Lance Cowan
Singer-Songwriter
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“Echoes of Steve Goodman and Michael Martin Murphey, among others, surface in his literate, intimately detailed perspective, but mostly you’ll hear the elevated song-craft common to the best of the New Traditionalist movement of yore set in a soothing string-rich soundscape defined by acoustic guitars, mandolin, pedal steel and fiddle, all pristine as fresh waters. Cowan’s clear, appealing tenor is the voice of a close friend. It’ll hit you where you live.”
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– David McGee/The Absolute Sound
Biography
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​It would be tempting to say that Lance Cowan missed his calling. After all, for three decades as an entertainment publicist, many of his clients had no idea that he’d ever written a song, much less performed in a variety of songwriting shows on a regular basis.
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That changed last year when he released his debut album, So Far, So Good, a 12-song collection that had critics around the globe cheering. The response was so positive that the Kentucky native decided to release a followup album, Against The Grain, in early 2025. The brand new album was given worldwide digital release & physical release in North America & Europe on his own Lantzapalooza Muzik label (distributed in North America by CPI/The Orchard and in Europe by At The Helm/Proper).
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Produced by Jason Stelluto and Scott Paschall, Against The Grain features 10 new recordings all written or co-written by Cowan. “Jason and Scott produced four songs for So Far, So Good some 20 years ago,” Cowan says. “Jason thought it would be fun to get the ‘gang’ back together for another project.”
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Cowan leaned on his good friend and former guitarist for the wildly influential band New Grass Revival, Pat Flynn, while Stelluto reached out to celebrated pedal steel wizard Dan Dugmore (Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor), drummer and percussionist Vinny Santoro (The Cicadas, The Highwaymen, Rodney Crowell), bassist Jay Turner (Demola Adepoju, King Sunny Ade, Joanna Cotten) and pianist / keyboardist Todd Smith (Days of the New). Paschall reached out to Nashville’s own Chip and Billy Davis (Alabama, Dolly Parton) to lend background vocals. Clark Hagan (Chet Atkins) flew in from Colorado to record the tracks at Music City’s famed Sound Emporium. Even Sam Hinds drove from D.C. to help with the heavy lifting. In just two days, 10 basic tracks were recorded before heading to Mt. Juliet’s Wooden Cloud Studios for final touches.
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“Jason and Scott wanted a cohesive, live sounding record,” he continues. “So that’s how we recorded; straight through with very, very few overdubs. These guys are not just session players and sidemen. They are artists in their own right. When you are dealing with artists of this caliber – who are having fun playing together, care about what they are playing and like the songs they are playing – well, you can’t help but get great results.”
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Against The Grain kicks off with the California-country flavored “One More Chance,” written with fellow songwriter Sam Gay, who also co-wrote the title track. “Goin’ South,” written with Maine’s iconic singer-songwriter David Mallett, is the tale of a woman finding herself. “Will Belinda,” written with old friend John Tirro, is a tragic Western love song. Cowan takes an unexpected edgier turn with “Ragged Edge Of Nothing,” written with longtime writing partner, Terry Clayton.
The five remaining tracks were written solely by Cowan, including his nod to his native Kentucky and the plight of coal miners in “Old King Coal.” He bemoans the cold weather in “I Can’t Stand The Winter,” and worries about taking on the role of parenting with “Prayer For A Child.” On “More or Less,” Cowan’s emotional vocal is backed sparsely by piano, cello, organ, bass and modest percussion.
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The final track, “Love Anyway,” was inspired by growing divisions in our world, dominated by hate and violence. “Sometimes people can be so mean,” he sings before adding ‘If we ever hope for change, love anyway.”
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For the cover of Against The Grain, as he did for So Far, So Good, Cowan used an old family photo, this time of his 1932-era grandmother holding his dad with his young aunts and uncle standing nearby.
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“When I decided to release So Far, So Good in 2024,” Cowan explains, “I was really just trying to put together a calling card with the hopes of finding new venues to play. I had no idea what to expect - in fact, I was pretty nervous about what kind of response I would get. I was sweating every time a new review showed up.”
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Those reviews from his peers and some very tough critics were overwhelming. “It stinks of quality,” wrote Duncan Warwick of Country Music People. “Cowan is a remarkably talented singer/songwriter who’s every bit as capable and credible as the artists he represents,” echoed Lee Zimmerman in American Songwriter. “Cowan is a superb troubadour tunesmith,” noted critic Robert K. Oermann wrote in Music Row’s DISClaimer.
