Judith Owen On Mountain Stage

NPR.org, November 12, 2008
Click Here to listen to the full interview

Welsh singer-songwriter (and self-described "drama queen") Judith Owen has a knack for entertaining her audience with self-deprecating humor just before enchanting it with her elegant and emotional songs.

Here, she tells her West Virginia Mountain Stage audience how much the state's landscapes and steel and coal industries remind her of her Southern Wales homeland, adding, "Obviously, with that background, you're also depressives. That makes it so much easier for me to sing my songs to you."

In this, her third appearance on Mountain Stage, Owen plays songs from Mopping Up Karma, much of which was recorded in 1998 with producer Glen Ballard, but never released. She revisited those tracks recently and deciding to release them on her own Courgette Records label.

Owen and her husband, actor and musician Harry Shearer, will hit the road next month, bringing their "Holiday Sing-A-Long" tour to several stops around the U.S. In January, Owen will rejoin Richard Thompson for a stint in the U.K. performing with his "1000 Years of Popular Music" revue.