Cosy Sheridan is not only a skilled guitarist and talented singer-songwriter, she’s also a humorous storyteller whose concerts are always entertaining. Sheridan is returning to Moab for a performance on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. at the Moab Arts and Recreation Center, 111 E. 100 North. She’ll be accompanied by bass player Charlie Koch.
Concertgoers can expect to hear songs from Sheridan’s April 2018 CD, “My Fence and My Neighbor,” as well as some brand-new material that she’s working on with Koch for a forthcoming album.
The title track, which made it to no. 4 on Folk Radio, was inspired by a desire to get to know her neighbor after attending the 2017 Women’s March — and how a fence that Sheridan had built between their properties created challenges for becoming acquainted.
Sheridan is also performing songs that are specific to Moab, she said.
The folk artist spent 20 years living in Moab until returning to her native New England five years ago to help care for her elderly parents. And while New England is a good place to be a folk singer — because of its cluster of clubs, concert halls and coffeehouses in close proximity — Sheridan enjoys coming back to Moab, which she also considers home, whenever she can.
She and her late partner and bass player T.R. Ritchie founded the Moab Folk Camp, a weeklong symposium that takes place immediately prior to the Moab Folk Festival, where Sheridan has performed on multiple occasions. She returns to Moab each year to run the music camp. She also serves on the board of the folk festival.
“A Cosy Sheridan concert feels like ‘coming home,’” Moab Folk Festival producer Melissa Schmaedick said. “Her voice rings like a true storyteller, vacillating between powerful declarations to whispered revelations. She is a clever lyricist and an accomplished composer whose career as a singer-songwriter has earned her the respect of her peers across the country.”
Sheridan has released 10 CDs and is known for her humorous songs about women and aging. She has also written and performed a one-woman show based on the Greek mythological tale of Persephone running away with Hades, presented as a biker.
Performing at the MARC has special significance for Sheridan. She and Ritchie helped to raise funds to renovate the MARC’s stage room, which seats about 75 people, she said.
“It’s a smaller alternative to Star Hall,” Sheridan said. “I love the MARC. It’s an amazing arts facility. It’s like my home. I took yoga there. I love that space.”
Sheridan first gained national recognition in the folk music scene after winning the Kerrville Folk Festival and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival songwriting contests in 1992. She’s been touring artist ever since.
Sheridan’s album “Pretty Bird” was included in Sing Out! magazine’s list of Great CDs of 2014. The magazine has called her lyrics “intelligent and clever” and her melodies “memorable.”
During the Moab concert, audience members will also hear about a musical river trip opportunity to join Sheridan on Idaho’s Salmon River over the July 4 weekend, she said.
While some musicians plan trips to Europe with fans, perhaps it’s only fitting that a musician with ties to Moab would plan a musical rafting trip.
Hear songs from her new album ‘My Fence and My Neighbor’ at the MARC
When: Saturday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m.
Where: Moab Arts and Recreation Center, 111 E. 100 North
Cost: $12
Info: Visit www.cosysheridan.com or call 603-731-3240
“I love the MARC. It’s an amazing arts facility. It’s like my home.”
