Once heard, you would never take Grammy-award-winning vocalist Susan McKeown for anyone else. Hailed by Q Magazine as the surprise hit of Glastonbury 2000, the strong, richly-colored contralto and the enlivening intelligence of her songs mark her as a distinctive talent. Susan grew up in Dublin, Ireland, which she left in 1990 for Manhattan.
Settling in the East Village she first gained attention as a singer-songwriter through her performances at Café Sin-é (Susan is featured in the film about the legendary informal Irish cultural center of the early 90s). Her debut album "Bones" in 1995 drew influences from sources as far flung as the ancient Irish legend of The Táin, the words of Chief Seattle, poets such as Emily Dickinson, Yeats & Coleridge, and the complexities of relationships. Her lyrics are emotion-centered and as inventive as her arrangements, from the hurdy-gurdy solo on the rock song "I Know, I Know" (Bones, 1996 Prime/SNG) to the pairing of banjo and erhu on "The Lowlands of Holland" (Lowlands, 2000 Green Linnet). Her self-produced album 'Sweet Liberty' (2004 World Village) drew accolades and a BBC Folk Music Award nomination for her setting of an English gypsy song with the group Mariachi Real de Mexico.
Susan has built an impressive career through her many releases, extensive touring, and performances on programs such as 'A Prairie Home Companion', 'All Things Considered', 'Mountain Stage' and 'Sessions at West 54th' as the guest of Natalie Merchant. Susan's voice and music have been featured in numerous documentary films, among them - Robert Capa - In Love and War (PBS American Masters), Absolutely Irish (PBS), At Home With The Clearys (BBC/RTE), Thomas Moore's Soul of Christmas (PBS) and The Irish Empire (BBC/RTE/ABC).
She has performed with Natalie Merchant, Pete Seeger, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Linda Thompson, Billy Bragg, Johnny Cunningham and The Klezmatics, on whose Grammy-winning album 'Wonder Wheel' she is prominently featured.
www.susanmckeown.com
McKeown grabbed both song and audience by the throat, dragged them through heaven and hell and back again, and left the stage to the loudest applause heard all evening.- ROLLING STONE
Music that lives and breathes in the wider world.
- Q MAGAZINE
Reflective and pensive as Sweet Liberty is, it demands a listening on an amp whose dial runs to 11, all the better to savour McKeowns' elasticised vocals stretching from the gloriously wizened to the startlingly youthful.
Think Frida Kahlo crossed with Oumou Sangare.
- THE IRISH TIMES
If there's some dividing line between Celtic traditionalism and eclectic contemporary songwriting, McKeown refuses to acknowledge it. And with a voice as warm, resonant and versatile as hers, why should she?
- THE OREGONIAN
She walks on the wild side of Gaelic melody. - BOSTON GLOBE
A singer of passion, grace and striking presence with the ability to capture both the essence of a traditional folk song or the more hard-edged domain of contemporary adult rock; she seems to personify both past and present.
- IRISH EXAMINER
