Tony Furtado, the acclaimed and award-winning singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, is an acknowledged master of many different styles and sounds. Relix Magazine put it best when writing of Tony’s music, “True talent doesn’t need categories.” From bluegrass to blues, from folk to rock, from banjo to slide guitar, the music of Tony Furtado knows no boundaries. His versatility and wide-ranging imagination are on full, vivid display on Cider House Sessions – Live at Reverend Nat’s, Tony’s highly anticipated live acoustic release that draws from all phases and periods of his career.
The idea for recording a live album has been with Tony for a while now. “For years I’ve wanted to have an album in my catalog,” he says, “that has the feel and ease of a show played in my living room with a few friends I love to share tunes and songs with, surrounded by more friends who just want to hear us play and laugh, lights dimmed, and a few 3,000 gallon tanks of cider brewing behind me!” The cuts on Cider House Sessions – Live at Reverend Nat’s are taken from a series of six performances at Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider, a cider brewery and taproom in his hometown of Portland, Oregon.
“I wanted a live album for my own label, YousayFurtado Records,” Tony continues, “a CD that grabs some songs from my earlier, more bluegrass albums, so I could incorporate the banjo a little more, as well as from the newer songs, which have more of an Americana, singer- songwriter feel. I was after a more stripped-down sound.”
The follow-up to The Bell—winner of both the Album of the Year and Acoustic Rock Album of the Year awards in 2015 from the Indie Acoustic Project Awards—Cider House Sessions taps into a three-decade-deep reservoir of original and traditional songs and tunes from Tony’s extensive discography. Performed in an intimate setting before a rapt audience, the thirteen cuts on Cider House Sessions provide a rich and soulful sonic overview of Tony’s musical journey to date. It’s a superb album from a fearless musician, an Americana master hailed as “a major musical force” by David Lindley.
Tony was joined on Cider House Sessions by a stellar group of musicians and frequent collaborators, including his old friend and partner in Sugarbeat, renowned mandolinist Matt Flinner (Phillips, Grier and Flinner, the Modern Mandolin Quartet); fiddler Luke Price (a two- time National Old-Time Fiddling Grand Champion); and Rob Burger (Tin Hat Trio, Iron and Wine, John Zorn, Bill Frisell Band) on accordion. Exceptional vocalist Stephanie Schneiderman (Swan Sovereign, Dirty Martini) contributes gorgeous harmonies throughout.
Support from Stephanie Schneiderman: Trying to pin down Stephanie Schneiderman to any one genre, talent or discipline is next to impossible. One thing is clear however- whether pursuing her prolific work as a solo artist, playing drums for all star roots pop act Swan Sovereign (formerly Dirty Martini), stepping on the stage in the musical The Full Monty, producing a wildly successful humanitarian concert series for refugees in Uganda (raising over $70k) as well as producing three children’s CD’s (featured as soundtracks for popular children’s videos OyBaby and That Baby DVD -selling more than 50,000 combined units) Stephanie Schneiderman is hands down one of the most diversely talented artists the Northwest US has to offer.
