Iris DeMent with special guest The Pines SOLD OUT

Friday, June 12, 2009 - 9:00pm
7:00pm

One of the most celebrated country-folk performers of her day, singer/songwriter Iris DeMent was born in 1961 in rural Paragould, AR, the youngest of 14 children. At the age of three, her devoutly religious family moved to California, where she grew up singing gospel music. During her teenage years, she was first exposed to country, folk, and R&B, drawing particular inspiration from Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell. After a series of jobs waitressing and typing, DeMent first began composing songs at the age of 25. Honing her skills at open-mic nights, in 1988 she moved to Nashville, where she contacted producer Jim Rooney, who helped her land a record contract. DeMent did not make her recording debut until 1992, when her independent label offering, Infamous Angel, won almost universal acclaim thanks to her pure, evocative vocal style and spare, heartfelt songcraft. Despite a complete lack of support from country radio, the record's word-of-mouth praise earned her a deal with Warner Bros., which reissued Infamous Angel in 1993 as well as its follow-up, 1994's stunning My Life. Her third LP, 1996's eclectic The Way I Should, marked a dramatic change not only in its more rock-influenced sound but also in its subject matter; where DeMent's prior work was introspective and deeply personal, The Way I Should was fiercely political, tackling topics like sexual abuse, religion, government policy, and Vietnam. In 1999, she collaborated with country man John Prine on his album, In Spite of Ourselves. DeMent recorded four duets with Prine that earned her a Grammy nod the following year. She returned to the recording studio in 2004 for her most recent release Lifeline, a return to her early roots in traditional gospel tunes.

Openers tonight will be Red House Recording artists The Pines, featuring Benson Ramsey and David Huckfelt.

Tickets are SOLD OUT!

Sponsored by Radio Heartland

Iris DeMent (born 5 January 1961) is an American country/folk singer and songwriter. She was the fourteenth and last child of Pat DeMent and the sixth child of his second wife, Flora Mae. She was born near the town of Paragould, Arkansas but grew up in...
The Pines
Rising out of the prairies of the Midwest, The Pines display a stunning line-up of musical talent, gaining them a faithful and growing following. Frontmen Benson Ramsey and David Huckfelt share a common musical language rooted in the songs and songwriters of...

Major Funders

This activity is funded, in part, by the Minnesota State Arts Board through the arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the Legacy Amendment vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.Minnesota State Arts BoardThe McKnight FoundationTarget

This activity is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008