Kerri Powers' throaty voice complements the moody, intimate songs on her latest record, Faith in the Shadows (Gritty Ditty 2009). With these songs, it's clear that she looks for beauty on the darker side of life. However, with lyrics that are often considered quirky and whimsical, the songs can also have a hopeful feel but are never bouncy. "I put myself right in the middle of each song and find the truth in them," Kerri says. She brings that same intimacy and charm to her live performances. Kerri grew up listening to Neil Young, Gram Parsons, Patsy Cline, and Hank Williams. She took guitar lessons alongside her father when she was 9 and gravitated to the edgier sound of blues and soul. You might put her in the company of Lucinda Williams, Margo Timmins, or Karen Dalton.
After years of touring with some success-she took a break to raise her son. "You do for your family," Kerri says. "What I now realize though is that I couldn't do for them without being able to write and perform my music. Luckily they understand." She reunited with her long-time collaborator and producer Crit Harmon (Martin Sexton, Mary Gauthier,) to record Faith in the Shadows. Two songs from the disc were featured in a steamy love scene on a 2009 TV episode of Denis Leary's "Rescue Me." Kerri was also a songwriting finalist at Kerrville as well as the 2009 Telluride Bluegrass Troubadour songwriting contest. She's performed at major festivals such as the Philadelphia Folk Festival and has been invited to perform at Strawberry Music Festival in May, 2010. Kerri has recently returned from a tour through The Netherlands, Belgium, and UK with Fred Eaglesmith.
Partial venue, festival, and radio list (in no particular order):
Partial Venue: The Birchmere, Alexandria, VA The Bluebird Cafe, Nashville, TN Caffe Lena, Saratoga, NY Cactus Cafe, Austin, TX Ram's Head, Annapolis, MD Andy's, Chestertown, MD The Point, Bryn Mawr, PA Club Helsinki, Great Barrington, MA Rockwood Music Hall, NYC The Living Room, NYC Iron Horse, Northampton, MA The Towne Crier, Pawling, NY Windham Theater, Bellows Falls, VT Somerville Theater, Somerville, MA Outpost in the Burbs, Montclair, NJ Mauch Chunk Opera House, Jim Thorpe, PA Club Passim, Cambridge, MA Paradiso, Amsterdam, NL Cultureel Roepaen, NL Patronaat, Haarlem, NL T'Keerpunt, Spijkerboor, NL The Garage, London, UK Prince Albert, Brighton, UK Bar Mondial, Antwerp, BE
Partial Festival: Philadelphia Folk Festival, PA Strawberry Music Festival, CA Telluride Bluegrass (Troubadour), CO Kerrville Folk Festival (NF finalist, 2003), TX Boston Folk Festival, MA Newport Folk Festival (songwriter stage), RI Plymouth Project Arts, MA Friends Fest, Dripping Springs, TX Hear in Rhode Island, RI Joe Davis Folk Festival, MA
Partial Radio: WUMB, MA WERS, MA WXLV, PA KXCI, AZ WQBR, PA KRCB, CA KCSN, CA KRFC, CO KAXE, MI KOPN, MO WHUS, CT WPKN, CT KRCC, CO WNCW, NC WXPN, PA WWUH, CT WQPR, AL WRFG,GA WSPN, NY WVGN, Virgin Islands
Booking position: Now open. Must have established roster.
