Grant-Lee Phillips

“I’m drawing on the urgency of the moment,” reflects Grant-Lee Phillips. “The things that eat away in the late hours…”

That urgency inspired the headlong rush of his new album Widdershins – in which Grant-Lee Phillips invests the insight, nuance, and wit that has distinguished his songcraft over the past three decades.

Exploring folk, alternative, pop and Americana, Phillips’ band Grant Lee Buffalo was a seminal ‘90s mainstay. Even in the wake of disbanding in ’99, albums like Fuzzy and Mighty Joe Moon remain enigmatic treasures, that new generations are drawn to. So much so, that Grant Lee Buffalo embarked on a string of reunion dates in 2011. The group signed a deal with Chrysalis/Blue Rain Coat in 2018 and a major reissue of the catalogue is currently underway.

As for Phillips, his career has constantly evolved, diving into deeper adventurous waters with each project. Being a songwriter and a multi-instrumentalist, he’s embraced the freedom of being his own producer. “For me, production is about honoring and delivering the song, baring witness to the spirit in the room. It is so much about communication, finding that common language among musicians and technicians - which is often wordless, by the way.” Fans have come to accept that Phillips would always prioritize creative discovery, while resisting the expected.

Something he could never expect occurred in 2001 when Phillips was approached about a role on a newly burgeoning TV show called The Gilmore Girls. “The Town Troubadour was sort of a cartoon version of myself. I had no idea it was going to snowball into multiple seasons, coffee mugs and syndication as it did. The show turned a lot of new people onto my music.”
Acting wouldn’t curb Phillips’ consistent output however. Mobilize, Virginia Creeper, Nineteeneighties, Strangelet and Little Moon would follow – each a document of his life in that moment.

On his 2012 release Walking in the Green Corn he drew from his Native American heritage. A year later Phillips relocated from Los Angeles to Nashville, marking a new creative chapter, inspiring The Narrows. The release of Widdershins in 2018 brings the current count to nine solo albums and four with Grant Lee Buffalo.

His eyes remain fixed on the work at hand and that of tomorrow. His tour schedule finds him circling the globe many times over in a given year. Constant movement, physically and creatively is almost a mantra. Say’s Phillips, “I could never sit still.“