The Sheldon Concert Hall Presents MAURA O'CONNELL 3/4

The Sheldon presents Maura O'Connell, Friday, March 4, 2011 at 8 p.m. in the perfect acoustics of the Sheldon Concert Hall. Irish singer Maura O'Connell, now based in Nashville, combines traditional Celtic sounds with modern folk sensibilities to create a sound all her own. With twelve albums to date, along with recording and performing collaborations with a number Celtic, folk, pop and country artists, the internationally-acclaimed singer has applied her luminescent voice to the songs of John Hiatt, Janis Ian, Tom Waits, Shawn Colvin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Paul Carrack, Karla Bonoff and dozens of other song-poets.

Maura O'Connell began her professional musical journey during a United States tour in 1980, as vocalist for the traditionally-based Celtic group De Dannan. The following year, she was featured on the band's landmark album, The Star Spangled Molly, where she provided lead vocals on four tracks. Not long after joining the group, she became interested in the experimental roots music of America's New Grass Revival and moved to the U.S. in 1986, settling in Nashville. There she met "newgrass" pioneers Béla Fleck and Jerry Douglas, with whom she'd work on most of her subsequent records.

She recorded her first solo album in 1983, but her 1989 album, Helpless Heart, which was her first record released under Warner Bros. Records, received a Grammy nomination. As the new millennium approached, O'Connell signed with her current label, Sugar Hill, and began working on her seventh album, Walls and Windows, which was released in 2001, and featured an eclectic collection of songs, including work by Kim Richey, Van Morrison, John Prine, Eric Clapton and Patty Griffin. The 2009 Grammy-nominated album, Naked With Friends, is O'Connell's first a cappella album and includes guest vocalists such as Mary Black, Alison Krauss, Tim O'Brien and Dolly Parton.

Tickets for Maura O'Connell are on-sale now! Tickets are $40 orchestra/$35 balcony. Call MetroTix at 314.534.1111 or visit www.TheSheldon.org. For more information, contact The Sheldon during normal business hours, Monday-Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

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