The North Shore Music Association welcomes singer-songwriter John Lowell to the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on October 26. Lowell has performed in the Mountain West for the past 43 years. He’s toured the world with his bands Kane’s River, Growling Old Men, Wheel Hoss, the John Lowell Band, and Coppo, Kaerner & Lowell. He performs his western-themed music worldwide, was featured on A Prairie Home Companion, and is the recipient of the 2024 Governor’s Arts Award in Montana. 

Lowell’s 2024 album, Snow on the Wineglass, was produced with both bluegrass/folk and western music audiences in mind. Texas musician Mike Blakely writes, “If you like well-crafted story songs about cowboys, outlaws, homesteaders, prospectors, hard times and mustangs, you’ll love Snow On The Wineglass. Combining frontier themes, vibrant lyrics, acoustic bluegrass style picking, and stellar vocals, these tunes unfold like scenes from a classic western movie.”

Lowell’s 2021 album, She’s Leaving Cheyenne, was nominated for four awards by the International Western Music Association and won Working Cowboy Song of the Year for his song “Angus Mackenzie.” He was nominated twice in the Association’s Song of the Year category, as well as for Songwriter of the Year and Album of the Year. She’s Leaving Cheyenne was named Album of the Year by Wyoming Public Radio. 

Lowell teaches at music camps in the US, UK, Canada, and Europe and serves on the International Bluegrass Music Association songwriting committee. He and his wife (and frequent musical partner) Joanne Gardner Lowell live in Livingston, MT. Joanne will accompany him for the Grand Marais performance.