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Carrie Newcomer (born on May 25, 1958 in Dowagiac, Michigan) is an American singer and songwriter. Performing since 1980, she has released a number of solo albums since 1991, most recently Before and After.

Biography

Carrie Newcomer was born in Dowagiac, Michigan, and raised in Elkhart, Indiana. She attended Goshen College from 1977-1979 and received a B.A. in visual art and education from Purdue University in 1980. From 1982-1988, she was a member of the folk group Stone Soup independently releasing two recordings.

Between 1984 -1989, Newcomer toured regionally; after 1990, she has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and India gaining increased attention after touring with Alison Krauss and Union Station in Europe and the United States. She released her first solo album, Visions and Dreams, in 1991. Between 1993-2010, Newcomer released twelve solo recordings on Philo/Rounder. Before and After, Newcomer's most recent recording was released in February 2010.

In 2003, her song "I Should've Known Better" appeared on Nickel Creek's Grammy Award-winning and Gold CD This Side.

In 2009 Newcomer toured extensively throughout the country of India as a cultural ambassador for The American Center, the cultural outreach division of the American Embassy located in India. While in India, Newcomer performed concerts, visited community service projects and facilitated workshops. In 2009 Newcomer collaborated with author Jill Bolte Taylor to create the presentation "Transforming Stories."

In 2007, Newcomer collaborated with Quaker author Parker J. Palmer co-writing the song “Two Toasts.” published in 2008 on The Geography of Light. Also that year, she collaborated with Quaker authors Scott Russell Sanders, Philip Gulley and J. Brent Bill to create the PBS special Festival of Friends: An Offering in 4 Quaker Voices. In 2007, she collaborated with Scott Russell Sanders and folk songwriters Krista Detor, Tim Grimm, Michael White and Tom Roznoski to create an album and theatrical production entitled Wilderness Plots, based on songs inspired by the short stories of Scott Russell Sanders about the history and settlement of the Ohio Valley. In 2007, Carrie Newcomer wrote the theme song for the national organization of the YMCA.

Since 2000, she has facilitated workshops on songwriting, creative writing, faith and vocation and activism and the arts.

Discography

With Stone Soup

• 1982 Sampler
• 1984 Long Fields - Windchime RC-101/S
• 1987 October Nights - Windchime RC-102

Solo

• 1991 Visions and Dreams - Philo PH 1193
• 1994 An Angel At My Shoulder - Philo PH 1163
• 1995 The Bird or the Wing - Philo PH 1183
• 1996 My Father's Only Son - Philo PH 1203
• 1998 My True Name - Philo PH 1223
• 1999 Bare to the Bone - Philo CD 9901
• 2000 The Age of Possibility - Philo PH 1226
• 2002 The Gathering of Spirits - Philo PH 1243
• 2004 Betty's Diner: The Best of Carrie Newcomer - Philo PH 1245
• 2005 Regulars and Refugees - Philo PH 1247
• 2008 The Geography of Light - Philo PH 1253
• 2010 Before & After" - Philo PH 1259

References

1. "Newcomer, Carrie" (HTML). FolkLib Index. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
2. "Stone Soup" (HTML). AllMusic. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
3. "Visions and Dreams" (HTML). Rounder Records. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
4. "discography" (HTML). Rounder Records. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
5. "festival of friends". WFYI. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
6. "Wilderness Plots". Retrieved 2008-04-06.
7. "About the YMCA". Retrieved 2008-04-06.

External links

• Carrie Newcomer Official web site
• Chicago Sun Times article
• Performances by Carrie Newcomer from Dirty Linen
• Rounder Records Website
• Interview with Carrie Newcomer on "Before and After" by ReadTheSpirit.com

• American female singers
• American songwriters
• Feminist artists
• American folk musicians
• 1958 births
• Living people
• People from Elkhart, Indiana
• Purdue University alumni
• People from Cass County, Michigan