Young in years Denison Witmer may be, but he’s the kind of guy some knowing folks refer to as “an old soul.” Maybe that’s because his painfully honest observations about life — both the joys and sorrows — seem a little incongruous coming from such a fresh-faced young man. Or maybe it’s because through it all he maintains a sensitivity and sincerity rare in a person of any age. This sort of gentle optimism in the face of an often embittered world is what makes his music so open-hearted, so accessible. And so timeless. But that’s how it has always been for the 26-year-old Witmer. “People are here to take care of each other,” he says. “I believe — or like to believe — that somehow my music is helping someone. Otherwise I wouldn’t make music for a living. Or make it public.”
Growing up in Lancaster, PA, Witmer taught himself the folk-inflected guitar stylings he uses so effectively today, citing Graham Nash, Red House Painters and Jackson Browne as influences. Following in this singer-songwriter tradition, most of Witmer’s first-person narratives arise from his life-long habit of keeping a journal. Early on his expressive acoustic guitar work and softly inductive voice attracted the attention of Don Peris of The Innocence Mission, who has since worked with Witmer as mentor, producer and sideman for his first EP and the minimal acoustic folk of his debut full-length, SAFE AWAY (2000). Over the last several years as his abilities and reputation have grown, Witmer has been befriended by like-minded young performers Damien Jurado and David Bazan of Pedro the Lion, and has shared the stage with them and other acts including The Six Parts Seven, The Ocean Blue, Rosie Thomas and Sixteen Horsepower.
Now calling Philadelphia home, Witmer tours extensively, his guileless stage presence ensuring a warm reception wherever he goes. His most recent full-length disc, PHILADELPHIA SONGS (2002), garnered excellent press and marked a new high point for him professionally. Though still drawing deeply from the folk/folk-rock tradition that has always informed his writing, there’s a new breadth of expression and self-assurance. He also cites the poetry of Rilke, cummings, Li-Young Lee and Neruda as being of great significance to him, along with the artwork of his elder brother Douglas, who early on encourage the young Witmer in his musical pursuits.Now, with a new album set for release this summer, Witmer is readying himself for the inevitable tour to support it. And while you might not guess it from listening to his introspective, often morose music, he is by his own account a “people person.” Says Witmer: “I don’t mind being alone, but I love being with people more. That was my primary reason moving to a more diverse city. And it’s also what saddens me the most when I have to tour for extended amounts of time on my own.”But with an ever-growing following rising up along that lonesome highway, Denison Witmer will never truly be alone.
Growing up in Lancaster, PA, Witmer taught himself the folk-inflected guitar stylings he uses so effectively today, citing Graham Nash, Red House Painters and Jackson Browne as influences. Following in this singer-songwriter tradition, most of Witmer’s first-person narratives arise from his life-long habit of keeping a journal. Early on his expressive acoustic guitar work and softly inductive voice attracted the attention of Don Peris of The Innocence Mission, who has since worked with Witmer as mentor, producer and sideman for his first EP and the minimal acoustic folk of his debut full-length, SAFE AWAY (2000). Over the last several years as his abilities and reputation have grown, Witmer has been befriended by like-minded young performers Damien Jurado and David Bazan of Pedro the Lion, and has shared the stage with them and other acts including The Six Parts Seven, The Ocean Blue, Rosie Thomas and Sixteen Horsepower.
Now calling Philadelphia home, Witmer tours extensively, his guileless stage presence ensuring a warm reception wherever he goes. His most recent full-length disc, PHILADELPHIA SONGS (2002), garnered excellent press and marked a new high point for him professionally. Though still drawing deeply from the folk/folk-rock tradition that has always informed his writing, there’s a new breadth of expression and self-assurance. He also cites the poetry of Rilke, cummings, Li-Young Lee and Neruda as being of great significance to him, along with the artwork of his elder brother Douglas, who early on encourage the young Witmer in his musical pursuits.Now, with a new album set for release this summer, Witmer is readying himself for the inevitable tour to support it. And while you might not guess it from listening to his introspective, often morose music, he is by his own account a “people person.” Says Witmer: “I don’t mind being alone, but I love being with people more. That was my primary reason moving to a more diverse city. And it’s also what saddens me the most when I have to tour for extended amounts of time on my own.”But with an ever-growing following rising up along that lonesome highway, Denison Witmer will never truly be alone.
