Phil Madeira


Phil Madeira is an American songwriter, producer, musician and singer. He was raised in Barrington, Rhode Island and attended Taylor University, which he graduated from in 1975. His songs have been recorded by The Civil Wars, Buddy Miller, Alison Krauss, Toby Keith, Ricky Skaggs, Bruce Hornsby, Keb' Mo', Garth Brooks, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Cindy Morgan, Shawn Mullins, The North Mississippi Allstars. His co-writing partners include Will Kimbrough, Matraca Berg, Chuck Cannon, Cindy Morgan, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Gordon Kennedy, Keb' Mo', and Emmylou Harris. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Madeira has recorded three solo albums. Madeira received the Nashville Music Award for Best Keyboardist in 2000. He also received a Humanitarian award from ASCAP in 1986 for his raising consciousness and money for the Ethiopian hunger crisis. In 2009, he received the Dove Award for "Recorded Country Song of the Year" from the Gospel Music Association, for his song "I Wish", co-written with Cindy Morgan.

Life and career

From 1976 to 1978, Madeira was a member of the Phil Keaggy Band, with Lynn Nichols, Terry Andersen and Dan Cunningham. The band released one album together, entitled Emerging. The Ithaca, NY-based band broke up in 1978, and Madeira relocated to Nashville in 1983, where he worked as a sideman and a songwriter, making solo records independently.
In 2008, Emmylou Harris invited Madeira to join her band "The Red Dirt Boys".
In 2012, Madeira provided the musical backdrop for Merrill Farnsworth's theatrical piece "Jezebel's Got The Blues... and Other Works of Imagination". In 2012, he produced a collection of Americana Musicians covering Paul McCartney songs on "Let Us In: Americana", a benefit for The Women and Cancer Fund.
In early 2012, Madeira completed production on "Mercyland: Hymns For The Rest Of Us" which features Emmylou Harris, The Civil Wars, Mat Kearney, Dan Tyminski, Cindy Morgan, John Scofield, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Buddy Miller, and Shawn Mullins, North Mississippi Allstars, Amy Stroup, and Phil Madeira.
In mid 2013, Madeira released his first solo CD in 15 years- "PM". Jericho Books released his first book, God on the Rocks: Distilling Religion, Savoring Faith in June 2013. Later in 2013, Madeira and occasional production partner Lynn Nichols produced the major label debut of Pawnshop Kings, a brother duo from Southern California. Madeira appeared with Neil Young, Sheryl Crow, Leon Russell, and Jack White on CMT's Willie Nelson's 80th Birthday Party, hosted by CMT network.
2014 marked the release of Humming People's "City of Lost Men", produced in Norway by Madeira, leading to a long standing relationship with the band. Madeira's song "From This Valley" won the Grammy for Best Country Performance by a Duo in 2014.
Madeira commenced work on a followup to his Mercyland project in Summer 2014; the project "Mercyland: Hymns For The Rest Of Us, Vol II" was released on Mercyland Records in 2016. In late 2015, Madeira finished two solo projects, "Motorcycle" and "Soul Of A Man". Madeira produced Treasure of the Broken Land: The Songs of Mark Heard featuring Red Dirt Boys, Rodney Crowell, Buddy Miller, The North Mississippi Allstars, Amy Speace, Willie Sugarcapps, and others. It was released in 2017.
In 2016, Madeira wrote the liner notes for John Scofield's Grammy winning "Country For Old Men". In 2017, Madeira produced several records for indie artists including Sammy Horner and The Sweet Sorrows, and The Mosleys. Madeira and the other members of The Red Dirt Boys joined Emmylou Harris again for a tour with John Mellencamp.
Between 2016 and 2017, Madeira began writing for a project about his home state. This record is called "Providence" and features Madeira on piano and vocals, Chris Donohue on upright bass, and Bryan Owings on drums. Recorded at Nashville's Sound Emporium, the jazz/blues/Americana outing includes guest guitarists Will Kimbrough, James Hollihan, and John Scofield. The record was released April 6, 2018.

Discography

Solo albums