Rock My Soul Directors
Dawn Boyer, Executive & Choir Director
Dawn Boyer grew up in her father's native North Carolina, where she first heard Southern Baptist gospel choirs and developed a deep reverence and respect for the music. She's heavily influenced by Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, and Marion Williams. Known as a soulful "shouter" as well as a singer of quiet, deep, warm resonance, she puts all of her heart and life experience into any song she sings. Her adult background is steeped in blues, gospel, soul, and R&B, and for more than 25 years, she has performed for audiences across the nation, singing with James Montgomery, Luther Guitar Junior Johnson, and Pinetop Perkins, to name a few. Her dynamic voice is both powerful and moving, but the emotion she gives to a song and to audiences is even more so. As Deacon Randy Green of Boston's legendary Silverleaf Gospel Singers stated, "You can't fake where gospel comes from, and she's the real thing. That girl can sing!"
In addition to performing with Rock My Soul, Dawn sings on her own and with acclaimed acoustic guitarist Brett Hartenbach. She has recorded with the San Francisco-based Soul Proprietors, recently released a CD of Christmas songs, and is currently at work on another solo CD project. She studies vocal and choir technique with Berklee School of Music faculty member Charles Sorrento.
Brett Hartenbach, Band Leader
Brett Hartenbach has been a professional musician for more than 25 years, playing and singing in concert halls, clubs, colleges and festivals throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. He has performed at some of the most prestigious venues and festivals in the U.S. and abroad, including NYC’s legendary Bottom Line, the Newport Folk Festival, the Edmonton Folk Festival, the Boston Folk Festival, the Ann Arbor Folk Festival, Mountain Stage, Woodsongs, the Sanders Theater (Cambridge, MA), the Old Town School of Music (Chicago), Cambridge’s famed Club Passim and Breminale in Bremen, Germany. He has also shared the stage with such notables as Ellis Paul, Mary Lou Lord, Taj Mahal, Tom Rush, Susan Werner, Garnet Rodgers, Robert Earl Keen, Josh Ritter, Bill Lloyd of Foster and Lloyd and R.E.M. producer Don Dixon. Northeast Performer referred to Hartenbach as a “human fake book” because of his vast knowledge of and ability to play material from various genres, as well as the number of songs he can perform at a moment’s notice. He also comes armed with a catalog full of fine original material.
Throughout the course of his career, Brett has worked in various duos and groups, as well as a solo performer. As an accompanist, he is said to be a “singer’s dream.” In recent years he has traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe performing and collaborating with Boston-based singer-songwriter Rachael Davis. Brett co-wrote Davis’s “Eighth Lit Window,” which earned her a spot as a finalist in the Telluride Bluegrass Festival Troubadour Contest, which she went on to win. He also plays a major role in the arrangement of her music.
With a style that is tasteful, powerful and versatile, yet always in the service of the song, Brett’s guitar can be heard on various recordings, ranging from the quirky pop of cult icon Daniel Johnston to the acoustic folk of Rachael Davis, T.S. Baker’s pop-folk, the traditional gospel of Rock My Soul, and chromatic harpist Ben Brown, to name a few. Whether creating trademark hooks, adding the musical backdrop to a writer’s melody and lyric, playing lead guitar or simply holding down a steady rhythm, he has a way of bringing out the best in singers and their songs.
Brett has produced or co-produced recordings by Daniel Johnston (The EP “Laurie” [U.K. Top Ten] was Melody Maker’s “Single of the Week”), Ben Brown, Michigan-based singer-songwriter Kevin Henry, and Rock My Soul soloist Dawn Boyer. He is currently working on the first album from Rock My Soul. He also serves as bandleader and guitarist for the group, which in two short years has made a name for itself as a musical force in New England.
Quotations
• “Brett is an immensely talented and tasteful guitarist who plays with emotion and restraint -- a rare combination these days…he complements and completes the song without ever getting in the way.”—Robbie Schaefer (Eddie from Ohio)
• “…plays with fire and taste.”—Ellis Paul (Philo/Rounder recording artist)
• “A unique sound that encompasses the essence of both folk and rock.”-- The Channels (Santa Barbara [CA] Community College)
• “Great guitar work.”—Robert Crenshaw (singer-songwriter and drummer with Marshall Crenshaw)
• “It was like he was one with the guitar.”—Jim Lauderdale (Grammy Award winning singer and songwriter)
