Susan Hamlin Music ~ Biography

 

Born into a musical Scots-Irish family in Buffalo, NY, Susan began singing before she could read. They lived for a bit with her Irish-born grandmother (County Offaly) and Susan fell asleep to the songs of the lions down the street at the Buffalo Zoo.

She picked up the guitar around thirteen and woodshedded the songs of the 60s .. folk, bluegrass, the British Invasion and the blues. Susan turned professional her freshman year in college when she was the opener for Dave Van Ronk at Philadelpha's historic Second Fret Coffeehouse. A year later she joined Wax, the art rock band started by former Shillings guitarist Rick Levy that would become THE HOOTERS. Now based in Saratoga Springs, NY, Susan's in the midst of a vibrant traditional music community and the horses she holds dear.

The Call of the Wild

Susan’s father came from farming people on the south shore of Lake Ontario. Summer vacations took to the pre-Cambrian rock and water of the Georgian Bay, Ontario. Susan's passion for wild places led her to climb the Adirondack 46 High Peaks and canoe the waters of New York, New England and Canada. Susan’s love of wild places and the people and animals who live there reveals itself in her critically claimed, roots-inspired originals.

Songs & Tunes

One moment Susan Hamlin's voice is warm and comforting, reminiscent of sitting around a roaring fire. The next moment it's as elusive and bright as watching a shooting star dance through the sky."
- Times Union, Albany, NY

Music was always there. Before and after day jobs, family, the stuff of life. In 1993, Susan went back to music full-time and has since released two critically-acclaimed CDs, performed in concerts (including Caffe Lena, America's oldest folk music venue and the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall) schools, recording sessions and live radio.

Susan has performed / recorded with fiddler George Wilson, 'piper Paddy Keenan (Ireland's Traditional Musician of the Year 2000 and founding member of The Bothy Band), Aiofe Clancy, Highland 'piper Neil Anderson (Seven Nations, Rathkeltair) Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser, John Kirk & Trish Miller, David Kiphuth, Linda Schrade, Dan Berggren and countless members of the American and Irish music community.

She's been a student of Irish born singers Karan Casey and Roisin White as well as guitarists Ged Foley and Zan McLeod (Titanic movie soundtrack) who is a guest artist on her CD "Younger than the Sun." Her original music has been commissioned by the State of New York to promote environmental programs and is on playlists of public and folk music radio across the U.S. and abroad. Her education programs carry the music on to the next generation.