AXELROD I BULL RUN | GARDE I THE GRAND I GRUNIN CENTER I HAWAII THEATRE I KLEINHANS MUSIC HALL I LANDMARK ON MAIN STREET | LEBANON OPERA HOUSE | LOOS CENTER I MASSRY CENTER FOR THE ARTS I PALACE THEATER I THE PALACE THEATRE I THE PARAMOUNT THEATER I POLLAK THEATRE I SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY THEATRE | TARRYTOWN MUSIC HALL I TROY SAVINGS BANK MUSIC HALL I TUPELO MUSIC HALL I UNION COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Sunday, June 8, 2025 at 7pm at Tarrytown Music Hall
Saturday, May 4, 2024 at 8pm at Tarrytown Music Hall
Two incredible artists, each performing their own set! Since she broke through over 25 years ago with the multi-platinum Relish and its touchstone mega-smash “One of Us,” Joan Osborne the seven-time Grammy nominee has never played it safe. Osborne has followed her restless musical heart, exploring a diverse range of genres: pop rock, soul, R&B, blues, roots rock, gospel, funk, and country – all of which can be heard on her latest album Trouble and Strife, along with the Western side of C&W and a touch of glam and disco. “For a lot of the record, we were going for a ‘70s AM radio vibe,” says Osborne. As for the lyrics, the songs “are the most political I’ve ever written,” she conveys of her first album of originals since 2014’s confessional Love and Hate. Osborne also produced Trouble and Strife, primarily recorded in her basement studio in Brooklyn and released on the label she founded in 1991, Womanly Hips.
In 2018, 25 years a/er the release of their mul8-Grammy nominated hit album “God Shuffled His Feet”, The Crash Test Dummies hit the road for the first 8me in 20 years with an Anniversary Tour that spanned North America. The overwhelming recep8on led to a 30th Anniversary Tour in 2022 for their debut release “The Ghosts That Haunt Me” that touched down in the US, UK, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Canada. And the band is showing no signs of slowing down . . .
“Touring again was not something we’d planned on, but surprisingly – at least to me – there are lots of people who many years later, s8ll want to come and hear us. The folks that are coming out to see these shows tell us their stories, some of them very funny, some very dark and all very personal. It’s very humbling, being in the confidence of so many people” says lead singer-songwriter Brad Roberts, “and it has inspired us to con8nue to tour and make music.”
Saturday, March 9, 2024 at 8pm at Landmark on Main St
On her tenth studio album, the masterful Trouble and Strife, Joan Osborne has issued a clarion call. With stunning vocals, a diverse range of sonics, and incisive lyrics, this deeply engaging collection of new original songs is her response to “the crazy, chaotic times we’re living in,” she says, and “a recognition of the important role music has to play in this moment. Music has a unique ability to re-energize people and allow us to continue to hang on to that sense of joy of being alive.”
Since she broke through 25 years ago with the multi-platinum Relish and its touchstone mega-smash “One of Us,” the seven-time Grammy nominee has never played it safe. Osborne has followed her restless musical heart, exploring a diverse range of genres: pop rock, soul, R&B, blues, roots rock, gospel, funk, and country – all of which can be heard on Trouble and Strife, along with the Western side of C&W and a touch of glam and disco. “For a lot of the record, we were going for a ‘70s AM radio vibe,” says Osborne. As for the lyrics, the songs “are the most political I’ve ever written,” she conveys of her first album of originals since 2014’s confessional Love and Hate. Osborne also produced Trouble and Strife, primarily recorded in her basement studio in Brooklyn and released on the label she founded in 1991, Womanly Hips.
Friday, December 15, 2023 at 7pm at Spruce Peak Arts
Don’t miss Joan Osborne, this December at Spruce Peak Arts. Osborne is an 8-time Grammy nominee and multi-platinum selling recording artist. Her 1995 album Relish was a critical and commercial success and spawned the international hit single and video “What If God Was One Of Us“. She directed the video for Relish’s second single St. Teresa and created the artwork for the album’s physical package. She has traveled the U.S. and the world for over twenty-five years performing in clubs, theaters, arenas and stadiums, with her own band and as a featured vocalist.
