Loudon Wainwright III and Shawn Colvin take the stage at the Colonial

 

Folk troubadour Loudon Wainwright III, the acclaimed singer/songwriter, brings a storyteller’s magic and a quirky sense of humor to his bluegrass-tinged performances; he picks the banjo and plays guitar, and his songs range from poignant ballads about family to the memorable ditty “Dead Skunk.”

 

Called “the most candid diarist among singer-songwriters” by the New York Times, Wainwright has long been a star in the folk music arena. His 2010 album, High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, won the 2010 Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album. He has previously been nominated for Grammy awards for I'm Alright and More Love Songs. With more than twenty albums to his credit, Wainwright’s most recent release is 10 Songs for the New Depression.

 

Shawn Colvin has early roots in country music, but has long been known for her folk music accomplishments. Her first album, Steady On, released nineteen years ago, won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording. In 1996, her album A Few Small Repairs included the haunting, evocative song “Sunny Came Home,” which won Grammy Awards for record of the year and song of the year. All told, Colvin has released ten albums, the most recent being Shawn Colvin Live, recorded in 2008 at San Francisco jazz club Yoshi’s.

 

Over the years, Colvin has performed with artists the likes of Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Hornsby, Emmylou Harris, and Lyle Lovett. An accomplished guitarist, possessed of a beautiful voice, Colvin’s sophisticated style of storytelling promises to be a perfect fit for the Colonial.

 

The Colonial Theatre

Pittsfield, Mass.

www.thecolonialtheatre.org