Willy Porter

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Photo Credit: Deone Jahnke
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Singer-Songwriter

It's been a few miles across America, Canada, the UK and Europe since Willy Porter released his debut CD, "The Trees Have Soul" in 1990. Back then he traveled in his Volkswagen selling discs out of the trunk, mesmerizing audiences with his guitar chops and original tunes.Porter became a top-10 staple on Triple AAA radio stations around the country with the song "Angry Words". This radio success established Porter as a nationally recognized artist, and was followed by"Dog Eared Dream" which highlighted his pop songwriting sensibility and also his acoustic guitar work that would grow into a style uniquely his own — a mixture of Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, Richard Thompson and Lindsey Buckingham.

National tours with legendary artists Paul Simon, Sting, Jeff Beck and Jethro Tull saw Porter brought seemingly disparate elements together on his eponymous self-titled disc, "Willy Porter." The album combined his fiery acoustic guitar work with career defining songwriting and vocal work — equal parts rock muscle, and folk-based intimacy. Tours and efforts after that clearly showcased his mastery of the acoustic guitar in his most comfortable environment — his live show. He continued to stretch over the next couple of years morphing performance art, live audio looping, and improvisational sketch comedy into his solo whistle stops. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, recently described Porter's musicianship this way: "Willy Porter's music demonstrates admirably that the technical excellence of his guitar-playing will never overwhelm the essence of the song itself. In perfect symbiosis, the disciplines of performance and songwriting combine together to create the unique work for which he is admired by professional peers and audiences alike. Oh — and a damn fine singer too. Thank goodness he doesn't play the flute." Porter lives in Milwaukee, WI and is married with two children.

Twitter Username: 
@WillyPorter