Her extensive career highlights include founding her own independent label, Womanly Hips Records, in 1991; Duets with Luciano Pavarotti, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Patti Smith, Emmylou Harris, Isaac Hayes and many others; Touring with the post-Jerry Garcia Grateful Dead and with Motown’s Funk Brothers; a Co-headliner for Lilith Fair tour; Performing for The Dalai Lama at his monastery in Dharmsala, India; Featured artist at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, and much more. Her new album “Nobody Owns You” is set to be released September 8, 2023.
Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 8pm at Sacred Heart University Community Theater
Joan Osborne is an 8-time Grammy nominee and multi-platinum selling recording artist. A native of Kentucky, she moved to NYC to attend NYU Film School, but dropped out after becoming involved in New York’s downtown music scene. Her 1995 album Relish was a critical and commercial success and spawned the international hit single and video “What If God Was One Of Us“. She directed the video for Relish’s second single St. Teresa and created the artwork for the album’s physical package. She has traveled the U.S. and the world for over twenty-five years performing in clubs, theaters, arenas and stadiums, with her own band and as a featured vocalist.
Friday, November 18, 2022 at 8pm at Tarrytown Music Hall
Touring in support of her tenth studio album, the masterful Trouble and Strife, Joan Osborne has issued a clarion call. With stunning vocals, a diverse range of sonics, and incisive lyrics, this deeply engaging collection of new original songs is her response to “the crazy, chaotic times we’re living in,” she says, and “a recognition of the important role music has to play in this moment. Music has a unique ability to re-energize people and allow us to continue to hang on to that sense of joy of being alive.”
Since she broke through 25 years ago with the multi-platinum Relish and its touchstone mega-smash “One of Us,” the seven-time Grammy nominee has never played it safe. Osborne has followed her restless musical heart, exploring a diverse range of genres: pop rock, soul, R&B, blues, roots rock, gospel, funk, and country – all of which can be heard on Trouble and Strife, along with the Western side of C&W and a touch of glam and disco. “For a lot of the record, we were going for a ‘70s AM radio vibe,” says Osborne. As for the lyrics, the songs “are the most political I’ve ever written,”she conveys of her first album of originals since 2014’s confessional Love and Hate. Osborne also produced Trouble and Strife, primarily recorded in her basement studio in Brooklyn and released on the label she founded in 1991, Womanly Hips.
Multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter Larry Campbell and singer-guitarist Teresa Williams are frequent collaborators with Phil Lesh, Levon Helm, Little Feat, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, brought to the stage the crackling creative energy of a decades-long offstage union.
Friday, November 18, 2022 at 8:00pm at Tarrytown Music Hall
Touring in support of her tenth studio album, the masterful Trouble and Strife, Joan Osborne has issued a clarion call. With stunning vocals, a diverse range of sonics, and incisive lyrics, this deeply engaging collection of new original songs is her response to “the crazy, chaotic times we’re living in,” she says, and “a recognition of the important role music has to play in this moment. Music has a unique ability to re-energize people and allow us to continue to hang on to that sense of joy of being alive.”
Since she broke through 25 years ago with the multi-platinum Relish and its touchstone mega-smash “One of Us,” the seven-time Grammy nominee has never played it safe. Osborne has followed her restless musical heart, exploring a diverse range of genres: pop rock, soul, R&B, blues, roots rock, gospel, funk, and country – all of which can be heard on Trouble and Strife, along with the Western side of C&W and a touch of glam and disco. “For a lot of the record, we were going for a ‘70s AM radio vibe,” says Osborne. As for the lyrics, the songs “are the most political I’ve ever written,”she conveys of her first album of originals since 2014’s confessional Love and Hate. Osborne also produced Trouble and Strife, primarily recorded in her basement studio in Brooklyn and released on the label she founded in 1991, Womanly Hips.
Multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter Larry Campbell and singer-guitarist Teresa Williams are frequent collaborators with Phil Lesh, Levon Helm, Little Feat, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady, brought to the stage the crackling creative energy of a decades-long offstage union.
Friday, June 10, 2022 at 8:00pm at SOPAC
A multi-platinum selling recording artist and seven-time Grammy Award nominee, Joan Osborne is a soulful vocalist who has performed alongside many notable artists including Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Luciano Pavarotti, Emmylou Harris and Mavis Staples, to name a few.
Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 8:00 PM at Landmark on Main Street
“Like Bonnie Raitt, a musician to whom she has often been compared, Ms. Osborne is a fiercely intelligent, no-nonsense singer-songwriter who is allergic to traditional pop sentimentality, though hardly devoid of feeling.” – The New York Times
Since she broke through 25 years ago with the multi-platinum Relish and its touchstone mega-smash “One of Us,” the seven-time Grammy nominee has never played it safe. Osborne has followed her restless musical heart, exploring a diverse range of genres: pop, rock, soul, R&B, blues, roots rock, gospel, funk, and country – all of which can be heard on her tenth studio album, the masterful Trouble and Strife, along with the Western side of C&W and a touch of glam and disco.
With Trouble and Strife, Joan Osborne has issued a clarion call. With stunning vocals, a diverse range of sonics, and incisive lyrics, this deeply engaging collection of new original songs is her response to “the crazy, chaotic times we’re living in,” she says, and “a recognition of the important role music has to play in this moment. Music has a unique ability to re-energize people and allow us to continue to hang on to that sense of joy of being alive.”
It’s been quite the journey since the woman AllMusic.com declared “the most gifted vocalist of her generation” moved from small-town Kentucky to attend NYU film school in the 1980s. Osborne’s astounding voice drew attention when she joined the fun at open mic nights in downtown clubs, which eventually led to 1995’s Relish, “that rare breed of album where critical consensus, popular approval and enduring appeal unite,” according to American Songwriter. Since then, she’s performed with Motown’s revered rhythm section the Funk Brothers and toured with the Dead (where she first met and sang with Dylan). She’s harmonized with Stevie Wonder at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, duetted with Luciano Pavarotti, and co-headlined a tour with the legendary Mavis Staples. She has amassed a loyal fan base as she’s continuously traveled the country. Through it all, she sees more clearly now than ever the essential role our troubadours play.
“I feel like music has this important job to do right now,” Osborne says. “Part of that job is to help imagine a better future – and to hang on to hope. I want to play for people and get them up on their feet and dancing. To let music do that thing it does – bring joy and energy because we really need that right now.” With Trouble and Strife, she intends to do just that.
Friday, November 12, 2021 at 8:00 PM at SOPAC
Joan Osborne has rightfully earned a reputation as one of the great voices of her generation — both a commanding, passionate performer and a frank, emotionally evocative songwriter. A multi-platinum selling recording artist and seven-time Grammy Award nominee, the soulful vocalist is a highly sought-after collaborator and guest performer who has performed alongside many notable artists, including Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Luciano Pavarotti, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal and Mavis Staples, to name a few.
Osborne continues to enjoy a long and storied career that was jumpstarted with the great success of her major-label debut album, Relish, which wove together strands of American Roots music, poetic lyrics and impassioned vocals and produced the massive MTV and international radio smash, “One of Us.” The song occupied the number one spot on the U.S. singles chart for two weeks, Relish eventually racked up sales of over three million copies and Osborne found a large and appreciative audience, particularly during touring as part of Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair tour.
Although the Kentucky native grew up with a passion for music, when she arrived in New York City in the late 1980s, it was to attend New York University’s prestigious film school. But she couldn’t resist the pull of the city’s live music scene for long and soon she was performing her own songs in downtown Rock clubs and emerging as a popular presence in a vibrant scene of Rootsy new acts that included such then-unknowns as Jeff Buckley, Chris Whitley, Blues Traveler and the Spin Doctors. In 1992, Osborne launched her own indie label, Womanly Hips and released the live Soul Show: Live at Delta 88 and the studio EP Blue Million Miles. Becoming a regional success led her to the signing of a major label deal and the success of Relish. But Osborne quickly made it clear that she was more interested in musical integrity and creative longevity than transient Pop success and she made that point repeatedly with such subsequent albums as 2000’s Righteous Love, 2002’s How Sweet It Is, 2005’s Christmas Means Love, 2006’s Pretty Little Stranger, 2007’s Breakfast in Bed and 2008’s Little Wild One up through her three latest releases, 2012’s Bring It On Home, 2014’s Love And Hate and 2017’s Songs of Bob Dylan.
