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Acoustic Guitar & Lead Vocals on: When award-winning Minnesota singer/songwriter Bill Isles returned to his passion of songwriting after a twenty-year hiatus to raise his family, he brought with him a colorful palette of life experiences to draw from. His songs cover such weighty subjects as child abandonment and the losses we each suffer; and yet, always seem to hold out a hand of hope. His writing sometimes reveals his joy of place. Live audiences regularly comment on the mental and spiritual “journeys” they take while listening to his songs. His passionate, insightful songs defy genre-tags. Many songs are laced with a poignant respect for the magic of life; a reflection, in part, on his brush with death in 1993... |
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... an event which was a major catalyst in his return to music. Performing a show of his own songs only since late winter of 2000, he has quickly become a well-known figure in the Minnesota acoustic scene. In 2001, he won he Minnesota Folk Festival’s New Folk Songwriting Contest from a field of fifty-five entrants. He has opened shows for Vance Gilbert, Christine Lavin, Buddy Mondlock and Carol Elliott. His debut CD, “Weightless”, is getting widespread accolades and features accompanying performances by what the Duluth News-Tribune called “a ‘who’s who’ of regional musicians”. The CD features the duet, “I Can’t Take You Home” (which was one of the Minnesota Folk Festival winning songs) performed with friend and Minnesota Music Academy Bluegrass Artist of the Year(2000 & 2001), Becky Schlegel. The album contains ten other songs, all penned by Isles. He has, so far, resisted co-writing, though he is a regular in the Nashville music scene, performing at writers nights during his frequent visits. |
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