Debra Cowan

Tuesday , September 16, 2003
05:00 pm
Location:
in-store performance (free)

Debra Cowan loves to sing. Anyone who hears her is convinced of that immediately. Debra engages her audiences and invites them to sing along. She also shares the history of her traditional material, which is an integral part of the songs she sings. Her fresh interpretation and carefully selected material make music come alive for audiences of all ages.

With the 2001 release of her solo album “The Long Grey Line”, Debra is becoming a familiar name in and around folk music both nationally and in the United Kingdom. In 2003, she participated in a panel discussion of Woody Guthrie’s life and legacy along with Fred Hellerman and Oscar Brand. In March and April of that year she toured in England and Scotland, delighting folk club audiences with her combination of Anglo and American songs. 2002 found her as a Formal Showcase Artist at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Annual Conference (NERFA) and as a headliner at the internationally renowned Mystic Seaport Sea Music Festival in Mystic, CT. She contributed vocals to the 2001 Folk Legacy release “The Songs and Ballads of Hattie Mae Tyler Cargill” and was selected as an Emerging Showcase Artist in the 2001 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. In 2000 and 2001, she was a featured performer at the Greater New Bedford Summerfest Folk Festival in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Even though Debra has been performing since she was 18 years old, she made a choice to leave a successful public school teaching career in 1997 to begin a professional folk music career full time. During that year, she lived in Edinburgh, Scotland where she was one of the resident musicians in Edinburgh's premiere folk music pub Sandy Bell’s Bar. While in Scotland, she studied the singing of such notable Scottish traditional singers such as Gordeanna McCulloch, Christine Kydd, and Ray Fisher. It was at this time that she developed her signature unaccompanied singing style that makes Debra’s singing stand out.

Although classically trained, Debra’s eclectic musical tastes have led her in the past to perform many different musical styles. In the early 1980’s, she was lead vocalist for the Redding, California swing and bluegrass band, EZ Pickin’. From 1988-1993, she was one-fourth of the Chico, California based group Tar’d & Feather’d, who performed at the grand opening of the world renown Sierra Nevada Brewery Brew Pub and were known for their innovative song arrangements and hilarious stage antics.

Debra’s vocal performances leave her audiences feeling that they have just taken part in something special. She presents her slow songs and ballads with emotive and well-focused vocals that are often compared to Joan Baez, Maddy Prior, and June Tabor. Her up-beat material inspires people to sing along and tap their feet. She is a warm, witty performer who is equally at home with traditional, contemporary, and children’s music.