Gretchen Peters

Gretchen Peters (born November 14, 1957 in Bronxville, New York) is an American singer-songwriter in the folk/country genre. An accomplished song-writer, she won the Country Music Association Song Of The Year award in 1994 for "Independence Day", a hit at the time for Martina McBride. The Grammy nominated singer-songwriter calls the new Hello Cruel World her ?most close-to-the-bone work, written at a time when I felt absolutely fearless about telling the truth.? Peters and her guest Rodney Crowell sing, ?life is still a beautiful disaster,? on ?Dark Angel.

The Grammy nominated singer-songwriter calls the new Hello Cruel World her ?most close-to-the-bone work, written at a time when I felt absolutely fearless about telling the truth.? Peters and her guest Rodney Crowell sing, ?life is still a beautiful disaster,? on ?Dark Angel.? But Peters keeps the accent on the ?beautiful? throughout the 11 songs on her ninth disc. Ultimately Hello Cruel World details the sheer triumph of survival and of finding strength, joy and growth in everyday life despite the challenges of our increasingly complex times. Her characters don't just search for fulfillment. They take risks to find it, and none are willing to surrender.

Since her emergence from the Colorado folk scene, the Nashville-based performer has risen to the top of her craft by writing and recording songs that explore the deep corners of life with empathy and integrity. It is an abiding passion for the song that has brought her to the Grammys twice as a songwriter, won her a CMA Song Of The Year award for the groundbreaking ?Independence Day? (Martina McBride), taken her on sold-out tours across the UK and Europe, and seen the release of nine critically acclaimed albums. Born in New York, raised in Boulder, Colorado, and a Nashvillian since the late 80's, Peters has accumulated accolades as a songwriter for artists as diverse as Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, The Neville Brothers, Patty Loveless, George Strait, Bryan Adams and Faith Hill. Of her music, the Associated Press said, ?this is not jukebox music - the stuff that exists to fill in the pauses in conversation. This IS the conversation.?