J. Schnitt
J. Schnitt is a folk singer, singer-songwriter, "one-man band", protest singer, and storyteller from the small Central NY city of Utica. Traveling the murky waters of the Independent music world going on 20 years now. DIY in the truest sense. Bringing his songs to whomever, wherever, and whenever he can. Over the course of 23 albums, 700-ish songs written, and thousands of shows, he has established himself as one of folk musics best kept secrets.
He has won a variety of songwriting awards and praises including recognition from the International Songwriting Contest for "excellence in songwriting", 3 time Sammy Award nominee, Unity Hall Songwriting Contest Grand Prize, among a bunch of others. He has participated in the Syracuse Acoustic Guitar Project 2022, been a featured performer at many songwriting showcases, and has performed on prestigious stages throughout the Northeast as well as overseas, including Freshgrass Festival (Mass MOCA), Club Passim (Boston), Babeville (Buffalo), Mercury Lounge (NYC), Nelson Odeon (Cazenovia), Westcott Theater (Syracuse), Oswego Music Hall, Clown and Bard (Prague), Shaffer Theater (Utica) , to name a few. He has shared the stage with esteemed artists such as Martin Sexton, Yonder Mt String Band, Jackie Greene, Felice Bros., Dan Bern, Ghost of Paul Revere, Peter Mulvey, among many others.
Known for his insightful lyrics and sharp commentary, ranging in topics from current events and political issues, to engaging storytelling, to the deeply personal, he has established himself as a "songwriters songwriter." Often referred to as “The Bob Dylan of Central New York” (the Scene), both for his prolific nature and his lyrical prowess. As always, J. is currently at work on a host of different albums, scheduled to be released, well, whenever they're done.
J. Schnitt is also currently singer/guitarist for the alt/prog band BikeLane. He is also a founding member of legendary folk-rock band The Reuben James and experimental prog band The Archipelagos. He has also played lead guitar for garage punk rockers The Real Burnouts and upright bass with folk band Auld Lang Syne.