Upcoming Shows
Upcoming Shows
April 6, 2025 – Susan Werner
Over the course of her twenty-five-year career, Susan Werner has earned a reputation as “one of the most innovative songwriters working today” (Chicago Tribune). With formidable chops on guitar (she began playing at age 5) and piano (she was a guest on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz), along with a graduate degree in voice performance, her shows are a one-woman master class in musicianship. Although best known as an acoustic songwriter that came up through coffeehouses and folk festivals, the Chicago-based artist has written songs in the style of Gershwin and Cole Porter (I Can’t Be New, 2004), gospel music (The Gospel Truth, 2007), traditional Cuban “son” (An American In Havana, 2016), and New Orleans junk piano (NOLA, 2019). In 2014 she composed the music and lyrics to the musical theater score Bull Durham, The Musical (MGM). Her songs have been recorded by Tom Jones, Michael Feinstein, and Shemekia Copeland, and her latest recording of originals, Halfway to Houston, is a tour de force of Texas music and musicians. We’re so glad to welcome her back!
May 4, 2025 – Jon Muq
Jon Muq is a singer-songwriter born in Uganda and now living in Austin, Texas. I saw him last year and knew I wanted to have him perform at NB House Concerts but getting a date was difficult since he’s been playing at festivals, touring with Billy Joel, Norah Jones, Mavis Staples, and others and traveling all over the world. Finally it seems like he’ll be here for our last show of the season, Sunday, May 4th. Drawing from African as well as western musical trends and traditions, he devises songs as small gifts, designed to settle into everyday life and provoke reflection and resilience. “These days the world is sad,” he explains, “so I wanted to make happy songs. I wanted to write songs that connected with the listener in a very personal way. When someone listens to my music, it’s not just about me and what I’m singing. It’s about how they understand the songs individually. I think these songs can speak many languages, depending on what you want from them.” So glad to get Jon here to finish out the season.