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Willy Mason
Biography
With a sound that recalls Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash along with the cynicism of grunge and punk, nobody could believe wry singer/songwriter Willy Mason was only 19 when he appeared on the indie scene. Born and raised on Martha's Vineyard, Mason grew up with his parents' love of folk music. He loved it, too, but his teen years brought Nirvana and Rage Against the Machine into his life. Mason found their political and social messages much easier to identify with and soon combined folk's softer and loose delivery with the revolutionary attitude of his new heroes. Writing came easy now and the teenager had plenty of self-penned material ready when a family friend asked Mason to appear on his local radio show. As luck would have it, Sean Foley -- an associate of Conor Oberst and his band, Bright Eyes -- was driving through Cape Cod as Mason was on the air. Foley was captivated by Mason's song "Oxygen" and left his phone number at the radio station, setting off a chain of events that would have Oberst and Mason hanging out, doing gigs together, and touring America. With only three people in the audience, a gig at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX, seemed a disaster until one of the three introduced himself as BBC DJ Zane Lowe.
Selected Discography