Biography
Phil Madeira has earned recognition as a singer and songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and author. Well before the term Americana came into use as a genre label, he was already performing music that later fell under that heading. His compositions have been recorded by Buddy Miller, Garth Brooks, Keb Mo', the Civil Wars, and many others, and he continues to write at a steady pace. Long a member and leader of Emmylou Harris's Red Dirt Boys, Madeira stays busy as a session and touring musician and vocalist, contributing to projects by Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, Amy Grant, Mavis Staples, Patty Griffin, and numerous additional artists. Although he issues them only occasionally, his solo albums, among them 3 Horse Shoes, have drawn notice for their tenderness, poignancy, wit, and warmth.
Born and raised in Barrington, Rhode Island, Madeira grew up with parents who encouraged his musical interests. He began with drums while exploring jazz, then added piano, his preferred instrument, along with organ, guitar, and several other stringed instruments. At Taylor University in Indiana he focused on art. After completing his studies he joined the Chicago-based country-rock group Morninglory, handling piano, drums, and vocals. A brief period followed with the Indiana country band Hickory Wind before he continued eastward. Between 1976 and 1978 he played in Phil Keaggy's band alongside Lynn Nichols, Terry Andersen, and Dan Cunningham; the ensemble released the 1977 album Emerging. Although the group disbanded in 1978, Madeira and Keaggy have stayed in touch and collaborated repeatedly. He spent the next several years on gigs and sessions before settling in Nashville in 1983.
His earlier work with Keaggy and ties to the evangelical music community helped him establish himself quickly as an arranger, producer, and session musician on recordings by Mark Heard, Kathy Troccoli, and others while also performing solo shows. In 1986 he released his first album as a leader, Citizen of Heaven, on Refuge Records. Fellow musicians responded to his songs, and he became a frequent session player in the CCM scene; over the following decade he appeared on dozens of releases by Steve Camp, Rich Mullins, Dallas Holm, Ashley Cleveland, the Newsboys, and dc Talk. He produced his first project, Michele Wagner's Heart of the Journey, in 1983, and in 1994 he worked on Charlie Peacock's Everything That's on My Mind and Julie Miller's Invisible Girl. Between 1994 and 1995 he contributed to at least thirty albums. In 1996 he self-released his second album, Off Kilter. Session work continued, and his songs appeared on recordings by Keaggy, Randy Stonehill, Michael Card, Krauss, and Brooks's Chris Gaines project. His third album, the well-received 3 Horse Shoe, came out near the end of the century.
Although he maintained a consistent workload, Madeira reached a new level of visibility across his various roles during the first decade of the twenty-first century. He recorded extensively as a session musician with Buddy and Julie Miller, Tim Finn, Toby Keith, and Little Big Town while also producing projects by Keaggy, Terry Scott Taylor, and the Lost Dogs.
Harris asked him to join the Red Dirt Boys in 2008; the rotating lineup at times included James Burton, Buddy Miller, Ricky Skaggs, and Sam Bush. The year 2012 stood out for its activity and career significance. Madeira supplied music for Merrill Farnsworth's theatrical work Jezebel's Got the Blues...And Other Works of Imagination, with his guitar serving as a character; performances took place in Nashville and New York City. He produced Let Us In: Americana, a benefit collection for The Women and Cancer Fund that presented various artists covering Paul McCartney and featured Miller, Teddy Thompson, Lee Ann Womack, Ollabelle, Holly Williams, Matraca Berg, and the McCrary Sisters. He also finished production on Mercyland: Hymns for the Rest of Us, which included Harris, the Civil Wars, Cindy Morgan, John Scofield, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and North Mississippi Allstars. The project is widely viewed as his most significant achievement and led to the twice-yearly Mercyland Songwriters Workshop.
The next year Madeira issued PM, an album of his own songs together with co-writes involving Berg, Gordon Kennedy, Farnsworth, and others. Jericho Books published his first book, God on the Rocks: Distilling Religion, Savoring Faith, which prompted lively discussion, at times controversial, within evangelical circles. That summer he and production partner Lynn Nichols produced Pawnshop Kings's major-label debut and discovered and produced the Band Perry's earliest recordings. That fall he performed at Willie Nelson's eightieth birthday celebration alongside Jack White, Neil Young, Sheryl Crow, and Leon Russell; the event aired on CMT. In 2014 the Civil Wars's recording of his co-written song "From This Valley" received the Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo. His fifth album, Motorcycle, appeared in 2015 with assistance from Derri Daugherty, Mike Roe, Christy Sutherland, Harris, and others. He followed with Original Sinner in 2016, featuring the McCrary Sisters, Byron House, and additional musicians; he wrote or co-wrote every track except a cover of Blind Willie Johnson's "Soul of a Man." That summer Mercyland: Hymns for the Rest of Us, Vol. 2 came out with contributions from Harris, the Lone Bellow, Scofield, and the Wood Brothers, among others. He also produced Pete Kronowitt's A Lone Voice. In 2017 he played on Catie Curtis's While We're Here and conceived, produced, and performed on Treasure of the Broken Land: The Songs of Mark Heard. He also toured with Harris and John Mellencamp.
Madeira had been developing an album centered on his home state for an extended period. The single "Providence" was released in 2018 and premiered by Rolling Stone Country. Recorded at Nashville's Sound Emporium, the jazz-, blues-, and Americana-inflected project featured guitarists Will Kimbrough, James Hollihan, and Scofield alongside a core group of Madeira on piano and vocals, Chris Donohue on upright bass, and Bryan Owings on drums. The full album appeared on Mercyland in April 2018.
Born and raised in Barrington, Rhode Island, Madeira grew up with parents who encouraged his musical interests. He began with drums while exploring jazz, then added piano, his preferred instrument, along with organ, guitar, and several other stringed instruments. At Taylor University in Indiana he focused on art. After completing his studies he joined the Chicago-based country-rock group Morninglory, handling piano, drums, and vocals. A brief period followed with the Indiana country band Hickory Wind before he continued eastward. Between 1976 and 1978 he played in Phil Keaggy's band alongside Lynn Nichols, Terry Andersen, and Dan Cunningham; the ensemble released the 1977 album Emerging. Although the group disbanded in 1978, Madeira and Keaggy have stayed in touch and collaborated repeatedly. He spent the next several years on gigs and sessions before settling in Nashville in 1983.
His earlier work with Keaggy and ties to the evangelical music community helped him establish himself quickly as an arranger, producer, and session musician on recordings by Mark Heard, Kathy Troccoli, and others while also performing solo shows. In 1986 he released his first album as a leader, Citizen of Heaven, on Refuge Records. Fellow musicians responded to his songs, and he became a frequent session player in the CCM scene; over the following decade he appeared on dozens of releases by Steve Camp, Rich Mullins, Dallas Holm, Ashley Cleveland, the Newsboys, and dc Talk. He produced his first project, Michele Wagner's Heart of the Journey, in 1983, and in 1994 he worked on Charlie Peacock's Everything That's on My Mind and Julie Miller's Invisible Girl. Between 1994 and 1995 he contributed to at least thirty albums. In 1996 he self-released his second album, Off Kilter. Session work continued, and his songs appeared on recordings by Keaggy, Randy Stonehill, Michael Card, Krauss, and Brooks's Chris Gaines project. His third album, the well-received 3 Horse Shoe, came out near the end of the century.
Although he maintained a consistent workload, Madeira reached a new level of visibility across his various roles during the first decade of the twenty-first century. He recorded extensively as a session musician with Buddy and Julie Miller, Tim Finn, Toby Keith, and Little Big Town while also producing projects by Keaggy, Terry Scott Taylor, and the Lost Dogs.
Harris asked him to join the Red Dirt Boys in 2008; the rotating lineup at times included James Burton, Buddy Miller, Ricky Skaggs, and Sam Bush. The year 2012 stood out for its activity and career significance. Madeira supplied music for Merrill Farnsworth's theatrical work Jezebel's Got the Blues...And Other Works of Imagination, with his guitar serving as a character; performances took place in Nashville and New York City. He produced Let Us In: Americana, a benefit collection for The Women and Cancer Fund that presented various artists covering Paul McCartney and featured Miller, Teddy Thompson, Lee Ann Womack, Ollabelle, Holly Williams, Matraca Berg, and the McCrary Sisters. He also finished production on Mercyland: Hymns for the Rest of Us, which included Harris, the Civil Wars, Cindy Morgan, John Scofield, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and North Mississippi Allstars. The project is widely viewed as his most significant achievement and led to the twice-yearly Mercyland Songwriters Workshop.
The next year Madeira issued PM, an album of his own songs together with co-writes involving Berg, Gordon Kennedy, Farnsworth, and others. Jericho Books published his first book, God on the Rocks: Distilling Religion, Savoring Faith, which prompted lively discussion, at times controversial, within evangelical circles. That summer he and production partner Lynn Nichols produced Pawnshop Kings's major-label debut and discovered and produced the Band Perry's earliest recordings. That fall he performed at Willie Nelson's eightieth birthday celebration alongside Jack White, Neil Young, Sheryl Crow, and Leon Russell; the event aired on CMT. In 2014 the Civil Wars's recording of his co-written song "From This Valley" received the Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo. His fifth album, Motorcycle, appeared in 2015 with assistance from Derri Daugherty, Mike Roe, Christy Sutherland, Harris, and others. He followed with Original Sinner in 2016, featuring the McCrary Sisters, Byron House, and additional musicians; he wrote or co-wrote every track except a cover of Blind Willie Johnson's "Soul of a Man." That summer Mercyland: Hymns for the Rest of Us, Vol. 2 came out with contributions from Harris, the Lone Bellow, Scofield, and the Wood Brothers, among others. He also produced Pete Kronowitt's A Lone Voice. In 2017 he played on Catie Curtis's While We're Here and conceived, produced, and performed on Treasure of the Broken Land: The Songs of Mark Heard. He also toured with Harris and John Mellencamp.
Madeira had been developing an album centered on his home state for an extended period. The single "Providence" was released in 2018 and premiered by Rolling Stone Country. Recorded at Nashville's Sound Emporium, the jazz-, blues-, and Americana-inflected project featured guitarists Will Kimbrough, James Hollihan, and Scofield alongside a core group of Madeira on piano and vocals, Chris Donohue on upright bass, and Bryan Owings on drums. The full album appeared on Mercyland in April 2018.
Albums
Singles
