Named 2000's "BEST DISCOVERY" in roots/Americana music by the Chicago Sun-Times, "BEST of INDY" singer-writers by Indianapolis Monthly, and winner of the Just Plain Folks Music Award for Best Traditional Folk Song (opening track- "Better Days"), south-central Indiana singer-songwriter, actor, and hay farmer, Tim Grimm has released a new recording entitled Heart Land. "He masterfully works his words like a farmer works the soil for a deeply involving, superbly crafted harvest of nine original songs, along with the traditional "Sowin' On The Mountain", and A.P. Carter's "Carter's Blues"..... These days most songwriters rhapsodize about mountains and oceans, sometimes rivers and lakes. Grimm gives the heartland it's due. You should do the same for Tim Grimm." Rich Warren, SING OUT/ "The Midnight Special" Recorded by David Webber at Airtime Studios in Bloomington, IN and utilizing some of the region's finest musicians-(Dan Lodge-Rigal, Jason Wilber, Jamey Reid, Jack Helsley and Gordon Lowry to name a few) Heart Land is about going home again, about honoring the family, the farm and the vanishing landscape of the rural and small town Midwest. This is music for readers of Wendell Berry, Gene Logsdon, Wes Jackson and others who evoke the down-to-earth American traditions and values of respecting the land, living simply, taking pleasure in physical labor, and acting as neighbors. This is an acoustic album with simple, straightforward production, with Grimm recording the bulk of his tracks live . The album is guitar-centered with light touches of piano and fiddle, with occasional cello, mandolin, and banjo also working themselves into the mix. Bass and percussion blend seamlessly into the framework of each tune they're a part of. But the heart of the album are the vocals-- Grimm's rich, honest voice--alone, or blending with just the right harmonies. These are songs that recognize that the roots of 'country' and 'folk' music are virtually the same. While the term "urban folk" has become an increasingly popular descriptive, Grimm's music is firmly planted in pastoral terrain, and is populated by neighbors and rural folk who still hold to sets of values that are out of fashion. From the heart of Indiana, the songs are full of wisdom without setting out to be wise-- and it is the wisdom of simple satisfactions. 9 out of 11 tunes are Grimm originals. The traditional tune, Sowin' on the Mountain which he learned from friend Ramblin' Jack Elliott, builds with a rousing chorus, and Carter's Blues , a lesser-known Carter family tune, has been stripped down to a vocal duet with one guitar. Points of Note:This is Grimm's first release in 8 years. A successful career in film and television sidetracked his musical aspirations, and not until he returned to the Midwest with his family, did he find the place once again to write from the heart. He is a previous finalist in Musician Magazine's Best Unsigned Band contest, a winner in the Midwest region's Marlboro Country Round-Up, and has traveled and played with friend, Jack Elliott. Songs from Heart Land have won awards in The John Lennon Songwriting Contest and The Great American Songwriting Competition. He has appeared in half a dozen feature films, most notably Clear and Present Danger, opposite Harrison Ford, and most recently The Insider. He has worked on numerous television shows and his work as a stage actor in the last few years has earned much critical acclaim. "a superb work, probably one of the best efforts I've heard from an American songwriter in recent times...every song is a gem." --Massimo Ferro, Radio Voce Spazio, Italy "Not only a terrific country-folk singer (think of a mellow Bruce Springsteen with the sincerity and clarity of Johnny Cash), but also a compelling, observant songwriter who understands how to balance the personal and the universal..." --Indianapolis Monthly