In association with Unique Gravity
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Lucy Kaplansky Saturday 25th October Doors 7.00 pm Tickets £15.00 in advance, £17.00 on the door |
Lucy Kaplansky started out singing in Chicago bars. Then, barely out of
high school, she took off for New York City. There she found a fertile
community of songwriters and performers- Suzanne Vega, John Gorka, Bill
Morrissey, Cliff Eberhardt, and others - where she fitted right in. With
beautiful flare for harmony, Lucy was everyone's favourite singing partner,
but most often she found herself singing as a duo with Shawn Colvin. People
envisioned big things for them; in fact, The New York Times said it was
"easy to predict stardom for her." But then Lucy dropped it all. Convinced
that her calling was in another direction, Lucy left the musical fast track to
pursue a doctorate in Psychology. Upon completing her degree, Dr. Kaplansky took
a job at a New York hospital working with chronically mentally ill adults, and also
started a private practice.
Yet she continued to sing. Lucy was often pulled back into the studio by her friends wanting her to sing on their albums. Then Shawn Colvin, who was itching to produce a record, hooked up with Lucy, her ex-singing partner. They went into the studio, and it all came together. When Lucy's solo tapes got into the hands of Bob Feldman, president of Red House Records, he was blown away. Suddenly, Lucy was back in the music business. She signed with Red House (the same label as Eliza Gilkyson) and started playing gigs and touring so much it required leaving her two psychologist positions behind. She has now released six albums with Red House. After ' The Tide', Lucy's success took flight with back-to-back hit albums 'Ten Year Night' and 'Every Single Day'. Both received the AFIM award (Association For Independent Music) for best pop album of the year. Kaplansky's voice continues to remain in high demand by her peers. She can be heard on albums by Bryan Ferry, Nanci Griffith, John Gorka and on the Greg Brown tribute album Going Driftless. She teamed with Dar Williams and Richard Shindell to form supergroup Cry Cry Cry, the three choosing to celebrate the amazing revitalization in contemporary songwriting, and recorded some of their favourite songs written by other artists. Lucy's new life as a mother has enhanced the emotional depth of her songwriting. Her new album "Over the Hills" explores universal themes of love, joy, loss, and dreams for the future, through reflections on family. Produced by Ben Wittman (Roseanne Cash, Paul Simon), the record features Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan Band, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris), Jon Herington (Steely Dan), Duke Levine (Mary Chapin Carpenter), noted jazz bassist Stephan Crump as well as guest vocalists Eliza Gilkyson, Buddy Miller, Richard Shindell and Jonatha Brooke. |
