Bio
Putnam Smith could be an old-world troubadour fresh from the 19th Century. After all, he plays his grandfather's banjo, prints up the jackets to his CDs on an antique letterpress, and lives on a working homestead in southern Vermont. Yet this rootsy multi-instrumentalist songwriter (he also writes and performs on guitar, mandolin, fretless banjo, and piano), steeped as he is in Appalachian traditions, is very much a storyteller for the modern age.
Putnam first came to national attention when his sophomore release, "Goldrush," went to #5 on the national Folk DJ Charts (and made it onto 6 "Favorite Albums of 2009" lists). His next release, "We Could Be Beekeepers, (June, 2011), shot right up the charts the month it was released, to the #2 album, with 3 songs in the top ten. Noted as "One To Watch" (Rob Reinhart, Acoustic Cafe), Putnam has been selected for official showcases at Folk Alliance International (2012) and the NERFA Conference (2012). Also selected as an Emerging Artist at the prestigious Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (2016), Putnam is proving himself to be a quickly rising star on the national folkscape. His most recent release, "Kitchen, Love..."(2013) made it onto WDCB Chicago's Folk Festival “Favorite 15 albums of 2013.” The song “New Shoes” made the “Best Songs of 2013” list of Tupelo Honey of KRVM, Eugene, OR.
As a nationally touring artist, Putnam has performed in 40 states from East Coast to West. Some favorite venues that Putnam has played include: Club Passim (Boston), Rockwood Music Hall (NYC), Me and Thee Coffeehouse (Marblehead, MA), Caffe Lena (Saratoga Springs, NY), Anderson Fair (Houston, TX), Trinity House Theatre (Livonia, MI), High Plains Public Radio (Amarillo, TX), and “Gene Shay Presents” @ Psalm Salon (Philadelphia).
Putnam is also part of the duo The Early Risers, with his partner, Ashley Storrow. For more info about the Early Risers, visit: www.earlyrisersmusic.com.