The ever-inventive visionary musician Susan Werner returns to Diana Wortham Theatre with her newest release, The Hayseed Project, Thursday, November 21 at 8:00pm. With Hayseed, the fourth in a series of concept albums, Werner again keeps her audiences guessing and laughing simultaneously. Presented in partnership with ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project), The Hayseed Project revisits the language and people Werner knows best, and pays homage to Werner’s rural Iowa upbringing. Asheville and Western North Carolina audiences in particular may appreciate as Werner lends her wry humor and passionate voice to subjects such as farmer’s markets, agrochemicals, climate change, drought, longing for a sense of place, and the movement towards sustainable agriculture.
As an artist, Werner commands rapt attention from her audiences, regardless of the variety of musical material she uses to enthrall her audiences. She plays songs that slide easily between folk, jazz and pop all delivered with a dose of sassy wit and classic Midwestern charm. Called the “empress of the unexpected” by National Public Radio, Warner was raised in rural Iowa but began her professional music career in Philadelphia, after studying classical voice at Temple University. Inspired by a Nanci Griffith concert, Werner left behind her opera training and began performing as a singer-songwriter at coffeehouses throughout the Northeast. A brilliant lyricist, Werner self-released her first album Midwestern Saturday Night in 1992 and then went on to put out Live at Tin Angelthe following year. Her breakout album, BMG/Private Music’s Last of the Good Straight Girls, was released in 1995. Werner turned another corner in her multifaceted musical career with her vibrant album, Kicking the Beehive, an 11-song collection of provocative, poignant, lyrical originals, infused with the rustic roots of American folk, blues and country music.
In conjunction with its performance partnership, ASAP will host a table in Diana Wortham Theatre’s lower lobby the evening of Susan Werner’s performance.
Susan Werner’s Asheville performance is made possible by Performance Sponsors Joel & Deborah Bohan Berkowitz and David & Dianne Worley; and by Mainstage Music Series Sponsors Henry LaBrun and Arby’s; with additional support from Media Sponsor The Laurel of Asheville.