Bio
Lamont Hiebert, the lead singer and songwriter of Ten Shekel Shirt, describes himself as an artist and an abolitionist. As an artist, he’s a gifted singer, songwriter and bandleader who evokes comparisons from Snow Patrol to Coldplay to Peter Gabriel for his richly textured music, emotive singing and thoughtful lyrics and who’s already sold 150,000 copies of his first two albums. As an abolitionist, he’s a committed crusader who interrupted a successful musical career to co-found Love146, a non-profit organization dedicated to help end child slavery and exploitation. Not content to simply write songs about the issue or put on benefit concerts, he created a way to make an actual impact. Love146 quickly gained recognition for its work, earning the MySpace Impact Award for Social Justice, and being named an “Agent of Change” by GQ magazine. Lamont’s experiences as a modern day abolitionist are at the heart of many the songs on Ten Shekel Shirt’s new album Jubilee, easily the strongest album in the band’s career. Though the album’s songs deal with weighty subject matter, Ten Shekel Shirt brings a strong message of hope throughout.
Born and raised in British Columbia, Canada, Hiebert moved to the US and eventually settled in New Haven, CT where he founded Ten Shekel Shirt along with original band members Austin Morrison and Tommy Lee. Together they released two acclaimed CDs, Much (which spawned the singles “Ocean” and “Meet with Me”) and Risk, which turned out to be just that.
