Urban folk musician Jen Chapin will perform as a finale to this year’s Quad City Visiting Artists Series.
Chapin will be performing songs from her new album, “Reckoning,” on March 28 at the River Music Experience venue.
Ben Kieffer of Iowa Public Radio’s “Java Blend” will record the performance live at 7 p.m.
Chapin’s blend of folk, jazz and rock has earned her praise by NPR, People Magazine and “The Today Show.” She has also appeared on “Late Nite with Conan O’Brien.”
“It’s not just about me,” Chapin said. “It’s about all the beauty, nuance and power that my bandmates bring. We love what we do, and I’m told that comes across.”
Five-time Grammy winner Kevin Killen, who has worked with artists such as U2 and Elvis Costello, produced her new album.
It features songs such as “Feed Your Baby,” “Reckoning” and “It’s All Right,” each driven by Chapin’s powerful lyrics.
“There are quiet introspective moments,” Chapin said. “There (are) real elements of rock n’ roll really driving parts of the music. The lyrics definitely are very much front and center…People will get a chance to connect with the story telling as well.”
The majority of the album deals with topics such as anxiety, interpersonal relationships and finding hope in the modern world.
“It’s funny because I’m not an anxious person,” Chapin said. “I try to be pretty relaxed, but in the album there’s a spectrum of moods. At least that was the goal. There’s jubilation, celebration, some sort of sensuality. I think there is an underlying thread of optimism.”
On the album, Chapin juxtaposes a slow ballad, “Reckoning,” with lyrics describing the fast-paced and troublesome areas of her life and career.
However, she said the darkness of the album is placed in an overall hopeful context.
“Some people really hear the album as being dark; some hear it as being light,” Chapin said. “If I have moments of doubt or insecurity, I don’t hide away from them in my songs. Moments of feeling optimistic, or like in the first song, ‘It’s All Right,’ sort of catalogue a mix of unpleasant events. The Basic refrain of ‘It’s All Right’ sort of, for me, is the basic message: life goes on.”
Maureen Carter, Marketing Director of River Music Experience, said Chapin will perform a series of shows in the Quad City area before playing the Redstone Room.
Performances will be catered to a variety of audiences, ranging from elementary to college students.
Chapin said her band’s performance will vary depending on the audience’s age.
She said The Redstone Room performance, however, will be “more of an experience, bringing in our kind of drama.”
“Music for me is social,” Chapin said. “With me, it’s all about interaction. It’s truly magic for me to be able to communicate with people I love and respect, and then connecting that with an audience.”