Friends For Life," and "When I Go"), as well as haunting instrumentals. He nicely avoids the hackneyed stuff of so many folk/bluegrass/country performers." He maintains an active performance and teaching schedule.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
autoharp
Autoharp
The autoharp is a musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers, which, when depressed, mute all of the strings other than those that form the desired chord. Despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp at all, but a chorded zither. -History:There is debate over the...
player who is frequently credited with introducing the instrument to new generations of musicians.
Career
Bowers became very popular with the audience of the comedy radio program The Dr. DementoDr. Demento
Barret Eugene Hansen , better known as Dr. Demento, is a radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present....
Show with his 1980 recording of Mike Cross' song "The Scotsman". In 1993, Bowers was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame whose membership includes Mother Maybelle Carter
Maybelle Carter
"Mother" Maybelle Carter was an American country musician. She is best known as a member of the historic Carter Family act in the 1920s and 1930s and also as a member of Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters.-Biography:...
, Kilby Snow, and Sara Carter
Sara Carter
Sara Carter was an American Country music musician. Known for her deep and distinctive singing voice, she was the lead singer on most of the recordings of the historic Carter Family act in the 1920s and 1930s....
.
In two consecutive years, 2006 and 2007, he released new recordings: Bristlecone Pine and September in Alaska. "Although such guests as Tim O'Brien, Sam Bush, Stuart Duncan, and Enright and O'Bryant play and sing on a number of cuts, this is a Bryan Bowers disc all the way, with his exquisite autoharp flavoring many of the tunes," wrote a November 2006 Bluegrass Unlimited
Bluegrass Unlimited
Bluegrass Unlimited is a monthly music magazine "dedicated to the furtherance of bluegrass and old-time musicians, devotees and associates." First published in 1966, as of 2008 the magazine had a circulation of more than 25,000 copies and is widely considered the premier magazine for bluegrass music...
reviewer of Bristlecone Pine. "Bowers selects thematically diverse and lyrically strong material. There are powerful love songs ("When You And I Were True" and "Magnolia") and non-cloying meditations on life and death ("Bristlecone Pine," "Friends For Life," and "When I Go"), as well as haunting instrumentals. He nicely avoids the hackneyed stuff of so many folk/bluegrass/country performers." He maintains an active performance and teaching schedule.
Awards
- Contemporary Inductee, Autoharp Hall of Fame, 1993.
- Lifetime Achievement Award, California Autoharp Gathering, 2006.
- Induction into Frets Magazine's First Gallery of the Greats
Select Discography
- The View from Home, Flying Fish, 1977
- Home, Home on the Road, Flying Fish, 1980
- By Heart, Flying Fish, 1982
- For You, Flying Fish, 1990
- Friend for Life, Flying Fish, 2002
- Bristlecone Pine, Seattle Sounds, 2006
- September in Alaska, Seattle Sounds, 2007