[Tony Furtado] mixes bluegrass roots with a mainstream pop streak, easily holding the spotlight, thanks to his restrained virtuosity on acoustic and slide guitar and a warmly engaging voice reminiscent of T Bone Burnett, sans preachiness. PASTE Magazine
It takes guts to start your album off with The Bawds of Euphony, an instrumental banjo tune that draws its cryptic title from the words of a Wallace Stevens poem. But Tony Furtado is a man unafraid to go with his heart when it comes to his music. Produced by the fabulous (and slightly mad) Sean Slade (The Pixies, Radiohead, Dinosaur Jr., Dresden Dolls), Deep Water wanders through a wide array of sentiment; from joy and love, to despair and hopelessness. Recorded in Boston, away from managers, label employees, publicists or loved ones, Sean and Tony came together to make a record Tony truly wanted to create.
Furtado is an extremely skilled musician with a riveting voice who blends rock music with elements of Americana, folk, and pop. His musical reach is broad enough to resonate with fans of Ry Cooder, The Band, Bruce Springsteen, CCR, Bela Fleck and Tom Petty, among others. His extremely impressive, furious slide guitar skills and 25+ years of banjo experience will blow away the musicos; for the lovers of a story in a song, Furtado has a few tales to tell; and to those who are looking for a performance, get ready to be captivated, charmed, and entertained. And on Deep Water you will find yourself pulled in and drawn under.
Show opener Trina Hamlin combines gentle understanding with raw emotion in a way that is, quite simply, captivating from the first note. With a rich, powerful voice, Hamlin reveals a rare confluence of Midwestern innocence, contemplative focus, and raw passion while adding a disarmingly sharp wit in her stage banter. She seamlessly moves from guitar to piano with self accompaniment on harmonica leaving many who have seen her wondering what she can't do. Her music has been heard on CBS, ABC, MTV, Bravo and Lifetime, and in her career she has shared the stage with Taj Majal, Charlie Musslewhite, John Hiatt and Ricki Lee Jones, to name a few.
