Bio

"Todd Royce Morton grew up in the small-town art community of Brattleboro, VT, during the burgeoning commercial blues boom and pop cleverness of the 1980s. His formative years as a musician are characterized by these popular trends and an innate interest in 50’s bebop and 60's psychedelic blues-rock. Todd was embraced early on in his hometown as an up and coming talent, through newspaper features and sold out concerts. A guitarist since the age of 7 and a singer-songwriter since the age of 12, Morton is equally comfortable in his roles as electric guitar slinger, band frontman, and acoustic troubadour. Blues, rock, jazz improvisation, and pop music form the foundation of the [now] Maine resident’s sound, whether he's playing solo, with his trio, in his four-piece function band "FunkyTown" or as a sideman. The breadth of his experience and performance formats is a testament to his musicianship and appeal.

After studying for 2 years at Berklee College of Music on a merit scholarship, Morton was recruited to join the nationally known swing band, “Eight To The Bar.” For the remainder of the 1990's he toured as "Todd Royce" with "Eight to The Bar," playing upwards of 250 nights per year. He has shared the stage with some of the biggest names in blues, including Duke Robillard, Ronnie Earl, and Johnny Winter. As a sideman he has played and recorded with members of Van Morisson's band, the Saturday Night Live Band, Roomful of Blues and David Crosby's "CPR."

His high level of play over the last 15 years has brought him to some of the country's greatest venues and events, such as The Newport Jazz Festival (Newport, RI), Irving Plaza (NYC), Rockefeller Plaza (NYC), Toad's (New Haven, CT), Disney's Atlantic Boardwalk Ballroom (Orlando, FL), Yankee Homecoming (Newburyport, MA), Pearl Street (Northampton, MA), The Iron Horse Music Hall (Northampton, MA), The Rockport Lobster Fest (Rockport, ME), Northampton Center for the Arts (Northampton, MA), Biker Week (Laconia, NH), Seacoast Repertory Theatre (Portsmouth, NH), The Lotos Club (NYC), Harper's Ferry (Boston, MA), John Hancock Center (Boston, MA), The Superdome (New Orleans, LA) and ESPN's X-Games (Vermont).

Todd has released two full-length CDs of original material, "Step into the light" (2002) and "Waiting for you" (2005) which have received rave reviews from major music critics and fans. Songs from both have been featured on FM radio in Maine, New Hampshire, Arizona, Connecticut, New York, Vermont, and on the internet, and have been chosen for prestigious artist compilations. He has also composed music for film and multimedia. Guitar and music fans of all ages continue to recognize Todd Royce Morton as a master of his instrument and craft."