Cheryl Wheeler with Susan Werner

Celebrate International Women's Day by listening to two of the most articulate female singer-songwriters in the country, Cheryl Wheeler and Susan Werner. Poet-Cheryl writes achingly honest songs of love and loss. Contrasting the prosaic landscapes of her native small-town America with the hopelessly rootless life of the traveling performer, she touches the common chords with any who feel the tug between our busy, clamorous times and the timeless longing for simplicity and silence. Her deceptively plain-spun songs have been hits for such mainstream stars as Suzy Bogguss (Aces) and Dan Seals (Addicted), and have been recorded by everyone from Bette Midler, Maura O’Connell, and Peter Paul and Mary; to Juice Newton and Garth Brooks.  Meanwhile, comic-Cheryl comes on like Groucho-in-a-housecoat; a fiercely everyday woman with a barbed-wire tongue. Shredding the mores of our gossipy, greedy, trend-obsessed culture, Wheeler always aims enough darts at herself to never seem sanctimonious.

With 6 albums under her belt, an active touring career throughout the U.S. and a string of accolades from the likes of The Washington Post, The Village Voice and The New Yorker, Susan Werner has become one of the defining artists of the folk music genre. Her songs effortlessly slide between folk, jazz and pop, and are delivered with a sassy wit and classic midwestern charm. She's just released a new album called Classics, following up from 2007's pull-no-punches The Gospel Truth.
 
Cheryl Wheeler is an anomaly on the acoustic music scene. She has a rare gift for writing songs with lush melodies and lyrics of incredible beauty. On the other hand, she is a master of quick wit. Her observational humor has brought us a number of songs describing the utter ridiculousness of the world around us. And then there is the richness of her silky alto telling us what lies in the deepest recesses of her songwriter's heart. (FAME)

Susan Werner, a clever songwriter and an engaging performer, brings literacy and wit back to popular song. (The New Yorker)

(Susan Werner is) a triply blessed artist who sings adroitly, plays the piano smartly and, best of all, writes songs of genuine distinction and high craft... (Chicago Tribune)

Always an impressive songwriter, Werner continues to compose sharp, funny, compassionate lyrics, a gift rare enough to set her apart... (The Washington Post)

 Iowa native Susan Werner is a great songsmith who makes a departure on her latest CD, "Classics" -- an unlikely collection of cover tunes (Marvin Gaye, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder) with string quartet accompaniment. She shares a bill with another notable folk singer/songwriter, Cheryl Wheeler, known for her impish wit. Better turn off your cell before she sings the biting "It's the Phone." (Tom Surowicz, The Big Gigs, Minneapolis Star Tribune)

 
Tickets go on sale at noon Fri Feb 6 from Cedar Ticketline (612-338-2674 ext 2), Cedar outlets (Global Village, Electric Fetus, Homestead Pickin' Parlor and Irish on Grand), and online at Ticketweb

Cheryl Wheeler

Cheryl Wheeler has to be seen to be appreciated. Nothing you read and nothing you hear from her albums prepares you for how entertaining a performer she is.  If you’re not already familiar with Cheryl, you have probably heard her music. She is very...

Susan Werner

With 6 albums under her belt, an active touring career throughout the U.S. and a string of accolades from the likes of The Washington Post, The Village Voice and The New Yorker, Susan Werner has become one of the defining artists of the folk music genre. Her...