Reviews

Country Standard Time: Iris DeMent in concert DeMent finds vision in voice and song Side Door Club, St. Louis, April 16 By Roy Kasten St. LOUIS – When Iris DeMent walked on stage at the sold-out Side Door, sporting a burgundy dress and an abalone-glinting Martin, she smiled, plugged in and without further word strummed “Let the Mystery Be,” a statement of personal philosophy and the perfect introduction to her music. “Boy, you’re all sure a surprise,” she said when…

Concert Review: Crowder Hall, University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 3/13/98 Submitted by Tom Jackson The concert was fabulous. It exceeded my expectations, which were high. She is truly a transcendent performer. I went with a friend of mine and both of my boys (ages 8 and 11). I can’t say enough about the feeling that she puts into her performance. It actually seems all the more remarkable considering how shy she seems to be. There’s a line from a song…

Concert Review: City Varieties, Leeds, U.K. 2/27/98 Country Music People Magazine (April 1998 issue) written by Al Moir Submitted by Colin Thursby This venue was scheduled to be the third leg of Iris DeMent’s recent UK tour on 5 February, but the singer was forced to cancel due to a chest infection. Disappointed fans were informed that every effort would be made to re-schedule the concert at the end of the tour. All credit to them: they turned out once…

Music Reviews: Iris DeMent, October 9, 1996 Iris DeMent: The Way I Should Warner Bros.  File Under: Singer-songwriter goes country pop Iris DeMent’s startlingly simple debut, Infamous Angel, recalled the California-transplant alienation of Merle Haggard’s early work; its stark acoustic arrangement gave it a neo-folk sound. On her third recording, The Way I Should, the Arkansas-born, California-raised singer-songwriter has decided to reach out to contemporary country radio. This presents problems. DeMent’s songwriting is too old-fashioned–and often too personal and politically…