Michael Eck | Your Turn to Shine
(Mandala Hand Records)
Michael Eck is a certified legend of the upstate music scene. Enshrined in the Capital Region's Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame, the multi-instrumentalist and Chronogram contributor has enjoyed a more than 40-year career, playing solo and in numerous bands. Some of his more notable collaborators include Patti Smith, Aimee Mann, and Pete Seeger.
Played live at WEXT on a handmade acoustic 1964 Bedell SE parlor guitar, Eck's songs are steeped in the folk and blues of influences like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Hank Williams, and Tim Hardin. Most of the songs were written during the pandemic, during which Eck suffered a stroke and was hospitalized for a month. While recovering he participated in online songwriting workshops through Caffe Lena and the Beacon Music Factory. The result is this set of plaintive original compositions of finely crafted American roots music.
