Career Highlights:
Driven by deeply personal yet universal narratives based on experiences as a working Nashville songwriter, the collection showcases his three unique musical vibes – acoustic singer/songwriter, rock and roller and the classic California country sound inspired by influences like Neil Young and Tom Petty. Reed previews his first release in eight years with two infectious tracks, the high energy, gospel inflected pop/rocker “Too Bright to Fade Away” and the soulful, gently reflective ballad “Bells of Brooklyn.”
While there’s no way Reed could have anticipated the larger impact of these thought-provoking tunes, both can speak powerfully to people in this frightening, uncertain era of COVID-19. “Too Bright To Fade Away” rolls like an encouraging love letter to oneself. Everyone can find inspiration in the lines: “But you’ve got a light too bright to fade away. . .We’ll keep, we’ll keep holding on,” the latter which he repeats backed by a rousing choir. Reed penned the gritty yet uplifting, highly observational “Bells of Brooklyn” as an ode to his years living and working on his music career in NYC. He sings, “It took a lot of wrong steps before I could get right here/And as the bells of Brooklyn are ringing loud and clear/I wonder how I got right here.” The key line which has the potential to inspire countless listeners through these challenging times: “What don’t kill you makes you stronger later on.”
For the past five years, the grand prize winner of the Telluride Troubadour contest immersed himself in the Nashville songwriting scene, learning the finely detailed art of collaboration and getting his tunes cut by renowned indie artists. At first, he felt like he was back in “college all over again, except this time, I actually enjoyed going to class. I’d write 5-8 songs a week, sometimes two or three a day. It made me unafraid to write with anyone or about anything.”
While grateful for the opportunities that notable publishers sent his way, the artist in him was itching to get back in the studio and record his own songs. Those five years commuting back and forth to Music City from Atlanta and now Washington, DC laid the perfect foundation for his triumphant return in 2020 with his upcoming album Time the River.
Though he had previously recorded and released two albums – Higher Ground (2004) and Piece By Piece (2008) – his musical fortunes turned in 2009 when he moved from his hometown of Destin, Florida to Boston. Within months, he captured the Grand Prize of the prestigious New York Songwriters Circle and was a winner of The Mountain Stage New Song Competition in West Virginia. During this period of great change, growth and struggle, he wrote all the songs for his critically acclaimed third album, Creatures of the Heart. He quickly moved to NYC, found an ally in British producer Iestyn Polson (David Gray, David Bowie) and the two handpicked the great musicians who helped flesh out Reed’s vision. For Time The River, Reed found an equally simpatico producer, Nashville based Jesse Thompson, who shared the singer’s vision that the album should be organic and feature live performances.
Reed has opened for or appeared on stage with Hall and Oates, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Shawn Colvin, The Indigo Girls, Mat Kearney, The All American Rejects, The Punch Brothers, Glen Hansard, Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers, Tim Reynolds (Dave Matthews Band), Vienna Teng, Katie Hertzig, Shawn Mullins, Ryan Montbleau, Jessie Harris, Matt Duke, Caleb Hawley, Liz Longley, The Whalers and many others. In June 2012 he performed at the 39th Telluride Blue Grass Festival before his largest audience ever, after winning the Telluride Troubadour Contest. His album “Creatures of the Heart” reached number 22 on the I-Tunes Singer Songwriter charts prior to his national tour opening for NBC’s The Voice winner Javier Colon in March of 2012. In 2010 he played in 38 states mostly in small venues, colleges and listening rooms touring with Caleb Hawley and as a solo artist. His songs “Ready to Run” and “Goodnight Los Angeles” were in rotation on “The Loft” for four months on Sirius Satellite Radio from October of 2008 through January 2009 . Reed has co-written with John Oates and performed on stage with him numerous times. Oates sang background vocals on his last album, “Piece by Piece”. He considers Oates a mentor and a strong influence on his career.
Awards:
2012 Grand Prize Winner: Telluride Troubadour Contest
2010 Best Song Runnerup: AAA/Alternative The International Acoustic Music Awards for “The Beast Within”
2010 Best Song Nominee: “Piece by Piece” The Independent Music Awards
2009 Grand Prize Winner: New York Songwriters Circle Competition
2009 Co- Winner: Mountain Stage New Song Competition
2008 Winner: Best Singer Songwriter, Beachcomber Music Awards, Destin Florida
2007 finalist: American Idol Songwriters Competition for his song “I Saw Stars”. It was one of 20 picked from 25,000 entrants nationwide.
ASCAP Award Plus Recipient: 2004-2005
International Songwriting Competition: finalist two times
Latest Reviews:
“Too Bright to Fade Away, reminding us of how epic a simple songcraft can be in the right setting.”
“Waddle is in a category of his own.”
“Waddle’s smoky lead vocal is the compass…”
“In his signature smoky voice, singer/songwriter Reed Waddle issues a bold opening statement as we listen in on the first few bars of the new song “Too Bright to Fade Away,” which also serves as our collective first peek at his 2020 album Time the River. His words are as formidable as the rollicking drumbeat behind him is, but between the two elements, there’s no question which is the more stirring to behold. Waddle’s voice complements the mood of his verses all too brilliantly in “Too Bright to Fade Away,” but if you think that this is the only reason why I’d deem his latest work to be some of the best his career has ever produced, you’re in for quite the surprise this season.”
“More poetic and more emotional than practically any other act playing right now. In a period of pop stars devoid of any emotion, the soulful lyrics of Waddle shine through as a bright spot on a barren plain. By all means, check out Reed Waddle as he and his band plays through the United States in support of his new release .”
-James McQuiston of Neufutr Magazine
“Waddle’s larger than life strength is his diversification & range – there’s no putting him into a “category” because he changes sounds from song to song. In the hands of a less skilled artist, that could serve to disjoint an album, but for Waddle, the result is pure butter.”
- JustAnotherSong.com