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SUSAN McKEOWN - HEART OF GREEN
Susan's mother, an organist and composer, encouraged her youngest daughter's interest in music and theatre from an early age. In her early teens Susan was taking first place in singing and drama competitions around the city. At the age of 16 she abandoned a promised opera career to immerse herself in 'the songs of the people', spending time singing on the streets of Dublin and working with music groups of all kinds. A scholarship to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City brought Susan there in 1990. Establishing herself in the East Village music scene, Susan quickly earned local recognition as a vocalist and songwriter and grabbed the attention of the US acoustic folk world with the release of her debut album Bones in 1996, a mixture of original and traditional songs with complex arrangements and unusual instrumentation.
Numerous other recordings have followed, most notably her collections of traditional songs critically acclaimed for their subtle use of non-traditional instrumentation Bushes & Briars (1998 Alula), Lowlands (2000 Green Linnet) and Sweet Liberty (2004 World Village/Harmonia Mundi),which features among its guests Ensemble Tartit, Mariachi Real de Mexico and Flook, and was nominated for a BBC 2 Folk Award. An enthusiastic collector of traditional song, Susan endeavors to find and bring to new audiences rare songs that have yet to be explored in the current Celtic revival. Susan has performed and/or recorded with Natalie Merchant, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Jane Siberry and Johnny Cunningham and has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, All Things Considered and The Infinite Mind. She currently tours with Arlo Guthrie & The Klezmatics in Holy Ground: The Spiritual Songs of Woody Guthrie. Susan lives with her daughter in New York City.
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From Dublin, Ireland, Susan McKeown is a remarkable vocalist whose
breadth of musical vision as an artist and producer has firmly
established her presence in world music and rock.
