Appearing on the Main Stage at 4:45 p.m.

Almost four decades as a touring professional have found Michigan native Claudia Schmidt traversing North America as well as Europe in venues ranging from intimate clubs to 4,000-seat theatres, and festival stages in front of 25,000 rapt listeners. She has recorded 14 albums of mostly original songs, exploring folk, blues, and jazz idioms featuring her acclaimed 12-string guitar and mountain dulcimer playing. Her work is, in her words, “a quirky hodge-podge of music, poetry, story, laughter, drama, and celebrating the moment.”

Work in clubs, theaters, festivals, TV, and radio has added depth and dimension, and since she has always included her original work along with very personal versions of the work of others, what you get is a unique look at the world from someone who says what she sees with clarity, humor, and wonder. She won a Jefferson Award for her original music in the Goodman Theater’s The Good Person of Szechwan.

The San Francisco Bay Guardian said, “Schmidt’s shows are a lot like falling in love. You never know what’s going to happen next, chances are it’s going to be wonderful, every moment is burned into your memory and you know you’ll never be the same again.” More succinctly, Garrison Keillor said, “When Claudia sings a song, it stays sung.”

Her latest album, Promising Sky, with her Funtet, blends her folk and jazz influences and adds some blues and world music spicing in a fine collection of mostly-original material.

Visit Claudia Schmidt at www.ClaudiaSchmidt.com.