"Based on Saint Simons Island, GA, Jamaican-Born, Singer/Songwriter/Performer Owen Plant's style is reminiscent of introspective artists from the '70s, old-time reggae groups and contemporary acoustic artists. His laid back, soothing and delicately honed vocals and songwriting are the center pieces of his sound and his performance style has been lauded as well by critics, clients and his loyal fan base. He performs all over the country at festivals, clubs, cafes, wineries, resorts, colleges and for private functions. He is the artist-in-residence at Sea Island Resort.
Owen writes and performs folk and reggae influenced songs. His unique sound is drawn from diverse influences, the most obvious of which being music from the ’70s. His finger-picking style is folkie/Americana-like and his strumming employs muting and downward strumming techniques taken from reggae music. Creative kindred spirits of today include Amos Lee, Ray LaMontagne, Jason Mraz, Xavier Rudd, Jack Johnson, Martin Sexton, Ben Harper, Michael Kiwanuka and Ziggy Marley - all singer/songwriters who have come up with distinctive sounds within the framework of clear inspirations and traditions.
Owen was born and raised in Jamaica until the age of 13 when his family relocated to California. As a child he learned piano, percussion and singing in a group called the Children's Workshop that toured the island and appeared on TV. Years later in LA his father taught him a few chords on guitar shortly before Owen left to study in Spain where he became guitar/songwriting-obsessed and completed his first set of songs. He later made the Boston/Cambridge, MA area home to form the band Shake Senora with high school friend Fez Aswat. The band did very well, selling out the House of Blues and opening for acts like the Mighty Mighty Bostones and Tom Tom Club. After the band's dissolution he continued performing solo in the folk scene in New England performing regularly at world-famous Club Passim in Harvard Square. He opened for great folk artists such as Ellis Paul, Jonathan Edwards and Livingston Taylor during this time.
In 2007 Owen started a project with songwriter/composer Christopher Tyng (The OC, Futurama, Suits to name a few) called Sunshine Brothers. Chris was the first writer Owen clicked with since Fez and the resulting album, 'Live by the Sun,' released in 2008, is something he's very proud of. It features one of Owen's musical heroes, David Crosby, singing backups on 'Love Again'. Cros also graced the stage at the CD release concert! They opened for Steel Pulse, Donovan Frankenreiter, Inner Circle and Brett Dennen and had definitely made some waves with celebrity attention from TV stars like Noah Wiley, a successful trip to South By Southwest Festival and other big shows on the Central Coast of CA by the time they called it quits in 2010.
Joining the Vans Warped Tour on the Acoustic Basement Stage in 2012 and 2013, Owen Plant's presence as a national touring artist was thrown into high gear. Founder Kevin Lyman saw him at a showcase at New Noise Music Festival in Santa Barbara and booked him on the spot. It taught him a lot about how to navigate music as an industry and an art form and he reveled in the supportive environment Kevin and his crew engender on the road.
Owen relocated to Saint Simons Island, GA where he is the artist-in-residence at Sea Island Resort. As has been the case many times in his career, the opportunity came from being observed live. Rick Riess, now with Montage Resorts where Owen also plays often, saw a concert in Northern CA ultimately leading to the move.
Owen has many solo efforts but his forthcoming LP, I Was on the Moon, is his most ambitious in scope. Funded by a small group of supporters, he had the resources to team up again with Christopher Tyng to produce his best sounding album yet. It is slated for release early summer 2016."
