TIM GRIMM and wife JAN LUCAS will share their lovely selves in an evening of music and stories.

Tim  is a bit of a Rennaisance man in the performing arts world. He has for the past 15 years, blended his love for songwriting, travel, and the storytelling of acting (theatre, film and television). His most recent recording, THE TURNING POINT, produced the #1 song on Folk radio in 2014– KING OF THE FOLKSINGERS. It was a particularly gratifying honor, given the song is a tribute to Tim’s friend and musical icon, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. Tim’s history with Ramblin’ Jack goes back 30 years– beginning with a bicycle ride that led to The Newport Folk Festival…. Tim contributing liner notes to Jack’s Grammy winning album, The South Coast (1995)… Jack’s recording Buffalo Skinners with Tim on Tim’s album, Coyote’s Dream (2003)….and now, most recently KING OF THE FOLKSINGERS.

Top Albums, Songs, Artists of 2014 (FOLKDJ-L)

After college (Earlham), Grimm pursed an MFA in Theatre at The University of Michigan and from there worked in Regional Theatre, settling in Chicago. In Chicago, in addition to his theatre work, he studied briefly at the Old Town School of Folk Music and began writing songs and performing. He put together a band, Tim Grimm and The True Hearts and released 2 cds–True Heart, Kind Mind and Broken Down Palace. At which point, “Hollywood called”, and Tim put down his guitar and pen, and didn’t really pick them up for close to 10 years.
After several years (1990s) working in Los Angeles (where he co-starred for 2 seasons on the NBC drama Reasonable Doubts, worked on Clear and Present Danger with Harrison Ford,  and appeared in several films and tv projects), Tim returned home to Indiana.  He grew up in the woods and small town settings of southern Indiana, son of schoolteachers and grandson of farmers, and his return home was a conscious choice to live a life of significance rather than one of “success’.  He now lives with his wife on  80 acres close to where he grew up. Tim’s songs are full of the rural rumblings that have shaped his life—rich with descriptive details, and sung with warmth and intimacy—recognizing the inextinguishable national romance with the idea of the family farm and the vanishing landscape of rural America.  He released the album, HEART LAND in 2000, and on the strength of that recording, was named 2000’s “BEST DISCOVERY in Roots/Americana Music” by The Chicago Sun-Times. His albums COYOTES DREAM and NAMES, led to his being named “2004 MALE ARTIST of The Year” by the Freeform American Roots DJs.
He has released 9 solo albums since 2000 (including the newest- THE TURNING POINT), and 2 collaborations- AMBER WAVES (with Jason Wilber) and WILDERNESS PLOTS.

In 2005, Grimm was asked to compose music and act in a production of THE GRAPES OF WRATH at Indiana Repertory Theatre and Syracuse Stage in New York. His song from the play–THE PEOPLES HIGHWAY, made it onto his next album, THE BACK FIELDS, which was subsequently named Americana Album of the Year by the Just Plain Folks Music Awards– the world’s largest independent music awards.

In 2007, Grimm put together a concept cd with several of the Midwest’s finest songwriter’s— Krista Detor, Carrie Newcomer, Tom Roznowski, and Michael White. The recording, Wilderness Plots, was drawn from the short stories of noted author, Scott Russell Sanders, and explored the settling of the American Wilderness in the Ohio River Valley Region between The Revolutionary War and The Civil War. Two PBS programs have explored Wilderness Plots– the first, a documentary on the story and song, and the second a full Wilderness Plots- In Concert (2012). Produced by WTIU in Bloomington, IN, both productions were nominated for EMMY AWARDS. Tim continued to write songs based on Sander’s writings and released the album, WILDERNESS SONGS AND BAD MAN BALLADS in 2011. At about this same time, Grimm also released a tribute album with songs of Tom Paxton, entitled, THANK YOU, TOM PAXTON.

“Now lets get this straight. Just because an artist covers “Blowin in the Wind” does not mean he sounds like Bob Dylan. Just wanted to get that straight from the start. “Holding Up The World” is Grimms fifth solo album and his first for Corazong, and if the quality of his previous outings are only half of the songs here, then I’ve been missing out on a real treat. Isnt it annoying when an album comes along from an artist that youve never heard of and you really like, only to find out they’ve been around for ages. But I suppose it now means I can explore some of his old stuff with the thought that its gonna be pretty good.
Recording songs live with just voice and guitar and then adding layers of instruments that fit the song, Grimm has delivered a mighty fine modern folk record.

The title track opens the album and you know what? It just gets ya! There and then, it grabs you and doesn’t let go. My god it’s beautiful. Instantly hummable, with lyrics that engage your thoughts and make you both sad and happy simultaneously. What initially seems like a love song to his wife, like all the best songs it also says something else. But what is it? …Holding up the world, so many things get broken, when you’re holding up the world, you can’t protect your heart….

Grimm is a storyteller, up there with the likes of Crowell, Earle and Jackson Browne. He sings of families being lost, the loss of rural America, returnees from Basra, slaves escaping a horrendous life, floods, yearning, anguish and the reason why people faced with such adversity carry on whilst being totally empathetic toward their plight or feelings. He also brings in other music genres within the Americana field like some Appalachian on “Or Bust”. Bit like Woody Guthrie. Supported by Jason Wilber from John Prine’s band, and label mate Krista Detor, Grimm has restored my faith in today’s folk music. It was starting to wane, but this guy has bought it back.
I’m not going to single out any other tracks for praise. I can’t, because they’re all excellent. It’s taken me ages to get around to reviewing this album and that’s simply because Ive been too busy listening to it.
Oh yes, he does do a version of “Blowin in the Wind”. But it is a good one. ‘
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