MARY FLOWER: CD Release Show

The Local Show:

Sunday Aug 24: Secret Society Ballroom, 116 NE Russell, Portland

7 pm/Tickets $10 at the door

Mary Flower – photo by Greg Johnson

When My Bluebird Sings is Mary Flower’s 10th release, this time on her own label, Bluesette Records. Mary says this about her new, all solo CD: “This CD is a departure stylistically from my previous recordings. The CD is a mix of lap slide instrumentals and guitar pieces with vocals, all original. Some of these tunes have been rumbling around in my head for quite a while and seemed well-suited for a solo project. Many of you have asked for more solo and more slide …so here it is, the raw and unadorned. Enjoy.”

Flower’s immense fingerpicking guitar and lap-slide prowess is soulful and meter-perfect, a deft blend of the inventive, the dexterous and the mesmerizing. Her supple honey-and-whiskey voice provides the perfect melodic accompaniment to each song’s story.

An internationally known and award-winning picker, singer/songwriter and teacher, the Midwest native relocated from Denver to the vibrant Portland, Oregon, music scene in in 2004 and hasn’t looked back since. She continues to please crowds and critics at folk festivals and concert stages domestically and abroad, ones that include Merlefest, Kerrville, King Biscuit, Prairie Home Companion and the Calgary Folk Festival, among many.

A finalist in 2000 and 2002 at the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship (Top 3 both years, and the only woman), a nominee in 2008 and 2012 for a Blues Foundation Blues Music Award, and a 2011 Portland Muddy Award winner, Flower embodies a luscious and lusty mix of rootsy, acoustic-blues guitar and vocal styles that span a number of idioms – from Piedmont to the Mississippi Delta, with stops in ragtime, swing, folk and hot jazz.

Flower’s 10 recordings, including her last four for Memphis’ famed Yellow Dog Records – Bywater Dance, Instrumental Breakdown, Bridges and Misery Loves Company – show a deep command of and love for folk and blues string music. For Flower, it’s never about re-creation. Her dedication to the art form is a vital contribution to America’s music.