Carrie Newcomer
Encyclopedia
Carrie Newcomer is an American
singer and songwriter
.
. She attended Goshen College
and received a B.A. in visual art and education from Purdue University
.
group Stone Soup which produced two albums. After leaving Stone Soup, she began a solo career and released her first album called Visions and Dreams. Between 1993-2010, she released twelve additional solo albums on Philo
/Rounder
.
In 2003 Newcomer was awarded a Grammy for her song "I Should Have Known Better" Recorded by Nickel Creek on their Grammy Winning Best Contemporary Folk Album "This Side".
In 2007, her album The Geography of Light received the Artist of the Year and Album of the Year awards from Folk Wax Magazine. In 2003 her Album "The GAthering of Spirits" also received the Artist of the Year and Album of the Year awards from Folk Wax Magazine. That year she wrote the national theme song for the YMCA
and collaborated with Scott Russell Sanders and folk songwriters Krista Detor
, Tim Grimm, Michael White and Tom Roznoski on an album and theatrical production entitled Wilderness Plots.
In 2008 Boston's WUMB radio station, included her on their list of the Top Most Influential Artists of the past 25 years.
In 2010 Chicago's WBEZ radio and The Chicago Tribune included her on their list of To 50 folk artists of the last 50 years.
In 2009 Newcomer traveled to India
as a cultural ambassador for The American Center and worked with students of the American Embassy School
in New Delhi
. While in India, Newcomer performed concerts organized by the U.S. State Department and visited community service projects and facilitated workshops.
In 2011 Newcomer returned to India
as a cultural ambassador for The American Center and worked with students of the American Embassy School
in New Delhi
. The American School Bombay, and The International School Chennai. While in India, Newcomer performed concerts organized by the U.S. State Department and visited community service projects and facilitated workshops.
In 2011 she released the album, Everything is Everywhere, on Available Light Records which featured Amjad Ali Khan
and his sons, Amaan and Ayaan on traditional Indian instruments. The profits of "Everything is Everywhere" benefit Interfaith Hunger Initiative
Newcomer collaborated with author Parker J. Palmer to create the presentation "Healing the Heart of Democracy."
Newcomer collaborated with author Jill Bolte Taylor
to create the presentation "Transforming Stories."
Newcomer also collaborated with authors Scott Russell Sanders, Philip Gulley and J. Brent Bill
for the PBS
special Festival of Friends: An Offering in 4 Quaker Voices.
Newcomer has toured the United States, Europe, and India including performances with Alison Krauss
.
, America's Second Harvest
, The Center for Courage and Renewal, and Literacy Volunteers of America.
DVDs
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
.
Early life and education
Carrie Newcomer was born in Dowagiac, Michigan, and raised in Elkhart, IndianaElkhart, Indiana
Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...
. She attended Goshen College
Goshen College
Goshen College, is a private Mennonite liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana, USA with an enrollment of around 1,000 students. The college is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities...
and received a B.A. in visual art and education from Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
.
Career
In the 1980s, Newcomer was a member of the pop-folkFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
group Stone Soup which produced two albums. After leaving Stone Soup, she began a solo career and released her first album called Visions and Dreams. Between 1993-2010, she released twelve additional solo albums on Philo
Philo Records
Philo Records was a short-lived record label founded in 1945 by the brothers Eddie, Leo, and Ira Messner. Later its name changed to Aladdin Records. There was another Philo Records, founded by Bill Schubart and Michael Couture in Vermont. It is still active under the ownership of Rounder Records....
/Rounder
Rounder Records
Rounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
.
In 2003 Newcomer was awarded a Grammy for her song "I Should Have Known Better" Recorded by Nickel Creek on their Grammy Winning Best Contemporary Folk Album "This Side".
In 2007, her album The Geography of Light received the Artist of the Year and Album of the Year awards from Folk Wax Magazine. In 2003 her Album "The GAthering of Spirits" also received the Artist of the Year and Album of the Year awards from Folk Wax Magazine. That year she wrote the national theme song for the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
and collaborated with Scott Russell Sanders and folk songwriters Krista Detor
Krista Detor
Krista Detor is a singer-songwriter and pianist from Indiana whose music has been featured on NPR, and with Mike Harding on the BBC.Detor has worked with Carrie Newcomer and Tim Grimm on the collaborative stage show and CD Wilderness Plots, which is based on the book of the same name by Scott...
, Tim Grimm, Michael White and Tom Roznoski on an album and theatrical production entitled Wilderness Plots.
In 2008 Boston's WUMB radio station, included her on their list of the Top Most Influential Artists of the past 25 years.
