Dim Watts

The latest psyche folk rock project from veteran Athens, GA songwriter.

A long known and well loved gem of Athen’s ever fertile music scene, Jim Willingham has steadily released his unique brand of gentle hearted but rough around the edges folk rock for over 20 years. From the mid 2000’s into the teens, he fronted Ham1, which included members of Olivia Tremor Control and Patterson Hood’s solo band. They toured with and backed well known folk outsiders such as Vic Chesnutt.

Ham1 morphed into Old Smokey during the teens, focusing predominantly on Willingham’s knack for succinct instrumentals with memorable melodic hooks. Old Smokey incorporated banjo, wind and bowed instruments and captured the kudzu covered pace of Athens and life in the southeast.

Dim Watts is a return to Willingham’s more straightforward folk rock- showcasing his knack for finding beauty or meaning in the mundane or meek, possessing an ever present emotional sensitivity in his lyrics, with humble and clever musings on being alive in an awkward world. Willingham has performed on stages across the southeast and wider U.S. From DIY venues to larger clubs and theaters- his unassuming demeanor paired with funny story telling and observation-through- song always leaves both new and familiar audiences smiling. He was the recipient of the 2020 Vic Chesnutt Songwriting Award and shares similarities to the namesake’s songwriting. Think David Berman literary weight paired with Daniel Johnston hanging-by-a-thread delivery and you’d land somewhere in
the ballpark of his style. For most of the year, Willingham teaches reading to special needs students but is available for summer, weekend, festival and one-off bookings.

Links:
Website– https://dimwatts.net/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ham_willy/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/DimWattsAthens