Lee Murdock and Blue Horizon

Lee Murdock is widely acknowledged as "the premier interpreter of music and stories about the Great Lakes." Noted as a fluent instrumentalist on six and twelve string guitars,
Murdock combines ragtime, Irish, blues and folk styles with this flair
for storytelling in songs. His musical influences span fifteen
generations, and combine original compositions with traditional music.

In 2014, Lee Murdock formed a new band, with a sound unlike anything
he’s offered in the past. It all started with Joel Simpson, a friend who
has been a Lee Murdock fan since the age of seven, or younger. Joel is a
graduate of Elmhurst College School of Music, and is a
multi-instrumentalist, playing dobro, mandolin, guitar, and other
stringed instruments. They came to know each other better while working
each was teaching private lessons at Tobias Music Store in Downers
Grove.

Bassist Mike Bradburn has toured the USA and Europe with the popular
Chicago-based band, Dolly Varden. Percussionist Greg Smith soon joined
the band, and the foursome has formed the backbone of Murdock’s
nineteenth CD, “What About The Water,” released in September, 2014. Greg
had a long and busy career working with another popular Chicago and
touring band, The Dooleys.

The music is grounded in the work song tradition, from the rugged days
of lumberjacks and wooden sailing schooners. Murdock comes alongside
with ballads of contemporary commerce and revelry in the grand folk
style. Lee’s fans have discovered a sweetwater treasure in his songs
about the Great Lakes, finding drama and inspiration in the lives of
sailors and fishermen, lighthouse keepers, ghosts, shipwrecks, outlaws
and everyday heroes