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The album was named one of the “Top Ten Roots Albums of the Year” from The Absolute Sound Magazine, and it was also named it among the best albums of 2024 in the annual Village Voice Pazz and Jop Tribute Poll.
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Those kinds of reviews gave Cowan the confidence to continue his journey. “I realized I’d been given a gift with so many wonderful songs over the years and that, by not sharing them, I was being a horrible steward of those gifts,” he said. “I felt like I was doing a disservice to the songs by not making them available and giving them the chance to connect with others.
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“I’m often asked what took so long to begin releasing my songs,” Cowan says. “I go back to the early 90s, when BMI sent me to Toronto for a showcase at Folk Alliance with one of my songwriting heroes, Chip Taylor (“Wild Thing,” “Angel Of The Morning”).
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“I watched all the other artists at the conference who were struggling to kickstart their careers - there must have been a thousand of them pushing their homemade cds,” he laughs. “My wife and I had two small sons at home, and I realized that to build a career as an artist, I would miss seeing them grow up, and probably be divorced. So I re-focused on being a dad and a husband. When we became empty nesters, I looked at these songs, wanting them to be heard and decided it was the right time to release, So Far, So Good.”
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As an entertainment publicist, Cowan has worked behind the scenes with some of the country’s finest songwriters, including Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Nanci Griffith, Lyle Lovett, Guy Clark, Michael Martin Murphey and many more. Along the way, he has quietly honed his own songwriting skills, learning from those artists and influences Jackson Browne, Mark Heard and John Prine to name a few.
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His works have been performed and / or recorded by such respected artists as Joan Baez, Janis Ian, David Mallett, and several independent artists.
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Lance Cowan • Critics & Against The Grain
“If he’d never made another album, he’d already be something like the Shohei Ohtani of music—a two-way player in a game in which being a one-way player is hard enough. Besides, the phenomenon known as the “sophomore slump” is real. Or as an old saying goes, “You’ve got your whole life to make your first album but only a year to make your second.” It’s a way to explain why albums that come right after successful debuts are rarely as potent. But just one year after So Far, So Good, Cowan has made another album. It’s called Against the Grain. And not only does it avoid the sophomore slump, but it’s even better than what came before. The mid-’70s country-rock instrumentation and vocal harmonies remain. And now they’re put at the service of hooks that would’ve embedded themselves in the top 40 back when millions were checking into the Hotel California.”
– Arsenio Orteza / WORLD Radio
“These songs are straight up great. Cowan’s songs and vocals are some of the strongest of this decade. His voice is pure gold, the kind that comes along every decade if we’re lucky. The man’s phrasing and sensitivity to feel are beyond beatable. Really.”
– Bill Bentley / Bentley’s Bandstand
“So much for the fabled sophomore slump. If Lance Cowan’s debut album, So Far So Good (a Deep Roots Album of the Year last year), came out of the blue to be one of 2024’s most pleasant surprises, then his new long player, Against the Grain, tells us its predecessor was no fluke. You may call him a dreamer, but he’s not the only one. Whatever else he is, Lance Cowan sounds like a major singer-songwriter whose art is our blessing.”
– David McGee / Deep Roots
“This is Americana music at it’s most appealing. Without pretension, the singer-songwriter offers a new album filled with musical delights you’ll want
to experience again and again.”
– Paul Freeman / Pop Culture Classics
"The Lance Cowan story isn’t just one of the best stories in country music. It’s one of the best stories in the country itself. It’s a story of devotion, patience, self-belief, humility and a recognition so long overdue it seems like a cultural crime. It’s gentle and so well-crafted it sounds like an echo of a Nashville that used to be but is no more. ...Cowan’s music is a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup. It has a hardy flavor, clears your head and there’s just something about it that feels therapeutic. You can go ahead and feel dismayed we were denied access to his talents for 30 years. Or just take it as a hopeful sign that at long this long-overlooked talent is back for seconds.”
– Chris Rodell / Eight Days To Amish
“I mean this as the greatest compliment, but if you’d told me
John Prine wrote and played guitar on that, I’d have believed it.”
