When Iris DeMent released her debut album, “Infamous Angel,” in 1992, she began a career that would establish her as one of the leading songwriters of her generation. DeMent received acclaim for her unique singing voice, melodies influenced by folk, country, and gospel music, and poignant lyrics that delve into themes of family, loss, and resilience.
Although she never became a household name, DeMent earned a dedicated fan base that included fellow musicians like John Prine and Emmylou Harris who recognized her immense talent. Her recordings and tours have been sporadic over the years, so be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to see her live when she performs at the Shea Theater Arts Center in Turners Falls on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 8 p.m.
The Arkansas-born, Iowa-based singer has released seven albums in her career. The aforementioned “Infamous Angel” recently celebrated its 30th anniversary and was named one of the “greatest country albums of all time” by Rolling Stone. The two albums that followed, “My Life” and “The Way I Should,” were nominated for Grammy awards.
As the youngest child in a family of 14 raised in the Pentecostal religion, and whose mother was a musician, she grew up viewing music as a form of healing. As a result, DeMent turned to song as a way to find light in the darkness.
Her most recent release, “Workin’ on a World” (2023) is her most political work to date as she tackles many social issues, with the theme of finding hope during troubling times running through many of these songs. That album began when DeMent woke up the morning after the 2016 elections and asked herself “How are we going to survive this?”
“Every day, some new trauma was being added to the old ones that kept repeating themselves, and like everybody else, I was just trying to bear up under it all,” she wrote on her website.
The result was “Workin’ on a World,” six years in the making, where DeMent tackles such contemporary woes as gun violence and social justice. DeMent never loses her spirit of optimism. On the title track, she sings “I don’t have all the answers/To the troubles of the day/But neither did all our ancestors/And they persevered anyway.”
Throughout the album, the message is that we must work for a better world, just as those before us did – that we must do the same for future generations. In the song “Warriors of Love” DeMent sings of civil rights activist John Lewis and non-violence activist Rachel Corrie who died at the age of 23 trying to save a Palestinian home from being bulldozed in 2003. “Some still among us soldier on/Some from the flesh now have gone/But they’ve paved the very road we’re traveling on/Our great warriors of love.”
For her show at the Shea Theater, expect her to draw heavily from “Workin’ on a World” and hopefully will include some of her earlier gems like “Let the Mystery Be” and “Our Town” off her debut album. Singer-songwriter Ana Egge will open the show and then join DeMent on stage as her guitarist. Liz Draper will be playing bass.
Tickets are available at sheatheater.org. Doors open at 7 p.m., show is all ages.
Sixpence None the Richer and more at Tree House Brewing Co.
The summer is winding down, and if you haven’t had a chance to check out one of the shows on the Tree House Summer Stage series, I recommend that you quickly do so. One thing that has been very evident with this summer series is that they have booked great opening acts.
Next up on their schedule is ’90s hitmakers Toad the Wet Sprocket (“All I Want”) on Monday, Aug. 18, at 6:30 p.m.
They will have two openers, KT Tunstall, known for her song “Suddenly I See,” and Sixpence None the Richer. I didn’t recognize the latter’s name and assumed that it was some band that I had never heard of. I was so wrong.
Remember the song “Kiss Me?” You’ve probably heard it hundreds of times. The song released in the summer of 1998 was a massive hit for the band, reaching No. 2 on the U.S. charts and hitting No. 1 in other parts of the world.
To date, the single has gone triple platinum and just surpassed 1.5 billion streams on Spotify. They had other hits with a cover of “There She Goes,” which was initially recorded by the La’s, and a cover of “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Crowded House. They split up for a while in 2004, but now the two-time Grammy-nominated act, with original members Leigh Nash, Matt Slocum and Justin Cary, are back and hitting the road.
On Thursday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m., the band Dawes will take the Tree House stage, and they also have two openers: local pop-rock musician Jake Manzi and folk-rock band Fantastic Cat. Again, you will want to get there early to catch both of these acts. Fantastic Cat, who I first discovered at the Green River Festival, are fantastic. They are four songwriters who come together and they create irresistible folk rock tunes. But it is their lives shows, packed full of energy and humor, that have made them a band to watch.
Tickets for these shows are available at DSPshows.com.
Music at the Heath Fair
It’s time again for the Health Fair! The agricultural fair will take place Aug. 15-17, and along with the sheep shearing, fried dough, and all the usual events you’d expect at a small town fair, there will also be plenty of great music. From the Reed Foehl Band, who will play Friday at 9 p.m., to the Lonesome Brothers, who will play at 4 p.m. on Saturday, to the Whiskey Treaty Roadshow, who will rock the fairgrounds and play an early evening show at 7 p.m. on the same day – this is just a small example of what you have in store. Oh, and we can’t forget Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem who will perform on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. All this music is included with fair admission. To view the full fair schedule and to purchase tickets, visit heathfair.org.
Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at Soundslocal@yahoo.com.