CHICAGO, IL. (Top40 Charts/ Western Publicity) As a songwriter whose songs have been featured on Grammy winning albums and earned him a few platinum records, the fruits of
Kevin Bowe's labors are often given to other performers, but not this time. Natchez Trace is a personal compendium of rock, country and folk tunes that reflect his worldview and when it came time to record them, he did not mess around. Bowe invited friends including Nels Cline (Wilco),
Scarlett Rivera of Bob Dylan's band, Chris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets, Freedy Johnston, Chuck Prophet and Tim O'Reagan of the Jayhawks to participate, among others. He collaborated with Paul Westerberg for "Everybody Lies", one of the album's highlights, it is now available on Rollingstone.com here: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/everybody-lies-by-kevin-bowe-featuring-paul-westerberg-free-mp3-20120928
"…nothing short of an Americana masterpiece." -St. Cloud Times, naming
Kevin Bowe's new album "Natchez Trace" the best album of 2012
After the release,
Kevin and Prophets drummer Pete Anderson joined Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson in the studio to record 4 cover songs for the upcoming album to benefit Mats guitarist Slim Dunlop and offset his medical costs. It was the first time they'd recorded since 2006 and the story was picked up by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Paste, Stereogum, SPIN, Pollstar, AV Club and dozens of others.
Growing up in the '80s Minneapolis scene that produced Prince, Husker Du and The Replacements was a heady time, and Bowe played in several local punk bands before meeting uber-producer
David Z (Prince, Fine Young Cannibals, Big Head Todd). He began writing for other artists - his first cut "
Riverside" on Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Warner Brothers debut Ledbetter Heights went platinum and led to a publishing deal. He became the first new writer signed by legends Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in over twenty years. He went on to write for
Jonny Lang on two platinum albums on A&M which led to songwriting collaborations with Leo Kottke, Robben Ford, Paul Westerberg (and the lead guitar spot in his band),
Dan Wilson of Semisonic, Chuck Prophet, John Mayall and Delbert McClinton among others. Hooking up with
Etta James was a career highlight, Bowe wrote four songs on her Grammy-winning album, Let's Roll.
Kevin's songs have been featured in The Sopranos, The
Tonight Show, Late Night with
David Letterman,
Boston Public, Austin City Limits, ESPN, VH1, CMT and MTV.
For more information visit: www.kevinbowe.com and
https://www.facebook.com/kevinboweandtheokemahprophets