Napa, CA - Hailed by Rolling Stone as "the Queen of Folkabilly," Nanci Griffith's folk and country roots have taken her from Austin’s Hole-In-The-Wall bar to New York’s Carnegie Hall, Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry and London’s Royal Albert Hall, from an eight-year-old girl in Texas learning to play guitar from a television instructor to a woman of the world, visiting and performing in Vietnam, Cambodia and Kosovo in support of the abolition of landmines. Today, the journey of one of the most admired and acclaimed singer-songwriters--a career marked by a beautiful voice, brilliant songwriting and uncommon emotional commitment--continues. Griffith performs with her band at the Napa Valley Opera House on Monday, April 16 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $45 and $40.

The torchbearer of a music that brings together folk and country, the female sensibility of a new genre that embraced the likes of Lyle Lovett, Dwight Yoakam, and Steve Earle, Griffith has penned such classics as “Gulf Coast Highway” (a notable duet by Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson), “Love At The Five And Dime” (a Grammy nominated hit for Kathy Mattea) and “Outbound Plane” (a hit for Suzy Bogguss). In turn, she was the first to record Julie Gold’s Grammy winning classic “From A Distance.” She has also been honored with five Grammy nominations, three as a solo artist (winning once) and twice for performances on albums by The Chieftains (winning once).

Griffith’s latest CD, “Ruby's Torch,” is an intriguing experiment that brings together both Griffith originals and a selection of material from some of her favorite writers, giving them a unified, intoxicating treatment which pairs Griffith's longtime band the Blue Moon Orchestra with rich strings and gently punctuating brass.

The title “Ruby's Torch” is a subtle nod of acknowledgement to the genre of torch songs - the haunting ballads of love, regret, and loss best heard in cabarets and saloons in the hours that bridge midnight and dawn. Griffith's own take on torch is as personal and unique as everything she has done. “Recording an entire record of torch songs has been a dream come true for me,” she says “and something my listeners have been asking me to do for many years.” As with her country-influenced efforts, she draws inspiration from the form while fearlessly, naturally imparting her own distinct sensibility. The result is a sound rich with the timeless echoes of her inspirations, yet entirely contemporary and entirely, uniquely Nanci Griffith.

WHEN: Monday, April 16, 8 PM
WHAT: Folk/Country Musical Performance
WHO: Nanci Griffith
COST: $45 & $40
WHERE: Napa Valley Opera House, 1030 Main Street, Napa, CA 94559
PUBLIC INFO: (707)-226-7372, www.NVOH.ORG
CONTACT: Teri Stevens, teri@nvoh.org, 707-603-2338