Singer-songwriter Susan Werner will perform at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro Friday at 8 p.m. She will present pieces from her latest studio album titled "NOLA," which focuses on New Orleans.
Susan Werner is associated with the contemporary folk genre. Her music varies from an agnostic gospel album called "The Gospel Truth," to a farmers tribute called "Hayseed," which is a nod to her Iowa roots, and even a Cuban-inspired composition, "An American In Havana."
Werner’s favorite song from her new album is "The Night I Ate New Orleans."
“It’s about all these different restaurants and all these different foods that is a part of what makes it so great," Werner said. "It's a binge. It's a big, fun binge. It mentions bananas foster, crawfish etouffee, jambalaya, muffaletta, oysters rockefeller and all these different restaurants on this binge. Most people who have been in New Orleans have had this experience."
Werner does not like to confine herself to one genre of music, despite her connections to folk music.
“I’m a songwriter," Werner said. "It's what keeps me challenged and excited about what I do. I get to do something different every time. It's like falling in love with the new style every two years. I'm married, I’m monogamous, but as a musician I can have affairs any time with any style of music. Every project is a kind of love affair for about two or three years."
When giving a show Werner said she has one mission in mind: To show people a good time.
Patrick Phelps-McKeown, the marketing director at the ArtsCenter, said the community is looking forward to Werner’s upcoming performance.
“Susan's work is really interesting to us because she brings together a lot of different styles and influences in her music," Phelps-McKeown said. "She's released a lot of different projects that are very wide-ranging as far as the musical traditions what they're drawing from."
