About
Lynne Taylor
Photograph by Lisah Plumley
Sonic Food for the Soul
A 2017 finalist in both the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest and the Philadelphia Songwriters Project Songwriting Competition, Lynne Taylor has been an important musical voice in New England for nearly 30 years. "Lynne Taylor is like a voice in the wilderness, howling for truth and justice."~ Diane Crowe WMCB.
Her music has evolved as she has, and is always pushing conventions and boundaries in the realm of social and personal awareness. Her lyrics range from dark and moody to hopeful and uplifting. The daughter of a folk musician and a poet, Lynne grew up in Kent, Ohio during the sixties and seventies, and absorbed the social consciousness of that time. She has always felt that music was her calling. She began writing her own songs at the age of fourteen, and has been performing professionally ever since in a wide variety of genres ranging from bluegrass to punk rock and everything in between. Lynne’s music is characterized by poignant, brutally honest songwriting combined with powerful vocals and unique piano accompaniment. "Vocally and lyrically, artists like Tori Amos come to mind, and then she hits you with a Michelle Shocked kinda vibe, and next thing you know, it's like Ricki Lee Jones." ~ Dana Marshall WXRV
A staple on the music scene in her adopted hometown of Newburyport, MA, she has been performing professionally across the eastern US since 1985. In addition to being a popular solo artist, Lynne can also be found as half of the Americana duo, Rockwood Taylor, having a blast playing upright electric bass in the popular bluegrass band, the River Valley Ramblers, and as one third of the Leonard Cohen Tribute ensemble, Birds on the Wire.
Lynne has played such venues as The Firehouse Center for the Arts, (MA) Port City Blue, (ME) The Press Room, (NH) The Blue Plate Special, (TN) Ardmore Music Hall, (PA) The Purple Fiddle, (WV) The New Moon Coffeehouse, (MA) The Sunapee Coffeehouse, (NH) and Cat in the Cradle Coffeehouse as well as numerous Festivals including Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, (NY) The Granite State Music Festival, (NH) and the Byfield Music and Arts Festival (MA.) Her CD, “Shades of Blue” charted in the top 25 on both FAI folk DJ and Roots Music Report charts in November and December 2019 and the title track was the #1 Alternative folk single for the week of January 4, 2020. She has shared the stage with countless top notch artists, from Odetta to Peter Mulvey.
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Ed Passarella, Bass
A native New Yorker, Ed started out as a folkie in Greenwich Village before switching to bass. He currently performs with the Pleasant Valley Social Club. Along the way he has opened for acts as diverse as The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Ike and Tina Turner, as well as participating in a number of recordings. I was blessed to have Ed working with me as co-producer, main-encourager and true believer on “When Lightning Strikes,” and am always honored to have him with me for my live shows. His bass chops speak for themselves; he is a true master of his craft.
Scott Solsky, Guitarist
Scott has been involved in pretty much every project I've done for the past 20 years. To list them all here would be ridiculous, so suffice it to say that we just "get" each other, and love playing together! Between his custom 7-string Stambaugh Design guitar, his extensive jazz training and his relentless drive to become an ever better player, he currently has one of the most distinctive voices in New England rock and jazz guitar today. In addition to accompanying Lynne whenever possible, you can find him all over the northeast as a solo artist, in various jazz/electronica combos and in his neo/soul/funk band, Trade.
Charlie Farr, Drummer
Charlie has been playing drums for 28 years and is extremely well versed in virtually every style of modern drumming, intuitively choosing and executing perfect parts for any song regardless of genre. I absolutely love playing with Charlie because he uses the drums so effectively to transmit the emotions and feelings of each and every song. He also plays a mean guitar, is a fantastic singer/songwriter himself and is Lynne's other half in Rockwood Taylor. Learn more about Charlie CLICK HERE.
Photo: Jay Fortin Photography