"High-calibre.. classy... an assured debut album" - The Telegraph
"The songs are haunting, and good writing like this is all too rare." - Gurf Morlix; American multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter
"GREAT CD!" - BBC Radio; Scotland Iain Anderson
“Between Ed’s sonorous baritone voice and arrangements that feature strings and horns in carefully layered style, this whole record demands you to stop and pay attention, because this is weighty stuff.” - John Davy; No Depression
“Ed Romanoff’s debut CD charms through versatile acoustic guitar work, and writing and singing that are both plainspoken and artful.” - Annie Dinerman; American Songwriter Magazine
“If I was to draw a musical map Ed Romanoff would be a point somewhere between Mary Gauthier, Sam Baker and Leonard Cohen. Territory that is, about individuality well- chosen words, emotional soft spoken voices and above all songs that tell stories and have some real resonance. This is Ed Romanoff’s debut album and it's special.” - Steven Rapid; Lonesome Highway
Ed Romanoff’s 2012 self-titled debut is a gritty masterwork of melancholic and atmospheric Americana. The 11 songs were recorded with Crit Harmon (Lori McKenna, Martin Sexton), Josh Ritter, Tift Merritt, and Meg Hutchinson. Mary Gauthier and Dave Mattacks also feature.
The record evokes the swampy mysticism of New Orleans and the kind of redemption you find at the end of an introspective night with a good bottle of whiskey. “There is something compelling about why I’m doing this now,” Ed says thoughtfully. “There is truth in a good song, and when you pursue it, and write about something real, you find out something real and true about yourself. And the more you do it, the more it helps you heal, and it heals others in a similar way. It’s a crazy circle but it works.”
His incredible story is proven in the tracks which cut a wide emotional swath, from the good‐natured sorry-I-messed-up sentimentality of “I Must Have Done Something Right” to the brave vulnerability of “St. Vincent De Paul”, written after a visit to an orphanage in New Orleans. A chance encounter with Nashville songwriter Mary Gauthier led to him being invited, extraordinarily, to perform on Mary’s world tour. Ed joined Mary on tour and performed his songs in theatres across ten countries in front of thousands of people, then on radio and television before millions, live ‘on air.’
Soon after the tour Ed opted to take a DNA test to feel closer to his Russian father, who had passed away many years before. He received the shock of his life in June 2010, when he learned that the father he grew up with was not his biological father after all. The DNA results of several tests confirmed heritage was actually from Ireland or Scotland. On “St. Vincent De Paul” Ed sings about the search for his father with weathered sincerity: “If we met on the street/Would I Know His Face?/And would he look into mine/And find there is a trace/Of a woman he loved once/A long time ago/Or would I pass him right by/And not even know it/A basket of rushes in a river of men.”
Today, Ed continues to write songs and is currently working on a book about the search for his father. He lives in Woodstock NY with his rescue dog from Costa Rica, Freckles and the two travel together.
Songwriting awards to date:
Ed recently joined Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, James McMurtry, and Nanci Griffith as a New Folk Winner at the 2013 Kerrville Folk Festival
“St Vincent de Paul”
2012 The Great American Song Contest - 1st Place Grand Prize Winner
2012 Nashville Songwriters Association International competition - 1st Place in Lyrics Category
2011 International Songwriting Competition - 1st Place in Lyrics Category
"Two Yellow Roses"
2011 Great American Song Contest - 1st Place in Folk/Americana Category
"Breakfast For One on the Fifth of July"
2011 USA Songwriting Competition - 1st Place in Lyrics Category
2011 International Songwriting Competition - Honorable Mention in Lyrics Category
2010 International Songwriting Competition - 2nd Place in Lyrics Category
"I Must Have Done Something Right”
2012 Unsigned Only Music Competition - 2nd Place in Folk/ Singer-Songwriter Category
2011 International Songwriting Competition - Honorable Mention in Folk/Singer-Songwriter Category
"When You're Dreamin“
2012 International Songwriting Competition - 3rd Place in the Americana Category
2010 International Songwriting Competition - Honorable Mention
"Lady Luck"
2011 International Songwriting Competition - Honorable Mention in Lyrics Category
"The Orphan King"
2011 USA Songwriting Competition - Finalist in Lyrics Category
"Potholes"
2012 International Songwriting Competition - Honorable Mention in Lyrics Category
8th Annual International Acoustic Music Awards - Finalist in Folk/Americana Category
“Sacred Wreck"
2011 International Songwriting Competition - Semi-Finalist in Lyrics Category
Ed’s debut album is:
- #1 Album of the year 2012 Brighthelmstone Promotions
- #81 on the Top Roots Rock Albums of 2012
- #89 (up from #96) on The Americana Music Association Chart
- #12 on the Euro Americana Chart within one month of its release
- #22 on the Freeform American Roots Chart for July 2012
UK radio highlights to date:
- RTE Radio1 Ireland -Pat Kenny
- RTE South Wind blows -Philip King
- 103.2 Dublin city FM- Sean Brophy
- Kilkenny KCLR96FM- Martin Bridgeman
- BBC Radio Scotland -Iain Anderson Show
- BBC Radio Ulster -Cherrie McIlwaine
- BBC Radio Kent -Dave Cash
- RADIOGIRL on Dollard Radio The Netherlands- Johanna J. Bodde
- Radio ISA FRANCE -Mike PENARD
US radio highlights to date:
- ALTVILLE – Syndicated
- INDIE1015 - Santa Fe
- KDBK - Carbondale
- KPFT - Houston
- WFPK- Louisville
- WNRN – Charlottesville
- WUMB - Boston
- WYCE – Grand Rapids