Artist description Elizabeth's music is like a tornado: natural, magical, and powerful. Her hundreds of inspired and brilliantly crafted songs describe the range of human experience and emotion, from thrift store shopping to sublime mysticism. Her latest CD, American Stories, is a collection of 14 "story songs" written by Elizabeth over a 10 year period. The voices of the characters are varied: joyful, troubled, whimsical or triumphant, they all have a story to tell. The CD includes many audience favorites, such as "Wanna Be," (about someone who wants to be like Kurt Cobain), "Persephone", (about a teenager who goes to the underworld and comes back to tell the story), "Sour Grapes" (based on a dream in which Java Joe finally gets his bar), and "Southern Sympathizer", (about a sweet-talkin' Yankee gal in love with a Reb during the Civil War). The songs range in production from sparse banjo ballads to epic folk rock anthems, and include many wonderful North American musicians.

Music Style Alternative Folk, Roots, Eclectic Blend, Folk Rock, Country

Musical Influences When asked what my influences are, I am flummoxed…everything from Lutheran church music to the Beatles to punk rock, with traditional old time music behind it all.

Similar Artists Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Ani DeFranco

Artist History Her mother drove a tractor on the family farm. Her father grew up playing banjo and guitar at the turkey farm up the road. Dad became a psychiatrist, and mom raised the kids and later became a therapist, too. Elizabeth grew up in suburban Washington State, listening to the radio with her friends and hearing Pete Seeger, The Carter Family, Ledbelly, Flatt & Scruggs, and her dad on the banjo and fiddle after dinner at home. Elizabeth Hummel's music is deeply rooted in the Appalachian mountain tradition of her family, where music runs through everyday life like stitches in a hand-made quilt. Both timeless and timely, her songs tell traditional and contemporary stories inside flawless melodies and addictive rhythms. She has written hundreds of songs, which she performs with voice, guitar, banjo and Appalachian dulcimer. In 1995, she released the critically acclaimed CD The Cauldron on her own label, Brew Records. Twice nominated in the San Diego Music Awards, Elizabeth was voted "Best Acoustic Artist" in 1995. In 1998, she was chosen to perform at the prestigious Lilith Fair with Sarah McLaughlin, Natalie Merchant, and Shawn Colvin. In 1998, she conceived of and performed in the first "Living Room Tour" with fellow artist Cindy Lee Berryhill. This unusual tour of people's living rooms was promoted and attended by Internet fans and later written about in Rolling Stone magazine. She recorded Naked and Shouting/Live at the Auld Sod for this tour, and a series of "Future Folklore" recordings were also made of these live performances. In 2000, she self-produced Dear Friends, a unique, 36-song Limited Collector's Edition of songs which included recorded spoken word stories about the songs and specialized dedications. She is currently recording her long-awaited next CD, called American Stories, due for release in June 2002. Elizabeth began her career in the '90s coffee house scene in San Diego, a musically rich and diverse community whose members included Cindy Lee Berryhill, Steve Poltz, Lisa Sanders, Joy Eden Harrison, and Jewel. She has since returned to the Northwest and again makes her home in Olympia, where she lives with Sila, the Wonder Dog. Elizabeth continues to write about feelings and subjects that matter deeply to her.

Group Members Elizabeth Hummel

Instruments Guitar, Appalachian dulcimer, banjo, electric guitars, cello, pedal steel, contra bass, electric bass, drums

Albums The Cauldron, American Stories

Location Olympia, WA - USA

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