Thursday, November 11, 2021 at 8:00 PM at Emelin Theatre
“Like Bonnie Raitt, a musician to whom she has often been compared, Ms. Osborne is a fiercely intelligent, no-nonsense singer-songwriter who is allergic to traditional pop sentimentality, though hardly devoid of feeling.” – The New York Times
Since she broke through 25 years ago with the multi-platinum Relish and its touchstone mega-smash “One of Us,” the seven-time Grammy nominee has never played it safe. Osborne has followed her restless musical heart, exploring a diverse range of genres: pop, rock, soul, R&B, blues, roots rock, gospel, funk, and country – all of which can be heard on her tenth studio album, the masterful Trouble and Strife, along with the Western side of C&W and a touch of glam and disco.
With Trouble and Strife, Joan Osborne has issued a clarion call. With stunning vocals, a diverse range of sonics, and incisive lyrics, this deeply engaging collection of new original songs is her response to “the crazy, chaotic times we’re living in,” she says, and “a recognition of the important role music has to play in this moment. Music has a unique ability to re-energize people and allow us to continue to hang on to that sense of joy of being alive.”
It’s been quite the journey since the woman AllMusic.com declared “the most gifted vocalist of her generation” moved from small-town Kentucky to attend NYU film school in the 1980s. Osborne’s astounding voice drew attention when she joined the fun at open mic nights in downtown clubs, which eventually led to 1995’s Relish, “that rare breed of album where critical consensus, popular approval and enduring appeal unite,” according to American Songwriter. Since then, she’s performed with Motown’s revered rhythm section the Funk Brothers and toured with the Dead (where she first met and sang with Dylan). She’s harmonized with Stevie Wonder at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, duetted with Luciano Pavarotti, and co-headlined a tour with the legendary Mavis Staples. She has amassed a loyal fan base as she’s continuously traveled the country. Through it all, she sees more clearly now than ever the essential role our troubadours play.
“I feel like music has this important job to do right now,” Osborne says. “Part of that job is to help imagine a better future – and to hang on to hope. I want to play for people and get them up on their feet and dancing. To let music do that thing it does – bring joy and energy because we really need that right now.” With Trouble and Strife, she intends to do just that.
Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 8:00 PM at Hawaii Theatre Center
Joan Osborne has rightfully earned a reputation as one of the great voices of her generation — both a commanding, passionate performer and a frank, emotionally evocative songwriter. A multi-platinum selling recording artist and seven-time Grammy nominee, the soulful vocalist is a highly sought-after collaborator and guest performer who has performed alongside many notable artists, including Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Luciano Pavarotti, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, and Mavis Staples, to name a few.
Counting such legendary artists as Etta James and Ray Charles as influences, Osborne has released several acclaimed albums and continues to tour extensively in various configurations — with her own band, as Joan Osborne’s Soul Revue, and as an acoustic duo and trio. In 2003, Osborne joined forces with the surviving members of The Grateful Dead when they regrouped to tour as The Dead. In addition to her own solo shows and frequent guest appearances, Osborne currently also tours as a member of the rock/soul supergroup Trigger Hippy, founded by Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman and built from each musician’s shared love of R&B and soul. The band’s self-titled debut album arrived in 2014.
Cracker’s tenth and most recent studio effort, the double-album, Berkeley To Bakersfield, finds this uniquely American band traversing two different sides of the California landscape — the northern Bay area and further down-state in Bakersfield.
Despite being less than a five-hour drive from city to city, musically, these two regions couldn’t be further apart from one another. In the late ’70s and ’80s a harder-edged style of rock music emerged from the Bay area, while Bakersfield is renowned for its own iconic twangy country music popularized, most famously, by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard in the ’60s and ’70s. Yet despite these differences, they are both elements that Cracker’s two cofounders, David Lowery and Johnny Hickman, have embraced to some degree on nearly every one of their studio albums over the last two decades. On Berkeley To Bakersfield, however, instead of integrating these two genres together within one disc, they’ve neatly compartmentalized them onto their own respective regionally-titled LPs.
TBA at 8:00 PM at Landmark on Main Street
Landmark favorite Joan Osborne has rightfully earned a reputation as one of the great voices of her generation -- both a commanding, passionate performer and a frank, emotionally evocative songwriter.
Osborne is widely known for her beloved hit song, (What If God Was)One of Us, as well as her live performances of What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted and Heat Wave in the GRAMMY Award-winning documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown.
A multi-platinum selling recording artist and seven-time GRAMMY Award nominee, Osborne is firmly rooted in R&B and soul, as evidenced by the soul covers she has recorded on her albums How Sweet It Is and Breakfast In Bed, in addition to Bring It On Home, which garnered a Best Blues Album nomination at the 2013 GRAMMY Awards.
