Willy Porter is a contemporary America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

n folk music

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

ian and singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 from Mequon, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

The University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire is a public liberal arts university located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and has an annual enrollment of more than 10,000 students...

 and was a member of the Epsilon Chi Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, a men's fraternity.

Career

Porter's career as a published singer began in 1990 with his album, The Trees Have Soul with Paul Perrone, produced by Willy Porter, Paul Perrone & Randy Green. Much of this album was developed playing a regular Sunday night gig at the "Club de Wash" in Madison, WI. His popularity began to rise in 1994 with the release of his critically acclaimed album Dog-Eared Dream, which had the successful single Angry Words, and led to his touring as an opening act for artists including Jeff Beck

Jeff Beck

Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...

, Tori Amos

Tori Amos

Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...

, Paul Simon

Paul Simon

Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...

, and The Cranberries

The Cranberries

The Cranberries are an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989 under the name The Cranberry Saw Us, later changed by vocalist Dolores O'Riordan. The band currently consists of O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler...

. Porter later opened for Jethro Tull

Jethro Tull (band)

Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...

, where he formed a long lasting friendship with Tull's guitarist, Martin Barre

Martin Barre

Martin Lancelot Barre is an English rock musician.Barre has been the guitarist for rock band Jethro Tull since 1969. He has appeared on every Jethro Tull album except their debut This Was...

.

Reception

Porter is an accomplished finger-style guitarist though he has focused more on ensemble free-form jam playing since the mid 1990s. His work has garnered widely positive reviews. The Washington Post wrote that "Porter is a dazzling acoustic guitarist with a moody baritone." The Village Voice said "Porter captures the street corner ethic of acoustic performance perfectly." The Boston Globe said Porter is "An acoustic picker with the Olympian speed of Leo Kottke bolstered by rootsy vocals and twisting, offbeat lyrics that evoked John Hiatt."

Discography

• Leaving Tomah Home — 1988 (cassette-only)
• The Trees Have Soul — 1990
• Dog-Eared Dream — 1994 (reissued in alternate form 1995)
• Falling Forward — 1999
• Willy Porter — 2002
• High Wire Live — 2003
• Available Light — 2006
• How To Rob A Bank — 2009
• Live at BoMA w/ Carpe Diem String Quartet — 2010

External links

• Willy Porter Band collection at the Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  's live music archive
• Interview with Willy Porter