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All Music Guide:
Well known in the Philadelphia area since the late '90s, Nancy Falkow is an expressive singer/songwriter whose pop/rock and pop-folk often recalls Carole King's '70s recordings. The honey-voiced Falkow, who has also been compared to Natalie Merchant and Lucinda Williams in the Philadelphia media, favors a vocal style that is sweet but not cutesy or precious -- and her singing isn't without grit. Born in Atlantic City, NJ, on April 22, 1970, Falkow grew up in southern New Jersey and moved to Philly in 1988 to attend Temple University (where she obtained a B.A. in education). Falkow, who went on to earn a master's in education from Beaver College, started pursuing Philly-area gigs around 1995, and after a few years, she had become one of the best-known artists on the city's singer/songwriter circuit. It was in 1998 that she won a local talent search for Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair festival, defeating about 19 other female contestants. The prize was an opportunity to perform at 1998's Lilith Fair when it came to Camden, NJ's E-Center just outside of Philly; on the main stage, Falkow joined the Indigo Girls for their well-known "Closer to Fine" and McLachlan herself for a performance of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." Although Falkow is essentially a pop/rock/pop-folk artist, she isn't without R&B influences, which is why it isn't surprising that she was employed as a background vocalist when Patti LaBelle and gospel great Shirley Ceasar recorded some duets for Myrrh in 2001. Falkow, who has also provided background vocals for G. Love & Special Sauce and Brazilian great Astrud Gilberto, recorded her first EP (a self-titled release) in 1999. That EP was followed by 2001's Shane McMartin-produced Smitten, which was Falkow's first full-length album.
Wikipedia:
Nancy Falkow (born April 22, 1970 Atlantic City, New Jersey) is an American singer/songwriter and musician from Philadelphia.
Biography
Falkow grew up in Margate, New Jersey as part of a Jewish family and at sixteen took first prize for writing in the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. After graduating high school in 1988, she graduated from Temple University with a BA, and from Beaver College with an MA. At Temple, she met Mark Getten who later introduced her to Scot Sax, (who both went on to be involved in a number of bands including Wanderlust (band) and Feel). They encouraged her musical and songwriting efforts and spurred her into pursuing Philly area gigs which culminated in recording a 5-song EP (produced by Scot Sax) in 1997 which gained many favorable reviews.
On the strength of this, Nancy won a local talent search for Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair festival, winning one of 14 slots on the tour. The prize saw her sharing the stage with Sarah McLachlan and the Indigo Girls.
From this many opportunities followed doing background vocals for artists such as Astrud Gilberto and G. Love & Special Sauce. Nancy combined her day job at Indre Recording Studios with time to record her first full-length album "Smitten" (produced by Emmy-winning engineer and multi-instrumentalist Shane McMartin). The album was greeted by many positive reviews including Billboard Magazine which singled her out by saying,
Falkow is writing infectious pop/folk songs with palpable soul.
The song "It Could've Been Anyone" from Smitten made it to the soundtrack of a movie called Emmett's Mark, starring Tim Roth and Gabriel Byrne.
A string of nominations in previous years from the Philadelphia City Paper Music Awards resulted in a win in 2002, as Best Singer-Songwriter/Folk Performer. A number of notable gigs confirmed Nancy as a fixture on the Philadelphia music scene. The highlight of her career occurred when she toured with Daniel Lanois as a background vocalist on his "Shine" tour of the east coast in 2003. Nancy also was the main female vocalist with Mike Brenner's slide guitar hip-hop hybrid "Slo-Mo" and appeared extensively on their second album "My Buzz Comes Back". By 2003, Nancy was busy recording and co-producing (with McMartin) her second album "Clear View." In 2003, she performed at a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society charity concert. This brought a close to the Philadelphia chapter of her career as Nancy relocated to Dublin, Ireland in 2004. With marriage, a baby daughter and a chance meeting on a train, Nancy started a new project called "Sunflow" in 2006 with Dublin singer/songwriter Fran King, an album of lullabies followed called "Under The Stars" produced by Duncan Maitland. In 2010 "I Wish You Love" from that album featured in an episode of "Life UneXpected" and is currently featured in an Toyota Prius commercial.
