WOMEN OF AMERICANA: A Celebration of American Music comes to Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts on April 11
The Women of Americana on stage (Photo courtesy of Berry Jost)
"WOMEN OF AMERICANA: A Celebration of American Music," an exuberant exploration of songs popularized by female musicians, comes to Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts at UConn on Saturday, April 11.
Featuring vocalists and instrumentalists Cristina Vane and Brennen Leigh, the concert includes songs made famous by iconic artists like Brandi Carlile, Emmy Lou Harris, Alison Krauss, and Dolly Parton and songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" (Joan Baez), "Angel from Montgomery" (Bonnie Raitt), "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" (Lucinda Williams), and more. The musical celebration coincides with the historic milestone in our nation's history - the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
Singer, slide guitar and clawhammer banjo player Cristina Vane is a product of a merging of numerous worlds – her classic rock, 90's Indie, and heavier roots with her passion for pre-war blues, old time fiddle banjo music, country, and bluegrass. She has an extensive touring history and has provided direct support for Molly Tuttle, Bob Weir, Wynonna Judd, Sam Bush, Nikki Lane, Arlo McKinely, and Willi Carlisle, among others.
Brennan Leigh is a composer, guitar player, mandolin player and singer whose storytelling style has elevated her to cult icon status in Europe, Scandinavia, the United States, South America, and the United Kingdom. Her songs have been recorded by Lee Ann Womack, Rodney Crowell, Sunny Sweeney, Charley Crockett, and many others. As renowned for her musicianship as she is for her writing, the late songwriter David Olney, described her writing as "tender, violent, sentimental, foolish and wise."
"What I like about the show is that it's kind of a melting pot of music," Leigh said on WHUS radio this week. "We've come to think of genre as a very personal thing; in reality there is just good music and bad music. We've picked what we think is good; songs that we think people will enjoy. No one's argued with us yet."
Leigh spoke with WHUS on the Good Music show (Wednesdays from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.) hosted by Ken Best.:
