OXFORD — It will be double bill of women singer/songwriters at 6 On The Square in Oxford when Sloan Wainwright and Cosy Sheridan perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 6.
According to a media release, Wainwright is a songwriter, singer, performer, teacher, mentor and collaborator. Described as a unique hybrid of pop, folk, jazz and blues, her music is unified by her melodious tone and rich, powerful contralto.
Throughout her 30-plus years in music, she has played the great concert halls, the most storied listening rooms and top music festivals while also teaching at music retreats. She aims to inspire of students on their creative journeys and has collaborated with dozens of musicians, writers, choreographers and performers.
As a member of an acclaimed family of artists (along with brother Loudon Wainwright, sister-in-law Kate McGarrigle, nephew Rufus Wainwright and nieces Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche), Wainwright has charted an artistic path all her own, one based in close observation, joy and spiritual connection.
Growing up, Wainwright drew inspiration from the great female singers and songwriters of the 1960s and ‘70s, including Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Laura Nyro and Linda Ronstadt. Her brother, Loudon, and sister-in-law, Kate McGarrigle, also were major influences and supporters of her early development as a songwriter.
McGarrigle introduced traditional music to the Wainwright family, gifting Sloan a banjo for her 16th birthday. Wainwright began taking clawhammer banjo lessons with family friend, Jay Ungar, and even played piano in a string band. Ultimately, Wainwright evolved away from the banjo and developed her own hybrid musical style.
Wainwright has performed for three decades, with various incarnations of the Sloan Wainwright Band at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Mountain Stage, Newport Folk Festival, Clearwater Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and Cayamo. She will be accompanied by Glen Roethel.
Sheridan first appeared on the national folk scene in 1992 when she won the songwriting contests at The Kerrville Folk Festival and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. She has been on the road ever since, playing clubs, concert halls and coffeehouses across the country.
She was a voice student at Berklee College of Music and a guitar student of legendary fingerstyle players Eric Schoenberg and Guy Van Duser. She has played at Carnegie Hall and The Cowgirl Hall of Fame as well as the MDA Telethon with Jerry Lewis.
Backed by the rhythms and harmonies of bassist Charlie Koch, Sheridan plays a percussive, bluesy guitar style, often in open tunings and occasionally with two capos on the guitar neck. She also reportedly continues to be one of the most prolific songwriters in the folk scene. Her latest album, “A Beautiful Sound,” was recorded with Koch and released in 2021.
Tickets are $25 in advance and will be $30 at the door. They may be purchased online at 6onthesquare.org or call 607-843-6876 to make a reservation.
The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. The show also will be streamed live online for $10 with more information provided at 6onthesquare.org.
Coming up at 6OTS will be David Jacobs-Strain and Bob Beach on Friday, April 12; Tret Fure on Saturday, April 27; Martyn Joseph on May 11; and 6OTS’s 17th anniversary celebration with The Black Feathers on June 22.