Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Wilmington, N.C. - Singer/songwriter Erin McKeown swings by UNCW on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. in Kenan Auditorium. From elegant pop to balls-out rock, sweet electronics to witty swing, McKeown's music is difficult to categorize as one specific genre. One thing is certain: McKeown has packed a ton of music into her young career. The concert marks the second event in UNCW Presents' Arts in Action Performance Series.

McKeown entered the scene with 1998's "Monday Morning Cold," recorded when she was still an undergraduate at Brown University where she earned a degree in ethnomusicology. Now with at total of 5 studio albums, 2 EPs, and numerous soundtracks and compilations to her credit, the 28-year-old songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has yet to stop for a breather in the last 10 years. Along the way she has averaged 200 shows a year and garnered the praise of fans and critics alike.

Almost immediately after her melancholy pop exploration, We Will Become Like Birds, Erin McKeown came roaring back with Sing You Sinners - 13 songs of mischief and verve collected from the forgotten corners of Tin Pan Alley and Broadway. Written by the likes of Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, and Fats Waller, learned from Fred Astaire, Gene Krupa, Nat King Cole, and Blossom Dearie, Sing You Sinners is McKeown's singular and sly take on the not-so-standard entries in the Great American Songbook. And in a time when the thought of another album along the lines of 'X sings the Standards' or 'Y sings Cole Porter' can fill a music fans heart with emotions ranging from foreboding to outright terror, the new album from Erin McKeown is a breath of fresh air.

If critics like McKeown covering the classic, they love her original work. Jon Pareles of the New York Times wrote, "Airborne metaphors carry the songwriter Erin McKeown all the way through her fourth album, "We Will Become Like Birds" (Nettwerk). Her clear mezzo-soprano sounds perpetually optimistic, and so do the syncopated electric guitar parts she picks and plucks through the sparsely arranged but fully realized songs."

The ever-prolific McKeown is already set to release another album titled Lafayette this September 25th. Recorded in January, at the start of the Sinners tour, the new record features sparkling renditions of lots of McKeown fan favorites, plus a few new songs of which the titles have yet to be named.

BOX OFFICE AND TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets are $6 for university and area students, $14 UNCW faculty/staff, alumni and senior citizens; $18 general public. Call Kenan Box Office at 910.962.3500 or 800.732.3643 outside the Wilmington area. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

About Arts in Action Performance Series

The Arts In Action Performance Series seeks to culturally enrich, educate and entertain both students and the general public through the presentation of diverse programs featuring professional, high-quality performing artists. For more information, please visit the UNCW Presents web site at www.uncw.edu/presents.

UNCW Presents is a member of the NC Presenters Consortium and the US National Association of Performing Arts Presenters. The 150 member venues of the NC Presenters Consortium may be visited at www.presenters.org.