Sean Rowe (born February 16, 1975)
is an alternative folk singer-songwriter and musician.
Early life
Born and raised in
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...
, Rowe started playing music at an early age. He received a bass guitar from his father on his 12th birthday and performed in a local band.
[No Depression](_blank)
/ref> After receiving an acoustic guitar as a gift from his uncle, Rowe began playing solo.[Times Union](_blank)
/ref>
He wrote his first song at the age of seven on a Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. The company was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Helen S ...
typewriter after listening to Survivor
Survivor(s) may refer to:
Actual survivors
*
*Last survivors of historical events
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* Survivors, characters in the 1997 ''KKnD'' video-game series
* ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Found ...
's "Eye of the Tiger
"Eye of the Tiger" is a song by American rock band Survivor. It was released as a single from their third album of the same name and was also the theme song for the 1982 film ''Rocky III'', which was released a day before the single. The song ...
."[The Rumpus](_blank)
/ref> At the age of 17, Rowe discovered Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blue ...
and his song "Open The Door", which inspired him to begin singing.[Huffington Post](_blank)
/ref> Rowe started seriously writing songs when he was 18.[WNYC](_blank)
/ref> The first complete song that he wrote was called "Turtle," which was inspired by his friend and singer-songwriter Jeanne French.
Nature
An avid naturalist, Rowe often speaks of his fascination with the woods and his connection to the land.[Times Union Bio](_blank)
/ref>[Village Voice](_blank)
/ref>[NPR](_blank)
/ref> After reading ''The Tracker'' by Tom Brown at the age of 18, Rowe started a blog about his experiences in the wilderness.[ANTI- Records](_blank)
He later took courses at Tom Brown's Wilderness Survival School in Asbury, NJ. In 2006, Rowe studied for a year at Hawk Circle Wilderness Education in Cherry Valley, NY, and completed a 24-day solo survival quest after his training. Rowe also studied under wild food author and expert, Samuel Thayer, and has partnered with Kawing Crow Awareness Center as a guest instructor for wilderness survival workshops and wild edible plant foraging. Since 2009, Rowe has contributed as a blogger to the Albany Times Union on topics concerning nature, wildlife and his music career.
Career
Since 2003, Rowe played locally in his hometown at open mics, bars and cafes.
/ref> He began playing with percussionist Marco Haber, who played on a few tracks on his first album "27". Shortly thereafter they began playing under the name Mudfunk and recorded a live album, ''Live at the Grind'', as well as a single of "Wrong Side of the Bed" at Studio Zoot in Albany. The latter would be re-recorded for Sean's solo album, ''Magic'', without Haber and with different instrumentation. He recorded his album, ''Magic,'' at Collar City Sound and released it through Collar City Records on April 21, 2009. In 2009, Rowe was asked to open for Noah and the Whale
Noah and the Whale were a British indie rock and folk band from Twickenham, formed in 2006. The band's last line-up consisted of Charlie Fink (vocals, guitar), Tom Hobden (violin/ keyboards), Matt "Urby Whale" Owens (bass guitar), Fred Abbott ...
in the United Kingdom. Soon after, Sean signed with ANTI-
Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has mostly been on punk rock, Anti-'s roster includes gospel (Mavis Staples), country (Merle Haggard), hip hop ( Sage Francis, The C ...
Records, which re-released ''Magic'' on February 22, 2011,[Collar City Records](_blank)
/ref> and released ''The Salesman and the Shark'' on August 28, 2012. On March 4, Sean played his new release, "Downwind", on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Both the 2021 TV Series ''Coyote
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological ni ...
'' (S01E03) and the movie '' The Accountant'' with actor Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup.
Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educatio ...
(2016) features Sean Rowe's song "To Leave Something Behind". Sean was a featured performer at The Red Jacket Jamboree
The Red Jacket Jamboree is a throw back radio variety show which is offered to American public radio networks through PRX Radio Exchange. Hosted by Lena Dorey and Martin Achatz, two-time Poet Laureate of the Upper Peninsulatheshow shares stories, ...
performance/recording on October 14, 2017. Sean launched a Kickstarter in 2017 and raised over $40,000 to pay for the production of his album, "New Lore."[Blacklisted ref removed] "New Lore" was released on his new label, Three Rivers Records, with his former label ANTI-
Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has mostly been on punk rock, Anti-'s roster includes gospel (Mavis Staples), country (Merle Haggard), hip hop ( Sage Francis, The C ...
Records handling distribution. In early 2020, Rowe announced that he planned on releasing a new studio album some time later that year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to those plans. Without the ability to play live music due to the pandemic, he created a weekly series called the "Quarantine House Concerts" in order to continue playing live music for his fans online. In 2021, Rowe continued to work on his studio album. This work eventually culminated to the release of his sixth studio album, "''The Darkness Dressed in Colored Lights''", which was released on October 8, 2021, in digital, CD and 3-sided Vinyl LP formats.
Discography
Albums
Mudfunk
*2006: ''Live at the Grind''
Solo
*2004: ''27''
*2009: ''Magic''
*2011: ''Magic'' re-release
*2012: ''The Salesman and the Shark''
*2014: ''Madman''
*2017: ''New Lore''
*2021: ''The Darkness Dressed in Colored Lights''
Live
* 2011: ''Live Morning Becomes Eclectic – KCRW''
* 2012: ''Live Mercury Lounge, NYC, NY USA''
EPs
* 2015: ''Her Songs''
* 2016: ''All We Can Do''
*2019: ''Used Songs''
Singles
* 2006: Mudfunk – "Wrong Side of the Bed"
* 2007: "Old Black Dodge"
* 2012: "Downwind"
* 2013: "To Leave Something Behind"
* 2020: "Roll Over You"
* 2021: "Fire and Brimstone"
* 2021: "To Make It Real"
* 2021: "Little Death"
* 2021: "Squid Tattoo"
* 2021: "I Won't Run"
References
External links
Sean Rowe Website
Sean Rowe Facebook
Sean Rowe Twitter
Sean Rowe YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Sean
1975 births
Living people
American folk singers
Singer-songwriters from New York (state)
American folk guitarists
American male guitarists
American male singer-songwriters
Musicians from Troy, New York
Guitarists from New York (state)
21st-century American singers
21st-century American guitarists
21st-century American male singers
Anti- (record label) artists