About Tracy:

“Tracy Grammer is a brilliant artist and unique individual. Her voice is distinctive, as is her mastery over the instruments she plays.”
- Joan Baez

“[Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer have] become a treasured part of my music collection... Flower of Avalon presents more songs by Dave Carter, with Tracy at the helm as artist, interpreter, co-producer and the beating heart at the center of it all. Her pure voice conveys the simple truths of these songs; her gifts as a musician are like that of a painter who is a master of chiaroscuro, offering light and shadow at every turn.... I was honored and humbled by the invitation to sing on this record.“
- Mary Chapin Carpenter

“Tracy Grammer has that elusive quality of being able to speak directly to another person's heart - instantly bypassing all of the usual infrastructure - the moment she starts singing. She's great.“
- Richard Shindell

“A gracefully gifted multi-instrumentalist, singer and producer.“
- Pasadena Weekly

“One of the finest pure musicians anywhere in folkdom.”
- The Boston Globe

“Armed with a few of the sassier members of the string family, and a voice as nuanced and strong as you could hope for, Grammer delivers ... with a supernatural force that funnels straight through your ear to the deep, deep center of your heart.”
- The Missoula Independent

“Tracy has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard in my life. There's also a sadness and sorrow and pain and depth of knowledge to Tracy's playing. I really think there's nobody like her in the world.”
- Dave Carter, quoted in Dirty Linen, 2002

“Sumptuous sonics... hauntingly arresting music.“
- Vintage Guitar Magazine

Tracy Grammer's Slow, Sure Hand

“I am not, in fact, a fiddler,“ Tracy Grammer reminded the audience at
Jammin' Java on Sunday night. Grammer studied classical violin as a
child, but she became known in the folk world as half of an incandescent
duo with Dave Carter, who died in 2002. She's been learning tunes from
Jim Henry, who's touring with her, and the ones she played on Sunday
revealed a gift for the fiddle: Wielding her bow with vigor and finesse,
Grammer somehow seemed to find Appalachian trad as a milepost between
classical music and prog rock

Mostly, though, the show was remarkable for its songs -- and the
slowness of them. Grammer gave Carter's “Crocodile Man“ -- a song she
drolly revealed had been covered by Maureen McCormick (“Marcia Brady's
singing this song!“) -- a sultry approach that lent weight to its
slightly sinister protagonist's story. On “Hey Ho,“ another Carter
composition about marketing war to children, the measured guitar beat
came with the same sure hand she used on the fiddle, each beat like a
karate chop. And Henry's shimmering strums on his electric guitar on
“The Power and Glory,“ which Carter wrote after his first failed trip to
become a Nashville star, were a perfect addition to its graceful lament.

An unexpected high point was a cover of Jackson Browne's “In the Shape
of a Heart.“ Grammer stripped away every trace of '70s overproduction,
her spring-water-clear alto revealing the finely crafted song that lay
beneath.
- Pamela Murray Winters, The Washington Post

About FLOWER OF AVALON:

Airplay Results for Flower of Avalon and Tracy Grammer for 2005 (as of 1/10/06):
#1 Most Played Album on Folk Radio in 2005
#3 Most -Played Artist on Folk Radio for 2005
#8 WUMB-Boston "Top 10 Albums of 2005"
#1 KBOO-Portland "Portland General Eclectic" Best of 2005
Voted #21 WFUV-New York "Best 50 Albums of 2005"
Voted #23 WUMB-Boston "Top 100 Performers Listener Poll"
Top 5 Contemporary Folk Album 2005 - KANU Lawrence KS
Best of 2005 Album List - George Graham, WVIA-Pittston/Scranton PA
#3 Top 10 of 2005 - Jos van de Boom, Crossroads Radio "Jaarlijstjes 2005" (Holland)
#7 Fish Records Best of 2005 (UK)
#15 Top 20 CDs of 2005 - Kay Clements, KRCB Rohnert Park CA

Industry Nominations for Flower of Avalon:
International Folk Music & Business Alliance Awards
- Album of the Year
- Solo Artist of the Year
- Song of the Year ("Gypsy Rose")

"Flower of Avalon is the first full-length album by Tracy Grammer since her musical partner Dave Carter died suddenly in July 2002. After testing the waters last year with an excellent self-released EP called The Verdant Mile, Grammer  carries on Carter's legacy with 10 songs that showcase  her outstanding voice, guitar, and fiddle. Co-produced by John Jennings and featuring vocal contributions from Mary Chapin Carpenter, the album skirts a careful line between alt-country and the more haunting archetypal songs Carter wrote so well. From the beautiful “Gypsy Rose,” which rings out like a classic Byrds songs, to the fiddle-driven “Laughlin Boy,” Grammer sings with grace and strength. “Hard to Make It,” has an Emmylou-like sparseness and “Hey Ho” explores how war is marketed to our children, all the while slinking to a snaking rhythm. “Mother, I Climbed” is sure to become a folk classic and is reminiscent of the work of Carpenter, who sings harmony on it.  The centerpiece is of the set is surely “Preston Miller,” a spirited tale of betrayal in the tradition of “Shady Grove” or Dylan's “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts.”  Grammer takes her rightful place among some of the folk and country's best singers with this superb new album."
- Lahri Bond, Highlight Review: Dirty Linen Magazine

