Bruce Hornsby

Three-time GRAMMY award winner, Steinway Artist Bruce Hornsby has built one of the most diverse, collaborative and adventurous careers in contemporary music. Drawing from a vast wellspring of American musical traditions, the singer/pianist/composer/bandleader has created a large and accomplished body of work and employed a vast array of stylistic approaches. Throughout this period, Hornsby has maintained the integrity, virtuosity and artistic curiosity that have been hallmarks of his work from the start.
 

Bruce Hornsby and his band The Range's first album "The Way It Is" (1986) was steadily and slowly building in popularity in the U.S. when in August the title track exploded on BBC Radio One in England, then Europe, the rest of the world and finally in the United States. The album eventually sold three million copies. Suddenly they were playing Saturday Night Live and opening for Steve Winwood; John Fogerty; Huey Lewis; the Grateful Dead; and the Eurythmics before becoming headliners on their own tour, supported by Crowded House.
 

Soon Hornsby was being approached regularly to collaborate with a broad range of musicians and writers, a demand that continues to this day. He has played on records for Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Don Henley, Bob Seger, Squeeze, Stevie Nicks, Chaka Khan, Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver), Leon Russell, Chris Whitley, Warren Zevon, Bernie Taupin, Brandon Flowers (of the Killers), Cowboy Junkies, Shawn Colvin, Bela Fleck, Randy Scruggs, Hillary Scott, the Wild Magnolias, Clint Black, Sara Evans, Clannad and many more. He has worked on his own records with Ornette Coleman, Jerry Garcia, Eric Clapton, Sting, Elton John, Mavis Staples, Phil Collins, Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis, Wayne Shorter and Justin Vernon, among others. Along with his early collaborator, brother Jonathan Hornsby and latter-day partner Chip deMatteo, Bruce has co-written songs with Robert Hunter (the great Grateful Dead lyricist), Justin Vernon, Robbie Robertson, Don Henley, Leon Russell, Charlie Haden, Chaka Khan, and Jack DeJohnette. His songs have been recorded by another broad array of artists including Tupac Shakur (his iconic "Changes"), Akon, Bon Iver, Chaka Khan, E-40, Don Henley, Leon Russell, Willie Nelson, Mase, Randy Scruggs, and Robbie Robertson. He has enjoyed long, collaborative relationships including with celebrated filmmaker Spike Lee, scoring and recording music for his films and tv shows. He also enjoyed many years of music making with the Grateful Dead.  
 

Over the years Hornsby has successfully ventured into bluegrass, jazz, classical, and even electronica, reflected on acclaimed releases like two projects with Ricky Skaggs- "Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby" (2007) and the live "Cluck Ol' Hen" (2013), the jazz trio album "Camp Meeting"(2007) with Jack DeJohnette and Christian McBride, and "Solo Concerts (2014), a stylistic merging of traditional American roots music and the dissonance and adventure of modern classical music. This latter-day interest has led to an orchestral project spearheaded by Michael Tilson Thomas; the first performance occurred in January 2015 with Tilson Thomas' New World Symphony, and the latest concert with more new material came in June 2018 at his Funhouse Fest with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.
 

Hornsby has performed in storied festivals and events throughout his long career, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opening concert; Farm Aid IV and VI; Telluride Bluegrass Festival; Newport Jazz Festival; New Orleans Heritage and Jazz Festival; Woodstock II and III; Bonnaroo; and most recently at Coachella with his somewhat frequent collaborator, Bon Iver. He has performed at the NBA All-Star game, four NBA Finals, the 1997 World Series Game 5; and recorded the soundtrack to "Baseball: A Film By Ken Burns." 
 

A University of Miami alum, Hornsby has partnered with The Frost School of Music to establish the Creative American Music Program, a curriculum designed to develop the creative skills of talented young artist/songwriters by immersing them in diverse American folk, blues, and gospel traditions that form the foundations of modern American songwriting. He is managed by Red Light Management.

Bruce Hornsby has been a Steinway Artist since 2004.