Noah Zacharin is a widely acclaimed guitar master, multi-genre songwriter, and dynamic performer. He was given his first guitar at age 9, wrote his first song at 13, and began performing at 14. In December 2015, Zacharin became a full-time recording and touring musician, and is more thrilled than ever to be doing what he has, in fact, always done. Born in Montreal, Zacharin is no longer an urban dweller, splitting his time between a home near Madoc and an off-grid cabin on the Canadian Shield. As the road has returned he is spending time there as well.
He has been called “deserving to be mentioned in the same breath with names such as James Taylor and David Wilcox” (Minor 7th), ”a stunning guitarist…no stylistic boundaries” (Holger Peterson, CBC, Stony Plain Records), “a wonderful songwriter and performer” (Paul Mills, Borealis Records), “a poet, a songwriter, a singer we have been waiting for” (the late Penny Lang), “in a league of his own” (Brian Gladstone, Founder and AD Winterfolk Festival), and “one of the best songwriters this country has produced” (the late great Rick Fielding, recording artist, radio host).
Zacharin’s 9th solo recording—Points of Light—has just been released (on Sonic Peach) and is a mix of solo and band performances. In addition to Russ Boswell and Gary Craig on bass and drums, the record features cameos by players such as Marc Ribot, Kevin Turcotte, and Kevin Breit. Previous recordings have all garnered popular and critical praise: StrangeRider (2016) made a number of ‘Best-Of’ lists for 2016; of 2018’s A Startle of Wings—an intimate, solo, 14-song journey through genres, concerns, and rhythms—renowned DJ Michael Stock (WLRN) said: “a beautiful album…rare to hear an album of solo vocal and guitar sound so full.”
As a soloist he has opened shows for Odetta, David Lindley, Dave Van Ronk, Jesse Winchester, Alex de Grassi, and Fairport Convention, and performed internationally in 100’s of venues from club to concert hall. As a producer and instrumentalist he has performed with some of Canada’s finest and appears on some 65 recordings by artists from across North America. As a writer, his songs have been recorded by popular performer and radio host Laura Fernandez, Rolling Stone (India) Cover Artist Rehan Dalal, double-slide master, the late Brian Cober, and songwriter-harpist extraordinaire Sohayla Smith.
He has officially showcased at FARM (Oct 2016), SERFA (May 2017), and SWRFA (Sept 2022).
Noah Zacharin is also an award-winning poet (with “a remarkable ability to articulate efficient, powerfully condensed ideas”: What 18/19) and translator. He has published hundreds of poems, translations, and reviews in periodicals and anthologies worldwide, and is currently at work on several manuscripts of poems.
In his spare time Zacharin reads, cycles, walks, and practices tai chi and kung fu. He also practices guitar.
