Caroline Herring
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Caroline Herring (born 1969 in
Canton, Mississippi The city of Canton is the county seat of Madison County, Mississippi, United States, and is situated in the northern part of the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area, metropolitan area surrounding the state capital, Jackson, Mississippi, Jackso ...
) is an American folk and country singer, songwriter and musician. She started singing professionally when she was a graduate student at the
Center for the Study of Southern Culture Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
at the University of Mississippi. While there she co-founded ''Thacker Mountain Radio'', a literary and musical hour broadcast from Square Books in
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, Mississippi, and still syndicated on Mississippi Public Radio. Herring began her solo career when she moved to
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, in 1999.


Career

Herring has released six commercial albums, starting with her 2001 debut ''Twilight'', which earned her 2001–2002 Best New Artist award at the SXSW Austin Music Awards. The ''
Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The distribution of the following ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', '' ...
'' named ''Twilight'' one of the top five albums of 2001. In 2012 ''Texas Music'' magazine named ''Twilight'' in its Top 50 Essential Texas Albums list. Her 2003 album ''Wellspring'' was named one of the top ten albums of 2005 by ''
The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...
''. ''Wellspring'' includes the song "Mistress", which ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...
'' listed as one of the Top 100 Songs About the South. ''Texas Music'' magazine included "Mistress" in its 2012 listing of the Top 50 Classic Texas Songs in recorded history. National Public Radio named Herring's 2008 ''Lantana'', on Signature Sounds Recordings, as one of the Top Ten Best Folk Albums of 2008.Folk Alley's Favorite CDs Of 2008
/ref> In 2009, Herring released ''Golden Apples of the Sun'', also on Signature Sounds, which ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' named as one of the Top 10 Best Folk Albums of 2009. In 2011, Herring was the only American chosen to participate in ''The Cecil Sharp Project'', an eight-artist collaboration celebrating the life and work of English folk song collector
Cecil Sharp Cecil James Sharp (22 November 1859 – 23 June 1924) was an English collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was a key figure in the folk-song revival in England dur ...
. The group released a live CD, which received enthusiastic reviews and was among the Top 10 Best Albums of 2011 according to the UK music magazine ''Songlines''. In 2011, Herring also released her first children's album, ''The Little House Songs'', based on the 1941 book '' The Little House'' by
Virginia Lee Burton Virginia Lee Burton (August 30, 1909 – October 15, 1968), also known by her married name Virginia Demetrios, was an American illustrator and children's book author. She wrote and illustrated seven children's books, including '' Mike Mulligan an ...
. For this album, Herring received the 2012 Coleen Salley Storytelling Award at the Fay Kaigler Children's Book Festival at the
University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...
. In 2012, Herring released ''Camilla'', on Signature Sounds Recordings.
Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary Chapin Carpenter (born February 21, 1958) is an American country and folk music singer-songwriter. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C.-area clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records. Carpenter's firs ...
sings on ''Camilla'' and calls Herring "an artist who is fearless and uncompromising in her work. As a witness, a historian, a truth teller, a gypsy, a mother, a sister, and a lover, Herring takes the listener on a journey with her head and her heart ... and there is no more enlightening experience one could have." Herring has appeared on NPR's ''
All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
'' and
Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...
's ''
A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' was a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...
'', as well as the BBC's ''4's Front Row.'' She has played at the
Newport Folk Festival The Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. The festival was founded by music promoter and Jazz Festival founder Geor ...
, Merlefest,
Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...
Music Festival,
Bumbershoot Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day (United States), Labor Day weekend (leading up to and ...
, Old Settler's Music Festival, Strawberry Music Festival, Denmark's Tonder festival, The Netherlands’ Blue Highways festival, Ireland's Kilkenney Rhythm and Roots Festival, and the Shrewsbury Folk Festival & Beautiful Days festivals in the UK.


Musical style

Herring is best known for her historical story songs, based on such various characters as a 19th-century slave named Rachel and her lover, Columbus Patton ("Mistress"'); child murderer
Susan Smith Susan Leigh Smith (née Vaughan; born September 26, 1971) is an American woman who was convicted of murdering her two sons, three-year-old Michael and one-year-old Alexander, in 1994 by strapping her children in their car seats, and rolling her ...
("Paper Gown"); American painter
Walter Inglis Anderson Walter Inglis Anderson (September 29, 1903 – November 30, 1965) was an American painter and writer. Anderson died from cancer November 30, 1965, at the age of 62. Early life and education Anderson was born in New Orleans to George Walter A ...
("Tales of the Islander"); Mae Frances Moultrie, one of the 1961
Freedom Riders Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the Racial segregation in the United States, segregated Southern United States, Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of t ...
("White Dress"); Jeremy Davidson, a child killed during an Appalachian
mountaintop removal mining Mountaintop removal mining (MTR), also known as mountaintop mining (MTM), is a form of surface mining at the summit or summit ridge of a mountain. Coal seams are extracted from a mountain by removing the land, or overburden, above the seams. Thi ...
incident ("Black Mountain Lullaby"); and Marion King, who suffered a miscarriage after being beaten by deputy sheriff in Georgia during the
Albany Movement The Albany Movement was a desegregation and voters' rights coalition formed in Albany, Georgia, in November 1961. This movement was founded by local black leaders and ministers, as well as members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Commi ...
("Camilla").


Personal life

Herring lives in
Decatur, Georgia Decatur () is a city and the county seat of DeKalb County, Georgia, DeKalb County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...
with her husband, American political historian
Joseph Crespino Joseph Crespino (born January 10, 1972) is a political historian of the 20th-century United States, specializing in the history of the American South and of modern conservatism. He is the author of two books and an edited collection. Early lif ...
, and two children.


Awards

*Colleen Salley Storytelling Award for ''The Little House Songs'' at the Fay Kaigler Children's Book Festival (2012) *Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award, Music Composition (Contemporary/Popular) for ''Golden Apples of the Sun'' for 2010


Discography

*''Twilight'' (2001) – Blue Corn Music *''Wellspring'' (2003) – Blue Corn Music *''Lantana'' (2008) – Signature Sounds Recordings *''Golden Apples of the Sun'' (2009) – Signature Sounds Recordings *''Silver Apples of the Moon P' (2009) – Signature Sounds Recordings *''The Little House Songs'' (2011) – Zelleria Records *''Camilla'' (2012) – Signature Sounds Recordings *''Verse by Verse'' (2018) – Zelleria Records *''Verses'' (2019) – Continental Song City


Other contributions

*'' Hidden People'' – Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman, Navigator Records UK (2012) – "The White Hind" and "Huldra" *'' The Cecil Sharp Project'' – The Shrewsbury Folk Festival and EFDSS (2011) *''Just One More: A Musical Tribute to Larry Brown'', Bloodshot Records (2007) – “Song For Fay” *''Live at St. Andrews'' (2005) – with Claire Holley *''107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol. 10'' (2002) – "Whipporwill"


References


External links


Official website
*interview on NPR's All Things Considere

* https://web.archive.org/web/20130506165838/http://www.signaturesounds.com/caroline-herring.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Herring, Caroline Living people People from Canton, Mississippi American country guitarists American country singer-songwriters American women country singers Singer-songwriters from Texas 1969 births Singer-songwriters from Mississippi Guitarists from Mississippi Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists Country musicians from Texas Country musicians from Mississippi Signature Sounds artists 20th-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American women guitarists 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers