Feel free to use these in any way that might help promote Danny's music.


"Danny Schmidt is a force of nature: a blue moon, a hundred-year flood, an avalanche of a singer-songwriter. His songs are a flood of poetry, mythology, folk wisdom, and surprise."
- Matt Watroba, Sing Out! magazine

"The most brilliant young songwriter I've heard in the past 25 years. His songs are thrillingly poetic."
- Rich Warren, The Midnight Special on WFMT


"There are some albums that jump right out of the speakers at you and grab you by the throat. Intensely intelligent, this is sensitive songwriting at its finest. In his use of parable and allegory, there are inevitable comparisons with Cohen and Dylan, but these are songs of such quality and beauty that they more than hold their own in this exalted company."
5 stars out of 5, Maverick Magazine UK

"There’s a quality -- an easygoing, lyrical storytelling manner that eschews stridency or pretension -- that all folksingers strive for and few attain. But Danny Schmidt has it in abundance. With seductive simplicity, his music demands your attention."
- Jeff McCord, Texas Monthly

"In today's underground folk world, Danny Schmidt is spoken of in reverent tones, drawing comparisons to Leonard Cohen, with a poetry that breathes naturally and without pretension, with results that are both attractive and intense."
- Jim Caligiuri, Austin Chronicle

"Schmidt is a stellar poet and musician, and media comparisons to a string of legends are not amiss. He's too original and too good for a mere cult following."
- Dirty Linen Magazine

"With beautifully crafted, lonesome pines music and complex beguiling words, he would've fitted neatly on the bill at any '60s coffee house alongside Townes Van Zandt or Leonard Cohen."
- Q Magazine, UK

"This songsmith has been churning out brilliant, poetic songs on the human condition coupled with dazzling technique on his guitar strings for almost a decade."
- Jay Trachtenberg, KUT Radio in Austin


"Danny Schmidt's the real thing, a bone fide: Best new songwriter in X years kinda guy."
- Penguin Eggs Magazine, Canada

"His songs, so lyrically rich, so finely crafted, carry the power of fine poetry. They accentuate the narrative. They celebrate subtlety. Schmidt's songs are filled with nimble wordplay and cool cadences; they move with the light feet of a dancer. But in the tone and theme, they convey weight and depth and substance."
- Brad Buchholz, Austin American-Statesman

“Danny's poet-perfect word choice, multi-layered narratives, gentle yet powerful melodies and superb guitar work all mesh together to create art that jumps off the record or rushes up off the the stage and directly engages the heart and mind. There’s Danny Schmidt, and then there’s everyone else. I've not seen anyone before combine all the tools of the singer/songwriter so perfectly. No one. Making comparisons to other songwriters, living or dead, is wholly unfair to those on both ends of the comparison. Danny is that good.”
- Alt-512 Music Musings

“In my life there have been ‘special’ songs, the where and when of their first hearing I will remember as long as I draw breath. ‘Stained Glass’ is the latest addition to that select category, establishing a practically unassailable standard.”
9 stars out of 10, Arthur Wood, Folkwax

"This album reads like a list of the best songs available from a top music publishing house. It is one for the ages. I know lyricists who would sell their soul for one verse that good. And it continues like that, front to back. Words cannot come close."
- Frank Gutch, Swampland

"Danny Schmidt is a young man with blazing lyrical skills and a deserved cult following."
- Andrew Hawkey, Cambria Arts UK

“This would be a perfect time for you to write your ultimate personal manifesto. I'm talking about composing a sweeping statement of the core ideas that fuel your lust for life. To get you in the mood, take a look at the following lyrics from Danny Schmidt's song Company of Friends. ‘I believe in restless hunger . . . I believe in private thunder . . . I believe in inspiration . . . I believe in slow creation . . . I believe in lips on ears . . . I believe in being wrong . . . I believe in contradiction . . . I believe in living smitten . . . I believe our book is written by our company of friends.’”
- Rob Brezsny’s Nationally Syndicated Free Will Astrology, Leo’s Horoscope for the week of 4/17/08


“Danny plays a guitar as natural as he breathes. He has some seriously tasty songs and a debut CD mesmerizes.”
- Mary Sue Twohy, XM Radio Folk Music Director

