Event

SUZY BOGGUSS @ Kiki's CoffeeHouse

Suzy Bogguss didnt set out to craft a Merle Haggard tribute record. Some might call that serendipity; she just calls it Lucky.

Merle Haggard is a hell of a storyteller, says Suzy. When I hear his songs, I feel like Im listening in on someones life. On her new album, Lucky, a collection of songs all written by Haggard, Suzy does more than just listenthe CMA, ACM and Grammy Award-winning singer makes the country rebels compositions her own, reinterpreting classics like The Bottle Let Me Down, Silver Wings and Today I Started Loving You Again from a female point of view.

Merle is one of the most masculine songwriters Ive ever heard, and Ive been watching boys cover his music for years. I just thought, Why couldnt a girl do this? Suzy says.

Turns out, a woman canespecially if that woman is Suzy Bogguss, one of country musics most pristine and evocative vocalists. With the release of the Illinois natives 1989 major label debut, Somewhere Between, Suzy quickly became one of the key artists that defined those golden days of 90s country. She scored a string of Top 10 singles with country radio staples like Outbound Plane, Drive South, Hey Cinderella, Letting Go and Aces, and her 1991 album of that name was certified platinum. In addition, she scored a trio of gold albums and notched more than 3 million sales.

With Lucky, released on Suzys own label Loyal Dutchess, the singer comes full circle, returning yet again to her early inspiration, HaggardSuzys Somewhere Between was titled after a Hag cut.