Susan Werner (born 1965) is an American singer-songwriter. Much of Werner's work has been in the

contemporary folk Contemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid-20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century, a new form of popular folk music evolved from trad ...

genre.

Career

Werner was raised on her family's farm near

Manchester, Iowa Manchester is a city in Delaware Township and the county seat of Delaware County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,065 at the time of the 2020 census. Manchester is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 20 and State Highway 13 ...

, about an hour west of

Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...

. She became interested in music at a young age and went on to receive a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in voice at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

. In 1987, she moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and earned a master's degree in voice at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

. Werner initially wanted a career in opera, but after seeing a

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She often appeared on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'', starting in 1985 during season 10. In 1990, Griffith appeared on th ...

performance became inspired and began composing songs of her own on acoustic guitar. Performing around Philadelphia,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and New York City, Susan began making a name for herself in the

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

scene of the early 1990s. She recorded five albums from 1993 to 2001, and in 2001 she moved to Chicago. Her first five albums were all in the folk genre, but Werner's sixth album, '' I Can't Be New'' (2004), was a substantial departure, with original material in the vein of

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

, and early

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

torch song A torch song is a sentimental love song, typically one in which the singer laments an unrequited or lost love, either where one party is oblivious to the existence of the other, where one party has moved on, or where a romantic affair has affect ...

s. Werner's seventh album, '' The Gospel Truth'', was released in March 2007 and addresses themes of religion,

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

social responsibility Social responsibility is an ethical concept in which a person works and cooperates with other people and organizations for the benefit of the community. An organization can demonstrate social responsibility in several ways, for instance, by do ...

, as well as religion from an agnostic's point of view. In 2010,

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

recorded "Did Trouble Me", from Werner's ''The Gospel Truth'', for his album '' Praise & Blame''. Her eighth album, ''Live at Club Passim'' is collection of original songs (gospel, jazz & folk) recorded with her band: Colleen Sexton, Trina Hamlin & bassist Greg Holt. For her ninth album, ''

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

'', she performs pop music from the

1960s File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the Woodstock, 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong ...

and

1970s File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War ...

accompanied by chamber instruments. Her tenth album, entitled ''Kicking the Beehive'', was released in March 2011. Produced by

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

, it features guest appearances from

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...

Keb' Mo Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician. He is a singer, guitarist and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link to the seminal Delta blues that tra ...

and Paul Franklin. Her album '' Hayseed'', a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

about "farms, farmers, and the people who love them", was released in the summer of 2013. Werner branched out to write the music and lyrics for a musical based on the film ''

Bull Durham ''Bull Durham'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy sports film written and directed by Ron Shelton. The film stars Kevin Costner as "Crash" Davis, a veteran catcher from the AAA Richmond Braves, brought in to teach rookie pitcher Ebby Calv ...

'', which premiered at Atlanta's

Alliance Theatre The Alliance Theatre is a theater company in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center. The company, originally the Atlanta Municipal Theatre, staged its first production (''King Arthur'') at the Alliance in 1968. The ...

on September 3, 2014. In 2017 Werner released ''An American In Havana'', an EP featuring six songs written during two trips to Cuba in 2015 and 2016.

Personal life

Werner was born into a musical family. Her mother was a singer, although her father's musical ability was limited to "whistling on pitch". All five of her siblings are musically talented. One brother is a professional

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

and another brother is a performing

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

Discography

* '' Midwestern Saturday Night'' (1993) * '' Live at Tin Angel'' (1993) * '' Last of the Good Straight Girls'' (1995) * '' Time Between Trains'' (1998) * '' New Non-Fiction'' (2001) * '' I Can't Be New'' (2004) * '' The Gospel Truth'' (2007) * '' Live at Passim'' (2008) * ''

'' (2009) * '' Kicking The Beehive'' (2011) * ''

Live at The Center for Arts in Natick Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

'' (2011) * '' Hayseed'' (2013) * '' An American in Havana'' (2017) * ''

NOLA Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania, southern Italy. It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines. It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian worship. ...

'' (2019)
''Flyover Country''
(2020)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Susan American folk singers American folk guitarists American women singer-songwriters American women guitarists University of Iowa alumni Temple University alumni American agnostics Living people People from Delaware County, Iowa Private Music artists Guitarists from Iowa 21st-century American women singers 1965 births 21st-century American singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Iowa