Secret Song Club presents Chris Hanlin + Amie Penwell
Join us for the first in a monthly series showcasing Bay Area songwriters. The night starts with an open mic followed by featured artists Chris Hanlin and Amie Penwell. Free entry, no cover. Tip jar donations for Chris and Amie are welcomed. Sign up to play the open mic at [email protected]
Chris Hanlin is an American singer, multi instrumentalist, and songwriter. Chris was born in Indiana and even though he has called California home for many decades, his roots in the American Midwest shine through his soulful songs and thought provoking lyrics. Chris has written, performed, and recorded many styles of music throughout his career. Whenever Chris starts to sing he pours his heart into every line sung and every note played. Chris Hanlin is a true singer songwriter.
Amie’s music walks a fine line between piano-driven pop, soul and country while maintaining an alternative aesthetic which allows her the freedom to mold, shape, bend and blend the various styles which influence her the most, joining the likes of Annie Lennox and Aimee Mann, and Peter Gabriel,
“I’ve spent the last few years working on a collection of songs that came out of conversations I had, and experiences I’ve shared, with women of diverse ethnic, economic and religious backgrounds,” Amie says. “With the help of my collaborators, that collection has become my new record, Windows. It’s an intimate, firsthand look into the lives of nine women on nine different journeys. Each song is a portrait of individual and collective exploration through acceptance, power, will, humility, denial, willingness, faith, surrender, and freedom.”
Amie’s underground hit single, “Mercy,” was featured in the award-winning 2012 documentary, The Eyes of Thailand, which was narrated by Ashley Judd. In 2013, my EP Under City Lights was featured on Season 2 of Web series “Bloomers” and The Ask BonBon Show. In 2015, she was a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Contest (ISC) in the Adult Album Alternative category for her song “Dogfight On The Moon”. In 2016, her song “Somewhere The Sky Is Blue” with Grammy Award-winning Producer Ricky Kej, in the Dominica Scorsese film Almost Paris, her song Unstoppable made it into the Mary Janes The Women of Weed as it’s credits song. Amie is currently writing and recording with Vicente Rodriguez (Chuck Prophet).
