News & Reviews
November, 2024 - Well folks, it looks like the fine people of the International Western Music Association - click here - like my music because they have bestowed upon me the award of Songwriter of the Year and Album of the Year for my most recent recording “Snow On The Wineglass”. I’m thrilled and honored. In a couple of weeks my bride Joanne and I will go up to the capitol building in Helena so I can receive the Montana Governor’s Art Award. 2024 has been good!
October, 2024 - What a year it’s been so far! I have more Big News!! I’m a nominee the final top five in three different categories with the International Western Music Association. I’m up for Songwriter of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year. We’ll find out the results at the big award show in Albuquerque on November 16. It’s an honor to be nominated.
September, 2024 - BIG NEWS!!! I’ve just been awarded the Montana Governor’s Arts Award, which is the highest honor that the State of Montana has to bestow on anyone who works in the literary, visual or performing arts in Montana. It’s a HUGE honor only given out every two years, with an official ceremony to be held in the state capital building on December 5, 2024. I’m thrilled to be joining the ranks of many fantastic and magnificent people who have dedicated their lives to the arts. Click here to be taken to the website of the Montana Arts Council to read more about it and to read the bios of the fantastic artists that I have the honor of joining.
May 2024 - I have a new recording! It’s called “Snow On The Wineglass” and it’s already being played on the radio. You can order it here on this site, or click here to go to bandcamp.com to listen and order it there. The cover art was painted by my dear friend Janie Camp Hjortsberg. Go check out her other work by clicking here.
September 2023 - A song that my pal Joe Newberry and I wrote called Old Pard won 2nd place in the International Western Music Association’s 2023 Songwriting Contest!
November 2022 - Won “Working Cowboy Song Of The Year” from the International Western Music Association for Angus MacKenzie. Click Here
October 2022 - Nominated by the International Western Music Association for (1) Album Of The Year for She’s Leaving Cheyenne, (2) Songwriter Of The Year, and (3) Song(s) Of The Year for Angus MacKenzie and The Lonesome Western Trail (by Jim Schulz but I helped a bit).
February 2021 - Won the Grand Prize in the Hazel Dickens Songwriting Contest. Click Here
December 2021 - Wyoming Public Radio named She’s Leaving Cheyenne as the #1 album of the year. Click Here
May 2021 - KULR 8 Television in Billings, MT did a segment on She’s Leaving Cheyenne’s award. Click Here
Praise for “SNOW ON THE WINEGLASS”
JOHN LOWELL “Snow On The Wineglass” Here is the second recorded release from Montana’s talented John Lowell. We’ll get right to the point. It is exceptional. Literate lyrics, intriguing arrangements, spot-on performances shepherded by Lowell’s warm, melodic vocals. Exceptional! “Snow On The Wineglass” refers to the white stuff gracing a mountain visible from Lowell’s Montana home. This all-acoustic gem features original period saga songs from Lowell and co-writes with Joe Newberry, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz and Jim Shultz, all four of whom perform on their separate tracks. The eleven-song CD has eleven “picks” from which to pick! But particular picks we’ll name are the spirited “A Wandering Stray,” the novel “Ain’t Done Nothing Lately,” the collection’s title track and the cover of “Step It Out Nancy,” a song originally released by folk singers Robin & Linda Williams and featuring their strong harmonies on Lowell’s version. “Snow On The Wineglass” is a grand example of the sort of release we want to be able to point to and say “THIS is ‘Western’!” Sometimes superlatives fail, and this could be one of those times. I can’t recommend this one strongly enough, but let’s at least try plying “very” and “highly” to the task!
~ Rick Huff – Western Way Magazine, Summer 2024 issue ~
”It’s western through and through. Listen, you can hear crisp Montana mornings, and feel the red hue of unbounded mountains at dusk. In an age where music has flash but can be asshallow as a tea cup saucer this is something with a depth of locale, history, and abounding musicality. Here’s a toast to John Lowell and place-based music at its finest.”
~Hal Cannon~ Songwriter and folklorist
“John Lowell’s new album ‘Snow on the Wineglass’ is a wonderful blend of Bluegrass instrumentation and melodies with cowboy/Western lyrics. I love it!”
~Doug Figgs~ Singer/songwriter/IWMA Award winner
“If you like well-crafted story songs about cowboys, outlaws, homesteaders, prospectors, hard times and mustangs, you’ll love John Lowell’s new album, Snow On The Wineglass. Combining frontier themes, vibrant lyrics, acoustic bluegrass style picking, and stellar vocals, these tunes unfold like scenes from a classic western movie.”
~Mike Blakely~ Western author/singer/songwriter
“I finally had a block of time today to sit and listen...and listen...and listen again. This is a remarkable album on so many levels. Jaunty and expressive music with lyrics that capture the listener’s attention, this is entertaining storytelling. And something for everyone - tales of love lost and savored, of miners and farmers, of outlaws, of horses, and even the life of the traveling musician. Although we may be familiar with these storylines of the “Old West,” you breathe into them a new life in a fresh way. This is music to enjoy over and over. A new John Lowell album is always worth the wait, and you delivered it! Now, these songs need airplay!”
~Bobbi Jean Bell~ Equestrian Radio
“In my mind, John Lowell is the musical voice of Montana and has been for the last 25 years.”
~Bob Troutman~ Audiophile & Host of Medicinal Americana, Missoula Community Radio
Praise for “SHE’S LEAVING CHEYENNE”
Bluegrass Unlimited - Click Here
The Lively Times - Click Here
Praise for “THIS LONG STRETCH OF GRAVEL”
Bluegrass Today - Click Here
Bluegrass Unlimited - Click Here
The Lively Times -Click Here
Minor 7th - Click Here
Praise for “I AM GOING TO THE WEST”
Bluegrass Unlimited - Click Here
Minor 7th - Click Here
Bluegrass Today - Click Here