Christine Lavin

• Folk
• Singer/Songwriter

Christine Lavin grew up one of nine children whose father was Thomas F. Lavin and mother was Josephine Crawford Lavin. She started her professional life as a waitress/bread baker at the Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY in 1975 where she met the legendary Dave Van Ronk who encouraged her to study guitar with him in NYC. For many years she was a singer/songwriter/ guitarist/recording artist/author/videographer based in NYC, but now she lives in Rochester NY where she plans to attend Eastman School Of Music in the fall.

Her latest album, DRUM SCHOOL DROPOUT, (her 26th, released August 1, 2025) features Christine with her favorite producer, Brian Bauers, who turned some of her unique stories into songs, like “A Soldier & His Princess” about the 474 letters her Dad wrote to her Mom during World War II, while stationed in Europe. She is joined on her new album by Broadway’s David M. Lutken, London darling Daniel Cainer, and there’s a song she wrote for her friend Ervin Drake, about his 70-year on again/off again romance with Edith Berman, the woman who inspired his song, “Good Morning Heartache,” that became a big hit for Billie Holiday, and is also the second verse in Ervin’s song, “It Was A Very Good Year” (‘when I was 21/it was a very good year . . .’). In 2019 Christine was inducted into the Rochester Music Hall Of Fame, and in 2021 she was awarded an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts from her alma mater, State University of New York at Brockport.

Her brother Christopher was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Hobart/William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY, that same week (he had much fancier robes). Christopher was born on Columbus Day — that’s how two Dr. Chris Lavins ended up in the same family.

Christine has also produced 12 compilation albums that showcase the work of dozens of singer/songwriters whose skills she admires, and her memoir, “Cold Pizza For Breakfast,” won the 43rd Annual ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for excellence in writing about music. She is currently working on the follow up book to “Cold Pizza For Breakfast: A Mem-Wha??”