Shawn Colvin

Don't count on geography to help pin down Shawn Colvin's musical style: The singer was raised in South Dakota, educated at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and cut her teeth in Austin, Texas. Since the mid-'80s, she's tread mostly in the realms of folk and country, but her presence can be felt in the alternative-female singer-songwriter boom of the '90s (particularly through her backup vocals on songs by Suzanne Vega and Lisa Loeb). The 1996 hit "Sunny Came Home" cemented what many already knew: that Colvin is a singer whose vocal sweetness makes her incisive words sting that much more. She's never been shy about pairing up with her talented friends, and is embarking on a tour with Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller early next year. While that quartet will sadly be skipping St. Louis, Colvin's solo show will give audiences a chance to reconnect with her songcraft and storytelling.