Singer-songwriter Bill Hartmann engages his audience with his compelling storytelling and powerful lyrics!
Bill Hartmann
His recordings and live performances display an expressive vocal and storytelling style influenced by Harry Chapin, Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens and Jim Croce. Hartmann's use of a Seagull 12-string guitar, with its unique chiming tones, adds to the originality."
-Bill Meredith, Music Columnist, THE PALM BEACH POST
...Just give me one more show before you take me home,
Let me do the things I love with all the friends I've come to know.
At night before I close my eyes, I pray tomorrow I will rise.
So I can play just one more show, before the angels Take Me Home...
After completing his performance at the Smoky Mountains Songwriters Festival, Bill Hartmann stayed to listen to the final acts. He was taken aback when a songwriter revealed that, due to an illness, it would be their final show. The songwriter expressed gratitude to the audience for their years of support and thanked his co-writers for their friendship and music. "Take Me Home" is dedicated to the memory of songwriter Rick Irwin.
...The love you thought was meant to be is now a distant memory.
Everything you trusted to believe in
just blown away like pages in the wind.
And they drift away Just Like Water under the bridge...
Just Like Water is a curated collection of songs that examines the themes of life, love, and the varying impacts of time on these experiences. This nine-track CD has been expertly mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Zach Ziskin and produced by the accomplished Fernando Perdomo, who commends Hartmann as “a great lyricist, all of his songs have awesome stories, lots of verses with good messages."
“Bill approaches his tunes in the mould of the great folk rock, blues rock and country rock artists of yesteryear. There is that iconic ‘Americana’ sound reimagined to fit such original compositions as ‘Someone That You Never Really Knew’, ‘The One Who Stayed’, and his festive gem, ‘Missing You At Christmas’.“
– Tom Hilton, ALDORA BRITAIN RECORDS
...Every Now and Then I wonder about the road that lies ahead
will I keep on playing music
with the songs stay in me head....
Now and Then is a collection of songs spanning 30 years of Hartmann’s musical career. Like his musical inspiration, Harry Chapin, Hartmann enjoys telling stories through song. As revealed in "You" and "Sorry," they are frequently stories about life lessons. In choosing songs for this CD, Hartmann highlights the changes he underwent musically and personally.
...I'll be Missing You at Christmas as I sit beside the tree unwrapping all my presents, the ones you left for me.
And Im trying to be happy and I hope that you will see.
I'll be Missing You at Christmas, Missing you at Christmas,
but I'll toast the life you lived on New Year's Eve...
Following the recent loss of his dog, Bill Hartmann wanted to express sorrow through a song. As the holidays drew near, he recognized that many individuals experience heartache during this season. Despite the shopping, crowds, and gift-giving that continue, he sought to capture the essence of remembering a loved one. Missing You at Christmas conveys the emotions of maintaining holiday traditions while paying tribute to those who are longer with us.
"Bill's music features cadences reminiscent of classic James Taylor with beautiful harmonies lyrical finesse and outstanding 12-string guitar playing!"
-Matthew Sydney, INDIEFLORIDA, BLOG TALK RADIO