THE TWANGTOWN PARAMOURS
SHORT BIO
The Twangtown Paramours are a Nashville-based husband-and-wife duo—Mike T. Lewis and MaryBeth Zamer—known for their award-winning blend of Soulful Folk, Blues, and Americana. With four acclaimed albums and a reputation for stellar musicianship and witty stage banter, they’ve built a loyal following across the U.S. and U.K.
Their latest release, The Wind Will Change Again (January 2025), is an acoustic folk album hailed as their best yet. It debuted at #1 on the Folk Alliance International Chart, with six tracks in the top ten. The record features standout originals and covers, including songs by Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Adam Schlesinger, and showcases top-tier musicians like Rick Lonow (Poco), Jim VanCleve, and Jeff Taylor.
Mike Lewis, a hit songwriter and producer from NYC, studied classical and jazz guitar before earning degrees from Columbia and the Grove School of Music. His career spans major music hubs—NYC, L.A., Austin, and Nashville—and includes writing a #1 platinum pop hit in Korea and playing bass for Jimmie Dale Gilmore.
MaryBeth Zamer, originally from Washington D.C., grew up on classic American vocalists before diving into blues and rock. She was a fixture in the D.C. club scene, performing with Ignition and singing backup for Eva Cassidy’s band, Method Actor.
The duo met in 2007 and quickly began collaborating. Their debut album (2010) reached #11 on the Folk charts, followed by The Promise of Friday Night (2012), which hit #2. They’ve been finalists at the Kerrville New Folk Competition, emerging artists at Falcon Ridge, and winners of the Wildflower Contest.
Their third album, Double Down on a Bad Thing (2022), introduced a full-band, retro blues sound and earned chart placements in both the U.S. and U.K. Tracks from the album have been played in tens of thousands of stores nationwide.
At the heart of The Twangtown Paramours is a commitment to crafting emotionally resonant, high-quality music. As Deep Roots Magazine editor David McGee put it, The Wind Will Change Again “brings into bold relief the depth of their messages and the beauty of their art.”
LONG BIO
Nashville-based husband-and-wife duo, Mike T. Lewis and MaryBeth Zamer, known on
stage as The Twangtown Paramours, have made a name for themselves defying
boundaries with their award-winning catalogue of Soulful Folk, Blues, and Americana
anthems. With a slew of accolades for their four full-length albums, they’ve earned a
loyal following, balancing serious instrumental and vocal chops with witty stage banter
and a lighthearted approach to life.
Their newest album, The Wind Will Change Again, is an acoustic Folk record consisting
of a collection of songs that the press has called their best to date. The album was
released in January, 2025 to rave reviews, coming in at #1 on the Folk Alliance
International Chart, and with six of the top ten songs for the month of release.
Hit songwriter, session musician, and producer, Mike Lewis was born in NYC, but his
sound is informed by a mix of experiences across the country’s major music centers,
including NYC, L.A., Austin, and Nashville. He began learning classical and jazz guitar
at age eight, studying under Leonid Bolotine, William Matthews, and Barry Galbraith
before earning degrees at Columbia in New York City and the Grove School of Music in
Los Angeles. He wrote a #1 platinum pop hit ranked the 2nd biggest-selling female
ballad of all time in Korea, and he occasionally plays upright bass for Jimmie Dale
Gilmore.
Born in Washington D.C., lead singer MaryBeth Zamer was raised on American
songbook music, singing along to Dean Martin and Ella Fitzgerald before discovering
Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt, and the blues in high school. A fixture in the Washington, D.C.
club scene for years, MaryBeth performed with popular local cover band, Ignition and
sang backup vocals for Eva Cassidy’s band, Method Actor. “Eva was a huge influence
on my singing style,” MaryBeth says. “She taught me to go beyond having fun and
hitting the right notes to sing in a way that conveys real emotion.”
MaryBeth and Mike met and started dating in 2007 while both were working on separate
musical projects. “The relationship came first,” says MaryBeth, “but I kept hearing songs
he’d written that I loved, and I wanted to add my own vocal spin to them. I felt like I
could interpret and deliver Mike’s songs the way he intended them to be.”
The Twangtown Paramours released their debut self-titled album via Inside Edge
Records in 2010, a well-received, pop-infused folk album that rose to #11 on the Folk
charts. In 2012, they released their second full-length project, The Promise of Friday
Night, a narrative-driven, acoustic folk album that hit #2 on the Folk charts and #7 on
Deep Roots Magazine’s top 50 albums of 2012.
In the following years, the pair became three-time finalists at the Kerrville New Folk
Competition in Kerrville, TX, emerging artists at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, and
winners of the Wildflower Contest in Richardson, TX. They also had the honor to open
for major acts such as Joe Ely, Claire Lynch, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore.
In February of 2022, their third album, Double Down on a Bad Thing, came in at #11 on
the UK indie Blues chart and #18 on the U.S. RMR Contemporary Blues chart. The
Christmas bonus track on that project was played over 215,000 times in 16,000 U.S.
stores and malls last December, and another song from the album is currently being
played about 18,000 times a week in over 20,000 U.S. stores and malls. On this album,
The Twangtown Paramours showcased a full band, electric, groove-oriented, upbeat,
soul-infused, and retro blues sound.
In addition to their elaborate musical pedigrees and critically-acclaimed release history,
what makes The Twangtown Paramours unique is the purity of their priorities: They are
committed to making top-notch music. Their latest album, The Wind Will Change Again,
released to the public and to radio in the U.S. and U.K. in January, 2025, is an acoustic
exploration of some of the best songs the duo has written and that they often play live.
Included on the album are emotional and thoughtful songs such as “The Garden” and
“Old Friends”, the fun-loving bluegrass influenced tune, “Sincerely Yours No More,” and
heartbreaking ballads co-written with well-known Nashville songwriters, Paul Craft and
Fred Koller. Also on the album are two of the Twangers’ favorite songs to perform live:
Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s “Tonight I Think I’m Gonna Go Downtown” and Adam
Schlesinger’s “That Thing You Do.”
The Wind Will Change Again also features some of the best musicians to be found
anywhere. Players include Rick Lonow (Poco) on drums and percussion, Grammy
winner Jim VanCleve on fiddle and viola, Rave Tesar (keyboardist and music director
for the band, Renaissance), Ed Alstrom (renowned session pianist and organist at
Yankee Stadium), and #1 accordion Nashville session player, Jeff Taylor.
The Wind Will Change Again was acoustically and eclectically produced by Mike Lewis
with songs that run the gamut of emotions from fun to heart-breaking to the
philosophical. This is what David McGee, editor of Deep Roots Magazine had to say
about the new album: "In the performances’ acoustic majesty, we hear the Twangtown
Paramours as we’ve not heard them before, thereby bringing into bold relief the depth of
their messages and the beauty of their art. Right on time for a most chaotic time in our
collective history, The Wind Will Change Again is built to last. And so it will.”
press photos
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