A lifelong musician, Randall Kromm reinvented himself as a folksinger in 2009, playing at coffeehouses, open mikes, and clubs in the greater Boston area. Since then, he has performed a sold-out show at Club Passim, New England's premier folk venue, released his first CD (Water Wheel) and received a multitude of accolades from the music community, including Christine Lavin and Don White.
Kromm creates music that touches people, performing beautifully crafted songs of ordinary life that capture experiences and feelings we all share. Kromm employs a variety of musical styles to convey stories of love, family, hope, and uncertainty with insight and wit. His songs and live performances are leavened with humor, enabling the audience to laugh about life's challenges and difficulties.
What people are saying
Christine Lavin, a nationally touring folksinger, has hailed Randall's song "Water Wheel" as a "modern classic" and "a new folk standard." Lavin called Kromm out of the audience at a recent show in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to play the song for her fans.
New England performing legend Don White covered the song "Water Wheel" on his 2010 release Winning Streak. White, who has recorded 11 CDs, had never covered another artist's music, but says the song "spoke to me deeply and immediately. My hope is that now lots of people will make the effort to discover the work of this very talented man."
Ellen Schmidt, a musician and producer of folk shows in the Boston area calls Randall "one of the finest songwriters I have heard in the past couple of years. . . Randall can write about the ordinary things that are part of living, family, love, and work and touch his audience every time."
Dan Cloutier, host of the Amazing Things Arts Center open mike and founder of Birch Beer Records, concurs: "Simply put, Randall Kromm is a masterful songwriter. He has the rare ability to look into the life of the common American and see the joys and pains we all have."
Veteran folk performer Tom Smith agrees, saying "Randall’s songs of common life, love, family, hopes, and uncertainty are presented like a conversation with a friend over a dinner table. Intelligent yet fun, relaxed yet musically interesting, introspective yet universal – I find my thoughts returning to his music long after each performance."
Background
Raised in Manhattan, Kansas, Kromm grew up on the Kingston Trio, Joan Baez, and the Beatles. He attended Williams College in Western Massachusetts, then moved to Boston, where he worked as a grant writer and union organizer and played in rock bands by night. Several years later, Kromm shifted his career into law and public policy at Harvard University. Kromm lives in the greater Boston area with his wife, Pam, three daughters and a son.