Saturday, September 14, 2019 at 7:00 PM at the home of Adam and Lara Wheat
Ben’s Lighthouse is honored to invite you to a uniquely memorable evening with Joan Osborne on Saturday, September 14th — a rare opportunity to enjoy her music in an intimate house concert setting.
Joan Osborne has been called “the most gifted vocalist of her generation and a singer who understands the nuance of phrase, time, and elocution” by AllMusic.
While she may be best known for the 90’s hit “One of Us”, Osborne has been nominated for numerous awards including a 2013 Grammy nomination for Best Blues Album. She has played the Grand Ole Opry and toured alongside the Grateful Dead, the Dixie Chicks, the Funk Brothers, and many more.
In 2017, Osborne released the critically acclaimed album “Joan Osborne Sings The Songs Of Bob Dylan”. As she put it, “...there's a lot of uncertainty and fear about what's happening in the world...We need to hear our great writers and poets talking about these times.”
We hope you will join us and Joan Osborne on September 14th for what is sure to be a meaningful and memorable event.
Ticket price includes cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres, performance and meet & greet with the artist.
About Ben’s Lighthouse: Ben’s Lighthouse, based in Newtown, Connecticut, began as a grassroots organization following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Founded to honor 6-year old Benjamin Wheeler, Ben’s enthusiasm for life – and his love of lighthouses – is the energy that is carried on through the work of the organization.
Our mission drives us to foster all children’s potential to build a more compassionate and connected world. Ben’s Lighthouse provides programs and opportunities that help kids and teens develop empathy, self-awareness and social connection. The lighthouses that Ben loved provide the perfect metaphor that guides our work. From local mentoring programs to national outreach service trips, participants are encouraged to find and share their own light – to stand tall and shine bright!
Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 9PM at the Tarrytown Music Hall
Joan Osborne, joined by powerhouse rock vets Anders Osborne and Robert Randolph, unleashes her sizable gifts as a vocalist and interpreter upon The Bard’s celebrated canon. With performances honed by the time Osborne spent polishing them during “Joan Osborne Sings The Songs Of Bob Dylan” — two critically acclaimed two-week residencies she performed at New York City’s Café Carlyle in March 2016 and 2017, the seven-time Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum-selling singer and songwriter, whom The New York Times has called “a fiercely intelligent, no-nonsense singer,” winds her supple, soulful voice around Dylan’s poetic, evocative lyrics, etching gleaming new facets in them along the way.
Troy Music Hall • 04.14.18 • 8 PM
Two amazing musicians together to create one phenomenal night of music. Acclaimed American singer/songwriter Martin Sexton and the extraordinarily gifted Joan Osborne bring their talents to the Hall on Saturday, April 14, each performing their own set.
Mr. Sexton will perform selections from his vast catalog, along with songs off his latest release, Mixtape of the Open Road.
Ms. Osborne will be singing a selection of Bob Dylan songs off of her latest release, Songs of Bob Dylan.
Tarrytown Music Hall | Feb 9th | 8 PM
Joan Osborne's DYLANOLOGY w/Sp Guests Jackie Greene & Amy Helm 2.9
Joan Osborne brings her full band to the Music Hall featuring special guests Jackie Greene and Amy Helm. Continuing her all-Dylan set lists in support of her recent "Songs of Bob Dylan" album on her own Womanly Hips Records, Joan looks to take advantage of the added power of her band and guests with the infinite power of Bob Dylan's songs to dive into expanded arrangements and really let the musicians play. "I'm excited to get to explore additional dimensions of Dylan's songs while having a blast on stage with my band and amazing friends.
Tarrytown Music Hall | Feb 8th | 8 PM
Feb 9th show sold out, so we added another one for Joan Osborne's DYLANOLOGY Feb 8th!
Joan Osborne brings her full band to the Music Hall featuring special guests Jackie Greene and Amy Helm. Continuing her all-Dylan set lists in support of her recent "Songs of Bob Dylan" album on her own Womanly Hips Records, Joan looks to take advantage of the added power of her band and guests with the infinite power of Bob Dylan's songs to dive into expanded arrangements and really let the musicians play. "I'm excited to get to explore additional dimensions of Dylan's songs while having a blast on stage with my band and amazing friends.
