Russell Lawson has been playing and singing since the 60′s. He composes originals, both secular and sacred, and a number of his tunes evoke his roots in the Charleston, SC, lowlands.
He records in his home studio where he produces cassette tapes (remember those?), CDs, videos and online posts of his compositions.
Russell is a member of ASCAP, the Songwriters Guild of America, the Virginia Organization of Composers and Lyricists and the Americana Music Association. He plays and sings around Richmond with Liz Nance, solo or with his best friend, David Berry. He was a member of the St. James's Church West Gallery Choir for 19 years and the Guitar Ensemble for 25.
Russell was hugely excited to win honorable mention in American Songwriter magazine’s 2009 September-October Lyric Contest for his "Church Hill Tunnel", and those lyrics were later included in Dr. Walter Gregg's book on the train disaster. He was pleased to place in the quarter finals of the 2023 Songwriters Guild of American Pop Song contest.
He uses Taylor and Fender guitars, Hohner harmonicas and banjo. Mics are Apex, MXL and Shure. He uses a HP Envy as his DAW with SONAR digital recording software. Additional recording and mastering is done at The Shop in Fincastle, the home studio of Josh Jones.
