Soloists
Dawn Boyer
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, soul, and R&B, and 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.
Brett Hartenbach
Brett Hartenbach has been a professional musician and singer/songwriter 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 Taj Mahal, Tom Rush, Guy Davis, and Josh Ritter. 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. In addition to being the band leader for Rock My Soul, Brett tours the world with indie pop icon Daniel Johnston, and he is currently working on a CD of his own.
Carolyn Morse-Finn
At the age of 18, Carolyn Morse-Finn sang throughout Europe to audiences in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and, finally, Spain, where she stayed for 7 years. There, she managed a quintet in Madrid and did a TV appearance and several radio shows. She was invited to make a demo in London, then spent two years in Iran and Turkey, where daytime volunteer work brought her to orphanages and hospitals. She not only lifted children from their cribs and beds but lifted their spirits with music and laughter. Upon returning to the US, she sang as part of choirs and folk groups, always with a love for gospel music. She is one of the original members of Rock My Soul.
Mark Weaver
Mark Weaver grew up singing in church choirs in New Hampshire. In college, he sang barbershop with the Bates College "Deansmen." He also sang in the Bates College choir, and played his guitar and sang in local pubs. A member of the Greenland Community Church Choir, and regular soloist with that church, Mark joined Rock My Soul in April 2006, and his deep bass voice quickly earned him a spot as soloist there, too.
Tina Weinberger
Tina Weinberger grew up with music spring-ing out of every corner of her life. From school choirs, band, and college choir, she’s spent an adult life primarily devoted to church choirs, performing as a soloist and at various church outlets as a Praise & Gospel singer. Gospel has been at the root of most of her ‘life experience’ with music and has quickly become a life-affirming venue for her soul song.
