meg hutchinson Lyric-based, contemporary acoustic songwriter. Influences include poet Mary Oliver and performing songwriters David Gray, Patty Griffin, Greg Brown and Shawn Colvin. Originally from rural western-most Massachusetts, Hutchinson is now based in the city of Boston. She recently signed with Red House Records and will release her new album “Come Up Full” on March 4, 2008. QUOTES “A master of introspective ballads filled with understated yearning and an exquisite sense of metaphor, Hutchinson delivers her songs with a gently affecting poetic grace.”  - Performing Songwriter “songs that keep running through your head long after the music’s stopped… Hutchinson’s songwriting belies her age.” - The Cape Cod Journal “Hutchinson asserts her fierce, probing intelligence and touching curiosity about the vagaries of the human heart…It is understated, intelligent folk at its finest.”  - Metroland “In a brooding sea of inscrutable urban songwriters, her whispery, knowable voice feels like it’s sharing her secrets with us.  Set to elegant, free-floating melodies that feel both modern and rooted, her lyrics are always seeking, if not actually finding, hope at the end of life’s dark tunnels”  - Boston Globe NEW ALBUM COME UP FULL Red House Records announces the March 4, 2008 release of Come Up Full, the label debut of Boston-based songwriter Meg Hutchinso.  Although only 29, she has already won numerous songwriting awards in the United States, Ireland and the UK, including renowned competitions at Merlefest, Mountain Stage NewSong Folk Festival, Kerrville Folk Festival and Rocky Mountain Folks Fest.  Hutchinson’s new CD of original songs confirms that she is one of the great voices of the next generation of acoustic musicians. Come Up Full is a lyrically rich record about encountering good things when you least expect them.  Amidst war, loss and heartbreak, Hutchinson’s songs hold the promise of love, hope and homecomings. In songs like “Ready,” “Home” and “Come Up Full” she sings about our universal ability to overcome life’s most trying times.  With a poet’s sensibility, Hutchinson’s songs are laced with a weathered but unselfconscious optimism, a love of language and of the natural world. An honest writer, Hutchinson does not shy away from the hard topics.  In “America (Enough),” she explores American culture, excess and war by writing about how things taken to an extreme almost become their opposite.  Another timely song on the new album is her “Song for Jeffrey Lucey,” based on the real story of Lance Corporal Jeffrey Lucey, who returned from Iraq, suffering from severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  “I heard about Jeffrey Lucey and was devastated by his story but incredibly moved by how his family spoke out about PTSD,” Hutchinson says.  “I think we all need to recognize sorrow, both the grief of a country at war and our own very private sorrows, in order to get through them.”  Whether tackling political issues or matters of the heart, Hutchinson does exactly that—recognizes the pain that gives our lives a greater depth and a deeper appreciation of joy.  She writes about human resilience and maintains that no matter what happens in our lives, our nets can still come up full. Produced by Crit Harmon (Lori McKenna, Martin Sexton, Mary Gauthier), Come Up Full combines Hutchinson’s raw storytelling folk style with tasteful production, showcasing her unique alto vocals that have been the hallmark of her music. Spanish-style guitar fills and light organ parts create a record that is wistful and warm, poetic and radio friendly. Garnering a loyal following during the last few years, Meg Hutchinson has won fans through her lyric-driven folk/pop songs and riveting live performances. In support of her new album, she will be touring solo and with a slew of greats, including Catie Curtis, John Gorka and Susan Werner.  For a full tour schedule, visit her website at www.meghutchinson.com BIOGRAPHY Meg Hutchinson was raised in the small town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts by English teachers, so it is no surprise that she is a writer with an uncanny perceptiveness about the natural world and the human condition.  Growing up in the Berkshire Mountains, the woods and ponds were her childhood muses, as were the songwriters she listened to, like Greg Brown and Joni Mitchell.  When she inherited her grandmother’s 1957 Martin guitar at age eleven, her love of words found an inspiring instrument, and there was no turning back.  “Songwriting is not something I chose, I’ve just somehow always known that this is what I love to do.  This is what I can’t help but do,” she says.  Although only 29 years old, Hutchinson has garnered much critical attention for her unique alto vocals and resonating, razor-sharp lyrics, and her sophisticated folk/pop songwriting has endeared her to such acclaimed songwriters as Susan Werner, John Gorka and Catie Curtis, folk greats with whom she will be touring in support of her new album on Red House Records Come Up Full. After graduating from college with a degree in creative writing, Hutchinson quit her longtime job on an organic vegetable farm and settled in Boston.  In between gigs at pubs, coffeehouses and train stations, she won a Kerrville New Folk Award (2000) and was nominated for a Boston Music Award for her first studio album Against the Grey.  