Allison Crowe

Allison Crowe (born 16 November 1981) is a singer-songwriter, producer, arranger, pianist, guitarist and fiddler born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada who's made her home in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada. Allison Crowe began performing professionally in 1996, at age 15, doing regular sets in the coffee-houses and bars of Vancouver Island. She began touring internationally in 2001. The artist settled in Canada's Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador at the end of 2005. "I love singing for people," says Crowe. "It's a way to connect and share with others. Communication is crucial. Just being able to do what I do, to write and sing and perform, makes me feel not only alive, but incredibly lucky. Knowing at any moment everything could change, I don't take one second for granted." Today, Crowe's reach is global. The audience for her music videos and song downloads numbers more millions each year. "Allison Crowe has a voice to fall in love with," says UK music industry journal Record of the Day. "She is from Vancouver Island in Canada, descended from Scottish, Irish and Manx stock. She's exactly the sort of artist who can make serious headway on her own label and that's just what she's doing." With Ani DiFranco as a model of integrity, Crowe created her own label. Since 2001, Rubenesque Records Ltd has released a series of critically and commercially successful albums: Lisa's Song, Secrets, Tidings, Live at Wood Hall, This Little Bird, Little Light, Spiral, Tidings Concert, Newfoundland Vinyl, Heavy Graces, Songbook, Souling, Newfoundland Vinyl II, Songbook, Souling, Newfoundland Vinyl 3, and Introducing / Heirs + Grievances. Through recording and touring Allison Crowe has achieved broad popularity, featured by BBC Radio, MOJO magazine and acclaimed Hollywood director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch). In 2013, Allison Crowe appears in "Man of Steel" - an epic science fiction movie adventure featuring Superman. In this blockbuster film, Crowe cameos as a singer/musician in Cassidy's Bar where Clark Kent is working incognito. She performs "Ring of Fire", a song penned by June Carter and Merle Kilgore and made legendary by 'The Man in Black'. “I’m a big Johnny Cash fan. And I’m a big Allison Crowe fan. So the combination to me seemed like an awesome opportunity if we could make it happen,” explains MoS Director Zack Snyder. "The first thing you notice about Allison Crowe is her voice. Rich and dark, it seems to come from a place most singers can only dream of accessing. Then there are the songs. Filled with raw passion and accompanied by Crowe's eloquent piano playing," writes Clodagh O'Connell (The Courier). Hers is a joyous sound: "Elton John meets Edith Piaf." A sensation at the UK's John Lennon Northern Lights Festival, "Canadian angel Alison Crowe gave one of the weekend's most magical moments," says The Scotsman newspaper. Festival Director Mike Merritt describes Crowe as "awesome" and "spine-tingling", noting her performance "put hairs on the back of your neck! She brought the house down." "Ever wonder what it would have been like to listen to a gifted singer/songwriter from Saskatchewan in a small, intimate hall before she became Joni Mitchell? Don't fret the missed opportunity. There's no need to turn back the clock. Check out Allison Crowe," says Robert Reid in The Record. "Allison has a special gift that is so very rare in musicians today. She is true to her mind, heart and spirit," says Ross Hocker, long-time public broadcaster with NPR affiliate WGTE. Hocker, whose musical taste embraces Thelonious Monk, Bela Bartok and Charles Gounod, calls Allison Crowe's live performance "the most honest, heartfelt, and directly intimate concert in my entire life." "In an entertainment world that increasingly genuflects at the altar of instant fame, Crowe seems an anomaly, building her career slowly and carefully," notes Adrian Chamberlain, of Canada's Times Colonist newspaper. "Soulful. Alive. Joyous. Grievous. Real, true, music is what I want to make," says Allison Crowe. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.