On Monday, May 20, award-winning singer-songwriter Lynne Hanson will perform on the Steve’s Guitars stage for the first time, accompanied by her guitarist, Blair Michael Hogan. This is part of her Colorado/New Mexico tour to promote her most recent album, “Just a Poet.”
“Being [in Carbondale] for the first time will be cool. This will be my second time in Colorado,” Hanson told the Sopris Sun. “The first time was a short tour, but I had a great time, and the people were so nice. I’m really looking forward to being back because I enjoyed the first time there, and something about touring close to the mountains always resonates with me.”
Hanson, a two-time Canadian Folk Music Award winner hailing from Ottawa, Canada, started her professional career touring with fellow Canadian musician Shane Simpson, where she played rhythm guitar and did harmonizing vocals for five years. She said it was through this that she was able to gain knowledge of all things tour management and media relations. Since that partnership dissolved, Hanson went solo and has released 10 records and many singles over her nearly two-decade career.
“I’ve been a do-it-yourself musician my entire career, and I think the most challenging thing I find is balancing spending enough time being creative and all the business stuff involved with putting together tours and promoting your music. One of the most rewarding elements has been the fact that I’ve been doing this solo thing for almost 18 years now, and people still want to hear my music, which is amazing,” Hanson stated.
She hooks listeners with a unique brand of storytelling in her songs. She draws inspiration from the myriad of tales she hears on her journeys, using that fuel to create a cinematic sound all her own. Listening to her discography, one could close their eyes and see mini-movies playing out. Her lyrics deeply touch upon the nuances of relationships, both romantic and platonic, as well as universal experiences that any listener can relate to.
An incredible example of this can be found in tracks such as “Outlaw Lover,” the third single from “Just a Poet,” in which the narrator reflects on and even cautions the listener about the mistakes they’ve made and will make in their romantic relationships, leading to the demise of those connections.
The narrator rawly visualizes the pain they admit to causing others through vivid imagery with lyrics such as: “There’s a lifetime of hurt in a pile outside, three feet deep and a mile wide — the kind of real estate that don’t come cheap,” and “I’m the one you carry ‘round for years — I’m a thousand tears.”
Hanson eagerly anticipates her upcoming show at Steve’s Guitars, where she hopes to forge a deep connection with the audience. As a storyteller, she weaves narratives between the songs, often injecting humor to balance the occasional melancholy. She aims to create a shared experience that resonates with each listener.
“I meet a lot of people, and I hear a lot of stories. I like translating the stories I come across and making them accessible to any listener — I want people to be able to close their eyes and listen and say, ‘Yeah, I relate to that because I’ve been there,’” she stated.