LA Weekly names The Susie Glaze New Folk Ensemble in their annual "Best Of LA" as BEST NEW FOLK May of 2019!
Award-winning vocalist Susie Glaze, mandolinist Steve Rankin, fiddler Mark Indictor and bassist Fred Sanders are The Susie Glaze New Folk Ensemble, the newest version of the acclaimed Los Angeles-based Americana group, a lush new folk Americana fusion ensemble, presenting gorgeous eclectic blends of mountain folk and exciting new grassy and Celtic-inspired originals, all with the remarkable voice of Susie Glaze. The group has been likened to the classic British bands Pentangle and Fairport Convention in that they blend classic folk music with rough-edged stories of tragedy and fate, all with orchestral arrangements sounding like chamber music gone folk!
The band has appeared at many premier venues and festivals on the West Coast, including Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage, McCabe's Guitar Shop, The Broad Stage, the Hollywood Bowl, Palms Playhouse, Don Quixote's Music Hall, Kuumbwa Jazz Center and CalTech Folk Music Society among others. Their CD “White Swan” was released in March of 2013 to critical acclaim from No Depression, FolkWorks, Pop Matters, M Magazine for Musicians, Music News Nashville and FolkWords UK among others, and charted in the Top 50 on the Roots Music Report's Combined Internet and Terrestrial Folk Chart. Their album "Not That Kind of Girl" produced by Herb Pedersen was released in June 2015 and is enjoying critical acclaim and radio airplay around the country. “If there were a word to describe this fine band, it would be sophisticated. They draw influences from disparate sources to meld their sound. The level of musicianship is exemplary.… display a great range of prowess and work as a tight unit.” -- Bluegrass Unlimited. “…one of the finest and most original Americana groups in California (or in the country for that matter).” No Depression. Augmenting their sound is the lush, Celtic sounds of Rankin’s bouzouki, the mountain sounds of Susie’s Appalachian dulcimer and traditional autoharp, with Mark Indictor’s virtuoso fiddling and Fred Sanders’ remarkable bass work rounding out the orchestral nature of this amazing quartet.
A Broadway veteran, folk-singer Susie Glaze is also a foremost interpreter of Jean Ritchie’s musical legacy. Her devotion to Jean’s songs and impeccable vocal technique dovetail in three important projects; musical revue, Singing the Moon Up, tribute album, Dear Jean, and now Glaze’s new concert project, The Appalachian Songs of Jean Ritchie.
Susie Glaze has been honored to be included on the newly-released Compass Records tribute album "Dear Jean - Artists Celebrate Jean Ritchie" alongside such artists as Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, Janis Ian, Tim O'Brien, John McCutcheon, Robin and Linda Williams and many more.
"A flat out superb vocalist... Glaze delivers warm, amber-toned vocals that explore the psychic depth of a lyric with deft acuity and technical perfection." LA Weekly
"The band is tight, great picking, and beautiful vocals and harmony." KVMR, Nevada City, CA
"She held the audience in the palm of her hand…." Scott Valley Bluegrass Festival
"…does something with a song that only great singers can do..." KCSN, Northridge, CA
"...with people like this to trust, my music will go on living, and soaring. And so will I.” Jean Ritchie
“One of the most beautiful voices in bluegrass and folk music today.” KPFK’s FolkScene
“…one of the finest and most original Americana groups in California (or in the country for that matter).” No Depression
“If there were a word to describe this fine band, it would be sophisticated. They draw influences from disparate sources to meld their sound. The level of musicianship is exemplary.… display a great range of prowess and work as a tight unit.” Bluegrass Unlimited