Eric Brace and Peter Cooper
Nashville, Tennessee, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
"One of the most intriguing tracks found during the weeks' listening....Patty Griffin [singing "I Love"] leads a new Tom T. Hall tribute album with this touching rendition of his eloquently simple 1974 hit." -- Brian Mansfield, USA Today
"Pick of the week" -- Chicago Sun-Times
"The album is charming, endearing, enduring and warm, a beautiful contemporary tribute to a unique artist....the love for those songs shines through." -- Bob Harris, BBC Radio
Cooper and Brace, whose collaborations have earned justifiable critical acclaim, recruited other Americana performers, country and rock legends...a joyful thanks to Tom T. for writing these songs that continue to resonate (and to teach) today." -- Rich Kienzle, Pittsburgh Post Gazette
"Nashville’s Eric Brace and Peter Cooper are on a roll...File this under sublime." -- Twangville
"This updated version fully embraces the all-ages potential of these songs. In spirit, this is the same fun, fanciful farm visit that Tom T. once envisioned - and as remakes go, this one is an egg that does the chicken proud." -- Country Weekly
"The tracks have a charming, innocent feel.....It's wonderful to be able to recommend an American children's classic that's been given a modern musical makeover" -- The Telegraph UK
"I Love is a delightful tribute to some timeless songs and one masterful storyteller." -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"They came, they sang, and wonders ensued....Song after song, the mood sustains, the joy maintains, the spirit rises....Cooper and Brace made nary a false move, from conception to execution." -- The Bluegrass Special
"It accomplishes the rare feat of being a children's album that can entertain adults too." -- Country Standard Time - Various
"Authentic, intelligent and beautifully played...I truly believe Eric Brace and Peter Cooper are keeping song-sensitivity alive." -- Bob Harris, BBC Radio
"Four Stars" -- Maverick magazine
"Compelling portraits, both literate and witty..." -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"A standout performance...two friends who share a musical vision collaborating on wonderfully written songs to make them even greater." -- Audiophile Audition magazine
"Eric Brace & Peter Cooper have clearly outdone themselves with 'Master Sessions.'" -- Nashville.com
"The harmonies are unforgettable, classic, and touching. The covers are perfect...the originals fit with the classics." -- Jim Morrison, No Depression
"Between the talent and knowledge that Brace and Cooper have, and the wisdom and brilliance of Green and Auldridge, 'Master Sessions' is quite a collection." -- Martin Anderson, WNCW
"Beauty is beauty...and it's so flawlessly executed." - Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange
- Various
"Eric Brace & Peter Cooper have clearly outdone themselves with 'Master Sessions.'" -- Nashville.com
"The harmonies are unforgettable, classic, and touching. The covers are perfect...the originals fit with the classics." -- Jim Morrison, No Depression
"Between the talent and knowledge that Brace and Cooper have, and the wisdom and brilliance of Green and Auldridge, 'Master Sessions' is quite a collection." -- Martin Anderson, WNCW
"Beauty is beauty...and it's so flawlessly executed." - Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange - Nashville.com, No Depression, WNCW, FAME
"...Brace's voice is one of the treasures of the whole Americana scene." - MOJO magazine (UK)
"...Brace hasn't let years of grueling road work compromise his songcraft." - The Washington Post - MOJO, Washington Post
"Peter Cooper's voice is just the right fit for his moody tunes and engaging lyrics." - Washington Post
"Country music expert Peter Cooper dares to come out from under the covers. A music journalist as musician – it can actually work."– Rolling Stone (Germany)
"Peter Cooper looks at the world with an artist’s eye and a human heart and soul. His songs are the work of an original, creative imagination, alive with humor and heartbreak and irony and intelligence, with truth and beauty in the details. Deep stuff. And they get better every time you listen to them." – Kris Kristofferson - Kristofferson, Washington Post, Rolling Stone
Discography
* YOU DON'T HAVE TO LIKE THEM BOTH - Red Beet Records, 2009.
* MASTER SESSIONS (w/ Lloyd Green & Mike Auldridge) - Red Beet Records, 2010.
* I LOVE: TOM T. HALL'S SONGS OF FOX HOLLOW (Co-producers as well as performers) - Red Beet Records, 2011.
Photos
Bio
Grammy nominees Eric Brace and Peter Cooper have created a body of work that reflects their journalistic sensibilities, a love of harmony and wry humor, and their deep respect for the masters they're lucky enough to play with. Their most recent project, the Grammy-nominated "I Love: Tom T. Hall's Songs of Fox Hollow," was featured on NPRs All Things Considered and Weekend Edition, in USA Today and the Chicago Sun-Times, and was named a Top 5 Americana album by Rich Kienzle in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Produced by Brace and Cooper, it features performances by Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Bobby Bare, Duane Eddy, Jim Lauderdale, Elizabeth Cook, as well as Brace, Cooper, and others.
Eric Brace and Peter Cooper have acclaimed music careers outside their impressive work as a duo. Brace is lead singer and songwriter for the renowned roots rock band Last Train Home. Started in Washington, DC in 1997, and now based in Nashville, Brace & LTH have released eight CDs, several EPs, and a full-length concert DVD, with a new album in the works.
A former journalist for The Washington Post, Brace found a kindred spirit in fellow East Nashvillian Peter Cooper, a music writer for the Tennessean and other publications, and a professor of country music at Vanderbilt University. Cooper released two critically praised solo records, "Mission Door" from 2008 and "The Lloyd Green Album" in 2010, another step in his ongoing collaboration with the legendary pedal steel Hall of Famer.
When Brace and Cooper play together, it's something special. Their shows are engaging and funny and reflect the pair's easy camaraderie. They can command the stage of a concert hall or festival with the same ease and intimate feel they bring to a coffeehouse. The duo has opened on large stages for John Prine, Nanci Griffith, Don Williams, Todd Snider, Rodney Crowell, Iris Dement, Chris Smither, Dan Tyminsky, Travis Tritt & Jerry Douglas, among others. They've shared the stage with Tom T. Hall, Jim Lauderdale, Suzy Bogguss, Dan Navarro, Marshall Chapman, Kim Carnes, Emmylou Harris, and others. They've recently played U.S. festivals such as Bristol Rhythm & Roots, Tin Pan South, Americana Music Association, Folk Alliance International, 30A Songwriters, and Knoxville Rhythm and Blooms, as well as the Truck, Summertyne, and Maverick festivals in the U.K.
The pairs 2010 album, Master Sessions, is a tour de force that made its way onto numerous critics Best-of lists. It features the instrumental work of pedal steel guitar legend Lloyd Green and dobro master Mike Auldridge. You Dont Have To Like Them Both was released in 2009 and was a #1 album on the Freeform American Roots Chart, Top Five on the Folk DJ Chart, and Top Ten on the Americana chart. The opening track, I Know a Bird, which was penned and sung by Brace, was the #1 Folk song on its release and a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition.
Brace and Cooper record for the East Nashville indie label Red Beet Records.
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