Genre Bender Plays Saturday

Folk Singer Tries Electric Guitar, High Production

The Un-folkie Folkster: Griffin's latest work branches out, exploring pop and hard rock. (photo courtesy AM Records)

Patty Griffin is not your average folk singer; in fact, she may not be a folk singer at all. Her music evades categorization, drawing influences from the Clash, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan and everything in between. "I guess if you're gonna call the Clash folk singers, call me a folk singer," she told Citysearch.com. "I resent the label only because I think it sort of diminishes what I do sonically."

The evolution of Griffin's relatively short musical career is astounding. She recorded her first album, 1996's widely acclaimed Living With Ghosts, in a small Boston studio with an acoustic guitar as her only accompaniment. The result was a brutally raw and honest collection of songs that communicate Griffin's complicated emotional past as effectively as they demonstrate her soulful singing.

In the two years between Living With Ghosts and her second album, 1998's Flaming Red, Griffin allowed herself much artistic experimentation and indulged in musical avenues she had not yet explored. She started playing with a full band, used electric guitars, turned up the amp and discovered her voice again, with a new, matured vision.

"I know I'm going to scare old fans," the singer told Weekly Wire, speaking of the release of Flaming Red. "But I can't really allow myself to worry about it. What I'm doing is totally me, and I can't apologize for it." Opening with a ferocious, punk-inspired, electric guitar-powered anthem, her second album is a true indication that Griffin's musical sensibilities have expanded into new territory. The album combines thoughtful piano ballads, aggressive guitar rock, and melodic pop to make a truly diverse and intense production that still retains the emotional delivery of the first record.

Though some critics thought many of the songs from Flaming Red came too close to a generic, overproduced sound, Griffin herself was thrilled with the diversity of her new album. "I love all kinds of music and I'm real happy that now, with this record, I'm not restricted to any one style," she told Weekly Wire. "We really managed to put a lot on there. There are so many colors, and that's what's shocking to me. I just feel incredibly free now to express myself however I want."

Griffin has toured extensively throughout her career, with the likes of Lucinda Williams, the Dixie Chicks, Emmylou Harris and with Lilith Fair. She's now opening up her own act, this time without her band as backup. Her third record, Silver Bell, recorded in New Orleans and mixed in Austin is due to be released early next year.

Her acoustic performance this weekend in Oberlin will surely prove to be as stunning as her recorded efforts. She plays at Finney Chapel on Saturday beginning at 9 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students.