The Hayseed Project with Susan Werner

Описание: Songwriter Susan Werner, who has been singing about farms and farmers for more than a dozen years, appeared on September 7, 2013 at Johnson County Community College as part of the Performing Arts Series. Her show, called The Hayseed Project, refers to her latest album, Hayseed, which came out in June. A Farmer's Fair was held in the lobby. Growers, purveyors and advocacy groups from the Kansas City region provided information and free samples of food. The evening was supported by the JCCC Sustainability Committee.

Before the performance, Werner took a tour of the JCCC Campus Farm with Mike Ryan, Campus Farm/Outreach Manager, Stu Shafer, Professor and Chair, Sustainable Agriculture, and Emily Behrmann, General Manager, JCCC Performing Arts.

Hayseed was commissioned by the University of Nebraska's Lied Center for the Performing Arts and the Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources.

On the album, Werner lends her wry humor and passionate voice to subjects such as farmers markets, agrochemicals, climate change, longing for a sense of place and the move toward sustainable farming. With Hayseed, she continues her reign as one of the most bold and creative forces on the acoustic music scene today.

Werner grew up on a farm outside Manchester, Iowa. She made her debut at the age of 5 playing guitar and singing at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Manchester. She learned both guitar and piano by ear. After earning a degree in voice at the University of Iowa, she attended Temple University in Philadelphia where she took up opera. She opted to forego a career in that genre in favor of songwriting.

She launched her career with the self-released Midwestern Saturday Night in 1993. Hayseed is the fourth in a series of concept albums, beginning with 2004's I Can't Be New.

"I like concept albums because they give the audience and the artists a place to meet -- something in common to talk about right from the word 'go,'" Werner states on her website. "And it seems everybody -- from the First Lady to Dodge trucks -- has something to say about food, farms and farmers these days."

Werner said she made Hayseed to honor her parents and their way of life.

"There's a changing of the guard taking place in American agriculture. Farmers like my father and mother are retiring and new farmers are starting out. I wanted to honor my parents and their way of life and I want to be part of the conversation about what happens next, what farming looks like this year, next year, 10 years from now."

http://www.susanwerner.com/

http://www.jccc.edu/sustainability/