Claire Lynch

Lynch possesses a soaring vocal timbre frequently likened to Nanci Griffith and Alison Krauss, allowing her to merge an early affinity for mainstream songcraft with a deep commitment to bluegrass traditions. She entered the world in Kingston, New York, before her family relocated to Hazel Green, Alabama once she reached age twelve. Early on, Joni Mitchell and the Beatles shaped her musical outlook as she performed informally alongside her sisters, yet wider recognition arrived only after she joined the Front Porch String Band as lead singer. That ensemble quickly earned a reputation as one of Alabama’s most tireless acts. Their independently issued debut, Smilin’ at You, appeared in 1977 and was followed later that same year by Country Rain. In 1981 the group delivered a self-titled Rebel album that reached national distribution, while Lynch simultaneously issued her own debut solo effort, Breakin’ It, on the independent Ambush imprint.

She and her then-husband Larry Lynch dissolved the Front Porch String Band in 1982. Nevertheless, her compositions continued to circulate and were soon recorded by Stephanie Davis on “Moonlighter,” Patty Loveless on “Some Morning Soon,” and Kathy Mattea on “Hills of Alabam’.” These placements led Polygram to offer Lynch a staff-writing agreement. The Front Porch String Band reassembled in refreshed form in 1990; the revitalized lineup unveiled its return recording, Lines & Traces, the following year. Lynch’s second solo project, Friends for a Lifetime, surfaced in 1993 and was reissued in 1995 as a gospel-focused collection. Her 1995 release Moonlighter earned a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. Silver and Gold arrived in 1997, Lovelight appeared in spring 2000, and Out in the Country followed a year later.

In 2005 she established the Claire Lynch Band. After a six-year recording absence she returned with New Day on Rounder Records in March 2006, then issued a second Rounder album, Whatcha Gonna Do, in 2009. Departing Rounder after an extended association, she signed with Nashville’s Compass Records in January 2013 and delivered her ninth solo album, Dear Sister, on that label later the same year. Under the Claire Lynch Band banner she and her colleagues issued their first holiday collection, simply titled Holiday!, in 2015. For her subsequent endeavor Lynch recruited Alison Brown as producer for North by South, an album consisting solely of material by Canadian songwriters. Issued in 2016, the project included contributions from Jerry Douglas and Béla Fleck on interpretations of songs by Ron Sexsmith, Gordon Lightfoot, Lynn Miles, and additional writers.