James Hersch

For four decades acclaimed songwriter, singer and guitarist James Hersch has been quietly building a repertoire of work that puts him squarely on the edge of acoustic music's importance in North American culture.

A native of Osseo, Minnesota, he's notched fifteen album credits to his name and has become known for his story song releases "Innerweather" (strictly one voice and one guitar, no edits or overdubs) and "BackTracks". Hersch has been nominated National NACA Coffeehouse Entertainer of the Year several times and has been a finalist at the international Kerrville Folk Festival. He won a 'Telly' award for his original soundtrack for the 2009 PBS documentary, "Paving the Way: The National Park to Park Highway”, featuring guitar, fiddle (Peter Ostroushko) and cello (Joseph Englund).

Although James has a Bachelor of Arts degree in classical guitar, his songwriting and performing styles are eclectic and broadly appealing. Hersch performs as a solo acoustic artist and his music has taken on a life of it's own, deeply planted in the minds of the thousands who hear him each year. In 2009 and 2012, James undertook to write, record and publish one song per week for 52 weeks. Both projects resulted in CD releases that include 16 songs most popular with online followers of the projects.

James' REACHWITHME residencies have become a useful outreach program aimed at the profound effect music can have on elderly. REACHWITHME has been honored with the Harry Chapin Award for Contributions to Humanity by the National Association for Campus Activities. His NOISY SONGWRITING WITH KIDS residency is a popular program with K-12 schools and libraries.