Growing up on the banks of the upper Mississippi, Chris McGarry spent his earliest years absorbing the culture and mystique of the places that river touched. In college he immersed himself in the field recordings available through the Smithsonian Folkways collection and fed his own creativity with the music that served as the backbone of most American music since.
After moving to Denver for a change of scenery, McGarry played around in bluegrass circles before setting out to write his own music and tell his own stories. His debut album, And The Weary Eyes Reply reflects McGarry's clear roots in that Americana music that inspired him in school. But it is also a statement of a young man coming of age and trying to find his way and discovering a clear sense of self.
In 2011, McGarry put together a solid line-up of musicians and so Chris McGarry and The Insomniacs was born. With the Insomniacs, McGarry's songwriting has matured and his new EP reveals that full adulthood may bring with it a comfort with being oneself but that reaching that plateau makes you want to travel and explore with a genuinely expansive spirit rather than mere impulse.
With a sound both pastoral and rich, Chris McGarry and The Insomniacs sets itself apart as a group not by sounding like they've co-opted a popular sound of the moment. Rather, this band's music and words resonate with a simple, but not simplistic, honesty.