AJ Roach (born 1975) is an American singer-songwriter originally from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, but now based in Ennis, Co. Clare, Ireland. Roach was born in

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Unit ...

, Virginia, but his family moved to his parents ancestral home in Duffield, Virginia when Roach was still very young. As a teenager, Roach reportedly spent a number of months under the tutelage of cult blues guitarist Washboard Williams; however this rumor has never been properly substantiated, and Roach's playing style does not suggest such tutelage. After attending college in Virginia, Roach lived in several different cities on the east coast of the United States before moving to San Francisco. The move to San Francisco was a turning point for Roach's musical career. There he met and befriended musicians like Tom Meshishnik,

Todd Sickafoose Todd Sickafoose is an American jazz and rock musician, composer, and producer/engineer from San Francisco, California. He is best known for playing acoustic bass and keyboards with Ani DiFranco but has also led his own group, Todd Sickafoose's T ...

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and

Noe Venable Noe Venable (born April 20, 1976 in San Francisco, California) is an experimental folk/pop singer-songwriter. She has earned a loyal fan base in her native San Francisco, in part through frequently performing in small, intimate venues. Her advo ...

. The musical impact that these relationships had on Roach can be heard on Dogwood Winter, his first studio album. The album was jointly produced by Meshishnik and Sickafoose, and features Venable on backing vocals on several tracks.

Musical style

A. J. Roach's writing blurs the line between indie and traditional folk, and he has drawn comparisons in the press to

Will Oldham Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

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and

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. He is considered a troubadour in the tradition of

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and

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. Roach's dry and cutting wit has made the stories he sometimes tells between songs almost as celebrated as the songs themselves.

Touring

Roach is best known for his vigorous touring schedule in both the United States and in Europe, at times performing as many as 250 dates per year. Roach has had a number of "revolving cast" musicians who have formed his band over the years. Some musicians that Roach has performed and or recorded with include

Mia Birdsong Mia Birdsong is a family activist who advocates for the strengthening of communities and the self-determination of low-income people. Birdsong is co-director of Family Story, alongside Nicole Rodgers and was vice president of Family Independence ...

(vocals),

(bass),

(vocals),

Alisa Rose Alisa is a female given name, a version of Alice in used in Russia, Finland, Estonia and other countries. Notable people with the names Alisa and Alissa include: Alisa People * Alisa Agafonova (born 1991), Ukrainian former competitive ice dance ...

(violin),

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex, a percussionist. He has w ...

(guitar), Brian Williams (guitar),

Adam Roszkiewicz Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as ...

(guitar, mandolin), Nino Moschella (drums), Tom Meshishnik (guitar), Ian Parks (guitar, bass, organ), Steve Moore (piano, trombone). AJ Roach's first full-length recording is entitled '' Dogwood Winter'' and was released in the United States in the summer of 2003 on the New Folkstar recording label. A subsequent UK release followed in January 2005. A follow-up to ''Dogwood Winter'', ''

Revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on th ...

'', was released in the UK in late 2006 and had an American release in January 2008 on

Waterbug Records Waterbug Records is a small independent record label based in Glen Ellyn, Illinois specializing in singer-songwriters and traditional folk musicians who do original research. The label was founded as an artist cooperative label in 1992 by singer ...

. ''Revelation'' reached number 1 on the Euro-Americana Chart in December 2006. Also in December 2006, the album reached number 5 on the Freeform Americana and Roots (FAR) Chart. Roach frequently appears in concert with

Nels Andrews Nels Andrews is a folk singer based in Santa Cruz, California. In 2002, Andrews was selected as a winner in the New Folk Competition at the annual Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Texas. In 2006, Nels was selected as the winner of the Tellur ...

. The two are close friends and have toured together often in both the United States and Europe. They are reportedly planning a full-length album together, having already recorded a split 7-inch vinyl entitled '' Duct Tape & Whiskey''.

Awards and Distinctions

In 2004, Roach was the general category recipient of the 12th Annual Chris Austin Songwriting Award at MerleFest in

Wilkesboro, North Carolina Wilkesboro is a town in and the county seat of Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,687 at the 2020 census. The town is located along the south bank of the Yadkin River, directly opposite the town of North Wilkesbor ...

reached number 1 on the Euro-Americana Chart in December 2006 A. J. Roach was one of the six winners of the 2011 Kerrville Grassy Hill New Folk competition at the 39th Annual Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, TX The second track from Roach's second album was prominently included in both the CW TV series

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

, seventh season, episode No. 01 and in Showtime's

United States of Tara ''United States of Tara'' is an American television comedy-drama created by Diablo Cody, which aired on Showtime from 2009 to 2011. The series follows the life of Tara ( Toni Collette), a suburban artist and mother coping with dissociative ident ...

, third season, episode #06)

Discography

*'' Appalachia EP'' (2002, New Folk Star) *'' Dogwood Winter'' (2003, New Folk Star) *''Live EP'' (2004, New Folk Star) *'' Duct Tape & Whiskey – Split 7-inch vinyl single with

'' (2005, New Folk Star) *''

'' (2006 Lucky Dice (UK); 2008, Waterbug (US)) : (The second track, "Devil May Dance" can be heard in the TV series

, seventh season, episode No. 01 and in

, third season, episode #06) *'' The Poplar Tree'' (On Hold) *''

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...

'' (2011)

On compilations

*"Black Lung" on '' Music of Coal: Mining Songs from the Appalachian Coalfields'' (2007 Lonesome)

Notes

External links

Official website

AJ Roach
page at MySpace
AJ Roach collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...

's live music archive

video blog with

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roach, Aj 1975 births Living people Singer-songwriters from Virginia Musicians from Newport News, Virginia Singer-songwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American singers Waterbug Records artists