Innovative singer-songwriter
Susan Werner composes skillful songs that effortlessly slide between folk, jazz and pop, all delivered with sassy wit and classic Midwestern charm. Throughout her expansive career, boundless versatility has emerged as a hallmark of Werner’s talent and has proven to be a quintessential ingredient of her engrossing musical personae. As audiences will testify, she’s been knocking it out of the park—or concert hall—all around the U.S. for more than 25 years.
Known for her engaging and energetic live shows, Werner continues her reign as one of the most bold and creative forces on the acoustic music scene today. Dubbed by NPR as the “empress of the unexpected,” Werner’s album projects span the genres of folk, rock, pop, gospel, blues and Americana.
From her 1995 major label debut, the folk/rock gem Last of the Good Straight Girls, to her 2004 collection of Tin-Pan-Alley-styled originals on I Can’t Be New, and her 2007 “agnostic gospel” hymnal The Gospel Truth to 2013’s tribute to agriculture and her Iowa farm roots Hayseed, and 2018’s Cuban flavored collection An American In Havana—Werner’s creative restlessness has become her defining characteristic.
Her songs have been recorded by Tom Jones and Michael Feinstein, Broadway stars Betty Buckley and Christine Ebersole, and countless other individuals and ensembles. In 2014, she composed the music and lyrics for Bull Durham, The Musical. Her latest recording of original songs, The Birds of Florida, was released in January 2022. But Werner says she’s just getting started.
