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Shawn Colvin w/ Melissa Ferrick with Melissa Ferrick

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Grammy-Award winning singer/songwriter Shawn Colvin returns to our Norfolk stage. Althoug she is most known for her smash hit “Sunny Came Home,” she has received acclaim from fans and critics alike for her catalog of covers. She pulls in to town promoting her latest pressing, “Uncovered,” 12 carefully curated selections from artist such as Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Tom Waits and Graham Nash to name a few. Be there a she performs material from this record, as well as your favorite Colvin-penned tunes!

Shawn Colvin

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www.shawncolvin.com

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Artist Bio

Three-time GRAMMY winner Shawn Colvin’s debut album, Steady On, was released in October 1989, a stunning introduction to an artist who quickly established herself as a mainstay in the singer-songwriter genre. The album was lauded for its confessional songwriting and well-crafted melodies, and for Colvin’s tender and provocative vocals. Colvin received the ultimate acknowledgement for Steady On when she was awarded the GRAMMY award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. She swiftly amassed a dedicated and passionate fanbase.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of this landmark album, Colvin has released a newly-recorded solo-acoustic version. Colvin brings a 30-year lens to her treasured songs, casting new light on the stories she first told as a young artist. Colvin has long been hailed as an exemplary solo acoustic performer and these new recordings are a brilliant showcase for her enduring artistry.

“I was 32 years old, and the dream of my life had been fulfilled,” Colvin says, “not only because I made an album but mostly because I had written or co-written every song, an accomplishment that was hard won. I was so proud. My feeling was then—and still is—that if I never made another album, Steady On would have been enough.”

Steady On Acoustic strips each song to the core, placing Colvin’s songwriting masterclass on full display. “I’ve played these songs countless times, primarily as a solo acoustic artist,” she says. “All in all, this is the incarnation that feels most genuine. And so, to commemorate this milestone I decided to celebrate Steady On by recording it again, this time using only my voice and my guitar. This represents who I am as an artist and all I ever wanted to be, and I believe it does its predecessor proud.”

Over the course of three decades, Colvin has established herself as a legacy artist by creating a remarkable canon of work, touring relentlessly both nationally and internationally, and having her songs featured in television and film. She is a revered storyteller deserving of the special recognition of both her peers and those who have been inspired by her songs. The reworking of her iconic debut feels not only timely but essential, further underscoring that Colvin remains a vital voice for women in music and reaffirming her status as an Americana gamechanger.  

Shawn Colvin will perform Steady On Acoustic in its entirety in what promises to be a very special evening for her longtime fans.

Melissa Ferrick

Connect with this artist:

www.melissaferrick.com

Melissa Ferrick's 12th original album is a coming home.  She has arrived in a place musically that is both familiar and new.  Melissa is a better writer, engineer, producer, and overall artist.  The self-titled album is, in many ways, a new beginning for Ferrick.  Written in just over a year, recorded at home, and released on her own relaunched label, Right On Records, Ferrick has given us a simple, eloquent, and honest acoustic album with an undeniable level of maturity. For long-time fans, this will be a welcome new arrival.  For those who are just discovering Ferrick, this is a superb way to be introduced. A completely solo effort in its process, creation, and release, Melissa Ferrick is marking the middle of her career with a perfect return to songwriting, and to herself. 

Melissa grew up in Ipswich, MA during the 70's, playing the violin and going to jazz clubs on the North Shore with her father, who managed local bands. In elementary school, she learned to play trumpet and bass guitar, which led the way to songwriting in high school.  At 16, Melissa was accepted into the New England Conservatory's Youth Orchestra and Wind Ensemble as a trumpet player, giving her the opportunity to tour with the Conservatory's Extension Division, which traveled to perform in California and China. She was accepted to Berklee College of Music on songwriting and trumpet scholarships and chose to continue her music education there from 1988-1990.  After two years playing Boston's local rock club scene, Melissa left school and moved to New York City. In 1990, Melissa lived on 14th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, playing at the Bitter End weekly and working at Right Track Recording studios and Chrysalis Records to learn the ropes of the business.  In July of 1991, Melissa's phone rang and she was asked to open that night for Morrissey in Boston on his his “Kill Uncle” tour.  She was invited to finish the U.S. dates with Morrissey and to continue on to the U.K. as his opening act.  When she returned to the States, at 20 years old, she was offered deals with three major labels.

Melissa signed with Atlantic Records, and in 1993 she released her debut album, "Massive Blur." After her sophomore effort, "Willing to Wait," was released in 1995, Melissa was dropped by Atlantic Records.  She regrouped and released three albums on Boulder, CO based W.A.R.? Records. In 2000, Ferrick founded her own label, Right On Records, and released a string of Albums and EPs. In 2010, before almost going bankrupt, Ferrick put her own label on hold and signed with NY based MPress Records. Melissa released two albums with MPress, 2011's "Still Right Here" and 2013's "the truth is.” Still Right Here debuted on Billboard’s Heat-Seekers Album Charts, won an 8th annual International Acoustic Music Award (IAMA), and garnered two Independent Music Award (IMA) nominations. The title track’s music video premiered on the launch of Huffington Post’s Gay site and won two RightOutTV awards. Ferrick was also a featured music honoree in OUT Magazine’s OUT100 – focusing on artists who make an impact on the community.  2013's "the truth is" was the first self-produced album since 2004 and an evolution in the sound she had developed over the course of her career.  The record was also a creative departure in its collaborative approach to the recording process, hiring grammy award winning engineer Trina Shoemaker to mix the album remotely from Alabama and Independent Mastering to master the album from Nashville. The result was a sweeping Americana/Alt-Country record that won the 2014 Independent Music Award for Alt-Country Album of the Year Fan Vote.

Ferrick is also an eight-time Boston Music Award winner and regarded by the industry and her peers as one of the most prolific and hardworking artists in the business.  Ferrick tours regularly and plays throughout North America, performing upwards of 100 shows a year. She has shared the stage with Morrissey, Marc Cohn, Paul Westerberg, Dwight Yoakam, John Hiatt, Weezer, Tegan and Sara, G-Love & Special Sauce, Bob Dylan, Dan Bern, Ani DiFranco, k.d. Lang, Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, Joan Armatrading, Mike Doughty, The Indigo Girls and many others.
Melissa is booked nationwide by Silver Leaf Booking. 

Melissa is also a part-time Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA

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