A traveler, tequila lover and Texas Longhorns football fan, Danny Schmidt is a songwriter that draws from his varied life experiences. Although he currently lives in Austin, Texas where he was raised, he got his musical start in Virginia, where he lived after he spent a year in Missouri’s Ozark Mountains. After working on a sawmill and living on a commune for several years, he moved to Charlottesville, where he helped found a musician’s co-op called Acoustic Charlottesville and recorded his first CD Live at the Prism Coffeehouse.
After recording two studio albums, Danny decided he did not like the business of music and returned to Austin to work in film and video production. Unfortunately, just before he arrived, the production company shut down and while looking for steady work, was diagnosed with cancer. Being without health insurance, Danny released Home Recordings, a self-produced CD he sold to fans to offset his mounting medical debt. The album did its work and within the year, Danny was healthy, debt-free and back as a full-time musician.
A prolific writer and busy touring performer, Danny has recorded three albums in the last four years and has won fans across North America and Europe, where he has toured several times. His 2008 release Little Grey Sheep was a simple recording he did in the home of Charlottesville musician Paul Curreri but was picked up by Waterbug Records and became one of the most popular albums on folk and Americana radio. This combined with his winning of the 2007 Kerrville New Folk Award caught the attention of legendary roots label Red House Records, who was hearing a lot about this young songwriter. After being blown away by performances at the 2008 Folk Alliance and South By Southwest (SXSW) Conferences, Red House signed Danny Schmidt to the label, adding to their impressive roster which includes such notable acts as Greg Brown and Jorma Kaukonen and hot rising stars like The Wailin’ Jennys, Meg Hutchinson and Storyhill.
Danny’s Red House debut Instead the Forest Rose to Sing was recorded in Austin by Mark Hallman (Eliza Gilkyson, David Byrne, Ani Difranco) and is a rootsy mix of songs exploring people’s varying perspectives on wealth and the joys and sorrows that accompany it. In support of the release, Danny will be touring extensively in North America and Europe.
When not on the road, Danny lives in Austin where he likes to cook, brew beer and wine and take in as many Longhorns games as he can.
