Music can offer a distinct experience for each individual. For folk singer-songwriter Susan Werner, music is her religion.
“A good song is a good window,” Werner said on her website. “All these songs can let us see outside ourselves. And as a songwriter, the best moments come when I can hold the songs up like a mirror so that people can also see themselves.”
Werner will perform at 7:30 p.m. in Pruis Hall. For students, tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door. Non-student tickets are $5 for youth, $18 in advance and $23 at the door for adults.
Werner’s four albums all have a distinct sound, beginning with a cabaret sound, moving on to traditional gospel, then a contemporary “pop-meets-classical” sound.
Her latest album, “Kicking the Beehive,” was released in 2011. It boasts “lyrical originals that are infused with the rustic roots of American folk, blues and country music,” according to her website.
Although Werner usually has a concept for her albums, the process for writing and recording this one was different. She traveled around the Mississippi Delta, beginning in Memphis, moving through Clarksdale and ending in New Orleans. The theme for her journey is simplicity.
“I experienced the music that I love firsthand, and I participated in a tradition that spoke to me,” Werner said.
The album was recorded in Nashville, Tenn., where she worked with manager Burt Stein and producer Rodney Crowell. Werner also worked with musicians such as Paul Franklin, Keb’ Mo’ and country star Vince Gill.
Werner’s witty storytelling songs have led to her success throughout the American folk music circuit. Her voice stays the same in her songs, despite reinventing herself.
Within challenging herself to explore different genres, Werner is keeping the folk tradition alive while modernizing. She feels that “part of [her] job is to pick up a tradition and drag it kicking and screaming by the hair into the present.”
When:
7:30 p.m.
Where:
Pruis Hall
Tickets:
$5 BSU students in advance/ $10 at the door
$18 Adults in advance/ $23 at the door
$5 Youth