She went on to win awards at the Rocky Mountain Folks Fest, the Telluride Troubadour Songwriter’s Showcase in Colorado and The Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merlefest in North Carolina, all in the course of a year, causing national publications like Performing Songwriter to take notice, calling her “A master of introspective ballads filled with understated yearning and an exquisite sense of metaphor.” After recording her live CD Any Given Day in 2001, and continuing to build a fan base throughout the Northeast, she went into the studio with esteemed producer Crit Harmon (Lori McKenna, Martin Sexton, Mary Gauthier) to record The Crossing.  Released in 2004, this album was enthusiastically received by critics and DJ’s across the country, catching the attention of renowned folk/roots label Red House Records.  Label president and veteran producer Eric Peltoniemi knew there was something special in the young singer-songwriter, “Meg won me over with the profound yet easy depth of her lyrics—rich words married to melodies I just can’t get out of my head.”  Knowing her songs could stand alongside those by Red House heavyweights Eliza Gilkyson and John Gorka, Peltoniemi signed Hutchinson to the label.  Teaming up again with Crit Harmon, Hutchinson recorded her Red House debut Come Up Full over the course of more than a year in Boston. Combining her raw storytelling folk style with tasteful, intimate production, the album showcases her sweet, earthy vocals that have been the hallmark of her music.  Spanish-style guitar fills and light organ parts create a radio-friendly record that is wistful and warm.  Come Up Full is a glimpse of the mature arrival of a brilliant songwriter whom listeners will one day boast they listened to way back when and confirms that Meg Hutchinson is indeed one of the great voices of the next generation of acoustic musicians. For more information about Meg Hutchinson and her upcoming tour dates, please visit www.meghutchinson.com FESTIVAL & CONFERENCES 2008 Sisters Folk Festival & Song School 2007, 2006, 2003 International Folk Alliance Conference 2003-2008 Cutting Edge of the Campfire Festivals 2005 Mountain Stage NewSong Folk Festival 2006 Plymouth Folk & Blues Festival 2006 Great Waters Music Festival 2006 Halifax Campfire Folk Festival 2005, 2004 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival & Workshops 2005, 2001 Telluride Bluegrass Music Festival 2005, 2001 Rocky Mountain Folks Fest 2005, 2001 Kerrville Folk Festival 2005 NXNW Conference 2004 Pittsfield Folk Festival 2004 NEMO Conference 2003 New England Regional Folk Alliance Conference 2001 Merlefest AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS 2006 Starbucks Music Makers Competition Winner, 2006 CMEAS East Anglia Tour in UK Showcase Performer, 2006 Folk Alliance Conference Austin TX Finalist, 2005 John Lennon Songwriting Competition Finalist, 2005 Billboard Songwriting Competition Finalist, 2005 USA Songwriting Competition "Artist Most Wanted" 2005 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Winner, 2005 Mountain Stage NewSong Folk Festival Finalist, 2005 Telluride Bluegrass Music Festival Finalist, 2005 Rocky Mountain Folks Fest Finalist, 2005 Kerrville Folk Festival Showcase Performer, 2005 NXNE Conference Main Stage Showcase Performer, 2004 NEMO Conference Winner, 2004 Reach Emerging Artists in Ireland Tour Showcase Performer, 2003 Folk Alliance Conference Nashville TN Nominated, 2001 Boston Music Award for Best Debut Singer-Songwriter Album Winner, 2001 New Folk Award at Kerrville Folk Festival Winner, 2001 Rocky Mountain Folks Fest Showcase Performer, 2001 Telluride Troubadour Songwriter's Winner, 2001 Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at Merlefest EXAMPLE VENUES The Guthrie Center, Great Barrington, MA Club Helsinki, Great Barrington, MA The Iron Horse, Northampton, MA Tupelo Hall, Londonderry, NH Club Passim, Cambridge, MA The Paradise, Boston, MA Somerville Theatre, Somerville, MA Stone Soup, Pawtucket, RI Godfrey Daniels, Bethlehem, PA Tin Angel, Philadelphia, PA Jammin' Java, Washington DC The Living Room, New York, NY The Turning Point, Piermont, NY Caffe Lena, Saritoga Springs, NY PRESS KIT One-Sheet Meg Hutchinson (.pdf) Image Downloads Photo Credit: Desdemona Burgin click to save target file... Official Photo Full Color (Hi Res) Official Photo B&W (Hi Res) "Come Up Full" Album Cover Art Alernate Horizontal (Hi Res) Alernate Vertical (Hi Res) Posters & Flyers "Come Up Full" Blank Poster (11x17) "Come Up Full" Blank Poster (8.5x11) Hutchinson 2UP BW Street Team Flyers Approved Sound Sample < file to come > Official Web Site www.meghutchinson.com MySpace www.myspace.com/meghutchinson Sonicbids Press Kit www.sonicbids.com/hutchinson CONTACTS Management & Marketing Michelle Conceison Market Monkeys P 617.233.1893 F 617.507.6047 michelle @ marketmonkeys.com Label, Publicity & Radio Ellen Stanley Red House Records promotions @ redhouserecords.com P 651.644.4161 F 651.644.4248 501 W. Lynnhurst Avenue St. Paul, MN 55104 Booking Lori Peters Mad Mission Agency P 413.268.3398 F 413.727.8026 lori @ madmissionagency.com 2 Wing Hill Road Williamsburg, MA 01096 Street Team Management Katie Wells Market Monkeys katie @ marketmonkeys.com DISCOGRAPHY 2008 Come Up Full 2007 True North (Single) 2004 The Crossing 2001 Any Given Day 1999 Against The Grey 1996 Meg Hutchinson