"The songwriting is on the very highest level, comparable to your favorites, be they Townes Van Zandt, Dave Carter or any of Schmidt’s comrade Austin singer-songwriters. He seems to always to be dealing in the quarter tones of feeling, getting at the complexity with what seems like effortless simplicity.”
- Michael Devlin, Music Matters Review

“The best of the new poet songwriters, Danny Schmidt is incomparable, and a can't-miss performer. Danny’s guitar playing is exceptional, every melody could be appreciated even if there were no words. But Danny is much better known (and very widely) for his poignant lyrics. His poetry is complex but accessible.  It draws you deeply in, creating wonder but resolving in the end with a moral, or with the listener feeling as if that they had just heard the truth."
- Tom Yeager, Songbird Sanctuary

"Danny is unanimously regarded as incredible, if not unbelievable, if not just plain beautiful -- an astounding guitar player, a monumental blues man, and a true poet (if the wind can be called a poet)."
- Songwriter Paul Curreri

"The best songwriter since the late Dave Carter. He's an unsung sensation. An overlooked gem. This cannot be said too loudly or provocatively: Danny Schmidt is a profound talent. The kind that makes a new discoverer of his artistry wonder how it was possible not to have known of him before. His acolytes, including moi, have no answer to that riddle but are always happy to spread the faith."
- Kevin McCarthy, Folk Music Reviews

"Everything about the man is gentle, except his capacity for insight, which is crushing.”
- Songwriter Jeffrey Foucault

"I've not felt a performance with this much intensity since I saw Neil Young solo years ago, nor have I heard songwriting with this much subtlety of craftsmanship since Leonard Cohen. I was completely floored."
- Henri Simmons, The Filter


“Texas' best-kept secret. Danny Schmidt has caught a fast rising star, and is shining brightly with his amazing sound. This guy is headed for the big arena stage. Poet. Singer-songwriter. Guitar phenom. Hypnotic wordsmith.”
- Tom Kemper, East Dallas Concert Series

"Danny Schmidt's outstanding . . . one of the best songwriters I've ever heard. Every word."
- Songwriter Chuck Brodsky


"The songs are fascinating and intriguing, even mysterious. The singing is warm and unassuming, letting the stories lead him. The melodies are captivating. And the writer is gifted. Go find Danny Schmidt and listen."
- Marilyn Rea Beyer, WUMB Radio in Boston

"Danny Schmidt's done it again. One of the country's best singer-songwriters has released yet another masterpiece."
- Les Reynolds, Indie-Music.com

"Little Grey Sheep, the new record by Austin-based singer-songwriter Danny Schmidt is the best of the new year. His songs are as literate, and can be as funny and clever, as anyone else in the songwriting racket today."
- Craig Bonnell, Songs Illinois


"Danny Schmidt parlays an aggressive acoustic guitar style and a yearning, yowling vocal delivery into a unique charisma that's both evocative and oddly comforting. Like Richard Thompson and Townes Van Zandt, Schmidt writes with a clarity that's never verbose or flashy, just simple words attempting to unearth simple truths."
- Darryl Smyers, Dallas Observer

"He might very well be the medieval love child of Ani Difranco and Tom Waits."
- WORT radio in Madison, WI

"Produced with guts and imagination, indifferent to style or trend, this is a recording that will surely glide beneath the popular airwaves, but it deserves our absolute attention. The songs are wildly visual, and Schmidt sings them with a casual but certain voice that does nothing but carry the message."
- Brent Baldwin, Richmond Style Weekly

"Schmidt has the poetry and flow of Dylan without the drawback of having his voice. The density of the poetry means that there isn't a need for any complex musical embellishment. The songs breathe because they have the room to. He combines the starkness of early Iron & Wine with the torrent that is Josh Ritter. These are songs that you have to give time to, pay attention to -- otherwise they will escape you: listen close and you will be rewarded."
- David Cowling, Americana UK

“Danny Schmidt’s album is pure brilliance. It’s one my favorites, lyrically, ever. Ever.”
- Ryan Ireland, Podcast Free America, Best of 2005

"Perhaps the most poetic and powerful singer-songwriter album of the past 20 years. His ability with words and melodies continues to amaze me."
- Midnight Special Radio's Best Album of 2005

