Jefferson Hamer started performing on music-club stages around Boulder, Colorado in the late 90’s, where he was immersed in the thriving bluegrass and jamband scene. He toured constantly on the national circuit, first with his original acoustic trio Single Malt Band, and later in the electric country-rock outfit Great American Taxi. After a decade spent living and working in the West, he moved to New York, seeking a broader audience for his original songs. As a newcomer to the big city, he found his way to the traditional Irish and Appalachian Old-Time sessions of lower Manhattan, where his ear, voice, and acoustic guitar playing earned him a seat alongside the fiddles, banjos, and pints of stout. His musicality reflects this breadth of influences, and his own songs echo the distilled melodies and lyricism of British, Irish, and American traditional music. In addition to his own full-band and solo shows, which are often flogged to life by unaccompanied electric guitar, he plays and sings with a decorated roster of performing artists including Anais Mitchell, Kristin Andreassen, Tao Seeger, Tashina Clarridge, and Laura Cortese. His 2004 release “Left Wing Sweetheart” earned a 4-star review from Marquee Music Magazine, who wrote it “sounds like a forgotten Gram Parsons release suddenly discovered.”
Discography:
- 2001 – Single Malt Band (songs, guitar, vocals)
- 2004 – KC Groves “Something Familiar” (harmony vocals, banjo)
- 2005 – Jefferson Hamer “Left Wing Sweetheart” (songs, guitar, vocals)
- 2007 – Great American Taxi “Streets of Gold” (songs, guitar, vocals)
- 2009 – Reed Foehl “Once an Ocean” (songs, guitar, co-producer)
- 2010 – Laura Cortese and Jefferson Hamer “Two Amps, One Microphone” (songs, guitar, vocals)
Current Projects:
- Singer / Songwriter – original songs and traditional arrangements for voice and electric/acoustic guitar, solo and with full band. Collaborations with Tashina Clarridge, Erik Deutsch, Kristin Andreasson, KC Groves, Sally Van Meter, Jordan Moretti, and more
- Laura Cortese and Jefferson Hamer – duo with electric/acoustic fiddle and guitar, harmony vocals
- Anais Mitchell – duo with harmony vocals and acoustic and electric guitar, co-arrangements of traditional ballads of Britain, Scotland, and Ireland
- Reed Foehl – duo and full band with harmony vocals and acoustic and electric guitar
- Tao Seeger – electric guitar and harmony vocals
- Murphy Beds – traditional Irish songs and tunes, with Eamon O’Leary, Ryan McGiver, Cleek Schrey
- The Dolly Sods – alt-folk and old-time, with Stephanie Coleman and Cassandra Jenkins
Past Projects
- Great American Taxi - lead guitar and vocals, with Vince Herman, Chad Staehly, Jake Coffin, Brian Schey, Edwin Hurwitz
- Wayfarers – tenor banjo and vocals, with Jessie Burns, Sean Sutherland, Christel Rice
- Single Malt Band – acoustic guitar and vocals, with Jordan Moretti, William Downes
- Dangerfields – electric guitar and vocals, with KC Groves, Oliver Craven, Sharon Gilchrist, Eben Grace
Other Projects
- Document – an independent feature film by Michael Brody, with original music written by Jefferson Hamer, Reed Foehl, and others
