John Gorka

Singer-songwriter John Gorka has a smooth, dark baritone voice and is a nimble, inventive acoustic guitar player. His songs fall into a sort of melodic middle ground between folk, pop and country, and often feature strong narrative lyrics. He got his start in the early 1980s in Pennsylvania playing coffee houses and folk clubs, and in 1984 he won the coveted New Folk Award at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas. The records he has recorded since the late 1980s have brought him a great deal of critical praise, making him a bona fide star on the folk circuit. He has lately been collaborating with Mary Chapin Carpenter's longtime producer/guitarist John Jennings, and his records have taken on a crackling Folk-Rock edge.