2012 Wildflower Festival Performing Songwriter Contest Winner

2009 Grand Prize Winner, John Lennon Songwriting Contest 

2009 Falcon Ridge Emerging Artists Showcase Selected Artist

2006 Woody Guthrie Folk Festival Songwriting Contest, 1st Place Winner

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Singer-songwriter Robyn Landis is a rapidly emerging artist whose 55+ songwriting honors since 2005 herald a musical trajectory to watch. A prolific writer since early childhood, Robyn is a poet of unusual depth, intensity and literacy.  

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Robyn had success as a writer and author (publishing two bestselling books in her twenties) before turning her full attention to music. Her writing gifts and skills, once applied to songcraft, earned her quick recognition. Her deft command of language,  unflinching honesty and fierce intelligence have garnered comparisons to Richard Shindell, Dar Williams, and Gillian Welch among others.   

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Jimmy LaFave says “Robyn is a true musician and a fine member of the ‘three chords and the truth’ club.”  Christine Lavin says "Robyn Landis is the real deal...I am impressed with her songwriting, her spirit and her sound...I love her work."

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While immediately established as a writer, she has also evolved over the years into a warm and unpretentious performer appreciated for her transparency, authenticity and vulnerability. Pure, intimate vocals infuse her irresistible Americana-folk melodies with warmth and feeling.

 

Songwriting awards and honors have included first place at Woody Guthrie Folk Festival and second place in the Unisong International Songwriting Competition. Her most recent and prestigious accolades include Grand Prize in the 2009 John Lennon Songwriting Contest,  2012 Wildflower! Festival Songwriting Contest Winner, and her selection as a 2009 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist in NY.  See full list below.

 

After six years as half of the folk-Americana duo Short & Sweet, with whom she recorded her first CD (her five original songs on that recording yielded her first 30+ songwriting accolades, in competitions and at festivals all over the country), Robyn went on as solo artist. 

 

Her followup recording Many Moons, released May 2009, almost immediately became one of the most-played records on folk radio, reaching #16 on the folk charts in the last four months of 2009. With no publicist or special promotion, Many Moons caught the ear of more than 70 DJs across the nation.

 

Accompanied by a stellar cast of world-class musicians, Many Moons featured 12 heartfelt new songs that radiate Robyn's trademark honesty and intensity, and reveal a maturing and articulate writer's voice.  

Respected for unflinching honesty and literacy, Robyn uses song to tackle subjects ranging from war to weather to (what else?) love--not to mention adoption and dementia, betrayal and longing, friendship, child abuse, old sitcoms, and the environment. 

While immediately established as a writer, Robyn has also evolved into an authentic performer appreciated for her transparency and vulnerability. Fans have noted her capacity to spark emotion and pierce to listeners' hearts.

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Her heartfelt and evocative poetry is delivered with unpretentious, intimate vocals that infuse memorable folk-pop-Americana melodies with warmth and feeling. Her distinctive, wistful timbre, which DJ Dennis Brunnenmeyer (KVMR) calls "a voice of incredible beauty" ranges from sweet and pure to slightly twangy.

Since 2005 and the release of her first CD Love and Other Words (as half of the Americana duo Short & Sweet), Robyn  has accrued more than 55 songwriting awards and honors nationally and internationally, in competitions and at festivals.

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She was a 2009 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artists Showcase Selected Artist, and won Grand Prize in the 2009 John Lennon Songwriting Contest (folk category). She won the 2012 Wildflower! Festival Performing Songwriter's Contest, and the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival Songwriting Contest in 2006. She was also a "Folk-DJ's Choice" showcasing at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance in 2009, and received a juried Premiere Showcase at the Folk Alliance Region West (FAR-West) conference in 2010 and a juried Official Performance Alley Showcase at Folk Alliance International in 2011.

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Her eagerly-awaited followup and first solo recording, Many Moons, featured 12 new songs and a stellar musical cast (including Michael Lille, Mark Graham, Kat Eggleston, Larry Murante, Karena and Joe Prater, Paul Elliott, Cary Black, and Hans York). 

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Released in May 2009, Many Moons quickly became a DJ favorite. It was one of the most-played records on folk radio during the last four months of 2009, reaching #16 on the Folk-DJ charts. With no publicist or special promotion,Many Moons caught the ear of more than 70 DJs across the nation.

Her third CD Waterproof was released October 28, 2014. It was co-produced by John Jennings, who worked with Mary-Chapin Carpenter for over two decades and produced her platinum Grammy-winning albums Come On, Come On and Stones in the Road in the 1990s.  John also produced work by John Gorka, Indigo Girls and BeauSoleil among others.

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Waterproof also caught the ear of legendary songwriter Christine Lavin, especially the song "Knitting" which Christine made a video for (http://vimeo.com/108254765) and sings harmony on.  Christine says, “Robyn Landis is the real deal, and I’m thrilled to be singing back-up for her on her new CD Waterproof.”

Waterproof features ten brand-new songs and a beloved Richard Shindell cover.

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Tucson's John Coinman, songwriter and member of Kevin Costner’s Modern West Band, says:“I’m not amazed that you have won so many awards...your songwriting is reminiscent of some of the great folk/rock/pop songs of the 60s, most particularly Paul Simon. You share the same sensibilities. If he was a woman he probably would have been born as you.”