Sarah Tollerson
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Music
Press
"Sarah Tollerson reminded me of a young, extremely happy, Joni Mitchell. Sarah has the unique ability to exude simultaneous cheer and cynicism in the same song. In an industry that dishes out more of the latter, this is a girl to whom I have a feeling it just won't matter. She'll keep on getting better and better and writing the songs with which her fan base connects."
-Cindy Lou Harrington, President, Georgia Music Industry Association (2001-2004) - GMIA
"At the end of the night the Open Mic Challenge door prize went to Sarah Tollerson. Sarah plays with skill, passion and delivers with a powerful voice. She's a pro!"
-Tom Bianchi, host of the Lizard Lounge Open Mic Challenge in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Tom Bianchi
"Sarah's pitch, delivery and timing were impeccable, and she was really upbeat and easy to work with, something we appreciate. We ended up using her for the solo female lead, although all of her vocals figure prominently in the chorus of the pieces."
- Matt Branco, on recording Sarah Tollerson for "WB Mason" Commercial
- Berman-Branco Music (Boston, MA)
"Sarah's pitch, delivery and timing were impeccable, and she was really upbeat and easy to work with, something we appreciate. We ended up using her for the solo female lead, although all of her vocals figure prominently in the chorus of the pieces."
- Matt Branco, on recording Sarah Tollerson for "WB Mason" Commercial
- Berman-Branco Music (Boston, MA)
Discography
Keeping Old Love Letters - August 2007
Photos
Bio
After several years as a solo act, Georgia native and singer/songwriter Sarah Tollerson found her band and studio musicians in the musical mecca of Athens, Georgia in 2005. With Trevor Wooden on electric guitar, Alec Wooden on bass, and Joe Bleakley on drums, they’re fondly known among their fans as “The Big Fantastic.” Despite the band’s tremendous success in Georgia, Sarah made the decision to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, relocating in January of 2006. Fueled by her first three semesters, she took a summer off from songwriting classes and returned south to record with the Big Fantastic at the Odyssey Studio under the direction of Patrick Rives. She independently released her debut full length album, “Keeping Old Love Letters” in August 2007.
Since the release, Sarah has been handpicked by Berklee College of Music faculty for several performing and songwriting awards. She’s infiltrated the world wide web, boasting three awards from Ourstage.com that were decided entirely by the site’s users. This comes on top of the airplay her album is receiving on college radio in every corner of the U.S.
But when she’s not busy promoting her album, Sarah has been known to step into the studio as a session vocalist. “I love the work,” she says. “I enjoy the challenge of working with producers to get exactly the feel they are going for, no matter how different it is from my original material.” Recent projects include everything from commercial jingles to parodies of old time folk songs.
Despite her diversity in the music business, Sarah ultimately feels that the stage is where she belongs. After graduating from Berklee in 2008, her love of performance led nicely to her first job as a licensed performer in the Boston subway system, the T. “I knew that I needed to be playing music as much as possible and the T was the perfect outlet,” she says. Sarah sold her cds out of her guitar case and received countless e-mails and kind words from the city travelers.
Now, Sarah is living a new adventure. In June of 2009, Sarah left Boston for Music City, Nashville, Tennessee. She is currently writing and recording her next album, and can be found turning heads in her captivating live performances.
The road ahead looks promising for Sarah Tollerson.
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