Lucy Kaplansky May 6, 2006

With a voice that "New Country" described as "sweet and pure as fresh sheets and ice water," Lucy Kaplansky is one of the most engaging talents in the acoustic world. Experience her music on Saturday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Williamsburg Library Theatre, 515 Scotland Street. This is another in the library's Dewey Decibel Concert Series.

Lucy did not follow the "normal" path to musical fame. She started out singing in bars in her hometown of Chicago. Then, barely out of high school, took off for New York City where she found a fertile community of songwriters and performers where she fit right in -- Suzanne Vega, John Gorka, Bill Morrissey, Cliff Eberhardt, and others. With a beautiful flair for harmony, Lucy was everyone's favorite 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 earn a doctorate in Psychology. 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, (who now had contracts with record labels) wanting her to sing on their albums. She harmonized on Colvin's Grammy-winning "Steady On," on Nanci Griffith's "Lone Star State of Mind" and "Little Love Affairs," and on four of John Gorka's albums. She also landed soundtrack and commercial credits. As a result of these occasional opportunities Lucy returned to her first love, music, and signed with Red House records in 1994.

In the past 12 years Kaplansky has recorded five albums for Red House and earned a legion of fans. In 1998 she teamed with Dar Williams and Richard Shindell to form the folk supergroup, Cry Cry Cry. The resulting eponymous album and national tour of sold-out concerts introduced Lucy's luminous voice to a new expanse of eager listeners. The Associated Press says of her singing and songwriting, "She is clearly among the largest talents on the acoustic scene today...an extraordinary, luminous collection of songs with lyrics that read like poetry and music that ranges from lacy folk to bluegrass to country to pop."

Event submitted by Eventful on behalf of programs.