In 1987, LJ Booth came out of the central Wisconsin woodwork with YARNS.  SING OUT! described this quiet debut as “Simply great music”, and added, “I don’t know how far he has strayed form Wisconsin thus far, but LJ Booth is one hell of a Yarnspinner and singer.

 In the years following, LJ was indeed traveling---playing clubs (from Boston to Austin) and festivals (including Falcon Ridge, Edmonton, Kerrville, Telluride and the Rocky Mountain Folks Fest)---building a stage presence that has become his trademark.  

He entered three songwriting “competitions”….Kerrville’s New Folk, Telluride’s Troubadour, and Falcon Ridge’s Showcase….and won all three---invited back to a main stage performance the following year.

Quickly, other performers were eager to include his songs in their sets and recordings….including David Wilcox, Anne Hills, Chuck Pyle and Carrie Newcomer.

In 1992, when LJ released his second CD, BIG HOURGLASS, DIRTY LINEN call Booth “a crack songwriter, with a cinematic flair in his lyrics and a keen eye for the small details of everyday life.”  ACOUSTIC GUITAR added, “this gifted singer-songwriter skillfully connects the dots between his own past, present and future with succinct, often powerful lyrics, appealing melodies and agile fingerpicking….his keen fascination with life’s journey draws listeners closer to the memories and revelations that make it worth traveling.

Born in the Philippines, most of LJ’s childhood was spent oversea... living in northern India from the age of five to ten. With traveling in his blood, LJ hitchhiked extensively in the States and in Europe after leaving home...working a variety of jobs; oil rigs in Wyoming, a lumber yard in Portland, planting trees in Idaho, playing street music in Germany and Switzerland, maintenance work at Crater Lake. 

In 2002, LJ put together his third CD, THE OX THAT PULLS THE CART.  David Wilcox called this startling album of songs “a collection of intricate, luminescent gems... and John McCutcheon added, “Few songwriters I know are as musical, literate and elegant.”   

After two years of travel, following the release of THE OX…, LJ settled into a touring sabbatical, staying closer to home, regrouping and working on new songs. He bypassed the studio recording environment this year, recording a new collection of songs in several live concert settings: THE ROAD THAT LEADS ME HOME.   He’s ending his touring sabbatical by “giving my longtime fans what they have always wanted….a live recording of new songs, with the emphasis on performance, over perfection.”