“His guitar playing is nothing short of superlative, and his calm gentle demeanor evokes the wisdom of an old-growth forest. His songs can be veiled and coded, yes, and also increasingly rich and mature, spotlighting Danny's subtle lyrical genius and cathartic fingerpicking.”
- James D Graham, Cville Weekly

“Danny Schmidt was right on time, everybody's underdog hero, fingerpicking with his eyes closed, an icon to oddball integrity in this gathering of the undersung. His songwriting peaks with an insight and an almost magical lyrical inventiveness.”
- Stephen Barling, The Hook


“It's honest, bare bones storytelling at it's best. It's such a warm and inviting recording, you're waiting for the audience's applause after each track.”
- Tori Mazur, Music Beyond Radio

"A righteous artist dealing in the rough, beautiful truth. If you love a good song, he's a major find."
- Komedia UK

"Danny is a really captivating talent, with an intensely literate take on things that at times recalls that of Josh Ritter but if anything encompasses a wider stylistic range and an arguably even greater sense of poeticism. His songs are characterized by an easy kind of poetry that seems to just spill off the end of his pen fully formed, and delivered in a winning kind of unassuming but entirely confident soft drawl that beguiles the ear with little apparent effort and draws the intellect in with its spun word-patterns."
- David Kidman, Netrhythms UK

"Pure joy! Little Grey Sheep will enhance Schmidt's reputation as a wise soul, a wiseass, an incomparable wordsmith, and one hell of a songwriter. Buy the records and thank me later."
- David Kleiner, Minor 7th

“Funny and wise at the same time . . . Schmidt seems to have a patent on this type of song. Intelligent, yet at the same time, sensitive and warm. After you’ve heard a Schmidt album a few times, you feel like you’ve found a new friend.”
- Holly Moors, Moors Magazine (from The Netherlands)

“Little Grey Sheep confirms for me that Danny is one of the most talented songwriters out there these days and really deserves wider recognition. This is highly literate stuff with just a whiff of Townes Van Zandt and Dave Carter. The song on Little Grey Sheep called ‘Company Of Friends’ has become an instant classic on ‘The Folks Like Us’ program in Detroit.”
- Matt Watroba, WDET Radio in Detroit

"With an evident gift for words that immediately draws in the listener, Schmidt makes a case for his place alongside singer-songwriters such as Townes Van Zandt, Todd Snider, Greg Brown, Robert Earl Keen, and even Leonard Cohen. Little Grey Sheep is Schmidt's fifth album. It's left me smitten and looking forward to numbers six, seven and beyond."
- Curt Nichols, Boise Weekly

"Little Grey Sheep is another great mystical exploration from Schmidt’s growing repertoire. He wades into the murky end of the pool where few tend to travel these days. It is these mystical and somewhat cryptic explorations that are his strongest territory, both musically and lyrically. It is here, wading in the murk where his guitar work and singing style overlap in a cosmic event, that weaves us a timeless reminder of the human condition."
- Chris Davenport, The Basement Rug

“An emerging folk-blues legend, he reduces grown men to tears.”
- Calmer UK


"There is a bit of Nick Drake and Woody Guthrie mixed with somebody's grandpa who lives in the mountains and sits and sings on the porch all day. Not that he seems especially old, but rather timeless.”
- Songwriter Sarah Roberts

"More than a pleasant surprise, Danny Schmidt was no less than a revelation to me. And that's not a word I use lightly."
- Keith Morris, Charlottesville Daily Progress

“Parables & Primes is without a doubt a fabulous collection of songs which, in a fairer world, would make this man instantly world-famous. Sometimes pure storytelling, sometimes didactical and philosophizing, Schmidt displays one rough diamond after the other -- as beautiful as they are surprising. In our opinion, Parables & Primes simply has everything to become, in time, a real modern folk singer-songwriter classic.”
4.5 stars out of 5, Ctrl-Alt-Country (from Belgium)

"Danny Schmidt is dazzling and poetical . . . bitingly relevant and eminently hummable."
- The Hamner Theater in Virginia

“Phenomenally acute and sensitive guitar, with perfect touches of vocal color and harmony.”
- Steve Layton, Internet Radio Show, Going Places

