Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
Carrie Newcomer (born Dowagiac, Michigan) is an American singer and songwriter.
Early life and education
Carrie Newcomer was born in Dowagiac, Michigan, and raised in Elkhart, Indiana. She attended Ball State University, Goshen College and received a B.A. in visual art and education from Purdue University.
Career
In the 1980s, Newcomer was a member of the pop-folk 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 her song "I Should Have Known Better" was 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, Mary Chapin Carpenter, David Wilcox, Amjad Ali Khan, Barbara Kingsolver, Parker J. Palmer, Jill Bolte Taylor, Scott Russell Sanders, Jim Wallace and Philip Gulley.
Personal
Newcomer gives a percentage of her album sales to charitable organizations including the The Interfaith Hunger Initiative American Friends Service Committee, America's Second Harvest, The Center for Courage and Renewal, and Literacy Volunteers of America.
