Gregory Alan Isakov is an indie folk artist whose music captures America’s scenic ruralism and working class ethos. His style can be gritty and reminiscent of the tortured desolateness heard from Woody Guthrie, but it can also be reflective and calming like the music of his contemporary Iron and Wine.
Though Isakov was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, he moved to the United States at a very young age and spent the majority of his childhood growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He got an early start in the music industry and started touring with a band when he was only 16. Later in his career Isakov moved to Colorado and started producing solo material. He drew inspirations from a diverse range of artists including delta-blues revivalist/ jazz aficionado Kelly Joe Phelps, evocative poet and acclaimed folk artist Leonard Cohen, and heartland rock sensation Bruce Springsteen.
Isakov takes musical ideas from a variety of sources, both musically and experiential; however he never comes off sounding redundant or like a simulation of one of his musical idols. He has honed in on a sound uniquely his own. It is weathered, spacious and filled with transformative moods. His music can create an atmosphere in the same vein as pioneering delta blues musician’s like Son House and it can just as likely channel in the slowcore minimalism of artists like Mark Kozelek.
Isakov has released six full-length studio albums including That Sea the Gambler (2007), This Empty Northern Hemisphere (2009), The Weatherman (2013), Gregory Alan Isakov with the Colorado Symphony (2016), Evening Machines (2018), which was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Folk Album, and Appaloosa Bones (2023).
Gregory Alan Isakov tours internationally with his band. When not on the road, he runs a small farm in Boulder County, Colorado. The farm provides produce to its CSA members, local restaurants, as well as to a local food bank.
The War on Drugs
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