Joan Osborn Sings the Songs of Bob Dylan at Landmark on Main Street | June 23
Joan Osborne has rightfully earned a reputation as one of the great voices of her generation — both a commanding, passionate performer and a frank, emotionally evocative songwriter. A multi-platinum selling recording artist and seven-time Grammy nominee, the soulful vocalist is a highly sought-after collaborator and guest performer who has performed alongside many notable artists, including Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Luciano Pavarotti, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, and Mavis Staples, to name a few.
Counting such legendary artists as Etta James and Ray Charles as influences, Osborne has released several acclaimed albums and continues to tour extensively in various configurations -- with her own band, as Joan Osborne's Soul Revue, and as an acoustic duo and trio. In 2003, Osborne joined forces with the surviving members of The Grateful Dead when they regrouped to tour as The Dead. In addition to her own solo shows and frequent guest appearances, Osborne currently also tours as a member of the rock/soul super group Trigger Hippy, founded by Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman and built from each musician’s shared love of R&B and soul. The band’s self- titled debut album arrived in 2014.
Osborne has showcased her far-ranging talent during three residencies in 2016 at the Cotton Club in Tokyo, Japan; the Blue Note in Honolulu, Hawaii; and Cafe Carlyle at The Carlyle Hotel in New York City. The latter, titled Joan Osborne Sings The Songs of Bob Dylan, received critical acclaim from outlets such as The New York Times ("At every point in the evening, you had a sense of Ms. Osborne as an artist who knew exactly what she was doing") and the Huffington Post ("Her set was magic...the evening was a rediscovery of familiar Dylan, re- mined for new riches...hearing Osborne singing and dancing the Dylan greats was further testament to their versatility, beauty, and his genius"). Osborne felt this would be a great chance to work out an idea she had of doing a "Songbook Series" of albums -- the way Ella Fitzgerald did in recording the songs of Gershwin, Cole Porter, and others -- but with the songs of more recent writers. Dylan was an obvious choice.
Osborne is widely known for her live performances in the GRAMMY Award- winning documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown. She has produced two albums for Americana stalwarts the Holmes Brothers, and co-produced her last two critically acclaimed solo records, Love And Hate, and Bring It On Home, with talented producer/multi-instrumentalist Jack Petruzzelli. Bring It On Home, which found Osborne tackling vintage songs by Muddy Waters, Ray Charles, Al Green, Ike and Tina Turner, and Sonny Boy Williamson, among others, and treating them with respect while giving them some interesting twists in tempo, key and feeling, garnered a Best Blues Album nomination at the 2013 GRAMMY Awards.
Osborne continues to enjoy a long and storied career that was jump-started with the great success of her major-label debut album, Relish, which wove together strands of American roots music, poetic lyrics and impassioned vocals, and produced the massive MTV and international radio smash, "One of Us.” The song occupied the number one spot on the U.S. singles chart for two weeks, Relish eventually racked up sales of over three million copies, and Osborne found a large and appreciative audience, particularly during touring as part of Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair tour.
Although the Kentucky native grew up with a passion for music, when she arrived in New York City in the late 1980s, it was to attend New York University's prestigious film school. But she couldn't resist the pull of the city's live music scene for long, and soon she was performing her own songs in downtown rock clubs and emerging as a popular presence in a vibrant scene of rootsy new acts that included such then-unknowns as Jeff Buckley, Chris Whitley, Blues Traveler and the Spin Doctors. In 1992, Osborne launched her own indie label, Womanly Hips, and released the live Soul Show: Live at Delta 88 and the studio EP Blue Million Miles. Becoming a regional success led her to the signing of a major label deal and the success of Relish. But Osborne quickly made it clear that she was more interested in musical integrity and creative longevity than transient pop success, and she made that point repeatedly with such subsequent albums as 2000's Righteous Love, 2002's How Sweet It Is, 2005’s Christmas Means Love,
"I'm getting better at what I do," Osborne observes. "I can look at the songs on Love and Hate and realize that it's better than I could have done 15 or 20 years ago. I have an audience that I've built up over time, and I feel like they're with me. And because of that, I don't feel any pressure to fit myself into anyone else's idea of what I should be doing. So I feel like I can write my own rules at this point. That can be scary, but it's also liberating, and it's an exciting place to be."
