About

Featured on NPR’s “Open Mic” and in Performing Songwriter magazine, The Ditchflowers’ debut CD, Carried Away, garnered unanimous rave reviews from critics and fans alike. Creative Loafing called it “exquisite…sweet, timeless pop” while popmatters.com opined that “Carried Away’s 12 compositions are action packed with melody and lush instrumentation… the Ditchflowers strum, swoon, swing, and sway themselves into a prime spot in your music collection.”

Led by longtime friends Ed Woltil and Brian Merrill, two of the Tampa music scene’s leading lights, The Ditchflowers represent a rare convergence of talent coming together in the right place at the right time. Former frontman of Big Deal recording artists Barely Pink, Merrill fuses craft and showmanship. His music has been featured in broadcasts by such diverse outlets as the XGames on ESPN, the Disney Channel and the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Award-winning songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ed Woltil channels inspired melodicism and riveting musicianship. Whether leading Tampa Bay power pop savants, Mad For Electra, or playing rhythm guitar with Florida’s legendary Headlights (Roger McGuinn’s one-time backing band), Woltil has charmed audiences and critics alike.

Rounded out by fellow Headlights alum Steve Connelly (cited by Creative Loafing as both “the linchpin of the Tampa Americana scene” and “the premier guitarist in Tampa Bay for the past thirty years”), the powerhouse Barely Pink rhythm section of Stan Arthur (drums) and Michael Hoag (bass), and versatile keyboardist Lee Bryant, The Ditchflowers combine melodic sophistication with a power pop punch to showcase rare emotional and stylistic versatility.