SUSAN HERNDON BIOGRAPHY
Having recorded four CDs of original songs, Herndon is something of a trailblazer, unfettered by labels or boundaries. Her latest album, 1,000 Pies, contains tunes ranging from sweet acoustic ballads
to straight up Red Dirt Country, and even a little Red Dirt Jazz-- skipping with ease between genres and
showing hints of her inner bohemian. But like the Red Dirt boys who often accompany her, Susan lives
and works out of Oklahoma, has both a facility for lyrics that mean something, and remains fiercly
independent, unwilling to sacrifice art and passion at the altar of what's-happening-now commercialism.
She also understands the uniqueness of her time and place, and with a few brilliant musical brushstrokes,
celebrates it with her listeners. Songs like "Here in the Heartland", "Oklahoma Waters", and "Highway 33
(Home)" not only couldn't have come from anywhere but the places Susan knows, they also couldn't have
come from anyone but Susan.
Born in St. Louis, but completely Okie raised and bred-- that is, until moving to France, Susan began
performing there, busking in the streets, then playing regularly with a group of fellow-vagabonds
in Auvergne and in the Dordogne.
2008 saw this Tulsa-based musician of immense talent and charm gigging from Okemnukov, Ukraine to
Okemah, Oklahoma, and playing and touring regularly in venues from Tennessee and Arkansas to Nebraska,
Missouri, and Kansas and into New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas.
Her album credits are a who's who of some of Oklahoma's best musicians. But Susan Herndon is best
experienced live-- and she loves a live show, maintaining a commitment to the fun, camaraderie, and
love through the mystery and beauty and power of song-- always surrounding herself with a band of
great and unique musicians. The lineup includes the notorious Dave White on bass (of Nashville Rebels-
fame & Dwight Twilly), drummer extraordinaire, Michael Steed (formerly with the Painkillers & Square Force),
and guitar afficionado, Frank Brown (in Rick Danko's LA band, and Chet Baker), and often with a special guest
or two sitting in to accompany.
Susan is said to possess "the pop sensibilities of Sheryl Crow, the lyrical prowess of Joni Mitchell and
Rickie Lee Jones, the swagger of Chrissy Hynde and the elegance of Emmylou Harris," she's also said
to be "the only Red Dirt musician who sings in French." Whatever the descriptions or comparisons,
Herndon might be described as eclectic or versatile, but never predictable-- and always entertaining,
continuing to beguile the good-music-loving masses.
For more info, check out the website at www.susanherndon.com