"One artist that I guarantee you will be hearing more from is Danny Schmidt. His music is inspiring and complex, with an incredible sense of imagery and mysticism. He is not to be missed!!!"
- Ron Olesko, WFDU Radio in New Jersey

“Regardless of the historic respect I owe him, Dylan’s album this year will come after Danny Schmidt’s. He, literally, bewitches his audience.”
- Herve Oudet, Americana in Paris

“Danny Schmidt brilliantly embraces the contradictions of modern life -- with heartbreaking love songs followed by biting philosophical commentary, plain-strummed ballads followed by virtuoso fingerpicking. An exciting, powerful, and touching recording. Highly recommended.”
- The Orchard

“He takes familiar themes and images and makes them his own, with characters and images that ring true because they are as idiosyncratic and contradictory as we are. It's these contradictions that Schmidt meditates upon, and his singing beautifully communicates the resigned/hopeful, sad/funny nuances in his lyrics.”
- Richard Middleton, Victory Review

“He's as witty as a Cafe Wha?-era Dylan, his voice expressive and world-weary as an Appalachian plowman.”
- Internet Songwriter’s Guild Top 10

"I'm totally knocked out by the tunes. As bold and different and secure and sincere as anything I've heard in awhile. A long while."
- Songwriter Tom House


"A contemplative soul to whom words come easily and devotions run deep, he has the ability to weave humor, sadness, celebration, and contemplation into a profoundly beautiful web."
- Shannon Holliday, GoodSound

“A troubador of such subtle magic that only by being in the moment can we join along on this journey of a loving soul.”
- Kate Klein, Music Director KMUD Radio in Redway, CA

"I have rarely, if ever, been so moved or impressed by an artist as I have by Danny Schmidt. Check him out, no matter what kind of music you like, check him out! I guarantee you, if you don't, you are missing one of life's treats."
- Bill Bruedigam, Radio Santa Fe

“Danny Schmidt’s a remarkable songwriter with a gift for craft; the kind of artist that revitalizes the idea of singer-songwriter relevancy. His live shows are reportedly intense and passionate affairs, and come highly recommended from many sources.”
- The Flagpole in Athens, GA

“Austin,TX.’s Danny Schmidt is a phenomenal acoustic guitarist/songwriter who draws comparisons to Neil Young and Leonard Cohen.”
- Jim Reed, Connect Savannah

"Sweet, loving, and joyous . . . the whole album is a treat and shouldn't be passed by."
- Andrea Weiss, Tone & Groove

“Seeing Danny Schmidt live is a spiritual journey through the human experience that is nothing less than cathartic. His sincerity, poetry, and passion bring me to tears every time I listen.”
- Becoming Betty

"As a capacity crowd assembled, Austin, Texas-based Danny Schmidt could have been forgiven for viewing his boisterous captive audience as something of a mixed blessing, but it's greatly to his credit that, armed only with a chair and his acoustic guitar, this remarkable young singer-songwriter stilled the room with the quality of his six-song support set. With an effortlessly fluid guitar technique, a distinctive and mellifluous voice, and an articulate way with words that's at once thoughtful, poetic, moral and witty, Danny emerged as one of those artists whose CDs, for all their engaging quirkiness, only really make sense after you've seen him play live."
- Andrew Hawkey, Cambria Arts UK

 “A Brilliant Poet! Danny Schmidt deserves all of the accolades that he has received from critics, DJs and other songwriters. He is hands-down one of the best singer-songwriters I have ever heard.”
- Songwriter Craig Sonnenfeld

“A clever turn of phrase turns Danny’s seemingly simple and straightforward lyrics into intriguingly evocative prose of metaphoric depth and wit. Impassioned and inventive guitar performance frames his atmospheric modern folk music with indelible melodies.”
- Michael Terry, Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse in Texas


“He does some dazzling guitar work, and his songs are exceptional, often slightly or wildly out of the box, but not to be missed.”
- Forty Acres Concerts in North Carolina

