Nancy Middleton

It's hard to know exactly what it is about great songwriting that moves people. Whether it's a well-crafted turn of phrase, a passionate plea for understanding, or an astute observation about everyday life, it's an intangible that you can't quite put your finger on. You just know that it's great.

Nancy Middleton is one of those great songwriters. With a wonderful voice that shifts gears seamlessly through the entire spectrum of human emotion, and an arsenal of solid tunes that straddle the line between rock, country, folk and blues, Nancy is a rare gem

The North Carolina native cut her teeth on the cover band circuit, honing her stage-savvy and planting the seeds for a loyal grass-roots following. She molded her experiences into her first release, Homeland, in 1994, and quickly followed with The Way I Do, which shot her to national recognition.

Musician Magazine voted The Nancy Middleton Band one of Musician's Best Unsigned Bands out of a field of over 3,000. Among the all-star judging panel were Steve Winwood, Stone Gossard, Juliana Hatfield, Pat Metheny and Matthew Sweet. Billboard Magazine called her "one of North Carolina's most underrated artists. New Country magazine said "When Nancy Middleton becomes a household name, you can say you heard her here first", and promptly featured the bittersweet "This Town Is Yours" on one of their CD's. Her blues background is evident on tracks like "All I Do Is Cry" and "If It Hadn't Been So Good", and her country roots are strong enough that somebody created a couple of line-dances to her songs. But that wasn't her idea.

Nancy soon transplanted herself to Nashville, fighting for attention amongst an increasingly conservative Music Row who didn't understand her pop sensibilities. She's been favorably compared to the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams Kim Richey, Mary Chapin-Carpenter and Trish Murphy, but definitely charts her own musical course.