Debra Cowan

In a music scene full of singer-songwriters contemplating their own navels, Debra Cowan is a breath of fresh air. She has all the skills of a real folk singer. Perfectly happy singing with her guitar or unaccompanied, she is a singer of songs written by others and she can make them convincingly her own. Cowan’s captivating warm alto sound, with just a little vibrato, carries each of her carefully-chosen folk songs with such emotion that you’ll forget they were written by others. Her newest release, Fond Desire Farewell, takes contemporary and time-honored public domain songs, but puts them in modern settings.

Idolizing Julie Andrews while a young girl, she later discovered Jethro Tull and Steeleye Span in her teens. Escaping her small Midwestern town at 21, she ended up in northern California (randomly chosen by the toss of a dart) where she attended college, sang in bars, and eventually found work as a math teacher. Continuing her discovery of folk music led her to English and Scottish singers like Sandy Denny and Ray Fisher. While she started performing 35 years ago, she began touring in 1998, with frequent stops in the US and UK, from folk clubs to festivals, eventually becoming the full-time folk singer she is today, bridging the old and new.

In 2011, Cowan sang the part of Marilyn from Si Kahn's musical production "Silver Spoon". She has performed in many prestigious UK venues and for six months in the late 90’s, held a residency at Sandy Bell’s Bar, Edinburgh's premier folk music pub, following in the footsteps of Dick Gaughan and Aly Bain. She was a formal showcase artist at several International and Regional Folk Alliance Conferences and twice performed on the nationally syndicated live radio show Folkstage (2002), hosted by Rich Warren and River City Folk (2008) hosted by Tom May. Her earlier recordings Dad’s Dinner Pail and Other Songs from the Helen Hartness Flanders Collection and The Long Grey Line brought her praise both in the US and abroad. In 2006 her version of “Walloping Window Blind” was featured in SingOut! magazine and also that year, her rendition of Richard Thompson's "Has He Got a Friend For Me" was included in the Free-Reed Records box set RT-The Life and Times of Richard Thompson.

“She is blessed with a beautiful voice and a deep appreciation for the tradition....each song is a new story to be shared and experienced." -- Ron Olesko, host "Traditions", WFDU, Teaneck, NJ

"Cowan is a clear-voiced singer who presents songs with affection and feeling." -- Dirty Linen Magazine

Visit her website at:
www.debracowan.com

On concert nights (unless otherwise noted) audience members are encouraged to bring acoustic instruments to play, and songs to sing together, in the gallery while the the concert hall is being set up. Beginning at 6 pm, this is a self-run jam session. The types of folk music played varies depending on who shows up and what they play, so come join in or just come to listen!