“Choosing a language that is subtle, imagistic and yet intrinsically moral, he imbues these songs with a sense of personal pathos that removes the issues from the politics of the headlines and brings them back home to whence they sprang in the first place. It's this elemental beauty -- the way the guitar feels tuned to the chords of the central nervous system, the way Schmidt and Wood's voices interact knowingly -- that sets this music apart. If there's a better local release this year, I'll be surprised (and thrilled to hear it).”
- Keith Morris, Charlottesville Daily Progress

“Schmidt shows himself to be a mature songwriter, one capable of creating vivid vignettes about the intricacies of life, and his gruff/sweet twang suits the role of country bard very well, indeed. In the same way that labeling artists pigeonholes them, classifying Schmidt's music as folk would be doing him a disservice. Call it instead Natural music -- music that captures everyday life in a form so easy to grasp, it comes with handles.”
- Paul Rosner, Music Today

“One of my favorite singer-songwriters. A haunting, ageless voice; melodies that are both simple & original; wry, moving lyrics; a guitar style that's as organic as it is unpredictable. What force is he tapping into, anyway?"
- Songwriter Brady Earnhart

“He’s truly a poet. For some reason I just feel enveloped by his music. I don't know, maybe it's the sincerity? The sensitivity? I really don't know exactly. It just seems to hit home when I hear it.”
- Joe Dockery, Queen City Acoustic Series

"Furthered both by his mystical lyrics and the stories told in between the songs, each of these tunes was the most profound contemplation on those topical issues that I've heard explored through songs. Instead of preaching through essay lyrics, Schmidt moved the audience to reconsider with inspired parables."
- Jackson Smith, Boise Weekly

“From time to time, older artists who perform at my club will recommend new artists to me, who I might not have heard. Among the most notable of these songwriters, there is Danny Schmidt. Both on stage than on disc, Danny Schmidt demonstrates an undeniable originality, as a very talented guitarist and as a lyricist of indisputable poetic dimension.”
- Blue Umbrella (from France)

“Get this record, it’s simply amazing. It's easily one of the best things I've listened to this year. There's not enough adjectives in any writer's vocabulary, let alone mine, to do his music justice.”
- Alt-512 Blog’s Top 5 Albums of 2007


"Little Grey Sheep is more polished and produced than most of his previous releases, yet loses none of the poetry, sly humor, and edgy fireworks that are his trademark style. The opening cut, ‘Leaves Are Burning’ has Danny's deep, dark, writing at it's finest. ‘Song for Judy & Bridget’ is nothing less than one of the most beautiful wedding songs ever written.”
- Mike Space, WDIY Radio in Bethlehem, PA

"There's some really brilliant writing here. This man is a real storyteller and I recommend Parables & Primes without reservation."
- JM, The Folk Diary UK

"The beauty of Danny Schmidt's live shows is that of a bulb uncovered and electrified, the filament inside giving off the same unearthly glow that Schmidt himself possesses. That light can fluctuate with a surge in current, with songs that gently devastate and cradle in equal measure."
- Brendan Fitzgerald, Cville Weekly

“It is rare that such brilliant, poetic writing is intertwined with vividly haunting delivery and stirring guitar work. The lingering images of the stories told through Danny's songs left us entranced and full of the ancient meanings which moved Human Kind to create music in the beginning days.”
- William Rosewarne, Seattle Neighborhood House Concert

“I have admired Neil Young, the man and his music, from the first time I heard his first song blistering the airwaves. I listened to one of Danny Schmidt's songs and I was instantly blown away with the purity and beauty . . . to the point, yet an infinity left to the imagination, indulging yet inspiring! I suppose someone who possesses such natural talent could be miffed at the notion of being compared to other artists; but I must say that the pleasure of experiencing Danny's offerings, has engulfed me with the aroma of Jim Croce, it has ingrained in me the flavor of James Taylor, and unmistakably, it has instilled in me the feelings which I have only felt in the presence of the works of the genius that is Neil Young. Like Longfellow, Di Vinci and Mozart left in a caldron to brew, the resulting potion is pure poetry and paint soaking a canvas composed of purity, beauty and imagination.”
- Tales of Rapture Blog


Did you seriously make it all the way to the bottom of this page? Are you crazy? Regardless, you deserve a hearty congratulations, a pint of good beer . . . and most likely, a life.

Seriously, though, thanks for being an obsessively committed soul.