Joan Osborne Sings the Songs of Bob Dylan | 5.19.17 | 8 PM | South Orange Performing Arts Center
Joan Osborne has rightfully earned a reputation as one of the great voices of her generation — both a commanding, passionate performer and a frank, emotionally evocative songwriter. A multi-platinum selling recording artist and seven-time Grammy nominee, the soulful vocalist is a highly sought-after collaborator and guest performer who has performed alongside many notable artists, including Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Luciano Pavarotti, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, and Mavis Staples, to name a few.
Counting such legendary artists as Etta James and Ray Charles as influences, Osborne has released several acclaimed albums and continues to tour extensively in various configurations -- with her own band, as Joan Osborne's Soul Revue, and as an acoustic duo and trio. In 2003, Osborne joined forces with the surviving members of The Grateful Dead when they regrouped to tour as The Dead. In addition to her own solo shows and frequent guest appearances, Osborne currently also tours as a member of the rock/soul super-group Trigger Hippy, founded by Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman and built from each musician’s shared love of R&B and soul. The band’s self- titled debut album arrived in 2014.
Osborne has showcased her far-ranging talent during three residencies in 2016 at the Cotton Club in Tokyo, Japan; the Blue Note in Honolulu, Hawaii; and Cafe Carlyle at The Carlyle Hotel in New York City. The latter, titled Joan Osborne Sings The Songs of Bob Dylan, received critical acclaim from outlets such as The New York Times ("At every point in the evening, you had a sense of Ms. Osborne as an artist who knew exactly what she was doing") and the Huffington Post ("Her set was magic...the evening was a rediscovery of familiar Dylan, re- mined for new riches...hearing Osborne singing and dancing the Dylan greats was further testament to their versatility, beauty, and his genius"). Osborne felt this would be a great chance to work out an idea she had of doing a "Songbook Series" of albums -- the way Ella Fitzgerald did in recording the songs of Gershwin, Cole Porter, and others -- but with the songs of more recent writers. Dylan was an obvious choice.
Osborne is widely known for her live performances in the GRAMMY Award- winning documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown. She has produced two albums for Americana stalwarts the Holmes Brothers, and co-produced her last two critically acclaimed solo records, Love And Hate, and Bring It On Home, with talented producer/multi-instrumentalist Jack Petruzzelli. Bring It On Home, which found Osborne tackling vintage songs by Muddy Waters, Ray Charles, Al Green, Ike and Tina Turner, and Sonny Boy Williamson, among others, and treating them with respect while giving them some interesting twists in tempo, key and feeling, garnered a Best Blues Album nomination at the 2013 GRAMMY Awards.
Osborne continues to enjoy a long and storied career that was jump-started with the great success of her major-label debut album, Relish, which wove together strands of American roots music, poetic lyrics and impassioned vocals, and produced the massive MTV and international radio smash, "One of Us.” The song occupied the number one spot on the U.S. singles chart for two weeks, Relish eventually racked up sales of over three million copies, and Osborne found a large and appreciative audience, particularly during touring as part of Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair tour.
Although the Kentucky native grew up with a passion for music, when she arrived in New York City in the late 1980s, it was to attend New York University's prestigious film school. But she couldn't resist the pull of the city's live music scene for long, and soon she was performing her own songs in downtown rock clubs and emerging as a popular presence in a vibrant scene of rootsy new acts that included such then-unknowns as Jeff Buckley, Chris Whitley, Blues Traveler and the Spin Doctors. In 1992, Osborne launched her own indie label, Womanly Hips, and released the live Soul Show: Live at Delta 88 and the studio EP Blue Million Miles. Becoming a regional success led her to the signing of a major label deal and the success of Relish. But Osborne quickly made it clear that she was more interested in musical integrity and creative longevity than transient pop success and she made that point repeatedly with such subsequent albums as 2000's Righteous Love, 2002's How Sweet It Is, 2005’s Christmas Means Love,
"I'm getting better at what I do," Osborne observes. "I can look at the songs on Love and Hate and realize that it's better than I could have done 15 or 20 years ago. I have an audience that I've built up over time, and I feel like they're with me. And because of that, I don't feel any pressure to fit myself into anyone else's idea of what I should be doing. So I feel like I can write my own rules at this point. That can be scary, but it's also liberating, and it's an exciting place to be."
