Her songs, like her voice cast a lasting spell, at times drawing the listener into a world of unquestionably heartfelt emotion."

— The Washington Post

Ms. Wainwright has a powerful, earth mother voice that she pours into unexpectededly sensitive blends of folk, jazz, blues and funk."

— The New York Times

Happy New Year! I love the date of this new year – 01/01/10 – and I love that we had a full, blue moon on New Years Eve. And I love it that Sloan is the first artist featured in this brand new year. I have a hope that it will be a great new year. Happy New Year, Sloan. Happy New Year to us all.

Yes, Sloan is from the famous musical Wainwright family which includes her brother Loudon, her nephew Rufus, and many more. But for me, it was Sloan’s music that introduced me to the rest of the Wainwrights. Sloan is an outstanding and original singer with a rich contralto voice. When she sings, I can close my eyes and feel connected to the earth – to something strong and deep and loving. Her musical style melds the best of pop, folk, jazz, and blues to create a soulful hybrid.
Unseen Guide is the first song of Sloan’s that I remember going crazy for. There is something about the rhythm that just grabs me and her voice – Lordy, I love her voice – the way she savors each word as she sings it. When I first heard Less Is More, I had to listen over and over. The word play thrilled me and the melody reminded me of Joni with its gymnastic-like line. Cool Morning is my favorite song of gratitude – painting with flowers, she lets us see the colors and take in the fragrance.

Sloan’s intro to Between the Lines makes me laugh, since for years she owned a very popular bakery in her hometown. The next video was recorded at The Royal Albert Hall this holiday season. I love the message of this Queen song with the very important line, “only for one night!” The last video is a song called Meet the Sun Halfway. This song was written by Sloan, Terri Allard, Craig Carothers, Penny Nichols, and me. That’s right, five songwriters! Sloan, Penny and I have all recorded very different versions of this song. I love them all.

You can visit Sloan’s website by clicking on her photo and if you want to download her great music, the iTunes button above will take you right to her page.

Between the Lines