– Bill Cody / WSM-AM Coffee Country & Cody, Hall of Fame DJ
Commenting on “Love Anyway”
“Lance Cowan has delivered a masterpiece, a guided tour through a rootsy tapestry of sound that will make any listener feel totally at home. A beautiful collection of intimate songs, the mixture of light and shade makes each
an engrossing, riveting listening experience.”
– Alan Cackett / noted UK Music Critic
“Lance Cowan is a singular talent, but his skills intersect several realms. A skilled promoter and publicist, he’s been responsible for bringing any number of artists the recognition they so decidedly deserve. However, it’s his abilities as a singer and songwriter that find him making a belated bow. He released his debut album, aptly titled So Far So Good, last year, garnering widespread kudos. His follow-up, Against the Grain, makes it clear it wasn’t a one-shot effort, further evidence that his artistic abilities have floated about in the ethos for some time. Cowan’s supple vocals frequently recall those of Jackson Browne or the late Glen Frey given their soothing and assuring sensibility, but it’s the songs themselves — “Once More Chance,” “I Can’t Send the Winter,” “Old King Coal,” and “More Or Less” in particular — that underscore the music’s full emotional impact. (Against The Grain) is something akin to an album for the ages."
– Lee Zimmerman / Goldmine
“Last year’s So Far So Good is still in my rotation, and
Against The Grain is likely to end up right next to it.”
– Charles Hughes / No Fences
“Music Row publicist Lance Cowan is also a terrific singer-songwriter. His second album, Against the Grain, drops next month. Its advance single addresses the political divisiveness that’s so pervasive today. “If there’s ever hope for change, love anyway,” he sings in his tender tenor while acoustic piano and guitar notes ripple around him. Innocent, touching and gently folkie.”
– Robert K. Oermann / Music Row DISClaimer
“If there were any lingering doubts from Cowan’s debut, on Against the Grain he’s clearly stamped himself as a convincing and talented songsmith.”
– Jim Hynes / Making A Scene
“This late-blooming folk/Americana singer/songwriter has a second album, and it evidences no sophomore slump; in fact, Against the Grain is at least as likable as its excellent predecessor. (These are) songs you’ll likely want to return to predominate on this gently delivered album, much of which has a Laurel-Canyon-in-the-’70s feel. “One More Chance” and “I Can’t Stand the Winter” are among several selections that sound like ones the Eagles might have recorded.”
– Jeff Burger / The Aquarian
"After years as an influential Nashville publicist for the likes of Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Michael Martin Murphey, Lance Cowan’s second album proves that his talent is the equal of any of his clients. Against the Grain is a master class of songwriting, where every word illuminates the story and not a note is wasted. With its rich harmonies and soulful lyric, the heartfelt 'Prayer for a Child' could be a song that Jackson Browne forgot to record. Likewise, the tragic 'Will Belinda' continues the grand tradition of outlaw songs like Townes Van Zandt’s 'Pancho and Lefty' or Warren Zevon’s 'Frank and Jesse James.’ Cowan can also turn a phrase with the best. In the poignant 'I Can’t Stand the Winter,' the heartbroken hero tells us 'I sweater up my heart / by remembering the parts / of the burning fire that I once knew.’ The droll title track describes a sea-loving dreamer who 'quoted Melville, hated Faulkner' as he builds a ship in his wheat field. And the closing ballad “Love Anyway” is a moving plea for sanity in a turbulent world. All in all, Cowan’s economy with words and visceral emotions makes Against the Grain required listening (along with his 2024 debut, So Far, So Good) for anyone who’s interested in songwriting that tugs at your heart.”
– Bob Cannon / Music Critic
“(Lance Cowan’s) work on his own stamp on the music business continues to grow with the release of Against the Grain; a sophomore effort ripe for the acoustic Roots world, a breezy wink to California-inspired Country Rock. He keeps solid company on the release. Pat Flynn from New Grass Revival (among many others) give solid support to tunes that lyrically dig into love and loneliness, chasing fortune and raising family.
This is a record about life and all its grit and glory.”
– Bryant Liggett / The Alternate Root
“What grabs the listener first is Cowan’s smooth voice
set against masterful melodic tunes.”
– Elaine McAfee Bender / Buddy Magazine
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Contact:
Management:
John Porter • Mood Indigo Entertainment
917.301.7528
john@moodindigoentertainment
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Record Label:
Lantzapalooza Muzik
615.210.1478
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