"…a quiet joy in a raucous world."

No Depression, John Davy

As heard on Folk Alley, Songpickr, Gimme Country, The Alternate RootOut Of The Woods

Forest Sun was born in upstate New York to folksinging back-to-the-land hippie parents. His dad used to chop wood with neighbor Garth Hudson of the Band and literally built the floor that Bob Dylan stood on at manager Albert Grossman’s Bearsville studios in Woodstock, NY.  His mom heard Pete Seeger and Joan Baez play when they filmed a TV show in her uncles living room in Boston, and dated one of the Chambers Brothers before she met his dad.  Weaned on a diet of Jackson Browne and Toots and the Maytals, some of Forest’s earliest memories are of his dad playing “Poncho and Lefty” by Townes Van Zandt and his mom singing Elizabeth Cotton’s “Freight Train”. Forest wrote songs with Rory Block when he was six years old, learned to juggle with WavyGravy when he was 9, and studied drumming with the late African master percussionist Babatunde Olatunji as a teenager.  In college he played in a band with SNL star Maya Rudolph. They opened for No Doubt at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz before Forest left to study art in Spain. 

A pioneer of the DIY movement he recorded his first record in his bedroom in San Francisco with bassist Seth Ford Young (Tom Waits, Edward Sharpe) and toured Europe for the first time, including playing at the Rally on Dam Square in Amsterdam for the Tibetan Freedom Concert where he first met Ben Harper, Alanis Morrisette and Thom Yorke. 

With over 78 million plays on Pandora, troubadour and award-winning songwriter, Forest Sun, enlivens audiences around the globe with his wealth of songs and stories, all sung and told in a laid-back California style. Sun's soulful music draws on a deep well of Americana and is compared to everyone from Jack Johnson and The Avett Brothers to Van Morrison and Bob Dylan.  He’s played festivals from California (Strawberry Music Festival, American River Music Festival) to Europe (Belladrum in Scottland, Fiesta City in Belgium),opened for such luminaries as Lyle Lovett, Bonnie Rait, Steve Earle, Keb Mo, and toured with folks like Brett Dennen, Mason Jennings and the Beach Boys (Forest met famed Beach Boys producer Van Dyke Parks at a festival porch jam and later swapped songs on his piano at his house in LA). Musical collaborations on his records include members of Bob Dylans band, members of Calexico/Iron and Wine, Heather Massse(The Wailin' Jennys, Prairie Home Companion) Jolie Holland (The Be Good Tanyas),  JT Nero(of Birds of Chicago), Sean Hayes, jam band ALO, and bluegrass band Hot Buttered Rum. 

Forest’s songs mine his deep folk roots and embrace his love of gospel, soul, reggae, and country. 

Sun’s music has appeared on Showtime, NBC, PBS, MTV and in several film scores and soundtracks. He has also had several cameo roles as an actor in independent cinema including playing a fireman in “Who’s there?” directed by Cassie Jaye and premiering at Tallgrass Film Festival. 

Forest is also a visual artist and his original paintings and prints have in exhibitions at the Sala Lola Anglada in Barcelona, Spain, The Sebastopol Center for The Arts, and the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art. 

Forest Sun’s music has been featured on MTV's Good Vibes, the Showtime Series The Big C, NBC’s Perfect Harmony, and three indie surf films: Land of Saints, A Common Thread and 5th Symphony Document. Forest also composed the original score for the feature documentary "Free Trip to Egypt". 

Forest’s songs appear on the benefit compilations Burning Heart, Songs for the Gulf (to raise money for cleaning up the oil spills) and Songs for Laura Vol 1 and Vol. 2 (to raise awareness for people with cancer and their families). You can also hear Sun on San Francisco’s favorite radio KFOG’s Local Scene.  Forest’s music has found it's way to Japan with the compilation album Dancing Again released on Buffalo Records and songs featured on the Surf Time Japanese compilations. 

Forest is putting out his music on Vinyl and is releasing a new song each month this year thanks to his supporters on Kickstarter & Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/forestsun). 

Forest resides in the Redwoods of Mill Valley, Ca when he is at home.

Hi-res Photos

Live Performance Video

Film/TV Placements 
NBC - Perfect Harmony
MTV - Good Vibes 
Showtime - The Big C 
Land of Saints 
A Common Thread 
5th Symphony Document
Free Trip to Egypt Soundtrack 
 

Compilations 
Burning Heart - Songs for the Gulf 
Song for Laura, vol One 
KFOG Local Scene vol. 1 and vol. 3 
Dancing Again (Japanese release, Buffalo Records) 
Surf Time vol. 1 and vol. 2
Putumayo Acoustic America

Venues Played
Strawberry Music Festival (California), Belladrum Festival (Scotland), Fiesta City Festival (Belgium), Tibetan Freedom Concert (Amsterdam), American River Music Festival, Cactus Cafe (Austin), Sweetwater (Mill Valley), Levitt Pavilion (Connecticut) , Mountain Winery, Steel City Coffee House (PA), Oregon Country Fair, SXSW, The Independent (San Francisco), Great American Music Hall (SF), Folk Alliance, Hotel Cafe (Los Angeles), The Fillmore (San Francisco), Chronicle Pavilion at Concord, , Shorline Amphitheater at Mountain View, house concerts and many more

Awards
2012 - NAPPA honoree, Just for Fun 
2011 - Best Song Nominee, International Songwriting Competition with "Trampoline." 
2011 - Best Album, Kids Music Awards with Just for Fun, Songs for the Little Ones. 
2011 - Best Song, Kids Music Awards with "Trampoline" 
2009 - Best Song Nominee, Just Plain Folks Awards with "Gurus and Rockstars." 
2007 - 1st place, Pacific Song Writing Competition with Drops in the Ocean. (video)