“An introspective, homespun philosopher” – New York Times
Steve Forbert is a true American musical treasure, underscored by the new album, Daylight Savings Time. Like all his albums, it’s saturated with what venerated rock journalist Robert Christgau discerned as his “omnivorously observant” songwriting, marked by Steve’s gift for finding the more profound meaning and magic within everyday moments, as well as his abundant melodic and poetic enchantment
“Like Warren Zevon, Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Bruce Springsteen, Steve Forbert has left his unmistakable imprint on the landscape of American music,” says American Songwriter. As with other esteemed creative souls, his work is marked by his own distinctive qualities, and he speaks genuinely to his listeners.
As Forbert approaches the milestone of his 70th birthday, Daylight Savings Time contemplates and celebrates the proverbial ‘extra hour of daylight’ that comes with the time change. “Yeah, to chirping crickets and to daylight savings time!” he sings on the album’s first single, “Sound Existence,” “The best ain’t yet to come, but you could still get by just fine.”
Daylight Savings Time is Forbert’s third album helmed by producer/engineer Steve Greenwell. Its core components were cut at Greenwell’s studio in Asbury, NJ, with drummer Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors) and keyboard player Rob Clores (Jesse Malin, The Black Crowes, Tom Jones.) Supple bass lines were contributed by Byron House (Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, Al Green, and more.) Gurf Morlix, whose guitar and production gifts were elemental in launching Lucinda Williams into the spotlight, tracked his note-perfect six-string contributions at his home studio just outside Austin, Texas.
When Steve arrived in New York City from his Meridian, Mississippi hometown in 1976, his aim was establishing a lifetime of creating, performing, and recording the songs he’d started writing at age 17 after cutting his teeth as a teen in local rock bands. He slotted seamlessly into the “new folk” revival in such Manhattan clubs as Folk City, The Bitter End, and Kenny’s Castaways, yet at the same time took the stage at CBGB, ground zero of the burgeoning punk/new wave movement. He also busked on the streets of Greenwich Village and in the elegant confines of Grand Central Station.
Forbert chose his solo approach of voice, acoustic guitar, and harmonica, accented by foot stomps, to best approximate the melodic fullness and drive of a band. It inevitably caused him to be tagged as one of the numerous “new Dylans” that emerged in the 1970s. “Evoking the young Dylan has become a cliché for artists of this sort,” observed The New York Times, “but, in this case, Mr. Forbert deserves the evocation.” However, Steve focused on refining his singular musical voice and personality.
He quickly won a major label deal with Nemperor/CBS Records and released his heralded debut, Alive on Arrival, in 1978. His next album, Jackrabbit Slim, won similar acclaim and brought wider renown to Forbert with its #11 pop chart hit “Romeo’s Tune.” It provided the stature for his troubadour existence, which has kept him active ever since as “a striking performer, very much worth seeing and hearing,” according to The New York Times.
Steve has released 20 studio albums featuring his songwriting gifts. His live show is markedly different and genuinely of the moment. It has yielded four live album releases on record labels, plus 14 more concert recordings available exclusively on his website. His oeuvre is further rounded out by a tribute album to his fellow Meridian native, country music founding father Jimmie Rodgers, Any Old Time (nominated for a Best Folk Album Grammy award), Steve’s 2020 LP of interpretations of favorite songs by other talents that have inspired him, Early Morning Rain, and collections of outtakes and early recordings.
Venerable Milwaukee concert promoter Peter Jest perhaps best encapsulated Forbert’s creative presence. “His ability to craft songs that capture the essence of the human spirit is nothing short of remarkable. His voice is a beacon of authenticity in a world saturated with noise.”
Lee Penn Sky
Origin story…
It was a cold January day on a remote highway in Idaho. A young man stopped to help other travelers who were trapped in an overturned truck. As the man was working to rescue them, another car skidded off the road and struck him at highway speed. That man was Lee Penn Sky.
On that grey day, Lee almost lost his life and nearly lost his leg; what he did lose was his fear. Until this day, Lee had been a prolific songwriter but never stepped from behind the shelter of a band into the spotlight himself. The risk of stepping into the spotlight seemed to pale in comparison to nearly losing his life. Slowly as he healed he began writing new songs and to perform solo. Healing from his severe injuries gave Lee time to figure out who he was as a songwriter, time to hone his skills and style.
Fast Forward…
Lee Penn Sky’s songwriting is unadorned, the nature of his writing makes the songs all the more powerful – his metaphorical, vulnerable and often ironic lyrics have a way of getting to the heart of a matter and his presentation is often compared to Colin Hay’s solo work, Gregory Alan Isakov, or Ray LaMontagne. He has a rootsy, direct, powerful and at times, melancholic style of conveying his lyrics which lends to a very dynamic and intimate feel.
Lee Penn Sky has shared the stage with some amazing artists such as John Craigie, Glen Phillips from Toad the Wet Sprocket, Rhett Miller of Old 97’s, the Black Lillies, the Barefoot Movement, , Mipso, Tony Furtado, Paul Cauthern, and Allie Kral from Yonder Mountain String Band. He has been billed with acts such as the Cowboy Junkies, Son Volt, the Old 97’s, the Seldom Scene and many more.
Lee has played at many festivals and won acclaim including being a two time songwriting finalist in the Susanne Millsaps performing songwriter showcase, a finalist in the T.R. Ritchie songwriting contest, playing at the Snowbird Mountain Music Festival, playing the Denver Post Underground Music Showcase, played the Tucson Folk Festival, the Spokane Fall Folk Festival, the Salt Lake Folk and Bluegrass Festival, been booked for the L.A. Americana Music Festival , played the Yellow Pine Harmonica and Music festival, The Summer Festival at Roseberry, The Sawtooth Valley Gathering, The Lava Folk Festival, and appeared repeatedly at the Treefort Music Festival. He has played a number of civic concert series such as the Music from Stanley Series and Boise’s Alive after 5 series. He has been featured on several television shows such as the Park City TV show Soundtracks and Boise Song Talk.
His fourth studio album Prophets and Pretenders will release on July 25, 2025.
Lee Penn Sky released his 3rd album Lean into the Letter on 1/17/20, which chronicles an amazing journey that started with the discovery of a letter sent from Israel in 1958.This letter, found in the back of a drawer in a purse that belonged to Lee’s Great-Grandmother Sadie, was translated at a local synagogue, revealing the author as Sadie’s nephew, Jakob Nistel, thought to have perished with the rest of Sadie’s family in the Holocaust. Jakob detailed the perils of evading the Nazis until the end of the war, hiding underground, to ultimately immigrate to Israel to start a new life. Through the magic of the internet, Lee’s family located Jakob’s descendants in Israel, resulting in Le embarking on a pilgrimage to Israel to connect with their history, his family, and their future. The songs that compose Lean into the Letter thread together Lee’s thoughts and emotions regarding Jakob, his survival in the face of horrific loss, his ongoing and unshakable faith, the discovery of and joy for new family, and ideas of resistance, depression, loss and anger in the context of historic and volatile conflicts that permeate the Holy Land. No Depression magazine named Lee Penn Sky’s Lean into the Letter as one of their favorite albums of the year! http://bit.ly/2EoUXDU
29 Left Down, a 13 song album, was released in March of 2015 to much anticipation and immediate critical acclaim.
Several of Lee’s songs from his debut album Prelude to Hindsight released in 2006, have been played on folk and alt-country radio shows throughout the United States and in Europe.
His song “The Trees” was included on In Our Town: Songs for BOISE 150 in 2013.
Lee is a board member of the Idaho Songwriters Association.