Out of the ashes of loss comes a soul survivor’s gorgeous and life-affirming statement of purpose. On Tracy Grammer’s first full-length solo release since the untimely 2002 passing of her duo partner, songwriter Dave Carter, she re-emerges with a set of previously unrecorded Carter songs that celebrates the late tunesmith’s broad, cross-genre reach. The stylistic span runs from mystical mountain folk (“Shadows of Evangeline”) and bouncy bluegrass (“Laughlin Boy”) to quirky, Dixieland-flavored Americana (“Phantom Doll”) and rustic roots-rock (“Gypsy Rose,” “Preston Miller”). Although Grammer’s vaunted instrumental skills are on conspicuous display—her fiddle playing has never sounded more sure-handed and evocative—it’s her supple, subtly expressive voice that carries the day. Co-produced by Grammer with John Jennings, the album features backup vocals on three tracks by Mary Chapin Carpenter. Fans of Alison Krauss and Union Station and Rosanne Cash’s later, contemplative work should feel right at home with this simply arranged, emotionally rich collection.
- Mike Thomas, Acoustic Guitar Magazine

“A musician and singer of dazzling versatility... [Flower of Avalon] unfurls as a portrait of an artist coming into her own.”
- No Depression (May/June 2005)

“FLOWER OF AVALON is a welcome revelation... The selections seem utterly new and timelessly rooted; exquisitely chiseled, probing life's imponderables in vivid and openhearted ways. But there is another revelation here: Grammer is, in her own right, among the finest singers and musicians anywhere in folkdom.”
- Boston Globe

“It's a sheer thrill to hear loving, stylish renditions of quintessential Carter: joyfully wordy, philosophical, rhythmically playful and heart-plumbingly poignant.”
- Boston Herald

“Transcendent.”
- Rockzillaworld Magazine (rockzilla.net)

Grammer’s first full-length solo release is an elegant and beautiful album that includes the last nine songs of Carter’s oeuvre. Songs like ‘Mother, I Climbed’ and ‘Winter When He Goes’ are simply stunning in their marriage of powerful, poetic lyrics and gorgeous melodies. When Grammer took the lead vocal on the duo albums, Carter’s songs seemed as if they were written especially for her to sing. That is doubly the impression on this CD. * * * * 1/2 - The Montreal Gazette

“…heartbreakingly poignant vocals … touching lyrics. * * * 1/2”
- Paste Magazine

“What makes this CD special is not the songs but the production, which is so decidedly different from anything Carter would have done, suggesting the direction Grammer's music is headed -- a nice mix of folk, pop and alt-country.”
- Minnesota Star-Tribune

“While Tracy provides violin, guitar and banjo to the disc, it's her vocals that really stand out here -- her voice is warm and full of feeling and she's the perfect channel for the songs... [conveying] the stories and rich imagery effortlessly.”
- Fish Records (UK)

“Grammer was determined to honor Carter's memory ... she does a breathtaking job of it on Flower of Avalon, with bravery, grace and deep feeling.... The result is a batch of songs that sound fresh and timeless, reverential but not worshipful. You can almost sense Carter's approval.”
- Hartford Courant

“…one of the most engaging albums of this year.  [Grammer] flies solo with a style and grace that must be heard to be believed … [using] this occasion to shine and announce that she is a voice to be reckoned with from here on out.”
- Village Records

About The Verdant Mile:

"A brilliant collection of songs with Tracy sounding absolutely at the top of her craft."
- Kevin Welch, Music Director, KINK-FM

"This EP effortlessly reconciles Grammer's pop and bluegrass sensibilities... The results are so pure, they make Neil Diamond sound like he hails from the farthest reaches of the Blue Ridge Mountains."
- Eye.net

"I've listened to Tracy's The Verdant Mile over and over and over again. This new collection of songs is simply stunning. I just can't wait for her next CD."
- Bob Feldman, President, Red House Records

“Tracy's song [The Verdant Mile] reminds me of how Boulder To Birmingham was such a significant presence on Emmylou Harris’ Pieces of the Sky...it stands as a testament to this woman's courage, considering the extent of her loss, that she's willing to place this recent part of her life journey full-square in the public domain.”
- Folkwax

"Infused with catchy, changing rhythms, take [the title] cut as a marvelous sign of things to come as Grammer moves along the path of penning and performing more of her own compositions."
- Celtic & Folk Music CD Reviews