words: JIM SWIDENBANK
NANCI Griffith is more than merely a stalwart of the folk scene. In addition to picking up a prestigious Grammy award in 1994 for her homage-paying album Other Voices, Other Rooms, she can also lay claim to having dueted with some of the biggest contemporary blues and roots artists of modern memory including Willie Nelson, Mary Black and Don McClean. A pioneer of what she terms ‘folkabilly’, Griffiths is renowned as a remarkable and talented singer/songwriter – although interestingly, many of her more recognisable pieces have been brought to prominence by other artists such as Kathy Mattea and Suzy Bogguss in recent years.
Griffith is hitting the UK to promote her new album Intersection: no less than her 20th release in a career spanning over 30 years, and by her own admission a far angrier and more angst-ridden album than any of her previous releases. “At some point, you have to get it out,” she explains on her website. “I couldn’t walk around with the anger. I didn’t write these songs to punish anybody… I wrote them to get these things off my chest.”
Intersection was recorded in a purpose-built studio at her Nashville home; as well as featuring sensitive subject matter inspired by her own personal bust-ups and family turmoil, the album also includes a number of carefully selected pieces penned by other artists including the late Ron Davies, a critically acclaimed songwriter and close friend of Griffiths. “Everybody seems to have an investment in Intersection,” Griffith says. “So many people are at an intersection in their life, with the way the economy is, with foreclosures and downsizing… For me, Intersection is my musical crossroads.”
In addition to working on her new album, Griffith found herself in esteemed company recently when she joined the likes of Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd and Simon & Garfunkel in contributing a song to Goodnight New York, an album marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with aspirations of raising money for the victims’ families and was also the recipient of the Trailblazer Award from the prestigious Americana Music Association. JIM SWIDENBANK
Nanci Griffith, Grand Theatre, Swansea, Sun 18 Mar. Tickets: £23.50. Info: 01792 475715 / www.swanseagrand.co.uk