Shawn Colvin

By the time singer-songwriter-musician Shawn Colvin received widespread recognition in 1997 for her GRAMMY Award-winning single, ‘Sunny Came Home’, she was eight years past her debut album and had already spent more than two decades paying her dues in the music business. But the commercial smash and critically acclaimed single introduced a wide audience to the compelling emotional directness of her songs, the hallmark of her solo work.

Colvin’s frank, personal style has always been tempered by humor and strong, simple melodies delivered in a pure, engaging vocal style. She is not inclined to take on social or political issues in her lyrics, but she’s bracingly honest about her own travails and triumphs, which is part of her lasting appeal. Her eighth studio album, All Fall Down, was released in 2012 and featured guest appearances by Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss and Jakob Dylan. That same year, Colvin took her openhearted storytelling to another medium with the publication of her book of memoirs, ‘Diamond in the Rough,’ considered a work as forthright and fascinating as any of her songs.