The musical path of Tim Grimm found himself passing through the worlds of theater, Hollywood, “Wilderness Plots” and more; and from the beginning always with a true heart.
After pursuing a degree in political science at Earlham College in Indiana, Tim earned a Masters of Fina Arts in Theatre at The University of Michigan and began working in professional regional theatre, settling in Chicago. There, in addition to his theatre work (stints with Steppenwolf, The Goodman, and others), he studied briefly at the Old Town School of Folk Music and began writing songs and performing them.
His first musical pursuit in the late ‘80s was putting together the band Tim Grimm and The True Hearts. They would release two CDs – True Heart, Kind Mind and Broken Down Palace.
But then, “Hollywood called,” and Tim put down his guitar and pen, and didn’t really pick them up for close to 10 years. After several years working as an actor in Los Angeles in the 1990s, where he co-starred for two seasons on the NBC drama “Reasonable Doubts,” worked on the film A Clear and Present Danger with Harrison Ford, and appeared in numerous other films and TV projects, Tim returned home to the Midwest.
Having grown up in the woods and small-town Midwest settings, son of schoolteachers and grandson of farmers, and his return home was a conscious choice to live a life of significance rather than one of “success.”
Combining his talents in music, acting and theater, in 2001, Tim wrote the music for the stage play “Amber Waves” at Indiana Repertory Theatre with Jason Wilber of the John Prine band. Continuing his work there, he was asked to compose music and act in a production of “The Grapes of Wrath” at Indiana Repertory Theatre and Syracuse Stage in New York.
Back on his musical path, in 2007, Tim put together a concept project with several of the Midwest’s finest songwriter’s— Krista Detor, Carrie Newcomer, Tom Roznowski, and Michael White. That recording, Wilderness Plots (drawn from the short stories of noted author Scott Russell Sanders) explored the settling of the American Wilderness in the Ohio River Valley Region between The Revolutionary War and The Civil War. Two PBS programs have subsequently explored Wilderness Plots – the first, a documentary on the story and song, and the second a full Wilderness Plots-In Concert both productions were nominated for Emmy Awards. Grimm continued to write songs based on Sander’s writings and released the album Wilderness Songs and Bad Man Ballads.
His musical catalog includes more than a dozen albums, many exploring history and stories of the heartland.
These days, Grimm splits his time between a 100-year-old cottage in Oklahoma (where he and his partner Alissa host a new house concert series called “Red Dirt Folk Salon” www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085542985089) and 50 acres of Southern Indiana woods purchased by his father in 1971, as well as hosting tours of Scotland and Ireland exploring history, culture, food, music and sight-seeing. (www.timgrimm.com)