November 05, 2003
Winslow Willard gaining recognition
Winslow Willard, the socially conscious and spiritually in-tune singer/songwriter behind Lunarleaf, has been hitting the bricks hard as of late and the fruits of his labor are ripe for the tasting. Recently, Winslow’s most ambitious quasi-theatrical release, “The Allergic Emergence of Spring,” garnered the “Best Unsigned Southeast Artist” award from Z-97 FM out of the Milledgeville area. The album is sophisticated adult contemporary jazz-folk fused with pop elements. He has some fun, he gets melancholy, and gives us reason to hope in one of the most unsung local releases of the past few years. Winslow just returned from a tour up the East Coast and had this to say about the recent trip and the accolades...
“My trip was fun. I played Dewey Beach Music festival in Delaware -- awesome
time -- and met lots of bands from all over.
“Then I played Philly, Hoboken, N.J., then New York City at Tobacco Road. Then I went up to Boston to scout out the scene, drop off CDs etc. Very cool scene best I can tell. Then two shows in Baltimore including Breastfest and two more in New Jersey.
“All in all, exhausting but invigorating if that is possible.
“The album award was very encouraging -- nice to get some recognition for the energy that went into the record.
“On the horizon are more solo tours further from the roost and more band gigs in town. Also, most definitely a new album is on the near horizon.”
Your chance to catch Winslow for the first time in some time locally is right around the corner. He’s slated to fill the room with sound at the Healing Arts Centre on Prince Avenue just east of the Milledge-Prince intersection on Friday. The beautiful space is one of the best-kept secrets in Athens.