For the past 30 years, Lance Cowan has worked behind the scenes with some of the country’s finest songwriters, including Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Michael Martin Murphey, Lyle Lovett 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. His works have been performed and / or recorded by such respected artists as Joan Baez, Janis Ian, David Mallett, and several independent artists. In the studio he has been produced by legends like Allen Reynolds (Garth Brooks) and Jim Rooney (John Prine, Nanci Griffith) and has worked with musicians Dan Dugmore (Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor), Sam Bush, Pat Flynn (New Grass Revival), Dave Pomeroy (Don Williams), Andrea Zonn (James Taylor), Robert Reynolds (The Mavericks), among others.

SFSG

This Heart of Mine

Phil Madeira epitomizes his own lyric “Dream Big Dreams” (from his songs, “Wicked Job”).  He
Phil Madeira
Falcon has worked with many of the artists he dreamed of playing with when he was an unknown musician from Rhode Island.

As a songwriter, sideman and producer, Madeira has worked with the likes of Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Patty Griffin, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, Keb' Mo’, Taj Mahal, The Waterboys, The Wood Bros., The Civil Wars, John Scofield, Amy Grant, Garth Brooks, Toby Keith, Buddy Miller, Julie Miller, Allen Toussaint, Solomon Burke, Mavis Staples, Tommy Emmanuel, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Red Dirt Boys, Jim Lauderdale, Jars of Clay, The Choir, Cindy Morgan, Sixpence None The Richer, Gabe Dixon, Little Big Town, Bruce Hornsby, Phil Keaggy and many many others. He is currently a member of Emmylou Harris’ band, The Red Dirt Boys.

Originally dreaming of being a solo artist, Madeira contented himself for many years being a sideman and songwriter to the stars.  But in 2012, he released PM, his first solo record since 1998.  In the years that have followed, he has released eight solo albums, including his last year’s Funky Covers,  plus three notable multi-artists records under the Mercyland moniker.

Madeira will release two records in July of 2025 – a live set titled Live Trio and a full studio recording titled Falcon, named for the beat up Ford wagon that brought him to the threshold of his dreams.

An inductee of the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame, Madeira realized the boyhood dream of playing the Newport Jazz Festival in 2019.  His song “From This Valley” won a Grammy for the Civil Wars in 2014.

Madeira’s career was jump-started in 1976 when he joined The Phil Keaggy Band as keyboardist and vocalist.  This catapulted him, for better or worse, into the Christian World and eventually led to Nashville.  However, the CCM world was too small, too claustrophobic for someone like Madeira who wasn’t content to dial in on the specifics of spirituality.

It was another refugee from Christian Music, Buddy Miller, who invited Madeira to join his band in the early years of the then fledgling Americana Music genre.  Playing on Miller’s records, as well as those of Julie Miller, brought Madeira new listeners and a welcome from a diverse fan base.

In 2007, fortune called again when Emmylou Harris invited him to join her band.  He’s been with her ever since, and by way of her friendship and encouragement, Madeira began releasing solo records, some of which found friendly ears at Rolling Stone, Maverick and other great music journals.

His 2018 Providence record marked a departure from his guitar-based songs when he returned to piano as his main instrument.  Providence was pure autobiography, a paean to his home in Rhode Island tinged by jazzy chords and featuring legendary jazz musicians like John Scofield.

Newport Jazz Festival, the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame and other institutions suddenly became aware of the native song’s abilities as a composer, singer, songwriter and sideman. He continues to play alongside high profile players (Keb' Mo’, Amy Grant, Emmylou Harris, Red Dirt Boys, Willie Nelson, etc.) yet shrugs it off like it was as simple as mowing his lawn.  

“I’m like a good plumber,” he says.  “I’ve been doing a few related things for about 50 years and I’d better be able to deliver.”


05 Needles

Lance Cowan Media

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