In October 2003, Jamie released his debut album Two Different Towns. Two Different Towns is full of strong songs and rich acoustic textures. Playing on this album is an all-star cast of musicians including 2003 New Folk award winner Jonathan Byrd on vocals, Bill Newton (Indigo Girls) on harmonica, Robert Griffin (Squirrel Nut Zippers, Katherine Whalen's Jazz Squad) on piano and keys, Robbie Link (Mappapundi) on bass and cello, Taz Halloween (Jackie O. Pillbox) on vocals, and Ray and Lindsay Tims (The Mark Allen Band, The Tims Family Band) on dobro, mandolin, fiddle, drums, and electric guitar.
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WHIPPOORWILL, the long-awaited second release from veteran Raleigh songwriter Jamie Purnell, is hard to contain under a single genre of roots music. From the uptown country-jazz of “The Right Time”, to the dark, quiet, contemplative folk of “Hush Your Mind” to the soulful, gospel of “Reconciliation”, Jamie approaches a wide range of sounds with a skilled ear, a steady hand, an honest heart, and a true gift for the kind storytelling that souses out the humanity in any given situation. The 12 songs on WHIPPOORWILL are groovy enough to move you and deep enough to keep you coming back again and again. Although Jamie’s warm, rich tenor has been compared to that of Jim Croce or James Taylor but he is a unique voice in the acoustic music scene that deserves to be heard.