In 2010 Chicago's WBEZ radio and The Chicago Tribune included her on their list of To 50 folk artists of the last 50 years.
In 2009 Newcomer traveled to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
as a cultural ambassador for The American Center and worked with students of the American Embassy School
American Embassy School
The American Embassy School, South Delhi, India, is an independent, coeducational day school which offers an educational program from prekindergarten through grade 12. The school was founded in 1952...
in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. While in India, Newcomer performed concerts organized by the U.S. State Department and visited community service projects and facilitated workshops.
In 2011 Newcomer returned to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
as a cultural ambassador for The American Center and worked with students of the American Embassy School
American Embassy School
The American Embassy School, South Delhi, India, is an independent, coeducational day school which offers an educational program from prekindergarten through grade 12. The school was founded in 1952...
in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. The American School Bombay, and The International School Chennai. While in India, Newcomer performed concerts organized by the U.S. State Department and visited community service projects and facilitated workshops.
In 2011 she released the album, Everything is Everywhere, on Available Light Records which featured Amjad Ali Khan
Amjad Ali Khan
Amjad Ali Khan is an Indian classical musician who plays the sarod. Khan was born into a musical family and has performed internationally since the 1960s...
and his sons, Amaan and Ayaan on traditional Indian instruments. The profits of "Everything is Everywhere" benefit Interfaith Hunger Initiative
Newcomer collaborated with author Parker J. Palmer to create the presentation "Healing the Heart of Democracy."
Newcomer collaborated with author Jill Bolte Taylor
Jill Bolte Taylor
Jill Bolte Taylor is a neuroanatomist who specializes in the postmortem investigation of the human brain. She is affiliated with the Indiana University School of Medicine and is the national spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center...
to create the presentation "Transforming Stories."
Newcomer also collaborated with authors Scott Russell Sanders, Philip Gulley and J. Brent Bill
J. Brent Bill
J. Brent Bill is an American author who now lives in Mooresville, Indiana.He is a graduate of Wilmington College and Earlham School of Religion. Bill is a recorded minister in the Religious Society of Friends...
for the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
special Festival of Friends: An Offering in 4 Quaker Voices.
Newcomer has toured the United States, Europe, and India including performances with Alison Krauss
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss is an American bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She entered the music industry at an early age, winning local contests by the age of ten and recording for the first time at fourteen. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in...
.
Personal
Newcomer gives a percentage of her album sales to charitable organizations including the The Interfaith Hunger Initiative American Friends Service CommitteeAmerican Friends Service Committee
The American Friends Service Committee is a Religious Society of Friends affiliated organization which works for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world...
, America's Second Harvest
America's Second Harvest
Feeding America is a United States-based non-profit organization. It consists of a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks and food rescue organizations that serve virtually every county in the United States as well as Puerto Rico. It is the nation's leading hunger-relief charity,...
, The Center for Courage and Renewal, and Literacy Volunteers of America.
With Stone Soup
- 1984 Long Fields - Windchime RC-101/S
- 1987 October Nights - Windchime RC-102
Solo
- 1991 Visions and Dreams - Philo PH 1193 [1995 reissue]
- 1994 An Angel At My Shoulder - Philo PH 1163
- 1995 The Bird or the Wing - Philo PH 1183
- 1996 My Father's Only Son - Philo PH 1203
- 1998 My True Name - Philo PH 1223
- 1999 Bare to the Bone [Live] - Philo CD 9901
- 2000 The Age of Possibility - Philo PH 1226
- 2002 The Gathering of Spirits - Philo PH 1243
- 2004 Betty's Diner: The Best of Carrie Newcomer - Philo PH 1245
- 2005 Regulars and Refugees - Philo PH 1247
- 2008 The Geography of Light - Philo PH 1253
- 2010 Before & After" - Philo PH 1259
- 2011 Everything Is Everywhere Available Light Records AL 1001
compiliations
- 1993 Shelter: The Best Of Contemporary Singer-Songwriters Putumayo Presents Series
- 1996 One More Song:An Album For Club Passim Rounder Records
- 1998 Kerrville Folk Festival: 25th Anniversary
- 2001 Rounder Records: Celebrating 30 Colorful Years [Compilation, Limited Edition]
- 2002 The Singer Songwriter Collection Rounder Records
- 2003 Song Mania (More Songs About Love and Despair)
- 2007 Wilderness Plots Rosehill Records
- 2008 Kyser Klassics (Partial Capo)
DVDs
- 2005 A Festival of Friends WFYI Public Broadcast
- 2006 Bernice Johnson Reagon/Holly Near/Carrie Newcomer : Light of Change DVD
- 2008 Wilderness Plots Songs and Stories of the Prairie