Songstress Emerson returns to Widespot

With her trademark blend of folk and blues, Elmwood, Wis., native songstress Vicky Emerson will perform again at Widespot Performing Arts Center today.

Her good friend and the Minneapolis-based, one-woman band, Mother Banjo, aka Ellen Stanley, will open the show. Stanley will release her new Americana gospel CD “The Devil Hasn't Won” that evening.

Emerson returns to the tour circuit after a two-year break when she and her husband welcomed their first child, a daughter who arrived in December 2010.

During her hiatus, Emerson penned a new album which was released in November. “Dust & Echoes” is a deeply personal collection of songs spanning a very chaotic period of her life, she said, which challenged her to discover new depths of her strength and grit.

She and her family have moved from Manhattan to San Francisco and most recently back to Minneapolis.

“I am so thrilled to be performing at the Widespot. I have missed my family, friends, and fans in the Midwest and the Widespot is the perfect venue for Mother Banjo and I to share the music from our new albums,” Emerson said.

After completing a successful kick-starter campaign in June, Emerson returned to the Library Studio in Minneapolis to join forces with acclaimed producer Matt Patrick.

“As a person who produces records for a living, there are some albums that truly excite you. These are the ones you can't wait to show your family and friends. They don't come around as often as you'd like, so when they do, you cherish them in a different way. This is the scenario in working with Vicky Emerson,” Patrick said.

“This album is a delicate journey through life. From the profound love of a new child, to the grief of a passing friend and everything in between. Vicky has substantial depth to her writing that causes a desire in me to match it equally with the production. In the end, dust & echoes is one of those that I am proud to show those closest to me,” he added.

With one listen of “Dust & Echoes,” it is evident that Emerson has shaped her own brand of Americana music, Patrick Said. That has garnered her international praise and comparisons to Lucinda Williams, Shawn Colvin and Patty Griffin.

Raised on a small farm near Elmwood, she said she maintains a firm grip on her humble roots and the dusty roads of her past that continue to inspire her music.

Emerson is awaiting the arrival of her second child, due in March.

At a glance…

Who: Vicky Emerson and Ellen Stanley

When: 7 p.m. Saturday Jan. 19

Where: Widespot Performing Arts and Community Center, second story of N2030 Spring St., Stockholm

Cost: $14, free for ages 12 and under

More info: 715-307-8941 or www.widespotperformingarts.org or

www.vickyemerson.com or www.motherbanjo.com

Tags: arts and entertainment, lifestyle, arts, entertainment